Flights 3-6
Sat Jun 02 – QF071 PER 1530 / SIN 2050 Airbus A330-300 Seat: 4A (Flight 3/17)
And so we begin - the first of my ‘not needed’ flight experiences for SCs. Instead of a flight straight to Tokyo, I’m going PER/SIN/NRT/HKG/NRT. Why not? My meetings don’t start until 10am Monday and after all this I still arrive at Narita 9.30 Sunday night (if all goes to plan) so that’s plenty of time to rest before work starts. My longest transfer is 3 hours at Narita and the shortest is Singapore at 1H50 so overall it should be pretty smooth… I hope!
I’m a little nervous as I haven’t done this type of flying before and I just have to hope all flights go without a hitch and I get into Tokyo when required. My first flight isn’t until 3.30pm so I managed a fantastic sleep, waking 2 hours before my alarm! That’s unusual for me as I work long hours and suffer insomnia. A late check out ensured I was able to prepare properly for the 28h45m I will be travelling.
I was given 2 t-shirts yesterday and although I don’t need them I can’t throw them away so somehow I managed to fit them in the carry on bag and sure enough I still have a tiny bit of room left. So far so good with the new bag! I took advice from previous trip reports on this forum and packed some tracksuit pants for flying (I usually wear jeans) so this will be a first for me, and one I think I’m going to appreciate!
The first flight is a short 5h20m and I definitely will be attempting to stay awake throughout to keep my sleeping patterns semi-normal. It will be a challenge as I’m one of those people that whilst I can’t sleep like normal people at home, I’m always falling asleep on planes – even in Y and even Mel/Syd!
First check in done and it turns out that I can only get a boarding pass as far as Singapore. Something to do with JAL not being fully sorted with Qantas systems yet or something. It’s somewhat annoying as I thought I’d be able to get all the way through to Narita. Oh well – plenty of time to sort that at the other end I guess.
Although careful to ensure all toiletry items were fewer than 100m, I didn’t think about the vegemite and had to surrender the 240m jar at security. They kindly advised that a store in the terminal sold 40m ones so I stocked up on those. As I was checking in, I took note of the flashing signs stating all carry-on to be under 7 kilos – I know mine isn’t and be annoyed if you will, but considering there’s no other luggage I don’t think it’s too much strain.
Just before immigration, a lady asks to weigh my bag – oh no – this is going to be difficult! I have a tote bag inside ready to transfer items into it if required, but even though it weighs in at 12 kilos now, I’m not asked to do anything. She asks to look at my boarding pass and waves me on through.
I didn’t get a peak anywhere else, but J Class is 100% full. We sit at the gate waiting while the captain tells us there’s a slight mechanical problem and there will be a short delay while we wait for maintenance. 10 mins later we’re told it will be another 15 mins. I start thinking to myself ‘Oh no – last time Qantas said this we ended up having to disembark and stay overnight in Singapore! Another 15 mins goes by and finally the captain confirms it’s only another 10 mins and we’ll be off. So, an hour after scheduled departure and we’re on our way.
Having decided to stay awake through this sector, I was disappointed looking through the entertainment guide that it was almost the same programming as when I last flew internationally with Qantas in March! Only a couple of changes! And please, is it really necessary for Qantas to do the sales pitch for duty free before EVERY film???
Some of you will be interested to know that the amenities kit handed out on this flight was the older blue zip up one! None of the items were what they’ve been promoting either.
The meal served was dinner and it looked like a prawn salad and some sort of chicken dish. I was given roasted vegetables (boring) and a pasta dish with – you guessed it – vegetables. As for the ‘fantastic designer cutlery’ – well it was fashion over function in my opinion. Heavy, difficult to use and uncomfortable to grip.
A couple of films and we were already almost in Singapore – what a quick flight! We did however, land 1 hour behind schedule, leaving me a little panicked about getting my boarding pass for the next flight…
Sat Jun 02 – JL710 SIN 2240 / NRT 0640+1 Boeing 747-400 Seat: 10A (Flight 4/17)
Great… 50 mins to get my boarding pass and get back to the gate to board the flight before they close the gate. Following previous instructions at Perth check in I headed straight for the JAL lounge to request a boarding pass but was told to go to the transfer desk (wherever that was). I then headed next door to the Qantas Lounge to be told the same thing. Thanks Perth check in guy! I raced to the transfer desk (which was in another terminal) and asked the lady for my next boarding pass. In a hurry I didn’t want to confuse the issue by asking for more than the next boarding pass, but it spat the next 3 out anyway and that’s when things got really confusing as I had to try to explain to her that yes I know I’m going SIN/NRT/HKG/NRT and yes it’s all in one day and it really is okay to give me all 3. She couldn’t get her head around it so I had to wait while she called a superior to confirm that she was allowed to give me all three boarding passes.
By the time that’s through there’s barely enough time to race to the gate and board the flight – I’m amongst the last to board. Seat Guru had indicated standard seats so I was surprised to find their version of the Skyed (not sure what it’s called). I decided on this flight to take some notes for this report, figuring I’ll get muddled up with 4 in a row otherwise. Also, as JAL have only recently joined One World I thought the note taking would be even more relevant.
The J class was in a 2-3-2 configuration and my lower section comprised of 21 seats, 11 of which were taken. Happily the person seated next to me moved upstairs soon after take off. The seat seems wider than the Qantas one, but a little harder too. The first thing I notice are the slippers in the seat back pouch – everyone else in the cabin is quick to put those on, but I refrain – slippers aren’t really my thing.
The amenities kit is handed out soon after boarding and it’s a long plastic drawstring kinda thing with a full size toothbrush, eye mask, earplugs and some weird thin one-use type of eye freshener and in-flight moisturiser mask – in plastic bags. I don’t use any of it. The safety instruction video is fun to watch – cute little Japanese animation.
There are TV screens in the back of each seat, but also at the front of the cabin – the main screen shows take off which is interesting for about 2 minutes. Notably there are no drinks offered before take off and considering my haste in transferring at Singapore I’m starting to feel damn thirsty!
We leave the gate on time, but sit at the start of the runway for 20 mins before the captain finally tells us that we have to wait another 20 mins due to congestion. Thankfully there’s a couple of hours transfer time at my next stop – I certainly don’t wish to be going through the last drama again in a hurry.
Soon after take off we’re offered a light snack and drink, after which I decide to go straight to sleep. It’s probably the most uncomfortable of the Sky beds I’ve experienced so far and from memory it seems to be a much worse angle than Qantas, but I note in their magazine they are advertising flat beds coming soon. All the same I manage to sleep until 30min before arrival. Breakfast is apparently served 2 hours before landing and I learn that my vegetarian meal wasn’t logged by the system. How annoying! The western dish comes with bacon on the side, so the FA tells me he’ll remove it beforehand. Better than nothing I guess!
I don’t wake until 30m before landing and was surprised that breakfast was still offered that close to arrival. The bacon is still on the plate but removable so I deal with it. Oh – we get a real knife instead of a plastic one!
Overall I would say that Qantas is a better experience – bigger pillows, FA’s remembering to collect hot towels etc… But if you like a wider seat closer to the window then JAL is for you. Oh yeah – I notice that the headphones were kinda coughpy for what it’s worth – not comparable to the Qantas ones.
Sun Jun 03 – CX509 NRT 0945 / HKG 1325 Boeing 777-300 Seat: 14A (Flight 5/17)
Narita is quite overwhelming if you’re not familiar with it – the signage is difficult to find and read. I eventually figure out where to go to transfer and whilst in the line some academic and his wife tell me in a rather condescending manner that we’re in the wrong line and the grumpy man starts coughping on about how he’s desperate to get to the first class lounge. Oh please – why must people be this way? He sat in the same class I did, and is a platinum member – big deal! Why does that give him the right to talk down to people? Okay, he is more educated than I am, but my IQ is higher and I don’t treat him like an idiot! Anyway, since he’s so smart we leave the line to follow Mr Educated Idiot and after 10 mins I convince him to go back to the original line we were in – which is the right line. It’s a long wait to get through, as there’s only one security point for all people transferring to another flight.
Eventually we make it through and I head to the Cathay lounge in an effort to get my meal request fixed up. This is also not an easy experience as the only lounge I can find is via an elevator with a JAL sign and a JAL rep standing at the entrance. After a bit of back and forthing I ask her where Cathay is and sure enough – it’s next to JAL one floor up. Gee, a sign would have been nice! Yes I know I could go to the JAL lounge, but I prefer going to the lounge of the airline I’m flying – seems more polite or something. The lounge is very quiet, with free internet and average snacks. There’s another rude guy speaking at what feels like 100db via Skype – attention Skype users: you don’t have to yell to compensate for not being able to hear.
Enough cough – onto the flight. This is my first time flying Cathay and although a short one I can see what all the fuss is about. We were offered apple juice, water or wine prior to take off and the safely regulations seem closer to what we’re used to on Qantas. The flight departs on time and essentially the FA’s seem intensely focussed on ensuring your every need is taken care of. Oh, with exception to my veggie meal of course! Hmmm… that’s 2 different airlines not getting the request, better fix that in Hong Kong. The FA offers to fix the next Cathay flight for me, but can’t help with the others.
For a 4+ hour flight, the time flies quickly and most notably the FA’s are constantly walking past removing any plate from your tray within seconds of it being finished with. I can only imagine that this would be a wonderful long-haul flight experience.
Sun Jun 03 – CX508 HKG 1610 / NRT 2125 Boeing 777-300 Seat: 16A/16H/14A (Flight 6/17)
We arrive on time into Hong Kong and it’s a wonderfully clear day so I get a great view of all the mountains and water. I had no idea Hong Kong looked so pretty from above! I head straight to the Pier Lounge (near gate 2) to ensure my meal request is fixed but I’m told they can’t change any of the others for me. I consider checking out the other Cathay lounge but it’s ages away and we depart from Gate 16 – the Qantas Club is Gate 15 so I head there, where they try fixing my meal problem. The observant of you might note that I have 3 different seats listed. 16A is the seat the Qantas sales person told me I had, 16H is what was on my boarding pass (aisle) and 14A is what I had it changed back to. This is the first flight where my seat is different to what was originally allocated.
The first lounge is located at the back of the business lounge so I check it out – no different really, just a little quieter. There’s only me and 2 other people there, and the first thing I notice is one of them picking up different food options with their fingers instead of using the tongs – charming. I spend some time getting part of this report written and before I know it, it’s time to board my final flight to Narita.
The flight is not really any different to the previous one except that I notice the meals being served from the back of the cabin to the front. Perhaps it’s a similar policy to the American Airlines one I read on a post here. Again there’s a lot of FAs for a reasonably small cabin with insanely attentive service.
On arrival number 2 at Narita it’s finally time to get out into the real world and to my hotel for a good sleep. It’s been 28 hours PER/SIN/NRT/HKG/NRT and I’m actually feeling okay! Going to sleep soon after getting to my room will ensure I’m in good shape for meetings all day Monday before hitting another 26 hours in transit for NRT/SIN/LHR.