In total, we’ll cover 32,661 miles over about 14 days and will be touching down in 4 countries (2 brand new ones for me and 3 for McCown)!

Part 1 – Charleston to Abu Dhabi

The first leg of our trip has us flying from Charleston to Abu Dhabi using an American Airlines award reservation.

We’ll fly American Airlines from Charleston-CHS to Washington Reagan-DCA and then make a connection to Washington Dulles-IAD for the long haul flight to Abu Dhabi-AUH.

I’m pretty pumped as we get to check out Etihad’s “Business Studio” on one of their new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Etihad has ordered a total of 71 Boeing 787s but they’ve only taken delivery of 7 so far (with the first on Dec 31, 2014), so it’s a pretty rare aircraft to be able to fly. The most recent one (A6-BLG) was delivered just a few weeks ago on May 26, 2016, so we could be on a very fresh plane!

Here’s why we’re pretty excited about the “Business Studio”:

We’ll stay in Dubai for 3 nights and are looking forward to seeing the World’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and maybe driving around the desert:

Part 2 – Abu Dhabi to Melbourne

The next leg of our trip has us flying from Abu Dhabi-AUH to Melbourne-MEL. This is the single most exciting flight of the whole trip as it will be in Etihad’s “First Apartment” aboard the Airbus A380. And, better yet, the flying time is blocked in at 13 hr 30 min, so we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the ride.

Similar to its Boeing 787 fleet, Etihad’s A380 fleet is rather small and quite new. They have received 8 of 10 planes on order, with the oldest having been delivered 2 years ago and the newest just about 1-month-old (A6-APH).

The “First Apartment” looks extraordinary:

It even has a full lounge and bar!

We’ll have about 1 night in Melbourne to check out the highlights:

Part 3 – Melbourne-MEL to Townsville-TSV

Next up: the Great Barrier Reef! We’ll fly on Qantas from Melbourne-MEL to Townsville-TSV, with a connection in Brisbane-BNE.

Once in Townsville, it’s a short boat ride to snorkel near the Great Barrier Reef:

Part 4 – Townsville-TSV to Syndey-SYD

From Townsville, we’ll take a direct 2 hr 30 min flight to Sydney on low-cost carrier JetStar.

We’ll have about 5-6 nights to explore Sydney:

Part 5 – Sydney-SYD to Seoul-ICN

As we begin our journey home, we’ll fly from Sydney-SYD to Bangkok-BKK in Thai Airways Royal First. The 10 hr 20 min flight will be aboard a Boeing 747:

Then, we’ll connect in Bangkok-BKK onto an Asiana A380 in Business Class for the 5 hr 35 min ride to Seoul-ICN:

Once in Seoul, we’ll have about a day to do some quick sightseeing:

Part 6 – Returning home

Although I’m sure we won’t be ready for our flight home, we will be excited to fly Asiana in “First Suite Class” from Seoul-ICN to New York-JFK:

I mean, check out this enormous TV:

Although it won’t be the longest flight in terms of distance (it’s 6,906 mi vs 7,088 mi from IAD-AUH and 7,235 mi from AUH-MEL), it is in terms of flying time, which they’ve blocked at 14 hr 0 min.

From there, we have 2 short flights on Southwest as we continue our journey home to Charleston-CHS.

The post Counting down to the UAE & Australia in an Etihad First Apartment! first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

The post Winner of Our Recent Blog Giveaway: FREE THAI AIRWAYS ROYAL FIRST CLASS AMENITY KIT first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

This amenity kit is made by world-renowned luggage brand RIMOWA and includes eau de cologne, body lotion, lip balm, comb & brush, comfort socks, earplugs, eyeshade, toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash. And, this kit has been honored with two awards by “TravelPlus Airline Amenity Bag Awards”: The TravelPlus Readers Award for Most Innovative Bag Design (Gold) and the Best First Class Unisex Amenity Bag/Kit (Silver).

By: lkarasawa – CC BY 2.0

The winner of this giveaway will be picked and notified by email one week from today – on Friday, November 28. There are many ways to enter; see below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Check out a few of our Thai Airways and other airlines trip reports:

• Thai Airways A380 Royal First Class – TG 921 Frankfurt-FRA to Bangkok-BKK
• Thai Airways B772 Royal Silk Class – TG 431 Bangkok-BKK to Denpasar, Bali-DPS
• Thai Airways Royal First Lounge and Royal Orchid Spa – Bangkok-BKK
• Lufthansa Boeing 747 First Class – New York JFK to Frankfurt FRA (LH 405)
• Air France Business Class Review – AF #9 JFK-CDG

The post Blog Giveaway: Free Thai Airways Royal First Class Amenity Kit first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

OVERVIEW

We booked this flight about 6 months before our departure date as part of our multi-country award ticket with United Airlines MileagePlus miles (more on our booking can be found here: Award-Booking Honeymoon trip with United miles…All in First Class).

By using United award miles, we were able to take advantage of its routing rules to have 1 free stopover, 1 free open-jaw and 2 long connections that allowed us enough time to explore the city (aka 2 more free stopovers).  It looked like this:

1. Depart New York-JFK on Lufthansa to Frankfurt-FRA. We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany and had an appx 23 hours layover; this allowed us to stay the night without it counting as a stopover.
2. Next flight was Frankfurt-FRA to Bangkok-BKK –> Denpasar-DPS (Bali). This was the beginning of our open-jaw.
3. After about a week in Bali, we purchased a cheap ticket on Air Asia from Denpasar-DPS to Jakarta-CGK and explored the Indonesian capital for 2 nights.
4. From Jakarta-CGK, we flew to Male-MLE in the Maldives via Singapore-SIN. The flight out of Jakarta concluded our open-jaw segment and we purposely picked an 8+ hour layover in Singapore which allowed enough time to explore the city for a few hours.
5. With the Maldives counting as our stopover, we stayed for a little less than a week and then began the trek home flying from Male-MLE –> Singapore-SIN –> Tokyo-NRT –> Newark-EWR. This concluded our United award ticket.

Airline: Thai Airways
Flight # TG 431 (THA431)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200 (B777-200, B772)
Depart: Bangkok-BKK Suvarnabhumi Airport
Arrive: Denpasar-DPS, Indonesia Ngurah Rai International Airport
Cabin: Royal Silk Business Class
Seats: 12K, 12J
Distance: 1,832 miles (2,948 km)
Scheduled time: 4 hours 25 minutes

BOARDING

After enjoying hot oil massages in the Thai Airways Royal Orchid Spa, we were running rather tight on time for our 8:50am departure. I wrapped up a few minutes before McCown and had gathered our things and stood outside pacing back and forth for her to hurry up and meet me outside. We made it over to our gate, D1A, at about 8:30am, just moments before the final call and the closing of the boarding door:

We scurried out to the bus that would take us to the plane after a decent little hike (maybe as much as 10 minutes? But who knows, we were both entirely dazed by this point):

Despite being a far-from-full flight, the ground crew had 2 mobile boarding ramps deployed and ready for us.

We made it onto the plane and into our seats on the Boeing 777-200 Royal Silk cabin, 12K and 12J.

Thai Airways Boeing 777-200 seat configuration

Traveling pretty light: our rather empty cabin

THE SEAT

The 30 passenger cabin was probably only around 30-40% full when the boarding door closed (just about as soon as the late bus, including us, boarded).

We had angled lie flat seats which turned out to be a little worn but still in good shape.

You might call me crazy or extremely spoiled by this point, but having just come off of Lufthansa First on a B747 and Thai Airways Royal First on an A380, the seats in this business class Thai Airways B777 cabin seemed rather narrow and much less comfortable:

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

The audio-video units were probably around 10-12″ and controlled by a remote at the seat. The interface and media selection was virtually identical to that of the A380 flight. This included the awesome selection of programs! The entertainment selection –movies but especially the TV shows– were great. They had entire seasons of many popular shows: Mad Men, Breaking Bad, etc…

The controls were great; the handset remote was very easy to use and the screens were easy to navigate.

MEAL SERVICE

A few minutes after getting airborne, a flight attendant came over to confirm my “Personal Meal,” the beef curry which I had ordered using the website in advance of the flight. I figured that it had been about 2 years since our last venture to Thailand and I didn’t know when I’d be back so I wanted to get the most authentic Thai curry I possibly could (even if it was just airplane curry) during our short 3 hours in Bangkok.

After a few minutes, the cart came around with cashews and aperitifs:

“Can you do a Bloody Mary?”

For the first course, we had Thai shrimp and scallops with a tomato and mozzarella salad.

I ended up with a green beef curry with white rice and egg noodles, just to make sure I wasn’t lacking in starches.

McCown ordered the Panang Chicken served with white rice. We’d have to say this was the winner of the 2; again, McCown out ordered me by just choosing from the regular catering menu and not ordering ahead. This red curry dish was much spicier than the green beef curry.

It would have been a shame not to pair this meal with a Thai beer:

Rounding up the meal service on our 4.5 hour flight was a dessert of Strawberry, Vanilla and Chocolate mousse:

SERVICE

Again, we were absolutely spoiled over the past 2 days leading up to this flight but the service, as is usually the case with Thai Airways premium cabins, was perfect. Since our destination was the vacation destination of Bali, there was a pretty equal mix of vacationers, business travelers and families traveling on our flight. I think this relaxed tone of the passengers was noticeable among the airline staff as well. The flight attendants were attentive and professional but also relaxed and friendly. Either way, with a rather empty cabin, they were able to complete the meal service without too much effort and retreated to the galley as we tried to get a few hours of rest.

We experienced some great views as we departed Bangkok and approached Bali:

A few minutes of flying time south of Bangkok

On approach to Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport

We had an on-time landing and taxied to the terminal:

We decided to arrange a visa expeditor service through our hotel, the W Retreat & Spa, for an additional $30 US per person. We had a good experience with the service, although the terminal didn’t seem that busy and many of the people that were on our flight who did the normal visa process were waiting beside us at baggage claim so it didn’t really save us that much time.

The terminal looked brand new and was in great shape:

The VIP Immigration Clearance agent pushed our bags on a cart straight out to the hotel car that was waiting for us in the pickup area. All in all, this was a very painless process.

BOTTOM LINE: Whether international long haul in Thai Royal First or flying Royal Silk Business Class on a much shorter flight, Thai Airways maintains a great standard in service, meal quality and entertainment on all of their flights.

The post Thai Airways B772 Royal Silk Class – TG 431 Bangkok-BKK to Denpasar, Bali-DPS first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Zooming through BKK airport

Thai Airways Royal First Lounge

“Royal First Lounge at Concourse D, Level 3 – 1,400 sq.m. has been allocated for Royal First Class passengers with the capacity to accommodate 134 passengers at one time.

Opening hours: 05:00 am. – 01:00 am.

Facilities:

• 2 VIP Rooms
• 6 Private Corners
• 22-seat A-la-Carte Dining Room
• Wi-Fi Internet Corner with 2 PCs
• Slumber Rooms
• Shower Suites
• Toilets with Wheelchair Accessibility
• TG First Class Check-in Facility

Lounge Access :

• Royal First Class passengers departing the same day on TG operating flight
  • One guest departing same day on any Star Alliance operating flight allowed
• First Class passengers departing same day on any Star Alliance operating flight
  • One guest departing same day on any Star Alliance operating flight allowed
• Royal Orchid Plus Platinum card holder departing same day on TG operating international flights
  • One guest departing same day on TG operating flight allowed”

Once in the lounge, the first question we were asked was, “When do you want your spa treatment? And, do you want a full body massage?” Uh… Yes. And. Yes. So, they said, “OK, we’ll come get you at 7:15.”

The First Class Lounge is huge and has a gigantic staff. We were seated in the lounge quickly and juice was delivered immediately. They left an iPad with a full menu with us — interestingly, there were very few Thai dishes on the menu, mainly variations of bacon and eggs (maybe this was because it was only 6am?).

Speaking of 6am, it was very early for Jeffrey’s blanket “This is the best travel experience of my life…ever,” but he still felt the need to say it… and it hasn’t been proven wrong yet.

Following our small waiting time, we were led across the hall to the Royal Orchid Spa, which was, again, huge. After waiting in their waiting area for another 10-15 minutes, the two of us were split up and led to private rooms. Once there, the masseuse asked me to change into a pair of small mesh underwear. She made me feel very comfortable and seemed to take her time– my comfort was her top priority. You just cannot beat a hot oil massage after a long flight!

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Spa

“Royal Orchid Spa at Concourse D, level 3 – 667 sq.m. is primarily designed to serve Royal First and Royal Silk Class passengers with a full range of spa services.

Opening hours: 06:00 am. – 11:30 pm.

Lounge Access:

• Royal First Class passengers departing same day on TG-operated international flights
• Royal Silk Class passengers departing same day on TG-operating international flights (Neck & Shoulder or Foot Massage only)
• No guest allowed”

“Treatment Menu:

Touch of Silk (Full Body Oil Massage – 60 minutes for First Class only)

Start your journey with a relaxing Touch of Silk, full-body oil massage. Performed with the unique ‘Thai touch’, this massage will help to prepare your body for your onward flight by increasing blood circulation as well as relieving muscular tension and helping to provide necessary hydration for your skin. On completion of your Touch of Silk massage, you will be left with an overall sense of well-being and total relaxation.

Royal Thai Massage (Full Body Massage – 60 minutes for First Class only)

Thai massage is perceived as one of the most precious of Thai traditional therapies. Royal Thai Massage helps to stimulate blood circulation, reduces edema caused by travelling and reduces body fatigue. With its unique acupressure techniques, expertly applied to your body, you will find your mind relaxed and muscles relieved, following the stress of your journey.

Neck & Shoulder Massage (30 minutes)

The Neck & Shoulder Massage is a great way to relieve stress which has built up from the rigors of everyday life from working long hours at your computer. Using specific techniques the therapist will work to loosen tight muscles around the neck and shoulders whilst simultaneously assessing how much tension is held in the body and how best to release it. You will board your flight feeling more relaxed and a little lighter around the shoulders.

Foot Massage (30 minutes)

Let’s help prepare you for your onward journey, by taking the weight off your feet and giving them a relaxing massage, which they truly deserve. Foot massage is a well-known relaxation therapy to help take care of tired feet. The gentle touch of the therapists hands and the deeper pressure from their fingers, create a sense of overall relaxation and will help to stimulate your vital organs.”

While my experience was nothing short of fantastic, it was Jeffrey’s first spa and massage experience, and he came out of his room with his eyes wide open, feeling very awkward. So awkward, in fact, that I’ll let him explain it in his own words…

This experience is highly awkward for the first time spa-goer. I entered and was told to take ALL of my clothes off and put on this tiny pack of “underwear.” I had to do a double take because it was the size of a single folded sock.

She then tried to enter the room a time or two while I was still naked and changing clothes. Finally, I was ready in just underwear and the spa gown that was left on the bed. The first thing she said to me was to take off the spa gown.

Wait, what? I just put it on!

Then, I realized it’s so I can lay down on the table. The massage lasted for 15-20 minutes, while it felt extremely good it also felt rather invasive at times. Lots of very, very upper thigh massaging. But again, I had no other massage experience to compare it to.

In fact, by the end of it I got the sneaking suspicion that most First Class men are solo business travelers and might be interested in a little more than what I had ordered…

Once I showered and came out of my room, Jeffrey was waiting on me at the front desk of the spa. They had called for our flight and were rushing to get us to the boarding area on time for boarding. Because we had spent all of our time in the spa, we weren’t able to try any of the food from across the hall in the lounge, but the massage left us feeling relaxed and ready for our next long plane ride.

BOTTOM LINE:  If you’re flying First Class into BKK with a layover, RUN (or, more realistically, allow the friendly Thai Airways staff to zoom you via golf cart) to the Royal Orchid Spa! The massages are first rate and are the perfect remedy to jet lag and fatigue. The service of Thai Airways never fails to be some of the best air service in the world.

The post Thai Airways Royal First Lounge and Royal Orchid Spa – Bangkok-BKK first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

CHECK-IN

We took the train in from Frankfurt after having spent the night in the city for a ~24 hour layover (read: Bratwursts Galore! Sightseeing around Frankfurt, Germany and Westin Grand Frankfurt Hotel Review – Frankfurt, Germany). The good news is that Frankurt’s airport is a short and very easy 15-20 minute subway ride from the center of town.

Thai Airways actually has 2x daily non-stops to Bangkok: a 9pm/10pm departure on a Boeing 747 and a 2pm/3pm departure on an Airbus A380. And this is in addition to Lufthansa’s daily flight on an Airbus A340–that’s a ton of seats per day! This might explain why we were able to find first class Star Alliance award space.

There was a dedicated lane for Thai Royal First Class:

Marketing banners galore

BOARDING

We got to the gate around 1pm for a scheduled boarding time of 1:15pm and scheduled departure at 2:10pm. It was evident that boarding was going to be a bit delayed and so we killed our final few minutes in Germany for the foreseeable future. During our short wait, we saw plenty of weird German things, including but not limited to a skinny girl in a Santa suit wandering around passing out candy from her “toy bag.”

By 1:50pm, it was time to board and we were greeted with another first: taking an escalator up a level to board directly on the upper deck. As with all other carriers, First and Business class was announced to board first.

Since the A380 is such a monster of a plane, it is almost always boarded using multiple doors to cut down on ground time. Thai Airways has both First and Business class on the upper deck, so up an escalator we go.

We passed through the boarding door and were greeted by an army of Thai flight attendants dressed in the traditional Thai garb. We were escorted to our seats and began the utter sensory overload of examining every single button, gadget and compartment at our disposal on the plane.

2F: Home, sweet home

My neighbor’s seat: 2K

PRE-DEPARTURE SERVICE

After allowing us a few moments to get settled in, a FA came by to announce my pre-departure selection: the Lobster Thermidor. We flew Thai Royal First about 2 years ago and the man sitting next to us kept raving about how it’s a crime to not order their “signature dish.” I didn’t want to make the same mistake again but I did find it quite difficult to pass up a spicy Thai curry dish.

Next up, the pre-departure champagne was flowing. I don’t know what was better, that technically this was honeymoon champagne, that it was Dom Perignon (and I’m accustomed to drinking the cheap stuff) or that it was being served to us at the beginning of our Thai Royal First experience… but this stuff tasted tasted extra good.

While sipping ‘champ in up front, waiting for take-off, I was browsing through the Thai Airways magazine and was surprised to see that Thai flies to 13 different European cities.

And they’re growing quite rapidly, adding 17 new planes in 2013, including three A380s.

But seriously, how does this thing fly?!

The seat is filled with magazines to read (including a Cosmo in German for McCown), pajamas, slippers, 2 comfortable pillows, headphones and an amenity kit. The Thai amenity kit was the same as 2 years ago and sort of weak:  it was essentially the same exact case as Lufthansa but a little nicer.

Also, if you want a good idea of just-how-freakin-enormous this plane is, check out the picture below that reveals the 16 emergency exit slides!

Take off was VERY bumpy; the A380 is a big ass vessel that really shakes as it hits every bump on the runway.

THE SEAT

This beast can hold up to 507 passengers. Luckily, we were in the cabin that held a max of 12:

The table beneath the LCD doubles as the meal tray by easily sliding out

Thai Royal First on the Airbus A380 is the carrier’s newest cabin and features cubby-style seats that give you a good bit of privacy when lounging and sleeping.

This cubby-style seating makes it great when traveling alone but not as great if you’ve got some company. In fact, the 1 x 2 x 1 configuration and the distance between seats makes it virtually impossible to effectively communicate if you’re seated in anything other than the middle aisle that is 2x seats side-by-side.

There was a multidirectional seat control that let you situate yourself in just about any position humanly possible/desirable.

What’s up, lumbar support

There’s no need to worry about staying charged throughout the flight between the 2 USB ports and 1 international power convertor that could accept just about any plug.

The cubby design also has a hidden coat closet. No coat? If you elect to use the pajamas (and why wouldn’t you?!), this will make a great place to hang your clothes.

Your very own personal coat closet

Ahh, cubbies every where!

Seat controls: upright, dining and bed

IFE: In-flight Entertainment

The headphones were basically Bose knockoffs and, while they looked very similar to the Bose noise canceling headphones, the quality was very far from being authentic Bose quality. The noise canceling features did not work very well and the sound quality left a lot to be desired.

With the only bad part out of the way, on to the good: the screens are huge! They’re easily 24″ and maybe bigger? The HD widescreen quality was excellent.

And what better to go with a nice big screen? An awesome selection of programs! The entertainment selection –movies but especially the TV shows– were great. They had entire seasons of many popular shows: Mad Men, Breaking Bad, etc…

The controls were great; the handset remote was very easy to use and the screens were easy to navigate.

The only other negative on the entertainment system, apart from the crappy headphones, was that both of our screens froze twice during the flight, mid-movie. This required calling the FA over who then had to go manually reset the computer and let it reboot for 10-20 mins.

Another qualm: the A380 fleet was supposed to have inflight WiFi installed but, after trying repeatedly, I could never get a connection out:

What gives, Thai Airways?

DINNER MEAL SERVICE

~40 mins after take off: Once we were at cruising altitude and wasting no time, the crew came around to distribute the “First Serving”: Canapés.

Canapés

The canapés consisted of: very thinly sliced parmesan cheese on a slice of French bread, a scallop and a sliced meat (prosciutto?) wrapped around asparagus with a pesto or olive oil and herbs garnish.

~ 1 hr after take off, around 3:35pm, our first plates were cleared and tables were set.

The delicious caviar cart making it’s way around:

~1.5 hours after departure: Well, with 2 rounds of “First Servings” down, now time for the actual appetizer, or “First Course”.

This one was another cold dish with a Rillette of crab meat, grilled shrimp, portabello wrapped cheese and roasted pepper and salmon roe.

After wolfing that course down, it was Lobster Thermidor time:

Served with pasta and spinach, there was a decent-sized lobster tail and claw meat. Apart from being a little on the tough side, the dish was excellent with great flavor.

McCown ordered the “Chicken with Eggplant in Green Curry, Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Mixed Vegetables”:

This dish was, as McCown puts it “awesome! Very spicy with chicken and lots of broth…very spicy and very, very tasty. Full of green curry flavor and is making me think we might need to skip our next flight and just stay in Thailand!” I had a bite, too, and secretly wished I ordered it over the lobster — but that might just be my love of Thai food clouding my judgement.

4:35pm (~2 hrs after departure): Within about 20 mins, this 4th, main course was cleared and it was on to the cheese, fruit and port selections. For simplicity of choosing, they wheeled the cart around again:

Yes, I’ll take one of each

I ended up trying a “small piece” of just about all of them. There were 4 types of cheese but the one that stood out the most was the blue cheese that had a great flavor. There were then kiwi, cantaloupes and strawberries. Finally, it was all washed down with the Cockburn’s Special Reserve port wine.

And, last but not least: an apple crumble for dessert! (as if we hadn’t been served enough food already…)

(And here they come with the 3rd hot towel of the flight) 

So how was the meal service overall? Since we’d just flown Lufthansa First Class the day before, we naturally drew all of our comparisons between the two carriers. Compared to the Lufthansa First Class experience, our Thai Royal First meal service felt a little rushed and mechanical. However, we found the Thai Airways flight attendants much friendlier and pleasant but that might just be my experience with Germans vs Thais.

With our dinner (lunch?) service over, it was now time to catch some shut eye but we needed to clear out for a few minutes so that the FAs could make our beds. We took this opportunity to explore the rest of the plane, starting with the First Class cabin.

ROYAL FIRST A380 CABIN

There’s a decent-sized “first class lounge” in the far right corner of the cabin– although, in practice it was empty and seemed quite awkward to use. Maybe if they had some food or drinks in there?

The bathroom was possibly the highlight of the trip. I’ve just never imaged one so spacious on an airplane. As you walk in, there is a small seating area and full length mirror. As I understand it, this is the space that a shower would have been installed, had Thai Airways opted to include one at the factory.

There were also lots of perfumes, lotions and plugs (even 110 volt for fixing your hair etc):

ECONOMY CABIN

We then ventured for a lap through the plane, starting with economy. We first had to head down the stairs:

For all of the reasons that First Class was awesome, Economy looked miserable. Those seats just weren’t made for average-sized people to spend 10+ hours on a flight.

Packing them in:

ROYAL SILK BUSINESS

Business Class looked nice, the A380 configuration uses cubbies similar to Royal First and makes great use of space by staggering the seats to accommodate more passengers but still permit lie flat beds.

ROYAL FIRST BED

We came back to find a very inviting bed:

At 5:05pm (Frankfurt time), appx 2.5 hours into the flight, the lights in the cabin were dimmed to nearly 0%. A quick glance at the in-flight map showed me that we had 6 hr 50 mins of flying time before reaching Bangkok.

~5 hours later, around 10:05pm Frankfurt time, it was “morning” according to Thai Airways. The lights were back on and beds were being made. And, as if we were even mildly hungry, it was breakfast time as well.

BREAKFAST MEAL SERVICE

For this “Second Serving,” we enjoyed a first course of fresh fruits, yogurts, cereals and fresh juice. To our flight attendant, apparently asking for a “little bit of fruit” actually meant “give me an entire fricken pineapple.”

A+ for presentation, however. For the Main Course, we had the following choices:

McCown ordered the “Crepe Filled with Ham, Mushroom and Cheese” which came with friend bacon, asparagus and a grilled plum tomato.

Not really feeling the soft boiled egg or cold cuts platter, I went with the most American version of breakfast and settled on the “Spinach Omelette” with grilled bacon, grilled tomato and sautéed mixed mushrooms.

(And here comes our 5th hot towel of the flight…where do they keep getting these things?)

With breakfast (and all eating that I’d need to do for the next 3 days) out of the way, the flight attendants came around with souvenirs: Thai Airways A380 Playing Cards! I wonder if Airbus threw those in for free or if they had to pay for them on top of the $414.4 million for the plane.

And then, as quickly as it began our flight came to a screeching halt as we touched down at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport with a wheels down time of 12:01am Frankfurt time, 6:01am Bangkok time.

Here are a few more comparisons to Lufthansa First:

• Cabin: Lufthansa was much more spacious:  in about the same space, Thai had 12 seats vs the 8 seats on Lufthansa. The Thai seat area felt cramped compared to Lufthansa.
• IFE: Thai won in the in-flight entertainment department. Widescreen on Thai vs 4:3 on Lufthansa and much higher resolution on Thai. Not to mention that Lufthansa had far fewer programming choices.
• Bed: The Lufthansa bed was leaps and bounds better. Thai, while flat still felt like a seat turned into a bed bed. It got pretty hot in the Thai cabin, too.
• Service: the service was much friendlier on Thai, Lufthansa was great and very professional but the Thai people just have a way about them that makes them seem so much friendlier. Also, the service felt relatively more rushed on the Thai flight.
• Summary: I just can’t say enough good things about the Lufthansa bed!

THAI ROYAL FIRST GROUND SERVICE

After arriving at the gate, we were whisked off the plane and were escorted down the jet bridge to a golf cart that whisked us away to the lounge.

We went from touchdown at 6:01am to sitting in the lounge at 6:26am, a record 25 minutes! Thai Airways Royal First ground service is simply unrivaled.

BOTTOM LINE: Thai Airways First Class continues to stand out as world class for both hard product and service. Despite feeling slightly rushed, the 6-course meal was decadent and impressive. The A380 cabin was neat to experience, from the giant bathroom to the private cubby-style seats. All of this was topped off by impeccable ground service in Bangkok.

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The post Thai Airways A380 Royal First Class – TG 921 Frankfurt-FRA to Bangkok-BKK first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

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• Top 12: Longest Non-Stop Delta Flights in the World

Why Do I Care About Fifth Freedom Routes?

Simply put, fifth freedom routes are cool. They’re unique and unusual. It’s the whole idea of how small and interconnected the world is that I find the coolest. Real quick, the fifth freedom right of the sky is what enables United and Delta Airlines to fly many routes from Tokyo-NRT to a whole host of Asian cities. It allows (allowed?) Emirates Airlines, a Dubai-based carrier, to fly revenue passengers between New York-JFK and Milan, Italy-MXP, two foreign countries–this flight is on the chopping block now, it might be cancelled by Italian officials. There are other examples (many of which will come in a later post), but here are a few:  Delta flies direct from Amsterdam-AMS to Mumbai-BOM and Air China flies from Madrid-MAD to São Paulo-GRU.

Top 15 Longest Fifth Freedom Flights in the World

Update 4/21: Reader sierra3tango pointed out I missed Air New Zealand’s LHR-LAX flight, it has been added as #9. Some interesting things to watch out for:

• Boeing 777-300ER is a very popular choice for these long routes, making an appearance on the list 10 times.
• It’s interesting that some routes (#7 and #10) were tied. This means that 3 governments had to approve the route twice and were OK with even more competition to their national carriers.
• Singapore Airlines makes the list 5 times, proving just how difficult it is to reach Singapore from the Western Hemisphere.

1. The longest 5th Freedom flight currently operated in the world is New York-JFK to Osaka-KIX on China Airlines. The flight is scheduled to take 14 hrs 20 mins on a Boeing 747-400 flying westward over the Pacific and covers 6,946 miles (11,178 km). From Osaka, CI Flight #19 (CAL19) continues onward to Taipei, Taiwan-TPE. The total journey from JFK to Taipei-TPE takes 18 hr 40 mins.
2. Singapore Airlines‘ San Franciso-SFO to Hong Kong-HKG flight comes in at a close second with 6,927 miles (11,148 km) and is technically scheduled to take appx the exact same time as #1: 14 hr 20 mins. SQ #1 (SIA1) is flown on a Boeing 777-300ER and from HKG continues onward to Singapore-SIN for a total journey time of 19 hr 30 mins.
3. This seems to be one of the more obscure or unusual routes: São Paulo-GRU to Los Angeles-LAX flown by Korean Air. Operated on a Boeing 777-300ER, KE Flight #62 (KAL62) makes the 6,156 mile (9,907 km) journey in 12 hr 30 mins. From Los Angeles-LAX, the flight continues onward to Korean Air’s hub in Seoul-ICN. Including the 2 hr 00 min stop at LAX, the entire journey from São Paulo-GRU to Seoul-ICN takes a crazy 27 hr 40 mins!
4. Thai Airways’ one-and-only U.S. destination is Los Angeles-LAX, with a flight going to Seoul-ICN. TG Flight #693 (THA693) covers a distance of 5,994 miles (9,646 km) in 12 hr 35 mins on Thai’s Boeing 777-200. Naturally, the flight continues onward to Bangkok-BKK with a total journey time of 19 hr 50 mins.
5. Breaking up the streak of US cities is EVA Air‘s route from Bangkok-BKK to London-LHR, coming in at 5,958 miles (9,588 km). The 5th longest Fifth Freedom flight in the world takes 12 hr 25 mins on a Boeing 777-300ER. BR Flight #67 (EVA67) originates at the EVA Air hub in Taipei-TPE for a total flight time of 17 hr 15 mins from TPE to LHR, with the 1 hr 15 min stop in BKK.
6. Singapore Airlines Flight# SQ 62 (SIA62) carries passengers from Moscow-DME to Houston-IAH in 12 hr 15 mins. The 5,936 mile (9,553 km) flight is operated on a Boeing 777-300ER. The flight originates in Singapore-SIN and total flying time from Singapore-SIN to Houston-IAH, including the 1 hr 30 min stop in Moscow, takes right at a full day of your life: 24 hr 25 mins.
7. The Fifth Freedom flight between Bangkok-BKK and Amsterdam-AMS is a tie between China Airlines and EVA Air, both headquartered in Taiwan. At 12 hr 25 mins, technically the China Airlines route is “longer” but only because they’re slower, so not really a win there. EVA Air flies the 5,727 mile (9,217 km) route in 11 hr 55 mins on a Boeing 777-300ER (Flight# BR 75 or EVA75). China Airlines Flight # CI 65 (CAL65) uses a A340-300, which adds about half an hour. Both flights originate in Taipei-TPE. (7½) Update 4/21: We’re calling this one 7½ because reader laxjaydub pointed out that it’s not technically a 5th Freedom flight because French Polynesia is a territory of France.Next up is a flight from Paris-CDG to Los Angeles-LAX, covering a distance of 5,670 miles (9,125 km) in 12 hr 00 mins. The flight, TN Flight #7 or THT7, is operated by Air Tahiti Nui and flown on an Airbus A340-300. After a brief 1 hr 49 min stop at LAX, the Airbus continues onward to Papeete-PPT for a total travel time of 22 hr 25 mins. I’msure it’s well worth the trip!  Cool fact: I’ve added the orange route on the map to show what a non-stop flight from Paris-CDG to Papeete-PPT would look like. Direct distance = 9,765 miles, distance with a stop at LAX = 9,765–it doesn’t get more perfectly on the way than that!
8. Up for a 3rd time, Singapore Airlines‘ flight from San Francisco-SFO to Seoul-ICN has a scheduled flying time of 12 hr 25 mins and a distance of 5,658 miles (9,106 km). A Boeing 777-300ER is used for flight SQ #15 (SIA15) and takes a total of 19 hr 40 mins from SFO to Singapore-SIN.
9. Air New Zealand makes an appearance with their 11 hr 30 mins flight from London-LHR to Los Angeles-LAX on a, you guessed it, Boeing 777-300ER. The 5,456 mile (8,781 km) flight continues onward from LAX to Auckland-AKL for the (slightly longer) 13 hr 00 min segment. In total, NZ #1 (ANZ1) from LHR to AKL will have you seated for 26 hr 30 mins, including the 2 hr 00 min stop at LAX.
10. Tied for 10th place, we have Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles-LAX to Tokyo-NRT. Interestingly, both flights have identical scheduled flight times of 11 hr 30 mins and cover a distanced of 5,451 miles (8,773 km). Singapore’s flight SQ #11 (SIA11) is flown on an Airbus A380 whereas Malaysian’s flight MH #93 (MAS93) uses a Boeing 777-200. MH #93 continues onward to Kuala Lumpur-KUL for a total travel time of 20 hr 45 mins. SQ #11 makes it from LAX to Singapore-SIN in a total of 20 hr 15 mins.Cool fact: This is another route with a stop that is perfectly on the main flight path. Total distance LAX-KUL direct = 8,808 miles vs 8,808 miles with a stop at NRT.
11. Making it’s 5th (and final) appearance in this top list is Singapore Airline’s 5,432 miles (8,742 km) flight from Barcelona-BCN to São Paulo-GRU. SQ #68 (SIA68) uses a Boeing 777-300ER on the 11 hr 10 min flight. This is a painfully long flight time as well: Singapore-SIN to São Paulo-GRU with a 1 hr 20 min stop in Barcelona takes a whopping 26 hours!
12. EVA Air flies a route from Bangkok-BKK to Vienna-VIE on an Airbus A330-200. The trip takes 11 hr 10 min, covering a distance of 5,256 miles (8,459 km). To fly the entire Taipei-TPE–>Bangkok-BKK–>Vienna-VIE flight takes 16 hr 00 mins– not too bad. Interestingly, this is far from the quickest option if going from Taipei to Vienna: China Airlines has a 12 hr 30 min non-stop flight; Air China and Korean Air can also get you there in under 16 hrs.
13. This is another that seems more exotic to me: Air China’s 5,192 miles (8,356 km) flight from Madrid-MAD to São Paulo-GRU. The 11 hr 10 min route (CA #907 or CCA907) is aboard an Airbus A330. Originating in Beijing-PEK, the total flight time to São Paulo-GRU via a 2 hr 10 min stop in Madrid-MAD is 25 hr 40 mins. Interesting fact: This is a highly competitive route. There are already 4 non-stop flights, making the Air China route the 5th to join the party.
14. Update 4/21: This one might also be downgraded to a half-step, 13½, as reader 2travel2know2 points out that the Cook Islands are essentially a part of New Zealand. It sounds like this one could be argued either way so I’ll leave it as is until I hear a more convincing argument.Despite once being a large US World War II base in the Pacific, the only carrier with direct flights from the Cook Islands to the US is New Zealand-based Air New Zealand. The route from Los Angeles-LAX to Rarotonga-RAR takes 10 hr 00 min, covering a distance of 4,670 miles (7,516 km) on a Boeing 767-300. This route isn’t just an operational stop though, Air New Zealand has 2x non-stop flights daily from LAX to Auckland-AKL that take 13 hr 00 mins total, whereas the LAX to Rarotonga-RAR to Auckland-AKL flight takes 15 hr 45 mins.
15. Finally, at #15, we have our first Emirates Fifth Freedom flight from Sydney-SYD to Bangkok-BKK on an Boeing 777-300ER. The flight duration is 9 hr 25 mins over 4,662 miles (7,503 km). Emirates Flight EK #419 (UAE419) is actually a series of Fifth Freedom Flights: Christchurch-CHC –> Sydney-SYD, Sydney-SYD –> Bangkok-BKK and then Bangkok-BKK –> Dubai-DXB. If you ever flew this full, lengthy route, you’d be looking at a total travel time of 21 hr 50 mins.

The post Top 15: Longest Fifth Freedom Flights in the World first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Our 24,606 mile trip will take us to 10 countries (including connections) over 16 days:

Part 1 -New York

We’ll fly from Charleston-JFK to New York-JFK  on Delta…

…and spend 1 night in the city to get our fill of the Christmas spirit.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Part 2 – Bali, Indonesia

Our award ticket starts in New York as we fly out of New York-LGA and, appx 33 hours later, land in Denpasar, Indonesia-DPS, better know as Bali.

The trek begins with an Air Canada flight from New York-LGA to Montreal, Canada-YUL. We’ll then connect to Air Canada’s Montreal-YUL to Paris-CDG.

After a short hop from Paris-CDG to Frankfurt-FRA on Lufthansa, we’ll be ready for the longest flight of the trip: 10 hrs 10 mins from Frankfurt-FRA to Bangkok-BKK on Thai Airways’ Airbus A380 in “Royal Silk” class:

 I’m sure the A380 will leave us spoiled for our next flight…on Thai Airways’ from Bangkok-BKK to Denpasar (Bali), Indonesia-DPS.

We’ll stay the next 3 nights exploring Bali, Indonesia.

Part 3 – Ubud, Indonesia

Once we’ve had our fill of the beach, we’ll take a 1 hour drive into the mountains of Indonesia and spend 2 nights in Ubud.

Part 4 – Jakarta

Next up: the bustling metropolis of Jakarta, 10 million people strong. We’ll say goodbye to Bali and hop a 1 hr 45 min flight from Denpasar-DPS to Jakarta-CGK.

Part 5 – A short stop in Singapore

We’ve got a pretty short 1.5 hr flight from Jakarta-CGK to Singapore-SIN on Singapore Air.

Our 8 hr layover, while it is pretty short, should give us at least a few hours to check out Singapore:

Yes, this is a real thing…way to be outdone, America

Part 6 – The Maldives

We’re still finalizing where we’re staying, but 2 things are sure: SEA PLANE and  OVER THE WATER BUNGALOW!

Part 7 – Montreal

After a few nights in the Maldives, we start the trek back to North America.

The first leg will take us from Male, Maldives-MLE to Istanbul-IST on Turkish Air.

We’ll connect on another Turkish Air flight from Istanbul-IST to Zurich-ZRH and then pick up our second-to-last flight on SWISS from Zurich-ZRH to Montreal-YUL.

We end the journey with a one night stay in Montreal.

The post Honeymoon Countdown: 4 Days to Go! first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Here’s our second installment in the Ultimate Honeymoon series and another easy pick:  French Polynesia.

Way out there in the middle of the Pacific

French Polynesia might be the most desired pick for a honeymoon or romantic getaway:

1. These names speak for themselves:  Bora Bora, Tahiti, Moorea, Papeete.
2. It boasts the world-renown, over-the-water bungalows that more and more resorts are now copying.
   Gallery of images from the web:
   

   
   

3. You could split your time between beaches and exploring tropical rain-forests, but it might be hard to pry you away from that pristine beach.
   
4. Did I mention the over-the-water bungalows?!

How to Get There:

Pay for Airfare

French Polynesia has one major airport that you’ll likely be using to access the islands: Papeete-PPT International Airport — and flights are expensive. The only direct flight from the US to Papeete flies from Los Angeles-LAX. You can find seats on the non-stop LAX – PPT for around $1500 R-T economy in Winter 2013. Throw in a few connections and travel from the East Coast, and you’re looking at around $1,900 to $2,400 in economy for the rest of us.

Use United miles

If you have at least 70k United miles, you can book a roundtrip ticket from North America to French Polynesia in Economy. Booking in Business will cost you 120k miles and isn’t really worth the difference. If you’re willing and able to pay the extra miles for Business, you’re best off paying the full 150k miles it takes to book a roundtrip ticket in the First Class cabin.  But, when taking into consideration you’re booking for two people, 150k miles might already be a stretch, so 300k for First might be simply out of reach.

Benefits of using United miles to consider when researching:

Like Delta, United allows you to have 1 stopover and 1 open jaw for free! Given that you’ll be so close to Australia/New Zealand, they make excellent and very easy choices for a stop-over. A stop-over in one of the Asian hubs would also be a good choice.

Day 1: Fly US – Sydney — this will be part of your stopover
Day 2-4: Explore Sydney
Day 5: Continuing on from your stop-over in Sydney-SYD, fly SYD – Christchurch-CHC
Day 5-7: Explore around New Zealand, buy a cheap ticket from Christchurch-CHC to Auckland-AKL
Day 7-11: Use open jaw on award to fly direct from Auckland-AKL to Papeete-PPT — hang out in French Polynesia for a few days.
Day 12: Starting your return portion, fly from Papeete-PPT back to US, routing via Auckland-AKL again

This example itinerary makes use of the stopover (in Sydney-SYD) and then the open jaw (flying into Christchurch-CHC and then out of Auckland-AKL). This is how you can really maximize your United miles when award booking.

Using United miles on Air New Zealand Aircraft

I’m leading with Air New Zealand because if you want to get to Papeete, Tahiti it is the only way you’ll get there. Again, the only Star Alliance partner that flies to Papeete-PPT is Air New Zealand, with departures from Auckland-AKL. Since that’s your only choice, we’ll really need to research how to best get you to Auckland-AKL so that you may continue onward to Papeete.

US cities to Auckland-AKL on Air New Zealand:

• Los Angeles-LAX –> Very tight award availability, econ only (?)
• San Francisco-SFO –> Very tight award availability, econ only (?)
• Honolulu-HNL –> Very tight award availability, some Business class
• Vancouver-YVR –> Very tight award availability, econ only (?)

It’s also worth noting, for the sake of planning your stop-over, that Air New Zealand flies into Auckland-AKL from these cities as well:

• Shanghai-PVG –> 2-class cabin 767-300, Business is available
  
  

  PVG-AKL

  

  AKL-PVG

• Hong Kong-HKG –> No Dec/Jan availability + econ only
• Osaka-KIX –> Slim to no availability
• Tokyo-NRT –> Slim Dec/Jan availability + econ only
  

  NRT-AKL

  

  AKL-NRT

• Denpasar (Bali)-DPS –> Slim to no availability
• Perth-PER –> Decent availability
  

  AKL-PER

  

  PER-AKL

• Cairns-CNS –> Slim to no availability
• Adelaide-ADL –> Decent availability
  

  ADL-AKL

• Melbourne-MEL –> Slim to no availability
  

  MEL-AKL

  

  AKL-MEL

• Sunshine Coast-MCY –> Slim to no availability
• Brisbane-BNE –> Slim to no availability
• Gold Coast-OOL –> Slim to no availability
• Sydney-SYD –> Good availability + 5x flights/day to choose from
  

  SYD-AKL

  

  AKL-SYD

  

Now, as I said above, the weakest link will be the Auckland-AKL to Papeete-PPT flight. Availability is slim and booking in Business is virtually impossible!

 –> How to book your flights

Unlike Delta.com, the United website is actually very good and should make searching for availability a breeze. As a result, I would start your search by simply inputting your desired dates as a one-way search and see what pops up. You’ll want to search as a one-way to start with because booking the stop-over and open jaw can get slightly tricky and it’s helpful to have already found your award space to start with.

Select the “One Way” search, make sure to enter the actual size of your party keeping in mind that if you enter “6” you likely won’t find a single award available (with large groups you’ll probably have to split up) and “Award Travel”

Taking a 4-month sampling, I’m already finding much, much better availability than Delta offers.

If you’re booking a simple round-trip, you can use the search as-is on the United site. If, however, you’re interested in taking advantage of the stopover/open jaw, you’ll want to search for your flights with the one-way tool, find your dates and insure availability and then enter the exact dates and routes in the “multiple destinations” search:

Select your predetermined flights and then cross your fingers that everything prices out correctly:

Success! Just as expected, my itinerary comes out to 65k miles/person in Economy.

Your next step is to ticket it if you have enough miles in your account — or, it gives you an option to hold the reservation until midnight the following day.

This can be a very useful feature if you’re still trying to tweak your award, so I would almost encourage not having enough United miles in your account so you have the option to reserve–it just gives you a little extra flexibility. You’ll then need to call in and have the award ticketed once you transfer the miles to your account.

Using United miles on United Aircraft

The only Star Alliance partner that flies to Papeete-PPT is Air New Zealand, with departures from Auckland-AKL. Since that’s your only choice we’ll really need to research how to best get you to Auckland-AKL so that you may continue onward to Papeete.

You best bet getting to the area using United miles is flying into Sydney-SYD from:

• Los Angeles-LAX
• San Francisco-SFO

If you can’t find award space to Sydney-SYD, you can also fly United aircraft from the following US cities to Asia:

• Tokyo-NRT –> Chicago-ORD, Denver-DEN, Honolulu-HNL, Houston-IAH, Los Angeles-LAX, Newark-EWR, San Francisco-SFO, Seattle-SEA, Washington-Dulles-IAD
• Shanghai-PVG –> Chicago-ORD, Los Angeles-LAX, Newark-EWR, San Francisco-SFO
• Seoul-ICN –> Chicago-ORD, San Francisco-SFO, Tokyo-NRT
• Beijing-PEK –> Chicago-ORD, Newark-EWR, San Francisco-SFO, Washington-IAD
• Osaka-KIX –> San Francisco-SFO
• Taipei-TPE –> San Francisco-SFO

It’s also worth noting, for the sake of planning your stop-over, that United flies into Tokyo-NRT from these other cities as well:

• Guam-GUM
• Hong Kong-HKG
• Seoul-ICN
• Singapore-SIN

Using United miles on Thai Airways

Pros: Thai has an excellent reputation for service, especially in its First Class cabin.

Cons: Bankok-BKK is far out of the way from flying US-Papeete

Thai Airways has a very impressive route network throughout Europe, giving you dozens of great stop-over/open jaw choices if you choose to stop in Europe when going to/from Bangkok-BKK, but only one route choice from the U.S.

In fact, the only U.S. city that Thai flies to is Los Angeles-LAX — but it requires a stop in Seoul-ICN:

Makes sense that they stop though: Seoul-ICN couldn’t be more perfectly enroute to Bangkok-BKK. With the stop, it’s 8,271 miles. Without it? 8,270 miles, just a 1 mile difference.

So, if you’re flying Thai, you’ll either be headed West and taking the flight above or taking a Star Alliance partner flight (United, US Air, Lufthansa etc..) to connect you to one of these Thai Airways cities:

European cities to Bangkok-BKK on Thai Airways:

• Brussels-BRU (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Copenhagen-CPH (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First and VERY LITTLE availability in Business)
• London-LHR (2x flights daily aboard 3-class cabin on B747)
• Paris-CDG (3-class cabin on A380!)
• Madrid-MAD (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Munich-MUC
• Frankfurt-FRA (2x flights daily on 3-class cabin on A380! and on 3-class cabin B747)
• Rome-FCO (3-class cabin on A340-600)
• Milan-MXP
• Moscow-DME
• Stockholm-ARN
• Zurich-ZRH (3-class cabin on A340-600)

From Bangkok-BKK, you’ll have a few options to get to the South Pacific region:

• Perth-PER –> 2-class cabin A330, excellent availability Econ & Business
  
  

  PER-BKK

  

  BKK-PER

• Melbourne-MEL  –> 2x flights/day on 2-class cabin B777-200, excellent availability Econ & Business
  

  MEL-BKK

  

  BKK-MEL

• Sydney-SYD –> 2x flights/day on 3-class cabin B747, excellent availability Econ & Business
  

  BKK-SYD

  

  SYD-BKK

• Brisbane-BNE –> 2-class cabin B777-300, excellent availability Econ & Business
  

  BKK-BNE

  

  BNE-BKK

• Auckland-AKL –> Very slim availability in Econ only on B777-200
  

  AKL-BKK

  

  BKK-AKL

From one of the cities listed above, you then need to make you way to Auckland-AKL then Papeete-PPT on Air New Zealand (see above).

Most (if not all) of these routes will have Thai’s Royal First cabin and, if you’ve already planned to splurge on the First Class award, I would highly recommend making sure you get to try it. Here’s a gallery from our flight from London-LHR to Bangkok-BKK in Royal First:

The other huge advantage you have in using United/Star Alliance miles to travel around Thailand is that Thai Airways flies to just about every city in Thailand, again leaving you with huge opportunities for stop-overs/open jaws.

A great option is the one we used on our trip:  we took the London-LHR to Bangkok-BKK route on the way in and then took the non-stop Thai Airways Phuket-HKT to Hong Kong-HKG route on the way home.

Using United miles on Asiana Airways:

Pros: Great First Class, even new First Class Suite is bookable, big route network gives you the option of routing via Europe as well

Cons: Routing via Europe likely only available from Eastern U.S., planning a stopover in Seoul could be risky with North Korea situation (?)

Asiana Airways, headquartered in Seoul-ICN, has a great reputation for their superb quality First Class cabin and service. If you’re interested in flying on Asiana, you’ll most likely fly from the US to Seoul-ICN over the Pacific from one of these cites:

• Chicago-ORD on Boeing 777-200ER = New First Class Suites
• Honolulu-HNL
• Los Angeles-LAX on Boeing 747-400 = Older First Class Cabin
• New York-JFK on Boeing 777-200ER = New First Class Suites (starting July 22)
• San Francisco-SFO
• Seattle-SEA

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=ord-icn,hnl-icn,lax-icn,jfk-icn,sfo-icn,sea-icn-syd,c:green,syd-akl-ppt

If you can’t find what you need availability-wise leaving from the US, you can also take United/US/Lufthansa/Swiss from the US to Europe and then fly Asiana from one of the cities listed below to Seoul-ICN:

• Paris-CDG
• Frankfurt-FRA
• London-LHR

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=cdg-icn,fra-icn,lhr-icn-syd,c:green,syd-akl-ppt

Note: You can probably pull off flying from the East Coast to Bangkok-BKK via Europe and Seoul-ICN, but there’s a good chance it won’t be allowable when flying from the West Coast. You’ll likely violate the MPM (Maximum Permitted Mileage) rules for a United award ticket.

Once in Seoul-ICN, the only route choice on Asiana is Seoul-ICN to Sydney-SYD:

SYD-ICN on Asiana

ICN-SYD

See above Air New Zealand post on getting from Sydney-SYD to Auckland-AKL to Papeete-PPT.

Asiana First Class in Boeing 747-400

Asiana First Class in Boeing 747-400

Asiana First Class in Boeing 747-400

I mean, look how comfortable this dude looks.

I would personally try to shoot for their First Class suite that will begin flying JFK-ICN on July 22, 2013:

Using United miles on ANA – All Nippon Airways

Pros: Get to fly on Boeing 787 Dreamliner (they have 17); Tokyo-NRT is an easy and usually desirable stopover 

Cons: Might have to fly on Boeing 787 Dreamliner (they have 17)

U.S. cities with routes to Tokyo-NRT (and a few to Tokyo-HND) on ANA, complete guide with current aircraft and routes:

• Chicago-ORD (careful, switches between new/old 777-300ER)
• Honolulu-HNL (both to Tokyo-NRT & Tokyo-HND, on old 767-300ER)
• Los Angles-LAX (To Tokyo-NRT on new 777-300ER with First Class, to Tokyo-HND on old 777-200ER)
• New York-JFK (careful, switches between new/old 777-3ooER)
• San Francisco-SFO (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• San Jose-SJC (route suspended until Aug 2013)
• Seattle-SEA (on old 777-300ER)
• Washington-IAD (on old 777-300ER)

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=ord-nrt,hnl-nrt,lax-nrt,sfo-nrt,sjc-nrt,sea-nrt,iad-nrt-pvg,c:green,pvg-akl-ppt

If routing to Tokyo-NRT via Europe on ANA, like Asiana, you’ll have to fly a different carrier from the US to Europe:

• London-LHR to Tokyo-NRT (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• Paris-CDG to Tokyo-NRT (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• Frankfurt-FRA to Tokyo-NRT (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• Munich-MUC to Tokyo-NRT (on old 777-300ER)

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=lhr-nrt,cdg-nrt,fra-nrt,muc-nrt-pvg,c:green,pvg-akl-ppt

The easiest way to get from Tokyo-NRT/HND to Papeete is to fly ANA to Shanghai-PVG and then take the direct flight on Air New Zealand to Auckland-AKL.

ANA offers a First Class cabin on their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, and, although not a full-on “Suite,” the “First Class Square” gives a huge amount of privacy and looks very nice:

ANA’s new Business is a Staggered Business that, again, has a good deal of privacy:

New Business Class on 777-300ER

New Business Class on 777-300ER

Using United miles on Air China

Pros: Air China has tons of availability in all classes; you can easily book in Economy, Business and First; a stop-over in Beijing would be easy

Cons: A stop-over in China will cost $130+ for a US citizen to get a VISA no matter the length of stay; their Business Class appears to be nothing special; many of the other carriers covered would offer a better experience

Routes you can fly from the US to Beijing-PEK on Air China:

• Houston-IAH (begins July 2013) on 777-300ER –> 3-class cabin, can only find availability in Business
  
  

  IAH-PEK

• Los Angeles-LAX –> 2x flights daily on new 777-300ER
• New York-JFK –> on 777-300ER, slim availability in Business/First
• San Francisco-SFO –> on Boeing 747-400 (old?)

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=sfo-pek,lax-pek,iah-pek,jfk-pek,c:green,pek-akl-ppt

You should be able to find good availability on Air China from any of the US cities they serve:

Then, to get to Papeete-PPT, you can then choose to fly from Beijing-PEK to:

• Melbourne-MEL –> Air China A330 2-class cabin, decent availability
  
  

  Air China PVG-MEL

  

  Air China MEL-PVG

• Sydney-SYD –> Air China A330 2-class cabin, good availability
  
  

  SYD-PEK Air China

  

  PEK-SYD Air China

From Sydney-SYD or Melbourne-MEL, you’ll have to continue on to Auckland-AKL then Papeete-PPT. See above Air New Zealand section for full details.

Air China Business Class:

Air China Business Class on new 777-300ER

Air China Business Class on new 777-300ER

Air China Business Class on new 777-300ER

Air China First Class:

Air China First Class on new 777-300ER, almost like a suite

Air China First Class on new 777-300ER, almost like a suite

Air China First Class on new 777-300ER, almost like a suite

Using United miles on Air Canada:

Pros: Direct flights from N. America to 5 different Asian cities (giving you awesome flexibility); “Business Class” as shown on United is actually Air Canada’s “Executive First Suites”

Cons: Finding award space from your US city to Canada might be the weak link

Your best bet from Canada is to secure a seat on their routes to Sydney-SYD departing from:

• Toronto-YYZ –> Sydney-SYD –> slim to no award availability
• Vancouver-YVR –> Sydney-SYD –> very little availability on 2-class B777-200LR, Economy only
  

  Air Canada YVR-SYD

  

  Air Canada SYD-YVR

Air Canada is a lot like United or Delta in the sense that they have multiple hubs giving you better choices for direct flights to the same cities. Your options from Canada to Asia over the Pacific include flying via:

• Beijing-PEK from Toronto-YYZ (new Boeing 777-300ER with First Suites) and Vancouver-YVR (older Boeing 767-300)
• Tokyo-NRT from Calgary-YYC, Vancouver-YVR and Toronto-YYZ
• Hong Kong-HKG from Toronto-YYZ and Vancouver-YVR (new Boeing 777-300ER with First Suites)
• Shanghai-PVG from Toronto-YYZ and Vancouver-YVR
• Seoul-ICN from from Toronto-YYZ (new Boeing 777-300ER with First Suites) and Vancouver-YVR (older Boeing 767-300)

Executive First Suites (aka Business Class) on *updated* Boeing 777-300ER

Air Canada installed some signature cabin lighting on new 777-300ER, pretty…sexy?

This gives you the flexibility of stopping over in a number of Asian cities and then continuing on to Papeete-PPT using:

• Beijing-PEK  –> Melbourne-MEL –> Air China A330 2-class cabin, decent availability
• Beijing-PEK –> Sydney-SYD –> Air China A330 2-class cabin, good availability
• Tokyo-NRT –> Shanghai-PVG on ANA and then PVG –> Auckland-AKL on Air New Zealand
• Hong Kong-HKG –> Auckland-AKL on Air New Zealand, 2-class cabin on B777-200 limited availability in Econ only
• Shanghai-PVG  –> Auckland-AKL on Air New Zealand
• Seoul-ICN –> Sydney-SYD direct on Asiana Airlines

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=pek-mel-akl-ppt,pek-syd-akl-ppt,nrt-pvg-akl-ppt,pvg-akl-ppt,icn-syd-akl-ppt,hkg-akl-ppt

Air Canada’s main hub at Toronto hits by far the most European cities, but be sure to check some Montreal-YUL, Vancouver-YVR and Calgary-YYC for additional award space:

• Copenhagen-CPH
• Frankfurt-FRA <– Montreal-YUL & Calgary-YYC too
• Geneva-GVA <– Montreal-YUL too
• Istanbul-IST
• London-LHR <– Montreal-YUL & Vancouver-YVR too
• Paris-CDG <– Montreal-YUL too
• Tel Aviv-TLV
• Zurich-ZRH
• Barcelona-BCN
• Dublin-DUB
• Madrid-MAD
• Rome-FCO <– Montreal-YUL too
• Brussels-BRU <– Montreal-YUL only

Your stopover & open-jaw opportunities are limitless as you can fly from the following cities onward to Bangkok-BKK on Thai (choices with First Class in bold):

• Brussels-BRU –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Dublin-DUB –> No direct flight
• London-LHR –> Direct on Thai Airways (2x flights daily aboard 3-class cabin on B747)
• Madrid-MAD –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Barcelona-BCN –> No direct flight
• Geneva-GVA –> No direct flight
• Zurich-ZRH –> Direct on Thai Airways (3-class cabin on A340-600) and SWISS (only bookable up to Business on A340-300)
• Frankfurt-FRA –> Direct on Thai Airways (2x flights daily on 3-class cabin on A380! and on 3-class cabin B747) and Lufthansa (only bookable up to Business on B747-400)
• Paris-CDG –> Direct on Thai Airways (3-class cabin on A380!)
• Copenhagen-CPG –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First and VERY LITTLE availability in Business) and SAS Scandinavian Airlines Systems (2-class cabin A340-300, VERY LITTLE availability at all)
• Istanbul-IST –> Direct on Turkish Airlines (2x flights daily aboard 2-class cabin A340-300/A330)
• Tel Aviv-TLV –>  No direct flight
• Rome-FCO –> Direct on Thai Airways (3-class cabin on A340-600)

Cities with 3-class cabins in purple

Also, check above for Asiana flights to Seoul-ICN and ANA flights flights to Tokyo-NRT.

Using United miles on SWISS Airlines:

Pros: Solid Business Class; stop-over opportunity in Zurich

Cons: Can’t redeem United miles for First Class on Swiss

SWISS Airlines flies from their hub in Zurich-ZRH to the following US cities:

• Boston-BOS
• Chicago-ORD
• Los Angeles-LAX
• Miami-MIA
• Newark-EWR
• New York-JFK
• San Francisco-SFO

From Zurich, you can continue on towards Papeete-PPT by flying from Zurich-ZRH to:

• Beijing-PEK –> Good availability on 3-class A330-300, only Econ & Business bookable
  
  

  SWISS PEK-ZRH

  

  SWISS ZRH-PRK

• Shanghai-PVG –> Great availability on 3-class A340-300 in Econ & Business, First not bookable
  

  SWISS ZRH-PVG

  

  SWISS PVG-ZRH

• Tokyo-NRT –> Great availability on 3-class A340-300 in Econ & Business, First not bookable
• Singapore-SIN –> Decent availability in Econ & Business, First not bookable. 2x flights/day on 3-class A340-300 & A380-800!
• Bangkok-BKK –> Slim to no availability on SWISS, better off flying Thai on this route

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=bos-zrh,ord-zrh,lax-zrh,mia-zrh,ewr-zrh,jfk-zrh,sfo-zrh,pek-zrh,pvg-zrh,nrt-zrh,sin-zrh,bkk-zrh

From what I can tell, it’s virtually impossible to redeem your United miles for a seat in SWISS’ First Class cabin, so you’ll have to be content with their Business Class product which fortunately looks above par:

Using United miles on Lufthansa:

Pros: Huge number of flights from U.S. cities to Frankfurt/Munich; can fly the new Airbus A380 on certain routes; can do a stop-over in Frankfurt/Munich

Cons: You can’t book First Class with United miles, however Business Class is bookable and a pretty solid-looking product

Lufthansa serves the following U.S. cities from their hubs in Frankfurt-FRA & Munich-MUC (make sure to check all desirable choices for your flights to Germany while keeping in mind that most flights to Asia leave from Frankfurt-FRA):

• Atlanta-ATL only to Frankfurt-FRA
  
• Boston-BOS to Munich-MUC & Frankfurt-FRA
• Charlotte-CLT only to Munich-MUC
• Chicago-ORD to Munich-MUC & Frankfurt-FRA
• Dallas-DFW only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Denver-DEN only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Detroit-DTW only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Houston-IAH only to Frankfurt-FRA –> Airbus A380 route
• Los Angeles-LAX to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA –> Boeing 747-800 route
• Miami-MIA only to Frankfurt-FRA –> Boeing 747-800 route
• Newark-EWR to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA
• New York-JFK to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA –> Airbus A380 route
• Orland-MCO only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Philadelphia-PHL only to Frankfurt-FRA
• San Francisco-SFO to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA  –> Airbus A380 route
• Seattle-SEA only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Washington-IAD to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA –> Boeing 747-800 route
  

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=atl-fra,bos-fra,ord-fra,dfw-fra,den-fra,dtw-fra,iah-fra,lax-fra,mia-fra,ewr-fra,jfk-fra,mco-fra,phl-fra,sfo-fra,sea-fra,iad-fra,c:green,bos-muc,clt-muc,ord-muc,lax-muc,ewr-muc,jfk-muc,sfo-muc,iad-muc,ppt

Then, to continue on to Asia, you’ll fly from Frankfurt-FRA or Munich-MUC to:

• Beijing-PEK from FRA/MUC –> 3x/day between Lufthansa & Air China, excellent availability in Econ & Business, 0 in First
• Nanjing-NKG from FRA only –> Slim availability on 2-class A340-300, Business only
• Qingdao-TAO  from FRA only 
• Shanghai-PVG from FRA/MUC –>2x/day between Lufthansa & Air China, excellent availability in Econ & Business, 0 in First. On Lufthansa A380-800!
• Shenyang-SHE from FRA only –> Slim availability on 2-class A340-300, Business only
• Hong Kong-HKG from FRA/MUC –> on 2-class B747-8, good Econ availability, none in Business
• Tokyo-NRT from FRA/MUC –> Good Econ availability, none in Business
• Osaka-KIX from FRA only –> On 3-class cabin B747-400, good availability in Business & Econ, 0 in First
• Nagoya-NGO from FRA only
• Singapore-SIN from FRA/MUC
• Seoul-ICN from FRA/MUC
• Busan-PUS from MUC only
• Bangkok-BKK from FRA only

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=pek-fra,nkg-fra,tao-fra,pvg-fra,she-fra,hkg-fra,nrt-fra,kix-fra,ngo-fra,sin-fra,icn-fra,bkk-fra,c:green,pek-muc,pvg-muc,hkg-muc,nrt-muc,sin-muc,icn-muc,pus-muc,akl,ppt

It goes without saying that a Frankfurt/Munich stop-over and/or open jaw would be a perfect choice when flying Lufthansa.

Finding limited Business Class space from LAX-FRA and, like SWISS above, not a single First Class seat. Lufthansa Business Class:

Lufthansa Business cabin on Boeing 747-800

Lufthansa Business cabin on Boeing 747-800

Using United miles on Egypt Air:

Pros: Looking for an exotic, adventurous stopover? How about Cairo, Egypt?!

Cons: Cairo might not be the most stable place on this large planet of ours.

Egypt Air flies one route from the US to Egypt: New York-JFK to Cairo-CAI:

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=jfk-cai,pek-cai,can-cai,nrt-cai,kix-cai,bkk-cai,dxb-cai,auh-cai,c:green,akl,ppt

You’ll have to find partner space to take you from Beijing-PEK, Bangkok-BKK etc. to Auckland-AKL then onward to Papeete-PPT.

EgyptAir operates Boeing 777-300 between these cities, which only offers up to a Business Class (full trip report here), not First, although it looks quite nice (much better than Delta!):

Business Class on EgyptAir Boeing 777-300

Business Class on EgyptAir Boeing 777-300

Business Class on EgyptAir Boeing 777-300

Using United miles on Ethiopian Airlines:

Pros: If you thought Cairo, Egypt was an exotic stopover, then you’ll just love Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!; they fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on a rotating basis (schedule here)

Cons: Seems to be hard/impossible to book Business Class with United miles and, even if you could, their Business Class looks pretty crappy on most of their aircrafts.

Ethiopian Air flies a direct flight from Washington-IAD to Addis Ababa-ADD on their Boeing 767-300:

But, unfortunately, it looks like you won’t be able to book any of their Business Class space on the IAD-ADD leg:

To continue on towards Auckland-AKL, you’ll have to fly Ethiopian to:

• Beijing-PEK
• Bangkok-BKK
• Dubai-DXB
• Mumbai-BOM

The Addis Ababa-ADD to Bangkok-BKK leg does show availability in Business, however:

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=add-pek,add-bkk,dxb-add,bom-add,akl,ppt

Don’t get too excited, though, since their Business Class product looks pretty terrible (which probably explains why they don’t have any pictures on their website):

Ethiopian Airlines Business Class on Boeing 767-300

Ethiopian Airlines Business Class on Boeing 767-300

Unless you’re lucky enough to fly one of the few updated Boeing 777-200LR planes in Business:

Updated Business Class on Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200LR

Updated Business Class on Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200LR

Using United miles on Singapore Airlines:

Pros: Singapore Airlines has some of the nicest premium cabins in the world (see “Cons”)

Cons: Singapore Airlines has tightened their availability for United awards to the point that it’s virtually impossible to book Business, First or First Suites now (there are a few exceptions as noted below).

Singapore Airlines flies from the following US cities to Singapore-SIN, but nearly every flight requires a refueling stop given the distance:

• Newark-EWR non-stop
  
• New York-JFK w/ a stop in Frankfurt-FRA
• Houston-IAH w/ a stop in Moscow-DME
• Los Angeles-LAX w/ a stop in Tokyo-NRT
• San Francisco-SFO w/ a stop in Seoul-ICN/Hong Kong-HKG

Other options if you’re just wanting to try out Singapore Airline’s world renowned service:

• Manchester-MAN
• London-LHR
• Amsterdam-AMS
• Paris-CDG
• Copenhagen-CPH
• Frankfurt-FRA
• Zurich-ZRH
• Munich-MUC
• Milan-MXP
• Moscow-DME
• Barcelona-BCN
• Rome-FCO — some availability in Business Class
• Istanbul-IST
• Cairo-CAI — a lot of availability in Business Class

Getting from Singapore-SIN to Papeete-PPT can be accomplished  by flying one of the following routes:

• SIN to Christchurch-CHC, then CHC-AKL on Air New Zealand –> Availability in Business class B777-200
• SIN to Sydney-SYD, then SYD-AKL on Air New Zealand –> On A380
• SIN to Bangkok-BKK, then BKK-AKL on Thai Airways
• SIN to Tokyo-NRT, then NRT-AKL on Air New Zealand
• SIN to Shanghai-PVG, then PVG-AKL on Air New Zealand

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=sin-chc,sin-syd,sin-bkk,sin-nrt,sin-pvg,c:green,chc-akl,syd-akl,bkk-akl,nrt-akl,pvg-akl-ppt

The non-stop Newark-EWR to Singapore-SIN route is an all Business Class aircraft, meaning the airplane has 100 Business Class seats and no Economy seat and it’s currently the world’s longest flight!–pretty cool, right?:

Cabin of SQ 21 from EWR-SIN

The bad news? They’re canceling the flight in Nov 2013 and it’s currently impossible to book a seat on it using United miles (AMEX points –> KrisFlyer miles is a different story and will be covered in a future post).

Here’s an example of Singapore’s availability from Paris-CDG to Singapore-SIN:

There’s availability almost everyday in Sep/Oct 2013 but in Economy only; on the plus side, it’s on Singapore’s Airbus A380.

They do, however, release more Business/First award space on their regional flights:

Using United miles on Brussels Airlines flights:

Pros: Pretty good looking Business Class seat

Cons: Very few options to get from the U.S. to Brussels

Brussels Airlines isn’t a very strong option for getting from the US to Asia/Oceania. In fact, they only offer the following choices from their Brussels-BRU hub:

• New York-JFK
• Washington-IAD

You’ll then have to use another carrier like Thai Airways to get you the majority of the way to Bangkok-BKK or another hub that can send you down to Auckland-AKL.

Another not-so-great thing is that Brussels Airlines operates a two-cabin Airbus A330-300 with Business and Economy on their JFK and IAD routes:

But they have been recently updated:

Looks very similar to Lufthansa’s Business Class

Whereas you could fly United’s Boeing 777-200 in Global First:

Using United miles on SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System):

Pros: Can easily arrange a stop-over or open-jaw in Scandinavia

Cons: SAS only has 2-class cabin from US to Scandinavia

SAS flies to following routes to/from the U.S.:

• Newark-EWR–> Copenhagen-CPH (2-class A340-300), Oslo-OSL (2-class A330), Stockholm-ARN (2-class A330-300)
• San Francisco-SFO–> Copenhagen-CPH (slim to no availability)
• Chicago-ORD–> Stockholm-ARN (2-class A330-300), Copenhagen-CPH (2-class A340-300)
• Washington-IAD–> Copenhagen-CPH (2-class A340-300)

Options from Scandinavia to Oceania include:

• Copenhagen-CPG –> Direct on SAS (2-class cabin A340-300) and Thai Airways (2-class cabin B777-300, little Business availability but plenty in Economy)
• Stockholm-ARN –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B777-300)
• Oslo-OSL –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B777-200, little Business availability but plenty in Economy)
• –> Beijing-PEK direct on SAS
• –> Shanghai-PVG direct on SAS

You’ll have to fly either Thai Airways or Air New Zealand to continue onward to Auckland-AKL

The post Ultimate Honeymoon: French Polynesia with United miles first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Why Thailand?

(this first part is a repeat if you’ve already read the Thailand with Delta Skymiles post)

Ok, so I picked an easy one for our 1^st installment: Thailand.

Thailand can be an awesome honeymoon pick for a few reasons:

1. It is home to some of the most exotic beaches and landscape in the world.
   Gallery from our trip in 2011:
   
2. You can split your time between beaches and exploring bustling Bangkok or Chiang Mai in the interior. You’ll get a good mix of beach, city and tranquil mountains.
   Gallery from our trip in 2011:
   
3. Situated in central Asia, it’s easy to  use United miles and do a stopover in just about anywhere (United miles are very flexible).
4. Bangkok is a relatively cheap hub to fly into/out of.

How to Get There:

Pay for Airfare

From the East Coast, this will ding you for around $1,300 to $1,700 in Economy, but who wants to fly Economy–especially if you’re on a honeymoon?! Departing from the West Coast should shave a few hundred off those figures.

Use Delta Skymiles (outlined here)

Use United miles

If you have at least 65k United miles, you can book a roundtrip ticket from North America to Thailand in Economy. Booking in Business will cost you 120k miles and isn’t really worth the difference. If you’re willing and able to pay the extra miles for Business, you’re best off paying the full 140k miles it takes to book a roundtrip ticket in the First Class cabin.  But, when taking into consideration you’re booking for two people, 140k miles might already be a stretch, so 280k for Business might be simply out of reach.

Benefits of using United miles to consider when researching:

Like Delta, United allows you to have 1 stopover and 1 open jaw for free! And, given that Thai Airways is a member of the Star Alliance, you’ll certainly take advantage of this on a visit to Thailand with United miles. This means your final itinerary could look something like (which is the same route we flew a few months ago):

Day 1: Fly US – London-LHR – Bangkok-BKK
Day 2-4: Explore Bangkok
Day 5: Purchase cheap flight to Krabi Beach, Thailand
Day 5-7: Enjoy resorts in Krabi, take boat trip to Phi Phi Islands
Day 7-8: Rent car and drive from Krabi to Khoa Lak and/or Phuket
Day 9: Use open jaw on award to fly direct from Phuket-HKT to Hong Kong-HKG
Day 9-11: Explore Hong Kong
Day 12: Fly from Hong Kong-HKG back to US, using your stopover

This example itinerary makes use of the stopover (in Hong Kong-HKG) and then the open jaw (flying into Bangkok-BKK and then out of Phuket-HKT). This is how you can really maximize your United miles when award booking.

Also import to note: With United, it’s both easy and allowed to route to Bangkok-BKK via Asia or via Europe (at least from the East coast). It’s actually shocking that it’s almost equidistant. Washington-IAD to Bankgok-BKK via London-LHR is 9,635 miles whereas Washington to Bangkok via Tokyo-NRT is 9,642 miles, just a 7 mile difference! How’s that for “exactly on the other side of the world!”

Using United miles on United Aircraft

Very similar to Delta, the only city that United flies into Bangkok-BKK from is Tokyo-NRT.  So, if you’re looking to get to Bangkok strictly on United aircraft, you absolutely can, but your options will be limited.

US cities to Tokyo-NRT on United:

• Chicago-ORD
• Denver-DEN
• Honolulu-HNL
• Houston-IAH
• Los Angeles-LAX
• Newark-EWR
• San Francisco-SFO
• Seattle-SEA
• Washington-Dulles-IAD

It’s also worth noting, for the sake of planning your stopover, that United flies into Tokyo-NRT from these other cities as well:

• Guam-GUM
• Hong Kong-HKG
• Seoul-ICN
• Singapore-SIN

–> How to book your flights

Unlike Delta.com, the United website is actually very good and should make searching for availability a breeze. As a result, I would start your search by simply inputting your desired dates as a one-way search and see what pops up. You’ll want to search as a one-way to start with because booking the stopover and open jaw can get slightly tricky and it’s helpful to have already found your award space to start with.

Select the “One Way” search, make sure to enter the actual size of your party keeping in mind that if you enter “6” you likely won’t find a single award available–with large groups you’ll probably have to split up, and “Award Travel”

Taking a 4-month sampling, I’m already finding much, much better availability than Delta offers:

Right off the bat, I find a low-level Economy that prices at 32.5k miles for the one-way award using the CHS-IAD-NRT-BKK routing:

If you’re booking a simple round-trip, you can use the search as is on the United site. If, however, you’re interested in taking advantage of the stopover/open jaw, you’ll want to search for your flights with the one-way tool, find your dates and insure availability and then enter the exact dates and routes in the “multiple destinations” search:

Select your predetermined flights and then cross your fingers that everything prices out correctly:

Success! Just as expected, my itinerary comes out to 65k miles/person in Economy.

Your next step is to ticket it if you have enough miles in your account or it gives you an option to hold the reservation until midnight the following day.

This can be a very useful feature if you’re still trying to tweak your award, so I would almost encourage not having enough United miles in your account so you have the option to reserve–it just gives you a little extra flexibility. You’ll then need to call in and have the award ticketed once your transfer the miles to your account.

Using United miles on Thai Airways

If you aim is to get to Thailand and you’re using United miles, then you’re very fortunate in that Thai Airways–the national airline of the South Pacific country–is a Star Alliance member. Thai has an excellent reputation for service, especially in its First Class cabin.

Thai Airways has a very impressive route network throughout Europe, giving you dozens of great stop over/open jaw choices if you choose to stop in Europe when going to/from Thailand, but only one route choice from the U.S.

In fact, the only U.S. city that Thai flies to is Los Angeles-LAX — but it requires a stop in Seoul-ICN:

Makes sense that they stop though: Seoul-ICN couldn’t be more perfectly enroute to Bangkok-BKK. With the stop, it’s 8,271 miles. Without it? 8,270 miles, just a 1 mile difference.

So, if you’re flying Thai, you’ll either be headed West and take the flight above or taking a Star Alliance partner flight (United, US Air, Lufthansa etc..) to connect you to one of these Thai Airways cities:

European cities to Bangkok-BKK on Thai Airways

• Brussels-BRU (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Copenhagen-CPH (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First and VERY LITTLE availability in Business)
• London-LHR (2x flights daily aboard 3-class cabin on B747)
• Paris-CDG (3-class cabin on A380!)
• Madrid-MAD (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Munich-MUC
• Frankfurt-FRA (2x flights daily on 3-class cabin on A380! and on 3-class cabin B747)
• Rome-FCO (3-class cabin on A340-600)
• Milan-MXP
• Moscow-DME
• Stockholm-ARN
• Zurich-ZRH (3-class cabin on A340-600)

Most (if not all) of these routes will have Thai’s Royal First cabin and, if you’ve already planned to splurge on the First Class award, I would highly recommend making sure you get to try it. Here’s a gallery from our flight from London-LHR to Bangkok-BKK in Royal First:

The other huge advantage you have in using United/Star Alliance miles to travel around Thailand is that Thai Airways flies to just about every city in Thailand, again leaving you with huge opportunities for stopovers/open jaws.

The top tourist destinations include Bangkok-BKK to (in order of popularity?):

• Phuket-HKT
• Chiang Mai-CNX
• Krabi-KBV
• Ko Samui-USM
• Chiang Rai-CEI
• Surat Thani-URT

A great option is the one we used on our trip:  we took the London-LHR to Bangkok-BKK route on the way in and then took the non-stop Thai Airways Phuket-HKT to Hong Kong-HKG route on the way home.

Using United miles on Asiana Airways:

Pros: Great First Class, even new First Class Suite is bookable, routes directly to Phuket-HKT or Bangkok-BKK, have the option of routing via Europe as well

Cons: Routing via Europe likely only available from Eastern U.S., planning a stopover in Seoul could be risky with North Korea situation

Asiana Airways, headquartered in Seoul-ICN, has a great reputation for their superb quality First Class cabin and service. If you’re interested in flying on Asiana, you’ll most likely fly from the US to Seoul-ICN over the Pacific from one of these cites:

• Chicago-ORD on Boeing 777-200ER = New First Class Suites
• Honolulu-HNL
• Los Angeles-LAX on Boeing 747-400 = Older First Class Cabin
• New York-JFK on Boeing 777-200ER = New First Class Suites (starting July 22)
• San Francisco-SFO
• Seattle-SEA

If you can’t find what you need availability-wise leaving from the US, you can also take United/US/Lufthansa/Swiss from the US to Europe and then fly Asiana from one of the cities listed below to Seoul-ICN:

• Paris-CDG
• Frankfurt-FRA
• London-LHR

Note: You can probably pull off flying from the East Coast to Bangkok-BKK via Europe and Seoul-ICN, but there’s a good chance it won’t be allowable when flying from the West Coast. You’ll likely violate the MPM (Maximum Permitted Mileage) rules for a United award ticket.

Once in Seoul-ICN, you’ll be able to fly directly to either Bangkok-BKK:

At least 3 direct flights daily, your choice from Thai Airways or Asiana. The aircraft only offers Economy and Business Class, no First Class on this route.

Or directly from Seoul-ICN to Phuket-HKT:

At least 2 direct flights daily, your choice from Thai Airways or Asiana. The aircraft only offers Economy and Business Class, no First Class on this route.

Asiana First Class in Boeing 747-400

Asiana First Class in Boeing 747-400

Asiana First Class in Boeing 747-400

I mean, look how comfortable this dude looks.

I would personally try to shoot for their First Class suite that will begin flying JFK-ICN on July 22, 2013:

Using United miles on ANA – All Nippon Airways:

Pros: Get to fly on Boeing 787 Dreamliner (they have 17), if stopping over in Tokyo-NRT you have many choices for the Bangkok-BKK connection

Cons: Might have to fly on Boeing 787 Dreamliner (they have 17)

U.S. cities with routes to Tokyo-NRT (and a few to Tokyo-HND) on ANA, complete guide with current aircraft and routes:

• Chicago-ORD (careful, switches between new/old 777-300ER)
• Honolulu-HNL (both to Tokyo-NRT & Tokyo-HND, on old 767-300ER)
• Los Angles-LAX (To Tokyo-NRT on new 777-300ER with First Class, to Tokyo-HND on old 777-200ER)
• New York-JFK (careful, switches between new/old 777-3ooER)
• San Francisco-SFO (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• San Jose-SJC (route suspended until Aug 2013)
• Seattle-SEA (on old 777-300ER)
• Washington-IAD (on old 777-300ER)

If routing to Tokyo-NRT via Europe on ANA, like Asiana, you’ll have to fly a different carrier from the US to Europe:

• London-LHR to Tokyo-NRT (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• Paris-CDG to Tokyo-NRT (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• Frankfurt-FRA to Tokyo-NRT (on new 777-300ER with First Class)
• Munich-MUC to Tokyo-NRT (on old 777-300ER)

Once in Tokyo-NRT, you’ll have an insane number of choices to get to Bangkok-BKK including United, Thai, ANA and Air Japan. It’s important to note that United is the only carrier to offer a First Class cabin (it’s their Fifth Freedom route that is a continuation from their flights from the U.S.):

Example of award availability from Tokyo to Bangkok

ANA offers a First Class cabin on their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, and, although not a full-on “Suite,” the “First Class Square” gives a huge amount of privacy and looks very nice:

ANA’s new Business is a Staggered Business that, again, has a good deal of privacy:

New Business Class on 777-300ER

New Business Class on 777-300ER

Using United miles on Air China

Pros: Air China has tons of availability in all classes, you can easily book in Economy, Business and First, a stopover in Beijing would be easy

Cons: A stopover in China will cost $130+ for a US citizen to get a VISA no matter the length of stay, their Business Class appears to be nothing special, many of the other carriers covered would offer a better experience

Routes you can fly from the US to Beijing-PEK on Air China:

• Houston-IAH (begins July 2013) on 777-300ER
• Los Angeles-LAX –> 2x flights daily on new 777-300ER
• New York-JFK –> on 777-300ER, slim availability in Business/First
• San Francisco-SFO –> on Boeing 747-400 (old?)

You should be able to find plenty of availability on Air China from any of the US cities they serve:

Then, to get to Thailand, you can then choose to fly to either:

• Bangkok-BKK (4x flights per day, 2 Thai & 2 Air China)
• Phuket-HKT (little availability)

Air China Business Class:

Air China Business Class on new 777-300ER

Air China Business Class on new 777-300ER

Air China Business Class on new 777-300ER

Air China First Class:

Air China First Class on new 777-300ER, almost like a suite

Air China First Class on new 777-300ER, almost like a suite

Air China First Class on new 777-300ER, almost like a suite

Using United miles on Air Canada:

Pros: Direct flights from N. America to 5 different Asian cities (giving you awesome flexibility) + those Asian cities have great availability to Bangkok-BKK or Phuket-HKT, “Business Class” as shown on United is actually Air Canada’s “Executive First Suites”

Cons: Finding award space from your US city to Canada might be the weak link

Air Canada is a lot like a United or Delta in the sense that they have multiple hubs giving you better choices for direct flights to the same cities. Your options from Canada to Bangkok-BKK over the Pacific include flying via:

• Beijing-PEK from Toronto-YYZ (new Boeing 777-300ER with First Suites) and Vancouver-YVR (older Boeing 767-300)
• Tokyo-NRT from Calgary-YYC, Vancouver-YVR and Toronto-YYZ
• Hong Kong-HKG from Toronto-YYZ and Vancouver-YVR (new Boeing 777-300ER with First Suites)
• Shanghai-PVG from Toronto-YYZ and Vancouver-YVR
• Seoul-ICN from from Toronto-YYZ (new Boeing 777-300ER with First Suites) and Vancouver-YVR (older Boeing 767-300)

Executive First Suites (aka Business Class) on *updated* Boeing 777-300ER

Air Canada installed some signature cabin lighting on new 777-300ER, pretty…sexy?

This gives you the flexibility of stopping over in a number of Asian cities and then continuing on to Thailand using:

• Beijing-PEK  –> Bangkok-BKK direct on Air China and Thai Airways (4x daily)
• Beijing-PEK –> Phuket-HKT direct on Air China (only 3x per week)
• Tokyo-NRT –> Bangkok-BKK direct on United, ANA (All Nippon Airways) or Thai Airways
• Hong Kong-HKG –> Bangkok-BKK direct on Thai Airways (5x daily) w/ First Class
• Shanghai-PVG  –> Bangkok-BKK direct on Thai Airways (2x daily)
• Seoul-ICN –> Bangkok-BKK direct on Asiana Airlines and Thai Airways (3x daily)
• Seoul-ICN –> Phuket-HKT direct on Asiana Airlines and Thai Airways (2x daily)

Air Canada’s main hub at Toronto hits by far the most European cities, but be sure to check some Montreal-YUL, Vancouver-YVR and Calgary-YYC for additional award space:

• Copenhagen-CPH
• Frankfurt-FRA <– Montreal-YUL & Calgary-YYC too
• Geneva-GVA <– Montreal-YUL too
• Istanbul-IST
• London-LHR <– Montreal-YUL & Vancouver-YVR too
• Paris-CDG <– Montreal-YUL too
• Tel Aviv-TLV
• Zurich-ZRH
• Barcelona-BCN
• Dublin-DUB
• Madrid-MAD
• Rome-FCO <– Montreal-YUL too
• Brussels-BRU <– Montreal-YUL only

Your stopover & open-jaw opportunities are limitless as you can fly from the following cities onward to Bangkok-BKK (choices with First Class in bold):

• Brussels-BRU –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Dublin-DUB –> No direct flight
• London-LHR –> Direct on Thai Airways (2x flights daily aboard 3-class cabin on B747)
• Madrid-MAD –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First)
• Barcelona-BCN –> No direct flight
• Geneva-GVA –> No direct flight
• Zurich-ZRH –> Direct on Thai Airways (3-class cabin on A340-600) and SWISS (only bookable up to Business on A340-300)
• Frankfurt-FRA –> Direct on Thai Airways (2x flights daily on 3-class cabin on A380! and on 3-class cabin B747) and Lufthansa (only bookable up to Business on B747-400)
• Paris-CDG –> Direct on Thai Airways (3-class cabin on A380!)
• Copenhagen-CPG –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B 777-300, no First and VERY LITTLE availability in Business) and SAS Scandinavian Airlines Systems (2-class cabin A340-300, VERY LITTLE availability at all)
• Istanbul-IST –> Direct on Turkish Airlines (2x flights daily aboard 2-class cabin A340-300/A330)
• Tel Aviv-TLV –>  No direct flight
• Rome-FCO –> Direct on Thai Airways (3-class cabin on A340-600)

Cities with 3-class cabins in purple

Using United miles on SWISS Airlines:

Pros: Solid Business Class, stopover opportunity in Zurich

Cons: Can’t redeem United miles for First Class on Swiss

SWISS Airlines flies from their hub in Zurich-ZRH to the following US cities:

• Boston-BOS
• Chicago-ORD
• Los Angeles-LAX
• Miami-MIA
• Newark-EWR
• New York-JFK
• San Francisco-SFO

From what I can tell, it’s virtually impossible to redeem your United miles for a seat in SWISS’ First Class cabin, so you’ll have to be content with their Business Class product which fortunately looks above par:

Using United miles on Lufthansa:

Pros: Huge number of flights from U.S. cities to Frankfurt/Munich, can fly the new Airbus A380 on certain routes, can do a stopover in Frankfurt/Munich

Cons: You can’t book First Class with United miles, however Business Class is bookable and a pretty solid-looking product

Lufthansa serves the following U.S. cities from their hubs in Frankfurt-FRA & Munich-MUC (make sure to check all desirable choices for your flights to Germany while keeping in mind that the only flight to Bangkok-BKK leaves from Frankfurt-FRA):

• Atlanta-ATL only to Frankfurt-FRA
  
• Boston-BOS to Munich-MUC & Frankfurt-FRA
• Charlotte-CLT only to Munich-MUC
• Chicago-ORD to Munich-MUC & Frankfurt-FRA
• Dallas-DFW only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Denver-DEN only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Detroit-DTW only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Houston-IAH only to Frankfurt-FRA –> Airbus A380 route
• Los Angeles-LAX to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA –> Boeing 747-800 route
• Miami-MIA only to Frankfurt-FRA –> Boeing 747-800 route
• Newark-EWR to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA
• New York-JFK to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA –> Airbus A380 route
• Orland-MCO only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Philadelphia-PHL only to Frankfurt-FRA
• San Francisco-SFO to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA  –> Airbus A380 route
• Seattle-SEA only to Frankfurt-FRA
• Washington-IAD to Munich-MUC  & Frankfurt-FRA –> Boeing 747-800 route

It goes without saying that a Frankfurt/Munich stopover and/or open jaw would be a perfect choice when flying Lufthansa.

Finding limited Business Class space from LAX-FRA and, like SWISS above, not a single First Class seat. Lufthansa Business Class:

Lufthansa Business cabin on Boeing 747-800

Lufthansa Business cabin on Boeing 747-800

Using United miles on Egypt Air:

Pros: Looking for an exotic, adventurous stopover? How about Cairo, Egypt?!

Cons: Cairo might not be the most stable place on this large planet of ours.

Egypt Air flies one route from the US to Egypt: New York-JFK to Cairo-CAI:

It actually turns out to be one of the more direct routes from the US to Bangkok via the Atlantic and it’s bookable in Economy/Business:

EgyptAir operates Boeing 777-300 between these cities, which only offers up to a Business Class (full trip report here), not First, although it looks quite nice (much better than Delta!):

Business Class on EgyptAir Boeing 777-300

Business Class on EgyptAir Boeing 777-300

Business Class on EgyptAir Boeing 777-300

Using United miles on Ethiopian Airlines:

Pros: If you thought Cairo, Egypt was an exotic stopover, then you’ll just love Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!, they fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on a rotating basis (schedule here)

Cons: Seems to be hard/impossible to book Business Class with United miles and, even if you could, their Business Class looks pretty crappy on most of their aircrafts.

Ethiopian Air flies a direct flight from Washington-IAD to Addis Ababa-ADD on their Boeing 767-300:

Bu, unfortunately, it looks like you won’t be able to book any of their Business Class space on the IAD-ADD leg:

The Addis Ababa-ADD to Bangkok-BKK leg does show availability in Business, however:

Don’t get too excited, though, since their Business Class product looks pretty terrible (which probably explains why they don’t have any pictures on their website):

Ethiopian Airlines Business Class on Boeing 767-300

Ethiopian Airlines Business Class on Boeing 767-300

Unless you’re lucky enough to fly one of the few updated Boeing 777-200LR planes in Business:

Updated Business Class on Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200LR

Updated Business Class on Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200LR

Using United miles on Singapore Airlines:

Pros: Singapore Airlines has some of the nicest premium cabins in the world (see “Cons”)

Cons: Singapore Airlines has tightened their availability for United awards to the point that it’s virtually impossible to book Business, First or First Suites now (there are a few exceptions as noted below).

Singapore Airlines flies from the following US cities to Singapore-SIN, but nearly every flight requires a refueling stop given the distance:

• Newark-EWR non-stop
  
• New York-JFK w/ a stop in Frankfurt-FRA
• Houston-IAH w/ a stop in Moscow-DME
• Los Angeles-LAX w/ a stop in Tokyo-NRT
• San Francisco-SFO w/ a stop in Seoul-ICN/Hong Kong-HKG

Other options if you’re just wanting to try out Singapore Airline’s world renowned service:

• Manchester-MAN
• London-LHR
• Amsterdam-AMS
• Paris-CDG
• Copenhagen-CPH
• Frankfurt-FRA
• Zurich-ZRH
• Munich-MUC
• Milan-MXP
• Moscow-DME
• Barcelona-BCN
• Rome-FCO — some availability in Business Class
• Istanbul-IST
• Cairo-CAI — a lot of availability in Business Class

The non-stop Newark-EWR to Singapore-SIN route is an all Business Class aircraft, meaning the airplane has 100 Business Class seats and no Economy seat and it’s currently the world’s longest flight!–pretty cool, right?:

Cabin of SQ 21 from EWR-SIN

The bad news? They’re canceling the flight in Nov 2013 and it’s currently impossible to book a seat on it using United miles (AMEX points –> KrisFlyer miles is a different story and will be covered in a future post).

Here’s an example of Singapore’s availability from Paris-CDG to Singapore-SIN:

There’s availability almost everyday in Sep/Oct 2013 but in Economy only, on the plus side it’s on Singapore’s Airbus A380.

They do, however, release more Business/First award space on their regional flights:

Using United miles on Brussels Airlines flights:

Pros: Pretty good looking Business Class seat

Cons: Very few options to get from the U.S. to Brussels

Brussels Airlines isn’t a very strong option for getting from the US to Thailand, in fact they only offer the following choices from their Brussels-BRU hub:

• New York-JFK
• Washington-IAD

You’ll then have to use another carrier like Thai Airways to get you the majority of the way to Bangkok-BKK.

Another not so great thing is that Brussels Airlines operates a two-cabin Airbus A330-300 with Business and Economy on their JFK and IAD routes:

But they have been recently updated:

Looks very similar to Lufthansa’s Business Class

Whereas you could fly United’s Boeing 777-200 in Global First:

Using United miles on SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System):

Pros: Can easily arrange a stopover or open-jaw in Scandinavia

Cons: SAS only has 2-class cabin from US to Scandinavia

SAS flies to following routes to/from the U.S.:

• Newark-EWR–> Copenhagen-CPH (2-class A340-300), Oslo-OSL (2-class A330), Stockholm-ARN (2-class A330-300)
• San Francisco-SFO–> Copenhagen-CPH (slim to no availability)
• Chicago-ORD–> Stockholm-ARN (2-class A330-300), Copenhagen-CPH (2-class A340-300)
• Washington-IAD–> Copenhagen-CPH (2-class A340-300)

Options from Scandinavia to Bangkok-BKK include:

• Copenhagen-CPG –> Direct on SAS (2-class cabin A340-300) and Thai Airways (2-class cabin B777-300, little Business availability but plenty in Economy)
• Stockholm-ARN –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B777-300)
• Oslo-OSL –> Direct on Thai Airways (2-class cabin B777-200, little Business availability but plenty in Economy)

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