10 Flights on 6 Airlines in 11 days! (TG,BA,TP,VY,FR,EI)
#1
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
10 Flights on 6 Airlines in 11 days! (TG,BA,TP,VY,FR,EI)
Flight 1
08 July 2009
Thai Airways
TG 410
Singapore (SIN) - Bangkok (BKK)
B777-200
HS-TJD
Economy Class
My first ever flight on Thai and was initially dreading the long flights ahead without personal inflight entertainment. Checked in online 24hrs before the flight. The flight was totally full in Business and Economy!
Reached the airport about 2hrs prior to flight and the check-in counters were crowded. Even the internet check-in desks were having long queues. No wonder the flight was full, the Asian Youth Games Iran and Jordan team members were also on the flight to Bangkok. However, ground staff were actively controlling the crowd and also directing Business Class travellers to check-in in the Premium Lounge.
Caught a glimpse of my plane while proceeding to the gate. HS-TJD. No personal PTVs, which are only available on their B777-200ERs.
HS-TJD
Gate C24
In the gatehold room. Note the big group of Iranian youths who came to Singapore for the games.
Boarding was conducted very orderly, with pax needing assistance, business class and Star Gold pax first and followed by seat rows. First impression when boarding, the aircraft looked clean and well-maintained. The seats, even though were multi-coloured, were actually quite pleasing to the eyes and also matched the uniforms of the Thai crew quite well, unlike MH's smarties-coloured seat fabrics. Crew were friendly and also assisting in the boarding.
Economy seats
Boarding
Boarding was swift and doors were closed on scheduled departure time. Economy class was 100% full!! Interesting to compare how the crew would perform on the SIN-BKK sector as compared to SQ. Earphones were given out (which were encouraged to be taken home) and safety demo was shown.
BA B744 at the gate beside.
As we taxied to Rwy20C, the center and overhead screens were switched on to the nosegear view. Interesting to see the view as seen by the pilots! Flight time would be 1hr 50 min.
Cabin view. Note the taxiway lights on the center screen.
And of course a customary legroom shot. Seat pitch was just average at 32" pitch.
Shortly after takeoff, crew came around with newspapers and magazines, which were also available on the aerobridge just before boarding the aircraft. Wet refreshing towel wipes were then distributed (no hot towels here).
Steward distributing newspapers and mags.
Promptly after, meals were served. We had a choice of Chicken with noodles or Beef curry with rice. Also on the tray was a shrimp and pasta salad, warm roll and butter and a thai dessert. Had the chicken with noodles, which was quite good. Thai is still using porcelain casseroles for their economy class meals which are quite heavy, but said to retain heat better. SQ had changed theirs to plastic wares which are much lighter (every gram counts) and of more contemporary design. Metal cutlery were also used.
Dinner
For the service procedures, TG adopted a very different meal service procedure as compared to SQ. 2 carts would be rolled out on each aisle, a bar cart and a meal cart. First, the meal trays would be distributed by a crew, followed by another offering drinks from the bar cart. Full drinks selection was available including liquors and wines. Whole cans were offered. After the bar service, coffee/tea service was conducted. Crew also came down the aisle with red/white wine bottles for top-ups. Additional bread rolls were also offered and even garlic bread (presumably from business class) were given out!
Comparatively on the same sector, SQ would serve the meals and drinks together using 1 cart and also no full bar selection is available (usually only soft drinks, juices,wines, coffee and tea on the meal cart) unless upon request. What impresses me most is that the TG crew seemed to conduct the meal service on the short flight with full pax load quite effortlessly while SQ crew sometimes looked flustered when doing the meal service on a full load similar sector flight. TG's meal procedure also felt faster and more organized with the meal service completed slightly more than 1hr after takeoff!!
Full bar service.
For entertainment, short tv programs were shown on the overhead screens. Nothing worth watching though. Visit to the toilet, not many amenities as compared to SQ.
Before landing, orchids were offered to passengers, which was a nice touch. Female crew then did their superwomen change into their shirts and skirts from their traditional thai uniform for landing.
Landed in Bangkok ontime for 3 hrs of transit for my next flight to London. Overall very impressed with TG on the short sector, very comparable to SQ. Crew and meals were just as good if not better than SQ. Their weakest link is still their inflight entertainment system and hopefully they will upgrade more of their aircrafts with PTVs in the future.
Next flight coming up.
#3
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Location: Argentina
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#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
Flight 2
09 July 2009
Thai Airways
TG 910
Bangkok (BKK) - London Heathrow (LHR)
B747-400
HS-TGR
Economy Class
After an almost 3hrs layover in Bangkok, whose transit facilities pales in comparison to Changi, it was time to board the continuing flight to London. Again, boarding was done very orderly by class and rows.
Gate C1
My flight would be on HS-TGR. When I booked my flight earlier, it was scheduled to be on a A346, but TG changed the aircraft back to a B744 for their summer schedules, spoiling my chance to try out the A346 and also their personal IFE onboard. Sob... However, brought my own PSP to keep myself entertained.
First impression on boarding the old B744, the seats looked newly upholstered recently to the new colours. Cabin looked clean and well-maintained too.
Cabin during boarding.
On each seat was a pillow and a blanket. What amazed me most was the seat pitch! I am 1.8m tall and I can easily stretch out my legs fully under the seat in front! When seated upright, the distance between my knees and the seat in front is about my whole palm plus fingers length!! Never had this sort of wonderful seat pitch before on any other flights in economy class (exit rows not included). Recline was also very generous. So the myth of TG's B744s having magnificent seat pitch is true! Adding to the comfort, nobody was allocated the middle seat next to me. Only another Viet student on the aisle seat. Load looks to be around 70%.
Amazing seat pitch!
However, the crew on this sector seemed much more colder than the previous flight, at least the stewardess serving my aisle was. No "please", "thank you" or even smiles during service, often just giving cold piercing stares. She looked quite senior and jaded and her service delivery was just unacceptable for Thai standards. As usual, earphones were given out followed by menus and safety video. We pushed back on time and took off for London just after a short taxi.
Bangkok's night skyline.
After seatbelt signs were switched off, hot towels were offered (scented by Thai's signature cologne) followed by a full bar service using a bar cart. The cold and curt stewardess just pushed the cart in front of each pax and uttered the word "Drinks?". When the cart reached some rows, she did not even asked and just pointed at the bar cart, expecting passengers to tell her what they wanted to drink. No nuts given out. Immediately after the bar service, the meal carts came out. Choices as below:
Had the Green curry chicken for supper.
Meal service procedures exactly the same as for the previous SIN-BKK flight. Meal cart, bar cart, coffee/tea cart as in sequence. Additional rolls were offered. The stewardess again just stopped in front of each row and said "Food?". Yah, I know that is food. Will asking for choices from passengers kill her? The green curry chicken was as good as expected since it was catered from Bangkok. However I was still full from the previous flight to finish the meal. Apparently Thai also catered their SIN-BKK sector from Bangkok as the appetizer was exactly the same. Due to UK regulations, only plastic cutlery was given.
Meals were completed within 1.5hrs (SQ usually took 2-3 hrs) and lights were switched off to allow pax to sleep. The main screen entertainment was also turned off. Interestingly, TG only showed 2 tv programs and 1 movie on this flight (and on all overnight longhaul flights) to allow pax a more conducive environment to sleep (I think). Their day flights to LHR featured 4 movies instead. All window shades were also required to be pulled down due to dawn in 4 hrs. As the seat was really comfy, I actually managed to have a decent amount of sleep.
Dawn break
Visited the toilets. No amenity kits were handed out and very basic amenities in the toilets, though toothbrushes, socks and eyeshades are available upon request. Sandwiches were also available upon request. Also did not notice any drinks patrol at night though one can get water at the drinking water dispenser near the toilets or ask at the galley.
Its morning!
All the female crew have also changed into their ground uniform for the breakfast service. First, a round of juices/water and then the meal carts rolled down followed by coffee/tea/juice cart.
Crew in action
The choices of breakfast as follows:
Had the Quiche. Once more, our wonderful stewardess never smiled and just asked "Egg?" and wanted to pass me the omelet. I replied that I wanted the quiche and she never checked and just handed another tray to me. Apparently, she then asked her male colleague what are the choices as her colleague replied "omelet and quiche". 2 types of bread were also offered, croissiant or rolls. Chose the croissiant and it was really good. After all the passengers were given their meals, additional bread rolls were again offered.
Breakfast
After trays were cleared, it was about an hour to landing. During breakfast, the only movie on this flight was also shown.
View of the GE engine on the B744
Cabin View
09 July 2009
Thai Airways
TG 910
Bangkok (BKK) - London Heathrow (LHR)
B747-400
HS-TGR
Economy Class
After an almost 3hrs layover in Bangkok, whose transit facilities pales in comparison to Changi, it was time to board the continuing flight to London. Again, boarding was done very orderly by class and rows.
Gate C1
My flight would be on HS-TGR. When I booked my flight earlier, it was scheduled to be on a A346, but TG changed the aircraft back to a B744 for their summer schedules, spoiling my chance to try out the A346 and also their personal IFE onboard. Sob... However, brought my own PSP to keep myself entertained.
First impression on boarding the old B744, the seats looked newly upholstered recently to the new colours. Cabin looked clean and well-maintained too.
Cabin during boarding.
On each seat was a pillow and a blanket. What amazed me most was the seat pitch! I am 1.8m tall and I can easily stretch out my legs fully under the seat in front! When seated upright, the distance between my knees and the seat in front is about my whole palm plus fingers length!! Never had this sort of wonderful seat pitch before on any other flights in economy class (exit rows not included). Recline was also very generous. So the myth of TG's B744s having magnificent seat pitch is true! Adding to the comfort, nobody was allocated the middle seat next to me. Only another Viet student on the aisle seat. Load looks to be around 70%.
Amazing seat pitch!
However, the crew on this sector seemed much more colder than the previous flight, at least the stewardess serving my aisle was. No "please", "thank you" or even smiles during service, often just giving cold piercing stares. She looked quite senior and jaded and her service delivery was just unacceptable for Thai standards. As usual, earphones were given out followed by menus and safety video. We pushed back on time and took off for London just after a short taxi.
Bangkok's night skyline.
After seatbelt signs were switched off, hot towels were offered (scented by Thai's signature cologne) followed by a full bar service using a bar cart. The cold and curt stewardess just pushed the cart in front of each pax and uttered the word "Drinks?". When the cart reached some rows, she did not even asked and just pointed at the bar cart, expecting passengers to tell her what they wanted to drink. No nuts given out. Immediately after the bar service, the meal carts came out. Choices as below:
Bangkok - London
First Serving
Shrimps with Gnocchetti Salad in Italian Basil Dressing
Chicken in Green Curry with Eggplant, Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Mixed Vegetables Thai Style
or
Braised Beef Slices with Red Wine Sauce, Spaghetti, Roasted Vegetables
French Bread Roll, Butter
Marble Cheesecake
**For passengers who prefer a light alternative, we suggest a plate of cheese and cold meat.
First Serving
Shrimps with Gnocchetti Salad in Italian Basil Dressing
Chicken in Green Curry with Eggplant, Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice, Mixed Vegetables Thai Style
or
Braised Beef Slices with Red Wine Sauce, Spaghetti, Roasted Vegetables
French Bread Roll, Butter
Marble Cheesecake
**For passengers who prefer a light alternative, we suggest a plate of cheese and cold meat.
Had the Green curry chicken for supper.
Meal service procedures exactly the same as for the previous SIN-BKK flight. Meal cart, bar cart, coffee/tea cart as in sequence. Additional rolls were offered. The stewardess again just stopped in front of each row and said "Food?". Yah, I know that is food. Will asking for choices from passengers kill her? The green curry chicken was as good as expected since it was catered from Bangkok. However I was still full from the previous flight to finish the meal. Apparently Thai also catered their SIN-BKK sector from Bangkok as the appetizer was exactly the same. Due to UK regulations, only plastic cutlery was given.
Meals were completed within 1.5hrs (SQ usually took 2-3 hrs) and lights were switched off to allow pax to sleep. The main screen entertainment was also turned off. Interestingly, TG only showed 2 tv programs and 1 movie on this flight (and on all overnight longhaul flights) to allow pax a more conducive environment to sleep (I think). Their day flights to LHR featured 4 movies instead. All window shades were also required to be pulled down due to dawn in 4 hrs. As the seat was really comfy, I actually managed to have a decent amount of sleep.
Dawn break
Visited the toilets. No amenity kits were handed out and very basic amenities in the toilets, though toothbrushes, socks and eyeshades are available upon request. Sandwiches were also available upon request. Also did not notice any drinks patrol at night though one can get water at the drinking water dispenser near the toilets or ask at the galley.
Its morning!
All the female crew have also changed into their ground uniform for the breakfast service. First, a round of juices/water and then the meal carts rolled down followed by coffee/tea/juice cart.
Crew in action
The choices of breakfast as follows:
Second Serving
Cut Fruit in Passion Fruit Sauce, Yoghurt
Plain Omelet, Premium Herb Sausage, Fricassee of Oyster Mushroom with Italian Parsley, Vegetable Nugget
or
Mushroom and Cheese Quiche, Pan Fried Bacon, Premium Chicken Sausage, Ratatouille
Assorted Breads, Butter, Jam
Cut Fruit in Passion Fruit Sauce, Yoghurt
Plain Omelet, Premium Herb Sausage, Fricassee of Oyster Mushroom with Italian Parsley, Vegetable Nugget
or
Mushroom and Cheese Quiche, Pan Fried Bacon, Premium Chicken Sausage, Ratatouille
Assorted Breads, Butter, Jam
Had the Quiche. Once more, our wonderful stewardess never smiled and just asked "Egg?" and wanted to pass me the omelet. I replied that I wanted the quiche and she never checked and just handed another tray to me. Apparently, she then asked her male colleague what are the choices as her colleague replied "omelet and quiche". 2 types of bread were also offered, croissiant or rolls. Chose the croissiant and it was really good. After all the passengers were given their meals, additional bread rolls were again offered.
Breakfast
After trays were cleared, it was about an hour to landing. During breakfast, the only movie on this flight was also shown.
View of the GE engine on the B744
Cabin View
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
Soon we are over the Netherlands and exiting the Netherlands coast.
Over the English Channel
Descending into London
The very friendly purser came into the economy cabin during descent and bade everyone thank you and goodbye. Almost wanted to comment regarding the really curt and cold stewardess to the purser.
Approaching London!
Holding over London
Lets take a tour of some London's attractions!
Firstly, Tower Bridge and Thames River
London Eye
Buckingham Palace
Hyde Park
Video of landing into LHR Rwy 27R
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkbnE70166k
We landing 20 minutes early but had to wait for a gate. Parked at the gate.
HS-TGR at London Heathrow
Overall, it was a comfortable long haul flight but due to the lack in amenities and entertainment, TG will still lag behind other major carriers on the London route. Food was good but the service was very poor on this leg, probably only on my aisle as the stewardess on the other aisle was all smiles and chatting with passengers. The crew that you meet really can make or break a flight.
Up next is my first ever flight on British Airways and also first ever on a B757.
Over the English Channel
Descending into London
The very friendly purser came into the economy cabin during descent and bade everyone thank you and goodbye. Almost wanted to comment regarding the really curt and cold stewardess to the purser.
Approaching London!
Holding over London
Lets take a tour of some London's attractions!
Firstly, Tower Bridge and Thames River
London Eye
Buckingham Palace
Hyde Park
Video of landing into LHR Rwy 27R
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkbnE70166k
We landing 20 minutes early but had to wait for a gate. Parked at the gate.
HS-TGR at London Heathrow
Overall, it was a comfortable long haul flight but due to the lack in amenities and entertainment, TG will still lag behind other major carriers on the London route. Food was good but the service was very poor on this leg, probably only on my aisle as the stewardess on the other aisle was all smiles and chatting with passengers. The crew that you meet really can make or break a flight.
Up next is my first ever flight on British Airways and also first ever on a B757.
#8
Moderator, Argentina and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: MIA / EZE
Programs: Lord of Malbec & all Wines Argentine. AA EXP / Marriott Lifetime Silver / Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 35,681
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
Flight 3
09 July 2009
British Airways
BA 506
London Heathrow (LHR) - Lisbon (LIS)
B757-200
G-BPEE
EuroTraveller aka Economy Class
After landing in Heathrow, I met my friend who arrived on the earlier SQ flight and we still had another flight to catch to Lisbon. Pure madness flying for almost 24hrs from Singapore to Lisbon!! There was a 3hrs transit for my BA flight and as BA flights to Lisbon departs from Terminal 3, no change of terminals was needed. The tickets were booked seperately and so no through check baggage. We did an online check-in earlier and just need to collect our boarding passes and check-in our luggage. Terminal 3 was truely a madhouse and really needed a facelift. Just too much human traffic to be bearable. Luckily we did not have too long a connection.
After the tight security (which resulted in my friend's hand luggage being ransacked as he forgot about a can of coke), we proceeded to the gate. We would be departing from a bus gate today as apparently, all the short haul BA flights at T3 are parked at remote stands. A short wait later, we were on the bus to our B757, a first on BA and a first (or probably a 2nd I might have been on a SQ B757 before) on a B757 aircraft!
Boarding the plane. Its been a long time that I boarded a plane in this manner.
G-BPEE
The Rolls-Royce engine on our B757-200
We boarded from Door 2L and was welcomed aboard by the crew. Initial impression, the cabin was really showing its age. Walls and lights were yellowish and wear and tear were visible. Seats were upholstered in leather and were not in the best of conditions too.
Seats
Another view
Safety card
Seat pitch was good for a short haul flight. Felt more than TG's B772 but definitely less than TG's B744s. My friend also commented that the pitch actually felt slightly more than SQ's A380.
Legroom
There was no audio or video entertainment devices on this B757 aircraft. Thus, the crew had to perform the safety demonstration manually. We pushed back slightly late and taxied to Rwy27L for takeoff. Of course with the heavy traffic, we had to queue. Flight time was announced by the chatty pilot to be a short 2hr 10min, 20mins shorter than scheduled.
Queuing for takeoff
Taking off! The B757 really did felt very powerful on takeoff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXF1bjxGNlo
Over the clouds of London.
A cute boy at the row in front.
09 July 2009
British Airways
BA 506
London Heathrow (LHR) - Lisbon (LIS)
B757-200
G-BPEE
EuroTraveller aka Economy Class
After landing in Heathrow, I met my friend who arrived on the earlier SQ flight and we still had another flight to catch to Lisbon. Pure madness flying for almost 24hrs from Singapore to Lisbon!! There was a 3hrs transit for my BA flight and as BA flights to Lisbon departs from Terminal 3, no change of terminals was needed. The tickets were booked seperately and so no through check baggage. We did an online check-in earlier and just need to collect our boarding passes and check-in our luggage. Terminal 3 was truely a madhouse and really needed a facelift. Just too much human traffic to be bearable. Luckily we did not have too long a connection.
After the tight security (which resulted in my friend's hand luggage being ransacked as he forgot about a can of coke), we proceeded to the gate. We would be departing from a bus gate today as apparently, all the short haul BA flights at T3 are parked at remote stands. A short wait later, we were on the bus to our B757, a first on BA and a first (or probably a 2nd I might have been on a SQ B757 before) on a B757 aircraft!
Boarding the plane. Its been a long time that I boarded a plane in this manner.
G-BPEE
The Rolls-Royce engine on our B757-200
We boarded from Door 2L and was welcomed aboard by the crew. Initial impression, the cabin was really showing its age. Walls and lights were yellowish and wear and tear were visible. Seats were upholstered in leather and were not in the best of conditions too.
Seats
Another view
Safety card
Seat pitch was good for a short haul flight. Felt more than TG's B772 but definitely less than TG's B744s. My friend also commented that the pitch actually felt slightly more than SQ's A380.
Legroom
There was no audio or video entertainment devices on this B757 aircraft. Thus, the crew had to perform the safety demonstration manually. We pushed back slightly late and taxied to Rwy27L for takeoff. Of course with the heavy traffic, we had to queue. Flight time was announced by the chatty pilot to be a short 2hr 10min, 20mins shorter than scheduled.
Queuing for takeoff
Taking off! The B757 really did felt very powerful on takeoff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXF1bjxGNlo
Over the clouds of London.
A cute boy at the row in front.
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
Shortly after seatbelt signs were off, cabin service started. Service was a sandwich with full bar service followed by duty free service. Service was prompt though with little smiles. The sandwiches were also nothing to rave about though the chocolate bar was nice. Full drinks and alcohol selection was available followed by coffee or tea. Well, at least BA still serves a sandwich on their intra-european flights, unlike many other carriers which have switched to buy-on-board.
Cabin service
Ham & cheese / tuna sandwich with chocolate bar
Diet coke and coffee
After the meal service, there was nothing much else to do except to see the world go by outside the windows. We were also quite dazed at this point in time with the long hours of flying.
Somewhere over Portugal, near Porto i think.
Descending into Lisbon
The approach into Lisbon was quite spectacular, with the clear skies, beautiful scenery and the low approach over buildings!
Final approach
Over Lisbon
Flaps out, gears down..
The spectacular landing into Lisbon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx7yjVfqSpY
Parked at the gate.
We arrived slightly ahead of schedule. First flight on BA, not really very impressive but not too bad either. Cabin is very worn out (probably cuz the B757s are really old) and the crew just do their job, nothing more. However, have not tried them on long-hauls so can't comment much, but their intra-european offerings must have already been the better ones out there.
Next flight on TAP Portugal, which was really good!
Cabin service
Ham & cheese / tuna sandwich with chocolate bar
Diet coke and coffee
After the meal service, there was nothing much else to do except to see the world go by outside the windows. We were also quite dazed at this point in time with the long hours of flying.
Somewhere over Portugal, near Porto i think.
Descending into Lisbon
The approach into Lisbon was quite spectacular, with the clear skies, beautiful scenery and the low approach over buildings!
Final approach
Over Lisbon
Flaps out, gears down..
The spectacular landing into Lisbon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx7yjVfqSpY
Parked at the gate.
We arrived slightly ahead of schedule. First flight on BA, not really very impressive but not too bad either. Cabin is very worn out (probably cuz the B757s are really old) and the crew just do their job, nothing more. However, have not tried them on long-hauls so can't comment much, but their intra-european offerings must have already been the better ones out there.
Next flight on TAP Portugal, which was really good!
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
Flight 4
11 July 2009
TAP Portugal
TP 742
Lisbon (LIS) - Barcelona (BCN)
A320
CS-TQD
Economy Class
Next leg of the trip was to Barcelona! I got a very good deal on TAP with a one-way fare to BCN from LIS for only 58Euros per person inclusive of taxes! Not a bad deal for a full-service airline! Initially was quite apprehensive after reading all the not-so-good reviews about the airline but it turned out eventually to be my best ever intra-european flight experience!
Arrived at the airport and used the self-check-in machines, followed by bag drop at the check-in desk. The agent in agent was very pleasant and full of smiles. Not a bad start.
TAP check-in desks
After checking in, we wandered about the airport. Lisbon airport is not very big and very soon, we ran out of shops to go to. Proceeded through security and went to Macdonalds for lunch. When we view the flight information board, we saw that our flight would be delayed for 20min, presumably due to late arrival of aircraft. The flight was also code-shared with SATA.
Gate 15
Soon, our plane arrived and taxied to the gate. The plane was upgraded to an A320 from the scheduled A319.
CS-TQD taxiing to gate.
Boarding was done free for all and no row numbers were called. But surprisingly, it was quite orderly.
KLM B738 from the aerobridge while boarding.
A very warm welcome by the crew as we stepped onboard. Seats were leather upholstered, just like most European carriers and pitch was average. Cabin was well-maintained and clean. Crew were in good moods and they were also definitely one of the most good looking crew members on an airline, all young and vibrant. There were a total of 5 cabin crew members on this flight.
Seats
Boarding in process. LCD overhead tv monitors were showing some TAP advertisements.
Seat pitch. Just average, definitely less than BA.
Inflight magazine, duty-free magazine and safety card.
Soon, all pax had boarded and we started to push back. Flight time was announced to be 1hr30min. The safety demo was played on the overhead monitors.
Safety video (not taken by me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqyDyYj9e-E
As the taxi to the active runway in very short, we had to hold for the safety video to finish playing.
Taxiing for takeoff. Note all the TAP planes.
After a Fedex plane attempted to land and went around, probably due to strong crosswind, we taxied onto the runway and immediately started our takeoff roll. The crosswind was really strong! We could feel the yawing of the plane during takeoff quite strongly.
Takeoff video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zND8Br49TyY
Banking towards Spain after takeoff
We climbed to our cruising altitude and overhead monitors came down again to show our flight map.
Cabin service started shortly. Meal consisted of a sandwich with fruit salad followed by full bar service, and then coffee or tea. Cabin crew were all smiles during the service and seemed to be enjoying their work. They were also very professional in handling passenger requests. When my friend requested for a glass of white wine, the crew actually showed my friend the wine bottle and explain where the wine was from and the brand. Interestingly, TAP uses large wine bottles to serve wine, similar to Asian carriers, and not the small individual wine bottles normally used by European airlines.
Very friendly, professional and good-looking crew on TAP
11 July 2009
TAP Portugal
TP 742
Lisbon (LIS) - Barcelona (BCN)
A320
CS-TQD
Economy Class
Next leg of the trip was to Barcelona! I got a very good deal on TAP with a one-way fare to BCN from LIS for only 58Euros per person inclusive of taxes! Not a bad deal for a full-service airline! Initially was quite apprehensive after reading all the not-so-good reviews about the airline but it turned out eventually to be my best ever intra-european flight experience!
Arrived at the airport and used the self-check-in machines, followed by bag drop at the check-in desk. The agent in agent was very pleasant and full of smiles. Not a bad start.
TAP check-in desks
After checking in, we wandered about the airport. Lisbon airport is not very big and very soon, we ran out of shops to go to. Proceeded through security and went to Macdonalds for lunch. When we view the flight information board, we saw that our flight would be delayed for 20min, presumably due to late arrival of aircraft. The flight was also code-shared with SATA.
Gate 15
Soon, our plane arrived and taxied to the gate. The plane was upgraded to an A320 from the scheduled A319.
CS-TQD taxiing to gate.
Boarding was done free for all and no row numbers were called. But surprisingly, it was quite orderly.
KLM B738 from the aerobridge while boarding.
A very warm welcome by the crew as we stepped onboard. Seats were leather upholstered, just like most European carriers and pitch was average. Cabin was well-maintained and clean. Crew were in good moods and they were also definitely one of the most good looking crew members on an airline, all young and vibrant. There were a total of 5 cabin crew members on this flight.
Seats
Boarding in process. LCD overhead tv monitors were showing some TAP advertisements.
Seat pitch. Just average, definitely less than BA.
Inflight magazine, duty-free magazine and safety card.
Soon, all pax had boarded and we started to push back. Flight time was announced to be 1hr30min. The safety demo was played on the overhead monitors.
Safety video (not taken by me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqyDyYj9e-E
As the taxi to the active runway in very short, we had to hold for the safety video to finish playing.
Taxiing for takeoff. Note all the TAP planes.
After a Fedex plane attempted to land and went around, probably due to strong crosswind, we taxied onto the runway and immediately started our takeoff roll. The crosswind was really strong! We could feel the yawing of the plane during takeoff quite strongly.
Takeoff video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zND8Br49TyY
Banking towards Spain after takeoff
We climbed to our cruising altitude and overhead monitors came down again to show our flight map.
Cabin service started shortly. Meal consisted of a sandwich with fruit salad followed by full bar service, and then coffee or tea. Cabin crew were all smiles during the service and seemed to be enjoying their work. They were also very professional in handling passenger requests. When my friend requested for a glass of white wine, the crew actually showed my friend the wine bottle and explain where the wine was from and the brand. Interestingly, TAP uses large wine bottles to serve wine, similar to Asian carriers, and not the small individual wine bottles normally used by European airlines.
Very friendly, professional and good-looking crew on TAP
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
Our meal. The sandwich was a bit dry but the fruit salad was good!
Coffee, white wine and apple juice. Lots of drinks are available!
Overflying Madrid airport
Madrid city
Over the dry Spanish land
Cabin view
After meal and bar service were done and trash collected, the duty free service started. Surprisingly, quite a lot of sales were done, including from me. After I bought my item, i asked if they had any playing cards onboard. Initially, the steward misunderstood me and gave me a postcard but after realizing his mistake, he brought a pack of playing cards for me and even apologized! How's that for service!! In fact, I was even surprised that they had playing cards onboard as BA did not have any stocked on their european flights, as claimed by the crew. The crew were on their feet throughout and the duty free service lasted till we were on our final descent. In fact, the crew took their seats only when the gears were down and ensuring the cabin is secured, which is just slightly more than a minute before landing!
Descending into Barcelona
Final approach
Landing video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=071saIfdmMw
We landed smoothly and taxied to the new Barcelona Terminal 1, just a couple of weeks after its opening! The new terminal was very airy and spacious and felt a bit like Hong Kong Airport. There were also a lot of shops such as Zara, Desigual and many more spanish brands with summer sales to go, making the airport seems like a shopping mall! I would mind being delayed at this terminal!
Parked at the gate beside a LH A321
Our plane again
Terminal 1. Very new, bright, spacious and clean.
Shops ahead. Its the summer sales!
Overall, I am very satisfied with TAP on this short flight. Given my expectations were quite low, this flight had highly exceeded my expectations of TAP. In fact, they were much better than BA inflight service wise, except for the slight delay. Crew were genuinely friendly and very professional, just like any world class asian carrier. I was genuinely impressed by TAP on this flight!
Next flight would be on Vueling, a low-cost Spanish carrier. Stay tuned!
Coffee, white wine and apple juice. Lots of drinks are available!
Overflying Madrid airport
Madrid city
Over the dry Spanish land
Cabin view
After meal and bar service were done and trash collected, the duty free service started. Surprisingly, quite a lot of sales were done, including from me. After I bought my item, i asked if they had any playing cards onboard. Initially, the steward misunderstood me and gave me a postcard but after realizing his mistake, he brought a pack of playing cards for me and even apologized! How's that for service!! In fact, I was even surprised that they had playing cards onboard as BA did not have any stocked on their european flights, as claimed by the crew. The crew were on their feet throughout and the duty free service lasted till we were on our final descent. In fact, the crew took their seats only when the gears were down and ensuring the cabin is secured, which is just slightly more than a minute before landing!
Descending into Barcelona
Final approach
Landing video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=071saIfdmMw
We landed smoothly and taxied to the new Barcelona Terminal 1, just a couple of weeks after its opening! The new terminal was very airy and spacious and felt a bit like Hong Kong Airport. There were also a lot of shops such as Zara, Desigual and many more spanish brands with summer sales to go, making the airport seems like a shopping mall! I would mind being delayed at this terminal!
Parked at the gate beside a LH A321
Our plane again
Terminal 1. Very new, bright, spacious and clean.
Shops ahead. Its the summer sales!
Overall, I am very satisfied with TAP on this short flight. Given my expectations were quite low, this flight had highly exceeded my expectations of TAP. In fact, they were much better than BA inflight service wise, except for the slight delay. Crew were genuinely friendly and very professional, just like any world class asian carrier. I was genuinely impressed by TAP on this flight!
Next flight would be on Vueling, a low-cost Spanish carrier. Stay tuned!
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,681
Flight 5
14 July 2009
Vueling
VY5652
Barcelona (BCN) - Venice (VCE)
A320
EC-KFI (ClickAir aircraft)
Economy Class
Halfway through my travel and my 5th flight of the trip. After all the shopping in Barcelona, it was time to go to the place which I had always wanted to go, Venice!! Touristy it may be, but it still holds a certain charm. From BCN, we would be flying Vueling. As I had a great flight with Vueling 3 years back, I was very excited to board their flight again. Vueling had just moved their check-in area from T2C to T2B, though not much of a difference in the 2 check-in areas. Queues for check-in were a bit long but was fast. Received our boarding passes when straight through security we went. T2 is the older terminal and it really shows its age. Not as spacious and bright as T1 which we arrived at just a few days ago.
Just after we went through security. I went for some plane spotting and saw SQ's B773ER parked at the opposite T1. Hmm, the plane should have left BCN by this time and must be late. Through enough, the flight was late as the cargo doors were just opened.
SQ B773ER to Milan and Singapore at T1.
Walked around the terminal but soon ran out of shops to go to. So did some plane spotting and went to the gate where a Vueling flight was departing to Milan.
Vueling A320 bound for MXP
Soon the A320 pushed back and I also saw the SQ B773EW being pushed back as well. Wow, the SQ flight was delayed for more than 2hrs! 2 flights bound for MXP together!
B773ER vs A320. Who will reach Milan first?
As we were running a bit late, we proceeded to our gate. We reached our gate 20min before scheduled departure time and discovered that everyone has boarded! We were one of the last remaining passengers to board. I wanted to take a photo of our plane but hey, where is the Vueling aircraft?? No, it was a Clickair A320 on the stand but the monitor showed that it was the correct flight. Then I realised that as Vueling and Clickair had just merged recently, Vueling could have used some of the Clickair planes to operate their flights. Both good (new "airline") and bad (probably would not have the true Vueling experience).
Boarding gate
EC-KFI
Boarded the plane and was welcomed by the crew. The crew were wearing Vueling uniforms and the interior was also "Vueling-ised" with the colourful headrests. However the cabin crew did not appear to be as friendly as my previous Vueling flight. Perhaps they are ex-ClickAir crew?
Cabin view with colourful headrests.
Once we settled into our seats, I felt the seat pitch was quite bad. There were also no audio and video systems onboard, unlike normal Vueling planes. On Vueling planes, cabin crew will sell headsets for use with their audio and video entertainment system. Short features would also be shown on the overhead monitors. Alas, none on this flight.
Legroom view
Poor seat pitch
In the seat pocket were the safety card, inflight food purchase menu and a magazine. Interestingly, different seats have different magazine titles.
Menu and safety card
We soon pushed back ontime and taxied to the runway for an on-time takeoff. Safety demonstration was also shown manually by the crew. Flight time would be about 1hr30min.
Pushback
Queuing for takeoff
Takeoff.
Video of our takeoff from BCN. Note the new but empty Terminal 1 during takeoff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae18wlU0Bpc
14 July 2009
Vueling
VY5652
Barcelona (BCN) - Venice (VCE)
A320
EC-KFI (ClickAir aircraft)
Economy Class
Halfway through my travel and my 5th flight of the trip. After all the shopping in Barcelona, it was time to go to the place which I had always wanted to go, Venice!! Touristy it may be, but it still holds a certain charm. From BCN, we would be flying Vueling. As I had a great flight with Vueling 3 years back, I was very excited to board their flight again. Vueling had just moved their check-in area from T2C to T2B, though not much of a difference in the 2 check-in areas. Queues for check-in were a bit long but was fast. Received our boarding passes when straight through security we went. T2 is the older terminal and it really shows its age. Not as spacious and bright as T1 which we arrived at just a few days ago.
Just after we went through security. I went for some plane spotting and saw SQ's B773ER parked at the opposite T1. Hmm, the plane should have left BCN by this time and must be late. Through enough, the flight was late as the cargo doors were just opened.
SQ B773ER to Milan and Singapore at T1.
Walked around the terminal but soon ran out of shops to go to. So did some plane spotting and went to the gate where a Vueling flight was departing to Milan.
Vueling A320 bound for MXP
Soon the A320 pushed back and I also saw the SQ B773EW being pushed back as well. Wow, the SQ flight was delayed for more than 2hrs! 2 flights bound for MXP together!
B773ER vs A320. Who will reach Milan first?
As we were running a bit late, we proceeded to our gate. We reached our gate 20min before scheduled departure time and discovered that everyone has boarded! We were one of the last remaining passengers to board. I wanted to take a photo of our plane but hey, where is the Vueling aircraft?? No, it was a Clickair A320 on the stand but the monitor showed that it was the correct flight. Then I realised that as Vueling and Clickair had just merged recently, Vueling could have used some of the Clickair planes to operate their flights. Both good (new "airline") and bad (probably would not have the true Vueling experience).
Boarding gate
EC-KFI
Boarded the plane and was welcomed by the crew. The crew were wearing Vueling uniforms and the interior was also "Vueling-ised" with the colourful headrests. However the cabin crew did not appear to be as friendly as my previous Vueling flight. Perhaps they are ex-ClickAir crew?
Cabin view with colourful headrests.
Once we settled into our seats, I felt the seat pitch was quite bad. There were also no audio and video systems onboard, unlike normal Vueling planes. On Vueling planes, cabin crew will sell headsets for use with their audio and video entertainment system. Short features would also be shown on the overhead monitors. Alas, none on this flight.
Legroom view
Poor seat pitch
In the seat pocket were the safety card, inflight food purchase menu and a magazine. Interestingly, different seats have different magazine titles.
Menu and safety card
We soon pushed back ontime and taxied to the runway for an on-time takeoff. Safety demonstration was also shown manually by the crew. Flight time would be about 1hr30min.
Pushback
Queuing for takeoff
Takeoff.
Video of our takeoff from BCN. Note the new but empty Terminal 1 during takeoff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae18wlU0Bpc