Three flights in one day (LHR-ARN-LHR-NRT, ANA First Class)

[SQFAN]

I've not tried CX.

Have only tried EK J DXB-KHI. Perhaps given the many and varied nationalities, the cabin crew does not seem to gel across the cultural gap. Thanks for that.

[N_Architect]

Very nice TR and photos, stargold. Thank you for sharing.

Have only tried EK J DXB-KHI. Perhaps given the many and varied nationalities, the cabin crew does not seem to gel across the cultural gap.

Have also tried once EK J ATH-ICN and couldn't agree more with the statement above.

[jhm]

Thanks, stargold for your detailed TR and the pictures! I noticed this thread the other day but wanted to save it for when I have a bit of time (like now) to sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy.

I redeemed a separate, very cheap M&C booking to get me to ARN.

3000 BD miles + £35 + taxes ? I don't know about SK but you can buy a BA o/w tix for only £60 all inclusive (plus you get free food and drink in Y! )

This was by far the most grief I have ever gotten at a passport control before (what exactly did they expect me to be doing anyway? Illegally enter a country that I don’t need a visa for??).

Not requiring a visa makes no diference - assuming you're not a EU citizen, you have no right to enter any EU country. In fact, even where you have a visa for a particular country, that country can still deny you entry.

After doing one round of the holding pattern, the aircraft landed into Heathrow on time yet again.

AFAIK, if you missed that connection, you'd be protected (e.g. to take the next day's flight) because it's on the same ticket.

It was obvious that I would miss my NH flight if I actually stayed in the queue for that entire period.

Have you tried registering (free) for IRIS ?

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ma...iregisteriris/

You can apply to register for IRIS if you are in one of the following categories: [...]

have permission to enter or stay in the United Kingdom (known as 'leave to enter or remain') for more than six months and that permission will continue to be valid for more than two months at the time of registration;

hold a current visa or permission to enter the United Kingdom (known as entry clearance) and it will continue to be valid for more than two months at the time of registration; or

are a short-term visitor to the United Kingdom and can show you have been given permission to enter the country as a visitor at least twice in the past six months, or four times in the past 12 months at the time of registration.

She said she recommends the … but then brought around both bottles for me to try – she was right on the money. The other one was far too sweet, verging on sickly, whereas the … was perfectly balanced.

So what was the sake selection then ?

any airline was going to do sushi decently in the air, it was going to be ANA

Not OZ with its onboard sushi chef ?

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news...119_17457.html

Fugu sashimi on a plane? Wow...risky

You can get fugu on NH J as well!

[stargold]

Sorry for the late reply everyone, my laptop was out of action for 2 days, but back and running now

Firstly, thank you for your very kind words and comments!. I'll address particular points below:

Wow. Great report - glad to see that you enjoyed your flight.
NH F sounds nice - the food in particular. I've only tried NH in Y class

The food indeed is one of their strong points! I actually used to fly NH Y all the time between ICN and LHR before and it used to be very good also - although I see that they now have 31" pitch on their whY cabin. Ouch!

It's lunchtime as I read this TR....Gosh, I'm so hungry and wished I am onbord NH F.

Fugu sashimi on a plane? Wow...risky

Great TR and thanks for the insights into NH F. Very nice indeed.....especially the Unagi ....

I'm looking at the photos again and... well, I'm hungry!!

The fugu sashimi back in 2001 was very good as you'd expect, and I'm still here to tell the tale - I wonder who would have done the seppuku if I turned blue and died, though?

Great report! Thanks for sharing. I always look forward to pictures of the food in your reports.
I'm very tempted to try SIN-NRT-JFK after reading several posts that rank NH J over SQ.

Yay! I have a fan! You should definitely give NH J a try sometime (a lot of their food overlaps between F and J for example) although SQ's A345 J seat would be a lot better than the NH J seat. Something new to try, at least!

Nice report! Have got quite a few LHR-ARN-LHR's coming up on SK.. (I wonder why? ) - was great to find out about the service (as well as the NH F bit)

I wonder why too I think SK C is fine if you keep your expectations low - after all, there was nothing particularly bad about the SK experience as such! I guess it was just quite a stark contrast going from SK C to NH F...

Excellent report thanks Wonderfully comprehensive and some great pics - certainly making me feel hungry!

Haha, yes, reading the menu and looking at the pictures again, I really want that eel again... Thanks for your kind words - I'm very much looking forward to your TR as well, since I'm flying the same flight in 8 days or so! No access to the TPR for me though..

Excellent report!
I've got some flights booked to/from ARN on SK too (ARN seems a popular destination these days hey ), including a flight on the MD80 - thanks for the tip RE seat 1F!

ARN is definitely very happening these days - although hopefully others will spend more than the 1h15m that I spent there. I hope to visit it properly soon - perhaps on my next sidetrip! PS. If you're not fussed about a window, I think 1D is probably the best seat on the MD80.

[stargold]

Amazing, detailed report stargold! I especially loved your description of the meal service, being a foodie myself (like many others here)

Forget the hype about Emirates, or Traitor Air, if any airline would rival SQ when it comes to quality service, that airline might just be NH. I've only heard good things about ANA and I'm dying to try it.

It's becoming a bit of a recurring theme but... food was so excellent, and probably even better ex-NRT where they have a lot more resources and ingredients! (including Wagyu beef steaks). I agree with you that NH is probably a lot more substance over hype, compared to - say - EK which seems to get such a wide range of mixed reviews. I have yet to find a bad report on NH F which is quite an achievement!

Very nice TR and photos, stargold. Thank you for sharing.

Have also tried once EK J ATH-ICN and couldn't agree more with the statement above.

Thanks for the kind comments, and I must say I could also see where SQFAN is coming from - there is a great feeling of common culture and teamwork on both NH and SQ which I can't imagine is true on EK. Plus, their 2-2-2 F on the 77W sucks - no excuses!

And jhm: Ooh, lots of comments! Firstly, I'm very glad you enjoyed my report. About the ferry flight redemption, I did see the £59 fare at one point, but everything was more than £150 by the time I was ready to book (thanks to a friend who was supposed to travel to ARN with me but pulled out at the last minute ) so it was still a good deal.

As for the visa issue, it was part tongue-in-cheek - of course I realise I could always be denied entry, but it just seemed so absurd at the time - why on earth would I have booked NH F just to pretend I'm travelling on it and illegally enter Sweden? That would be a waste of truly criminal dimensions! I could have just booked FR

I tried to register for IRIS but there was some timing issue so I couldn't. In this instance, the pink SQ slip did the job just fine!

Seeing as you asked, here is the sake selection, just for you

1. Shirataki Junmai-daiginjo Minatoya Tosuke (Niigata) (This is the one I had in the end)
2. Gokyo Daiginjo Kintaigokyo (Yamaguchi) (the overly sweet one)
3. Nishinoseki Tokubetsu Honjozoshu (Oita)
4. Murao Shuzo (Kagoshima) (This month's special)
5. Tempai Hakata Dontaku (Shochu made from barley, aged three years) (Fukuoka)
6. Satasouji-Shouten Kakutama Plum Wine (Kagoshima)

OZ sushi chef - I did think of it but I haven't heard about it recently (nor any mention on the OZ website) so I assume it's no longer offered.

PS. I would be genuinely shocked if NH J passengers (well, any J passengers, full stop!) got fugu sashimi - that would be really living it up in J!

[jhm]

As for the visa issue, it was part tongue-in-cheek - of course I realise I could always be denied entry, but it just seemed so absurd at the time - why on earth would I have booked NH F just to pretend I'm travelling on it and illegally enter Sweden? That would be a waste of truly criminal dimensions! I could have just booked FR

A bit like the Canadian immigration officer who still proceeded to give me a bit of a grilling after I'd already shown him my ticket flown that trip FRA-SIN-CGK-SIN-SGN-SIN-PEK-KIX-BKK-NRT-LAX-YVR!

Seeing as you asked, here is the sake selection:

1. Shirataki Junmai-daiginjo Minatoya Tosuke (Niigata) (This is the one I had in the end)
2. Gokyo Daiginjo Kintaigokyo (Yamaguchi) (the overly sweet one)
3. Nishinoseki Tokubetsu Honjozoshu (Oita)
4. Murao Shuzo (Kagoshima) (This month's special)
5. Tempai Hakata Dontaku (Shochu made from barley, aged three years) (Fukuoka)
6. Satasouji-Shouten Kakutama Plum Wine (Kagoshima)

I'm afraid I only know enough about sake to ask for a "junmai daiginjo" sake (the top category within which is your number 1) and if not available, then downgrade to the lower category "daiginjo" sake (number 2).

And I doubt NH J passengers got fugu sashimi - if they did, I would be really quite shocked!

Not raw but still fugu and still - AFAIK - poisonous (if not prepared properly) all the same:

http://www.sqtalk.com/forums/showpos...3&postcount=20

phaleesy and I have NH F NRT-LAX booked next year and we're looking to it even more following your TR! I'd read on TOF about the NH "super cheeseburger" and am quite keen to try that.

[stargold]

The sashimi vs. not sashimi was in relation to cost rather than poisonousness (is that a word?!) - it's probably one of the more (most?) expensive pieces of fish to make sashimi, at least as far as I know, so it would be like being served caviar in J!

You definitely have a lot to look forward to! Just make sure you don't make it impossible to come back to BA

[jhm]

The sashimi vs. not sashimi was in relation to cost rather than poisonousness (is that a word?!) - it's probably one of the more (most?) expensive pieces of fish to make sashimi, at least as far as I know, so it would be like being served caviar in J!

But a piece of grilled rare fugu presumably costs the same as a pieoce of raw fugu!

I've tried fugu sashimi (as part of a meal in a Tokyo fugu restaurant - sashimi, tempura and nabe) and it was like eating a rubber band. No taste at all other than a slight thrill of wandering whether I'd keel over!

You definitely have a lot to look forward to! Just make sure you don't make it impossible to come back to BA

There is that danger!

[matt_will_fix_it]

Hi Stargold, just found some time to read your TR - sounds like a great experience (although I can't say my western palate would like all of that seafood on the menu!)

Just out of curiosity, couldn't you have checked in for all three flights at LHR (the first time!) and then used the transfer facilities at each airport? Especially as the ARN - LHR - NRT was on the same ticket?

[Lobster]

Excellent trip report. The food selection definitely seems to be way more comprehensive than SQ or CX or EK or LH or BA (The only airlines I have tried F on)

[9V-JKL]

Thanks Stargold! Your TR just confirmed that the Mrs & I should do NH F sometime soon.

[HUGE AL]

Excellent TR stargold! A few of us are fast becoming NH fans.

[sporadic]

I'm envious. Was on NH Y SIN-NRT-ORD-NRT-SIN, and looking really green at the F seats when disembarking... 31 inches in Y isn't a good fit when you're 185cm tall.

[9V-SIA]

Yay! I have a fan! You should definitely give NH J a try sometime (a lot of their food overlaps between F and J for example) although SQ's A345 J seat would be a lot better than the NH J seat. Something new to try, at least!

I had a paid J on TG SIN-BKK-JFK for October. First time I'm being unfaithful to SQ on SIN-NY

Since the demise of this route, I'm quite happy to get a refund and rebook on the new all J A345 SIN-EWR. I'll never stray again SQ!

But what is intriguing is the offer by TG of:

SIN-BKK-FRA on TG
FRA-JFK on LH
JFK-NRT-SIN on NH

I get to try all these other airlines that you guy are flying...in one trip!
Get it out of my system, you know

[9V-SIA]

Confirmed on TG/NH in Oct.

Going: SIN-BKK-NRT on TG, NRT-JFK on NH

Return: JFK-NRT-SIN on NH

Good service recovery by TG

So I get to try NH J class. Not quite F like your trip but still satisfies my curiosity about NH