Today, I wrap up my trip to and from Bangkok with a look at the value I received for my miles…

In the post “Bangkok Bound” I explained that my Bangkok trip was an excuse to use my points and miles to experience First Class international travel.  I’ve flown and enjoyed international business class a number of times, but this trip was my first time in First.

Before the trip, I had some expectations regarding how First Class would exceed Business Class.  Unlike Business Class, I knew I would be given pajamas for each overnight flight.  I also expected food, service, and comfort to exceed Business class.  In the end, my expectations were only partially met.  In one area, though, First Class, far exceeded my expectations.  I’ll get to that soon…

Pajamas

In business class you are usually given a pair of socks to wear in lieu of your shoes.  In first class, I was given pajamas, socks, and slippers.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that wearing pajamas during the flight made a big positive difference in my comfort.  Here’s a quick review of each airline’s offerings from my trip:

• Lufthansa: Very nice & comfortable pajamas
• Thai: Pajamas were so comfortable that I ended up wearing them for most of my stay in Bangkok (At night, that is.  I would have looked silly wearing them during the day)
• Singapore: Pajamas would have been comfortable, but the top had an inside tag that kept poking me.  They were also a bit warmer than I would have liked.  On the plus side, Singapore offered the best slippers of the lot.

Food

There is no question that the airlines spent more on my food in first class than I’ve ever received in business class.  There was no shortage, for example, of expensive items such as Caviar, Dom Perignon, Lobster, etc.  However, what really matters to me is taste.  I was surprised to find that most of the meals didn’t taste all that great.  In each meal, some parts were good and some were very good, but nothing was fantastic.  I’ve enjoyed meals on business class flights just as much. 

• Lufthansa: They served an excellent salad, but a dried out main course. I tried Caviar for probably the first time ever, but thought it was just so so.
• Thai: Most items were very good, but the main course Duck was just fair.  I tried Caviar again and enjoyed it much more on this flight than on the Lufthansa flight.  It had less of a fishy taste this time.  For me, that was a good thing.  I don’t know how Caviar foodies feel about it…?
• Singapore: Everything was just sort of good enough to eat, but nothing was memorable.  I didn’t mind that I wasn’t offered Caviar.

Service

Service varied tremendously from one flight to the next, so I’ll address each airline separately:

• Lufthansa:  Service without a smile.  Flight attendants did their jobs, but didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about it. As expected, they brought me food and drink, and prepared my bed when I was ready to sleep.  I’ve received equal or better service in business class (on other airlines) in the past.
• Thai:  For the most part, service was excellent and I did feel quite a bit more pampered than I ever have in business class. 
• Singapore:  Service on Singapore was absurdly good.  Everything I needed or wanted was provided, usually before I asked for it.  Each of the cabin crew members introduced themselves personally and really seemed to want nothing more than to make my flight as comfortable and as wonderful as possible.

If I had flown just the one Lufthansa flight, I would have concluded that first class service is not much better than business class.  After flying Thai Airways I would have said that service is a lot better, but probably not so much so that it would be worth paying a lot extra for.  After flying Singapore Airlines, though, I now realize that service can make a huge difference when it is done right.  I would pay more for Singapore service.

Comfort & Quality

As with service, the comfort and quality of the seats on each flight varied tremendously.  Here were my impressions:

• Lufthansa: I flew on an “old style” A330-300.  For sitting, my seat was very comfortable.  When made into a bed, my seat was more comfortable than any flat bed seats I’ve experienced in business class, but just a wee bit so.  The in flight entertainment system was abysmal – much worse than anything I’ve seen in business class.  Despite being an old configuration, everything seemed to be in good working condition and well maintained.
• Thai: Each seat was a mini-suite with doors to the aisle that could be closed for privacy.  For sitting, I found the seat uncomfortable in the straight up position, but very comfortable when reclined.  As a bed, the seat was terrific – much better than the Lufthansa seat I experienced.  The in flight entertainment system included an excellent, huge display and a good selection of movies, but the screen was often too dark for me to see what was going on (despite turning the brightness level all the way up).  Where Thai really dropped the ball was with maintenance.  There were scuff marks all over the mini-suite.  The doors of the suite rattled horrifically during take off and landing.  The partition between my suite and my neighbors was broken and couldn’t be raised up for privacy.  Each suite had a small upright closet and the closet door in my neighbor’s suite kept flying open during take off.  And, there was a gap in the bottom of my storage bin.  Thai has an amazing first class product, so its incredible (and sad) to me that they take such poor care of it. 
• Singapore: In Singapore Suites class, each seat is really more like a private room with walls extending almost to the ceiling.  Like with my Thai flight, the seat itself was uncomfortable in the straight up position, but quite comfortable when reclined.  As a bed, the seat was fantastic.  It was so good that I wouldn’t mind sleeping on it every day.  As to quality, everything was in perfect condition.  The in-flight entertainment system was excellent, and everything in the cabin seemed to be clean and in perfect working order.

In my experiences, first class beds were always better than business class beds.  Even though the Thai seat and surroundings were poorly maintained, the seat as a bed was extremely comfortable.  If you’re flying overnight, this alone could make it worth the upgrade to first class. 

Ground Services

Extra ground services given to first class passengers is a benefit I hadn’t given much thought to prior to this trip.  When deciding whether to fly business class vs. first class it would never have occurred to me before to consider the differences in ground services when making that decision.  Let’s look at what each airline offered:

• Lufthansa: Because I arrived in Frankfurt on Lufthansa First, I was allowed access to their First Class Lounge.  This was a huge benefit since I had a 12 hour layover.  I arrived in the morning and took a bath and shower, and shaved, in a huge private bathroom.  I ate three excellent meals in the Lounge’s restaurant.  And, I worked most of the day in comfort from a recliner that faced outdoors.  During my time at the airport, I visited the business class and Senator lounges.  They were fine, but I was incredibly glad to be able to spend all that time in luxury instead.
• Thai: I had two separate flights on Thai.  The first was the flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok.  The second was during my return home: a short flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong.  When I went to the gate in Frankfurt to see about boarding the first flight, a was greeted by a guy who’s only responsibility is to escort first class passengers to the lounge and to pick them up when the flight is ready for boarding.  This way, first class passengers never have to stand around with the riffraff .  Upon arrival in Bangkok, as a first class passenger I was picked up at the plane and taken via golf cart to the fast track immigration line (there was no line at all, actually).  I was out of the airport and into a taxi in just a few minutes.  When I returned to the airport for my second flight, I was brought to a private first class check-in area where I was seated and offered a cool towel and drink.  I was then escorted down an escalator and onto a golf cart that whisked me about 100 yards through the business class lounge to the first class lounge.  Within that lounge, I was seated in a semi private living room of my own and served a meal.  I took advantage of a free one-hour full body massage offered to first class passengers.  When the flight was ready, they picked me up in a golf cart again and whisked me to my gate.  And, upon arrival in Hong Kong, they met me at the plane and drove me to the transfer desk where I checked in for my Singapore flight.
• Singapore: In Hong Kong, Singapore’s lounge leaves a lot to be desired.  There is a separate area in the lounge for first class passengers but there was literally nothing there but the same types of seats as in the general area.  Food was available (I didn’t try any since I was still full from my Thai flight), but it didn’t look too exciting.  I only experienced one benefit here as a first class passenger: because the departure gate was very far from the lounge, they picked up the first class passengers in a golf cart and drove us to the gate.  That was nice because the gate really was far, far away.  On the other hand, I really could have used some exercise at that point!

On the ground, both Lufthansa and Thai pamper their first class passengers and generally take all of the stress out of the airport experience.  There is no need to worry about where to sit, where to find food, how to find your gate, or when to go.  It’s all taken care of for you, and you’re treated like a king.  Singapore, surprisingly did very little to pamper their guests (other than the golf cart ride to the gate).  I imagine that the experience would have been different if I had been at their home airport in Singapore (see, for example, this review)

First vs. Business

So, is it worth paying extra miles to fly first class instead of business class?  (Note that I don’t ask the question of whether its worth paying more to get out of coach.  There is no question in my mind about that!)  The answer, in my mind, depends on what is valuable to you and to your situation.  If you’re flying overnight, then the added comfort of the beds and the pajamas may be a deciding factor alone.  To me, the difference in food quality and service (except with Singapore) is not worth paying extra for.  The ground services, though, are a big deal.  The Lufthansa and Thai first class lounges, alone could have justified paying extra points for first class.  Golf cart rides were just icing on the cake.

How much extra?

Depending on what type of miles you use and where you intend to go, the difference in cost (in miles) between first class and business class will vary.  Below, I list the price I paid in miles for each flight, and how much it would have been to do the same flight with the same miles but in business class:

One Way Redemption, Detroit to Bangkok, layover in Frankfurt

• First Class: 70,000 United Miles.
• Business Class: 60,000 United Miles.

Extra cost for First: 10,000 miles.  Extra benefit beyond flight experience: Lufthansa first class lounge.  Definitely worth it!

Note: I also paid $38 in taxes and a $75 close-in ticketing fee because I booked less than 21 days in advance.

One Way Redemption, Bangkok to Hong Kong

• First Class: 37,500 Avianca Taca Miles
• Business Class: 25,000 Avianca Taca Miles.

Extra cost for First: 12,500 miles.  Extra benefit beyond flight experience: Thai first class lounge, including 1 hour massage.  Golf cart rides in Bangkok and Hong Kong.  Definitely worth it!

Note: I also paid $23.16 in taxes.  FYI, United would have charged 30K miles, but I value United miles more highly than Avianca miles so I opted for using Avianca miles.  Plus, I wanted to test out the experience of cashing in Avianca miles (it went smoothly).

One Way Redemption, Hong Kong to San Francisco

• Suites Class: 70,125 Singapore KrisFlyer Miles (transferred from Membership Rewards).
• Business Class: 63,750 Singapore KrisFlyer Miles

Extra cost for Suites class: 6,375 miles.  Extra benefit beyond flight experience: golf cart ride to gate.  Worth it for that?  No, but in-flight experience was worth way more.

Note: I also paid $175.68 in taxes and fuel surcharges.

One Way Redemption, San Francisco to Detroit

• Coach class: 12,500 miles and includes a return trip to San Francisco later in the year (see “Delta: two one-way awards for 12,500 miles“)

About booking these awards

I asked Bobby@AwardBookingService to help me find these awards.  I could have found these or similar flights myself, but I’m regularly asked for award booking recommendations so I like to try out different services whenever I get a chance.  Based on my experience here, I would not hesitate to recommend his service to anyone.  He was thorough, patient, knowledgeable, and very responsive.  You can find him at: www.awardbookingservice.com.

Some people will note that I could have saved a lot of points by booking this differently.  Certainly if I had decided to stop in Hong Kong rather than Bangkok, I would have saved 37,500 miles right there.  I could have also saved a bit by using different miles for my Bangkok to Hong Kong leg.  Even more so, I could have saved a lot if I had given up on the Singapore Suites class idea and booked a round trip ticket using United, US Airways, or American Airlines miles.  That’s all true, but… I wanted to see my mom in Bangkok; I wanted to experience the Thai first class lounge in Bangkok; I wanted to test out using Avianca miles; and most of all I wanted to try out Singapore Suites (and I’m glad I did!) which can only be booked with KrisFlyer miles.  In other words, I had my reasons .

Overall, I used 190,125 miles for this first class, round the world adventure. For the same flights and with the same miles, I could have taken the trip in business class for 161,250. In reality, though, if business class were OK, I would have booked a single round trip ticket using US Airways, American, or United miles and I would have spent far less. For example, if I tweaked my itinerary a bit so that Hong Kong appeared to be my destination (with Bangkok as a stop-over) I would have paid just 90,000 miles total using US Airways miles! Or, with AA miles I would have paid 110,000 miles and then received 10,000 back thanks to a 10% back benefit of my AA credit card (which is capped at 10K per year back).

Conclusion

Depending on the airline, which flights you take, and how much time you spend at the airport, the value of first class vs. business class will vary tremendously.  If you have a simple short non-stop itinerary and a good business class option, the added value of first class may be minimal.  If you have along, complicated itinerary, you’re likely to benefit a lot from the added first class perks.  Overall, if you can afford the extra miles, I’d say go for it and enjoy it!

Read my Bangkok trip reports here:

• Bangkok Bound
• Bangkok Bound: Lufthansa
• Bangkok Bound: View from the Loo
• Bangkok Bound: Thai 1st class, and my uh-oh moment
• Bangkok Bound: My dangerous decision
• Bangkok Bound: Point-less luxury at the Renaissance
• Bangkok Bound: Don’t Fly Singapore Suites

Join me as I travel in style to Bangkok and back.

I arrived home this morning.  My return flight from Bangkok began with a short trip to Hong Kong on Thai Airways, followed by an amazing flight on Singapore Airlines in their Suites class from Hong Kong to San Francisco.  Then, like a slap in the face, I took a red-eye flight on Delta, in coach, back to Detroit.

I loved everything about the Singapore Airlines flight.  The suite and the service were awesome.  The food was good, but not great.  I hardly noticed that, though, because I was too busy savoring the overall experience.

The flight attendant, who introduced herself as Ivy Lee, was simply amazing.  She seemed to anticipate every need before I asked.  And, anytime she wasn’t there, others were readily filling in.  None of my earlier experiences on this trip came close to the level of service I experienced on this flight.

Then there was the suite…  Wow.  Suite walls rose almost to the ceiling to create a truly private room.  The room looked great and was well designed with controls, storage cubbies, etc. wherever you needed them.  The entertainment system featured a huge, bright screen, a good selection of movies, and comfortable Bose headphones.  My only quibble was that the seat itself was uncomfortable when in the upright position.  There was something hard under the cushion.  It was so prominent that when I first sat down I actually thought I had sat on the seatbelt.  When reclined, though, the seat was great.

And, it gets better…  There were so many empty suites that every Suites Class passenger was given two rooms: in one, the seat was turned into a bed; and in the other the seat remained a seat.  I started thinking of the two rooms as my bedroom and my living room.  My living room was for watching movies and dining, and my bedroom was where I read and slept.  And, I slept well because the bed was incredibly comfortable.  That is, I would have slept well if I wasn’t so darned excited about how great everything was…

My bedroom.  I opened the doors and the privacy shades to take this photo.

My living room, as viewed from my seat.  Note that the TV looks a bit warped in this picture due to the iPhone panorama feature I used.  It’s quite straight in real life.

Why you shouldn’t fly Singapore Suites Class

Now that I’ve flown Singapore Suites, I never want to fly any other way!  Had I flown this leg at the beginning of the trip rather than at the end, my First Class flights on Lufthansa and Thai would have been huge let-downs.  Don’t let this happen to you.  And, more importantly, don’t take away award space that I might need! 

Join me as I travel in style to Bangkok and back.

Usually, the travel hacking game goes like this: 1) Get lots of miles & points as cheaply as possible; and 2) Spend miles & points to travel, often in luxury.  And, without question, that was the formula I followed for booking my First Class flights for this trip to Bangkok and back.  My hotel, though, was a different story…

The formula I followed for hotel luxury for this trip was as follows: 1) Obtain high level elite status as cheaply as possible and, along the way, earn free night certificates; and 2) Spend the free night certificates at a fantastic hotel, and enjoy great elite status perks.  No points were required.

Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel

It’s not often that a hotel exceeds my expectations, but this one did. Here are some of the highlights:

Check In:  As a Platinum elite, I was escorted to the club lounge and served tea during the check-in process. This did far more to make me feel special than the obligatory “thank you for being a loyal guest” welcome I’ve become used to at every other Marriott property.

Club Lounge: The lounge was open throughout the weekend.  It offered a full hot breakfast buffet as well as the choice of made to order omelets or Eggs Benedict.  High Tea, with amazing desserts, was served every afternoon from 3 to 5.  Open Bar was 4:30 to 8:30.  And, canapés were served from 6 to 8.  All food service included a mix of western style foods and Thai specialties.  And, all of it was fantastic… except the Eggs Benedict.  I’m a big fan of Eggs Benedict, in general, but somehow they dropped the ball on this one.  Despite that one quibble, the lounge was awesome.

Complimentary Laundry or Pressing: As an elite guest with access to the lounge, I was entitled to 1 piece per night of complimentary laundry.  I could have left a few items at home had I known about this benefit!  Examining their laundry price list, I see that the most expensive item to launder is a Safari-suit (300 Baht).  If you go, maximize this benefit by wearing your Safari-suit every day and have it laundered every night .

Complimentary Massage: As an elite guest with access to the lounge, I was entitled to a free 15 minute Head and Shoulders massage.  No dandruff required.

Platinum Arrival Gift: When given the choice of food & a drink or 500 Marriott points for my arrival gift, I chose the food and drink.  The Mango and sticky rice plate I selected was delicious!

Corner Room/Suite: They upgraded me to a room that they called a suite.  Normally, I expect a suite to have a separate bedroom and sitting room, but this was just one very big room.  That being said, it was an awesome room.  The photos below may give you some idea.  It had a fantastically big and very nice bathroom.  The glass wall between the bathroom and the bedroom had an electric shade that could be raised or lowered with a switch.  Beside the bed was a master light switch so that I could turn on and off lights around the room from one spot.  And, most importantly, the bed was incredibly comfortable.

Hacking Marriott

While other chains such as Hyatt and Starwood arguably have more exciting elite benefits, Marriott has a lot going for it for those of us who do not travel much for work (at least, not much on paid stays…).  Here are some stackable Marriott opportunities that I took advantage of:

• Discount Gift Cards.  Over the past year, several opportunities to buy Marriott gift cards at about 20% off face value have come and gone.  I bought these at every opportunity.
• Marriott’s Taste of Platinum Challenge.  I earned Platinum status simply by calling and requesting the “Taste of Platinum Challenge.”  The challenge called for completing 9 stays in just under four months.  So, during that time, whenever I traveled, I opted for Marriott properties, and I made some “mattress runs” to complete the challenge.  See “Four months Platinum with Marriott” for details.  At each stay, I paid with discount gift cards I had bought previously.
• MegaBonus Promotions.  Marriott regularly runs one of the best hotel promotions around.  Their quarterly MegaBonus promotion usually entails getting a free category 1 through 4 certificate for every two Marriott stays.  And, each person can earn up to three certificates during each promotion.  My Platinum Challenge straddled two separate MegaBonus promotions, so I was able to earn 5 certificates from 10 stays (I had one more Marriott stay after the Platinum Challenge ended, but while the MegaBonus promotion was still going).

Thanks to these stacked opportunities, I earned Platinum status and 5 free night certificates for very little cost.

The Value of the Stay

The problem with Marriott’s category 1-4 certificates is that Marriott’s most desirable properties tend to be category 5 or higher.  Category 4 properties are more likely to be mid-tier brands such as Fairfield Inns or Courtyards, rather than more upscale brands such as Renaissance or JW Marriott.  I was very lucky to have been in a situation where a highly rated category 4 property was available when & where I needed it.

During the time I spent in Bangkok, the best available paid rate at the Renaissance was $145 per night.  So, the certificates were arguably worth about that much (OK, a little bit less since I didn’t earn points for the stay, and I could have used discount gift cards for a paid stay, but let’s not split hairs…).  In the past, I’ve gotten better value from these certs.  For example, I used a cert last year to stay at a property that would have cost $179.  But, unlike points, these Marriott free night certs expire 12 months after they are issued.  So, I decided it was much better to get a definite $145 per night value from the certs than to hope a situation arises in which I’d get even more value.  You know, a bird in the hand…

Overall, even though I didn’t save a fortune through the use of my certs, my stay was free.  And, thanks to the wonderful perks they provided to me as a Platinum elite member, I got incredible value from my stay.

Join me as I travel in style to Bangkok and back.

By the time I realized I had made the wrong decision, it was too late.  All I could then do was pray for my life, and if I lived, pray that my wife didn’t kill me when I returned home…

Photo courtesy of wikimedia commons

The evening began simply enough.  My mom, who is also in Bangkok right now but not at my hotel, emailed to tell me where we were meeting for dinner.  I plugged the name of the restaurant into Google Maps and identified the closest SkyTrain stop.  About half an hour before the scheduled meet up, I headed out. 

I made it to the SkyTrain stop without any trouble, and walked the rest of the way.  The walk seemed longer than I had expected, but I still made it in time.  I told the restaurant host that I was there to meet others.  “Thai?” He asked.  “American,” I said.  He nodded definitively and led me through the restaurant.

He took me to an American family that I didn’t recognize.  I’m sure they were perfectly nice, and probably would have made excellent dining companions, but I told the host that they were the wrong group.  That was, arguably, my first bad decision.

It turned out that there were multiple restaurants with this same name in Bangkok.  I was at the wrong one.  I asked the host what was the best way to get to the right one.  The SkyTrain would work, but it would require a lot of walking, backtracking, and a train change.  He told me that a taxi would take about an hour because of Bangkok’s impenetrable traffic.   He suggested that a motorbike would be the fastest option.

I walked out of the restaurant undecided about what to do.  I started in the general direction of the SkyTrain, but directly across the street was a line of motorbikes looking for passengers.  I decided to give it a shot.

Moments later, I was on the back of a motorbike, flying towards the intended restaurant.  The reason motorbikes go faster than taxis or tuk-tuks in traffic is that they can ride with ease between the cars, trucks, and tuk-tuks.  I knew that, of course.  What I didn’t know was how fast these motorbikes could go.  We flew down one road after another, between cars and trucks at what seemed to me to be highway speeds.  I was terrified!  Here is roughly what went through my mind:

-What the f#&%!!! was I thinking?!!!!

-The driver has survived many rides through the city so far (I assume), so I should be OK, right?  No!  He’s wearing a helmet!  I’m not!  Crap!

-Should I ask him to stop?  I can get a taxi.  Do I dare distract him at all?  No!!!

-I wonder what Thai hospitals are like.  I hope I don’t find out…

-My wife’s going to kill me.  Please God, get me through this so that my wife can kill me at home!

-What the f#&%!!! was I thinking?!!!!

In what seemed like hours, but was probably more like 10 minutes, we made it to the intended restaurant.  I was pale, shaking like a leaf, but unharmed.  I entered the restaurant and told the host I was there to meet others.  He showed me to a table full of people I didn’t recognize…

Join me as I travel in style to Bangkok and back.

You know that moment when you first realize that something has gone very, very wrong, and it feels as if your heart has dropped into your stomach?  Well, that happened to me in a big way on my descent into Bangkok…

Last night I flew Thai First Class from Frankfurt to Bangkok on a 777.  First Class had two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration and was completely full.  Each seat is designed to be like an almost private room in that you can slide closed the doors to your seat/room and, if you’re in the middle (as I was), you can raise a partition between you and the passenger next to you.  Here’s a grainy, wobbly  photo to give you an idea of what it was like:

I intended to take better photos in the morning with more light, but it turned out that I was preoccupied.  More on that in a moment.

Food and service were excellent.  The inflight entertainment system had a gigantic screen and a very good selection of movies.  Unfortunately there seemed to be something wrong with my screen: in dark scenes, I couldn’t see anything, even with the brightness turned all the way up.  Luckily I was able to find a bright enough movie to overcome most of that effect.

When I was ready for bed, I changed into my new Thai Airways pajamas, and the flight attendant prepared my bed.  It was awesome.  It was by far the most comfortable in-air bed I’ve experienced to-date.  Of course, so far, I’ve only tried one other first class lie-flat product, and that was with Lufthansa’s old-style seats, but still this was great.  One big quibble: the partition between my seat and my neighbor’s was broken so I never did experience the fully private “room”.  In the end I was still very happy with the amazing first class experience, but I would have liked to have tried it out as intended.

Upon descent, we were handed arrival cards to fill out for Customs.  When I got to the part asking for my passport number, I reached into the bin next to my seat where I had stored all of the stuff from my pockets the night before.  I took out everything one by one, but my passport wasn’t there.  Oh crap.  That was when the sinking feeling hit me.  Crap, crap, crap.  I thought that maybe I had shoved it into my backpack, so I rifled through it, but it wasn’t there.  Then, I completely emptied my backpack just to be sure.  I searched through the seat cushions and in every nook and cranny I could find.  It was gone.

Everyone got in on the search.  Two flight attendants and my seat neighbors to either side all helped search for my passport, but to no avail.  We lowered the seat to flat position to see if that would uncover it.  No dice.  I resigned myself to the fact that I’d probably spend the rest of the day or longer at the airport with Customs officials.  I did have a photo of my passport on my phone so I hoped that would help expedite things.

Then, I remembered a trick that my wife had taught me.  Even in a well lit room, it can help to use a flashlight to find things.  It really does help.  So, I asked for a flashlight and looked into the side bin where I had thought I had left my passport.  I then noticed something interesting.  There was a gap between the wall of the bin and the floor of the bin.  This photo is a view looking down and into the bin.  See the gap?

When I shined (shone?) the flashlight into the gap, I saw something.  I had no way to know if that something was my passport, but I was hopeful.  Unfortunately, there was no way for me to get to it.

The lead flight attendant took care of things.  He called ahead to the ground maintenance crew so that they were ready when we landed.  After the other passengers left, the maintenance crew practically disassembled the entire seat.  And sure enough, the thing I was able to see through the crack was my passport, and they retrieved it!  Disaster averted!  Now onto Bangkok…

Join me as I travel in style to Bangkok and back. 

Greetings from Lufthansa’s first class lounge in Frankfurt! 

I stumbled off the plane at about 8:30 this morning Frankfurt time.  Unlike my iPhone which quickly figured out what time zone we were in, my body argued that it was just 2:30 in the morning, and presented me with a pounding headache as proof.  Luckily, Lufthansa’s first class lounge was just a short walk from the plane.

For info about getting access to this lounge, see the Lounge Access section at the bottom of this post.

When I checked in at the lounge, the desk agent apologized that I wouldn’t be chauffeured to my next flight since I wasn’t flying onward on Lufthansa.  Um, really, that’s OK, especially since my departure gate is just a few hundred feet away…

I found my way to the lounge bath room.  And, I really mean “bath” room, not toilet room.  I took a Jacuzzi bath and then a rainfall shower. The combo made me feel much better.  My body was now willing to consider the possibility that it really was after 8:30 in the morning.  And, yes, I took the rubber ducky.

Next stop was the dining area and the critical cup of coffee…

Food in the lounge was quite good.  Just FYI, most food is served from the buffet despite the fact that the menu makes it appear to be sit-down service.  I’m OK with that.

The lounge itself is nice too:

This has been my office all day:

I still have a few more hours to spend here, and another meal to eat before boarding for my final leg to Bangkok.  More later.

Lounge Access

Lufthansa has quite a tiered system of lounges at the Frankfurt airport.  Here are the rules for access as I understand them:

• First Class Terminal: Yes, they have an entire terminal for the hoity-toity.  Unless you have super-elite HON status, you get into this terminal only if you are departing Frankfurt on Lufthansa in first class.  This wasn’t the case for me, so I wasn’t invited to that party.
• First Class Lounge: These lounges are supposedly very similar to the First Class Terminal.  You can get into one of these with a first class Lufthansa boarding pass regardless of whether you are arriving or departing.  Since I arrived via Lufthansa first class, I was allowed in.
• Senator Lounge: I took a look at one of these and, in my opinion, it was a big step down from the first class lounge.  You can get into these if you have a first class ticket on any Star Alliance flight, or if you have Star Alliance Gold status and a ticket on any Star Alliance flight (first class or not).
• Business Lounge: This is yet again a step down in the hierarchy, but the one I looked at seemed quite similar to the Senator Lounge I visited briefly.  All you need here is a Star Alliance business class ticket.

Here’s a tip.  If you qualify for the First Class Lounge, be careful not to accidentally enter the Senator Lounge.  Take a look at this sign:

I know its blurry, but do you see how there’s a little “First Class” box on the left?  This makes it appear to be the First Class lounge, but it’s not.  You should really look for a sign that specifically mentions the “First Class Lounge” like this:

I visited all three types of lounges, and believe me, the First Class lounge is worth looking for.  FYI, here’s a photo of the Senator Lounge.  It’s nice, but nothing like the First Class lounge:

Join me as I travel in style to Bangkok and back.

Greetings from Frankfurt!  Time zone wise, I’m now half way to Bangkok. I flew out last night from Detroit on Lufthansa’s A330-300. This was an “old style” jet, meaning that it has not yet been upgraded to the best Lufthansa has to offer. I’ll be flying the really good stuff soon enough, so I was willing to rough it for one leg of the journey .

The first class cabin was big and airy. The seats were comfortable. The in-flight entertainment system was terrible, but since this was a fairly short (~7 hour)overnight flight, I didn’t mind. My plan was to sleep, not to watch movies. I was a bit disappointed, though, with the food. It was edible, but just barely. Even dessert wasn’t great. When I last flew international business class on Delta, I had excellent meals. I expected even better in first class. Ironically, the one part of Lufthansa’s meal I enjoyed most was the salad, whereas that was the one part of my meal on Delta that fell short.

Things picked up for me when I changed into my complementary Lufthansa pajamas. Yes, this was my first ever international first class flight and so it was also my first ever free set of pajamas. While I changed in the bathroom, the flight attendant turned my seat into a bed with a mattress pad, comforter, and a good sized, comfortable pillow. While I won’t pretend this was as comfortable as a real bed, it was still pretty good.  I think that it helped, too, to be in comfortable PJs instead of jeans.  I slept reasonably well for the rest of the flight.

Here’s a crappy photo of a fellow passenger’s bed:

The above photo makes the bed appear to be uncomfortably curved, but that wasn’t really the case.  It felt flat and comfortable to me.  That is, my bed did.  I didn’t try out my fellow passenger’s bed.

Next stop, Lufthansa’s first class lounge…

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Late this week, I’m going to Bangkok for a five day visit.  I’ve never been before and I’m totally psyched about it!  To tell the truth, though, Bangkok was an afterthought for this trip.

As a full time blogger who blogs about tricks for earning frequent flyer miles, I can easily and almost freely fly around the world whenever I want.  I can do my “job” in an airport lounge, on a plane, in a hotel, and really anywhere.  In theory, I’m free to work and play anywhere, anytime.  In theory…

In real life, I have a family and responsibilities.  My wife works full time and travels often for her work.  My son is in school.  My dog needs to be walked.  I can’t just leave anytime on my own without planning ahead.  As a family, we do travel often, but usually just during school breaks.  Recently, we’ve traveled international business class a few times (and loved it), but I really want to experience the best of international first class travel. 

I would love to experience international first class with my family, but the logistics are difficult.  Using miles, it is rare to find saver level award availability for three on the same flights.  And, by restricting our availability to school breaks, award availability is even worse.  I still expect that we’ll find an opportunity someday, but its not obvious when.  So, I sat down with my wife and a calendar to find a good opportunity for me to go out on my own.  Due to family trips, planned events, and even Million Mile Madness, there were shockingly few dates available.  The best dates we could find were near the end of January and into early February.

I worked with an award booking service to help me find the best flights (full details about the service to follow later).  At first I made an open ended request: I wanted to fly the best airlines with the best service: take me anywhere.  Later, I refined the request when I realized that my mom was going to be in Bangkok during the time that I could travel.  I figured that I might as well meet up with her there!  So, I’m going to Bangkok!

I rarely do trip reviews because I like to focus on tips and tricks for earning points and miles, but I’ll make an exception here.  My intention is to post mini reviews in-the-moment as often as possible.  If a flight has Wi-Fi, I’ll post my impression of the flight from the air.  Otherwise, I hope to post shortly after arrival.  If my airport experience is worth sharing, I’ll post that too.  In Bangkok, I’ll let you know what I think of the hotel, and any attractions, events, or experiences that seem worth sharing.  I’ve never before flown international first class, nor have I been to Bangkok.  So, my perspective will be a bit different from those who have made a career out of writing about first class cabins and international travel.  I expect you’ll see some “wide eyed wonder” along with (hopefully very little) whining when things don’t go quite right.

So, what are the special airlines and flights I have booked?  I left a small clue in one of my recent posts, so I have no doubt that many readers will figure out one of my flights ahead of time.  The rest, though, will be revealed as I go.  The adventure will begin Thursday night.  Please follow along!