After a busy two days in Sydney, it was time for some much needed rest in Tokyo.

I took a cab to Kingsford Smith Int’l Airport for my early 7:40 departure to Hong Kong.

I was quickly checked-in and my bags were sent to Japan. I had good luck getting them without wait in Sydney, so let’s hope that my luck continues. I went to the lounge for about 15 minutes…small food and beverage selection, nothing special.

But what was special was the flight…

I boarded the aircraft through door 1L, turned left, and was greeted by the extremely invited, much-touted Project Betsy seats. I’ll take a moment and discuss the seats…they are very similar to the QF/BA sleepers but with minor differences. The seats are built into what look like boxes. The PTV is situated on the “box” in front of you, and the screen is huge! The entertainment selection is similar to BA/QF in that you get the normal channels plus a selection of videos, but the selection is not as extensive. The seats are wood-panneled to give an attractive appearance. The audio, video, and seat controls are on the side armrest, with the wood-panneled traytable. The seats are angled more like QF than BA (curved parallel with the side instead of curved towards the side), but for some reason it seems more private than QF. I must admit that CX did an excellent job with the seats!

I was also very impressed with the service. QF has an a la carte menu like BA, so you can eat what you want when you want. The quality of the good was excellent. I had breakfast and later a light lunch aboard. I stayed away from alchohol, but the wine list looked impressive.

To battle jetlag I always try to avoid sleeping on daytime flights, but I don’t think I could resist trying out the bed. I arranged with the flight attendant not to allow to me to sleep more than two hours, because if I overslept it would be hell trying to sleep that night.

I changed into the sleeper suit offered to me. I always feel geeky in these things, but, hey, they are soo comfortable and I guess I am a geek! When I returned I found the seat fully reclined with a feather down quilt. I fit perfectly into the seat with plenty of room to spare (I’m 6’). I slept blissfully.. I felt so comfortable under the feather blanket, in contrast to the cold cabin.

I was waken up as aranged and did a little light reading and enjoyed the aforementioned light lunch. There is a small buffet table in front of the first middle seat pair, and drinks and snacks were set up there for snacking.

This flight was pure bliss. Everything about it, the seat, the service, everything. I was especially impressed that I did absolutely no work on the flight…something I hope to continue in Tokyo. I give high marks to Cathay Pacific.

We arrived into Hong Kong on time. It was a fairly long walk down the concourse. I stopped by the amazing Wing Lounge. Unfortuantely, I had only an hour. The lounge has a nice, soothing atmosphere. I decided I had enough time to take a quick shower, which is what I desperately needed after 9 hours in a plane, so I was led to a beautiful shower room by an attendant. I’d love to have this bathroom in my house! It is finished in stone, frosted glass, and white walls, with a huge rose in the shower. There is a separate closet for your cloths, with a cotton robe and slippers. Even a refrigerated decked out with beverages (alcholic and nonalcholic). I could spend hours in here, but unfortunately had only about twenty minutes. I took a shower, left feeling great and ready for battle.

The B777-300 operating our 4 hour flight to Tokyo was being loaded by dual jetways, so boarding was quick as a biz class passenger (no F on these flights). These things are long…looking down the aisle, they seem to strech forever. This was a nice flight. I played with the PTV while eating dinner. We arrived in Toyko ontime at 9:30. I took the train to the Westin.

Back at the Westin, just here a few weeks ago. Again I reserved a Guest Office. Nice hotel. Great city. I’m off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning, again through Hong Kong.

I was hoping that my g’f would be able to join me in London for Memorial Day weekend. She called and said that she is able to get off Thursday and Friday of next week. I’m working on getting her an award seat, but everything is booked due to the last minute ticket. Wednesday to Monday would be the trip. I’m going to keep trying to get her an award ticket or see if I can get a cheap lastminute AA fare and upgrade her using a VIP2. But things don’t look good…

MILEAGE COUNTER

SEGMENT 3 (SYD-HKG)
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 4585
AAdvantage Miles Earned:11,463
Elite-qualifying points:6878

SEGMENT 4 (HKG-NRT)
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 1822
AAdvantage Miles Earned:4,555
Elite-qualifying points:2,733

TOTAL
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 16,520
AAdvantage Miles Earned:41,301
Elite-qualifying points: 24,781

More later.

Update: I was able to snag an award reservation on CO for my g'f. Virgin Upper Class (CO codeshare) BOS-LGW, returning on CO BizFirst LGW-EWR-BOS. It must be ticketed by tomorrow midnight (US eastern time), so I called the friendly folks at Amex Black and they said they'd give the transfer "priority attention". It's a truckload of miles, though. 150,000 instead of the normal 80,000.

Oh, what you'll do for love.

BostonBoy,

Great trip report! Any recommendation on the best Betsy seat to reserve? I normally like row 2 on BA, and row 1 on QF for privacy and less foot traffic!

That's great that your gf can meet up with you in London especially traveling on VS!!!

Enjoying it...

Great report.
This has now become the very first topic I check when logging on. Wish I had found report at the end of your trip and could read it all at once. It's like a can't wait for the next installment.

I'm in London now, getting ready for a biz dinner. My g'f arrived this morning. After tonight's dinner, I'm free in London until Monday!

Sorry for getting so behind on the trip report. I'm posting a short update on my trip to KL, then will post the KUL-LHR segment tomorrow or Monday.

I had a 10:00a flight out of Narita. Enjoyed a quick breakfast than hopped aboard the Narita Express to the airport. Check-in was quick and my bag checked to KL (still hoping that my baggage luck continues ). CX Lounge is comfortable, similar to others in Asia (but no Wing lounge!)

Flight to Hong Kong was another Triple Seven. I like these planes. Biz Class was comfortable, and service was nice on this four and a half hour flight. Too bad we can't have these jumbos more often on short 4-hour hops, not to mention the service.

I had only an hour and a half hours at CLK. Stopped by the Wing lounge, but didn't take advantage of the blissful shower rooms. Instead I ordered some Dim Sum and worked on the laptop. Yes, ordered. At the FC section of the Wing, you can't get food yourself. They must serve it to you.

Flight to KL was aboard an Airbus A340, IIRC. Another nice four hour flight.

KL is simply a quick stop to meet up with some colleagues, so I won't be venturing into the city. PanPac KL Airport is the hotel for my stay.

It was a very nice hotel. I got a nice room on the Pacific floor for about $200. After a morning meeting in the Airbus Room (I would have preferred the Boeing room, but...), I lounged by the pool. Nothing better than total relaxing with 747s blasting overhead.

MILEAGE COUNTER

SEGMENT 5 (NRT-HKG)
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 1822
AAdvantage Miles Earned: 4,555
Elite-qualifying points: 2733


SEGMENT 6 (HKG-KUL)
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 1573
AAdvantage Miles Earned: 3,933
Elite-qualifying points:2,360


TOTAL
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 19,915
AAdvantage Miles Earned:49,789
Elite-qualifying points: 29,874

More Later.

As the day wore on, I found myself more fatigued, nauseous, and frequently sneezing and blowing my clogged nose. You know what that means…a common cold.

I checked-in and was able to change to a bulkhead seat from row 2 seat. At least something is going for me today!

I boarded and settled into my sleeper seat. After take-off, I decided to stop faking and give into my illness. I changed into the sleeper suit, piled myself under blankets, and donned by noise-reducing headphones. The flight attendant was more than accommodating, and she kept a constant stream of tea and water coming to me.

Unfortunately, due to my nausea, the last thing I wanted to think about was food, so I can’t give you any information on the meal.

I laid there for the next 13 hours, dozing on and off. Somehow, the flight seemed to pass.

We arrived into Heathrow and I trudged on the Heathrow Express.

My company has a couple of apartments at the Grosvenor House. A simple call to corporate travel and they are all mine. As great as this hotel is, I must admit, it is not my favorite hotel in London.

I relaxed for the rest of the day, pushed through my meetings the next day, and then my girlfriend arrived . We sight-saw (?) the next day in the rain, then I succomed officially to illness and slept.

Finally feeling much better, I saw my girlfriend off yesterday morning, then I hung out in the city unless my departure that night.

London is my favorite city in the world, but I was sad that I was sick while I was there. Oh, well, next time…

Coming up is LGW-EZE, then my return home (the latter has yet to occur).

MILEAGE COUNTER

SEGMENT 7 (KUL-LHR)
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 6,562
AAdvantage Miles Earned: 16,405
Elite-qualifying points: 9,843

TOTAL
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 26,477
AAdvantage Miles Earned: 66,194
Elite-qualifying points: 39,717

More later.

Wow, sorry guys, I can’t believe I let this thing get so far behind! Not only has it fallen off the five day list, but it has also fallen onto the second page!

After battling a cold in my favorite city, I was finally healthy again and prepared to battle in Buenos Aires, the final stop on my world tour extravaganza. After bidding my g’f ado from Victoria Station as her Gatwick Express carriage rolled away towards her Continental 777 flight, I walked around the city. I felt much lighter since my g’f took my big bag and I was left with only a rollaboard and my briefcase. No more checked baggage for the duration of the trip!

I took the Gatwick Express from Heathrow to Gatwick, where all of BA’s South American flights now operate from. The Gatwick Express stops at the South Terminal and doesn’t continue to the North Terminal, so you must disembark and board another shuttle to the North Terminal, home of British Airways and friends. A warning to anyone with lots of luggage.

There was no line (wait, I’m in London…queue) at the British Airways First check-in desk and I was issued a boarding card for seat 2K. Bulkheads unavailable for this flight.

I was greeted aboard the Boeing 747-400 by the Dutch flight attendant and showed to my seat. (Dutch flight attendant…talks between BA and KLM….hmm) My no alcohol policy stands, so I stuck with water for the pre-departure beverage. We pushed back on time or close to it at around 9:50p.

I had the dinner service on the flight (again a la carte, eat what you want, when you want) but since the flight actually took place so long ago I forget what I ate. Sorry.

After dinner I changed into the dorky sleeper suit and feel asleep. I arranged with the flight attendant to wake me just before our arrival. I slept soundly until I was awaken with coffee and water at my side (again, prearranged).

We arrived on-time to EZE and I flew through customs, didn’t have to wait for any bags, and cabbed it to the beautiful Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. A beautiful hotel that would be my home for the next night.

Buenos Aires is an excellent city, but my time here was short. The finally evening I was heading back home, a place that I have parted with for too long.

My final flight was on an American 767 to JFK. That long of a flight on a 767 didn’t please me, but I hoped that it wouldn’t be too full. I checked on the internet to see if American was operating any 777s into EZE yet, but they weren’t. I was also willing to book with UA to get the First Suite, but they had no 777 departures either. I hoped the 767 would remain empty.

I arrived at EZE in an already bad mood, due to a long day of unsuccessful meetings that may force me to return to Buenos Aires soon. I checked in with a surly American agent. I asked her to check any other flight possibilities, but she was one of those agents who does only what you ask and responds like a computer. Some agents you can ask to get you out of that 767 flight and they will check each flight possibility. Not this one. You had to ask her to check each individual flight by feeder her the flight number. I was in no mood to deal with her. I snatched by boarding pass and inquired about a F class lounge. She gave me a pass to the Admirals Club.

I went to the Admirals Club and boy was it a dump. Little food and drink and the place was a mess. Plus, I was there several hours early so I spent the time on the laptop, chatting on FT among other things.

The time passed and I boarded the 767 to New York. This turned out to be one of the worst AA flights I have experienced, for a variety of reasons. I sat in my aisle seat and my seat mate (opponent for this flight, right QuietLion?) immediately started yacking his head off. I tried to show that I was in no mood by politely nodding. He wouldn’t shut up. I then put on my noise canceling headsets, and that got him quiet.

The crew was very inattentive during boarding, so I went to the galley and asked for a bottle of water. She glared at me and told me to sit down, but to her credit she did bring me one after the safety video. I inquired about the amenity kits but apparently they weren’t available today.

We took off bound for the states and the meal service started soon after meal service began. It was AA’s typical dinner service and I had a meat dish. The crew was very uninviting and basically shoved food in your face. My seatmate started telling me his life story again, but I put on the headphones and browsed the audio selections.

After dinner I tried to stretch out in the claustrophobic cabin but was left uncomfortable. The cabin, near capacity, seemed to claustrophobic. A short Atlantic hop is ok in a 767, but this 10 hour longhaul seemed too long.

The crew never appeared during the night, but they did show up for the light breakfast. I didn’t eat, but I sipped coffee that was given to me.

I was extremely disappointed with this flight. The flight attendants were lousy; there were no amenity kits; the Admiral’s Club was a dump; the agent in EZE was rude. The flight was on-time, though.

After arrival I quickly got through immigration thanks to INSPass and had no line at Customs since everyone else was waiting at baggage claim.

I grabbed a bite at the AA JFK terminal and boarding my final flight to BOS. The flight was operated by a MD-80. We pushed back ontime and had little wait to takeoff, presumable due to our early 7:30a departure.

AA was very good on this flight. The First Class FA was very good, and she kept our coffee glasses filled.

Arrived into Boston on-time and my g’f was happily waiting. She took me home before heading to the office, and I was happy to see my beagle again. The rest of the week was spent home relaxing.

It was overall a great trip with all flights on-time (or close to it) and no baggage problems; the AA thing left it on a bad note, but otherwise it was a great trip.

I’m going to sleep now.

Thanks for sticking with me on this trip report. I’m sorry I didn’t get the installments out sooner, but I hope I do better next time.

SEGMENT 8 (LGW-EZE)
Executive Club Actual Miles: 6,926
EC Miles Earned: 17,315

SEGMENT 9 (EZE-JFK)
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 5,302
AAdvantage Miles Earned: 13,255
Elite-qualifying points: 7,953

SEGMENT 10 (JFK-BOS)
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 191
AAdvantage Miles Earned: 478
Elite-qualifying points: 287

FINAL TRIP TOTALS
AAdvantage
Actual Miles (Elite-qualifying): 31,970
AAdvantage Miles Earned: 79,927
Elite-qualifying points: 47, 957

Executive Club
Executive Club Actual Miles: 6,926
EC Miles Earned: 17,315


[This message has been edited by BostonBoy (edited 06-04-2000).]

Sounds like you had a hectic but exciting trip. Can you provide some info. on how much the RTW ticket cost, which carrier booked the trip, and restrictions on its use. Thanks.