atsak

Time again for my annual trek to the land of my birth, Australia. Though I’m pretty Canadian having lived here almost my whole life (and the last few years having spent a lot of time in the US over the last few years I’ve been accused of taking on a few speech colloquialisms and idioms from down that way as well) I do still feel a little bit a part of my homeland, and have lots of friends and extended family to visit. Plus, Toronto was -20 C (Americans – COLD) while I was away so +25 C seemed appealing in the middle of January.

Last year (2022) when things were still a little COVIDy there was availability on ANA and Qatar to and from Australia respectively, so I booked ANA with Aeroplan points first class from ORD to HND then business from HND to SYD. I called up and added the segment from YYZ to ORD because for some reason the Aeroplan booking engine wouldn’t do it online. So ended up with the first class from YYZ – ORD – HND – SYD. Much to my great pleasure, the ORD-HND route was upgraded to “The Suite” just a few months ago. I had been anticipating the old first class as it was previously offered out of ORD. Then I booked Qatar First from Australia when they upgraded it to an A380, and QSuites to IAD, using American Airlines AAdvantage points. Finally an add on separate ticket on United back up to YYZ using my United MileagePlus points in J. Aeroplan, AAdvantage and MileagePlus all used to make this one happen.

Check in at YYZ AC business class cross border took 20 minutes as I had bags and they are always a little confused dealing with dual citizenships and entering the US as a Canadian but Japan and Australia as Australian, but they sorted it out. Global Entry was its usual 15 second affair with the really cool new machines, and off I went to the packed trans border lounge. I took no pictures here I'm afraid; it is suitable but unremarkable and was completely full as has been the case for months.

Air Canada has sucked big time for on time performance since early 2022 and today was no difference, though the delay was when we were already on board and was only 20 minutes. I had scheduled a 4 hour layover in Chicago knowing what it’s like, so I was unconcerned. This ERJ was showing it’s age, with frayed carpet and dirty seats. Such is how it goes sometimes.


AC ERJ

Also, on short haul business you get a cheese plate with Air Canada. A note if anyone from Air Canada catering reads this (LOL, I amuse myself sometimes thinking they care) please put the crackers in plastic so they don’t get soggy. Gross. Cheese was good though!


Cheese Plate

On Arrival in ORD I made my way over to the Polaris lounge. This is a very nice lounge, United has done a good job here and it is probably the nicest one I’ve seen in North America (the * Alliance and One World ones at LAX are nice too, but I think I like the views here better. I haven’t been to JFK so I’m not sure how this compares to any of them there). Here’s a few pics of the dining area and shower / restroom hallway.










I ordered the burger and skillet cookie for lunch. These were really excellent, and I washed them down with some drinkable though not remarkable champagne.




About an hour before boarding I went to the gate so as not to freak out the ANA staff about my passport change to Australian. I was pretty sure Air Canada hadn’t passed the Australian passport details over, I doubted the various data systems involved would talk to each other. I was correct, about 4 people swooped around when I introduced myself, printed new boarding passes after some swiping of the passport, and suggested I return to Polaris. However, the United Club was adjacent to the gate and was a perfectly comfortable quiet place to sit until it was time to go, so I did.

Much to my even greater delight upon boarding, I was the only passenger in first class out of ORD on this fine Monday, and I was offered to board the plane first, before everyone else. The bottle of Krug was not wasted, dear readers, do not worry. However, ANA was very insistent on everyone wearing masks. Don't misunderstand me - I wore masks all the time during the pandemic. But in flight is difficult for me (the dry air induces coughing anyway then I get a bit panicked in a mask that I can't breathe, though I know I can). Fortunately the flight attendant didn't seem concerned when I took it off to eat and sleep.




Upon boarding I was immediately offered slippers and pyjamas, and some inexpensive champagne. I managed to squeeze into the pyjamas but at 6ft4in and 260lbs they were a little form fitting and a little short even in the biggest pair they had. I was however not trying to win fashion shows and was by myself up there, and they were comfortable, so good enough. I will spare you a photo though. The bathroom is small for first class.

The ANA Suite is huge. The TV is 42” I believe and there is more legroom than I could use. But man is it a hard seat. When the flight attendant asked me how it compared to other first class products (I’ve taken Thai (747), Etihad (380), Qantas (380), Singapore (380 and 777), and Emirates (380)) I advised that by western standards the seat was hard – since we’re so soft in the middle we like soft under our behinds. She laughed out loud which I consider an accomplishment by Japanese standards in a professional setting.

The food was excellent. The Amuse bouche was beautiful (I can’t recall exactly what it was but it was really tasty), followed by an appetizer which was equally as tasty of lobster and salmon. I skipped soup as it just fills me up, and followed with a beautiful, tender medium rare beef filet and finished with a magnificently presented blueberry cheesecake.

I washed it all down with the Krug and some Sake. I hadn’t had an opportunity to have Sake before that I remember, and this was excellent. Very smooth, just a bit “hot” after going down, and it was served chilled. I know it’s often served warm, but I can’t say I would have enjoyed it as much if it was.

I set my own table here by the way – I prefer not to ask flight attendants to lay out my cutlery for me. I am aware it’s in the wrong order.










I was offered more food just prior to arrival to Japan, but the flight was somewhat turbulent for several hours en route and I found my stomach was just not there. Some tea and a couple small biscuits did the trick. When I deplaned the ground was still moving to give perspective on the kind of turbulence it was 😊




Given strong headwinds I was disappointingly not able to spend much time at all in the the first class lounge in Tokyo. By the time I took the LONG walk through connections, and arrived at the gate area, found the lounge (not great signage at Haneda to be honest), and jumped in the shower, boarding had started. Annoyingly, ANA changed the gate to something else other than was on my boarding pass and did not advise me when I checked into the lounge, and did not send an update via text or email, and did not update the app with the new gate. There are not a lot of gate location screens in Haneda, so I kind of wandered for about 10 minutes listening for Australian accents. It was fine I made it in plenty of time but it was annoying.

Business class on ANA was suitable, but hot, so I put my fan on. The flight was very turbulent on take off due to high winds in Tokyo but smoothed out above 10,000 feet except for some very mild chop. Dinner was offered but I was still not feeling great, so I watched a movie and then fell asleep. When I awoke it was nearly breakfast time and some eggs benedict was served. Now, readers, this does not look great but it was very tasty, the eggs were perfectly cooked, and I enjoyed it. Also why broccoli at breakfast? I don’t think I can recall seeing that served first thing like this.




Approach to Sydney was over the city, and it always wows me a little bit.




I was fortunate to be staying at a friends unit (apartment, condo, flat, depending on where you are in the world) which afforded incredible views of the ocean and of Australia day, pictured below. The fireworks were amazing and literally right outside the balcony, as if it were a private show. Photographing fireworks is always a bit tricky but I had a couple that turned out not bad below.










In very sad news, a couple days later someone lost their life trying to save two others that had been swept out by a rip into the ocean from an unpatrolled beach. Watching the lifesavers work was a testament to Australia quite frankly. One of the people recovered was immediately OK, the second one required CPR for about 30 seconds but came around and was whisked into an ambulance. Lifesavers landed a helicopter on the beach with senior paramedics and continued CPR on the third victim, for 45 minutes, with four people taking turns doing CPR as far as I could see. It was heroic efforts to save the father of six, but they were ultimately not successful. I have partial video of the event and of the helicopter, but I am refraining from posting it publicly out of respect for the family of the man that died. It’s potentially traumatic for some readers regardless as you can see the CPR ongoing in the background. If you have particular interest in seeing how it all worked, please feel free to reach out to me via PM and I’ll attempt to make it available to you. The approach of the helicopter to the beach is pictured below just to get a feel for it all.



Subsequently I went with my parents and cousins who were also visiting Australia from Canada on an old heritage diesel locomotive trip down the coast to Robertson NSW, a rural Australian town. It was interesting to traverse both coastal and somewhat inland areas, through rainforest and rockface, and past an old coal mill.







On my last day I had to get in my Aussie burger with the lot. This is a burger patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onion, beets, bacon, egg, pineapple and BBQ sauce. Trying to get my mouth around it is pictured below. Next trip evidently to Turkiye to sort out that hairline 😊



Heading home to Toronto via DOH and IAD on Qatar was a treat. I started in the first class Qantas lounge, enjoying some lemon pepper squid and a club sandwich; service was great. Qatar first on the 380 was 4/8 passengers on this trip. The bar was fun, with a few passengers hanging out there and talking about wherever we were coming and going from until turbulence got a bit rough and it was bed time anyway. This bathroom was much larger, and these PJ’s fit better.














Breakfast was consumed partially on the plane, and partially in the Al Safwa lounge. Transit in Doha was easy. The airport is kept pretty warm though I noticed. The Al Safwa first class lounge is huge, but doesn’t have enough showers. I had to wait an hour and a half to get one. Some beautiful artwork and architectural designs.









Onwards to IAD in the Q-suites, which are great business class seats though the footwell was a bit small. Service was excellent. The Qatar Chicken dish served was nice but a little dry. Flavours excellent though.






Upon arrival to IAD, we boarded a bus to the main terminal building which isn’t fun, but global entry was fast and bags came out within a few minutes. I walked upstairs to United check in, and rechecked the bags then headed to the United Club nearest my gate after wandering through precheck which had no one in it. Our flight was delayed 30 minutes, and was otherwise unremarkable on an Embraer.

YYZ is always hit and miss, but Nexus was quick, and bags weren’t. About 45 minutes for the bags to come off, and priority tags were useless. Stepped outside to -20 C ; quite a shift from +28 the day before in Sydney.

So now I've tried first class on Qantas (380), Singapore (380), Etihad (380), Emirates, Thai (747), ANA (777), and Qatar (A380). Singapore remains my favourite so far but I liked each one of them for different reasons:

Qantas had the friendliest service, but weaker food and ground services.
Singapore had the best seat in my opinion, the best food, very good ground services and friendly service.
Etihad had great staff as well, and the shower and suite size were winners. They were really very good in all areas, but nothing excelled. The on board chef was fantastic as well (thanks Greg you've stuck in my head for years - very skilled)
Emirates had a great lounge, but everything else was just very good, and the shower on board is helpful if lounge access is limited.
Thai had a one hour massage I left feeling like jell-o from, and an unbelievable ground game at the time.
ANA Suites were amazing and the food was great, and service was very prompt and professional. The seat was hard though.
The Qatar on board bar was fun and the Al Safwa lounge is probably IMO the best out there.

I've got a few more airlines to sample (BA, LH come to mind first) but have to wait for availability!

Hope you enjoyed a little snapshot of my trip.