As I had booked my flights to Japan and then to Korea using points, I decided I could splurge for business class on my return. I chose an American Airlines partner, so I can start racking up my miles flying to Charlotte which is an American Airlines hub for my new job. Consequently, it was a breeze at check-in at the Japan Airlines counter and I had breakfast in the lounge.
However, I had a bit of a snafu at security. I put all gifts in my duffel carry-on in case my parents and brother came to pick me up at the airport. The plan was to have lunch and catch up in Queens, but due to recent blizzard and road conditions, I suggested they not trek out to the airport. Nonetheless, as I was prepared to make an easy handoff of gifts, I didn't realize they had strict liquid rules and my cousin had given me packages of red bean jook or congee. I had to wait for an escort to make sure I checked the whole duffel which left me no time to pick up gifts at the duty free.
Luckily, I had plenty of time in Tokyo for gifts as my one hour transfer turned into 6 hours! Thank goodness for the business lounge where I got to relax and wait for my flight. It kind of made waking up so early a waste, but since the issue is in New York and the plane being delayed from New York due to the storms, I still had to get to Tokyo. The $500 difference in economy and business flight was really worth it considering the delay. I enjoyed the buffet, massage chairs, and a nice view:
I was also given a ¥2,000 food and beverage voucher despite food and beverage being free in the lounge, so I got frozen yogurt and an iced green tea latte while waiting to board. But since I had a sizable balance, I treated a person to a drink behind me and another their sandwich. They bowed to me in gratitude.
That wasn't my only good deed of the day - a family wanted me to switch seats in business class so the three of them could be together. Instead of me being in the middle, I was switched to an aisle 2 rows behind my seat. Easy favors and the stewardesses were super grateful. Here's my welcome champagne in front of my television:
The flight way peaceful and the food delicious. Here are my meals:
Sleeping on a flat bed on an international flight is clutch. However, as we started to enter New York airspace we were told to turnaround. We hung out for 2 hours in Chicago! When I landed, I turned on my phone and my mom had left a message saying she was on the way to the airport to pick me up. I called her and told her to turn around. Luckily, she had not gotten far and just had entered the highway. She said she was getting stir crazy and needed groceries, so she got out of the house.
I napped for the 2 hours in Chicago and then we were off to New York. This is an article on the delays and even 2 planes managed to collide at JFK: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/nyregion/jfk-airport-delays.html
We were off to JFK and I must have missed the announcement that was just 30 minutes before we were supposed to land as I had been sleeping, that we were being rerouted to Boston! To my surprise when they opened the jetway after 2 hours of waiting for a gate, we were indeed in Boston:
After another 2 hours of waiting for our luggage, I picked up my bags and got on the shuttle for the rental car center. I had booked online, but they said they couldn’t see the reservation that soon. So I cancelled my Orbitz reservation and picked up a new rental from Budget. In my Ford Focus that had a built in navigation system, I was at my parents' in 3 hours and called Amanda on the way to keep me awake.
In the morning, I dropped off the rental at White Plains / Westchester airport. What an adventure getting back, but nothing could keep me down. I was on such a high from an amazing trip with my family, I just sang songs to keep me awake and was in such a good mood!
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