SFO777

Great report and outstanding pics, GmK.
Ohhhhh, awwww, uuiiii, schakkalakka indeed. ^
Man, I believe you eat more than I do in the air.

origin

Great report thanks

GmK

Thank you, always makes me happy to see that some of the other, well-known FT trip writers read my things as well

Oh and believe me, you haven't yet seen what was in store for me foodwise on the NH F flight back!


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OZ102, ICN - NRT, 747 Combi, Seat 2K




At the gate it seemed like only around 50 people were waiting to board. As it turns out we only had a load of 163 that day, they could just as well have put us into a 737 for that short hop. Gladly they didn't! A large part of a 747-Combi is used for cargo anyways.

After the gate agents took their "signature" Asiana bow we were allowed on board.






The "old" OZ F definitely starts to show its age. I am very aware that many many people praise OZ F, especially on long haul sectors with the complete rigmarole and mumbo-jumbo, but my personal first impression was a form of disenchantment. Yes, it might work as a retro-study, but it's quite behind what one can consider a "modern, exciting hard product". Now, some gentle soul please feel free to gift me an award flight on the JFK - ICN route sometime after July, serving the new F Suites cabin, and I gladly will find out if the new product changes my impressions

My stroke of good luck continued, and I was the sole passenger in F. To be honest - who would usually fly such a short 2hr hop in First? Oh wait…us crazies. Carry on!




Comfy seat, but nothing to write home about (I sat way better in e.g. the old LX F). Due to the tilt/incline of the seat, I personally felt to be too far away from the windows. Yes, that is often a problem when placing the F cabin into the nose of the 747, but still. I like windows and dislike having to move substantially to look out of them.

Since I was the only guest, the poor FAs could do nothing else but pamper me extensively. At some point it felt like 5 of them (at least!) were just waiting behind my back to jump into action when needed. I'd like to tell myself that it's due to my striking good looks, but in reality they were probably bored and had nothing better to do. Nevertheless: Perfect, quite, fast service. Like SQ, but with a touch more feeling. SQ always has that slight feeling of the service being put-on, while at OZ so far it feels slightly more like they 'live' service. But that is just my very subjective observation.




What is wrong in this picture?

Yes, you guessed correct: No champagne! I broke one of the unspoken rules of 'always at least one champagne when flying F', but to be brutally honest: I simply didn't want to anymore. My body had started to slow down to a complete 'basic' mode, finally realizing what I had put it through the last hours. So for now, some unfortunately quite synthetic tasting orange juice.





Remember - this is only a 2hr flight! OZ manages to serve a (small) 3-4 course lunch, where others might just manage to throw some bread at you.



Since my stomach mentioned it would stop being nice to me if I eat that much again, I only decided for the Bibimbap. At least that I had to do when flying a Korean carrier. And wow, they simply are good at this (would have been weird if not)

Due to me being tired I even stopped taking as many pictures, so I shamelessly will post a link here to a trip report by someone that flew the exact same route just a few months back: http://smile-high.blogspot.de/2012/1...t-icn-nrt.html




But, can someone explain what LH glassware is doing on a OZ flight?

The flight itself was smooth riding, beautiful blue sky and no clouds meant for some very nice views upon getting closer to Japan. OZ F showed a great soft product, which I do want to experience once on a 10hr+ flight at least, while being at the height of my senses. The hard product, well, in my opinion is outdated. But for 2hrs? Extremely comfy, it'd be silly to complain. That is by the way one of my pet peeves: People complaining needlessly. Especially in some trip reports I feel like some frequent fliers are absolutely unable to appreciate the experiences they can have and are rather on an agenda to only see the negative in things. Please, stop, you look silly.


NRT Arrival

The following section has no pictures, the reason will become very apparent in a moment.

We landed on time, but ended up straight in the dreaded Narita-Taxi-Bermuda-Triangle-Of-Doom. Some might know the phenomen: Depending on which RWY you land on, the taxiing can be just as long as the flight. Especially since some section in NRT seem to be constantly under construction, requiring the planes to drive along taxiways that are very obscure. Usually, I don't care, but that day my 'problem' was: I wanted to get the Narita Express at 12:15 (we landed 11:15), for which I would need to get a ticket + SUICA card + Immigration + Customs + Walking distance + the current, seemingly endless taxiing. The reason for wanting to get that train: There is a one hour break after it. Usually they depart for Tokyo every 30min, but not in-between 12 and 1. I did not want to spend my precious 24 hrs I had at NRT but in the city itself.

After an eternity we finally arrived at a gate - at the same time as the TK plane from IST. I knew what that means: Reach immigration ASAP, or my plan won't work. I was forced to leave the plane first (they wouldn't let anyone else out, always feels a little weird to me, but that day I didn't mind) and was met - surprise surprise - by a PA. Holding a sign with my name and such! You know, the whole deal. Why? How? What does she want? She seemed to sense my confusion, as I honestly did not expect a PA at all. I had a short moment of "Oh boy! Fast-Lane-Immigration, expedited customs, red carpet all the way to the Narita Express, here I come!!". But as it turns out, those dreams were shattered the next moment again: "Here is the Immigration, I will wait on the other side for you". Oh why, thank you! *sigh* Luckily we had managed to arrive before most of the other TK passengers, so I was through in 10min. My PA waited, and took me to customs. Same thing again "Will wait on other side".

Luckily that day I did not have a customs agent that wanted to try all his English and therefore looks through all the luggage just to have a reason to talk, so I was through in 2min. My PA wasn't as fast though. And because I did not want to cause unneeded panic, it was actually me waiting for her. So much for that.

We stood there in sielende, and both probably waited for the other to do something. Akward hours later I chimed in "Gotta get to the JRE East Ticket Office" - "Ah?" - "Yes, it's down there" - "Ah!" … I wasn't yet fully sure, at what point she would decide that her PA services are done, or if she would come into Tokyo with me? Oh well, at the JR East Ticket office we had a very nice farewell and went our respective ways. Me to the ticket desk, she on a journey to pick up the next passengers and..bring them swiftly though the airport.

Now, I absolutely love a good PA service - but only if it has any sort of actual benefit to my travel experience. Without that, feel free to use your people resources for other things. But since we were in Japan, and I do know the culture and am way to polite, I couldn't get myself to decline her "help". Especially since I did hope for a sort of fast-immigration (and despite my humorous depiction of events, we did chat nicely and she gave some suggestions of what and where to go in Tokyo)

Short note for those that have not been to Tokyo before, and land at NRT: Please, do yourself a favor, and buy the NEX + Suica Package. http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/suica_nex.html (Yes, the airport limousine bus transfer thingy can also be quite convenient and is recommendable for Tokyo newbies, but the SUICA benefit of the NEX package is pure awesomeness)

a) If you only get a NEX ticket or bus ticket, you simply pay a premium only for getting into the city and back, especially if going further than Tokyo Station. With the combined package you pay the same little price no matter how far into Tokyo you go.
b) It's much more attractive pricewise (see the page), since:
c) you get a preloaded SUICE card with 1500Yen on it. You can use that for pretty much everything that is public transport in Tokyo (as well as buy things from verding machines, or mangas at Kiosks, etc). It works with NFC, so it can stay in your wallet, just wipe it over the entrance Gates at stations, and wipe again when leaving, and it subtracts the amount for the ride automatically. You never have to plan ahead and buy specific tickets. It's a wonderful wonderful thing.

And off I went into Tokyo, I got the 12:15 train with a buffer of 3min

(next time: The fantastic Conrad)

River in Sight

This is a great report and brings back pleasant memories as I did a similar trip last week - MUC-NRT on LH F. Again, there was only one other person in the cabin and the service was perfect. I had that same peach dessert that you did and thought it was truly fantastic. Great write-up!

origin

great report thanks.

cyclogenesis

This is a great picture! Should be a promo!