More crazy mileage running back to Cairo via AC, AA, BA, Alitalia and Cathay First
Sep 13, 2018, 12:37 pm
#20
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: North of Carlisle
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 1,538
I was wondering when the next SFO777 TR would be coming along ^. Glasgow ! My home city - did you actually travel into the city or was it a quick turnaround ? What did you think of the lounge ?
Sep 14, 2018, 9:40 pm
#25
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Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,598
Cathay Pacific First Class to JFK
With a nearly two hour delay on our inbound from Hong Kong, our revised departure time was now 12:40am instead of the originally scheduled 10:55pm depature. Finally, at just before midnight, I headed out for the trek to Gate 73.
Gate 73 is configured as a transit gate and is used by Cathay for thru passengers on their HKG-YVR-JFK flight. YVR originating passengers are required to remain outside the gate until transit passengers have boarded.
Vancouver YVR to New York JFK
Cathay Pacific CX 888
777-300ER
10:55pm-7:00am +1 (sked)
12:40am-8:30am (actual)
September 10, 2018
First Class Suite 2A
As I boarded, my amazing 6 hour Cathay First experience began, with FA Roos escorting me from door 2L to my suite. It may be dated, but the 6 seat 77W First Class cabin is still one of my favorites.
The First Cabin was full tonight with 5 thru pax and me, the lone YVR-JFK pax. A week ago the cabin was still F4 so I'm guessing that most of the pax, like me, were on mileage tickets. I used 40,000 Asia Miles which I accumulated on my Cathay Synchrony Visa card.
Not Krug, but the William Deutz was very nice.
FA Kylie insisted that I take a pic of Roos with the Deutz.
My first of 3 glasses while still at the gate.
Perhaps this is the YVR-JFK kit as I don't recall the long-haul kit being this meh. PJs were offered by I declined for the short flight tonight.
OMG, only 4h13m tonight?? In the end, it would us being more like 4h45m.
Tonight's menu.
Once in the air, Kylie and Roos began what would wind up being 90 minutes of flawless dinner service.
Showtime, Cathay Pacific style.
My aptly described jumbo tiger prawn and crab meat salad, with saffron and tomato sauce.
The personalized Cathay First note is always a nice touch.
The Green Pea Soup was delicious.
Next up, how can I pass on the Chateau Lynch Bages Gran Cru Classé.
For my main, OMG.. The Grilled Canadian AAA beef tenderloin with broccolini, baby carrots, zuchini, mashed potatoes, demi glace and Bearnaise sauce.
The beef tenderoin was spectacular... perfectly medium rare as requested and as Roos promised. Add in Bearnaise and Lynch Bages and this is heaven.
I was so far gone on the consumption scale, that I just kept going. I didn't want to disappoint Roos. LOL. Aged cheddar and triple cream Canadian brie. And another glass of the Lynch Bages.
And of course dessert, white chocolate banana cake with black berry sauce. Yummy.
At this point, we're somewhere over Manitoba and only a couple hours to JFK. Roos made my bed with mattress and duvet and I pretty much feel alseep right away. Amazingly, I got 90 minutes of sleep and it was only the captain announcing our descent that woke me.
Despite heavy fog at JFK, it was a perfect smooth landing.
What an incredible flight, with simply amazing service. Hands down, this is the best transcon North American flight one can fly.
With a nearly two hour delay on our inbound from Hong Kong, our revised departure time was now 12:40am instead of the originally scheduled 10:55pm depature. Finally, at just before midnight, I headed out for the trek to Gate 73.
Gate 73 is configured as a transit gate and is used by Cathay for thru passengers on their HKG-YVR-JFK flight. YVR originating passengers are required to remain outside the gate until transit passengers have boarded.
Vancouver YVR to New York JFK
Cathay Pacific CX 888
777-300ER
10:55pm-7:00am +1 (sked)
12:40am-8:30am (actual)
September 10, 2018
First Class Suite 2A
As I boarded, my amazing 6 hour Cathay First experience began, with FA Roos escorting me from door 2L to my suite. It may be dated, but the 6 seat 77W First Class cabin is still one of my favorites.
The First Cabin was full tonight with 5 thru pax and me, the lone YVR-JFK pax. A week ago the cabin was still F4 so I'm guessing that most of the pax, like me, were on mileage tickets. I used 40,000 Asia Miles which I accumulated on my Cathay Synchrony Visa card.
Not Krug, but the William Deutz was very nice.
FA Kylie insisted that I take a pic of Roos with the Deutz.
My first of 3 glasses while still at the gate.
Perhaps this is the YVR-JFK kit as I don't recall the long-haul kit being this meh. PJs were offered by I declined for the short flight tonight.
OMG, only 4h13m tonight?? In the end, it would us being more like 4h45m.
Tonight's menu.
Once in the air, Kylie and Roos began what would wind up being 90 minutes of flawless dinner service.
Showtime, Cathay Pacific style.
My aptly described jumbo tiger prawn and crab meat salad, with saffron and tomato sauce.
The personalized Cathay First note is always a nice touch.
The Green Pea Soup was delicious.
Next up, how can I pass on the Chateau Lynch Bages Gran Cru Classé.
For my main, OMG.. The Grilled Canadian AAA beef tenderloin with broccolini, baby carrots, zuchini, mashed potatoes, demi glace and Bearnaise sauce.
The beef tenderoin was spectacular... perfectly medium rare as requested and as Roos promised. Add in Bearnaise and Lynch Bages and this is heaven.
I was so far gone on the consumption scale, that I just kept going. I didn't want to disappoint Roos. LOL. Aged cheddar and triple cream Canadian brie. And another glass of the Lynch Bages.
And of course dessert, white chocolate banana cake with black berry sauce. Yummy.
At this point, we're somewhere over Manitoba and only a couple hours to JFK. Roos made my bed with mattress and duvet and I pretty much feel alseep right away. Amazingly, I got 90 minutes of sleep and it was only the captain announcing our descent that woke me.
Despite heavy fog at JFK, it was a perfect smooth landing.
What an incredible flight, with simply amazing service. Hands down, this is the best transcon North American flight one can fly.
Last edited by SFO777; Sep 14, 2018 at 10:50 pm
Sep 14, 2018, 9:41 pm
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,598
In spite of the long walk from the T8 40 Gates to CBP, I was upstairs in the departures level of T8 less than 15 minutes after deplaning.
The biggest delay was at PreCheck, where there seemed to be a whole lot of confusion by the one PreCheck agent who appeared to be have no interest in expediciously processing passengers. Add in the wave of line cutters and it took 15 minutes to clear security.
And then to the Flagship Lounge, where I had the most bizarre experience. Since Cathay Pacific has an arrangement with AA for its passenger to access Flagship First Dining, typically one can access First Dining on arrival when connecting to an AA flight. Either the policy has changed or the lounge dragon was having a bad day or was just uninformed. She looked like she'd seen an alien when I told her that I and others have previously access First Dining on arrival. She offered one excuse after another as to why I couldn't access from First Dining, from "I've never heard of that" to "I don't have any invitations". The final whopper was "since I used the Cathay Lounge in Vancouver, I couldn't use First Dining at JFK". Not that I was going to eat anyway since I was still completely stuffed from my dining orgy that only ended 3 hours earlier. I only wanted it to make sure I could still access and for the photo op.
So I gave up and entered the Flagship Lounge, just not Dining, which both my Business Class ticket and BA Gold status give me access. And then for a shower which I really wanted and needed.
Not this time.
The biggest delay was at PreCheck, where there seemed to be a whole lot of confusion by the one PreCheck agent who appeared to be have no interest in expediciously processing passengers. Add in the wave of line cutters and it took 15 minutes to clear security.
And then to the Flagship Lounge, where I had the most bizarre experience. Since Cathay Pacific has an arrangement with AA for its passenger to access Flagship First Dining, typically one can access First Dining on arrival when connecting to an AA flight. Either the policy has changed or the lounge dragon was having a bad day or was just uninformed. She looked like she'd seen an alien when I told her that I and others have previously access First Dining on arrival. She offered one excuse after another as to why I couldn't access from First Dining, from "I've never heard of that" to "I don't have any invitations". The final whopper was "since I used the Cathay Lounge in Vancouver, I couldn't use First Dining at JFK". Not that I was going to eat anyway since I was still completely stuffed from my dining orgy that only ended 3 hours earlier. I only wanted it to make sure I could still access and for the photo op.
So I gave up and entered the Flagship Lounge, just not Dining, which both my Business Class ticket and BA Gold status give me access. And then for a shower which I really wanted and needed.
Not this time.
Sep 14, 2018, 9:41 pm
#27
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Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
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Posts: 21,598
New York JFK to London Heathrow LHR
American 142
777-200
10:20a-9:45pm
September 11, 2018
Business Class Seat 7L
At T-45, I headed downstairs to nearby Gate 16 where boarding had been underway for at least 5 minutes. Today's flight is part of my $1,700 Cairo-Honolulu unlimited stop-over including transcon First fare. With all the stopovers and fights on this ticket, I figured that I paid maybe $250 tops for this segment..
My seat today, 2nd cabin rear-facing bulkhead seat 7L. If I have to fly Business and this plane, I prefer the rear-facing seats as their is more shoulder room. But is it still Business.
Service on AA can be hit or miss depending on the crew, but today's New York based crew was excellent.
Today's menu.
The dopey AA amenity kit... although it probably had more of value that the Cathay First amenity kit.
Showtime, AA Busines Class style.
Sure looked pretty, but not so much on the taste side. Can you say processed cheese?
Salad was a little better especially the hearts of palm and jicima.
On the other hand, the Pommery Mustard and Honey Baked Chicken quite tasty and substantial.
Jeez Louise, a little overkill with the giant carrots??
Mid cabin snack counter...
And the pre-landing snack, the Croque Monsieur with quinoa salad..
Quinoa salad was refreshing.
While that croque (or cheese sandwich as our FA called it) was really quite good.
With a flight time of just over 6 hours, we landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule. All in all, it was a pleasant flight for Business Class. Reasonably comfy, surprisingly tasty food and excellent service.
American 142
777-200
10:20a-9:45pm
September 11, 2018
Business Class Seat 7L
At T-45, I headed downstairs to nearby Gate 16 where boarding had been underway for at least 5 minutes. Today's flight is part of my $1,700 Cairo-Honolulu unlimited stop-over including transcon First fare. With all the stopovers and fights on this ticket, I figured that I paid maybe $250 tops for this segment..
My seat today, 2nd cabin rear-facing bulkhead seat 7L. If I have to fly Business and this plane, I prefer the rear-facing seats as their is more shoulder room. But is it still Business.
Service on AA can be hit or miss depending on the crew, but today's New York based crew was excellent.
Today's menu.
The dopey AA amenity kit... although it probably had more of value that the Cathay First amenity kit.
Showtime, AA Busines Class style.
Sure looked pretty, but not so much on the taste side. Can you say processed cheese?
Salad was a little better especially the hearts of palm and jicima.
On the other hand, the Pommery Mustard and Honey Baked Chicken quite tasty and substantial.
Jeez Louise, a little overkill with the giant carrots??
Mid cabin snack counter...
And the pre-landing snack, the Croque Monsieur with quinoa salad..
Quinoa salad was refreshing.
While that croque (or cheese sandwich as our FA called it) was really quite good.
With a flight time of just over 6 hours, we landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule. All in all, it was a pleasant flight for Business Class. Reasonably comfy, surprisingly tasty food and excellent service.
Last edited by SFO777; Sep 16, 2018 at 9:16 pm
Sep 14, 2018, 10:02 pm
#28
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
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Posts: 21,598
Indeed and Mrs. SFO777 agrees with you.
Sep 15, 2018, 8:31 am
#29
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: In between IAD and DCA
Programs: UA Plat 1.1MM , Marriott Gold Elite, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,262
Another world class trip report from the best in the business! Can't wait to see the rest of the trip report.
Reading on your website, I am floored at the BA J cabin layout. Who in the world said "Yep, this will be great."? LOL. I would never fly that product unless it was a tremendous deal.
Reading on your website, I am floored at the BA J cabin layout. Who in the world said "Yep, this will be great."? LOL. I would never fly that product unless it was a tremendous deal.
Sep 15, 2018, 2:02 pm
#30
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: USA
Programs: AA-CK, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,448
Thank goodness you posted a trip report - I was researching the FT T&C's to figure out how to do a wellness check! Also, those 100+ views from the same IP on your website - that was me checking in case I missed something!
Looking forward to the rest!
Looking forward to the rest!