The new seats are operated on certain 767 routes from the US to Europe.

Delta’s New Lie Flat Business Class Seat

The new business class seats are completely lie flat. Check out a few of the pictures for yourself.

Here are my initial thoughts.

• I’m a relatively tall guy, not giant, but at just over 6 feet, the lie flat seats are more comfortable than the old style craddle seats.
• The pillows are full size
• The blanket is a nice size and feels like a thick down material
• If you prefer to be very close to the window, the odd seats have the seat actually next to the window. The even seats have a small foot bin (for passenger behind the seat) between the seat and window
• As always, on even flight numbered flights the service starts from the front and on odd numbered flights the service starts from the back
• Those that like to curl up legs during lie flat position, may want to select an even window seat or even middle seat, as the aisles are not obstructed for those seats
• The Mulderbosch Savignon Blanc or the Chateu Beauregard Bordeaux are probably the wines to go with

The seats are great and I like them much better than the old craddle seats. But don’t take it from me. The 10 year old kid that sat in the seat to the left of me said “This is awesome!”

Bottom Line

You can find the new lie flat business class product on the flights to LHR/FRA/MUC/MAD/BRU from all gateways as well as JFK to Moscow.

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Delta’s flight 295 from Atlanta to Tokyo Narita was oversold by 3 seats. Check out the view from near the gate and read how much compensation was provided for the 3 folks who took the bump.

Location For Departure

We were invited to view the main event from on top of the new gate at F1. This was our first time to climb on top of a gate so we were pretty excited to see the views. The views didn’t let us down as they were amazing. It was hot up there, but well worth it. Check out the view.

Plane Spotting

We got to see a few of the big birds take off from our vantage point. We saw a few 767s take off and a 757-300. Check out the length on that 757-300.

777 Departure

The main event was seeing the 777 push back from the gate, taxi to the run way and get a shower along the way.

Bottom Line

Another big thanks to Delta for allowing us to attend the opening day event and bring these pictures to Points, Miles & Martinis readers.

Related Posts

Opening day first sign

Delta social media lab tour

Delta museum tour and Q&A

First flight to Tokyo oversold and the compensation for passengers

First arriving flight from Dublin gets a shower

Elite Priority check in and new terminal pictures

Wet Run at the Delta SkyClub in new international terminal

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If you are in the market for W Hotel store sheets, beds, or down products, you are in luck. The W Hotel store is running another special promotion for memorial day. During each holiday the W Hotel store runs percentage off promotions. For example, they are offering 30% off through May 30, 2012 for memorial day.

But make sure you check the web or Points, Miles & Martinis W Store tag because the email offers you get may not always be the best available as is the case with the W Hotel store memorial day sale.

Memorial Day 30% Offer

This is not the best offer out there so you should pass on using this code. Do not use the M3D7Y code unless you want to pay more at the W Hotel store. Instead, continue reading to learn how you can use a code for 35% off.

President’s Day 35% Sale & 40% Off Expired Promotions

The W Hotel store offered a 35% off promotion code for the President’s day sale. This code is no longer available, and neither is the 40% off promotion code they ran last year.

Current Offer for 35% Off W Hotel Store Purchases

1. Go to the W Store Website
2. Select your items to purchase
3. Enter your details
4. Enter promotion code WSTAR35 and update shopping cart
5. This will give you 35% off your entire order

Earn 4 Points With W Hotel Purchase Purchase

If you use your American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card and use your Starwood number (both the personal and business card are offering 25k sign up bonus) you will earn 2 Starpoints per dollar spent from American Express AND 2 Starpoints for being a Starwood Preferred guest member.

I called American Express and confirmed that a purchase will earn 4 points per dollar. Also, I asked that since my Starwood number is attached to my card if that would count as “entering” my member number. They confirmed that if you have the card and a SPG member number associated with the card, you’ll earn 4 points per dollar spent at the W Hotel store.

You will receive two Starpoints from American Express and two Starpoints (or three Starpoints if you have Starwood Preferred Guest elite status) from the Starwood Preferred Guest Program for each U.S. dollar of Eligible Spending charged on your Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express at participating Starwood properties, standalone retail establishments, and online stores that, in each case, are wholly owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc, and its affiliates.

Bottom Line

After a little search of the web or checking out of the Points, Miles & Martinis W Store tag, you’ll quickly find out if your promotional email code has the best percentage off the W Hotel store.

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Trip Report

1. Introduction and Trip Planning
2. Japan Airlines Economy From ORD to NRT
3. Westin Miyako Kyoto
4. Exploring Kyoto
5. Day trips from Kyoto
6. Park Hyatt Tokyo – Part I
7. Park Hyatt Tokyo – Part II
8. Exploring Tokyo
9. Final Thoughts

We had three days in Tokyo. At this point in the trip we were ‘templed out’ from Kyoto and just wanted to walk around at our leisurely pace exploring the various neighborhoods.  Out strategy was simplistic.  Each day we picked a major metro stop or two, got off and just walked around aimlessly.  I have to admit I was a little nervous prior to the trip attempting to navigate the Tokyo transit system.  The map is a quite intimidating at first glance.

Seriously?

However, those fears were quickly erased.  It turned out the transit system was quite easy to navigate.  The sheer volume of riders means the frequency of trains on every line is superb.  I can’t remember ever waiting more than 5-10 minutes for the train we needed to arrive at a stop.  In most cases it was less than a 3 minute wait.  The Park Hyatt Tokyo is close to Shinjuku station, which is the busiest train station in the world.  Likewise, the Tokyo metro system itself is the busiest in the world. We only saw the station during non-peak times but it was still hard to wrap your brain around how many people are going in so many different directions.  People watching was a blast, just don’t get in the way!

Shinjuku station, busiest train station in the world

Shibuya Station

One of the train stations we selected to explore from was Shibuya station.  We made a stop at Shibuya crossing, which is famous for its scramble crosswalk.  Much like Shinjuku, it is fun for people watching.  Every few minutes a sea of people cross the intersection all at once.   This area reminded me of Times Square in New York.

Shibuya crossing

Harajuku Station

I am not much of a shopper but Tokyo claims to have the best shopping in the world. We felt obligated to include it in one our walks so we went to Harajuku station.    We found several neat boutiques in this area along with the usual suspects of global brands.  Many of the stores were in stand alone buildings which each had their own interesting architecture.  It made for an interesting outdoor mall.

Harajuku pedestrian shopping street

Japanese Patagonia

Roppongi Station

Finally our meandering led us to a small city park which we found wandering (quite a ways) off the Roppongi Station.  The park was absolutely beautiful.  This was our last day so we were able to spend a few hours reflecting on the trip.  I made two particular observations which I believe characterize my strongest impressions of Japan.

The first observation was seeing two young girls around the age of 8 walking around this Tokyo city park in the evening without supervision.  Furthermore they just leaned their bikes up against a park bench and walked away.  The level of safety and security in Tokyo and Japan in general is just incredible.  It speaks a lot about the culture that they are able to  maintain this safe and trusting environment even while being the biggest city in the world.  It would be interesting to see how long an unlocked bike would last in a downtown Chicago park.

The second observation was based on the volume of city noise.  There wasn’t any!  No honking, no construction, nothing.  Complete silence other than the babbling creek and the birds chirping while sitting smack dab in the biggest city in the world.  City parks generally offer a quiet retreat from the city noise but this particular park was far more tranquil than those I’ve found elsewhere.  While Tokyo is often shown as chaotic and loud, I actually found the majority of the city to be overwhelming relaxing and peaceful.

City park

SkyMiles World Check Card Offer Details

There is a personal offer for 30k SkyMiles and a business offer for 25k SkyMiles over at Delta’s website. The card offers miles on both PIN Point of Sale and signature-based purchases. Earning rates are 1 mile for every $1 spent on everyday purchases and 2 miles for every $1 spent on direct Delta purchases.

• No limit on the number of miles you can earn
• Apply your miles toward Award Travel to more than 450 destinations worldwide

Details

• Existing SunTrust checking customers are eligible for a 15,000 mile bonus by choosing the Delta SkyMiles World Check Card
• Annual fee of $75 for the personal and $120 for the business is not waived the first year
• The Delta SkyMiles Check Cards are issued by SunTrust Banks, Inc. and are available in AL, AR, FL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, WV, VA and Washington, D.C.
• Please make sure you read the detailed terms and conditions

Bottom Line

There is value in the Delta’s SkyMiles program, even thought it is the toughest airline program to redeem for awards you want to take. If you’re looking for some SkyMiles, this offer may be a quick and easy way for you to bulk up on SkyMiles.

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Entrance

The SkyClub is located on the second level of the new terminal. There are two entrances, the main one which you’ll see in the picture below and a second entrance that takes you directly to the shower section. We witnessed the Delta team including CEO Richard Anderson officially open it’s doors for business.

SkyClub

Ribbon Cutting

The Bar

The bar area has plenty of seating. You can try one of the many complimentary beer, wine or wells drinks. Or take a walk on the wild side with a signature cocktail from the premium menu.

Bar Area

We couldn’t just do a dry run at the bar. Of course we ordered a signature cocktail. Someone had to make sure the bar worked. We thought it might as well have been us. So we took a look at the signature cocktail menu and ordered one for ourself. I think the cocktail bill came to $11 in total. We really liked the drink we selected and will share the details in an upcoming post very soon.

SkyClub Mixologist At Work

Signature Drink Menu

Snacks

The SkyClub offers the usual assortment of carrots, celery, olives, crackers, humus, candy popcorn, pretzel, and my favorite, the Biscoff cookie with Nutella chocolate.

SkyClub Snacks

SkyClub Snacks

Seating Area

There are three main seating areas. When you enter the SkyClub the first seating area is to your right next to the Beats lounge. If you head up the stairs you’ll find a lounge which is more quiet and looks down over the main seating area. The other main seating area is to the left just past the bar.

Top Lounge Area

Great windows for plane spotting.

SkyClub Window View

Beats Room

The beats room at the SkyClub is where you can sit back, relax and listen to your favorite music. If you have a bluetooth technology enabled device, you can connect up to their players and stream music directly to your device.

The Delta team is considering expanding this offering at other SkyClubs. What do you think, would you use the beats lounge to try out some cool music players and latest beats?

Beats Room

Shower

The showers in the Delta SkyClub have a separate entrance. You can also access the showers from within the lounge. The idea here is that if you are in a rush, you can head straight to the shower section and reserve one of the eight showers for use.

Shower Entrance

Shower Reception

For a little extra space, reserve the largest shower behind the last door on the left side.

Shower Hall

The SkyClub is in the process of getting their soap and shampoo provider agreement in place. So they’ll have an announcement soon about the new provider.

Shower Room

Shower Room

Shower Room

Bottom Line

A big thanks for Delta for allowing us to attend the opening day and bring these pictures to Points, Miles & Martinis readers.

Next up we’ll share pictures from being on top of the Gate at F1 while the first international flight was leaving the terminal for Tokyo.

Related Posts

Opening day first sign

Delta social media lab tour

Delta museum tour and Q&A

First flight to Tokyo oversold and the compensation for passengers

First arriving flight from Dublin gets a shower

Elite Priority check in and new terminal pictures

Sign up to have blog posts sent directly via email, join us on Twitter and Facebook or check back with us at Points, Miles & Martinis

The results were overwhelming for the winner. We’ve also announced the lucky winner of the $25 gift card below.

Hyatt Diamond Breakfast Challenge Winner 

The Hyatt Diamond Breakfast challenge winner, and still champion, is the Andaz 5th avenue Lemon Poppy Seed Pancake. The Hyatt 48 Lex Homemade Jelly Filled Donuts gave them a run for their money, but the sweet and citrus flavored pancakes remain champions.

Winner of $25 Hyatt 48 Lex Gift Card

Speaking of champions, congratulations to Ket for winning the $25 Hyatt 48 Lex gift card good for breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Brass restaurant located in the Hyatt 48 Lex in New York City.

• Ket with comment #16 wins the $25 gift card with the comment “Pancakes look fantastic!”

Congratulations Ket, hopefully you’ll get to use the gift card to try out the delicious homemade jelly donuts. You will receive an email with instructions on how to receive your gift card.

Thank you for participating in our small contest and for reading Points, Miles & Martinis.

Bottom Line

Hyatt offers a truly best of breed breakfast amenity to their Diamond members. The Lemon Poppy Seed Pancake remains at the top of the Hyatt Diamond breakfast breed, for now.

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It was difficult to select just one travel deal from so many excellent entries but we decided to go with a travel deal that involves both a world class aspirational award and award chart redemption optimization. Points, Miles and Martinis would like to thank commenter Jimgotkp who posted:

“140K AS miles for a roundtrip ticket on Cathay First from the US to Johannesburg! One of the best values!”

This is the kind of aspirational award we dream of at PMM. On this award redemption, you receive 4 Long Haul flights in Cathay Pacific First Class. What an incredible experience and value at only 140k Alaska Airlines miles! Thank you again Jimgotkp.

The winners

The Grand Prize of 3,000 American Airline Miles goes to commenter #47 Jimgotkp.

The two sets of 1,000 American Airlines miles go to:

Commenter #136 Adrian who said, “15 AAdvantage miles (instead of 10) for each dollar donated to the USO through Miles in Support of All Who Serve program!”

AND

Commenter #110 Lorf Fish who said, “If you can travel in June, receive up to 2-for-1 cruise/cruisetour pricing plus up to FREE air with Viking River Cruises. Eight-day European river cruise from $2,556. Offer expires May 31, 2012.”

Winners, please email theweeklyflyer@gmail.com for instructions on how to redeem your prize.

We’re not done giving away miles yet!

We’d like to thank American Airlines for providing these miles to donate to our readers by winning the Expert Tabs competition on the American Airlines Facebook page. This blog was given 5,000 AA miles to give away to our readers and 5,000 AA miles to keep. We followed up with American Airlines and they allowed us to give all 10,000 miles away to our readers. Keep an eye out for Part II of the BEST TRAVEL DEAL EVER giveaway for a shot at the next 5,000 AA miles!

With long first class upgrade lists, these seats will be a nice conciliatory prize that gives elite members a little extra room to stretch out.

Delta Email

Go ahead – stretch out.

Beginning June 7th, you can enjoy Economy Comfort™ on all two-class Delta flights.

With up to four additional inches of legroom, Economy Comfort gives you extra space to work or relax. Plus, on our long-haul international flights, you also will enjoy 50% more recline and complimentary beer, wine and spirits in the Economy Comfort section.

As a Diamond or Platinum Medallion® member, you can take advantage of complimentary access to Economy Comfort and other Preferred Seats.

So what are you waiting for? Book Economy Comfort for your next trip. If you’ve already booked a flight, log in to My Trips at delta.com and select your Economy Comfort seat. You can also choose your seat when checking in online or at an airport kiosk.

Bottom Line

If you take elite heavy routes, you’ll notice these seats book up fast.

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So when the Breakfast challenger presented itself, we accepted the challenge and settled in for another great Hyatt Diamond breakfast. It is tough to beat the Hyatt Diamond breakfast at the Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires, but the Lemon Poppy Seed pancake is the cake of gods. But this time we found a contender who may just have unseated the well known champion of the Hyatt Diamond Breakfast world.

But we don’t want to make the call of who is the winner, that will be left up to you, and we’ve sweetened the pot to get your thoughts.

Win A Chance At A $25 Hyatt 48 Lex Gift Card

Leave a comment in this post telling us which Hyatt Diamond breakfast you’d prefer and we’ll select one lucky winner to receive a $25 gift card good for use at the Hyatt 48 Lex in NYC.

• Limit one entry per contestant
• Winner will be selected at random on Friday, May 25, at 12 noon

Champion – The Andaz 5th Avenue Lemon Poppy Seed Pancake

The champion is well known in the Hyatt Diamond corner of the world. The champion comes from the Andaz 5th avenue. The Lemon Poppy Seed Pancake brings a sweet and citrus flavor right to your palate. One bite won’t do this champion any justice, you’ll soon find yourself in a challenge of your own to finish this giant cake from a pan.

Lemon Poppy Seed Covered Cake From A Pan

It is also worth noting that the Andaz 5th avenue allows Hyatt Diamond members to order off the menu and comps the breakfast up to a $75 limit.

Andaz Room Service Breakfast

Challenger – Hyatt 48 Lex Homemade Jelly Filled Donut Holes

The challenger today comes from the Hyatt 48 Lex New York Brass restaurant. It brings 5 jelly donuts directly to the table for your nibbling pleasure. The sugar coated, crunchy on the outside, gewy on the inside donut holes are sure to be a delight to any breakfast patron.

Five Is Always Better Than One

Sugar Coated Goodness

Oozing With Jelly

Along with the jelly filled donuts, the Hyatt 48 Lex offers it’s Diamond members a $25 gift card to use for breakfast, lunch or dinner at their Brass restaurant.

Breakfast Of Champions

Bottom Line

We applaud Hyatt for offering a great breakfast amenity to their Diamond members. It is one of the many reasons we continue to come back to Hyatt for business and personal stays.

So which do you prefer, a pancake or donut hole?

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