enviroian

LOL

T7ER

Great report SFO777 as always....I love these 3 days get aways...it is about time I had one myself....

rdurlabhji

Man that meal at Gaa looks amazing. It's great to see Indian food elevated to Michelin star levels.

GodAtum

dickie98

It's been some time since I flew the pointy end on JAL. Did they still serve the Queen of Blue tea? I always really enjoyed that and would alternate between that and an alcoholic beverage. JAL also used to serve the Hibiki 17 but sadly that can't happen any more, too expensive and hard to source. Great trip report!

xjaehyun

Great JAL F writeup, SFO777. I'll be flying in it in a couple of months and based on your review, I can't wait!

SFO777

Thanks dickie98. Yes, they do still service Queen of Blue.



Thanks very much xjaehyun. Enjoy your flight!

mad_atta

What better sign that nature is finally healing than an international first class trip report from SFO777? Looks like a great trip. I had no idea that TG had newly fitted F on some B773s these days - and miraculously the service levels and catering quality still seem to be very high. It seems like a marginally viable product right now so I had feared the worst.

The BKK lounge looks like it's perhaps a roped off area of the business lounge, rather than the new F lounge? Was the spa open?

I'm interested as to why you consider the wine list (champagne aside) to be dreadful? It's definitely quirky, and I'm not familiar with all of it, but it looks like an interesting and respectable offering to me (admittedly with a few notable lapses in quality). But definitely a list where you could find interesting and appealing things to drink. (The Kusuda Pinot Noir in particular is fabulous stuff - though I see in the fine print that's not served on the US routes.) Just not to your taste or are there particular wines on there you dislike?

I can see the appeal of their champagnes, though. Snaring a ticked on JL F is likely the only way I'll try Salon so that's on the (champagne) bucket list

SFO777

Thanks very much mad_atta. The BKK F lounge is new and it is a separate lounge beyond the Business Lounge. No idea about the spa as it was early in the AM and I didn't have to presence of mind to ask.

I'm partial to French wines so I guess my wine frame of reference is EK which has the best and most extravagant in-flight wine list, and which is 60% French. Apart from the Chateau Lagrange and Prophet's Rock, I hadn't encountered any of the offerings. In that case, I check to Vivino app before pushback. Anything under a 4.0 rating or $50 is not worth my while in flight when my options are Cristal, Salon or Comtes. A $15 bottle of wine in F?? Seriously?

ssb2045

Had lunch at Rongros yesterday after visiting Wat Pho thanks to your recommendation, SFO777 . Great food and view, even though I thought the Tom Kha was on the spicy side for my gringo palate. The cocktail list looked great, but no booze allowed thanks to a Buddhist holiday.

SFO777

Thanks ssb2045. Glad you enjoyed Rongros.

Genius1

An enjoyable read!

​​​​​​What on earth is that triangular lump on the bread plate on your DEN-ORD sector? The ORD Flagship lounge catering looks better than the others in the network. I like how each of the AA Flagship lounges follows a consistent style, although they do feel a little utilitarian and perhaps even a little dated these days. It will be interesting to see what the new PHL Flagship lounge is like when it (if it ever) opens.

I too don’t get JL's BEDD branding. Every time I see ‘Sky Auberge’ I think it says ‘Sky Aubergine’ . JL’s catering looks superb, but it would look even better showcased on a white tablecloth. I was very impressed with the catering on my ITM-HND sector in First Class a few years ago, even on such a short flight. I hope the NRT ground experience has now improved post re-opening of Japan to foreign tourism.

I haven’t heard great things about TG recently (dirty cabins, limited service), but it seems that wasn’t the case on your flights, perhaps because you were flying on a new aircraft and of course were in F. The doily in the bread basket is very old fashioned, but the catering seemed decent. The new Royal First lounge at BKK didn’t look as special as the old one, which is a bit disappointing.

SFO777

Thanks very much Genius1 for reading and your comments. That triangular thing on AA was some type of scone. Unfortunately, it had the consistency of a hockey puck.

I really enjoy the ORD Flagship Lounge and would rank it my favorite in the AA network.

Really enjoyed TG and their new 77W cabin, but I would agree that the new F Lounge is not as nice or as special as the old one. I'm heading back to BKK in July on the same routing, although this time I was fortunate to find ANA First seats using my VS miles for my ORD-NRT flight .

glasman19

[QUOTE=SFO777. I'm heading back to BKK in July on the same routing, although this time I was fortunate to find ANA First seats using my VS miles for my ORD-NRT flight .[/QUOTE]

Now SFO7777 do tell. How do you use your Victoria Secret (VS) card points to book a flight? You are good. 😜

ewh9

Thank you for your review of Gaa. My wife and I went last night, and it was also the best meal I've had this year. The service was perfect, and I really enjoyed the participatory aspect of some of the dishes.

The current vegetarian menu and wine pairings