DALCE From Netherlands, joined Feb 2007, 1581 posts, RR: 7 Posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 19359 times:
Dear Readers,
It has been a while since my last report. In the meantime I didn't fly too much either so I was happy to be flying again. The purpose of this trip was to go and work at our HQ in ZRH for a week. Due to my shift plan I found some time to explore ZRH airport and also the city itself.
So I hope you enjoy my report and pictures. Feedback is appreciated as always.
Again my cat didn't plan to stay home
Last Sunday I had my flight to ZRH , booked the week before on LX.
I planned flight LX 735 which was scheduled as an Avro RJ100.
Although the RJ85 and 146-300 are already covered, I was looking forward to this at it would be a new (sub) type to my personal log.
Check in was done online on Saturday evening and during the process I found out that there was a schedule change and the flight would be operated by a 320. You can imagine that I was slightly disappointed then...
I preselected seat 4A which was the front row in Economy class, printed my boarding pass all within a couple of minutes.
Then Sunday came, and we had decided that my GF would bring me to the airport by car, so she could use the car during the week. I was at the airport quite early and we said our goodbyes. After the bag drop off, I went outside again to have a last smoke, as inside there are no smoking areas anymore at AMS.
JL 777 JA708J tail for Airbuseric
AMS terminal
OK A320 could not read reg.
KL 738 being serviced PH-BXU
Meridiana 319 EI-DEZ
LH 733 D-ABXR
I already noticed that it was not too busy at passport control so within 1 minute I passed customs and went to the gate at the D-concourse. The assigned gate for today was D18, next to a BA 734 bound for LGW and on the other side a BD E135 which I believe was bound for ABZ.
As you probably know security checks for non-Schengen flights are done at the gate in AMS, so after a short wait and some spotting we all had to leave the waiting area, which was screened for any items left by passengers.
Then the check opened and I was through as first again. This mend some more spotting at the gate, and I was just in time to see our A320 coming into the gate.
LX 320 HB-IJM
LX 320 HB-IJM
almost at her stand
As I saw the machine approaching, my earlier disappointment was gone instantly as the 320 was the Hopp Suisse machine! My first flight on a non standard livery!!
Flight : LX 735
Stretch : AMS-ZRH
Date : 21 sep 2008
Aircraft : Airbus A320-200 ( msn 635 )
Registration : HB-IJM
Delivered : 29-nov-1996 to Swissair, since 2002 Swiss International Airlines.
Seat : 4A
Load : 85%
Gate : D18
10th flight on the 320 and the first on this machine
Boarding was started after not to long, and I waited until most passengers boarded.
We were welcomed by the crew very nicely and I sat down on my window seat.
Soon boarding was completed and we were ready for push-back.
The safety instructions were done on the drop-down screen, but due to my seating position, facing the C-class curtain, I could not see any of those screens from my seat. This is something were LX needs to work on, as for inexperienced travellers this information is quite handy.
BA 734 to LGW G-GFFA
After the engine start we commenced our taxi route towards runway 36L which means a mere 15 minutes of taxiing. We were nr. 2 for take off after a KL Fokker 100 and we soon rocketed into the Dutch Dusk. We turned right into an easterly direction and soon service was started by the crew. 3 female and 1 male F/A were serving the passengers. Crew was very friendly and gentle, although the F/A serving my sandwich and coke could not enjoy me answering in German. Somehow she seemed less nice to German speaking passengers. Perhaps her German was not too good. The slim-line Recaro leather seat was clean and comfortable. Actually the whole plane was looking quite good, although the cleaning team of Lavos in AMS could have done a better job.
Legroom was good.
Our flight path took us over LEY-DUS-STR-ZRH and descent was already started after some 45 minutes. We approached ZRH from the east and touched down very gently. Trust reversers and brakes were activated and we were soon at our taxiing speed.
Our arrival gate was a finger-gate at the A concourse where all European and North-African destinations are handled. A short walk through customs and passport control and I was in ZRH again!
The next evening I went exploring the city, but could not make too many pictures, due to nightfall and not bringing a tripod with me.
WINGS a bar in the city run by SR people. I ate a 747 Hamburger with SR cutlery
Something modern in here
Expensive shoes with some security camera's
The Lake
On Wednesday I did some spotting at the airport.
CityJet AR8
German Wings 319
BA 734
AB 737-700
TP 320
LX 320
Blue one MD-90
BACF RJ100
One of the nicest liveries around ZRH. Edelweis 320
Pink Fokker 100
UA 763
Then Thursday came. I had to work until six, and agreed with a friend of mine, who is F/O at BACF to meet, as he would be night stopping in ZRH aswell. Then my mobile went of, it was my friend, telling me he was still stuck in ZRH, had to go to LCY and return to ZRH again, but didn't have a clue when they could leave. ATC Swanswick had technical problems, and the whole LON area was radar blinded.
So I thought, ok let's go to the airport, and make some shots of him waiting for better times.
Then he called again, and they were told that their whole flight was cancelled, and they would stay in ZRH. By now he had been sitting in the cockpit for four hours, and was bored and cold. So we could meet up after all, which really added some value to my week in ZRH.
My friend waving through the window, BACF AR8
Still there, and not departing that day anymore.
Friday came and after work it was time to go back home again. Looking forward to see my girl and besides this, some flying ahead.
For this flight an A320 was scheduled and I knew at web check in earlier that day, that it would be a full flight. I could only select aisle or middle seats, so I picked 11C an aisle seat at the emergency exit row. I was at the airport early again, so I could do some spotting in played with my new 200mm Objective on my Nikon Camera. But first I needed to buy some tax-free stuff. Cigarettes for myself and some nice perfume for the GF.
LX 320 HB-IJR docking
Eurowings Bae 146-300
SK MD-82
Niki 320
LX 343
LX AR1
AZ 319, perhaps for the last time in real life.
LX 343 head on
EI 320
LX 320
Flight : LX 734
Stretch : ZRH-AMS
Date : 26-sep-2008
Aircraft : Airbus A320-200 ( msn 574 )
Registration : HB-IJH
Delivered : 29-02-1996 to SR, 20-08-2004 to TK, and 14-05-2007 to LX
Seat : Jump
Load : 110%
Gate : A63
11th flight on the 320 and the first on this machine
After the spotting, I went to gate A63, a gate just after security check.
This place is too small to handle a full 320, there is just not enough room for everybody.
Here ZRH should make some changes.
As I already noticed that it would be a full flight, but had a confirmed seat and ticket, I decided to go to the service desk and offer my normal seat. The gate agent was very happy with this, as this would mean one offload less on this flight. He went inside the airplane to ask the captain if he would accept staff on a jump seat.
The captain had no problem with it, but I had to go on the Jump seat in the aft galley.
For me this was not a problem, as it was my 3rd ride on this seat already.
I waited boarding until almost everyone was on board. I then went inside and made me somewhat comfortable in the rear of the aircraft.
the galley, during flight
One of the two F/A's at the back quickly explained we what I should do in case of emergency as I was sitting next to door 2R.
Soon we got the green light from the tower, and could start taxiing. As you sit with your face backwards it is somewhat a strange feeling, but hey we are only taxiing.
We were nr.4 in line for take off and made a rolling start eventually. Now this is where it really gets weird if you are not used to it. Taking off on an airplane with your face backwards, is a very strange feeling. Not that it is uncomfortable, but just strange.
My window at 30000ft.
Our climb was pretty bumpy but soon we flew through less bumpy airspace and the crew could start their service. The crew existed of 3 female F/A's and a male Maitre du Cabin.
The crew had a very busy flight, as they needed to serve 161pax with a bread roll, drinks, tax-free products and cleaning. And all this within an hour, due to the flight not being longer
One of the F/A's from the back had tough times as it was only her 3rd week after finishing her F/A training, but she did very very well!
Soon descent came, and before I knew we were already on short final at AMS.
Our route was over France, Luxembourg and Belgium, but due to the fact I had no window, I can't tell you which route exactly.
We soon made a perfect landing on rwy 36R and taxied back to our gate at the D-concourse.
As I was at the far back of the plane I was the last passenger to leave the plain, and thanked the crew for their nice flight.
Then through passport control and wait for by baggage to arrive. This took very long this time, something I don't experience too often at AMS. But finally my suitcase came on belt nr. 4 and I was ready to go outside again. There my GF was waiting for me and we both went home happily.
Thank you for taking the time to read my report!
I hope you enjoyed it. Feel comfortable to leave your comments!
Joost ( D-ALCE )
[Edited 2008-09-28 01:07:06]
[Edited 2008-09-28 01:16:57]
flown on : F50,F70,CR1,CR2,CR9,E75,143,AR8,AR1,733,735,736,73G,738,753,744,319,320,321,AB6. Next flights AMS-ZRH-AMS on
Contact Air From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 1154 posts, RR: 14 Reply 6, posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 18562 times:
Hi Joost,
very well written report about your flights and a great variety of pictures as well! Spotting at ZRH is really great and the airport is good for photographing as well - as your pictures proof.
Maybe you should try Germanwings They have (nearly) more special liveries than standard-painted aircraft.
Quoting DALCE (Thread starter): The safety instructions were done on the drop-down screen, but due to my seating position, facing the C-class curtain, I could not see any of those screens from my seat. This is something were LX needs to work on, as for inexperienced travellers this information is quite handy.
Indeed, that shouldn't happen. Maybe they should have opened the curtain during the safety demonstration (if this is possible).
DALCE From Netherlands, joined Feb 2007, 1581 posts, RR: 7 Reply 7, posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 18538 times:
Hi Chris,
Quoting NZ99 (Reply 1): Quick Question, when your sitting in the jumpseat, what on earth do you do?? i'd feel like helping the crew if i was sitting right there??
I actually helped them with some small things such as pushing unneeded carts back to their place. Further you can't do too much as they were really busy in serving the other passengers.
@ Sleeperseat
Quoting Sleeperseat (Reply 2): Nice TR, absolute fantastic pictures, especially the UA767, very special angle
Thanks for your nice words. The pic turned out to be good, although blue skies would have made it perfect
Quoting Sleeperseat (Reply 2): By the way, my cat does the same all the time when i'm packing my things.
Cats are the best pets you can have, they always want to be near you, no matter where you go
@ Stefan
Quoting StefanPAD (Reply 3): nice to read a new TR of you. Interesting story and pics. Thanks for sharing.
I know it took a while, but finally I could place one again! Thanks for you nice words!
@ Markus
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 4): what a nice selection of photos and also your story, a real interesting read.
I remember my last time on that terrace, not that long ago!.
Thanks Markus, really appreciate it!
It's a very good terrace, also the fact that you can listen to the ATC is great!
Views on take of and landing depend on the wind, but were not too bad this week
@ Sandro
Quoting SandroZRH (Reply 5): Too bad you didn't get the jumpseat up front
Yeah, I know, but last year I had that luck on a SK 737 from OSL to AMS.
You can find my report on this flight also on this forum
NO luck this time, the cockpit was fully booked already with 3 pilots
@ Christoph
Quoting Contact Air (Reply 6): Spotting at ZRH is really great and the airport is good for photographing as well - as your pictures proof
The ones of the friday were taken through windows, but luckily I found a clean one
Quoting Contact Air (Reply 6): Swiss seemed to offer a good service once again.
Most certainly, they offer a very decent service
Quoting Contact Air (Reply 6): Maybe they should have opened the curtain during the safety demonstration (if this is possible).
Exactly my thoughts
Thank you all for your comments!
Cheers,
Joost ( D-ALCE )
flown on : F50,F70,CR1,CR2,CR9,E75,143,AR8,AR1,733,735,736,73G,738,753,744,319,320,321,AB6. Next flights AMS-ZRH-AMS on
JRadier From Netherlands, joined Sep 2004, 4598 posts, RR: 51 Reply 9, posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 18496 times:
Nice tripreport!
Quoting DALCE (Thread starter): Actually the whole plane was looking quite good, although the cleaning team of Lavos in AMS could have done a better job.
I have to stand up for my old employer here . Cleaning usually is a less important feature of the turn around process and the time in which we had to do it varied from airline to airline. While I never did LX, I could understand if there was something else that took a lot of time in the cabin and thus Lavos were not able to preform a full cleaning. IB was really bad in that regard, we rarely had more than 10 minutes for an A320 (with 4 people) and my absolute low with them was 2 minutes. Needless to say, you can't do much more than empty the bins and cross the seatbelts.
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and ther
Yeah, good stuff. Since I'm at OPS, we agreed to change gates closer to the terminal building. Good for your pictures, our brand recognition, and the passengers don't need to walk that long down to e.g E19
Quoting DALCE (Thread starter): Taking off on an airplane with your face backwards, is a very strange feeling.
Nice experience, I think. But I prefer a normal seat or upfront anytime
Quoting JRadier (Reply 9): While I never did LX, I could understand if there was something else that took a lot of time in the cabin and thus Lavos were not able to preform a full cleaning.
As also ex foreman at this cleaning company during schooltime, I remember LX as an airline which usually wanted very good cleaning, and especially the carpet was important back in those days. Vacuumcleaning took ages usually
Joost, time to go for some training/spotting, since you mess up those BA 737's, already mentioned by Mark
Groeten,
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 14150 posts, RR: 26 Reply 11, posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 18363 times:
SandroZRH From Switzerland, joined Feb 2007, 3382 posts, RR: 51 Reply 12, posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 18356 times:
Quoting DALCE (Reply 7): NO luck this time, the cockpit was fully booked already with 3 pilots
Ah, well that explains it. The pilot jumpseating could have been one of my buddies from class 1/2007. They're in type-rating/route introduction at the moment.
DALCE From Netherlands, joined Feb 2007, 1581 posts, RR: 7 Reply 13, posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day ago) and read 18116 times:
@ Mark
Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 8): Good report, enjoyed the read and spotting pictures.
Thanks, really appreciate it!
Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 8): - Sounds like a place I need to visit
It's worth the visit, not too far from the central station, only 5 minutes walk or so.
@ Jurgen
Quoting JRadier (Reply 9): I have to stand up for my old employer here .
You are absolutely right here, they don't have too much time, but i thought it was worth mentioning as it is often also a forgotten job at airports, and still a very important one!
@ Eric
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 10): Yeah, good stuff. Since I'm at OPS, we agreed to change gates closer to the terminal building
I think it is time to have a chat soon, didn't know you switched jobs actually!
Congrats on that!!!
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 10): Nice experience, I think. But I prefer a normal seat or upfront anytime
Normally I would prefer a normal seat aswell, but sometimes on such a short flight it's just interesting too see what F/A do.
Up front is just fantastic, had this last year on a SK 737.
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 10): Joost, time to go for some training/spotting, since you mess up those BA 737's, already mentioned by Mark
Somehow I messed up, must have been tired or so as I know them quite well.
Quoting SandroZRH (Reply 12): Ah, well that explains it. The pilot jumpseating could have been one of my buddies from class 1/2007. They're in type-rating/route introduction at the moment.
ok, that's interesting information.
ps. will send you an pm soon
thank you all for your nice comments!
Joost ( D-ALCE )
flown on : F50,F70,CR1,CR2,CR9,E75,143,AR8,AR1,733,735,736,73G,738,753,744,319,320,321,AB6. Next flights AMS-ZRH-AMS on
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 14, posted (4 years 7 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 17850 times:
Hi Joost, very nice report with many great pictures.
Quoting DALCE (Thread starter): As I saw the machine approaching, my earlier disappointment was gone instantly as the 320 was the Hopp Suisse machine! My first flight on a non standard livery!!
Congratulations for getting that sharp looking plane. Who knows how long it will continue to fly in that livery.
Infodesk From Switzerland, joined May 2006, 1245 posts, RR: 34 Reply 16, posted (4 years 7 months 1 week 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 16688 times:
What a great read! And a nice experience to get the jumpseat. Very kind of you to offe your seat...I can understand that the gate agent must have been pleased.
Pity you missed the RJ100, it's an aircraft I like very much (as long as you sit at the front or back so you don't have the engines blocking your view!). But I think Lx will have for a bit yet, so it's an excuse for another trip
Liked your snaps of Zurich, will have the try the Wings bar, didn't know about that
Happy flying
Infodesk
"Do nothing in haste, look well to each step and from the beginning think what may be the end" - Edward Whymper
DALCE From Netherlands, joined Feb 2007, 1581 posts, RR: 7 Reply 17, posted (4 years 7 months 1 week 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 16534 times:
Hi Infodesk!
Thanks for your nice reply!
Quoting Infodesk (Reply 16): Very kind of you to offe your seat...I can understand that the gate agent must have been pleased.
It's the least you can do, although I must admit that the fact it is only a short flight helps a lot.
Could imagine that I would not do this on a flight like ZRH-SCL for example
Quoting Infodesk (Reply 16): Pity you missed the RJ100, it's an aircraft I like very much
Hope to cover it soon, must not be a bi problem as I fly LX a lot lately.
Next month I will cover the 738, which somehow still is missing from the log
Quoting Infodesk (Reply 16): Liked your snaps of Zurich, will have the try the Wings bar, didn't know about that
It in the city center, quite near the lake actually.
If you have the lake at your back, walk across the bridge, turn left again in the direction of the Station and it will be on your right hand after about 300meters.
Enjoy it! For us enthousiast it is a nice experience!
Gruetzi!
Joost ( D-ALCE )
flown on : F50,F70,CR1,CR2,CR9,E75,143,AR8,AR1,733,735,736,73G,738,753,744,319,320,321,AB6. Next flights AMS-ZRH-AMS on
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