Once again, I was feeling like I needed some time off - and my girlfriend fully agreed: we’ve been working on a rather complex project at the office for quite a while now and we both needed some rest.

So when I received an eMail offering a 7 day trip to the Maldives, I forwarded it to her and asked how she’d like to go there... it took about 60 seconds before I got a reply asking when we were going to leave...  

This was on 22 March - we did some planning over the weekend and on the following Monday, I contacted the company offering the trip; after getting a couple of questions answered, they blocked some flights for us, confirmed that our preferred resort (there were four resorts to chose from) was available and asked us to confirm within a week whether we wanted the flights or not: we confirmed those a couple of days later, on my birthday  

There was one downside, though - we live in Frankfurt, but Frankfurt was the only EK departure airport that was not available with this offer: because of the very good rail connection, we opted to fly out of DUS, since we can reach that airport within about two hours by train. Since the train ticket was included in the fare anyhow, the option seemed quite good. Only downside: we had to take paper tickets, since German railway tickets included on airline tickets cannot be issued as electronic tickets.

All we had to do now was wait for our departure day.

There was one small scare inbetween - we received an information about how long our passports still had to be valid to enter the Maldives, and my girlfriend’s passport wasn’t valid long enough any more: but a short conversation with the Maldivian tourism office here in town confirmed that those rules had since changed and that we could travel with our documents just as they were.

At some point I requested my vegetarian meals, and asked if seats could be reserved for us - the VLMLs were confirmed, but I was informed that seat reservations were not possible.

Fortunately, we have a very good working relationship with Emirates, so the problem of not being able to reserve seats was taken care of rather quickly... we now had seats 20A and 20B confirmed on all four of our flights; a quick look at EK’s online seatmap told me that I was somewhat out of luck on those, since those seats were above the wing regardless of the configuration of the A330-200 we were on... oh, by the way: all four of our flights were operated by A330-200s, so a rather boring itinerary from an enthusiast’s point of view  .

Along came 2 June, and after a short breakfast and a short word of goodbye to our cat, we were on our way...

We took the subway to the main train station and boarded the ICE that would take us to Cologne - ICE728 left Frankfurt at 10:10 and, after three stops, arrived at Cologne on time; we went to the other side of the platform and waited a couple of minutes for our next train to arrive - and we were on our way to Düsseldorf’s airport, where we arrived at 12:18.

From the train station, we headed into the building that, amongst other things, houses the observation deck, and the station for the monorail station that takes you to the terminal: those trains must be among the worst in airport ground transportation that I’ve ever been forced to use... they are very slow, shake along the ride that you constantly think the thing is going to jump from the rail, and I personally find them close to claustrophobic. Fortunately, the ride didn’t take all that long and soon, we arrived at the main terminal.

From the station, we walked downstairs and quickly found our way to the Emirates Check-In counters, where we found about 10 people in line in front of us. An airport employee walked by with brochures about the “liquids on board” rules, asking us if we already knew about them (the upcoming flight was my 33rd since the rules had taken effect), which we confirmed. A couple of moments later, an Emirates employee came up to us asking if we were traveling together with others, which we weren’t, and then invited us to walk over to the first class check-in counter, where there was no-one waiting.

... nice start...  

We handed over our tickets and passports, put our bags on the scale and answered the usual questions; a couple of moments later it became apparent that the lady checking us in was having a couple of problems, but she only commented that it wasn’t that unusual with this kind of booking...

... which we considered somewhat of a strange remark...

A few moments later we found out what she meant - when she said “Not bad... you’re flying on an Economy ticket, checking in at the First Class counter, and you’ll be flying in Business Class on your segment to Dubai”... 

... that made our day... 



After we had checked in, we strolled through the shopping area and, a while later, went through security and immigration. We then strolled through the duty free shops and then settled at our gate, where our plane was already parked.

A while later, boarding commenced - we were now on our way.

Date: 2 June 2007
Flight: EK052
Departure: Düsseldorf (DUS) @ 15:15
Arrival: Dubai (DXB) @ 23:40
Flight Time: 6 hours 25 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200, 3-class-configuration
Registration: A6-EAS
Seats: 6J and 6K

View Large View Medium Photo © Stefan Rockenbauer

View Large View Medium Photo © Suresh A. Atapattu

When we boarded the plane, we were greeted at the door - and asked to turn left at the opposite aisle; there, we immediately located our seats, since EK has only a single row of business class seats forward of the galley. We tried to place our carry on bags into the overhead locker, but the people sitting in the middle seats had already completely used up all space in there, so we ended up placing our bags directly behind our seats, as we weren’t allowed to leave them in front of our seats for takeoff and landing.

We then settled into our unexpectedly comfortable seats and enjoyed the orange juice and champagne that were served within moments. At that point, I informed the flight attendant that there was a special meal for me somewhere on board the plane, that it was probably loaded on board destined for seat 20A or B, but since we had been upgraded, I’d be grateful if she could get that meal (or some other vegetarian meal) for me... she told me that she’d get the meal from Economy class as soon as the service began.

More or less on time, we were pushed back, taxied toward the active runway, waited for a couple of other flights to depart ahead of us - then we entered the runway and the aircraft accelerated, lifting off about 2/3rds down the way. We climbed through the partly cloudy sky into the bright sunshine that most of us enjoy seeing.

From that point on, we began enjoying the comfort and service that we had been treated to - I listened to some music on my iPod, my girlfriend watched a movie, I watched the clouds pass by. I switched my PTV to the moving map display.

A few hours later, we were just entering Turkish airspace, we started seeing some thunderstorms, which lasted until long after we were above Iran: we saw several flashes jumping between clouds - an amazing sight from within an aircraft.

By this time the sun had set, so the sight was even more impressive. A bit later, the storms disappeared behind us - and the only thing visible outside was the moon.

Soon after we started our descent towards Dubai. We flew over the city and continued straight onwards towards the desert for another 5-10 minutes; then we turned around and headed back to town: around that time, we heard the first cellphone signaling that it had just received an SMS... amazing how many people either forget to switch off their damn phones, or simply refuse to switch them off.

A few moments later, we crossed the first houses and soon after touched down; a long taxi brought us all the way around the terminal, where our flight finally ended at Gate 1. We quickly left the plane to the sound of some other passenger’s phone receiving text messages in about 15 second intervals for about 5 minutes (that constant beeping really can get on your nerves after a short while).

We passed through security and entered the terminal - fully expecting to be overwhelmed by the duty free area that we had heard so much about...

... only to be completely underwhelmed: seriously... that area in the lowest part of the terminal, is that really all there is? Because, even while the prices were quite good, the selection wasn’t more than what you’d be able to find at, for example, FRA, LHR or ZRH.

Nonetheless, I did find a good pair of sunglasses - because, as usual, I had forgotten mine at home. We then settled at our departure gate for our onward flight to Male’ - which had changed from Gate 20 as displayed on the monitors during our descent into Dubai to Gate 3, just across from Starbucks.

Yes... they’re in Dubai, too...  

One thing we noticed about Dubai - even though that terminal really isn’t what you’d call small, it’s still not enough for all the people transitting through there: there were people sitting and sleeping on the floor everywhere.

Anyhow, about an hour prior to our departure, we were able to enter the boarding area of our gate, where we sat down for the rest of the time - somehow trying to stay awake: I’m not really a fan of those middle-of-the-night-transit-stops...

Date: 3 June 2007
Flight: EK558
Departure: Dubai (DXB) @ 02:45
Arrival: Male’ (MLE) @ 07:55
Flight Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200, 2-class-configuration
Registration: A6-EAA
Seats: 20A and 20B

View Large View Medium Photo © Konstantin von Wedelstaedt

View Large View Medium Photo © Andy Graf - VAP

We settled into our seats, and waited for the other passengers to do the same - another flight at or around 100% load of passengers: within the part of the cabin that we could see, there were perhaps 2 or 3 vacant seats.

With a small delay, we were pushed back, the engines started, and our long taxi to the runway began: I watched our progress using the outside camera, but since that’s always tilted slightly downward, you couldn’t really see all that much.

About 10-15 minutes later, we were on the runway and accelerating - after liftoff we flew a long turn to the left, passing some of the rather impressive highrises that have been constructed during the last few years.

A short while after the lights of Dubai had vanished from our view, pretty much everything went dark for me - I fell asleep and only reawakened when the meal was served: the flight attendant handed my special meal to my girlfriend first, because we were not seated the way we were actually checked in (not that we had ever really checked this - but she wanted the aisle seat anyhow, and I’m not the person to refuse a window seat  ).

By the way... no, I didn’t take pictures of any meals - I ate them...   ... all of them were very good and well-sized.

Shortly after the meal, I watched a movie - I was very tired, but couldn’t get back to sleep... after the movie, I dozed a bit, listened to some music, read a bit and used the onboard camera to look at the world below: suddenly, I realized that we were getting close to our destination, so I opened the window shade (which a flight attendant had pulled closed a while earlier while I was dozing) - and was almost blinded... the sun shone directly into my eyes. I quickly closed the shade again and watched the monitor: when one of the atolls was visible on screen, I tapped my girlfriend’s shoulder - it was her first view of the Maldives, and just like me, when I got to see something similar about a year earlier, she was delighted by the sight.

Our descent began, we filled out the landing cards, the plane did a couple of turns and were on final approach, touching down a few minutes behind schedule. Announcements were made that the passengers bound for Colombo should stay in their seats, while we waited for the doors to open so that we could start the last part of our journey to our resort - a three hour boat transfer.

Once we had passed immigration - which took ages because some groups had managed to spread through all of the queues, and each interview took a couple of minutes - we waited for our bags which quickly arrived: we then headed for the arrival baggage screening and left the air conditioned arrivals hall.

We quickly found the agent for our hotel - only to be informed that transfer had changed: instead of a three hour boat ride, we had been rebooked: our transfer would now be by air, seaplane to be exact.  

Those were the words I had been longing to hear - I’m not really a fan of boats, the less time I spend on them, the better.

We were quickly transferred from the terminal over to the Trans Maldivian terminal, where we waited another 20-30 minutes for our flight: we then found out that we would not be flying directly to our destination, but with an intermediate stop at Vilu Reef, a resort a bit further south from ours.

Just before we left, an attendant walked around with a basket, giving out small packets – they looked like candy at first, but we quickly saw that they were earplugs… and a few minutes later, when our plane’s engines were turned on, we knew why they were being given out.



Date: 3 June 2007
Airline: Trans Maldivian Airways
Departure: Male’ @ around 10:30
Arrival: Vilu Reef @ around 11:15
Flight Time: 45 minutes
Aircraft: De Havilland Twin Otter DHC-6
Registration: 8Q-TMD
Seats: 1B and 1C

View Large View Medium Photo © Markus Michalski

View Large View Medium Photo © Markus Michalski

This time, my girlfriend got the window seat - I wanted her to be able to enjoy the view of the islands we’d be passing along the way, and some view it was: flying at these low altitudes gives you an unbelievable view - simply spectacular. Incidentally, we overflew Laguna Beach Island, the resort where I spent a week in May 2006.






Our seats were directly behind the cockpit - which didn’t have a door to the cabin - so I could see what the pilots were doing all the time, and I also got a great view through the front window, especially on approach to Vilu Reef.

After our touchdown there, we waited for the guests leaving the flight there to be picked up by boat from the plane’s dock - and for the boat to get back to the island, before we all boarded again for our short flight to Diffushi Island, also known as Holiday Island.

Date: 3 June 2007
Airline: Trans Maldivian Airways
Departure: Vilu Reef @ around 11:30
Arrival: Vilu Reef @ around 11:50
Flight Time: 20 minutes
Aircraft: De Havilland Twin Otter DHC-6
Registration: 8Q-TMD
Seats: 1B and 1C





Our short flight took us over the channel that separates the Nilandhoo Atoll and the Ari Atoll, at the southeastern corner of which Diffushi can be found.

After a, once again, soft touch down on water, we were transferred to our resort - a week of pure relaxation without telephones or computers, without cellphones and televisions lay ahead of us.

















As with (almost) all good things, our stay had to come to an end at some point - and this was it: 10 June saw us leaving Holiday Island for Male’, only this time, it was a transfer by boat. Fortunately, the sea was rather calm, so it was ok... even for me...

The boat dropped us off at the airport at around 17:00, which brought up a new problem: our flight wasn’t scheduled to depart until more than 9 hours later, so we debated whether to transfer over to Male’ and take a stroll through town - but in the end, we decided on getting a day-use room at the Hulhule Island Hotel, the hotel directly on the same island as the airport. The price was a bit stiff - they charged $169 for the 7 hours up to midnight, but in the end, it was worth it: we were able to take a shower, we got some sleep - and were able to board our flight completely relaxed.

Around midnight, when we left the hotel, the weather had taken a turn for the worse: there was a storm going on outside, heavy rain and strong winds...

I paid the room and we were transferred back to the terminal, where we could already check in for our flight - no-one was in line in front of us, so the whole procedure only took a couple of minutes. We then went upstairs to clear immigration and then roamed around the handful of duty free shops: we ended up buying some tea and spices as well as something to drink.

Date: 11 June 2007
Flight: EK8560
Departure: Male’ (MLE) @ 02:20
Arrival: Dubai (DXB) @ 05:20
Flight Time: 4 hours
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200, 2-class-configuration
Registration: A6-EKR
Seats: 20A and 20B

View Large View Medium Photo © Tibor Mester

View Large View Medium Photo © Konstantin von Wedelstaedt

This time, the whole process of boarding and getting settled went surprisingly fast, so that we were on our way on time. The usual taxi down the runway, the 180 degree turn at the end, followed by a quick takeoff run and a smooth departure, since the storm and rain had died down a while earlier.

All I can say about this flight is that I remember putting on my headphones, switching on my iPod, and there we were, on approach to Dubai...   ... I guess I must have fallen asleep fairly quickly.

One more thing - soon after our departure from Male’, we were informed that we were going to have a fairly short flight that morning: that turned out to be true, we arrived almost 30 minutes prior to our scheduled time. Unfortunately, there was no gate available (not sure if that was planned from the beginning or if that had to do with our early arrival time), so we were taken from our plane to the terminal by bus.

Once inside the terminal, we went through security again and went shopping - there were a couple of things that I was supposed to bring home for colleagues, and we ended up buying some perfume and makeup as well... the prices were quite good compared to Europe.

We then decided it was worth a try asking, whether we could be rebooked directly to Frankfurt - but that didn’t work out: the morning flight to Frankfurt had 0 available seats in Economy. The noon-flight would have been possible, but we’d have arrived home later that way than going through Düsseldorf, so we kept our flight as planned.

Despite having enjoyed the stay at the Hulhule Island Hotel, we were both pretty tired, so we decided it was worth a try seeing if we could get into one of the lounges. We walked around trying to find a sign for the Marhaba Lounge, but didn’t find anything: so I asked at the Business Class Lounge across form the Emirates lounges, and they confirmed that they also offered entry by paying. I paid for our admission and we quickly found seats. I picked up a couple of things from the buffet and took out my book, while my girlfriend slept.

It took very long for our flight to get a gate assigned to it - we were actually already up to our scheduled boarding time before one was displayed: it was Gate 43.

I looked at the plan of the terminal that had been handed to us with our boarding passes - that only showed gates 1 through 40...

So we walked in the direction of gate 40, hoping to find a sign somewhere along the way - which we did; so, at the end of the terminal, we turned left into what looked like remnants of an old terminal, almost without air-conditioning.

It took yet another moment for us to find the way to our gate, but once there, we found a seat at the very back of the completely overfilled waiting area - 5 minutes later, the flight was called and everyone headed through the door, down a ramp and back into a bus, that took us directly towards where the plane that had flown us from Male’ to Dubai was parked... we ended up boarding the plane right next to it.

Date: 11 June 2007
Flight: EK055
Departure: Dubai (DXB) @ 08:50
Arrival: Düsseldorf (DUS) @ 13:25
Flight Time: 6 hours 35 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200, 3-class-configuration
Registration: A6-EAR
Seats: 20A and 20B

View Large View Medium Photo © Mick Bajcar

View Large View Medium Photo © Francisco José Jurado Ariza

This time, it took long before everyone was settled - and it took even longer for the next busses with the other passengers to arrive. The plane slowly filled, and in the end, there wasn’t a single vacant seat visible around us.

After everyone was seated, we started waiting... and waiting... and waiting...

At some point, already somewhat delayed, the captain informed us that we would be delayed yet more time, because of cargo that still had to be loaded, as well as some “formalities” that had to be finalized. That would take about another 30-40 minutes.

About 45 minutes later, we were informed that everything was in place now, but now the airport was too busy - and that it would take yet another 10 minutes before we would receive push-back clearance...

About 10 minutes later, we, indeed, were pushed back - and started the long way toward the active runway. We, once again, passed the terminal - from one end to the other - and went on past some other buildings. Then, we were the fourth plane waiting for takeoff permission, right after two B777-300s and one A340-500.

Once we were finally close to the runway, we had to wait for an arriving aircraft - that took about another 5 minutes, and it turned out to be an ATR42 that looked a bit like an aircraft operating for the UN.

Then we were on our way, on our last flight of the day... seriously delayed by that time: we were more than an hour behind schedule. The transfer time we had planned in Düsseldorf was about 90 minutes, usually more than enough to get from plane to train... but with this delay, it looked fairly unlikely that we would even see the taillights of our train.

So I looked through the movie listings - and eventually settled one; while I was watching, the meal was served, with my girlfriend again getting my vegetarian meal at first - which she quickly passed on to me. This had the flight attendant slightly confused, but with a little explanation, she understood that we had simply changed seats (well, not technically changed - we were planning on sitting that way from the beginning).

During the rest of the flight, we both somewhat anxiously watched the time pass by, especially the display showing the estimated time of arrival in Düsseldorf... it did improve a bit, but in the end, we were still roughly 45 minutes late.

Deciding that it wasn’t worth making a run for it, we walked comfortably to immigration and on to the baggage claim area; our bags appeared quite quickly - and when we looked at the time, we noticed that we still had about 25 minutes till our train was scheduled to depart from the main train station...

... so we ran for it: through customs, outside the door we caught a taxi right away and told the driver where we wanted to go. He asked us why we weren’t simply taking the train into town, we told him that our ICE would be gone long before the next train into town even left the airport.

So he stepped on the gas - and dropped us off at the train station with about 5 minutes to spare: fortunately, our train left at the end of the station where he had dropped us off, so we needed about 3 minutes to reach the platform - only to find out that our train had roughly 5 minutes delay...  

So we boarded our train, ICE723, scheduled to depart Düsseldorf at 15:08 (really leaving around 15:15) and were finally on our way home... we arrived at Frankfurt’s main train station almost on time at 16:48.

A short taxi ride later, we were back home.

One thing is for sure... this is not the last time that we’ve traveled to the Maldives.











Hope you enjoyed reading this... but you can be sure of one thing... we enjoyed the trip much more... 

Just in case you're interested... here's the report about last year's trip to the Maldives:
Qatar Airways: Frankfurt To The Maldives (by Leskova May 17 2006 in Trip Reports)

As always - comments welcome...

Thanks,
Frank

Great report, the Maldives look amazing!

Outstanding trip report, Frank! The pictures are once again amazing. Interesting how you guys (last time it was Patrick) manage to get upgrades just for checking in at an F or C counter...  

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): Nonetheless, I did find a good pair of sunglasses - because, as usual, I had forgotten mine at home.

Sounds familiar...  

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): One thing we noticed about Dubai - even though that terminal really isn’t what you’d call small, it’s still not enough for all the people transitting through there: there were people sitting and sleeping on the floor everywhere.

   Definitely annoying.

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): By the way... no, I didn’t take pictures of any meals - I ate them...

Come on Frank, taking a meal picture takes only some seconds, then you can still start eating!  

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): so I asked at the Business Class Lounge across form the Emirates lounges, and they confirmed that they also offered entry by paying. I paid for our admission and we quickly found seats. I picked up a couple of things from the buffet and took out my book, while my girlfriend slept.

Interesting - how much did they charge?


PH

great trip report and amazing pictures... thanks for sharing and writing...
this place looks amazing...

I can only agree with PH, definitely an outstanding report with some really amazing pics! Thanks a lot for posting!

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): we opted to fly out of DUS, since we can reach that airport within about two hours by train.

The train connection between DUS and FRA is prefect in my opinion, you need less time by train than by plane.

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): “Not bad... you’re flying on an Economy ticket, checking in at the First Class counter, and you’ll be flying in Business Class on your segment to Dubai”

Nice one! 

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): (that constant beeping really can get on your nerves after a short while).

I agree, unfortunately a typical scene when you deboard a plane nowadays.

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): One thing we noticed about Dubai - even though that terminal really isn’t what you’d call small, it’s still not enough for all the people transitting through there: there were people sitting and sleeping on the floor everywhere.

This airport is a damned zoo in the night, about time that the new terminal opens!

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): flying at these low altitudes gives you an unbelievable view - simply spectacular.

Awesome scenery, simply awesome!  

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): Hope you enjoyed reading this...

Definitely!

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 2): Interesting how you guys (last time it was Patrick) manage to get upgrades just for checking in at an F or C counter...

I will always do that now. 

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 2): Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): Nonetheless, I did find a good pair of sunglasses - because, as usual, I had forgotten mine at home. Sounds familiar...

Yep, once I sat on a flight to Dubai and noticed as well that I forgot my sunglasses at home, still a miracle that I survived four days in Dubai without them.

Thanks again for the great report, Frank!

Patrick

Nice report!!...Great pics to!  

Great report & photo's, many thanks.

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): A few moments later we found out what she meant - when she said “Not bad... you’re flying on an Economy ticket, checking in at the First Class counter, and you’ll be flying in Business Class on your segment to Dubai”... ... that made our day...

- Nice one, always good to get that 'lucky' upgrade.

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): oh, by the way: all four of our flights were operated by A330-200s, so a rather boring itinerary from an enthusiast’s point of view

- Yes, but ok if you get 4 different ones.

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): only to be informed that transfer had changed: instead of a three hour boat ride, we had been rebooked: our transfer would now be by air, seaplane to be exact

- Nice, sure beats the boat!

Best Wishes

Mark

Thanks for the comments, everyone.  

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 2): Outstanding trip report, Frank! The pictures are once again amazing. Interesting how you guys (last time it was Patrick) manage to get upgrades just for checking in at an F or C counter...

And it wasn't even the first time for me...   ... though my best upgrade was the one I got on a flight from PEK to CPH; we were 8 people, 4 stood at the C counter, 4 (including me) at the Y counter - all of us with Y tickets; my mother then said "I bet they're going to fly in C since they're checking in over there". I then said "I'd rather check in at the Y counter and get an upgrade to C than check in at the C counter to fly in Y class".

All four of us were upgraded to C class... the four others had to sit in the back of the plane... 

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 2): Sounds familiar...

Damn... good to know I'm not alone with that...   ... I guess I need to tie those sunglasses to my neck...

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 2): Come on Frank, taking a meal picture takes only some seconds, then you can still start eating!

True... but those precious seconds will make the meal cool down some, and it won't be quite as good any more...   ... ok... just kidding... I was simply too lazy to get my camera out for taking the pictures. 

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 2): Interesting - how much did they charge?

I think it was something like $15 for the first hour and $5 for each additional hour - I'll see if I can find the receipt.

Quoting Buck3y3nut (Reply 3): this place looks amazing...

And, believe me - it is. If you're looking for something where you'll really be able to relax, slow yourself down, then the Maldives are perfect... but you do need to take care that you don't end up in a resort like our neighbor island, which was the largest resort of the Maldives: 350 rooms, close to 1000 beds if needed... ugh... if I want that, I'll simply fly to Mallorca - not bashing Mallorca, by the way... I love that island.

Quoting Sabena332 (Reply 4): The train connection between DUS and FRA is prefect in my opinion, you need less time by train than by plane.

It is - and you know what? I was in Munich today, it only takes 3 hours from FRA to get there. Considering that you need to be at the airport something around 45 minutes prior to the flight, and you need about 45-50 minutes to get from MUC into town, and the flight takes about an hour... with those options, I'll take the train.

Quoting Sabena332 (Reply 4): Nice one!

...    ... and you can probably guess that we really enjoyed hearing that at the time... 

Quoting Sabena332 (Reply 4): I agree, unfortunately a typical scene when you deboard a plane nowadays.

On my flights to ZRH and LHR these last weeks, I've had people switch on their phones while reverse thrust was still engaged...  

Quoting Sabena332 (Reply 4): Awesome scenery, simply awesome!

It's really an absolute must-see in my eyes... the photos look good, but seeing the real thing just beats anything that you could possibly see on a picture.

Quoting Sabena332 (Reply 4): I will always do that now.

... I'll also always try...  

Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 6): - Nice one, always good to get that 'lucky' upgrade.

Yup... 

Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 6): - Yes, but ok if you get 4 different ones.

Valid arguement... though I probably wouldn't have cared if it had been the same one on two or more flights either... the stay would have more than made up for that...  

Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 6): - Nice, sure beats the boat!

Absolutely! While I have to admit that the boat ride on the way back wasn't as bad as I had feared (it was actually quite nice as well), but given the choice, I'd always fly.

Once again, thanks for all the comments.

Frank

Quoting Leskova (Reply 7): On my flights to ZRH and LHR these last weeks, I've had people switch on their phones while reverse thrust was still engaged...

I noticed the same when I flew to Paris two weeks ago, fellow passengers started to switch on their phones while the plane was still on the runway, the first calls were made when we entered the taxiway. Some people are way too obsessed with their mobile phones, not only in planes but also in restaurants, cinemas, etc.

Patrick

Hey Frank!

Quoting Leskova (Thread starter): Hope you enjoyed reading this... but you can be sure of one thing... we enjoyed the trip much more...

I did enjoy reading it all! And I can well imagine you did enjoy this great trip!

Quoting Sabena332 (Reply 8): Some people are way too obsessed with their mobile phones, not only in planes but also in restaurants, cinemas, etc.

This is true. I mean cellphones are a great invention, but I highly appreciate when people use them in a decent way.
Even in-flight you are no longer safe from the steady beeping of incoming messages: when I recently had a short-distance flight within France, people left their phone on, receiving and sending messages and the attendant didn't mind.

Besides that, I'm already looking forward to your next trip report!

Quoting Leskova (Reply 7): I then said "I'd rather check in at the Y counter and get an upgrade to C than check in at the C counter to fly in Y class". All four of us were upgraded to C class... the four others had to sit in the back of the plane...

  

Quoting Leskova (Reply 7): I think it was something like $15 for the first hour and $5 for each additional hour - I'll see if I can find the receipt.

What kind of food did they offer? Was it worth it?


PH

Quoting Leskova (Reply 7): I was in Munich today, it only takes 3 hours from FRA to get there. Considering that you need to be at the airport something around 45 minutes prior to the flight, and you need about 45-50 minutes to get from MUC into town, and the flight takes about an hour... with those options, I'll take the train.

Yep, nowadays I prefer the train (especially an ICE) anytime over Craphansa on short distances such as DUS-FRA or FRA-MUC.

Quoting CamAir (Reply 9): I mean cellphones are a great invention, but I highly appreciate when people use them in a decent way.

I agree 100%!

Quoting Leskova (Reply 7): On my flights to ZRH and LHR these last weeks, I've had people switch on their phones while reverse thrust was still engaged...

Quoting CamAir (Reply 9): Even in-flight you are no longer safe from the steady beeping of incoming messages: when I recently had a short-distance flight within France, people left their phone on, receiving and sending messages and the attendant didn't mind.

This is ridiculous!

Patrick