At 5:10 we went down and checked out. At 5:15 our driver arrived. At 5:45 we were checking in at the JAL counter. There was no one else there. There was no charge for our 2 extra bags. We had decided to check the heaviest carry on also. I asked about the request for a wheel chair. She said she had not received one but no worries. She jumped up and walked away on the luggage belt. When she jumped off she grabbed a phone and apparently called dispatch. When she returned, she told us it was all arranged and had us step aside until the chair arrived. It was still before 6:00 so when the chair arrived, the escort took us to the waiting area near the door. Our flight to Tokyo was not until 8:30. It would start boarding at 7:40. We had a long wait.
At 6:00 a coach pulled up and disgorged what seemed like hundreds of people. The counter that was empty when we arrived was now seriously backed up. Our driver must have known about this and got us here ahead of it. About 6:15 a new escort arrived he would guide us through immigration and customs before taking us to our gate. This gate was far far away. It was not even open. There were a few seats outside the locked gate area. He parked us there, and told us another pusher would arrive about 7:30 to take through security (it is at each gate here) and down to the plane.
We killed time people watching and playing solitaire on our iPads. At 7:30 the same escort returned. He took us through security and we all sat at the gate. While we waited we learned that he was 60 and retired. He worked this job because his benefits don't kick in for another 3 years. He has a young son and daughter with his second wife. He creates beautiful batik. The boarding began, and he wheeled us down to the plane. Alice slowly made her way to our seats 3 rows from the rear in row 60. The cabin attendants were extremely helpful.
We took off on time, but were scheduled to arrive in Tokyo a little late because of weak tail winds. The flight was smooth and 7 hours long. The entertainment system worked well. And the cabin attendants could not have been better. As we neared Tokyo we learned that our connection time was cut to an hour. We would not have to collect our bags. They were checked through to Chicago. Saito, the flight attendant who had looked after us confirmed that a wheelchair would meet us. She also assured us that we would not miss the plane. Speaking of planes, I must report that this 767 was the roomiest that we have ever been on. The space between rows was fabulous as was the seat width. Now I understand why no premium economy is available. Who needs it.
We arrived in Tokyo with an hour to change planes. The escort met us at the door. Saito bid us goodbye, and we were off. This young man knew all of the shortcuts. All that slowed him down was my need to take out the computers and iPads for security. When he got us to the 787 Dreamliner, they had started boarding but were still in group one. We had a short walk to our premium economy seats in row 9. This flight is operated by American. We were really happy to have premium seating. Regular economy was scrunched. Alice's knee was glad.
Leaving Tokyo this was just one of many golf courses we flew over.
This flight was 11.5 hours long. As one would expect there were some bumps along the way, but it was a good flight. Meals were good, but we did not find the crew as friendly or helpful as on the JAL flight. We landed a little early in Chicago. Again we were met at the plane.
This escort would take us all the way to the taxi stand. As we approached immigration the lines were backed up through several hallways. We wove our way through to the wheel chair dispatch center. There were about 60 occupied wheelchairs lined up here waiting for escorts. Our just had to check in with our passports and we were on our way. He took us to the global entry kiosks. Not one was being used. In just a minute we had completed the online questions after verifying our fingerprints. The kiosk spit out our receipts, and we walked through the open lane to baggage claim. Our luggage all arrived in a few minutes. Customs waved us through. Then we were calling a taxi and waiting for it. Alice got to the cab lane. I had the luggage trolley. Within a few minutes our taxi arrived. Half an hour later we were home. We had left Singapore a mere 27 hours earlier.
We were home safe. The house was fine. Nothing leaked when I turned the water on. The hot water lit on the first try. All is right with the world.
We had just returned from a great cruise. It expanded our horizons in ways we did not expect, and we met many good people. Time for a prayer of thanksgiving and bed.
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