airoli goes to Hong Kong (good-bye flight on SR)
Feb 1, 2002, 5:45 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: ZRH / YUL
Programs: UA, TK, Starwood > Marriott, Hilton, Accor
Posts: 7,295
airoli goes to Hong Kong (good-bye flight on SR)
Note: For a detailed listing of post-grounding changes in Swissair?s inflight product, please see this thread.
In order to re-fill its planes, Swissair sold really cheap tickets to all its destinations. I thus booked a return Y class flight to Hong Kong for a mere CHF850 ($494) and prepared for a five day trip to the former British colony. This was my first time to Asia and also a treat after my final exams at school.
As the future of the Qualiflyer program remains doubtful and because I really wanted to see The Wing, I burned 30?000 miles for an upgrade to C on the return flight. This was my last trip on Swissair, an airline that I was loyal to for many years. Now it?s time to say goodbye?
SR172 ZRH-HKG 19/JAN MD-11 HB-IWO ?Schwyz?, 17J Coach
I arrived at unique Airport, as Zurich?s airport is called, at about 19:15 for a scheduled departure at 20:40. Entering the departure hall I noticed that the entire left side, where the Y class checkin desks used to be, is now closed down. So I turned right and found a Y desk with no line. Checkin was smooth, and I was given my preassigned seat 17J, the very first row of Y on the MD-11 with tons of legroom. Very comfy for an 11h flight. The agent also informed me about a 30 minute delay due to late connecting passengers.
I had a drink with the friends who brought me to the airport and finally made my way through security to the gate, just in time for boarding at 20:40. I picked up some newspapers before entering the plane where I was greeted by a FA who insisted on checking my boarding pass again. While I knew this double-check to be a common procedure on other carriers, it is definitely new on Swissair (wasn?t required a week earlier on LHR-ZRH) and therefore took me by surprise. After I had produced my ticket stub I was allowed to settle into my seat where a pillow, blanket and headphones were waiting for me. The seats on the MD-11 are not particularly comfortable, but with the extra legroom I felt just fine.
The captain made an announcement that we would take-off at about 22:00, but due to strong tailwinds would still make it to HKG on time. As we taxied to the runway I looked around to find the Y cabin about 85% full. It remains unclear however if this means any profits for Swissair, considering their sale and the many employees and Qualiflyers redeeming their awards.
We took of at 22:15 and headed towards Germany, Poland, Belarus, then Russia, Mongolia and finally via mainland China into HKG. As we reached our cruising altitude a little appetizer was served (prepacked ?flûtes? [breadsticks]), along with a choice of beverage. I had a Freixenet, Spanish sparking wine. Dinner was served shortly afterwards, Western-style beef or Asian-style chicken. The latter was my choice and I was offered a tray with my main course, salad, a roll and a chocolate mousse dessert. There was no china or real glass, but metal cutlery except for the knives. The salad was fresh and tasty, the main meal looked inedible but was at least mediocre, and the chocolate mousse was really good. I found it disappointing that no Swiss chocolates were offered with the coffee / tea service.
During the meal, short features were shown on the large screens (still no PTV on the MD-11), and shortly after I had finished my dessert the main features started: Planet of the Apes and Princess Diaries. I knew the first one already and wasn?t interested in the second one, so I read for a while and then to my surprise slept for almost 4 hours, thanks to the extra legroom.
I woke up in bright daylight and marveled at the Himalayan peaks down below. One could think we were over the Swiss alps (was I homesick already??
). Throughout the flight, FA?s came around with water every two hours or so, and snacks were available from a cart next to the galley. While the airshow was on, I noticed that we sometimes went faster than 1000km/h.
About two hours out of HKG, hot towels were offered to initiate the breakfast service, which consisted of rolls, preserves, a tasty strawberry yogurt and beverages. I had some OJ first and tea afterwards, both served in cardboard cups. Duty free articles were offered later on, and after only 10 hours and 45 minutes, we touched down in cloudy Hong Kong perfectly on time.
Hong Kong ? Asia?s world city
Fellow Flyertalker celbrian told me about the Wesley hotel at the London get-together, and I booked a room for HKD380 ($49) per night there. I took the fabulous Airport Express into town and after a short taxi ride from the Hong Kong station arrived at the hotel, where I got checked-in in no time. My room on the 9th floor was small, but quiet and cozy. Tired and jet-lagged, I wasn?t up for exploring yet and just crossed the street into the Pacific Place mall for some quick bites before calling it a day.
I started off my first day in Asia with an early morning tram ride to the Peak, where I enjoyed the view and oriented myself. The rest of the day was dedicated to exploring the island. I relaxed in Hong Kong park before heading down to the Macau Ferry Terminal and finally had my first distinct Asian impressions in the streets and stalls behind Western Market. In a Chinese pharmacy I got the Tiger Balm and Po Chai pills I?ve been ordered to bring home. Dining in the ?American Restaurant? (which has nothing to do with America and serves Peking food) close to the hotel I took the Lonely Planet chopstick proficiency test, balanced a single pea from bowl to mouth, and passed!
Kowloon was the mantra for Tuesday. I took the MTR from Admirality to Mong Kok and found myself in a completely different environment: crowded, loud, dirty, exciting! After a first stop at the CRC Chinese department store, I made my way south through Ladies market, where I bought an ?original Swiss army watch? for HKD25 ($4). This will be one of the very few of these watches that will actually go to the Swiss army on 2/11! I kept walking south on Nathan road until I reached the Holiday Inn Golden Mile, then made a right and ended up in the huge Harbor City mall. By the time I had finished my shopping and after I had also checked Flyertalk from one of the free internet terminals, it was dark already, and I enjoyed a spectacular ride on the Star Ferry across Victoria harbor. After my recent success with chopsticks, I went for fork and knife this time at a good Indian restaurant. Prices were much lower than at MatthewClement?s London choice!
Europe meets Asia ? Macau
On late Wednesday morning, I took a jetfoil to the former Portuguese colony. After a fast 60min ride, plus a strenuous immigration and stamping marathon in both Hong Kong and Macau, I set foot on yet another SAR. A taxi took me to a temple in the north of the little city, and I started my tour there. To my surprise, none of the worshippers was bothered by my filming and wandering through the temple. Nice. I then continued south to a quiet garden where I relaxed for a while before continuing to the fortress in the heart of town, and down to where the largest Christian building in Asia once stood. Nowadays there?s only the façade left. In the area around the cathedral, with its narrow cobblestoned streets and Portuguese mosaics, one tends to forget that this is Asia. Outside of this area however, I found Macau to be an unspectacular place with extremely polluted air, much worse than Hong Kong. After yet another set of stamps in my passport, I made it on a ferry taking me back to Hong Kong just in time for dinner. As this was my last dinner in town, I had preordered a beggar?s chicken, a local specialty of a chicken in a herb- and spices crust, covered by a layer of clay and then gently cooked for hours until perfectly tender. It was way too much for me, but absolutely delicious.
I started my last day with an exciting variety of Dim Sum at ?Zen? restaurant in Pacific Place, and then did some additional shopping (more watches, belts, incense etc.) before preparing for the return to western culture by having tea-time in the Peninsula?s lobby café. It cost me more than most of my other main meals, but the atmosphere of ultimate luxury was well worth it.
Another nighttime crossing of Victoria harbor on the Star ferry concluded my trip, and I took a taxi to the Airport Express station where I could check my luggage. Some 30 minutes later, the train dropped me at HKG airport.
SR173 HKG-ZRH 25/JAN MD-11 HB-IWB ?Graubünden?, 8A Business
I was really looking forward to exploring the Wing, and I was assured several times on the phone that Swissair would use that lounge at HKG. Alas, they changed it after the grounding, and it was only for F passengers now.
I ended up in the unpretentious Plaza Premium lounge, having to kill the 2 hours that I planned for the Wing. Boarding was finally called at 23:40, and as I settled into my window seat, I noticed the lack of amenity kits. What a shame! As far as the seat is concerned: it is OK, but I still think that a legrest that doesn?t come up to the height of one?s knees is pretty useless?
Our coats were hanged and pre-departure drinks were offered (water, OJ, champagne) along with the menu:
Midnight supper
Grilled tuna with a mixed salad enhanced by a wasabi vinaigrette.
This one looked strange, I still don?t know whether this colorful seaweed / pasta mix was the ?wasabi?. Tasty though.
--
Creole-style grilled pepper steak enhanced by a red wine sauce served with potato gratin, asparagus and pumpkin flower.
My choice, the beef was somewhat overcooked. The rest of the dish was nothing to write home about.
or
Pan-fried salmon with tomato and mango salsa accompanied by potatoes and mixed vegetables.
or
Tagliatelle tricolore with broccoli, tomatoes and a blue cheese sauce topped with grilled courgette and roasted walnut.
--
A selection of cheeses including goat?s cheese, Emmental and Gruyère accompanied by fruit.
To my contempt all cheeses were Swiss this time, and good. I had a glass of exquisite port with this dish. And then another one.
--
Lemon mousse enhanced by a raspberry sauce garnished with whipped cream and pistachio nuts.
Coffee, Decaffeinated coffee, Tea, Swiss ?Lindt? chocolates.
Dessert was surprisingly good, light and not too sweet. I compensated my lack of sugar with some chocolates.
We took off on time, and a flying time of 12:45 was announced. The flight was about 80% full this time. Service started as soon as we reached cruising altitude. I had some of the Lanson Black Label champagne, but then stuck to water until the mandatory glass of port was offered with the cheese. Some notes on the service: our tray was laid with a white linen, then a plastic tray with cutlery, condiments, roll, butter, appetizer, dessert and the cheese dish was placed in front of me. No plastic of course, all real china. Later, the appetizer plate was replaced with the main dish, which wasn?t removed until the entire tray was. Not too good.
Before the cabin lights were dimmed, water bottles were distributed. Alas, the timing of the inflight entertainment was bad on this flight. They started the main features shortly after takeoff, and as I don?t eat and watch TV, I missed ?Tomb Raider? which I always wanted to see (because of the plot of course ). I?d already seen the second movie, ?Curse of the jade scorpion?, so I asked for a DVD player and put in the ?Top Gun? disc. Quite cool to see this classic in the air? By the time I finished it I was really tired, and so I reclined my seat and took a 5 hour nap. When I woke up I watched some episodes on the comedy DVD plus my recordings in HKG on my camcorder, and then hot towels were offered and we got ready for breakfast, served on one tray and with FA?s passing with bread baskets:
English breakfast à la carte
Fresh seasonal fruit
Fruit yogurt
--
French omelette accompanied by grilled bacon and button mushrooms.
or
Stir-fried udon noodles with har gow, siu mai and beef ball.
or you may prefer our cold selection
Slices of mortadella, air-cured beef and Brie.
--
Assorted breakfast breads, croissants,
Butter, Honey, Preserves,
Coffee, Tea, Herbal Teas.
I had the cold selection, where they couldn?t do anything wrong, along with some croissants and OJ, plus a tea. The yogurt seemed to be exactly the same as the Y one on the outbound leg, except that it was in a china bowl
Duty free articles were offered while an arrival video for ZRH and granted connections were shown on the screens. Despite my hopes for a nice souvenir, the DVD players were collected and we started our descent into rainy Zurich, where we landed on time.
Either the Flyertalk or the SR business tag made my baggage to be one of the first on the belt, and after a quick pit-stop at the Allegra lounge, I was on my way home. This was my last trip ever with the old Swissair, and in conclusion I must say that apart from the ?Swiss feeling in the air?, which of course is mostly created by my patriotism, I did not find the flights to be spectacularly good. I did appreciate the business class seats on a 12h45 flight, but the latest cuts in service made the whole thing fairly standard. They will have to put a lot more into the new Swiss if they want it to be as good as the brand.
Hong Kong on the other hand was absolutely great, and definitely made me eager for more of Asia. And sooner or later, I?ll return to the fascinating mixture of east and west.
Appreciate your feedback.
------------------
truly yours. airOli.
In order to re-fill its planes, Swissair sold really cheap tickets to all its destinations. I thus booked a return Y class flight to Hong Kong for a mere CHF850 ($494) and prepared for a five day trip to the former British colony. This was my first time to Asia and also a treat after my final exams at school.
As the future of the Qualiflyer program remains doubtful and because I really wanted to see The Wing, I burned 30?000 miles for an upgrade to C on the return flight. This was my last trip on Swissair, an airline that I was loyal to for many years. Now it?s time to say goodbye?
SR172 ZRH-HKG 19/JAN MD-11 HB-IWO ?Schwyz?, 17J Coach
I arrived at unique Airport, as Zurich?s airport is called, at about 19:15 for a scheduled departure at 20:40. Entering the departure hall I noticed that the entire left side, where the Y class checkin desks used to be, is now closed down. So I turned right and found a Y desk with no line. Checkin was smooth, and I was given my preassigned seat 17J, the very first row of Y on the MD-11 with tons of legroom. Very comfy for an 11h flight. The agent also informed me about a 30 minute delay due to late connecting passengers.
I had a drink with the friends who brought me to the airport and finally made my way through security to the gate, just in time for boarding at 20:40. I picked up some newspapers before entering the plane where I was greeted by a FA who insisted on checking my boarding pass again. While I knew this double-check to be a common procedure on other carriers, it is definitely new on Swissair (wasn?t required a week earlier on LHR-ZRH) and therefore took me by surprise. After I had produced my ticket stub I was allowed to settle into my seat where a pillow, blanket and headphones were waiting for me. The seats on the MD-11 are not particularly comfortable, but with the extra legroom I felt just fine.
The captain made an announcement that we would take-off at about 22:00, but due to strong tailwinds would still make it to HKG on time. As we taxied to the runway I looked around to find the Y cabin about 85% full. It remains unclear however if this means any profits for Swissair, considering their sale and the many employees and Qualiflyers redeeming their awards.
We took of at 22:15 and headed towards Germany, Poland, Belarus, then Russia, Mongolia and finally via mainland China into HKG. As we reached our cruising altitude a little appetizer was served (prepacked ?flûtes? [breadsticks]), along with a choice of beverage. I had a Freixenet, Spanish sparking wine. Dinner was served shortly afterwards, Western-style beef or Asian-style chicken. The latter was my choice and I was offered a tray with my main course, salad, a roll and a chocolate mousse dessert. There was no china or real glass, but metal cutlery except for the knives. The salad was fresh and tasty, the main meal looked inedible but was at least mediocre, and the chocolate mousse was really good. I found it disappointing that no Swiss chocolates were offered with the coffee / tea service.
During the meal, short features were shown on the large screens (still no PTV on the MD-11), and shortly after I had finished my dessert the main features started: Planet of the Apes and Princess Diaries. I knew the first one already and wasn?t interested in the second one, so I read for a while and then to my surprise slept for almost 4 hours, thanks to the extra legroom.
I woke up in bright daylight and marveled at the Himalayan peaks down below. One could think we were over the Swiss alps (was I homesick already??
). Throughout the flight, FA?s came around with water every two hours or so, and snacks were available from a cart next to the galley. While the airshow was on, I noticed that we sometimes went faster than 1000km/h.About two hours out of HKG, hot towels were offered to initiate the breakfast service, which consisted of rolls, preserves, a tasty strawberry yogurt and beverages. I had some OJ first and tea afterwards, both served in cardboard cups. Duty free articles were offered later on, and after only 10 hours and 45 minutes, we touched down in cloudy Hong Kong perfectly on time.
Hong Kong ? Asia?s world city
Fellow Flyertalker celbrian told me about the Wesley hotel at the London get-together, and I booked a room for HKD380 ($49) per night there. I took the fabulous Airport Express into town and after a short taxi ride from the Hong Kong station arrived at the hotel, where I got checked-in in no time. My room on the 9th floor was small, but quiet and cozy. Tired and jet-lagged, I wasn?t up for exploring yet and just crossed the street into the Pacific Place mall for some quick bites before calling it a day.
I started off my first day in Asia with an early morning tram ride to the Peak, where I enjoyed the view and oriented myself. The rest of the day was dedicated to exploring the island. I relaxed in Hong Kong park before heading down to the Macau Ferry Terminal and finally had my first distinct Asian impressions in the streets and stalls behind Western Market. In a Chinese pharmacy I got the Tiger Balm and Po Chai pills I?ve been ordered to bring home. Dining in the ?American Restaurant? (which has nothing to do with America and serves Peking food) close to the hotel I took the Lonely Planet chopstick proficiency test, balanced a single pea from bowl to mouth, and passed!
Kowloon was the mantra for Tuesday. I took the MTR from Admirality to Mong Kok and found myself in a completely different environment: crowded, loud, dirty, exciting! After a first stop at the CRC Chinese department store, I made my way south through Ladies market, where I bought an ?original Swiss army watch? for HKD25 ($4). This will be one of the very few of these watches that will actually go to the Swiss army on 2/11!
I kept walking south on Nathan road until I reached the Holiday Inn Golden Mile, then made a right and ended up in the huge Harbor City mall. By the time I had finished my shopping and after I had also checked Flyertalk from one of the free internet terminals, it was dark already, and I enjoyed a spectacular ride on the Star Ferry across Victoria harbor. After my recent success with chopsticks, I went for fork and knife this time at a good Indian restaurant. Prices were much lower than at MatthewClement?s London choice!Europe meets Asia ? Macau
On late Wednesday morning, I took a jetfoil to the former Portuguese colony. After a fast 60min ride, plus a strenuous immigration and stamping marathon in both Hong Kong and Macau, I set foot on yet another SAR. A taxi took me to a temple in the north of the little city, and I started my tour there. To my surprise, none of the worshippers was bothered by my filming and wandering through the temple. Nice. I then continued south to a quiet garden where I relaxed for a while before continuing to the fortress in the heart of town, and down to where the largest Christian building in Asia once stood. Nowadays there?s only the façade left. In the area around the cathedral, with its narrow cobblestoned streets and Portuguese mosaics, one tends to forget that this is Asia. Outside of this area however, I found Macau to be an unspectacular place with extremely polluted air, much worse than Hong Kong. After yet another set of stamps in my passport, I made it on a ferry taking me back to Hong Kong just in time for dinner. As this was my last dinner in town, I had preordered a beggar?s chicken, a local specialty of a chicken in a herb- and spices crust, covered by a layer of clay and then gently cooked for hours until perfectly tender. It was way too much for me, but absolutely delicious.
I started my last day with an exciting variety of Dim Sum at ?Zen? restaurant in Pacific Place, and then did some additional shopping (more watches, belts, incense etc.) before preparing for the return to western culture by having tea-time in the Peninsula?s lobby café. It cost me more than most of my other main meals, but the atmosphere of ultimate luxury was well worth it.
Another nighttime crossing of Victoria harbor on the Star ferry concluded my trip, and I took a taxi to the Airport Express station where I could check my luggage. Some 30 minutes later, the train dropped me at HKG airport.
SR173 HKG-ZRH 25/JAN MD-11 HB-IWB ?Graubünden?, 8A Business
I was really looking forward to exploring the Wing, and I was assured several times on the phone that Swissair would use that lounge at HKG. Alas, they changed it after the grounding, and it was only for F passengers now.
I ended up in the unpretentious Plaza Premium lounge, having to kill the 2 hours that I planned for the Wing. Boarding was finally called at 23:40, and as I settled into my window seat, I noticed the lack of amenity kits. What a shame! As far as the seat is concerned: it is OK, but I still think that a legrest that doesn?t come up to the height of one?s knees is pretty useless?Our coats were hanged and pre-departure drinks were offered (water, OJ, champagne) along with the menu:
Midnight supper
Grilled tuna with a mixed salad enhanced by a wasabi vinaigrette.
This one looked strange, I still don?t know whether this colorful seaweed / pasta mix was the ?wasabi?. Tasty though.
--
Creole-style grilled pepper steak enhanced by a red wine sauce served with potato gratin, asparagus and pumpkin flower.
My choice, the beef was somewhat overcooked. The rest of the dish was nothing to write home about.
or
Pan-fried salmon with tomato and mango salsa accompanied by potatoes and mixed vegetables.
or
Tagliatelle tricolore with broccoli, tomatoes and a blue cheese sauce topped with grilled courgette and roasted walnut.
--
A selection of cheeses including goat?s cheese, Emmental and Gruyère accompanied by fruit.
To my contempt all cheeses were Swiss this time, and good. I had a glass of exquisite port with this dish. And then another one.
--
Lemon mousse enhanced by a raspberry sauce garnished with whipped cream and pistachio nuts.
Coffee, Decaffeinated coffee, Tea, Swiss ?Lindt? chocolates.
Dessert was surprisingly good, light and not too sweet. I compensated my lack of sugar with some chocolates.
We took off on time, and a flying time of 12:45 was announced. The flight was about 80% full this time. Service started as soon as we reached cruising altitude. I had some of the Lanson Black Label champagne, but then stuck to water until the mandatory glass of port was offered with the cheese. Some notes on the service: our tray was laid with a white linen, then a plastic tray with cutlery, condiments, roll, butter, appetizer, dessert and the cheese dish was placed in front of me. No plastic of course, all real china. Later, the appetizer plate was replaced with the main dish, which wasn?t removed until the entire tray was. Not too good.
Before the cabin lights were dimmed, water bottles were distributed. Alas, the timing of the inflight entertainment was bad on this flight. They started the main features shortly after takeoff, and as I don?t eat and watch TV, I missed ?Tomb Raider? which I always wanted to see (because of the plot of course
). I?d already seen the second movie, ?Curse of the jade scorpion?, so I asked for a DVD player and put in the ?Top Gun? disc. Quite cool to see this classic in the air? By the time I finished it I was really tired, and so I reclined my seat and took a 5 hour nap. When I woke up I watched some episodes on the comedy DVD plus my recordings in HKG on my camcorder, and then hot towels were offered and we got ready for breakfast, served on one tray and with FA?s passing with bread baskets:English breakfast à la carte
Fresh seasonal fruit
Fruit yogurt
--
French omelette accompanied by grilled bacon and button mushrooms.
or
Stir-fried udon noodles with har gow, siu mai and beef ball.
or you may prefer our cold selection
Slices of mortadella, air-cured beef and Brie.
--
Assorted breakfast breads, croissants,
Butter, Honey, Preserves,
Coffee, Tea, Herbal Teas.
I had the cold selection, where they couldn?t do anything wrong, along with some croissants and OJ, plus a tea. The yogurt seemed to be exactly the same as the Y one on the outbound leg, except that it was in a china bowl
Duty free articles were offered while an arrival video for ZRH and granted connections were shown on the screens. Despite my hopes for a nice souvenir, the DVD players were collected
and we started our descent into rainy Zurich, where we landed on time. Either the Flyertalk or the SR business tag made my baggage to be one of the first on the belt, and after a quick pit-stop at the Allegra lounge, I was on my way home. This was my last trip ever with the old Swissair, and in conclusion I must say that apart from the ?Swiss feeling in the air?, which of course is mostly created by my patriotism, I did not find the flights to be spectacularly good. I did appreciate the business class seats on a 12h45 flight, but the latest cuts in service made the whole thing fairly standard. They will have to put a lot more into the new Swiss if they want it to be as good as the brand.
Hong Kong on the other hand was absolutely great, and definitely made me eager for more of Asia. And sooner or later, I?ll return to the fascinating mixture of east and west.
Appreciate your feedback.
------------------
truly yours. airOli.
Feb 1, 2002, 9:26 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Burlingame, CA
Programs: TK Miles & Smiles, CM ConnectMiles, AA Advantage
Posts: 2,129
Thanks for the great report. What a shame that no amentiy kits were distributed for such a long flight. It's sad to see that at one time this airline even offered them in Y.
Feb 2, 2002, 7:26 am
#5
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Agoura Hills, Ca USA
Posts: 470
This report is quite accurate. THANKS. I will be taking SR 282 from ZRH to JNB in a few weeks. This is the only Europe to South Africa daytime flight. I will be doing a RTW from JNB. I will report on the flight. Thanks for the great in depth descriptions!!
Feb 2, 2002, 9:39 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Reality, Freedom • Fly Tarom •
Programs: AF FB Platinum For Life (F+ Rouge Vintage®) / Hertz President's Circle / SNCF Grand Voyageur Le Club
Posts: 10,077
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I took the Lonely Planet chopstick proficiency test, balanced a single pea from bowl to mouth, and passed!</font>
Nice report, airoili. I enjoyed reading it.
Feb 2, 2002, 9:56 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: ZRH / YUL
Programs: UA, TK, Starwood > Marriott, Hilton, Accor
Posts: 7,295
Thank you all for your feedback. I'm sorry for the missing special characters ' - " etc. , the UBB software does not seem to support cut and paste from Windword for these...
------------------
truly yours. airOli.
------------------
truly yours. airOli.
Feb 2, 2002, 1:40 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by sarecca:
I will be taking SR 282 from ZRH to JNB in a few weeks. This is the only Europe to South Africa daytime flight.</font>
I will be taking SR 282 from ZRH to JNB in a few weeks. This is the only Europe to South Africa daytime flight.</font>
Departs AMS 10.00, arrives JNB 21.45
johan
Feb 3, 2002, 5:52 am
#14
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Copenhagen
Programs: British Airways Gold (oneWorld Emerald), Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum
Posts: 1,713
Very nice report! Though none of us are going to fly the airline in the future...
Good luck with that!
Just learned recently that the Swiss Guard in the Vatican actually consists of real Swiss GIs. Maybe going down to "protect" the pope himself?
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by airoli:
I made my way south through Ladies market, where I bought an ?original Swiss army watch? for HKD25 ($4). This will be one of the very few of these watches that will actually go to the Swiss army on 2/11!</font>
I made my way south through Ladies market, where I bought an ?original Swiss army watch? for HKD25 ($4). This will be one of the very few of these watches that will actually go to the Swiss army on 2/11!
</font>
Just learned recently that the Swiss Guard in the Vatican actually consists of real Swiss GIs. Maybe going down to "protect" the pope himself?
Feb 3, 2002, 6:12 am
#15
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CH-3823 Wengen Switzerland
Programs: miles&more, MileagePlus
Posts: 27,041
only (roman-catholic) men from the original 3 founder (1291) cantons (Urkantone) Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden can apply for the Vatican's Swiss guards.