November 2013 TPAC Trip Report
Table of Contents
Introduction
United Checkin and United Club at SFO
United Economy San Francisco – Los Angeles
Star Alliance Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport
EVA Airways Business Class Los Angeles – Taipei
EVA Lounge at TPE
EVA Airways Economy on Hello Kitty Jet
JW Marriott Seoul and The Ritz Carlton Seoul
Asiana Lounge at ICN
Asiana Business Class Seoul – San Francisco
Introduction
During mid-November 2013, I made a business trip to Taipei
and Seoul. SFO-TPE-ICN-SFO will be the ideal route. However, SFO-TPE on EVA
Airways has been very difficult to get upgrade on ever since EVA Airways has
fully deployed their new fully flat Business class seats on this route. I chose
a slightly longer route and was able to get both transpac segment upgraded
using Star Alliance Upgrade program. The upgrade were secured shortly after ticketing using Air Canada Aeroplan
miles.
UA1205 SFO-LAX
7:24pm-8:49pm Coach
BR 15 LAX-TPE 10:37pm – 5:30am+1 Business
BR 160 TPE-ICN Coach
Hello Kitty Jet
OZ 212 ICN-SFO 4:37pm – 10:00am Business
The attached map courtesy of gcmap.com shows the complete
itinerary.
As a bonus, with this route through LAX, I was able to
sample the newly remodeled Star Alliance Lounge at LAX that was opened in late
October.
Part 1: United Check in and United Club at SFO
My United flight and EVA flight were on separate tickets,
but I wanted to get my baggage checked all the way to Taipei. So even though I
have done on-line checked in, I stopped by United checkin counter to drop off
my bag. The process is called baggage interlining and should be a very
straightforward process. But it took 3 United agents and almost 15 minutes to
figure out how to process this in their system. In the end, I still had to
request that they put on a priority tag. In the end, this tag did not matter.
Apparently at LAX, EVA tore it off and put on one of its own priority tag with
letters “F1.” I believed the tag was for
Business class passengers. In fact, my bag was #8 coming off the belt at TPE.
The United terminal at SFO on a Saturday night around 7pm
was deserted. I quickly passed through security using the TSA PreCheck line. No
wait. Cool.
As a Star Alliance Gold member, I had access to United Club,
even though I was on a domestic segment. United Club had two locations at SFO,
one at International terminal and one at domestic terminal. The two terminals
were connected by a walkway after security. This time, I went to the one at the
domestic terminal. The picture clearly showed that it was completely deserted.
Part 2: United Economy San Francisco (SFO) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Ordinarily this was a flight that’s not worth written about.
And tonight, I did find this intriguing. Take a look at the pictures.
Yes, my diet coke actually was made in Mexico!
My United flight arrived at Terminal 6 and my EVA flight
departed from Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). LAX at a Saturday
night was a zoo, full of people and cars, my brisk walk was impeded by people
who were waiting at the curb and it took about 15 minutes.
Part 3: Star Alliance Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport
EVA check in was uneventful and I was looking forward to quiet
and relaxing at the new Star Alliance Lounge before my flight. But first, I had
to endure the infamous security at TBIT. Even with a premium class boarding
pass, the security took more than 30 minutes. Not cool.
In late October, the remodeled TBIT opened. With that a new
Star Alliance Lounge was opened and it was managed by Air New Zealand. Previously,
EVA used a third party lounge, that was very small. The new lounge was a lot
bigger. But I guess everyone was there. It was pretty hard to find a seat. Food
offering was dismal and not worthy a picture in my opinion. I did enjoy a soothing shower.
In addition, the lounge was not quiet at all. There were all
kinds of announcements from various airlines looking for passengers.
Part 4: EVA Airways Business Class Los Angeles – Taipei
Upon boarding, a pre-departure beverage was offered. EVA was
the only airline that offers Dom champagne for Business class. I certainly
enjoyed it. With a refill.
On this flight, two meals were offered. Dinner was served right after departure. And
then shortly before arrival, a breakfast was served. In between, there were
snack spread in the galley and a few noodle dishes were available to order as
well.
For dinner, I pre-ordered online the Lobster.
For breakfast, I ordered Chinese porridge.
Part 5: EVA Lounge at TPE
Before my flight on EVA Hello Kitty Jet from Taipei to Seoul
Incheon, I stopped by EVA’s lounge at Terminal 2. TPE was EVA’s hub and here
EVA now has five lounges: Garden was reserved for Diamond members only. Star
and Infinity were accessible to me as either a Gold member on EVA or a Star
Alliance Gold member. The other two were, I believe, for EVA Silver members and
also Business class passengers.
Somehow I mis-placed my pictures of food, which was very
good. I did have the following two pictures. While I was there, the first
bottle of KA VA LAN Whisky (bottle number 142) was finished and a new bottle,
number 153, was set out for all to enjoy.
Part 6: EVA Airways Economy on Hello Kitty Jet
EVA had an exciting marketing relationship with Hello Kitty.
They had their jets painted in Hello Kitty scheme and all on-board services had
Hello Kitty branded as well. They spared no effort to make this a genuine Hello
Kitty experience, down to minute details, like toilet papers.
This day, the jet that took me to Incheon was named Apple
Jet.
Part 7: JW Marriott Seoul and The Ritz Carlton Seoul
The Club at Ritz has a very nice breakfast spread. In
addition, egg dishes were available to order. Here was the menu and my omelet.
Part 8: Asiana Lounge at ICN
Previously, Asiana’s business class lounge at the main
terminal was very crowded. Luckily, they had expanded the lounge, doubling its
size. With this expansion, the entry was moved as well. Though the signage did
not get updated. I was led to the original entry point where a map was there to
re-direct.
Food offerings here were not as good as what EVA offered at
its club. But this day, I was busy in finishing my duty free shopping. A locker
to place my bag was all I needed.
Part 9: Asiana Business Class Seoul – San Francisco
My seat to go home after an exhaustive trip. On Seoul to San
Franciso flight, Asiana configured its 777-300ER as a 2 class service, with
Business class named Quantum Smartum. QS service has a very good hard product:
Full flat bed, a big screen IFEC. QS service also covers on board services as
well.
Part 10: Asiana Business Class Seoul – San Francisco Food
Asiana’s multi-course dinner was excellent.
Fried Eggplant Stuffed Puree with Tomato Confit
Appetizer
Roasted King Prawn
Soup
Mushroom Cream Soup
Main Course
Slow-Cooked Duck
Cheese Plate
Dessert
Coffee and Tea