Noob question (and I'm sure it's been asked before):

What's a higher rate of return when using your points: upgrading a class vs. a free ticket (economy)? Or does it vary and depends on situation?

Awesome TR! I was planning to visit Tokyo in April but still deciding between J in JAL or ANA. I'm leaning towards ANA.

If out of yvr, they are both awful.

If you can get their updated flat seats, Jal suite is miles ahead.

In HK now. I gave in for the upgrade as the 777HD Econ looks awful for a 13hr flight.

Now, I wish I didn't. God the ac 777 new seats are awful. Wtf did they do? Seats are hard and the softness control does nothing. Food was subpar and service was even worse. It seemed they rushed to get service done. IFE keeps crashing (not a hard reset, but jumps back to language page every 20min or so, very annoying) and the headset is probably the worst j headset offered.

All in all, very disappointed. It was so bad I didn't even bothered to get up and take pictures.

I'm not sure. I saw it on Reddit and immediately thought of you guys haha! I usually lurk in here and try to soak up some of the info you guys always post about

Depends on the points and the airline. A lot of airlines you cannot upgrade an economy ticket unless it is a full-flex ticket, which might cost about the same as a discounted business-class ticket.

FWIW when ANA starts using the 787-9 on the YVR-HND route at the end of April, J class will have the flat seats too.

Since I was redeeming off Aeroplan, I tried my hardest to get the F even though its at SFO instead of the J at YVR. I feel like it's going to be pretty rare to get F class soon...

You can always use AwardNexus or something like that to find award seats and call in to have the ticket issued.

The problem now though is that most airlines seem to release their J/F spaces very late except to their own program. Sometimes 7days prior the travel date.

Yep, awardnexus is good. I don't think ANA flies 77W from YVR to NRT which is why I chose it from SFO #worth

If only ANA was oneworld. Fingers crossed JAL matches so I can cash in my points.

So I finally got to do the SQ A380 Suites flight I have wanted for a long time. It exceeded my every expectation, the service blew me away. The flight attendant serving me was warm and welcoming, and clearly took an interest in my travels. Nothing was too much trouble for her. The female uniforms are still also #1 in the sky in my mind. Very distinctive, and very attractive in a classy manner. I ordered a fillet steak for my main dish, and it was perfectly medium rare - no mean feat in a plane. Tender and not over-cooked! The male steward even came back to check with me if it was done right, and offered to make me another dish if it wasn't to my taste.

The hard product was good, but clearly showing some wear and tear on my plane. The bed was better than EK F or ANA F, sadly I didn't get the double bed in the middle. The amount of space per suite was really good, I never felt cramped or closed in the way EK F made me feel. Lower deck A380 F has a more spacious feeling than upper deck A380 F, but the washrooms were quite a bit smaller as a trade-off as they could not use the "dead" space the way EK/EY did up top.

http://i.imgur.com/zMeRtzPl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QgqMG61l.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gUBuYJbl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/oSJlDyWl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Nzt04ZOl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XoMrFeXl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kxoH4bBl.jpg
https://mmi480.whatsapp.net/d/ixa3Q0...3WJhH-vcp-.jpg

Is it just me or are the pictures not working? (Aside from the two bears)

Nope, not working. They were earlier.

damm, those are nice bears

Pics aren't working for me either
Can't wait to see them though
Sounds like an amazing flight

Fixed the pics, sorry about that. Food pics are coming in a bit, I need to get them off my camera.

according to my instagram YVR plane spotters, 2 months away from BA's A380 coming

may have to try and get to it's maiden flight/landing lol

Food pictures, as promised! :D

Satay - delicious. I wish I had a spoon to eat the peanut sauce by itself. Lamb & chicken.
http://i.imgur.com/P2EkTDGh.jpg

Place setting. Wedgewood china & flatware!
http://i.imgur.com/NjpcLtdh.jpg

Caviar. Occasional treat!
http://i.imgur.com/bcahhrQh.jpg

Salad. It's okay I guess...
http://i.imgur.com/mGPfGW4h.jpg

Double-boiled chicken soup. Very tasty and refreshing.
http://i.imgur.com/BeURUW6h.jpg

The star of the show - a perfectly medium-rare filet steak with a delicious potato cake to go with it. Tender and flavourful, hard to get beef like this on a plane! Garlic bread was also delicious. Had the Burgundy with it, paired well with the meat.
http://i.imgur.com/dUoaaCWh.jpg

Dessert - chocolate tart and pistachio ice cream. Yum! Feeling very stuffed after this, I had to refuse fruits and cheese.
http://i.imgur.com/DWh5KN3h.jpg

Breakfast was a Nasi Lemak!!! Oh how this brings back memories of Singapore.
http://i.imgur.com/UEV1OsUh.jpg

Some bonus cabin shots. The bed was very comfortable, they even had a mini-bolster! I had mine set up in 1A, as it was empty.
http://i.imgur.com/OXmd3eBh.jpg

You can see the "refreshed" cabin colours in this photo. I don't know if I prefer this or the older orange-y colour instead.
http://i.imgur.com/eg83GCDh.jpg

Cheers! One of the best flights I've had. I just wish it was longer!
http://i.imgur.com/UiLSLggh.jpg

Some pictures from a recent trip to Europe on Lufthansa F. It's amazing :)

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Just came back from Japan one the new Dreamliner. I totally recommend ANA as they have upgraded their entertainment system (the screens are larger) and also they fly direct into Haneda which eliminates the need of taking a Limousine bus from Narita to Haneda.

I did hear that JAL has free WiFi now so I'm not sure if that makes a difference for you.

Hated the J seats in the 777s which were dated and not very comfortable. The J cabin in the A380 was much better but this looks to be a nice upgrade for the 777...

Isn't it pretty much the same seat but lie-flat now, with bigger PTVs? Most people weren't too impressed when they came out, they were expecting all-aisle access like the A380's have.

First A380 to YVR enroute from London right now! Expected to land on runway 26L.

^^. Best area for viewing ?

So... it's time for a "roastpuff is crazy" post!

This is what I have planned so far for this summer.

YYD-YVR-ORD-EWR-ARN-OSL-SVG for a wedding. The return is SVG-OSL-FRA-YYZ-YVR-SEA-YVR, and then two weeks later, SEA-YYC-FRA-TXL-AUH-SIN-PEN-HKG-YVR.

Airlines involved are: AC, UA, SAS, LH, AB, EY, KA, CX in a mix of F/J/Y.