China Airlines First Class Transpacific flights February 2013 RGN-TPE-LAX-TPE-BKK

[Carfield]

China Airlines First Class Trip Report 2013

Here is the more interesting part of my trip, and as I mentioned before, here was the second (and final) ticket that I bought during the Yangon error fare episode last year. China Airlines is one of the other airlines that release these error fares, so I decide to use it for a pure mileage run back to the US from Asia in February. There were a few schedule changes that affected me, and Opodo handled it poorly. I originally scheduled an overnight at Bangkok in the return, so I could take the more convenient daytime flight from LAX to TPE. However China Airlines decided to play around with its schedule, and I ended up having to take the late night combo for both flights – CI 7 and 8. China Airlines has cut back much lately in the late night flights claiming that passengers wanted to rest. So let see how things turn out. Of course, China Airlines has another schedule change later and my original flights would have worked out, but anyway, as of this point, I have no intent to use Opodo again in the near future and do not bother to deal with the switching. My final routing is RGN-TPE-LAX-TPE-BKK-RGN (last segment on TG Y). Just for your information, China Airlines is perhaps one of the few airlines in the world that does not provide pajama in first class on long haul flights, considered American and United Airlines finally joined the trend, and most Mainland Chinese airlines offer pajamas even in business class now. China Airlines continues to be generation behind in terms of amenities and seats in premium class.

February 20, 2013
CI 7916 RGN-TPE Lv1110 Arr1635 Boeing 737-800 Winglet B-16801

Check-in at Yangon airport is relatively straightforward and the China Airlines counters are not too busy. There were one servicing the business class area, and three servicing economy passengers. Singapore Airlines on the other end is busier and no wonder it is sending its Boeing 777 to Yangon now. The agent spoke limited English and for unknown reason, it could only check me as far as Taipei, and apparently all connecting passengers have to collect their onward boarding passes at Taipei. (Well at least the TPE staffs were ready when our flight arrived.) China Airlines uses the Sky Smiles Lounge at RGN, and since I had already covered the lounge on my RGN report, I am not going to repeat again. It is a nice lounge with free wifi (not high speed but okay for basic stuff), some snacks, and beverages. It has its own in-house restroom, which is a plus. The admission price for non-elite/J passenger remains at $15, which I will be happy to pay. It has a nice apron view, and for some reasons, all the staffs were hovering over the SQ boarding area trying to spot a movie star.

Anyway, the inbound plane arrived early from Taipei, and a familiar bird, B-16801, one of the first China Airlines’ B737-800 and my first CI’s 737-800 flight a few years ago, arrived at gate 3 at 9:46am with a slight difference. It has a pair of winglets now.


The apron was very busy at Yangon today – Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 9V-SRG, Thai Airways’ A330 HS-TED, Mynamar Airways A320 XY-AGI to KUL, Bangkok Airways’ all white Airbus A320-200 HS-PPE, and Jetstar Asia’s Airbus A320 9V-JSN.

Anyone knows anything about this all-white Bangkok Airways A320 – not the typical colorful livery
All I found out that it was from TAM and was delivered November 2012 to PG!


Boarding began at 10:25am at Gate 3, and here is a close-up of China Airlines’ Baby Boeing!


There was a male purser welcoming passengers at the entry way, along with a J class F/A preparing beverages inside of the J galley.

My seat 1K


And empty seat 1J next to me





Pre-takeoff beverage (choices of Orange juice, apple juice, or water) with a bag of mixed snacks


Load was almost full in economy and business class is 75% full with two empty seats – 1J and 2B.
Boarding was completed quickly and door was closed at 10:45am. We pushed back from Gate 3 at 10:52pm, and taxied towards R/W21. There were some military activities, and we did not take off till 11:13am.

Flying time was a quick three hours and thirty minutes with a cruising attitude of 37,000feet. We headed towards Hanoi before turning towards the PRC over Nanning, and then Guangzhou and Shenzhen, before making across South China Tea towards the West coast of Taiwan. Since the Sky map only made its appearance in between video programming, I am unable to give you a more detailed routing report.

One F/A was in charge in business class cabin today and she was your typical China Airlines F/A, which did all according to the book.

Menu was passed out after takeoff and here is our choice this afternoon.





Wine List (Boeing 737-800)
Champagne Gremillet, France
Mosel Valley Riesling White Wine 2009 Germany
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc White Wine 2010, New Zealand
Chianti Riserva DOCG 2007, Italy
Napa Valley, Merlot Reserve 2008 USA
101.07 738

[Carfield]

January to March 2013
CI 7916
Yangon to Taipei

Refreshment Menu
Starter
Hawaiian Chicken Salad
Mushrooms, lolo rosso, red cabbage and pineapple



Main Course
Grilled Chicken Tandoori
Assorted Vegetables, Lemon Rice
Or
Stir Fried Sliced Pork in Oyster Sauce
Cashew nuts, sautéed vegetables with flat noodles




Assorted breads served with butter
Soft roll, hard roll, garlic bread



Dessert Platter



101B-715/7916C

I have to say China Airlines usually has a high standard of catering, but the food catered from Yangon was definitely below standard, and for a three hours plus flight, I expect more in terms of quality and quantity. China Airlines has gone through a major cost-cutting a few years ago, all these SE Asia to Taipei flights really suffered. There is no longer a canapé service prior to meal, and no longer a separate appetizer and salad, as well as a separate fruit and dessert service. Canapés are not necessary, but I feel that there should at least be another round of pre-meal beverage and mixed nuts service – packaged or not. The appetizer should be heartier. Anyway, the quality is so bad that quantity will not help anyway. I am glad that I had breakfast in the hotel earlier in the morning. I also expect a full beverage service prior to landing – not only juices and waters. The cutback in catering has definitely hurt the already lackluster service and hardware, including seats and entertainment system.

To no surprise, China Airlines does not install personal entertainment system in business or economy class on its Boeing 737s. However, overhead video monitors are available and BBC News was first shown, followed by the main feature movie, “Here Comes the Boom.” In between programs, Sky Map will make its appearance. There is no universal power outlet but the seat is pretty comfortable, and seat pitch is pretty generous for a narrowbody plane.

Here is a picture of the seat in full recline position!

[Carfield]

I took a nap and read for the rest of the flight. Descent began at 3:45pm Taiwanese local time (Taiwan is an hour and thirty minutes ahead of Yangon). We landed on R/W5L at 4:13pm, and parked at gate A1 a few minutes later. As said before, I had to get my onward boarding pass from the transit desk. I presume the Yangon system cannot process the US immigration data, and that’s why China Airlines has to make everyone getting their boarding passes at Taipei and does the related document check.

With seven hours at Taipei, I spent most of it here at the China Airlines’ First Class lounge. It is a mini version of its business class with more personal service and strangely I prefer self-service. Anyway, the staffs bring you food and drinks on demand, with a small buffet selection. There is complimentary WIFI and the speed is good. There are two computers available for surfing, but no printing and photocopying service. The staffs are mostly friendly, despite a bit rushed at times. Given that I was alone for an hour between the late afternoon China rush and late evening long haul flights rush, I had some chances to take photos.





New joint promotion with Xiamen Airlines, China Eastern, and China Southern Airlines for cross-strait flights


Map of lounge


Entry corridor with newspapers and magazine area



Main seating area

[Carfield]

Restaurant/Dining Area

[Carfield]

Internet/Business Center






Food Buffet





Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup


Chinese Dim Sum


First Class Lounge Menu

[Carfield]

February 20, 2013
CI 8 TPE-LAX Lv2350 Arr1915 Boeing 747-400 B-18210

Boarding started a bit late due to the late arrival of the crews or the longer than usual pre-flight check! The inbound plane arrived two hours prior to departure from Shanghai. China Airlines really works its plane hard. There were many wheelchair passengers (at least ten or more) on this flight, so priority boarding finally began at 11:22pm. I was trying to get on as soon as possible so I could snap a few cabin shots before the passengers arrived. My plan almost worked. When I boarded, 5A was already occupied by a flight crew (possibly heading to LA to work the return flight). There were basically two F/As working in the first class cabin, and they immediately offered me a beverage of my choice. I had a glass of still water, served with a plate of mixed snacks.




As well as the mandatory hot towel served in a tray


Newspapers and magazines were offered next, along with slippers. A pair of noise-canceling headset was already placed at each seat.

[Carfield]

Here is the cabin shot I took – B-18210 features the latest Boeing signature interior (Boeing 777 style) with enlarged overhead bins and a bit more headroom. To me, it is more cosmetic than a major improvement. For the nose of the flight, the overhead bin can handle the roller bags better, but other than that, nothing major!






My seat 2K



Despite a late start, boarding was completed at 11:46pm and we pushed back seven minutes later. Taipei Taoyuan airport was fairly quiet as of this point, as we were one of the few last departures for the late night rush to North America, Australia, and Europe. We took off from R/W5L at 00:04am. Flying time was ten hours and thirty-three minutes, and the routing was fairly typical. We climbed to 33,000feet first, as we headed towards Nichinan, Japan, and then towards the Pacific Ocean. We climbed progressively and ended at 37,000feet before we reached the California coast and Monterey Bay. The flight was very quick due to tail wind, but we certainly hit a few rough spots throughout the night.




Menus and meal orders were taken prior to departure, and the F/As were very flexible regarding when to serve the meals. But they definitely want to know about passengers’ meal choices, so they can save the meals for everyone. I have mixed feelings about rushing the breakfast order – maybe for those passengers, who declined dinner. But it is more proper to ask about breakfast when supper was completed for those passengers that were having the first meal. The F/As on the return flight took the breakfast orders prior to commencement of the service. But I appreciate the effort to make an efficient supper service.

Here is the wine list and menu:
I type out the whole beverage list, since China Airlines First Class is not frequently reported here.

First Class Wine List
January to March 2013

Cozy Lounge
Aperitif
Gin Tonic
Bloody Mary
Screwdriver
Martini

Sprit
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whiskey
Kavalan Single Malt Whiskey
Matisse 19 years old Highland Scotch Whiskey
Jim Bream Bourbon Whiskey
Smirnoff Vodka
Bacardi Light Rum
Bombay Dry Gin

Digestif
Deau Cognac XO
Camus XO Cognac
Taylor’s 10 Years Old Tawny Port, Portugal
Cherry brandy
Bailey’s Irish Cream

Chinese Rice Wine
Premium Shaohsing 10 Years Old (For Japan Routes only)

Sake
Gekkeikan “HORIN” Junmai Diaginjo

Beer
Golden Medal Taiwan Beer
Heineken Beer
Sapporo Beer

Tea and Coffee
Oolong tea
Jasmine Tea
Japanese Green Tea
Twinings Darjeeling Tea

Coffee
Freshly Brewed Coffee
Decaffeinated Coffee
Cappuccino

Champagne
Champagne Pol Roger 2000 France


White Wines
Chablis Chardonnay 2009, France
Mosel Valley Riesling White Wine 2009, France
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010, New Zealand

Red Wines
Saint-Julien Chateau Langoa Barton 1997, France
Barossa Valley Shiraz 2009, Australia
Napa valley Merlot Reserve 2008 USA

Let say I am not particularly impressed with the choices of wines here! None of them were priced over $40! Most of them in the $20 to $30 price range! The most expensive item on this list is the champagne. I know many Asians are not big wine drinkers, but this wine list is weak at best. For the non-alcoholic items, I feel that the tea selection can be better and the only Western tea selection is Darjeeling. I think CI can offer a few more tea selection, such as English Breakfast, Chamomile, Earl Grey, and Mint tea. Twinings certainly offers more than just Darjeeling tea.

Anyway, supper is a simplified dinner service, and for first class passengers, the only course being cut is the hot savories/canapé service, but the F/A asked me if I wanted mixed nuts to go with the champagne. The catering is definitely better on this flight, compared to the pathetic catering out from Yangon with an underwhelming premium refreshment service. China Airlines is having this promotion with the chefs at W Taipei, so that is why I go with the Chinese meals tonight, except the soup course. I also want to highlight the bakery items used by China Airlines. Most of you possibly don’t know this bread master, Master Wu Po Chun, but his breads were amazing. I went to their bakery at Kaohsiung and was not disappointed with many of the popular choices including those offered on this flight. If you are ever in Kaohsiung, go to Master Wu’s bakery and I love their pineapple cakes, as well as the Red Wine and Longan bread, as well as their spring onion bread.

Late Night Supper
You may create a lighter option for your supper. Please inform your crew of your choice.

Appetizer
“T” Goose Liver Mousse, Hawthorn Jelly, Pineapple Beer, Braised red yeast duck breast served with Woobar Signature cocktail “Doctor Goes Away”

[Carfield]

Or
Scallop Terrine, tomato, asparagus, bell peppers

Soup
“T” Shampignon, yam, Nantou chicken consommé
Or
Chef’s Recommendation
Creamy Onion Soup with Crispy Cheese crouton



Main Course
“T” Cod Fillet, Chinese olives, black beans, arrowroot


Pork belly ribs, Worcestershire kumquat sauce


Heart of Tender Shoots, Sakura Shrimp flakes with crab paste


Sausage, pickled turnip, fragrant fried rice

(Energy 457.8 kcal)


Steamed rice and healthy grain rice are available on request
Or
Grilled NZ Beef Tenderloin
Grilled onion, bell peppers, asparagus, tomato, potato
(Energy 450.8 kcal)
Or
Pan seared cod fillet with shredded smoked salmon, zucchini, pumpkin, tomato, mashed potato
(Energy 381.8 kcal)
Choice of Western Main Course sauce: Creamy Pesto sauce or Black Truffle sauce

The Bakery


*French rye baguette
*Sun dried tomato, basil and cheese bread
Black rye beer bread
Multi grain bread
Garlic Bread
Above all served with homemade butter

Sweet Finale
Fresh Fruits of the Season


Selection of cheese
“T” Purple Yam, Garbanzo beans, red dates soup

Blueberry Fondant Chocolate pudding

[Carfield]

Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

“T” A special menu designed by Chef Kong Khai Meng – Yen Chinese Restaurant W Taipei
“Doctor Goes Away” cocktail designed by Mixologist Kenny Miau – Food and Beverage Service Manager, W Taipei
*Specially designed by Master Wu Pao-Chun

After supper, I had a cup of green tea.


Hot towel and Evian bottled waters were offered, and the F/A passed out the amenity kit, as well as offering the turndown service. As I mentioned above, pajamas were not offered on China Airlines. I really think if American and United are offering them, it is definitely not an expensive item to offer, and just can’t help to feel that China Airlines remains a generation behind with its product. If turndown service is offered, a pair of pajama cannot cost CI anything more than $10-$20. Many local Taiwanese fashion brands will jump at the chance to offer China Airlines a bargain by featuring their clothing brand, sort of like Cathay Pacific and Shanghai Tang, or Lufthansa and Porsche Design.

Turndown service:



There is no self-service counter on China Airlines, but there is a full light bites menu. I had the beef noodle soup later at breakfast, which was an amazing juice. A very hearty noodle soup with good amount of Beef briskets and tendons!

Light Bites Menu
Should you desire a little snack or something more substantial in between your meals, simply make your selection to our crew during the flight

Authentic Beef Noodle Soup (Fast and delicate of Taiwan Delight)


Traditional Flavorful Sticky Rice with sweet and spicy sauce
Turnips with pork ribs soup
Vegetable and Chicken Pot Pie
Vegetarian instant noodle
Cheese platter
Mixed fruits

I pretty much slept till breakfast time. Two hours prior to landing, the F/A turned on the lights in first class (a bit earlier for business and economy class). It was a lovely breakfast and China Airlines uses a different tablecloth for the breakfast service – the red-checkered linen. Hot towel once again made its appearance. However I wanted to remind everyone that I choose to have the beef noodle soup as my main course, and the F/A offers me all the side dishes that go with the congee. All the four side dishes – two cold and two warm are excellent.





Breakfast menu



Choice of juice: orange, apple, tomato
Soy Bean Milk
Fresh Fruits of the season


Cereals
Yogurt

[Carfield]

Assorted breads served with butter and jam



• Green soy bean bread (stuffed with grainy mustard) Specially designed by Master Wu Pao-Chun
• Longan bread mixed with red wine Specially designed by Master Wu Pao-Chun
• Croissant
• Whole Wheat Toast
All served with homemade butter

Main Course
Double Color Egg Wrap with Vegetables, tomato, pork sausage, potato roesti, hollandaise sauce (Energy 396.2 kcal)
Or
Corn pancake with banana, chicken thigh, bacon, Vanilla sauce (Energy 725.7 kcal)
Or
Plain Congee (Energy 78.0 kcal) or Sweet Potato Congee (Energy 116.8 kcal)

Homemade dishes:
Steamed minced pork with Chinese pickles


Pan fried egg with dried turnips (Energy 170.4 kcal)


Shrimps with Green Soy Beans


Marinated Coral seaweed and shimeji mushrooms

(Energy 101.9kcal)

Shredded dried pork, homemade Taiwanese bun and savory


Traditional Taiwanese Side dishes were available upon request
101D-C1008F

I visited the bathroom after breakfast and took the following series of pictures. (I took advantage of the daylight!)

[Carfield]

Seat Control Panel


Mirror – yes your personal mirror

[Carfield]

Seat in the preset recline position




Heading towards Monterey





Descent began at 6:09pm and I almost forgot to mention. China Airlines has installed the nose camera and I love to be able to view landing in that perspective. The landing at LAX could be confusing with all these lights. We landed on R/W24R at 6:37pm, and as usual, we had to wait a little bit for our gate, since we landed early. Not too bad, we parked at gate 104 at 6:52pm. With my global entry and no checked bag, I went through all the formalities in ten minutes. However lines were fairly long, as the China Southern A380 and Philippine Airlines Boeing 747 landed around the same time.

February 22, 2013
CI 7 LAX-TPE Lv2325 Arr0550+2 Boeing 747-400 B-18212

Check in on the return flight went smoothly, and China Airlines has separate check-in for first class passengers (also its Paragon and Emerald members), and business class passengers (CI own mid-tier elites and Skyteam Elite Plus). There was a bit of wait, as all the agents were busy with the early bird arrivals.

Here’re a few pictures of the check-in area!






Lots of constructions are going on in TBIT and I really hope these expansions will be completed by the summer peak travel season! There were lines and people everywhere, given that it was the end of February and the Lunar New Year was over. TSA was busy on both north and south side, and the priority lane was able to save me a bit of time. However, I really don’t know if TBIT can handle so many A380s flights. I saw some China Southern F/As, and some of the boys were pretty cute. LOL! Some eye-candy to make the wait at TSA went by quicker.

[Carfield]

China Airlines uses Los Angeles International Lounge, not the Skyteam lounge. I have been to the Skyteam lounge, which was pretty crowded and I don’t think it can accommodate any more passengers, other than Korean Air, which has two daily late night departures. It is interesting that China Eastern, the other Skyteam partner, also uses the Los Angeles International Lounge. There is a separate first class section, and the food selection is weak, but passable for a third party lounge. There is complimentary wifi, but no business center! Here are a few pictures of the lounge! I did not take many pictures, as there were already guests here. The lounge got really crowded tonight, as it also admits the top elite members of EVA Air, and EVA has two evening flights to Taipei tonight. Air Tahiti Nui also had a flight to Papeete tonight. The elevator situation was also quite chaotic during the late evening hours, as there were many Qantas and Cathay Pacific flights departing within the midnight hours. I left the lounge a bit better, since I had already been there for a while.












Busy night


Boarding began at 10:50pm at Gate 104, which seems to be China Airlines’ designated gate for the evening service.

[Carfield]

B-18212 also has the same interior as B-18210, which also features the Boeing signature interior and here are a number of pictures, before the crowd arrived. First class went out almost all full with only two empty seats.




I seated at 2K for the return flight.



Two F/As and the purser did their greetings and asked for the order for my pre-takeoff beverage. No alcohol was served (well no one asked for it), but passengers were asking for hot tea and even Iced Oolong tea. A very demanding group tonight!

Here is the pre-takeoff service trio – hot towel, beverage, and plate of mixed snacks.



The flight was busier on the return flight, and due to late passengers and cargo loading, door did not close till 11:29pm. We pushed back at 11:38pm, as there were a number of planes pushing back from the narrow alley between TBIT and T4 at these midnight hours. Thankfully things were not too bad, and after a few US domestic redeye departures, we took off from R/W25R at 11:54pm.

Flying time was very long tonight, due to strong headwind, and we hit a number of significant turbulence spots. The routing was very new to me, so here are a number of pictures that I took of the inflight map throughout the flight. We flew a more inland track this evening, and we stayed at 30,000feet after passing Santa Barbara and then heading to King City, Hollister, San Jose, Fremont/OAK, Santa Rosa/Sonoma Valley, and then Ukiah, before reaching 32,000feet. The whole ride along the California coast was rough, and the whole supper service took place during chops. I was surprised that the F/A continued with the service. I could barely eat due to the shaking and spilling. We finally left Fort Bragg and then heading towards the Gulf of Alaska. We passed Woodrow, Sterling, and Nikishka, before climbing to 34,000feet. Then we passed Iditarod/Discovery, Shageluk, Grayling, and Pikmiktalik before entering the Bering Sea, and then entering Gulf of Andayr, Ugolny Airport, Gizhigin Bay, and Sea of Okhotsk. Then we climbed to 36,000feet and then crossing the Sakhalin Islands and then cruised along the coast of Primorsky Krai region of Russia before entering Sea of Japan, and headed towards South Korea. We passed the east of Ullegundo and then cities of Ulsan and Busan, and finally climbed to 38,000feet. We then passed East Sea and then heading to Taipei. Very interesting route! Here were the pictures of the flight map throughout the flight!

[Carfield]

Once again supper was served quickly after takeoff. However, there was some moderate chops throughout the first two hours of the flight, but the F/As persisted with the meal services. Many soups were returned to the galley and the F/A managed to serve me my soup during a short period of time. But the supper was not pleasant because of the turbulence. The meal service was okay and the Chinese appetizers are nice, as well as the consommé soup with mushroom panna cotta, but the main course was a disappointment. The lobster ravioli was not freshly prepared and had a strong fishy smell. Thankfully the bread pudding was nicely done and the meal ended in a better note.

Late Night Supper


Appetizer
Cumin lamb chop, marinated jelly fish, chicken with ginger sauce




Or
Nicoise Salad – tuna, green beans, potato, tomato, black olive