New Years Trip Ver. 2

As we approached 1 week prior to travel, new award space opened up and I ended up changing my New Years Trip Itinerary a bit. TG F space opened up on FRA-BKK so instead of routing through Osaka I elected to take this route and save a couple hours. It doesn't hurt that I also get to try out the First Class Lounge in BKK. Hopefully, they will let me in. So as of now my Itinerary is as follows(I'm probably going to make a couple more changes to the return).

LH457 LAX-FRA First

TG 921 FRA-BKK First

TG413 BKK-SIN Business

SQ828 SIN-PVG Economy

UA878 PVG-LAX Business

New Years Trip booked!!!

In early December, I got the itch to travel again. Checking my schedule, I could only get off work 12/29-1/3This of course is the busiest travel period of the year and I had little hope of getting anywhere.

I would check KVS tool every now and then for award availability and low and behold availability was there for NZ C class for LAX-LHR. And, what do we have here?? Availability on wet leased TG 777 from FRA-SIN? And wow, return availability on UA C from PVG-LAX. So I pieced together my itinerary. The timing worked out perfect and I called up Continental to book the following C class itinerary for 120k miles and about $110 in taxes.

NZ 2 LAX-LHR Business

LH 907 LHR-FRA Business

TG923 FRA-BKK Business

SQ977 BKK-SIN Business

SQ828 SIN-PVG Economy

UA878 PVG-LAX Business

Couple days go by and what do we have here, LH F space opened up from LAX-FRA. Although Air New Zealand tops the list of airlines I wanna try, I have been dying to visit the Frankfurt First Class Terminal so without hesitation, I called up Continental(Continental allows you to change award levels without re-doing the whole itinerary) and booked the available F space and was able to find availability in LH F from FRA-KIX and C availability on SQ for KIX to SIN. Best of all, I would arrive in Singapore a couple hours earlier. So here's what my final itinerary looks like. 130k miles plus ~$85 in taxes.

LH457 LAX-FRA First

LH 740 FRA-KIX First

SQ619 KIX-SIN Business

SQ828 SIN-PVG Economy

UA878 PVG-LAX Business

There might be a bit more tinkering as I am crossing my fingers that C space would open up for SIN-PVG. Also, since I only get about 3hrs in LH FTC, I might route through HKG instead of KIX, this would allow me to have close to 7hrs. But, as of now, only Y space is available on HKG-SIN. But, overall, I am pretty proud of this itinerary considering the last minute nature of the booking. Trip reports will definitely follow...

Cathay Upper Deck Biz: HKG-PVG

744 that will be taking us to PVG

My HKG-PVG was on a 744 and since I was denied the upgrade to First, I decided to go with the next best option, Upper Deck Business Class. Having never tried the upper deck on a 744, I was actually pretty excited. Cathay's Upper Deck consists of all Business class seating offering a very private cabin right behind the cockpit.

Stairway to Heaven?

Upon entering door 1L, I was greeted by the purser and I was directed upstairs. This was a very exciting moment for me as it was my very first time climbing up the steps on the 744. A young attractive Japanese FA greeted me and directed me to my seat. While walking to the seat, I also got a glimpse of the 744 cockpit, another first for me.

The seats on this 744 were of the Herringbone type which I did not like very much. There was very little storage and I felt a bit claustrophobic as I settled down in my seat.

The Seat

Another attractive FA stopped by my seat and offered me a choice of OJ, Champagne, or Water. Since it was 8am in the morning, I did not want to look like a drunkard so I went with the OJ. The FA also offered to hang my jacket. Let me tell ya, the FA wearing the white on Cathay are the most attractive and also the most junior of the bunch. I couldn't help but be nice to them, saying please and thank you after each request . I have long heard that Cathay hired Flight Attendants from neighboring countries based on service not on looks but it seems now days they are hiring more pretty local girls. Some say the service level has dropped because of this but I did not notice this on my flights. The Flight Attendants on the Intra Asia routes were definitely more junior compared to those on the transoceanic routes.

After a smooth takeoff, an American Pilot came on the PA to introduce himself and told us some information about the flight..Surprisingly, all 4 of my flights on Cathay had either American or British Pilots. I guess most of Cathay Pilots are former pilots for legacy carriers in the US. Who woulda funked it. Haha.

Menu

The Japanese FA came by to distribute the day's menu and took my meal order. I decided to go with the Dim Sum option as it was excellent on the earlier leg. I also ordered the signature drink of Cathay, Cathay Delight.

Cathay Delight

My drink arrived shortly and as expected it was pretty tasty. The drink was green in color and had a hint of coconut and kiwi in it.

The service in CX regional Biz was done from carts and everything was placed on a single tray. Although the presentation lacked a bit, the food was tasty and I was pretty satisfied.

The croissant was excellent

Dim Sum

After lunch, my tray was cleared and I decided to test out the seat in bed mode. Again, I have to complain here because even though I don't have broad shoulders, I felt as if I was in a coffin. I am glad they are switching these seats out to new generation biz seats. I reclined my seat to the more comfortable upright position and proceeded to watch a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory.

The Japanese flight attendant approached me and thanked me for my business and asked me very politely to fill out a survey. Although the survey took about 10mins to complete I was able to get a Cathay pen out of the process :-)

Before I knew it, we were on approach into Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Once again, I did not see the ground until 1000-2000ft off the ground due to the heavy smog and pollution in Shanghai.

I was one of the first to reach immigration and my First Class tagged bag was the 3^rd one out of the carousal. Not bad, from gate to curbside in under 15min. Really makes you wonder if LAX will have this kind of efficiency if US had a 2 billion population. I have never had to wait more than 5min for immigration at PVG even though I hold an American passport. Really amazing how overstaffed the airport is.

The Wing + The Pier Lounge + HKIA

Having traveled to many of Asia's top rated airports, Hong Kong International Airport remains my favorite.

Seoul Incheon International Airport although a true marvel of both architecture and utility, I feel it lacks in the area of convenience, where the quickest method to the city takes no less than 1 hour. Another qualm I have with Incheon is the organization of the terminals. All airlines aside from Asiana Airlines and Korean Airlines is banished to the Satellite terminal creating major inconveniences when trying to arrange meet ups prior to flight.

I have no major qualms with Singapore's Changi International Airport but I feel the inconsistencies between the terminals at Changi is a major negative. However, I like the fact that the shops are open around the clock unlike at HKIA. Also, although the MRT connects the Airport to downtown Singapore, there is no express service to the city.

Hong Kong International Airport features delectable architecture with brand new terminals featuring high ceilings and large windows great for spotting. DFS shopping is excellent and the terminal even features a Zara. An underground train connects one end of the terminal from the other. And lastly, Hong Kong is only 20min away from the airport and is conveniently accessed using the Airport Express train system.

Also it offers excellent First Class lounges with above average amenities. On my trip, I had the chance to sample both of the First Class lounges: The Wing and the The Pier...

Both lounges are similar featuring excellent shower Cabanas which I will feature in this report.

Upon entering the Wing, I inquired about the possibility of an upgrade on my onward flight to Shanghai as it was on a 744 3 class plane sold as a 2 class flight. However, I was quickly denied and was told that they process status based on status on their frequent flyer program Marco Polo Club. Since I was on an award ticket and had no status on Cathay, I pretty much had no chance even with my originating flight being in First. Slightly depressed I asked for the availability of a shower Cabana and was quickly directed to one of the open Cabanas.

Upon entering my private Cabana, I couldn't help but notice how big the room was. It featured a tub, shower, sink, toilet and rest area, I could basically spend an entire morning relaxing in the space. I will let the photos do the talking...

Wicked Cool Tub

Rain Shower

Relaxation Area

I took a much needed shower in the rain shower and ran some water in the tub to soak. Unfortunately the water pressure in the tub was awful therefore I was only able to get about half a tub of water when I got out of the shower. Nonetheless, the bath was comfortable and I was even able to spend 15min lounging in the relaxation area.

After a well deserved rest, I headed out to explore the rest of the lounge.

View from the lounge

The lounge featured an excellent buffet area, but I was too full to enjoy its offerings. I instead headed out to the seating area. As soon as I sat down, I was offered a drink and I went with a glass of orange of juice. I tried out the WIFI and the signal was excellent.

Soon after, I headed out to check out the Pier Lounge, and it was more of the same thing. Pretty soon it was time to board my flight to Shanghai and I headed out to my gate.

CX F, LAX-HKG, Trip Report 8/20/11

Fresh off a grueling 3hr Ops final, I was not expecting to wait in line to check in to my First Class experience on Cathay Pacific. With my mind still swimming with Ops terms, Queue Time and bottlenecks... why am I standing here in line? This cant be right? But there I was, lined up behind 1 couple, + 5 baggage carts, 2 parents, 1 caretaker + 3 screaming kids. I mean this is First Class, there shouldn't be any lines when flying International First? I had read all those trip reports featuring F class flying with extravagant private seating area exclusive for F passengers, sipping on a cocktail and getting taken care of, therefore my expectations were high but then again this is LAX we are talking about, IMO the worst Airport in the world... even celebrities don't get special treatment here. Then, I came to realize that this is in part Cathay's fault. The family of 6 in front of me with the 5 baggage carts were actually OneWorld Emeralds which entails them access to the First Class check-in and priority boarding. In my opinion the First Class line on an airline the caliber of Cathay should be dedicated to F class passengers, not elite members. Although I had to wait 20min to be checked in, my buddy who was traveling on Asiana Y got done with his check-in and had to wait for me. But, I am happy to say that this little hiccup was the only wrinkle of my journey to Shanghai.

Once through security my buddy and I made our way to the OneWorld Lounge. Knowing that as an OneWorld F passenger, I am only allowed to bring 1 guest who is traveling on an OneWorld carrier, when I got to the lounge, I had to beg the lounge dragon to get my buddy traveling on Asiana into the lounge. But with a little pleading we made ourselves into the busy OneWorld Lounge and in no time was sipping on our first bottle of Peroni. I had to pace myself because I had bigger better things in front of me and did not want to get wasted before the flight even started. So after a glass of bubbly and the Peroni I bid farewell to my friend and headed down to my gate to find a massive F class line already forming for boarding. And of course there were plenty of Emeralds in the line. Blehhh...

Boarding started within 3min and after walking onto the boarding bridge I turned left and headed in through 1L door of Cathay's magnificent 77W. I was so giddy I could not contain my excitement. I handed my boarding pass to the Service Manager on the plane and was immediately welcomed aboard and guided to my seat.

“Mr. Jiang, we were expecting you, here is your personal suite. Please make yourself comfortable.”

No less than 5 seconds later, one of the F class stewards came by and dropped off the Shanghai Tang Pajamas and Zegna Amenity Kit. He also offered me a drink.

Before he could finish his question, with a huge smile on my face, I blurted out.

“Glass of Krug please.”

On the way back the steward helped me store my carry on luggage in the storage area on the side of the TV console, and came back with a bottle of Krug. He showed me the bottle and I nodded and he began to pour. Having never drank high end champagne before I did not know what to expect.

That first sip was simply amazing. I could taste the nutty flavor of this well aged glass of Krug, a taste that blows the $20 bottle of champagne I had in the lounge out of the water. I went on to have another glass before the steward collected my glass in preparation for taxi.

The powerful 77W lifted off after a long rotation. 13Hrs and 25min away from Hong Kong International Airport.

The flight attendants snapped into action once the plane reached 10,000ft and distributed the menus for tonight's flight.

Once the seatbelt sign went off I went out to the bathroom to change into my Pajamas.

The IFE was turned on and I began to explore. Before the flight I had already selected the films I wanted to see and dove right into Fast Five. After a quick 3mins of commercial, the movie began to play. The screen size was perfect and the resolution was perfectly fine.

Although I had heard great things about Cathay's chinese food offering, the rack of lamb on the menu caught my eye. I had to have it. So my dinner choice was going to be Caviar with Balik salmon, Truffle with cauliflower soup, Lobster Salad, Rack of lamb, cheese plate and Hazelnut Cake with vanilla ice cream. I decided to switch to the 2007 Lynch Bages on offer(priced at $139 a bottle).

The Lynch Bages although delicious, tasted a slight bit bland as it did not have enough time to mature, but it still ranks among one of the best glass of wine I have ever tasted.

The Caviar and Balik Salmon were extravagant, not as large of an offering of Caviar as they had on board Turkish Airlines(they gave the whole jar) but still it was more than ample. The Balik Salmon was rippling with flavor better than any piece of smoked salmon I have ever tasted.

Then came the bread basket and I went straight for the Garlic Bread which was exquisite, comparable to the one I had on Singapore Airlines.

The soup came next and I could taste the faint bit of truffle in there.

This was followed by the lobster salad filled with 2 whole lobster claws.

The rack of lamb arrived and I dove right in. To be honest I was a little disappointed with this one. The lamb was cooked well with a slight pink center but I did not enjoyed the sauce and mostly regretted not getting the Seafood Stir Fry in XO Sauce.

Despite the full F cabin, the pace of the meal was perfect and I did not have to wait more than 2min for courses to arrive. Really marvelous job by the 2 flight attendants working F that day.

I was then offered some cheese. Although I have never been a fan of cheese, I will try anything on Cathay Pacific once. I just went with the goat cheese and was mildly impressed by the taste. This is certainly not the packets of cheddar they serve on United.

Dessert came next and the Hazelnut cake was moist and heavenly. I also ordered some Bailey's on Ice.

As a last course, the flight attendant brought out some pralines.

Extremely full at this point, the stewardess cleared the plates and offered to make my bed. I accepted and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. First class on Cathay has 2 bathrooms for 6 passengers. The one on the right is smaller, typical of what you see in economy class. The one on the left side is extremely large and well stocked with orchids. The bathroom was kept immaculate and was extremely pleasant to use.

Once I returned to my seat the stewardess was making my bed and this is what I love about Cathay. She went on to start a conversation with me, something I did not experience on Turkish F. I have always read that Cathay Flight attendants are very personable and easy to talk to unlike the robotic service on Singapore Airlines. The stewardess told me that this was only the second time that she has served anyone as young as me in First Class, and told me that it was a pleasure serving me.

After she was done I climbed on the bed and laid down, a bottle of water was placed at my bedside. The bed was extremely comfortable, wider than the Turkish Airlines First class suites. The duvet was extremely comfortable and I watched a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory and clocked out for almost 8hrs.

Noticing that I had woken up, the stewardess came around to offer me a drink. I went with a glass of Johnny Walker Blue on the rocks. Seeing that I still had 4hrs left till Hong Kong, I decided to explore the snack menu. I ordered a bowl of Hot Pot Rice and 15min later, my Hot Pot Rice arrived with a bowl of winter melon soup. The soup was simply amazing, full of taste and extremely refreshing. The Hot Pot Rice was also very good, better than any Hot Pot rice I have had in the US. The chicken was moist and the rice was cooked to perfection. Definitely ranks up there as my favorite food I have tried on an airplane.

While I was finishing up my snack, the stewardess came around to ask me what I would like for Breakfast and when I would like it. I chose the mixed fruit smoothie, Ti Kuan Yin tea, fruit plate and the Dim Sum for 1.5hrs before landing.

After the snack I went on to watch another movie and before I noticed my breakfast service was about to begin.

The fruit smoothie was more of a fruit juice but it was excellent.

The fruit plate was fresh and well presented.

The dim sum was definitely delightful. The Har Gaw was excellent and the lotus leaf rice was as good as any dim sum served on land.

Sadly my flight was coming to an end. The IFE was turned off 15min before landing and after a quick descent we landed at a sleepy Hong Kong International Airport. We made it to the gate within 5min and I was the first to get off the plane. The flight attendants thanked me profusely for choosing Cathay Pacific and wished me a great stay in Hong Kong. Bringing my wonderful Cathay Pacific First Class experience to an end.

So Giddy that I can't Sleep!

One week from tomorrow I will embark on another First Class Trip, this time on Cathay Pacific. I am making the trip to visit family back in Shanghai. Also, I will be making a side trip to Seoul, visiting my classmates who are doing an exchange program at Seoul National University.

I will be flying Asiana on my PVG-ICN-PVG leg and while in Seoul I will be staying once again at the Westin Chosun.

But, I still have 1 long week ahead of me where I have to attend one more 8hr OPs class and a final exam before I get to enjoy my sanctuary 35,000 feet up in the air in Cathay First.

My Summer Travel Plans

Although I lost a great SPG transfer partner in Air Canada today, this predicament allows me to place my focus on AA award redemptions. American is also a transfer partner of SPG and recently I just booked my summer trip to Shanghai using 135k AA miles transfered in from SPG. I will be flying Cathay and Dragon Air in First Class, experiencing the award winning service of Cathay Pacific. After a quick and painless call to AAdvantage Mileage Redemption, my itinerary was confirmed as follows.

LAX-HKG-PVG-HKG-SFO-LAX

I will be sampling Cathay's F product on both the 773 and the 744. I am super excited!

Another option I am considering in the future is to use ANA as a transfer partner for SPG Points. ANA miles can be used for flights on Malaysia Airlines, Etihad and Virgin Atlantic

So, although I am devastated by the changes made at Aeroplan, this gives me an opportunity to explore other programs using SPG points.

Sad day for award redemption

Sad to say, the days of awesome mileage redemptions on Aeroplan are over. Today, they just raised most redemptions by at least 25%, my favorite redemption 120k in First to as far as Singapore went from 120k to 175k, almost a 46% hike. This was the redemption I used for my mini Round The World trip to Seoul and Singapore I took back in January. Sadly no more.

There is however still some decent value to be had with the 90k redemption to most of Europe in business. Such awards also allow 2 stopovers along the way. I guess I will burn the rest of my Aeroplan miles on a mini vacation to Europe this winter.

Highlights from my First Class Experience to Asia

This past Holiday season, I embarked on a trip of a lifetime, sampling First/Business products from the likes of United, Turkish, Singapore and Air China. This was all done using 120,000 Aeroplan miles transferred from SPG account. Here is the summary of the whole trip...

My routing-SNA-SFO-ICN-PEK-HKG-SIN-HKG-IST-JFK-LAX

The final destination being SIN with a stopover in Seoul. I just love the flexibility of Aeroplan Awards.

Some photos from the SFO-ICN Leg...

United First Class Lounge at SFO

The Seat

Had Sea Bass for Dinner

Westin Chosun and scenes from around Seoul...

My Welcome Message at the Westin Chosun

Toiletries at the Westin

Giant Dumplings...

Giant Dumplings

Gyeonbok Palace

$65 piece of meat

Myeongdong

Air China PEK-HKG and around Hong Kong & Singapore...

Air China Business Class Product on A-330

Mhhhh, was able to stop for some BBQ Pork thanks to United's 3hr delay

Chicken Rice vs BBQ Pork? Close call...but I would still take BBQ Pork

Singapore Sling on SQ

Another glass of bubbly

Fried Noodles on SQ

The experience of the lifetime! Turkish First Class Suites!!!

The Suites

The Caviar Tower

PJs

Seat fit for a King

The PJs

Seat Controls

Dinner on TK

Seats on United PS First