Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class New York to Hong Kong

Earlier this year I traveled to Phuket for my college roommate’s wedding in Phuket. As luck would have it, I managed to redeem some American Aadvantage miles prior to American’s most recent devaluation to travel in Cathay Pacific Business class for the main long-haul portion of the journey. Here’s how the trip went.

Flight Stats

Seat: 11A
Carrier: CX 845
Route: New York, NY to Hong Kong, PRC
Flight Time: 15 hours, 20 minutes

Departure Time: 1:30 a.m.
Arrival Time: 5:15 a.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER

At the Airport

After working a long day down in DC and catching a flight up to JFK, I was in desperate need for a shower to wash the stresses of the day away. Luckily, the JFK lounge had private showers!

Private shower at JFK Lounge

Entrance to the shower

After getting all cleaned up, I hung out at the lounge for a few hours before my late night flight. The spread at the bar.

In-Flight Experience

After boarding the plane, I made my way to my seat: 11A.

Plenty of legroom and storage!

In-flight entertainment system.

My amenity kit and the menu.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Amenity Kit

One thing that I liked about this flight was that it was the first time flying right over the Arctic!

Cathay Pacific Business Class Dining

Here’s the menu.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Menu

For a 15hr 20min flight, I ate quite a bit!

My dinner.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Dinner

I also had a couple of snacks during the flight.

Singapore noodles

Noodle soup

And towards the end of the flight I had a light breakfast.

Cathay Pacific Lounge

On this particular trip my final destination was Bangkok. As a result, upon arrival at Hong Kong I got a chance to freshen up at Cathay’s Business Class Lounge. Because I arrived so early, I had the lounge to myself for nearly half an hour.

Interesting art piece at the entrance of the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Early morning at the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Breakfast buffet at the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Breakfast bar

My breakfast

Breakfast at Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Bathroom. After a 15 hour flight, it felt great to take a hot shower!

Overall

This trip was the first time I’ve flown Cathay Pacific Business Class, and only my second time flying international business class on a non-US carrier. The on-ground experience at both JFK and HKG were excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the food options available throughout the flight. With a retail cost of about ~$4500 for the one-way ticket, I’m glad I was able to redeem my points for this flight!

Review: Singapore Airlines Suites Class Los Angeles to Tokyo

This review is a long time in the making. The Suites Class was my first time flying in international first class, and without a doubt it was certainly memorable. Here’s how that experience went:

Flight Stats:

Seat: 3C
Carrier: SQ 11
Route: Los Angeles, CA to Tokyo, JP
Flight Time: 11 hours

Departure Time: 3:45 p.m.
Arrival Time: 7:15 p.m.
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800

At the Airport:

Check-in at Thomas Bradley International Terminal at LAX went smoothly.

SQ11 Check-In at LAX

Despite being a first class passenger and having access to priority lanes at LAX, it still took quite a bit of time to get through security, something that I’d imagine should be taken care of considering how expensive this flight would’ve been had I bought it using cash.

Star Alliance First Class Lounge at LAX

Singapore Airlines doesn’t have a dedicated lounge at LAX. First class passengers instead have access to the Star Alliance First Class lounge. The lounge itself was nothing fancy, and compared to other first class lounges, rather small. I completely forgot to take a picture of it!

Here’s the menu.

And some of the drinks available.

After spending some time in the lounge, I headed over to the gate. View of the plane:

Singapore Airlines Flight 11

In-Flight Experience

After boarding the plane, I made my way to my very own suite!

Singapore Suites Class Suite 3C

Seating configuration on flights operating the suites class is in a 1-2-1 configuration. And here’s my seat!

Singapore Suites Class Seat 3C

Here’s some perspective on just how much space the two middle seats occupy on the plane. It’s huge!

Checking out the inflight entertainment system.

Singapore Suites Class Entertainment System

Waiting before departure.

Each suite comes with a small amenity kit.

Singapore Suites Class Amenity Kit

And of course Bose headphones.

Singapore Suites Bose Headphones

Singapore Suites Class Dining

The menu. Guests can also order a la carte through the duration of the flight.

Singapore Suites Class Menu

I opted to try out the caviar — my first time ever!

Caviar appetizer

How to eat caviar

For my main I had the lobster. To be completely honest, it wasn’t that great. I should’ve gone with the Japanese food.

Dinner!

And for dessert I had the strawberry shortcake.

Singapore Suites Class Bathroom

Singapore Suites Class Bathroom

Bathroom products.

Singapore Suites Class Toiletries

I thought this was pretty cool: pull-down seat that goes on top of the toilet.

Singapore Suites Class Bathroom Seat

Singapore Suites Class Turn-Down Service:

A few hours after dinner I requested my seat to be made up into a bed. Look at how much space there is!

Singapore Suites Class Bed

Linens were also top class. In this case, Givenchy.

Singapore Suites Class Givenchy Linens

For those that wanted to know, guests in the middle two suites don’t have complete privacy on the plane. The blinds located on both sides of the door don’t pull all the way down.

Singapore Suites Class with door closed

Overall

I experienced a number of “firsts” with this flight:

First time flying international first class
First time flying on the A380. I was shocked that the takeoff and landing was so quiet!
First time sleeping on a completely lie-flat “seat” on an airplane.
First time sipping Dom Perignon and eating caviar.

This flight would typically cost ~$6,000. I would’ve not been able to do this flight if it weren’t for my Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which I had been saving up to redeem specifically for this flight. It was absolutely worth it!
*Note: As of October 23, 2016, this route will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, which means the Suites Class option won’t be available on this route. If you’re stateside, your only option to fly the Suites Class going forward will be on Singapore’s New York to Frankfurt route. H/T onemileatatime

Review: Japan Airlines Business Class Tokyo to New York

A while back, I managed to redeem my American Aadvantage miles to book a business class seat on a flight between Tokyo and New York JFK on Japan Airlines’ 787 Dreamliner. With a total flight time of nearly 13 hours, I had a lot of time to enjoy the experience. Here’s how it went:

Flight Stats:

Seat: 2A
Carrier: JL 004
Route: Tokyo, JP to New York, US
Flight Time: 12 hours, 55 minutes

Departure Time: 6:30 p.m.
Arrival Time: 6:25 p.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 787-900

At the Airport:

Business class passengers queue up in a separate area.

JAL Business Class Check In

At Narita, business class passengers have access to the Sakura lounge, which is identified on your boarding pass.

Sakura lounge

The lounge itself is spread over two floors: sitting area on the 1st floor, and dining on the 2nd floor. After checking out the area downstairs, I headed upstairs to get some food.

Japanese curry: one of my favorite dishes!

A while later, it was time to board. Here’s a view of the aircraft:

JL 004 NRT-JFK

In-Flight Experience

Seating configuration on the flight in business class is in a 2-2-2 configuration. And here’s my seat!

JL004 Seat 2A

I’m a pretty short guy (5’ 5’’) and my legs couldn’t even reach the foot rest!

Can’t reach the foot rest!

A view of my monitor. Nice and big!

Our route map

Seat controls. More than I’ve ever seen on any flight!

JL004 seat controls

The seat is definitely more than just a seat. In fact, Japan Airlines officially calls this their “SkySuite.”

Seat length

Ready for take off!

Ready for takeoff!

For those sitting near the window, a sort of wall separates you and your neighbor, which made this seat particularly private.

JL004 seat dividers

For perspective, here’s how the business class section looks like.

JL004 business class section

When you’re ready for your bed to be made up, you can request turn-down service from the flight attendant. The padding JAL used was amazingly soft.

JL004 lie-flat seat

Another interesting aspect about flying with JAL was the bathrooms. Specifically, it was my first time seeing a bidet (or any option frankly) available on an airplane.

Toilet options on JL 004

JAL Business Class Dining

Business class passengers had the option of going with either Japanese or Western cuisine. Here’s the menu.

JL004 Menu

JL004 page 1

JL menu food options

I opted for the kobachi bowls as my appetizer. Here’s one of them:

JL004 Kobachi bowl

I also thought this simple crane to rest your chopsticks was a nicely done touch.

JL004 crane chopsticks holder

View from the Wing:

This was my first time traveling on a Dreamliner. One thing that I thought was interesting was how you raise and lower your window shades. Rather than a manual window shade, the Dreamliner had a button that gradually made the window opaque. I definitely thought that this was something different, and I’m not sure I quite like it. It’s a lot easier to simply pull up or down a shade rather than pressing a button.

JL004 Dreamliner window shade button

A favorite part of flying between the US Northeast and East Asia is the wonderful scenery we got to fly over.

View of the Canadian Arctic

Frozen waters somewhere over Canada

Overall

Japan Airlines Business Class Sky Suite was definitely a memorable and worthwhile experience. I’d highly recommend opting for a seat near window as it affords extra privacy. Overall I highly enjoyed this particular journey, and can’t wait to do it again!

Review: Etihad First Class Apartment A380 Abu Dhabi to Sydney

A few months ago, I managed to snag an award seat using my American Aadvantage miles to fly on Etihad’s First Class Apartment product from Abu Dhabi to Sydney. For many, the product itself is arguably the most luxurious first class product currently out on the market. With a total flight time of slightly more than 14 hours, I had a lot of time to savor the experience. The experience itself however, started long before the flight. Here’s how my trip went:

Flight Stats:

Carrier: Etihad 454
Route: Abu Dhabi, UAE to Sydney, AU
Flight Time: 14 hours, 10 minutes
Seat: 4A

Departure Time: 10:05pm
Arrival Time: 7:15pm
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800

On-Ground Experience:

My experience with Etihad began way before the flight itself. Anyone that travels first class with Etihad is automatically eligible for a personal chauffeur pick up both to your origin airport and on arrival at your destination airport. I had currently been on a one day layover in Dubai, and even though Dubai is nearly 150km from Abu Dhabi, Etihad’s chauffeur service still picked me up from Dubai. I thought this service was amazing, but learned that this is pretty common as many passengers that fly out of Abu Dhabi stay in Dubai.

My very own chauffeur to Abu Dhabi airport!

Other than the horrible traffic between the two cities, the journey to Abu Dhabi International Airport was fairly uneventful.

At the Airport

After arriving at the airport, as a first class passenger you’ll be able to skip the lines at the airport and proceed to the first class counter, which at Abu Dhabi airport is in a completely separate space with a private entrance. Both check-in and passing through security and immigration was a breeze at the airport.

First Class Check In

Due to traffic, I only had about 45 minutes to spare at the airport before my flight began to board. After clearing immigration I made my way to Etihad’s Premium Class lounge. Simply show your ticket and you’re in. The lounge itself was by far the largest premium class lounge I’ve ever been to. Unlike some other lounges I’ve been to, the Etihad Premium Class lounge had two buffet areas, a bartender working a real bar, a spa, private showers, and ample seating throughout the lounge. Although the lounge itself felt very spacious. I grabbed a quick bite to eat then headed to my gate.

Etihad Premium Lounge

The Lounge Directory

The Spa at the Lounge

The Bar at the Lounge

The buffet at the lounge

Pro-tip: If I could have done this trip over again, I would have requested the chauffeur to pick me up much earlier than was initially planned. My flight was scheduled to depart at 10:15pm, but we left Dubai around 6:30 p.m., which didn’t leave me much time to enjoy the first class experience at the airport.

Finally, it was time to board the flight!

In-Flight Experience:

There are a total of 9 first class apartments on-board Etihad’s A380 routes. Apartments 4A and 4k are the only apartments where your seat is adjacent to the window and is faced forward, the other apartments either have a seat that faces backward, or is situated next to the aisle. I was lucky enough to snag Apartment 4A.

My address for the flight: Apartment 4A

A look into my apartment: Etihad First Class A380 Apartment 4A

Etihad First Class A380 Apartment 4A couch. The couch itself is a staggering 6 feet 10 inches long, and converts to a bed during turn-down service. It’s by far the longest bed I’ve ever slept on in a plane!

Etihad First Class A380 Apartment 4A seat

Etihad First Class A380 Apartment 4A windows

A glass of wine before the flight!

Etihad First Class Dining

The dining experience was beyond I’ve ever had. Given the 14 hour flight, both a dinner and a breakfast was planned for the route. In addition to the planned meal service, passengers also had full access to order a la carte off the menu throughout the flight.

Lamb biryani for dinner!

Etihad First Class Apartment Shower

The highlight of the flight itself was getting the chance to take a shower…on a plane! The Etihad A388 is one of only two carriers (the other is Emirates) in the world that offer on-board showers to passengers. When you board the flight, your flight attendant will inquire when you’d like to use the shower. I opted to take my shower a few hours before landing in Sydney. As you can imagine, when it was my turn, I was beyond excited to try out this very novel experience.

Passengers only get 5 minutes worth of running water, though you extend your shower by pressing the stop and start button. usually like to test the temperature of the water before I getting into the shower, but unfortunately the water doesn’t begin to run unless the shower door is completely closed. Save yourself the possibility of being hit with cold water and dial up the temperature before you turn it on.

Etihad A380 First Class Bathroom

Etihad First Class A380 bathroom amenities

Etihad A380 First Class Shower Dial

Etihad A380 First Class Shower

Etihad First/Business Class On-Board Lounge

After showering a bit, I decided to check out the on-board lounge that’s shared between the first class and business class cabins.

Etihad A380 Shared On-Board Lounge

Having a drink in the shared on-board lounge

Having a drink and watching CNN in the shared on-board lounge

As evident in the picture above, as soon as I got on board I changed into Etihad’s pajamas for the duration of the flight. They were really comfortable!

The rest of the flight was spent relaxing, watching movies and eating!

Breakfast

Pre-arrival dessert

Watching a movie. Etihad’s Entertainment System is excellent, and the TV even pulls out and swivels!

Overall

Flying Etihad’s First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to Sydney was truly an unforgettable experience. With a retail price of just over $5,800, I would’ve never been able to have flown this route if it weren’t for miles. And at just 60,000 Aadvantage miles (I booked this flight prior to American Airlines 2016 devaluation), it was an incredible deal!

One Foot on Sand

Thinker, Dreamer, Explorer

Airline Review

Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class New York to Hong Kong

Review: Singapore Airlines Suites Class Los Angeles to Tokyo

Review: Japan Airlines Business Class Tokyo to New York

Review: Etihad First Class Apartment A380 Abu Dhabi to Sydney