TR from a professional photograher: UA F, TG F (3x), SQ J (2x), and LH J
 

Hi all! My most recent, crazy *A award looked like this: PHL-CLT-SFO-PVG-SIN-BKK-HKG-BKK-FRA-JFK-PHL.. I booked the trip using US miles.

My TR is posted on Facebook and anyone can access it here. This TR is ALL photos with short, informative and fun captions. I can assure you that because of my expertise in photography, you will get an unusually good look into the high-end travel experience!

Feel free to friend me on FB (completely optional). If you do, just be sure to identify yourself as a FT'er so I know who you are!

Enjoy and thanks!!!

NOTE: The first part of the TR is my UA flight, SFO-PVG. As you can imagine, the TR gets WAY better after the UA flight, so be patient!

Very nice report. I love the personal aspect and the pictures of the great service you recieved from Singapore, Thai, & Lufthansa.

Thanks! It's a pleasure to share my experience with everyone.

Great report and great pics ! Thanks for sharing!

Your report reminds me of the mini ones I do for friends on Facebook...but on crack. This TR is just another prime example of why people shouldn't discount US as their carrier of choice. Redemptions like this are always such a joy to make. Thanks for sharing!

HAHA, I had the same exact Lufthansa employee greet me when I landed at FRA from BKK on TG.

Great pics, as always ^

US is great for non-flight miles (like Grand Slam and Buy Miles Promotions), but they block LH F :(.

That was fun!

Who took the pictures of you?

Great pics! What camera and lens did you use?

Great report. However, the last part, flying LH C class, is the worst part.

thanks for the great report!!

It's interesting to see the pictures of the food on SQ biz class immediately after UA's F!! SQ looks far superior!

Just a question - my parents will be flying TG F BKK-FRA, then connecting with LH business FRA-AMS. Do you think they will also qualify for the meet-and-greet in FRA and be shown the lounge? Or is that only for connections to international business class?

In most cases, a flight attendant or ground staffer took the photos of me. The photo of me in the TG cart (with the pretty driver) was taken from the back seat by another F passenger who was on my flight. He volunteered to take the photo; I didn't even have to ask!

BTW, did you notice the yellow FT tag on my bag in some of the photos? That is the same tag you sent me last year!


Canon 7D with 10-22mm lens. Most of the photos were taken at 10mm (though many were cropped a bit) and at 3200-6400 ISO.


I had very low expectations for the LH C segment. As a result, I was fine with it. The "dreaded" seat turned out to be OK as long as I was lying on my side: I slept really well.


I have no idea. I was surprised to be greeted by TG staff at FRA at all!

Lovely pics as usual. Thanks for sharing.

Great trip report. Thanks for sharing!!

This is great stuff. One of TG FA's friended me on Facebook. She and a Thai friend of hers are commenting on the photo -- all written in Thai! And Bing's translations are nonsensical to boot!

Awesome TR !

And a torture for the senses when enjoyed at lunch time :D

Love how you manage to make the depth effect in the photos.

Thanks for sharing.

Excellent...
 

The only thing more impressive than the pics are the vast quantities of food that are ultimately consumed. Comments and/or requests:

-While a 10 segment booking is normal for FTers, what was that booking experience like with US, using 6 to get to HK?
-I wish you had expanded to some pics in HK.
-This may be one of my fav TRs.
-Didn't know you could go nuts on the plane, and ask for add'l entrees.
-I guess I need to schedule longer layovers in BKK...was the internet pretty fast?

I've read on the US forums that US typically limits segments to four in each direction and that perhaps my Gold status gives me booking flexibility -- but I've never once had an agent even hint that my status helps! My theory is that the "four-segment rule" -- if it exists -- begins and ends at the gateway cities since it doesn't really cost US much to fly me on their metal to get me to those gateway cities. Consider that my non-US itinerary was: SFO-PVG-SIN-BKK-HKG-BKK-FRA-JFK. That's seven segments.

Furthermore, I didn't request my journey to begin PHL-CLT-SFO (I'm not that insane...). I wanted to begin with PHL-SFO, but US booked me through CLT because they wanted to save an F seat on PHL-SFO "for revenue". What's funny is that several days before my originally intended PHL-SFO flight, I noticed that there were still about five F seats available.

As for HK pics, I posted a few on FB while I was there (and most revolve around huge meals shared with hungry teammates at various HK restaurants; yup, more food photos...). But I have many more to come and need to post them on FB. I was in HK mainly to compete in dragon boat races, but found time to do lots more in HK, too.

As for additional entrees on the plane, I only got resistance on the UA leg (surprise, surprise...). The FA told me that the extra meals are for the crew. But when I was given a piece of beef that was too tough to eat, she magically found an extra fish entree. :rolleyes:

Then again, if you saw the size of those UA FA's, maybe she was correct about all the extra meals being for the crew. Sorry to be so harsh, but compared to the FA's on all my other flights, let's just say that the UA FA's certainly leave a large carbon footprint.

But on all my other flights, it was indeed "all you can eat"! My strategy is to always pre-order a special meal for every flight (where possible) so that I have one more choice on every flight.

The internet at BKK was adequate. I even was able to upload some hi-res photos.

Thanks for your interest and compliments!

Let me translate for you.;)

Vathana Singhpuck ทำไมขึ้นเครื่องไม่เจอแอร์คนนี้บ้างเลยน่ะ555
Why I didn't meet this FA when I boarded the flight? lol

Chulaporn Sriaksorn เจอแล้วจาหนาววววนะหัวหน้า
Direct translation is "If you meet me, you will feel cold". But this is a Thai idiom so it means "If you meet me, you will be scared".

Vathana Singhpuck ‎55555หนาวก็ขอผ้าห่มซิครับคุณแอร์คนสวย...สวยไม่เลิ กซักทีนะเราเนี่ย..
lol. If I feel cold, I will request a blanket (Reply an idiom). You still look beautiful.

Chulaporn Sriaksorn ผู้โดยสารเป็นช่างภาพอาชีพนะจ๊ะ ภาพเลยสวยจ้า
It looks beautiful because the passenger is a professional photographer.

Great report! Love all the photos.

Btw, I also use my Garmin to track flight path and speed during flight, but signals tend to get lost after about 1/2 hour.

May I ask what camera and lens used for in-flight shots?

Canon 7D. Canon 10-22mm lens, with most photos captured at 10mm (thought some were ultimately cropped some).

Bravo!!! ^ ^ ^

Great photos! Thanks for sharing!

Amazing report!

Thank you! :)

Great reports! I'm actually glad you posted them to facebook. I prefer the format and captions. Looking forward to seeing more from you!

You are an outstanding professional photographer.

Loved the pics! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks again for all the kind words. :)

Great photos , Really good to see a picture only TR, your style of photography could destroy the English language :p. Looking forward to your next ones ^

I can see why you get paid the big bucks - thanks for an excellent preview of what my TG F/LH C experience will be like in January!

Amazing -- I love the pictures with the small captions !!

Thank you for that terrific report.

thanks for sharing!

Love the report. My family and I were coincidentally in HK at the same time for a couple of days. I was stuck working, but my wife and kids loved seeing the races.

Greg