adruss85
Jul 31, 12, 12:35 pm
First of all i should preface this by saying a couple of things. This is my first trip report, be nice! Also I am a long time lurker but first time poster on flyertalk - I've loved reading all the great TRs on here so hopefully I can put something back in!
Although I am a bit of a “plane geek”, 90% of my journeys are EZY trips to Geneva – I like skiing and mountain biking. I’ve made a few long haul flights to the US and Asia for holidays but recently i’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel on business.
In 2010 I flew MAN-EWR-AUS return on what was then CO. This was at the time that completely unpronounceable volcano was going off in Iceland so the return flight from EWR was pretty cool as we flew north over Iceland to avoid the ash cloud. Anyway, I swore I’d write a trip report of my first business class flight but that never happened. Then last year I flew MAN-LHR-KUL-BNE on MH to visit my girlfriend while she was working out there. Again I wanted to write a trip report, but it didn’t materialise despite 4 fantastic sectors on MH (maybe it will after this).
This time however, it’s a little different...
A trip to Sydney for business had been on and off for a while, and throughout this time I was researching and researching, if it does go ahead, do I fly EK or EY? I was dead set on one stop. The lure of the A380 for 24hrs was huge, but a funky arrival time in SYD put me off, as from my experience last year, the best time to arrive is just before bed time. The EY option looked good – favourable reviews, lie flat beds on every sector, and sponsorship to prevent Utd from winning another title (i’m a Merseyside red). So when the email came that the trip was on, I was going nuts on the phone to our travel agents... MAN-AUH-SYD in EY J..
As I only got 2 free chauffer cars on my trip, I chose these to be the return legs from the Airports at either end. I was picked up early one Sunday morning by a work car and whisked off to Manchester T1. It was raining, obviously.
At this point I was far too excited to realise I needed to take photos for a trip report, so you’ll have to believe me when I say the queue was 3 deep (including me). Despite the incredibly rude PAX in front of me, the check-in agent was helpful and friendly. I was checked in promptly and issued with my cheap paper boarding cards and luggage tag all the way to SYD.
Security at MAN was quiet and I walked straight through the fastlane without any waits. 10 minutes after arriving, I was at the lounge.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1576-1.jpg
Again I have no photos of the lounge (far too excited), but this was a step up from any lounge I visited with CO (the CO lounge at Newark was a real let down IMO, Austin was much better). I only had an hour or so to wait for the flight, so I ordered some toast and apple juice for a mid morning snack and watched a bit of TV. They have iMacs, WiFi, a decent breakfast buffet selection and an on demand kitchen whose poached eggs on toast looked amazing. 40 minutes prior to departure the flight was called and, with a slightly manic grin on my face, a made my way to the gate.
EY16 MAN-AUH seat 9K. Airbus A330-200
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1580-1.jpg
Once again, no queue at the Pearl Business line and straight down the airbridge into the awaiting A330-200. Once on board I was greeted by name and personally shown to my seat – a nice touch compared to CO where you were just left to your own devices.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1582.jpg
I was a little disappointed to find that this was the old style business class with the turquoise seats, some of which were looking a little worn.
9K however was not, I loved the privacy of it, like having my own mini suite with 3 windows no less! Despite feeling cosy it also felt open and not claustrophobic at all, and the direct aisle access was another key factor for me choosing EY over EK, compared to their non A380 J.
I was provided will a proper pillow and fluffy duvet. Again much better than the CO paper thin blanket. At this point I decided to stop comparing my 2 business class experiences, as there really was no contest. As i settled down I was offered a drink, newspaper and hot towel. I opted for a water as I’ve never seen the lure of champagne, especially at 9am!
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1584.jpg
Plenty of room in Pearl!
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1585.jpg
No amenity kits, but help yourself to eyeshades, socks, pens, toothbrushes and earplugs.
Pushback was just a couple of minutes late and after some queuing with the early morning transatlantic rush we were airborne. I’m always surprised how easy takeoff feels in A330s, and that mechanical whirr you get from what i guess would be the fuel pumps? I’d never been this far forward in one before either.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1589.jpg
In flight drinks and tasty chicken skewer were served shortly after takeoff and I ordered my lunch from the well stocked menu.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1586.jpg
The FA was really friendly and bent down to my level to take my order. Service was extremely quick and nothing felt like it was any problem.
I went with the Soup which turned out to be excellent
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1590.jpg
The bread was beautifully soft and warm and the soup was fantastic, probably the best i’ve had anywhere.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1591.jpg
The chicken was moist and well presented but I didn’t care much for sauce. Don’t read into this too much though as I am quite fussy. Rice was excellent. I also had some of the providore ice cream for dessert which again was excellent.
I reclined my bed to almost fully flat and watched some Hart of Dixie on e-Box. The selection of films and TV shows is excellent although i’m used to watching everything in HD so I can’t really comment on the quality. Noise cancelling headphones did an excellent job however. I wonder when airlines will start to make HD stuff available on IFE?
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1592.jpg
Cool mood lighting over the gulf. Funnily enough I was sat behind the grumpy PAX from check-in.
Although I am a bit of a “plane geek”, 90% of my journeys are EZY trips to Geneva – I like skiing and mountain biking. I’ve made a few long haul flights to the US and Asia for holidays but recently i’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel on business.
In 2010 I flew MAN-EWR-AUS return on what was then CO. This was at the time that completely unpronounceable volcano was going off in Iceland so the return flight from EWR was pretty cool as we flew north over Iceland to avoid the ash cloud. Anyway, I swore I’d write a trip report of my first business class flight but that never happened. Then last year I flew MAN-LHR-KUL-BNE on MH to visit my girlfriend while she was working out there. Again I wanted to write a trip report, but it didn’t materialise despite 4 fantastic sectors on MH (maybe it will after this).
This time however, it’s a little different...
A trip to Sydney for business had been on and off for a while, and throughout this time I was researching and researching, if it does go ahead, do I fly EK or EY? I was dead set on one stop. The lure of the A380 for 24hrs was huge, but a funky arrival time in SYD put me off, as from my experience last year, the best time to arrive is just before bed time. The EY option looked good – favourable reviews, lie flat beds on every sector, and sponsorship to prevent Utd from winning another title (i’m a Merseyside red). So when the email came that the trip was on, I was going nuts on the phone to our travel agents... MAN-AUH-SYD in EY J..
As I only got 2 free chauffer cars on my trip, I chose these to be the return legs from the Airports at either end. I was picked up early one Sunday morning by a work car and whisked off to Manchester T1. It was raining, obviously.
At this point I was far too excited to realise I needed to take photos for a trip report, so you’ll have to believe me when I say the queue was 3 deep (including me). Despite the incredibly rude PAX in front of me, the check-in agent was helpful and friendly. I was checked in promptly and issued with my cheap paper boarding cards and luggage tag all the way to SYD.
Security at MAN was quiet and I walked straight through the fastlane without any waits. 10 minutes after arriving, I was at the lounge.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1576-1.jpg
Again I have no photos of the lounge (far too excited), but this was a step up from any lounge I visited with CO (the CO lounge at Newark was a real let down IMO, Austin was much better). I only had an hour or so to wait for the flight, so I ordered some toast and apple juice for a mid morning snack and watched a bit of TV. They have iMacs, WiFi, a decent breakfast buffet selection and an on demand kitchen whose poached eggs on toast looked amazing. 40 minutes prior to departure the flight was called and, with a slightly manic grin on my face, a made my way to the gate.
EY16 MAN-AUH seat 9K. Airbus A330-200
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1580-1.jpg
Once again, no queue at the Pearl Business line and straight down the airbridge into the awaiting A330-200. Once on board I was greeted by name and personally shown to my seat – a nice touch compared to CO where you were just left to your own devices.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1582.jpg
I was a little disappointed to find that this was the old style business class with the turquoise seats, some of which were looking a little worn.
9K however was not, I loved the privacy of it, like having my own mini suite with 3 windows no less! Despite feeling cosy it also felt open and not claustrophobic at all, and the direct aisle access was another key factor for me choosing EY over EK, compared to their non A380 J.
I was provided will a proper pillow and fluffy duvet. Again much better than the CO paper thin blanket. At this point I decided to stop comparing my 2 business class experiences, as there really was no contest. As i settled down I was offered a drink, newspaper and hot towel. I opted for a water as I’ve never seen the lure of champagne, especially at 9am!
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1584.jpg
Plenty of room in Pearl!
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1585.jpg
No amenity kits, but help yourself to eyeshades, socks, pens, toothbrushes and earplugs.
Pushback was just a couple of minutes late and after some queuing with the early morning transatlantic rush we were airborne. I’m always surprised how easy takeoff feels in A330s, and that mechanical whirr you get from what i guess would be the fuel pumps? I’d never been this far forward in one before either.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1589.jpg
In flight drinks and tasty chicken skewer were served shortly after takeoff and I ordered my lunch from the well stocked menu.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1586.jpg
The FA was really friendly and bent down to my level to take my order. Service was extremely quick and nothing felt like it was any problem.
I went with the Soup which turned out to be excellent
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1590.jpg
The bread was beautifully soft and warm and the soup was fantastic, probably the best i’ve had anywhere.
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1591.jpg
The chicken was moist and well presented but I didn’t care much for sauce. Don’t read into this too much though as I am quite fussy. Rice was excellent. I also had some of the providore ice cream for dessert which again was excellent.
I reclined my bed to almost fully flat and watched some Hart of Dixie on e-Box. The selection of films and TV shows is excellent although i’m used to watching everything in HD so I can’t really comment on the quality. Noise cancelling headphones did an excellent job however. I wonder when airlines will start to make HD stuff available on IFE?
http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww253/adruss85/IMG_1592.jpg
Cool mood lighting over the gulf. Funnily enough I was sat behind the grumpy PAX from check-in.