Moomba

Thank you SASDCB. It is always nice to get some positive feedback on these reports.

I hope you enjoy your trips to SYD and BKK and come back and write about them in this forum

HIDDY

Day flights rock....^

I can't think of a better way of travelling than flying in F during daylight hours and watching that fabulous panoramic landscape pass you by below.....outstanding pictures Moomba.

Great flight and destination reports as usual.

Moomba

Thanks HIDDY

Moomba

After a lovely and more importantly warm few days in Bangkok it was time to head on back to chilly London.

The day before my flight I checked back into the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit and was given a message that the car service would pick me up at 15:00 the following day.

It was a real lazy day the day I left and I just pottered around the hotel and the adjacent and recently opened Terminal 21 shopping mall.
At 14:10 I received a phone call saying my driver had arrived and would be waiting in the parking garage. I thought 15:00 = 14:10?? I wasn’t finished packing and I took my time to do so as my flight wasn’t due to leave BKK until 18:10.

I was ready to go by 14:30 and decided to make my way down to the lobby to check out. The agent noted that I had a car waiting and called down to have them come up to meet me at the lobby.

I finished the check out procedure and headed out to the forecourt. My Benz arrived shortly thereafter and I was on my way to Suvarnabhumi airport. Around 40 minutes later we were driving up to the airport and trying to spy which entrance Oman Air use. We eventually located the signs at the second last entrance (no. 9).

I thanked my driver and he wished me a safe trip and I headed on inside.

The WY desks were just in front of me but the overhead monitors above the desks only showed one with Oman Air and ‘early check-in’ on it. The other monitors all showed some generic airport notice. I joined the queue for the one operating desk and a sticker was placed on my roll aboard and a cabin baggage tag on my laptop bag by the queue monitor. I thought if you think you are going to make me check a bag, think again.

There was a couple of groups in front of me including a family with 2 small children and associated household wardrobe contents. I glanced around and noticed an Oman Air carpet leading up to an adjacent desk that was attended by an agent. The signs above showed the generic message though.
I asked another queue monitor if that was business check-in and he said yes and lifted the tensile barrier and escorted me over. The agent pulled up my details and proceeded to check me in. She asked how the chauffeur service was. I said good but they were way too earlier in their pick up time.

She asked if I was going to get visa on arrival in Muscat and I informed her I was onward connecting with another carrier. She printed my BP and lounge invite for BKK. She then gave me instructions on how to get to the lounge and handed over a fast track pass for immigrations and security.

I thanked her and moved on down to the end of the hall and through the fast track lane. Security was first and there was no wait and no beeps or buzzers held me up from my progress. I was then able to walk straight up to an immigrations officer who relived me of my fast track pass and stamped me out of Thailand.

I made my way through the maze of shops and down to the departures level following the directions to the lounge I had been given. I spotted the lounge quite easily and made my way inside. The agent seemed a little surprised to see someone so early and greeted me warmly and took me inside for the whirlwind tour. The lounge in BKK had only been opened a few weeks. I took the opportunity to take a few snaps of the deserted lounge.























I grabbed a bite to eat and some of the shiraz that I had been drinking on the plane on the flight out and sat and surfed the wifi and listened to my music until it was time to leave.

Of all the silliness in this last week or so of flying this was the one flight I was most concerned about being on time. I had a 2.5 layover in MCT to connect to the BA flight home and didn’t want to miss it as it would mean a 24 hour delay if I missed that flight. I was pleased to see that the flight ex MCT had left on time and was able to relax knowing only some unforeseen incident would scuttle my plans now.

I left the lounge before a call was made and the agents warned me the flight wouldn’t be called for another 10 minutes or so. I said I needed to go for a walk to stretch before the flight. The wished me a pleasant flight and I made my way out.
I wandered the duty free shops and peering in at my other lounge option, the Louis Tavern that is the Priority Pass option and then made my way to the gate. On arrival I noticed that the plane was just offloading its passengers. The must have had some serious headwinds if they had only just pulled up to the gate and had left MCT on time.

I decided to do some more walking instead of going down into the gate lounge even though the signs were saying Last Call. After a bit more wandering and some people watching I decided to make my way down to the lounge. My passport and BP were checked at the top of the ramp and I walked down to the desk and my BP was then swiped and the stub returned to me.

At around 18:10 they started boarding with wheel chair passengers first and then a call for business and elites. It was a mammoth effort to work my way through the gate lice in order to board, but I managed followed by another couple of J passengers.

Flight WY0812 BKK-MCT Seat 11A
Aircraft: 330-200
Departure time: 18:10

I was directed to my seat and stowed my bags. My jacket was taken and I was offered a drink, perhaps champagne sir? Of course is there any other suitable pre-take off beverage?
An amenity kit and the menu were delivered whilst on the ground and my bubbly was topped up.

The doors closed at 18:25 and we pushed back soon after at 18:32 and the captain announced a flight time of 6 hours and 25 minutes to Muscat. The safety demo was again preceded by a manual demonstration of the exits and floor lighting. I still like the pouty child who has his Gameboy taken from him.

We took off at 18:45 and out over the dusk lit Bangkok cityscape.
On the menu for tonight dinner was:

The Menu

A la Carte

Oriental flavoured cream of pumpkin soup
Black sesame seeds

Flame grilled chicken satay
Spicy peanut sauce
Cucumber-tomato-pineapple garnish

Refreshing watermelon and pomelo salad
Tamarind-chilli vinaigrette
Fresh herbs

Seasonal salad
Mixed leaves and fresh vegetables
Vinaigrette dressing

________________

Prawn and baby corn stir fry
Asian vegetables
Ginger, fresh coriander leaves
Organic brown rice

Oven baked chicken breast
Creamy mushroom sauce
Potato gratin, seasonal vegetables

Home style green vegetable curry
Fragrant herbs and spices
Steamed rice

_____________

Arabic Cuisine
Mezzah
Creamy hummus
Spicy red pepper and tomato puree
Groumet olives with caramelised garlic
Golden baked vegetable fatayer
Char grilled chicken kofta kebab
Fresh coriander leaves, lemon

Arabian Festival Combination Dish
Spice rubbed chicken
Chunky tomato sauce
Steamed rice
Chili ad garlic spiced mixed peppers and grilled zucchini


Dessert
Seasonal tropical fruit

Gourmet ice cream selection

Dark chocolate and pistachio gateau
White chocolate – vanilla angliase
Berry garnish

Selected farmhouse cheese
Traditional accompaniments

BEVERAGES
CHAMPAGNE
R. Pouillon Cuvee de Reserve NV
Champagne, France
Gold in colour, the Cuvee de Reserve has beautiful aromas of acacia, pine needles and hawthorn with some quince jelly overtones. On the palate, well balanced with almond – like freshness and honey finish.

WHITE
2008 Max Reserva Errazuriz Chardonnay
Casablanca Valley, Chile
With soft yellow colour and golden touches, this wine offers elegant notes of fresh fruit nicely enhanced by delicate aromas and lightly toasted caramel and butterscotch. A light swirling produces notes of white citrus lowers (sic) similar to grapefruit and mandarin blossoms, which highlight the wine’s minerality.

2008 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
Margaret River, Australia
A Margaret River benchmark, night harvest in cooler temperatures, great care in vilification and a proportion of fermentation in new oak French barrels contributes to this stylish wine. Fresh fruit characters with oak adding palate structure and the hallmarks of this crisp complex style.

RED WINE
2008 Mencia Cuatro Martin Codax
Bierzo, Spain
This wine has a morello cherry red colour with violet tints. On the nose it is of medium-high intensity with dominant varietal aromas of ref fruits and a touch of oak. It is well structured with firm but rounded tannins which make it elegant and balanced on the palate. The finish is full of vibrant varietal fruit.

2006 Shaw & Smith Shiraz
Adelaide Hills, Australia
The palate has rich blackcurrant with hints of coffee and white pepper adding depth. The fruit contributes onto the palate and leaves a nicely rounded spicy finish.

DESSERT WINE
2003 Chateau Armajan Des Ormes
Sauternes, Bordeaux, France
A wonderfully rich dessert wine with a floral nose complimented by ripe apricot notes. A full body that is sweet but not cloying. The softer acidity, from hot 2003 vintage makes sure this is entirely ready to drink now. Perfect with cheese, dessert or after dinner

SPRIRTS, COGNACS and LIQUEURS
Glenlivet 12 year old
Chivas Regal
Jack Daniel’s

Absolut
Grey Goose
Smirnoff

Tanqueray

Remy Martin VSOP
Courvoisier

Drambuie
Tia Maria
Cointreau
Baileys
Graham’s 10 year Old Port

BEERS
Heineken
Amstel
Foster’s

COCKTAILS
Bloody Mary
Champagne Cocktail
Screwdriver
Bucks Fizz
Rusty Nail
Dolce Vita

WATER
Voss still
Voss sparkling

TEA
Fine selection of Dilmah Exceptional

COFFEE
Filter
Decaffeinated
Cappuccino
Espresso

Selection of fresh juices
Selection of soft drinks

I asked if I could have the soup and a salad but the crewmember said only one starter per person. Perhaps she didn’t understand that I wanted the salad instead of the main but I didn’t press the point. She also asked me what drink I would like to start the meal. I decided to give a rusty nail a whirl. This was delivered a little later along with a plate of warm almonds and cashews.



I had already started to load up my music play list into the IFE before we had even taken off and was ready to bop away the next few hours when I discovered that my headphones only worked through one ear. I flagged down one of the crew who quickly delivered another pair, from the empty seat behind me, and all was good in the head.

One annoying thing I noticed with the playlist on the IFE is that it had a disturbing habit of chopping off the last few seconds of the tune prior to starting the next track. This might be fine for some of those tracks that just fade out but a lot of what I was listening to was quality right to the last drop. Or as WY IFE would have me believe quality right to the second last drop.

The crewmember asked me if I was ready for dinner at around 19:15 Bangkok time and I said I was. I assumed this meant I could dine later if I wished to do so.

I was offered another rusty nail before the meal service but declined. My table was set with the usual including the large charger plate and bread was offered. The appetiser was delivered that consisted of some sort of jelly, a shaved cheese thing a walnut and some prunes.



After this my soup was delivered and as usual proved to be a safe choice.





In lieu of the salad I went with the chicken dish that was really well done, moist and juicy and quite flavourful.





I decided to just have some cheese after the meal and it wasn’t really that good and neither was I that hungry so it went back to the galley mostly uneaten.



I put the seat down and snoozed for most of the rest of the flight. A crewmember touched my shoulder and asked me if I wished to partake in the refreshment service but I declined. I didn’t even rouse myself enough to see what it was.

Another night flight into MCT meant not being able to see the lovely landscape slip by beneath however I did notice we flew over the airport and swung around again to land at 22:00.

This is where I park the WY flights until later this year and pick up the RTW ticket to get me back to London.

Overall I think WY offer a great business class service and seat for the very reasonable prices they charge. Most of the crew I encountered were very good and the service and food elements were of a great standard for business class.

Fredrik74

Thank you for the report. Another thank you for covering Oman Air, an airline I'm intrigued by.

ozvirginuk

Moomba, your trip reports are just awesome. Every little detail is covered, and your photography is something I'm jealous of!!

Can't wait to read your next one.

Incidentally, your "addiction" may be infectious, as since our First trip in F last year, I too now think I am addicted, and as such am going to be embarking on an AONE4 this year, starting in AKL of course to save a few $$$.

PS - Oman Air look pretty awesome. Don't hear much about them.

Cheers
Ozvirginuk

matthandy

Please Moomba, most of us lefties are perfectly capable of eating our food correctly, with the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right (and unlike certain cultures, they stay that way during eating, rather than discarding the knife and using the fork to cut up the food) .

Oman Air J looks fantastic. This is J right? Not F? The food presentation looks distinctly F like. Many other carriers have got a lot to learn!

The lounge at MCT also looks extremely comfortable and plush.

What is a rusty nail by the way?

Moomba

My pleasure.

Thank you ozvirginuk. I hope you enjoy your RTW.

I haven't met any other southpaws that use a fork in their left hand.

Yes it is J, would love to try their F one day. Those lounge pictures are of the BKK lounge but the one in Muscat is similarly styled.

A rusty nail is a blended scotch with a half measure of Drambuie in it.

goback

As usual Moomba, you write up some of the best trip reports! Much appreciated.

One very small point...

I think you mean MEL-HKG here.

Couldn't agree with you more HIDDY, the unfortunate part of the QF international rationalisation is the end of the HKG - LHR sector of QF29.

Moomba

Oops, seems to be a common problem with me as Kiwi Flyer pointed out earlier. Thanks for letting me know.

Also thanks for the thanks.

Moomba

As noted previously Muscat know how to do this bus thing well. A separate bus for business class passengers drove up to the plane shortly after we stopped and the cabin emptied into the bus. We were the whisked away to the arrivals building.

I did the now very familiar walk up the stairs and headed to one of the transfer desks to get my onward boarding pass. I had not checked in online and the agent wasn’t able to print one for me. He rang the BA guys airside and had a conversation about what to do and confirming I had no checked baggage. The agent said to me to go through security to airside and a BA rep would meet me at gate 4 with my BP.

I walked on toward the BP checker and the agent indicated to him that I should be let through without BP. Security was very quick and there were three lanes operating.

I made my way downstairs to the nominated gate and waited to speak to an agent who was dealing with someone. I noticed a BA uniformed agent walk up and made myself known to him. He shook my hand and welcomed me and checked my passport before handing over the BP. He confirmed that the seat I wanted was the one on the BP. He also gave me an invite to the Plaza Premium lounge and told me where the gate was for the flight. He shook my hand again and wished me a pleasant flight.

I thanked him and walked off towards the lounge that was behind me on the same level of the airport. Inside the lounge the agent took my invite and ushered me through. The lounge wasn’t nearly as busy as my last visit and I had no trouble securing a seat.

I waited it out in the lounge surfing and IM chatting with friends and my only consumption in the lounge was a bottle of water.
The agent called the flight and I made my way upstairs and, just to prove me wrong, the BA flight was leaving from the pier that I had never been to before prior to my MCT-BKK flight.

I went down stairs again to the gate and the agent swiped by BP and checked my passport. There was a separate security screening set up at the gate and laptops, liquids, belts and shoes all had to go through the scanner. I must have been a little tired as I undid my shoelaces whilst in the queue and then proceeded to walk through the WMD with my shoes on. Nobody seemed to care so I just collected my things and sat in the lounge area until the call was made to board the busses.
Again the economy crowd were asked to board one bus whilst the F & J people were loaded onto a more comfortable bus with more seats. It was however freezing inside the bus.

After we had all boarded the bus moved off towards the aircraft.

Flight BA0072 MCT-LHR Seat 3K
Aircraft: 777-200
Departure time: 00:25

I walked up the stairs and was greeted at the top by the CSD for the flight. She escorted me to my seat and introduced herself and the F crew before going back to the door. My jacket was taken and the very nice gentleman working my side of the cabin delivered an amenity kit and PJs to my seat. A glass of champagne was also offered and accepted.



When last I checked the loads I was the only person in F for this flight but by the time we left there were three others in the cabin.
The captain announced a flight time of 50 minutes and we pushed back at 00:18.

Once in the air and the seat belt sign extinguished the crew were out again with a champagne for me and canapés. The food was the same as I had on the flight from AUH-MCT a week earlier.



Just after the 20 minute warning was made by the captain the crew dropped by with the menu and wine list for the flight from Abu Dhabi to London. We landed at 01:14 and taxied up to the gate.

On the ground the onward passengers were not permitted to leave the aircraft and the crew dropped by to offer me an iPad to play with whilst waiting. I declined and he said there are lots of movies and TV shows to watch, I said but no music.

I asked for a sparkling water whilst we waited. The crew did the same as the outbound stopover where all cabin baggage was reconciled after the departing passengers had left.

The plane was cleaned by the AUH ground staff and catering loaded. The passengers from AUH then started to board. After boarding completed the flight was completely full bar 1 seat in F. I had never seen so many in F on this route. There were 16 of 17 seats occupied. A far cry from the 1 seat when I checked before I left BKK.

The CSD dropped by with arrivals cards and lounge directions for LHR. The captain announced a flight time of 7 hours and 25 minutes.
We pushed back at 02:33 and were making our way into the air by 02:45.
After the belt sign was off the crew busied themselves with setting up beds for those that wanted to skip the meal and sleep.
Finally I was offered a drink and some club world nuts still in their bag. Pretty tacky.



The F purser dropped by to ask what I would like for my meal. I noticed she did a bit of cabin hopping when taking orders, not sure if this was by status or paid vs. upgraded. If it was the later I think I would have been first as from what I can tell I was the only one who paid to be in the cabin.

On the menu was the following:
DINNER
STARTERS
Harissa-spiced prawn with tabbouleh salad
Wild mushroom soup
Fresh salad leaves with your choice of balsamic dressing or red pepper cream dressing

MAIN
Grilled steak with mashed potatoes and vegetables

Baked hammour topped with fennel and capers with baby potatoes and vegetables

Tortellini served with red pepper sauce

Chilled plate featuring roast beef, poultry, Camembert. Cherry tomatoes, mixed greens and gerkin

BISTRO SELECTION
Hot chocolate with warm chocolate chip cookies

A selection of biscuits

A selection of cheese and fruit

DESSERT
Rhubarb pie served with vanilla peach bavarios

CHEESE PLATE
Henry Brie
This soft cow’s milk cheese is one of the world’s most popular cheeses

Gouda
A cow’s milk cheese named after a city in the Netherlands, Gouda has a mild taste and creamy texture

Cheddar
A full flavour and buttery texture are hallmarks of this classic cheese

A basket of fresh fruit

Chocolates

WINE LIST
Aperitif
Kir Royale

Champagne
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle, Champagne, France
White
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Champ Gain 2007, Vincent Girardin, Burgundy, France
Le Soula Blanc 2007, VDP Des Cotes Catalanes, France
McWilliams Lovedale Semillon 2005, Hunter Valley, Australia

Red
Chateau Lynch-Bages 1998, 5eme Grand Cru Classe Pauillac, Bordeaux, France
Corton Bressandes Grand Cru 2008, Corton Andre, Burgundy, France
St Hallet Blackwell Shiraz 2006, Barossa Valley, Australia

Dessert
The Noble Mudpie 2010, d’Arenberg, McLaren Vale, South Australia

Warre’s 1992 Colheita Tawny Port

Sprits, Digestifs and Liqueurs
Gonzalez Byass Sherries
Smirnoff Black Label Vodka
Tanqueray No. 10 Gin
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch Whisky
The Glenlivet 18-year-old Single Malt Whisky
Woodford Reserve Kentucky Whiskey
Drambuie 15-year old Speyside Malt Liqueur
Otard XO Cognac


My table was set and the amuse bouche of a ‘fish mint quiche’ was presented. The quiche tasted of neither fish nor mint but it was tasty none the less. I was also offered bread at this point.



I opted for the soup, of course and this was delivered a while later with a top up of the wine and some more bread. The soup was tasty and mushroom is one of my favourite soups.



The salad was next which despite my having asked for the balsamic dressing had a decidedly creamy dressing on top of it. It also appeared to have the balsamic dressing. I think I managed to get the salad with both dressings.



Next up I had decided to go with the steak, as I wasn’t too keen on the other options. It turned out to be not too bad and was quite edible.



My crewmember, who had been using my name the whole flight, returned and asked if Mr McMoomba would like some dessert or cheese. I said that although I love rhubarb and the mudpie is delicious I had eaten enough. Those of you who know my surname will understand why I was now being addressed as Mr McMoomba. He continued to do so for the remainder of the flight.

He offered to make up my bed and I confirmed my desire to now sleep.
The seat was put down and under blanket and duvet put in place. I was given a bottle of water and wished a good night.
I slept for around 4.5 hours before waking as the cabin was stirring as the breakfast service had already commenced.

BREAKFAST
STARTERS
Chilled fruit juice
An energising fruit smoothie
A selection of yoghurts
A selection of cereals
Fresh seasonal fruit plate
A wide selection of breakfast pastries and rolls
Chinese stir-fried vegetables wrapped in a tortilla served with soy orange sauce

MAIN
Breakfast grill of scrambled eggs, veal sausages, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomato and spinach and potato cake

Mixed vegetable frittata

Crepes filled with blueberry cream cheese served with chocolate sauce and cinnamon apple wedges


I started with a smoothie and progressed onto the fruit plate. When asked if I would like something else I said, more out of curiosity than anything else I would like to try the vegetable tortilla. It seemed such an ‘out of place’ option on the menu I just had to try it.

The fruit was delivered and was, as one would expect from a hotter climate caterer, very fresh and perfectly ripe. Sometimes fruit on a plane can be so hard you need a chisel to cut into it.



My tortilla was up next and was not too bad. The sauce was tasty and the vegetables inside were cooked well. The tortilla seemed to have been grilled so that the outside was crispy. All in an interesting effort but I am not sure it was a breakfast item? The crewmember asked me how I liked it and said was OK. He offered to get me another plate; I declined.



I asked for cappuccino and this was delivered a little later with an apology that the frothing mechanism wasn’t working so it was decidedly flat.
After the meal my seat was cleared and I went to the lav to change back into my civvies. I folded up my duvet and under blanket and tossed them on the footstool and made myself ready for landing. As often is the case I was ready to land way before necessary and just looked out the window as the lights of Western Europe passed by beneath me.

The captain called the 40 minutes and said he expected to be required to do a couple of loops over England before coming in to land. Shortly after this the passenger in 1E pressed her call bell. It seems here husband in 1F was not well. The crew started to attend to the man including giving him some oxygen.

We landed at 06:25 and taxied up to a C gate and the purser announced that everyone would remain seated as they had called paramedics to the plane to treat a sick passenger. The paramedics came on board as soon as door 1L was opened and started to attend to the man. Airport staff then went to attach a bridge to door 2L. When this was done the F crew signalled that we could leave through that door.

I headed down to the transit train and made the two stops to the main terminal building. As usual for the morning arrivals at T5 the place was a complete disaster area. There were queues back past where the elevator lets people out and I asked a staff member if IRIS was working. He lifted a tensile barrier and sent me on past the huge queue. I needed to push past people with excuse me, excuse me, while they no doubt thought I was trying to queue jump. Eventually I got to the entrance to the IRIS queue and noticed the green arrows so headed on down. I was through in a jiffy and making my way out to the arrivals lounge.

The lounge agent welcomed me in and wrote an invite to the CR breakfast room. Well there is a first!

The sever took my order for grapefruit juice, poached eggs with the full English and toast. I sat back and fired up my laptop to check mail and such. The food was delivered a while later and was nicely cooked.

I had previously decided that I wouldn’t be attempting to go to work this day so I finished my leisurely breakfast. Rather than grabbing a shower in the lounge headed out to the trains and caught the waiting HEX then two quick connections on the tube home.

So there we have it 36429 miles in 2 weeks spending time sailing on Sydney harbour, a lovely family Christmas and new year in the sun in Bangkok. Life is sweet.

Another hiatus is now going to appear in this report until Easter when I am on the move again.

In the meantime writing papers for submission to our IT board to gain funding for my project is the joy I have to look forward to. Hopefully if funding is approved I can then start to enjoy work again. But at least for now I am refreshed and can face the challenges ahead in the coming weeks.


Until next we meet I wish you all a Happy New Year and happy contrails.

Must...Fly!

What a fantastic TR, I've enjoyed all of it so far!

Can't wait for the next installment

PETER01

Moomba

What an incredible TR. ^^

Various airlines, hotels, cabin shots (my favourite so even more please ) and I particularly liked the mountain ones. The clarity of the photos are amazing and you certainly have the knack of putting it all together and in minute detail too.

I have been reading this (twice!) over the period of the last few days and the TR forum is by far the most enjoyable forum (imo). It was also very nice to have met you in person at the recent Edinburgh doo. Once again thanks for sharing, very much appreciated.

Moomba

Thanks Must...Fly!

Thanks PETER01. It was a pleasure to meet you also at the EDI Do.

Jenbel

caught up. Surprised at no more pictures of Mudpie to taunt. Amused by McMoomba though

You made me want to fly Oman Air though.