48 hour First Class Round the World

American Flagship Lounge and Flagship First Dining

With my ontime arrival from Denver, I had nearly 4 hours before my flight to London.   Off to AA's Flagship Lounge.

The main Business Class dining room.

Rub it in that I'm not flying you today.  lol

Just after noon, I headed for lunch at the best part of American... Flagship First Dining, reserved for AA and BA First Class passengers. 

Very nice and very un-AA wine list.

And today's menu.

Not on the wine list as it was just added.  Very nice.

Amuse-bouche

OMG, bread was divine.

My starter... Harissa Lamb Meatballs.  Whoa was that spicy good.

Moving on to a great Oregon Pinot.

With my Signature Flagship Burger.

So good, so decadent.

Wonderful deconstructed cheese cake.

And a decaf Irish Coffee to finish a really great meal.   

What a wonderful Flagship First Dining experience.  Great food, drink and exceptional service.  Hard to believe that this is American Airlines.

Lounge Hopping at miserable 3rd world London Heathrow

The long, long walk from my arriving AA flight.

After the usual miserable LHR security gong show, the lovely T3 departure area.

Fortunately, lots of lounge options...

Let's start with the Qantas Lounge.

Maybe later in the day this place is nice, but no redeeming features at 8am.

After 5 minutes, let's try the American First Class Lounge.

Packed... and miserable.

Ugh.  That's the American we all know.  lol

And the best for last, the Cathay Pacific Lounge.

Cathay First Class Lounge

First Class Lounge dining,

Small but efficient showers.

Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong to Tokyo Haneda

After a wonderful 13 hours in Cathay First from London, back to reality with a not so First Class connection experience in Hong Kong. Long walk and lengthy queue for transit doc check and security and then a long, long walk to seemingly the end of the earth, aka Gate 1. 

Just lovely.  

Finally in the beautful HKG concourse.

And the long, long, long walk to Gate 1.

Just another mile or so.  LOL

But once on board, all is well with wonderful service to Tokyo. 

OK, all is really well now.  

Some excellent plane spotting on our taxi out.

Shortly after take-off, Showtime Cathay First style...

Another sweet note.

Though not impressed with breakfast only options since for many connecting passengers, it is not breakfast time. Clearly we’re not Emirates. Lol

But breakfast was tasty.

Getting my exercise today.  The long, long trek to Transit security where remarkable I was the only passenger.

My Instagram video of my Hong Kong to Tokyo Cathay experience

Japan Airlines A350 First Class to JFK

What a treat to be back in JAL First Class and their brand new A350-1000 to New York JFK, featuring extraordinary new Suites, one of the largest First Class suites in the skies. Excellent service today by a wonderful and pampering cabin crew. From Tokyo, JAL raises the champagne bar with a beautiful 2013 Salon. Retailing for $1,200 a bottle, the 2013 Salon is the most extravagant champagnes in the skies. An amazing deal at only 80,000 AA miles.

And of course, why use door 1L for First?

But on board, all is well back in this gorgeous 6 suite First Class cabin with massive suite footprint.

Predeparture champagne?  LOL.  No thanks, I'll wait for the good stuff.

Interesting tape repair on the counter.  Apparently a piece cracked and fell off on the inbound.  

Cool pad controls.

And massive HD screen.

Same problem as 6 months ago... Can't get rid of Chinese subtitles on most movies.

Once in the air, the good stuff.  And the good news is that JAL now loads two bottle per flight, and except for one glass for someone else, I was the only one drinking champagne today and had virtually the entire bottle to myself before nap time, and then half a bottle after.

Yummy amuse bouche plate.

Showtime JAL First style.

Today's menu...

And beverage list.  Great champagne.

With mediocre wines.  But as long as there is Salon, pretty much irrelevant.

Delicious Washoku dinner...

It may have been the Salon, but I completely forgot to take pics of the Simmered platter.  Suffice it to say, the wagyu tongue dish was a one and done.  

Time for a nap in one of the most comfy beds in the sky.

But first, a little nightcap.

Some 6 hours later...

Showtime, part 2.

OMG, on to the 2nd bottle.

Outstanding Japanese Brochettes and the best omelette ever!

And JAL's Special Yuzu-Flavored Chinese Noodles.

But the show stopper was Dear Butter Sand.

Wow.

Amazing HD quality.

Cool tail cam view of our approach and landing at JFK.

What a spectacular 13 hour JAL First flight.  Beautiful and comfy A350 First Class cabin, outstanding food and fabulous champage, and flawless service from a wonderful cabin crew.

My Instagram video of my JAL A350 First Class flight to JFK