AA, JAL, CX RDU-HKG and back!
Jul 25, 2001, 7:20 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Raleigh NC AA PLT 1MM
Posts: 44
AA, JAL, CX RDU-HKG and back!
10 Jul 01
RDU -> ORD FLT AA 1851 Class: F Seat: 5E
Nice flight, departed on time at 9:46AM arrived on time at RDU.
Flight attendant named Candra did a superb job, from preflight drinks, to always addressing me by name. Brought glasses of water around, without being asked. Great!
ORD -> NRT FLT AA 153 Class: J Seat: 10H
Long flight, on 777. Really hate the entertainment system, and much prefer the portable DVDs. Had the western meal, a Filet, it was ok. My seat mate had the Japanese meal, which looked rather interesting, so I was disappointed that I didn't try it. Service was marginal. Got some pretty good sleep.
Arrived in Tokyo on time, but tired. Went through security, and they confiscated my 2" bladed knife. They said I could pick it up at baggage claim at HKG. I went into the terminal, and tried to find the Admirals Club. The map they gave out on the plane showed it near gate 24. This was not right, as the United club was over there, but I had a nice walk anyway. I found the club, and checked in at the desk. I had to switch to a JAL flight in the other terminal and asked the Admirals club agent how to get there. She said to take the bus, downstairs, at 3:50. I decided to have a beer. They had a really cool automated beer-pouring machine that you stuck your glass under and press a button, and you get a perfectly poured beer!
Went down to the connecting bus area with 10 minutes to spare, so I just hung out there. A bus came up, and let passengers off. I tried to get on this bus, but the guard wouldn't let me. At 3:50, a bus came by, and I tried to get on that one. He wouldn’t let me on it either. His English wasn't good, and my Japanese is non-existent. I pointed to the TV monitor and showed him what flight I was on, and he told me to go back up to the AA counter. I described my plight to a desk agent, who accompanied me down to visit the guard. There was an AA bus parked there this time, and the agent negotiated with the driver to take me to the other terminal.
Checked in at JAL, and went to their club, Sakura Lounge. Had more fun with the beer pouring machines.
NRT -> HKG FLT JAL 735 Class J Seat: I forget, but downstairs.
I had originally booked a flight on CX from NRT-HKG, but due to the industrial action, I switched to JAL. Excellent service from the cabin crew. Very polite. Added bonus on the 747-400 was a camera mounted on the outside pointing forward, and played on the screens. After take off, it switched to a downward pointing view for a while. It came back on when we had about 5 minutes to HKG. Really cool watching the landing. Had the western meal, as the Japanese meal didn't look appealing.
When we got to HKG, at the end of the jet bridge, was a lady holding up my knife. I gave her the receipt I had, and she gave me the knife.
At HKG
I was 10 days in HKG, and stayed at the Kowloon Shangri-La. Excellent hotel, with some very good restaurants. Had a room on the 21st floor.
A Ruth Chris steakhouse is right nearby, which provided excellent steaks, and superb service.
My plans had changed, and I needed to stay an extra day in HKG. The return flight I had booked on JAL was full on the following day, and again to avoid any problems on CX, I booked a flight on United from HKG-NRT, and the travel agent made the tickets pre-paid, as United would not give an eticket that had AA segments. At 4:00 AM, the phone rang in my hotel room, it was my travel agent. The UAL flight was delayed by 5 hours, so I was booked on CX to get to NRT. I got to the airport early, as I had to go to the United counter to get my tickets issued and endorsed over to CX. A word of caution, it was 6:30 AM, and only one cab outside the hotel. As we headed towards the airport, I noticed a towel was covering up the meter. I asked the cabby to show me the meter, and it was reading $100 HK! He quickly reset it back to the normal starting $15 HK.
21Jul01
HKG->NRT FLT CX 504 Seat: 82K (Upstairs on 747) Class: J
Forgot to mention, I visited the Wing before the flight. I have heard it talked up so much, I guess I expected much more, but it was nice.
What can I say about CX, other than fabulous. The cabin crew did everything to make my flight enjoyable. Absolutely, the finest service I have seen. Always addressed me by name, made small talk with me. Very nice. Had the Japanese meal, good, with a lot of UFOs on it!
I requested a visit to the cockpit, but the First Officer was getting a check out, and a check pilot was on the flight deck, so no visits
Upon arrival in NRT, I had a couple of hours to kill. My first task was to try to get upgraded to first on AA 154 to ORD, as this flight would bring me over the 1,000,000 mile mark on AA. I used 15,000 miles and $75 to get the upgrade. I was really looking forward to the flat beds in F for such a long flight.
NRT->ORD FLT AA 154 Seat: 4H Class: F
This was my first AA international F flight. I have flown AA many times in J. Other than the flat bed, I can really say there wasn't much difference between J and F. The wine list was marginally better, and they had a caviar appetizer. The very "senior" cabin crew was not very service oriented. After one of them stepped on my pillow, I asked if there was another. Without even looking she said "No!". I got up and found another flight attendant, in J, who came back with 3 pillows. My seat mate had dropped here eyeshades, and requested another. The same attendant said, "Don't have any more, its got to be in your seat somewhere" . I went and found the J Attendant who brought another kit. Yikes! AA transpac F was a disappointment, especially after being on CX.
Cleared customs in ORD no problem, made it just in time for my connecting flight.
ORD->RDU FLT AA 1176 Seat: 3B Class: F
Good service from the cabin crew. I was pretty tired, so I don't remember much else.
RDU -> ORD FLT AA 1851 Class: F Seat: 5E
Nice flight, departed on time at 9:46AM arrived on time at RDU.
Flight attendant named Candra did a superb job, from preflight drinks, to always addressing me by name. Brought glasses of water around, without being asked. Great!
ORD -> NRT FLT AA 153 Class: J Seat: 10H
Long flight, on 777. Really hate the entertainment system, and much prefer the portable DVDs. Had the western meal, a Filet, it was ok. My seat mate had the Japanese meal, which looked rather interesting, so I was disappointed that I didn't try it. Service was marginal. Got some pretty good sleep.
Arrived in Tokyo on time, but tired. Went through security, and they confiscated my 2" bladed knife. They said I could pick it up at baggage claim at HKG. I went into the terminal, and tried to find the Admirals Club. The map they gave out on the plane showed it near gate 24. This was not right, as the United club was over there, but I had a nice walk anyway. I found the club, and checked in at the desk. I had to switch to a JAL flight in the other terminal and asked the Admirals club agent how to get there. She said to take the bus, downstairs, at 3:50. I decided to have a beer. They had a really cool automated beer-pouring machine that you stuck your glass under and press a button, and you get a perfectly poured beer!
Went down to the connecting bus area with 10 minutes to spare, so I just hung out there. A bus came up, and let passengers off. I tried to get on this bus, but the guard wouldn't let me. At 3:50, a bus came by, and I tried to get on that one. He wouldn’t let me on it either. His English wasn't good, and my Japanese is non-existent. I pointed to the TV monitor and showed him what flight I was on, and he told me to go back up to the AA counter. I described my plight to a desk agent, who accompanied me down to visit the guard. There was an AA bus parked there this time, and the agent negotiated with the driver to take me to the other terminal.
Checked in at JAL, and went to their club, Sakura Lounge. Had more fun with the beer pouring machines.
NRT -> HKG FLT JAL 735 Class J Seat: I forget, but downstairs.
I had originally booked a flight on CX from NRT-HKG, but due to the industrial action, I switched to JAL. Excellent service from the cabin crew. Very polite. Added bonus on the 747-400 was a camera mounted on the outside pointing forward, and played on the screens. After take off, it switched to a downward pointing view for a while. It came back on when we had about 5 minutes to HKG. Really cool watching the landing. Had the western meal, as the Japanese meal didn't look appealing.
When we got to HKG, at the end of the jet bridge, was a lady holding up my knife. I gave her the receipt I had, and she gave me the knife.
At HKG
I was 10 days in HKG, and stayed at the Kowloon Shangri-La. Excellent hotel, with some very good restaurants. Had a room on the 21st floor.
A Ruth Chris steakhouse is right nearby, which provided excellent steaks, and superb service.
My plans had changed, and I needed to stay an extra day in HKG. The return flight I had booked on JAL was full on the following day, and again to avoid any problems on CX, I booked a flight on United from HKG-NRT, and the travel agent made the tickets pre-paid, as United would not give an eticket that had AA segments. At 4:00 AM, the phone rang in my hotel room, it was my travel agent. The UAL flight was delayed by 5 hours, so I was booked on CX to get to NRT. I got to the airport early, as I had to go to the United counter to get my tickets issued and endorsed over to CX. A word of caution, it was 6:30 AM, and only one cab outside the hotel. As we headed towards the airport, I noticed a towel was covering up the meter. I asked the cabby to show me the meter, and it was reading $100 HK! He quickly reset it back to the normal starting $15 HK.
21Jul01
HKG->NRT FLT CX 504 Seat: 82K (Upstairs on 747) Class: J
Forgot to mention, I visited the Wing before the flight. I have heard it talked up so much, I guess I expected much more, but it was nice.
What can I say about CX, other than fabulous. The cabin crew did everything to make my flight enjoyable. Absolutely, the finest service I have seen. Always addressed me by name, made small talk with me. Very nice. Had the Japanese meal, good, with a lot of UFOs on it!
I requested a visit to the cockpit, but the First Officer was getting a check out, and a check pilot was on the flight deck, so no visits
Upon arrival in NRT, I had a couple of hours to kill. My first task was to try to get upgraded to first on AA 154 to ORD, as this flight would bring me over the 1,000,000 mile mark on AA. I used 15,000 miles and $75 to get the upgrade. I was really looking forward to the flat beds in F for such a long flight.
NRT->ORD FLT AA 154 Seat: 4H Class: F
This was my first AA international F flight. I have flown AA many times in J. Other than the flat bed, I can really say there wasn't much difference between J and F. The wine list was marginally better, and they had a caviar appetizer. The very "senior" cabin crew was not very service oriented. After one of them stepped on my pillow, I asked if there was another. Without even looking she said "No!". I got up and found another flight attendant, in J, who came back with 3 pillows. My seat mate had dropped here eyeshades, and requested another. The same attendant said, "Don't have any more, its got to be in your seat somewhere" . I went and found the J Attendant who brought another kit. Yikes! AA transpac F was a disappointment, especially after being on CX.
Cleared customs in ORD no problem, made it just in time for my connecting flight.
ORD->RDU FLT AA 1176 Seat: 3B Class: F
Good service from the cabin crew. I was pretty tired, so I don't remember much else.
Jul 25, 2001, 8:00 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum (3MM), QF Lifetime Gold, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, Ex-Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 7,541
How were the JAL and/or CX J seats and entertainment compared to AA?
Didn't AA have better champagne/wine in F vs. J?
Didn't AA have better champagne/wine in F vs. J?
Jul 25, 2001, 1:54 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Raleigh NC AA PLT 1MM
Posts: 44
Nologic:
Yes, the seats were better in AA F than CX or JAL J. However, BA J seats are comparable to the AA F.
The wine list marginally better (over AA J).
Entertainment was comparable on CX to AA. JAL I didn't pay much attention to.
Yes, the seats were better in AA F than CX or JAL J. However, BA J seats are comparable to the AA F.
The wine list marginally better (over AA J).
Entertainment was comparable on CX to AA. JAL I didn't pay much attention to.