1st Class EUG to BKK
Oct 18, 2003 | 11:10 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Newport, Or, USA
Programs: DL PM, 2 Million Miller
Posts: 295
1st Class EUG to BKK
This is a trip report from Eugene, Oregon to Bangkok, Thailand on October 1, 2003. I live on the Oregon coast and it is easier, a much shorter drive, to depart from Eugene, rather than Portland. I spent the night with some friends in Eugene who took me to the airport to catch Horizon Air flight 2218 to Portland. They are good friends who wake up at 4 AM to get me to the airport in time for my 5:20 short hop to Portland.
This ticket is a Star Alliance 1st class award. When buying a ticket I fly business class. I then save my miles for a 1st class trip. I go to Asia 3 or 4 times a year. This allows me to generally make one trip per year in 1st class. I generally use Skyteam carriers but this time wanted to use my United miles because I am concerned about the impact of their bankruptcy proceeding on the Mileage Plus program. In booking the trip I intentionally selected different Star Alliance members to get a taste of several airlines. For the award ticket from Portland, Oregon I will fly United to LAX; then ANA to Narita and finally Thai Airways from Tokyo to Bangkok. Ill return home in 12 days on a paid Korean air ticket and in January 2004 on my return to the States use the balance of the award ticket on Thai to Hong Kong and United from Hong Kong to San Francisco and then onward to Eugene on UA. This routing will allow me to fly ANA for the 1st time, use the special arrivals ground staff in Bangkok that TG offers its 1st class passengers, use the UA 1st class sky suite and Arrivals by United on my return to SFO in January. I purchased a ticket from Eugene to Portland on Horizone Air where I will begin using the award ticket. UA was unable to find me space from Eugene to SFO or LAX and instead placed me on a flight from Portland to the LAX Pacific gateway. I booked my flight one month before departing.
It was very easy to find a seat mid week in early October. Getting back the first weekend following New Years Day was more difficult, but a very helpful agent at UAs Mileage Plus program kept working various routings until he found one that met my needs. I have nothing but praise for United Airlines efforts to book this flight for me.
The short hop on Horizon Air from EUG to PDX left on time at 5:20 AM and arrived 5 min early at 5:55 AM. The flight on the Bombardier Q200 was about 50% full. There was plenty of room for all passengers on this single class flight. The young friendly FA managed a beverage service on the flight. A good flight, check in was brief, we left on time, arrived on time and I wasnt crammed into a seat like a sardine in a can.
There was a long hike from the Alaska/Horizon gates on the westerly edge of the Portland airport to the United gates on the east end. I had to check in again with United even though my luggage had been checked to Los Angles from Eugene. I did not want to check the bag thru to Bangkok because I have had items stolen from my luggage if it is unlocked there. I decided to check the bag to LAX and recheck for the ANA flight across the Pacific. I hate the TSA requirement that bags be unlocked for possible inspection. Id prefer to be present if anyone is opening my luggage.
Check in in PDX was a breeze. I have no status on UA but since I was a 1st class passenger the line to check in was short and the agent had me checked in and issued boarding passes in a flash. The line at security stretched for miles with the early morning bank of flights heading east. I used my DL Platinum card to access the express line and was processed through in less than 5 min. I waited for the flight in the Red Carpet Room. This was my 1st time in the UAs PDX lounge. It was uncrowed and offered a complete beverage service, sweet rolls and bagels. My flight to LAX , UA 1031 leaves in 30 min. I wonder what the meal is. As mentioned, I generally fly DL and they have eliminated meals on almost all flights. Delta also closed their Portland lounge.
UA #1031 PDX to LAX. I boarded at 7:10 AM. The line was orderly. The gate was directly across from the Red Carpet Room. I was assigned 1A. The B 737-500 had 8 seats in 1st Class. 5 were occupied. I did not have anyone sitting next to me. Coach appeared to be 85% occupied. The door closed 8 min prior to the scheduled departure, push back was 5 min prior to the scheduled departure. The domestic 1st class seat wasnt bad, especially in a reclined position. In the up right position, the bottom of the head rest slightly cut into my shoulder blade. Take off was smooth and the flight south to Los Angles was very comfortable at 32,000 ft. The sky was bright blue and we hummed along just over the clouds.
On board beverage service began as soon as I was seated. Prior to take off the FA took the beverage order for after take off. I pushed the window shades down and slept for 30 min right after take off. When the FA noticed I was awake she gave me more orange juice and asked if I wanted breakfast. It was a bowl of Wheaties, a banana, a carton of 2% milk, a small container of yogurt and a breakfast sweet roll. I ate the cereal and fruit. The FA saw me taking pictures of the meal and my seat. We struck up a conversation. She is actually based in IAD. I asked how Chap 11 had affected her and she said she was happy to have a job. She also said she now had to make an employee contribution to her health care plan. Shes been flying for 11 years and said if she was starting over again, shed select another line of work. She was a real pro and lamented the UA cut backs.
LAX is a dog pit compared the tranquility of Oregon. The flight arrived at the gate on time. It took 45 min to retrieved my bag and hike to the Bradley International Departure building. After locating the ANA counters I knew this trans-pacific flight was off to a great start. There was no line at the 1st class check in counter. Even the TSA matron who inspected my checked luggage was friendly. She had no problem locking the bag after she had inspected it. The ANA ground staff, a small woman maybe 110 lbs and 5 ft tall then offered to move my bag from the TSA table to the check in counter. I tried to help but she would not allow me to assist her. The bag is an 29 Samsonite hard side. This is probably its last journey. Domestic airlines are setting limits of 50 pounds per bag. Is this a revenue ploy or do the carriers want me to check 2 rather than 1 bag on my international trips? The check in agent in Eugene tried to assess a $25 over weight fee because the bag and contents weighed 56 lbs. I talked my way out of the fee..international destination, did not know this new rule etc. When I get back I ll buy a large soft sided Travel Pro and not use the heavier hard sided luggage.
The Signet lounge at LAX used by ANA was fairly small. There was a nice view of a runway. There was a full beverage service, but no snacks or food. There were crackers and soft cheese, but no soup or sandwiches or other food. There were 5 internet stations but you had to bring your own laptop to log on to the internet, via a dial up connection. There were no shower facilities. There were no stand alone computers for public use. There was a sign prohibiting cel phone use. That made the lounge quiet. I dashed into the restroom to use my cel phone. ANA made me a cel phone bandit!
As flight time drew closer, the lounge filled up. There were 2 ANA lounges at LAX, one for 1st and the other for Business Class travelers. There are only 12 1st class seats on the B-777 ANA is using on this route, so many of the business class travelers have filled the lounge. What is amazing is how quiet it is in the lounge. There was a nice touch in the lounge I have not seen before, after you get seated, the attendant presents you with a hot towel to freshen up with.
The flight departs in 30 min. I was told at check in the lounge staff would walk the passengers to the flight. I need to get onboard, eat my lunch and sleep my way to Narita.
It is a 10 min walk from the lounge to the Gate. I passed a Lan Chile flight that was boarding and Korean Air and JAL flights that were also heading to Asia about the same time as my ANA jet. When I arrived at the gate boarding had already begun. There was a line for general boarding and for the premium class passengers. Once on board a smiling FA helped me place my carry on bag in the overhead compartment and took a beverage order.
Before I could get settled in the seat, she also brought a set of in flight clothing to wear, slippers, and a small travel bag with toothpaste etc., a blanket and a heavy sweater. I never used the sweater since it was fairly warm in the cabin. 11 of the 12 1st class seats were occupied. The seats were ANAs 180 flat seat, not the newer sky suite. The seat was very comfortable and could arrange itself in many different positions. I was in 1A, a bulk head seat. There was another man in seat 1C who ate, slept and never said a word in the 11. 5 hours flight.
Prior to take off the head FA came around and individually addressed each passenger by their name and thanked them for flying ANA. The flight pushed back 5 min late. About half way to Tokyo I took a walk through the aircraft. The business class section was larger than I have seen on other carriers 777s. It was much larger than Thais, Korean Airs or Malaysian Air. Business class was 90% full as was the coach section.
After reaching cruising altitude a hot towel was offered with the initial beverage service. The towels were offered through out the flight, before meals, after meals, when you woke up from a nap, and before landing. There were 2 rows, 6 seats in each row in a 2-2-2 configuration. I had no problem sleeping in the seat. Or moving about without disturbing the man in 1B.
I took 2 hours to complete the lunch meal. There was a choice of a Japanese set or 2 different Western entrees, a steak or a sea food set with salmon, scallops and crab claws. I had the seafood selection. Initially I had 2 flutes of Krug Champagne. This was my first chance to taste Krug, and I enjoyed it better than the Dom Perrigon offered by Thai on the NRT-BKK leg of the trip. There were hor dervs presented off of a trolly for each passenger to select. The meal consisted of Caviar on toasted brioche; Lobster Bisque with several chunks of lobster floating in the soup; a mixed green salad with ****ake mushrooms and a Japanese dressing; my entree was salmon, scallop poele, a crab claw in a creamy champagne sauce; other than the hors dourves the balance of the meal was brought to your seat individually on a china plate.
There were several breads to choose from. I had the garlic bread that is common on Asian airlines. I was stuffed and ready to sleep, but forced my self to have a cheese platter with a bit of Camembert, Roquefort, fromage de chevre and Port-Salut , walnuts and grapes. For the fruit selection there was a half mango with strawberry slices or a half papaya with blue berries and raspberries. Oh my. Too much food and all of it tasty. I finished up with a cup of green tea and lime sherbet, so light and cool, in a deep chocolate cup. ANA is famous for its food service and this meal demonstrated their reputation is well deserved.
After the meal service the cabin lights were dimmed. I was tired and as I reclined the seat into the full flat position, the FA smiled and covered me with a warm duvet. I then slept for 4.5 hours. When I woke up there was plenty of room to walk around the man in the aisle seat. The FA asked what Id like to drink, this time orange juice and cold water. I ordered from the ala cart menu and had bowl of rich, comforting Minestrone soup and an order of Yakitori. Most of the cabin was still sleeping. I accessed the AVOID entertainment and used the Sony noise canceling headphones to watch the Italian job and 1/2 of the Matrix Revisited. The headphones really cancel much of the jet noise and allowed me to listen to the dialog with out cranking the sound up to 10. I fell asleep again and was awakened when the cabin lights were turned on 30 min prior to landing. I had slept through the second pre-landing meal. I changed into my own clothes and returned the sweater and pjs I was given at the beginning of the flight.
Overall ANA makes a highly favorable impression. Check-in was smooth and there was polite Japanese service through out the flight. Anything the airline had available was offered to this passenger with a genuine smile. My final impression was how quiet and serene the 1st class cabin was. The other passengers, I was the only non-Japanesse person in the forward cabin, spoke quietly. There was no loud talking, baby crying, or obnoxious behavior. All in all a very civilized manner of crossing the Pacific.
Once at Narita I had to check in again at the transit counter for my TG flight to Bangkok. I was given an opportunity to wait in the ANA Signet lounge for the 2 hours I had until the Thai Air 747 departed. The lounge was again fairly small compared to SQs lounge in SIN, CXs lounge in Hong Kong, KEs lounges at ICN or other Asian lounges I have visited. There was no shower and only dial up internet access available, assuming you had a Tokyo based ISP. It was only as I was boarding the flight to BKK that I located a wireless lan for high speed access near the gate for the laptop I carried.
Because I had missed a meal on board I took advantage of the sandwiches and sushi available to snack on in the lounge. There was a full beverage selection and an amazing beer dispensing machine. You placed your beer glass in the tray and pressed the button. The tray then tilted back to a 45 angle and filled the glass with beer leaving a perfect head of foam!! Amazing!!!.
I left the lounge 30 min prior to the scheduled take off. The boarding area was chaotic with separate lines for passengers re-boarding and passengers joining the flight in Tokyo. Even with a JAL ground crew, Thai Air managed to give you a little touch of Thailand in the Tokyo airport.
I had seat 1A, a window seat in the nose of the 747. I had both seat A& B to myself. A dour male FA passed out a blanket, headphones and offered, without saying a word, a preflight selection of Champagne, water or OJ. A smiling female attendant gave me a standard leather amenity bag filled with the standard items ( toothpaste, tissue, moisturizer, eye shades, ear plugs,)We departed about 15 min late but arrived BKK 30 min early at 11:10 PM due to the tailwinds.
Much has been written on this board about Thai Airwayss lack of state of the art seating and IFE. Although the plush purple velour seat did not recline to 180, it was very comfortable and I was able to sleep for more than 3 hours on the 5.5 hour flight. I cannot recall if there were individual TV screens. A brochure was distributed to each passenger describing a portable video player with a selection of films. None of the passengers appeared to use this service. This flight had originated in LAX and by this time folks just wanted to rest. Although not a regular component of my diet, I had the caviar again. On the ANA flight each passenger received a small glass jar of caviar. Thai scooped a generous portion of the small black fish eggs on to a plate surrounded by boiled egg yolk and egg white, sour creme and chopped purple onions. Small pieces of toast were also placed on the plate. A selection of hors-dOeuvre was presented. I selected 2 large prawns and a slice of pastrami wrapped around an olive and a small finger sized sweet pickle. The soup was shrimp wonton. The wontons were tasty, but the broth was especially tasty.
The meal was served from a trolly allowing you to see the food before selecting your choice of entree. The choices were an Australian Beef Stew Japanese style, salmon in a yellow curry Thai style, and deep fried breaded chicken, almost tempura style and rice, fried tofu, potatoes, and assortment of vegetables. I had a small portion of the salmon, a piece of chicken, rice and carrots. I passed on the cheese and fruit selection. I was asleep before the green tea cake was served. When I awoke, my tray table had been cleared and returned to its position in the arm rest.
We were still an hour away from landing. I went to the rest room. There were 2 dedicated restrooms for the 16 passenger cabin. The facilities were spotless. The FA even opened the door to the bathroom as I approached. Returning to my seat I took a few slices of watermelon from the snack table set in the middle of the cabin.
Because we arrived early there was no gate available to park the aircraft. The plane eventually made it to an area without a jet way into the terminal. We deplaned near the scheduled arrival time. As is the practice on Asian airlines, passenger deplaned in order of the class of service they were seated in. The 12 1st class passengers were met with white coated Thai staff who placed us on our own bus to the terminal and directed us to special lines to clear passport control. The special lines were not necessary because the other passengers were behind us in other buses. The ground staff also waited with us for our luggage to arrive on the carousel. Most of the first class passengers had their bags delivered from the aircraft in the first cart from the airplane. I suspect since I joined TG 773 in Tokyo instead of departing with the flight from LAX that my bag was on the carousel 5 min after the other 1st class passengers, even though my bag was tagged ANA 1st class and Star Alliance priority. I noticed that the other 1st class passengers who boarded in Tokyo also had to wait for their bags that seemed to arrive mixed in with the business class bags.
I handed my customs form to the agent and walked through the green line with out any inquiry. I was met by my friends and sped off into the Bangkok night in a silver Benz by 10 min after midnight. From the time the aircraft parked, it took 30 min to deplane, ride to the terminal, clear passport control, retrieve my bag and pass the customs counter. Another crossing of the Pacific successfully completed.
This ticket is a Star Alliance 1st class award. When buying a ticket I fly business class. I then save my miles for a 1st class trip. I go to Asia 3 or 4 times a year. This allows me to generally make one trip per year in 1st class. I generally use Skyteam carriers but this time wanted to use my United miles because I am concerned about the impact of their bankruptcy proceeding on the Mileage Plus program. In booking the trip I intentionally selected different Star Alliance members to get a taste of several airlines. For the award ticket from Portland, Oregon I will fly United to LAX; then ANA to Narita and finally Thai Airways from Tokyo to Bangkok. Ill return home in 12 days on a paid Korean air ticket and in January 2004 on my return to the States use the balance of the award ticket on Thai to Hong Kong and United from Hong Kong to San Francisco and then onward to Eugene on UA. This routing will allow me to fly ANA for the 1st time, use the special arrivals ground staff in Bangkok that TG offers its 1st class passengers, use the UA 1st class sky suite and Arrivals by United on my return to SFO in January. I purchased a ticket from Eugene to Portland on Horizone Air where I will begin using the award ticket. UA was unable to find me space from Eugene to SFO or LAX and instead placed me on a flight from Portland to the LAX Pacific gateway. I booked my flight one month before departing.
It was very easy to find a seat mid week in early October. Getting back the first weekend following New Years Day was more difficult, but a very helpful agent at UAs Mileage Plus program kept working various routings until he found one that met my needs. I have nothing but praise for United Airlines efforts to book this flight for me.
The short hop on Horizon Air from EUG to PDX left on time at 5:20 AM and arrived 5 min early at 5:55 AM. The flight on the Bombardier Q200 was about 50% full. There was plenty of room for all passengers on this single class flight. The young friendly FA managed a beverage service on the flight. A good flight, check in was brief, we left on time, arrived on time and I wasnt crammed into a seat like a sardine in a can.
There was a long hike from the Alaska/Horizon gates on the westerly edge of the Portland airport to the United gates on the east end. I had to check in again with United even though my luggage had been checked to Los Angles from Eugene. I did not want to check the bag thru to Bangkok because I have had items stolen from my luggage if it is unlocked there. I decided to check the bag to LAX and recheck for the ANA flight across the Pacific. I hate the TSA requirement that bags be unlocked for possible inspection. Id prefer to be present if anyone is opening my luggage.
Check in in PDX was a breeze. I have no status on UA but since I was a 1st class passenger the line to check in was short and the agent had me checked in and issued boarding passes in a flash. The line at security stretched for miles with the early morning bank of flights heading east. I used my DL Platinum card to access the express line and was processed through in less than 5 min. I waited for the flight in the Red Carpet Room. This was my 1st time in the UAs PDX lounge. It was uncrowed and offered a complete beverage service, sweet rolls and bagels. My flight to LAX , UA 1031 leaves in 30 min. I wonder what the meal is. As mentioned, I generally fly DL and they have eliminated meals on almost all flights. Delta also closed their Portland lounge.
UA #1031 PDX to LAX. I boarded at 7:10 AM. The line was orderly. The gate was directly across from the Red Carpet Room. I was assigned 1A. The B 737-500 had 8 seats in 1st Class. 5 were occupied. I did not have anyone sitting next to me. Coach appeared to be 85% occupied. The door closed 8 min prior to the scheduled departure, push back was 5 min prior to the scheduled departure. The domestic 1st class seat wasnt bad, especially in a reclined position. In the up right position, the bottom of the head rest slightly cut into my shoulder blade. Take off was smooth and the flight south to Los Angles was very comfortable at 32,000 ft. The sky was bright blue and we hummed along just over the clouds.
On board beverage service began as soon as I was seated. Prior to take off the FA took the beverage order for after take off. I pushed the window shades down and slept for 30 min right after take off. When the FA noticed I was awake she gave me more orange juice and asked if I wanted breakfast. It was a bowl of Wheaties, a banana, a carton of 2% milk, a small container of yogurt and a breakfast sweet roll. I ate the cereal and fruit. The FA saw me taking pictures of the meal and my seat. We struck up a conversation. She is actually based in IAD. I asked how Chap 11 had affected her and she said she was happy to have a job. She also said she now had to make an employee contribution to her health care plan. Shes been flying for 11 years and said if she was starting over again, shed select another line of work. She was a real pro and lamented the UA cut backs.
LAX is a dog pit compared the tranquility of Oregon. The flight arrived at the gate on time. It took 45 min to retrieved my bag and hike to the Bradley International Departure building. After locating the ANA counters I knew this trans-pacific flight was off to a great start. There was no line at the 1st class check in counter. Even the TSA matron who inspected my checked luggage was friendly. She had no problem locking the bag after she had inspected it. The ANA ground staff, a small woman maybe 110 lbs and 5 ft tall then offered to move my bag from the TSA table to the check in counter. I tried to help but she would not allow me to assist her. The bag is an 29 Samsonite hard side. This is probably its last journey. Domestic airlines are setting limits of 50 pounds per bag. Is this a revenue ploy or do the carriers want me to check 2 rather than 1 bag on my international trips? The check in agent in Eugene tried to assess a $25 over weight fee because the bag and contents weighed 56 lbs. I talked my way out of the fee..international destination, did not know this new rule etc. When I get back I ll buy a large soft sided Travel Pro and not use the heavier hard sided luggage.
The Signet lounge at LAX used by ANA was fairly small. There was a nice view of a runway. There was a full beverage service, but no snacks or food. There were crackers and soft cheese, but no soup or sandwiches or other food. There were 5 internet stations but you had to bring your own laptop to log on to the internet, via a dial up connection. There were no shower facilities. There were no stand alone computers for public use. There was a sign prohibiting cel phone use. That made the lounge quiet. I dashed into the restroom to use my cel phone. ANA made me a cel phone bandit!
As flight time drew closer, the lounge filled up. There were 2 ANA lounges at LAX, one for 1st and the other for Business Class travelers. There are only 12 1st class seats on the B-777 ANA is using on this route, so many of the business class travelers have filled the lounge. What is amazing is how quiet it is in the lounge. There was a nice touch in the lounge I have not seen before, after you get seated, the attendant presents you with a hot towel to freshen up with.
The flight departs in 30 min. I was told at check in the lounge staff would walk the passengers to the flight. I need to get onboard, eat my lunch and sleep my way to Narita.
It is a 10 min walk from the lounge to the Gate. I passed a Lan Chile flight that was boarding and Korean Air and JAL flights that were also heading to Asia about the same time as my ANA jet. When I arrived at the gate boarding had already begun. There was a line for general boarding and for the premium class passengers. Once on board a smiling FA helped me place my carry on bag in the overhead compartment and took a beverage order.
Before I could get settled in the seat, she also brought a set of in flight clothing to wear, slippers, and a small travel bag with toothpaste etc., a blanket and a heavy sweater. I never used the sweater since it was fairly warm in the cabin. 11 of the 12 1st class seats were occupied. The seats were ANAs 180 flat seat, not the newer sky suite. The seat was very comfortable and could arrange itself in many different positions. I was in 1A, a bulk head seat. There was another man in seat 1C who ate, slept and never said a word in the 11. 5 hours flight.
Prior to take off the head FA came around and individually addressed each passenger by their name and thanked them for flying ANA. The flight pushed back 5 min late. About half way to Tokyo I took a walk through the aircraft. The business class section was larger than I have seen on other carriers 777s. It was much larger than Thais, Korean Airs or Malaysian Air. Business class was 90% full as was the coach section.
After reaching cruising altitude a hot towel was offered with the initial beverage service. The towels were offered through out the flight, before meals, after meals, when you woke up from a nap, and before landing. There were 2 rows, 6 seats in each row in a 2-2-2 configuration. I had no problem sleeping in the seat. Or moving about without disturbing the man in 1B.
I took 2 hours to complete the lunch meal. There was a choice of a Japanese set or 2 different Western entrees, a steak or a sea food set with salmon, scallops and crab claws. I had the seafood selection. Initially I had 2 flutes of Krug Champagne. This was my first chance to taste Krug, and I enjoyed it better than the Dom Perrigon offered by Thai on the NRT-BKK leg of the trip. There were hor dervs presented off of a trolly for each passenger to select. The meal consisted of Caviar on toasted brioche; Lobster Bisque with several chunks of lobster floating in the soup; a mixed green salad with ****ake mushrooms and a Japanese dressing; my entree was salmon, scallop poele, a crab claw in a creamy champagne sauce; other than the hors dourves the balance of the meal was brought to your seat individually on a china plate.
There were several breads to choose from. I had the garlic bread that is common on Asian airlines. I was stuffed and ready to sleep, but forced my self to have a cheese platter with a bit of Camembert, Roquefort, fromage de chevre and Port-Salut , walnuts and grapes. For the fruit selection there was a half mango with strawberry slices or a half papaya with blue berries and raspberries. Oh my. Too much food and all of it tasty. I finished up with a cup of green tea and lime sherbet, so light and cool, in a deep chocolate cup. ANA is famous for its food service and this meal demonstrated their reputation is well deserved.
After the meal service the cabin lights were dimmed. I was tired and as I reclined the seat into the full flat position, the FA smiled and covered me with a warm duvet. I then slept for 4.5 hours. When I woke up there was plenty of room to walk around the man in the aisle seat. The FA asked what Id like to drink, this time orange juice and cold water. I ordered from the ala cart menu and had bowl of rich, comforting Minestrone soup and an order of Yakitori. Most of the cabin was still sleeping. I accessed the AVOID entertainment and used the Sony noise canceling headphones to watch the Italian job and 1/2 of the Matrix Revisited. The headphones really cancel much of the jet noise and allowed me to listen to the dialog with out cranking the sound up to 10. I fell asleep again and was awakened when the cabin lights were turned on 30 min prior to landing. I had slept through the second pre-landing meal. I changed into my own clothes and returned the sweater and pjs I was given at the beginning of the flight.
Overall ANA makes a highly favorable impression. Check-in was smooth and there was polite Japanese service through out the flight. Anything the airline had available was offered to this passenger with a genuine smile. My final impression was how quiet and serene the 1st class cabin was. The other passengers, I was the only non-Japanesse person in the forward cabin, spoke quietly. There was no loud talking, baby crying, or obnoxious behavior. All in all a very civilized manner of crossing the Pacific.
Once at Narita I had to check in again at the transit counter for my TG flight to Bangkok. I was given an opportunity to wait in the ANA Signet lounge for the 2 hours I had until the Thai Air 747 departed. The lounge was again fairly small compared to SQs lounge in SIN, CXs lounge in Hong Kong, KEs lounges at ICN or other Asian lounges I have visited. There was no shower and only dial up internet access available, assuming you had a Tokyo based ISP. It was only as I was boarding the flight to BKK that I located a wireless lan for high speed access near the gate for the laptop I carried.
Because I had missed a meal on board I took advantage of the sandwiches and sushi available to snack on in the lounge. There was a full beverage selection and an amazing beer dispensing machine. You placed your beer glass in the tray and pressed the button. The tray then tilted back to a 45 angle and filled the glass with beer leaving a perfect head of foam!! Amazing!!!.
I left the lounge 30 min prior to the scheduled take off. The boarding area was chaotic with separate lines for passengers re-boarding and passengers joining the flight in Tokyo. Even with a JAL ground crew, Thai Air managed to give you a little touch of Thailand in the Tokyo airport.
I had seat 1A, a window seat in the nose of the 747. I had both seat A& B to myself. A dour male FA passed out a blanket, headphones and offered, without saying a word, a preflight selection of Champagne, water or OJ. A smiling female attendant gave me a standard leather amenity bag filled with the standard items ( toothpaste, tissue, moisturizer, eye shades, ear plugs,)We departed about 15 min late but arrived BKK 30 min early at 11:10 PM due to the tailwinds.
Much has been written on this board about Thai Airwayss lack of state of the art seating and IFE. Although the plush purple velour seat did not recline to 180, it was very comfortable and I was able to sleep for more than 3 hours on the 5.5 hour flight. I cannot recall if there were individual TV screens. A brochure was distributed to each passenger describing a portable video player with a selection of films. None of the passengers appeared to use this service. This flight had originated in LAX and by this time folks just wanted to rest. Although not a regular component of my diet, I had the caviar again. On the ANA flight each passenger received a small glass jar of caviar. Thai scooped a generous portion of the small black fish eggs on to a plate surrounded by boiled egg yolk and egg white, sour creme and chopped purple onions. Small pieces of toast were also placed on the plate. A selection of hors-dOeuvre was presented. I selected 2 large prawns and a slice of pastrami wrapped around an olive and a small finger sized sweet pickle. The soup was shrimp wonton. The wontons were tasty, but the broth was especially tasty.
The meal was served from a trolly allowing you to see the food before selecting your choice of entree. The choices were an Australian Beef Stew Japanese style, salmon in a yellow curry Thai style, and deep fried breaded chicken, almost tempura style and rice, fried tofu, potatoes, and assortment of vegetables. I had a small portion of the salmon, a piece of chicken, rice and carrots. I passed on the cheese and fruit selection. I was asleep before the green tea cake was served. When I awoke, my tray table had been cleared and returned to its position in the arm rest.
We were still an hour away from landing. I went to the rest room. There were 2 dedicated restrooms for the 16 passenger cabin. The facilities were spotless. The FA even opened the door to the bathroom as I approached. Returning to my seat I took a few slices of watermelon from the snack table set in the middle of the cabin.
Because we arrived early there was no gate available to park the aircraft. The plane eventually made it to an area without a jet way into the terminal. We deplaned near the scheduled arrival time. As is the practice on Asian airlines, passenger deplaned in order of the class of service they were seated in. The 12 1st class passengers were met with white coated Thai staff who placed us on our own bus to the terminal and directed us to special lines to clear passport control. The special lines were not necessary because the other passengers were behind us in other buses. The ground staff also waited with us for our luggage to arrive on the carousel. Most of the first class passengers had their bags delivered from the aircraft in the first cart from the airplane. I suspect since I joined TG 773 in Tokyo instead of departing with the flight from LAX that my bag was on the carousel 5 min after the other 1st class passengers, even though my bag was tagged ANA 1st class and Star Alliance priority. I noticed that the other 1st class passengers who boarded in Tokyo also had to wait for their bags that seemed to arrive mixed in with the business class bags.
I handed my customs form to the agent and walked through the green line with out any inquiry. I was met by my friends and sped off into the Bangkok night in a silver Benz by 10 min after midnight. From the time the aircraft parked, it took 30 min to deplane, ride to the terminal, clear passport control, retrieve my bag and pass the customs counter. Another crossing of the Pacific successfully completed.
Oct 20, 2003 | 10:31 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,983
Thanks for the wonderful report so far!
I am glad to hear that you enjoy all the flights so far. ANA First is an extremely good product. But I am a bit shocked when I heard that you had to return your pajamas to the F/As prior to arrival. I thought that you get to keep it... For CX, they donated the leftover or used pajamas to prisoners... of course with the CX tag removed.
TG's service on the NRT-BKK flight is considered a long haul service, especially it is a continued flight from LAX. I guess it explains why caviar is served... also the Japanese flights are often considered a high yield route. CX's flights between HKG and NRT are usually pretty good in terms of catering, but it is true that no caviar service is available. TG had outdated seats and stuff like that, but their caterings are mostly good (although it can use some variety)...
Thanks for a good report so far! Do you get to read about KE service by any chance?
Carfield
I am glad to hear that you enjoy all the flights so far. ANA First is an extremely good product. But I am a bit shocked when I heard that you had to return your pajamas to the F/As prior to arrival. I thought that you get to keep it... For CX, they donated the leftover or used pajamas to prisoners... of course with the CX tag removed.
TG's service on the NRT-BKK flight is considered a long haul service, especially it is a continued flight from LAX. I guess it explains why caviar is served... also the Japanese flights are often considered a high yield route. CX's flights between HKG and NRT are usually pretty good in terms of catering, but it is true that no caviar service is available. TG had outdated seats and stuff like that, but their caterings are mostly good (although it can use some variety)...
Thanks for a good report so far! Do you get to read about KE service by any chance?
Carfield
Oct 21, 2003 | 12:48 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA Plat 2MM. DL Plat, AS MVP
Posts: 12,911
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Carfield:
I am a bit shocked when I heard that you had to return your pajamas to the F/As prior to arrival. I thought that you get to keep it... </font>
I am a bit shocked when I heard that you had to return your pajamas to the F/As prior to arrival. I thought that you get to keep it... </font>
Oct 23, 2003 | 1:42 am
#7
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Tbingen, Germany
Posts: 2,732
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Carfield:
Thanks for the wonderful report so far!
I am glad to hear that you enjoy all the flights so far. ANA First is an extremely good product. But I am a bit shocked when I heard that you had to return your pajamas to the F/As prior to arrival. I thought that you get to keep it...
Carfield </font>
Thanks for the wonderful report so far!
I am glad to hear that you enjoy all the flights so far. ANA First is an extremely good product. But I am a bit shocked when I heard that you had to return your pajamas to the F/As prior to arrival. I thought that you get to keep it...
Carfield </font>
Cheers
Thomas