Our thoughts go out to Japan and the incredible destruction and loss of life its people are facing.  The World stands by your side.

I could not help but wonder if there was video from one of the major airports and I found this one.  I believe this video was taken during one of many aftershocks they experienced and it looks scary as hell.  From outside Terminal 2:

Delta #284: Tokyo (NRT) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Airbus A330-200
9 hours 19 minutes

Boarding
For this flight, there were 2 jet bridges used to board the aircraft. It is worth noting that if you are seated in the rear part of the business class cabin, all passengers seated in coach class will pass by you. This set up translates to increased chaos and the occasional elbow or inadvertent bump from your fellow passengers.  Once seated, I was offered a choice of champagne or orange juice in addition to a variety of newspapers.

Food & Drink
Most impressive was the food on this hop; not only tasty, but also quite creative (menu below). It came as a surprise, via a FA announcement, that free wine and beer were available throughout the flight in coach class. This was NOT the case in United’s Premium Economy Class to Frankfurt.  I was happy to know this, even though I was not seated in coach.  Generally,  I am nearly as happy knowing other people are enjoying themselves as I am when I am the one having the good time.

Crew
The crew were extremely efficient and speedy during dinner service; like a well oiled machine, but not rushing passengers in any way. I was also quite pleased with the clean and tidy appearance of the business class cabin.

Seats
It seemed that when my seat was in full recline, it was inordinately long. My feet did not even touch the foot rest. There were also dual, adjustable lumbar supports in the seat back. It took me too long to figure out how to work the power outlet, which turned out to be a waste of time because it did not work. My seat-mate’s power worked intermittently and the failed completely 5 minutes later.

Entertainment
I counted 40 movies, including Clash of the Titans, Toy Story 3, The A-Team and Karate Kid (the remake unfortunately). There were numerous short subjects too. Mostly television programs. The lousy part of this A330′s entertainment is the over sensitive control which caused me to select many programs by accident.

I am pleased to say Delta can, will and does compete on this ultra-competitve route.

Here are the pictures:

departure next to ours

view from my bulkhead seat: 5G

delta slippers

something on the rocks & asian nut mix

main course selection

wine

seared scallop with caramelized leek/grilled vegetables with mozzarella/carrot & ginger soup

mixed green salad with feta cheese

roasted chicken with balsamic onions and blue cheese sauce/mashed/spinach

my standard flight dessert

breakfast

amenity kit

Thank you for your patience and please excuse my absence.  My family and I are in the process of re-locating to South Florida which has made writing a challenge.  Well, writing is always a challenge.  The real issue is that of time… specifically lack of it.  I am confident South Florida will present me much new material to share with you on Planereality.com (Plus it is 80 degrees nearly every day!)

I spent a few minutes at the Delta Sky Club in Narita after my flight from MNL, awaiting my flight to LAX. The only calm area was the lobby. The rest of the Club was a buzz, particularly around the food and beverage station where people were swarming like vultures. I found this odd as there was nothing terribly special being offered, but if you are bored or hungry, or both, I guess anything is appealing.

The club itself has a modern, bright feel and is equipped with all types of tables, counters, couches and work spaces. Even though the Sky Club was quite large a spread out, it was not easy to find a seat; it was simply very crowded There is a wall of Apple computers for guest use.
As I mentioned, nothing too special for food: vegetables in portioned cups, pretzels, pringles, shrimp dumplings, “sushi” and chocolate cake. The shower rooms were dated, but very clean.

There was a severe lack of reading material in the lounge.  Only Sky Magazine and a few copies of a Japanese newspaper. Here are the photos:

Many times, inter-Asia flights are described as painful, particularly if you are connecting the same day to the United States.  For example, flying from Bangkok to Tokyo and then on to LAX.  These inter-Asia flights are usually overnight and airlines don’t typically use their newest planes; those equipped with lie flat seats.  These flights are just long enough (4-6 hours) to become very tired, but not long enough to manage any significant sleep.  I have had some mixed experiences on these flights on airlines such as Korean, Asiana and ANA.

This flight from Manila to Tokyo was a bit different, as it was a morning flight on a 747.  I took my seat on the upper deck and was promptly offered the obligatory champagne, water or orange juice.  While we took off on time,  we experienced a very turbulent climb out of Manila and cabin service did not commence until nearly 1 hour into flight.

This was my first experience with Delta’s (Northwest’s) shell back angled flat seats.  While they were quite comfortable, I was surprise to learn that the hard shell back of the seat is not fixed and does move toward you when the person in front of you reclines. As is often the case, getting out of a window seat is quite difficult when the passengers in front and next to you are both reclined.  The “flip-up” (perpendicular) foot rest really needs to be extended so you won’t slide down the seat when trying to sleep.

The breakfast omelet was tasty but was light on whatever it was supposed to be filled with. I did not see the flight attendant after breakfast except for 1 water run. She was, however, very friendly. Her body language did the talking as she spoke very little English.

The music selection consisted of a bunch of original mixes of songs vs. individual albums or artists. It didn’t really matter since, like many United flights, sound only came out from 1 side of the headphones even when I used my own.  I watched a flick entitled “The Joneses.”   When it was over, we were descending into Narita.
Here are the pictures:

check-in area in manila

delta N666US

Been too long since I have hit the road. I should be able to cure what ails me beginning today. You can follow me on twitter for live updates with photos and, of course, I will post the lengthier stuff on Planereality.com

Here is the itinerary:

Atlanta-Chicago-Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi-Manila-Tokyo-Los Angeles-Atlanta

Andiamo!

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

I arrived at Narita on Lufthansa’s A380 early in the morning.  The first thing I wanted to do was grab a big bowl of spicy noodles with fresh vegetables and minced something or other.  There are um-teen places to make this happen in the Terminal 1 “mall”.  I couldn’t tell you where I ate, but I bet I could find it again.  It was so good I wanted to try something else, but first I wanted hit the open air observation deck.  I got these pics and went back for some more noodles. Enjoy!

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

Konnichiwa from downtown Narita, Japan. I studied 2 years of Latin, 5 years of Spanish and can’t speak a lick of anything except English. Embarrassing I know. Yes, there is a downtown Narita. I guess it’s where you stay when you are too cheap or don’t have enough time to make the trek to central Tokyo. I arrived here on Lufthansa’s A380 and am more impressed by the A380 than I was when I first rode on it. A beast to be reckoned with, but so smooth and so quiet. There were some major entertainment shortfalls on my flight, but I will talk about that shortly, along with experience a whole.

My return flight to Frankfurt is a Lufthansa code-share operated by All Nippon Airways. I flew them once before and was very impressed, but am not at all looking forward to it. The flight here was about 10.5 hours and I am guessing the return to be 11 and change. I hoped to weasel my way into at least premium economy, but no such luck. Not only that, I have a middle seat in a row of 4, which I have been told by ANA and Lufthansa cannot be changed. I was also told I could not use Mileage Plus points to upgrade. I am 6′ (not my fault) and weigh 225lbs (my fault). I even thought about purchasing a new one-way ticket, but it was outrageously expensive and the connections didn’t really work.
I will plead my case, that I don’t really have, when I get to the airport after which, this air traveller is going to have to suck it up!  No matter what, it will all be posted here.

downtown narita

During my connection at a bustling Narita (Tokyo) Airport, I trotted from one side of Terminal 1 South (by ANA’s gates) all the way to the other; well past United’s Red Carpet Club.  It seemed to be the only spot I where I could get a somewhat clear view at a runway.  By the time I got to my “spot” it was just about time to head back to my boarding gate for my flight to JFK.  I held up as long as I could to get these then had to hustle back to my gate, breaking a full sweat in the process.
This was one of those moments when I asked myself what in the world I was doing… or, did I really know and my thought was merely caused by the way people were staring at me?