SR 103

This is a long and probably a boring trip report, I apologize for that. Someone in my Kuwait Airways post requested the CX flights, so I thought why not put the entire Oneworld trip down. All this was written back in 2001 and some of the info may be out of date. This trip report was written before I became a loyal KL/NW/CO flyer as well, so don't hold me on some comments.

August 17, 2001

BA 138
Bombay - London/Heathrow
747-200 (G-BDXL)
Seat: 13K (Club World)
Scheduled Departure Time: 2:15
Scheduled Arrival Time: 7:15
Actual Departure Time: 2:15
Actual Arrival Time: 7:05

Check In: I decided to try the city check in that British Airways offers at their downtown office. Took a cab with all our bags and were there at 3pm. First they weighed the bags one by one on a scale and put them to one side. Once that was completed the bags were put on counter and searched by an agent. Then when that was done it was time to wait for agent to check us in. All of this took about 30 minutes since there were quite a few passengers checking in for the flight. When the agent was free we were called and our bags were labeled straight to Tampa, being an Oneworld ticket. The seats that we had reserved were given to us and the check in agent was pleasant and helpful.

When we got to the airport at around 11pm we were asked to identify our bags and put them on the counter. We did that were told to proceed to passport control. If you have read my Delta trip report you will find out about the immigration lines at Bombay. Once that was complete it was nearly 11:55pm. I was looking forward to sitting in the lounge but then I remember we were not issued with an invitation. I looked around and found out BA does not have lounge for its business Class passengers. My father flew the same flight about a week later and he got an invitation for a restaurant lounge. Anyway no major problem but I was very disappointed in this. Every airline I have flown with out of Bombay always has a lounge for its business class lounge passengers.

Boarding & Seat: Boarding was called at 1:00am and was done by rows for World Traveler and all First and Club World passengers could board at their own convenience. We did and there was quite a big line to the aircraft. We were on the plane at 1:45 and as soon as I steeped through the door I could feel the heat on the plane. As I started to put the bags away and sit down a steward came by and asked if we would like anything to drink. He came back in a minute with a glass of water as I had asked for. As I was drinking it the cabin lights started flickering on and off, and the heat was intensifying. The captain came on a little while later and made this announcement. “Ladies and Gentlemen sorry about the heat in the aircraft but it seems that our APU is out of order and we seem to be having difficulty with the ground power unit. Once the Engines are started I shall put the AC on full.”

The seat was the old Club World Cradle Seat which I expected since this was on a 742. The seats were showing their age but were still comfortable and seemed to have ample of legroom and looked like they were going to be ok for the nine hour flight ahead. Then the cabin crew came around and planted a toilet bag and menu in the seat in front. We pushed back exactly at 2:15 and the engines were started and the cabin began to get cooler and the lights were turned on.


Take off was at 2:35 because we were waiting for an Aeroflot IL-62 to land. Take off was smooth and we cruising in no time. The lights never came back on and the cabin crew asked everyone to close the window shades. I complied and decided to decline offered for a snack. The choice was:

Grilled King Prawns with Avocado Salsa

OR

Indian Vegetarian starter of Gramflour pancakes filled with Paneer Chat and Dahi Pakora

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Chicken Biryani, Dal Makhni, Tandoori Gobhi

OR

Parmesan crusted Sea Bass, roasted baby Zucchini in Balsamic Vinegar

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Crème Caramel

I put my seat all the way back and tried to sleep. I was tired and normally I can’t sleep on planes but this seat was good. I woke up sporadically and was happy to find a bottle of water had been put on my armrest, not the small bottle of Evian that Delta gives but a 500ml bottle. Woke up a couple of minutes before breakfast and made a beeline for the bathroom, unfortunately I was not fast enough; 3 bathrooms and a line of 10. Once I got out they had commenced breakfast and I was stuck at the back till they finished. The stewardess apologized for making me stand and I said don’t worry about it. She seemed so happy that I was not pissed like the others that she came by my seat and gave me a packet of playing cards with my fruit platter. This was what was on offer for breakfast:

Chilled Orange Juice

OR

Our special wake up Energizer Drink of Watermelon, Banana and Guava

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Selection of Seasonal Fruit

OR

Breakfast Cereal with chilled Milk

Fruit Yogurt

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Grilled Bacon, Pork Sausage, Omelette, Hash-brown Potatoes and sautéed Mushrooms

OR

Spinach Tortilla, grilled Mushrooms, Rosti Potatoes

The fruits were alright, nothing special. I chose the omelet and it was absolutely disgusting as were the side dishes. I did not eat most of it.

Arrival & Transit: Landing at Heathrow in the morning can be a busy time, but it was not that long. We circled for 20 minutes and touched down at 7:05. Then of course the problem was with the shortage of gates. We sat on the side near the BA hangars for about 20 minutes. The pilot did inform us of the reason we were on the side and told us he was not sure how long it would take to get a gate. We were toed to our gate at 7:25 and were off the plane and heading towards the Club World lounge at the other end of the terminal.

Heathrow: This was the first time I was flying through Terminal 4, I had always used 1 and 3. It was nice form the inside and was on the crowded side but that was ok. The lounge was spacious and I opted to sit on the 2nd floor with a view of gates one, two, and three. The food on offer was ok, just some cookies, fruits and cereal. Great choice of hot drinks, I had a cappuccino which really woke me up. I decided to go out for a walk later on and it was great to stretch my legs. The terminal is on the big side and I walked from one end to the other. I was not interested in shopping so I went back up and sat down and watched the planes come and go. Boarding was eventually called at 10:30 and we headed out to the gate.

BA 297
London/Heathrow - Chicago/O'Hare
747-400 (G- BNLF)
Seat 62K (Club World)
Scheduled Departure Time: 11:15
Scheduled Arrival Time: 14:15
Actual Departure Time: 11:15
Actual Arrival Time: 13:50

Boarding & Seats: There was a separate door for First and Business class so we were in the aircraft in no time. We were greeted and sent upstairs. The new Club World seats looked really good and comfortable; I could not wait to get into them. When I sat down I was happy, it looked like it was going to be a nice flight, even though the seat was facing backwards. I flicked through the entertainment and saw that there were 12 channels that just kept repeating after 2 hours. I thought they would have video on demand like most other airlines. The toilet bags were the same as on the other flight and the headsets were the same as well, no fancy noise canceling or stuff like that!

Take off was on time and we did not wait very long, 10 minutes. Once we were in the air the orders for our meals were taken. The menu was as follows.

Crab Timbale and smoked Salmon

OR

Shaun Hills char grilled English Asparagus Spears and Goat Cheese

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Fresh Seasonal Salad Served with vinaigrette

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Grilled Fillet Steak, Gorgonzola Risotto

OR

Pan Fried Halibut and Parsley Butter, Sweet Potatoes Fondantes, Cabbage with Bacon

OR

Vegetable Tajin with Couscous

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Double Chocolate Ganche

The crab was fantastic, moist and sumptuous. The steak on the other hand was dry and hard to cut, even with the metal knife that I still had. The risotto, my god, I would not feed to a dog! The chocolate Ganche was fantastic as well. Once the meal was done I started the first movie, “Along Came a Spider.” Nice movie and it was better since the PTV’s were on the bigger side. The picture was clear and crisp. During the movie, chocolate ice cream was served and it was great, reminded me of the “Movenpick” that Swissair serves. I then watched “Shrek” and it was ok. By then I was getting totally bored since the other movies were of no interest or the British comedies. I put the music on and listened to it for the rest of the flight. Before landing a snack was served, the choices were:

Shaved honey roasted Ham, Mustard Butter and Tomato, Hummus and roasted Vegetables on White Bread

OR

Prawn Mayonnaise and Dill Butter, Brie, Apple and Celery on Brown Bread

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Warm Fruit Scones served with Cornish Clotted Cream and strawberry Preserve

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Sticky Ginger Cake

I chose the Ham and it was good, but I was still full from Lunch. The cake was too gingery but ok. Landing was roughly 30 minutes early and Terminal 5 at O’Hare was already full to the brim with the likes of American, United, Virgin, Turkish, Air France and many others. The lines were big and since they ran out of forms on the plane we had to find them and fill them on the ground. The line took forever and seemed like it was not moving at all. They then opened up a new line and we moved to that. We were in the front and he asked all students to go to the front so I did, filled my paper work and managed to move through. The baggage claim was really crowded due to the number of flights that had just come in. Our bags were already circling the carousel and I grabbed them and off we went towards the customs which was breeze and towards the train for the ride to Terminal 3.

Arrival & Transit: Once we arrived at Terminal 3 it was around 3pm and our flight to Tampa was not on the board yet. We ended up finding some empty seats at gate K3. So we sat down for a while. I decided to take a walk through the terminal and it was huge! I stood near the Iberia gate, which was crazy, full of people screaming at the attendants, quite a site. Eventually the A340 came and left with everyone. This was my first time in the AA terminal and I have to say it was quite a change from the UA, which is what I am used too.

AA 1280
Chicago/O’Hare - Tampa
MD-88
Seat: 19A
Scheduled Departure Time: 18:45
Scheduled Arrival Time: 22:30
Actual Departure Time: 18:59
Actual Arrival Time: 22:36

Boarding & Seats: Once the flight came on the board it stated H4 as our gate so I prepared to go there but thought what the heck, there is no crowd here so I stayed put. What do you know, gate change, flight to Tampa is now gate K3! Boarding was called by group number, and since we had British Airways boarding passes there was no group number on. I just stood up and presented the boarding pass and she said go right ahead. On our way we grabbed a Bistro bag that American gives to its coach passengers. As I stepped through the aircraft door the steward was very intrigued that we had British Airways boarding passes and asked us where we came from and so on. The seats were ok and they seem to have legroom but after the last two flights it just seemed plain cramped! I have the opinion that the seat on United’s Economy Plus better.

Take off was a bit behind schedule and that is normal for O’Hare. Once we were in the air people started opening their Bistro bags and I decided to take a look at what they had in them, a chicken wrap with chips and a brownie. Ok nothing special but it was filling, but I wasn’t very hungry. The drinks were served and the can of Dr. Pepper was given which was a nice touch. After that I just dosed off and woke up before landing. We landed on time and it was a long taxi to the gate, Tampa was virtually deserted and we were the only flight at the terminal. I picked up the bags and we were out of the airport in a jiffy.

Overall this was a great trip and I have to say I was really pleased with the BA cabin crew. I have not flown BA in a long time, and I definitely prefer BA to Virgin. The new full flat seats seem really comfortable, not that their old ones were not. American was ok, but my favorite U.S. airline will remain United for the time being.

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I will be flying the return leg of this Oneworld ticket in December and I am expecting to try out Cathay Pacific’s new full flat Business Class seats. I hope they are as good if not better than BA’s. Well now it is time to start my freshmen year at Embry Riddle in Daytona Beach.
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So the first semester is over and it is time to head back home, or wherever my parents are in my case.

(December 13, 2001)

American Airlines 2075
Orlando – Dallas
MD-80
First Class: 5A
Scheduled Departure Time: 13:20
Scheduled Arrival Time: 15:15
Actual Departure Time: 13:30
Actual Arrival Time: 15:25

Check In: I had my roommate drop me off at the airport. We had left Daytona roughly 9:30am for this 1:20 flight. We arrived at MCO around 11:00, parked the car and headed to the check in counter. For once I was happy I could beat the holiday crowd and head straight to the First and Business Class counter. There I was swiftly checked in all the way to Hong Kong with all 3 boarding passes. My seat for this flight was 5A. The woman then said that I my bags were to be checked so I headed with them to the curtain behind the counter. First my big bag was emptied and searched by a friendly lady, then my second smaller one. While all of this was happening, there was this Israeli man flying to Tel Aviv and he was screaming his head off. “If my bag is lost or anything left behind I am going to sue the American government!” The response to this was “We are not US government officials. You have to sue American Airlines not the government.” That guy seemed really pissed off. The lady checking my bag smirked and said under her breath "if we were US government employees they would be paid much more." Once that was done my bags were sent on their way and I was off to the parking lot to drop of my roommate off. I then headed back to the terminal and went towards security; here is where the fun started. I showed my boarding pass and my Indian passport as identification. Guess what? I was searched as was my hand baggage, then once more at security. Anyway once that whole ordeal was done it was 12:20. I had another 45 minutes to kill. I sat round and waited watching a 757 in full TWA colors board as American Airlines flight 1573 to St. Louis, sad really but what can you do?

Boarding: Boarding commenced at 1:00 with First Class passengers boarding first. At this point I showed my local Florida Drivers License and was whisked through to the jetway while the man in front of me with an Indian passport was told he had to be searched since he was a security risk. Well is this how American Airlines does security? Let me get this straight, if I use my American driver’s license, no one gives me a second look; yet if I use my Indian passport I am a security risk? I got on and was seated in the last row of the MD-80, I’ll take a guess and say it was a MD-83 but no real way of telling. The seats were wide and comfortable for me; legroom was standard, around 38in or so. The Captain introduced himself and we pushed back at 1:30, 10 minutes late due to baggage loading.

The Flight: We lifted off at 1:40 and lunch was quickly served 20 minutes after take off. First it was a cocktail with a choice of trail mix or cashew nuts. I had the trail mix and coke. After that was the main tray with a choice of a Turkey croissant sandwich or chicken salad. I had the turkey and the first thing I noticed when the tray came was the plastic fork and knife. There was mayonnaise and mustard in two small packets. There was also a bowl of cold pasta a hot chocolate chip cookie. Everything was pretty good especially the pasta. Once the tray was cleared we still had an hour to go. At this point I wished I was on United, Channel 9 or any music would have been great at this point. I started out of the window for the rest of the flight and saw the coast as we were flying right over it. Landing commenced around 3.

Arrival & Transit: We hit the wet Dallas runway 10 minutes late due traffic congestion because of the weather. We manage to have a 20 minute taxi to the gate. We landed on the 3rd most outer runway and then taxied all the way to the other side of the airport, terminal B, the place where American has only 6 gates or so. We sat there for about 5 minutes before the seatbelt sign was turned and the door opened. I walked easily out since my connection was at 5pm. My flight was at gate A27 so I hoped on a train to get there. Now I don’t know how many of you have tried that train at DFW but it was one of the jerkiest rides of my life. I walked over to the gate, which was pretty much empty. I walked around a bit, pretty much a dull airport. As for spotting it was pretty much just AA tails and nothing more.


American Airlines 367
Dallas/Ft. Worth – San Francisco
Boeing 767-300
First Class: 3A
Scheduled Departure Time: 17:20
Scheduled Arrival Time: 19:15
Actual Departure Time: 20:10
Actual Arrival Time: 22:15

Boarding: Around 5pm boarding was announced and I showed my drivers license as ID and was let on the jetway without a second look. I was ecstatic to find the fact that the 767 was configured in the International configuration. The seat was gorgeous, blue leather and wool. There must have been 80 inches of legroom. I was really impressed. The one thing that was lacking was the PTV’s so I imagine the passengers get DVD players on long haul flights. The guy next to me was very chatty and asked me where I was going and when I told him Kuwait he got this look on his face, not one of horror but one of delight. Apparently he was to travel there in March and was full of questions. 5:24 rolled by and we had not pushed back, in fact the door was still connected to the jetway. There seemed to be some activity going on in the galley, I could not quite make out what. At that moment the lead steward grabbed the mike, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I must ask everyone to collect their belongings and exit the aircraft. There has been a security breech. Please collect all your belongings and exit the aircraft, this plane shall be hand searched for a bomb so anything left behind shall be destroyed.” So we all got up, took our bags out of the bins and headed out the door to the gate. We then sat in the gate area, which became full; the plane was probably 70% full. As we were sitting down the captain came by and told us that the metal detector was not functioning for the random searches that had taken place. He requested that everybody keep our boarding passes out so that we could get back on the plane as soon as possible. I grabbed my cell phone and called one of my roommates in Houston who I thought would get a kick out of this. He sure did! Boarding commenced once again around 7:15.

The Flight: The plane eventually pushed back at 8:10 and we lifted off at 8:30 after a long wait at the runway. I was getting very nervous at this point since my flight left San Francisco at 11:30. Cocktail service commenced with warm nuts a drink of my choice. The steward came round to take the order, we had no menus but he verbally gave us the choices, Salmon Teriyaki, vegetarian pasta, and chicken with bell peppers. I had the pasta, which was pretty good. After that meal the ice cream Sunday came by and I had vanilla with butterscotch. After that was cleared, I put my seat back and put the headphones on and managed to snooze for 30 minutes before we started our decent. There was one thing though, during this flight there was no movie or anything shown on the main screen which I found strange, cost cutting I guess.

Arrival & Transit: We touched down at 10:15. We had quite a bit of taxi to the gate and ended up parking next to the DFW flight that left 10 minutes earlier than us from DFW. I got out and walked all the way out to find a sign of where the international terminal was. I had not been to San Francisco since the new terminals were built. I walked at a very brisk pace for 10 minutes and got to the new full glass terminal, wow! I stood in security line for about 25 minutes, it was a huge line! When I got to the front the guy took one look at my boarding pass and said “go to the Cathay Pacific check in counter.” “Why?” It turned out that they were not accepting boarding passes issued by American Airlines. So I ran half way across the terminal to the counter where a friendly Chinese check in agent issued me a new boarding pass and a lounge invitation. Then I ran back to stand in a line of close to 70 people. Eventually I got to the front and guess what? The China Airlines crew cut right in front of us, all 18 of them. They did look gorgeous though, something that I would expect from an Asian airline. They sure did look a whole lot better than when I flew them back in when I lived in Hong Kong. When that was through my watch said 11pm. At least I was not the only CX person in line. I managed to get to the gate at 11:05, a very hot, sweaty, and exhausted guy.


Cathay Pacific 873
San Francisco – Hong Kong
Airbus A340-313X (B-HXJ)
Business Class: 12K
Scheduled Departure Time: 23:20
Scheduled Arrival Time: 7:15
Actual Departure Time: 23:30
Actual Arrival Time: 7:45

Boarding: “You made it!” was the comment from the girl at the check in counter who was now doing the boarding process. It turned out I was the 3rd last person to board. The door was closed at 11:15 and we sat at the gate for another 5 minutes while the crew gave out amenity kits, menus and my late pre departure drink, they also took the order for cocktails after take off. The seats were the old ones, not the new full flat kind with Video on Demand. Its alright, I had spent many happy hours in these seats already and they were still good.

The A340 was wide and roomy and I was looking forward to getting some shut eye since it was really late. We pushed back at 11:30, 10 minutes late. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is you pilot, I would like to inform you that we pushed back 10 minutes late due to the fact that we were offloading some cargo so that we may be able to avoid our refueling stop in Taipei. Our flight today will take us south towards Hawaii, Wake Island and Taiwan before heading south to Hong Kong. The flying time shall be 15 hours and 45 minutes.” Well at least I was on Cathay Pacific for the 16 hour flight and not…we’ll leave the comment at that.

The Flight: Lights were dimmed and the plane began its long role down the runway, fully loaded with passengers and fuel, I completely forgot how quiet the A340 is; it was wonderful. The cocktails arrived 20 minutes later and they were served with a bowl of sweet cashew nuts, something like what Southwest serves with peanuts, they were fantastic! The menu was as follows:

Salad

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato served with Caesar Dressing

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Marinated and Grilled Eel Teriyaki Style served with Japanese Rice

OR

Beef Filet with Green Peppercorn Sauce served with Roasted Red Potatoes

OR

Smoked Salmon, Sardine and Scallop with Mushrooms and Potato Salad

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Ice Cream

Fresh Fruits

California Blueberry Cheesecake

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Your choice of : Garlic Bread, Olive Bread or Ciabatta Roll with your choice of Virgin Olive Oil or Butter

I found the salad to be moist and fresh and was wonderful accompanied by the hot and fresh garlic bread. I had the steak with the potatoes and Cathay serves this to you buffet style, you tell the cabin crew what to put in your plate. I just decided on the beef and potatoes and they were excellent as well. For desert I just had a tub of Hagen Daas Vanilla ice cream though you could have all three if you wanted, I was just too full. During the meal I watched Rat Race as it was the only one that interested me, though there were 12 channels of entertainment to choose from. After everything was cleared and the movie was over I put my seat back and leg rest up, put the fluffy pillow and thick blanket on and dozed off for a solid 6 hours. I woke up and a F/A came by the moment she saw me move. Immediately she asked “Mr. Tamboowala, would you like anything to drink?” I asked for a glass of water and it was put down 2 minutes later. She came back with a basket full of sandwiches, pretzels and nuts. I played video games for some time, hangman, memory and others. Then a cabin crew approached me and asked me to fill a questionnaire on CX’s service, needless to say I gave them a very high score. Sunrise started outside and breakfast commenced with the following choice:

Assorted Seasonal Fruits

Yogurt and Cereal

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Californian Style Egg Benedict

OR

Treasured Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf with Chinese Dim Sum

OR

Chicken and Black Mushroom Congee

All accompanied by your choice of Grilled Tomato and Sautéed Mushrooms

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Croissant, Sour Cream Cinnamon Walnut Cake or Bagel served with Preserves, Light Cream Cheese and Butter

I found the fruits to be moist, fresh, and soft accompanied by a cherry yogurt. I had the Chinese choice which was full of flavor and I have to say filling. Once the tray was cleared landing cards were handed out and we began our decent 30 minutes out of Hong Kong. I handed the questionnaire back and a “Thank you very much Mr. Tamboowala” was my reply. I have to give credit to the crew here, They only had the manifest once in their hand before take off, after that it seems they had memorized every single business class passengers name and addressed each individual as such. They also came round the cabin every 15 minutes ask passengers if they wanted a drink or something to eat.

Arrival: We landed at 7:45 approximately 30 minutes late due to the strong headwind. We touched down smoothly into a misty Hong Kong morning. We parked at gate 1, the closest to immigration. I swear most of the plane was transferring, close to 75%. Immigration was breeze and I walked out to an empty arrival hall. My bags appeared after 5 minutes of standing and I was on my way to the airport hotel in a matter of 5 minutes.

Verdict: This was one heck of a long trip and far from over. I was happy with American and I was ecstatic with Cathay’s service. Legendary Asian warmth and service, something I had forgotten after flying so many Western airlines for so long. After this flight I may very well have to put Cathay on the top of my list, I know, I know, yes even before Swissair! The crew were excellent even by Asian standards. I was glad to see that they kept the service levels that I am used to and have not followed the same way as Singapore Airlines downward spiral.

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The Hong Kong Regal Airport Hotel is really good. I had originally requested a room with a view of the airport and that is what I got. It was excellent. The room was spacious and the bed was comfortable. What more could I ask for?
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(December 16, 2001
Cathay Pacific 735
Hong Kong – Singapore
Airbus A330-340X (B-HLS)
Business Class: 16A
Scheduled Departure Time: 13:50
Scheduled Arrival Time: 17:35
Actual Departure Time: 13:59
Actual Arrival Time: 17:15

Check In: I wandered over to check in at around 10:30, even though my flight left around 1:30. I checked in with a friendly agent who was smiling and telling me that my ticket did not include all the tax since it had been changed so I had to pay HK$30 more. I had to run to Thomas Cook and change some money, come back and pay. Once that was done, both my boarding passes, including the one for my QF flight were handed over with the lounge invitation. Immigration was fast but security after that was a nightmare. I stood in line for a solid 30 minutes. Once that was done I was headed to CX’s business class lounge “The Wing.” It was fantastic, huge with a view of one runway and the left side of the airport. They were using that runway for take off today so I got some fantastic views of planes taking off. One in note was the Continental 777 that was one heck of a long take off. At 12:45 I left the lounge for the long walk to gate 65, one of the last gates at the 2nd pier. I managed to get there at 1:20 with a little brisk walk. They were as I thought it would be more enjoyable than the train ride down. Once I reached the gate they were just about to start boarding. I was surprised to see that this flight was A330 as I was expecting a 747-400. It also happen to be one of Cathay's newest A330, the one delivered on October 5 (My Birthday!)

Boarding: At 1:25 we began boarding and I was the first person to be on, and imagine my surprise, the new full flat business class seats with video on demand, where were you two days ago when I needed you! Oh well, at least I can try it out. The seat was fantastic, spacious, the noise canceling headsets were already hooked to the armrests, and the gorgeous 11 inch TV was in the seat in front of me. The usual welcome drink followed by menu’s. We pushed back at 2pm exactly and taxied to the runway, as we did I saw an EL AL 777-200. The new colors really look good on the 777.

Flight: Take off was at 2:20 and by 2:40 our cocktails and warm sweet cashew nuts were in front of. I decided to use the video on demand and watch “Moulin Rouge.” The pause button came in handy during the meal service, which consisted of the following choice.

Seasonal Salad served with creamy Italian Dressing

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Marinated Prawn Salad with Yellow Capsicum and semi sun dried tomato.

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Braised Duck and Taro with Chu Hou Sauce with Egg Fried Rice and Stir Fried Chinese Greens

OR

Grilled Salmon Fillet with Tomato, Olive and Pepper Confit with Boiled Potatoe Wedges with Parsley and Stir Fried Carrots,
Celery, and ****ake Mushrooms

OR

Penne Pasta with Plum Tomato Sauce with Buffalo Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese

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Cheese Selection with Crackers

OR

Fresh Seasonal Fruit
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Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake served with Raspberry Sauce

OR

Movenpick Ice Cream

The salad was good as were the prawns, the main course of duck was ok, not something I enjoyed so much, but I had the mousse and the ice cream, both were great. Once the meal was done we still had about 45 minutes to kill and Moulin Rouge was over. I selected American Pie II and forwarded to the part that I had stopped seeing it and watched the rest. Decent had begun and the crew were making sure everyone had put their seat to the full upright position. They could tell if you did it or not since there is a little light at the top of the seat that turns green when the seat is fully up, so no cheating with a little recline anymore.

Arrival & Transit: We landed on time at exactly 5:15. I found this very strange but I guess it’s a new innovation by Cathay. My connection information for my Qantas flight started flashing on my screen and my screen only. I found this useful and have to commend Cathay on this new service. We were off the plane at 5:30 and I followed signs for the Qantas lounges at the other side of Terminal 1. Easily found it and showed my boarding pass and was issued a new Qantas one with my gate information. Boarding was supposed to begin at 6:30 and the gate was at the end of the pier. I sat in the lounge which was shared by BA and had plenty of refreshments. I left the lounge around 6:20 since I knew there would be a long security check at the gate.


Qantas 123
Singapore – Bombay
Boeing 747-338 (VH-EBV)
Business Class: 2A
Scheduled Departure Time: 19:30
Scheduled Arrival Time: 22:05
Actual Departure Time: 19:30
Actual Arrival Time: 22:00

Boarding: I got to the gate to see that boarding had already begun and there was a security check line of 80 people in front of me. I got through at 6:45 and was onboard within 2 minutes. “Welcome onboard Mr. Tamboowala” was the greeting I received at the door of the aircraft. I sat down and the usual welcome drink was handed to me. After that came the toilet bags and menu. This was the first time I was onboard a 747-300 since 1997, my last flight being on a Swissair 747-300, and I am pretty sure this will be my last chance to fly one of these machines.

We pushed back at 7:30 and were shown the safety feature, no this was interesting. I have never seen a safety video last close to 10 minutes with different types of methods to use during an emergency. I also noticed that the crew were very serious when it came to passengers not watching. They made sure they were watching.

The Flight: We lifted off the runway at 7:45 and it was a powerful take off, forgot how a 747 feels after so many two engined aircraft. 20 minutes later a hot towel was served and we were given the cocktail drinks and warm nuts. The menu looked as follows:

Entrée

Spiced Tomato Lentil Soup

&

Green Leaf Salad with Herb and Vinaigrette

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Lamb Nawabi with Basmati Rice

OR

Vegetable Jalfrezi with Dal Maharani and Rice Pilau

OR

Salmon Fillet with Hot Potato Salad and Horseradish Cream

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Desert

Selection of Seasonal Cheese

Ginger and Jackfruit Ice Cream Cake with Tropical Fruit

The soup was refreshing change from the normal appetizers I had been having on all my flights, it tasted pretty good as well. I had the Salmon which was excellent, normally I don’t have fish but this was prepared very well. The ice cream was good as well, unique but tasted exotic and Asian. The seats were comfortable with lots of legroom and I was able to catch some sleep before landing, close to 20 minutes. The one complaint I have about Qantas is the entertainment. Seriously lacking in choice and quality, I realize this was a 747-300 but they use these planes on long hauls to Europe and I don’t think 10 channels is enough. No cycles either, same movie or shows over and over again. To keep myself entertained I had to watch “Zoolander,” A movie I had seen in the U.S. and had no intention of every watching again. Immigration cards were handed out and I filled mine up just as the cabin lights were dimmed. I sat in my seat listening to music till decent started.

Arrival: We began our decent around 9:35 and we were on the ground at 10:00. Immigration was a nightmare as usual at BOM, but my bags did come out relatively fast with the CX and QF priority tags, and I was out in a few minutes.

Verdict: Cathay was pretty good, the new seats are excellent and I may go out of my way to do a long haul with them in the future, it’s definitely worth it in my opinion. Qantas was decent, I had heard mixed reviews about them but they were good. If they change their entertainment I may very well do this run through Australia next time. I am an Oneworld fan I shall continue to be. This ended my RTW ticket with BA/AA/CX/QF, and I find them to be far better than Skyteam or Star in terms of the quality of the airlines in the alliance.

I hope I did not bore you too much.

SR 103

Seat 2A

Such self deprecation is unbecoming, particularly after such a fine and enjoyable Trip Report. Besides, anyone who would describe their crab appetizer as "moist and sumptuous" scores bonus points in my book!

Thanks for another nice effort, SR 103.