LH747FTL

I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in Chiang Mai and decided to start typing my report...

26 December 2002
Helsinki - Frankfurt
Finnair 821
Airbus A319-114 OH-LVC
Economy Class, Seat 9ABC (Exit row)
0810-0955 - On Time

I made it to Vantaa airport at around 7 am Boxing day morning. It was -20 in my hometown as I left but only -3 in the Helsinki area but it was snowing rather heavily.

Since Finnair had practically no flights on Christmas day, all the planes were at HEL and check-in lines for Economy were horrible. Business counters had some lines as well, but I was quickly waved over to the Finnair Platinum counter and the friendly lady assigned me 9A from the exit row and wished me a happy new year. My bag was checked through to BKK via FRA and SIN and she attached a Finnair priority tag as well.

No lines at security this time, and I was in the Finnair Silver Wings lounge in a few minutes. This was my first visit in this lounge - I was very pleased. It looked modern and airy and views of the tarmac are great. Drink selection is plentiful and the Christmas biscuits were a nice touch. I had some rolls for breakfast and some tea. There are two high speed internet terminals as well as a printer.

I made my way to gate 20 at around 7.45 for boarding and the A319 waiting was totally covered in snow. Boarding started soon and I was greeted by two friendly ladies who both wished me a happy Christmas time and New Year. I was very happy to have all three seats (9ABC) to myself, and the exit row offers great legroom.

We were pushed back a bit late as de-icing took quite a while. The new de-icing area is not ready yet, so it was done at gate as before. Taxied to 22L and took off in very snowy conditions after a short takeoff roll.

Unlike LH who I usually fly on this route, Finnair has not cut back inflight service at all - a hot breakfast was served. The sausages, omelette and bacon were pretty decent and came with warmed rolls, yoghurt and cranberry drink. Coffee/tea and juices were offered a few times. After finishing my meal, I decided to sleep and only woke up as we were starting our descent into Frankfurt/Main.

landed on 07L at 09:50 and arrived at stand 1 of Terminal 2D on time at 09:55. Crew wished everybody once again a happy holiday season and I proceeded to take the skytrain to Terminal 1B.

Singapore 025 was showing delayed with no estimated time on the screens - bugger. I was met by a Raffles class agent at the Raffles/Star Gold line and she told me the 747 is still at JFK and that she'll do her best to get me to BKK as quickly as possible. After about 2 minutes I was on my way to Thai Airways check-in with a re-issued ticket. SQ handled this very well - I actually ended up arriving at BKK earlier than scheduled!

LH747FTL

26 December 2002
Frankfurt - Bangkok International
Thai International 921
Boeing 747-4D7 HS-TGT "Watthanothai"
Economy Class, Seat 45D (Bulkhead aisle)
1410-0620+1 - On Time

Security at FRA took practically no time as I was able to use the First/Business line thanks to my Senator card. I then headed up to the Senator/First lounge - this is the first time ever I have seen this lounge practically empty.

Enjoyed a few sandwiches and drinks and checked my e-mails before it was time to go to gate B48 for boarding. TGT was towed in from some remote stand and she looked brand new - must have got a new paintjob recently.

Made a quick stop at the LH Business lounge just next to the gate before boarding - it was very empty as well. Boarding for TG921 to Phuket via Bangkok started on time and was actually done very orderly, i.e. F/C/*G and then by row numbers.

I was greeted by two ladies at door 2L as usual and made my way to 45D - it turned out to be the bulkhead row in the second economy cabin. The seats were the newer TG Y seats but for some reason the bulkhead/exit row seats have the control panel sort of sticking out from the armrest - it looked uncomfortable but didn't actually bother me much. Legroom was excellent.

Boarding was completed in a few moments and it turned out there was one empty seat on the flight - I bet the fellow in 45A was very happy as the guy in 45B only barely fit in the two seats. A lady in 45C was shouting in Italian and throwing around her stuff... quite funny. Before pushback she decided to go put on more make-up and half a bottle of perfume after that.

We were pushed back a few minutes late and headsets were distributed. The flight attendant serving the opposite aisle looked simply fantastic in her pink silk dress... HS-TGT taxied past the hangars and cargo area and took off towards the south anter a very long roll on what looked like a very rough runway. The 747 rattled quite a bit on takeoff and a few overhead bins opened, a steward quickly ran and closed them.

Menus were given once the seatbelt sign went off, followed by cocktail and snack service. I opted for a Bacardi cola and orange juice with my peanuts. The lady in 45E wanted red wine and the flight attendant went to get real glasses - nice service in my opinion. Hot towels were next before lunch.

Lunch choices were chicken and fish, I took the chicken curry with Thai jasmine rice. Very tasty and the portions on TG are always large enough. Also included was a seafood salad, warmed rolls, cheese and crackers and some fruit muosse for dessert. Refills of wine were frequently offered. Coffee and cognac followed, just took the coffee this time.

My seat proved to be pretty decent for sleeping - after changing into more comfy clothes and tuning into the Thai music channel, I passed out for about five hours, only to wake up neat Calcutta (CCT). We had flown over Afghanistan, Lahore and Delhi so far. Remaining flight time was two hours at this point.

Hot towels were provided and breakfast was served 90 mins before arrival and consisted of omelette, chicken sausages and bacon as well as warm rolls. Flushed it down with some tea.

After the trays were cleared, the captain announced that we were over Myanmar and on descent into Don Muang. It was still completely dark - couldn't see anything but a few lights. We landed rather roughly on 21R at 06:09. Parked next to two JAL 747-300s near the cargo area and were bussed to the terminal. Passed by HS-TGJ on our way - she looked gorgeous in her Amazing Thailand livery as usual.

Immigration lines weren't that long even though TG947 from ATH, 943 from MAD/FCO as well as flights from India and Lahore had arrived. I was through in about ten minutes. I was prepared to go file a missing bag report right away as Finnair had checked my bag through to BKK via FRA/SIN. But to my total amazement my bag arrived - among the other priority-tagged bags thanks to my Finnair priority tag!

Took a taxi to the JW Marriott and got my room already at around 7 am. Went to bed right away and after about 6 hours of sleep I was feeling refreshed again...

LH747FTL

28 December 2002
Bangkok International - Sukhothai - Chiang Mai
Bangkok Airways 600
ATR-72 HS-PGE
Economy Class, Seat 17A
0910-1115 - On Time

I arrived at BKK Domestic at around 08:15 thinking that I have plenty of time to collect my ticket (required 60 mins before dep) before realizing that my flight is was at 0910 instead of 0930 as I thought. No problems anyway, got my ticket and checked in quickly.

The Bangkok Air departure hall is quite nice and offers free snacks and juice/water/coffee for all passengers. Three computers with internet access are available too. We were bussed to the aircraft at around 8:45 as all Bangkok Air aircraft are parked at remote stands. Our ATR was surrounded by a few Phuket Air B737-200s and Thai's B777-300 taxied by.

I was greeted by a smiling flight attendant and took my seat in the back of the ATR. It is actually pretty quiet back there and since Bangkok Air only has pax door in the back, 17A was a good seat.

We were pushed back early and took off from 21R on time for the 55-minute hop to Sukhothai. Nice views of downtown Bangkok on my side of the aircraft. Our cruising altitude was 16000ft and a meal was served even though all PG flights show no meal in Amadeus. It consisted of five different small sandwiches, some veggies and cheesecake for dessert. Orange juice, water and coffee were served as well.

It was cloudy all the way until we started our descent. The Thai countryside came into view and we soon landed at Bangkok Air's own Sukhothai airport and what a nice one it is! Made a U-turn on the runway and taxied to the sole ATR-72 stand. All passengers took a funny looking bus to the open-air terminal that looked like a temple. As a transit passenger, I got a transit card and had to go through recurity at Sukhothai as well.

The departure area has free snacks, drinks and internet as well and has great views of some gardens and water between them. A refreshing change from all the busy airports.

We re-boarded in about 20 minutes and took off for the short 30-minute hop up to Chiang Mai. Another snack was served, a pastry with orange juice. Approach into CNX was rather bumpy and we landed on runway 36 a few minutes ahead of schedule.

A bus took us to the terminal again, I noticed Thai's A300 HS-TAH there - saw it at BKK in the morning. I was crazy enough to consider CNX-HGN run just for the miles but either the flight was full or the Royal E-Service machine didn't like me as I couldn't get a ticket. Took a taxi to downtown Chiang Mai, 100 Baht.

To be continued...

[This message has been edited by LH747FTL (edited 12-28-2002).]

Uli

Hi,

thanks for your report!
Have never seen anyone describing an eco seat as "pretty decent for sleeping" -- please allow me to ask you how tall you are?

LH747FTL

28 December 2002
Chiang Mai - Bangkok International
Thai International 117
Boeing 777-3D7 HS-TKA Sriwanna
Royal Executive Class, Seat 22A
1915-2025 (1940-2040)

Took a tuk tuk back to the airport - cost B 80. I decided to give the Royal E-Service machine a try and was checked in in about a minute. I then headed to the TG lounge - quite a few people were there but for the earlier 737 departure. My 777-300 flight only had 5 pax in C, so the lounge was deserted after the 737 took off after 6 pm.

The lounge offers soft drinks and sandwiches and pastries, pretty good for a TG domestic lounge. It looks quite new inside and the bathrooms are big and clean. I headed to gate 4 at around 7pm and it was a zoo, load in economy was quite good I believe. Boarded late and I took my seat in the second last row of business. The seats look huge and legroom is good, around 50" I believe. Hot towels and pre-departure drinks were distributed and the crew told us we would be slightly late due to late arrival of TG641 from Narita and Bangkok.

Pushed back about 7:40pm and big triple seven taxied to runway 18 for departure. It was quite a short taxi, the purser finished her announcements and the safety video ended just as we lined up for takeoff. Powerful 777 takeoff towards the south and we were on our way to Don Muang. As the seatbelt sign went off, table linens were distributed and what they call a snack followed. It was more like a dinner, fish and rice as well as fruits for dessert. Had coke and coffee to flush it down.

As the trays were cleared, we had already left our cruising altitude of FL330 and were on descent into Bangkok. Landed on 21R at 8:35pm and taxied to the domestic terminal where a jetway was available this time. Next to us was A300 HS-TAS, just arrived from Ubon Ratchathani. I took a taxi back to the JW Marriott, B 260 including tolls.


29 December 2002
Bangkok Hua Lamphong - Ayutthaya
State Railway of Thailand
Ordinary Train 205 (BKK-Denchai)
Third Class, No Seat
0700-0842 (0740-0945)

I was going to Ayutthaya as a friend of mine had promised to show me around the old capital of Thailand. A taxi to the train station fron the JW cost B 150, probably a ripoff but I was not going to complain at 6 am. Had some food at the station - rice and *this noo spicy* chicken that still was d@mn hot. Cost 30 Baht.

If CNX airport was a zoo before TG117, I do not know what describes this station. Early morning trains to Isaan (Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani) were full as was the 0620 train to Chiang Mai. The line for the ticket counter moved quickly though and I got my ticket for the 7am regional train to Ayutthaya (15 Baht).

The train was leaving from track 7 and was full already 30 mins before departure. So I settled for a nice standing position in one of the areas that have baggage storage. There were frequent rounds of selling food and drinks, but I had already got myself a 1.5 liter bottle of water for the short journey. No trains were moving and people were running on the tracks as it was 7 am. The 06.40 Ubon Ratchathani espress finally left at around 7.30 and we left soon after that.

As this was an ordinary train, it stopped at every possible station and took about an hour to get to Donmuang! I would have preferred a seat really but looking at the landscape was interesting anyway. Finally after passing quite a few small villages, we arrived at Ayutthaya and I struggled my way out. Since I was probably the only farang on the train, it was easy for my friend to find me at the station.

She showed me around the various temples and ruins of this interesting but small old capital city and we had some Isaan food for lunch - interesting. It was very hot all day with the sun shining, and at around 5pm, I was ready to go back to Bangkok.

29 December 2002
Ayutthaya - Bangkok Hua Lamphong
State Railway of Thailand
Rapid Train 136 (Ubon Ratchathani - BKK)
Third Class, Window Seat
1613-1745 (1810-2000)

Of course the trains were delayed, so this one was leaving at around 6pm. Ticket with the rapid train surcharge was 20B. Said goodbye to Jackie and boarded the half empty train to Bangkok. No problems finding a seat and soon the very long train was going fast towards BKK. It only stopped once before Donmuand and we made it there in about 30-40 mins. My friend will be working at BKK airport soon and she will be riding the trains daily.

I should have taken a taxi from Donmuand but desiced to ride all the way into Hua Lamphong - it was a pain as the train now stopped at every station and Hua Lamphong is still quite far from the Marriott. Trains were going out of BKK all the time, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani, Nong Khai etc etc. Ihis one was going back to Ubon once we got to the station and was packed as far as I can tell you.

Hua Lamphong was even more of a zoo this time but I managed to find a tuk tuk to take me to the JW �Ethe driver insisted on B 150 but agreed on B 120 as I told him that is all I have (the rest were in B500s or B1000s). Made it to the JW in about 15 minutes. I took a refreshing shower after the long day and headed out for a cold Singha.

30 December 2002
Bangkok International - Singapore Changi
Singapore Airlines 973
Boeing 777-212ER 9V-SRF
Economy Class, Seat 33K
1525-1850 On Time

Taxi to the airport using the Expressway was quick and so was check in at the Raffles Class counter. Economy lines looked very very long though. A TG agent checked me in for SQ973 and also for the return the next day. She gave me instructions to the SilverKris lounge and I decided to use it this time as I had not been there before.

The lounge is rather small but it was more or less empty when I got there. It offers a standard bar as well a good variety of snacks - pastries, instant noodles, sandwiches and the usual peanuts. Views of the tarmac are good. An internet station is there too but it was occupied by the same person all the time.

I headed out to gate 52 for boarding at around 3pm and boarded without problems using the Raffles/First/PPS line with my Senator card. When entering the aircraft, there was a funny conversation going on between a young Singaporean pax and one of the stewards - The boy asked why the plane was different from last time and the steward replied "Sorry, it is only a small plane today, not a Jumbo." Thinking about it, the 777-200 indeed is rather small on the route with B747/B773/M11/A340s doing it all the time.

The same guy then offered to stow my roller and I took my seat in the third row of economy. The seats were very comfortable for economy and looked brand new. The cabin also had Christmas decorations which made it look rather beautiful, not to forget the Singapore Girls. Hot towels were offered on the ground before departure. We were pushed back on time and taxied to runway 21R for takeoff behind a PB Air Embraer RJ and Thai 777-200 HS-TJB. The queue behind us was really long and included Finnair MD11 also going to Singapore just behind us.

Took off after a short roll and headed south. Menus were distributed as this was the continuation of SQ973 from Kansai. A simple drink service followed (OJ/Water/Heineken), and I took the beer. Meal chouces were Southern Thai Chicken or some sort of fish. Took the chicken which was very tasty but a little on the spicy side. There was also a warm roll, seafood salad and some cake for dessert. Meals were served using the new trays etc. I had some white wine and coke with the meal.

I did not bother with the movies as the flight was too short to finish any of them, so I tuned onto some decent music and put on the airshow. Also had an interesting conversation with a Thai couple sitting next to me going to SIN for their first time. The captain (with a broad Aussie accent) soon announced that we were on descent into Changi airport and will be arriving on time. Landed on runway 02L and taxied to gate E4. 9V-SRF would be operating 974 back to BKK and Kansai later that night.

Immigration was a breeze and soon I was sitting on the MRT going to the city. I forgot the correct station and got off at Raffles Place instead of City Hall - it was quite a hike from there to the Swissotel once I figured out where it was.

Raffles The Plaza, Singapore

I had planned to stay at the Conrad but got Swissotel The Stamford for considerably less money using Priceline. They were completely full that night and I was given a room at Raffles the Plaza which is operated by Raffles International too and is in the same complex as the Swissotel.

My room was great with a king bed, balcony with a view towards the Raffles Hotel, stereos with remote control etc. Bathroom was very nice too with separate shower and bathtub. Shower also had that overhead thing. I love those.

I headed out to Orchard road for a little bit of sightseeing and a quick McDonalds dinner before calling it a night.

Feeling lazy in the morning, I just slept in and went to the Raffles City shopping center before checking out at 1pm and taking the MRT back to Changi. At S$1.40 it is a bargain and the right station was under the hotel itself.

31 December 2002
Singapore Changi - Bangkok International
Singapore Airlines 66
Boeing 747-412 9V-SMK
Economy Class, Seat 37K
1600-1720 On Time

I had an exit row aisle for this flight but as it is a short flight and I do not fly in South East Asia everyday, I decided to change into a window for possible nice views. This new boarding pass for 37K had more info on it, including "You are welcomed to the SIA Premier Lounge" I have never seen such invitations printed before. Sure enough, after clearing immigration in a breeze, I went to this SIA Premier lounge. It is nothing special as described here before but has a great variety of snacks by European/American standards. No internet and no windows at all. I decided to give the TG lounge a try as well.

Thai Royal Orchid Lounge Singapore

The location of the Royal Orchid Lounge is inconvenient for T2 but since I had never been there, I decided to go. I was the only person in there - does it not feel great to have your own lounge? The offerings are practically identical to the SIA Premier Lounge so if you absolutely do not want to check this one out, just stay in the SIA one. TG lounge is nicely furnished but again has no internet or nice views of the tarmac.

I left back to T2 around 3pm and did some shopping on my way. Gate F56 was open and 9V-SMK was waiting. This flight was again full in Economy and boatding was done orderly. I was greeted by ladies in green sarong kebayas and took my seat 37K. Legroom was pretty decent in my opinion (I am 185cm/6ft2" - if SQ and LH both have 31�Elike they say, the seats must be dramatically different.) I find the LH legroom more or less horrible myself. Hot towels were again distributed and we were pushed back silghtly late due to aircraft movements behind us. Another talkative Australian captain this time.

Taxied to 02R and the 747 took off after a short roll at 4.25pm for the short 1h50min hop to Bangkok Don Muang. No menus this time, but dinner was good nevertheless. It was a choice of chicken with spaghetti or seafood fried rice - I took the latter. Old trays wee used this time and the portion was bigger I think than with the new set of trays. Had a Fosters and some coke with my dinner. Again I had an interesting conversation with a Thai lady sitting next to me, she had been to SIN for a few days and was now going back home.

We started our descent at around 5pm and flew over pattaya and Chon Buri before landing on 21R on time. Immigration was quick and I was again on my way to the JW Marriott for a 5-night stay.

To be continued.


[This message has been edited by LH747FTL (edited 01-06-2003).]

LH747FTL

Uli:

Decent for sleeping = decent for sleeping regarding eco seats... I know they're all pretty bad but I don't have the chance to fly business that often... I'm 185cm and at least LH eco is very bad compared to TG.

Cheers!

LH747FTL

5 January 2003
Bangkok International – Singapore Changi
Singapore Airlines 61
Airbus A310-324 9V-STD
Economy Class, Seat 31A (Exit row)
0740-1105 - On Time

After having great five days in Bangkok, my alarm clock went off at 4.45am this morning. I was feeling particularly awful after about two hours of sleep as I went to see a movie with a friend the night before. I dragged myself to the shower thinking about the cold weather (-27 Celsius) awaiting me in Finland. My hotel bill says 05:29 so I guess that’s when I took a taxi to Don Muang… The driver promised to take the expressway but took the regular one instead – I was feeling too awful to really care. Made it to terminal 2 in about 20 minutes and a smiling Thai employee checked me in for SQ61 and 326 and sent off my bag with two priority tags.

Paid the THB500 PSC and went through immigration to the deserted SilverKris lounge. Breakfast offerings were very poor – only one sort of pastries. Decided to give the Thai Airways ROL a try instead and it was a good choice. A wide variety hot and cold pastries, sandwiches and fruits were available. Took a seat by the windows and watched a United 777 being prepared for her long journey to Tokyo and Seattle as well as a LTU A330 to Munich. Later saw two Thai’s Amazing Thailand aircraft taxiing past each other (A330 HS-TEM departing and a 747 arriving). Also, a constant flow of TG A300s were taxiing out to 21R while the 747s were arriving one after the other from Europe.

It was quite a hike from the Royal Orchid Lounge to gate 55, where SIA’s Airbus A310 9V-STD was waiting. It looked so small next to Cathay’s B-HNK, a Boeing 777-300. Boarding for SQ61 had already started and First/Raffles/PPS/Star Gold line was empty. Got a very robotic “welcome sir” greeting without a smile at door 1L and passed through the premium cabins to my seat in the first row of economy. The interior of this old A310 was a disgrace – dirty, worn out and dark. Quite a few of the reading light buttons were broken or missing for example. Seats looked decent, and the exit row 31 had good legroom but no window.

Hot towels were passed out by the crew – the looked like they didn’t enjoy their early morning either. We were pushed back on schedule and started the long taxi to 21R for takeoff. Pilots hit the brakes really hard twice – don’t know why. Annoying vibrations came from the engines as we started our roll, this lasted for the entire flight. Left the Thai soil at 07:52 and headed south towards Pattaya and the Gulf of Thailand. Water and orange juice were served, followed by breakfast. I chose the seafood noodles instead of the usual omelette – bad choice as the noodles were rather awful. Warm roll and fresh fruit were good. Juice and coffee were served exactly once – no additional rounds.

I fell asleep once the trays were cleared and woke up as the flight attendant was asking me to return the headset as we were on descent into Changi. Landed very roughly on 02R a few minutes before schedule and taxied to the terminal.

5 January 2003
Singapore Changi – Frankfurt Main
Singapore Airlines 326
Boeing 747-412 9V-SPB
Economy Class, Seat 49A (Exit row)
1240-1900 (1249-1921)

I went to the SATS Premier Lounge to relax a little bit – it was totally empty. I then headed to gate F58 one hour before departure and boarding started shortly for the premium cabins and Star Gold members. Nobody was greeting us at the door and I went to grab my seat 49A in the rear economy class cabin. The door slide partially blocks the legroom of this window seat, but since I like window seats and the ability to move without disturbing others, it was ok.

Without empty seats in economy, doors were closed on time and we were pushed back a bit behind schedule. Captain announced a long flying time of 13 hours sharp and we started our taxi out to 02R while hot towels were distributed. A good old Garuda 747-200 and a SIA 777-200 took off before it was our turn. SPB lifted off after a very long roll of one minute and headed towards Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. Menus and amenity kits were distributed and the flight attendants looked stressed – no smiles on their faces. I don’t see the point of the amenity kit since they have now removed the eyeshades and toothbrushes are available in the lavatories. That leaves you with a pair of red socks.

Peanuts were distributed but no drinks for at least half an hour… Finally one of the guys working in the galley decided to give us in the first row something to quench our thirst. About 2 hours later, the meal carts finally made their appearance – it was a choice of chicken or fish. The guy in 49C was asked what he wants – he said fish and the stewardess replied “sorry sir no fish” and disappeared. I got my chicken at this point. 49B and C got their meals about 10 minutes later served by another F/A… Luckily there was water on the tray as other drinks only made it to my row 20 minutes later. The chicken was tasty and the ice cream dessert was nice. Just the service was totally missing – no more wine or other drinks were offered aside from coffee and tea. Thai always makes at least 3 to 4 additional drink rounds, something I find very much appreciated.

Tray collection took an eternity again – it wasn’t the crew’s best day I guess. One flight attendant dropped a tray on the floor and simply dumped everything to the waste cart from there… The cabin crew were nowhere to be seen after the meal service. I decided to watch “Trapped” at this point – no water/oj rounds were made for at least three hours – again TG does this all the time. Fell asleep after the movie only to be woken up two hours later by the flight attendant asking me “Do you want your meal?” In total disbelief I stared at the screen with “Time to Destination 5:57” in front of me.

Anyway, Thai style beef with rice was spicy but good. I couldn’t sleep after this and the remaining 6 hours felt very long. We flew over Iran and on towards Vienna from there. A light snack of fruits, peanuts etc was served before landing – why on the earth didn’t they serve this between the two hot meals?? After 13 hours and 6 minutes, we landed on Frankfurt’s 25R and quickly taxied to gate B45 where the border police was greeting us with passport check. This is obviously done for all flights from Southeast Asia at FRA, but I have never had it at HEL or CPH after similar flights.

Frankfurt Main was a total zoo with a lot of cancelled flights, I made it to baggage claim in about 10 minutes through the crowds and to my delight, my blue Samsonite just arrived onto the belt with its two priority tags. Took the S-Bahn to the city and checked into the Marriott.

6 January 2003
Frankfurt Main – Helsinki Vantaa
Finnair 822
Airbus A320-214 OH-LXF
Economy Class, Seat 9A (Exit row)
1045-1410 – On Time

Woke up at 7.45 and grabbed a cab to the airport – quick and convenient with my heavy luggage. It was well worth the 20 Euros. Terminal 2 was very busy with all the US bound flights as well as China Airlines to Taipei and Malaysian to KL. Baggage was screened before check in and as I was behind a Chinese tour group, it took about 15 minutes. Finnair check-in was handled by British Airways and had one desk for Economy and one for Business, however both desks were used for economy… not very professional. Decided not to make a scene out of it and waited in the line instead of trying to go directly to the “other” counter with my AA Gold card. The guy handed me my boarding pass with exit row window and didn’t complain about my overweight luggage – thanks mate.

Headed upstairs to the Golden Arches for a quick breakfast before going through security – non-Schengen had huge lines but Schengen area checkpoint was empty. Bought some Irish cream from the duty free and headed to D22. Finnair A320 was at a remote stand while a China Airlines A340 was occupying the gate. Boarding started on time and we were bussed to OH-LXF while it was snowing outside. The purser greeted us and I took my seat in the exit row with generous legroom.

Pushed back slightly late and our little Airbus joined the constant flow of Lufthansa Jumbos and A340s taxiing to 25R for departure. An A300 landed before we took off – to avoid wake turbulence caused by the heavies I believe. The takeoff view from the nose cameras is pretty neat and was on again on this flight. We turned towards the north and a hot meal was in front of me in about fifteen minutes. Tray was complete with a bottle of wine as well as a real glass – I have been impressed by Finnair’s service lately. Two drink rounds were made and additional rolls were offered. The main course was chicken and potatoes, pretty edible but not up to the Asian standards.

This flight felt really short after the long SIN-FRA, two more drink rounds were made and soon we were on descent into Helsinki-Vantaa. Landed in the cold capital of Finland bang on time and a quick taxi to the domestic part of the Schengen terminal followed. A bit of a wait for the bags but mine was amongst the first ones thanks to the priority tag again.

Hotel Reports

JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok

Located just off Sukhumvit road, this is a relatively new 5-star hotel in downtown Bangkok. Hotel looks very impressive from the outside and you are not disappointed when you walk into the lobby. It’s probably the nicest lobby I have been to, with lots of black marble and wood. My luggage was taken care of when I arrived and a room was given at 7am.

Room for my first stay was a nice corner room on the 15th floor and a regular room on the 13th floor for the second stay. Both times my requests for a king non smoking were granted. The beds were huge with six pillows. Rooms also have a large chair and working desk with another chair. The bedside desk has a control unit for lights, air conditioning etc. The decorations and artwork are very stylish and there is a huge mirror by the bed. The marble bathrooms are very large with separate shower and bathtub.

Hotel offers evening turndown service and there was always some chocolates and an orchid on the bed. Fresh fruit and two bottles of water are offered daily. On arrival, a box of fresh baked cookies was waiting. On my second stay, there was a note from the general manager welcoming me back to the JW Marriott Bangkok. Hotel also offers extensive business centre, health club and various restaurants. I was highly satisfied with my stays.

Marriott Frankfurt Hotel

A very different hotel from the JW Bangkok, this is an old European Marriott in the Messe area of Frankfurt am Main. Check in was quick, I was assigned a double non-smoking room on the 31st floor. I struggled my way up there with my heavy luggage – the elevators were very slow compared to the JW and the hallways looked old and a bit tired.

Room was ok, very small and lacked the style the JW has but that’s understandable. Bathroom looked nice but was absolutely tiny and the yellow shower curtain looked awful. Bed was comfortable and my room had a nice view towards the Messe.

I was hungry after the SIA meal fiasco and decided to give room service a try. After not getting my burger after 45 minutes, I called them again – promised to get me my snack in 5 mins. Another 20 mins passed and after another call my Marriott burger finally arrived with a comped bottle of red wine. Same stuff as they give to the MR Platinums on arrival – pretty cheap after waiting 1h15minutes IMHO. Good meal but lousy service.


Hope you enjoyed the reports.

Regards,

LH747

airoli

Very comprehensive and nice report - danke! Good to hear that Finnair shorthaul is still as good as I have it in mind from about a year ago...

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airOli, the Swiss Air Line.