Introduction
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore
InterContinental Singapore
Exploring Singapore
The Singapore Airlines Private Room
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK

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At around 9PM the personal assistant escorted me to immigration and to the transfer area, where I was directed to a Mercedes van along with four other passengers on the flight to Singapore (two of which were HON members, and two of which were first class passengers).

The ride to the plane took about 10 minutes, and on the way one of the other guys was on the phone with his wife saying goodnight, and I found the conversation pretty hilarious. He was telling her he was driving to the plane, and I could hear her panicking because she thought he was going to miss the flight, assuming he was driving to the airport. He quickly reassured her and said “no, I’m actually being driven to the plane,” and proceeded to explain to her the service Lufthansa provides their first class passengers.

We pulled up right next to our Airbus 380, and parked next to us was another Airbus 380 headed for Johannesburg. Nothing is quite as impressive as two A380s next to one another.

Our van and plane in the background

Wingtips of two Airbus 380s

The driver escorted us to the second floor jet bridge, where the flight attendants took over and directed us to our seats.

Lufthansa 778
Frankfurt (FRA) – Singapore (SIN)
Friday, April 27
Depart: 9:35PM
Arrive: 3:50PM (+1 day)
Duration: 12hr15min
Aircraft: Airbus 380
Seat: 1K (First Class)

I’ll focus a bit less on the actual hard product with this post, since I reviewed it extensively in the review of my Airbus 380 flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo Narita a few months ago, which can be found here.

My seat, 1K

Seat console

Cabin

As I settled in I was immediately offered a beverage, so went with champagne which was served with macadamia nuts. This was quickly followed by PJs and the amenity kit.

Pre-departure drink

I then placed all my belongings in my personal locker, which is located right in front of my seat (it’s one of my favorite features of the Lufthansa Airbus 380). As I closed my locker the lady seated across from me in 1G (an American) said “wait don’t close it, I want to put my stuff in there too.” I explained to her that she had her own locker with a lock on it, at which point she commented “Yooooouuuuuurrr Engggggggliiiiish isssss verrrrryyyyyy goooooood.” It always cracks me up when I communicate with the crew in German, and as a result American passengers assume I don’t speak English (and speak really slowly to me, thinking it’s the only way I’ll comprehend what they’re saying), so I always like to have a bit of fun with it.

So I responded to her with “thanks, I learned English in school.” Naturally she asked “ohhhh wherrrreeeee diddd youuuuu goooo tooooo schooool?” I responded with “New York,” at which point she had a mildly embarrassed look on her face.

Anyway, she was nice enough, so we ended up talking for a bit. She was a “foreign corruption lawyer” and traveling to Singapore for work after spending a week in Germany, so she asked me a lot of questions about why I was traveling and also about the Airbus 380. She told me about how she had booked business class but at check-in the agent said she had an expiring Senator upgrade voucher that she didn’t even know about, and suggested she use it before it expires, so she upgraded.

She had never flown the Airbus 380 before and couldn’t figure out where the bathrooms were, so I showed her. In the end I got stuck in the bathroom with her for about a minute, though that’s a different story. It’s certainly the last time in my life I hope that happens with a woman three times my age, though such is life.

At departure time the captain came on the PA and advised us of our flight time of 11hr30min, anticipating an on-time arrival in Singapore.

As we pushed back the safety video began to play and we had a 15 minute taxi to our departure runway before we were airborne.

Safety video

About 20 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off and service commenced, starting with the purser distributing menus. The menu on this flight was identical to the menu on my Frankfurt to Seattle flight in March.

The dinner menu read as follows:

Menu

I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the options and wasn’t especially hungry, so ended up deciding to skip the main course.

Service started with hot towels followed by drinks and the amuse bouche, which consisted of feta cheese, fig, and sorbet.

Drinks and amuse bouche

About an hour into the flight the appetizer cart was rolled through, and I chose both caviar and the tuna appetizer.

Appetizer

Then I had the salad with macadamia nut dressing.

Salad

As I said I skipped the main course and went straight for the dessert, starting with a delicious cheese plate per the flight attendant’s suggestion.

Dessert

I then had the coffee dessert, the same as on my last flight.

Dessert

Service finished with a tin of chocolates.

Chocolates

Service throughout the meal was phenomenal. The flight attendant working the aisle was young and motivated, and despite the late night departure was constantly smiling and very attentive. Then again that just about always matches my experiences on Lufthansa, though many seem to disagree.

The lovely flight attendant provided me with turndown service (both of my bed and my phone number… I’m kidding), and I was ready for a good night of sleep after one heckuva long travel day. Right as I got comfortable I heard a loud noise. Hmmm, Airbus 380 engine trouble? Unruly passengers in business class? Nope, just the lady in 1G snoring louder than Snufalufagus. Look, I can handle light and/or interrupted snoring, but that wasn’t the case here. This lady was having a snoring symphony, and there was no way I was going to stop her.

I figured it would subside or I’d get used to it, but unfortunately after trying to sleep for an hour I decided that wasn’t the case. I then figured if I put on either noise canceling headphones or in-ear headphones it would help with eliminating the noise. Despite blasting Justin Bieber’s latest album at full volume, I had no such luck. Actually, it kept getting worse (both her snoring and Justin Bieber’s album).

Bed

After trying to sleep for about two hours I called it quits and pressed the flight attendant call button to get an iced coffee so I could at least wake up and get a bit of work done. I’ve decided that the new standard as to whether or not a first class flight attendant is great at their job is whether or not they’ll serve you an iced coffee. It’s not explicitly on the menu, but it’s easy to make and requires (very minimal) thinking outside the box. Sure enough the flight attendant was more than happy to cooperate, and even served it with chocolate and an apology for the noises the lady seated across from me was making.

Iced coffee

After watching a couple of TV shows and getting some work done we were about four hours out of Singapore, and the lady seated across from me finally woke up. Seeing I was awake she said “boy you were right, these seats are comfortable. I slept really well. How did you sleep?” I simply smiled at her and said “oh, great.” Fortunately the fact that she woke up meant I could finally sleep, and I got a solid two hours of sleep before breakfast service began.

Tail camera

About 90 minutes out of Singapore immigration cards were distributed, followed by hot towels and breakfast menus.

Immigration form

Hot towel

The breakfast menu read as follows:

Once the menus were distributed fresh squeezed orange juice was served. Lufthansa serves the best of any airline, in my opinion, and it’s the highlight of their breakfast service for me.

Orange juice

I ordered another iced coffee with breakfast, and also had some fruit and cereal.

Breakfast

For the main course I had scrambled eggs with chives, which were delicious as always.

Scrambled eggs

30 minutes out of Singapore we began our descent and I changed out of the PJs.

Beginning our descent

Final approach

After a beautiful touchdown we had a long taxi to our gate at the very end of the terminal.

Singapore Airbus 380s

Fortunately there were no queues at immigration so I was at the InterContinental about 30 minutes after landing. Not too shabby!

Terminal upon arrival

And like that another amazing Lufthansa flight came to an end. While I think their management team is starting to head in the wrong direction (and I’m not talking about them restricting award tickets to Star Alliance partners, which I can understand) their flight crews consistently deliver.

Introduction
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore
InterContinental Singapore
Exploring Singapore
The Singapore Airlines Private Room
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK

---

Because of the fact that I switched to the earlier New York to Frankfurt flight, my very manageable nine-hour Frankfurt layover turned into a 15-hour layover.

As a Lufthansa first class passenger in transit you’re entitled to a complimentary dayroom at the Hotel Kempinski, a service I took advantage of during my last trip. However, this time around I had a lot of stuff to catch up on, so decided to try and power through the day and just hop around the lounges while getting some work done. I did something similar with a long layover in Singapore last year, and it worked out well. I figured it would work out especially well in this instance, since I could just sleep the whole way from Frankfurt to Singapore.

I would have gone into the city but the weather wasn’t especially nice and my family is from Frankfurt, so I already know the city pretty well.

Lufthansa has two FCLs (First Class Lounges) in addition to the FCT (First Class Terminal) in Frankfurt, so I ended up splitting my time pretty equally. The designs are more or less all the same with some very minor variations, which I’ll point out below.

My first stop was the B-concourse FCL.

First Class Lounge Entrance

The FCL boasts plenty of seating, though I headed straight for a cubicle where I got about five hours of work done while I was still wide awake. The great thing about the cubicles is that they actually have a sliding door, so are a lot more like enclosed offices.

FCL

While I wasn’t hungry I did snap a picture of the extensive breakfast buffet.

Breakfast buffet

Breakfast buffet

Breakfast buffet

Breakfast buffet

The highlight of the lounge, though, had to be the tarmac views as the sun rose. Maybe I’m nuts, but I don’t think there’s a more beautiful airport in the world than Frankfurt in terms of the traffic, so a stunning backdrop only adds to that perception.

Tarmac views

At around 11AM I headed to the A-concourse FCL for a change of scenery, which was about a 15-minute walk away.

Awesome apron views

The B-concourse FCL is very similar to the one in the A concourse.

FCL

I intentionally headed over to this lounge as my exhaustion started kicking in, as the nap rooms here are nicer than in the A-concourse FCL or even the FCT. Unfortunately there was a two hour wait for them, so I grabbed a cubicle and enjoyed a nearly endless supply of Fanta and pretzels while getting some work done. Mmmmm…

Best thing in the world

At around 1PM it was my turn for the nap room, and I requested to be woken up after two hours. While the bed isn’t especially comfortable, it is more of a “bed” than in the other lounges, where you basically get a couch with a blanket.

Nap room

Nap room

For comparison, FCT nap room

After a refreshing nap I decided it was time to shower. While I was intending to take a bath in the FCT (after all I’ve gotta kidnap my friend, rubber ducky), I didn’t want to show up at the FCT completely unwashed.

Shower room

The most interesting thing about the FCL visit had to be the group of 16 people (they were Japanese and all seemed to be related) that entered the lounge at the same time. I have to wonder what their deal is. There had to be at least eight HONs or eight first class passengers among them, so I suspect they chartered a whole first class cabin and then some. Impressive!

At around 5PM I headed over to the FCT, which required clearing immigration and walking along the outside roadway to the FCT’s side entrance. Once inside I took the elevator up to the reception, where I was immediately escorted through security.

FCT side entrance

I grabbed one of the comfortable lounge chairs along the windows and played around on my laptop for a bit. As much as I do love the FCT, I did notice the absence of tarmac views after spending so much time in the other lounges, which never previously phased me.

Comfortable seating

At around 7PM I decided to have dinner, which is a highlight of any FCT visit.

Menu

As usual the buffet was extensive, so I piled on a bit of just about everything.

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

Dinner

After dinner I headed over to the shower/bath rooms for a bath. I’m not usually one to take a bath, though the FCT is an exception.

Bath

Rubber ducky

At around 10PM the personal assistant fetched me and brought me down to passport control so I could be driven to my connecting flight.

Transfer area

And after a pleasant day my long layover came to an end, and I was ready to get some sleep.

Introduction
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore
InterContinental Singapore
Exploring Singapore
The Singapore Airlines Private Room
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK

---

I headed over to gate three, which is a bit of a disappointment for any aviation geek, given that the aircraft parked at the gate isn’t visible due to a structure blocking it.

Departure gate

747 taking me to Frankfurt

At around 3:15PM boarding started for first class, business class, and Star Gold members, and I was among the first aboard.

Lufthansa 401
New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Thursday, April 26
Depart: 3:55PM
Arrive: 5:35AM (+1 day)
Duration: 7hr40min
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Seat: 82H (First Class)

At the door I was greeted by the purser, who directed me up the stairs. Once at the top of the stairs I was welcomed by two older male flight attendants that pointed me to my seat in row 82.

Rather than try to hide my excitement over the new product, I immediately asked if it would be alright if I snapped a few cabin pictures before the other passengers arrived, which they enthusiastically “approved.”

New first class cabin

New first class cabin

82H, my seat/bed

82C, seat/bed across from me

View from my seat

View from my seat

Entertainment system controls

Seat controls

Power plus

As I mentioned in the introduction, the product on this 747 is pretty unique in that it’s a separate seat and bed. So far 10 of Lufthansa’s 28 747s are configured with this product (see this FlyerTalk post for full details on the reconfiguration progress). Meanwhile Lufthansa doesn’t have plans to configure the rest of their fleet with this product (instead they’re configuring it with the same first class product found on the Airbus 380).

While the upper deck was previously in a 2-2 configuration, they basically turned each set of two seats into both a seat and a fixed bed. We’ll talk about the practicality of the product in a bit and whether the space could have been utilized more efficiently, though I have to say it’ll be a while before the novelty of this product wears off for me. Other airlines have enclosed suites, but this is the first product where you have a separate seat and bed. And of course it’s a huge upgrade over the old 747 first class (which I flew from Frankfurt to Bangkok last year, for example), in terms of seat comfort, entertainment, personal space, etc.

Anyway, back to the flight. As I settled in I was offered a pre-departure beverage, and ordered a glass of water, which was served with macadamia nuts. The flight attendant asked if I was a Lufthansa employee, which I found odd, given that I didn’t think Lufthansa employees could easily get into first class (though maybe I’m wrong?).

Pre-departure beverage and nuts

Moments later I was presented with pajamas, slippers, an amenity kit, duty free magazine, and lastly a service survey (the timing of which I found pretty tacky, frankly – that shouldn’t be one of the first things they give a passenger, in my opinion).

Amenities

Pajamas and slippers

The upper deck continued to fill up, surprisingly enough mostly with Americans (in my experience most Lufthansa first class passengers are German). There were two other Germans, and everyone else was American, including two Lufthansa employees (which might explain why they assumed I was an employee, since maybe they knew two Lufthansa employees were aboard in first class).

Shortly before pushback I changed into pajamas. Moments later the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, advising us of our flight time of 6hr45min.

While we pushed back almost on time, we didn’t move after our initial pushback for about 10 minutes. This was apparently because an Air China plane parked at the gate next to us had a broken APU and was still running their engines, and therefore it wasn’t safe for us to pass.

At this point I decided to get started on a movie. This is one huge new improvement over Lufthansa’s old first class product, since you can start watching movies on the ground. Previously the monitors had to be stowed for takeoff, so you couldn’t watch any movies till after takeoff. And that doesn’t even account for the fact that the new screen is triple the size of the old one, and the selection is more thorough.

I decided on “Carnage,” which was actually reasonably entertaining. More than anything else I was amazed that the entire movie took place in one room and basically covered a time period the same length as the movie, so there was no skipping of time. Interesting.

Carnage movie

After a roughly 10 minute delay and 15 minute taxi we took off into the north, where we had a pretty choppy climb out of JFK thanks to the weather.

Lining up on the runway

About 20 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off and service commenced, starting with hot towels.

Hot towel

Simultaneously the purser came around the cabin to welcome the first class passengers aboard and distribute the menus and wine list.

The dinner menu read as follows:

And the wine list read as follows:

Champagne
2009 “D” de Devaux Brut

White Wine
2009 Scharzhofberger Riesling
2009 Rully
2010 Heinrich Vollmer Grauer Burgunder

Red Wine
terra o. Cuvee
2003 Chateau Belgrave Cru Classe
2006 Kaiken Ultra Malbec

Dessert Wine
2008 Huxelrebe Beerenauslese

Monthly Proposal
Oban Single Malt 14 Years

Now, the only downside of the flight was that the menu was nearly identical to the one from my San Francisco to Munich flight in March. Fortunately that menu happened to be one of Lufthansa’s better ones, so it wasn’t all bad news.

The meal service began with the amuse bouche, which consisted of cucumber and salmon.

Amuse bouche

That was quickly followed by drinks.

Diet Coke with lemon

After that the tables were set. I selected some pretzel bread from the breadbasket and also ordered a glass of champagne to accompany the appetizers. The only disappointment was that the flight attendant didn’t distribute the signature Lufthansa rose.

Table setup

At that point the flight attendant came through with the appetizer cart.

Appetizer cart

I selected the grilled shrimp and sirloin.

Appetizer

That was followed by the salad, which was served with “delicious Dressing,” whatever the heck that is.

Salad

I wasn’t especially hungry by the time the main course was served, and had the tenderloin of beef the last time I flew with the same menu, so went with the pasta with potatoes this time around., It was just alright.

Main course

For dessert I went with the panna cotta. If I were as rich as it, I would have retired a long time ago.

Dessert

To finish off the meal I ordered some Baileys, which was accompanied by a tin of chocolates (which I stuffed in my bag to enjoy at a later time).

Baileys and chocolate

Lastly I was offered a bottle of water.

Water

One thing I was wondering about before trying the new product is just how far the seat reclines, given that there’s no way to place the bed in an upright position. So for anyone else that was wondering, below is a picture of the seat fully reclined.

Seat fully reclined

As you can see the legrest goes all the way up, while the seat reclines maybe halfway back. It’s perfect for lounging. If you want to recline more you can always just lay in bed and prop the pillow up, which works equally well (though I do wish they’d provide more than one pillow).

Now, in terms of the timing this flight sucks. I’m a night owl, so leaving in the afternoon means I can usually not get any sleep on such a short redeye. The flight lands in Frankfurt at 5:35AM, which is 11:35PM eastern time in the US, well before I usually go to bed. So in a way such a great first class product is really wasted on such a short, early redeye. But of course that wasn’t going to stop me from at least trying to get some sleep. After dinner I headed over to the bed, which was really comfortable. It has a legitimate “mattress,” and while it’s not a Westin Heavenly Bed, it is considerably more comfortable than most first class mattress pads, in my opinion.

The only aspect of the seat that wasn’t very well thought out, in my opinion, is that the TV screen doesn’t swivel. It would be really nice if you could position it in such a way that it faces the bed, since the screen can be tough to view when laying down in bed.

From bed

Either way, I told myself I’d sleep till an hour before landing, and I did exactly that. I slept surprisingly well, better than I usually do on a plane, and I’d attribute that at least in part to the bed.

Sunset over the Atlantic

About an hour before landing the cabin lights were turned up a bit and breakfast service commenced, starting with hot towels, fresh squeezed orange juice, and menus being distributed.

Hot towel and fresh squeezed orange juice

Menu

The breakfast menu read as follows:

Given how short the transatlantic flights are from the east coast, the breakfast service is a bit more abbreviated than what they offer on the longer flights, with a choice of three options served on a single tray. I went with the “fitness breakfast,” which consisted of muesli, fruit, and a croissant/roll.

Fitness breakfast

About 30 minutes out we began our descent and I switched back into my normal clothes. The views were quite nice on approach into Frankfurt, and we had one of the most beautiful landings ever. Look, I’ve flown over 1,000 segments over the years, and this was hands down the most stunningly amazing landing ever. Yes, a “nice” landing is normal, but this took that to a whole new level. If the landing were any smoother the captain would’ve had to sing me a lullaby.

Final approach into Frankfurt

Pulling into our gate

With a 15 hour layover ahead of me I was in no rush to disembark, though headed straight for the first class lounge to shower.

Introduction
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore
InterContinental Singapore
Exploring Singapore
The Singapore Airlines Private Room
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK

---

I made it to terminal one at JFK at around 1PM for my 3:55PM departure.

Terminal exterior

It has been years since I’ve flown Lufthansa out of JFK (I usually fly out of EWR), so I was a bit confused while trying to locate the first class check-in counter. Little did I realize it was just one small counter at the side of the aisle without any partitions, which threw me off given that Star Gold members can use first class check-in as well.

Lufthansa check-in

When I handed the agent my passport she confirmed I was heading to Singapore, and after typing for a minute said “does you have a Chinese visa?” Confused, I said “for Singapore?” She said “yes, you need a Chinese visa.” Dumbfounded I stood there for a moment as she flipped through my passport before she said “oh good, you do have a Chinese visa.” I just couldn’t bring myself to actually say something.

Security queues weren’t too long, and there was even a dedicated premium line. Fortunately they were using metal detectors and not full body scanners, so the line moved along faster than usual.

Once through security the Lufthansa lounge is located immediately on the left.

Airside at terminal one

Lufthansa lounge entrance

After checking in the agent informed me that pre-flight lunch would be served stating at 2PM, which I intended to take advantage of since I didn’t have breakfast.

The Lufthansa lounge at JFK consists of three levels. On the first level is the business class lounge, for business class passengers (obviously).

Lounge entrance and business class lounge

Airbus 380 model at entrance

On the second level is the Senator lounge, for Star Gold members and first class passengers.

The space itself is very nice with a bar, dining area, and plenty of comfortable lounge chairs. The lounge boasts great tarmac views, with runway views in the distance.

Senator lounge

Senator lounge

Senator lounge

Senator lounge

Tarmac views

Since I arrived at around 1:30PM the full buffet wasn’t set up yet, though there were plenty of finger sandwiches, chips, etc. Furthermore, waiters were roaming around offering drinks.

Snack selection

I caught up on email till about 2PM, and then asked an agent about the possibility of having pre-flight lunch, which is served on the third floor. The issue is that you need a key to access the third floor, so the first class waiter has to get you from the second floor to bring you upstairs.

My name was checked off a list and I was invited upstairs. There’s a very small seating area with open bar, and then separately a large buffet with dining room. This area is available for first class passengers and HON Circle members (Lufthansa’s uber-top-tier elites).

First class lounge entrance

First class seating area

Open bar

Open bar

Open bar

I first had a seat in the lounge area, which had a very similar theme to virtually every other Lufthansa first class lounge, both in terms of the furniture and the setup, with canisters of nuts at each side table.

A few minutes later I headed over to the dining room, which was almost identical in quality to the offerings in Frankfurt and Munich.

First class dining

First class menu

View of Senator Lounge from first class lounge

View of Senator Lounge from first class lounge

The buffet consisted of appetizers, six hot dishes, and plenty of desserts.

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

The service was also fantastic, with a waiter constantly refilling drinks and clearing plates (I had a glass of Rose).

Lunch

Dessert

Boarding was scheduled for 3:25PM, though knowing that my flight would be operated by the 747 featuring the new first class, I decided to leave the lounge at 3PM in hopes of being the first in the cabin to snap a couple of pictures.

On the whole the Lufthansa First Class Lounge JFK is among the best lounges in the US, probably along with the Virgin Clubhouses JFK and Virgin Clubhouse SFO. Kudos to Lufthansa for their consistency.

Introduction
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore
InterContinental Singapore
Exploring Singapore
The Singapore Airlines Private Room
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK

---

For months I had a meeting scheduled in Singapore, and originally my plan was to first visit Singapore and then continue on to Thailand for about a week (Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, specifically).

So while I had a ticket booked reflecting that schedule, I unfortunately had a schedule conflict on both ends of the trip. On the front end I was attending Starwood’s screening of “Mansome” in New York at the Tribeca Film Festival, and on the back end I had a family commitment back in Tampa.

Unfortunately this translated to a very quick trip to Singapore of just about 48 hours. While it’s not ideal, I was determined to at least get a few new airline products into the trip, and I’m proud to say that I think I succeeded in this instance.

For the outbound I’ve been dying to try Lufthansa’s new first class on the 747, which consists of both a seat and a bed. I’ve flown their other new first class product, which can be found on the Airbus 380, though never lucked out with the reconfigured 747, since only 10 of the 28 747s feature it.

In this instance the most convenient scheduled for the outbound was from New York to Singapore via Frankfurt in Lufthansa first class for 70,000 United miles one way (which I transferred from Ultimate Rewards).

The Frankfurt to Singapore flight was scheduled to be operated by the Airbus 380, so while it’s not a new product I didn’t feel too bad about flying it again, since I really do love the Airbus 380.

The flight from New York to Frankfurt proved to be a bit trickier. Lufthansa has two flights a day between New York JFK and Frankfurt, one at around 4PM and one at around 10PM. Initially I booked the late night flight, which I far prefer.

The thing is that Lufthansa flies the reconfigured 747s around pretty randomly, so when I woke up in the morning I looked up the tail numbers for the inbound flights from Frankfurt (this FlyerTalk thread is very useful for tracking them). As it turns out, the earlier flight from Frankfurt to New York (LH400) had the new first class, and that plane turns around to fly the early New York to Frankfurt flight (LH401).

So while I wasn’t looking forward to spending an extra six hours in Frankfurt, I decided it was well worth it for the new product. Fortunately the earlier flight had first class award space as well, so I called up to make the change, which took only a few minutes.

The return was also a spur of the moment decision. I initially booked a Cathay Pacific first class award from Singapore to Tampa via Hong Kong and Chicago, which is a tough value to beat at 67,500 American miles. Cathay Pacific has one of the most consistent first class products, though I’ve flown them well over a dozen times, so I was really hoping to try something new.

My flight out of Singapore was supposed to be at 1AM, and at around 4PM the previous afternoon I decided to get online and see if there were any other interesting alternatives.

I found Japan Airlines first class award space from Tokyo to New York in their new Sky Suite. While I flew their old product from Tokyo to New York several years ago, the prospect of trying their new suites proved too much to give up, so I canceled my Cathay Pacific award. The one-way award cost 62,500 miles in first class (flying out of Japan is 5,000 miles cheaper than flying out of Southeast Asia on American).

The issue was getting from Singapore to Tokyo. I had some Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, so decided to book the Singapore Airlines redeye from Singapore to Tokyo in first class for 51,000 KrisFlyer miles.

While I’ve flown Singapore Airlines’ old first class product and new business class product, I haven’t flown their new first class product.

Now, some might say that Singapore to Tokyo for 51,000 miles on a redeye is a waste. But 90% of the people I know really have no clue how far Singapore is from Tokyo. When I’ve asked people to estimate the flight length, they usually say 2-3 hours. It’s actually blocked at over seven hours, and the distance is further than Boston to London. So when you put it into perspective and think of it as the equivalent of a transatlantic first class flight for 51,000 miles, it seems like a bit better of a deal.

Ultimately there’s no doubt the Cathay Pacific deal was a better one, though you guys are always telling me you want me to review new products, and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity, since three of the four airline products were new ones for me.

When all was said and done, the itinerary looked as follows:

04/26 Lufthansa 401 New York to Frankfurt departing at 3:55PM and arriving at 5:35AM (+1 day)
04/27 Lufthansa 778 Frankfurt to Singapore departing at 9:35PM and arriving at 3:50PM (+1 day)
04/30 Singapore Airlines 638 Singapore to Tokyo departing at 11:55PM and arriving at 8:00AM (+1 day)
05/01 Japan Airlines 6 Tokyo to New York JFK departing at 11:20AM and arriving at 11:25AM

On the hotel front I decided to book the InterContinental Singapore. Since I was staying over a weekend I was able to use an InterContinental Buy One Get One Free Weekend Night Certificate, which is an unbeatable deal in conjunction with Royal Ambassador benefits.

Stay tuned!

Have you ever had a flight where one minor detail of the flight is the only one that sticks with you?

Well, I just completed a 12-hour flight on JAL from Tokyo Narita to New York JFK, and while the service was great, and seat and food were good, there was one aspect of the flight that just left me confused.

I conked out pretty quickly after the initial meal service while the cabin lights were still turned up all the way, figuring they would eventually be dimmed, as they are on virtually every longhaul flight I’ve taken. Not only is it dark outside almost the whole way, but when I looked back at the business class cabin I see that it’s dark. Meanwhile, the lights are all the way up in first class.

I nicely asked the flight attendant if there would be a way to dim the cabin lights a bit, and she proceeded to turn some of the lights off… a bit. The purser then came by to apologize profusely, and explained that other passengers are trying to read (it’s worth noting six passengers were sleeping and two were watching movies).

Unless, I’m missing something, that’s the purpose of the reading lights, no? Like, when you want to read?

Anyway, it’s a minor aspect of the flight, though I find it so odd that it’s really what stuck with me about the experience. On every one of my over 100 longhaul first class flights I’ve always had them dim the cabin lights, so why they didn’t do so is beyond me.

Who knows, maybe I was the one snoring loud and they wanted to keep me up as much as possible?

And on a somewhat unrelated note, the older Japanese gentleman seated across from me (who I’m 99% sure is a Japanese TV personality) decided not to wear underwear with his pajamas. I know this because when he changed into his pajamas he prominently placed his underwear on the tray table. He then proceeded to fart most of the way to New York. I’m pretty sure we only needed half a tank of gas to get to New York, cause he provided the other half…

I should start with two (random and only mildly related) pieces of information. First of all, despite jetsetting around the world right now, I’m having a crappy week, so I was kind of looking forward to the solitude of being on an airplane for 24 hours, without too much human intervention. Second, I’m a bad drinker. I usually don’t drink alcohol, though I can’t turn down a glass or two of Dom/Krug on Singapore. More than anything else it’s the beauty of the glass, bubbles, etc., that I like, as opposed to the actual alcohol.

You know I’m a lightweight when I start making animal noises in the Singapore Airlines Private Room after two glasses of champagne. Oy. This is why I stick to Diet Coke with lime. Anyway, on to the actual flight…

As many of you guessed in my previous post, I just flew from Singapore to Tokyo Narita on Singapore Airlines in first class. I redeemed 51,000 KrisFlyer miles for the one-way ticket, which I got through a Membership Rewards points transfer.

In theory the flight I was on, SQ638, was entirely uninteresting. It’s a redeye flight with simply a breakfast service, though the service was out-of-this-world amazing. Hands down the best I’ve ever had on any airline ever. And this isn’t just the bottle of Krug I polished off talking.

As I boarded the in-flight service manager and leading stewardess welcomed me aboard by name before even looking at my boarding pass. As I was escorted to my seat (2A), the leading stewardess, Wong Chin said with the biggest smile on her face “Mr. Lucky, you have first class all to yourself tonight, and I promise to pamper you.” Oh, the possibilities…

And she did proceed to pamper me nonstop, even though I slept for most of the flight. At boarding she presented me with newspapers, magazines, a pre-departure beverage (when I ordered champagne she had a smirk on her face and obvious pride as she said “Mr. Lucky, would you prefer Dom or Krug?”), hot towels, pajamas, and the menu.

Singapore Airlines only serves breakfast on this flight so she asked whether I wanted it after takeoff or before landing, and I went with the latter. She asked if I wanted to already make a selection so that she could have it prepared for me when I wake up, and I went with the scrambled eggs.

While I was assigned seat 2A, Wong Chin set up my bed in 1A so that I’d be able to leave my original seat in the upright position for breakfast. After a nice nap I woke up and within two minutes Wong Chin appeared and said “Mr. Lucky, did you enjoy your rest? May I get you something to drink, perhaps some hot cocoa?” What am I, five years old? Actually I guess I am, cause I was totally in the mood.

Then I went back to seat 2A, where Wong Chin had set up the following display (and note that border is hand drawn as well, and she made the flower display out of paper on her own):

As soon as she saw that I was back in seat 2A she came over and said “Mr. Lucky, I took the liberty of setting up a little display for you. I hope you have an amazing day.”

It was truly heartwarming. There’s good service and then there are people that just want to make you smile, and Wong Chin fits in the latter category.

We talked for a few minutes, and her attitude was so refreshing — “Mr. Lucky, I love my job and interacting with passengers. When I set up the display the in-flight manager asked me what I was doing, and I said ‘making my passenger smile.’ That’s my passion.”

I kept stressing to her how amazing she was and how touching the gesture was, and said I’d put the note on my desk in my office as it would put a smile on my face every morning. She responded with “Mr. Lucky, in that instance may I put some more stickers on it for you?”

10 minutes later she returned with this:

While airlines, hotel chains, etc., might be large, faceless corporations, it’s individuals that deliver the experience. And while some might call me naive for thinking this, at times I’m genuinely touched by actions like this.

Stay tuned for the actual trip report, as this is only the top of the iceberg as far as the service goes.

I just got off a Singapore Airlines flight which was, hands down, the most spectacular flight of my life. I had the first class cabin all to myself, and as I boarded the leading stewardess (who’s only job was to take care of me) said “Mr. Lucky, I promise I will pamper you tonight.”

While the service was incredible throughout the flight, what the flight attendant had waiting for me after I woke up from my nap blew me away.

What was it? The story is auto-posting in exactly four hours, once I’m in international airspace… though in the meantime you’re more than welcome to guess!

Let’s just say she got really creative…

As I hinted at earlier, I’m trying a couple of new airline products enroute to the US today, and one of them involved a visit to Singapore Airlines’ Private Room in Singapore, which is the premium portion of their first class lounge. Previously The Private Room was only open to full fare first class passengers, though in 2009 they relaxed the entry requirements and started allowing all Singapore Airlines first class passengers access.

While it’s not the Lufthansa First Class Terminal or Thai Airways First Class Lounge & Spa, it definitely ranks up there as one of the better lounges in the world.

The most surprising aspect of the experience is that the lounge is living up to it’s name a bit too well. For 80% of the evening I’ve been the only passenger in here, with about six waiters looking after me. Surely that can’t be a good sign of Singapore’s first class load factor…

I’ll save the details for the trip report, though in the meantime here are a few pictures of the lounge:

Lounge

Dining area

Private room in The Private Room… now who’s on first again?

Singapore has to be one of the most fascinating places on earth. I’ve visited close to a dozen times, though for the life of me can’t answer “what’s Singapore like?” when asked by friends.

I think the simplest answer is “Asia light.” If you’re making your first trip to Asia I’d say Singapore is a great introduction, along with Hong Kong, both of which are pretty “mild” cities.

But the thing that makes Singapore so interesting is that it lacks a vibe, in my opinion. Perhaps it’s a function of it not having a single culture, or maybe it’s a function of everything being so damn well organized that it’s almost like a big theme park.

From the perspective of a visitor, Singapore is a utopia of sorts. It’s probably the cleanest city in the world and has virtually no (visible) crime. Public transportation is great, there’s very little traffic, and it’s easy to get around speaking English. Their biggest concerns are chewing gum, jaywalking, and oral sex (though perhaps that was recently legalized? I wouldn’t know), all of which are nice “problems” to have.

But I’ve never really seen where the locals hang out in large numbers, until last night, when I met a friend for dinner in Little India. Now, I’ve been to both Little India and Chinatown before, though in neither case were they bustling.

Well, that all changed on Sunday night. Apparently a lot of the Indian workers on permits work six days a week, and Sunday nights they’re all out and about. And they sure were! In this case I felt like I was in Delhi and not Singapore, which is a welcome change of pace for a city that otherwise seems dead.

Now I’ll go back to my second favorite activity in Singapore…

One day I hope to figure Singapore out. Meh, who am I kidding?