First Class Archives - Benjamin J Travel

Trip Report: American Airlines 737 Business Class | Puerto Vallarta to DFW Blog Review First Class

Trip Report: American Airlines 737 Business Class | Puerto Vallarta to DFW

2 April, 2018 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

Making the short 2.5 hour journey home from Puerto Vallarta to DFW, we enjoyed a lovely flight with American Airlines in Business Class on one of their workhorse 737s. We had originally booked a one way ticket in Economy Class, Chris and I were upgraded thanks to my Executive Platinum status. Our complimentary upgrades cleared about 4 days prior to departure. My upgrade was complimentary and Chris, who holds Gold AAdvantage status, redeemed two 500-mile upgrade “stickers”. Premium cabin seats…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Business Class | Honolulu to DFW

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Business Class | Honolulu to DFW

1 April, 2018 Benjamin J Travel Comments 6 comments

Making our way home from Hawaii, our journey home would be aboard American’s 777-200 from Honolulu to DFW. The 777 is the workhorse between American’s fortress hub in in DFW and Honolulu. American has completed the retrofit of their 777-200s. You can expect a lie-flat seat in Business Class on all of American’s 777s across the fleet. The Cabin: SeatGuru isn’t exactly accurate on their seat maps American’s 772 so unfortunately a bit difficult to predict which Business Class seat…

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Lounge Review: Plumeria Lounge Honolulu | Hawaiian Airlines Blog Review HNL

Lounge Review: Plumeria Lounge Honolulu

28 December, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

Due to some island hopping on our Hawaii trip, we departed from HNL twice times in a week. On the first departure, we tried to enter the Plumeria Lounge was but turned away due to being over capacity. This was a Tuesday around 2 pm. On our second attempt, entry was no issue and the lounge was nearly empty. The Plumeria Lounge is a bit tricky to locate as there isn’t much signage for it throughout the airport. Once you are…

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Trip Report: LOT Polish Business Class | 787 | Warsaw to Chicago Airline Blog Review

Trip Report: LOT Polish Business Class | 787 | Warsaw to Chicago

17 September, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

Making my way from Warsaw to Chicago, LOT Polish Business Class on the 787 would be my ride across the Atlantic. After a nice flight from Brussels to Warsaw on LOT Polish, I was looking forward to my firs long-haul flight with LOT Polish. I’d spent some time in the Polonez and Bolero Business Class lounges before heading to the boarding gate. The boarding process was a bit delayed and boarding commenced about 20 minutes late after the scheduled time….

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Lounge Review: The Wing First Class Lounge | Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong Blog Airport Review

Lounge Review: The Wing First Class Lounge | Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong

30 August, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

Connecting in Hong Kong on my flight from Singapore onward to Los Angeles, I had a bit of time to pass on one of my favorite airports. I’ve visited most of the Cathay Pacific lounges at HKG with the The Pier First Class Lounge being my favorite. On this layover, I opted to spend my time in The Wing First Class Lounge. The Cathay Pacific Wing lounge has a Business Class section on the lower level and a First Class…

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Trip Report: LOT Polish Business Class | E190 | Brussels to Warsaw Embraer Airline Blog Review

Trip Report: LOT Polish Business Class | E195 | Brussels to Warsaw

26 August, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

Continuing my journey home from the Côte d’Azur, my second segment would be aboard LOT Polish Business Class on an Embraer 195 regional jet. This would be my second time flying aboard LOT Polish after a trip to Krakow, Poland last year. The entire cabin of the E195 is in a 2-2 layout with a curtain separating the Business Class cabin from Economy. The first four rows were designated as Business Class but the seats in Economy Class are identical to…

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Trip Report: Brussels Airlines Business Class | A319 | Marseille to Brussels Airline Blog Review

Trip Report: Brussels Airlines Business Class | A319 | Marseille to Brussels

24 August, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

Starting a very nontraditional routing home from Marseille to Dallas on Star Alliance carriers, my travels would begin in Brussels Airlines Business Class aboard the A319 from Marseille to Brussels. This would be my first time aboard Brussels Airlines and my second time at the Brussels Airport. As much as I hate early flights, my itinerary left me with little choice but a 6:40 AM departure from Marseille. I took an Uber from my Airbnb rental in Aix-en-Provence and arrived…

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Lounge Review: Star Alliance Business Class Lounge LAX Los Angeles TBIT Blog Review

Lounge Review: Star Alliance Business Class Lounge LAX

18 August, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

Arriving earlier at LAX for my Swiss Business Class flight to Zurich, I’d have plenty of time to check out the Star Alliance Business Class Lounge at in LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Positioned near the other premium lounges on the 6th floor of TBIT, I headed up the escalators to the lounge entrance. Access is permitted to Star Alliance Gold passengers and those traveling in a premium cabin on a Star Alliance carrier. Check-in was quick and friendly…

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Trip Report: American Airlines Business Class | 777-300ER | DFW to London Heathrow Blog Review August 2017

Trip Report: American Airlines Business Class | 777-300ER | DFW to London Heathrow

8 August, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

I’ve written extensively about American’s Business Class product on the 777-300ER on the DFW to London route as well other routes like Sydney to Los Angeles. But I wanted to write-up a “mini review” of my latest journey aboard American Airlines Business Class. Boarding from Gate D23 (which I despise for it’s compact space), the boarding process started right on time for AA 78 from DFW to London Heathrow. Boarding was slow as there was only one agent scanning boarding…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 787-9 Economy Class | Dallas DFW to Paris CDG Blog Airline Review

Trip Report: American Airlines 787-9 Economy Class | DFW to Paris

3 August, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

Making my may to Paris for a quick extended weekend, I’d be traveling with American Airlines in 787-9 Economy Class. I was pleased when American “upgraded” this route from an older 777-200 to a 787-9 although now that nearly all 777-200s have been retrofitted, the 787-9 is newer but a slightly smaller passenger capacity. Before departure, I spent about an hour in the DFW Amex Centurion Lounge before heading to my gate about 15 minutes before departure. American loves to…

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Lounge Review: oneworld Business Class Lounge LAX | Los Angeles

Lounge Review: oneworld Business Class Lounge LAX

26 July, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

After a long light from Hong Kong, I found myself with a long layover at LAX. With time to kill, I decided to check out the oneworld Business Class Lounge LAX in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). I had access to the more upscale Qantas First Lounge in the same terminal but I wanted to sample something new. Access to the oneworld Business Class Lounge LAX access is permitted to oneworld elites with Sapphire or Emerald status or those traveling in…

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Trip Report: Trip Report: Swiss 777-300ER Business Class | Los Angeles to Zurich Blog Airline Review777-300ER Business Class | Los Angeles to Zurich Blog Airline Review

Trip Report: Swiss 777-300ER Business Class | Los Angeles to Zurich

17 July, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 8 comments

Making my way to the the Cote d’Azur for a week long holiday, my outbound journey would be in Swiss 777-300ER Business Class. I booked an award journey on Star Alliance carriers via Aeroplan, Air Canada’s reward program. Aeroplan represents a great value for transatlantic premium cabin bookings with roundtrip Business Class bookings from North America to Western Europe for 110,000 Aeroplan miles. After spending the day in Los Angeles, I arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class | Sydney to Los Angeles

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class | Sydney to Los Angeles

19 June, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

Returning home from a fantastic trip in Australia, it was sadly time to head home to Dallas. On the bright side, our ride home would be in comfort in American Airlines’ 777-300ER Business Class from Sydney to Los Angeles. On our outbound journey, we had flown to Sydney in Economy Class which wasn’t quite as comfortable. We would be departing from Sydney’s International Terminal 1. After spending about 45 minutes in the Sydney Qantas First lounge, it was time to head…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class | Los Angeles to Sydney

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class | Los Angeles to Sydney

13 June, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 3 comments

Heading out on a long holiday in Australia, we made the long journey from Dallas to Sydney on American Airlines. We had snagged a steal of a price on a roundtrip Economy ticket from Dallas to Sydney for ~$750 USD. Roundtrip flights from Dallas to Sydney typically average well over $1500 USD. On the outbound, our primary segment was American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class from Los Angeles to Sydney. We arrived from DFW and found ourselves with a layover just…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Retrofitted Business Class | Dallas to London | 772 Retrofit

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Retrofitted Business Class | Dallas to London

13 April, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 5 comments

Making our way to Berlin for a long weekend trip, we found ourselves in American Airlines’ Business Class from Dallas to London on the 777-200. While this wouldn’t be my first flight on one of American’s retrofitted 777-200s, it would be my first flight in the 777-200 retrofitted Business Class. I’ve had several journeys aboard American’s 777-300ER in Business Class on this same route and others and always enjoyed the reverse herringbone configuration. And while the seat is always a…

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Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific | The Pier First Class Lounge | Hong Kong

Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific | The Pier First Class Lounge | Hong Kong

1 February, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 4 comments

Hong Kong is one of my favorite airports for lounge access, thanks to Cathay Pacific’s phenomenal lounges at their home base airport. All of the lounges set the bar high but The Pier First Class Lounge sets the highest bar in Cathay Pacific’s lounge portfolio. While some may prefer The Wing First Class Lounge with it’s polished black finishes, The Pier is all round a winner for me. Fresh off my 15 hour flight from LAX, some lounge time and…

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Lounge Review: Qantas First LAX Lounge

Lounge Review: Qantas First LAX Lounge

24 January, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 4 comments

I can’t count the number of raving reviews about the Qantas First LAX lounge in Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. Naturally, my expectations were high on my first visit to this lounge. I had just flown into LAX from DFW on an older 777-200 in the old Flagship First suites. I gained access to the Qantas First LAX lounge thanks to my OneWorld Emerald status and my international Cathay Pacific itinerary. This lounge also grants access to passengers ticketed…

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Trip Report: Upper Deck Club World on British Airways' 747 | DFW to London

Trip Report: Upper Deck Club World on British Airways’ 747 | DFW to London

20 December, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 7 comments

Bound for Ireland for the Thanksgiving holiday, this particular trip was extra special to me. My Dad has done so much for me throughout my life. Raising me, taking care of me, and helping mold me into the person I am today. In decades past, my dad has traveled to Mexico and Canada with the US Navy but this truly was going to be his first “overseas” trip. I travel so much for my blog and personal travel, but I…

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Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge | LHR Terminal 5

Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge | LHR Terminal 5

31 October, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 9 comments

Fresh off our Virgin Atlantic flight in Upper Class from Detroit and a refreshing visit to the Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge, it was time to head to Terminal 5 and spend a bit of time in the Galleries First Lounge. Even after 90 minutes in the Revivals lounge, we still had 3 hours to pass before our British Airways flight to Santorini. Obviously Virgin Atlantic and BA aren’t partner airlines so we needed to re-check out bags onto BA. Once we…

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Trip Report: American Airlines A319 Business Class | Mérida to Dallas

Trip Report: American Airlines A319 Business Class | Mérida to Dallas

8 August, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

After a very lovely extended weekend in Mérida and the surrounding Yucatan region, it was time to head back home to Dallas. The flight from Mérida to Dallas is a short hop of less than 2.5 hours, a wee bit shorter than the flight between Dallas and Cancun. This particular route is operated by American Airlines in varied frequency, rotating between 6x weekly during the summer peak season and reducing to 1x weekly during the fall. We were headed home on the July 4…

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