It was the best of planes, it was the worst of planes, that was our feeling after spending nearly thirty hours on two non-stop flights.
The first one, United flight 895, from Chicago to Hong Kong clocked in at sixteen hours. Back when this route started it was the was the longest scheduled flight by any U.S. airline.
To make the 7,788 miles a Boeing 747 had to be specially modified to carry 386,000 pounds of fuel, including several thousand pounds in extra tanks above the passenger cabin.
An aviation marvel back in the 1990s, but two decades later we found ourselves climbing aboard what seemed like an antique.
The coach seats were packed in ten across, with the leg room of an average commuter flight, and we can’t even remember the last time we were on an airplane that just had one big movie screen in the front of the cabin… or stranger yet, ashtrays.
Yup, this baby dates back to the days of smoking or non-smoking tickets. A “don’t call me Shirley” joke sprang to mind. No personal in-flight entertainment options on this marathon journey, everybody’s watching the same flick. Or, actually four flicks, with time to spare.
Oh well, maybe we won’t mind since the food will take our minds off of it.
Ah yes, airline food, but isn’t it usually better on international flights?
While that certainly used to be the case, now international flights are pretty much the only ones that serve food. While nothing to write home about, the food on good old flight 895 was edible.
They made a stab at Chinese cuisine by putting the meat on a bed of rice, and it did give us something to occupy a bit of our sixteen hours.
We were given dinner, a snack, and then another dinner, because this crazy flight went right over the north pole and across the International Dateline meaning we never saw any darkness, even though we arrived in Hong Kong a day and a half later than when we left Chicago.
The highlight for most of the passengers came about mid-flight when, while looking down at the ice floes cracking in the Arctic Ocean, we suddenly flew directly over another airliner.
Don’t get to see the top of a jumbo jet from 39,000 feet everyday.
All in all the flight turned out to be not quite as bad as we were dreading. Perhaps we shouldn’t have read the article Mommy, Make It Stop; Sorry, but United 895, the Nation’s Longest Scheduled Flight, Won’t Land for 16 Hours before the trip.
But nothing about this flight had us looking forward to repeating the experience any time soon, so we were hopeful that the return would be better.
On our flight back to Chicago, we left out of Tokyo on All Nippon Airlines flight 12 in a Boeing 777.
This was a slightly shorter trip, only twelve hours, but it gave us a perfect opportunity to contrast and compare, not just the difference between one of the oldest and one of the newest airplanes in service, but also between a U.S. carrier and a Japanese one.
As anyone who has flown in The States the past few years already knows, customer service is fast becoming a thing of the past on our airlines.
Greyhound bus with wings springs to mind. Not so much on most foreign carriers.
We were greeted with hot towels at our spacious seats, which had one less in each row and what felt like a foot more leg room.
It is amazing what a few inches can do to improve comfort.
Each seat had its own video screen with dozens of choices for on-demand entertainment, featuring popular movies, television shows, games, news, music, and, our personal favorite, the map with a giant airplane showing our current location.
We were apparently covering about half of Japan just before takeoff.
Dinner on All Nippon had some flair too. It came with a cold plate containing noodles with sauce, lotus root, and a mystery salad that we had no idea of its content, but was quite good.
We were then offered miso soup, and a hot dish of meat, rice and egg. Not quite on a par with the food we found in Osaka, but still one of the better airline meals we’ve had.
Before we landed we were served a Japanese breakfast, which consisted mostly of rice that didn’t go snap, crackle, or pop, and beautifully prepared morsels of goodness.
Breakfast was served because on this flight it actually got dark for a few hours, giving us at least the illusion of getting a night’s sleep. But an illusion was certainly all it was.
We left Tokyo at 10:45 AM and arrived in Chicago at 8:20 AM… on the same morning! Yes, we landed an hour and a half BEFORE we took off. That wacky International Dateline is a tough thing to wrap a mind around, and made for the worst case of jet lag in the history of the world.
Even in our time warped fog, we much preferred the return trip on All Nippon airlines. But both were executed professionally, and safely, which is after all the most important thing.
We should also point out that a few days after our flight on April 2, 2013, United Airlines retired the aging 747 that we flew aboard and began using the same model Boeing 777 aircraft as All Nippon.
Perhaps that will help to retire the mantra “mommy make it stop” as well.
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
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That sure is an amazing view of the Arctic! Though I’m not sure I could manage a 16 hour flight just for the view (especially with a toddler in tow).
Would be tough with a toddler, but they do grow up… so someday.
Ashtrays? It’s good that they retired that aircraft from the route. Flying US airlines internationally is always lacking to other airlines.
Service on all American airlines frankly suck. The least sucky, in my opinion, is Continental. As a Canadian I try to avoid any connections through the US but sometimes can’t be avoided. Had a horrible experience with USAir: http://bbqboy.net/why-ill-never-fly-us-airways-again/
Great post, I really like your blog!
Thanks. US Air is getting sucked up by American, hopefully they won’t bring their service along with them.
This reminds me of my ridiculously long journey back from Korea. It was only 12 hours, but added on top of two other flights – one with a grounded delay of 4.5 hours (sitting on the plane and NOT moving just makes it worse!). I agree, though, that foreign carriers offer a more enjoyable experience.
You are so right, sitting while delayed is the worst!
Your first flight sounds – and looks – a lot like the flight I take on Delta out of Atlanta when heading to France. Definitely old school with the ashtrays and video screens hanging over the aisles for all to see. The food also tastes circa 1980s. On the flight back we’re officially on the sister airline Air France and it’s a world of difference.
Those photos over the ice cap are fabulous. I always used to fly window seat so I could get those shots, but now that even overseas flights have three seats across in those window rows I’ve taken to choosing aisle seats because I hate being stuck because my two row mates are either asleep or oblivious to the fact that I’d like to get up and move a little.
Definitely hate the climbing over people too, but still go for the window most times.
When flying from Europe to Asia, I can recommend AlItalia. Thanks for the great post.
We have had good luck with Alitalia in the past as well. Thanks.
Great post guys! Bad flights are just the worst, I don’t like them at the best of times as I’m terrified (awesome fear to have when you’re a long term traveller) but when they’re uncomfortable, the entertainment sucks, as does the food, all I can think is ‘Kick me while I’m down, won’t you!’ My best flight has to have been London to Vancouver back in 2010 – great movies and free drinks, which mean I had a number of beers to help me go soundly to sleep!
Thanks. We should add that this wasn’t really our worst flight ever, but it certainly was the longest!
I love this post. I am a huge fan of the Korean airline, Asiana. Took them from Cambodia to Seattle.
Traveling in ECONOMY class at the cheapest price point I could I was treated to flight attendants who appeared to be happy, seat backs with tilting movie screens, coat hooks, foot rests, a pair of slippers, tooth brush and paste, Great meals, yummy snacks, facials, and a visit from the flight crew makeup artist just before the final descent. I sooo wish they could handle domestic US flights.
A MAKEUP ARTIST?! That’s fantastic! Every girl needs that after a transpacific flight. WOW. -Veronica
Our best flights ever were Executive Class to and from Japan on Air Canada. I was even moved to blog about it:
http://www.boomeresque.com/o-business-class/
Two recent flights to get to Hawaii were also blog inspiring — but for the opposite reason.
http://www.boomeresque.com/baby-boomer-travel-daze/
I loved reading this because it made me remember flying to Nepal from San Francisco in 1987. We stopped overnight in Hong Kong because it was such a long flight–and I felt every minute of that flight to Hong Kong because there were babies on both sides of me during the trip out! At least in those days you could walk around the plane, though, even with a drink in your hand.
The good old days…remember there used to be a bar upstairs on the 747s?
My best and worse flight was from Dubai to Chennai with Emirates. The staff were wonderful, the seats comfy and the food looked superb! I say looked superb as I never got to try any of it. I got on board with terrible stomach cramps and couldn’t face eating anything, as what seemed to be a never ending stream of deliciousness was served throughout the flight, including a birthday cake for the gentleman sitting next to me. I felt so rude declining a slice!
Oh no! Haven’t flown Emirates, but have heard the luxury rumors. If I get to try them, I’ll plan on not being sick – sounds like torture. 😉