anat0l

Salads, fruits and cold items. Probably of note here are the seasoned tofu salad and smoked salmon.


Bain marie with small eggs Benedicts. The silverware used in this lounge has got to be one of the shiniest silver coloured cutlery I have ever seen.

I was still a bit full from this morning's early meal and knew I had a F meal with OZ coming up. Not that I knew what I'd be expecting on board, but in saying that nothing much on the whole buffet really took my biggest fancy. So it was a small bite and a glass of Piper Heidsieck.


Light breakky bite - eggs Benedict, smoked ham and tofu salad, served with a Champagne.


The "den" like feel continues in the dining area.

Not long after I had finished my little bite that I was informed that a shower room was ready for me. Not that my timing is stellar or anything, but just that the sooner I had this shower, the better. The value of a refreshing shower when you aren't quite awake or energised should not be underestimated.


This is another of the relaxation areas near the back of the lounge, next to the shower rooms. Some chair they have here - where is the "EJECT" button?

The shower rooms are quite generously sized and, also unlike the shower rooms in the J Boarding Gate lounge, has a toilet as well. Accessories are nothing to write home about - no famous named brands, though some accessories and the shower supplies are by The Body Shop in full size bottles (rather than single-serve miniatures). Although the shower rooms are fairly large, adequate ventilation still seems to be a problem, which causes problems when you exit your hot shower and then need to use the mirror to shave.


Shower room in the OZ F Lounge, complete with advanced toilet and generously sized shower.


Shower accessories from The Body Shop.

Like their Japanese neighbours (and very much unlike their other neighbours, the Chinese), OZ have the latest in toilet technology installed, with almost every personal hygiene service under the sun on offer. Well, not quite...


Experimentation is not advisable!

After a very satisfying shower and a shave, naturally the last thing to do is get dressed. Problem was, I had only absentmindedly packed a change of shirt. I hadn't packed a spare pair of underwear and socks. How in the hell did I miss that... so what to do?

Some would say, "Unless you really sweated, big deal - keep on going with what you've got". Probably not advisable - it has been a long day.

Some others would say, "Well, for the underwear, just turn them inside out and you've got virtually a new pair". Yeah, I don't quite subscribe to that school of thought.

So the only other thing left was... wash my current pair there and then! The best thing about wet clothes versus a woman is that the former doesn't complain about having the wrong kind of hair dryer. About ten minutes later, I had clean and dry underwear again so I was finally dressed and ready to face the world again.

As I exited the shower rooms and headed back into the lounge proper, the lounge attendant who assisted me earlier didn't quite recognise me.

Attendant: "Oh... you changed clothes?!"
Me: "Yes."

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Now I had a couple of hours to pass before my flight to FRA boarded, so I located myself at one of the "dens" nearest to the entrance of the lounge. It was the furthest from the dining area so it almost felt like a remote part of the lounge.

One of the odd things about the view from the lounge is that whilst you could get a nice view of the tarmac from the "den", the glass windows of the terminal, at least in this section, have been "lined" in order to prevent excessive light from getting through. The downside is that the view is not that great.


Keeping my satiety under control: coffee from the robot barista, green tea Haagen-Daaz and a small bowl of tofu salad and dumpling

The wifi is pretty decent and, naturally, free of charge in the lounge, which allowed me to fire up the laptop and answer quite a few messages from work and personal. It was probably a good idea to knock out as much as I could then, since my next sector was going to mean my being out of contact for about 11 hours.


A selection from the all-day buffet: Tomato Caprese with pesto, croquette, skewers, smoked ham, and smoked salmon with capers and horseradish cream.

As it was getting closer to 1200h, I asked the front desk whether they would be calling us for boarding. She said someone would fetch me when it was time to board. Fair enough, I went back to my chair and relaxed.

Time now 1205h. Nothing yet. Perhaps they're delayed. OK...time for another lemonade.

Now it's getting up to 1215h. Alright - what's going on... I go to the front desk...

Me: "Hello, is the flight to Frankfurt boarding yet?"
Attendant: "Yes, boarding started."

Part of me inside curses, and where's the person that is supposed to fetch me to go? I semi-sprint out of the lounge and head downstairs. Lucky my gate isn't far away, but gates usually close at T-10 minutes, so I was really putting it down to the wire.


Move it! Luckily the status isn't, "Flight Closed".

As I was making my way down the concourse towards the gate, I was intercepted by another OZ staff member.

Staff: "Are you going to Frankfurt?"
Me: "Yes."
Staff: "You in First Class?"
Me: "Yes."
Staff: "Oh! We were looking for you."
Me: "I was in the lounge! Someone said they would tell me when we were boarding."
Staff: "Yes, I was looking for you but could not find you."

Perhaps that's a disadvantage of sitting in a corner of the lounge. So it seems normally you would be escorted from the lounge to your flight, but it didn't quite work in this case. No matter, at least I was going to make my flight. A short walk later, my BP was processed and I was led aboard my OZ flight to FRA.


Flight: Asiana Airlines OZ541 Seoul Incheon (인천국제공항) (ICN) - Frankfurt am Main (Flughafen Frankfurt am Main) (FRA)
Depart: Sched 1230h; Actual 1230h
Duration: 11 h 30 min
Distance: 5,323 mi (8,567 km)
Aircraft: HL7421 Boeing 747-400M Combi
Class: First
Seat: 3A


I turned left at the aircraft door as I was greeted with an Annyeong Haseyo, which I returned (as well as the English greeting so as not to let the staff on that I might know some Korean when I knew none at all!). The OZ F class on the 747 is, like most, located in the nose, with a cabin of only 10 seats: 4 on each side as window seats, and a sole pair of seats in the middle of the cabin. Again, the colour scheme of OZ makes the cabin almost disappear into the cream / off-white colouring of the standard aircraft fittings, and may be off-putting for some. Nevertheless, each seat is quite functional and cosy. The seats are probably designed for the typical Asian profile, which pitches the height of such people as not as tall as those from a Western country. It works OK for me as I'm pretty short by Australian standards; might be a different experience for others.






The OZ F cabin on the 747-400M.


My seat, 3A.


Legroom in 3A.

As I got settled in, the crew came around to offer pre-flight drinks, amenity kits and sleeper suits. For my pre-flight drink, I opted for the simple orange juice, which was served with a handful of nuts.


Pre-flight orange juice and nuts.

Whilst I drank my orange juice, boarding was being finalised, and I notice that there were only going to be 3 of us in the F cabin for this flight, with myself being the only one on the left side of the aircraft, and another two gentlemen taking positions 3K and 4K. As the cabin service started in earnest, just like my previous flight with OZ, the cabin FAs took their positions at the front of the cabin, bowed and greeted us, and the initial welcome PA was made by the cabin manager. Unlike my previous regional flight, a lot more of the announcements in English were made live rather than from pre-recorded messages.

Soon enough, we pushed back from gate as the FAs armed the doors and commenced with the safety demonstration. Then, through a slightly clearer but still gloomy ICN, we taxiied to our runway and was soon into the air and flying towards FRA, keeping clear of North Korea in the process.

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As we approached cruise height, the seat belt signs were switched off and I decided to use this moment to visit the bathroom and get changed into my sleeper suit.

The F bathroom looked nothing special compared to the factory default, but it was otherwise quite well appointed with the essential grooming supplies. The sleeper suit reflected the colour scheme of the OZ cabin - off-putting perhaps, but ultimately very comfy sleeper suit with a full button-up shirt, a rather unusual design compared to others.




The rack in the OZ F bathroom contains enough grooming supplies for most purposes.


Me wearing the OZ F sleeper suit, with full button-up shirt.

The OZ F amenity kits are a soft leather zip bag stocked with Bvlgari accessories. The bag itself looks nice and would probably make a nice make-up bag but otherwise not too practical because the leather is very soft and looks like with even minimal abuse, the leather might start to peel.


OZ F amenity bag made of soft leather


Contents of the OZ F amenity kit, featuring Bvlgari accessories.

Menus were distributed soon after I returned to my seat. The menu on this flight was written in four languages - Korean, English, German and Japanese - though the wine list is only offered in Korean and English. OZ offer three cuisine types ex-ICN - Western, Chinese and Korean - but unfortunately, without the benefit of research or experience, I only found out from the crew that in order to have the Chinese or Korean choices, they must be pre-ordered by calling OZ at least 24 hours in advance. So I was stuck with having to experience the Western menu for this flight. Given that OZ have ICN as a home base, they can be extremely precise with the catering loading so they will only stock exactly the number of meal sets required for the pax in the cabin. This can pose problems for those of you (like me) who may have been planning to mix and match across respective cuisine menus!


OZ F menus

Remember the good ol' days when formal dinners had more courses than Harvard? OK perhaps that was a bit extreme, but the OZ First Western menu appeared a lot like that and, with the exception of a few other airlines, no one else offers such a distinction in the air. So it's probably worth noting that if you're about to tuck into this dining experience, pace yourself.

The plate design of the OZ F dining table consisted of many subtle curves rather than the standard circular types. For those of you who have flown CX F before, the design concept is quite similar; and for those who have flown LH F before, OZ F takes some inspiration from their table by adorning the First Class dining table with a rose. My appetiser was served along with a choice of drink. The two Champagnes loaded for this flight - a Pol Roger 1999 and Taittinger 2000 - were looking very attractive, so my first glass of Champagne was to be the Pol Roger, of which I was quite pleased with.




Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1999 Champagne. Wonderful drop.


The OZ F dining table set with appetiser of baked pear with prosciutto and sticky balsamic.

Bakery items were offered as I tucked into the appetiser, which was delicious. The sticky balsamic did an excellent job in accentuating the combination of pear and prosciutto. It was great to soak up the remaining balsamic with my bread roll, as well as with the supplied olive oil.


Bread roll.

anat0l

Olive oil, balsamic and butter

The next course after the appetiser was the caviar course. Once again, a dying breed around the world, even in F, but it has been maintained at OZ. Compared to TG, OZ probably take a more pure interpretation of the experience by providing a mother-of-pearl spoon rather than a regular metal spoon. (It is believed that metal spoons impart a certain taste which interferes with that of the caviar, which is why a mother-of-pearl or bone spoon is preferable). The caviar is served straight from individual serve jars, though I can't remember if it came off an iced serving tray or not. The wedge of lemon is encased in a porous bag which allows you to squeeze away without getting pips on your plate. The accompaniments included a few blinis as well as Melba toast, but the latter was a bit lame and not quite crispy enough.

The overall serving of caviar from OZ looks a wee bit smaller than that on TG, but the OZ serving appeared to have larger caviar pearls. As I said, OZ have the advantage of loading at ICN so they can be very precise with catering, so there was strictly only one serving of caviar per F pax on board. (Yes, I was trying to be greedy in asking for another serve after this one!)


OZ F caviar course.

The following course was the small serving of seafood served with saffron and curry sauce. An interesting course in writing, but turned out to be OK. It's a combination of mussel and scallop (if I recall correctly), surprisingly prepared quite well for air travel, with a creamy sauce with hint of curry and a generous amount of saffron. It isn't a smack in the face hit of spice that you would expect from a curry. The combination of the lemon and onion makes for not a bad course.


Seafood salad with saffron and curry sauce.

At this point, I decided to try the other Champagne, the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. This is a 2000 vintage, which is different to the 1999 vintage that I've been used to on QF F on board (or Brut served in the QF F lounges in SYD and MEL). Nevertheless, I've been impressed before, and I was once again impressed. A distinctly different character to the Pol Roger.


The new drop - Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000.


Pouring the Taittinger.

The next course was a soup one - cauliflower veloute, of which the latter noun tends to refer more often to a sauce rather than a soup. It did have the consistency of the veloute rather than a much less viscous soup, but it was delicious. I probably would've asked if there was any more left for a second helping, if only that I knew that my stomach was telling me, "hold back there, mate - you've still got about half of the menu to go..."


Cauliflower veloute with Parmesan chip.

The final of the starter courses (still with me?) was a Parmesan chicken schnitzel with a creamy mustard sauce. Very German in inspiration and hit the mark nicely. The micro-salad on the side complemented this course well. The combination of the schnitzel with the mustard sauce was to die for, and if I'd had another one, that might've been the case


Parmesan chicken schnitzel with potato and creamy mustard sauce.

Finally, after all of that... the main course! My choice of main course was the lamb loin, mainly because it seemed to be the most interesting looking one of the three. The wagyu did look attractive but it seemed rather simple, whereas the grilled salmon and shrimp Fricassee was similarly intriguing but to see it served with a beef jus was a bit left-field. So that's why I settled on the lamb loin served with artichoke and a black pepper jus. It might've been that this course was quite late in the proceedings, but the lamb could've been a slight bit more tender (perhaps slightly overcooked) and the jus a bit thicker and stronger (it was lacking a bit of depth), especially when you're combining the lamb and artichoke. Still, the flavours were there and it tasted OK.


Main course of roasted lamb loin with artichoke, lemon gremolata and black pepper jus.

I don't know how much time elapsed between first course and now, but we're not done yet! Now for the concluding courses - firstly the cheese selection. Unlike TG, at least OZ do select some more exquisite cheeses (or at least try), though I still suppose that being an Asian airline, they're not really into the whole selecting cheeses thing compared to the Western world. I don't know what the deal is serving crudites with the cheese plate - is this a cultural thing?


Cheese plate.

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The last course was dessert, which was a green tea torte. Although there's nothing really wrong with the torte, it was probably not the best dish of the series. Probably expected - a light, anticlimax to the entire meal.


Green tea torte.

I enjoyed my cheese plate and dessert with a couple of glasses of the dessert wine, which was an ice wine from the Niagara Peninsula in the USA. This is the first time I've had a dessert wine from North America, and I must say that its taste and character greatly outpaces any other wine I've had from the continent.


Jackson-Triggs Vidal Ice Wine 2007.


The ice wine has such a wonderful colour in the glass and a wonderful flavour and consistency to it.

Just as I was finishing up, the crew appeared at the front. They were offering an unusual service (and I might get the details wrong since I wasn't paying much attention), but apparently it is an offer for you to be able to write a letter to someone (I presume in Germany or South Korea) and it will be delivered for you by the airline. I suppose it's novel because a snail mail letter internationally these days can take at least a week to be delivered, though the old pen-and-paper letter was falling quickly out of fashion thanks to email and Skype. In saying that, the crew pushed it more as a romantic gesture, and that makes sense - whilst also being enveloped (no pun intended) by the electronic revolution, nothing expresses love more classically than a wonderful hand-written letter personally addressed to those you love.

Unfortunately for me, I had no one in Germany or in South Korea whom I'd be thinking of sending such a letter to, so I turned down the offer when the crew came around.


The cabin crew selling the letter service.

My table was cleared away as I asked the crew if they could prepare the bed at my seat. Whilst they were doing this I went to the bathroom to freshen up, liberally using the moisturiser provided as I could feel my skin drying up a bit too much, and further not going to be helped by the rest of the long flight ahead. Teeth brushed, I went back into the cabin and my bed had been made up, though the cabin lights weren't turned out just yet.

OZ set up the bed and have you in a semi-reclined position. You tuck yourself in, then recline it all the way in order to sleep.


Bed set up.


Fully reclined and ready to sleep. Just put the eye mask on, then it's good night!

......

...... Some time later ......


Waking up... here was our position in flight, and with about 4 hours before landing

I woke up after my nap with still plenty of time before we were landing in FRA. Time to keep myself occupied - so out came the laptop and a bit of work to do. The table isn't all that big compared to other F cabins, so it fit my laptop on there and a little more, with most of the rest of everything sitting on the side ledge between my seat and the window. That was enough.

After working away a bit and listening to my iPod (and not being interested in the IFE), I got up and refreshed myself (again being liberal with the moisturiser). As I left the bathroom, I noticed one of the FAs keeping everything in line in the galley. Being that I was in need of something to occupy time, I started a conversation with her.

OZ FAs, like most Asian countries and their airlines, know enough English to do their jobs well. In the case of the FA I was talking to, her English was quite good, but she still felt quite reserved as we talked about working for OZ, favourite stopovers and so on. Maybe this is a cultural thing, but I think it was just more that thing where you're not speaking your native language. (Western people are much the same when they converse in a language other than English). Still, it was a good way to pass the time, but as I checked my watch, there was about 2.5 hours left. I was a bit peckish, but just more that I wanted to sample what was on the snack menu.

Snack menus in F cabins (or any cabin for that matter) are a hit and miss affair. More often than not, they are not meant to be elegant meals, but rather fillers, so they are usually packed with comfort food at best. You can have noodle soup or Lays potato chips on SQ F, a pretty mean steak sandwich on QF F, Penne Arrabiata on BA F, dim sum soup on CX F, and if you are even hungry enough to want anything between meals on LX F, well, you'd better hope there's something leftover from the last meal. In the case of OZ F, their snack menu was pretty simple. I simply chose the native favourite, ramen. Yep, it is instant ramen, presented in a nice bowl with a side of kimchi and pickles. But for the purposes of a simple filler of soup and noodle, it fit the bill.

A word of caution for the uninitiated: Koreans can eat fire pretty well - probably much, much better than their Japanese and Chinese neighbours. Instant ramen is popularly taken with the spicy flavour. For most, the first impressions of eating the soup is that it is not spicy, and you'd probably be very right. But start wolfing down that soup and let the spiciness concentrate itself in your mouth, then you'll feel it. Not for the feint of heart.


Snack of instant spicy ramen with kimchi and pickles, with a glass of water and guava juice on the side.

The ramen soup was enjoyed whilst I tapped away at work. It also pays to be good to your body (and because my own intake was and would be lacking), so I followed that all up with a plate of fresh fruit.


Fruit plate

The flight went on until about 1 h 45 min before landing, when the snack was due to be served. At this point I noticed there was a Korean dish on the menu so although the other two choices looked pretty good, I wanted to have at least something Korean (besides instant spicy ramen) before I left this OZ flight.

The snack was a kimchi-based stew. Quite spicy, lots of kimchi and not much meat, so it's not quite vegetarian but it gets close. The multitude of side dishes make up the rest of the meal. The meal was served on a polished wooden tray, and the Korean traditional metal chopsticks (which can hurt your hands if you have to handle them for a very long time). The snack was accompanied with another glass of Taittinger (apparently, they ran out of Pol Roger sometime during the flight - ah well...)


Kimchi stew "Kimchi-jjigae" with various side dishes

anat0l

Metal chopsticks

Another spicy Korean dish down, a very simple mousse cake finished off proceedings, which I decided to have with a green tea.


Yoghurt mousse cake with fruits


Green tea served traditionally in a bowl rather than a tea cup

Nearing our touchdown into FRA, the FAs started making the final preparations for landing. I changed back into my day clothes as I prepared for my last flight of this little series (as well as mentally preparing myself for my short 75 minute transit at FRA).

OZ have a feature where they offer their F pax, along with a thanks for flying with them, a farewell gift. These gifts have varied from time to time, and in some cases a choice has been offered and in others not. Last I heard of the gifts there were iPhone cases and scented candles being offered. This time it was a CD of classical music, an iPhone case or a duffle bag. I took the most practical option for me, which was the duffle bag. Seeing as only three choices were offered and there were that many of us in the cabin, there would not be much choice after this! So good that the FAs had decided to offer me first picks at the gifts.

The duffle bag proved to be very useful in replacing my shopping bag in its duties of keeping all the trinkets and excess stuff I had collected whilst travelling, though I will warn now: be careful with this bag, since it isn't the most robust or sturdy one around.


The other farewell gifts on offer




The duffle bag by OZ. The main (bigger) bag is folded and contained in the smaller bag. So it's actually two bags in one.

I repacked all my belongings and checked off the transit at FRA in my mind as we started to descend in earnest. Whilst I've really enjoyed my time on board OZ (can't say I didn't enjoy the food!), it was time to move onto my final destination. We touched down in a wet FRA and taxiied to the gate. We had to wait a little while at the gate before disembarkation could commence, because they had to start the unloading of the freight in the rear of the aircraft otherwise something funny would happen to the weight and balance. Once that was taken care of, however, the FAs made sure that the J pax (and all the rest of the plebs) were kept behind whilst we exited first (after all, we are First class...) I thanked the crew for their service and quickly moved into the terminal.

The good thing about transferring within the Star Alliance is that all the flights leave from the same terminal (though changing terminals isn't too bad, either). Meticulously following the signage at FRA is crucial. If a sign says to turn left, as soon as you get under that sign, make that 90 degree due left turn and march on! I found a departure FIDS and it showed my next flight (after checking the multiple scrolling screens) was to depart from the B set of gates. So I followed the signs to B transit, and then there was security.

Uh oh. I have amenity kits, that's many liquids (and not in a LAG bag). And this isn't Asia any more - they can get pretty strict here in FRA. Heck, sometimes I think they set the WTMD setting to 'plastic', which isn't great for getting through quickly.

Take out the essentials - laptop, of course - then remove belt etc. Everything goes through the x-ray, I walk through the WTMD.... and that's it! Wow... that went much better than expected. I quickly pack up my stuff and move along before the security staff get other ideas.

Normally if I still had my Star Alliance Gold status, then I'd be entitled to use either the LH Senator or LH Business lounges, but in my case I was a Star Alliance Silver (useless for lounge access) and only had my J ticket, so the only lounge I could access was the LH Business lounge. Walking through the complex, at least LH made good sense to have signage to their lounges, because it'd be too easy to get lost in FRA trying to find what you're looking for. The Business lounge is located up a set of stairs (or via a lift), but in order to get past the stairs you need to have your BP scanned.


Walk ahead for the LH Business Lounge at FRA area B


Wilkommen!

Once I got into the lounge, I was expecting something pretty small. Instead, the lounge is quite decently sized (well, at least for the present time that I was in the lounge; guess I'm quite naive as to how busy it could really be), and even has shower facilities, along with a decent enough bar and food selection. Unfortunately, my transit time was too short to be able to have a shower now.

The lounge curves around like around the edge of a circle. Full length windows let light stream in, so it doesn't feel like a bunker in the case of some other lounges in the middle of the airport with just four plain walls and, often, pretty tacky or poor lighting.


Inside the FRA B section LH Business Lounge


Back of the lounge where there are desks with power points, phone rooms and through to showers and bathrooms

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Contrary to some stories you may have heard, there is plenty of food to be had in LH lounges - even if they are just the Business ones - though suffice to say, not a lot of it is hot food. There's snacks, big soft pretzels, yoghurts, sweets and some salads (yes, including potato salad). As for hot food, well, anyone for sausages? (Hey, we are in Germany...)


Feel like testing your inner bartender? German beer on tap is available - draw it yourself.


Yoghurts and pudding available. Not sure about the green bananas, though...


Various salads and accompaniments for crudities.


For those of you not quite getting the JFK urban legend - i.e. when he 'said', "Ich bin ein Berliner" - here is the butt of the 'joke'.


A little sample snack from the buffet - it's all typical German comforts here. On another given day, this would go down nicely with a big glass of German beer.

I saw the boarding time for my flight seem to pass by, so it was time to get moving. There were no boarding calls in the lounge - not necessarily unusual in this part of the world and for an airport with a very large number of flights every day - so I went up to the front counter to ask whether my flight was really boarding or not. A quick check of the computer confirmed that boarding had commenced and I should be making my way quickly to the gate!


Flight: Lufthansa Cityline LH936 Frankfurt am Main (Flughafen Frankfurt am Main) (FRA T1) - London City Airport (LCY)
Depart: Sched 1815h; Actual 1817h
Duration: 1 h 25 min
Distance: 386 mi (622 km)
Aircraft: D-AECD "Schkeuditz" Embraer E190
Class: Business
Seat: 2F


One of the things about the Business lounge was that it was located quite some distance away from my boarding gate, so with boarding having commenced, I was hot on my heels. To make things rather more frantic, my flight was boarding from a bus gate! This meant that they really took the whole boarding on time and being at the gate on time thing very seriously, and they will not wait!

Moving at a pace slightly faster than a military march on hot coals, I made it to the gate and was directed downstairs to the boarding area where the bus was waiting. FRA has so many flights every day, there simply aren't enough jetways to give every aircraft one. So many shorthaul flights - particularly those operated with regional aircraft like our Embraer - were relegated to getting remote stands where pax are bussed to and from the terminal.


LH A380 spotted as our bus drove to our aircraft.


Our LH Embraer E190 as viewed from the bus... and as the heavens opened.

As I boarded the aircraft, I was greeted by the cheerful FA at the door, then directed to my seat. Business Class on shorthaul LH (and indeed, most of Europe) was the usual guaranteed spare seat next to you (i.e. middle block for 3-3 configured aircraft, or an alternating aisle or window seat kept spare on 2-2 aircraft like this one). On this particular aircraft, the spare seats could be transformed into a low lying cocktail table (very low lying, it's at the same level as the seat cushion, not the arm rest, like would be normal on many other airlines / aircraft).


The spare seat with the lowered cocktail table.


Legroom in 2F.

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To be honest, the legroom was pretty good in my row, so I wonder if it was the same for the rest of the aircraft. Suffice to say if it were, then this particular Embraer would have to be one of the most comfortable shorthaul aircraft I've been on.

Once our bus load of pax was on board, I think we didn't have anyone else to wait for. This is one of the things about boarding at a remote stand by bus - especially with small aircraft, if everyone can fit on one or two buses, then it really clamps down on the gate closing time and departure time to a degree, since there's none of this running to the gate at last minute and then further running onto the plane (because if you miss the bus, too bad). I guess the only problem is lack of real priority boarding (unless you're lucky to use the FCT), but it was a lightly loaded flight, so plenty of room for everyone and similarly space in the overheads.

With the weather starting to pour a little harder now, we were pushed back out of our stand and soon taxiing and on our way into the sky towards London.

FRA to London is a mere 90 minutes or thereabouts. As an Australian, that's pretty much a BNE-SYD or SYD-MEL - fairly standard and known hops for me. LH serve a snack on this flight, which probably amounted to the normal cheese sandwich with full bar for the Y pax. For J pax, I was expecting the plastic food I got last year on my FRA-ZRH hop. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised.


Tasting refreshment plate from LH.

The tasting plate LH provided wasn't too bad at all. Not sure what the obsession is with tartares, but they weren't bad (and if not, there was always a bread roll on the side to eat it with). Whilst a full bar was on offer (not a comprehensive list, but the bare essentials - wine and beer at least), I decided to be conservative and opt for an orange juice. Probably not a good idea to greet the people who would be accommodating me for a couple of days whilst pickled (my liver had already gone down that path with the Champagne...)

LH have little cardboard ads on their meal trays; this time they were promoting trips to California. Same tack as CX on their J meal trays, and the USA airlines on the napkins....


Napkin advertising on LH. How shameless.

90 minute flights go by pretty quickly, and soon we were passing over the body of water separating continental Europe from the British isles, signifying we would be landing into LCY fairly soon. LCY may be the smallest of London's five major commercial aviation airports, but it plays a fairly vital role in short haul flights serving mostly the business community (given its proximity to Canary Wharf and the rest of the neighbourhood), plus the novel LCY/JFK which is operated by BA. Like LHR, LCY has its fair share of controversy and limited in expansion as a result, plus it has stricter operating time restrictions than LHR. Nevertheless, the proximity of LCY to central London is unmatched and valuable.

Personally, I just wanted to land into LCY for the hell of it. If it was different to LHR (and LHR can be a headache to get through sometimes, let alone get in and out of), then I wanted to try it out.


Now approaching Mother England.


Looks like a storm region in the distance.




Lower altitude flying - we're getting there!

Our descent had a few bumps in it, but soon we were down on the ground in London City Airport.

@:-) Youtube VIDEO: Landing at LCY

We had a long taxi at LCY as we docked at a stand pretty far from the centre of the complex. All planes at LCY seem to turn in and then make a 180 degree turn so they are facing back towards the runway, presumably so that once they are ready to go, all they do is remove the chocks and off you go - no pushback required. A bus was waiting at our disembarkation point, so we all piled onto the bus (which just fit us all!), and then we puttered slowly along the edge of the terminal until we reached the entry to the arrivals flow.

At border control, LCY only have 6 counters, but thankfully all of them were open. 5 counters were for Euro and UK passports, and the last line was for all other passports. The immigration officer in counter 5 seemed to be in a bit of a rush, continually beckoning people to move to the next available counter, announcing the counter number to move to, and in no less than five languages including English.

Passport control was passed, then it was onto baggage claim. Let's see if my bag made the long trek like I did. I read the monitors and it said my bag would appear on carousel 1. So I stood near carousel 1 and waited. And waited more. Still a bit more. OK what the hell is happening now.......

I saw many bags, some seemed to come from FRA, so where is my bag? Don't tell me it's lost. I've come this far across the world; I don't want to deal with a lost baggage report. Suddenly, I had a peer over at carousel 2. That's a lot of bags there. Hey, why is my flight also on the carousel 2 info board? Oh nuts - that's my bag there! So much for any degree of organisation - so LCY probably decided just to load the bags on both carousels - whichever it ended up on it was there. Luckily there are only 2 baggage belts in an area no bigger than a double lock-up garage...

There's a first time for everything...... including being stopped at customs. The officer asked me a few questions then requested an inspection of my bags. She was quite pleasant about it all and mentioned all the regular cover-my-butt things...

Officer: "This is just a regular random check, this is not unusual or anything like that..."
Me: "Yeah, go on, it's OK. I'm from Australia, we do this all the time."

If you didn't think I was telling the truth, maybe you really haven't travelled to Australia. And if you are Australian, you know I'm telling the truth!

The officer was kind of intrigued by all the food I had bought. Not sure if she was sizing up my cargo to procure some for her own under the guise of "customs risk" or greater than duty limit (yeah right, like this stuff costs multiple hundreds of quid). In the end, it was a 10 minute procedure and she even let me pack my bag up myself (I mentioned to her that the first time I went to New Zealand and got the third degree, I had to keep my hands behind my back the whole time - I wasn't allowed to touch a single thing, and not allowed to say a single thing until prompted to do so).

I proceeded out the final set of doors, and I was in London. And so ended my 30+ hour trek from the antipodes.

When I got out of the small arrivals area, I made sure I had everything in place before heading out of the airport itself. Unlike other airports, LCY has a pretty small entrance. Even regional airports in Australia can have a large-ish entrance (probably because they have an adequate parking lot), but at LCY there's not much of that at all. In fact, you'd think LCY is some small out-of-the-way aerodrome than a bigger-than-it-looks STOL airport.

I bumped into my friend as I made my way to the nearby DLR station - another LCY advantage. Armed with a Travelcard - much more superior to my PAYG Oyster - we were off on the train trek home. That's a DLR to Bank, followed by the tube to Victoria, then a Southern rail service to the south of London. Seems complicated, but once you're used to it, it's like clockwork. What you might not get used to quickly is carting a ~20kg bag and a backpack and a duffle bag up and down several flights of stairs! Thankfully escalators and lifts are numerous, but you'll always have a spot in London where you'll need to drag or lift your bag up and down stairs (this gets worse if it's icy, wet, and/or near the end of the trip - you know, when you've accumulated a few more kilos of stuff!)

It's amazing how the rail services in London seem so much better than home. Must be a "grass is always greener" thing, because if there's something that Londoners will complain bitterly about, it's TfL (Transport for London), the rail services and the cost of public transport. Maybe we should at least bring some of their know-how to Australia - we could learn a thing or two (especially at the rates of fares we are paying for public transport!)

By now, I've had 30+ hours in planes and airports. It's no where near my last epic of just over 100 hours before getting to a bed, but that's not to say at a mere 30+ hours that I'd be as perky as a hummingbird in the morning! Arrived at our destination station, whereupon it was another 10 minute walk in the light wet before home (in London terms, nothing at all).

My friend's apartment wasn't very big, then you add one big suitcase, a couple of big-ish bags, and one big human (plied up with rich food and Champagne).... and you probably don't have quite much room to swing a small cat. The only thing on my mind was to wind down and think about getting to sleep. Normally in my own room I'd open up the case and so on, but that's a no-go here, but I did unzip the case to take out all the goodies for my accommodation hosts - a taste of Australia (supermarket style - no chocolate covered macadamias here! ).

Anyway, it was a bit more small talk (and a box of In-A-Biskits consumed), showing a few photos and then it was time for bed. An air mattress on the floor is probably like an F bed in the sky, but it is on land! And thank goodness for that......

anat0l

Asiana Airlines OZ541 First Class Seoul Incheon - Frankfurt am Main
Tuesday 10 April 2012


Lunch


Western


Starters

Prosciutto and Baked Pear with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Caviar

Seafood Salad with Saffron and Curry Sauce

Cauliflower Veloute with Parmesan Chip

Parmesan Chicken Schnitzel and Potato with Creamy Mustard Sauce


Main Course

Grilled Wagyu Sirloin (494 kcal)
Mushroom with Syrah Sauce

Grilled Salmon and Shrimp Fricassee (371 kcal)
Potato and Pea Puree with Beef Jus

Lamb Loin (338 kcal)
Artichoke and Lemon Gremolata with Black Pepper Jus


Cheese Selections with Apricot and Raisin Chutney

Castello Blue

Saint Andre

Camembert


Dessert

Green Tea Torte with Caramel Sauce


Coffee and Tea


Petit Fours


Chinese


Starters

Deep Fried Prawn and Bean Curd Roll

Assorted Cantonese Cold Platter

Bird's Nest Soup


Main Course

Deep Fried Lobster (431 kcal)
Served with Black Bean Sauce

Stir Fried Beef (499 kcal)
Served with Hong Kong Style Sauce, Vegetables and Steamed Rice


Dessert

Persimmon Puree
Served with Chinese Rice Cake and Fruit


Coffee and Tea


Petit Fours


Korean Royal Table D'hote


Starters

Chlorella Roll

Shrimp Salad with Melon Dressing

Chestnut and Date Porridge


Main Course

Koreal Royal Cuisine "Bibimbap and Grilled Toothfish" (1240 kcal)
Steamed Rice Mixed with Various Kinds of Vegetables
Accompanied with Red Chilli Paste, Sesame Oil,
Grilled Toothfish, Assorted Side Dishes and Soup

Koreal Royal Cuisine "Bibimbap and Braised Short Rib in Sweet Pumpkin" (1115 kcal)
Steamed Rice Mixed with Various Kinds of Vegetables
Accompanied with Red Chilli Paste, Sesame Oil,
Braised Beef Short Rib in Sweet Pumpkin, Assorted Side Dishes and Soup

Koreal Royal Cuisine "Bibimbap and Stewed Seafood" (1600 kcal)
Steamed Rice Mixed with Various Kinds of Vegetables
Accompanied with Red Chilli Paste, Sesame Oil,
Stewed Abalone, Scallop, Sea Cucumber Roll, Assorted Side Dishes and Soup

Koreal Royal Cuisine "Ssambab with Beef Short Rib Bulgalbi" (911 kcal)
Steamed Rice Topped with Grilled 'Bulgogi' Beef and Bean Paste
Wrapped with Various Kinds of Leafy Vegetables
Accompanied with Assorted Side Dishes and Soup


Dessert

Fresh Fruit


Coffee and Tea


Petit Fours


Refreshments


Besides the main course, the light snacks as follows are provided upon your request throughout the flight

Ramen

Warm Noodles

Sandwich

Fresh Fruits


Snack (Prior to Landing)


Starter

Sugar Cured Salmon with Tomato, Avocado and Olive Vinaigrette


Main Course

Korean Traditional Spicy Stew "Kimchi-jjigae" (327 kcal)
Served with Various Kinds of Side Dishes and Steamed Rice

Rossini Beef Tenderloin (521 kcal)
Deep Fried Potato and Madeira Jus

Sous Vide Chicken Breast (434 kcal)
Arugula and Goose Liver with Beef Jus


Dessert

Yoghurt Mousse with Fresh Fruits


Coffee and Tea


Drinks


Aperitifs

Sweet Vermouth

Dry Vermouth

Campari

Sandeman Medium Dry Sherry


Spirits

Johnnie Walker Blue Scotch Whisky

Jack Daniel Bourbon Whiskey

Canadian Club Canadian Whisky

Smirnoff Vodka

Beefeater's Gin

Bacardi Rum


Korean Traditional Liquors

Hwarang (made from rice and herbs)

Mae Chuy Soon (made from plum)


Beers

OB

Cass

Hite

Max

Leffe Blonde

Krombacher

Miller


Korean Rice Wine

Makgeolli


Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Orange Juice

Apple Juice

Tomato Juice

Pineapple Juice

Plum Juice

Guava Juice

Coke

Diet Coke

Sprite

Ginger Ale


Cocktails

Whisky Sour
A refreshing cocktail made with Bourbon Whisky, lemon juice and sugar served with a lemon slice and cherry on top.

Manhattan
A cocktail reflecting Manhattan's nightscape with Bourbon Whisky, Sweet Vermouth and a cherry garnish.

Bloody Mary
A classic blend of Vodka, tomato juice with a dash of Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce.

Buck's Fizz
Otherwise known as Mimosa. A drink composed of sparkling wine (Champagne) and chilled orange juice garnished with a slice of orange and cherry.

Screwdriver
A popular cocktail made with fresh orange juice and Vodka.


Other cocktails are also available upon your request, subject to the availability of ingredients.


Champagne

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000

Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill 1999


White Wines

Mersault 1er Cru Clos Des Poruzots 2009
Burgundy, France

Chateau Brown Semillon / Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France

Jordan Chardonnay 2008
Sonoma County, California, USA


Red Wines

Chateau Gruaud Larose Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Saint-Julien, France

Corton Bressandes Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2008
Corton Bressandes, Burgundy, France

Robert Keenan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Napa Valley, California, USA


Dessert Wines

Blandy's 10 Years Old Malmsey Madeira
Madeira Island, Portugal

Port Sandeman 20 Year Old Tawny Porto
Porto, Portugal

Jackson-Triggs Vidal VQA Ice Wine 2007
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada


Coffee and Tea

Asiana uses Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee

Decaffeinated Coffee


Earl Grey

Camomile

Oolong Tea

Ginseng Tea

Green Tea

Rooibos

Peppermint

Jasmine

anat0l

Lufthansa Cityline LH936 Business Class Frankfurt am Main - London City Airport
Tuesday 10 April 2012


Refreshment by Mario Kotaska


Duck Tartar on Couscous Salad

Smoked Salmon Tartar on Horseradish Creme Fraiche, Red Beet Julienne, Diced Onion and Capers

Rolled Potato Crepe with Bündnerfleisch (air-dried beef) with Paprika & Chilli Salsa

Espresso Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Cru de Cacao

Zomba

Wow, quite a report so far! I love all of the photographs, though I am now quite hungry...

I look forward to more updates!

anat0l

A lovely English village-like scenery. Perfect weather, too.

I'll keep this bit short and sweet Names have been withheld to try and protect the innocent

In mid-July 2011, my friend declared his love for his sweetheart. My friend is known to always be sure of what he wants and bets on certainties. His judgement was once again vindicated as his proposal was accepted.

Fast forward to April 2012 and I was in Greater London, a matter of days before the momentous wedding. It was an ingenious idea to nominate yours truly to be the best man for the wedding. I'm not entirely sure I was ready for this...

Even though the wedding was to kept nice and low key, there's still the usual events building up to the magical day, as married couples will relate to. Over the course of a few days, family and friends started arriving into town. The few days were a combination of running through the flow of the wedding day, as well as organising the rings, the other props and the venues. Oh yes, and of course the usual having to calm down the to-be bride and groom as well.

Finally, the day of the wedding arrived...


Saturday 14 April 2012


The weather, looking rather ominous from a distance, managed to stay on its best behaviour for the day. The wedding was in the afternoon, and the day pretty much proceeded like clockwork. The guests had all arrived and ready in their best. As for me, I had the same regalia as the groom, a very English traditional wear.


Ahoy there, Captain! Yours truly ready to be the best man...

Groom's dad and two friends - including me - were in the groom's hotel room, pacing around and offering words of support and comfort to the groom. We also all managed to work out how to tie a cravat, which is oddly enough not the most intuitive thing to prepare, even for those who had grown up with the Windsor.

As afternoon set in, we started to make our way to the registry for the wedding ceremony. I was responsible for the rings, having been entrusted to keep them safe. In my head I was also trying to keep calm and formulate the speech I would have to give later at the reception. At the registry, just like tradition we were led to a small anteroom away from the bride and her party in preparation for the wedding. The groom sat at the desk in the corner of the anteroom, nervously pressing the tips of his fingers together. We continued to reiterate words of comfort.

Minutes passed like hours, but then we were called into a dainty set drawing room where the ceremony would take place. The paperwork was taken care of, then it was time for the guests to be seated, and await the entrance of the bride. The bride, splendid in a dress of grandeur navy blue, lit up the room and the ceremony started.

To say I was a bit clumsy might have been an understatement. It was a bit embarrassing getting to the ring part and not quite pulling out the rings fast enough to put them on the cushion. The celebrant curiously asked if there was only one ring - no, wait! There's another! Big heave and sigh felt from the groom... oh dear... (What kind of wedding doesn't involve two rings, but only one?) Crisis averted and the rest of the ceremony proceeded beautifully. The wedding party moved from the drawing room to the lawn outside, welcoming the newly wed couple with streamers, rather than the more traditional yet painful (and if you're Asian, wasteful ) choice of rice.

Several photos later, we proceeded back to the hotel for the reception. Much stumbling ensued on my part as an event coordinator as I botched up the entrance of the newlyweds, and I've found out that I'm not as good a pourer of sparkling (in the traditional and more showy method anyway). Maybe it was pressure, but why did it have to happen today?

Everyone let their hair down as the formalities were quickly put out of the way. The speech I had stressed a bit over ended up being like many speeches I've had to give: off-hand and winging it, even with preparation, and ominous given I had a glass of alcohol in my hand. A funny anecdote thrown in haphazardly seemed to cut the tension in the air and I garnered a bit of a laugh, so I decided to cut my losses and quickly propose the toast. The groom, equally willing to be a man of few words, added a little bit more before signing off with his usual aplomb.


Wedding cake - red velvet sponge.

The festivities proceeded to creep into the late night, but not too late as the stroke of eleven began to near. With most of the guests having left, we started to pack up and retire to our rooms. It had been a long but wonderful day.

anat0l

Sunday 15 April 2012


The day after the wedding, most of us were in recovery mode. Not so much that we were plastered, but since yesterday was a long day, and it was a Sunday, everyone could use a bit more sleep. Nevertheless, I woke up and made my way to the restaurant for a traditional English breakfast.

Today was a pretty relaxed day, but there was still quite a few things to do. Most people were getting packed and planning their return or onward trips. Outfits had to be in ship-shape for return to the dress hire shop. Lots of moving stuff around. And I was heading out to Budapest the next day.

My now-married friend was very generous and allowed me to store my large bag at their flat whilst I was travelling around Europe. Which is just as well, as I was travelling with Ryanair and even pre-purchasing checked baggage is a bit of a pain on the wallet, especially when most of one's remaining travel is in premium classes which allow so much more allowance. I had my small backpack that I put in a few clothes and bric-a-brac that came in just under 10 kg. Perfect.

In the evening, my friend and I headed into town to catch up with his folks, who also had onward travel the next day and had relocated to accommodation in London for convenience. After dinner at a local pub, it was time for me to head to my accommodation and try and get some rest before my early start the next day.


Accommodation: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage
Room: Standard Dorm


Since I was flying FR the next day, most of the FR flights leave from STN. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to get to STN is by bus, and one of the buses leaves from Finchley Road. And one of the cheapest but comfortable places to stay for an overnight was a few blocks away, at Palmers Lodge.

When I arrived at the Lodge reception, it was already getting pretty late, but I got my locker key, the wifi password (essential! ) and all the other rules explained. Palmers Lodge does offer free continental breakfast, but unfortunately I'd have to be out and on my way well and truly before they started serving. Palmers Lodge is set in a well kept refurbished old building. The only thing is that it seems almost near impossible to not make a noise as you walk across the timber floors inside the dorms, and with most people already asleep, it's a really awkward situation.

I put my belongings in the locker and went back outside to chill a bit and check some messages, but it wasn't long before I decided that I'd better get some sleep or I'll be really tired tomorrow. Besides, it was pretty rowdy at the reception as a big group of Dutch people (I think they were Dutch or German) were having a bit of a pow-wow, as well as checking messages and Skyping people on the limited computers in the reception area.

The beds in the dorms are quite comfortable, so after setting my alarm, it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.


Monday 16 April 2012


I felt my device vibrating and a soft alarm tone sound. It was waaaay too early in the morning. Still......

If it was awkward walking across the timber floor in the evening when people were trying to sleep, it's even more awkward walking across it in the dead hours of morning when everyone should still be asleep. I went to the bathroom for a quick freshen up before gathering my bag, checking my locker and making my way to reception to check out. Then, it was out into the dark, cold morning towards Finchley Road to catch the National Express bus to STN.


Waiting at Finchley Road for the bus to STN. Brrrrr!!

It takes about an hour by bus to get from Finchley Road to STN, then you factor in allowing enough time to allow for delays or an extra bus, because if you don't make it to the FR desk for documentation check before the flight cut-off, it's game over, no questions. As I waited for the bus, a few more people started to rock up. The bus eventually came about five minutes or so late, but once on board, it was quite comfortable. The pitch between seats was quite reasonable, and the seats sloped back a bit so you have a bit of recline, which is great for catching a few more winks on the way to the airport, which is exactly what I did. This bus also had wifi onboard, though the connection was a bit flaky.

There's not much to see in the dark morning on the way to STN. By the time I had arrived at STN, daylight had well and truly broken.


Stansted Airport frontage. Pretty innocuous looking.


The first thing you see when you enter the doors at Stansted - a welcome, and an ad.

London Stansted is a home to many budget carriers (AB perhaps notwithstanding), but by far the biggest presence at STN is the infamous Irish airline, Ryanair.

I found the check-in desk for BUD flights and had my documents checked. There are cabin baggage sizers all over the place - if you are travelling on FR, make sure you know that the cabin bag is the correct size! FR takes no prisoners when it comes to cabin baggage, as I found out later. Also, for goodness sakes, don't forget to print your boarding pass out before you arrive at the airport, otherwise you'll be up for a very hefty surcharge for a boarding pass at the airport. FR allows you to print BPs two weeks in advance of departure, so that's plenty of time.


Landside STN.

One little known fact about STN is that there is a Priority Pass lounge available, and in addition to that, Priority Pass holders are eligible to use the Fast Track security facility at STN. As my Amex Platinum Reserve (Australia) had two vouchers on it, I thought that this worked nicely (and seeing as I won't be using those vouchers for the rest of the year, might as well use them now!). Fast Track security delivered and I was through to the main airside concourse in no time. The main airside concourse begins like a typical shopping centre - shops, eateries, more shops - you get the idea. A solitary signpost a bit of the way along then gives you the directions to the gate piers.


Airside STN - shops, shops, shops.


No prizes as to who rules the roost here.

From the first signpost to every pier, the time planning signboard reports an approximate required walk of 12 minutes. It was pretty much on the money, as getting to my gate involved going around and up and down rather plain hallways, a couple of escalators and then finally at the correct pier. STN looks pretty boring as far as an airport goes, but a good use of glass and at least a clean look made it acceptable. Not bad for an airport primarily supported by budget carriers, especially FR, who would've squeezed every last pence out of the airport.


FR gate concourse at STN.

The Priority Pass lounge at STN is operated by No 1 Traveller, who actually have 2 lounges at STN - one for FR flights near Gate 49, and another for non-FR flights near Gate 16. Normally these are pay-per-use lounges, but people with certain airport lounge subscriptions can use the lounges. It's quite a juxtaposition compared to the rest of the terminal where budget carriers abound.


Entrance to the No 1 Traveller lounge at Gate 49, STN.

anat0l

The No 1 Traveller lounge is quite small; probably not bigger than some regional airport lounges (e.g. in Australia). I guess they never figured that many people flying FR will have lounge subscriptions or will cough up for an entry. The decor is quite nice - elegant yet simple. As I entered the lounge, my Priority Pass card was taken and I was issued a receipt for my entry. After that, I was given a quick tour of the lounge, shown the small free buffet, and informed that my entry entitled me to one free substantial item from the a la carte menu. The lounge has wifi and a nice view of the tarmac. There was a little lounging area with a TV for those so interested. There was also a bar, but it was too early in the morning, and I believe it's a cash bar.






Inside the No 1 Traveller Lounge at Gate 49, STN


Breakfast buffet selection - all complimentary here

The substantial morning a la carte menu consisted of two items - a bacon roll, and an omelette roll. I selected the omelette roll and asked for a latte, then sat myself on one of the nicely upholstered leather couches near the window. There was a power point near by which meant I could get a bit of charge into my devices. A code on a slip of paper at the front desk enabled the use of the wifi, which was at pretty good speed. Soon after, the roll arrived on a little wooden chopping board. The roll was nicely toasted and the roll appeared to had been assembled fresh, rather than say just a prepacked roll that had been microwaved then given a quick go over in the sandwich press.


Breakfast roll from the a la carte menu.

I finished up breakfast and then started to think about making my way to the gate. It was approaching T-45 minutes to departure, which probably meant it was a good time to start thinking about getting into the boarding queue. Although priority boarding on FR can be purchased for a fee, it's free-for-all seating once on board. I gathered up my belongings and made my way back down the concourse to my gate, just as it was about 50 minutes before boarding.


Flight: Ryanair FR8353 London Stansted (STN) - Budapest (Budapest Liszt Ferenc Nemzetközi Repülotér) (BUD T2)
Depart: Sched 0825h; Actual 0856h
Duration: 2 h 20 min
Distance: 904 mi (1,455 km)
Aircraft: EI-EFB Boeing 737-800
Class: Economy
Seat: 32D


One thing was missing, however. Our aircraft. There was no aircraft at our gate. Uh oh... delay. Nevertheless, everyone had started to get in line in anticipation of boarding, and even with the delayed arrival of the aircraft, no one was going to sit down and give up their place outside the queue, because that just means less chance of getting a good seat (and overhead space) once on board. So everyone just stood and waited. Most of the crowd seemed to be Hungarians, judging by the language of the murmurs. I started looking at some of the bags being brought on board and thought, "This will not end well for these guys".

Minutes passed by. Some people left the line to do last minute shopping, or use the bathroom. Soon enough, however, a FR aircraft was seen taxiing at what appeared to be full speed towards our position, then a sharp turn into the stand and preparing for docking.

FR aircraft are a bit unusual in a number of ways. FR use all Boeing 737-800 aircraft and the front door has a retractable stair case built into it. I guess this not only saves money at some airports as that's one less set of stairs required, but it also enables FR to land at airports which may not have such facilities (or enough of them), i.e. the smaller regional airports which have cheaper rates than the primary hubs. FR boards from both the front and the back of the aircraft, with an additional set of stairs wheeled into position at the back. The arriving passengers were quickly scrambled off the aircraft as all of us at the gate finally prepared for boarding.

All of us boarded the aircraft by descending down the stairs onto the tarmac, and then we followed the paths to either the front or the rear boarding stairs. Boarding proceeded and basically consisted of two checks. The first check involved an agent checking the sizes of bags and guessing their weight, and pulling aside people who may be in breach of the cabin baggage guidelines, who were then asked to test their bag in a sizing bracket. If it didn't fit the bracket, it wasn't going on, and several people were pulled aside and forced to repack or consider checking in their bag (at the at-airport rate, of course). All of us had our A4 sheets of boarding pass in hand, which was promptly scanned and the counterfoil at the bottom of the page crudely torn away as we passed through.

Since FR have a no allocated seating policy, my strategy was to race to the back door and take the first viable seat I could find. I was reckoning that most people may not fill from the back as quickly as they do through the front, and all I was happy for would be an aisle seat, preferably with some space in the overhead, but I'd take that as a secondary. My strategy seemed to be vindicated as I headed through the back and found a seat a few rows in. A quick scan of the overheads going forth showed little prospects of a good seat with overhead space, so I satisfied myself with the seat I found and sat down before anyone else had the same idea as me.


FR legroom.

I'll be frank: there isn't a lot of legroom in FR seats. For those of you who are quite tall or plump, you may struggle a little bit in your seat, and it does not help if you cannot put your cabin bag in the overhead. It was adequate for a flight not much longer than a couple of hours. The seats are leather with a plastic shell and have no recline. Life jackets are located in the overhead panels rather than under seats. It's a tight fit aircraft, not much different to an average non-luxury bus, carrying up to 189 passengers at (mostly) rock bottom prices.


FR cabin. If you've ever owned a pair of yellow gum boots before, the colour accents are probably familiar to you. The blank panelling on the overhead bins are reserved for advertising space, which is another revenue stream for FR.


FR has lifejackets stored in the overhead panels.


Safety information printed on a small panel on the back of each seat, which eliminates the need for loose safety information cards.

The FR crew - short of ensuring their legal and safety obligations - seemed to exhibit as much frivolity in their mannerisms, similar to that of their company CEO. I overheard some joking that we (pax) shouldn't complain so much about FR being cheap, after all, toilets were still free of charge! Then, as we prepared to close out the cabin and push back, the purser came on with, "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls..."... the only thing he could've done to make it more cheesy would be the stretch out the 'Goooooooooooooooooood morning'. We pushed back from gate and a short safety demo was given. We had quite a taxi from terminal to runway; our pilots put their foot to the accelerator, so to speak, in making the long taxi to the runway, and continued their urgency as they powered up the engines and took off.

I was one of the very lucky ones on this aircraft. There was a spare seat between myself and my seat mate in 32F, and we definitely wasted no time stretching to the spare seat space as well as moving our belongings to the spare foot space in 32E.

Ryanair, like most other budget carriers, raise a significant amount of revenue through buy-on-board sales. Throughout the flight, Ryanair sell three kinds of products to raise revenue: your standard buy-on-board refreshments (snacks, drinks), duty free (including Ryanair bric-a-brac), and raffle tickets for prize draws; the last one apparently raises money for a charity rather than FR pockets. Nothing is free on board - not even water, and not even ice. Without fail, of course there were many people on board who handed over their cash to purchase refreshments and drinks, even if it was the cheap tasting (or so it looked) coffee, or the simplest cup of tea. I, of course, bought nothing from the trolley, but instead just relaxed on the flight and tried to get a bit of sleep. I just imagined it as just another BNE/MEL flight that I knew well.

I did have to use the bathroom once during the flight, and yes when I flew them that time, use of the bathrooms was free of charge! At least it was clean.

I caught up with some sleep on the flight until we started to approach BUD. We landed at BUD with a soundly thud, then started our hasty taxi to the remote stand. FR crew still crack jokes here and there, such as, "If you would like to smoke in the airport, we'd like to remind you that it's a dirty and expensive habit, but you'll still have no luck as it is not allowed in the terminal." The usual long winded announcements followed, ending with the usual company plug. We parked at a stand quite some distance away from the terminal. Shuttle buses were summoned into place as the stairs were positioned for disembarkation. We poured off the plane into the waiting shuttle buses, which were stuffed to the gills before we were allowed to move towards the terminal for arrivals procedures.


Our FR aircraft parked on the tarmac at BUD. This photo was taken from inside the shuttle bus as we made our way towards the terminal.

anat0l

Welcome to Budapest - BUD T2 arrivals area

Magyar Meandering

Clearing passport control was pretty easy, and of course having no checked bags means a simple walk right out the door into the arrivals area.

First priority - need some currency. I found a sole ATM in a corner of the arrivals hall. Thankfully it has English and it accepts my 28 Degrees Mastercard. A quick inspection of the ATM to check for suspicious devices, then a couple of minutes later and I'm charged up with Forints, which is a 'large' currency (i.e. get used to handing over hundreds and thousands of the stuff).

Next, I'm going for my transport. There is a shuttle bus service where you pay a nominal fee depending on destination zone and collects pax as required (both from BUD T2 and T1). Nice, easy and hassle free, and a good price, too. I paid for my spot on the bus, and didn't have to wait long before I was called up for the next service, with no other pax around. The bus did have to pick up some other pax from the other terminal, however, but we weren't packed to the gills and were soon off towards Budapest city. My accommodation was in Buda in the Castle area, which can be quite expensive.


Accommodation: Hilton Budapest (Castle)
Room: Executive King


Entry of vehicular traffic into the Buda Castle complex is controlled with boom gates and guards. The Buda Castle is a UNESCO Heritage site and presents wonderfully, with old style facades and cobblestone roads. There are two Hilton properties in Budapest - one on the Buda side (this one) and the other on the Pest side (downtown). I managed to get my stay with a combination of points and cash (plus the regular Hungarian city tax that must be paid in addition), which, though I was on a tight budget, made the whole expense more palatable. Thank goodness for points (as well as HHonors benefits like Executive Lounge and free breakfast)! The hotel is located right next to Matthias Church.


Frontage of the Hilton Budapest (Castle)

The shuttle drove right up to the door and soon I was outside the property. As I walked in, it felt a bit unusual, as the staff were probably expecting someone who was rather well dressed and carting a small rollerboard or even a larger bag, not a casually dressed tourist with not much more than a backpack. Nevertheless, as I walked up to the front counter, the staff greeted me with a hearty Hungarian salutation, and then proceeded to check me in, offering me an upgrade to an Executive room in the process.


The old courtyard outside the lobby of the Hilton Budapest. The courtyard is still used for special events and dining.


Lobby lounge area of the Hilton Budapest, which also overlooks the old courtyard.

The decor of the property is likely anything but modern, but rather reflects the very traditional setting where the hotel is situated - old world grandeur. I've been told that the property still reflects a lot of the designs and motifs from the old Soviet communist days.

The Executive Floor is rather unusual. The Executive Lounge, rather than being a separate "room", is actually located in the middle of the floor such that, to get from the lifts to my room, you had to pass through the lounge. I know that's pretty hard to visualise without a map, but try and believe me here . The hallways of the property are quite dimly lit. I was fortunate to have a room near the corner of the property, and overlooking the Danube River.


The Executive Lounge, viewed as you enter from the hallway leading to the lifts. The hallway in the distance (12 o'clock position in the photograph) leads to other guest rooms, including mine.


A darker anteroom of the Executive Lounge, containing a few seats, a computer workstation, and stain glassed windows.


Dark hallways of the Hilton Budapest.

Entering my room, again the decor is quite old world, but quite comfortable. The window opened out to a wonderful view of the Danube River and the Pest side of the city, including Hungarian Parliament. The bathroom was quite large with both a decently sized shower and a bathtub. The bar area is kept in a small compact corner of the room. It's a nice big room, and I'd say quite generous on quite a few measures. Nice for a Category 5 property!


Entering my Executive Room at the Hilton Budapest.


Open bar area.