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-   -   Business, First and The Class Beyond: Experiencing How The Other Half Lives (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1638993-business-first-class-beyond-experiencing-how-other-half-lives.html)

btang Dec 20, 2014 4:22 pm

Business, First and The Class Beyond: Experiencing How The Other Half Lives
 
Seeing as how this was to be my last Christmas break in college, and with the prospect of starting my full time job at a major trans-national bank after next summer, my days of long distance travelling for leisure were numbered. Why not fly more when I still could? So I chose to fly with my favorite carrier, ANA, for my flight from New York to Hong Kong. To top it off, I decided to also splurge some miles and book myself into First Class, my first ever flights in First Class on my return flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco, with a stopover in Singapore.

The ticket for my outbound trip from New York to Hong Kong was issued prior to the massive devaluation, and so it only cost 60,000 miles plus less than $20 in taxes. For my return flight, I transferred 72,000 miles from my AMEX Membership Reward and Chase Ultimate Reward accounts to book a one-way Singapore Airlines First Class Saver Award, and pay for the relatively cheap United flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles. The fuel surcharge for the Singapore Airlines flights was not cheap, but it was Singapore Airlines First Class, one of the most adorned products in the world, worth it.

Table of Content

JFK Airport and The British Airways Galleries Lounge

New York to Tokyo ANA Business Class NH 1009

ANA Business Class Lounge Tokyo, Narita

Tokyo to Hong Kong ANA Business Class NH 909

Hong Kong Lounge Hopping: United Global First Lounge and Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge

Hong Kong to Singapore SQ Suites Class SQ 861 Part 1 Part 2

The Private Room, Singapore Airlines Flagship Lounge in Singapore

Singapore to Seoul, Incheon SQ First Class SQ 16

Short Stop in Incheon and a visit to Silver Kris Lounge

Seoul to San Francisco SQ First Class SQ 16 Part 1 Part 2

United Airlines Economy Class: SFO-IAD How the other half lives

btang Dec 20, 2014 5:04 pm

JFK Airport and The British Airways Galleries Lounge
 
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I started the day off with a ride from midtown Manhattan to JFK airport, and I chose Uber, given the fact that calling a taxi was just slightly less expensive and the additional comfort of not feeling pressured to give a good tip. Unfortunately, traffic was hideous out of the city, and the driver suggested using the local roads instead. Good thing I took his advice, or else I would have missed my flight.

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To speak the truth, I’ve never flown out of JFK, I don’t know why, but usually I use Newark. I arrived at Terminal 7 with 25 minutes left before check in closes. Since I had already checked in online the night before, not much time was needed before I was issued my boarding passes for both the JFK-NRT and the NRT-HKG leg. Luckily, this time, my bags were checked all the way through, so I did not need to collect my bags in Narita.

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Security was also very quick, and just 15 minutes after arrival, I was already graciously welcomed into the British Airways Terrace Lounge. This was a new lounge for me to visit, and situating in one of BA’s most important destinations, New York, I had modestly high expectations. Instead, I found myself feeling underwhelmed. The décor was tiring and the lounge huge and busy.

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Regular food was almost non-existent, aside from some chips and M&M’s at the self-serve area. The only redeeming feature was the alcohol and beverage selection, which featured a variety of beer and wine selection, along with champagne. However, the cabernet sauvignon I chose was pretty nasty and so I only took a few sips. The champagne on the other hand was quite good. Interestingly, I saw a sign at the lounge entrance that offered instant noodles to ANA passengers. Really?

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The couple sitting adjacent to me was quite interesting. I believe they do not realize that the lounge is a public space and not their own bedroom at home, because they were constantly, let’s just put it this way, displaying publicly signs of affection.

I did not stay put for very long. After sending out a few last minute emails, I decided to head out to the gate and just board early if the opportunity presented itself. There was no such opportunity. The gate area was already hustling and bustling. There were more than 8 people in the first class line, defying the actual size of the cabin, and the business class line was so long that it could be mistaken as the economy class one.

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I took a seat and waited for the business class line to get shorter, before joining the queue.

btang Dec 22, 2014 1:14 am

JFK-NRT
 
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Ah, it was nice to be back in familiar sounding. The soothing ANA boarding music, the smiling flight attendant and the cool blue lighting and décor were all warm reminders that I was home.

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7A or 5A is usually my preferred seat, but since the other was unavailable, I happily settled with 7A, which is the bulkhead seat and offered good privacy. I was quickly approached by one of the flight attendants, who smiling introduced herself as Ms. Oshizawa and said that she would take care of me for this flight. Right from that moment, I knew this was going to be a good flight. She offered to hang my coat, and asked if there were any magazines that I would prefer to read.

She later came around to offer a choice of orange juice and champagne, but at that time I only wanted water and she not only gave me a small glass, but an entire bottle, the one which they serve after the first meal.

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At my seat were my favorite blue slippers and a brown amenity kit from L’Occitane, a new color because last time it was blue. It was of a better fabric, but nonetheless still quite underwhelming for a Skytrax Five Star airline.

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Captain announced that the flight time would be 13 hours and 35 minutes, with a five minute delay, to which the crew apologized profusely for another three times afterwards over the PA. I was not bothered at all, flying with ANA in business class, I could easily settle for another 13 hours.

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The wait time for take off was quite long, with a few wide-bodies ahead of us, including one British Airways 747 bound, I presume, for London.

Soon after take off, menus were distributed and orders were taken. I always choose the Japanese meal and this time was no different. To start off the meal, I selected to have the champagne.

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Warm towels were also distributed before the amuse bouche was presented at my table, which consisted of parma ham wrapped in melon and a tart of some sort, delicious as always.

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The first course of appetizers was absolutely delicious, but I found the fish for the main course to be underwhelming. This was a first for me because having travelled just under ten times in ANA business class in my life, it was the first time that I found the fish served to be bland and uninspiring.

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I skipped the red bean cake dessert and just chose to have the cheese course. To accompany that, I switched to a Japanese whiskey, which was absolutely delicious.

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After dinner, I decided to recline my bed and get some sleep. I planned on sleeping for the first six hours of the flight and staying awake for the rest in order to battle my jetlag more easily. Unfortunately, the plan sounded nice in my mind, but in reality I slept all the way up to 4 hours before landing.

Waking up feeling a bit hungry, I decided to check out the snacks menu to see what ANA offered on this flight. I was intrigued by the idea of steamed sushi, and so I pressed the call button, to which Ms. Oshizawa promptly approached my seat to see what I would like. I asked her what the steamed sushi was, she initially explained it as California roll, and then switched to saying it was “chirashizushi”, which is like fish over rice. I decided to give it a try, because honestly I have never had hot sushi in my life.

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Whenever I fly ANA, I always like to drink the Aromatic Kabosu, this time was no different, and so I chose to have a glass of that with my steamed sushi.

The rice was topped with a variety of fish including steamed eel and cooked shrimp, the taste was actually quite weird, because once heated, the rice with vinegar was actually very overpowering, taste wise. After finishing, Ms. Oshizawa asked how it tasted, I spoke honestly and said it was not quite how I imagined it to be, she apologized profusely and said that she would write it up in the report to the catering staff. Not necessary, but a very nice gesture.

I decided to watch a few episodes of House of Cards before the cabin lights were turned back on. Ms. Oshizawa appeared again and smiling asked “Ready for dinner?” I jokingly replied and said “Didn’t I just have dinner?” I still wanted to eat something or else I’d be hungry for the night, and so I chose the Japanese meal.

The tray was delivered to me in less than 5 minutes, piping hot. I remember having the exact same thing for the last 2 flights with ANA. They seriously need to switch things up, because it certainly is starting to get boring. Then again, maybe I should try new carriers.

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Some nice Christmas music before landing

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Around 45 minutes before landing, I changed out of my pajamas and back into my regular clothes, my coat was returned and landing forms distributed. I really enjoyed the service on this flight, but the food was a bit of a disappointment, because ANA has really set the bar high, and I do have high expectations.

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Good thing our plane landed right adjacent to Terminal 1, and so we did not have to taxi for long before arriving at Gate 51, which is the closest one to immigration. With not much of a line, I was out of the airport and ready to head to the hotel where I would be staying for one night in less than 20 minutes.

hlee628 Dec 22, 2014 2:02 am

I just LOLed when reading your complaint about the fish dish being too repetitive. I had the exact same fish on my LAX-NRT flight. And this was in March of this year.

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btang Dec 22, 2014 5:47 am

ANA Business Lounge, Tokyo Narita
 
After a restful night of sleep at the ANA Crown Plaza Hotel, it was time to continue my journey back to Hong Kong. I woke up at 6:45 a.m. just in time to catch the 7:10 shuttle back to the terminal. Since my bags were already tagged all the way to Hong Kong, I did not have to re-check in, and so walked straight towards the security checkpoint.

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For a brief moment, I was a bit confused how there could be such a long line at this early time of the day. However, apparently the security checkpoint doesn’t open until 7:30, and so I had to wait for a few minutes. Good thing the line moved relatively quickly, and so I was through security and immigration in a short amount of time.

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A nice line of Thai 787's, made me think I was in Bangkok for a second.

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First stop was of course the obligatory visit to the ANA lounge near Gate 54, and I was welcomed in as one of the first guests of the day. I woke up without brushing my teeth or taking a shower, and so it almost seemed like I was a homeless hobo. I needed to use the shower, pronto.

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The nice long shower made me felt more like a human being, and I was now ready for some breakfast in the main lounge area. I was starving. The noodle bar, my favorite feature of the lounge, was open, so I decided to get a bowl of soba and the curry rice.

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I also chose to get some sushi from the other food serving area, before returning to my seat to check some email and write a bit of this trip report. The ambience was serene because the lounge was practically empty, worlds apart from the lounge during the later afternoon time where it would be almost impossible to get an empty seat.

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Around 20 minutes before scheduled boarding time, I decided to walk to the gate and buy some souvenirs for friends. I really like the matcha mochi from the Fa-so-la duty free shop, and so I would buy some every time I pass through Narita airport.

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Arriving at the gate area, I was surprised to find the economy class line extremely long and yet people were lined up in an orderly fashion. There was no line for business class passengers, and general boarding was complete within 30 minutes. No wonder some frequent flyers asked the United CEO why boarding a domestic United aircraft is more difficult than boarding a bus in Calcutta, they sure can learn a lesson from ANA.

Billiken Dec 22, 2014 8:09 am


Originally Posted by btang (Post 24035896)
No wonder some frequent flyers asked the United CEO why boarding a domestic United aircraft is more difficult than boarding a bus in Calcutta, they sure can learn a lesson from ANA.

Funny. LOL. :D

Nice pics, looking forward to the rest of your report.

Mark

zcat18 Dec 22, 2014 9:56 am

Thanks for the report! I've got my first-ever flights in ANA J coming up in a few weeks (ORD-NRT-SIN), so I read your account with great interest. I've got low expectations for J catering out of ORD, but I will still be going with the Japanese meal. Looking forward to the rest of your report! ^

btang Dec 25, 2014 6:46 am

NH 909 Tokyo to Hong Kong
 
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The last time I flew with ANA on a 767-300, it was from Bangkok to Tokyo and the seat was of the older generation one. It was worn out and the décor slightly tiring. This time, the seats were of the newer angled lie-flat variety, but there were already some signs of wear and tear. My coat was hanged, and I was offered a choice of Japanese and Hong Kong newspapers. I asked for a glass of water, and it was immediately brought to me. The only problem was that they forgot to collect the glass before takeoff, and so it nearly dropped when the plane took off.

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Christmas feel

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The seat was exceptionally comfortable. I think it’s certainly a huge upgrade as compared to the older style seat. The seat recline was deeper, and so I rested for a bit before drinks and lunch were served. I chose to have a glass of orange juice and the champagne to make my own version of mimosa. Nothing beats having something posh to start off my morning on a good note.

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The lunch served was a one-tray affair, with a variety of intricate and delicious appetizers along with the main course, which was of course, in true ANA style, a fish dish. Perhaps I was starting to get tired of having fish, so marginal utility was fast diminishing.

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To end the delicious meal, I chose to have a cup of green tea to pair nicely with the dessert, which was of a type of mochi. There was also Haagen Daaz ice cream and hot lemon tea just in case I wasn't feeling full, which was not the case, but I still gave it a shot.

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I spent the rest of the flight typing up this report, watching a few bits of the Lincoln movie, and reclining my seat in the very comfortable lazy position. All the while, the flight attendants took turns to offer juices and water for those that found themselves slightly dehydrated.

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NH 909 was about to makes its final approach into Hong Kong a little 5 minutes behind schedule. Apart from some slight turbulence, there was nothing out of the ordinary on our descent into sunny Hong Kong. The thing I don’t like about Star Alliance flights is that the planes usually taxi into the 40’s gate, meaning I usually need to take the train back to immigration.

Immigration of course was very quick, and it was not long before I was in the baggage reclaim area. The issue was that bags took forever, with almost 25 minutes passing by before the first bags came out, and for my only checked bag to come out in that first batch.

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btang Jan 18, 2015 7:32 am

Hong Kong Lounge Hopping
 
The sense of excitement, of exhilaration is almost unbearable. After 18 years of flying, it was time to move past the commonality of air travel and enter a world of refinement and pleasure. Of course, nothing really gets you excited for your trip than to receive an online check in boarding pass not just in the dull green, or blue, or even red color. But rather gold, signaling the beginning of something that’s more remarkable than I’ve ever experienced before.

I checked in at the Kowloon Station around 4 hours before departure, wanting to garner sufficient time to use the lounges at the airport. Initially, because the flights were booked into two separate itineraries, I mentally prepared myself with the hassle of re-checking in at San Francisco Airport. However, with some miraculous tap into his computer, the check in agent managed to check my bag all the way to the final destination. Of course, I was delighted. “I’ve got 99 problems but the bags ain’t one”. Haha!

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Unfortunately, it also created a very long line, which was slightly embarrassing. The fact that he kept yelling out “you’re our first class passenger, we want to try to assist you as best as possible” in front of the others standing in line did not make things any better for me.

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With that issue tackled, it was time for me to move on to the airport and do a bit of lounge hopping. My first stop after going through security was the United Global First Lounge. I had some expectations for this lounge, not much, but some, it being one of the best in the system.

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I was pleasantly surprised. The lounge itself wasn’t huge in terms of size, but it was completely empty when I arrived. The lounge attendant presented me with a menu that had a list of items ranging from salad and satay to linguine with clams. I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I ordered a plate of satay.

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On one side of the lounge was a food and beverages area, with a good variety of snacks such as siu mai and chicken kiev. On the other was the shower area, which I took a peak in, and found it to be of good size and in decent shape. Overall, not bad for a United lounge, but of course it leaves much to be desired.

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The reading corner, with so many types of newspapers and article.

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The satay was reasonably delicious, not bad, not great either.

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JVPhoto Jan 18, 2015 12:27 pm


Originally Posted by btang (Post 24035896)

Arriving at the gate area, I was surprised to find the economy class line extremely long and yet people were lined up in an orderly fashion. There was no line for business class passengers, and general boarding was complete within 30 minutes. No wonder some frequent flyers asked the United CEO why boarding a domestic United aircraft is more difficult than boarding a bus in Calcutta, they sure can learn a lesson from ANA.

I just love seeing the NH IOJ reports...especially JFK-NRT as it was my first trip to Tokyo and such excitement and memories in the staggered J.

Agree with the boarding. When we were getting ready to leave JFK I felt the plane move and thought "OH MY GOD SOMETHING HIT US" and then I realized we were backing up to taxi out. There was no way in my mind I thought boarding was already finished and we were on our way.

aSiAnRiCk Jan 18, 2015 1:44 pm

Looking forward to see the rest ^

Mrtrash757 Jan 18, 2015 2:26 pm

looks great cannot wait for the rest!

btang Jan 18, 2015 4:49 pm

HKG Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge
 
The United lounge was not my final stop. I left that to the recently remodeled Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge. Warmly welcomed at the reception, I was led inside where I turned left into the exclusive First Class area.

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The business class area seemed quite large, much better than its previous incarnation. The only problem that plagued the lounge, and quite a serious one, was the lighting. Throughout both the First Class and Business Class area, lighting was quite dim, despite apparent efforts to brighten the space.

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The food selection was very similar to the United Global First Lounge, but the drinks were of much higher quality, in my opinion. I wanted to save my alcohol quota until the flight, and so I just settled with a glass of Evian water.

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The first class lounge was not particularly large, with a few large couches, a dining area, some artisan chairs with high backs and also some cubicles that didn’t seem nearly as comfortable.

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Flight for today

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Honestly speaking, I still like the airy and bright Cathay Pacific lounges in Hong Kong. All in all, what I saw was certainly an upgrade from the previous Silver Kris Lounge, but nothing in the league of its own lounge in Singapore.

farbster Jan 19, 2015 12:53 pm

Very nice TR. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I know they're hard!

btang Jan 19, 2015 1:02 pm

The Suite Life Begins: Hong Kong to Singapore
 
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SQ 861 was departing from Gate 23 today. The walk was not too terrible, and it seemed like the flight was not particularly full, at the back at least. But today, it was not about flying economy. No, it was about living life to the fullest and dive right into the finer things in life. Of course, nothing makes you feel more like a rock star than to have a member of the gate agent escort you right to the doors, where the flight stewardess then took over and led you right to your own private suite. The envious looks from economy class passengers as I was ushered past the long line at the jet bridge made it even more embarrassing than it already was.

I couldn’t believe it. After years of flying at the back of the bus, I was finally here at the Promised Land. The lead steward, Gregory, immediately offered to hang my coat in my personal closet, and then graciously asked if I would like anything to drink before departure. Of course, this was a moment of celebration, and what better way to do so than to start off with a glass of Krug.

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The suite itself is gorgeous and physically very inviting, much larger than I initially imagined it to be. Pictures don’t do it justice. The color scheme was very soothing, and everything still seemed to be in tiptop condition. Privacy was not an issue at all, not just because the cabin was only half full, but also because of the enclosed doors should additional privacy be necessary.

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Plenty of space to stow my carry on

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Noise Cancelling Headset from Bose

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Gregory soon arrived with a bottle of Krug on one hand, and a glass on another. He poured it in front of me, and smilingly said “Enjoy Mr. Tang! There’s plenty to go around”. Please! More is better.

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Another stewardess, Alice, came over and introduced herself as the person taking care of me for the flight, before the inflight manager came over to shake my hand. From then onwards, I was only referred to as Mr. Tang and nothing less, even up till the moment before I stepped off the plane.

The menu for today’s flight was presented before me, and a selection of newspaper was also rolled over for my choosing. The flight time was announced to be a quick 3 hours and 35 minutes, and we pushed back around 15 minutes behind schedule after a missing passenger’s bags were offloaded.

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No matter, I was determined to enjoy every moment of today’s flight. A slightly delay only meant more time for me to enjoy my suite.

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Lining up for take off

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