As I mentioned a couple of days ago I’m in Barcelona at the moment, and flew here “the long way.” My journey from Tampa to Barcelona routed me via Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. As usual, the flight between Las Vegas and Los Angeles was an interesting one, though taught me two important lessons:

a) Don’t judge a book by it’s cover
b) Don’t make a bet with someone that looks clueless

Let me explain. I boarded my flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and as usual the crowd was an absolute disaster. As I Tweeted about, the lady sitting next to me was easily over 50, though wearing fishnet stockings and “stripper boots.” Sadly she was one of the more “normal” people in the cabin. The last two rows of first class were taken up by an Australia family. One of the six kids was wearing a tiara and sash that read” BIRTHDAY PRINCESS” (I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve seen enough episodes of “Toddlers and Tiaras” to know those two terms).

As boarding finished up the lady seated next to me said “do you smell fertilizer?” I quickly responded with “sorry, it’s probably me, I’ve been flying for 24 hours.” Not amused, she pushed the call button and called over the flight attendant. “I smell fertilizer, I think someone boarded with it, could you look into this?” He also quickly responded with “all I smell is an MD-80.” I was laughing my rear off, though my seatmate obviously wasn’t.

Then we started talking about travel, and she started telling me about some great hotels. I still figured she was pretty clueless for whatever reason, and eventually she stated a fact about a hotel, so I said “oh wow, I had no clue about that.” She sensed my doubt, so responded with “you wanna make a bet?” and I said “what do you have in mind?” She said “let’s bet 100,000 miles.” I asked her miles in which program, and she said “it’s your choice.” We settled on American Express points. As soon as we passed through 10,000 feet I turned on my laptop ready to collect my 100,000 Membership Rewards points, only to find out that she was in fact right.

So yes, friends, I lost 100,000 points on a travel related bet. I think that’s the end of the road for me. I’ve lost my edge.

But the bigger surprise was that she was actually one of the most interesting people I’ve sat next to. She was the CEO of one of the most unique companies I’ve heard of, and she flies just about as much as I do (though actually pays for first and business class with cash).

So as much as it annoys me when people assume I don’t belong in first or business class because of my age or how I dress (what beef do people have with pajamas again?), subconsciously I find I still do the same thing to others. Time to force myself to stop doing that, and time for me to make the painful points transfer to her account…

Posted on February 7th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: American, Travel | 35 Comments »

Good morning from Barcelona. While I’m about to conk out thanks to the 48 hours of straight flying I’ve done (flying Tampa to Chicago to Las Vegas to Los Angeles to Miami to New York to Barcelona), I did want to quickly mention what a great flight I had on American. I know, I know, American business class can’t be that great, but this was a really good flight.

For one, the flight was less than 40% full in both business class and coach, apparently thanks to the Superbowl.

Second, since this was a 767, American has an enhanced meal service compared to business class on the 777. Their logic is apparently that since they don’t have a first class product, everyone deserves a bit better of a meal than business class on a three cabin plane to compensate for it.

That means that instead of just nuts you get nuts and a cheese antipasto.

Then instead of the small starter and side salad being served together you get a separate starter consisting of shrimp and salmon.

Then you get a full sized salad, as opposed to the side salad served in business class on 777s.

Then instead of the main course being in a small pre-plated dish, it’s actually plated onboard and served on a proper plate. This steak happened to be really good, surprisingly.

Then for dessert you get an ice cream sundae instead of just a scoop of ice cream.

But what really set the flight apart was the crew. There were three guys working business class, all with completely different personalities. The purser, Mauricio, was one of the funniest flight attendants I’ve had in a long time. He was sarcastic at almost every interaction, but in a funny way. The guy in front of me asked if he could hang his coat, and he said “of course I can, I have two hands. Why do you ask?” When my travel companion got a bit demanding he was reminded (jokingly) that’s he’s an Executive Platinum and, only Concierge Keys can be that demanding. Yet despite his humor he was also incredibly professional, and greeted every passenger both on the way in and thanked each business class passenger for their business before landing.

Then the flight attendant working my aisle had to be one of the most professional I’ve had on any airline. At every single interaction he addressed me by name, and constantly asked how everything was, if he could get me something, etc.

Truly a fantastic flight, though now it’s off to bed for a few hours…

Posted on February 6th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: American, Travel | 17 Comments »

After a two day “layover” at home, it’s back on the road for me. Sometimes my planning is downright unfortunate, and this is one of those instances. Late last year I had booked a couple of mileage runs to Spain to get a jump start on Executive Platinum qualification for the year. It pays to book early, since it meant I was able to lock in upgrades to business class for all my segments. Besides, three days in Barcelona (a city I’ve never been to) doesn’t sound half bad.

Unfortunately this was before American announced double elite qualifying miles for the month of January, and as luck would have it, both of my trips were planned for February. I couldn’t help but book a quick trip to Shanghai in January to rack up nearly 45,000 elite qualifying miles, though I had totally forgotten my return flight from Shanghai would be only two days before my flight to Barcelona.

The bad news (or good news, depending on how you look at it) is that my sleep schedule has been totally screwed up the past couple of nights. I slept from 4PM till 2AM last night, and the previous night slept from 5PM to 1AM… so I guess I’m kinda sorta already on Barcelona time.

The bad news (or once again good news, depending on how you look at it) is my routing — I’m flying from Tampa to Barcelona via Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Yes, that’s redeyes two nights in a row. All flights are scheduled to have wifi, though, so it’s all good.

Anyway, stay tuned, as it should be a fun couple of days. If you’d like to follow me on Twitter you can do so here, as I tend to have a lot to complain about say when flying. ;)

Now if only the weather were a bit warmer in Barcelona…

Posted on February 4th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: American, Travel, Trip Reports | 27 Comments »

A couple of weeks ago I needed to spend a night in San Francisco in order to get my Chinese visa, and unfortunately hotels were outrageously expensive. After looking at all of the options I ended up booking Le Meridien for $269 per night through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts. By booking through Fine Hotels & Resorts I received a $100 food and beverage credit, complimentary continental breakfast, a room upgrade, and 4PM late check-out. As was the case with my stay at the Westin Grand Frankfurt, the food and beverage credit are incredibly valuable to me, while the room upgrade and 4PM late check-out benefit aren’t worth much to me, since I get those anyway as a Starwood Platinum member.

I made it to the hotel at 3PM and was promptly helped at check-in. All of the Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits were explained, and the agent commented that I would be getting a great room upgrade with “more room than [I'll] know what to do with.”


Lobby

Sure enough I did get an upgrade to a “named” suite on the 18th floor, the “Villa Magna Suite.” Starwood technically excludes “named” suites from Platinum upgrades, so this was the first Starwood stay I’ve ever had where I got a suite upgrade without asking, let alone an upgrade to a suite I wasn’t technically entitled to. So kudos to the hotel for that.


Room entrance

And the room was indeed massive. It wasn’t a traditional two-room suite but rather a huge single room with a small divider in the center.


Bed and desk

The divider in the center of the room had a flat screen TV facing the bed, and then on the other side was the living room.


TV


Desk and seat with ottoman

The living room was huge with a three piece sofa set.


Living room


Living room

The room boasted views of nearby buildings in the Financial District.


View from room

The bathroom featured a single sink, shower/tub, and toilet.


Bathroom


Sink


Shower

Since I had a $100 food and beverage credit and was alone, I decided to order room service. I had some crab cakes and mushroom ravioli. Both were good, though neither great. I wouldn’t order either without a food and beverage credit.


Room service

The following morning I had my “continental breakfast” in the restaurant, Park Grill. While the restaurant was decorated nicely, I was surprised to find out that “continental breakfast” consisted of coffee, juice, and a croissant OR toast. Instead of getting into a discussion of that here, see my previous post on the subject to chime in.


Park Grill


Continental breakfast

Overall I was very pleased with the upgrade I received, and compared to the rates the competition were charging, I think I got a fairly good deal. That being said, there was some element of “shabbiness” to this hotel that I can’t quite put my finger on. I love Le Meridien as a brand, but this hotel didn’t quite live up to the other great hotels they have, in my opinion (I loved my stay at Le Meridien Vienna, just as a comparison). In San Francisco my go to hotel remains the InterContinental, and I’ll continue to stay there whenever possible. But with a decent rate (<$150) I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this hotel as being a good value.

Posted on February 2nd, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Hotels, SPG, Travel, Trip Reports | 19 Comments »

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 Frankfurt
Lufthansa A380 First Class Frankfurt to Tokyo
Park Hyatt Tokyo
ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita, Lufthansa A380 First Class Tokyo to Frankfurt
Westin Grand Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt, Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Orlando

Since my friend was returning on the Lufthansa flight to Seattle and I was returning to Orlando, we got to the airport at around 9AM (even though my flight was only at 1PM). Since we had stayed at the Westin we took a taxi to the First Class Terminal, given that it’s a bit further from the train station than the InterContinental.

The First Class Terminal experience was as it always is – awesome. We were immediately greeted by our personal assistant, who actually recognized me from a previous trip, which I thought was impressive given how many guests they have. Of course I immediately asked her whether my flight would feature the new first class, and after researching it she informed me it wasn’t. Booo!


First Class Terminal exterior

Upon arrival we headed straight to the restaurant for lunch, since we had skipped breakfast at the Westin. As usual I selected a few things from the buffet, along with a pretzel and Fanta – my last one for a while, unfortunately.


First Class Terminal bar


Buffet


Lunch


Holy Fanta

After lunch I got caught up on email for a couple of hours, until my personal assistant advised me it was time for boarding. She brought me down to the lower level where I cleared passport control and was introduced to the driver.

Once again I was driven in one of the Mercedes vans, given that there were three other people in the First Class Terminal on my flight – one first class passenger from Tampa (a blog reader, no less), and a HON Circle member and his son traveling in business class.

The ride to the plane was pretty quick, and at the door the driver handed us over to the crew, who directed us to the upper deck.


Our 747


Our 747

Lufthansa 464
Frankfurt (FRA) – Orlando (MCO)
Sunday, January 1
Depart: 1:35PM
Arrive: 5:55PM
Duration: 10hr20min
Aircraft: Boeing 747
Seat: 82C (First Class)

Within moments of settling in the very friendly flight attendant offered me something to drink. I just ordered a glass of still water, which was served with macadamia nuts and refilled at least three or four times before our departure.


Row 82


View from row 82


Small bins on the side of the seat


Pre-departure drink and nuts

He also offered me the Lufthansa amenity kit and polo shirt, which is their standard daytime amenity. I almost immediately changed into the pajamas from my previous flight, since I was planning on getting some sleep.


Amenities

Before pushback the captain came on the PA to advise us of a slight delay as they needed to unload some checked bags from no show passengers, which caused about a 20-minute delay. He informed us of our flight time of ten hours, anticipating just a slightly delayed arrival in Orlando.

The captain provided multiple updates, and sure enough within 20 or so minutes we pushed back (with four of the eight first class seats taken) and began a quick taxi to the runway, where we were cleared for takeoff almost immediately.


Taxiing out


TAM 777


Shortly after takeoff


After takeoff

Now this is where the flight gets interesting, at least for me, and why this flight was different than any other international first class trip I’ve taken. When flying first class I always try to “maximize.” Previously I defined that as stuffing myself with as much food as possible and staying awake the whole time so I didn’t miss anything. In a way, it’s almost why I prefer flying business class, because in business class I don’t quite feel the need to “maximize” as much. Instead, I’m happy to just get as much sleep as I can.

But let’s face it, after flying Airbus 380 first class for 20+ hours, Lufthansa’s old first class product wasn’t all that exciting. So I decided to go straight to sleep and instead eat my main meal prior to landing. If nothing else it would be a good comparison not only in how well rested I arrive, but also in regards to how the crew handles such a situation.

And sure enough this was one of my most enjoyable, relaxing flights ever. I don’t think I’ve ever arrived as refreshed.


View on climb out


Beautiful day

As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off I informed the flight attendant of my intent to sleep and eat later. To say this guy was professional is the understatement of the year. Hell, the one part I regret about sleeping is not being able to interact with him more.

With each interaction he addressed me by name, and he immediately made my bed and brought me a bottle of water. He also brought me the menu and asked me to make my selection for later, so that he could ensure that my first choice is still available.

He then asked when I wanted to be woken up. I was serious about my plan of sleeping the whole way, so asked him to wake me up in eight hours if I don’t otherwise wake up earlier on my own. He wished me a pleasant rest, closed all the window shades in my vicinity, and even promised to keep the noise level down so that I can get uninterrupted sleep. He ended by saying that the purser really quickly wanted to welcome me aboard, if that’s alright, so she quickly appeared to wish me a pleasant sleep.

Half of the battle of trying to sleep on an airplane is telling yourself that you want to sleep. Typically part of the reason I can’t sleep when flying is because I’m asking myself whether I should be watching a movie, working, or something else. This time around I literally said to myself “you’re sleeping for the next eight hours, so make it happen.” And sure enough I did. I woke up about two hours out of Orlando, and within moments of waking up the flight attendant appeared unsolicited and asked if I had a good sleep and was ready to eat.

I was, and so the meal service commenced. Before starting the meal I decided on a movie to watch, and chose “I Don’t Know How She Does It.” And I don’t know how I watched it!


Movie

The lunch menu read as follows:

I was curious to see if my choice to dine later would translate into a watered down experience, but sure enough it didn’t. He did everything exactly the same way as they’d do during the normal service, and the food tasted equally fresh. He even brought me the signature Lufthansa rose as the meal service began.


Rose

Instead of having a starter I decided on both soup and salad, starting with the soup, which was delicious.


Soup

Following that the salad was served with a honey mustard type dressing, which was also delicious.


Salad

For the main course I ordered the ravioli, which was surprisingly tasty. I know it’s a “safe” option, but on Lufthansa I tend to err on the side of caution because I feel like they try to hard with their entrees.


Ravioli

For dessert I had the chocolate cake, which was also good.


Dessert

As the meal finished up I was offered pralines, and ordered a White Russian to go along with it.


Pralines

As my meal finished up the pre-arrival meal service was well underway. Obviously I didn’t partake in that, though for those of you that are interested, the menu read as follows:

About 30 minutes out the sun began to set and we began our descent into Orlando. The purser once again came by to bid all first class passengers farewell.


Approaching Florida


Almost home!


On approach

Immigration was quick (thanks Global Entry!), so despite a slightly delayed arrival I was on the curb within 10 minutes.

And so wrapped up another great trip on my favorite airline. I can’t say enough positive things about Lufthansa flight attendants, especially on this trip. I guess part of the reason I like to stay up on international first class flights is because I love to experience the small touches that make the difference between a pleasant flight and a memorable one. I don’t think there’s an airline that on the whole delivers more genuine, professional, and personable service than Lufthansa.

My perception is that the first class flight attendants aren’t nice because they have to be, but are genuinely engaging and love what they do. It’s those service experiences you have where you can’t help but say to yourself “how on earth is this person so friendly despite having no direct incentive to be?” And I guess it comes down to actually having pride in one’s job.

Oh, and as far as sleeping for eight hours goes, it was awesome. I arrived so well rested, and don’t feel like I missed out on any part of the experience. As a matter of fact, whenever possible I plan on having my “main” meal before landing from now on. It’s tough to sleep on a full stomach, so it was awesome to be able to have lunch on the ground in the First Class Terminal, get a good night of sleep, have a nice meal aboard, and arrive well rested.

In the end, I’d say I did a damn good job “maximizing.”

Posted on January 31st, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Awards, Lufthansa, Travel, Trip Reports | 18 Comments »

Yesterday I took a taxi to Old Street in Shanghai, which was still decorated from the Chinese New Year and upcoming Lantern Festival.

As soon as I got out of my taxi I looked at my map to figure out which way I wanted to go, and was approached by a nice older gentleman who asked me “friend, where are you going?” I explained I was trying to go to Yu Yuan Garden, to which he responded “I go there too.” What a coincidence! So we walked together for a while, and it turned out we had a lot in common — his daughter also lives in the United States, and he used to work in a hotel. On the way to the Garden he showed me several of the tourist attractions, which I appreciated. Among those was this pretty cool contrast between a building that’s hundreds of years old and in the background the World Financial Center (which is where the Park Hyatt Shanghai is located).

We had such a nice conversation that he asked if I wanted to see his pearl shop and learn a bit about pearls. That sounds like an interesting enough experience, so why not? I went up to his pearl shop, and he taught me about various types of pearls. He knew I didn’t want to buy anything, but since we quickly became such good friends he agreed to sell me some at cost. I was still skeptical, though he showed me a book which listed the value of the pearls he was selling, and the value seemed to be about double of what he was offering me. Well, I’m not actually sure of that since the writing was in Mandarin, but that’s what the numbers suggested.

So in the end I purchased about $1,000 worth of pearls, which I figure I can resell in the US for at least double as much. That’ll nearly pay for my trip.

Great bargains — another joy of traveling abroad. You’ve gotta love nice people and how quickly it’s possible to make friends abroad…

And in the end I still got to see Yu Yuan Garden, which was beautiful.

Anyone want some pearls?

Posted on January 30th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Travel | 53 Comments »

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 Frankfurt
Lufthansa A380 First Class Frankfurt to Tokyo
Park Hyatt Tokyo
ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita, Lufthansa A380 First Class Tokyo to Frankfurt
Westin Grand Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt, Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Orlando

Out of habit I’ve been staying at the InterContinental for years now when visiting Frankfurt, including during the outbound overnight of this trip. It’s a fine hotel – by no means exciting, but always reasonably priced and they take good care of Royal Ambassadors.

Then last year I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Mainz. While Hyatt doesn’t have a hotel in Frankfurt, they do have one in neighboring Mainz, which is where my aunt lives (which in and of itself is a reason to avoid Mainz). ;)

It’s a very nice hotel if you want to be in the area, though given that we had about a 18-hour overnight I preferred to stick to Frankfurt.

So I figured it was about time to try out one of the Starwood hotels, and decided on the Westin. The Westin is actually an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property (though not Virtuoso), so I booked through them. The rate was 169 Euros for the night (the same as the rate being charged directly by Starwood), except the Fine Hotels & Resorts amenities were an 85 Euro food and beverage credit, complimentary breakfast for two, 4PM late check-out, and a room upgrade.

The last two amenities aren’t worth anything to me given that I’m a Starwood Platinum member and get those benefits anyway. The 85 Euro food and beverage credit and restaurant breakfast are awesome, though.

We took a cab from Frankfurt Airport at around 3PM, and the ride to the hotel took about 20 minutes and cost about 25 Euros.

The exterior isn’t as “grand” as the hotel’s name suggests, though the lobby was quite nice, if not a bit neon-y.


Lobby

The front desk agent was polite and advised me we had been upgraded to an executive room, though I asked about the possibility of a suite upgrade. After getting the front desk manager’s approval we were assigned a junior suite without any argument. While it’s frustrating that you have to ask at Starwood hotels for an upgrade (even though it should be automatic), it works out in the favor of savvy Platinum members, since it leaves more upgrades for us. What I take issue with is when you have to argue. So this experience was perfectly pleasant.

Our room was a junior suite on the 4th floor, all the way at the end of the hallway.


Hallway

The room featured a nice sized living room with a couch, two chairs, and flat screen TV.


Living room


Living room

That led to a smaller room with a desk.


Desk

To the left was the bedroom, and to the right was the bathroom, featuring a shower tub and double sinks.


Bedroom


Bathroom


Shower

Now here’s where it gets embarrassing for me as someone that stays at hotels partly for the purposes of reviewing them – I didn’t visit the club lounge once, and I didn’t use any part of the 85 Euro food and beverage credit.

I was so tired when I landed that I slept from 6PM to 11:30PM, at which point I went outside to see the fireworks. Then I went back to bed at about 1AM and slept till about 8AM, at which point I headed to the airport.

So yeah, the food and beverage credit and club lounge went to waste.

I will say this, though – this is definitely my go to hotel in Frankfurt now. I thought the rooms were very nicely decorated, not to mention modern, and it seems that suite upgrades are fairly easy to come by. The other Starwood property in town is the Le Meridien, and it’s much more “old world” than this place.

So there’s no doubt that the Westin will replace the InterContinental for me (a hotel that doesn’t even have wifi or flat screen TVs), and being able to book through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts and get an 85 Euro food and beverage credit per stay plus daily restaurant breakfast is just the icing on the cake.

Posted on January 30th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Hotels, SPG, Travel, Trip Reports | 16 Comments »

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 Frankfurt
Lufthansa A380 First Class Frankfurt to Tokyo
Park Hyatt Tokyo
ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita, Lufthansa A380 First Class Tokyo to Frankfurt
Westin Grand Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt, Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Orlando

We took the 6:30AM “Friendly Airport Limousine” to Narita Airport, arriving at around 8AM. We were dropped off at terminal 1, which is the Star Alliance terminal.


Terminal 1

The terminal really is a brilliant example of how alliances can improve the customer experience. Instead of segregating check-in by airline, all airlines share ground staff. There are separate counters for coach, business class, first class, and Star Gold members.


Star Alliance terminal

We headed to the “B” counter, which is for first class, though once the agent verified that we were actually in first class, she escorted us over to the private first class check-in area. It’s a pretty sleek separate room that’s well staffed and has a shortcut to immigration and security.


First class check-in counters


First class check-in


First class check-in seating area

Check-in was friendly and efficient, and within a few minutes we were issued our boarding passes for seats 2D & 2G.

We cleared security in no-time, and headed straight for the ANA first class lounge.


Terminal

ANA’s lounges are by no means the best in the world, though the first class lounge is usually pretty quiet, and I like the way it’s decorated.


First class lounge

What I always find bizarre about the service in the lounge is that the moment you settle in one of the staff comes by to offer you a cold towel and drink, though that’s the last you’ll see of them. They don’t do refills. I don’t understand why, but as with many things in Japan, they have a procedure and follow it without exception.

The food in the lounge is somewhat lacking, though they do have a noodle bar, so I ordered something from there.


Snack selection


Snack selection


Booze


Noodles

At around 10AM we headed down to gate 45, where our flight was departing from. Boarding was well under way, though the dedicated priority boarding lane meant we didn’t have to wait.


A380 taking us to Frankfurt


Priority boarding lane

Lufthansa 711
Tokyo Narita (NRT) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Saturday, December 31
Depart: 10:25AM
Arrive: 2:15PM
Duration: 11hr50min
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 2D (First Class)

Once on board we were greeted by the same spectacular crew we had on the way out. It was pretty funny because as soon as I settled in the flight attendant said to me “it’s a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Lucky,” which got some weird looks from the guy seated across from me.

Service started with champagne and macadamia nuts.


Champagne and macadamia nuts

We were also offered pajamas and amenity kits. Interestingly, Lufthansa only offers a polo shirt on daytime flights from Germany to the US, though they offer full pajamas on flights from Japan to Germany. I’m not sure if it’s because of the length of the flight or because of competition in the market, but it’s just something interesting to note.


Pajamas and amenity kits

By the time boarding was complete, six of the eight first class seats were taken.

The captain came on the PA to announce the flight time of 11hr10min, and within a few minutes we pushed back and began a long taxi to the runway.


Taxiing to the runway


Airborne!


Shortly after takeoff

Within about ten minutes of being airborne the seatbelt sign was turned off and service commenced, starting once again with the purser passing through the cabin to welcome us aboard and distribute menus.


Menu and wine list

The service in first class today was a bit different than on the outbound. The couple seated in row one was Japanese, so as a result they had a Japanese flight attendant working first class, along with the same excellent male flight attendant that also happens to be a trainer.

While I only talked to the male flight attendant about this later in the flight, it would probably be most useful to mention it now for context. I had no clue that Lufthansa actually has flight attendants based at many of their destinations, including Delhi, Shanghai, and Tokyo. The issue, as he explained, is that they don’t speak a word of German. So if there’s one passenger in first class that prefers to communicate in Japanese, then a German-speaking passenger is often forced to communicate in English with that flight attendant.

Obviously the guy wasn’t a huge fan of the program, explaining that Lufthansa is first and foremost a German airline, and a German passenger shouldn’t be forced to communicate in a language other than German (which I agree with).

But what’s interesting is that the Japanese flight attendant working first class recently moved to Germany to work for Lufthansa, though didn’t speak German yet. She was taking German classes, but obviously it takes a while to learn a third language. It was her first time working first class, so the trainer did everything he could to teach her.

Both of these flight attendants were spectacularly amazingly phenomenal. The male flight attendant was awesome for the reasons I discussed in the review of the outbound – he was personable, professional, sincere, and had a great sense of humor.

The Japanese flight attendant, while not nearly as experienced or polished as the trainer, had one of those smiles that just can’t help but put you in a great mood. Her friendliness and sincerity had me sitting there throughout the entire meal service with a huge smile on my face. I had the chance to talk to her for a while, and it was clear that she loved what she was doing and wanted to give 110% to prove it.

I ordered a Diet Coke with lemon to start, which was served with a hot towel. That was followed by the amuse bouche, which, as usual, looked a lot better than it tasted.


Diet Coke with lemon


Amuse bouche

The lunch menu read as follows:

After that the table was setup, again with such precision and care that it couldn’t help but make me smile.


Table setup

The meal started with the appetizer cart being rolled around. Usually they’ll let you choose as many as you’d like, but the senior guy working the cabin insisted on us choosing as many as we wanted but him serving them to us one at a time so we could enjoy each one.

My first starter was caviar, followed by salmon. Both were great.


Caviar


Salmon

That was followed by a salad, which was also tasty.


Salad

Neither of the main courses interested me much, though I went with the beef option. The meat was so tough that I couldn’t even cut it with a knife, so I didn’t even touch the entree. The flight attendant felt awful about it, and my friend tried the other entree.

I was full, so just sent it back.


Braised beef


Sea bream

Instead I had both the cheese plate and cheesecake, both of which were delicious.


Cheese plate


Cheesecake

The meal service finished off with a box of pralines being passed around.


Pralines


Cabin after meal service

Our flight path took us far North (apparently more so than usual), and the views were pretty spectacular most of the way. You’ve gotta love the tail camera. As a result it was actually dark for most of the flight.


Our route


Awesome views

I spent some time talking to the rest of the crew in business class (the flight was again fairly empty, with no more than 30 of the 98 business class seats taken).

The crew was very junior, and I’d guess that not a single flight attendant in business class was over 30. Later I found out why. Apparently Lufthansa separates their crews not based on trip distance or regions, but rather based on aircraft type. You can either work their Boeing fleet (737 and 747) or their Airbus fleet (A320/330/340/380). Beyond that, flying the A380 takes a special certification.

As the senior male trainer explained to me, “the senior flight attendants didn’t want to have to get used to something new, and weren’t convinced the plane could get off the ground, while the young people jumped on it immediately.” He explained that he and the purser were the most senior on the flight by about 15 years, and that it went way down from there.

With about six hours to go to Frankfurt it was time for a nap, so I requested my bed be made. I got a solid two hours of sleep (it was a daytime flight, after all), at which point the flight attendants came around with a cart containing finger sandwiches and cakes. I always find it interesting that Lufthansa doesn’t really have a mid-flight snack menu, even in first class on longhaul flights. So while I wasn’t really hungry, I picked out a couple of things to snack on.


View from reclined seat


Mid-flight snack

I then decided to watch a movie, and went with “Horrible Bosses,” which was hilarious. After that I napped for another hour or so, at which point dinner was served.


Entertainment system

The menu read as follows:

Once again my table was set with great precision, and the flight attendant was a quick learner, as he immediately loaded my bread plate with pretzel bread.


Table setup

The roast beef starter was delicious, as was the pasta entree. If only they would have served that with the first meal.


Roast beef rolls


Linguine

The dessert wasn’t all that great, though.


Dessert

After dessert I had an espresso.


Espresso

About 30 minutes out of Frankfurt the captain came on the PA, and it slowly dawned on me that our awesome A380 experience was coming to an end. This time around the weather in Frankfurt was rather nasty, so we hit a few bumps on the way down.


Tail camera

After a five minute taxi we made it to our gate, where I had to grab one last picture of our bird.


Upon arrival in Frankfurt

Immigration queues were rather long, and I nearly got in a fight with a teenage Brit waiting in line that was trying to mock me for being an American (I shut him up pretty quickly when I pointed to my EU passport). Once through immigration we hopped in a cab to the Westin Grand Frankfurt, where we would be spending the night.

Posted on January 29th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: ANA, Awards, Lufthansa, Travel, Trip Reports | 31 Comments »

Captain Denny has just sent over his February flight schedule, which is as follows, for anyone that wants to fly with him:

02/04 UA531 ORD-LAX 10:30-13:02
02/04 UA444 LAX-SFO 13:57-15:25
02/04 UA647 SFO-LAX 17:34-18:56
02/05 UA385 LAX-ORD 12:58-19:05
02/05 UA450 ORD-TPA 20:00-23:42
02/06 UA380 TPA-ORD 16:07-17:57
02/06 UA222 ORD-BDL 18:48-21:56
02/07 UA393 BDL-ORD 08:55-10:32

02/11 UA255 ORD-SFO 16:02-18:45
02/11 UA560 SFO-SNA 19:46-21:19
02/12 UA436 SNA-ORD 08:24-14:25

02/16 UA741 ORD-SFO 19:05-21:43
02/17 UA222 SFO-ORD 10:47-16:53
02/17 UA582 ORD-TPA 19:45-23:27
02/18 UA540 TPA-ORD 15:15-17:05
02/18 UA333 ORD-SAN 18:15-20:38
02/19UA320 SAN-ORD 08:06-14:08

02/23 UA929 ORD-SEA 15:22-17:55
02/23 UA455 SEA-SFO 18:51-20:58
02/24 UA222 SFO-ORD 10:47-16:53
02/24 UA578 ORD-TPA 19:45-23:27
02/25 UA540 TPA-ORD 15:15-17:05
02/25 UA333 ORD-SAN 18:15-20:38
02/26 UA320 SAN-ORD 08:06-14:08

Posted on January 28th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Travel | 15 Comments »

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).

Posted on January 27th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: American, Mileage Runs, Travel | 17 Comments »

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 Frankfurt
Lufthansa A380 First Class Frankfurt to Tokyo
Park Hyatt Tokyo
ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita, Lufthansa A380 First Class Tokyo to Frankfurt
Westin Grand Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt, Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Orlando

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.

Posted on January 26th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Hotels, Hyatt, Travel, Trip Reports | 43 Comments »

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