MonThruThurs

<Insert Witty Line Here>

Sorry, no good opening line here! The catalyst of my trip was the, at the time, upcoming devaluation of MileagePlus. I had exactly 54K in miles, which would have put me out of the new requirement of 55k for Intl, one-way business class trips.

So, like any good frequent flyer, I spent them, along with some AS miles.

Overall. 26,876 miles. 8 flights. 8 days.

Flight #1: SEA – LAX
Flight #2: LAX – DXB
Flight #3: DXB – ZRH – CPH – BKK – HKG
Flight #4: HKG – SFO – SEA

Disclaimer: All photos are from my phone.

Segment #1
SEA – LAX
AS 452

Quite the standard AS flight.



I've been on this plane several times. Still love the paint, even being a Sounders fan.



Standard “old” AS legroom



Quinoa for lunch



Any Bruins out there?



The queen!

MonThruThurs

Great thing about AS is the availability to redeem miles on many of the preeminent carriers around the world. EK, as many have shown on FT, was amazing.

I started out in the KE F lounge: which overall was “meh.” There was food, showers, and a view of the TBIT, but there are better lounges out there.

Flight #2
LAX – DXB
EK216

Emirates F was awesome! Although, only Moet was available on the ground due to tariffs, but I digress.



The Bird: A6-EE0.



The seat. Overall, the bed was extremely comfortable.



Seat again



More seat!



Mini-bar



Seat control. Overall, wide-screen digital ICE was terrible and had to be reset 4 times over the 14.5 hour flight.



LAX



Buddy to the UAE



Table setting



Mmmm, caviar!



Smoke salmon and tuna



Beef filet



Dessert!



Johnny Blue to keep the night going!



a380 Bar. Johnny Double Black is good, but not as good as Blue!



Sunset #2



Caviar for breakfast, why not!?



Meh



Hotel #1 of 2. Marriott Marquis, 53rd floor. Sorry no pics of my 2nd hotel, Sheraton Mall of the Emirates.

MonThruThurs

After 3 nights in Dubai, I was ready to move on to Hong Kong. Overall, I didn't find Dubai to be that interesting. That being said, it's a great place to visit for a layover. This leg only cost 50K in United miles, not a bad deal!

Flight #3
DXB – ZRH – CPH – BKK – HKG
LX 243
SK 602
TG 951
TG 600



The flight was originally booked as a 330-343X, but as you can see there's a 340 here! Apparently, some tech complications in the system caused some reshuffling of aircraft. As a result my late DXB – ZRH flight, and some time with the LX transfer desk agent, I was able to push back my connection time to a SK flight. More on that later!



I love “The Throne!” There's a lot of space and no stepping over anyone.





Quick dinner



Breakfast outside of ZRH

On the ground in ZRH, I immediately took the train over to the domestic gates, hit the lounge (showers were full), and fueled up for the next leg.



SAS +. Free food and drink. No-wifi, though.

After some time in the SAS lounge, I made my way to my TG flight. Note, the transfer desk and lounge was unable to print my TG ticket, so I had to use my iPad and un-printed e-Ticket to get through CPH custome – no problem.



77W at the gate.



Seat



Seat rd. 2



Amuse bouche



Pork curry



Some Johnny Black and bed

After landing in BKK, I hit the lounge for a shower, answered some emails and made my way to my uneventful flight to HKG



TG's 747, upper deck



747 upper deck

MonThruThurs

I love Hong Kong. After Shanghai, it's my favorite city in the world. The mix of food, people, and culture are unmatched, in my opinion.

I stayed at the Hong Kong Sheraton Tower in a shower suite, 1776 to be exact (Go, America!). The Towers are preferred to the normal hotel as you get access to a better lounge, great breakfast, and fantastic happy hour!



HKG light show!

After a fun 3 days in HKG, which constituted of suit fittings, ferry ride, and being a tourist, I was ready for the flight home.



View from CX's “The Wing”



Can't turn down some Moet Rose



After a shower (no Cabana's available, unfortunately), why not some more Moet!



My plane to SFO


Amuse bouche and waiting Krug glass!



Killer legroom




My own caviar tin!?



Cauliflower puree soup



Prawn salad



Filet



Berries and cream with Johnny Blue


Breakfast

After landing in SFO, I was ready to get home. I ran through customs, thanks Global Entry, changed my SFO – SEA flight to an earlier one, and sat in 6C on a 737-700.

Overall, the experience was amazing and something I would love to do again. Next time, it's going to be west-bound -- more time in F/J!

Also, thanks to those in the Alaska Airlines thread. Many trivial questions were answered and gloating went unanswered. Best thread on FT.

Best,

MonThruThurs

owen61

Fantastic report! I especially love the shot of UCLA from the air...Go Bruins!

BA5E

Thanks for sharing your very quick TR, wow you must have been quite worn out at the end of it being such a short visit to each place, the food looked amazing and could almost have reached out and eaten some of it. Loved the pics of HKG^

Billiken

Great report!!!

Glad to see another whisky drinker "in the air".
I have not tried JW Double Black....lots of peat/smoke?


Caviar. It's not just for breakfast anymore.

MonThruThurs

Fairly peaty -- but it doesn't stack up to my favorite, Laphroaig 10!

Madone59

Great TR - thanks for sharing, and thanks for the motivation to start saving some AS miles. ^

WanderlustB

When will EK finally address the a380 F IFE? I have a flight coming up, and i am almost not looking forward to it....almost. Then i remember its EK F.

nygiants242

Awesome report! Great photos. But wait.. how many miles did you use for this trip!?

roastpuff

Looks like 170K AS for sure, as it costs 100K for EK F and 70K for CX F.

MonThruThurs

USA - DXB is only 90K for EK F. Otherwise, spot on.

roastpuff

Ah, oops, I forgot. Usually it's worth it to do a stopover in DXB for the EK F rather than as a final destination, as it's only 10K extra to go to pretty much anywhere else in the network.