Kickstarting the Journey

Recently, I embarked on an exciting trip at the end of 2025 that I’m eager to share with you all. Although I'm a bit late in compiling my travel experiences, I hope to catch up with more details by the end of this month. In this post, I’ll be reviewing several airlines, including Porter, Air France, Aircalin, Thai Airways, and SWISS, as well as some hotels in Canada, France, and Thailand!

Why This Trip?

This trip was primarily for review purposes—plain and simple. My goal was to experience as many interesting airline products and hotels as possible without straying too far from home for too long. The main motivation for planning this journey was to try out the business class on the new SWISS Senses A350, to take advantage of the latest offerings on transatlantic flights. After discovering a chance to fly between Europe and the U.S., I realized that by using Air Canada Aeroplan points, I could start my journey from Asia without spending too many points.

So, why not try reviewing another airline for the leg between Asia and Europe? And since I was already in Asia, I wanted to make the most of my trip by checking out some new products (for me) as well! Ultimately, the journey I’ll be reviewing covers a whopping 20,224 miles, divided into six flight segments.

Flight Itinerary Details

Allow me to share the specifics of my booked flights, including costs. I’ll present them in the order I traveled, which differs from the order I booked them (I booked the return leg first and the outbound leg second).

The trip began with a Porter flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Montreal (YUL) on their Embraer E195-E2. I booked this leg for 10,000 Alaska Atmos Rewards points plus $5.60 in taxes:

11/15 PD572 Fort Lauderdale to Montreal, departing at 12:50 PM, arriving at 4:23 PM

After spending a night in Montreal, I continued my journey with Air France, flying business class on a Boeing 787-9 from Montreal (YUL) to Paris (CDG). I booked this with 60,000 Air France-KLM Flying Blue points plus $266.47 in taxes:

11/16 AF343 Montreal to Paris, departing at 5:00 PM, arriving at 5:55 AM (+1 day)

After a few nights in Paris, the flight I was most excited about was from Paris (CDG) to Bangkok (BKK) with Aircalin, also in business class on an Airbus A330-900neo. I booked this for 105,500 Air France-KLM Flying Blue points plus $474.40 in taxes (this was a reward price, but I’ve always wanted to try Aircalin, so it was a unique opportunity):

11/19 SB501 Paris to Bangkok, departing at 8:50 PM, arriving at 2:25 PM (+1 day)

Finally, I booked my return journey on a single ticket thanks to the perks of Air Canada Aeroplan. This flight included business class on a Boeing 787-9 of Thai Airways from Bangkok (BKK) to Milan (MXP), followed by a short European leg in business class on an Airbus A350-900 of SWISS from Zurich (ZRH) to Boston (BOS). I booked this leg for 87,500 Air Canada Aeroplan points plus $138.02 in taxes:

11/22 TG940 Bangkok to Milan, departing at 12:35 AM, arriving at 7:10 AM
11/22 LX1613 Milan to Zurich, departing at 10:30 AM, arriving at 11:35 AM
11/22 LX52 Zurich to Boston, departing at 5:30 PM, arriving at 8:00 PM

Lounge Reviews

Alongside my flight reviews, I’ll also be evaluating several lounges: The Air France Lounge Montreal (YUL), The Primeclass Lounge Paris (CDG), The EVA Air Lounge Bangkok (BKK), The Turkish Airlines Lounge Bangkok (BKK), and The Lufthansa Lounge Milan Malpensa (MXP).

Hotels During the Trip

When I conduct review trips, I often don’t stay at hotels for many nights. So, this trip felt quite light and leisurely! I spent one night in Montreal, two nights in Paris, and one night in Bangkok, taking the opportunity to explore four different hotels.

On the first night, I chose the Four Seasons Montreal. I’d heard great things about this place, and after using an offer from my Amex Platinum card, the price became quite reasonable. The room at Four Seasons Montreal was stunning.

In Paris, I tried out two different hotels. For the first night, I stayed at SAX Paris, a hotel in the Hilton LXR collection. This is Hilton’s latest luxury offering in Paris, with impressive design, but I quickly realized it wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

Next, I stayed at the Hotel du Louvre, part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection. I had been curious about this place for a long time, especially with its high suite rate, which is great for upgrades.

In Bangkok, I opted for the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok. With just one night and thanks to an offer from my Amex Platinum card, I secured a reasonable rate for a club room, which I was very much looking forward to experiencing.

Overall, I enjoyed the chance to experience four different hotels, although there were some I liked more than others.

Conclusion

It’s time to unveil the final review series from 2025, and I still have two other series from early 2026 that need updating. This series will include my reviews of premium travel on Porter, Air France, Aircalin, Thai Airways, and SWISS, along with assessments of several hotels. Thank you for following along, and stay tuned for more posts to come!

Kickstarting the Journey