Flight NH202, 27 March 2007
London/Heathrow – Tokyo/Narita
JA8096 (B747-400)
Expertflyer showed the flight as zero-oed out in F and C4D4J4Y4B4M4 (and 0’d out in other classes) so I guessed the whole flight would be quite full. Got to Heathrow just before check-in opened at 4pm and got it over and done with at the F/*G line. We were then informed that we had to pay up an extra
40GBP per person sitting in C because of Gordon Brown's new environment taxes.
Check-in at LHR: (
http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/9f/78/10018500850.jpg)
Like every time, I skipped the Duty Free shopping and headed straight towards the SilverKris Lounge next to gate 9 where, by coincidence I bumped fellow Flyertalker jacob_m. Boarding was scheduled at 1855 so I spent a good 2 hours in there watching some tennis on Sky and on the internet. This time, I didn’t bother going into United’s Red Carpet club as it is always a disappointment after the SQ lounge!
SKL entrance: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/6e/a3/10018501016.jpg)
SKL lounge: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/34/5c/10018501026.jpg)
The flight boarded and pushed back on time. As envisaged, the flight was full upstairs with a few spare seats downstairs. The C seat on the B747 is one generation behind the B777 as it lacks the privacy screen, footrest and the new seat controls. However, as I managed to secure a window seat upstairs, I was able to rest my feet on the side compartments which created a semi-full flat environment. (Sorry, no photos of the actual seat/cabin)
Boarding signs: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/48/be/10018501034.jpg)
Aircraft nose: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/65/...18501046.jpg )
Shortly after take off, the chief pursur went around the cabin greeting their frequent flyers. It seems that there weren't many NH*G upstairs as she only greeted 2 of us (including myself).
Canapés were then served with a drink (ume-shu) followed by the distribution of menus. I went for the Japanese option which was really nice as always. I find however that the rice is better on JL as they have a rice cooker in their galleys:
Canape: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/1b/8f/10018501136.jpg)
Starter: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/92/61/10018501144.jpg)
Main meal: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/39/11/10018501162.jpg)
Dessert: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/be/23/10018501173.jpg)
The cabin lights were dimmed after the meal service and I decided to wander downstairs, where I found that the main C cabin were still on the desert course. One more reason to choose upper deck was the better crew: pax ratio which resulted in faster service.
Their snack service consists of pizza, udon noodles, sandwiches, ice cream etc. to which I chose udon noodles with tempura which I had whilst watching a movie in French: The translations were pretty bad so I decided that it's always much better to watch a subtitled version of a film in any language, rather than a dubbed version!
Tempura Udon: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/69/7f/10018501185.jpg )
2.5 hours before landing (flying over Khabarovsk) the second meal service which was a choice between a Japanese fish dish or a Western omlette. Having previously experienced the western C meals which isn’t as good as the Japanese, I chose the fish.
Second meal: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/48/9d/10018501197.jpg )
Landing was around 15-20 minutes ahead of schedule: the bags came off quite quickly and then we went through customs and then to the domestic arrivals lounge to refresh.
Arrivals lounge entrance: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/a6/5e/10018501338.jpg)
Arrivals lounge: (http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/1f/78/10022155201.jpg)
I then took the 90 minute so-called "Limousine" bus ride to Yokohama City Air Terminal.