Trip Report: American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS

***This is part 19 of my "Camels, Bats, and Bloggers" trip report detailing a recent trip to Dubai and Seychelles, with a final stop in Las Vegas to attend the 2014 BAcon conference hosted by BoardingArea***

1. Introduction - Camels, Bats, and Bloggers
2. Emirates Lounge at SFO
3. Emirates First Class San Francisco to Dubai
4. Conrad Dubai
5. Old Dubai, Ski Dubai, and At the Top
6. Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge at DXB
7. Emirates First Class Dubai to Mahe, Seychelles
8. Four Seasons Seychelles
9. Air Seychelles Economy Class Mahe to Praslin
10. Raffles Praslin Seychelles
11. Island Hopping - La Digue
12. Island Hopping - Praslin, Cousine, Curieuse, St. Pierre
13. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa
14. Emirates Business Class Mahe, Seychelles to Dubai
15. 7-Star Luxury at the Burj Al Arab
16. British Airways Lounge at DXB
17. Cathay Pacific Business Class Dubai to Los Angeles via Hong Kong
18. 2014 BAcon Conference in Las Vegas + Mandalay Bay Hotel
19. American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS
_______________________________

With a couple hours to kill before our final flight home, we made our way over to the American Express Centurion Lounge located near gate D1 in Concourse D at Las Vegas airport. This would be my first visit to a Centurion lounge and was excited to see what the hype was all about.

American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS

All of the bloggers at BAcon were given complimentary access to the lounge, but we also had the American Express Platinum card which would have given us access to the lounge. There was an interesting vertical garden inside featuring the American Express logo.

The LAS Centurion Lounge was unlike any domestic lounge I'd been to. It featured extremely stylish decor, and while many other lounges which can feel like dungeons, this one was filled with natural light. Sundays are one of the busiest days at this lounge, and it was hard to find seating at first.

The lounge is centered around the bar and buffet area, which featured additional restaurant-style seating.

Since people were coming and going frequently, after hovering for a few minutes we eventually scored a comfortable booth with perfect views of the TV in order to keep track of all the NFL action.

The food at the lounge is really top-notch. Each of the Centurion Lounge menu's are curated by a celebrity chef, and Scott Conant takes credit for the menu at LAS. Among the hot food, there was a pasta dish along with roasted potatoes. Having watched Scott critique countless numbers of contestant's pasta on Chopped, I was ready to do the same to him, but the pasta was cooked perfectly and really delicious.

There was also a fancy salad bar featuring things like kale and quinoa, along with a selection of sandwiches.

But this guy absolutely stole the show - an amazing lamb meat pie covered in yogurt sauce. I simply lost control, and couldn't even tell you how many I ate. It's one of the best things I've eaten at an airport, and would have been happy to order this at any restaurant.

There are some international lounges that are worth going to the airport early for, and it's extremely rare to fine a domestic lounge that falls into that category. In my experiences, along with the Emirates Lounge at SFO, the Centurion Lounge at LAS is simply one of the best lounges you'll find in the US, and can't wait for the opening of the Centurion Lounge at SFO in early November!

Trip Report: British Airways Lounge at DXB

***This is part 16 of my "Camels, Bats, and Bloggers" trip report detailing a recent trip to Dubai and Seychelles, with a final stop in Las Vegas to attend the 2014 BAcon conference hosted by BoardingArea***

1. Introduction - Camels, Bats, and Bloggers
2. Emirates Lounge at SFO
3. Emirates First Class San Francisco to Dubai
4. Conrad Dubai
5. Old Dubai, Ski Dubai, and At the Top
6. Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge at DXB
7. Emirates First Class Dubai to Mahe, Seychelles
8. Four Seasons Seychelles
9. Air Seychelles Economy Class Mahe to Praslin
10. Raffles Praslin Seychelles
11. Island Hopping - La Digue
12. Island Hopping - Praslin, Cousine, Curieuse, St. Pierre
13. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa
14. Emirates Business Class Mahe, Seychelles to Dubai
15. 7-Star Luxury at the Burj Al Arab
16. British Airways Lounge at DXB
17. Cathay Pacific Business Class Dubai to Los Angeles via Hong Kong
18. 2014 BAcon Conference in Las Vegas + Mandalay Bay Hotel
19. American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS
_______________________________

After spending the morning at Wild Wadi water park, we soaked in our last few moments at the Burj Al Arab before packing our bags and continuing the long journey home.

With a 5:10PM departure, we left the hotel around 2PM since the afternoon traffic can be quite bad in Dubai. We jumped into a taxi, and 50 AED and only 30 minutes later we arrived at Dubai International Airport.

We had been through DXB a handful of times already, but each time we had been flying Emirates. Emirates is truly the king, or sheikh in the case, of DXB airport, and has exclusive use of Terminal 3.

Cathay Pacific, along with many of the other non-Emirates airlines, fly out of Terminal 1, which almost felt like an afterthought. It's pretty clear that Terminal 3 has gotten all of the state-of-the-art upgrades, and it was a simple check-in and security experience at Terminal 1.

Then there was a long walk, like a seriously long walk, to the gates. I've had some long walks at airport such as HKG, but this one was truly a marathon that clocked in at well over a mile based on my wife's Fitbit.

Cathay Pacific only runs 2 flights per day through DXB, and therefore has no need for their own lounge, and share with the British Airways lounge.

After our previous experiences at the Emirates lounges at DXB, this was a very abrupt return back to reality. Not to say anything bad about the British Airlines lounge, other than the fact that it was a perfectly comfortable and typical airport lounge experience that you'll find at most airports around the world.

The seating area is actually on the smaller size, but didn't really fill up even as we got closer to departure.

There were several hot food, soup, finger sandwiches, and other snacks to choose from, along with a wide assortment of drinks. The hot food and sandwiches were pretty mediocre, so we decided to hold out for a proper meal on-board our flight.

While food and drinks are nice, what I really want out of a lounge is a clean bathroom and fast wifi. The British Airways lounge had the clean bathroom down, but the wifi was ridiculously slow to the point that it was unusable.

Overall, the British Airways lounge at DXB was a perfectly nice and comfortable lounge, but is a notch below it's counterpart at SFO, and several steps below the lounges offered by Emirates. While it doesn't make sense to choose an airline simply based on the lounge experience, it's pretty clear that when traveling through DXB, flying Emirates has its advantages over other airlines.

Trip Report: Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge at DXB

***This is part 6 of my "Camels, Bats, and Bloggers" trip report detailing a recent trip to Dubai and Seychelles, with a final stop in Las Vegas to attend the 2014 BAcon conference hosted by BoardingArea***

1. Introduction - Camels, Bats, and Bloggers
2. Emirates Lounge at SFO
3. Emirates First Class San Francisco to Dubai
4. Conrad Dubai
5. Old Dubai, Ski Dubai, and At the Top
6. Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge at DXB
7. Emirates First Class Dubai to Mahe, Seychelles
8. Four Seasons Seychelles
9. Air Seychelles Economy Class Mahe to Praslin
10. Raffles Praslin Seychelles
11. Island Hopping - La Digue
12. Island Hopping - Praslin, Cousine, Curieuse, St. Pierre
13. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa
14. Emirates Business Class Mahe, Seychelles to Dubai
15. 7-Star Luxury at the Burj Al Arab
16. British Airways Lounge at DXB
17. Cathay Pacific Business Class Dubai to Los Angeles via Hong Kong
18. 2014 BAcon Conference in Las Vegas + Mandalay Bay Hotel
19. American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS
_______________________________

I'm not a morning person at all, so normally I'd cringe just at the thought of an 8:40AM flight. Thank goodness for jet lag, which had us wide awake at 4AM and ready to go. I had booked the Emirates chauffeur service pickup for 6:10AM, or 2.5 hours prior to departure which is the latest that they would allow. In general, online bookings can be made for pickup times that are 3 hours or more prior to a departure time, with anything less requiring a call.

After twiddling our thumbs for a couple hours, we headed down to the lobby at 5:45AM and figured that we'd just wait downstairs until the driver came. To our surprise, he was already waiting for us, and we jumped in and headed to the airport. In my 4-5 experiences with Emirates chauffeur service both in Dubai as well as in the US, the drivers have always arrived 15+ minutes before the scheduled time.

Even though we zipped through check-in and security, we were only left with about 2 hours before departure or 1.5 hours before boarding. This meant that it was decision time.

On the one hand, I really wanted to go back to the First Class Terminal located in Terminal A which we experienced last year. Put simply, it's the most ridiculous and awesome airport lounge I've ever been to. But given that our flight would be departing at the other end of the airport from Terminal C, we wouldn't have more than 30-45 minutes in the lounge after accounting for transit time.

The second option, which would be much more practical, would be to spend our time at the Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge which is on the way to Terminal C. I must have looked like a fool standing in the security area while this internal debate went on in my head. Ultimately, I made up my mind to go with the Terminal B option and we prepared ourselves for a for a big letdown.

We took the elevator up to the 2nd floor, laughed at the people who turned left toward the Business Class Lounge (just kidding! Sort of...), and turned right toward the First Class Lounge. First thought? Holy crap, this place is nice!

Our fears about having to spend time in a sub-par First Class Lounge were completely unfounded. On the whole, this place is just as good as the First Class Terminal located at Terminal A, and in fact, I may even prefer the Terminal B lounge more.

Basically, everything that the Terminal A Lounge has is also here - stylish decor, ample seating, Timeless Spa, and of course a full service restaurant. From what I could tell, the only pieces missing were the shoe shine service, cigar bar, and nap room.

As you can imagine, this lounge is more crowded, but certainly not crowded in the way a United Club is. We had our pick of seats all around the lounge, and had just a couple neighbors here and there. In comparison, the Terminal A Lounge is almost too big to the point that you can go hours without running into another human being. I guess it all comes down to what you're looking for at that moment, peace and quiet or a little more action.

Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge

Wine cellar

Spying on an Emirates 777-300ER

We made a beeline over to the Timeless Spa in hopes that we could squeeze in a quick massage prior to our flight. Just our luck, openings were available and we both had a 15-minute chair massage. Not a bad way to start the day.

Afterwards, we went to the restaurant and ordered up a huge feast. Consistent with our last visit, the food here was really, really, really good and  such a stark contrast from the food served on board the plane. My solution? Just give out to-go boxes in the lounge so that people can bring the lounge food onto their flights.

I was sad about having to miss breakfast at the hotel until I took my first bite from the pastry basket. That was followed by many more bites, after which I absolutely destroyed the breakfast buffet, which featured hot food selections, along with fantastic cheese and sushi spreads.

Up to that point, the waiters had probably been scared to interfere with my feeding time, but eventually made their way over with the breakfast a la carte menu. Even after devouring the whole bread basket and several plates from the buffet, we couldn't resist the temptation to order up a few more dishes, which included mushroom crepes and Scottish kippers with poached eggs.

They must breed super chickens in Dubai, because the eggs over there are really something else. I don't care how you like your eggs cooked, in Dubai you MUST get them with runny yolks. The yolks are seriously a color that I’ve never seen before, golden like the sun, and oh so delicious.

At this point, I was seriously considering pushing our flight out to tomorrow and just staying in the lounge for the next 24 hours. Funny as it is to think about, I actually looked and there was availability, and the change would have been possible to do for free. Gotta love award tickets and airline status. But my wife reminded me that we had places to go and things to do, and I begrudgingly left for the 20 minute walk over to our gate.

I know that the First Class Terminal at Terminal A gets all the attention these days, but the Terminal B First Class Lounge is absolutely nothing to sneeze at and is worth heading to the airport early just to experience it.
 

Dining area 

 

Breakfast menu

Bakery basket

Cheese heaven

Sushi for breakfast? Why not!

Plate #1 of many

Mushroom crepes, delicious!

Fruit skewers

Poached Scottish kippers

Trip Report: Emirates Lounge at SFO

***This is part 2 of my "Camels, Bats, and Bloggers" trip report detailing a recent trip to Dubai and Seychelles, with a final stop in Las Vegas to attend the 2014 BAcon conference hosted by BoardingArea***

1. Introduction - Camels, Bats, and Bloggers
2. Emirates Lounge at SFO
3. Emirates First Class San Francisco to Dubai
4. Conrad Dubai
5. Old Dubai, Ski Dubai, and At the Top
6. Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge at DXB
7. Emirates First Class Dubai to Mahe, Seychelles
8. Four Seasons Seychelles
9. Air Seychelles Economy Class Mahe to Praslin
10. Raffles Praslin Seychelles
11. Island Hopping - La Digue
12. Island Hopping - Praslin, Cousine, Curieuse, St. Pierre
13. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa
14. Emirates Business Class Mahe, Seychelles to Dubai
15. 7-Star Luxury at the Burj Al Arab
16. British Airways Lounge at DXB
17. Cathay Pacific Business Class Dubai to Los Angeles via Hong Kong
18. 2014 BAcon Conference in Las Vegas + Mandalay Bay Hotel
19. American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS
_______________________________

With lady luck on our side, a couple days prior to departure we were able to snag 2 seats aboard the direct flight from San Francisco to Dubai. With no need for an early morning positioning flight to Chicago or Seattle, we were able to sleep-in and take our time finishing up packing.

Our flight was scheduled for 4:45pm and I had scheduled the chauffeur service, which is included with Business and First Class bookings for all US gateways, for a 1:45pm pickup. While I certainly appreciate the Emirates chauffeur service in Dubai, it was even more valuable in this case since it saved us the cost of a taxi or Uber to the airport which can easily run up to $50. We arrived at the airport shortly after 2pm, and headed over to the check-in counter.

Since I had checked-in online, we simply picked up our boarding passes, zipped through security, and made a beeline for the Emirates lounge at SFO. This is one of two Emirates lounges located in the US, with the other located at New York's JFK airport. To be perfectly honest, with just once daily service to Dubai being the only flight of the day and even with the upgrade later this year from a 777-300ER to an A380, I have no clue why Emirates has its own lounge at SFO versus partnering with another lounge. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not complaining, because this is the best lounge I've been to at SFO. Certainly better than United Airlines and Delta lounges, better than the Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific lounges, and even better than the United Global First Lounge.

We checked-in at the front counter of the lounge, and took the elevator downstairs to the main area. This place is huge - no need to fight for seating, although it did get more crowded closer to departure. Upon entering there's a sleek water feature as well as two huge TV's which were perfect for keeping up with all the Sunday action on this NFL opening weekend.

Emirates Lounge at SFO

Plane spotting from the lounge - Cathay Pacific 77W bound for Hong Kong

Our ride to Dubai - Emirates 777-300ER

Instead of getting settled in the main seating area, we headed toward the back of the lounge to the full-service restaurant area where there was a fantastic selection food and drinks which included cold appetizers, a hot buffet, and dessert bar. There were 3 lounge attendants servicing the restaurant area and regularly cleaned the tables and replenished the food items.

It's easily the best food I've had at a domestic lounge in the US, even on par with the food at the American Express Centurion lounges. The shrimp and salmon salad appetizers in particular were really tasty, and the creme brulee was just fantastic. If anything, I wish I had eaten more at the lounge since the food was much better than what we were served onboard our flight.
 

Emirates Lounge at SFO dining room

Appetizer and dessert selection

Hot, cold, and alcoholic drink selection

Hot buffet selection

Food selection at Emirates Lounge at SFO

Caprese salad

Shrimp appetizer

After eating, we moved back over to the main seating area and hung out for about an hour before boarding. The internet in the lounge was blazing fast - note that the lounge has three different network options (Emirates 1, Emirates 2, and Emirates 3). At first I was on Emirates 1 but the internet was really slow since that's presumably the option that most people choose. But switching over to Emirates 3 fixed that issue, so just a tip in case things are slow.

I also roamed around and checked out the other facilities which included showers, a large business center with 6 computer terminals, and a prayer room.

Shower facilities

For our 4:45pm flight boarding commenced punctually at 4:00pm and was available directly from the lounge, just as our Korean Air flight earlier this year from the British Airways lounge. This really enhances the premium cabin experience and I hope it becomes a default feature offered by all airlines. While most of the passengers stayed in the lounge presumably until the last possible minute, I dragged my wife on board right away so that I could get settled and take pictures.

As I mentioned before, I have no clue why Emirates has a lounge at SFO, but I'm glad they do. This is easily the best lounge at SFO. Unfortunately, since Emirates is not part of an alliance the lounge is not accessible unless you're flying Emirates on their once daily flight to Dubai.

Back to the Islands : Cathay Pacific Business Class MLE-HKG-SFO, CX lounges at HKG

1. Introduction
2. Korean Air First Class SFO-ICN, British Airways lounge at SFO
3. Eating our way through Seoul + Park Hyatt Seoul
4. Korean Air First Class ICN-CMB-MLE, Korean Air First Class Lounge at ICN
5. Back to the Islands: Cocoa Island by COMO
6. Cathay Pacific Business Class MLE-HKG-SFO, CX lounges at HKG
______________________________________________________________

All good things must come to an end, and it was time to head home after our fantastic stay at Cocoa Island. As I had mentioned before, the return trip home was actually one of the first pieces in place on our itinerary as I was able to snag a great Business Class deal on Cathay Pacific from MLE to SFO via HKG. The fare even permitted a stopover at HKG, but unfortunately we just didn't have time to capitalize on this.

We jumped on the speedboat for a short 40 minute ride to MLE and it was just a short walk from the jetty to the check-in area. In general, MLE really is a basic airport and there isn't much to do, so we were thankful that the boat transfer allowed us to arrive at the airport just 1 hour prior to scheduled departure.

Cathay has a lobby on the ride side of the check-in area with concierge-style check-in service. We were surprised that this was offered and looked like it was the only airline that was offering this. We were able to grab a seat while the agent went into the back room and took care of everything - a few minutes later she came back with our boarding passes, luggage receipts, and lounge invitations. We also received an immigration fast pass which saved a few minutes. A very unexpected but impressive start to our journey home.

We headed through immigration and security and headed over to the Leeli lounge which was actually pretty impressive in terms of the selection of food and drinks available. The lounge was crowded, and there were quite a few people that looked like they had spent the better part of the afternoon and evening there, with many even having dozed off. Must have been the seaplane crowd that arrived before sunset! Our flight was scheduled for a 10:30pm departure, and we headed over to gate #4 around 10pm and started boarding shortly after.

Cathay Business Class check-in area




Leeli lounge at MLE


After flying Cathay to/from Hong Kong recently, it's quickly become one of our favorites. In addition to the great deal we were able to get, award availability (especially close-in) is really good and its bookable both through American and Alaska miles which are now my two primary programs. I had read up on the Cathay Business Class seats which many regard as one of the best out there, and after our flights I would have to agree.

Our A330 was equipped with the reverse herringbone seats which were extremely spacious with plenty of legroom and storage. To be honest, these seats would pass for first class seats on many other airlines. The seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration and we had booked 14 D/G which are in the middle. These were great for those traveling together and they are slanted toward each other. There is a main business class cabin in the front of the plane as well as a smaller section with just 3 rows further back.

The thing I really liked about the seat was a small additional wedge of space that protrudes out along with the armrest to just provide an extra few inches of space that really make the world of difference in terms of comfort both when seated or when trying to sleep.

Our A330 from MLE-HKG








Footrest


IFE screen


Seat/IFE controls


Power outlets


Since our flight was so late I figured it would be a redeye with sleeper service and most people choosing to sleep right away and eat in the morning. As it turn out I'd say that more than half the business class cabin decided to eat right away. With just a 6 hour flight time it was too short for me to take my Benadryl as I've learned the hard way (e.g. walking around like a Walking Dead zombie stumbling the airport) that I need at least 7-8 hours for it to wear off. So I also stayed up for the meal service which was quite good, and was able to catch a couple hours of sleep afterwards.

My only gripe about both this and the next flights on Cathay were the poor IFE selection. We had traveled back in January, yet the selection of movies looked awfully familiar with only a handful of new ones to choose from. Unfortunately I had already seen them, so for both flights good thing I was prepared with my backup IFE and got started with Orphan Black.

Amenity kit


Supper menu


Wine list


Prawn salad


Chicken with black bean sauce


We landed in HKG bright and early around 8am and had about a 6 hour layover. Technically, it would have been long enough to do something in the city if we were feeling ambitious, but after a redeye lounge hopping seemed much more appealing. We started at the G16 lounge but wasn't very impressed so just did a lap and then moved on to the Cabin which had been closed last time we were there.

While crowded, overall it's a solid lounge with a pretty good spread of food and really fast wifi. We spent a couple hours here before moving on since it was starting to feel claustrophobic and I wanted to take a shower.

The Cabin




Food selection and fruit/juice bar










Plane watching on a rainy HKG morning


We were ready for a break and started walking over to Gate 2 to The Wing since I wanted to take a shower and we were ready for a change of scenery. The route was much more circuitous as I would have liked, since the compromise for not going into the city was that I let me wife do some shopping in the airport. HKG airport really has too many stores

We eventually made it over to The Wing and headed upstairs. There's also a downstairs area which seemed slightly less crowded, but was much less happening in terms of food and ambiance. Again, the lounge is a bit crowded but were able to find a couple seats. Plenty of power outlets which is nice, so no having to fight or drag power cords over people.

In addition to a similar food section that The Cabin had, The Wing also has a nice coffee/barista area along with a noodle and dim sum bar. I headed downstairs to the shower area which is really quite nice. There are several private shower rooms which feel new and freshly remodeled. The shower itself is even quite good, and features a rain shower.

Walking over to The Wing - HKG airport is one of the best looking out there!




The Wing near gate #2


Downstairs area


Upstairs




Noodle/dim sum bar




Shower area - feels more like a club


Shower rooms




Between the lounge hopping, the shopping, and the shower, and having fast wifi, the 6 hour layover really went by quickly and before we knew it, it was time to board our flight to SFO and headed over to gate #19. Boarding started with just a couple First Class passengers today, and then it was our turn.

The day-time flight from HKG-SFO is serviced by a 747 and I had reserved seats 81 A/K at the front of the upper deck. Getting to fly on the upper deck of the plane is always something that I look forward to as it just feels so quiet and private being sectioned off from the rest of the plane. There is a seat 80K in front of 81K but it was reserved for crew rest, and a curtain was drawn in front of the cockpit door.

We were one of the first to board which let me snap a bunch of pics of the empty cabin. The last time we were on the upper deck was on United which has a 2-2 configuration up here, so the 1-1 config felt very spacious.

The seat is very similar, but definitely feels a bit older and certainly more narrow. In a lot of ways you feel like you're in your own pod which is great for privacy, but not conducive at all if you want to interact with traveling companions. Perhaps that why the entire flight felt so quiet since even if people were traveling together they weren't really able to talk.

In addition to being more narrow, there really is a lack of storage space with these seats. I had to struggle just to find places to put my iPad and camera. Luckily, seat 81A has a huge shelf next to it and I was able to throw all my stuff on there.

We were slightly delayed due to weather and then headed out for our 12 hour flight time to SFO. About 30 minutes after take off drink service started, followed by meal service. We were really, really, really impressed with the meals which featured the new "Tosca" style menu which is a partnership with a celebrity chef from the Ritz Carlton.

Typically, these special menus or partnerships don't amount to much in my opinion, but Cathay has really hit a home run here and the meal was fantastic. It started with a delicious beef carpaccio, followed by an absolutely amazing lamb. Lastly, my favorite dessert in the world, tiramisu in a chocolate cup. Service throughout the meal, and frankly throughout the entire flight was great. the upper deck was service by two primary flight attendants with a 3rd that flexed in/out as needed during busier times.

Cathay 747 upper deck






View from the seat


IFE/seat controls


IFE screen


View from my seat into the cockpit


Lunch menu


Tosca description


Snack/breakfast menu


Drink/nut service


Beef carpaccio


Salad


Lamb - tasted amazing despite the bad picture


Tiramisu


Toward the end of lunch with a 12 hour flight time it was more than enough to take my Benadryl and just as I was taking the final bites of my tiramisu and throwing down a praline the drowsiness kicked in. I set the seat in bed mode, got comfortable, put in my ear plugs and eye shades and dozed off. I got about 7 hours of great sleep and next thing I knew woke up with less than 3 hours left.

IFE content was the same as last flight and I mostly resorted to my backup IFE and spent the next few hours starting on my trip report, and catching episodes of Louie.

Brunch was served with about 2 hours left bruch started which consisted of bread, fruit, yogurt, and a delicious congee dish with XO sauce chinese-style rice rolls.

In recent history we have a much bigger sample size with Cathay than with any other airline and have yet to have a bad or even mediocre flight with them. They are definitely becoming one of our favorites along with Korean Air, but of course we'll need to give SQ another chance soon, hopefully in R class

We finally got to put our Global Entry to use as well and it felt great to ignore the customs forms that were being passed around. We had both gotten the $100 reimbursed through credit cards so while there was no cost, we did have to spend about an hour taking care of the in-person appointment. To anyone that is on the fence about this, in my mind we already more than made up for that time spent as we zipped through immigration in literally 2 minutes just as everyone else was groaning about the monstrous line in front of them. Very happy that we made the investment and highly recommend Global Entry to anyone that travels international even once a year.

Breakfast - fruit


Croissant


Delicious congee