Chasing the Sun: Introduction

Cool! Interested in new Thai F.

Also, at the top, should be SEA-FRA and not Frankfurt to Seattle.

Based on previous tweets and posts, I thought this was going to be a more adventurous routing...but it's actually standard for you. Still looking forward to reading about it though!

When you get to the IC BKK section, could you give your thoughts on Bangkok as a destination? Why go there multiple times a year? Is it b/c things are super cheap? (e.g. food and spa)

@ AK -- Fixed, thanks!

Ben,

For a week's vacation, what are your thoughts on Bali vs. Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket etc)? Never been to either, and both itineraries are available, so wanted to check.

Thanks.

@ David -- Will share that in the IC Bangkok section. The short answer is that Bangkok is a really fun city that's cheap, with some very reasonably priced luxury hotels, so it's a great place to kill a few days.

@ JettyBoy -- You're basically asking me to choose between my children. They're both awesome destinations. Bali is just the most relaxing place on earth, in my opinion, while Thailand is a nice mix between cities and beaches.

In Bali you could split your time between the beaches and Ubud (more of a jungle area), both of which are awesome.

In Thailand you could spend half your time at the beach (Koh Samui, Phuket, etc.), and half your time either in a city (Chaing Mai or Bangkok) or in a river area like Chiang Rai.

So I really don't know. I love both destinations. Throw a dart at a dartboard and you won't go wrong.

Thanks, Ben - now I am more confused 🙂

I currently have JFK-HKG-DPS (CX J) and JFK-ICN-BKK (OZ J) blocked for travel in a few weeks. Any idea what the possibilities of F opening up on either route are (for 2 passengers)? That might swing my decision one way or the other.

Is this new first class product on Thai A380 BKK-FRA as well? I'm flying that route early next year.

@ JettyBoy -- Cathay Pacific first class is much more likely to open up. They almost always release all but one unsold first class seat within a week of departure.

So I guess you're going to Bali. 😉

Thanks Ben - excited about the trip already! No more dragging the comments off-topic - thanks for your help.

Ben...was this an award ticket or a paid fare?

Are there any fees to upgrade from J to F on CX last minute? I have no status.

@ Tao -- The A380 has a new first class as well, though it's slightly different than what's on the reconfigured 747s.

@ Ozaer N. -- I used miles -- 70,000 MileagePlus for the outbound and 67,500 AAdvantage for the return.

@ romsdeals -- If you already paid for a first class award ticket and are just waiting for first class to open up on one segment there's no fee to do so. If you want to upgrade the ticket entirely from business to first you'd have to redeposit miles ($150 for first passenger and $25 for each additional passenger) and start from scratch.

ahhh youth.... it lets you get away with so much. God bless you for enjoying life.

Ben I asked this on another post, but looks like it is more relevant to this one. Since you used AA for the return ticket, did they allow the HKG stopover or was that separate?

How hard is it to get this type of itinerary in pairs or triplets?

@ Jorge -- American only allows a stopover at the North American gateway, so you can't do a "free" stopover. That being said, you can stop enroute for less than 24 hours anywhere internationally, so that's what I did in Hong Kong.

@ Zz -- Well this itinerary was for two people, so hopefully that answers it. All these flights actually had three award seats, so it would have been possible for three people as well.

Chasing the sun seems to imply a westbound journey. Maybe leapfrogging the sun?

Chasing the sun? No, I'm afraid not. You were flying west-to-east, and that won't do. I'm afraid I can't give you credit for this assignment - you'll have to do it again east-to-west! 🙂

Thanks Ben.

Hey Lucky,
Have you done the Boeing Factory tour in Renton yet? I just did it this past weekend, and its absolutely worth it.

when are you going to post the entire trip report? love your passed trip reports and look forward to this trip of yours. also I want to redeem a trip from lax-sin-bkk next year. by the way do you do booking service, I might have do you my intinerary for next year.

@ Eric @ Scott -- LOL, meant I was "chasing" warm weather... good catch, though!

@ hsw25 -- I did years ago, though it's probably time I do it again. Enjoyed it immensely last time.

@ choi -- I'll post one installment per day. I do have an award booking service (pointspros.com) tough at the moment am not really taking on new clients, unfortunately).

Never knew you were a fan of The Wanted!

hello luck! was wondering if you know if or not cathay opens up coach award inventory just like what they do with business/first. looking for a seat TPE-KIX early Jan. thanks!

@ cww -- They sometimes do, though not nearly as regularly as they release first class space last minute.

How can I track the tail number? I've got a Thai flight coming up and I'm worried they'll pull an equipment change on me 🙁

@ schmerj -- The only plane so far with the new first has the tail number HS-TGY, and you can track the location of that plane here:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/HSTGY

AA allows a stopover at a "NA Gateway City" even on a oneway award ticket?!

It's been a while since we've seen a TR for CX first class. Interesting to see how it compares to your previous experiences on it, and if the service and food are as strong as they used to be.

@ Craig -- Yep, they sure do. So that means two international gateway stopovers on a roundtrip.

@ wwk5d -- Indeed, it's one of the reasons I took this trip. 🙂

@lucky Does a stopover at YVR count as AA NA gateway stop? Thanks

@ ikonos -- It sure does if it's your transoceanic gateway city.

Where did you monitor the tailnumber?

@ dlh535 -- I used FlightRadar.