Author Topic: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)  (Read 38403 times)

Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #140 on: August 19, 2016, 12:35:57 PM »
Bangkok to Abu Dhabi
EY401
777-300er
08:35p-11:50p scheduled
08:59p-11:40p actual
July 26th, 2016
Business Class
Seats  7E and 7F



After landing in Suvarnabhumi airport we made ourselves to baggage claim in order to get our luggage and head over to Level 4 which serves as the Departure Level. Etihad is located on the far end at Concourse G.

I had somehow hoped that we might be able to make it on to the earlier flight that left at 6:20p. My reasoning was two-fold: a) I figured if I could trade some time in the BKK Lounge for some time in Etihad's brand new First Class Lounge, why not. And b)The flight prior to ours had First Class as opposed to mine which was operated by a 2-cabin aircraft.

So I approached my check-in agent if they could move us onto the earlier flight but sadly they were full in Business. After asking if they had two F-seats available on the earlier flight and finding out that the answer was yes, I went on to inquire if they couldn't put us on that, we were after all flying in First from Abu Dhabi to JFK.  ::)
The check-in agent himself was not able to do anything but said he would reach out to his supervisor to see if there was anything she could do. To get to the point: The answer was no and thus we settled with the later Business class flight to Abu Dhabi. Now it was time to pick up the boarding passes and head for security.

Premium Lane Security Passes in hand





And minutes later we were off to find the Louis Tavern CIP Lounge which is the lounge Etihad invites their First/Business travelers to in BKK. As they have several of those lounges on Level 4, we went to the one located right across from our gate which was very convenient. [Side point: As can be seen in the screenshot below, some CIP Lounges have only one level where as the one we went to has 2 levels. Be aware that not all lounges are for both First and Business passengers. In our case, the Upper Level was for First Class passengers where as we were only allowed to be downstairs on the lower level. ]

We left from gate G2




Nothing too special but enough to relax a bit before the flight and charge my phone  :)

And then it was time to finally board..


..but not before heading to the bathroom quickly. Akward.  ???


Our cabin


This was actually my first Business Class flight and thus suddenly felt quite tight at first. But once settled in I actually enjoyed it.


After getting comfortable it was time for take-off and we basically slept for a good 4 out of the 6.5 hours on the flight.


The one thing I did notice and found somewhat weird was the amount of children with their own seats in J. Out of the 28 seats in Business there were around 7-8 kids with their own seat and each seat still costs around $~1400 a pop. Well, I guess money is no object.





Next up: AUH Lounge and EY103
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Offline Yehoshua

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #141 on: August 19, 2016, 12:48:09 PM »
Poor you, first flight in J.  ;) Glad you were able to survive.

I also had the same thing on my DXB-JNB flight. A African father with his 2 kids were flying in F and each kid had their own seat. Interesting.

Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #142 on: August 19, 2016, 03:05:40 PM »
Poor you, first flight in J.  ;) Glad you were able to survive.

Thanks for your sympathies and yes, I am happy I made it.  :D

Quote
I also had the same thing on my DXB-JNB flight. A African father with his 2 kids were flying in F and each kid had their own seat. Interesting.

Ya, that is a bit much. A $3800 flight for a kid? Must be nice.

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Offline CS91

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #143 on: August 20, 2016, 01:22:06 PM »
Ya, that is a bit much. A $3800 flight for a kid? Must be nice.
J on my flight from JFK-ICN was packed with kids in their own seat.

Offline EJB

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #144 on: August 20, 2016, 03:44:52 PM »
J on my flight from JFK-ICN was packed with kids in their own seat.

There was an 21 year old on CX F with me to HKG. I'm guessing he was flying on points, but you never know.

Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #145 on: August 22, 2016, 04:23:00 PM »
Abu Dhabi Airport and Lounge

The first thing I noticed once we got off the plane were the baby strollers they provide. I first thought they were quite useless as any family requiring a stroller would have one with them anyways but then revised my thought process. While many kids are fine without a stroller, it sure is nice to have that option at 12am when a kid is cranky or overtired and definitely doesn't want to walk all over the place.

Baby Strollers



It was a short walk over to the entrance of the First Class Lounge


First things first, get taken to the Spa area to sign up for my 15min complementary massage because even at 1am they don't have walk-in appointments available.



A quick shower to freshen up and we were seated in the dining area. Boy was I surprised by the amount of people actually eating a full dinner at 1am. A snack, an appetizer, some dessert; fine. But a whole 3 course meal?! :o

We opted for some fruit and coffee to keep us awake until 3am


Then off to the bar where I got myself a delicious Mojito.




I then headed to the Cigar Lounge to indulge in some Evan Williams 23 paired with an Arturo Fuente per the Floor Managers recommendation.


We hung out a bit more, got our 15 minute treatment and then got ready to head over to immigration and to our gate. I wish they would have told me upon exiting that our flight would be an hour delayed. From speaking to Yehoshua prior to my flight though it was already clear to me that the chances for this happening were big. They are notorious for having delays out of Abu Dhabi and can sometimes be ridiculous as can be seen by Gary's latest experience.

Global Entry for the win!


Getting ready to roll


A380




[Side note: For anyone thinking about stopping by the pre-departure lounge, don't waste your time. Its horrible. A million people squeezed into a small room while tired and angry. Makes for a super duper fun experience. Special shout out to 8 year old Hakim who - and I kept count while being freaked out - followed me to the bathroom three times just standing next to the stalls watching me. Fellow DDF'ers traveling through Abu Dhabi, you have been warned.]


Next up: The final segment of the trip. The flight home.
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Offline Yehoshua

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #146 on: August 22, 2016, 04:43:34 PM »
How was the spa treatment? Which one did you get? How long did you have to wait?

How did GE serve you? Did you still get grilled by a customs agent, or was there someone to take your white slips and just let you go?

Were your customs (x-ray) lines long?

Despite the dreadful pre-clearance lounge, there aren't any better options except clearing customs later, but that can be risky. The gate area was as jammed as the lounge was, so we decided to wait in the lounge because  we at least had seats and free drinks.


Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #147 on: August 22, 2016, 04:53:51 PM »
How did GE serve you? Did you still get grilled by a customs agent, or was there someone to take your white slips and just let you go?

Someone just took my slip and away I walked. Smooth and fast.

Quote
How was the spa treatment? Which one did you get? How long did you have to wait?

The Spa treatment was great. I got the back-massage for 15 minutes (it was really 20 minutes long) and could have gone for more. There were some paying customers there which is why when we made appointments at 12:20am they were only available starting at around 1:15am.

Quote
Were your customs (x-ray) lines long?

Not at all. Quick and short.

Quote
Despite the dreadful pre-clearance lounge, there aren't any better options except clearing customs later, but that can be risky. The gate area was as jammed as the lounge was, so we decided to wait in the lounge because  we at least had seats and free drinks.

It isn't really risky. Next time I would just stay in the First Class Lounge longer. They will make sure you get to your plane. In our case it was due to the EY20 being late and there was at least one passenger in F that staid in the First Class Lounge that was alerted in a timely fashion once the aircraft was actually ready.
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Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #148 on: August 22, 2016, 05:02:14 PM »
Just a few more Lounge pics

Massage room


Shower




Kids room with attendant


Cigar Lounge






Dining Room
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Offline mendy from lakewood

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #149 on: August 22, 2016, 08:11:22 PM »
Wow you are really enjoying your honey moon!
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Offline mgoldhammer18

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #150 on: August 23, 2016, 10:07:08 AM »
This trip sounds unbelievable.

Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #151 on: August 23, 2016, 10:19:35 AM »
Wow you are really enjoying your honey moon!

I sure did enjoy it! Great country with so many different things to do. Can only recommend it.
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Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #152 on: August 23, 2016, 10:20:12 AM »
This trip sounds unbelievable.

It was! :)
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Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #153 on: August 24, 2016, 02:20:35 PM »
Abu Dhabi to JFK
EY103
A380
03:35a- 09:15a scheduled
04:23a-09:49a actual
July 27th, 2016
First Class
Seats 3A and 4A



After boarding was finally announced we got moving; onto the jetbridge and a right onto the upper-deck where Business and First class is located we were greeted by the Food and Beverage manager Eren who did a phenomenal job that day and brought us to our seats.

For the ones wondering why we chose seats 3A and 4A, there is a simple answer: They have a "shield" (as OMAAT calls it) that can be lowered for people traveling together, thus connecting the beds and turning it into somewhat of a double bed.

Layout of the upperdeck with us in 3A/4A (bottom left) and the bar (bottom right)



While some such as Herschelsdeals (I still love you  :P) didn't find the seat to be too comfortable due to it not leaning back fully, I quite enjoyed it and did not find that to be an issue as I was easily able to put my feet up on the bed/sitting area


Illustrating the easily accessible sitting area to put your feet up on and the unbelievably big flat screen at 24 inches.



Being that it was way past 4 am and we were both a) exhausted and b) had to go to work after we landed in the AM, we wanted to make sure to get some shuteye and thus asked Eren to promptly get the beds ready for us.

Ready to go


Hanging out before I hit the snooze button


"A day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting"



We were actually able to get a good 5 hours of sleep in before I woke up (and woke her in the process as well  ::)). Being that it was just a weird time and not quite night yet not quite morning we decided to go for some breakfast "light". Coffee, some cereal and fruit which was all excellent. I then decided to check out the bar area. Nothing too special that I would waste my time with other then to get a quick stretch. Nothing -seemingly- compared to the Bars that Emirates and/or Qatar offer.






I was then ready to go for my shower. Because how could you not take a shower at 38,000 feet if you had that chance. While I have read a lot about people complaining that the shower feels tiny and squeezed in and you basically get wet the moment you turn the water on, I did not feel that way. I felt like I had enough space to get around and the water - to my surprise - was hot right away.



Shower-Selfie



We then went ahead and ordered some more fruit and some mocktails. Man, those were good!

Carribean Sunrise


Some more fruit and an off the menu mocktail!


Topped it off with some peppermint tea while getting ready for landing



I then approached Eren as he came around to get us ready for landing and asked if I could take a quick look at the Residence. He was very clear with me that unless the airline approves media or journalists pre-flight, no one is allowed into the residences. ...BUT once the pilot announces that they are getting ready for landing at there are 10 minutes left, the staff MUST open all doors for safety purposes. A quick smirk later and he was gone. I got the hint!  ;)






Back in NY




Getting ready for SQ25


The Middle-East Trifecta!


Saying bye to Eren. I do love that white jacket of his!



Overall, this was a phenomenal flight. I'd say from the different First Class cabins I have flown so far - in terms of overall (soft and hard product) experience - this was by far the best flight I have been on. FA's, bed, TV, bathroom, service, it all was no lower then a 9/10.

Once we got to our luggage and I waived down the EY stand for my limo service home (which you have to confirm before hand and is soon irrelevant anyways) I was informed that they somehow forgot to send someone for us and that all six other drivers were already taken. After a quick back and forth with the rep in charge they did call a local car service company they use and issued us a voucher for our trip home. While I was happy it worked out, it isn't a big deal for someone like me as I live 15 minutes from JFK. But the limo service is tremendous for some passengers that live in New Jersey or Connecticut which isn't so rare as we had 2 passengers going to New Jersey with their respective drivers.


Sadly this was the end of our honeymoon and our vacation and just 2 hours after landing I was logged back in to my work computer to get to business as usual. However it was a tremendous trip with lots of fun activities, great weather and some fantastic new experiences I got to enjoy. If there is one thing I'd like people to take away from this it is: the Thai People. You don't need a fancy flight or a top notch hotel to enjoy Thailand. The people there are just so friendly, inviting and warm that it makes for a fantastic trip on a cultural as well as a inter-personal level and of course it helps that things there are relatively cheap.  :)

Thanks for all the feedback, it is after all what kept me going!


The end!
« Last Edit: August 24, 2016, 02:45:51 PM by benjie1305 »
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Offline Yehoshua

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #154 on: August 24, 2016, 02:44:20 PM »
Awesome TR Benjie! Thanks for sharing! I love the fact that you took a selfie in the shower; that's commitment.  :)

Offline LoLo

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #155 on: August 24, 2016, 02:51:50 PM »
Fantastic!

Offline mendy from lakewood

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #156 on: August 24, 2016, 03:30:28 PM »
Awesome TR Benjie! Thanks for sharing! I love the fact that you took a selfie in the shower; that's commitment.  :)
+1
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Offline tageed-lee

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #157 on: August 24, 2016, 04:01:35 PM »
Amazing TR!! Loved all the pics and your explanations... Thanks for sharing!

Offline rileywiles23

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #158 on: August 24, 2016, 04:45:51 PM »
Good job Benjie. Thanks alot.
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Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #159 on: August 25, 2016, 09:36:25 AM »
Awesome TR Benjie! Thanks for sharing! I love the fact that you took a selfie in the shower; that's commitment.  :)

+1

Not as committed as some people that take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on EK F but hey, I try! :)
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