Nate is back with part two of his trip report. This time, we look in depth at Dubai Airport. If you missed his flight out, see Flying Up Front on Emirates to Dubai.

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After spending a very long and exhausting day in Dubai, I wasn’t looking forward to getting up at 3a for my return trip so I could check-in early and maximize my time in the airport, board a 13 hour flight, then fly 4.5 more hours on 2 additional flights followed by a 3.5 hour drive. In one day. My past life travels would have made Ryan Bingham jealous, so I was ready for the challenge. And it started off with an incredible Dubai airport experience.

I left the hotel at 4a in a Lexus sedan, courtesy of the hotel, and arrived a few minutes later at the “exclusive” First/Business Class terminal for Emirates. An employee and a porter promptly greeted me, and they walked me to the Business Class check-in.

At first glance, the terminal was like customs when I arrived – very open and airy, with tall columns and decorative tile. There weren’t many people up this early, so I walked to an agent who alerted me that I couldn’t check-in for another 15 minutes. Fortunately there were some comfortable chairs nearby as I sat and waited (according to Flyertalk, I should have been able to check-in and check my bags up to 24 hours). When I was able, I took my bags to the same gentleman who checked me in.

I did the “hike” to security and was glad to see there wasn’t a line. My Acer Tablet caught the interest of the security guards. They asked about it and turned it on. At first I thought it was for security, but it was actually because they hadn’t seen one before and wanted to buy one! One good thing about this checkpoint – it is ONLY for First Class & Business Class customers, there is no mixing with economy customers, at all. After 10 minutes, I took the elevators up to the departure level, expecting an empty concourse.

Boy was I wrong.

I could barely walk. This place felt like it housed the entire world population. Of the 115 or so airports I have visited, I don’t think I’ve been on a concourse this busy, EVER.

The airport boasts a massive shopping system, run by Dubai Duty Free, which will sell you everything from Tums to a car (well, there was at least a “lottery” for it). I was very impressed with all of the shopping options, and the food choices (which even included a Burger King) could satisfy every taste bud. Every single restaurant was open, and it was barely 5a – something unheard of in the US. The zen garden was even quite busy, which is touted as a “quiet oasis” in the airport. Sure. Quieter, maybe.

I did discover that each side of the concourse has a corridor behind the shops, which was MUCH quieter and easier to navigate if you knew where you were going. The signs at the airport also showed you how far, in minutes, the gates were – which was a very handy thing to know. I must admit, the airport provides plenty of places to sit, so I never had to walk too far if I wanted to take a break.

Free wifi seemed to be available all over the airport.I It wasn’t very fast, but I was able to check my cranky e-mail and Facebook without a hitch and without having to sign up to Boingo or another annoying service. It was quite slow in the lounges, though, maybe due to high use?

After walking around the zoo concourse for a while, I opted to head upstairs to the First Class lounge. The clubs are accessible by 1 set of escalators or stairs in the middle of the concourse, with the First Class lounge on one side, Business Class on the other, and a hotel/spa above the lounges. Upon entry, I came across the largest floral arrangement I have ever seen and enjoyed the smell. (I’d later find out this cost over $900 and is replaced every 3 days with fresh flowers).

Friendly staff checked my reservation and allowed me in (I was told that Emirates will soon be limiting which lounges passengers can access once the new concourse is built, making things a bit more “exclusive”). To the left was a very nice and quaint water feature/pond with small cushions around it. There was sporadic seating spread about with numerous bars/food stations served by waitresses eager to please. I continued down the hallway and noticed it wasn’t very noisy, despite being able to look down and see the concourse below.

There were very few passengers in the lounge and at every turn an employee asked if I needed anything. “My pleasure to assist” was said more frequently than at a Four Seasons or Ritz. I came across the restaurant where I sat down and was offered a 3-course breakfast along with buffet. I opted for the buffet as I didn’t want to overeat.

The buffet offered a large variety of hot and cold foods, including eggs, chicken sausage (white, by the way), baked beans (really? for breakfast?), and pastries. Anything I wanted, the server would get or make for me. Behind me was the smoking area/lounge, and I kept smelling the smoke as I ate. As soon as I was done, I discovered the shower room, which had about 8-10 private showers and shower attendant waiting for you, along with the La Croc wine shop, Spa/hair salon, and more sitting areas. What I appreciated was the fact they had real sofas and chairs, not just office furniture, and TVs in most of the sitting areas – perfect if you are traveling with friends and want to watch TV or chat.

First Class passengers are given express treatments, free of charge – they include de-stress back massage, reflexive therapy (leg/feet – this one struck me odd as I thought Islamic law forbade touching or exposing one’s feet?), refresh manicure, hair shaping, and blow dry. Other treatments were available for US$21 to $55 and full spa treatments start around $100 and go up to $200.

The lounge was very spacious and had ample places to charge any electronics. The business center was very nice, with fairly large work stations, nice chairs, and a TV in an enclosed room. The lounge provided many magazines and newspapers from around the world (was surprised to see the Charlotte and Houston papers available!) and the vibe was very relaxing. Someone mentioned I had just missed Kim Kardashian (oh darn), who was in town to launch her overly expensive milkshake store at the Dubai Mall. Apparently her soon-to-be-ex-hubby wasn’t with her.

My next stop was to check the Business Class lounge. Entry was much more chaotic, with twice the welcome staff at the door,. My initial view of the lounge showed that it was very crowded. Like the First Class lounge, it had ample places to sit in a variety of areas that all had different layouts. I didn’t notice a restaurant but found numerous eating areas – the food wasn’t quite the same as found in the First Class lounge.

I noticed a long line for the showers (as noted on FlyerTalk) and the bathrooms were quite busy. The Business Class lounge also had a Timeless Spa, and there didn’t appear to be a wait had I chosen to get a massage or manicure before the flight. Like the First Class lounge, there was an enclosed business center with computers, TV, and leather chairs (not the lazy boy kind, but the nicer office-type chairs). The children’s lounge was also enclosed, keeping screaming kids separated.

Overall, the lounges were very nice. To Emirates’s credit, both lounges were very clean, which was surprising considering the time of day was at their peak use.

Next stop was to see if I could go for a swim. . . . I went up one level and saw the pool in a glass-enclosed room behind the elevators and no one using it. I followed the signs to the Timeless Spa, but found the doors to be closed, and wasn’t even sure if this was the correct entrance. I continued walking down the corridor and was in the hotel. The airport has a 60-some room hotel above the lounges in the concourse.

I tried to research the hotel and came up with almost nothing on the Emirates or Dubai airport websites, including how to make a reservation and rates – nada. I found the staff very welcoming and willing to show me a room, which seemed to be very “acceptable” for $50 an hour or $160 for 4-6 hours. The rates are slightly higher if you occupy a room between 6p and 6a, and the agent showing me the room said that you can get lower rates online (great, but where online?).

24 hours in a room would easily cost you $350, even though you could leave the airport and get a room at Le Meridien for $150 and have the use of 3 outdoor pools and 18 restaurants. The hotel is about as “full service” as you can get, and amazingly you don’t hear any noise at all from inside the rooms.

Considering that Emirates is using the “original” U.S. airline model of hub-and-spoke, they have done a great job of controlling their product offered inflight, on the ground, and in the airport. The airline is using super jumbos like the A380 and larger Boeing 777 models to link the world – connecting big planes to other big planes – as their business model. While at the airport, I saw every nationality and gender represented.

I felt more like I was in the Pittsburgh Airport in the ‘90s (when USAirways had a mega-hub there) than I did in an Arabic country. . . and I think that’s what the UAE is trying to do. They did a great job of it. The airport is already overcrowded, and Concourse 3 is almost completed, which will be exclusive for the A380. Hopefully this will give passengers a bit more breathing room as it was quite crowded.

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You can see more of Nate’s photos on Flickr

A couple months ago, Emirates asked if I’d like to fly out to Dubai to spend 24 hours in the airport so that we could experience all that it had to offer. Though the idea of impersonating Tom Hanks in The Terminal sounded fun, I couldn’t take the trip. Fortunately, Nate Vallier, one of our concierges and a blogger himself stepped up to the challenge and set off on an adventure. In the end, thanks to red tape in Dubai, Nate wasn’t allowed to stay in the airport the whole time, but he did have an eye-opening experience. This is part one, the trip out to Dubai. There will be more over the next few weeks. (And yes, Emirates provided the flight and accommodations for Nate without charge.)

I’ll let Nate take it from here. . . .
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When asked if I’d be willing to fly to Dubai and experience Emirates, it was almost immediately followed by “when can I go?”. Never in my life did I think of Dubai as a destination, nor did I think of flying Emirates. Being an American, I’m addicted to my frequent flyer loyalty and would have never considered Emirates.

The booking process was completed by Emirates Corporate Communications staff, but I did the research to make sure I picked the ideal seat. I chose 9K on the 777-300 on the way out, but after seeing how I’d be almost “locked” in at the window, I moved to 8K – bulkhead window despite SeatGuru giving it a low score (which it should not have, and as of today, the site still hasn’t updated the seatmap to reflect the inaccuracies there).

Emirates provides premium cabin passengers a complimentary chauffeur service to the airport. I was able to enter my pick-up point online along with my contact number, and select how many hours prior to departure to be picked up. Unfortunately Emirates doesn’t provide an e-mail confirmation, so there was no way to confirm everything, and I was a little nervous. I was relieved when I found the car waiting at my pick-up point in San Francisco. At 1:45PM we were set to go, with a chilled bottle of water and wet-wipes.

After a 35 minute drive, we arrived at SFO. I had previously arrived on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle and dropped my bags off at the Travel Agency – they will watch your bags for $20 per bag (higher for larger bags). At the Emirates counter, I found a long line for coach but no line for Business/First Class. At check-in, my bags were tagged with priority tags, and all carry-ons were also tagged and weighed. A pass for the United Club (the lounge Emirates is using until its own opens up) was given to me, along with my checked luggage tag and boarding pass.

I passed through security and then went to the club, which seemed “bare” to me. I was expecting a full service bar with televisions all over. There were lots of chairs and powerports, along with a self-service beverage bar and munchies, but the bathroom was not very clean and the overall club just felt very “sterile”. After 45 minutes, I went down to duty free then went to board my flight.

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October 14, 2011
Emirates 226 Lv San Francisco 445p Arr Dubai 720p
San Francisco (SFO): Gate 99, Runway 28R, Depart 2m Early
Dubai (DXB): Gate 229, Runway 30L, Arrive 27m Early
A6-EGB, Boeing 777-300ER, Standard Emirates livery, ~50% Full in First, 100% in Biz, 98% in Coach
Seat 8K
Flight Time 15h15m

Boarding was done through 2 doors but it was really just 1 jet bridge that divided into two. There was a massive line for economy while the first/business line was very quick. As I walked down the jetway, I found an employee at the split, separating the passengers. I found my seat, stowed my luggage in the largely empty bins, and found a large pillow, blanket, and noise cancelling headsets waiting for me.

Within moments, Susan, who would be my flight attendant, came by offering champagne, orange juice, or water in a glass (something I haven’t seen on a US carrier in a long time). As boarding continued, I started playing with the ICE system, which has over 1500 channels and hundreds upon hundreds of movies on demand. The TV is controlled by two remotes – one is a phone and another is a touch-screen monitor that is about the size of a small tablet. The main tv screen is also a touch screen, but mine was on the bulkhead nearly 3 feet in front of me. There was a universal power port and 2 USB ports as well.

One annoyance was 8J’s tv. . . it was built into a partition between our seats and was much closer to me than my own screen. Emirates does have a cool feature that allows you to watch what your seatmate is watching as well (but I didn’t use it, no offense to Babs fans, but I’ve seen Funny Girl a few too many times).

Announcements were in Arabic and English, and after the closing of the door the purser greeted me and advised she would show me around the plane after the service, which never happened. (Emirates had apparently alerted her that I would be onboard.) We pushed back on time, and I was able to watch us slowly taxi to the runway. Climbout was nice and smooth, and visibility was perfect.

Service began 30 minutes after departure with warm nuts and my drink, the flight attendant was still shocked I only wanted water (which was delivered with no ice). Sleeping pads and amenities kits were then handed out (and it was by far the best amenity kit I’d ever received). Many passengers immediately went to sleep, but I opted to play with ICE and watch a movie.

The flight attendant came to pull out my tray table, but the linen and personalized service isn’t what impressed me the most; it was the fact the tray table pulled up then slid forward at least a foot.

The presentation was done very well, but I opted for sweet tomato soup and immediately noticed it was cold. I figured it was just the Arabic way of serving it, only to be advised by the galley flight attendant he should have served it warm. He asked if I wanted a new one, but I passed as I was already halfway done. Once done, Susan took it away and brought my steak with garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, turnips, and a garlic spinach flan. (And yes, mom, I ate the turnips!)

I opted for some red wine – the Sarget de Gruaud Larose – and I was impressed that Emirates flight attendants used a wine carrier with 3 to 4 bottles on it along with glasses. It made the wine service very efficient. The meal was good, and the steak was fairly juicy. The only negative? The passenger in 8F was shaken awake for meal service. . . .

After dinner, I opted to pass on dessert so I could nap for a few hours. The bed controls were in two places – one built into the seat on the right, and another on the TV remote. The bed took about 30 seconds to get into the full flat position, and I immediately noticed that below the arm rests, the storage areas double as “shoulder room”, which resulted in a very VERY restful nap. (My previous flat bed experience was in the United First Class Suite and I felt very claustrophobic.)

I kept my monitor on the airshow and listened to music while I slept. I woke up just past the north pole and was able to easily slide past 8J to use the lav. It had toothpaste/toothbrushes along with shaving kits, and a fresh flower. As soon as I went back to my seat, Susan offered me more water and I noticed some Godiva chocolates in the cupholder.

I looked out my windows and noticed I hadn’t put the shades down. To my amazement they were electronically controlled with 2 shades – one paper-type shade and then a black-out shade. I was hoping for my inflight-bites, but apparently I had to ask for it. I ordered chicken tikka marsala, and for my first taste of the middle east, it was really good.

I then napped again for another 2 hours to wake up over Russia approaching the Caspian Sea. According to airshow, we were in daylight. I started to raise the window shade and noticed the sunrays fill the cabin, so I closed it as to not disturb others. I remembered the purser never came to show me the plane, so I asked for her, and Susan asked if anything was wrong (apparently only the purser knew I was on board to write about the product).

Breakfast was served while over the Caspian Sea as the cabin was transitioning from stars/blue to a nice gentle orange color. The first setting was a great fruit plate with rolls followed by pancakes. The pancakes were tasty but could have used maple syrup. After breakfast the purser came to welcome me into First Class and I took seat 1F. My mouth was on the ground. . . this was a ROOM, not a seat.

The seat was very comfortable and felt like a Cadillac seat. There was an electronic mini bar in the console along with the tray table. There were electronically controlled doors with a “do not disturb” option. There were 3 light fixtures in the “suite” – a small lamp, a reading light above the seat, and one adjacent to the tv. Each light had 2 dim settings, all controlled by the remote.

The TV was a bit larger than the business class ICE, and the seat had a lot more storage. It also had a vanity with very handy lotions and “sniff kits”, which help reduce jetlag – and they were simply AMAZING. Under the TV was also a writing kit, including a pen and paper.

There were no overhead bins in First Class, so it had a very open feeling, despite being ‘compartmentalized’. The bar was more of a social “standing” area, and there were no passengers using it.

As it started to get dark, again, we were approaching Dubai. I could no longer remove the remote and the doors wouldn’t close on the suite. I had the remote tuned to the nose camera and kept flipping through the TV. There was a short feature prior to landing in Dubai, followed by more clean-up by the FAs. I then flipped over to the nose camera hoping to get a good view of our approach, however it was very humid and visibility wasn’t very good. Our landing was smooth and we had a short taxi to the gate.

Upon landing, I noticed that the flight attendants held back the economy cabin passengers until all first/business class passengers were off. The flight attendants wouldn’t let me go back to coach during the flight (probably, annoyingly, to prevent a negative review), so after a 10 minute wait on the ground, I headed back to coach to check it out.

Seeing a 10 abreast layout on Seatguru, I knew it would have been a tight fit. And thank god I was in business, as I would not have lasted in economy on this flight. Sure, I felt a good 2 more inches of legroom, but the seat was much tighter than other seats (while I could put the arm rest down, my shoulders ate up a good 1/4 of the middle seat). At least economy seats had the same ICE system and power ports.

Upon arrival in the terminal, it was a decent hike to the “sky train”, which is an elevator that looked more like a room, down to immigration. I was able to use the fast track line and was through in a few minutes.

My first impression was that I entered a Las Vegas casino, with huge columns and a very open customs and bag claim area. My VIP meet and greet had my bags and we walked right through customs with no questions.

I’d like to thank Nick B at Boeing, who has spent many months on this route flying between Seattle and Doha. His tips of not sleeping the entire journey and taking shorter naps with movies at intervals really helped, as I did not feel jet lagged at all, which was one of my largest concerns of the trip. While walking to customs, I was kind of shocked that I had just gotten off of a 15 hour flight, my body certainly didn’t feel like it.

With Allegiant deciding to flee Long Beach at the end of this month, I sensed there was a unique experience that I would regret missing out on if I didn’t jump on it. I had the chance to fly Allegiant to Vegas and then Spirit back to LAX. This head-to-head comparison could be had for less than $50 total. Just to make things fun, I was determined to do it without paying a single fee. I almost succeeded.

Buying the Tickets
My first decision was to pick the day to go. I of course looked for the cheap days and the days where the flight times worked. Spirit keeps a fairly consistent schedule but Allegiant is all over the map. The morning flight on Wednesdays looked best, because it would give me 3 hours in Vegas to connect. I knew I needed a buffer in case Allegiant was delayed (and it was).

I first went to AllegiantAir.com to buy my ticket. The website is a bit clunky but I found my flight on November 2 for $10.01. I declined the myriad of seat assignment fees, bag fees, car rentals, hotels, etc before finally getting to the final screen. My ticket had still ballooned from $10 to over $50. Why?

Allegiant slaps on a “convenience” fee of $17 per ticket if you book online. The airline also snuck a transfer in on the website which I would have had to de-select. Knowing that I would be running by Long Beach Airport, I figured I’d just drop in and save the $17.

Tickets can be bought within an hour after every flight departure, but finding out when each flight departs wasn’t easy. I did figure it out, and it took me only 10 minutes to get ticketed so I was able to avoid a parking fee at the airport. Total ticket price was $20.71 with a mere $9.31 going to Allegiant and the rest to the feds.

With Spirit, I wasn’t so lucky. I went on the website and got the same kind of experience as Allegiant though the fees were displayed more clearly and the site looked more professional. On Spirit, there’s an $8.99 passenger usage fee each way, and I wasn’t about to drive up to LAX just to avoid that. I gave in and paid $28.69 for the trip with $8.37 going to Spirit for the fare plus $8.99 for the passenger usage fee. That was the only fee I’d pay on the whole trip.

Checking In
The day before departure, I went to check in for both flights. Allegiant just gave me an error message saying that since I hadn’t paid for an assigned seat, I couldn’t check in online. If I wanted to pay for a seat, I could call Allegiant. I knew that was the case, but this was very poor presentation. Why not let me pay right there? (Not that I was going to . . .)

Spirit does things differently. When you check in, they try to upsell you more on bags, seats, etc. If you pass, then they just assign you a random seat, which is, of course, a middle. I ended up in seat 19B, printed my boarding pass, and I was set with them.

When I bought my Allegiant ticket, the people at the counter said it was a madhouse and people usually really did need to arrive 2 hours before departure. But they said that the Wednesday morning flight was lighter so I could get there 1.5 hours early and I’d be fine.

I parked on a side street off the airport and walked the 10 minutes into the terminal. Once there, I found nobody waiting at the Allegiant counter. I checked in and the first thing the agent said was that the flight was delayed “about 30 minutes.” Had Allegiant actually offered flight status on its website, I would have known this when I checked. Unfortunately, it just redirects to you FlightView and has no delay info. Boo. She then said the airplane was only half full so I’d have an easy time picking an open seat. I got my boarding pass, which was Z17 and went to wait at the gate.

The Flights
There is no Allegiant presence in the gate area – they just board from the Delta gate. When the airplane finally arrived, they started boarding and there was some confusion. First they did some pre-boarding for those who paid. Then they board those who paid for assigned seats (about 15 boarded). After that, they boarded families and then open seating in groups of 10.

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November 2, 2011
Allegiant 551 Lv Long Beach 1005a Arr Las Vegas 1110a
Long Beach (LGB): Gate 23, Runway 12, Depart 54m Late
Las Vegas (LAS): Gate D1, Runway 1L, Arrive 51m Late
N868GA, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83, New Darker Sun Allegiant livery, ~50% Full
Seat 9F
Flight Time 46m

I did the long walk to the airplane and saw it in shiny new paint. What a beauty, especially with the iconic Fly DC Jets sign in the background. I figured this might be the last chance I’d have to fly a Douglas aircraft out of its Long Beach home.

The interior was clean but the fixtures looked old. I loved it. Nobody seemed to be in a hurry and in the end, we left about an hour late. The Santa Ana winds were kicking up so I had the chance to experience my first departure from runway 12.

As you can see in the video, we took off like a rocket, and circled over Long Beach before heading toward Vegas. Being in the front of the airplane, I could hear nothing but the slipstream. I love that airplane. It’s so funny, because were I stuck sitting in the back next to the engine, I would have a very different opinion.

The flight was quick as we went by Disneyland and Ontario Airport. By the time we had passed over the Cajon Pass, the flight attendants had already done their beverage-only service. Sticking with my no-fee plan, I passed. Soon we were descending over the desert, and we landed straight in to the north.

I got off the airplane and noticed that half of the D concourse we were using was fenced off. I took the train back to the main terminal and went through security at the B gates, where Spirit flew out of. This time, I opted for the Millimeter Wave scan instead of opting out, and they really have sped the process up dramatically. It was quite efficient.

By now, I had about 1.5 hours until my flight back, so I wandered. I strolled down the A concourse where Spirit uses a couple gates and US Airways uses a couple more. One whole part of it is fenced off and it’s really quite empty. (And THIS is an airport that’s building another terminal. Yeah, that’s a good idea.)

I went back to the B gates and found my airplane waiting there in the old black cube colors. I went up to the gate and asked if I could change my seat or if that would cost money. The agent laughed and said that no, he could change my seat at the gate without charge.

He asked if I wanted an exit row, and I stared at him wondering what the catch was. He said that it was again no charge at the gate – first come first served. And since the flight was less than half full, there wasn’t much demand.

I parked myself in the empty gate area and waited until it was time to board. Spirit has a much more normal boarding process, using zones. They boarded zone 1 and 2 but apparently, that’s only for exit rows and people sitting in the Big Front Seats. Only three of us boarded.

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November 2, 2011
Spirit 411 Lv Las Vegas 2p Arr Los Angeles 310p
Las Vegas (LAS): Gate B2, Runway 7L, Depart 8m Early
Los Angeles (LAX): Gate 67A, Runway 25L, Arrive 5m Early
N507NK, Airbus A319-132, Black Cubes Livery, ~30% Full
Seat 11F/9F
Flight Time 42m

The first thing I noticed was the advertising on the bulkhead, on the overhead bins, on the seatbacks…. It didn’t bother me , but the advertisers are certainly getting their money’s worth.

I took my exit row seat and found it to be horribly uncomfortable. The seat lacked padding, as exit rows often do, and it felt like it was reclined forward. I moved up a couple rows to a standard row and found the seat pitch tight but it was for more comfortable. Certainly nothing that would bother me on a short flight like this.

But I couldn’t stay long. The flight attendant said that everyone had to sit in their assigned seats for weight and balance. Really? Ok, so I went back to my generous exit row legroom. I did notice that the seats were very well worn and there was a lot of junk in the seatback pockets, but it was just fine.

Soon, we were pushing back to take off, but then we sat. Other airplanes passed us to depart, so I assumed there was some sort of flow control delay into LA. The pilots never said anything and after about a 10 minute wait, we were on our way.

We had barely made the turn back toward LA after our westbound departure before the flight attendants started pitching the Spirit credit card. That was followed by a pass through the aisles asking if anyone wanted “purchased items.” Then they came back through and handed out credit card apps. Believe it or not, people actually took them.

Unlike on the Allegiant flight up, the Spirit pilots turned the seatbelt sign off quickly. As soon as they did, I headed back up a couple rows to the more comfortable seat.

After the early quick passes, the flight attendants went back to the galley while travelers slept or read. I just stared out the window as we headed toward LA.

It was an uneventful landing and we pulled in to our gate in the war zone known as Terminal 6 a few minutes early. Terminal 6 is under massive construction preparing for the Alaska move next year, and it’s a mess right now. My wife picked me up at the curb and we headed back down to Long Beach.

The Verdict
Both of these airlines gave great value for the money, and that’s no surprise. I mean, if you pay $48 roundtrip, it’s hard to get poor value as long as the flights get you there. Most of the things that bugged me could easily have been resolved by paying for an extra level of service. And that’s great. I’m more than happy to have the choice to pay for what I want. So, who was better?

While I loved the MD-80 ride on Allegiant, I have to give the nod to Spirit for being more polished. Spirit seemed to be more clear about the model throughout the entire process. The website was pretty easy to use and the nature of the product was very clear throughout the process. My biggest complaint about Allegiant is really on the operational side.

Allegiant has no flight status on its website so it’s impossible to know for sure if your flight is delayed unless you just look for an inbound flight on a flight tracking service. There’s no reason they have to be so difficult with those kinds of things. I also found Allegiant’s boarding process to be pretty confusing with some assigned seats and some open seating. The whole process just ran more smoothly on Spirit.

But in the end, both did a good job.

[See more photos from the trip]

Geoff is back, following up his Emirates shower experience with another long trip report about the best flight he’s ever had. I thought it would be good to give you a little (or, actually, a lot) quality reading material for a Wednesday when the blog is usually dark. Enjoy.

As you may remember from my report here about taking a shower onboard the Emirates A380, I’m really into premium cabin flying. Mostly thanks to frequent flier miles I’ve managed to sample international First Class on a wide array of carriers and aircraft types. That’s a lot of caviar and champagne and flat bed suites — and a lot of great memories and stories. I often get asked which was my favorite airline or airplane, or my best flight, and in the past I have found it hard to pick one.

My favorite airport experience? Hands down it’s Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, an entirely separate building that is a giant luxury lounge, and from which you are driven onto the tarmac and directly to your plane like a rockstar.

My favorite whimsical cabin feature? The Emirates A380 shower, which turned out to be as cool to do as it is to say you’ve done.

But earlier this year I had a flight experience that was exceptional from beginning to end. Everything from the seat to the service to the food and drink to the entertainment system was fantastic. Despite all seats being occupied, I spent most of the flight entirely oblivious to anyone else being on board. And after spending over *15 hours* on this airplane, I was still in such a state of sybarite bliss when we got to the gate that I wished I didn’t have to get off — which had never happened even after the best of my best flights before.

So now I have a clear-cut answer to the question: First Class on Cathay Pacific’s 777.

The Backstory
I’d flown Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific on short flights within Asia in the past, and was very impressed. Singapore Airlines and Cathay are often considered top Asian carriers, and after having finally flown Singapore in First Class last year I decided I had to try Cathay’s longhaul First Class to compare.

Cathay is a partner of Alaska Airlines, and so for a lot of Alaska miles and $90 in taxes I was set, a fantastic value compared to the five-figure retail cost. My outbound flight was S.F. to Hong Kong on a 777-300ER, which has a small six-seat First Class cabin in a two row 1-1-1 configuration. The center seats open onto the right side aisle; since I was traveling alone I was pleased to be able to reserve Seat 1A, which maximized privacy and minimized noise from other passengers. Unlike Singapore’s “Book the Cook”, there is no fancy pre-ordering system for meals on Cathay, so once I was ticketed there was nothing more to do than look forward to the trip.

The Flight
Waking up on the morning of an international First Class flight I always feel giddy like a kid on Christmas.
There were great views of SFO as usual on the quick train ride over from the rental car facility, and as we arrived our aircraft was just pulling up to the gate.

I snapped a quick pic of it, and then decided to venture outside and get a shot of my favorite terminal building in the U.S., the decade-old SFO International, which still looks as great inside and out as when it first opened in December 2000.

Then it was inside and over to Cathay check-in. There was no wait at the First Class check-in counter, where a friendly agent checked my bag and handed me my boarding pass. After some shopping at the cool SF MoMA store I used the priority security lane for premium cabin passengers and was through in an uneventful ten minutes. From there it’s just a short walk to the British Airways lounge that Cathay uses.

The lounge has a main area for Business Class passengers with self-service bars and a buffet, and a separate small First Class room with its own food and drink. Both have great views out to widebody aircraft being fueled and loaded just a few feet away, and on this day both were teeming with passengers. I staked out the one unclaimed couch in the First Class room and helped myself to some sparkling water and dumplings. I picked up an SF Chronicle to read on the plane, and killed some time using one of the Internet terminals. A lounge attendant circulated picking up trash and keeping the food area stocked and tidy.

The lounge isn’t particularly fancy, but it was clean and decently comfortable. In addition to the views, the other great feature is that you board directly from the lounge without having to go back out to the gate. When boarding began about 40 minutes before departure there was a PA announcement, and a long line formed. No one came to whisk me to the front, so I waited in the line, and in five minutes was headed down the jetway…

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Cathay #879 Lv San Francisco 1208p Arr Hong Kong 730p (next day)
SFO: Gate A6, Runway 28R, Depart 13m Late
HKG: Gate 66, Runway 25R, Arrive 25m Late
Boeing 777-300ER, B-KPG (delivered Feb 2008)
Seat 1A, 6/6 F Suites Occupied
Flight Time 14h44m

The Christmas morning feeling was back as I arrived at my seat and got my bearings. The cabin was gleaming on the three year-old aircraft. There are no overhead bins in First Class, which gives an airy feel. Instead, there’s room to stow bags under the ottoman end of the seat as well as a personal closet built into the side of the suite in which you can hang your jacket and clothes and store other items.

Photo taken by Flyertalk’s SFO777 and shows seat 1F. You can read his detailed trip report here.

As I was getting settled, a flight attendant came by and greeted me by name. She brought a pillow, removed its protective wrapping and handed it to me, and took my pre-departure drink order. She was soon back with a bottle of Krug Grande Cuvee and an elegant and large glass champagne flute, and executed a flawless restaurant-style pour holding the bottle from the bottom. Off to a good start, indeed.

While I was familiarizing myself with the seat controls her colleagues were by with the amenity kit, Shanghai Tang pajamas and slippers, newspapers and magazines, a water bottle, and an elegant washcloth-style hot towel. My glass was topped up and then I was presented with the menu and wine list, with the flight attendant going out of her way to let me know that I could dine “at my pleasure” and was not forced into any set meal order or timing.

As we pushed back and taxied out I took stock of the seat, which was very comfortable in seat mode (you’d be surprised – some flat bed seats are great as beds but lousy as seats). My legs fully extended were just resting on the ottoman, which is an impressive amount of room since I am 6’4″. The seat is 36″ wide, but unlike Singapore’s similarly ultra-wide seat, the space doesn’t feel wasted. This is partly because the Cathay seat has a great fold-down armrest console and also because the Cathay seat is 10″ longer than Singapore’s and its proportions just work better. There’s a storage compartment built into the window ledge as well as storage on the ledge itself, and another handy compartment for magazines and water bottles just below the massive 17″ entertainment screen.

SFO777′s wife in seat 2F. You can see just how wide the seat is, and the strap for lowering the armrest console is just visible below the pillow to the right of her shoulder.

With a long take off roll and a few shimmies we took off to the west, and as soon as the wheels were up the cabin was impressively quiet. The FAs were up quickly to set up the galley, and soon the Inflight Service Manager (Purser) came by to welcome me on board. I had mentioned to her colleague earlier that it was my first longhaul flight on Cathay, which the ISM acknowledged saying that her staff would make sure it was a memorable experience. It was the kind of pleasantry I’d heard dozens of times, but the rare case in which the promise was truly delivered.

My lunch order was soon taken and not long after another glass of champagne had been brought, the FA was back to set my table. On top of the massive and sturdy tray table went a linen tablecloth, and then she individually laid out each service item elegantly and with precise attention to detail and placement. Along with the basics (silverware, salt and pepper shakers, water glass, butter dish, etc.) was a “Bon Appetit” card with a handwritten and personalized note from the crew inside. I thought the set-up was impressive… and then the first course arrived.

Only a few airlines still serve caviar in First Class, and yet Cathay apparently decided that caviar alone isn’t enough, as along with the caviar and its garnishes were two large sashimi-style pieces of smoked salmon. Toast points were brought to supplement my personal bread basket, as was a lemon served on its own dish. It all tasted as great as it looked, and while the caviar part was similar to what is served on Singapore, the delicious smoked salmon really put Cathay’s presentation over the top.

After that was cleared came the salad course. The combination of king crab, teardrop tomatoes and dried cranberries may sound a bit odd, but it was excellent.

Everything was fresh and it was so much more interesting and tasty than the typical airplane salad with some shaved parmesan on top of a pile of wilted greens.

After each course the flight attendant checked on my drink and brought out the appropriate silverware for the following course. The pacing was just right; I never felt rushed nor sat long waiting. Every request I made was graciously and quickly fulfilled. Next came the fennel and apple soup, which like the previous courses was truly restaurant quality.

Further credit for smart seat design comes from how easy it is to get up even while the tray is out. The tray slides forward and back, and there is plenty of room on the aisle side of the seat. I made a quick visit to the lavatory which was spotless; what it didn’t have that Singapore does have are a hands-free sink and a floor pedal to open the trash bin. (A minor quibble – but hopefully we’ll see both standard on all airplanes soon.)

When I returned it was time for my entree, and the FA insisted on offering me a tasting pour of both white wines, the Estancia Reserve 2007 Chardonnay and the Meursault 2006. I chose the French to go with my lobster and crab ravioli. The wine was excellent; the entree was the only part of the meal that was “just okay” by restaurant standards, which meant that for airplane food it was well above average.

Before dessert I had my arm twisted into sampling some of the four cheeses on offer, with fancy crackers and grapes on the side. Then came bread pudding with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, accompanied by a small glass of special vintage Sauternes. And after that bacchanal, there were pralines accompanying the fancy coffee service, in which the sugar cubes had their own plate. It took every ounce of restraint not to sample the Johnny Walker Blue Label or Glenfiddich Reserve Single Malt, but this was a marathon not a sprint, and I stuck with coffee and water.

At this point there was still 12 hours of flying time remaining – which I knew because the countdown and local time at destination are thoughtfully displayed on the entertainment system’s remote, a smart touch. Once my tray was cleared and I was duly refreshed by another hot towel, I reclined about two-thirds back and pulled the entertainment screen out on its telescoping arm to position it for prime viewing. Cathay claims there are 100+ movies and 500+ TV shows in its on-demand system, and I had little trouble finding things to watch, starting with “The Social Network”, then the old Leo DiCaprio movie “The Beach” and then episodes of recent TV shows. The navigation and controls were fairly intuitive and the noise cancelling headset was comfortable and effective.

As great as it was having a sated belly, a comfortable seat and good entertainment, what made this experience unique compared to my most memorable flights on other airlines (and even my later experiences on Cathay’s 747) was the remarkably private and quiet cabin environment. All six seats were occupied, but because the center seats open onto the right aisle and have a privacy wall on the left side, the only times I saw another passenger while seated were the few times that the one guy behind me got up to go to the bathroom. There was a bit of foot traffic from flight attendants going back and forth, but more than any other flight I’ve been on, I felt like I was on my own private plane.

After about 3 hours of lounging I decided I was ready for some sleep, and summoned a flight attendant to make up my bed. The sheet and duvet and pillow are all great, but what truly stands out is the length of the bed. I didn’t have to curl up or contort – I could lie truly flat and fully extended, and still had room to toss and turn. It was hands-down the most spacious and comfortable bed I’ve ever flown in.

 
I got 4 hours of solid sleep, and could have napped longer but decided to get up both to enjoy the flight and as an anti-jetlag measure. Somehow I was actually hungry, and I ordered wonton noodle soup off the mid-flight snack menu. It took about 15 minutes to heat up and prepare, but when it arrived it hit the spot – no comparison to the off-brand cup o’ noodles that United serves as a snack in First on the same route.

After some more time spent reading, doing the NYT crossword and watching episodes of “Treme”, I decided I had to sample the one part of the wine list I hadn’t yet tried, and so I had a glass of their nicest red, Lynch Bages 2004 Grand Cru. It retails for over $125 and rivaled the best wine I’ve had on an airplane. Soon after, with several hours still to go before “dinner” I ordered a second snack, this time opting for crab cakes. They were great – and impressed me that even when it came to snacks, Cathay delivered a true First Class experience.

After more reading and dozing eventually it was time for dinner, and out came the tray table for the fourth time. It’s a lighter and less elaborate affair than the lunch service, which is fitting given that it was 2am San Francisco time. The first course was a fruit plate, which was fresh and good despite how long it had undoubtedly been sitting. The main course was a choice of chicken, beef, or crab cannelloni. I had the stir-fried beef with vegetables and rice. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but comfort food was what my body wanted at that point, and it did the trick. And there was still some fancy yet to come as they brought out the cheese board – with four different cheeses than at lunch. Of course there was also one last dessert, raspberry mousse cake, and a final tea and coffee service with pralines.

Once cleared, reality began to set in that we would soon be landing in Hong Kong and there would be no more drink refills or snacks or meals (and that I desperately needed to get to a gym the next day). It was the first time I’d ever been so comfortable after such a long flight that I wished I could stay on the airplane. I made one last trip to the lav to change back into my clothes and brush my teeth. We landed on a foggy afternoon at HKG, and I very reluctantly gathered my things as the Flight Attendants bade us goodbye by name and ensured that First Class deplaned first. I made a point of thanking them for their great service and telling the ISM what a nice flight I’d had.

I realize how relentlessly I’ve used glowing adjectives throughout this report, and I promise that I am no shy critic. Nor am I a shill for Cathay – I bought the ticket using miles and they had no idea I was going to write about them (neither did I, or else I would have taken more and better pictures). But it was downright hard to find things to complain about. I suppose the amenity kit, which carried a Zegna label but looked like a binocular case could have been nicer… And there could have been a more exclusive First Class lounge and boarding process at SFO.

On the other hand, each key element of the experience rivaled or beat the best I’ve flown before. From service to seat, bed, food and drink, entertainment system, and overall cabin privacy, it was really a sublime and memorable combination. I’ve had fantastic international First Class flights but I’ve never flown in a seat and bed that comfortable, and never experienced such a private jet atmosphere.

I connected to other Cathay flights on this trip, and they varied from good to great. But none reached the perfect ten of CX869 SFO-HKG in Seat 1A on the 777, which I now tell people was hands-down the best in my 1.2 million miles of flying.

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Geoff Fischer is an aviation and travel enthusiast currently living in Seattle

[IFE Remote and Wonton Soup photos also courtesy SFO777]

We had a wedding up in wine country this past weekend, and it was a typical trip on JetBlue from Long Beach, for the most part. It was, however, my first pat down courtesy of the TSA. That happened at SFO on the return, and though it didn’t bother me, it was VERY thorough. I’ll have more on that down below.

We were staying right near Santa Rosa Airport, so we thought about flying on the LAX nonstop on Horizon, but it was double the price. Not worth it, especially since we could pay half and fly from Long Beach instead. Tickets were bought on September 5 for $181.40 each into Oakland and back from SFO because it was cheaper (even with the small drop charge on the car).

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October 7, 2011
JetBlue 248 Lv Long Beach 315p Arr Oakland 435p
Long Beach (LGB): Gate 3, Runway 30, Depart 6m Early
Oakland (OAK): Gate 9, Runway 29, Arrive 8m Early
N552JB, Airbus A320-232, Windowpane Tail, “Blue Jay”, ~90% Full
Seat 14F
Flight Time 56m

I got to the airport a little early and my wife met me there later. I parked myself in front of the always-packed wine bar and watched the beginning of game 5 in the Dbacks-Brewers series. As a die-hard Dbacks fan since day one, I was very glad to be flying JetBlue so I could continuously watch the game on my way up.

Boarding started about 45 minutes before departure, and we were the last couple people on. (Had to wait for the inning to end, of course.) There was plenty of bin space despite the full flight, and I quickly flipped on the game. Not sure how I got lucky, but there was some glitch that had the TVs working in the “F” seats without interruption. PA announcements didn’t freeze the picture, and we didn’t even have to endure the long “welcome on board” video after takeoff. The only downside was that my wife’s TV (and many others around her) didn’t work. The tried a “partial reset” but it didn’t work. Go figure.

We weaved through what seemed like a busy day of traffic in the LA Basin and landed in Oakland on time. This felt like a fast flight since I was riveted to the game the whole time. I even made my wife wait a couple minutes until the inning was over to get off. Then we ran to the car and listened as the Dbacks lose a great one in extra innings. Sad, but I’m really glad I got to watch what ended up being a great game.

On Sunday morning, we headed back down to SFO, and I got a little nervous as we sat in fog on our way down. SFO + fog = suck, but not that day. It cleared out nicely and we were right on time.

At the TSA checkpoint, they were using the backscatter machines. I’d used them before, and it doesn’t bug me, but I figured this would be a good time to suffer through a TSA pat down since I hadn’t done one yet. I opted out and was told to stand to the side. They let my wife go right through the metal detector (and nobody else). Maybe pregnant women aren’t sent through the advanced imaging machines?

The worst part was waiting and then being grilled. It took about 10 minutes before a guy finally came over. He asked why I was opting out, and I told him I didn’t want to do it. He pushed me again and asked why. I couldn’t believe I was getting this kind of pressure, and just told him that I didn’t know much about the effects of the machine and wanted to get a pat down instead. He marked something in a book, apparently explaining why I opted out, and then we went on.

Like I said, that was the worst part. The pat down was incredibly thorough with long, lingering strokes over all parts of the body, but the guy doing it was very professional and explained everything before he did it. Probably the most invasive part was when he ran his fingers inside my waist band, but again, didn’t really phase me. After, he told me to sit while he tested his gloves for what I assume was trace explosive residue. That was it, and we were off to the gate.

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October 9, 2011
JetBlue 1435 Lv San Francisco 1225p Arr Long Beach 147p
San Francisco (SFO): Gate A10, Runway 28L, Depart 4m Early
Long Beach (LGB): Gate 1, Runway 30, Arrive 5m Late
N665JB, Airbus A320-232, Windowpane Tail, “Something About Blue”, ~95% Full
Seat 19A
Flight Time 1h00m

The gate agents were apparently in a very happy mood as they first congratulated a couple (via the electronic sign) that I assume got married. Their electronic boarding announcements were also punctuated with emoticons.

The guy taking boarding passes wasn’t nearly as friendly as the signs were. I asked him who Jeremy and Kerry (the couple receiving congrats) were, and he grumbled “I have no idea. This isn’t even my flight. I just came over here to help them out.” Ok.

As you can see, we got out early but landed late. What happened? It’s fleet week in San Francisco so they’ve restricted airspace to make room for all the demonstrations (Blue Angels and all). So we couldn’t take off from the usual runway 1L and instead had to taxi all the way out to 28L. That’s why we were delayed.

The flight was completely uneventful with beautiful views the whole way. My only complaint was around the TVs. As usual, the second we took off, they went into a long-winded welcome video. Then, as we sat off the coast, we couldn’t get a signal. There were a lot of agitated guys on the plane as the early NFL games were finishing up. Maybe 20 minutes into the flight, we got the TV signal back and a collective sigh of relief was heard.

After the early games were over, I flipped back to baseball. My favorite team after the Dbacks actually is the Brewers (picked them up when I moved to Chicago back in 2004, for some reason). So I found myself in the odd situation of rooting for the team I was rooting against just two days earlier.

We landed and taxied back to the south boarding lounge for the very last time. That’s right. The old JetBlue gates are being retired this week in favor of . . . more trailers. Seriously. They had to clear out the current one to build the new concourse, so there’s a brand new trailer park that you’ll probably see if you fly out of Long Beach on JetBlue in the next year or so.