Introduction:
This trip was intended as a sort of MR and also because I had a voucher with KLM that was going to expire, so I decided to do this mini MR as it was testing NW operations within Asia. I had a last minute madness to throw in again SQ First between SIN-KUL. Coincidence or not, it was again raining like mad this morning. Seems to be happenening everytime I fly since the day I arrived into Japan. (some of the pictures are in thumbshots because I could not resize it)
NGO-NRT
NW 078
Date: 22 June 2007
Dep. Time: 12.50
Arr. Time: 13.45
Seat: 17A
B757-200
I left for the airport rather early, again with the bus as in my NGO-FUK trip. I arrived about 10 mins later than scheduled, around 9.15 am. View of the railway line to the airport.
Went directly to the International check-in area. Domestic check-in is on the same level, but on the other side. I used it for my ANA flight to FUK
japan-domestic-ana-ngo-fuk-ngo-t21809.html
Sadly, NW counters were not opened yet, and will open only after 30 mins. They open around 3 hours before departure time. So it was no use going early to the airport. I had intended to check-in early and stick to my usual work routine. In the meantime, took the following pictures.
Continental was checking in passengers to Guam. For the NW flight, lots of the passengers were heading towards US and the check-in was also for the NW direct flight to Detroit. I was one of the first to check-in. I had checked in online the previous day, but they needed to verify the passport , so the printed boarding pass was not a valid boarding pass until it gets the approval stamp from the check-in. I requested for a real boarding pass, but in the end I got those green ticket like boarding pass. Directly after finishing the procedure, I was pulled aside for the security questioning. I noticed that none of the Japanese were questioned only passengers with foreign passports were screened, maybe I am wrong since I was one of the first to check-in. The process was tedious and rather silly, one of the lengthiest and worst one I had encountered, second worst was the one in AMS (at least there, everyone needs to be screened). I was provided with an invitation to the JAL Sakura lounge.
The lounge is used by many other airlines, including Air France (codeshare with JAL) to CDG. I just missed out on the free 10 mins massage they provided. Here’s a couple of shots of the lounge. They had free internet facilities just like everywhere in Japan. Food layout was good and was not too crowded.
The lounge also had some nice views. Here are some which I took from the lounge. Saw the B747 NW coming in for the long flight to DTW.
About 1 hour to boarding time, I decided to check out the Korean Air lounge further afield and actually nearer to the boarding gate. Here are a couple of shots.
It was empty, with only 2 persons also flying that morning on NW. Food selection was good. About 12 pm, we were “chased” out from the lounge because tey were closing. It was anyway time for us to start boarding. We took the lift up and we were deposited directly in our boarding gate area. My flight just started boarding and I could go directly in using the Elite line. I find here in Japan, they are very good with the perks of each program (my experience with both Oneworld and Staralliance).
Those security guards at the check-in were there again to verify our boarding pass and passport again. It was a rather old looking B757-200, which just arrived from Saipan.
Was greeted at the door by the purser (with a sprained elbow?). Soon after, all the other passengers started coming in and the two seats next to me was taken by I think NW employee (s). They seemed to have come in with the flight from Saipan as later the purser came to say hi to them and welcomed them back. She disappeared again and came back with a “gift” for them, most probably a bottle of wine (it was wrapped in black trashbags). I find this rather inappropriate (maybe because I did not get one
) Anyway, they looked tired. Here are a couple of shots I took from my seat. The flight was about 90 % full. I also spotted the Hello Kitty Eva air scheme. 
Doors were closed in time and pushed back began. Btw, handling was with Swissport. We had a mixture of Asian and Caucasian FA’s. There was 3 FA in Economy with the purser handling Business. Safety video was shown on the monitors (after some difficulties getting it to start). All announcements were done in English and Japanese by the Japanese FA.
We taxied to the runway and just as we were turning into the active runway, we went over some bumps. The plane accelerated a split second after reaching the active runway and then we made a turn away from the runway to the left. I found this strange and this was confirmed by the pilot later. He informed us that those bumps and skid we had while turning was due to the wheels running over some runway lights. He was concerned that the tires were damaged and he wanted it to be checked out. Was told that we would be there just for a short time as maintenance team would be coming out to check it out. This initial few minutes became 15 minutes. During this time, I saw the Hello Kitty Eva Air leave and the NW B747 take-off and some landings in between.
He came on again and informed us that the Japanese authority did not allow the team to come out since we were considered still on the active taxiway and it was decided that we parked near the cargo area. We taxied there and again waited another 10 mins before being informed that we needed to return to the stand as it was demanded by the authorities. So in the end we taxied backed to the a stand, luckily not too far away.
We had the remote bridge brought back and the maintenance crew could finally check the plane out. We were back at stand for about 30 mins with passengers allowed to walk about and use the facilities. Back at this stand, I managed to get a few shots of the ANA action. I was lucky to get a shot of this ANA StarAlliance scheme parking next to us. Soon, we were back on our way, with a delay of about 1 hour.
This time, nothing happened and we did manage to finally take-off without any incidence. We had some choppy ride up and as soon as things settled down, beverage service began. This was a non-cart service, choice was water or OJ. With less than 15 mins flying, we began our descend, with 20 mins to landing. Landing was on runway 34R, which was actyaly nearer to the OneWorld terminal, so we had a taxi time of 15-20 mins!. Passed a few interesting aircraft, Narita was clearly divided into the three alliances, OneWorld, StarAlliance and finally the SkyTeam terminals.
It was also clear that NW was the main US operator here, at the ST terminal, it was full of NW planes, from B747 to the B757. We parked at Terminal 1, which is used by CO and DL. Here are a few shots from the terminal.
NRT-SIN
NW 005
Date: 22 June 2007
Dep. Time: 18.45
Arr. Time: 00.45
Seat: 11A
A330-300
I headed directly to the WorldClub, I knew that there were 2 main ones there, I did not know which one was nearer to my gate (actually did not bother to find out which gate since I had about 3 hours layover (reduced due to the delay)). I went to the one near Gates 22-25. It was situated on the 3rd level. I was very impressed with the lounge, much better compared to their US counterparts. It was very crowded. It had some wonderful view of the main runway and other terminals. Here are some photos of the club, interior and views.
Food selection was ok, however, I just wanted to get back to work and made some calls. They had free WiFi, which was very good After settling everything, I checked out the bar/food area again. After about an hour, I decided to see if I could use the shower, however, I was informed that this one does not have shower facilities and I should head to the other one at gates 11-18. This was in the side of Terminal 1 I believe. On the way I did some duty free shopping. I found the location and next to the WorldClub was the Air France lounge, it was only open during certain hours, during the AF flight times.
I entered this WorldClub and saw that it was of a different style, but nevertheless, also very nice lounge. Bravo to NW for such lounge. I noticed that the food layout here was much better compared to the other WorldClub. They had some really good spread of food, much better than the KLM Crown Club at the Schengen side in AMS. Here are a few shots of the interior, exterior views and of course some of the delicious food available.
One of the surprises was the Peter Max scheme of Continental was here today. I managed to get a few shots of it.
WiFi was available at the lounge, but for those without laptops, they had numerous Apples for use, which was very good. I think even within Asia, the ST lounges in Japan are far more superior compared to all the ST lounges that I have visited so far anywhere in the world. Actually, even compared to the famous Singapore First SKL First lounge, I think I prefer these World Club lounges.
Well, after again finishing some calls and work, it was really time to use the shower and prepare for my long flight to SIN. The shower rooms were ok. Typical Japanese cubicle shower room. However, I would say it was spacious and very clean. Did not take any photos here this time, completely forgot about it. After a nice relaxing shower, I went again for some food and did some small reading. I checked later and saw that the flight was delayed by about 45 mins. I checked online and the reason was it was awaiting connecting passengers.
Soon, it was time to board. As soon as I got down to the gate, boarding was already started, and again it was Elite boarding first, and other passengers were really made to wait in line, all separated. It was quite embarrassing to see them all staring at you. Anyway, there were no further security check like back in NGO. They used two separate airbridges, one for WBC and the other for economy. Even going through the other one, we passed by the second section of WBC. As I found my seat and was settling down, the purser pointed the aisle seat next to me to another passenger (which later turned out was an unaccompanied minor). Chatted with him briefly. Poor guy, just arrived all the way from Houston and another 7 hours to go. There were actually 3 unaccompanied minor on this flight as I found out towards the end of the flight. The flight was managed mostly by the NRT/SIN based crew with only all of them being asian except the purser and another FA in WBC. Load was about 90% in both WBC and economy respectively. I did not see any clear empty seat, but since I was at the front section, it was difficult to see the load in the back section of Y. After all the NRT pax settled down, we saw during the next 30 mins, a few odd group of passengers from connection flights boarding. Finally, at about 19.30, doors were closed. However, we had to wait for the plane next to us to be pushed back before we could, so another 10 mins of waiting. We were parked next to the AF flight back to CDG. During our pushback, I could see that they had already started their boarding process.
Here are a few shots of the cabin, PTV and the view outside of my window.
I also noticed that the safety video of the A330 shows the diversity of FA’s background compared to the B757 video. We had a nice silent take-off. Actually this is my 3rd time on NW’s A330-300 planes. Coincidentally, the time period was somewhere also the same as my trip to Boston last year with NW. Soon, the pilot came on and informed us of the flight details. We were warned that during the initial climb, it would be choppy and actually during the whole flight, we would have some choppy moments. Soon after, I checked out the movies and decided what I would go for. After about an 30 mins, they began with the first beverage service with pretzels. Another 20 mins later, they began with dinner. It was either chicken ravioli or seafood noodles. I went for the noodles, same with my seatmate. Here is a shot of the meal.
It was quite nice actually, and since I had already eaten in the lounge, the portion was ok. But I doubt that for someone expecting a good meal, this would be insufficient. During my meal I did request for Diet Pepsi, surprisingly, it seems that it was not standard as I had to wait till later for the FA to get it from somewhere (most probably from WBC). I did not try to sleep as I wanted to do that in SIN.
I managed to squeeze 3 movies within the flight. During the whole flight, the FA did some rounds of water, but truthfully, I did expected that the Asian FA’s would give better service compared to the domestic service, but I found that they were actually about the same. Is it a training thing? They just did what they needed to do and that was it, nothing as like the Asian or European airlines. Time passed and soon, it was time to land. During the descend, we had some really choppy weather, accordingly due to light rain over the area. Soon, after that, we landed into a cloudy and quiet Changi airport. We again had a very long taxi, passing the low cost terminal, the cargo area, and making some turns here and there, we parked at T1, next to a JAL aircraft.
The United flight which also from NRT, was already on stand. The 3 minors were quickly gathered and brought to the front by the FA and later accompanied by ground staff. Immigration was quick and I managed to get out from the airport without checked-luggage in about 10 mins after doors were opened. I wanted to take the airport shuttle into town, but the next available one was only at 3 am! So I went for the taxi, which cost 50% extra due to the night charges down to the Intercontinental. Some views from the room
SIN-KUL
SQ116
Date: 23June 2007
Dep. Time: 17.00
Arr. Time: 17.40
Seat: 14K
B777-200
After contemplating for a while between trying out the LH service to CGK in C or just going for the F-service of SQ, I decided to do again the F-service of SQ, which returned a better mileage per cent. After a short day spent with some friends, I went back to SIN. I had planned to go earlier and do some lounge hopping in SIN, but since my friends wanted to spend more time, they came along to the airport and I did not want to do some explanation, I stayed with them after checking in at the First counter until about 1600. I proceeded to the passport control and the F-lounge. I actually had only about 30 mins now to enjoy the lounge since in SIN gate closes 10 mins to departure and boarding begins 30 mins before dept. time. I managed to grab a quick shower (needed after the tropical heat of SIN) and some grubs (not too much since I was still full from the breakfast buffet). I proceeded to the gate. Here are a few shots on the way to the gate.
As expected, everyone was already boarded and I was one of the last few, and this was 20 mins to departure time!
My ride to KUL
Link to First class section
Luckily I was not the last one as a few more F passengers entered later. I guess the Y passengers must be pissed off since I noticed that the door of the Y section was already closed and 5 mins to departure time, the last F passenger entered and doors were closed. I think on this flight, there were some passengers from the just arrived LH flight. Here are some shots of the activities around SIN during this late afternoon.
Preparing for take-off
Landing of a SQ B777
Her turn after us
View of Singapore island and port
F class was actually full, not sure of Y.
Service was as expected. For this flight we had Onion bread with seafood or Chicken gelatin. I took the Onion bread with seafood, it was tasty. I forgot to grab a shot of the presentation. I noticed that due to the heavy load, I think the FA’s could not remember names as well as they should as the leading stewardess serving my side, just addressed me as sir instead of my name, the same for my seat mate. Before I even started having a bit of my bread, the pilot announced that we were beginning our descend. However, I did manage to finish my meal and cup of tea. One thing great is that despite the short time, you don’t see the FA rushing passengers to finish their meal. They do it very subtlety.
We landed in KUL on time. Here are a few shots of what I think is the new Cargo hangar. Also some shots of the aircraft on the ground. Very sad to see that it was so quiet and most of the planes were MH’s, I think just one odd Saudi Arabian airlines.
Well, additional photos and description can be read in my older trip report.
3-continents-3-alliances-3-classes-of-s ... 20512.html
KUL-SIN
SQ 119
Date: 23 June 2007
Dep. Time: 21.45
Arr. Time: 22.45
Seat: 14A
B777-200 (with Spacebeds)
After spending some time walking around the departure area, I decided to check-in for my return flight. The desks were empty as the earlier flight has just left and the next shuttle was operated by MH. I checked in with no problem and requested for a seat on the A side as I had for my past few trips been getting the seat on the H side. I was given my requested seat and also an invitation to the Premier Lounge (the SKL lounge was being renovated). The departure area was totally empty, and the passport control area was also deserted. Such a pity to see this giant airport so under utilized. I went through the passport control to be greeted by a surprise. They had set up a new security post right after passport control. I guess this is due to the latest liquid introduction policy. After this pre-security inspection, I took the aerotrain back to the C-gate area. I did some purchase the duty free. I read earlier on another forum that SQ F passengers were not allowed to use the TG lounge, but I thought I would give it a shot since I have not been in there before. Voila, I was surprised that I could actually use it, and it was clearly indicated that F and C class passengers on *A flights could use the lounge. I was reminded by the lounge attendant that I could use the Premier lounge, but I said I wanted to check this one out. I was welcomed into it. My first impression, a very dark lounge and not very bright. It was quite full. They had free WiFi too like the rest of the airport. I managed to grab a place somewhere at the back of the lounge. They had this cordoned off area, which I think is used for F passengers (?). It only had a sign that it was reserved, but not stating for whom. I went to check out the food spread, it was ok, not bad for a lounge, but of course far more inferior to the Golden Club or F lounge of MH, but I would say a step above the offering of the old SKL lounge. Here are a few shots of the lounge.
I noticed that quite a number of the furniture in the lounge were actually broken. The so called “Royal Business Center” had a computer from the last dinosaurs age
I expect it does not even work at all. Overall, I would say the lounge looked very tired, ready to be put to rest.. sad but true. 
I managed to get some shots of the LH flight arriving from BKK and getting ready for the turnaround.
Minutes later, I saw some LH passengers entering the lounge. Over time, the lounge was full. After about an hour, the other passengers started to leave as the TG flight was called. I left soon after and headed to the Premier Lounge, as I wanted to take another shower (not available at the TG lounge).
I presented my invitation card and asked directly for the use of the shower. I was asked to take a seat. The lounge was full. Just as I found my seat and took my beer, I was approached by the lounge attendant and informed that I could use the shower. I was provided with a towel. This is actually the second section of the Premier lounge. I had used the first section before (during my flight in C with KLM (klm-und-jal-ams-ngo-t21641.html)). I entered the shower area, and it was a bit bigger compared to the other section, but still rather tired looking and not as you would expect from a lounge. The warm water was not very warm, but luckily not too cold. I had a sufficient shower. After the shower, I came out and saw that my beer was still there with a satisfaction form. I gave some good score, but did comment on the shower facility. I had a look around the buffet area, but I did not take anything as I was stuffed. I just had my beer. Reading materials was sufficient, but the Dutch language newspapers available were rather outdated.
Well, the lounge was rather packed with passengers on various different flights, such as KLM, LH, SQ and some others. It started to clear as the LH flight was called, followed closely by the SQ flight.
I left the lounge and proceeded to the gate which I think SQ uses the same gate for all their flight, as it was the same gate as I arrived. At KLIA, security is done at all the respective gates. This was actually the second security check. When I arrived, the line was considerably short, with the holding pen with a relative number of passengers already. I was thinking that it would go fast with the security check, but this turned out to be a nightmare. After about 5 mins waiting, I noticed that the line had grown. They were taking about 5 mins actually for each passenger. The reason? They had one of the worst system I have ever seen! The person behind the X-ray monitor was actually the person checking the bags when something was suspected! You can imagine how ineffective this process it. I saw that lots of the passengers behind me commenting on this procedure which I myself think is ridiculous. While standing in line, I saw that boarding had already started. After security I just walked straight into the plane, ½ hour before departure time. I was greeted at the door by the head steward and noticed that the aircraft was configured with the Spacebed seats. They did not bother to change the headrest and pillow to the First version. After settling down, I was offered a drink, newspaper and magazines. I noticed that passengers were streaming very slowly into the cabin, but of course we know the reason of this is due to the inefficient security check. The last passenger walked into the aircraft in the First class about 5 mins to departure. During this wait, I did make a request to the FA serving my side, asking for the temperature to be turned down with approval from the rest. I was informed after a few mins that they had done this and if I felt that it was not sufficient, I should let her know. Well, truthfully I did not feel much from this effect, but I did not bring this up anymore, maybe it is just me. The door was closed behind him both in First and Economy and we were pushed back. Load was 80% in F and I think 50% in Y. After that, towels were provided followed by the safety video. The cabin was prepared for departure. The captain came on and introduced his First officer and provided some information on the flight. It was a short 45 mins flight. Service was the same as the outbound. I thought that the food offering would be the same, but on this late night flight, we had a different, much simpler choice, assorted smoked fish or chicken. I went for the fish and was not disappointed. I noticed that on this night service, there is less to offer, for example there is no tea service, you had to request for it.
Anyway we arrived on time. There were lots of activities on the ground especially SQ.
SIN-NRT
NW 006
Date: 24 June 2007
Dep. Time: 06.00
Arr. Time: 14.25
Seat: 40J
A330-300
I met up again with some friends and after that just lounged around at the airport. Actually I was rather silly, I should have actually enquire back in KUL if I could have had them check my bag all the way to NGO, at least with this I did not have to leave the secured area and had better facilities. As we landed from my SQ in T2, I went to T1 transfer desk to ask if I could check in already for this flight. I was told that they agents would only arrive at 3am. So, I went back to T2 and collected my bag. When my friends left, the airport was really empty. Most of the flight leaving at that hour from T1 were SQ, BA and QF with an interesting Air Zimbabwe leaving. Later, EK and QR flights were leaving. Noticed that a couple of the flights were delayed. The departure lounge was getting empty. After a while it was very quiet. I have never seen Changi airport so quiet before. I walked around to inspect the terminal. Here are some shots during this early/late hour.
View from the Skyview area
At about 2.45 am, I saw that they started preparing the NW check-in desks, setting up the interview tables and the security personals started arriving and I saw that they had a briefing with the leader. It was about a 15 mins briefing.
About 3.00 am, the NW agents started to arrive and set up “business”. Some of the activities were setting up the self-check-in machines and putting up NW signage. Later everything was set and check-in opened. Weirdly the security people right after the briefing did not all go to their post, but some left to most probably toilet or other business. There were only about 3 out of the 8 or so personals manning the interview desk. Soon, I was called forward. The questioning here was rather simple, however, I got again into some complications. They wanted to confirm that I did have a return ticket back to Netherlands. I informed the officer that my printout was left at the hotel in Japan. He went to consult his supervisor whom went to consult the NW supervisor. In the meantime, I informed the officer that if needed, I had the copy in my email. He informed his supervisor and the NW supervisor. After about 10 mins, I was told to check-in and if needed to show them this email.
At check-in, I enquired about the possibility of award upgrades to Business. I was told that there were a few seats available for this. However, to my disappointment, I was told that they could not process it because I wanted to use my FB miles which they could not process. So in the end, I could not do that. I was actually very irritated with it.
Anyway, NW used the TG Royal Silk lounge which I was provided with an invitation. This was the only lounge open at this time.
The last time I was here, this lounge was undergoing renovation. I stepped in and was very impressed with it. I was the first to enter the place. Food layout was ok, but it was really a big improvement compared to the TG lounge back in KLIA. Soon, the lounge started to fill up. I had a few bites and also some shut eye. About an hour before departure, they called for boarding. It was a rather long walk to the gate, about 10 mins. Our flight was one of the first to depart this morning.
I arrived at the gate to be greeted by surprisingly a short line at security. We had not only to separate the screening of our laptop, but they wanted us to switch it on after that, which was irritating. I saw lots of other people after that waiting a while just to get it off again. Anyway, boarding started during this time and I again just walked straight into the plane using the Elite line.
I noticed that there was another NW A330 parked close to us. I was surprised to see this, but I found out later that this was actually a Cargo flight. Weird to see it operated by an A330, furthermore parked at the passenger terminal and not the cargo terminal. Here is a shot of this mysterious Cargo flight.
Soon, boarding was complete. I noticed that Y was not very full, I would make an estimation of 50-60% loaded.
I am not sure of Biz, but I guess it was about the same. Departure was on time and we took-off into the nightsky of Singapore. The sun was not even rising yet at that time. Anyway, right after take-off, I tried to get myself comfortable and managed to doze off soon after. Somewhere about 1 hour after take-off, I was rudely awaken by the FA as they were serving the meal. I was rather irritated with it since I did not want to eat. In my opinion I think that they should not wake us up for such flights. I remembered during my last flight with NW on a night flight, during meal time they FA did not wake me up during this time. Anyway, after that awakening, I had a difficult time getting back to sleep. Here are snapshots of the PTV with Steve Paquin introducing the movies.
Nearing NRT, we were served a small snack, which I think should have been served for the first round of meal rather now. Here is a photo of it.
Anyway, I would say that these Asian FA were not very considerate, because during the whole time, they just chatted loudly in the galley. The FA serving our side was especially unfriendly, something I would not expect from the Asian crew. I guess it really depends who your employer are. In fact, comparing the US based and Asian based FA, I think the US based ones were much more friendlier compared to these Asian based FA. Some photos just before landing
We landed into again a cloudy moody day in NRT. This time we landed on the runway nearest to the NW terminal, so it was a fast taxing to the gate. We parked next to a Korean Air B777 and right in front of the public viewing area.
I made my way after that directly to the lounge. I had again a nice warm shower and some nice sushi with it. Here is a photo of the lounge food today.
I had around 4 hours wait before my flight back to NGO. About an hour before departure time, I noticed that my flight was delayed by 15 mins. Some snapshots from the lounge
NRT-NGO
NW 077
Date: 24 June 2007
Dep. Time: 18.30
Arr. Time: 19.40
Seat: 17A
B757-200
I left the lounge and went to the other NWA lounge nearer to my gate. Duty free shop near the gate and some views
This was a much smaller lounge.
It had another great view. Here are some of the activities seen during this hour from the lounge.
The bowing tradition (seems only done for some Asian airlines)
I checked why the flight was delayed and again the reason was due to awaiting connecting passengers. About an hour to the new departure time, they started the boarding process. Again I boarded using the Elite line. The flight was already nearly full when I entered. We waited about 30 mins before all passengers came onboard. I noticed some of the passengers were on my previous flight. Today’s crew consisted of mostly Asian based Japanese FA and 2 US based FA. Announcements were done again in English and Japanese.
We had to do the long taxing again to Runway 31R, which was doing 15 mins taxing routine. I think all flights to the south uses this runway. We passed again the OneWorld terminal and the StarAlliance terminal. It was really nice seeing all those B747 of JAL.
We took off again in a wet NRT into a turbulent sky.
Service was the same as the outbound. It was a rather choppy ride back to NGO and after 20 mins in the air, we began our descend. During the descend, I noticed that there was something going on with one of the FA. I am not sure what was happening, but the purser came to find out and later went to the end of the plane. There were lots of calling and small commotion between the FA taking care of the front cabin in Y and the back. I had no idea what was happening. We landed again in a wet and windy NGO. Disembarkation was fast. Back to the incident, I think the Japanese FA who was taking care of the front Y cabin had some problems as he never appeared and only the US based FA was seating in her crew seat. Even during disembarkation, she kept looking to the back of the aircraft to see what was happening.
Anyway, out arrival was just after the arrival of the PR flight from Manila, so there were lots of Filipinos at immigration.
After picking up bag (had to check it in due to the silly liquid rules), I noticed that my ride back was leaving in 5 mins. However, when I reached the station, it had just left so I had to wait another hour for the next bus.
Conclusion, NW service within Asia was ok. I preferred my outbound service compared to the inbound. Comparing the Asian based crew to the US based, I am actually surprised to say from experience, the US crews are much better. I don’t want to make any judgements, but sometimes I think the non-Japanese Asian crews are those that could not make it to the Asian carriers, so it feels as if they had no choice but just to work for NW. They did not seem to enjoy what they were doing. I noticed during my flight, there were quite a number of Non-rev. And they made it quite obvious by gathering in the galley during flight to chat. I know that a few even got moved up to Biz class. My sad point was that I found out that the WP and FB program is not as integrated as I thought it was. On the other hand, I found that the WP lounge in Asia wins hands down compared to all the normal lounge within the ST network, I would say even better compared to the famed SKL lounge in SIN.
My next flight would be on JAL codeshare with Air France back to CDG continuing to AMS. Will be interesting since I have not flown JAL longhaul.
