efficientasianman

..B-LHR-SFO

Apparently, I reached the thread title character limit.

I know that some people don't like trip reports that link to blogs, but it's a long trip report, so I'm putting links here so that people can just look at what they're most interested in. I might post some highlights, which would just be Doha Premium Transfer Terminal, Qatar F (J?) on the 787, Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai, and Emirates F on the A380.

Introduction
United Club San Francisco, International Terminal
United Business Class San Francisco to Seoul
Asiana Airlines Business Class Lounge Seoul
Korean Air Lounge and Singapore SilverKris Lounge Seoul
Singapore Business Class Seoul to Singapore
Ambassador Transit Lounge Singapore
Singapore SilverKris Lounge Singapore
Changi Airport Free Singapore Tour
Singapore Business Class Singapore to Colombo
Transiting Colombo
Lotus and Araliya Lounges Colombo
Qatar Airways Business Class Colombo to Doha
Qatar Airways First Class Premium Terminal Doha
Qatar Airways First Class Doha to Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates First Class Dubai to London Heathrow
British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow
British Airways Galleries First Lounge and Club World Lounge London Heathrow
British Airways First Class London Heathrow to San Francisco

stickyfingers85

Lovely trip report, really enjoyed reading it, especially the 787

Frederik123

THX for the great TR, reminded me on my last stop in Singapore!

sfoactuary

thanks for the report, will be jumping on a CMB fare later this year with almost the same routing

zcat18

This report will provide me with plenty of excellent lunchtime reading. Many thanks for posting it! ^

One thing I found interesting on your first leg--Doesn't United typically serve noodle and dumpling soup as an alternative to the nasty sandwiches on flights to Asia? Surprised it wasn't an option to Seoul.

oneworld82

I can't believe you are trying to compare BA First Class to US Airways Envoy class...

llamaesque

Fantastic trip report, thanks!

efficientasianman

@zcat18 Only saw the sandwiches and various other snacks like chips and fruit. The menu also listed "Assorted Sandwiches" as the mid-flight snack.

@oneworld82 Just in terms of the seat! British Airways First was far and away better than US Airways Envoy on every other aspect, but I thought the seats themselves were similar in design, space per passenger, and the fact that both are lie flat.

enki

Enjoyed the report! I either flew or was about to fly some of the same flights on my recent trip from SFO-CMB. It wasn't the CMB F special, so I didn't end up on QR (though I had a temporary booking prior to separation from UA) or BA, but experienced much of the same on SQ and in the lounges you went to. Great job!

efficientasianman

Here are the highlights from my trip, so you don't have to click through to anything

Qatar Airways First Class Premium Terminal Doha
At Doha, there are no gates: everything is a remote stand. So when you land, there’s a fleet of buses waiting for you to take you to the appropriate terminal.


Buses waiting to transport passengers

They have a separate bus for premium class passengers, although in this case, it was nothing special. Once we started moving, we had a very scenic tour of the airport grounds, as it was an extremely long ride to get to the Premium Transfer Terminal. I don’t know if it was necessary for it to take so long, as we essentially drove the entire length of the airport in one direction, made a U turn, and drove the entire length of the airport back.


Non-descript entrance to the Premium Transfer Terminal


Much nicer interior

If there’s one thing that I regret about this trip, it’s that we didn’t have a very long layover in Doha. Our layover was scheduled for an hour and a half, but by the time we finally got to the First Class Lounge, we barely had 20 minutes to enjoy things, which numerous attendants in the lounge reminded us of constantly.

My first stop was the jacuzzi, since who wouldn’t want a dip in a jacuzzi in an airport lounge? But again, the attendants kept giving me stern warnings that I didn’t have much time left, which did not make me feel very welcome.


Jacuzzi!

To use the jacuzzi, you can leave your boarding pass with a bathroom attendant who will give you a key to use a locker and a “wrap” to keep yourself covered. It was essentially a sheet with some velcro you can use to attach it to itself, but I found that it was much too large for me, so that if I wanted to wrap the sheet tightly around my body so it would stay up on its own, there wasn’t enough velcro to keep it fastened. And then once I got into the jacuzzi, given all of the bubbling and my inability to keep the sheet fastened securely, the wrap was essentially useless. Good thing there was no one else using the jacuzzi!

After approximately two minutes in the jacuzzi and me annoying the heck out of the men’s bathroom attendant with my inanity, I grabbed a very quick bite to eat in the dining room. Since I didn’t have much time, I just got food from the buffet, but the things that I did try were all very good.




Although I didn’t spend much time in the lounge, service seemed like it would have been quite good if I had had a bit more time. At the very least, it seemed polished, as they even provided separate table-side hangers for jackets (which was done for me after I had haphazardly strewn my stuff all over a seat).


Hanger for my jacket

By the time I had gotten my plate of food, our flight said that it was already boarding, so I started eating quite quickly. One of the lounge attendants seemed distressed, and I’m not sure if it was because of my lack of table manners or if it was because she thought that I might miss my flight and I was ignoring her pleas to go downstairs to go to the bus to get to the gate.

Anyway, we made our way to the bus gate as our flight said final boarding, and we were treated to a nicer bus than the one that picked us up from our previous flight.


A more premium bus experience

We found that we ended up sitting on the bus for about 15 minutes before it actually left. And even once we got to the plane, it was quite a while before we actually took off. Alas, I could have spent more time eating/jacuzzing/saunaing. Next time, I’ll have to keep in mind that final boarding isn’t necessarily final boarding in other parts of the world.

Overall, I wish that I had had more time to spend in the Premium Transfer Terminal as it does seem to be a very high quality lounge. The limited food that I tried was good, and it’s pretty awesome that there’s a sauna and jacuzzi in the lounge.

efficientasianman

Qatar 106
Doha (DOH) to Dubai (DXB)
Monday, May 27th, 2013
Depart: 8:20am
Arrive: 10:30am
Duration: 1h 10m
Aircraft: Boeing 787
Seat: 4K

I was super excited for this flight, being that it was my first time on a Boeing 787.


Dreamliner!

The 787 is a two-cabin plane for Qatar, but they sell the premium cabin as First Class instead of Business. I’m not entirely sure what this will mean for redemptions once Qatar joins OneWorld, but it does mean that you get access to the First Class Lounge in the Premium Terminal, and the service (although maybe not the hard product) was what I would expect from a First Class product.

My first impression of the cabin was that it was quite spacious. There are no overhead bins over the center seats, and the other overhead bins close up at a steep angle, so it just felt like there was a lot of space.


First Class cabin


My seat, 4K


Lots of legroom, but the table was immovable

The seats are arranged in a reverse herringbone position, similar to the US Airways Envoy cabin or Cathay Pacific’s new business class. While they’re not incredibly private seats, everyone gets direct aisle access, and all seats recline fully flat, so it’s a pretty darn comfortable way to travel.


Seat in fully reclined position

If there’s one flaw that I saw, it’s that the entertainment screen and part of the tray table were immobile, which meant that it felt slightly constrained for my legs when fully reclined.

As part of the cabin, there are also two seats in the very back by themselves. I could see it as being somewhat novel if you’re traveling with someone else to get those two seats, as it does feel like a little bit like your own mini-cabin.


Pair of honeymoon-ish seats at the back of the cabin

The service on the flight was amazing, and I’m amazed by how much they did on such a short flight. The flight was only booked for a little over an hour, which meant that the actual flight time was more like 40 minutes.

Prior to departure, the main flight attendant serving my aisle went around and introduced herself to each passenger in her section. She noticed that I was taking so many pictures, so we had a nice chat about our excitement at flying the 787 (it was only her second time).

We started off with dates and coffee. Although I don’t drink coffee, I felt obliged to take some, which made me feel a little guilty when the flight attendant looked a little sad that I didn’t finish my small cup prior to takeoff.


Turkish coffee and dates prior to departure

After takeoff, the flight attendants went into high gear, as there was a full breakfast service during our very short flight.


Breakfast menu


Arabic breakfast plate


Krug! On a 40 minute morning flight!

While I loved the service and the fact that I could order Krug for breakfast, I didn’t actually like the food that much. The makdous was incredibly salty, and I’m not a huge dairy person, so I ended up mostly picking at my plate.

Before I knew it, we were making our descent into Dubai, and I had to bid adieu this awesome plane and crew. I would definitely like the chance to fly the 787 on one of Qatar’s longer routes, which are many of the routes to Europe.

efficientasianman

Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai Part 1

The Emirates First Class Lounge in Dubai is one of the most ridiculous things that I’ve ever experienced in my life.

We arrived in Dubai at Terminal 1, and we decided to head to the lounge first before heading out into the city since we had a very long layover. So we made the very long trek to Terminal 3, which is technically accessible by walking.

I’m not sure if we ever made it to Terminal 3, since we wound up finding a First Class Lounge that wasn’t the lounge that we wound up in later. But not knowing this at the time, we were still astounded by the size of the lounge, the services offered, and the multitude of people just waiting to serve someone.


Entrance to a First Class Lounge


Lots of space


So much space

There were maybe fewer than 10 passengers in the lounge at the time, so there were absolutely no problems finding seating or flagging someone down to bring you something. Before heading out into the city, we decided to sample some of the many food offerings.


Food offerings at one station


More food offerings


Sushi


Buffet items


Dining room

The sheer number of things offered in the buffet was pretty incredible. It ranged from sushi to Balik salmon to Arabic food to a giant round of parmesan. They also offered a full menu of foods to order.

After grabbing some food, we headed out to the city since our continuing flight wasn’t until late at night. This involved going the wrong way through a security checkpoint, walking outside on the tarmac briefly, worrying that we might get arrested, and eventually finding our way to the arrivals exit.

efficientasianman

Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai Part 2

Upon arrival back at the airport, we ended up going through the first class check-in for Terminal 3. It’s an unnecessarily large check-in hall and a long walk to actually get into the terminal.

Once in the terminal, we again made our way to what we thought was the First Class Lounge.


The real first class lounge?

After entering the lounge and walking around, we started getting really confused. Since the lounge we had been in earlier was so large, we thought we had to be in the same lounge as this morning. Things looked pretty similar as well, so we just thought that we were maybe in a different section of the same lounge.

But then we realized that we were in a completely new lounge. And this one was even more massive than the one we had been in earlier. This lounge spanned the entirety of the terminal, complete with its own duty free shops.


Duty free shopping, just for First Class passengers

At this point, we just started laughing. Emirates has at least two giant lounges in Dubai, this one having multiple duty free shops, multiple dining areas, multiple shower rooms, etc. We couldn’t believe that they would devote so much space to first class passengers, but it was true.

And this time around, we were actually the only two passengers in the entire lounge. So essentially, it was like we had an entire airport terminal to ourselves. Of course we had to take advantage of the service and ate a five-course meal.


Appetizers


Soup


Salmon


Wagyu beef burger


Trio of desserts

If this were a restaurant, the meal would’ve easily cost at least $100 a head just due to service, especially since we had our own personal waiter who doted on us, and the ingredients were generally of high quality. Some things were quite good, including the soup, salmon, and desserts. But the burger was cooked well done even though I specifically told them to err on the rare side of medium rare and that I wouldn’t hold it against them if my burger were a little bloody. Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper burger outside of the US.

After dinner, there was more time to explore the lounge, including the shower rooms, relaxation room, and game room.


Map of the lounge


Shower room


Recliner in the relaxation room

Overall, the lounge is somewhere I could easily live, even if there aren’t proper beds. The lounge is so big that it feels empty even at its most crowded. Good food and drinks abound, and there are people waiting at every corner to serve you. Any special requests that I had were quickly addressed (including asking for a non-dairy fruit smoothie with no tropical fruits), and service was impeccable.

Everyone talks a lot about Emirates First Class for the shower in the A380, but I think the First Class Lounge is something that should also not be missed.

efficientasianman

Emirates 007 Part 1
Dubai (DXB) to London Heathrow (LHR)
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
Depart: 2:30am
Arrive: 7:00am
Duration: 7h 30m
Aircraft: Airbus 380
Seat: 4K

One great thing about the First Class Lounge is that there are gates in the lounge, so again, there’s no need to interact with the riffraff to get onto the plane. This was my first time on an A380, and it’s quite a marvel. The plane is enormous, and they were using three corridors to board everyone on time.


Triple boarding action

Similar to the First Class Lounge, my first impressions were that of excess. The suites are enormous, there’s a minibar at every seat, the screen is the largest I’ve ever seen, and they even have a vanity mirror.


My seat, 4K


In suite minibar


Giant screen, snacks, and vanity mirror

Funnily enough, the cabin itself felt a little claustrophobic to me, especially when people had their suite doors closed, but that’s just a natural consequence of having giant, extremely private suites. When your doors are closed, you’re in your own world because the walls are so high, but it also makes the aisles feel crowded.


View of the first class cabin

I had a lot of fun playing around with everything in the suite: there are multiple light sources, including a lamp next to the entertainment screen; the minibar is motorized and goes up and down; the in-flight entertainment and seat are controlled by a removable handheld touchscreen device, and there are multiple massage options.


Seat/entertainment controls

The flight attendants also went around introducing themselves to everyone and offered numerous amenities, including incredibly soft pajamas, slippers, eye shades, a large amenity kit, and a bag to hold everything in since they give you so much stuff.


All the goodies that they give out (including a bag to hold everything)


Contents of amenity kit

And of course, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom. The bathrooms are enormous: each bathroom is larger than the bathroom in my apartment in San Francisco. The bathrooms are well-stocked with toiletries, and they have a little pyramid of towels you can use to dry your hands, which is mostly just for show since they have a dedicated bathroom attendant that will replace the used towels so each time you enter the bathroom, the towel pyramid is once again intact.


Sink in the giant bathrooms with a towel pyramid


Shower!

efficientasianman

Emirates 007 Part 2
Dubai (DXB) to London Heathrow (LHR)
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
Depart: 2:30am
Arrive: 7:00am
Duration: 7h 30m
Aircraft: Airbus 380
Seat: 4K

Shortly after takeoff, a flight attendant asked if I wanted to take a shower, and of course I said yes, even though I had just showered in the lounge. When it was time for me to shower, the flight attendant escorted me to the bathroom and explained everything in the bathroom to me–not just the shower–down to how to flush the toilet. She was quite thorough.

When explaining the shower itself to me, she noticed that the flooring of the shower moved slightly, so there was an awkward interaction where she asked the bathroom attendant to tell the purser about it since the flight attendant was worried about passenger safety, but it was more like a power struggle since the bathroom attendant didn’t seem to like the flight attendant and just sort of ignored her, which led to a passive aggressive exchange. In my mind, I was just like, “I don’t care about safety! I just want my shower on a plane!”, and eventually, I was able to convince everyone that it was okay and that I was a strong, young man who can keep his balance in the shower in spite of a moving floor, but not before I was trapped in the bathroom with a flight attendant, bathroom attendant, and purser for several minutes.

Anyway, the shower was amazing. You only get 5 minutes of water (but the flight attendant said that I could request more, likely because most passengers weren’t taking showers), but I honestly didn’t need even that since you can turn the water on and off. It was honestly a better shower than I’ve gotten in some hotels (and definitely better than most airport lounges) since the shower was super clean, the toiletries were awesome (they even had special scrubs), and the water pressure and temperature were good. And then I got to change into the super soft pajamas and blow dry my hair. On an airplane.

Since the flight was a red-eye flight, most passengers just slept the whole way. I was slightly surprised by the fact that the cabin was completely full and that no one except for my friend and me seemed that excited to be flying in Emirates First Class on the A380. You can shower! In the sky! This seemed lost on all of the business travelers.

This also meant that there wasn’t a full meal service, and the on-demand dining options weren’t as extensive as I would’ve expected from Emirates, but the drink options were as ridiculous as one might expect.


Fruit plate


Omelette

I wasn’t very hungry after having feasted in the lounge, so I just opted for some lighter fare. The food was generally good, although I was a little surprised that the fruit wasn’t that ripe.

After eating, I decided to nap for a little bit. The seat converts to a fully flat bed, and it’s quite spacious. Lots of room to roll around and do whatever. And since you can close the door completely, you don’t have to feel self-conscious about drooling/curling up in a fetal position/masturbating. I’m actually curious if flight attendants have to deal with that.


Suite in bed position


So much room in the suite

I intentionally didn’t sleep for long as I was trying to readjust to San Francisco time, so I then spent some time exploring the plane. At the front of the first class cabin between the bathrooms, there’s an extensive self-serve bar stocked with very high quality alcohols. There’s also a larger bar in the very back of the upper deck which serves both business and first class that’s meant to be a social area. There weren’t very many people there given that it was a red eye, but it was a nice area to visit. There was another flight attendant who was extremely friendly and offered to take pictures of me behind the bar and gave me a picture souvenir using a Polaroid camera.


Self serve bar


Self serve Dom


Upper deck bar

When I got back to my seat, I of course had to use the call button at least once. Mostly because they label the call button as calling “room service”. A flight attendant was quick to attend to me within 5 seconds of my hitting the button.


This is what happens when you press the call button

I spent the rest of the flight using ICE, Emirates’ in-flight entertainment system. They have a vast selection and overall one of the best in-flight entertainment systems I’ve ever used.


Giant table + super high class entertainment options

Flying Emirates First Class in the A380 is one of the most extravagant experiences I can imagine. You could actually live on one of these planes, given the showers and amount of space they devote to each first class passenger. This, along with the First Class Lounge in Dubai, should go on the bucket list of any serious miles aficionado.