After an easy flight up to Toronto and a short hop in first class on an American CRJ-700, I found myself at New York’s JFK airport with three and half hours to kill before my evening flight across the country to Los Angeles. This flight to LA was, of course en-route to Singapore. Via Hong…
We arrived in Dubai at the interesting hour of around 8pm and quickly disembarked from my somewhat disappointing flight in United Business First from Washington-Dulles. We were given express passes for immigration, but this didn’t seem to matter much. The walk from the gate to immigration is pretty substantial, and by the time we reached…
We arrived at Narita Airport after about an hour and 45 minute bus ride from the Hyatt Regency Tokyo. Since we were on different flights, my buddy and I split up at check-in and planned to meet up again at the lounge. I proceeded to the ANA Suite Check-In, and WOW, it was nice. At…
For my return flights home to Washington, DC, I intentionally booked a twenty-two hour layover in Tokyo between my inbound flight on Air China from Shanghai and my final leg in ANA First Class to Washington-Dulles. Why, you ask? Because I freakin’ love Tokyo. And my buddy had never been. That, my friends is an opportunity…
We arrived at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport after a quick, 35-minute commute from the Grand Hyatt Shanghai on the metro and the maglev. First Class check-in was painless and uneventful, as was the short trek through immigration and security. We made our way directly to the new Air China lounges, located near gate 71 in Shanghai-Pudong’s…
Since my first time to Hong Kong during grad school back in 2009, I’ve referred to Hong Kong as my favorite city in the World. After a third trip back, I still think it’s my favorite city anywhere. There’s just so much that this metropolis has to offer. From the markets to the vistas…
After our time in Shanghai, I wanted to get down to my favorite city in the World — Hong Kong! This little jaunt south was not part of my award ticket, so I had to hop on the Interwebs to find a decent deal for a round trip from Shanghai to Hong Kong. I heavily…
Things didn’t start well at the airport. Immigration and customs were both fine, but then it went downhill. Yes, we were exhausted after over 30 hours of travel from Munich at that point, but we fell into a trap at the airport – a trap that I should know better not to fall for: we…
After an extremely early morning bus ride from the Hyatt Regency Tokyo out to Narita, I proceeded to the very exclusive feeling ANA Suite Check-in facility. Here, I was quickly checked in and whisked away to a private security line before I went on to clear immigration. I relaxed for about an hour in the…
We arrived at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport a couple of hours before our scheduled departure for Toyko-Narita. Check-in was quick and simple, and I was pointed towards the security line where I was able to skip the line since I was flying First. I ended up clearing security and immigration only minimally quicker than my…