Cabo San Lucas (SJD) the long way around

[ozbeachbabe]

Sky Promenade Midland Square Nagoya



The Midland Square building is the tallest in Nagoya and fifth tallest in Japan. The Sky Promenade located on level 46 is the world’s tallest outdoor observation deck.



There is an entry fee of JPY700.00 per adult/JPY500.00 for seniors/JPY300.00 per child and it's open from 1100 - 2200.



It has sweeping views of the city to the North, East & South but not West as the elevators are on that side of the building.



Looking out towards the Nagoya Station Towers. The left hand building is the Marriott Associa & right hand building is an office block.



Looking down at Nagoya Station from the glass elevator at Sky Promenade.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Nagoya Mon 14 Apr 2014



Spiral Towers Building.



Pedestrian crossing from Midland Square to Nagoya Station.



Spiral Towers Building from Midland Square.



Flowers on the lower ground level of Midland Square.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Nagoya Mon 14 Apr 2014



A lot of the musems were closed on Monday & the Nagoya Castle was being renovated so only one third was open to the public so we decided against visiting that for the time being.

After about 3 hours downtown we decided to head back to the airport because we wanted plenty of time to chill out in the lounge as ahead of us was an 0135 arrival into GUM with a 5 hour turnaround before flying to NRT at 0655. We already had our boarding passes for the NGO/GUM flight so the plan was to just head directly through Customs.....or so we thought.



An airport bus stop opposite Nagoya Station which would probably be cheaper than the first class train although I would guess take double the time.



There is a shopping area with many department stores & from Nagoya Station you’d need to change to the subway line and get off at the Sakae stop.



There is more than one train to the airport with the other trains having more frequent stops & therefore a longer journey time.



The 3 car first class train.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Nagoya Mon 14 Apr 2014



Our train taking us back to the airport.



View out the train of Cherry Blossoms.



Getting closer to Central Japan International Airport (Nagoya).



Even the train conductors wear white gloves.



Back at the airport we make our way to the terminal. There is also a high speed boat that operates 15 times per day from Tsu to the airport for JPY2,400.00 pp which is a 40 minute journey or 5 boats per day from Matsusaka to the airport for JPY2,700.00 and takes 50 minutes.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Mon 14 Apr NGO/GUM UA172 2055/0135

After leaving the city at 1420 we arrived back at the airport at 1450, retrieved our rollaboards from the storage place then keen to get to the lounge & relax we headed to the security screening point with our boarding passes for UA172 that we'd received from NH in CTS earlier that morning.

Security wouldn't accept our NH issued boarding passes & told us they must be issued by UA. We noticed the laminated A4 card the person was clutching with a red cross in the box that said 'other airline boarding passes' verifying that. As our flight was 6 hours away and not wanting to hang around landside for the next several hours we needed to find a workaround to this situation so we went of in search of the UA checkin counters.



The general information board listed all the flights & the row number the checkin was located at however it stated that UA172 checkin didn't open until 1855 (2 hours prior to departure) which was still 4 hours away. The next plan of attack was to find some internet & a printer so we could log on the the UA website & try to reprint our boarding passes.

There were a few lounges landside but none had any arrangement with Priority Pass as they seemed to only be for people with credit cards issued in Asia by certain banks. We found a public computer upstairs & managed to access our UA boarding passes but when we went to print there was some error in Japanese. Grrrrrr. SO picks up the white courtesy phone & manages to get through to an English speaking help desk person who fixed the problem so we now had our A4 boarding passes in hand. As we left we noticed the computer on the left was in English - Doh!



Back at the screening point we proudly handed over our newly acquired OLCI United boarding passes but it seems there is a problem with them also. Out comes the laminated A4 card again & this time the guy looks the the 'home print' column & you guessed it - a red cross in that column too ie no deal.

A colleague of his came over who we'd seen on our first attempt so I thought we'd be given our marching orders again but instead she called through to the UA airport office who agreed that we could use the UA OLCI boarding passes to get through security and customs however we needed to present our passports to gate staff prior to boarding. I don't know whether travelling with HLO saved us as they wouldn't have had to do a bag search if we had to be offloaded due to incorrect documentation.



I felt like I was an AFFer booked on JQ35 domestically trying desperately to get a boarding pass issued in order to access the FLounge early! By the time we'd done our 'Race Around the World' challenge it was almost 1700 when we got to the Star Alliance lounge which is to the right after customs not far from the JAL Sakura Lounge for OW pax.

If you turn left after customs you'll find the KAL Lounge for Skyteam pax plus there's also a Centrair Global Lounge for certain pax with flights on China Eastern, China Airlines, Delta & Cathay Pacific.




The flight information monitor within the *A Lounge which lists a lot of flights however most flights have at least 2 codeshare flights which is a giveaway as several flights are all departing from the same gate. There was CX531 to HKG (codehare with JL & QR), TG647 to BKK (codeshare with NH), D7543 to KUL, OZ123 to SEL (codeshare with NH & TK), KE758 to SEL (codeshare with JL & KL), DL629 to MNL, UA172 to GUM (codeshare with NH) & DL612 to HNL.



Bangkok bound TG647 taxiing out.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Mon 14 Apr arrival of DL629 from Detroit



There seemed to suddenly be a hive of activity out the window as a whole lot of what looks like Lego men are standing on top of a pallet loader apparently waiting for something.



Japan always seems to be focused on safety & you can see a 'wing walker' a member of the ground crew looking out for any potential hazard getting in the way as the aircraft taxis in.



Here she is - the mighty 744 in the form of DL629 from Detroit, a route which they would have inherited from Northwest Airlines formerly Northwest Orient who had a lot of flights from mainland USA to Asia



Bay 18 is right in front of where we're currently sitting in the lounge so we're in the box seat.



Once she's on blox there's a flurry of activity around the nosewheel.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Mon 14 Apr arrival of DL629 from Detroit

As the song goes "put your hands up for Detroit" it occurred to me that using Velocity points for a DL flight NGO/DTW could be an option if all other options were exhausted on trans-Pacific flights for award seats. You can usually get quite reasonable fares on JQ ex Aust to NRT or KIX then you could always take the train to NGO & depart from there. A lot of people use DTW if their destination is Toronto (YYZ) on commercial fares as it's often cheaper then they drive across the border.



The guy in the bottom left of the pic is hauling the ground power lead out of a manhole on the tarmac which seems a practical way to store it as opposed to having a ground power cart. The air-conditioning ducts are also stored underground.



The only thing missing from this pic is a team hug.



A tug pushes back Air Asia flight D7 543 to KUL.



After a crew change DL629 continues on to Manila. The reverse flight DL630 operates MNL/NGO/DTW. Again using Velocity points could be handy even for the NGO/MNL or vv short hop if you need to connect the dots on a multi-Asia itinerary. DL612 NGO/HNL could be another alternative for those wanting to do a circle trip to Japan & Hawaii for some skiing the some sun.



The Star Alliance lounge never appeared crowed while we were there so it's a good place to get some peace and quiet. The food station is half way down the lounge on the left hand side. The food offerings were okay & probably on par with what you'd get in a United Lounge.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Mon 14 Apr UA172 NGO/GUM 2055/0135



We left the lounge then headed down to the gate so the ground staff could sight our passports and issue us with the all important piece of UA cardboard.



Note the boarding pass states what boarding group you have (J pax get group 1) which makes it easier for gate agents or ground staff to knock back people holding a group 5 boarding pass trying to jump the queue. I don't remember the flight being delayed but displaying a boarding time of 2040 for a 2055 departure seems a tad inadequate.

It's good that they bold the boarding time which hopefully reduces the number of pax who seem to think the actual flight departure time is when they should arrive at the gate.



The J cabin on the 737 has 3 rows of AB EF configurations.



Looking back from J at the whY cabin early on the the boarding process as not many pax have boarded yet.



The J class offering for dinner which didn't look nearly as appealing as some of the AA meals. We were pretty tired by this stage having been up since 0500 that morning. Keen to nod off I only ate one of the pieces of meat, a bread roll & dessert (of course).

 

[Nizar]

Re: Mon 14 Apr UA172 NGO/GUM 2055/0135

Great trip report thanks for taking the time

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Re: Mon 14 Apr UA172 NGO/GUM 2055/0135

Late to the party, but enjoying the trip report.

Enjoying the photos, thanks for posting!

Great trip report thanks for taking the time

Thanks for your kind words everyone - glad you like it.

 

[kazhere]

Re: Mon 14 Apr UA172 NGO/GUM 2055/0135

Loving it! So thorough, I appreciate the effort

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Tue 15 Apr arrival in Guam ex UA172 @ 0135

We landed about 0125 local time (GUM is one hour ahead of Japan & same time zone as BNE) & headed straight through the ESTA line were there was no queue. The majority of pax are Japanese & they have to use the non-ESTA lanes.



The Customs guy was very friendly & asked us all the usual questions like what we were up to in the US then as usual you are finger printed and have your photo taken. We took the escalator downstairs to the baggage claim area but as we were travelling HLO we didn’t have to wait for any bags so we just handed in the agriculture declaration for GUM to the staff & we were out the door into the arrivals area.



The checkin area was fairly quiet which is actually the calm before the storm as it will be packed about 3 hours from now. There were 3 UA CSA’s on duty & no other pax so we were checked in straight away & given our three boarding passes for our GUM/NRT/ORD/BOS flights all on Tue 15 Apr.

I noticed mine had the ‘TSA pre-check’ on all of 3 them meaning you don’t have to take shoes, jackets & belts off at the screening point & you don‘t have to take out your laptop & lags & put it in the tray etc. We then headed up the escalators through the screening point towards the departure gates again.



We were a bit peckish by now not having eaten too much on the plane so we stopped at Burger King in the food court & ordered some oatmeal (porridge) as that seemed to be the healthiest thing on the menu. I noticed that their 'Rodeo Burger' had a least 2 deep friend things within the burger so I translated that into 'Cardiologists nightmare'.

We knew the UA Lounge didn't open until 0300 so we went for a walk further down the terminal to check where our gate was and stumbled upon the KAL Lounge which we could access courtesy of SO's Priority Pass membership through his Amex Plat Charge card.



The above pic showed the food station which from memory had cake of some sort but we'd just eaten so we went round the corner where there was further seating to chill out for an hour or so. The KE Lounge only had a couple of people in it at the time.



Whoever furnished this place certainly loved the colour beige. The chairs reminded me of 1970's style décor. Like some other lounges we've seen on the trip this place was screaming out for a colour injection.

 

[boomy]

You didn't leave the airport in Guam?

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Tue 15 Apr UA828 GUM/NRT 0655/0940



This lounge is also called the Sagan Bisita VIP Lounge. I found the article below when I was Googling Sagan Bisita & just about choked when I read the following choice quotes. It just goes to show how ill-informed the people who write these articles are particularly when they say it's only accessible to uber elite pax paying pricey tickets.

IMHO nothing could be further from the truth because I'm not a fancy passenger, my elite status was a status match with a *A airline, it wasn't a pricey ticket & I certainly didn't feel extra comfortable - except we were in the front of the plane.

Take away the flowers that must've just been there for the grand unveiling & it's just a bland waiting airport area with a damp carpet smell. The way they carry on in the article you'd think they were talking about the F Lounge.

Guam Spares No Expense For Their New 'Sagan Bisita' Airport Lounge || Jaunted

Their airport has just swung open the doors on its new Sagan Bisita lounge. The name of the lounge means "stop and stay with us," and we want to do exactly that. The new lounge is located with the airport’s west concourse across from gates 7 and 8, and its focus is making the fanciest of passengers feel extra comfortable.

Delta is paying the bills on this place, but it’s not really one of their ordinary SkyClubs like the ones they have around the US. This place is above and beyond, and it’s only accessible to the most elite frequent fliers or those flying on a pricey ticket in the front of the plane.

If you haven’t already overdone it with your calorie intake while on vacation, the lounge invites you to fill up one last time with a self-serve buffet. Wash it all down with complimentary coffee and beverages, and we’re thinking that those beverages include those with umbrellas and rum.

Maybe there will even be a fare war to get us out to Guam to check out these swanky lounges in person. If not, we might be able to hitch a ride on Air Force One—President Obama is planning a little visit to Guam in June.

Hard as it was to leave the KE Lounge (chortle), the witching hour had approached so we made our way down to the UA Lounge which we'd been to in March when we had an overnight stay in Guam. There are chairs not couches so you couldn't lie down or slump in the corner.

We set alarms on our phones because the last thing we wanted to do was fall asleep & miss our flight because a fail to board pax with HLO is a gate agents dream come true as they don't have to do a search & locate for baggage in the hold.



The 'TSA pre-check' is circled in red on the boarding pass. The boarding time stated was 0620 or T-35 however SO was keen to leave the lounge early so we left just after 0600 prior to any boarding calls being made.

I'm not sure whether the UA Lounge stamp your boarding pass like a pass out from a nightclub so you can come and go or to prevent you going to more than one lounge.



Looking out from the UA Lounge at two UA 7727-200's. The a/c closest to us was UA200 which operates GUM/HNL/IAH & the one behind was our flight UA828 GUM/NRT.



When we arrived at the gate at 0610 boarding was already underway & they were up to group 3 so they must've started boarding nearly 50 minutes prior to departure.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

You didn't leave the airport in Guam?

No - just a 5 hour transit but it was separate tickets into and out of Guam.

We'd booked the 15 April GUM/xNRT/xORD/BOS back in August 2013 which was an Avianca Life Miles award ticket then early in 2014 we booked a USDM 30K miles award ticket ex GUM & 'nested' it.

In March we flew OOL/NRT on JQ then DL NRT/GUM then the outbound legs of the USDM ticket were GUM UA NRT x/PEK TG BKK TG BNE where we stayed for one month in our destination of Australian before using the return sectors BNE BR x/TPE BR CTS NH NGO UA GUM in order to 'position' for our AV LM ticket.

We then made our way home via the SW Pacific.

Ideally we would've liked to stay the night of 14 April in GUM but couldn't find the flights to get us to GUM on 14 April. I was a bit wary about 5 hours not being enough time however if our NGO/GUM flight was delayed or cancelled plan B was to ask UA to cancel the GUM/NRT flight so we'd only have to make our way NGO/NRT then use the remainder of the AV LM ticket NRT/xORD/BOS.

 

[boomy]

No - just a 5 hour transit but it was separate tickets into and out of Guam.

Must have been a mostly sleepless night.

We'd booked the 15 April GUM/xNRT/xORD/BOS back in August 2013 which was an Avianca Life Miles award ticket then early in 2014 we booked a USDM 30K miles award ticket ex GUM & 'nested' it.

In March we flew OOL/NRT on JQ then DL NRT/GUM then the outbound legs of the USDM ticket were GUM UA NRT x/PEK TG BKK TG BNE where we stayed for one month in our destination of Australian before using the return sectors BNE BR x/TPE BR CTS NH NGO UA GUM in order to 'position' for our AV LM ticket.

We then made our way home via the SW Pacific.

Ideally we would've liked to stay the night of 14 April in GUM but couldn't find the flights to get us to GUM on 14 April. I was a bit wary about 5 hours not being enough time however if our NGO/GUM flight was delayed or cancelled plan B was to ask UA to cancel the GUM/NRT flight so we'd only have to make our way NGO/NRT then use the remainder of the AV LM ticket NRT/xORD/BOS.

You maximised very well the GUM itineraries using USDM and LM

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Tue 15 Apr UA828 GUM/NRT 0655/0940



Farewell AB Won Pat International - I don't think it would be classed as one of the prettiest airports I've ever been to.



UA ground staff disconnect the tug after doing the pushback.



A close up of what I think is a lid to the underground fuel storage on the tarmac reveals it was manufactured by Culligan & McCallum at a place in California quite familiar to a lot of folk on AFF who have completed bookings on the USA site of AA "El Segundo 90245".



As we taxi out we pass a Delta 757-200 which will later operate DL634 to Tokyo Narita at 1025.



Further along past the passenger terminal is the freight area and these two 727's belong to Asia Pacific Airlines who I've seen in Darwin on more than one occasion.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Must have been a mostly sleepless night.

You maximised very well the GUM itineraries using USDM and LM

We held up better that we thought. Being a shift worker I can sleep anywhere, anytime so got a couple of hours on the NGO/GUM flight plus a couple more in the UA Lounge in GUM but I think I stayed awake on the GUM back to NRT flight

Yes quite a useful little 'dot in the Pacific' or 'dot in USA' depending on whose program it is.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Tue 15 Apr UA828 GUM/NRT 0655/0940



View towards the beachfront hotels at Tumon Bay.



Looking up towards the hill I remembered the episode of Air Crash Investigation that featured the crash of KE801, a 743 that crashed into Nimitz Hill 3 nm short of the runway back in 1997.



Lining up in preparation for take-off.



We had seats 1H&J so this view was out the right hand side of the aircraft.



If flying out of Guam again I'd probably choose seats on the left hand side of the plane as you'd get excellent views of the beach at Tumon Bay when you bank sharply to the left after take-off.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Tue 15 Apr UA828 GUM/NRT 0655/0940



The UA 777-200 has 30 seats in J in a 2x3x2 config rows 1-4 AB DEF HJ & row 5 HJ only.



During the flight the ocean was as calm as a mill pond.



A nice breakfast was served which included omelette with a ham steak, tomato, broccoli & potato plus a fresh fruit compote, croissant, cranberry juice and tea or coffee.



The bulkhead row of 1DEF has masses of leg room.



Looking aft at the calm seas as we wing our way to Tokyo.