Beef or Beef Japanese Commercial Flight Attendant
Review: Japan Airlines $12,000 first-class flight to Tokyo- PHOTOS
Alaska Airlines does not fly to Japan, but its miles do
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Japan Airlines flight attendants offered to make up the unoccupied seat across the aisle from me for sleeping on JAL Flight #1, SFO to Tokyo Haneda.
Chris McGinnisEarlier this month, I turned just 70,000 Alaska Airlines miles into a gigantic first class seat, a juicy steak dinner and a separate bed for sleeping on an overnight flight from San Francisco to Tokyo. You can check out the plush accommodations in the slideshow at the top of this post.
So how'd that happen? Here's a little background: Alaska Airlines is primarily a domestic carrier, concentrating on flights up and down the U.S. West Coast. Its most exotic, faraway destinations include Hawaii, Mexico and Costa Rica. You would think that would mean that options for its frequent fliers redeeming miles would be limited to those destinations, too. But that's far from the case.
To make up for a route map that is dwarfed by global competitors such as American, Delta and United, Alaska Air has been steadily adding international airline partners to its Mileage Plan program over the years. This puts the program's reach on par with the big carriers, and helps attract frequent fliers who earn points flying domestic routes, but want to jet off to faraway places when it comes time to redeem them. Alaska's list of partners is impressive and includes some of the best airlines in the world, such as Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Qantas.
The list of Alaska Air's 18 partners also includes Japan Airlines (JAL), which is how I flew to Tokyo. Among the frequent flier program cognoscenti, Alaska Air mileage redemptions for business and first class seats on JAL are considered one of the very best values out there. That's because JAL's product is top notch, and the fact that it costs so much to fly between the US and Japan in premium cabins. A quick check of first class, nonstop fares from SFO to Tokyo Haneda on Japan Airlines shows first class seats in mid January going for an astounding $12,000 each way. Business class fares are high, too, at $5,500 each way on JAL and United. Not cheap! Even economy nonstop fares run about $1,500 one way or $2,2oo round trip.
But Alaska's Mileage Plan offers business class nonstops on JAL for just 60,000 miles each way in business class and 70,000 in first class. That is cheap, considering United was asking about 175,000 miles each way in business class on the same route. (JAL economy class runs 35,000 each way.) And since I was flying during the slow "dead weeks" of early December, there was plenty of availability in first and business on the SFO-HND run. Since I only had about 19,000 Alaska Air miles in my account, a local rep for the airline topped off my balance with enough miles to make a business or first class redemption, and to help publicize its partner program.
Once I had those miles in my account, I went to work finding a booking that worked. I ended up flying SFO to Tokyo on the Monday after Thanksgiving. When I first checked about three weeks before my flight, there was no availability. But following the advice of mileage mavens who say that most airlines hold on to their seats as long as they can in the hopes of selling them at the last minute, I kept checking back a few times a day. After a week went by I grew a little desperate, and thought about changing the dates of my trip, but finally one morning I logged on to the Alaska Air site and there it was: a seat in first class for 70,000 miles. I snagged it quickly and began planning my trip, which included a tour of new hotels in Tokyo (you can read about that here) and a side trip on Japan's amazing Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto, to see a city I've often dreamt about and to check out the one of the newest Park Hyatts in the world which had just opened its doors.
Anyway, I was elated to be flying to Tokyo in first class on Japan Airlines, something I've read about for years. Take a buzz through the slideshow at the top of this post to see how my flight went, but before that, here's a brief rundown of my experience using Alaska Air miles for a flight to Asia:
>If you are redeeming miles for travel during the slow "dead weeks" it pays to be patient and wait for airlines to unload their excess inventory at the last minute-- and be ready to make last minute changes in order to score amazing deals. Regrettably, not everyone has this kind of flexibility, but if you can stomach it, wait. During the slow times of year, it's very likely you'll score.
>At SFO, Japan Airlines' first and business class lounge was nice, but not something to write home about. First class passengers sat in a small, stuffy room lined with chairs that felt like a doctor's waiting room separated from business class passengers by a sliding door. Like some of the other passengers that space, I lasted about five minutes, then moved to sit in the larger business class lounge, with easy access to the bar, buffet, nice views, etc. The food (vegetarian sushi, pasta, etc) and drink on offer felt sub-par, unfortunately.
>In one of the first glimpses of Japanese service culture, at the gate I noted flight attendants preparing to board the flight bowing to one another, and when the last one walked through the boarding door to the plane, she turned and bowed to San Francisco. Wow. Departure was scheduled for 2:25 pm
>Onboard, first class on JAL was two rows configured 1-2-1. When I first snagged my booking online, I was only able to get a seat in the middle section, not one of the more preferred windows. But again, by waiting until the last minute, I was eventually able to grab seat 1K at the very front right of the first class cabin, which has only eight seats. Once the boarding door closed, I saw that there were only four other passengers in first class, leaving three of the four middle seats empty, including the one across the aisle from me.
>With assistance from one of four flight attendants working the first class cabin, I moved into my space, with plenty of cubbyholes and nooks for everything from my shoes to my phone, glasses, and briefcase. There was a beautiful pink paisley amenity kit from Etro and a small white box of Shisheido moisturizers for men. I noted that there was also a facemask in the amenity kit-- which seems to be part of the Japanese wardrobe during cold and flu season. There was a set of Bose noise canceling headphones, too.
>Unlike other first class configurations, there was no sliding door on JAL's "SkySuite" but once you are seated, it's a very private space. The leather seat was inordinately wide at 33 inches, as was the 23 inch video screen. Check out the JAL B777-300ER configuration on Seatguru. Best part about this trip? Since the seat across the aisle from me was vacant, the flight attendants offered to make it up into a sleeping suite-- which meant I actually scored TWO first class seats for just 70K Alaska Air miles. Not bad! Flight attendants offered to do the same for the other lucky passengers with empty adjacent seats.
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>Along with champagne and hot towels, flight attendants distributed bilingual menus and wine lists to passengers, which included both Japanese and western selections. From the blogosphere, I'd learned that it's better to opt for the western menu on the way to Japan, and the Japanese menu, catered in Tokyo, for the return. So I went western and chose the beef tenderloin, which turned out perfectly medium rare-- be sure to take a spin through the slideshow at the top of this post to see it! Flight attendants also provided wallet-sized cards with codes for complimentary Wi-Fi.
>Due to wet weather, our departure was delayed about an hour, and once we took off, flight attendants were full of personal apologies. The captain's announcement was a big apology, too. Japanese are not big on delays, and are very big on apologies.
>We flew directly west across the Pacific, not the northerly route up near the Aleutians that I expected. Due to storms, the flight was frequently bumpy, which meant I did not get as much sleep as I'd hoped, even in that enormous and cushy first class cabin. Additionally, like most international carriers, JAL kept the cabin very warm, which also disrupted sleep.
>Instead of cocktails or beer I chose to drink sake, and since this was JAL, there were several rice wine selections. The kind flight attendants helped me choose one that is light and fruity, and it turned out to be just right.
>As always, during the flight I walked from the nose to the tail of the big Boeing 777-300ER SkySuite jet with my new iPhone in hand, and have included photos of the business class, premium economy and regular economy sections. Important note about JAL economy class: It has a generous 34 inches of pitch-- significantly more than other international carriers, which usually offer 30-32 inches in coach. At the check in counter, JAL was offering upgrades to Premium Economy for $350-- not bad for a recliner seat with 42 inches of pitch and business class meals!
For the whole story, don't miss the slideshow with captions at the top of this post to see what a $12,000 first class flight across the Pacific is all about.
Disclosure: Alaska Airlines provided the author with the miles needed to redeem round trip flights on Japan Airlines between San Francisco and Tokyo.
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Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE biweekly email updates!
Source: https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Japan-Airlines-first-class-to-Tokyo-14832808.php
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