Round the World Trip 2014: Part 2

Part 2: North America Flights

SFO-JFK Virgin America VX24 Main Cabin Express: I started the trip from Palo Alto by taking Uber to Caltrain then BART to SFO. I had already checked in on my iPhone 6 and had my boarding pass in Passbook. Whizzing through the PreCheck security line I was at my gate in no time. My flight to New York was delayed a bit and I decided to grab a sandwich at Napa Farms Market which is my favorite in Terminal 2. My Silver Elevate status upgrade to Main Cabin Select didn’t clear but I still had an aisle seat 6D on their A320. While onboard I decided to grab dinner which consisted of the Autumn Veggie Wrap, Pop Chips and a Honey Green Tea. The autumn veggie wrap was amazing! I highly recommend it if you are flying Virgin America this Fall. We arrived at JFK about 30 minutes late but I quickly went to the Sheraton JFK hotel for my short overnight stay.

JFK-YYZ Air Canada AC8901 Business Class: With about 6 hours of sleep at the Sheraton JFK I was back in transit. I was heading to Toronto to catch my long haul flight to Tokyo. JFK also marks the spot where I exited and entered the US to complete my full circle of the world. I stopped by the United Club but found it to be very worn and not worth even visiting. The flight to Toronto was on a regional jet (CRJ-705) operated by Air Canada Jazz. It was a quick 1.5hr flight to Toronto. I was served breakfast in Business Class which being a short flight was amazing. The fresh fruit and granola hit the spot. We landed into Toronto in no time and I then had 5 hours to enjoy the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. The lounge was very spacious and offered a decent selection of food and drinks.

YYZ-NRT Air Canada AC1 Business Class: This was the first flight in my life where I was on flight #1. We boarded the 777-300ER on time and the Business Class cabin was 100% full. The seat was a lie-flat pod which would make this 13hr flight much more enjoyable. I was served lunch shortly after takeoff which included a fancy seafood appetizer, salad and beef tenderloin cooked medium well. After lunch I decided to watch a movie and then get some sleep. Upon waking up from about a 6hr sleep I decided I wanted a snack so I ordered a hot noodle soup. About 2 hrs prior to landing into Tokyo we were served brunch and I selected the omelet to get some protein to get me through the travels to Kyoto. During the flight I didn’t experience any issues and thought the service was on par or slightly better than United’s international BusinessElite service.

Stay tuned… Part 3 will feature Asia flights, Part 4 will feature Middle East flights and Part 5 will feature my return flights from Abu Dhabi to SFO.