Flyboy_se From Qatar, joined Feb 2000, 637 posts, RR: 5 Posted (6 months 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 4635 times:
This is a trip i took at the beginning of this year, but as i was both busy and lazy i never got around to post it. So here it is, and sorry for the delay.
After New Year holidays i wanted to go someplace for a few days.And when i got an opportunity to visit Iran, i immediately knew i wanted to fly on Iran Air.
Iran Air operates 2 weekly flights between ARN and IKA. the flight on Thursdays is operated by 747 and the flight on Saturdays is on A300.I really wanted to catch the 747 as often they send the SP version to ARN. But as i couldn't get time off earlier from work, i had to go on Saturday, so A300 it is( as of summer schedule both frequencies are on Airbus metal). But i didn't mind as it was a type i have not flown on in ages.
On the way back i decided to go with QR on IKA - DOH with a stop in DOH to visit some friends, and then from DOH i decided to go with LH via FRA and spend a day in FRA to visit a friend. My main focus is IR flight so i don't have that much photos of the other flights.
Saturday , 31/01/2009
ARN-IKA
IR762
EP-IBC
A300-600
STD/ATD 1215/1445
STA/ATA 2000/2210
Seat 18C later changed to 34A
I arrived at the aiport some 2 hours before departure. The check in went smoothly and i was notified that the flight would be 2,5 hours late as it is arriving late from IKA. I got a mealvoucher for 100 SEK so i went to get some food as i didnt have any breakfast.
After clearing security i took some photos , but not so much action at ARN on saturdays.
SK to OSL and LH to FRA
Icelandair ready to fly home to KEF
closeup of Leifur Eiriksson
finally my plane arrived
taxiing
at gate
mandatory boardingpass photo
as soon as the plane docked at the gate, they announced boarding. Most non schengen gates at ARN are equiped with holding areas, so they board everybody way too early.
I waited as long as i could to board but they announced gate closing even before the flight has started boarding.Anyway i went into the holding area. It was an interesting thing.
I think that i was the only non Iranian passenger on the flight, so as i walked into the holding area about 150 people all stared at me at once...lol Quite an interesting feeling.Thankfully boarding started soon
Todays flight was operated by EP-IBC. It was manufactured in 1992 and delivered same year to Olympic Airways.In 2002 the airline changed name to Olympic Airlines but the plane kept its registration SX-BEK. In 2005 the aircraft was sold to Iran Air.
here some pics of EP-IBC with IR and its previous owner
As i was among the last ones to board, i noticed that almost all passengers were seated in the front section, while the last 7-8 rows were completely empty. As someone was allready sitting in my seat 18C , i went to the back and sat in 34A, a window seat with nobody next to me.
I found the cabin to be very clean and tidy.The crew was wery friendly and accomodating.During the whole flight they went thru the cabin, chatting with passengers offering drinks.It made for a very nice atmospehere on board.
The flight was announced to be 4 hours and 55 minutes.
ARN was a ghost town so we took off with no wait.
some 20 minutes after take off captain came on and introduced himself and told about our cruising speed , route and when we are expected to land in IKA.
Then the crew sprung into action with beverage and meal service.
They offered a choice of beef with rice or chicken with potatoes. I choose the chicken and was surprised how big the portion was.
With the meal came a yoghurt sallad, sort of like greek tzatziki, small cake and a cup of yoghurt.
The meal was very delicious and filling. After the meal i explored the cabin a bit.
The flight was very smooth , and about 1 hour from IKA, the crew served a snack.I was surprised they offered 2 meal services on a barely 5 hour flight.
Second service consisted of fruit cake, an orange , a bag of pistachios and a orange juice.
I was impressed by the quantity of food served.
shortly after take off
meal
cabin
legroom
just crossing the Baltic Sea
second service
soon the cabin prepared for landing and we touched down at IKA airport.
Immigration was a breeze as i have allready fixed my visa in Stockholm.
After you collect your bags you have to screen them before going out.
I had no trouble at all, and soon i was out meeting my guide.
Sorry that the pictures are not the best quality.I am not sure what IR s pilocy is of taking pictures in flight.
I didnt take any pictures of IKA airport as there were guards everywhere armed with rifles, and they didnt look that friendly, so i felt it was better to leave my camera in my pocket.
I was pleasantly surprised by Iran Air, i would not hesitate to fly them again.
The service was excellent.
At the end of the report there are some pictures of Tehran for those interested.
After a nice stay in Tehran, it was time to head back.
As i was not planning to do a report on the other flights , i didnt take that many pictures.
So here are some few shots.One thing to note that it is mandatory for all women to cover their hair in Iran.this applies to visitors too. So it was interesting to see LH and KL crew wearing headscarfs with their unifors. It was so bizzare to see.
The flight was uneventfull, with typical great service from QR.
They served breakfast on this early morning flight, and i had traditional arabic breakfast and hot chocolate to drink. We landed in DOH some 10 minutes early.
Here are some pics.
Sorry there are no cabin and meal shots.
pushback
bad attempt to get a IKA terminal shot.
IKA is such a dark airport on the outside.Much darker then other airports i have been to
somewhere over Persian Gulf
amazing scenery
and again
approaching DOH
dusty...
almost on the ground
Oryx galore
vacating runway
there were only 3 of us in C cabin, and we got a separate bus on arrival.DOH doesent have any jetbridges so all flights are on remote.i love that. As i was the only one of the 3 passengers in C whos destination was DOH, immigration was a breeze, and i was out in no time.My bag was allready waiting for me at the belt, so i went out and took a taxi to my hotel. i was in my room at the hotel at 0620, only 20!!!! minutes after touchdown.I think this is a personal record.Also it helps that DOH airport is basicly in the middle of the city.
After a short and nice stay i headed back to DOH airport for my flight to FRA.
I reached DOH airport some 1,5 hours before the flight.The check in counters were deserted so i was checked-in in no time.
As soon as i passed immigration and security boarding was announced.
As i reached the gate there were about 30 pax there. soon a bus arrived and took us to our aircraft. F class was completely full, while in C class we were only 5 people. Y class looked about 30% full. But i guess this flight was full with cargo and first class cabin sold out , so enough to make money for LH...lol
LH627 is operated from DOH to FRA with a stop in BAH.
Because of the light load we were ready to depart much earlier, so we finally pushed back 25!!! minuted before departure.amazing.
DOH-BAH part was an amazing 18 minute flight...lol
During that time we were served with finger sandwiches and a choice of drink.
While on ground in BAH, we remained on board. And after refuelling more passengers boarded.In C cabin only one passenger boarded , while Y class filled up pretty good.
In no time we were in the air again and i could enjoy my flight.
The service was typical LH style. Professional, but somehow little robotic.
We were offered only a light snack and before landing in FRA a full breakfast.
Food was delicious.I had omellet with mushrooms , and also fruit and yoghurt.
We arrived in FRA 30 min before arrival time, but then we waited 40 minutes for a stand.Finally we parked at gate , but had to go down a pair of stairs only to be bussed to arrivals. This whole process took such a long time, so when i finally collected my bags it was 0830.Almost 2 hours after landing.Amazing
empty cabin
quiet
After one day in FRA it was finally time for my last flight.A short hop to ARN
Monday 09/02/2009
FRA-ARN
LH3004
D-AISH (no name on this plane)
A321
STD/ATD 1610/1612
STA/ATA 1810/1805
Seat 7F
The last flight was uneventfullt. The flight was full in economy, but in business we were about 8 persons. We were bussed to our plane. Meals in LH European C class is not that impressive. I was tired so i slept most of the flight.Cabin crew was again very proffesional.What is great with LH is that they are consistent.You know what you will get.
We arrived at ARN on time.
de-icing
LH jumbo
and again
moontime
Anyway this is the end om my trip report. I hope you enjoyed it.
Sorry for the lack of photos and quality on some.
IR was amazing, and i reccomend to everybody who has opportunity to try them out.
For those interested here follows some pictures of Tehran.
regards
Flyboy_se
i found this photo at Tehran museum of contemporary art. It is from 1979 when Imam Khomeyni arrived to Iran from exile in France. A moment that changed Iran. I was mostly interested at that 747 AF in the background
CityofAthens From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (6 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 4402 times:
What a wonderful place you visited! I would love to get the opportunity to visit Iran one day; may I ask, since you mentioned the fact that you are not Iranian, how difficult or easy was it for you to obtain a tourist visa from the Iranian embassy?
I have heard that Iranians are incredibly friendly and hospitable.
Thanks for the photos of Tehran and indeed that beautiful morning sky as you flew across the Persian Gulf ... I agree, the scenery in that part of the world is stunning; one can often see the small, yellow dots of flame light from the oil rigs far down below when one flies over the Gulf at night.
Flyboy_se From Qatar, joined Feb 2000, 637 posts, RR: 5 Reply 2, posted (6 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 4161 times:
Quoting CityofAthens (Reply 1): What a wonderful place you visited! I would love to get the opportunity to visit Iran one day; may I ask, since you mentioned the fact that you are not Iranian, how difficult or easy was it for you to obtain a tourist visa from the Iranian embassy?
I have heard that Iranians are incredibly friendly and hospitable.
Thanks for the photos of Tehran and indeed that beautiful morning sky as you flew across the Persian Gulf ... I agree, the scenery in that part of the world is stunning; one can often see the small, yellow dots of flame light from the oil rigs far down below when one flies over the Gulf at night
Thanks.
It was very easy to obtain a visa.I hold Swedish passport, so they issued me the visa on the same day. You had to fill in 2 copies of a form that you download from the embassies website.and a copy from the bank that you paid the visa fee. You could either mail it to them, or visit the embassy.I visited the embassy as it was faster and i dont like sending my passport in mail. Also for most EU citizens, you can obtain visa on arrival.But its more complicated and you need to have photos with you.
Yes, Iranians are very friendly and i was well taken care off.When they see you are tourist they are so helpfull to you. Alltho not that many people spoke english, but it was easy to get around.I recommend you get a guide, or take contact with a local online.
I did see so many flame lights from the oil rigs, but all my pictures came out blurry.It was ineed a interesting site.
Thanks for your comments
B747forever From United States, joined May 2007, 14252 posts, RR: 12 Reply 3, posted (6 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 4055 times:
Very interesting TR
IR seems to be a good carrier. It is amazing that you got two meals on your 5hour flight to IKA. For instance when I flew with CO the last time from EWR to LAX we only got a "snack meal" for a 6.5 hour flight!
IR seems to be a good carrier. It is amazing that you got two meals on your 5hour flight to IKA. For instance when I flew with CO the last time from EWR to LAX we only got a "snack meal" for a 6.5 hour flight!
Thank you for sharing
Thanks!
Yes, the ammount of food was crazy, and the food was delicious too. But i guess it is the Iranian way.They will make you eat untill you barf, and even then they will get upset that you ate so little...lol
Airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 1914 posts, RR: 19 Reply 6, posted (6 months 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 3301 times:
Hi flyboy_se,
this is a really interesting report. Thanks for commenting on IR. I see this airline every day in AMS, and always wonder how they are. Sorry to hear that you couldn't make the B747 flight. The SP would be too good to be true, I think.
Can it be that the passengers were seated in the front part for the aircrafts trim? I don't know about the A300 myself, but it might need most weight in front to operate economically?
And I noticed that the LH flight to FRA left early. Wow, that's what I call a good performance!
Regards,
Eric
Flying is finished for 2009. In 2010: I booked to secure the Q400 on a new route from LCY, for January...
Flyboy_se From Qatar, joined Feb 2000, 637 posts, RR: 5 Reply 8, posted (6 months 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 3050 times:
Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 5): Liked the IR bit, was of particular interest, we don't see too many TR's with this carrier.
The food served seemed very generous for the flight length, quite impressed!
Thanks
Thank you.Indeed, the food was amazing.
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 6): Hi flyboy_se,
this is a really interesting report. Thanks for commenting on IR. I see this airline every day in AMS, and always wonder how they are. Sorry to hear that you couldn't make the B747 flight. The SP would be too good to be true, I think.
Can it be that the passengers were seated in the front part for the aircrafts trim? I don't know about the A300 myself, but it might need most weight in front to operate economically?
And I noticed that the LH flight to FRA left early. Wow, that's what I call a good performance!
Thank you Eric.You should deffinitly try it out.
It is possible it was due to the trim. However i was happy as i got a whole row to myself...lol
Yes that LH flight left insanely early.I think it has to do that LH is handled by QAS in DOH, and since they are owned by QR, it could be they are used to QR flights where if you cause a delay it almost equals assasination(almost...lol) , hence the need to do everything way too early
Quoting CO7e7 (Reply 7): That is one amazing report. Iran is one place I would love to visit one day. It seems as though it's shrouded with mystery...
The pictures you took over the Persian gulf are breath-taking
Thank you very much,
It is indeed an interesting country.Its a bit shame it is not more free. There are guards and moral police everywhere.
Quoting CO7e7 (Reply 7): Do they have 5th Freedom Right?
Thanks again for a very wonderful report
It is possible that they do.I think i saw one pax from F disembark .BA also operates DOH-LHR via BAH , and they do it on a 747...lol LH flight is operated some days via BAH on 343 and some days via RUH on 333.
UAL757 From United States, joined Sep 2006, 692 posts, RR: 3 Reply 9, posted (6 months 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2982 times:
Awesome report, and IR is a carrier less reported about, but this was great! The pictures of Tehran were nice too
Quoting Flyboy_se (Reply 4): Thanks!
Yes, the ammount of food was crazy, and the food was delicious too. But i guess it is the Iranian way.They will make you eat untill you barf, and even then they will get upset that you ate so little...lol
Tell me about it...LOL!
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 16783 posts, RR: 53 Reply 10, posted (6 months 17 hours ago) and read 2797 times:
Hi Petar,
Excellent report. Im envious lol.. Im glad IR are still offering a good service. I agree with you they are amazing. That was my experience some years back also.
Nice to see ''Makedonia'' went to a good home. I was working at OA the year they got the A/C. Used to do LHR-ATH and ATH-JNB amongst other EU cities. I only got to fly on it once!
Nice photos and great to see IR A300. Glad you liked Iran, Its a place id love to go back to. The food is amazing there. Did you try the rice with the red berries in it??
Philip
Olympic Air "Η Ελλάδα ψηλά" - ''Flying Greece Sky High''
Flyboy_se From Qatar, joined Feb 2000, 637 posts, RR: 5 Reply 12, posted (6 months 9 hours ago) and read 2510 times:
Quoting OA260 (Reply 10): Hi Petar,
Excellent report. Im envious lol.. Im glad IR are still offering a good service. I agree with you they are amazing. That was my experience some years back also
Thanks Phil,
they were certainly above my expectations.
Quoting OA260 (Reply 10): Yes its Azadi tower.Have pics of me there . When you used to land at THR you saw it from the A/C coming into land
Thanks for that.Too bad THR is not the main airport anymore.seems mor einteresting.
Quoting OA260 (Reply 10): Nice to see ''Makedonia'' went to a good home. I was working at OA the year they got the A/C. Used to do LHR-ATH and ATH-JNB amongst other EU cities. I only got to fly on it once!
Nice photos and great to see IR A300. Glad you liked Iran, Its a place id love to go back to. The food is amazing there. Did you try the rice with the red berries in it??
Yes, i was glad i got to fly on a ex OA plane.
I did try that dish.it was nice. I think i had it every day...lol
Quoting Rleiro (Reply 11): Thank you for bringing this excellent TR. I really enhjoyed it.
BTW, maybe you solved one of the mostly discussed topics here... The reg. of the plane that brought Khomeini to Iran back in 1978:
Thanks you. Hehe, glad i could help out. Good thing i got that shot
Abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 3178 posts, RR: 25 Reply 13, posted (5 months 4 weeks 10 hours ago) and read 2118 times:
Thanks for a wonderful and unique TR. I am pretty sure no one has covered ARN-IKA before. Iran is on top of my list - but I'd like to spend some time there so been waiting for the right opportunity. Thanks for sharing.
Flyboy_se From Qatar, joined Feb 2000, 637 posts, RR: 5 Reply 14, posted (5 months 4 weeks 6 hours ago) and read 1987 times:
Quoting Abrelosojos (Reply 13): Thanks for a wonderful and unique TR. I am pretty sure no one has covered ARN-IKA before. Iran is on top of my list - but I'd like to spend some time there so been waiting for the right opportunity. Thanks for sharing.
Saludos
Thank you!
Its deffinitly worth a visit. Such a mysterius country
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