With the fact that five (5) years have flown by; it was somewhat unnerving to prepare and pack for the long awaited return to the Far East.
This concern was in part alleviated by my decision to cash-in 100K air miles for a 1st class ticket. The thought of 21+ hours in the air made it a no-brainer.
Departure day was cold but sunny.
Got my darling sister to drive me to the airport.
Check-in immediate.
Picked up two (2) 26'ers of Johnny Walker Black (on sale)!
The cabin was packed, only one blonde looker across from me in the other station.
Push off was right on time; so I relaxed to a few glasses of champagne and watched "Inglorious Basterds" and then on switching to Bloody Caesars, watched "Quantum of Solace".
Lunch was smoked salmon, followed by beef tenderloin steak, ice cream, cheese & crackers, and a pair of Bailey's on ice.
The choice of music was amazing - maybe 500+ albums for my selection.
Scored a duty-free botle of "Gucci for Men".
Dinner was more beef, this time wrapped around asparagus, with basmati rice.
Next thing I knew we're landing 30 min. late; in Tokyo.
This is where the worst event of the entire trip occured.
Security has changed read: upgraded.
No direct connect to outbound flights without going thru security again. Sooooooo, what happened?
Both bottles of scotch confiscated! I tried to "put-up-a-stink" but they probably didn't understand half of what I was saying.
Sooooooo, I walk 30 meters past security into their duty-free, to score a replacement bottle for another 3,300 yen.
In the biz lounge I comforted myself by checking out the talent while wolfing down some seafood bisque.

Dr. J.

Doc,

"Push off was right on time; so I relaxed to a few glasses of champagne and watched "Inglorious Basterds" and then on switching to Bloody Caesars, watched "Quantum of Solace".
Lunch was smoked salmon, followed by beef tenderloin steak, ice cream, cheese & crackers, and a pair of Bailey's on ice."

I always love the fact that you paint such a good picture of your surroundings and experiences. I could picture the comfort you must had. Eager to read the rest!

100k miles for first class! Where do you find that?

When I went from ATL to BKK 4 years ago it was 120k miles, and I just booked ORD to BKK in coach for 135k. I just checked first class and it is 375k miles!

I'm in SkyTeam (Delta and partners) what airline has 100k for a 21+ hour flight?

Mr. Ruan04,

Try Star Alliance.

Dr. J.

P.S. And not outbound from the USA.

Actually, I am curious too. I checked Continental for Business/First (which is not as good as First) roundtrip Newark to Tokyo. (No Newark Bangkok online right now) The best I got was 125K miles and $48, if I was not too picky about dates. (I just checked)

With the Thai 50% off Thai Gold promotion (I received the promotion card in the mail yesterday), LAX-BKK business class is 85K and first class is 115K. (Not sure the LAX-BKK flight has a first class section). There is probably a hidden fuel charge that is not shown on my promotion.

More details would be greatly helpful. 100K miles for round trip first class ticket sounds great.

If you gave me some info about how to get a First Class RT ticket to LOS, you would be my hero forever. International First Class is great.

Actually, I did another search on Continental Website. Dates limited though.

Continental, Newark to Wash DC (Economy). UA from Wash DC to Beijing (Business). CA from Beijing to BKK. Business Class (Business). 28 hours.

The itinery on the way back was CA from BKK (Business) to Beijing, CA from Beijing to Tokyo(Business). Continental from Tokyo to Newark(Business First).

125K Miles and $86.90.

Almost to 100K for First.

Gentlemen,

Don't forget that you must be a "Super Elite" member to get preferential treatment (i.e. award levels).

Dr. J.

UA/star alliance from north america to bkk is 65k economy, 125k business, 145k first.

if you pay for business class, you can upgrade to first with 100k (50k each way).

there is no first on the thai nonstop lax/bkk flight.

FWIW, continental.com and ua.com are worse than useless for searching for Star Alliance Award inventory. You will see NONE of the really good flights. To search Star Alliance award inventory sign up a dummy account for ANA's frequent flyer program and search for Star Alliance awards on ANA's somewhat tricky to navigate web site. When you find the flights that suit you, call up Continental or United and those same flights should be available for their phone agents.