It’s easy to get spoiled and think of business class as being very “bleh,” given that many of us are able to redeem miles primarily for international first class travel on foreign airlines. But it’s also important to keep things in perspective. In my case, I booked an $1,100 coach ticket from Tampa to Shanghai via Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in both directions, and confirmed upgrades for all flights. I’ll earn well over 40,000 elite qualifying and redeemable miles, so I’d be a happy camper even if my flights weren’t great.

But frankly, my flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai (that I just off of) was actually fantastic.

A few things to note in particular (I’ll save many of the details for the trip report):

• Headwinds are strong going west right now! The flight was blocked at 13hr50min (usually block time is about 30-45 minutes longer than the anticipated flight time), but our flight time was 14hr10min. As a result we arrived about 45 minutes late, though there were no lines at immigration, so I guess it balanced out in the end.
  
  
• Angled flat seats suck. They’re awesome when you upgrade from coach, but it really is pretty tough to get any “real” sleep in them. They didn’t used to bother me all that much, but I’m finding it harder and harder to sleep in them. Can’t wait for American’s new business class product.
• Empty flights are awesome. I’m so used to business and first class on US airlines being full due to how easy it is to upgrade, get award tickets, and the ease with which non-revs can fill the cabin, but as I posted about yesterday, this flight was pretty empty. Even after lots of non-revs cleared,  business class was only half full, and I had two seats to myself (window and aisle). This isn’t just useful for the extra space, but it also makes it easy to grab a couple of pillows to at least make the seat a bit more comfortable when trying to sleep.
  
  
• Who said service on US airlines can’t be awesome? Since the flight was so empty the service was attentive and quick. But beyond that, the flight attendants were awesome. The flight attendant working my aisle was Chinese, and I mean “authentic Chinese.” I mention this because I honestly felt like I was flying an Asian airline. She spoke very slowly because her English wasn’t great, but she was constantly smiling and so friendly. She provided a “Singapore Girl” level of service.And the “senior mamas” (I use that term endearingly)  — who all had 35+ years at American — working the flight were awesome as well. I accidentally pushed my call button once in the middle of the flight (was trying to turn on my light), and one of the flight attendants I hadn’t previously interacted with appeared in less than ten seconds, smiling and asking what she could get me. Kudos to the crew. If only I could have them on all my flights.

Anyway, now it’s time for me to fall asleep in the clouds… literally (the joys of a hotel on the 90th floor in smoggy Shanghai).

Introduction
Swiss First Class Lounge Chicago
Swiss First Class Chicago to Zurich
Swiss First Class Lounge Zurich
Lufthansa Business Class Zurich to Frankfurt
InterContinental Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Lufthansa A380 First Class Frankfurt to Tokyo
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Exploring Tokyo
Lufthansa A380 First Class Tokyo to Frankfurt
Westin Grand Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Orlando
Conclusion

Before this trip, the Park Hyatt Tokyo was on my top five list of hotels I desperately wanted to stay at. Like everyone else, it’s due in part to the movie “Lost in Translation,” which is largely filmed at this hotel.

It has been a while since I’ve been to Tokyo, so when the opportunity presented itself to spend a couple of nights here there wasn’t even a question as to where we’d be staying. I booked the hotel just a couple of days before our arrival for 22,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points per night, which was a complete bargain compared to the revenue rate of $600USD+ per night.

I emailed the hotel the day before our arrival to request early check-in, given that our flight was arriving so in the morning. They emailed me back within a couple of hours to say they’d do everything in their power to ensure a room was available, though couldn’t guarantee it.

After a 90 minute ride on the “Friendly Airport Limousine” we pulled up to the Park Hyatt, where we were immediately helped by a host. She crossed my name off the arrivals list and assisted us with our bags. You have to love Japan hospitality, because this lady was probably 5’3″ and 100 pounds, yet insisted on rolling my carry-on for me, despite not being motivated by tips.

Hotel entrance

Park Hyatt Tokyo

Entrance

Elevator to 41st floor

The lobby of the hotel is actually on the 41st floor, so the host took the elevator up there with us. Upon exiting the elevator we were in the rather airy lobby area, which is where the lobby lounge is located.

Lobby bar

We were then escorted past the hotel’s French restaurant, Girandole, and through the library, to the reception area.

Library

At reception, our arrivals host handed us over to the agent that would be checking us in, who immediately escorted us to our room.

Reception

Hallway

Our room was a Park Deluxe room on the 48th floor.

Room entrance

The room featured a hallway, which led to the bed, seating area, and desk.

Hallway

Park Deluxe room

Desk and TV console

TV

Next to the flat screen TV was the Diamond welcome amenity, which were some sort of rice cakes, I think. I couldn’t decide whether they tasted like chocolate or barbeque sauce.

Diamond welcome amenity

Diamond welcome amenity

In the drawer below that was a tea set, and in the drawer above it was liquor.

Tea

Nice setup

Desk

The room featured amazing views of Tokyo, including Mount Fuji in the distance.

View from room

View from room

View from room at night

The bathroom was also large, featuring a tub, shower, sink, and high tech toilet with more buttons than an Airbus 380 cockpit.

Bathroom

Tub

Shower

Toilet

Closet

While the room wasn’t quite as modern as some other Park Hyatts (like the Park Hyatt Seoul), I thought it was tastefully decorated and huge by Japanese standards.

The agent quickly processed our check-in, explained the amenities of the hotel and Diamond benefits (free breakfast, free internet, complimentary access to the spa, etc.).

But what impressed me most, as I wrote about here, is the fact that there was a continental breakfast on the desk waiting for us, consisting of mango juice, pastries, and muesli. The agent said “we knew you had a long flight from Frankfurt, so figured you might enjoy a light breakfast.” It’s entirely minor, but this attention to detail is what separates a good hotel from a great hotel. So huge kudos to the hotel for this.

Continental breakfast

As I mentioned earlier, as a Diamond member we received complimentary breakfast in Girandole, the hotel’s French restaurant, which is served daily from 7AM to 11AM.

Restaurant

Restaurant

We had the buffet for free, along with eggs however we’d like them. The buffet itself wasn’t all that extensive, certainly not like the Le Meridien Bangkok, but it was still good. Then again, I don’t necessarily expect an outrageously huge buffet in a luxury Japanese hotel, but rather a smaller and high quality buffet, which it certainly was.

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

The most impressive part of the dining experience was when a waiter that I hadn’t previously interacted with brought me my omelet and addressed me by name. I’ve never had my waiter address me by name, let alone one I hadn’t interacted with. Amazing.

Omelet

As a Diamond member you can also have room service breakfast instead, which we had the second morning. We had to leave the hotel at 6:30AM to catch our flight and the restaurant wasn’t open yet, so we ordered room service for 5:30AM. Sure enough at exactly 5:30AM there was a knock on our door. The quality of the food was excellent.

Room service breakfast

The coolest part of the hotel has to be the pool and gym, though, located on the 47th floor. Not only did they boast fantastic views, but the service was more attentive than in first class on most airlines.

Pool

Gym

View from pool

As a Diamond member I also had complimentary access to the spa, including the pretty impressive whirlpools they have. It really is a nice facility, though it’s worth noting that nudity is required. I’m used to the option, but it’s the first I’ve been told word-for-word “please take your clothes off.” Hopefully I didn’t run into any of you guys there!

The first night we were tired pretty early so went to dinner at Girandole, the same place breakfast was served. We should have probably gone to the iconic New York Grill, but I didn’t feel like dropping $300USD+ on a dinner when I was dead tired. Then again, dropping $150USD+ on dinner isn’t much better, though it is Tokyo we’re talking about, so…

The service in the restaurant was hilariously Japanese. They followed the same procedure every time they served anything. Even if it was just a fork, they would place it on the tray, place the tray on the serving station (sliding it on there as if it somehow “latches”), and then walk the item over to our table. So inefficient, yet so consistent.

My Diet Coke with lime cost a mere $12USD, so you can bet I enjoyed every last sip of it (no free refills, after all).

The meal came with bread, which, given the cost of food, was a blessing (and they even had free refills).

Bread

As a starter I had the soup of the day, which was a corn chowder.

For the main course I had the tagliatelle bolognese, which was fairly tasty.

My main

My friend had the lamb chop, which he enjoyed as well.

Friend’s main

For dessert we shared creme brulee, which was delicious.

Dessert

Anyway, I have nothing but positive things to say about this hotel. While the facilities are very nice, it’s the service that sets this place apart. I don’t think I’ve ever received such personalized and sincere service at any hotel anywhere. The next time I’m in Tokyo I’ll return to the Park Hyatt without thinking twice.

One thing to keep in mind is that while a standard room is 22,000 points per night, a suite is only 33,000 points per night. While it might not be needed given how big the Park Deluxe rooms are, it would be pretty cool, and at only a 50% premium is a good value in my book. The only restriction is that you can only redeem for suites for a minimum of three nights.

To take advantage of American’s double elite qualifying miles promotion for the month of January I’m off to Shanghai today for a mini-vacation (aka mileage run of sorts). My upgrades cleared for all flights, so I’m quite the happy camper on an $1,100 fare where I’ll be earning over 40,000 elite qualifying miles and redeemable miles.

I’ll be taking American’s fairly new Los Angeles to Shanghai flight, and can’t help but notice how darn empty it is in first and business class. I’m used to empty premium cabins on foreign carriers that don’t make upgrades and award tickets easy, but I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a flight on a US airline this empty up front.

No seats are assigned in first class (the two seats that are blocked are pilot crew rests):

And only 14 of the 37 business class seats are assigned:

As always, seatmaps aren’t necessarily an accurate indication of loads, but in general if a seatmap is empty, the flight is empty.

I’m curious how full the flight ends up after non-revs. Shanghai in January mid-week probably isn’t too hot of a destination for most non-revs, so maybe first class will stay empty and the crew will have an especially pleasant flight.

I also have to mention how awesome Admirals Club agents are. When I checked in at the San Francisco Admirals Club this morning the agent said “now Mr. Lucky, are you already registered for the double miles promotion we’re running through the end of the month?” Entirely minor, but at the same time it’s nice to see an employee that actually cares about customers (which is more common than not at Admirals Clubs).

While in no way materially significant (in my opinion), the execution of this is interesting. I think the email that was sent out to Alaska Mileage Plan members speaks for itself.

Dear ________,

At Alaska Airlines, we have provided prayer cards to our customers for more than 30 years. A former marketing executive borrowed the idea from another airline and introduced the cards to our passengers in the late 1970s to differentiate our service.

The cards have been provided only to our First Class customers since meal tray service ended in coach six years ago. Beginning February 1, 2012, however, we’ll be eliminating the cards entirely. This difficult decision was not made lightly. We believe it’s the right thing to do in order to respect the diverse religious beliefs and cultural attitudes of all our customers and employees.

Some of you enjoy the cards and associate them with our service. We also know some of you consider the cards to be a tradition that reflects your own spiritual beliefs. At the same time, we’ve heard from many of you who believe religion is inappropriate on an airplane, and some are offended when we hand out the cards. Religious beliefs are deeply personal and sharing them with others is an individual choice.

It’s important that everyone know that this decision does not change our core values nor our care for our customers. We’ll continue to distinguish ourselves through the pride and professionalism of our people on every flight and in our communities.

Our priority at Alaska is to fly our passengers to their destinations safely, on time and with their bags. We thank you for the opportunity to serve you and for the chance to demonstrate this commitment each time you fly with us.

Sincerely,

Bill Ayer
Chairman and CEO, Alaska Air Group

Brad Tilden
President, Alaska Airlines

The prayer cards have long been controversial, but what I find so interesting about this is that they think this warrants a lengthy email signed by both the President and Chairman/CEO. We’re talking about a little card on a tray. Yet, interestingly, the last time they substantially devalued their elite benefits (by adding fare restrictions to their confirmable upgrades), no email was sent out to members explaining the change.

Aside from the ridiculousness of the communication (in my opinion), what do you guys think about the change?
a) Dumb move, they shouldn’t deviate from their values
b) Smart move, a prayer card was offensive to many
c) Who the hell heavens cares?

Last week I wrote about the rumor that Hilton would be adding suite upgrades to the terms and conditions of their program for HHonors Diamond members. This was long overdue, given that:

a) Hilton’s top tier status hasn’t been competitive with Hyatt and Starwood for a long time now
b) There was virtually no difference in elite benefits between Gold (mid tier) and Diamond (top tier) members

Well, Hilton now officially has the benefit listed on their website.

The benefit is listed as follows:

Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts and DoubleTree by Hilton™ Benefits

All Hilton HHonors Diamond guests will receive each of the following:

Upgrades to Preferred Rooms.
Diamond HHonors guests will receive upgrades to preferred rooms, based on availability for the entire stay at the time of check-in. Upgrades for Diamond HHonors guests may include the next-best available room from the room type booked. Upgrades may also be rooms with desirable views, corner rooms, rooms on high floors, rooms with special amenities, rooms on Executive Floors**, or suites, as identified by each property. Some exclusions based on rate and room type may apply. See Terms & Conditions for details.

It’s interesting to note that the suite upgrades only apply at Conrad, Hilton, Doubletree, and Waldorf Astoria hotels. But what’s interesting, and concerning to many, is how they phrase the benefit. They say that upgrades “may include” the next-best available room, rooms on high floors, rooms with special amenities, suites, etc. Compare that to Starwood, which promises an upgrade “to the best room at check-in including standard suites.”

Now I don’t know if Hilton’s verbiage is intentional or not, but it certainly seems to give hotels the right to deny suite upgrades, even if they’re available. Compare that to Starwood, where you might have to fight at the front desk for ten minutes, but you’ll get your suite upgrade if they’re still selling that suite. So I don’t think there’s any reason to be alarmed, though it’s definitely interesting.

The other good news, as expected, is that Diamond members no longer have to choose between the 1,000 point bonus and an upgrade/breakfast. They now get all the benefits at Conrad, Hilton, and Doubletree hotels. This was also long overdue, given that Hyatt and Starwood both offer their members a welcome amenity in addition to upgrades, etc.

It will be interesting to see if Hyatt and Starwood react to this news. It has been rumored that Starwood will start offering Platinum members free breakfast as of March 1, so I think now more than ever it’s pretty certain this will happen. It will be interesting to see if Hyatt reacts, since I’m not sure they need to. They offer Diamond members four confirmed suite upgrades a year, which I think is an awesome benefit, since you can lock in upgrades on the stays you really want. It would be nice to get space available suite upgrades in addition to that, though I’m not even sure I’d want unlimited space available suite upgrades to replace the four annual confirmed suite upgrades. I think it’s more likely that they would start counting award stays towards elite status, allow suite upgrades to be applied on award stays, etc.

Hilton Diamond members, how ya feeling? Excited? Worried about how they’re phrasing the benefit? Indifferent?