Category Archives: Travelling

SAS WiFi – how fast is in-flight Internet on short-haul flights?

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SAS started to finally roll out in-flight WiFi for its short-haul fleet.

While having internet connection during the flight is definitely a huge improvement for SAS, their advertising of it might be a bit misleading.

How fast is SAS onboard WiFi?

SAS is claiming their WiFi is High Speed and allows to stream from Netflix. I recently took a SAS flight from Copenhagen to Munich and here’s a SpeedTest of the connection during that flight.

SAS onboard WiFi

SAS onboard WiFi

I wouldn’t say the speed is enough for comfortable streaming of Netflix or Youtube. Netflix automatically adjusts quality, when there isn’t enough internet speed, while Youtube was working properly only at 360p quality.

Switching quality to 480p makes Youtube to constantly lag and stop for buffering, which is less than pleasant experience. Surely, I wouldn’t even hope for any HD videos working fine.

Also, the connection was interrupted few times during a short 1,5 hours flight.

SAS not working WiFi

SAS not working WiFi

Perhaps, the speed and stability will increase in the future on short-haul flights, given that on SAS long-haul A330/340 fleet I haven’t experienced the same problem.

How to get SAS onboard WiFi?

Slow WiFi is still better than no WiFi.

SAS EuroBonus Gold and Diamond members and SAS Plus travelers can use in-flight WiFi for FREE and without any traffic limitation.

This’s a really nice perk for all top-tier members, especially after cutting down on luggage.

You can connect to WiFi using your SAS EuroBonus number or Last Name / Reservation Code combination.

Connecting to SAS in-flight WiFi for free

Connecting to SAS in-flight WiFi for free

All other passengers would have to pay 4,9 EUR / 49 SEK / 39 DKK / 49 NOK / 7 USD per WiFi key. 

Have you taken any SAS WiFi-equipped short-haul flights recently?

How was your internet experience and connection?

ANA First Class Suite (NH 212) London to Tokyo review

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Booking two seats in ANA First Class suites can be a challenge. Flight NH 212 is one out of only 3 daily flights from Europe to Japan, which is operated by ANA B777-300ER with First Class Suites installed.

It took me approximately 3 months to get these seats, as ANA usually releases just 1 First Class award seat on their long-haul flights.  Was it worth the trouble and time spent? Absolutely!

All Nippon Airways (ANA) NH 212 London to Tokyo First Class review

  • Flight: All Nippon Airways NH 212
  • London Heathrow (LHR) – Tokyo Haneda (HND)
  • Direct flight: duration 11h50m
  • First Class Suite
  • Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
  • Seats: 1D, 1G

ANA operates B777 with First Class Suites only on their flights between Tokyo to London/Frankfurt. It’s been next to impossible to find more than 1 award seat available on any of ANA European flights, especially from such a busy destination as London. However, by luck and checking the availability during 3 months, I managed to book one seat all the way back in August 2017, and second seat somewhere in the beginning of December, for departing on December 25th, 2017.

I had mixed expectations about the flight, awaiting the most to try Krug champagne, but was not very attracted to the cabin itself. Overall, my expectations were met.

If you have extra time before departure, it’s better spent in United Global First Lounge, rather than Singaporean First Class Lounge. Boarding First Class cabin was very fast, and I was welcomed by polite and smiley ANA flight attendants, who helped me to my seat, offered help with the carry-on and offered a drink (Krug :)).

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ANA First Class Suite Cabin and Seats

ANA First Class B777-300ER features 8 Suites in 1-2-1 configuration. I liked the design and colors of the cabin. The wooden design was looking clean and relaxing, while seats were big and comfortable, as it shall be in First Class cabins. Overhead bins provided enough storage for all passengers, especially given that the cabin was half empty.

The screen is reasonably-sized and entertainment system is working properly. During the sleeping time, the seat transforms into a full bed, ANA also provides nice, soft and comfortable bedding, in comparison to Asiana Airlines First Class Suites, where the pillow was just laughable.

The only negative thing about ANA First Class Suites is annoying privacy separator, which cannot be removed. If you’re traveling with someone, you have to constantly bend to be able to talk and see each other. Other airlines install separators which can be lifted up and down, but in ANA it’s impossible.

ANA First Class Dining and Drinking

Personally, my interest in flying ANA First Class was focused on trying Krug champagne and western menu, which features supposedly “one of the best steaks you can get in the skies”.

ANA Champagne

ANA First Class Krug Champagne

ANA First Class Krug Champagne

ANA First Class offers Krug Grande Cuvee and Louis Roederer Brut Millesime 2009 champagnes to First Class passenger. In my opinion, Louis Roederer is a better option for travelers who enjoy less sweet champagne, meanwhile, Krug is surely nothing to complain about.

Wine selection is also quite nice, and Sake and Shochu options are wider than in most of European bars and pubs! If they wouldn’t be that strong in alcohol, you can spend entire ANA flight just trying different Sake.

ANA Cuisine

When it comes to food, you have to be a seafood enthusiast to really appreciate ANA First Class Japanese cuisine. It wasn’t my case, as I had no idea about what are the 90% of the ingredients in Japanese dishes.

However, it didn’t stop me from asking for Oscietra black caviar, which is not officially advertised on the menu. And here’s a weird thing, ANA was carrying only 1 jar of black caviar for the entire first class cabin… My friend asked for it as well but was told I got the last portion. I find it extremely odd that one passenger gets black caviar, meanwhile another not. From my experience with Lufthansa, Asiana, and Thai Airways first class cabins, there is always enough black caviar for ALL the passengers, and even more, if someone doesn’t want it, but never a shortage.

For the main course, I decided to try ANA famous wagyu beef.  It was definitely a delicious cut of meat, especially with my previous experiences of getting steaks up in the air.

I’m also including “vegetarian Hindu” food served during the flight, which was pre-ordered by my friend. Overall, the friend was happy and satisfied with his vegetarian option, but I always find it of worse quality and presentation compared to standard menu meals.

Just before breakfast, I tried IPPUDO Daichi ramen (as I love ramen soups), which was very tasty and filling, making me pass on the breakfast itself, but there are photos of vegetarian breakfast instead.

ANA First Class Amenity Kit / Pajamas

ANA First Class Samsonite amenity kit

I LOVE collecting different airline’s amenity kits (well, if it’s not Lufthansa terribly designed one).

ANA is providing luggage-looking Samsonite cases, with The Ginza cosmetics and toothpaste/brush. For me, Lufthansa’s Amenity Kit features much better La Prairie cosmetics, but ANA is definitely not a bad option. It’s clearly miles ahead of the sad Thai Airways Amenity Kit.

ANA offers different “goodies” to First Class passengers, including standard socks, sleeping masks, earplugs, but also some truly fun ones, like beauty masks, refreshing towels and legs cooling pads (highly recommended for everyone to try, they are amazing!).

Pajamas were provided in different sizes. I found them to be a good quality and decent looking. When we were leaving the plane in Haneda airport, one of the flight attendants saw us packing our pajamas and offered us fresh and clean ones to take, and leave the used ones. This has never happened to us with any other airline.

ANA First Class Toilets

I was expecting ANA B777-300ER to be equipped with slightly bigger toilets. It was simply not big enough to comfortably change cloth in it. Restroom cosmetics are simpler than in Lufthansa but sufficient enough. Surely, which Japanese airline comes without a toilet, which has all those crazy washing/blowing options?

During the entire flight, toilets were clean and well maintained, nothing to complain about.

Overall:

I really liked my experience in ANA First Class Suite flying from London to Tokyo. Everything was close to being perfect, apart from the god damned seat separator. I would choose London over Frankfurt due to United First Class lounge, instead of waiting for the flight in Lufthansa Senator’s lounge.

ANA has very limited award seats availability, so if you manage to find a seat and it fits your travel plan, I wouldn’t wait and try to book it immediately.

Trip Report: First Class ANA and Asiana Airlines Europe-Asia

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Yet another amazing First Class experience came to an end, and there is much to remember and review!

This time I was lucky to get 2 seats on ANA First Class flight between London and Tokyo, which took me approximately 4 months to make it happen. Read more about ANA 2 seats reservation tricks here.

Route: CPH-LHR-HND-CGK-BKK-ICN-FRA-CPH
Points used: 95 000 SAS EuroBonus / person
Departure: December 25
Return: January 8
Travel time: over 60h
Classes: 2 First (ANA and Asiana), 4 Business (ANA, Thai and SAS), 1 Economy (SAS)

Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge in London Heathrow Airport

Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge in Heathrow Airport is located in The Queen’s Terminal (satellite pier T2B), next door to the Business Class lounge. It can be easily found by following signs in the airport.

The service was nice and polite, decent a la carte menu for breakfast and lunch, a small buffet of ready dishes, and proper table service. The area is quite small with a very dated and sad looking decor.

During morning hours the lounge is not crowded, allowing visitors to relax, enjoy a glass of champagne and do some airplane spotting.

United Global First Class Lounge in London Heathrow Airport

United Global First Lounge in London Heathrow Airport is the second and last First Class Lounge options for all StarAlliance travellers. Located just a few minutes away from Singaporian Lounge, I found United Global First Lounge to offer much better and pleasant environment.

It also provides a la carte menu, wide selection of drinks and quite interesting “old school” decoration, which I personally found to be quite cool.

This would be my #1 recommendation for First Class passengers in London Heathrow Airport.

ANA First Class Suite (NH 212) London to Tokyo review

One of the hardest flights to book for 2 persons, which took me more than 3 months to actually book.

Amazing experience in ANA First Class Suites onboard of B777-300ER. Positive sides: great service, delicious Krug champagne and tasty food.

However, the cabin design is quite annoying if you’re traveling with a companion. Why? Read the full review and watch the video.

ANA First Class Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport review

Freshly after arriving on ANA First Class Suites, ANA First Class Lounge in Haneda Airport provides a relaxing and fun experience after the trip.

The lounge is very spacious and comfy, polite and attentive service topped by one of my favorite champagnes Ayala, and a pleasant atmosphere.

It’s definitely a lounge to put on a “to-visit list”, but far away from Lufthansa First Class Lounges in Munich and Frankfurt.

ANA Business Class (NH 855) Tokyo to Jakarta review

This 9 hours flight from Tokyo to Jakarta is operated by Dreamliner B787, which I personally dislike.

However, ANA airlines has long-haul business class seat modification installed for this route. It’s definitely more comfortable than usual mid-ranged Dreamliner seats, as it’s offering fully flat beds.

As usual ANA has spot-on service, accompanied by a decent food and drinks menu.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class (TG 436) Jakarta to Bangkok review

New Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class cabin onboard Dreamliner B787.

A very, very pleasant surprise! Despite the business cabin not being the most advanced and private one, it looked very nice, felt fresh and was very comfortable.

As usual, Thai Airways provided very attentive, positive and smiling service, as well as tasty food and Veuve Cliquot champagne 🙂

Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa Panorama (Executive) Lounge review

I think TripAdvisor and endless booking webpages show relatively accurate picture of Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort at Karon Beach.

I just make a short review of the Panorama (Executive) Lounge, which can be accessed by Hilton Honors Diamond members or by booking Deluxe/Royal suite.

Overall, it works more like a bar than a lounge, but it’s a damn good bar by Thailand measurements, providing free drinks and a stunning sunset view :)!

Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class / StarAlliance Gold Lounge in Bangkok Airport

Relatively new StarAlliance Gold / SilverKris Business Class Lounge in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.

It’s a bit tricky to find as there’re no clear signs, so it took me more than 15 minutes to find it.

Overall, I think it’s the best StarAlliance Business Class Lounge in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, and let me explain you why…

EVA Air Business Class / StarAlliance Gold Lounge in Bangkok Airport

The newest StarAlliance Gold Lounge by EVA Air in Bangkok Airport.

It looks very cool from outside, but inside it’s a complete disaster.

I cannot understand who could have possibly agreed on such interior design within a “Business Class” Lounge concept. The lounge looks more like a nightclub, strip club, cheap bar, than a business class lounge.

Ridiculous lightning, poisonous colours and labirynt walks, read more why I personally hated this lounge….

Air France / KLM / SkyTeam Business Class Lounge in Bangkok Airport review

The only SkyTeam Elite lounge in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, which serves Air France, KLM, SkyTeam and PriorityPass travelers.

To my biggest surprise, it was the brightest and the best decorated lounge out of 4 lounges I’ve visited in Bangkok Airport. Very clean, with reasonable food and drinks selection, proper working and relaxing areas, combined with a nice view over the terminal.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class (TG 658) Bangkok to Seoul review

Good, old and ugly Thai Airways Boeing 747 upper-deck Business Class cabin…

I’ve taken this flight previously in First Class cabin. Clearly, it was a nicer experience to fly First than Business, but with a new improvement of Veuve Clicquot champagne being served in Thai Royal Silk Business Class, I just cannot complain on it!

So we had Veuve, and then more Veuve, and some more Veuve and a bit more of fresh and refreshing Veuve… If you look for more details, please read the short review (better if you have a glass of Veuve Clicquot in your hands).

Asiana Airlines First Class Suites (OZ 541) Seoul to Frankfurt review

Asiana Airlines is one of the easiest award flights to book, and yet the most exciting flight to take.

I could list 100s of ANA, Lufthansa, Thai and Singaporean First Class issues, but with Asiana it’s just 2 – severe champagne/wine deficit and uncomfortable bedding. The rest of Asiana Airlines A380’s experience was amazing!

Simply the best food onboard (Bibimbap!!!), polite and fun service, comfortable cabin and… Did I mention amazing food and service?

After enjoying the exceptional service and culinary delights on Asiana Airlines, we can’t help but daydream about our next adventure. Australia, with its mesmerizing landscapes and pristine beaches, is calling our names louder than ever.While our flight on Asiana Airlines had a couple of minor hiccups like the champagne/wine shortage and bedding, it was an overall thrilling experience. The outstanding food, especially the mouthwatering Bibimbap, and the polite, fun, and attentive service left an indelible mark on our travel memories.

Now, as we contemplate our next journey, we can’t help but imagine how the beautiful beaches of Australia will enchant us. From the world-famous Bondi Beach in Sydney to the remote and untouched stretches of sand along the Western Australian coast especially Merimbula, Australia promises to be a beach lover’s paradise.The thought of sinking our toes into the warm, golden sands, listening to the soothing sounds of the waves, and enjoying the sunny Australian weather is incredibly enticing. Whether it’s snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef or simply relaxing on the pristine shores, Australia offers a beach experience like no other.We look forward to trading our cabin seats for beach loungers and experiencing the magic of Australia’s coastline, all while savoring the memories of our remarkable flight with Asiana Airlines

Thai Airways First Class Seoul to Bangkok on TG659

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Thai Airways has been an underdog of Star Alliance for quite some time. Despite providing quite a good service and delivering food and drinks during flights, Thai Airways still has issues of being quite unreliable, which affects the reputation of the company.

Thai First Class flight from Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) was a nice and pleasant surprise.

While flying first class with any airline from Star Alliance via Seoul ICN airport, you will have access to Asiana first class lounge, which is ok, but definitely not the best lounge out there. Check the review of Asiana first class lounge here.

Thai flight to BKK was boarding on time and had no delay, it was operated by Airbus 747 with the updated cabin, which is a drastic improvement to old 747 cabins, but yet nothing compared to Lufthansa first class cabin. The most interesting part is definitely a middle seat, which is quite a unique seating combination, compared to other airlines. It is an interesting concept to keep one more row as just one seat, but also looks weird.

Booze:


Thai Airways does not have much of variety in first class service when it comes to champagne. It is Dom Perignon Vintage 2006, but it is a very good choice! Definitely, no complaints on the bubbly choice. Wines are less interesting and presented by some generic Australian, New Zealand and European varieties.
Food:


This particular flight it was bad… It was just really bad. When flying to BKK you cannot “order a Chef” service, so you are limited to the menu options. Beef with rice was just disgusting, it looked like baby vomit and the taste was corresponding, One messy place of some overcooked beef mixed with some over boiled rice, nothing to complement there.

And here is vegetarian option offered in Thai Royal First cabin


It was definitely tasting much better than meat. Some tofu with curry, good tomato soup, and different veggies.

Service:


Definitely, a strong side of most Asian airlines and especially Thai Airways is exceptional service onboard. Flight attendants in Thai Royal First class are putting extra effort into making it a very pleasant and relaxing experience. They are always there for you and trying to go an extra mile no matter what request you have.

Cabin:


Depending if you like those personal “cubicles” or not, you will love or hate Thai new cabin. For me, I like more open spaced cabins and those cubicles looked wrong. Especially, if you are flying with 2 friends and want to talk to them, rather than being isolated. By no means, it provides any sort of additional privacy in comparison to popular private suites. Yet, the seat is nice, it transforms into the full flatbed, allows to have a dining table enough for 2 persons (to dine with a friend), has all the extra space needed to store your belongings.

Amenity Kit:


On the bright side, I managed to get PINK Rimowa amenity kit. It is the cutest looking amenity kit out there made by Rimowa and Lufthansa does not carry that color. On the other hand, Thai Royal First does not provide any decent products in those kits. It is really the cheapest possible products, nothing compared to Lufthansa La Prairie skin care.

Overall:

Thai Royal First is a good alternative within South Asia. It is the only direct flight with first class from Seoul (ICN) to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) available with Star Alliance. The cabin is nice, service is good and champagne selection is delicious. Food wise, it’s a complete gamble. You can get something delicious, or gross as I did.

In Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) if you transfer to a domestic flight, do not rush to domestic lounge. It does not have a single drop of alcohol and no smoking area. Try staying in the International part of the airport, otherwise, you might need to pay 25 Euros for a bottle of Prosecco and drink it on the rocks!

Eventyr Lounge review in Kastrup Copenhagen CPH airport

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In the beginning of March 2017 Copenhagen Kastrup Airport announced new lounge in C departure zone (non-Schengen flights).

Now it is time to review Eventyr Lounge in Copenhagen airport.

Eventyr Lounge review

Video review:

Location:

Eventyr Lounge is located in C departure zone, near Gate C26, which is right after passport control and dedicated to all non-schengen flights from Copenhagen. Clear signs assures you cannot miss it.

 

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Entrance:

All travelers flying from CPH airport can enter the lounge for a fixed 250 DKK fee (30€). Unfortunately, American Express is not accepted and you have to pay with Visa or MasterCard.

British Airways business class and oneworld Sapphire/Emerald tier flyers can access for free, when departing on British Airways operated flights.

Lounge:

Given that Eventyr Lounge is only few months old, it looks quite nice, clean and fresh. When I entered the lounge at noon, I was the only visitor for 20 minutes, followed by a few British Airways customers.

Furniture is brand new and has many seating options, tables, sofas, work zones and everything in between.

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Eventyr lounge is very nice decorated, with lots of plants and has spectacular overview of C gates.

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Booze:

Straight to the most important part, alcohol availability and selection!

Eventyr lounge is equipped with draft beers, some cheap heavy booze and an interesting wine dispenser.

Both white and red wines are French Le Petit Chat. To my honest surprise, white one was quite drinkable, even though, I usually refuse to even clean my toilet with Frenchie wine ;).

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Interestingly, wine fridge is full of wine bottles, where first row has tubes, which transfer wine.

It is fun to use such interesting wine dispenser, but in case lounge is crowded, changing empty bottles and tubes consumes unnecessary time, both from lounge staff and visitors.

Food:

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Food options are very limited and boring, but this is a case of most lounges. Standard soup of a day, in my case it was thai chicken soup, one kind of cheese, ham, tasteless cabbage salad without any dressing, some bread and, actually, very tasty hummus.

To my surprise there were two kinds of halal meat.

Showers/restrooms:

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Shower rooms and restrooms are fresh, clean and sparkling white. Surely, with not that many customers it is well expected. Would be more interesting to see it again during crowded period.

I did not find any shower amenities. Perhaps, you can ask lounge staff for it.

Overall:

Eventyr Lounge is a nice addition to Copenhagen Kastrup Airport, especially in boring C Pier. Hands down, Eventyr Lounge has the best views among all CPH lounges.

Would I pay to access this lounge again? Less likely.

Would I visit it when flying Great British Airways? Definitely! Enjoy a glass of something, while watching big birdies taxing to/from gates.

What do you think of Eventyr Lounge in CPH airport?

Would you pay to access it and how do you compare it to other lounges in Kastrup?

Travelgenio review – tricky sneaky scammers!

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I just happened to be looking for a flight today, and as usual used SkyScanner.com meta search to find prices. And if you have ever used SkyScanner or Momondo, you know how many flight deals you get. It is impossible to keep track of all trustworthy websites to book your flights, and today I got experience with Travelgenio, which I would recommend to avoid at all costs.

I personally trust SkyScanner, as I have been using it for several years by now, so I do not check reviews of websites they are offering in their search. First cheapest options were ignored, as they do not accept SAS EuroBonus Amex and I could benefit from few thousand points for my next first class trip in May.
I checked Travelgenio.com and hey, they do accept Amex. Bingo!

Next step, check if the price on SkyScanner is matching on Travelgenio, as it is quite common to get notification that the price has increased since last search. Bingo again, same price displayed when I visit Travelgenio flight results. As you could see, Travelgenio offers me a flight for 305.65 euros. Lets remember this number.

I selected the flight and got to the second page, where I was asked for my personal information, email, DOB and etc. Once again, for second time I see the same price for the flight, 305.65 euros.
Third page offers endless amount of insurance, coverage, protections and etc. I don’t need any, so let’s move further.

Fourth page, which is showing me price for 3rd time is looking like this:

 

Travelgenio review scam

Travelgenio review

Once again we see our magical 305.65 euros, which we have seen at the very least 3 times by now. Once on SkyScanner and twice during booking process. But now we also find a Special Discount, which is not explained why, when and how. We also see a selection of credit card logos, with some numbers next to it. It is quite common that American Express cards are processed with additional fees, but it is clearly 0.00 €.

So my reasoning is, you have a fare of 311.61 and got unexplained discount of 5.96, and if you pay with Maestro or Visa Debit/Credit there will be additional 2,98 € discount, meanwhile any other card will have 0 impact on your total price.

I have my personal details on auto-fill in Google Chrome, same as my Amex credit card details, two clicks to fill it in, quickly select 0,00 € American Express option and click Submit.

And only while submitting progress, I realized my total price was changed by double the amount of Special Discount. The payment went through and it was too late to cancel it.

So I wanted to figure out, what is going on?

Apparently, the total price that has been shown twice during booking process is only valid if you pay Maestro or Visa Debit/Credit. To start with, who on earth still has Maestro card?

Travelgenio reviews

Travelgenio reviews

Secondly, there is some unexplainable logic behind Special Discount being double the amount of what seems as surcharge near credit card logo.

So at the end of the day, if you are not paying with Maestro or Visa, as in my case, because I could have paid with Visa/Maestro at websites not accepting Amex and saved almost 30 €, you will end up in a higher price than advertised by Travelgenio during entire booking process.

In example here, it was only 6 € more, during my booking I ended up paying 15 € more.

It is definitely not the end of the world for my budget, but it is really annoying and frustrating to constantly check all those flight booking websites at which point they try to scam you. And I do believe, those credit card logos with 0.00 € signs are completely misleading and actually used to trick and, pretty much, scam customers of Travelgenio.com

And if you read negative reviews from TrustPilot you will see its not the only one case. They have endless issues with rebooking, hiden charges and not providing  full information regarding fees.

Black Caviar service on Lufthansa, Thai and Asiana. Which one is better? 

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Flying first class is exciting, especially if you get to enjoy delicious black caviar complimented by expensive champagne.

Lufthansa, Thai Airways and Asiana Airlines provide excellent first class service onboard, which includes  sturgeon black caviar service.

Lufthansa black caviar service

  • The only airline out of three that is serving black caviar as a portion from a bigger can, rather than as a personal jar in Thai and Asiana, therefore the portion can be smaller than a jar, or much more generous, depending on the flight attendant mood.
  • Recently introduced, as a cost reduction measurement, a gradual switch to some Chinese produced black caviar rather than authentic Beluga option
  • Great presentation with classic garnishes, including egg, onion and sour cream
  • Accompanied by Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle champagne

Thai Airways black caviar service

  • Standard portion of black caviar in a glass jar
  • The best presentation with a pearl plate and spoon
  • Boring and mismatching bread combination
  • Accompanied by Dom Perignon champagne


Asiana Airlines black caviar service

  • Same as Thai Airways, Asiana serves a personal glass jar of black caviar
  • Accompanied by tiny, tasty and cute blini (Russian pancakes)
  • Served with standard garnishes
  • Accompanied by Pol Roger’s Sir Winston Churchill champagne

Thai Airways Royal First Class review: Bangkok to Milan on TG940

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Thai Airways Royal First Class review

Thai Airways has several first class routes from Bangkok to Europe. They fly directly to London, Paris, Milan and Munich. While London and Paris routes get to enjoy new Thai first class cabin on A380, routes to Munich and Milan on Boeing 474 have an old cabin.

I was sceptical about taking an old cabin flight, irrespectively of the airline, it is usually worse experience than a new cabin. For sure, would not like to take old Lufthansa First Class cabin.

Thai first class flight came as a pleasant surprise after not so impressive Thai Royal First lounge in Bangkok.

 

Cabin overview

As expected, the cabin was looking old. Very old. The oldest one so far. Let me tell you, it was older than I am and it didn’t even have a wall between First Class and Business Class, it was only a curtain separator.

 

My power outlet refused to work during entire flight, so had no way of charging my phone. Thanks to Xiaomi powerbank bought in Malaysia to keep it working.

Thai Royal First cabin on 747 is located on the lower deck, meaning you have boring wardrobe in front of you to stare at during 10-12 hours of flying. It is a common issue for any airline using lower deck for first class. Yes, it’s more spacious area, but damn the wardrobe is boring, even if you put some screensaver on it.
Surely the seat transforms into a flat bed (you can build your own with Sleep Essentials), which is quite comfortable but not as  much as competitors renovated  first class seats. Also, Thai Royal First lacks an additional mattress under, which results in you feeling each single corner and pointy part of the seat.

Entertainment system


Have no idea about how good or bad Thai entertainment system is…

I’m always way too drunk to remember or even try to use it, when I’m flying first class on any Star Alliance flight.

Food and drinks served in Thai Royal First class

The most important part of any first class flight, is definitely what champagne is served on board. Thai Airlines Royal First does not disappoint here. They serve Dom Perignon Vintage 2006, and have it enough in stock, compared to Asiana First Class flight Seoul (ICN) to Frankfurt (FRA).


My next favourite part, black caviar. Delicious, luxurious, fishy and yammy.


It is served on a nice pearl plate and accompanied by what is called “traditional garnishes”. As Russian who knows what black caviar is, I can tell you that much: egg and sour cream are not traditional black caviar garnishes. Either eat it on a piece or bread, or better blini, or just straight up. Do not destroy poor delicious black caviar by mixing it all together with onion, sour cream, egg and lemon juice. You destroy all the flavour!


Amuse bouche is nothing to remember. Some nuts, some pate on a piece of bread and a wrap with coconut rice.


Appetizer was not my favourite either. Some meat slices with veggies. For my taste, it was more of a school lunch.
I ordered one of the Thai Royal First Class signature dishes, their butter lobster. I guess it is as good as you can expect from a lobster flying 10km above the ground.

As any seafood, especially so delicate as lobster, if it is not prepared fresh, it becomes rubbery and tasteless. It was a bit heavy and rubbery, but was eatable for airline meal. So for, Thai Airways Royal First has nothing on Asiana First Class on food side.


Desert… Fruits… Melon, pineapple, watermelon and dragonfruit. Nothing that is not available in Thailand on each corner.

Thai Royal First Amenity kit

I love airlines amenity kits, when they are good.


These tiny Rimowa luggage cases became iconic and always get frequent flyers excited! Some travellers even change their travel dates to catch a particular amenity kit, if it is offered seasonally.

Thai Royal First amenity kit is a similar to Lufthansa First Class Rimowa amenity kit, but only on the outside.


While Lufthansa First Class is offering superior La Prairie cosmetics and Swiss Smile toothpaste, Thai Airlines Royal First settles for some cheap Monteil creams and unknown dental supplements.

Service:

After several travels to Thailand with Thai economy class and generally annoying experience with endless tuk tuk, massage and ping pong offers, Thai First Class service was a pleasant surprise. The flight attendants were very professional, attentive and yet not overwhelming. They were always there to serve another glass of Dom Peringon and fix anything needed during the flight.

Overall:

Thai Airways Royal First definitely has a room for improvement, starting with Royal First Lounge in Bangkok and putting more effort in amenity kit products.

Even though Dom Perignon is a great champagne option, the wine list could be improved, as none of offered wines were tasting particularly good.

Food is simply good enough, not as great as Asiana First Class Bibimbap, but definitely not lagging behind Lufthansa and ANA.