Our Around The World First Class Sampler Trip #avgeek
After more than a year of planning, collecting credit card points and frequent flyer miles, I prepared a round-the-world itinerary to experience some of the best first class products out there.
Emirates First Class Welcome Service with Arabic Coffee and Dates
United Airlines Chicago to Brussels in Business Class
Let's begin. We started our trip from San Francisco to Istanbul separately. Dila spent a day in Chicago and flew in United 777-200 business class (unfortunately, one of my least favorite business class products out there) to Brussels connecting to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen on Aug 22. Brussels ground personnel went on an unannounced strike for a day on the day they arrived and the result - 15,000 undelivered bags in Brussels airport and her bags arrived 1 week later. Those same bags would soon be the first ones to drop on the belts :)
At least, Dila got to experience the new United Polaris Lounge in Chicago
United Polaris Lounge
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| United 777-200 Business class seats (2-4-2 configuration) |
Connecting to Turkish Airlines A320 Brussels to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen
United business class from SFO to Istanbul costs 57,500 United miles (Chase UR partner) if flying United on the transatlantic leg (otherwise 70,000 on Star Alliance partners). United tends to open up premium cabin award availability as the date nears (could even be the same day in the morning) and your chances are higher if you are a United Elite or hold a United MileagePlus Explorer card. I use my expertflyer.com membership to set alerts for availability.
Turkish Airlines Istanbul to Bangkok in Business Class
After spending a week with our families in Turkey, our first destination was Bangkok on Turkish Airlines A330-300 business class. All Turkish A330-300 business class seats have been upgraded to the latest (same as Boeing 777-300ER), but I like A330-300s better as the 2-2-2 configuration is a more intimate business class cabin compared to 777-300ER's 2-3-2 configuration.
Istanbul Ataturk Airport has a private security and passport control lane with a direct access to the lounge for international Turkish Airlines business class passengers and Miles&Smiles Program's highest level Elites. After clearing them in no time we were inside the magnificent loungeIstanbul.
The food and Turkish desserts here were some of the best we have ever experienced. If you are Star Alliance Gold member or if you're connecting in Istanbul in business class, plan to have a longer layover here.
Business class availability from Istanbul to Asia is pretty good. But United MileagePlus is not the best option to book them.
United requires 85k miles to book this 9 hour flight.
Instead, I used my favorite program to book Turkish Airlines premium cabins: Singapore KrisFlyer. KrisFlyer is a partner of all credit card programs (American Express MR, Chase UR, Citi TY) and it makes it a whole lot easier to earn their miles. To top it off, they are able to see availability on Turkish Airlines flights that Turkish does not share with United (for example our Bodrum to Istanbul flight on business class did not show up on United.com but Singapore was able to book into it). From my experience, it is better to search availability on turkishairlines.com and then call Singapore to book it rather than using united.com. Singapore Airlines considers Turkey in Middle East region, and according to their chart, Middle East to South East Asia requires 50,000 KrisFlyer miles for a one way trip + around $150 in fees and taxes.
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| Turkish Airlines A330-300 Business class cabin |
Personally I had higher expectations from Turkish Airlines. The seat comfort despite the lack of privacy was moderately fine. But I believe the service quality is much more improved on flights between Istanbul and the US.
In this post, I am not covering the cities we visited between the flights, I am leaving that to Dila to take care of. There was only one reason why I positioned us in Bangkok and that wasn't the street food we anxiously tried across the city. The best airline in the world flies a Fifth Freedom Route between Bangkok and Hong Kong. And it was about to be our first First Class experience.
Emirates Bangkok to Hong Kong in First Class
Emirates A380 Boarding
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| And of course a mini-bar full of drinks are available through-out the flight. |
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| Arabic Coffee and Dates are offered right before departure |
Mini bar button control
First Class Suites auto closing doors
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| Seat Controls are in the Wireless Remote |
Right after our departure for this 2.5 hour flight, we made our way into the first class bathroom.
To top it off, there was a cleaning person standing besides the restrooms to freshen up after each use.
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| Yes, bathroom floor had temperature control. |
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| A380 Atrium with a water fall |
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| Dila utilized her 10 minutes before lunch service to sleep. |
It was time to check out the bar after lunch.
Delay announcement during a flight would normally be a nightmare. Not on this one! As we started our initial descends, the captain came on PA and said "we need to hold our position for 30 minutes to wait for a thunderstorm to pass". This was the cherry on top this amazing flight experience.
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| Landing in HKG |
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong to Taipei in First Class
Our next "stop" after Emirates was a very short (1 hour) flight from Hong Kong to Taipei with Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER. Cathay operates these aircrafts twice a day between HKG-TPE and it was surprising to have first class in such a short flight. Tropical Depression Mawar was about the hit Hong Kong on the day of our departure but luckily it steered away. Cathay cancelled the earlier flight operated on 777-300ER due to weather, but I had picked the 10.30am flight to get more time to experience Cathay's First Class lounges in HKG.And that turned out to be a great decision.
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| Cathay Pacific First Class Check In Area |
The First Class check in area was clean and spacious and it was unlike any other check in desk where you haul your baggage on to a scale. Instead a porter took our bags and came back with our claim tags.
We arrived at HKG airport 4 hours before our departure and our first stop was The Wing First Class lounge.
After an a la cart breakfast, we decided to check out the Cabanas. These are available for free to take a shower (or bath) and rest for a little bit.
The next stop was The Pier First Class lounge. There is not limit to the number of Cathay lounges one can enjoy in Hong Kong (well, maybe there is).
When we checked in for the Massage Service we were initially told there was no availability before our boarding time. We asked to be waitlisted and 15 minutes before boarding we were called for a free shoulder and neck couple's massage.
Boarding Cathay's 777-300ER.
Despite being a little dated, the suites were extremely spacious and comfy.
This was my first Cathay Pacific flight. I had heard a lot about how kind and friendly their flight attendants are. After telling them that we are celebrating our 5th year anniversary together they did everything they could to make this a more enjoyable celebration.
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| They even wrote us a card! |
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| Cathay's First Class suites allow dining together with a companion
This flight can be booked for about $1000 in first class. However, it only costs 18,000 British Airways Avios (American Express MR and Chase UR partner) one way.
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Korean Air Taipei to Seoul in First Class
This was the segment I was least excited about. It only costs 80,000 Korean Skypass Miles (Chase UR partner) from North Asia to North America in First Class, one way. In one ticket, I was able to secure Taipei to Seoul and then Seoul to Vancouver in first class with a layover in Seoul for 20 hours. This flight was supposed to be operated on an older Boeing 777-200, but after a last minute aircraft change we found ourselves on a Boeing 787-9 instead.
We had the entire First Class Cabin to ourselves.
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| The first class seats were equipped with a high tech remote and a 27" screen. |
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| Bibimbap for dinner |
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| In case you don't know how to prepare a bibimbap. |
Korean Air Seoul to Vancouver in First Class
There was only one reason I chose to fly to Vancouver instead of San Francisco. The flight was operated on a gorgeous Boeing 747-8. Only three airlines operate this aircraft in commercial flights, Korean, Lufthansa and Air China.
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| Korean Boeing 747-8 Model |
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| The flight manager informing me about the details of the flight. |
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| Flying at the tip of a 747-8 is an #avgeek's dream. And also there is a lot of space to kiss each other. :) |
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| Chestnut Soup |
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| Freshly made salad |
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| My medium-rare steak |
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| Dila's Pumpkin Rice |
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| Cheese and fruits after dinner |
We asked the flight attendants to prepare our beds while we walk around the plane to see the business and economy class cabins.
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| Sleeping in Korean Air silky Pajamas. Best of all, they were ours to keep after the flight. |
I woke up about 3 hours before landing to watch the beautiful sun rise through my 4.5 windows.
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| The pilot steered away from the East Sea and took a route over Japan possibly to avoid North Korea's missile range. |
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| Breakfast Service |
Beautiful British Columbia scenery as we approached Vancouver.
In 4 (+1 after crossing the date line) days, we flew 5 different airlines and landed on 5 different countries. I would rank Emirates A380 the best seat and suite and the Korean 747-8 second, in terms of the hard product. In terms of service, Cathay Pacific hands down beats the others. Food wise, I was very impressed with Korean Air, both in the short in region flight and the long trans-pacific flight.
Before our final flight to San Jose, the US Global Entry officer in Vancouver asked us which countries we have visited in this trip. He immediately regretted.
