PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 25817 times:
Background Fifth Freedom is a magic term in aviation enthusiast circles. Fifth Freedom enables us to fly on airlines without having to travel all the way to their home countries. One of the various non-European airlines with traffic rights between some European cities is Kuwait Airways. I had been interested in the carrier and its operations between Frankfurt and Geneva (A340-300) and between Rome and Paris (A300-600) for a long time. By the end of May I finally decided to book a flight on one of these routes. It soon turned out that flying times and fares were most attractive on the Rome-Paris run. Getting on the A300-600 was not a priority, but of course I wasn't unhappy about another ride on that meanwhile classic and more or less rare bird.
The next task was to find attractive flights to Rome and from Paris. One-way fares to Rome were insanely expensive, but I soon discovered a reasonably priced MUC-FCO-MUC round trip on Alitalia, operated by an Air One CityLiner CRJ900. In order to avoid fare increases and booking fees I quickly bought the tickets on Expedia and then started searching for a hotel and interesting return flight options.
Kuwait Airways would be my 98th airline and Air One CityLiner would be my 99th, so of course I tried to complete my itinerary with airline No. 100. Unfortunately, I didn't find any interesting and reasonably priced options between Paris and Munich. Then I decided to have a look at the Air France A380 service to London. I hadn't wanted to book a trip for the sole reason of getting on that bird, but why not add it to an existing itinerary? One-way fares were too expensive, but I found a round trip for 78 Euro and quickly booked it on Air France's website.
Now I needed to find a flight to Munich, but again I wasn't impressed by the available options at first. easyJet offered relatively low fares, but I didn't like the idea of a transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick. I finally was about to book an ordinary British Airways A319 flight, but then I suddenly discovered a well-timed connection offered by Austrian Airlines: bmi A320 to Vienna and Tyrolean Airways Fokker 100 to Munich. I wasn't amused about the price, but I couldn't resist to get on Tyrolean which would be my 100th airline. I booked the remaining flights on Expedia and finally reserved a room at the Ibis CDG Terminal hotel.
After logging several more registrations from my hotel room...
...I enjoyed the excellent breakfast buffet, checked out and took the CDGVAL to Terminal 2. I had already printed my boarding pass at home, so there was no need to stay in the Terminal 2E check-in hall.
It was my first journey on Air France after the company had introduced the automatic check-in for most short and medium haul flights. Whenever you book on www.airfrance.com you automatically receive the boarding pass 30 hours before departure. At the time of booking I hadn't been able to select a seat, but I had requested a window seat. Unfortunately, during the automatic check-in process, the system assigned me a window seat in the front section on the main deck. I had been seated on the main deck on Emirates and Singapore Airlines, so I really wanted to try the A380's upper deck this time. Some 28 hours prior to departure I checked the seatmap and found out that all window seats on the upper deck weren't available any more. So I chose seat 93K in the end, an aisle seat on the upper deck - not optimal, but still acceptable. I didn't check the seatmap again at the airport and went straight to security where I joined a long queue.
20 minutes later I arrived at the gate and was glad to find out that F-HPJA, the first A380 in the fleet, would operate flight AF1980. Unfortunately, taking good pictures was impossible:
Sister ship F-HPJB was parked at the adjacent gate:
I still had plenty of time left, so I walked to the front end of the concourse where I could enjoy great views of two runways, some taxiways and some gates. I and was able to log many new registrations within an hour, one of the most interesting birds was Air France 777-300ER F-GZNE in Skyteam colors:
Finally, it was time to return to the gate and I wasn't amused to find a large crowd there. I wasn't sure where I should line up at first, but then I noticed signs for both main deck and upper deck passengers. Apparently, numerous people had not seen or understood the signs and chosen the wrong queues. Anyway, boarding commenced early so it was obvious that all passengers would be on board for an on-time departure.
I had been expecting that Air France would also use the upper deck jetway for boarding, but the corresponding escalators were blocked off. Friendly flight attendants welcomed me at a main deck door and directed me to the stairs. Of course I took a picture of the famous "salon":
Business Class seats:
The 19-inch wide Economy Class seats are hard, but still comfortable...
...and the 34-inch seat pitch must be appreciated, too:
Welcome screen:
I really liked the low mood lighting during boarding:
Rear stairway:
Taking pictures through the windows on the upper deck isn't less difficult than doing so on the main deck. Air France 747-400, Aeromexico 767-200ER and Delta 757-200:
"Are you here for pleasure?" my seat neighbor asked me immediately after his arrival. "Pure pleasure", I replied and we started talking. After a few sentences he introduced himself as A.net user brightcedars and he was surprised when I introduced myself as PlaneHunter. Later we talked to the guy in seat 92L and found out that he was user babybus - what a coincidence to come together in that section without any planning!
Some time after boarding had been completed, the captain announced a flying time of 40 minutes, but also informed us about a slight delay due to a "last minute technical check". I was assuming that we would depart 15, 20 or maybe 30 minutes late, but I didn't think anything of it and we continued talking about past and future trips, aircraft types, orders etc. However, after not hearing any news for at least 30 minutes, we started wondering.
At 10:45, no less than 40 minutes after the scheduled departure time, the captain came back on the intercom. The first announcement was in French which I once learned in school. I don't remember much of that language, unfortunately, but I clearly understood a short term - and that was enough to know that something serious was going on: "Autorisation d'Airbus"
Before the captain repeated the announcement in English, brightcedars had translated the message: Air France was being faced with a technical problem and had to ask Airbus for authorization. I was shocked about these news considering that I had to catch a connecting flight at London. My bmi flight to Vienna would leave at 14:05 (London time) from Terminal 1 and I still had to pick up a boarding pass. There were more than four hours left, but I wasn't expecting an immediate departure of our A380.
My mood was getting worse when brightcedars told me that some flight attendants in the galley were already whispering about a possible cancellation. I knew well that I would be stranded at CDG in such a case. A rebooking to a later London flight would be useless, my connecting flight would be lost. I draw the conclusion that I would need to buy a new ticket to fly from Paris to Munich - and that would be very expensive.
brightcedars was concerned about missing his first A380 flight, but he had booked a same-day return trip on the big bird - so at least he wouldn't face a financial loss. I had flown on two different A380s before, but of course I also didn't like the thought that I may not be able to add the AF model to my log. Flight attendants passed through the cabin several times during the waiting time and offered water, but I didn't want to drink anything.
Some time after the captain's announcement, when a flight attendant was walking by, brightcedars took the chance and asked her in French what was going on. She then told him that, apparently, a ground vehicle had hit a cargo door. After hearing this, I was almost convinced that the flight would be cancelled - and I started hoping that the worst case scenario would be announced soon so that I wouldn't lose too much time...
At 11:30, just after I had put back my camera, binoculars and other stuff to my hand luggage, the captain made a new announcement. I was prepared for jumping up, but then he said: "Good news!" According to him, Airbus had given go ahead to operate the flight and the crew was just waiting for some signatures.
All of us where relieved and we were now looking forward to the flight more than ever. However, nothing happened for another 30 minutes. Did a person in charge refuse to sign in the end?, I thought. My transfer time was shrinking and shrinking, only about two hours would be left after arrival. Transferring at LHR can be a pain and I was hoping that there would be an airside connection between Terminal 4 and Terminal 1.
Finally, exactly 1 hour and 56 minutes behind the scheduled departure time, the big bird started moving...PUSH-BACK!!!
Now I truly enjoyed the tail camera views:
The massive wings make this taxiway appear quite narrow:
At 12:24 F-HPJA finally turned onto the runway, quietly accelerated...
...and gently lifted off after a short take-off roll:
While climbing away from the runway we were hit by turbulence, causing the wings to oscillate - quite interesting experience.
Suddenly the tail camera was hit by bird strike - or whatever it was. Unfortunately, the camera was switched off before I could take a picture (see the landing pictures).
Interesting air show feature:
Due to the short flying time I quickly checked the IFE options. Main menu:
The Thales TopSeries IFE system offers a choice of about 100 on-demand movies, 300 audio CDs, 26 games and many more features. In my opinion, the live cameras and the interactive maps beat them all:
The flight attendants started offering drinks and snacks only a few minutes after take-off - there was no time to lose on that short hop. Before they arrived at our row I quickly made some more cabin shots. I didn't see an empty seat in the upper deck Y Class section:
Stairway blocked off:
I ordered a Pepsi Max and also got very tasty cookies:
We crossed the channel at 24,000 feet and started descending only 23 minutes after take-off. Final approach:
Tail camera view again - this time a bit different:
We touched down 47 minutes after take-off and I was hoping that the plane would taxi straight to its gate. However, the plane had to stay on the taxiway for some time and didn't arrive at the gate earlier than 12:25, exactly two hours behind schedule. It took another ten minutes until I was able to leave the aircraft, so I had 1 hour and 30 minutes left for the transfer. Last picture of F-HPJA:
I followed the connection signs and was relieved when I found out that there was an airside bus transfer to Terminal 1.
About 20 minutes after leaving the AF A380 I arrived at a bmi transfer desk and picked up my boarding passes for the flights to Vienna and Munich. I had asked about a window seat in the rear section on the bmi A320 and the friendly female agent had kindly offered 27A in the last row. That was surprising considering that barely one hour was left until departure. Interestingly, the gate number wasn't even shown yet, so I had to "wait in lounge" some more time - that procedure at LHR never ceases to annoy me.
When I arrived at the gate some 45 minutes prior to departure I was happy to find G-MIDX there - the last remaining aircraft in the world wearing the old Star Alliance livery. Quite funny to see the Ansett, Mexicana and Varig logos on the fuselage:
I continued spotting as long as possible and stepped on board among the last few passengers. The flight was packed, but the middle seat in my row remained empty. The leather seats were quite comfortable, even though my seatback didn't stay in upright position:
Legroom was absolutely sufficient - definitely better than on the bmi A319 which I had flown on in early 2009:
Parked next to us was A321-200 G-MEDU, originally ordered and never taken up by BMed:
After boarding had been completed, the captain announced a traffic related delay of 15 minutes. I took the menu card from the seat pocket and was quite disappointed that only muffins and similar stuff would be available for sale - not even sandwiches. A friendly male flight attendant who was chatting with another passenger suddenly turned to me and said: "Sir, sir? It's free!" I was positively surprised to hear that. Drinks and snacks hadn't been offered free of charge on my first bmi flight between London and Dublin in early 2009. Apparently you only have to pay on domestic flights and other short services.
We finally left the gate eight minutes behind schedule and started taxiing to runway 27R. British Airways 777-200ER G-YMMI with anti-strike slogan:
After spending 16 minutes on various taxiways, G-MIDX powerfully accelerated. Climbing out of Heathrow is always a pleasure:
We stopped climbing for a while after breaking through the clouds:
Beautiful scenery:
Kent Airport on the left, the city of Ramsgate on the right:
26 minutes later we passed Brussels Airport:
The friendly flight attendants soon served an egg sandwich, an orange juice and black tea. Good to see that free range eggs were used:
I was really surprised about the high quality sandwich, it tasted very good. The black tea wasn't bad either.
Emirates 777-300 heading down to Dubai:
Cabin shot:
The remaining flight was uneventful - well, almost. The lady in the aisle seat was stressed for a while by her three kids who were seated in the opposite row. They were having a loud dispute and after the lady had failed to calm them down, she grabbed one of the kids and placed it next to me in the empty middle seat. The flight was almost over anyway...
Low clouds on approach to Vienna:
We touched down after a flying time of 1 hour and 53 minutes and taxied to a remote parking position:
I was very glad about that because I could take some more pictures of the plane which may get a new paint job soon:
After arriving at the terminal, I went straight to the rundown Hall B where my flight to Munich would depart from two hours later. I could have stayed elsewhere for a while, but I was neither hungry nor thirsty and viewing options in other airside areas wouldn't have been much better. I took a seat at my gate and kept reading a book and a newspaper while the whole area was getting more and more crowded.
Boarding commenced on time, but we remained stuck in the bus for a while. There was a problem with someone's boarding pass and it took at least ten minutes to solve it. The bus finally brought us to OE-LVL, one of 15 Fokker 100s in the fleet:
Operated by Tyrolean - my 100th airline.
After being welcomed by a friendly flight attendant, I made my way to row 20. I'm not sure what to think of the green color, but the old-style seats were quite comfortable:
What I definitely didn't like was the tight seat pitch:
Seat 20A - which I had selected in advance on OS' website - was just perfect: Engine on the left, wing on the right:
Engine close-up:
We left the parking position eight minutes behind schedule and I could take one last picture of good old G-MIDX which was still here:
It took another 13 minutes until OE-LVL noisily lifted off into the gray skies. This is what I would call "field artwork":
Clouds + evening sun = beautiful scenery:
There was an announcement during climb, but I didn't understand a single word due to engine noise. So who knows what they tried to tell us.
After the flight attendants had started serving drinks and snacks, I quickly took a cabin picture. Not a single empty seat on this evening service:
I also went to the lavatory and soon found out that the door lock didn't work properly, but I managed to be back before the flight attendants arrived at my row.
In light of Austrian's recent cost cutting measures I was expecting to get some crackers or probably a small sandwich, but the flight attendants served a salad box:
The mixed salad along with the dressing tasted very good - and the wholemeal bread wasn't bad either. Well done, Austrian:
Some 30 minutes after take-off we already started descending again. I would have preferred to keep cruising over the clouds some more time:
Allianz Arena:
Autobahn 9:
Only a few more moments to go:
OE-LVL touched down after a flying time of 44 minutes and quickly slowed down:
Privatair 737-800 operating for Lufthansa:
We stopped at a remote parking position five minutes behind schedule, next to Lufthansa A319 D-AILE:
One last picture of OE-LVL:
Some minutes later the bus dropped us off at the terminal and I felt sorry for numerous passengers who started running to get their connecting flights. Hopefully they made it. All I needed to do was to take the S-Bahn to the P81 car park. Three new airlines - including my 100th carrier - two flights on extraordinary widebodies and 123 new registrations for my spotting logbook - another PlaneHunting journey was successfully completed.
Conclusion
The delay on Air France was nerve-racking, but there's no reason to complain about the airline. The problem was caused by a ground vehicle and the captain kept us updated. As soon as we had left the gate, I enjoyed the time on AF's A380 which offers lots of seating comfort and a great IFE system. Ground staff members and flight attendants were friendly and I was also satisfied with the catering on that very short flight. However, I didn't like the automatic check-in. Anyway, it's just a matter of time until I will book a long-haul flight on AF's A380.
My expectations hadn't been high after a rather disappointing experience in 2009, but this time bmi surprised me with friendly ground staff members and flight attendants, comfortable seating and good catering. I would definitely choose the carrier again.
I felt a bit cramped on the Fokker 100, but the flight on Tyrolean Airways was still a positive experience due to friendly staff and good catering. I wouldn't hesitate to book Austrian Airlines again, but I hope that the airport's Hall B will be refurbished soon.
luxair747SP From Germany, joined May 2010, 444 posts, RR: 18 Reply 1, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 25514 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW FORUM MODERATOR
Hi PH,
as usual very detailed and good TR.
The delay of the AF A380 in LHR reminds me of my delay with exactly that aircraft in LHR, looks like it was the case frequently.
You are lucky to have got the BD logojet. The interieur somehow reminds me of the old BA one.
And the salad on such a short hop with tyrolean is just awesome. They really should keep that.
All in all very nice read, perfect for a christmas day evening
Thank you a lot for sharing and merry christmas
Johannes
FLIEGER67 From Turkey, joined Sep 2003, 4391 posts, RR: 57 Reply 2, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 25511 times:
Hi, PH,
congrats to score you´re airline no. 100, well done.
A nice variety of airlines and aircraftt here with these part of you´re story.
The AF380, also done here, together with a nice service on the very oldfashioned looking A320 and the Tyrolean F100.
Close to two hours delay and LHR is not the easiest airport for connections as you stated, it works in the end,
something like this coming up from my hand also soon.
CaptainRed From Germany, joined Oct 2010, 578 posts, RR: 19 Reply 3, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25481 times:
Hi Planehunter,
congratulations for logging your 100th airline and thanks for this nice trip report, enjoyed it very much. I could really feel with you during that delay at CDG, having experienced something like this as well just last year. Fortunately everything worked out well for you. That A380 flight really seems to attract a few a.netters.
congrats to score you´re airline no. 100, well done.
Thanks a lot, Markus!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 2): Close to two hours delay and LHR is not the easiest airport for connections as you stated, it works in the end, something like this coming up from my hand also soon.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 5, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25456 times:
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 3): congratulations for logging your 100th airline and thanks for this nice trip report, enjoyed it very much.
Hi CaptainRed, thanks for your feedback! We almost posted at the same time.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 3): I could really feel with you during that delay at CDG, having experienced something like this as well just last year. Fortunately everything worked out well for you.
Good to hear!
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 3): That A380 flight really seems to attract a few a.netters.
Yes - and these AF A380 operations have probably been the most covered ones ever.
AOMlover From France, joined Jul 2001, 1297 posts, RR: 12 Reply 6, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25443 times:
Quoting PlaneHunter (Thread starter): After a few sentences he introduced himself as A.net user brightcedars and he was surprised when I introduced myself as PlaneHunter. Later we talked to the guy in seat 92L and found out that he was user babybus - what a coincidence to come together in that section without any planning!
I was here as well ! I flew the big whale to London and back to Paris on the same day.
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 7, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25444 times:
Hi PH,
great report. Reminds me on my own A380 flights on AF. Sorry about the delay, although they seem to solve the problem professionally, also when it comes to information to the passengers.
bmi is good also. Always my favourite UK carrier, it's such a shame that they pulled out of AMS. Although I am surprised to see a free sandwich. Is this the positive influence by LH nowadays? Love their blue/brown interior a lot, now they only need to bring their colours in shape on the outside. MIDX is on my log also, many years ago already.
OS was alright indeed, I got the same salad box also last summer on a F100 flight, VIE-AMS. A bit strange maybe, but I found it an original choice for an airline to serve like this. After my last experiences on them, OS is not my favourite airline, also VIE is among the worst 'large' airports in Europe, not a pleasant place to stay.
Compliments for the good picture quality again!
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 8, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25411 times:
Quoting AOMlover (Reply 6): I was here as well ! I flew the big whale to London and back to Paris on the same day.
Very interesting, where were you seated?
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 7): great report. Reminds me on my own A380 flights on AF.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 7):
Compliments for the good picture quality again!
Hi Eric, many thanks for your comments. I'm glad you liked it.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 7): Sorry about the delay, although they seem to solve the problem professionally, also when it comes to information to the passengers.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 7): Is this the positive influence by LH nowadays?
I hope so!
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 7): Love their blue/brown interior a lot, now they only need to bring their colours in shape on the outside.
Now they only need to install TV screens...
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 7): After my last experiences on them, OS is not my favourite airline, also VIE is among the worst 'large' airports in Europe, not a pleasant place to stay.
Yes, I will also try to stay away from VIE for the time being.
On the lower deck from CDG to LHR, and on the upper deck on the way back. The upper deck is definitely better ! BTW, in case you're a Flying Blue member, did you get the 2000 miles credited to your account as a compensation for the delay ?
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 10, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25339 times:
Quoting AOMlover (Reply 9): The upper deck is definitely better !
Yes, I can only agree!
Quoting AOMlover (Reply 9): BTW, in case you're a Flying Blue member, did you get the 2000 miles credited to your account as a compensation for the delay ?
I got only 1000 because I only flew CDG-LHR. Not bad, though.
Luftfahrer From Germany, joined Mar 2009, 967 posts, RR: 5 Reply 11, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25337 times:
Merry Christmas, PlaneHunter! It was great to see you further reducing your backlog by contributing another great, summerly trip report which certainly reminded me of warmer days this year.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 12, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 25311 times:
Quoting Luftfahrer (Reply 11): Merry Christmas, PlaneHunter! It was great to see you further reducing your backlog by contributing another great, summerly trip report which certainly reminded me of warmer days this year.
Merry Christmas, Marius! Many thanks for your comments, I'm glad you liked this summer report.
Quoting Luftfahrer (Reply 11): Perhaps used for purposes other than intended, I like that airlines offer their passengers this spectacular view.
Yes, just too bad you don't find that on SQ's A380.
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 13, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 25073 times:
Hi PH
Merry Christmas, Thank you for another great report and congratulations for having flown 100 airlines! I have to say I'm impressed with the service you got on all 3 airlines, especially on OS, that salad looks delicious.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Thread starter): The 19-inch wide Economy Class seats are hard, but still comfortable...
TBH that seat looks really uncomfortable, I guess it's made up by the good legroom.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Thread starter): In my opinion, the live cameras and the interactive maps beat them all:
Looks like AF did a good job with the moving maps and camera options.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Thread starter): The friendly flight attendants soon served an egg sandwich, an orange juice and black tea. Good to see that free range eggs were used:
I never knew that bmi offered free food on these flights, a big to them for that.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Thread starter): After being welcomed by a friendly flight attendant, I made my way to row 20. I'm not sure what to think of the green color, but the old-style seats were quite comfortable:
I have to say, I quite like that colour (maybe it's just my taste?). Well it's definitely better than some of the drab colours most airlines are choosing nowadays.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 12): I'll soon start writing part 1 of my RTW trip series.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 14, posted (2 years 5 months 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 24933 times:
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 14): Merry Christmas, Thank you for another great report and congratulations for having flown 100 airlines! I have to say I'm impressed with the service you got on all 3 airlines, especially on OS, that salad looks delicious.
Merry Chrismas, aflyingkiwi! Thanks for your comments!
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 14): I never knew that bmi offered free food on these flights, a big to them for that.
I was really surprised about that.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 14): I have to say, I quite like that colour (maybe it's just my taste?). Well it's definitely better than some of the drab colours most airlines are choosing nowadays.
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 24928 posts, RR: 60 Reply 15, posted (2 years 5 months 19 hours ago) and read 24167 times:
Hey great report and nice memories of the A380 CDG-LHR-CDG route ! BMI only offer free food on a small selection of EU routes thats normally what you get in Prem Y on the majority. Hope they pull their socks up in 2011 at least they should revert back to free meal deal for their Gold card holders like before . They still have a way to go IMHO.
Nice pics and read as usual.
Philip
OLYMPIC AIR - ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΗ "Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΨΗΛΑ" "GREECE FLYING HIGH"
The777Man From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 6088 posts, RR: 56 Reply 17, posted (2 years 5 months 17 hours ago) and read 23921 times:
Hi PlaneHunter!
Fantastic report with wonderful pictures! Too bad with the delay on AF but glad that you made the connection....I had a few hours delay one time LAX-NRT where I was to connect to PEK to fly OZ's 777. I ended up missing the connection and had to figure out a new routing and it worked out in the end, but I know very well what you were going thru.......
The sandwich on BD looks really good! I rebember flying BD LHR-FCO nine years ago and there were two meals served including one with ice cream as desert......
A bit odd with green as the color on the seats on Tyrolean/Austrian but a nice change from everything red including the stockings on the female flight attendants......
Very much looking forward to your next adventure! Very impressive with 100 airlines........
The777Man
Need a Boeing 777 Firing Order....Further to fly....GA, T5, CI and LX 777s
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 18, posted (2 years 5 months 17 hours ago) and read 23902 times:
Quoting The777Man (Reply 17): Fantastic report with wonderful pictures!
Hi Lars, many thanks for your feedback!
Quoting The777Man (Reply 17): The sandwich on BD looks really good! I rebember flying BD LHR-FCO nine years ago and there were two meals served including one with ice cream as desert......
That sounds great, good old times.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 17): A bit odd with green as the color on the seats on Tyrolean/Austrian but a nice change from everything red including the stockings on the female flight attendants......
Good point - and I have never liked these red stockings, btw.
dtswi From Portugal, joined Aug 2001, 126 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (2 years 5 months 16 hours ago) and read 23803 times:
Dear PH,
I have to express my congratulations again - very objective text and the most beautiful pictures - are you a professional photographer ? you have the sense for framing.
look forward to your future reports.
I fly next week Thursday to BKK with swiss-will post a report, this time in eco. But we should still have some CH-cheese and hot towels (I will bring my own ameny kit, as this is not standard anymore I think).
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 20, posted (2 years 5 months 15 hours ago) and read 23660 times:
Quoting dtswi (Reply 19): I have to express my congratulations again - very objective text and the most beautiful pictures - are you a professional photographer ? you have the sense for framing.
look forward to your future reports.
Hi Daniel, thank you very much! I do work in the media business, but I'm not a professional photographer. I only use a compact camera, btw.
Quoting dtswi (Reply 19): I fly next week Thursday to BKK with swiss-will post a report, this time in eco. But we should still have some CH-cheese and hot towels
Sounds interesting, I will watch out for the report. Have fun!
akhmad From Netherlands, joined Sep 2005, 2334 posts, RR: 53 Reply 21, posted (2 years 5 months 14 hours ago) and read 23548 times:
Hi PH,
First of all frohe Weihnachten and congratulations with your 100th airline. Great report as usual and very refreshing. I love to be reminded of the summertime during this winter.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Thread starter): After logging several more registrations from my hotel room...
Ah, a familiar view.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Thread starter): "Are you here for pleasure?" my seat neighbor asked me immediately after his arrival. "Pure pleasure", I replied and we started talking. After a few sentences he introduced himself as A.net user brightcedars and he was surprised when I introduced myself as PlaneHunter. Later we talked to the guy in seat 92L and found out that he was user babybus - what a coincidence to come together in that section without any planning!
Indeed. A.net meeting by surprise is always exciting.
babybus From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2003, 3514 posts, RR: 6 Reply 23, posted (2 years 5 months 7 hours ago) and read 23076 times:
A very accurate account of the day.
I didn't realize you were involved in such a long travel day. I was rushing off for a lunch appointment that day.
That blood on the camera must have been a large insect. I think if it hit a bird there would have been more blood. The camera lense on the tail doesn't look that big.
I guess the guy who hit the cargo door is now pushing trolleys somewhere.
Thanks for a great report.
and with that..cabin crew, seats for landing please.
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 24928 posts, RR: 60 Reply 24, posted (2 years 5 months 6 hours ago) and read 23021 times:
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 16): Hi Philip, thanks for your comments. If I remember correctly, you were the first user here to post a report about AF1980/1981.
Yes seems like years ago even though it was just back in the Summer. A unique trip indeed.
OLYMPIC AIR - ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΗ "Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΨΗΛΑ" "GREECE FLYING HIGH"
25 Contact Air: Hi PH, Very interesting report and fantastic pictures. You really found an interesting was to get back home from CDG. Good to hear that your A380-flig
26 PlaneHunter: Hi babybus, thanks for your feedback. Good to hear from you! I remember the discussion about it on the civil aviation forum. Probably it was indeed a
27 lychemsa: 1. I noticed that seats on AF long haul are hard. After a few hours it gets to be somewhat uncomfortable. So your comment confirms what I thought also
28 CrimsonNL: Hi PH, thanks for this interesting trip report. Did the AF captain make all these delay information announcements in French? Or English as well? Best
29 767747: Hi, PH! Another great report. I love the photos from your flights .. great to see the beatiful European countryside. I know the feeling when it comes
30 NZ107: Hi PH, Another great TR, thanks for sharing! Talk about it - I was nearly at a stage where I had flown more 5th freedom trans Tasman flights! But my f
31 FlyingFinn76: Hi PH, A nice report on a special flight with the whalejet. You also managed to find something rather interesting to take you home from Heathrow. I'm
32 Palmjet: Guten Tag Planehunter - nice report of your flights earlier this year. I also did the AF 380 to CDG from LHR and it was indeed amazing that only after
33 bwaflyer: The interior is actually red white and blue to match the livery. The aircraft are currently receiving new interiors with chocolate brown seats and gr
34 FlyingFinn76: Hey BWA, thanks a lot for clarifying this! It is kinda hard keeping up with the different operated by/for combinations and what is on offer where. BT
35 ba319-131: Hi PH, Great report and pictures, thanks for sharing this installment, looked fun, though the delay in CDG was a tad of a worry! - It's amazing bmi ha
36 bwaflyer: Both routes are bmi services in the same way as EDI / GLA etc. LH and OS cose share on the flights, as do other airlines. The only routes operated as
37 AlwaysOnAPlane: PH, many congratulations on reaching your 100th airline. Nice achievement man. Very nice report for this relaxing Friday afternoon. I hate the feeling
38 PlaneHunter: First of all, Happy New Year to everyone! Yes, definitely beats many competitors. Hi Martijn, thanks for your comments! Yes, the English announcements
39 brightcedars: Very nice trip report! It was real nice to be in the special atmosphere of this flight which was clearly packed with enthusiasts of all kinds I'll tak
40 MSS658: Nice report and addition to your A380 flying list. I'm sorry to read about the delay on the CDG-LHR sector. I'm glad you made your connection to VIE a
41 ronerone: Excellent TR PlaneHunter, as always! This is the first TR i read in 2011, and i hope we continue to read more new TR's from PH ... Happy New Year! I t
42 PlaneHunter: Hi brightcedars, thanks for your feedback! Thanks for your comments, MSS658! Hi Roni, many thanks for your kind words. You can be sure there will be
43 lhr380: Fab report as ever Planehunter. This plane is the bane of my life. Hated the livery as it was so old, yet always saw the dang thing when I was flying
44 PlaneHunter: Many thanks! Have you ever flown on it? Come on, it's not that bad! PH
45 lhr380: Na, it was the livery that annoyed me lol. Having Ansett on it still after all that time! Even having Varig and MX (Who was now in another alliance a
46 PlaneHunter: G-MIDX is what I'd call a real retro jet! PH
47 abrelosojos: Thanks PH for yet another stellar report. Seems like AF handled the delay well. I have always thought of service onboard bmi to have been stellar and
48 PlaneHunter: Hi Alex, thanks for your feedback, good to hear from you. Yes, AF indeed handled the delay well. My first BD experience had not been good, so this fl
49 AustrianZRH: Excellent report! I fully agree with you, it's more than time that the new terminal is completed. Unfortunately there was a corruption scandal and sev
50 PlaneHunter: Many thanks! Let's hope there won't be any more problems. PH
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Perhaps used for purposes other than intended, I like that airlines offer their passengers this spectacular view. 
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to them for that.
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