Sometimes I fly on an ordinary airline on an ordinary route and there is not a whole lot to report or highlight. I anticipated this ATL-FRA flight would be one of these flights.  In addition, I have written about Delta’s Business Elite class on a few other occasions.
The flight crew was fantastic, however, and the menu impressive so it warranted a post. The crew made the flight very pleasant by being very friendly and saying the small things:

“Is there anything else I can get you right now?”
“Did you enjoy your flight?”
“We really appreciate you choosing Delta”

I was pleasantly surprised by the menu. It seemed more complex with more choices than average. The effort in menu design alone was more impressive than United, never mind the originality and quality. My fillet was good when compared to other airline fillets.

Unfortunately, like my last Delta 777 flight, my in-flight entertainment was in-operable. The whole cabin system was reset several times and I believe most passsnegers’ system worked after the reset.  Mine just produced a loud hissing sound and the faint noise of what was playing. It wasn’t a show stopper because I slept for most of the flight.
This 777 had the “old” Business Elite recliner seats and I took no pictures of them, but the menu is below.

Who do you think has better business class food, United or Delta?

This was my 2nd attempt at flying on ANA’s Inspiration of Japan. ANA originally launched this new plane and new product on its NRT-JFK route and recently launched the new product daily on the NRT-FRA route. The first time, I found a great business class fare: SGN-NRT-JFK on the very first day of the scheduled launch of Inspiration of Japan. Unfortunately the launch was delayed at the 11th hour. The new premium economy seats, the original reason for the delay, are still not installed on the plane I flew from Narita to Frankfurt; registered as JA785A.

For this trip I had a coach class ticket. Upon check in, I attempted to get myself into a business class seat, but the best the check-in agent could do was moving me from a middle seat to an exit row: 30A. For this, I was thankful.

SEATS
Row 30, “window” seats have no window. You can see out a window if you lean back and turn your head. The emergency slide on both sides of this 2-4-3 seat configuration protrudes into the exit row. Boarding and departure were picture perfect for this flight that consisted of 11:34 flying time.

As was the case on my last ANA flight, all electronics needed to be turned off immediately after boarding. This was strictly enforced. The first thing I noticed was how narrow the seat was. My left shoulder was jammed right up against the wall of the plane. The seat was also hard as a rock. This aircraft was delivered to ANA in March of 2010 so the seats either have not been broken in yet or the manufacturer used a very tough material. By hour five of the flight, I was sitting on my pillow because my ass hurt so bad. By hour 8, I was sitting on 2 pillows! The backs of these new economy seats are fixed but the back and bottom of the seats do slide to provide a small amount of recline.
I took some quick pictures of the business class seats (below), which look narrow and there appears to be a lot of wasted space, but I have not sat in them yet.

FOOD
There were two meals served, The first was great in terms of quantity, quality and authenticity. The second meal was exactly the opposite. Terrible, in fact. I have had better coach meals on US carriers. ANA is offering “My Choice” dining between meals. From what I could understand, for a fee, economy passengers can order food and drinks through their in seat monitors, although that feature was not working properly on this flight. The food was still available though. I paid for a bowl of noodles and they were very tasty. Beer and wine were complimentary at meal time but were not available between meals for pay or free; that’s annoying; either make it available or don’t.

AUDIO VIDEO ON-DEMAND
The TV screen was the largest I have ever seen in economy. The music selection was pretty weak but the movies and games were great. There is a USB hook up to play your ipod through the planes system. There was also power at each coach seat, but mine did not work. If you are an airline and/or geography buff, you will love the half dozen, customizable moving maps and the nose camera.

CONCLUSION
I believe the Inspiration of Japan will be a success for All Nippon Airways. The food in economy needs some help, but the service was top notch. Perhaps 3rd time is a charm and I will experience ANA’s new Business Class seats on the Inspiration of Japan.

30a

view from 30a

mini economy cabin right behind business class

s-video, usb, headphone and power outlets

from top left: no clue, fruit, potato salad with fish roe, noodles with pork & egg, soup

my choice dining menu; different choices on different routes

whiskey 4 ways

business class

“meal” before landing

lufthansa cargo on approach to FRA

inspiration of japan; JA785A

On my way to London, Gatwick from Kingston, Jamaica I sat in the lower deck section of the Upper Class Cabin. On the return trip (LGW-KIN) I sat in the upper deck of the Upper Class section and noted some significant differences.  The seats on the upper deck do not feel nearly as wide as those on the lower deck.  In addition you are much closer to the passengers across from you on the upper deck.  Most importantly, it is nearly impossible to see out the window on the upper deck.  The windows are well below eye level, making  laying flat on your back the only way to look comfortably out the window.  And even then, you will be looking into space as opposed to looking at the earth.

One more reason not to sit on the top deck: This plane, Lady Penelope, features an economy class section in the rear of the upper deck, which can seat at least 48 passengers. This makes de-planing a very slow process. Not all of Virgin’s 747′s have this economy section on the upper deck; some have more Upper Class seats, some have Premium Economy seats.  For all of the other reasons (and maybe or maybe not the last one) choose the lower deck, Upper Class Cabin on Virgin’s 747′s.

The rest of the 8 hour and 50 minute flight was uneventful. I was 1 of 2 passengers seated in the upstairs, Upper Class cabin. In total 304 passengers and 8 babies were on the flight.  This was announced before departure.

I was perplexed by the food choices. While there may have been some English delicacies, I found the menu choices dull, although the food was flavorful. 

We deplaned at a remote stand vs. at an actual gate and were bused to the terminal. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic alternate using the only gate that can accommodate (apparently) a 747 or 777. I will post my pictures from the Virgin Clubhouse at Gatwick shortly. Thanks.

salmon

ham hock

bar view, walking down stairs from upper deck

movies, tv, music

personal t.v.

rear economy section of upper deck; exit row

This was my 2nd trip an Airbus A380. The first was on Air France. This one was on Lufthansa which just started flying their A380, but on only one route: Frankfurt – Tokyo. The extra incentive for me to fly this route was that the return trip was a Lufthansa code share operated by All Nippon Airways. ANA recently launched their Spirit of Japan product on 2 routes: Tokyo-JFK and Tokyo-Frankfurt. So, for a decent price, I would be able to check out both the A380 and the Spirit of Japan. I will follow up this post with another that contains a few photos of the first and business class cabins on Lufthansa’s A380.

There was definitely a sense of excitement at the gate in Frankfurt. Many passengers were scurrying around taking photos and discussing this feat of engineering that sat a few feet away. I am even more impressed now than I was after the first time I flew this beast. It is quiet, the ride is smooth and despite a full passenger load (minus 2 first class suites) the plane accommodates everyone with ease.

Seats
I was in seat 76K for the10.5 hour journey, which has to be one of the 6 best seats in the entire economy section. Seat 76K & A have no seat in front of them, making them similar to an exit row because of the extra legroom. You can also get up anytime without climbing over anyone. On top of that, you still have a window seat. The potential drawback to these seats is that your personal TV swings up from the armrest. This TV has to be stowed during takeoff and landing which means you cannot view the tail and nose cameras during those periods of the flight. Also, the wing is SO huge that you really can’t see anything besides it. The wing must rise a good 12 feet above where you are seated and you can barely see beyond it. Seats 75B,C,H and J are true exit row seats. In my seat, I could hear and feel (in my feet) the nearby toilets flushing which can be annoying in addition to the crowds that line up at the lavatories.

Food
The fare was standard for economy class, although no economy meal has matched that of Air France. In the above mentioned seats, you will be served first in this section of economy. Hot towel service was provided before lunch and breakfast. There was free beer, wine and liquor with lunch but none available at breakfast.

Entertainment
Despite what the printed entrainment guide indicated, there was a severe lack of options to watch or listen to. The entertainment was in fact awful. There were 18 audio cd’s, not one of which I had ever heard of in addition to 7 atrocious audio books.  There were zero games to play and this may have been because there was no controller at the seat.  There were 2 TV shows, a surfing competition and fashion show. There were 6 “comedy” and 2 “action” movies. Out of those 8 movies, I had only heard of the 2 action movies: Sherlock Homes and Edge of Darkness, which for some reason, seem to be playing on every airline in the world right now.  I had 2 brief conversations with the FA about the AVOD.  She was very polite but could not really tell me the reason for the discrepancies.

The saving grace being the half dozen or so cameras and moving maps. There is a short video below of my monitor showing a 360 degree of the aircraft and the terrain it is flying over.  If you are an aviation enthusiasts, you will love these features.

After we landed, I asked a flight attendant if I could have a walk around the plane and take a few photos. The FA obliged and escorted me to the top deck where there were 98 business class seats and 8 first class suites. The FA followed my every move and politely asked me to hurry up several times. I will follow up this post with another that contains those cabin photos.  None the less, just wanted thank the FA for allowing me the opportunity.

I took over 100 pictures, but I think the ones below give a fairly accurate depiction. Shoot me an an email or post a comment of you have a question or are looking for additional pictures. Thanks!

being towed to gate

tough to even get it in a picture

boarding process

my seat 76K

view from 76K

taxiing

takeoff

lunch

aft stairs to upper deck in flight; I felt like DeCaprio in Titanic

moving map

breakfast- note the 2 tone grapes!

decending across the coast of japan

nose camera just before landing

touchdown

To my recollection, this London Gatwick – Atlanta flight, was my first international flight on Delta in Coach. Minus a miracle there was no chance of an upgrade. I was not overly excited about the flight, but on the other hand it was a direct flight home. I was interested to see what transpires in coach class on an international flight because I simply had not had much experience except for an Air France flight to Dubai.

I secured an exit row seat and shortly before push-back an fa asked the guy next to me to gather his belongings and follow her; “there is something wrong with your ticket and we just need to check it out” I am assuming that meant an upgrade because he followed without a response and never returned… Now I had 2 exit row seats to myself.

Breakfast was served almost immediately after takeoff and I was impressed with the meal.  There was a choice of some chicken dish or an omelet.  Breakfast, minus the presentation, could have been served in the Business Elite cabin. Yes, maybe the business class cabin was offered cereal and yogurt in addition, but I was not complaining. What I will complain about is when the drink cart came along, they only had coffee soda and oj. My first choice: bloody marry. I was given a highly annoyed response by the steward-aka not on cart. My second choice: cranberry juice, also not on cart.  Now he was irritated and I was denied again. He said he could not do it now (because 7 hours is not enough time) but that he would come back; he never did.

I was surprised to see a snack service mid flight. This was more true to a Delta domestic style: a choice of peanuts or pretzels, Pringles or M&M’s for 2 bucks, booze for $7.

I entertained myself for a few hours with a very solid on-demand music selection. There were a bunch of movies on demand at no cost but the HBO shows were from 2 to 7 dollars. No Soprano reruns were available so hardly worth it. And no, that show about a bunch of kids making cell phone calls to each other for 30 minutes is not worth the money.

Lots of water was distributed throughout the flight and the FA’s were quite friendly. I was surprised at the constant line for the bathroom… the entire flight there were people waiting for the bathroom. More shocking is that 75% of the passengers were in socks or bare feet. Foul and unsanitary!

Shortly before landing we were served pizza and ice cream. The pizza was of the microwave variety and not very good, but I would not expect any airline to be able to serve up a good pizza on a plane. American served this pizza in Business Class and it too was bad.

I could handle 14 hours in coach, with an exit row of course. Hell, that’s what most people do so maybe I will try.

boarding area

our 767

30 A&B

leg room

my view

Thankfully my virgin, Virgin experience took a 180 degree turn as soon as I stepped on to the plane. (Not 360 degree, that would mean it stayed the same) I posted my pre-boarding experience here. I was not showed to my seat, but rather followed by a flight attendant who offered me a drink as soon as I sat down. I chose to sit on the lower deck of this 747 thinking I would have a great forward looking view from the forward most seat on the plane.  The view was just O.K. The two front seats are very close to each other, but the seat across form mine was vacant, giving me some extra privacy. There are some significant differences between the upper and lower deck that I will talk about in another post.

The first thing I noticed was that the seats felt noticeably wider than Delta’s and Cathay Pacific’s which also offer an angled business class seats. Not sure if the actual seat is wider or the angled bulkheads are more spread out. The seats did look somewhat tired. There were some smears, smudges, crumbs and hair on the television and the adjustable armrest.  I attributed this to the weak ground staff in Jamaica.

Shortly after departure, a flight attendant introduced herself to me and offered to demonstrate the seat functions. She said to let her know when I was ready for turn down service. Like Singapore’s 777 business class seats, there are limited positions to put the seat in as the entire back folds down in order to make the bed. The tray table is large enough to have a companion eat facing you while seated at your footrest. Despite having a great night’s sleep, complete with duvet sheet/pad and pillow, I think I would still rather have a seat that does not require me to stand up to lay down and vice-versa.

The quality of food was outstanding, as was the quantity. Note the mountain of back bacon with breakfast. I couldn’t come close to finishing my breakfast as I was still full from dinner.  The enetertainment selection was fairly standard, with the exception of music and documentries which were above avergae.  Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic have a better music selection than most airlines.  There were a least a dozen different documentaries, good for folks with short attention spans, on Virgin Atlantic.

Prior to landing, Laura, the flight attendant, came by my seat and asked if I had enjoyed my flight (indeed I had) and wished me a pleasant onward journey.  This type of interaction is just one example of the exemplary service I experienced on Virgin Atlantic.

Stay tuned for a post on the return flight. I will show the upper deck and tell you all the reasons not sit up there.

upper class forward cabin

12A & 14A

my seat 12A, with table extended

amenity kit contained toothbrush & paste, eye mask, ear plugs and socks

pajamas which I have yet to wear

seasonal leaf salad with chicken

delcious & tender braised beef in gravy

obligatory cheese plate

bed!

lower deck, from the nose, facing rear

premium econonmy section looked pretty comfy

bar between upper class and premium economy

“mustang sally” from the jetbridge at gatwick

A few weeks back I took a look at Virgin Atlantic’s UK website and found that Upper Class (Virgin’s Business Class) fares to Havana, Cuba and Kingston, Jamaica were on sale from London Gatwick.  Not exactly Virgin’s most desirable destinations, but like I’ve said, I’m not much for sightseeing.  Also working in my favor, the sale fares were available in both directions: Kingston to Gatwick and vice-versa.  I don’t even know (or care) if Americans are allowed in Cuba, so I chose the Gatwick route.

Virgin’s website would not allow me to book online so I called their reservations desk. After a 20 minute wait on hold, I was connected to a very pleasant and helpful agent who not only booked my flight, but said she would make a note in my reservation to have someone show me around the Clubhouse in Gatwick in order for me to “get the most for my money”

Check in at Kingston was comical. Three hours before the flight, a large queue formed at the check in counters and gate agents showed up shortly thereafter. The only agent that was missing was was the one that was supposed to be working the Upper Class desk.  As I waited and stared into space, economy passengers began being checked in by the oblivious agents. After a 5 or 10 minute wait a gal hustled up to the upper class desk and apologized for being late.  I accepted her apology and suggested the other desk agents should have noticed me.  After she checked me in, she asked if I was aware that the configuration was different.

I asked: “Different than what?”
After staring at he computer and not answering me I said: “What type of plane is it?”
She said something to the effect of oh jeez, don’t ask me those tough questions.
Then she said: “737 maybe?” (Virgin has no 737′s nor would a 737 make it to LGW)

I told her not to worry, I would figure it out. I proceeded to make my way through security to the lounge.  I was surprised by her lack of knowledge because she appeared to be an actual Virgin employee as opposed to just one of the hired hands that most airlines use when they have 1 flight per day from an airport.

Boarding was more frustrating and less entertaining than check-in. Like the past experiences I have had in Jamaica, nothing is planned on this island, things just happen. It’s UNorganized chaos. Passengers need to show their boarding pass in order to take the escalator to the gates located on the lower level. The challenge was that security was not sure in what order passengers should be allowed to the lower level in order to make the long walk to the gate.  This made for much confusion.

In the boarding hall, there was a secondary security inspection, but the security personnel did not speak, they just stared at me. I asked them several times what they wanted to inspect and/or what they wanted me to do.

When I finally made it to the boarding area, there was a long line where someone was checking boarding passes. I asked if there was a business class boarding line and was told that there was but the signage had been removed because they did not “see” and business class passengers.  Travel aggravation at it’s best! More to come from the flight…

norman manley international airport (KIN)

random

the other flight to london gatwick

our 747 pulling up to the gate; BA and Virgin alternate between a gate and a stand

A few quick notes from the return portion of my flight to London with United Airlines. The bulk of my commentary is here, but below are the highlights of the LHR-LAX leg. The service was better despite many of the crew being the same as on the outbound flight. They all seemed to be more visible throughout the flight; going to the first class cabin to find beer that was requested and actually offering the mid-flight snacks that were on the menu. Overall, food was better, but I question the choices for pre-arrival meal: tea sandwiches or cheese with fruit (?) BUT the warm, soft scones were impressive.

As I mentioned, a real power souce would be nice. The FA gave me an adapter (pictured below) to use although the device got disturbingly hot and the power flickered on and off when my laptop was plugged in.

The streaming movies were different going West. I attempted to watch Sherlock Holmes, but just did not gte into it-rather listen to Channel 9!

A very special shout out to my seat mate James who takes the concept of Ryan Bingham to a another level. We had great conversation, kept the FA’s on their toes and poked fun at everything air travel. I will leave you with the quote James emailed me last week:

“Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees.”
-Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

takeoff video

power adapter

rear galley

economy class

United’s New Business Class seats can’t be installed soon enough on their Boeing 777’s. I mean, I knew what to expect, but this flight reiterated to me how important it is for United to make these changes sooner than later. It’s not even so much about having a seat that lays flat or my burning desire to sit backwards for 10 hours. In my mind, it’s about having a normal power source for my laptop, a video screen larger than 4 inches and something to show on that screen – a.k.a. audio/video on demand.

I called United reservations 3 times to ask why their website would not let me check in. No-one could figure it out. I then called United.com support and was told, because I requested an upgrade, I would have to check in at the airport and not online.

Me: “No passenger that request upgrades are able to check-in online?”
Tech Dude: “that’s correct”
Yeah…whatever.

This is the screen I got and I would LOVE someone to enlighten me on what was happening. I wound up checking in without issue for my LAX-LHR flight at the UA desk in ATL, it’s just the principle that bothers me. Note the circle with an X through it (?)

After switching terminals at LAX, I was at the gate counter as agents started “working” the flight:
Me: “Hi sir, I requested an upgrade using mils and co-payment but I do not see my name on any standby or cleared list”
UA Agent: “Well how are you going to upgrade then?”
Me: “I don’t know, but miles were withdrawn from my account and my credit card info was taken at check in”
UA Agent looking shocked: “Oh, it already cleared”

Boarding and departure were seamless, despite going out with a full load in all 3 classes.

Food
After we reached cruising altitude, the standard drinks and nuts were offered. My question is this:
Why does UA provide warm towel service after they serve nuts? I eat nuts with my fingers; except when I am really hungry I will use a spoon; that’s when I don’t care about the cleanliness of my hands. At the end of the day, NO, those towels don’t really sterilize anything, so maybe it doesn’t even matter.

I chose the braised beef for lunch. Braising being a cooking method where the meat or fish is cooked slowly in low heat, producing an extremely tender, flavorful entree. This meat did not exactly fall off the bone; actually there was no bone. The beef was tough, not fatty, just that it tasted like it had gone from frozen to convection without a defrost period. The rest of the grub was O.k.; the highlight being the breakfast “frittata” -the cheese on the eggs was similar to Cheese Whiz = good.
God forbid a piece of pork is served on an airplane.  Turkey sausage is a disgrace, almost as laughable as turkey bacon. Isn’t this why special meals can be pre-ordered when booking your reservations?
One last food rant; don’t put midflight snacks in the menu unless you are going to offer and/or serve them. This is not United thing, all the airlines do it. I don’t want to engage in a scavenger hunt for food at 38,000 feet.

Service
Service was solid, although the crew spent much more time chatting and reading in the galleys when compared to many other airlines.
These older seats have great recline and plenty of legroom, but go for an aisle seat if you plan on getting up a lot. Like I alluded to, United could keep these seats if they installed audio video on-demand.

Overall
While it may not sound like it, this was an enjoyable, smooth flight.  United definitely met my expectations.  We waited 15 minutes for our gate at LHR, but… it’s LHR.  I am trying to make United a more significant part of my travels.  Even though I live in Delta country, I feel United offers superior opportunities to upgrade flights internationally and also provides more relevant alliance partners.  Thanks for visiting this blog-questions/comments always welcome!

eye level moon

full recline

Last week I had the opportunity to sit in the Business Class section of Delta’s 777LR.  These planes are amongst the newest in Delta’s fleet and feature 1 of 2 completely different versions of Delta fully flat seats.  Here are what the others look like.  According to the captain, this particular plane (registration: N710DN) was delivered to Delta in March of this year.  While my flight was merely from Atlanta to Los Angeles, typically this Business Class configuration can be found on Delta’s longest flights, including those to Sydney, Johannesburg and Dubai.

In a nutshell, the good and the mediocre:

The good

• Seats lie completely flat and every seat is an aisle
• Headrest that is relevant (can add comfort) even in full lie flat mode
• Water bottle holder & drink rail

The Mediocre

• Seats are somewhat narrow
• There was no audio/video entertainment
• Cabin feels crowded when every seat is occupied  

Explanations & Other Observations

Overall, the seat is quite comfortable when laying fully flat, upright or anywhere in between.  It is, however, a bit narrow, in 2 places: At the foot and in the shoulders.  At 6’ tall I could not lay flat on my back and rest my feet right next to each other, I had to cross my legs.
Regarding the shoulders: The armrest opposite the TV side of the seat can swing up.  If up, your arm hangs off the seat.  If the armrest is positioned down (flat), your arm will rest above your body, effectively putting your arm “to sleep.”  Basically, laying on my back, both of my arms hung off the sides of the seat.  Laying on my side, if my knees were bent at all, they hit the divider and my ass was against the other divider.

There is in seat power, a USB port and an Ethernet port at each seat.  The power worked but there was no audio or video; not even the moving map.  Maintenance made a last ditch effort in Atlanta to fix this problem, but no luck.  I know the lack of video was temporary and will be fixed, but on a plane less than a year old?  In fact, an FA told me the plane would fly back to Atlanta to be fixed and they “would not fly across the Pacific with no A/V entertainment”
That comment raised a few questions in my head, like what aircraft would replace this one?  There are no maintenance operation at LAX that could fix the problem?  Does this FA have any idea what she is talking about?

Tray Tables

You will notice that it is very difficult to open or close tray table without making one or several banging sounds.  This can be bothersome if you are sleeping in the full lie flat mode as your head is right next to the seat divider that holds the  the tray table belonging to the passenger behind you.  Once the tray tables are pulled out, they have an excellent range of motion, allowing one to use a laptop or read a book and still have a meal tray in front of them.

Overall

When the business class cabin is full, as it was on my flight, it seems like tight quarters and the feeling you are staring straight at someone, which you are because of the inner facing seats, is evident.  I didn’t get this feeling when I flew on a Cathay Pacific flight with the same type of seats, but the cabin was only half full on that flight.

All this being said,  I would be more than happy to snag one of these lie flat seats on a 10+ hour flight.

“drink rail” and adjustable arm rest

Haven’t been in the air much, but that will change tomorrow.  It has been a long couple of weeks as we just moved from one part of Atlanta to another.  And while the move was a whole 3 miles, it may as well have been 300 because that’s just the way moving is: logistical chaos.

I found a very competitive coach fare to Rio De Janeiro on United.  The itinerary includes 3 connections, but hey, I’m in it to win it! As mentioned, with the introduction of UDU’s (Unlimited Domestic Upgrades) United will compete for my business more often, although UDU’s did not really factor into this trip.

In my travels, I intermittently post pictures and notes to twitter, so please follow me there for some live updates.  WTGFA coming right up…