Awesome flight on American to Shanghai!

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 »

Chasing the A380: Park Hyatt Tokyo

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

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

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 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

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

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 »

Off to Shanghai today on an empty one!

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).

Posted on January 26th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: American, Mileage Runs, Travel | 12 Comments »

Chasing the A380: Lufthansa A380 First Class Frankfurt to Tokyo

Lufthansa 710
Frankfurt (FRA) – Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Wednesday, December 28
Depart: 1:25PM
Arrive: 8:35AM (+1 day)
Duration: 11hr10min
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 2D (First Class)

Once aboard we headed left into the eight-seat first class cabin, which is in the nose on the upper deck (unlike Qantas, where it’s on the lower deck). While there are definitely airlines with more glamorous first class suites on the A380, Lufthansa’s cabin is remarkably elegant and understated, at least as a relative matter. There are no massive suites, but rather just an “open” cabin with just the right amount of privacy.

Anyway, as soon as we made it to our seats we were greeted by the first class flight attendant, who was spectacular. He was actually apparently a flight attendant trainer and only works about two trips a month. If this guy is training other flight attendants, then Lufthansa’s new hires are in good hands.

First Class cabin

Before I get into the service too much, let’s discuss the seats. Like I said, they’re not all that private, though they do have privacy shields on both sides if you’re not traveling with someone. The seats have amazing padding, better than just about any other product I’ve flown. So in the upright position, the seat is as comfortable as they get.

Seats 2D & 2G

Each seat has an ottoman which doubles as a storage compartment, given that there are no overhead bins in first class.

Seats 2D & 2G

Seat 2A

Seats 1A & 2A

Ottoman/store compartment

Beyond the ottoman, the seat also has a storage compartment in the center section for glasses, headphones, etc.

Seat storage

Then towards the back of the seat is a cup holder and a deeper storage compartment.

More storage

Here’s something truly unique about Lufthansa’s first class cabin on the A380. As I said earlier, there are no overhead bins in the first class cabin so that it feels a bit more spacious, which is a trend with many new first class products nowadays. Instead, each first class passengers gets their own private compartment behind the first class cabin which they can lock. Many airlines have small lockers, but these are actually massive and fit not only a 22″ carry-on, but have room for a laptop bag, clothes, etc. Really well done, Lufthansa.

Storage compartments

Now back to the actual flight. As soon as we settled in the awesome first class flight attendant offered us drinks. We both ordered champagne, which was served with Lufthansa’s signature macadamia nuts.

Pre-departure champagne and nuts

We were then offered amenity kits, slippers, and pajamas, which I changed into immediately.

Amenity kit, slippers, and pajamas

Pajamas

We were also offered Bose noise canceling headphones. This is a massive improvement over Lufthansa’s previous cheap headphones (not that you can’t use your own, but still).

Headphones

As departure time rolled around the captain came on the PA to welcome us aboard and advise us of our flight time of 10hr20min, anticipating an on-time arrival in Tokyo.

As the door closed there were three other passengers in first class — a couple seated in 1D & 1G, and an older guy seated in 2K (he wasn’t previously on the seatmap, so I suspect he may have upgraded at the airport). For takeoff I moved over to 2A.

Jet bridge retracted

After a 10 minute taxi we made it to the runway, where we were almost immediately cleared for takeoff. Lufthansa has a tail camera on the Airbus 380, which is the coolest thing ever. The other amazing thing about the Airbus 380 is how quiet it is. Even during take off, you can’t really tell the engines are even on.

Taking off

Shortly after takeoff

Rainy day

About 10 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off and I headed back to 2D, where I also turned on the tail camera. The weather was starting to look nicer a few miles up!

Tail camera

Beautiful day at last

The purser appeared within a few minutes of the seatbelt sign being turned off. As is usually the case on Lufthansa, she was engaging and reminded us that we could eat whenever we wanted to. She also presented us with the menu and briefly explained it, given that there’s a Western and Japanese selection. She also emphasized the wine list and encouraged me to do a wine sampling if I wanted to.

Cabin after takeoff

Our awesome flight attendant appeared within a few minutes to take our lunch orders. Seriously, this guy had first class service down to a science. He was the perfect combination of professional and personable at the same time, which many flight attendants lack. We asked to have lunch in two hours, and he advised us to let him know if we wanted anything in the meantime.

I took the opportunity to explore the cabin, starting with the two (identical) restrooms located in front of the first class cabin. Lufthansa’s first class restrooms are massive, with a bench and even a urinal.

First class bathroom

First class bathroom (urinal is what’s covered in the distance)

Between the two lavatories are the stairs leading to the lower deck, though they’re blocked off during flight (apparently to prevent drunk people from falling).

Stairs

I then headed back to business class, which was empty as I’ve ever seen before. There are 98 seats, though no more than a dozen were occupied. While the cabin was huge and featured Lufthansa’s “old” business class product, I’d still fly it in a heartbeat given how much I love the Airbus 380.

The funny thing is that the cabin was still fully staffed, so there were about six or seven flight attendants taking care of 12 or so passengers. The crew to passenger ratio was higher than in first class!

Business class

Yes, this is how empty the cabin was in-flight

Empty cabin!

Wing view from business class

When I got back to my seat I watched a couple of sitcoms on the in-flight entertainment, and before I knew it our flight attendant approached with hot towels in preparation for lunch.

Hot towel

The lunch menu read as follows:

As tempting as the “cockle” and “men” sounded on the Japanese menu, I stuck with the western cuisine (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Service started with an amuse bouche. As usual on Lufthansa, I’m fairly certain they do everything in their power to make it as disgusting as possible (don’t hate me, it’s just my taste — or lack thereof).

Amuse bouche

After my table was set the appetizer cart was brought through the aisle, and I ordered some caviar.

Starter

I also ordered the salad, which was quite delicious and served with an herb vinaigrette. Our flight attendant was sure to keep me well stocked on pretzel bread throughout the meal.

Salad

For the main course I actually ordered the tenderloin of beef off the Japanese menu. Since they have a Japanese menu on flights to Japan, they only have two western entrees, and neither interested me. So while I didn’t think the beef was especially good, it was certainly edible.

Tenderloin of beef

The main course was served with rice and miso soup.

Miso soup

My friend ordered the roast goose off the Western menu, which he enjoyed.

Roast goose

For dessert I had the “Vanilla! Vanilla!” option. My only question is who at Lufthansa is responsible for naming things on menus?

Dessert

I also had a fruit plate, which was tasty.

Fruit plate

For dessert I had a cappuccino, which was served with some pralines.

Cappuccino

Pralines

After lunch, about four hours into the flight, the flight attendant offered turndown service, which I gladly accepted given that I was getting tired and I wanted to be fairly well rested for our morning arrival in Tokyo.

Turndown service

The mattress pad and duvet were among the best I’ve experienced, a huge improvement over the product they have on their 747 and Airbus 330/340 aircraft.

Turndown service

I wasn’t quite as tried as I thought I was, so I watched “Friends With Benefits,” which was pretty funny.

Movie time!

I ended up getting a couple of hours of sleep, and woke up about 90 minutes out of Tokyo, at which point breakfast service began, starting with the menu and hot towels being distributed.

Menu and hot towel

The breakfast menu read as follows:

For breakfast I had some fresh squeezed orange juice, muesli and a croissant with Nutella to start.

Breakfast

Then as the main I had eggs with chives, which was delicious. If only more airlines freshly prepare egg dishes aboard…

Scrambled eggs

At this point the sun was slowly starting to rise, and before we knew it the captain was on the PA to advise us that we were 30 minutes out of Tokyo and that the seatbelt sign would be turned on soon. At the same time the purser walked around the cabin once again to bid all the first class passengers farewell.

Sunrise

I changed out of my pajamas and stored my carry-ons in the locker, and once again took the window seat for landing, accompanied by the tail camera.

As usual, the tail camera views were awesome. We had a smooth touch down and about five minute taxi to the gate, where we said goodbye to the crew.

Tail camera

It took the ground crew a bit of time to get the upper deck jet bridge connected, though once it was we began our 15 minute walk to immigration.

Our plane upon arrival

The wait at immigration was very short, and we found ourselves in the arrivals hall in no time. We went to the “Friendly Airport Limousine” counter, where we purchased tickets to the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Unfortunately the next bus was only in an hour, though we had no problem passing that time walking around Narita Airport.

Arrivals hall

Arrivals board

As usual Lufthansa first class was spectacular. And the fact that this flight was on the Airbus 380 made it even more spectacularerer. While Lufthansa doesn’t have the most cutting edge hard product, the cabin was as elegant as I’ve ever seen. As usual (always?), service was phenomenal. The best part was that we’d have the same fantastic crew returning two days later back to Frankfurt, so we had that to look forward to. But in the meantime it was off to the not-so-shabby Park Hyatt…

Posted on January 25th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Awards, Lufthansa, Travel, Trip Reports | 30 Comments »

The next time you think your airline/hotel compensation is low…

The next time you complain to customer relations about a delayed flight or smelly hotel room, consider what Carnival/Costa offered those that were on the Costa Concordia:

The offer from Carnival, the world’s largest cruise operator, comes with strings attached. The 30-per-cent discount is available only for sail within 18 months of the original cruise date, the company confirmed in a memo to the Huffington Post.

Yes, a 30% discount off a future cruise. Un-&#$^*@-believable.

Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Travel | 9 Comments »

Chasing the A380: Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt

The Lufthansa First Class Terminal is my wanna be home. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, my goal in life is to be the first citizen of the Lufthansa First Class Terminal using a crazy scheme I devised in my sleep.

I’ve reviewed the First Class Terminal several times before, including here, here, and here.

To me, the First Class Terminal is hands down the best lounge experience in the world… assuming you’re originating in Frankfurt.

After a 20 minute cab ride from the InterContinental we pulled up to the First Class Terminal, where we were immediately welcomed by a personal assistant and porter. I handed the personal assistant our passports, and she escorted us straight through security.

First Class Terminal entrance

Security in the First Class Terminal is a completely different experience than just about anywhere else. There’s no wait, no need to show your boarding pass, and no need to deal with rude security staff. Instead it’s just a few agents in suits that get you in and out in a matter of seconds. Less than 60 seconds after arriving at the First Class Terminal we had already cleared security and were comfortably seated in the lounge area.

The Terminal isn’t as big as many people assume it is. There are a few seating areas nicely partitioned for privacy, a bar, a cigar lounge, a restaurant, shower/bath/nap rooms, and private workstations with sliding doors.

First Class Terminal

First Class Terminal bar

First Class Terminal cigar lounge

First Class Terminal cigars

Within moments of settling in I was approached by one of the waiters and offered a drink. I just requested a bottle of VOSS water, and headed over to the buffet to grab a pretzel. You’ve gotta love a lounge where you can choose the brand of water you want.

Ah, pretzel at last!

After catching up on work for a couple of hours we headed to the restaurant for lunch. Since Lufthansa lets you dine on demand in first class, I figured it made sense to have lunch on the ground (since the food is excellent), and lunch aboard a few hours after takeoff.

Restaurant

The restaurant has both a buffet and menu. I took small portions of several of the hot options, while my friend ordered the “Christmas goose.”

My lunch

My friend’s lunch

For dessert I had chocolate mousse.

Dessert

While I didn’t want to nap, I figured I’d grab a quick picture of the nap room after lunch.

Nap room

At around 12:45PM our personal assistant advised us our flight was ready for boarding, so we took the elevator down one floor to the transfer level. There we had a quick immigration check, and were then driven to our plane in a Mercedes van with two other passengers on our flight. Often they’ll drive you in a private Porsche Cayenne or Mercedes S500, but when multiple passengers are heading to the same flight from the First Class Terminal, they’ll often just use a van instead.

Transfer area

Our departure gate was pretty far away, which was awesome (it’s rare that I can say this with a straight face). It was a busy time at Frankfurt Airport, and we got to drive under the tails of many “heavies.”

Tarmac view

After a maybe five minute ride we pulled up to our Airbus 380. Secretly this is what I was most looking forward to on the trip. Being driven to a 747 is cool enough, but parking next to an Airbus 380 is awesome.

Our Airbus 380

She’s a beauty… kinda!

Would be sexier if it were the S500 or Cayenne, eh?

Our driver escorted us to the elevator, which we took up to the second floor jet bridge. He brought us all the way to the cabin, where he introduced us to the purser.

Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Awards, Lufthansa, Travel, Trip Reports | 4 Comments »

Chasing the A380: InterContinental Frankfurt

For whatever reason the InterContinental Frankfurt has become my go-to hotel in Frankfurt, and I’ve previously reviewed it here and here. I seem to book it by default without ever looking at other options, since Frankfurt really isn’t all that of an exciting market on the hotel front. With that in mind, I’ll keep this review nice and short.

The hotel is only about a five minute walk from the train station, so despite the cold weather, the walk wasn’t all that bad even for my Floridian self.

Exterior

Check-in was efficient and friendly, and I was informed that we were upgraded to a studio suite with club access. At a rate of 107 Euros per night all-in, that’s a pretty great deal

The studio suites are corners rooms, and in this case we were assigned a room on the 18th floor.

It’s a lot more on the “studio” than “suite” side, given that it’s basically just a large standard room with a seating area.

Studio Suite

The hotel has a pretty decent minibar, which is complimentary as a Royal Ambassador member. Naturally I immediately popped open a~~n ice cold~~ lukewarm Fanta.

Minibar

The welcome amenity consisted of a chocolate bar and bottle of water. While not great, it’s more enjoyable for me than a bottle of wine.

Welcome amenity

The Club InterContinental is located on the top floor and boasts one of the most extensive food spreads of any club lounge I frequent. Because it was the week after Christmas service was limited. In the evenings they had a menu where you could order just about anything from the restaurant, while in the mornings the lounge was closed, so club guests were entitled to breakfast in the restaurant.

I should probably point out that traveling the week around Christmas as an elite member is pretty awesome, since club lounges consistently have limited hours. In 2010 I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Mainz the day before Christmas, and the club lounge was open in the evenings and closed in the mornings, meaning I got complimentary restaurant breakfast in addition to the evening club spread as a Gold Passport Diamond member. That same year I stayed at the InterContinental Frankfurt Christmas Day, and because the club lounge was closed, I was allowed a table at their Christmas Buffet, which would have cost more than the room rate I paid had I made a separate reservation.

Club InterContinental

Anyway, since we could select off a menu in the evening I went with a caesar salad and tomato soup. I should have known better than to order either of those things in Germany, though I’m not much of a “meat and potatoes” kinda guy.

Dinner in Club InterContinental

I spent most of the evening watching German TV. If you think Judge Judy is scripted, you ain’t seen German “reality” TV!

The following morning we had breakfast in the restaurant. Given we’d be flying the Lufthansa Airbus 380 and visiting the First Class Terminal I only had ~~eight rolls and Nutella~~ a light breakfast.

Restaurant

Buffet

At around 9:30AM we checked out and took a cab to the airport. Usually I’d take the train, but given that we were departing from the First Class Terminal it was a lot more convenient to take a cab.

As usual the InterContinental Frankfurt didn’t disappoint. While it could certainly use a renovation, the hotel gets the job done, and the rates are always reasonable. As a Royal Ambassador member I think it’s one of the best values in Frankfurt.

Posted on January 22nd, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Hotels, Priority Club, Travel, Trip Reports | 4 Comments »

Chasing the A380: Lufthansa Business Class Zurich to Frankfurt

We lucked out given that our departure gate, A62, was located adjacent to the lounge. Boarding was announced within a few minutes of arriving at the gate. While there was a mad rush for the jet bridge, there was a priority boarding lane which made the process painless.

Gate A62

Our plane

Lufthansa 1191
Zurich (ZRH) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Tuesday, December 27
Depart: 1:45PM
Arrive: 2:50PM
Duration: 1hr5min
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Seat: 2D (Business Class)

Once aboard I was surprised to see that the business class cabin was only a total of three rows. For those of you not familiar with intra-Europe business class, it’s basically coach with a blocked middle seat and better service. The benefit for the airline is that they can adjust the size of the business class cabin after every flight based on demand. It’s efficient, though rather uncomfortable. For many flights between the hubs (Zurich/Frankfurt/Munich) I’ve seen business class go as far back as the exit row, so this was by far the smallest cabin I’ve seen in a while. I guess it’s because we were traveling right after Christmas.

I settled into 2D, and within moments was offered newspapers and magazines by the cheery flight attendant. I talked to her for about a minute (in German), at which point she started talking to my friend. He doesn’t speak a word of German, so stared at her blankly, and said “I don’t speak German.” Her response was priceless. Literally instantly, without so much as a pause to formulate a witty comeback, she said “well why not?” It’ll never sound as funny as it actually was, though I nearly had tears in my eyes based on her presentation.

Business class cabin

Despite our delayed inbound aircraft, boarding was fairly efficient, decreasing our delay to about 10 minutes. As the cabin door closed the captain came on the PA to welcome everyone aboard, advising us of our flight time of 45 minutes, putting us back on schedule.

Our taxi was quick and once we broke through the clouds it was a fairly nice afternoon.

Climb out

As soon as we leveled off the snack was served, consisting of a prawn, some sort of curry dish, roll, and an apple pastry. It was tasty compared to my recent intra-Europe flights on Lufthansa. That was quickly followed by the beverage cart.

Snack

The highlight was the chocolate served afterwards, though I pocketed it for enjoyment at a later time.

Milka chocolate

About 20 minutes before landing the seatbelt sign was turned on, and after a smooth descent and a 10 minute taxi to the gate, we pulled up to our stand just a few minutes behind schedule.

Approach

Unfortunately it was our unlucky day, since we were assigned a remote stand. The flight was empty, given that everyone fit on a single bus.

Plane from bus

After what must have been a five mile bus ride with a wannabe Formula 1 driver, we arrived at the terminal. From there it was a 10 minute walk to the train station, where we boarded a train for downtown.

Posted on January 21st, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Awards, Lufthansa, Travel, Trip Reports | 8 Comments »

Chasing the A380: Swiss First Class Lounge Zurich

Upon arrival we headed down the long corridor to the transfer area, where we had to switch terminals by train. The trains at Zurich Airport are pretty awesome, since they make cow noises and have animated scenes of the alps. You can always tell who’s an American in the airport train, since they’re usually giggling uncontrollably (that includes me)!

Upon arrival

The Zurich terminal is beautiful and airy (everything I’m not), though we headed straight for the first class lounge.

Terminal

First Class Lounge entrance

We were welcomed at the entrance of the lounge and tried to find two seats together. The first class lounge isn’t especially large, though very nicely appointed. It has a main seating area overlooking the tarmac, a restaurant area, several sleeping rooms, and showers. In a way it’s very similar to the Lufthansa first class lounges, though I’d say just a notch below in terms of service and the food/drink offerings.

At the time we arrived the lounge was packed, as several flights were leaving to the Middle East, India, and the US. The pictures below were snapped at the end of our layover, when we had the lounge to ourselves.

Lounge

After briefly checking my email I requested a shower room. The showers feature Bulgari amenities, which happen to be my favorite.

Shower room

Bulgari amenities

After a shower I snagged one of the nap rooms for a bit of shut eye. The lounge attendant asked what time I wanted to be woken up, and I requested 1PM, which was 45 minutes before our departure.

Swiss nap rooms are a lot better than Lufthansa’s, since they’re actually beds, unlike Lufthansa’s day beds. They also have pretty cool lighting.

Day room

Sure enough, with Swiss precision there was an angry sounding Swiss lady outside my door at 1PM sharp — “VAKE UP ITS VUN PEE EMM YOU VILL FLY SOON.”

After waking up and getting ready to leave the lounge we were informed that our flight to Frankfurt was actually delayed by about 20 minutes due to fog.

Knowing how crappy Lufthansa’s intra-Europe catering is, I had a look at the buffet.

Buffet

Who cares about the rest, I see Fanta!

Salad bar

I settled for a bit of salad and lasagna, accompanied by an almighty Fanta.

Lunch

At around 1:30PM we left the lounge and headed for our departure gate, which was a 30 second walk away.

Posted on January 20th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Awards, Swiss, Travel, Trip Reports | 14 Comments »

Chasing the A380: Swiss First Class Chicago to Zurich

We made it to our departure gate at around 6:45PM, 25 minutes before departure, where boarding was well under way. We headed straight for the priority boarding lane, where our passports were checked and we were wished a pleasant flight.

Departure gate

Swiss 9
Chicago (ORD) – Zurich (ZRH)
Monday, December 26
Depart: 7:10PM
Arrive: 10:55AM (+1 day)
Duration: 8hr45min
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 1D (First Class)

At the door we were greeted by the purser, who directed us to our seats in row one. There was only one other passenger in the cabin today, so it was a light load. Last time I flew this route I had the cabin to myself, so while it wasn’t quite as empty, I’m not complaining!

First class cabin

Within moments of settling in we were greeted by our two flight attendants. The one working the galley was super-friendly, while the one working the aisle was a bit less enthused to be there.

We were offered an amenity kit along with some Christmas cookies, and also asked what size pajamas we wanted. Swiss has my favorite airline pajamas. I find it funny that they very clearly state “SWISS FIRST” where a logo would normally appear on a polo, just to make sure everyone’s aware of where you’re seated.

Amenity kit and cookies

Pajamas

This was quickly followed by a glass of champagne and small starter, consisting of some sort of crab dish, which was delicious.

Pre-departure service

Swiss has one of the classiest first class cabins, in my opinion. I especially love the world map on the wall at the back of the cabin.

First class cabin

Our seats

After the drinks and snack were cleared, we were offered hot towels.

Hot towel

As departure time approached the captain came on the PA to welcome us aboard and advise us of our flight time of eight hours, anticipating an on time arrival in Zurich.

The flight attendant working the aisle took our dinner orders before takeoff. I ordered the fillet of beef, while my friend ordered the sea bass.

She then asked which appetizers we wanted. My friend had never flown Swiss before, and I wanted to make sure he had the full experience. Last time I flew Swiss the appetizers were brought around on a cart and I could pick and choose what I wanted, and it was plated at my seat. I asked the flight attendant if we could see the appetizers on a cart, and she somewhat begrudgingly agreed, stating she doesn’t usually do it on overnight flights, but since the load was so light it wouldn’t be an issue.

After a rather long taxi to the runway we were number one for takeoff, and moments later airborne. About 15 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off and flight attendants sprung into action, starting immediately with the meal service.

This started with the purser coming around to welcome us aboard. She was charming, engaging, and had a great sense of humor, and joked that we could practice our “proper” German together in the galley later on if I couldn’t sleep.

The dinner menu read as follows:

And for those of you that are interested, the wine list read as follows:

There are no two ways about it — Swiss has the best in-flight food of any airline I’ve flown. Asiana is perhaps a very close second, but Swiss still has the edge. To say their meals are spectacular would be an insult. And keep in mind that this flight is catered at an outstation — their food is even better departing Switzerland.

Service started with a glass of champagne and peanuts, follows quickly by the flight attendant setting our tables. Swiss has massive tray tables in first class, which can comfortably accommodate meals for two passengers. Swiss also has full sized salt and pepper mills they place on each table, which I love.

Champagne with nuts

Table setup

Since we had asked for the appetizers to be put on a cart it took a bit longer than usual for them to be brought out. Just about everything looked good, and since there was a ton of food, I requested a little bit of everything. The flight attendant happily obliged, and her attention to detail with plating was phenomenal.

Salmon and king crab legs

Air-dried meats and artichoke hearts

Once those plates were cleared the salad was served, which was equally delicious.

Salad

The fillet of beef was served next, accompanied by a baked potato, butternut squash, and roasted parsnip. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve had a baked potato in-flight, and it was excellent.

Fillet of beef

My friend ordered the sea bass, which he enjoyed.

Sea bass

For dessert the flight attendant brought around a cheese cart, and I once again ordered a little bit of everything, though was stuffed at this point so barely even nibbled.

Selection of cheeses

For dessert I had the ice cream with mixed berry compote, which was simple and delicious.

Vanilla ice cream with mixed berry compote

Given that I was flying Swiss, I had to order an espresso after dessert, which was served with a praline.

Espresso

The whole meal service took a bit over two hours, and at this point we had about 5.5 hours till landing in Zurich. We both requested that our beds be turned down, which was taken care of promptly.

Turndown service

Swiss has excellent bedding, and I got a solid three hours of sleep (about as much as I’ll ever get on a transatlantic flight).

When I woke up the flight attendant quickly appeared to offer me something to drink. I ordered a glass of apple juice, and moved over to seat 1A to enjoy the sunrise.

Apple juice

Sunrise

I watched a couple of sitcoms on the entertainment system, and about 1.5 hours out of Zurich breakfast service started with a berry smoothie.

The menu read as follows:

Berry smoothie

The flight attendant first set my table, including the bread basket, and then came around with a cart consisting of several cold options. I ordered some berry yogurt and fruit, and had a mimosa to drink.

Breakfast

Bread basket

For the main course I ordered an omelet, which was delicious. They even had Tabasco sauce in a full size bottle!

Breakfast

To finish off the meal I ordered another espresso, which the flight attendant served (unsolicited) with a cinnamon roll, the same ones Continental has.

Espresso and cinnamon roll

At this point the cabin was bright so I snapped another quick picture before landing.

First class cabin

As we began our descent I changed out of my pajamas and stored my carry-ons.

It’s no surprise that the views on approach were spectacular, as they always are in Switzerland.

View on approach

As we continued our descent the visibility was very limited, and we didn’t break out of the clouds until about 500 feet above the ground. After a smooth landing and quick taxi we parked at our gate next to a United and Thai plane.

Foggy weather on final approach

Turning off runway

Plane being deiced

Reaching our gate

As usual, my Swiss experience was spectacular. The food is always the highlight with Swiss. I have to be honest and say that the service wasn’t great. It was acceptable and by most airlines’ standards on par, but by Swiss standard sub-par. The flight attendant was perfectly happy to fulfill any request we had, though at the same time didn’t go above and beyond in any way.

Nonetheless, Swiss remains one of my favorite airlines, if not my favorite.

Posted on January 19th, 2012 by lucky
Filed under: Awards, Swiss, Travel, Trip Reports | 18 Comments »

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