bthotugigem05

Well, I turned 30. Not sure how all you old people do it, but I'm determined to handle aging gracefully by complaining about it as often and loudly as I possibly can, although since turning 30, I've found that senility doesn't really count as an excuse for being insistant on things or making ridiculous statements. There's probably other wisdom in all of this, but if there is I have ignored it.

I'm doing a way-too-fast RTW in F, departing tomorrow. I'm going to post pictures on my blog and the text here, I know some people don't like that but quite frankly I'm old and forgot what the first part of this sentence said already.

Part I: Planning - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/03/2...rt-i-planning/
Part II: Re-Planning - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/0...i-re-planning/
Part III: DFW-FRA - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/1...a-first-class/
Part Awesome: Nurburgring - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/1...-nordschleife/
Part E: FCT - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/1...lass-terminal/
(other parts updated as they're added)
Next Part: Oslo - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/2...ext-part-oslo/
Suite Part: Oslo-Singapore - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/2...-suites-class/
I think 8ish part: Singapore-Hong Kong - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/05/0...s-first-class/
Second to Last Part: Hong Kong - http://andystravelblog.com/2013/05/0...art-hong-kong/

bthotugigem05

Part I: Planning (pictures at http://andystravelblog.com/2013/03/2...rt-i-planning/)

People only turn 30 once. The previous sentence is one of those things that people say that never really make sense to me, because duh. Anyway, I’m turning 30 in a couple of weeks. Those of you who know me well know that I’ll use just about any occasion as an excuse for travel (“I’m turning 30! I should go on a trip.” “Ow, I stubbed my toe! I should go on a trip.”), and this year I actually haven’t traveled much, so I really needed to get away for a while.

Which brings me to my next trip…The 30th Birthday Trip.

So, before I go on and on about the trip, which will be great if not a little crazy, there’s something you need to remember about me: I love flying. I have no problem flying somewhere, getting on the same plane, and flying back. That’s an enjoyable day for me. Another thing about me is I’ve long held the belief that my miles are worth the absolute most they’ll ever be worth today, because you never know when they’ll be devalued (ask anyone with a big Hilton HHonors point balance how they felt after their big announcement last month). So, most people see a big point balance and say “that’ll be great for a trip someday” whereas I see a big point balance and say “crap, I gotta use these”. So, for my 30th Birthday Trip, I’m going to fly around the world in a little less than 4.5 days.

Trans-Atlantic: Dallas-Oslo
3-4 years ago I started reading a blog at www.chrisguillebeau.com about this guy who, on his 30th birthday, made it his goal to visit every country in the world by the time he turned 35. It was cool reading about all of his adventures and his ability to hack airlines miles and credit cards to get most of his travel for free. Over the years and throughout his travels he authored two bestselling books and founded the World Domination Summit (which I’ll be attending this summer), so the guy has accomplished a ton in the past 5 years.

Last year, he was trying to figure out the best way to celebrate not only the completion of his goal but celebrate it with all of his readers who have followed him over the years. In looking over a map, he realized he had never been to Norway, so a while back he posted on Twitter and said he’d be having a big party on April 7th in Oslo, Norway, and if we had enjoyed his writing and had used some of his tips on accruing miles, why don’t we come join him?

So, to Oslo I will go. But why miss out on all the symbolism of the occasion, as I will be turning 30 on April 2nd, which means it’ll be time for me to embark upon some epic quest to accomplish by the time I turn 35. While I’m still not sure what my quest will be, I do have some ideas, and you’ll be hearing about some of those soon.

I enjoy flying on all different kinds of airplanes, but there’s something about a 747 that just seems so…big. So, for my first flight on this trip, I redeemed 25000 British Airways Avios points to fly in Coach (I know) from Dallas-London on BA’s 747. Another bucket list item is to fly on the top deck of a 747, but that won’t be on this trip. I have about a 4 hour layover in London, and, thanks to my Executive Platinum status on American, I can enjoy BA’s Galleries First Class lounge at Heathrow airport (since 4 hours isn’t really enough time to go into London), then I purchased (no award availability) a one-way ticket on British Airways from London to Oslo. I arrive in Oslo on Saturday night and the party isn’t until Sunday night, so I have to figure out some stuff to do in the meantime, but I’ve reached out to many of the people who will be at the party and there are plans to get together and sightsee a bit before we celebrate.

Trans-Eurasia: Oslo-Singapore
Instead of being boring and just flying back to the US after I’m done with Oslo, I wanted to spend some miles and enjoy some premium flights and premium lounges. The “after Oslo” part of this trip has seen numerous revisions, but I settled on a quick Round-The-World itinerary. Due to a current bit of work craziness, I won’t have time to stop anywhere else other than Oslo, but my layovers are long enough that I can leave the airports for a while.

From Oslo I used 12,500 United miles to book a one-way Economy flight to Frankfurt on Lufthansa. Nothing glamorous or glorious about this flight, it’s coach on Lufthansa to an airport to which I’ve been many times. Thankfully, this will conclude the coach portion of my trip!

Singapore Airlines is known the world over for their top of the line hard product (seats, planes, in flight entertainment, etc.) but what really sets them apart is their soft product (flight attendants, in flight dining, etc.). They’re simply the best in the world, according to most. The best of Singapore Airlines is their Suites Class. It’s “better than” First Class. Only available on their A380 planes (on which I’ve never ridden), Suites Class features enclosed suites with doors that shut, a massive seat that converts into a massive and comfortable bed, and if you have two people sitting in the middle next to each other, they can even lower the partition and make the seats into a double bed!

A while back, I decided to let my membership to American’s Admirals Club lapse and considered getting an American Express Platinum Card, which has a really high annual fee but gets you access to most airline lounges in the world. The annual fee was only a little more than what it would’ve cost to renew my Admiral’s Club membership, so that’s the direction I was leaning. Then, one day I found an amazing deal that offered 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points for getting a Platinum card, and next thing you know I had a bright and shiny Platinum card on the way.

Why are Membership Rewards points useful? Well, I have points with a few programs I can transfer to a big number of airlines, but Singapore Airlines does not (with few exceptions) release Suites to its airline partners for award travel, you can only redeem miles through Singapore’s Krisflyer program. Membership Rewards points transfer into the Krisflyer program, so it really all came together quickly and magically.

I’ll be flying in Suite 3A on the A380 super-jumbo nonstop from Frankfurt-Singapore. When I arrive in Singapore, I’ll have about 7 hours to maybe go into Singapore and see some sights, but I’ll be traveling onward to Hong Kong in Singapore First Class on a 777, which means I get access to one of the best lounges in the world: Singapore’s The Private Room at Singapore’s Changi airport. So, I may leave the airport, or I might just relax at the lounge.

Transasia: Singapore-Hong Kong
Last year I had a nice layover in Hong Kong and was able to go into town, go to Victoria’s Peak, eat some dim sum, ride the Star Ferry, and steal wifi from the Apple Store, all great things. Hong Kong has an incredible skyline during the day, but it gets even better at night, as all of the buildings are neoned almost to the level of Las Vegas. I was in Hong Kong in the early morning last year, and this year I’ll be there in the evening, so my plan is to run into town (I have about a 7-hour layover), see the skyline, get some pics, steal more wifi from the Apple Store, and then try to get into the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world for some dim sum.

My final flight will be on a Oneworld carrier, so I’ll have access to the new Wing First Class Lounge at Hong Kong’s international airport, getting me ready for a wonderful final set of flights back home.

Trans-Pacific: Hong Kong-Dallas
Last year, I flew in international First Class for the first time on Cathay Pacific from Los Angeles-Hong Kong. It was an incredible experience, with the exception of some massive turbulence over the Pacific. After comparing notes with some other travelers, I realized I missed out on a few things (for example, I didn’t think the attendants were walking around the cabin much, and I was right. On Cathay, they take the stance that you don’t want to be continually bothered, so they stay out of sight until you ring your call button, after which they’ll be at your side within seconds). So, I want to try it again!

I’ll be flying from Hong Kong to New York’s Kennedy airport with a one-hour stop in Vancouver. It actually works out pretty well, because I arrive in NYC at 7am and my company has a New York office at which I can work before flying home on American (what a disappointing first class flight that will be!) that night from Newark.

Looking forward to sharing this with everybody, should be a great trip!

bthotugigem05

Part II: Re-Planning (pictures at http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/0...i-re-planning/)

Many of you who have known about this trip since I first started talking about it also know I’ve changed the thing about 11 billion different times. Surely I wouldn’t change it again, after writing such a nice and popular blog post about it?

Pfff…of course I would. And I did.

Change 1: DFW-LHR-OSL to DFW-FRA-OSL

Originally I was going to fly DFW-London on British Airways in Coach, layover at Heathrow (in the nice Galleries First Lounge due to my Executive Platinum status on American), then fly onward to Norway from there.

So, what happened? I have some miles with Chase that I can transfer instantly to a number of different airline loyalty programs, including United. One of United’s Star Alliance partners is Lufthansa, who operates a nonstop DFW-Frankfurt flight to compete with American’s DFW-FRA flights. Now, on the British Airways flight, I’d be in coach since there wasn’t availability to use miles in Business or First, plus their taxes and surcharges on their award tickets are extremely high. Now, Lufthansa only releases First Class award availability to their partners very very close to the date of the flight, so I kept searching and searching and finally it came available 3 days before my trip! I immediately canceled my British Airways flight and got confirmed in First Class aboard Lufthansa’s nonstop Frankfurt flight and onward to Oslo in “business” (on intra-European flights, Business class simply means an economy seat with no one next to you, nothing special).

I can hear you asking: why Frankfurt? Two reasons: the Green Hell and the FCT

About two hours away from Frankfurt lies the Nurburgring, one of the most legendary racing circuits in the world. Nicknamed the Green Hell, the Nordschleife is a 13.1 mile lap that is severely hard and incredibly fun. The beautiful thing about the track is that it’s technically a public road, so anyone can show up in a street legal vehicle and drive the track! My layover in Frankfurt is 13.5 hours. That gives me enough time to get a car, drive to the track, drive the circuit a few times, and drive back to Frankfurt airport with a few hours to spare. It’s great fun, and it’ll appease all of you who said this trip was dumb and I was never leaving any airports.

The second reason: FCT. Lufthansa wasn’t satisfied putting in a First Class Lounge at Frankfurt’s airport (although they have two, I believe), they put in an entire First Class Terminal. When you arrive, you’re taken through a private security and customs line, treated to 5-star service, 5-star food, can take a bath/shower in a private cabana (including a rubber ducky), and just enjoy the exclusivity of it all. The best part: when it comes time for your flight, they don’t want you walking back to the other terminals, so they drive you to your plane in a Mercedes or Porsche.

I typically don’t fly on any Star Alliance carriers, so getting to this lounge (reserved for First Class passengers on Lufthansa flights) was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up, especially with a few laps at the Nurburgring thrown in.

Change 2: HKG-YVR-NYC-DFW to HKG-SFO-DFW

Cathay Pacific has a legendary First Class experience, which I sampled on one of their 777s last year on my way to Vietnam. The benefit of my original itinerary was being able to get a full day of work in our New York office on my way back to Dallas, which wasn’t a bad thing at all. However, again, availability can always free up at the last minute, so I informally kept my eye on availability from Hong Kong to San Francisco.

Why Hong Kong to San Francisco? Well, I currently have a client in Palo Alto that I wanted to go visit for some in-depth training, so that was a natural fit. But the real reason was a little more selfish and bucket-listy.

Cathay Pacific is in the process of retiring their 747 fleet. With the distances they fly, it just makes more sense to keep one ultra-longhaul plane type, and they’ve decided the Boeing 777 will be their workhorse. Cathay currently can only fly the 747 to San Francisco, and they won’t be flying it for much longer before switching to a 777. A unique feature of the 747 is that most airlines put their First Class passengers on the lower deck in the very front of the aircraft. If you get seat 1A or 1K, due to the angle of the cockpit and where it sits above the lower deck, you actually get to your destination before the pilots do! So, I kept checking for availability, and four days ago it opened up: seat 1A on the Cathay Pacific 747 from Hong Kong to San Francisco. The even better part about this is I land at Hong Kong around 5pm and my flight to San Francisco doesn't leave until 2pm the next day, so I'll actually be able to enjoy Hong Kong for an evening.

I’m hereby formally re-titling the trip from 30th Birthday Trip to First Class 30th Birthday Trip as a result.

Talk to you soon from the skies!

aviatorzz

Looks good. Can't wait for the updates here on FT!

DC777Fan

Thanks for taking the time to explain the planning...helps "set the mood" for the TR and I'm equally neurotic with my award travel, so I understand!

JALlover

thanks for such a detail planning, looking forward to your trip report

vecta

Just read the planning stages and it looks like a mouth watering trip! looking forward to more

bthotugigem05

First Class 30th Birthday Trip, Part III: DFW-FRA, Lufthansa First Class (pictures at http://andystravelblog.com/2013/04/1...a-first-class/)

Well, I just got back and I think I crossed so many time zones (24 of them, in fact) in such a short amount of time that I’m not even jetlagged too badzk,jnbfgxrjrfhnrgxjnkgjnhgfhkj (sorry, fell asleep all of a sudden and face hit the keyboard).

Last you heard from me, you were all excited for me because my flights ended up working out perfectly. I arrived at DFW airport’s Terminal D, mainly a Oneworld terminal, but Lufthansa and I believe Korean Air fly out of here as well.

Upon checking in, they asked if I knew where the lounge was. I had a really hilarious line for that, and promptly forgot it, but I did mumble something. The check-in agent, unentertained, called over a lovely young lady who said she would escort me to the lounge and the plane. BAM, that’s service. She went through security with me, made some pretty good idle chit-chat, and did not rest until I was properly stowed in the First Class closet (seriously probably 16×10 ft.) of the Lufthansa contract lounge.

There were 3 German gentlemen talking amongst themselves dressed very Germanly in nice business attire. I was wearing jeans and my trusty 16 year-old Brazos Air t-shirt that I always wear on international trips (dating back to 2000). They all looked up at me and showed utter contempt (in German, utterkonptemtenfahrtengutenfrigin) for my attire. Confidently, I sat down in the leather chair, which made a REALLY LOUD farting sound, drawing the attention of zie Germans, who thought I had blessed the lounge with my essence. I looked at them, nodded and winked, and sat back with my Shiner while they all stared, horrified. I then began to feel a bit self-conscious, but then I thought, “hey, beer” and enjoyed a few Shiners. Out of nowhere, my lovely escort lady appeared and said “You have to be first on the plane before we can board anyone else, please follow me.” Game. On.

The Seat
Lufthansa has about 304 different First Class variations, and I was privileged to experience their…um…most “vintage” seat on our A330.

The Food
I was promptly greeted by the very attentive and regimented flight attendant staff. They offered me a pre-flight beverage, and of course champagne was the request, quickly delivered (along with macadamia nuts) with the utmost German precision and umlautiness (any time something was set in front of me, without fail they quickly rotated it until Lufthansa’s logo was facing me).

Part of the fun of these flights is getting the ensuing swag from the airlines. To them you don’t just need champagne and macadamia nuts, no you ALSO need an amenity kit, slippers, and pajamas. Lufthansa’s pajamas offered to me were blue with a checkered lighter blue collar, ensuring that if I ever wore them off of the plane I’d be roundly mocked at how ridiculous my clothing choices were. (There’s a 100% chance that someone reading this LOVES BLUE SHIRTS WITH CHECKERED BLUE COLLARS, to which I humbly apologize for not being sorry about that recent statement. In the USA, due to arcane packaging laws, you cannot purchase a creme liqueur called Sheridan’s. You can, however, purchase it abroad and bring it back in duty free. I’m into my third glass right now, which explains the lack of sympathy.)

Ok, where was I? Yes, Sheridan’s. Also, Lufthansa.

After a quick wait of however many minutes, we were pushed back from the gate and began our relatively quick taxi out to the runway. I looked out the window as we took off and enjoyed the lovely view of…absolutely nothing. Dallas isn’t a scenic city from the ground, much less so from the air. The pilot quickly turned off the fasten seat belt sign, and the attendants promptly and Germanly refilled my champagne and nuts.

Aside from the nagging feeling that you’re sitting in a piece of Rimowa luggage, the seat was really comfortable. I kicked up the legrest and looked forward to the meal service, one of Lufthansa’s specialties.

Lufthansa has a reputation for fantastic service and this flight did nothing but confirm it. I was served a cucumber and salmon amuse bouche, which was delicious. Now, I’m not a foodie by any means, so I wasn’t really sure of the appropriate way to eat it, so I just grabbed the whole thing and ate it in one big bite, after which I glanced over to the rest of the cabin and saw zie Germans from the lounge earlier, who seemed to shake their heads disapprovingly. So, no idea if I did it right or not, but for a guy who likes neither cucumbers nor salmon, it tasted really good.

And you know what? Lufthansa is dang classy. You’re not just going to eat. You’re going to eat with a rose at your seat.

After the amuse bouche, my table was set for me. My flight attendant took a step back, took another look, and moved the tablecloth over 3/4 of an inch, THEN it was right. German efficiency.

Caviar was promptly served, where my non-foodie part really comes out. Still not quite sure how to eat caviar, other than joyfully and thankfully. I mixed it with some of the trimmings, nodded when the attendant asked me something (I had my headphones on and couldn’t hear), and it all seemed to be going well. I didn’t look over at zie Germans, who I’m sure would’ve shaken their heads at how I was eating it. The caviar tasted fine, but I’m not sure I’d ever pay for it on the ground.

Up next was the Beef tataki appetizer, which consisted of: beef, and 7 pounds of vegetable shards. It was delicious.

Why get two appetizers, you ask? Because ‘Merica, that’s why.

Onto the salad, which featured Capsicum, which is apparently a fancy word for paprika.

The main course, featured four options. The problem is that I was already mondo full from everything earlier, so I went with a braised chicken boob with a really nice sesame glaze.

I was feeling REALLY full after the main entree. My flight attendant walked by and said, “Can I offer you dessert, perhaps our key lime tart with strawberry consomme?” I was almost too full but out of nowhere I heard my voice say “yes. that.”

After dinner, I opened my window shade and was greeted with a beautiful scene as we passed over the upper Northeast part of North America.

There was a really lovely breakfast served, but unfortunately I did not capture any pictures of it.

The Flight
What a great flight. The hard product was outdated, but the flight crew made up for it with an attentive level of service reflective of the best of German efficiency and promptness. The load was fairly heavy at 6/8 seats in First Class occupied, but the crew never seemed to be rushed and managed to pull off two very fast meal services.

I got a decent night’s sleep in the seat, which folded flat. I sleep on my stomach, so it took me quite a while to find the right position of the seat to accommodate me, as it seems like most of these seats are built for people who sleep on their back.

In flight entertainment was about as good as would be expected on a plane with such old equipment. I had my choice of about 20 movies to watch on-demand. I chose, for some reason, Here Comes The Boom, which is a movie about I have no idea because I turned it off pretty quickly, and Rotten Tomatoes says I made a good decision. The screen folded into the seat when I was done with it and was the same screen a lot of other airlines use in coach (American I know uses it on their 777s). Nothing great, but it’s an old product. Unfortunately, I believe this is one of the flights marked to lose First Class in the coming months, after which I’m assuming it’ll just be a Economy, Premium Economy and Business flight. This is a disturbing trend to me, because how am I supposed to fly up front for almost nothing if all of the First Classes are going away?

I knew going into it that the hard product on this flight wouldn’t compare to any of the next three First Class flights I’d be on, but that’s not the crew’s fault. They went to every effort to make everything perfect for me, and were proud to work for Lufthansa: at one point there was a small bit of caviar juice (which would be a great name for a rock band) on the table cloth. When the flight attendant noticed it, she immediately apologized (to me, the guy who had gotten the caviar juice on the tablecloth) and gave me a new tablecloth immediately. I insisted it was unnecessary, but the flight attendant proudly said, “It may be unnecessary on other airlines, but we are Lufthansa.” That represented the spirit of this flight to me: an airline that is comfortable in its own skin and proudly does things its own way.

Even zie Germans seemed to enjoy the flight.

CarlTheWebmaster

"utterkonptemtenfahrtengutenfrigin". LOL.

spizzy

Funny TR. Loving the pictures and commentary Looking forward to the SQ Suites portion.

BA5E

Fab write up so far, and loved the phtos, the food on Lufty looked really nice, made me wish i were sitting in your seat and partaking, it was so well presented. Am awaiting with baited breath for the next episode^

TWA4Me

Great report. LOL @ "utterkonptemtenfahrtengutenfrigin". ;-)

aviatorzz

Hey, I resemble that remark! No, seriously, ask your grandpa, can I have his hand-me-downs? Oh wait, that's a song. Nevermind.

After almost 900k BIS miles, I still don't understand how people can wear their suits on an 8+ hour flight. After hundreds of international bound flights, I can count on one hand how many times I had to literally run off the aircraft, through customs, and directly to a meeting. Every other time, my suit is delicately placed in some closet while enjoying the finest champagne, or on DL, the finest champagne-like substance. Every other time it's a quick round to the arrivals lounge for a shower and I'm ready to go.

So, I get your jeans/t-shirt ensemble. It's the only way to fly. Comfortably.

Keep it up, enjoying the heck out of this report!

eta: this post was my 1,000 here on FT. you should feel special. Or you don't have to. It's your choice.

Askartus

At least, zis German enjoyed reading your report about the flight.

Looking forward to your trip to the Nürburgring and your experience while driving there.
I did a round with Sabine Schmitz, the "Ring Taxi", a couple of years ago. Great experience ... which is a nice description for almost allowing my food to exit through my mouth again ...

fwh

Looks good!