RTW in F/J - Hand Carry Only - Iceland, Finland, Washington and a few other places

[Sprucegoose]

It could be the QF internship tech crew - they might have simply coded any flight number which has 292 to show that message (I jest, but also...)

No, don't jest, I believe that!

 

[Sprucegoose]

Any chance that LHR-HND leg changes to the A350-1000? JL44 is the next route to get it afaik.

It hasn't changed yet, as JAL only has 3 x 351s and is maxed out doing the US routes.

JL43/44 is still scheduled for the 'fall of 2024' with no specific date.

 

[PrezRegan]

Any chance that LHR-HND leg changes to the A350-1000? JL44 is the next route to get it afaik.

That would be the dream but I don't think it's likely to happen sadly - if one can really complain about flying any version of JAL F haha

 

[Denali]

Good idea! It's pretty much impossible to find cold weather gear in Darwin where I currently live. However, I'm about to move to Canberra where my current outfit of shorts, t-shirt and thongs 365 days a year might not be so feasible :/ Iceland might be a good chance to stock up on some cold weather gear...

Mr Denali reminded me it was the Red Cross we donated to, which was just outside Reykjavík main centre.

 

[PrezRegan]

QF37
MEL-SIN
15:57-21:49 dur. 7h 52m
Seat 2K, A330

The first international flight of this trip. A good flight with a friendly crew, QF at its best. As a data point, the CSM came by and said hello to myself and some other high status passengers onboard before takeoff, and the lead FA for my side of the cabin, Sally, also introduced herself and asked about my travel plans. More importantly (for me), there was ample space in the overhead bins for me to put all my carry-on – it would appear most passengers travelling in J don’t want to carry much with them onboard as most of the bins were only at 50% capacity. More space for me!

Meal service on this flight felt a bit slow, taking about 3hrs from aperitif to dessert. However, given it was a daytime flight there wasn't much of a rush and there was no express option available. After the usual pre-departure offer of water, juice or sparkling wine (I opted for water as I knew the sparkling would be pretty average, particularly after the champagne in the lounge), the service commenced shortly after reaching cruising altitude with an aperitif and nuts. Meal choices were taken on the ground in order of seating and I opted for the dumplings and the fish.

The dumplings were not bad, nothing special, and I paired it with an unmemorable chardonnay. The other white was the Shaw + Smith from my first flight on this journey and I was quick to rectify my previous mistake and have a glass of that when the snapper came around. The snapper was surprisingly good, lots of flavour with a few cloves of garlic camouflaged amongst the potatoes. A pleasant surprise for me, but perhaps a shock for others, as they were whole cloves! Dessert came a little while later and appeared to be served from the rear of the cabin first – maybe to compensate for those who potentially missed out their first meal preference for main and entrée? I managed to get the last panna cotta which the CSM mentioned she had saved for me (or just luck?), and the dessert turned out to be not too sweet, pairing nicely with a coffee and a sweet ice wine.

Below is a photo of the menu, the dinner dishes, and also the pre-landing meal of prawn curry. The curry was quite nice, and one of the FAs very kindly offered me a second helping, which I accepted as I figured this would effectively be my dinner given the 2200ish landing time.



Meal service complete, I changed into the provided PJs and set the seat to bed mode for a short nap. Interestingly, despite pyjamas being provided, no amenity kits appeared to be offered for this flight. I didn’t particularly want one so it didn’t bother me, but I would’ve have thought that if they gave you PJs (despite it being a daytime flight) then surely an amenity kit would be part of the package? I didn’t follow up on it but I remain slightly perplexed.

Disembarkation was quick and being in J I jetted straight out and headed for the immigration gates. After quickly filling out the immigration form online, I passed through the e-gates (there was no line at all) and was free, being HCO and having no luggage to collect! Now all I had to do was find my hotel. I’d picked the Crowne Plaza Changi, a hotel I’d stayed at before. It’s a bit expensive but the greatest draw is the fact that it’s attached to the airport. Unfortunately I’d forgotten where it was, so after a brief muckaround trying to activate my e-sim so I could look up which terminal the hotel was at, I zoomed through the Jewel and to Terminal 3 where I was able to check-in with no difficulty and get to my room.

All up, I think it would’ve taken 20mins from deplaning to being in the hotel, and that would likely have been faster if I’d known where I was going to start with and didn’t have to sort out activating my e-sim. So far, a glowing indictment of the benefits of travelling HCO!

As an Intercontinental Ambassador, I also get Platinum status through IHG. I had been upgraded to a nicer room in the Jewel Wing, which was exactly the same room I had stayed in earlier this year when I was last in Singapore. It was a pleasant room, with a nice separate shower and tub (no shubs for me thanks @Fifa !).


Because of the time difference, my body woke me up at about 0700 local time, so I figured I might as well go to the gym. I didn’t get any pictures as there were a few people in it, but it’s a windowless space with a few machines and free weights but not as nice as the one in the PARKROYAL at Melbourne airport. After a quick shower, I checked out and made my way to Terminal 4 where Cathay departs.

Given how early in the morning it was, I was tempted to try and do a lounge crawl through the other terminals, but a quick google revealed that pretty much none of the other lounges I could’ve accessed were open. It appears that all other O* carriers seem to leave in the afternoon or late at night, meaning that none would be open until after my flight had departed. Slightly saddened, I made my way to the bus transfer to Terminal 4 via the Jewel, with a quick stop to check out the fountain which wasn’t doing anything at the time…


The transfer to Terminal 4 was pretty quick and done via bus. Once there, I checked in, received my boarding passes and lounge invitations, cleared immigration and security and went straight to the one CX lounge available.

As I hadn’t eaten breakfast, I was keen to sample some noodles so I grabbed a seat in the then-quiet dining area where there was only one other person present. I ordered the chicken laksa and it was delicious.



I didn't get a photo of the dining area as it was quite crowded.

 

[PrezRegan]

When I arrived it was pretty empty with only a few other people around, but as I write this it is starting to get much busier – all the booths in the dining area are now full and there are not a lot of free seats elsewhere. After eating I moved to the seating area outside and managed to grab a spot with a view. I really like this setup, with the recliner chair and footrest with a table at hand with charging ports built in. It’s very stylish and convenient.


I ducked back into the dining area for some more food and ordered a prawn noodle and the nasi lemak, which was the dish of the day. The prawn noodle was unmemorable but the nasi lemak was amazing, the rice had a light hint of coconut and the chicken was very tender and flavourful.


Now back in my corner, writing my trip report and waiting to board in next 20 mins. What timing!

 

[Fifa]

Really enjoying your TR thanks @Prezegan

 

[PrezRegan]

CX690
SIN-HKG
12:47-16:51; dur 4h 4m
A350-900; seat 14K

Despite taking about as long as a flight from DRW-SYD, my first experience on CX and on an A350 was very nice! The plane itself was quite spacious, and the highlight of course was the window in the bathroom!


The crew were friendly, but perhaps not as social as QF. Boarding was efficient and I had a whole storage bin to myself, which was perfect. Prior to takeoff, a predeparture beverage of water, juice or champagne was offered, as well as a hot towel. Lunch orders were taken shortly after whilst still on the ground from front to back, with the exception of two passengers who I assume had top tier CX status.


The meal service began promptly after cruising altitude was reached. I ordered the beef as the main and it was incredibly tender and still slightly in the centre, an amazing feat for airline catering and much better than the QF beef puck that I’ve had before on the SYD-LAX flight. The rest of the food was pretty unremarkable, the French Medoc I had with the beef was quite good, as was the Sauternes I had with the cheese.



Overall, would definitely fly again.

 

[PrezRegan]

On arrival, transfer was relatively quick, as I already had my onwards boarding pass. Once in the main concourse, I then began a somewhat unintentional circumnavigation of Hong Kong Airport in an attempt to find the QF lounge. A map I’d found online published by someone else who had done a lounge crawl seemed to be mildly misleading, indicating that the QF and CX ‘The Deck’ lounges were towards Gates 15-19 which is most definitely incorrect. An upshot of my meandering was that I did end up getting a chance to check out the view from the impressive SkyBridge.

Whilst the instructions to find the QF lounge by ‘turning right immediately after immigration’ might be clear, the difficulty lay in finding where immigration was as I didn’t have to clear it having transited from Hong Kong. Understandably, because you can’t go back through immigration, it’s not exactly something that a map like the one below (which was conveniently immediately outside immigration) would highlight. Annoyingly, at the start of my wandering I came within a hairsbreadth of the lounge before turning around, thinking that I’d run into a foodcourt with nothing beyond it.


I did make it to the Qantas lounge after a detour via The Deck. Whilst they are nominally adjacent to each other, the means of accessing each is quite different, with the QF one only accessible outside immigration whilst The Deck being accessible from the floor below. The Deck features an outside verandah area which is quite nice; however, I didn’t linger long enough except to grab a quick drink to rehydrate after walking 6,000 steps in what was effectively a big circle. I headed over to the QF lounge where I was welcomed in (despite flying CX and the lounge being quite busy) and went to check out the a la carte options. I didn’t want to order too much as my research had shown that the CX Pier had a tasting menu developed in collaboration with a Michelin starred restaurant so I wanted to save space for that.

The QF lounge featured the following a la carte menu as well as a special gin menu. I opted for the BBQ char sieu pork and Green Apple and Thyme G&S (I find tonic too sweet for me). The pork was barely tepid and the G&S wasn’t anything special – the partnership is with Bombay Sapphire so I had tempered my expectations. Overall, this lounge is definitely more than a J+ lounge rather than a real F lounge despite the uniformed waiters and the same marble countertops that you see in the Melbourne and Sydney F Lounges. Still, it was nice to check it out and I did definitely get a bit of a whiff of home.


My next stop was the CX ‘The Wing First Lounge’. I wandered through and saw the cabanas and asked if there were any available. Surprisingly there was! And wow. These cabanas are something else altogether – I was even able to duck out whilst the bath was filling and grab a bottle of sparking water to rehydrate whilst relaxing in the tub. You can only stay in them for 90 minutes but I left feeling refreshed after a good soak and a shower. Highly recommend swinging by. Afterwards, I checked out the champagne bar which had a very nice Tattinger Brut Millesime 2016. I didn’t bother getting anything to eat from the a la carte section as I knew there’d be food waiting at my next destination.


After this, I made my way to my final stop, Cathay Pacific’s ‘The Pier First Lounge’. This was a good spot to end as my boarding gate was close by and would minimize the backtracking required. On arrival I went straight to the dining room which was quite full. I ordered from the tasting menu below, and whilst it was delicious, the service left a lot to be desired. After the appetizer and entrée arrived, I was pretty much forgotten for 30 mins until a waiter came by and asked if I wanted anything else. I pointed out I hadn’t progressed past the soup, which he interpreted as me not having received the main or the entrée. After a short delay and a apology from the head waiter, I received another abalone and the main, which was admittedly very tasty. After waiting another 15 minutes and not receiving the dessert, I figured I’d cut my losses and left. With an impending flight in First, I didn’t think I would be going hungry over the next few hours.

Unfortunately, all day lounges are fully booked for the evening so there’s nothing left but to chill in the general lounge area for the next 30 minutes until boarding commences. Must remember to factor in the walk back – the board says 4 minutes but I think that’s only if you use the travellaters, which I haven’t been. My legs are getting a bit sore now… but I’ll have 14hrs of sitting on a plane to make up for it!

First world problems