20170315: JL29: HaNeDa » HongKonG

Date: 2017/03/15

Flight: JL29

DEP/Actual Push Back: 1005JST/1006JST

ARR/Actual Touch Down: 1415HKT/1406HKT

Aircraft/Registration: 777-200/JA711J

Class: Business (Restricted Fare)

Seat: JAL SKY SUITE III

Prologue

This is one of my regular, periodic flight to Hong Kong.  Booking was done on JAL's website which is a pain to use.   Painful because its design is that of typical Japanese-design from the 90s.

Pre-boarding

Getting a Special Meal at Check-in

Took a look at the in-flight dinning menu and decided to try the vegetarian meal again.  As I'd learned from my trip to KL, one had to phone JAL for a special meal.  It's a shame that their non-toll-free phone lines are only opened from 0800 till 1900.

The business class check in counter wasn't busy and I was led to an available counter immediately. Once I got my boarding pass, I asked the lady for a vegetarian meal.  What followed was the expected banter; that I was supposed to request the special meal at least 24 hours in advance and I countered that their phone lines are only operational between 0800 and 1900.  The end result was that she got me special meals for my return flight too.  She was a lot nicer about it than that lady in Narita.

The lines for security were long.  Not unusual for a weekday morning.  Haneda International Terminal is reaching its capacity.   The check-in lady advised me to use the priority line (as I held the OneWorld Sapphire status.)  Yet there was a bit of a wait.

Lounge
Seeing how long those security lines were, I was expecting the Sakura Lounge to be packed.  But it wasn't as busy as I'd feared. The usual breakfast fair was on offer; scrambled eggs, sausages, hash brown, fresh salads, rice, Japanese curry.  A good hot breakfast could be have.

At the Gate
Boarding was supposed to start at 0935 at gate 113.  At 0934, they announced that boarding had been delayed to 0945 due to aircraft not being ready or whatnot.  Boarding ended up starting from 0940. They had neglected to double-check my passport-boarding pass and let me on.

Noticed that there was a line for first class passengers though this flight didn't have a first class.

On Board

In-Your-Face Screen

Too Much Material

Seats

The aircraft was a retrofitted 777-200 with the latest "Sky Suite III"  When I first tried it in December 2016, I found it surprisingly cramped.  This time I figured out why; it's the huge fixed IFE screen and the white box behind it.  It's as if a CRT screen is housed in that box.  According to YouTube, similar seats on CX, and KLM have swing-out screens, doing away with that huge housing box taking up all that real estate, thus making the seat more spacious.  

The seat pocket for printed materials is far too narrow for the stuff JAL provided.  Even the seat pockets are inferior to those on CX, or AF.

Food

Delicious Appretizer

The vegetarian meal looked suspiciously like the one I got on my NRT » KUL flight.  The main course was essentially the same soy-meat-patty with saffron rice.  This time, the saffron rice was hard.   The desert was identical.  The appetizer (beans, mushrooms, melon) was delicious.

Familiar-looking Vegetarian Maim Course

Same Desert

Vegetarian Meal

Service

Flight attendants were more interested in pushing inflight shopping than say noticing that I needed more Perrier.  I had to flag down a flight attendant on her down the aisle selling duty-free items. What's worse, they had to interrupt my movie watching to announce the start of in-flight shopping.

Epilogue

The only reason I flew JAL was that they where cheaper than CX.  

Bibliography

http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/service/business/seat/skysuite3.html

20170226: JL724: KUala Lumpur » NaRiTa

Date: 2017/02/26

Flight: JL724

DEP/Actual Push: 2250MST/2253MST

ARR/Touch Down: 0635JST/0612JST

Aircraft/Registration: 787-9/JA867J

Class: Business (Used Miles to upgrade from Economy)

Seat: JAL SKY SUITE 787

Prologue

This is the return flight to Narita.

Pre-boarding

Check-in
At KLIA, JAL had only one business class check-in counter, which was processing economy class passengers when I got there.  Check-in staff was from Malaysia Airlines.

Business Class lounge ahead, bar to the left.

Complex Directions

Lounge
The lady at check-in handed me a rather complicated looking diagram/map for the Cathay Pacific Lounge.   JAL doesn't operate its own lounge.  She also mentioned that I could also use the Malaysian Airlines Golden Lounge (because I held OneWorld Sapphire.)

I'd gathered from the Internet that the Cathay Pacific Lounge wasn't too exciting.  The lounge for the home-base airline should be better and thus, I went to the Golden Lounge of Malaysia Airlines.

Before entering the main area, there was a bar to left. One had to take a few steps up to go into the main area.  I took extra care to ascend those steps as it in black and was thus hard to see.  On the way out later, a gentleman fell flat on his face, smashing his drinks/plates as I guess, he couldn't see those steps.  It was a hazard.

The business class section of the lounge was massive.  It felt as big as the Korean Air business class lounge in ICN.  I was there around 21:30 and it was crowded.

There was ample hot food and soft drinks.  Couldn't find any bottled water though.

At the Gate
There was a preliminary security after immigration.  There was another security line at the gate. There were 2 long lines of people queuing to get into the waiting area, which was too crowded and too small for a 787.

On Board

Seats

It was a 787-9, with the JAL 787 Sky Suite, a product unique to JAL. Aisle access for all seats but window-seats have more privacy.

Food

Soon after take-off, a late night snack was served.  As I had requested vegetarian meals at Narita, I got the vegetarian version.   There was a few tofu cubes, with a miso sauce, a sandwich filled with tomatoes, lettuce, and green peppers. Very tasty and satisfying.

Vegetarian Late Night Snack

About 90 minute before landing, breakfast was served.  The hot food consisted of squash, rice, eggplants, etc.  2 separate dishes of fresh fruits, and a salad.  Not a bad start to the day.

Vegetarian Breakfast

Service

Cabin lights were turned off soon after take-off so that people could sleep.  It was a little too dark for dining.  Cabin lights weren't turned back on till after breakfast.  Again, it was too dark. 

JAL does not offer amenity kit of any sort on these Asian flights. Flight attendants came around and offered eye masks, face masks, etc. And toothbrushes and mouth wash were available next to the sink in the toilet.

Flight attendants were attentive.  They tried a little too hard to sell goods from their in-flight shopping.  Yet, the item I'd wanted wasn't available. 

Self-Serve amenities in bathroom

Epilogue

It was an OK kind of red-eye flight.  Despite arriving at Narita so early in the morning, we got off at gate 82 in the satellite part of Terminal 2.  It was far from everything.

Because I'd used miles for this upgrade from economy, I can't complain.  But if I were to pay for a business class ticket, I would have flown Malaysia Airlines.  

Bibliography

https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/hq/en/experience/golden-lounge/klia_satellite_business.html

KLIA Ekspres

What

Express trains from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Sentral Station  Bought a return ticket originally priced at RM100, discounted to RM90.  Apparently there was a promotion with Visa and paying with a Visa got me a discount.  The actual journey was 30 minutes compared to the advertised 28 minutes.  No big deal.

Where

On the way to the immigration counters in KLIA terminal 1, on the right, there were counters selling SIM cards.  On the left, there was a KLIA Ekspres service desk.  I used the automated KIOSK with a little help from the helpful attendant who explained about the discount.

Bibliography

https://www.kliaekspres.com/
http://www.kliaekspres.com/plan-buy/fares-passes/

Data SIM Card: Kuala Lumpur

What

The XPAX prepaid SIM Card from Celcom. There were various plans with different expiration dates. Because of my travel needs, I choose one good for one month. It came with 10GB of data and  5GB of Facebook, Whatsapp, and other SNS.  It came with a local voice number too but I'm not sure how much it cost to make calls.  I'd paid MYR45 for it in mid Feburary 2017, in KLIA.  This Celcom counter only accepted cash, and I had to show my passport.

There were no problems getting 4G data in and around KL.  On the way to and from the east coast of Malaysia, data connection would drop to 3G, or below.  Otherwise I didn't have any issues.  

Where

On the way to the immigration counters, there were a bunch of counters from various mobile phone companies. I picked Celcom counter by chance.

Bibliography

https://www.xpax.com.my/xpax/
http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/airport/klia.htm

Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Stay: 2017/02/14, King Hilton Executive Room
Stay: 2017/02/26, King Hilton Deluxe

Prologue

I chose Hilton KL because of its location as my meeting the following day was near Sentral Station. Secondly, I'm a HHonors member.

The Hotel

Located next to Sentral Station, access from the airport couldn't be more convenient. I had taken the "KLIA Ekspres" from KLIA and it was a few minutes away from the train platform. Note that one has to use the car-park elevators to reach the lobby level. Signage in the elevator hall could have been better.

At check-in, a cold wet hand towel, and a glass of sweet, tropical drink were offered. It reminded me of some check-in process in Hawaii. A nice touch. Check-in was completed quickly, hassle-free.

Room

For my first night there, I got a "King Hilton Executive Room," the cheapest one available when I booked a few weeks earlier. No upgrade was offered and I was assigned a room facing Sentral Station.

For the second stay, I got a "King Hilton Deluxe" with the "points & money" rate.  I got an upgrade to a room facing the lake.

Room with an Upgraded View

Other than one being on the executive floor, and the other facing the lake, the two rooms were the same.  Same in size (I think,) and layout.  It could be a housekeeping error but I recall that the executive room had a toothbrush and "grooming kit" waiting whereas the non-executive room didn't. The toothbrush was one of the best provided by any hotel.

High Quality Toothbrush.

There was only one minor issue in the "Executive Room"; found an used pair of panty-hose on the top shelve. There was also, I think, as I didn't open the package, a pair of paper panties. Looks like the previous occupant(s) were in a hurry to leave and the housekeeping staff was also in a hurry.

Properties of  Previous Guest.

There were plenty of universal power outlets as well as USB ports with 2A output.

Up-to-date power sources.

Lounge

The Executive Lounge was impressive.  It was spacious even during the usual rush hour of 0800 on a weekday.  I only had time to experience the breakfast service which was the best out of the Hiltons I have stayed recently; Hilton Millennium Seoul, Hilton Helsinki, and even Conrad Seoul.  There was a wide selection of western and Asian breakfast items. Made-to-order eggs station.  Coffee and juice were brought to the table by the friendly and efficient staff. Being in Malaysia for the first time in many years, I got to try beef-beacon for the first time.

Service, etc.

I'd ordered room service the first night I was there. The spinach salad was great. But the 海南鶏飯 (Chicken rice,) wasn't so great. 

99% of the staff members encountered were professional, and friendly. The 1% was what were previously known as the maître d' at "Vasco's." The wait staff there were great. But the lady receiving customers wasn't thrilled to be there and I was literally passed around a few staff members before I was I was led to a table. 

Epilogue

Hilton Kuala Lumpur was the best Hilton I'd stayed in (Seattle, Waikiki, Millennium Seoul, Helsinki Strand,) In fact, it was even better than Conrad Seoul. 

Bibliography

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/malaysia/hilton-kuala-lumpur-KULHIHI/index.html
https://youtu.be/IUOvGRHUWS8

20170214: JL723: NaRiTa » KUala Lumpur

Date: 2017/02/14

Flight: JL723

DEP/Actual Push: 1105JST/1112JST

ARR/Touch Down: 1810MST/1758MST

Aircraft/Registration: 787-9/JA846J

Class: Business (Used Miles to upgrade from Economy)

Seat: JAL SKY SUITE 787

Prologue

I'd considered using Malaysian Airlines for this trip.  JAL won  because I could buy an upgrade-able economy ticket and use miles to upgrade to business class.  And that's what I did.  Booking was done on JAL's website which is a pain to use.

Pre-boarding

Getting a Special Meal

Since the in-flight meal menu wasn't appetizing.  I thought I would give the vegetarian meal a try. The JAL website allows long-haul business class passengers to pre-select their main meal choice. Sadly, one can't pre-order a vegetarian meal or any other special meals on the web site.  I later saw from their instructions in Japanese that one could indeed order a special mail during the booking process but once that's done, one has to phone their reservation phone lines.  But then, their phone lines aren't toll-free and are only opened from 0800 to 1900. I recall years ago, when I flew Northwest to HKG, I could order a vegetarian meal upon check-in. So, I gave that a try.

Check-in
Business class check in counters were empty when I arrived around 0930.  Once the check in lady handed me my boarding pass and checked-bag tag, I asked, if I could request a vegetarian meal.  She told me that special meals must be ordered at least 24 hours before departure.  I countered that I couldn't order it on the web and she countered that it must be done by phone.  She made a show of referring to a manual and called someone.  A minute or two later, she informed me that my request was granted.  I thanked her and apologized for causing her trouble.

Security
As a JGC sapphire member, used the priority, JAL-only security line.  There was an attendant checking people's qualifications.  But she was too busy chatting with someone else to pay me too much attention.  Apparently, there were 3 x-ray machines people could use.  I was queuing behind a gentleman who was taking his time.  I saw people coming in and went to the other available x-ray machines.  Too bad I didn't notice that earlier and that no staff members were there to guide me.

Lounge
The lady at check-in didn't provide me with lounge info.  My gate was 98, in the satellite building. I recall from years ago that there was a Sakura lounge in the satellite building and that's the one I went to.

Grilled mackerel.  Empty Plate off Tamagoyaki

The satellite lounge was a lot smaller than the main lounge in the main building.  With limited space, only a fraction of the hot food was on offer.  In fact, only a limited Japanese breakfast was offered.  My guess is that the satellite lounge was catered mainly for Japanese passengers. I wish the check-in lady would have told me about the watered-down breakfast service and I would have gone to the main lounge. It was crowded too. The Japanese breakfast wasn't bad, grilled mackerel and tamagoyaki (Japanese scrambled egg rolls.) The problem was that I got the last of the tamagoyaki and they ran out after that.  Note to myself: Do NOT use the satellite Sakura lounge when hungry.


At the Gate
Gate 98 had limited space for people to queue.  There were the usual 2 lines for boarding.  Business class and those with priority boarding rights, and economy.  We were squeezed into the queues and the lines had to literally turn a corner.  Boarding started on time at 1045.

On Board

Inactive Power

Seats

Welcome Drink

It was a 787-9, with the JAL 787 Sky Suite, a product unique to JAL.  Aisle access for all seats but window-seats have more privacy.

Seeing the unlit LED on the universal a/c power source was deactivated.  Tried charging my phone and no joy.  Asked the flight attendant about it and she was more surprised than me and tried to re-confirm that I had already know, no power.  From past experience, the cabin crew may have to throw a switch somewhere to activate the power source.  She returned a few minutes later. and indicated I was the only one having this issue.  Really?

Around 30 minutes after take off, I noticed the LED came on and there was power.  10 minutes after that, when the chief purser came around distributing a bottled water, she said she had 'fixed' the power problem for me.

Salad and slightly stale bread.

Main Course

Brownies

Food
My vegetarian meal started with a delicious, fresh salad.  The bread was a bit stale though.  Salt and butter was offered on separate dishes and pepper was in a bottle.  Not sure why it was presented like that.  Perhaps the salt was special?   The mail course was a hamburger patty made from soy. a small ball of potato salad, and saffron rice.  It tasted good though nothing to write home about.  Desert was chocolate brownies in raspberry sauce.

This was an 8-hour flight.  Yet only a light snack was offered before landing.  I was given a onigiri (Japanese rice ball) and a vegetarian sandwich. The onigiri was OK.  A rice ball is a rice ball.  The sandwich contain cheese and lettuce.  It reminded me of those horrible vending-machine sandwiches I had in college.

Pre-landing Snack.

Service

Before, during, and after the first meal, a total of three hot towels were offered.  The first two smelled heavily of chlorine.  The third one smelled more like the usual, slightly scented.  The fourth one was offered just before the pre-landing snacks and that one smelled best.

The business class cabin was about 85%.  Flight attendants were at times a little over attentive.  I'd hung my jacket on the coat-hook at my seat but I had to negotiate with a flight attendant a bit before she would let me hang it there.  I knew it was her job to offer to hang it in the closet but I shouldn't have to convince her to let me do what I wanted.  

JAL does not offer amenity kit of any sort on these Asian flights. Flight attendants came around and offered eye masks, face masks, etc.

The lack of a second meal was most disappointing.

Epilogue

Having only paid for an economy class ticket and used miles to upgrade to business, I can't complain too much.  If I had to pay even discounted business class ticket, I would have chosen Malaysian Airlines.  I haven't never flown on Malaysian but from what I can fine on the Internet, Malaysian Airlines seems to have a better product with a better value than that of JAL's.

Bibliography

https://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/service/business/meal/meal_yoyaku/
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/service/meal/special/menu/index.html
http://www.jal.co.jp/inter/service/meal/special/menu/index.html
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/service/business/seat/skysuite3.html

https://www.jal.co.jp/en/jalmile/jgc/

20161108: JL414: HELsinki » NaRiTa

Date: 2016/11/08
Flight: JL414
Aircraft/Registration: 787-8/JA844J
Class: Business (award travel)
Seat: JAL SKY SUITE 787

DEP/Actual Push Back/Full Throttle: 1725EET/1811EET/1856EET

ARR/Touch Down: 1010JST/1101JST

Prologue

This is the return flight from Helsinki.

Pre-boarding

Check-in, Security

The only business class check-in counter was helping economy class passengers when I got there.  The main cabin seemed to be full on this flight.  Upon seeing me, a Finnair personnel opened up an counter for me and check in was completed shortly.

As a first time visitor a took me a few minutes to figure out where to go to clear security.  When I found it, there was a long line.  But it kept moving and didn't take long to clear.

It was rush hour in Vantaa, around 16:00.

There were long lines at the automated immigration lines as people had difficulties getting their passports scanned.  I went to the empty manned-immigration counters where there were close to zero wait-time.

Lounge

Finnair Lounge Coffee Machine

JAL passengers were directed to the Finnair lounge. It was spacious though busy. Plenty of hot food, salads, soft drinks, and alcohol were on offer. Napkins, and ceramic tableware were by Marimekko. Knowing that passengers are tempted to steal those Marimekko, there was a sign on the wall informing customers that those items are for sale can be purchased online.

Finnair Lounge Dinner Menu

Boarding

According to historical data from flightaware.com, this flight had used a bus-gate for the last few days. Today, it was at gate 34. Boarding was scheduled to start at 1655, but for whatever reason, was delayed till 1700. 

On Board

Before Takeoff

Doors were closed by 17:19 for our scheduled 17:25 departure.  We were still at the gate when the captain announced at 17:50 that according to ATC, he had permission to depart at 18:10.  At 18:05, Japanese green tea were offered in paper cups.

Deicing

Push-back was at 18:11.  Taxied to the queue for de-icing.  De-icing started at 18:30 and was completed at 18:41.  We rolled onto RWY04R   Snow was falling horizontally by this time.  We were on the runway for a minute or two and nothing happened.  At 18:48, the captain announced that wind-shear was detected and we rolled off the runway.

At 18:55, we were back on the runway and full-throttle was at 18:56.  The captain could have explained the initial delay, i.e. there was a back-log of aircraft getting de-iced, and thus we were stuck at the gate for 50 minutes.

Meals

Western Menu

Maybe because of the delay, welcome drinks were skipped and dinner service started soon after seat-belt signs were turned off.

Dinner

Tried the western meal, with "Beef Tenderloin with Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce" as the main course.   Though bread was supplied, I asked for, and got steamed rice to go with the meal.  The beef was OK, not as good as the beef on the flight over from Narita.  

Beef Tenderlion

Anytime Japanese Meal

Finlan Don

After the first meal, one can order "Anytime Meal" from the IFE controller. I'd tried the Japanese meal, with the main dish being Simmered Halibut with Soy Starch Sauce. 

Later, I had the the Finlan Don: Finnish Pork & Vegetable Mini Bowl Both of these very tasty and satisfying.

Service

No complaints.  Flight attendants were generally attentive.  Sometimes too attentive, e.g. they tried to start a conversation and I felt obliged to chat with them.

Epilogue

Total flight time was 9 hours and 5 minutes. Time flew by.  I wish the captain had explained about the initial delay, why we were stuck at the gate for so long.

Bibliography

https://www.finavia.fi/en/helsinki-airport/services/lounges/long-haul-lounge-finnair/
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/service/business/seat/skysuite.html

Helsinki » Vantaa

Introduction

There are several ways to to go from central Helsinki to Vantaa airport.  This is what I did on 2016/11/08, when day time high was -5°C.  Your mileage will vary.  All prices shown in this entry are from 2016.

Tram/Subway/Train

2-day Ticket

The 2-day, 1-zone tram/subway/bus pass (€12) I'd purchased was still valid. I'd planned to use it to catch the tram from Hilton Helsinki Strand to the Central Station from . But no trams were present when I got to the closest tram stop ~200 meters away.  Also, dragging my suitcase through the few centimeters of snow wasn't that much fun. So, I caught the subway. It turned out to be a better choice as the subway station was connected to Central Station underground. No need to go outside at all.

Central Station Ticketing Office

Ticket to Vannta

At the Central Station, went to the grand looking ticketing office and bought a regional, one-hour ticket (€5.50) for the I train. The I train went counter-clockwise and was a few minutes faster than the P train which went clockwise.

Track 2

The next I train was leaving from track #2 but I couldn't find track#2 for a while. Turned out it was at the uncovered part of the station.

The airport train was clean, smooth, and fast.  It took 27 minutes, just as it said it would, to reach Vantaa. This airport train opened in July 2015, i.e. about 1.5 years old when I rode it, thus everything looked new.

Helsinki Airport Station

Epilogue

Public transportation in Helsinki is top class. Ticketing system and fares are easy to understand and reasonable. For me, someone living in Tokyo, the fact that there weren't turnstiles at subway stations was most impressive.

Bibliography

https://www.hsl.fi/en/ringrailline

https://www.hsl.fi/en/tickets-and-fares
https://cfanreviews.blogspot.com/2017/01/hilton-helsinki-strand.html

20170131: JL26: Hong KonG » HaNeDa

Date: 2017/01/31

Flight: JL26
DEP/Actual Push: 1540HKT/1538HKT
ARR/Touch Down: 2025JST/2004JST

Aircraft/Registration: 777-200/JA710J

Class: Business (Restricted Fare)

Seat: JAL SKY SUITE III

Prologue

This is the return flight from Hong Kong

Pre-boarding

Used the in-town check in at Hong Kong Station.  JAL has one counter there serving all travel classes.  Fortunately, there wasn't much of a wait and check in was completed in a few minutes.

Lounge
JAL customers were directed to the Qantas lounge.  It is spacious, and always empty this time of the day (~14:00HKT)  Ample hot foods and beverages.

At the Gate
Gate# 18 wasn't far from the lounge, or immigration.  Boarding was scheduled to start at 1510.  I got there at 1510 and heard an announcement that boarding had been delayed till 1520.  In the end, boarding started at 1515.

On Board

Seats
The aircraft was a retrofitted 777-200 with the latest "Sky Suite III"  The seats felt surprisingly cramped.  Later, saw from photos, pictures on the web that similar seats on Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, Air France, Finnair, etc seem to be more spacious because JAL had optioned to build a platform above the foot rest.  That took more more space and made the enclosed area more claustrophobic.

Food

Had the western meal, The beef in the "Beef Fillet Steak with Barbecue Sauce & Mashed Potatoes" was unusually overcooked.   The rest was fine.  

Service

The business class cabin crew had little to do as there were less than 10 passengers.  And yet, the crew was inattentive and I had to ring for more Perrier.

Epilogue

JAL's business class product to/from HKG is mediocre.  They only have one flight/day between Haneda and Hong Kong. Their only advantage over competitors like CX is that it's cheaper to fly JAL.

Bibliography

http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/service/business/seat/skysuite3.html

https://www.jal.co.jp/en/jalmile/jgc/