It’s that time of year again: holiday season, and also the days right before a major AA mileage devaluation. However you look at it, this was a great time to burn some AA miles. I had actually booked an AA award from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Shanghai Pudong (PVG) on Japan Airlines the whole way, but it still felt like something was missing... Finally, in November 2015, on a whim, I changed the ticket into this absurd all-business-class routing: Los Angeles (LAX) - Osaka Kansai (KIX) - Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) - Hong Kong (HKG) - Shanghai Pudong (PVG).
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Itinerary
First, here’s the itinerary:
- Los Angeles (LAX) - Osaka Kansai (KIX): Japan Airlines JL69 business class on the 787-8
- Osaka Kansai (KIX) - Taipei Taoyuan (TPE): Cathay Pacific CX565 business class on the A330-300; this is a fifth-freedom flight that continues onward to Hong Kong after Taiwan
- Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) - Hong Kong (HKG): Cathay Pacific CX475 business class on the 777-300ER
- Hong Kong (HKG) - Shanghai Pudong (PVG): Dragonair KX874 business class on the A330-300
The price was 55,000 AAdvantage miles plus $104.20 in various taxes and fees, with no fuel surcharges. All of that cash basically went to the customs and immigration authorities in the countries or regions along the way. I earned the miles the hard way by flying AA domestic routes in the U.S. (don’t even get me started). Each connection was 18-22 hours long, so every stop required an overnight stay.
The transpacific JL69 was operated by a 787-8, with only business class and economy, no first class. But while the plane was very new, the business-class seat was not the lie-flat JAL Sky Suite. Instead, it was the angled-flat Shell Flat Neo, which was definitely a major downside.
Booking the Ticket
One of the biggest perks of booking an award through American Airlines AAdvantage is that as long as your origin and destination stay the same, there’s no change fee. You can also switch from a lower cabin to a higher one by simply paying the mileage difference. Without that benefit, this insane ticket probably would never have happened.
But before booking something like this, the first question is: how do you know which routings are even allowed? Well, I did spend quite a bit of time mapping out a legal routing. AA used to limit award tickets based on the Maximum Permitted Mileage (MPM) between any two points. In other words, your flown mileage had to stay under that cap for the routing to be valid. Of course, for most common routings, like connecting once in Tokyo, you’d easily be within the MPM, so there’d be no need to spend time on this.
First, I used ExpertFlyer to look up the MPM from Los Angeles to Shanghai:
The MPM shown above was 7778 miles. Since AA allowed award itineraries to fly up to 125% of MPM, that meant any routing under 9722 miles was valid.
Then I went to Air Miles Calculator and started testing every routing I could think of. The mileage data on that site comes from ICAO and is more accurate than Great Circle Mapper. Note that on international itineraries, a connection of less than 24 hours does not count as a stopover, so I tried to make each layover as close to 24 hours as possible in order to maximize my time in each place. At the same time, I verified on ba.com that the flights I wanted actually had business-class award space available. That’s how I eventually found this itinerary. The last step was simply calling AA and asking them to change my existing award ticket.
Booking Hotels
Because of the SPG 2015 promotion, I booked one night in Osaka at the Sheraton Mikayo Hotel Osaka for 16,000 円. In Taipei, I used the Expedia mobile $25 off deal to book the Grand Hotel for $86.48 after discount. In Hong Kong, I used Hyatt Gold Passport Cash+Points to book one night at the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀凯悦酒店) for 7,500 points + $100, and then applied a Hyatt Diamond Diamond Suite Upgrade that I got from a Status Match to upgrade into a suite. The cash rate was roughly HKD 4,000+ per night, which I absolutely could not afford...
Pre-Trip Prep
And that was it? Naive! As a proud holder of the red Chinese passport, I still had to go dutifully apply for a Japan visa and a Taiwan entry permit (for Category 3 residents). Since I applied for a Japanese transit visa, it cost only $7, which was $20 cheaper than a tourist visa, even though it still allowed entry for 15 days. If there’s a way to save money, I’m taking it. The Taiwan entry permit was literally just a sheet of paper printed on a regular printer, with no anti-counterfeit features whatsoever. Cost cutting at its finest. Entering Hong Kong in transit required no visa and allowed a stay of up to 7 days, and I could even have gone to Macau on the side, though I didn’t have time.
To stay connected while crossing so many countries and regions, I activated Project Fi on my Nexus phone. The monthly base fee was $20, and data cost $10/GB in most regions around the world, making it especially well suited for frequent international travelers.
First Segment: LAX-KIX
This flight departed around noon, so I took an Uber to LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal about 1.5 hours in advance. This terminal handles international flights for almost all foreign airlines across all three major alliances. After collecting my passport and Taiwan entry permit, the agent at the JAL business-class check-in counter started hammering away at his computer. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he was trying to print boarding passes for my later segments too. Since my three layovers were all very long, it was likely that online or remote check-in for those later flights had not opened yet. So I told him not to bother trying to print the later boarding passes. But that still wasn’t the end of it. He then took my passport into the back and spent 10 minutes photocopying things, and in the end the whole check-in process took 20 minutes. That was so inefficient that I almost wanted to file a complaint, but laziness won out in the end. On the plus side, JAL business class allowed up to three checked bags of 32 kg each for free, though I didn’t check any baggage at all.
After security, just a short walk upstairs was the oneworld Business Lounge, jointly operated by Qantas, JAL, and Cathay Pacific. There was a very generous spread of fruit, dim sum, all kinds of bread, and all kinds of drinks, and the lounge itself was quite spacious. After stuffing myself, it was time to board. On JAL’s website, the Shell Flat Neo looks like this:
In reality, it looked like this:
I honestly couldn’t understand why such a new aircraft would be configured with an all-business-class cabin that didn’t even have fully lie-flat seats. Still, I didn’t have much choice at the time. Even though the seat wasn’t fully flat, I was still able to fall asleep pretty easily in practice, though that may just say something about how easy I am to knock out. There was a bit of pressure on my feet, but overall it was acceptable.
Once on board, naturally the top priority was eating, so let’s start with the menu:
There was also a whole list of alcohol, but unfortunately I don’t drink.
About half an hour after takeoff, they served a full meal. I picked the Western option: something like an omelet, some bread, and ice cream, which was frozen incredibly, incredibly hard.
The menu also had an Anytime option, so you could order those items whenever you wanted, and the cabin crew came through the cabin very frequently. So every time I slept a little, I would wake up and order more food. I basically worked my way through the whole menu: two bowls of noodles, one tuna rice bowl, one black cod rice bowl, miso soup, smoked salmon, three servings of fruit, and three ice creams. Absolutely sinful. My mouth never stopped. Thankfully this flight only had one full meal service, or else they would have stuffed me with another one.
In the joy of nonstop eating, drinking, and generally overindulging, the plane made it to Japan. After looping around Osaka Bay, we finally landed at Kansai Airport at around 6:30pm local time. Thanks to JAL, I got to skip dinner, because I was not hungry at all. (And if I had still been hungry, would I even be human?)
Once I got to Osaka, the Nankai Electric Railway took me into the city in no time. The ticket coded as travel on my ThankYou Premier for 3x. The next day, I took a JR West limited express train back to the airport and got the same 3x rewards. Also, a quick complaint: Japanese hotel rooms are tiny. Even at a Sheraton, all the passageways were only a little wider than a suitcase.
Second segment: KIX-TPE
Why was this segment on Cathay? Because they operate HKG-TPE-KIX under fifth-freedom rights. Because of that, the Cathay ground staff at check-in thought I was staying on the same plane all the way back to Hong Kong, and told me I would need to get off in Taipei and re-board. At Kansai Airport there was a very small Pacific Lounge shared by oneworld airlines. On the other side of the airport there was also a JAL Sakura Lounge, but it was too far away. I had a little breakfast and something to drink in the lounge, then headed to the gate.
For a short-to-medium-haul flight like this, the seat was more than comfortable enough, and the entertainment system even had the latest TVB Hong Kong dramas. One annoying thing about Cathay, though, is that if you watch any movie, TV show, or documentary on the in-flight entertainment system, you are forced to sit through 5 minutes of ads. On this flight I watched two episodes of a Hong Kong history series.
Cathay also pays extreme attention to detail. When the cabin crew came through the cabin, they would check the passenger list and address each passenger by name before speaking.
Of course, before long, the really important thing happened: it was mealtime again.
You may be asking: wait, where’s the main course? Well, sorry—once it was in front of me, I accidentally ate it before remembering to take a picture. Look at me...
As an aside, when I walked into the Grand Hotel, I noticed a large number of police officers and reporters with cameras outside, but I just kept walking. That night I saw on the news that Ma Ying-jeou (President), Wang Jin-pyng (Legislative Yuan Speaker), Eric Chu (KMT chairman and presidential candidate), and Wu Den-yih had come to the Grand Hotel for dinner. Ironically, I had gone to the Presidential Office instead...
The next day, I took Taiwan High Speed Rail to Taoyuan Airport. You can also buy tickets with a credit card, so don’t forget to use one.
Third segment: TPE-HKG
Because Taipei-Hong Kong is one of the most profitable routes in the world, this flight was operated by a 777-300ER, which is normally used on long-haul routes. Because Hong Kong long followed the principle that only one airline could operate a given route, Cathay made a lot of money on this golden route, and it clearly did not skimp on its lounge investment. Inside, you could order beef noodles and buns as much as you wanted.
Before departure from Taoyuan Airport, I spotted a Boeing Dreamlifter parked next to an EVA Air hangar. I have no idea what it was doing there.
Ironically, I did not get a fully flat bed on JAL’s 12-hour long-haul flight, but I did get one on this one-hour hop. For a long-haul flight, this seat is extremely comfortable, with storage compartments everywhere and plenty of places to stash small items. Just make sure to check every single spot before getting off the plane so you do not leave anything behind.
Yep, you guessed it: more food below.
I will not say much more about this seafood rice dish, except this: if U.S. airlines could make food even 10% this good, that would be amazing.
Cathay’s 777-300ER in-flight entertainment system also had a live belly camera feed, and the pilots were impressively precise staying right on the taxi lines on the ground...
After arriving in Hong Kong, I headed to immigration first. The line for visitors was actually shorter than the line for Hong Kong residents. The immigration officer did not say a single word, did not even ask when my onward flight was, and just handed me a small landing slip approving my stay and let me into Hong Kong. Hong Kong Airport has Cathay’s The Arrivals lounge, located downstairs by the Airport Express station (in the passage between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2). It is small, but you can order beef noodles there too, and the portion is quite large. I grabbed a bowl of noodles and a drink, then went upstairs to take the Airport Express into the city.
Friendly reminder: when going out in Hong Kong, you must carry identification with you at all times in case the police ask to inspect it. If you are found without identification, you may be prosecuted (Hong Kong Laws Cap. 115, Immigration Ordinance, section 17B).
For my first stay at a Hyatt as a Hyatt Diamond member, the staff at Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui proactively took me upstairs and introduced the features of the suite to me (I’m guessing you don’t get treatment this good in the U.S.). The highlight was that the room came with a mobile phone that guests could take out and use, with free international calls to most regions, free internet access, and even WiFi hotspot sharing for other devices. It was an incredibly thoughtful perk for travelers. The carrier was China Mobile Hong Kong.
The next morning, breakfast at the Regency Club was also excellent, with a full spread of both Chinese and Western options. More importantly, as a Hyatt Diamond member, all of it was free.
Segment 4: HKG-PVG
Because I left in a rush (okay, I admit it, procrastination struck again), by the time I got to Hong Kong Airport there were only 45 minutes left before departure. After hurrying through the security line, I no longer had time to stop by a Cathay lounge for some food and drinks, which was a bit disappointing. I had also brought a United Club Pass and wanted to check out the Club in Hong Kong, but of course that plan went nowhere too. So I ran straight to the gate and boarded through an empty gate area. Since the aircraft type was exactly the same as the Cathay A330-300 on the second segment, I won’t repeat myself here.
Let’s take a look at the meal instead.
During the flight, the inflight entertainment system suddenly started showing our current altitude as 2,147,451,000 feet (you all know where that number comes from, right?). Was Cathay Dragon operating a spaceship?
In less than two hours, the plane landed smoothly at the hazy Pudong Airport (PVG). Just a few minutes later, I was dragging my luggage through immigration and heading home, wrapping up this four-day trip back to China.
Overall Thoughts
JAL’s Los Angeles–Osaka route is not especially competitive, and award availability is fairly plentiful. However, the biggest weakness of this flight operated by its newest 787-8 is the lack of a fully flat bed. That said, JAL’s onboard meals are excellent.
As for Cathay and Cathay Dragon, their lounges absolutely blow U.S. airline lounges (yes, I’m looking at you, Admirals Club, United Club, and Sky Club) out of the water. I’ve heard the food and beverage offerings aren’t as good as they used to be, but they still met expectations. It would be even better if the inflight entertainment system didn’t force ads, or at least gave you the option to skip them (even YouTube lets you skip ads…). Cathay’s 77W business class product is more than comfortable enough for long-haul flights (Hong Kong–U.S.), with plenty of storage space for all sorts of personal items, and the fully flat bed is quite comfortable as well. I highly recommend trying it on a trip back to China (JFK-HKG has four daily flights).
Finally, here’s a look back at the full routing:
See you next time~~~
What do you think? Come share with everyone in the comments.