I was pleasantly surprised to find a separate check in area for SkyTeam passengers in Terminal 4 at Heathrow.  According to the SkyTeam’s website the new facility “opened in October of last year and is for first and business class passengers, premium economy passengers, as well as SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus passengers.”  The check-in area was aesthetically appealing and very empty.  There is even a small lounge area with a leather couch and a few arm chairs.  The Delta agent charged me an extra $72 departure tax which I have yet to figure out.  In addition, I was tuned back at security because security made me check-in my wheel aboard bag…the same bag I just flew around the world with …the same bag that has fit in the overhead bin on every flight I have flown in the past decade.  So, I actually visited the check-in are twice. Anyway, this is what it looks like:

outside Terminal 4

I had a chance to stop by the new SkyTeam Lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 4.  I read that the first floor opened in June of 2009, but I am not sure about the second floor.  Needles to say, both floors are very similar and both quite impressive.  It is easily the nicest SkyTeam Lounge I have been to in recent memory. The lounge is modern, clean and there is plenty of complimentary food and drink.  I set up shop at the rear of the first floor along the “living” wall.  While there was a power outlet at every seat in this area, none of them worked, but this provided good joke material for myself and a few other travellers.

It was morning and guess what type of food was being served? Breakfast! Omelettes, waffles, pancakes and bacon sandwiches among other debatably healthier options.  I was really yearning for some Biscoff cookies and trail mix but settled for a cup of tea and a waffle.  The first floor also had a PlayStation table that could accommodate several players and relaxation closets: a small rooms with a lounge type seats and doors.

The second floor was less crowded, but had a very similar layout.  It would be difficult to realize there was a second floor unless someone pointed it out.  Overall, the lounge was very comfortable and inviting, but leave yourself some time as some gates are a 15 minute walk.  My only question… why can’t I find this type of lounge in the United States?
entrance

plenty of reading material

PlayStation “Table”


bar

other bar

rest closet

2nd floor of lounge & living wall

The End!

DOHA-LONDON
Airbus A340-600

Good morning, from my desk to yours. I am just back from another outstanding trip to Southeast Asia. In my excitement to share everything that makes up air travel, I have gotten a ahead of myself and have to take a few steps back. First off, you may have noticed Planereality has moved to BoardingArea.com. BoardingArea provides a central location that allows readers access to some of the best travel blogs on the web. I am excited to be here and I hope you too discover some great travel writers you were not aware of.
Secondly, I have not shared some of the details from my last trip which included the below flight on Qatar Airways from Doha, Qatar to London’s Heathrow Airport. Unlike my flight to Doha, this flight (#1) was operated with an Airbus A340-600 which has 3 classes.  The business class seats were nearly identical to those on the 777, but do not quite lie entirely flat.  Like my other flight on Qatar, the service and food was fantastic.  Unfortunately I slept through the 2nd meal service, but woke to find a fresh bottle of Evian water and a small box of Godiva chocolates at my seat. Along with an immigration cards, flight attendants distributed passes for the expedited customs line at Heathrow.
Here are the pics:

climbing out of Doha

Doha’s new international airport

route map

cabin

seats

seat control

place setting

prawn & salmon appetizer

linguini with walnut & gorgonzola sauce

lounge

lounge

The next few posts: SkyTeam Lounge Heathrow & Delta’s “New” Lie Flat Seats. Thanks for coming by!

I made it to Saigon, uh… I mean Ho Chi Minh City. The flight attendant repeatedly caught herself calling the city we had just arrived in by the “wrong” name. When one refers to the city as Saigon, it insinuates something negative. I don’t know what, something to do with communism. I will leave that part to the historians. Apparently it took half the flight crew to wake me on approach. Literally, I woke up and there were three flight attendants standing in front of me looking quite shocked. I mumbled something about San Francisco and put my seat upright. I fell back asleep on our taxi. I attribute my sober stupor to two days of flying to get here, but also to Cathay Pacific’s lie flat Business Class seats. At first glance they look small and cramped but there is plenty of space, privacy and comfort. More on those seats to come.
I was allowed to enter the country too, which was good thing. Not sure what the Visa policy is/was, all I knew is that I needed one. I used a service called “My Vietnam Visa”. At the visa desk I was greeted by unorganized chaos where I turned over the documents I had received from My Vietnam Visa. I was given another form to fill out then had to wait, sweat (because it was hot) and wait some more. I have no idea if using the visa service helped or not but I am here.
I return to the US via Tokyo/Narita Airport and JFK.
I am going to check out Saigon now.

Hotel Incheon Airport

I made it to Seoul’s Incheon Airport last night via Singapore Airlines and it was an outstanding experience.  More on that later.  Upon arrival, I promptly checked in to the Hotel Incheon Airport.  I saved a few bucks by staying here but paid the price psychologically.Walking through the hallway, you feel like you are walking through a hallway in someone’s home.  It’s a little creepy.  The room was at least 85 degrees so I called the front desk to ask where the thermostat was.  Nope! Centrally controlled heat; they told me to open my window.  I immediately did so and let all the delicious smells from the alley into my room.  When I ran the sink, water poured out of a drain on the floor; particularly inconvenient when you are bare foot running scalding hot water.  The colors were putrid and the wallpaper torn.  If I were to imagine a whore house, this is what it looks like.  On the counter there was an “Ultra Violet Ray Sterilizer” where dirty glasses could be found; dirty like… lipstick stains on the glass.  I guess this sterilizer was not for sterilizing (the on/off button was broken off) but just made for good storage.  I managed four hours of sleep in a bed that was as comfortable as my driveway.  Luckily (NOT) I was under a paper thin sheet and a duvet that was equally as thin and both with lots of starch.  I slept with the 25 degree air pouring into my sauna of a room.

The shower was just a big tub with plenty of mold, no enclosure.

Breakfast was included in my room rate.  Front desk said breakfast was in the basement; I didn’t stick around for that.

toiletries for any one’s use (?) and the sterilzer thing

I could not resist sharing this hotel experience with you. Back to airlines in my next post. I am at Incheon airport in South Korea, awaiting my Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. Thanks for coming by.

Top of the morning to you from the Four Points Sheraton at SFO.  I’m at it again.  This time with some some trepidation.  All Nippon Airways (ANA) was scheduled to launch their “Inspiration of Japan” product on 2/20 from Tokyo to JFK and on 2/22 from JFK-Tokyo.  The Inspiration of Japan features brand new products in all 4 cabins-First, Business, Premium Economy & Eco.  I only wanted to fly ANA one way and return on a different airline, just because that is what I do.  I don’t live in Asia so naturally, I first priced the JFK-Tokyo route.  Let’s just say it would have cost a small fortune.  The Tokyo-JFK route (with a few tweaks) was much more reasonable so I booked it.  Pretty standard for me, determine what airline I am trying to get on, find a good fare anywhere in the world and work backwards from there.

Well, about a week ago, I recievd an email from ANA informing me that the initial launch of Inspiration of Japan was postponed 2 months due to a seat manufacturer delay.  What a bummer!  The flight I booked still goes, minus the new cabins.  I have all the flights and hotels booked so I couldn’t possible cancel the whole trip, right? Right!  So the itinerary starts today from San Francisco and will include Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines and, of course, All Nippon Airways.

I thought I would take it upon myself to translate a few “tweets” I have read recently—tweets from airlines of course.  It amazes me that with all the grief the airline industry takes from the media that sometimes airlines convey a condescending message via twitter-the same message that can be found at the airport and in the planes at times.  Some airlines don’t use twitter to their advantage.  Their tweets are very re-active vs. pro-active.  Most companies that actively communicate to their customers using twitter try to be positive & insightful and if they are successful, they add value.  Twitter would seem to be a public relations slam dunk for airlines, but not based on some tweets I have read recently.  Here are some tweets from an airline followed by my translation in red.

1) Booked w/an online agency (eg expedia, orbitz) & flt cancelled for weather? You can rebook w/agency by phone.

Don’t bother us.  You’re not really our customer (even though we are providing the service you bought) unless you bought your ticket on our web site; and maybe not even then

2) Long hold times, disconnects: call volume high due to snow, addressing disconnects w/IT

It’s not our problem it’s IT’s—a.k.a our problem

3) Snow delays/cancels. Info avail online & since you’re using a computer right now

We want to apologize but don’t want to admit any shortcoming

4) Need flt status? Don’t tweet the request-love to help but status chgs as weather does

Please don’t trouble us with your insignificant plans

5) Why cancel flt BEFORE snow reaches destination? B/c stranding plane in snow inconveniences 100s more. Not smart.

You customers are not very bright. Good thing we are able to come up with these sophisticated strategies

6) Until Scotty can beam us from A to B, we fly planes. During snow, we cancel for safety.

Not only are we smart, we are funny too.

I am little more than half-way through my posts pertaining to my most recent set of flights.  Below, I tried to capture my experience at Qatar Airways Premium Terminal in Doha.  I would ask you to think about the best airline lounge you have ever visited. Now, picture that lounge making up an entire terminal. That, in essence, is the Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport, although there are 2 separate actual lounge areas; one for First Class passengers and one for Business Class passengers.

A bus brought Business Class passengers from the plane to the terminal where we were greeted by two Qatar attendants and escorted to a security check-point with no line.

The lower level of the terminal contains a few shops as well as the departure gates.  The actual First Class and Business Class Lounges can be found on the upper level.

I could not resist posting a picture of the bathroom.  Very clean and modern.  Good thing the bathrooms were staffed with attendants because I couldn’t figure out how to use the soap dispenser or make the water turn on.

Satellite snack and beverage counters could be found throughout the lounge:

In addition to the snack and beverage stations, there was a restaurant.  While the food was self-service, waiters were on hand to clear plates and serve beverages.  The restaurant has hummus, salads and breads available throughout the day and various hot foods are served at meal time.  All food from the restaurant is required to be consumed within the restaurant’s dining area.  I included a picture of my lunch at the restaurant.

Beyond the spectacular setting and wonderful food, what makes the Premium Terminal so great is, like any successful operation, the people.  Qatar staff were focused solely on the well being and comfort of the passengers.  When I inquired about catching an earlier flight to London, the service desk attendant insisted I return to the lounge and relax while she checked out the availability.  I obliged and after about ten minutes the agent appeared in the lounge to let me know I would be able to take the earlier flight.  She then insisted that she wheel my bag while she escorted me to the departure gate.  After a few leisurely hours enjoying all that the Premium Terminal has to offer, I was on my way to London.

Qatar Airways Flight #645 Manila-Doha, Boeing 777-300ER, 9 hours

Like I said to myself when I got off the plane, I can’t speak for the world, but Qatar is my 5 star airline.  Easily one of the top 2 airlines I have flown.  Seat, food, entertainment, service…it was all there.  Within the first fifteen minutes of taking my seat, 3 flight attendants addressed me by name and introduced themselves.  One presented me with a menu in a bound leather folder.
Panjamas, amenity kits and noise cancelling headphones were each deliverd to my seat.  Then I was given (well maybe they offered and I obliged) a human size glass of champagne.  Just before pushback, breakfast orders were taken and I was served a hot towel on its own individual serving tray. How many times have you been on a flight and the flight attendants disappear shortly after meal service? Not on Qatar.  In fact, the longest time period I counted without a flight attendant checking on all of 5 passengers was about 3 minutes.  A few FA’s engaged me  in genuine converstaion.  Ready for this? I think they were making an effort to get to know their customers.

What about eating an entire airline meal you knew wasn’t very good, but you were so hungry you ate it anyway? The food on my Qatar flight was fresh, delicious and served on actaul dishes.  It appeared that as much effort was put into presentation as preperation.

Ever fallen asleep and woke up with your legs on the floor? Neraly impossible as Qatar’s 777-300ER features fully flat business class seats that provide a good amount of privacy.

Ever watched every bearable (in your eyes) movie & show available and still yearned for something else? See title.  I think every James Bond movie made was available, made that much better by true noise cancelling headphones.  Lots of breadth and depth on this entertainment system.

Towards the end of the flight, passengers were given comment cards to fill out.  There were no jet ways upon arrival in Doha, but business class passengers have a separate stair well to make their way off the plane.  At the end of the stairwell a bus took all of the business class passengers to the Premium Terminal.  Many thanks to the great crew of  QR#645 for a true 5 Star experience (and making it look effortless in the process)

check-in

gate

departing mnl

snack

somewhere

more food

amenity kit

pajamas

doha approach

Are Moving Maps A Thing of the Past?

I was on a flight from Asia to the Middle East recently and was surprised to see that the in-flight moving map was unavailable.  I asked the flight attnednat if there was a technical problem with the map as all the other entertainment was working properly.  The FA tinkered with the monitor to no avail and she told me she would ask another flight attendant.  The purser came to my seat and let me know that there was a new security directive in the United States that said moving maps  were not allowed to be showed.  She said this rule only applies to flights to the US and the aircraft we were on mainly flies to the United States.  She said it is either too large of a burden or too costly to turn the map on and off dependent upon what country the aircraft is in.

This is dissapointing if you really enjoy flying.  The map lets you know where you are, what route you are taking and the overall progress of the flight.  Is this an effective security measure? Let’s hope.  Is it enforced consitently? Hardly.

I guess US authorities (and maybe others) don’t want the scum of the earth to know the most opportune time to blow up a plane filled with innocent civilians, representing numerous creeds, hailing from countries across the globe.  Let me know how hell is boys.

Has anyone else experinced “map absence?”

This is the first post about a trip from Manila to London, via Doha, on Qatar Airways.  As a Qatar Airways Business Class passenger, I was given a invitation to Delta’s Sky Club at Ninoy Aquino Airport in Manila.  While nothing in particular stood out, the lounge was clean and well appointed.  The only hot food available was porridge in a crock pot.  Coffee, juice, liquor and beer were available.  I saw one television, which, ironically, was on the wall in the “quiet zone”

I saw signage for 6 or 7 different lounges in the Manila Airport. I assume the Sky Club is one of the best and that is why Qatar Airways chose to utilize this lounge for their “premium” passenger.