LH747FTL

I spent fall 2004 in Asia - studying in Korea and travelling every week. This trip report was posted in parts in Airliners.net forums, and here is the the whole thing. 101 pages in Microsoft Word, this is my longest trip report ever. I flew in F/C/Y classes on the following airlines:

AY/CX/DD/FD/KE/LH/MH/NH/NQ/OX/OZ/PG/PR/SQ/TG/UA/9R

15 August 2004
Helsinki Vantaa (HEL/EFHK) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Finnair AY 097
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
OH-LGA
2335-1340 (2330-1320)
Economy Class, Seat 24D

The five weeks I spent working in Finland passed by very fast, and on August 15th it was time to leave for Asia for about 5 months. I will be doing my study abroad period at Yonsei University in Seoul, and obviously will travel around Asia as well. My plan was to leave on Friday 13th of August, but Finnair had of course no Q-class availability for a popular travel day like Friday. The 296 EUR one way fare to Bangkok is great, but I can’t remember any fare ever that would have had worse availability. Booking class of that fare was later changed to O, meaning even fewer available seats.

I was dropped off at Helsinki Vantaa departure hall 2 at around 9pm – two and half hours before departure. The check-in area was deserted as usual, but the sole check-in agent for business class and Oneworld elites didn’t feel like being friendly tonight. She first questioned my eligibility to use such priority check-in desks, but accepted my single overweight piece of checked luggage without problems. Oneworld has no universal luggage policy for elites – a major drawback if you ask me. While Star Alliance gives me first class baggage allowance with my Lufthansa card, a Finnair agent basically told me they don’t care if you are not a Finnair Plus elite. Twenty kilos is not an awful lot when you are planning to stay away for almost half a year.

She offered me an exit row window seat, but realized later that it is in the 10-abreast section, the door bulge blocks most legroom, and the rear section is usually more or less packed with package tour folks from various tour operators. Good grief – I would have never accepted the seat anyway, but she was the first Finnair check-in agent that seemed to have any clue about MD-11 seating. I had tried Finnair’s eCheckin the day before – even though I was sequence number 001 for the flight, there were no good seats left.

After confirming that the Fresh Lounge is still the only one open for Oneworld Sapphires after 7pm, I breezed through security and headed to this pathetic excuse of an airport lounge. AY91/97 to Bangkok is the only daily longhaul flight at the moment for Finnair – I would expect a bit nicer lounge for Sapphires on this flight. Emeralds and business class can use the Longhaul Lounge, which is nice. Hopefully a nicer lounge is offered once the Non-Schengen area upgrade is complete. Quite frankly, there is nothing wrong with the lounge itself; it’s just the lack of amenities that pisses me off. There is no food, the alcohol offered is below onboard Y class standard, there are no Internet PCs, there is no view, and there are no showers…

Boarding started early as usual for the Bangkok flight. I still inquired about a row 21-22 seat at the gate – “There are none left but you wouldn’t enjoy those screaming babies anyway!” The sign indicating the business class side of the desk refused to work – but as I was first to board, the gate agent said “You know the procedures anyway, don’t you?” when I handed my AA card and boarding pass to her. A Finnair grandma directed me to the right upon entering “Olga” for the 6th time. Oh well, at least it wasn’t “Gorba” (OH-LGB) – I have logged 8 flights on that MD-11.

Seat 24D was quite decent – legroom was acceptable, and the 9-abreast section of MD-11s usually has quite wide seats for economy class. Load was 280/296 today – the worst possible from the pax point of view as business was so full that also rows 6-7 were needed (usually C class seats with Y class service to BKK), yet economy had a few empty middle seats, so operational upgrades were not needed either. We were pushed back early, and taxied to 22R for takeoff if my memory serves me. Takeoff roll was rather long this evening, but we then rocketed off the runway MD-11 style into the dark Finnish sky.

Service began shortly after the seatbelt sign went off – dinner was a simple salad, a roll, chicken with rice and a chocolate for dessert. In other words, the usual tiny tray with no choices. The purser was serving drinks in my aisle – my request for a double whisky and a bottle of white wine was fulfilled, and the guy asked if I’d like anything else… Maybe after the dinner I replied. The chicken was decent by western standards, though the portion was ridiculous as usual, and it would probably be classified as snack in Asia. Trays were collected after some time, and the purser asked if I’d like any cognac. Well how could I resist their new Y class choice – Renault Carte Noire VSOP? A full glass was given to me – go figure. Maybe I look like an alcoholic... The two British girls next to me were joking how much these drinks would have cost on Ryanair – the only airline they had ever flown before today’s Finnair flight.

Sleeping proved to be easy after these drinks, and I only woke up as breakfast was being served. We had flown over Estonia, Russia, Afghanistan (directly over Kabul), Lahore Pakistan, Delhi and Calcutta India and were now approaching the coast of Myanmar over the Bay of Bengal at 37000 feet. The hot breakfast consisted of an omelette, some sausages as well as tomato and hash browns. Yoghurt and bread rolls were offered as well – overall it was quite good. The captain then made his announcement – we were approaching the city of Pegu, Myanmar, and would soon enter the Thai airspace and start our descent towards Don Muang.

We left our cruising altitude at about 1pm Thai time, and landed smoothly about twenty minutes later on runway 21L. We then taxied to gate 34, but unfortunately a China Airlines 747 from Hong Kong managed to get to the concourse before us, dumping about 400 passengers to the immigration lines. I waited about 15 minutes to get through, and since the Finnair agent at HEL didn’t bother putting a priority tag to my bag, I had to wait another 10 minutes for it. Customs was a breeze, but the taxi rank had a long queue – I wonder why Don Muang was so busy today despite August being rather low season.

Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok, Bangkok

Check-in was friendly and courteous, I particularly liked the ”Please Upgrade” note on the papers. I had emailed them beforehand as usual, and was offered a suite upgrade for $50 per night, which I accepted. It used to be $25, but is $75 officially nowadays. I was then escorted to the suite – very nice as usual at this hotel. The difference between superior rooms and suites is simply huge. There was a full living room as well as a bedroom, and a hallway and a decent sized bathroom. The bathroom amenities include very nice Aigner toiletry products, and there is a separate shower stall unlike in regular rooms. The bed is also much nicer, and has a real duvet. The chocolates they bring every night to suites are mouth watering. Breakfast was included at the Next2Cafe as usual for Golden Circle members. I had two separate reservations (love the Priceline eBay points…), and the handling of such a situation was flawless as usual.

18 August 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok (HKG/VHHH)
Thai Airways International TG 628
Boeing 777-2D7
HS-TJF “Phanom Sarakham”
1030-1420 (1100-1430)
Economy Class, Seat 32D (Bulkhead)

I had planned to go to Korea on August 31st, as September 1st is the day when classes begin at my university there. Unfortunately, registration and orientation was scheduled on August 19th, cutting my Bangkok visit to just two days. There would be nothing between registration and the day when classes begin, I really don’t see the logic here. Anyway, after having breakfast at the hotel, I took a taxi to the airport. Since I was in a hurry, I accepted the offer of 400 baht to the airport – highway and tollway included. The usual rate is about 300, but I really had no time to wait for another taxi. The ........ paid only for the highway of course, driving the rest of the way downstairs. I knew it would be the case but it still pissed me off. End of Bangkok taxi rant.

Check-in was quick at the Thai Airways premium check-in aisle – C and F desks had some queues, but TG has dedicated Star Gold check-in desks. I was the only person there, and after getting a bulkhead seat released for me, off I went with seat 32D assigned. Immigration was quick, and I then headed to the remodelled Thai Royal Executive Lounge near pier 3.

Thai Airways Royal Executive Lounge, Pier 3, Bangkok

I remember what a dump this lounge was when I last visited. What a difference the remodelling has made. It is undoubtedly the nicest lounge at Don Muang now I must say. I went to the second floor – decorations are in Thai style, and lots of granite is used as well. The upstairs section was very large and airy. There were also sleeping rooms, Internet computers, showers and the new Thai Touch massage service. I didn’t have time to try it, and don’t know if it’s for all customers in the lounge or just for Thai Business/First passengers. Drink selection was very impressive; they offer six different whiskies for example. Snacks were the usual, pastries, sandwiches etc – they could offer a bit more in my opinion.

At about 10am, I headed to gate 32 through security – it was quick and painless as usual. The gate area was full of Hong Kong bound pax – they were loud as hell. One tried to simply push me away from the window to join his three friends shouting to each other and looking at the triple seven – ask me and I’ll move but his technique wasn’t appreciated. Boarding started shortly, and I was the first one to board, just before the masses started moving to the boarding door like a landslide. Though the Thai 777-200s are not ERs, ETOPS CONFIGURATION was painted on the engine cowling. I entered through door 2L, and was greeted by a very tall Thai lady – she would be serving my aisle all the way to Incheon as well.

All the 777-200s have the dreaded 3-4-3 configuration in economy, but I must say it wasn’t really that bad. The seats are installed very close together, i.e. there is no space between seats where the armrest is located. The aisles are quite narrow as well, thus the actual seat width isn’t affected that much. If the seat next to you is empty, it’s quite tolerable. The seats themselves are made by Sicma Aeroseat, and have rather nice winged headrests that you simply pull up. I have never seen those before. Boarding was soon completed, and we had a close to 100% load to “Asia’s world city” this morning. Unfortunately three passengers didn’t show up, and we’d have to wait for their bags to be offloaded. Meanwhile, newspapers were offered as well as an assortment of toys to children. The boy in 32F seemed to be very happy with his.

We were pushed half an hour late, and taxied to runway 21R for takeoff as usual. Captain Wittaya welcomed us onboard and said he’d be back with more information once we were airborne. The double ping of the seatbelt sign was soon heard, the crew rushed to their jumpseats while our triple seven lined up for takeoff. The big Trents soon spooled up, and we started the takeoff roll. You can really feel the power on the 777 on takeoff, even if it’s not quite like the MD11.

The purser soon explained the service on this flight; we would first be served a snack with drinks and later a lunch on this 2h20min flight. The snackmix was roasted pumpkin seeds, quite exotic but nevertheless tasty. I chose a Ballantines with Coke as my drink. Hot towels were later passed out – real cloth ones also in economy class. Row 32 was the last to get lunch served – however both choices were still available. I chose the lemongrass prawns with Thai jasmine rice, a special meal created to celebrate the birthday of the Queen. It is served on all TG flights from Bangkok and all classes have this meal in one form or another as well. It came with a Thai seafood salad and a special Thai dessert. Real china and glasses are still used on TG. It was an excellent meal, especially the main course. Wine, water and warm rolls were served constantly during the meal as well as Chinese tea. Later, the purser walked around with a bottle of Camus VSOP cognac and a tray of those little TG glasses. The other meal choice was roasted duck… Quite a difference from “chicken or pasta” that the western airlines usually serve.

We were already starting the descent into Chek Lap Kok when the crew collected the trays. I noticed on the airshow that we had flown over the Hainan island – in my experience at least AY and CI always avoid flying over Hainan for some reason. We flew past the city of Hong Kong, as our landing runway was 25R this afternoon. Landing was rather hard, and we taxied to the terminal behind an Orient Thai Boeing 747-146, HS-UTH to be more exact. Our gate was 42 this afternoon, and I headed through a security check to the departures level after a Cathay Pacific representative handed me a transfer card and gave instructions how to go to the lounge.

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge, Hong Kong HK

I headed to this lounge, located upstairs near gate 40. A Regal Hotels representative wrote down my LH card number and threw my card and transfer pass back – obviously I had just disturbed her magazine reading. All cocktail sticks, straw packaging etc carried the Regal logo, so it was obvious that the lounge was run by this company for TG. Snack and drink selection on the business class side was a downgraded version of what was offered at BKK, but still decent. I simply had a drink and surfed the Internet for a while. The lounge offers very nice views as well. Upon leaving, I dared to say bye to the warden. She didn’t even raise her head from the magazine, let alone say a word. This kind of a person is not suitable for a premium lounge; it’s just as simple as that. I will not choose Regal hotels either in HKG next time, so she is giving bad image to both her employer, Regal, and Thai Airways.

LH747FTL

18 August 2004
Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok (HKG/VHHH) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Thai Airways International TG 628
Boeing 777-2D7
HS-TJF “Phanom Sarakham”
1530-1945 (1525-2000)
Economy Class, Seat 32D (Bulkhead)

Boarding had started early, and the economy class line was very long already. Luckily, there was nobody in the business class side, so after a quick glance at my Lufthansa card, the Cathay representative wished me a nice flight. Since the “premium” side automatically takes you to the first jetbridge as well, I walked through the empty business class cabin in order to get to my seat. The purser welcomed me back, and I stored my stuff in the spacious 777 overhead bins again.

Luckily this flight was not completely full, so there was nobody sitting next to me. We were pushed back a few minutes early, and headed to runway 25L for takeoff. The same Orient Thai 747-100 was taxiing in front of us for its flight back to Thailand. Meanwhile, the other 747-100, HS-UTD arrived as well. Two 747-100s in passenger service next to each other is not what you’d expect to see in 2004, is it? OX 747-300 HS-UTK was also at the terminal, preparing to return to Bangkok.

We took off after the 32-year-old OX classic, and headed towards Taiwan after departure. Khun Wittaya informed us from the cockpit that flying time would be longer than usual today, due to a typhoon near Korea. Service started shortly, and was flawless on this flight, just like on the BKK-HKG sector. After the drink/snack service, another hot meal was served. I had steak as the main course, it was very nice, and served with creamy mushroom sauce and noodles. It could have been served in AY or LH business class without any complaints. My wine glass didn’t get empty at all during the meal – the purser was very good with refills.

After the trays were cleared, I decided to try to sleep for the rest of the flight. I managed to snooze until we were about to start our descent into Incheon International. We landed quite roughly again, on runway 15L I believe. After passing all the Korean Air and Asiana jets, we docked next to a United triple seven, 15 minutes late due to the longer route. Thai had absolutely fantastic service on these two flights. The 3-4-3 seating is not optimal, but at least for me the service makes up for the slight lack of seat comfort. Pitch is still 33” in normal rows.

Renaissance Seoul Hotel, Seoul KR

Since I had neither applied for a bed at the university dormitory nor found any apartment yet, I booked this hotel for two nights via Priceline for $57 per night. The apartment costs for August would buy me a ticket to Manila anyway, so I decided to find one starting September when my university starts. The Renaissance is in Gangnam, a two-hour ride on the Korean Air limousine bus that evening. I was assigned a king bed no smoking room as requested, and the bellhop escorted me to the room with my bags. The room was fairly usual 4-star hotel room, nice enough but not something really special. There was a king bed, a couch and a table, as well as a working desk with broadband internet available. Minibar and room service were horribly overpriced. The bathroom was small and there was no separate shower stall. I had two separate bookings again to maximize the eBay points, they pretty much messed up with that – nobody had a clue what I was talking about and even though the keys were re-programmed, they didn’t work. At the Shangri-La, I have never even had to go downstairs to remind them about such situations, it’s all taken care of.

20 August 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Asiana Airlines OZ 371
Boeing 767-38E
HL7247
0900-1150 (1010-1250)
Economy Class, Seat 26C (Bulkhead)

My internet confirmation indicated that I need to pick up my ticket two hours prior to departure. If you know where Incheon is located, it means a very early wake up call for a 9am departure. The first KAL limousine wasn’t scheduled until 6.10am, and the regular bus for 5:35am (travel time 2h), so I had to take a taxi, which cost an awful lot. Incheon is a very nice airport, but the location is as bad as Narita. After avoiding all the speed cameras with his radar detector, we made it to the airport in about 40 minutes – Asiana counters wouldn’t be open for another 40 minutes.

At exactly 6.40am, Asiana staff walked to their counters, and my ticket was issued. Ironically it looks just like those SQ paper tickets chosen with internet booking – basically an e-ticket reissued as paper ticket. Why couldn’t Asiana just offer e-ticketing to MNL for example? I was glad to see it was booked in H class though – that means it earns full LH mileage even after the recent changes. I went to the Star Gold/Business check-in, and was checked in quickly with an exit row seat assigned.

Security was very strict – one needs to use the slippers provided while your shoes are being x-rayed. They also searched everybody with the handheld metal detector after passing through. I then went to immigration – no lines whatsoever this early in the morning. I wanted to double check that I indeed don’t need a re-entry permit to come back with my visa – the inspector simply said “No English”, which I found unbelievable. Well I hope their website is correct as I don’t have any re-entry permit.

Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge, Incheon KR

This is the biggest SilverKris Lounge outside Singapore, and very much liked by a lot of Flyertalkers for example. The agent downstairs welcomed me, and apologized for the wait as she photocopied my LH card and boarding pass. At her desk, there was a list of available amenities – they even offer you wlan cards if you don’t have one. The lounge is upstairs, offers great views and is very nice. There is everything you except from a good lounge – hot breakfast buffer, salad bar, cold food, ice cream, full service bar, lots of computers, showers, sleeping rooms etc. Overall a fantastic lounge, one of the very best I have visited.

Asiana Lounge, Incheon KR

I decided to check out this lounge as well. It is as nice as the SilverKris Lounge, and the amenities are quite similar. However, there is no bar at the Asiana lounge, you just help yourself. Also, they have even portable DVD players and DVD movies available here, as well as even more computers than the SQ lounge from what I saw. There was also a hot breakfast buffet, and an even bigger salad bar. My flight was delayed by 50 minutes, so I got to spend some time here.

Boarding started at about 9:30am, due to late connections. Apparently they waited for some connecting passengers for more than an hour, which I find quite strange. They could have just rerouted them to the Philippine Airlines evening flight. Next to our 767 was a Korean 777-300 bound for Beijing Capital. I was the first to board again, and was greeted by the friendly Asiana ladies by the door. My assigned seat was 25A, the first exit door window seat. It had horrible legroom due to the bulkhead being so close. I later changed to 26C – also a bulkhead with very poor legroom, but I had 26CDE for myself. The seats are old and small; I suddenly realized that those TG 777 seats were not that bad. The 767 was also quite worn inside, the carpet was torn in front of my seat and completely wet.

There were a few Americans in rows 25 and 26 on the other side of the aircraft – very loud, demanding beer from the flight attendants as we were at the gate (it was served…) and then asking “who the hell waits for some connecting passengers delaying my flight”. We finally pushed back about 70 minutes late, and taxied for departure behind a Korean 747. Took off with no delay, and headed towards Okinawa and then The Philippine Islands.

Service started shortly, and was disappointing compared to TG. There was no initial drink service and meals were served on small trays for example. The choices were chicken or seafood with rice – I had the seafood. It was completely tasteless unfortunately. The noodles and salad were quite decent; dessert was a tiny Snickers chocolate. Drinks were served once.

I decided to sleep after the meal – not very easy with the bulkhead so close by, but since I had had pretty much no sleep the night before, I managed. I woke up as we were on descent to Ninoy Aquino, and after a rough descent, we landed quite smoothly. Our 767 parked next to a Saudi Arabian 747-400 (HZ-AIZ), which had just arrived from Jeddah about two hours late. Oh well, they seem to be catching up – it was 8 hours late last time I was at MNL.

Passport control had awful lines due to the Saudi flight as well as two JAL DC10s – I waited for half an hour before getting through. At this point, my bag was already waiting on the carousel. I didn’t feel like hauling all my stuff upstairs and re-clearing security in order to catch a cheap taxi, so I took a hotel car from downstairs instead. My plan was to travel with hand luggage only, but there was no way to fit 11 days worth of stuff to my carry-on.

Hyatt Regency Manila, Pasay City PH

Since the Faster Free Nights promo is still running, I booked the Hyatt again. I was checked in quickly, and was assigned room on the Hyatt Gold Passport floor again. It escapes me however why such floor would be a low floor like 4. The room was as described in my report last time; everything was in working order this time. But I just can’t help laughing at the empty minibar and glass drawer. I received a fruit plate and a note from the general manager welcoming me back. There was also a letter from the front desk manager, it was placed in a Regency Club envelope, which made me think it would contain something else like an invitation to use the Regency Club itself…

21 August 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC)
Philippine Airlines PR 849
Boeing 747-469M
N754PR
1500-1610 – On Time
First Class, Seat 1A

Philippine Airlines was nice enough to schedule two Boeing 747 runs to Cebu this Saturday – I booked the afternoon one just like last time. The ride to NAIA 2 was quick from the Hyatt, and I was checked in by the same guy as last time. He gave me 1A in the First Class cabin again. I then went through security and to the Mabuhay Lounge. It was rather quiet this afternoon, and after a drink or two and some snacks, I went back to the departure area. The back of my boarding pass had a Citibank ad – I went to collect the free gift from their stand, it contained some toiletry products.

The ex-Kuwait Airways Boeing 747 was sitting at gate S1, and would be taking me to Cebu this afternoon. Boarding started shortly after I made it to the gate, and I was again amongst the first to board. The guy at the door addressed me by name and escorted me to the huge first class cabin. N754PR has the Kuwait First cabin, 32 electronically controlled seats with about 70” pitch. The seats are much nicer than those found on N752PR at least. The legrest goes horizontal, and recline is about 160 degrees. The walls have some purple artwork painted on them; overall the large first class cabin was very airy and pleasant. There are PTVs in all classes of this Boeing 747 – airshow is not available however.

We were pushed back on time, and eight seats were occupied in the F cabin. At some point, I counted 7 flight attendants in the cabin as well. One of the ladies took my meal order – I chose smoked salmon with noodles. The other option was some kind of steak. I was addressed by name again. Our jumbo taxied by the LH Technik Philippines hangar as usual – B747 RP-C8168 was sitting there going through an engine change. Apparently it was ferried in from SFO via HNL the night before as PR 007 with only two engines working.

We entered runway 24 via H1 after a Cebu Pacific B757 had landed, and took off immediately. The initial stages of the flight were very turbulent, and service only started about 30 minutes after takeoff. The captain informed us about a flying time of 55 minutes to Mactan Cebu today, and asked everybody to keep their seatbelts fastened due to the turbulent weather. We would climb up to 37000 feet on this short flight. As soon as the turbulence stopped, the crew swing into action, and the hot meals were served. The salmon was rather nice, best meal PR has served me so far on their domestic flights. Water and coffee/tea were served several times during the meal service.

Trays were collected as we were 10 minutes from touchdown – we were making the same approach as last time. This means flying a bit further out over the sea, and then turning onto finals for Mactan runway 22. Touchdown was very smooth, but the runway is in terrible condition, so the rest was extremely bumpy. Cebu Pacific’s Davao logojet DC9 was the only aircraft parked at the terminal at this time. Needless to say it looked very small next to the 747-400. My bag came out fast thanks to the priority tag, and I was out of the terminal only minutes after leaving my seat in the nose of the Jumbo.

Cebu City Marriott Hotel, Cebu City PH

I really had not made up my mind about where to stay this time, but since Marriott offered the Gold challenge for me, I opted for the Cebu City Marriott again. My request for high floor was granted – a king bed no smoking room on the 9th floor was assigned. It offers nice views towards the Ayala Center and the mountains. For Patrick and anybody else staying here, definitely try to get a room on the Ayala Center side as the views are much better from here. The room itself is fine – a bit worn here and there, but really nothing to complain about. Most of the employees are great as usual. I purchased in-room high speed internet for a week for 3500 Pesos, a bit on the expensive side but very convenient. The daily rate of PHP 1200 is a rip-off though. The fitness center in the basement is fairly nice – have been going there daily.

LH747FTL

30 August 2004
Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC) - Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Philippine Airlines PR 850
Airbus A330-301
F-OHZR
1730-1840 – On Time
Fiesta Class (Economy), Seat 74K

My plan was to fly Air Phils back to Manila, PAL was by far the cheapest, and the A330 should be a comfortable ride anyway. I wasn't cheap enough to take the 5am flight, so I paid 1700 pesos for the afternoon PR 850. This was booked in K class, philippineair.com had quoted me 2700 pesos for S-class before. After sorting out the mess the Cebu Marriott had managed to create with my 1-week broadband internet subscription, it was time to take a taxi to the airport at about 3pm. Late checkout was reluctantly granted until 2pm (Marriott Silver and I spent 9 nights there...), so I had also gone to eat lunch at the nearby Ayala Mall before leaving.

It started raining heavily, and the trip took a bit longer than expected, but I still had plenty of time for check-in. Luckily the PAL guy made no mention of my 26-kgs suitcase, simply tagged it as 1/20 to avoid any excess baggage charges. A window seat 74K was assigned for me on this half empty A330 up to Manila. I then made it through security, this time the screening machine was working unlike in July, and I was through quickly. The departure area was quite busy with a 5J DC9 departing for Iloilo and another one for Manila, as well as our big Airbus parked at gate 4. Unfortunately it was F-OHZR again, same plane I had in July.

Boarding started on time, and was done strictly by row numbers. I actually thought PAL had sent a 747 today after getting 74K assigned, but the A330 has actually seat numbers up to row 76 I believe. After the usual "Hi Sir" by a few of the F/As, I headed to my seat and was very impressed by the legroom and overall seat comfort. PAL A330s definitely have some of the most comfortable economy seats I have sat in.

We were pushed back on time, and headed to runway 22 for takeoff. The sun was just setting and it was getting dark outside at this point. After a noisy and powerful takeoff, we flew over the city while the sun was setting behind the mountains - absolutely stunning view I must say. Unfortunately, the batteries of my digital camera were about to die at this point.

Service started soon after takeoff, and a PAL Snack Pack was served in economy. There was a bag of peanuts, some crackers and a big pack of dried fruit. Drinks were served twice, and also newspapers were offered on this 55-minute flight. Can't really ask for more for mere 1700 pesos I guess. The competition seems quite intense on the Cebu route at the moment, at least two ferry companies (WG&A and somebody else) seemed to be offering P1000 saver fares as well. I plan to do the superferry at some point just for fun.

Trash was soon collected, and the captain announced descent into Ninoy Aquino. On approach, we flew over some mountain partly covered in clouds, again just superb views. Landing was quite smooth, and we taxied to Centennial Terminal 2 and this time docked at the domestic side, so no buses were needed. A 737 arrived from Cagayan de Oro I believe, and docked next to the big Airbus. My bag still had a PAL priority tag on it, and to my surprise, it was the first one to appear. This time I walked upstairs and got one of the incoming taxis again to the Hyatt Regency.

Hyatt Regency Manila, Pasay City PH

This hotel never ceases to amaze me - this was probably the worst stay so far. No welcome message from anyone (had 2 last time...), and Cesz who has checked me in on every stay, decided to assign me a twin room on a low floor. Despite the room having two beds, only one pair of slippers and toothbrush were provided for example. On the other hand, the king rooms seemed to have two sets... Consistent product they have here. This time, there was however a "Gold Passport VIP" conplimentary morning drink order form. These were absent from the other rooms on the Gold Passport floor. But I must say the room Service pizza for P240 tastes great when you know that it (incidentals on a non-qualifying stay) get you the FFN credit. I have spent 4 nights at this hotel for a total of $232, and just redeemed the two Faster Free Nights at Grand Hyatt Tokyo and Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. Maybe I should stop whining after all

31 August 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) - Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Asiana Airlines OZ 372
Boeing 767-38E
HL7515
1300-1810 - On Time
Economy Class, Seat 10C (Bulkhead)

The taxi ride from the Hyatt was interesting to say the least, the driver didn't know the intersection near Coastal Mall was blocked, so he apologized for having to make a U-turn somewhere. We ended up on the Cavite tollway, and there was no way to make the turn before we were in Cavite itself. He tried hard to make it just before the toll booths - I was "Americano in hurry" and god knows what else as he tried to convince the security guard. No way - driver apologized to me, paid the toll both ways and drove like mad back to NAIA. Luckily I had left early enough, so there was no problem with time. Driver apologized about 6 times, and hoped I would still come back to the Philippines despite this experience... We finally arrived at NAIA 1 and I had no problem paying him the equivalent of 2 Euros after this sightseeing trip. Much more interesting than paying the said amount to someone refusing to use the meter.

Asiana check-in had just opened, and I was quickly checked in at the Business/Star Gold counter. I asked for a nice aisle seat - that request went to deaf ears, and she just tossed the boarding pass and lounge invitation to me. I knew I had the first row aisle seat assigned, but it would be appropriate to at least mention I had that seat. The flight looked overbooked in economy anyway. OZ uses the Miascor Lounge, and since our departure gate was at the duty free area, you need to clear security twice to use that lounge.

Miascor Lounge, Manila PH

The lounge was deserted, and only used by Asiana that time of day. A collection of ancient furniture would be the appropriate description for the seats etc found inside, but then again, I haven't seen a nicer lounge either at NAIA 1. Quite interesting food and drink choices were available, I wouldn't think of pizza and tequila first when it comes to lounge foods. Nothing to complain though, they also had some noodles and sandwiches as well as plenty of drinks. Staff were very friendly. I tried to mix a Singapore Sling since the ingredients were there - it's probably a good thing I don't work at the Raffles hotel bar. After a brief chat with an American living in Korea who had been "messing around in Angeles City" as he put it, we were invited to board OZ 372 to Incheon.

The scene at the gate wasn't exactly what I expected - Asiana station manager barking us to hurry up because we are the last passengers and we are late. Nice way to treat your premium passengers who were merely following what OZ staff had told us. I politely pointed this to him - "board now" was the reply. Luckily, the overhead bin above row 10 was still empty, and I managed to stuff my roller bag to this rather small 767 overhead bin. HL 7515 was in much better condition that 7247 was, and also legroom was better in row 10 than 25/26. But the seat comfort was a far cry from Philippine Airlines A330 seats.

Door was closed right after we had boarded, and we were pushed back immediately as well. Business class had a grand total of 3 revenue passengers and two pilots (apparently they fly one sector and deadhead back while cabin crew work both sectors). It looks like the businessmen prefer KE's B747-400/777-300 services, can't really fault them based on my OZ experiences so far. We took off on time, and meal service was very rushed right after takeoff. Although a 4-hour flight, drink service was skipped once again.

Meal was a choice of fish or beef IIRC, I chose the beef which was completely tasteless. Somewhat edible after I emptied the Korean red pepper paste tube on it. Drinks were served once, had a glass of red wine and some water. When trays were collected, we still had about 3 hrs of flying time left. I plugged in the headphones and listened to some music, while waiting for my whisky+coke that the F/A conveniently forgot before disappearing after the meal service. It was delivered after pushing the call button, and I even managed to get a second one from her an hour later. Third drink order on this 4-hr flight was met with a very rude "no more". The novie was bad and I just wanted to enjoy a drink or two while listening to their music selection - I am hardly drunk after two whiskeys in two hours. Maybe it was the competitor's pin that I was wearing (Thai Airways) that put her off...

After another rather boring hour or so, we landed on tine at Incheon International Airport, and parked next to a company A321 preparing to depart for Clark AFB and KE Boeing 777-300. Immigration was deserted, and my bag made it quickly this time as well. A very poor experience overall with Asiana, but I have to choose them rather than KE since I love my miles and lounges...

LH747FTL

01 September 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Asiana Airlines OZ 341
Boeing 747-48E
HL7428
1710-2050 (1710-2020)
Business Class, Seat 20A (Bulkhead)

It was not very clear when my university would actually start, and after registering for the courses, it became apparent that I wouldn’t have anything during the first week either… Asiana September web fares were quite decent, so I decided to head back to Bangkok. Obviously I’m just a little insane. So, after registering with the Finnish embassy in Seoul and getting some documentation in order not to go to the military again (for once, they did something right and decided to invite me back for a week when I’m not in Finland ), I was off to Incheon again.

The KAL Limousine driver was a bit crazy I guess, and we made it to Incheon in just one hour this afternoon. I asked politely if the OZ ticketing agent could issue my upcoming Manila ticket as well – not possible. “Pick up when go” he rumbled and tossed out the BKK ticket on the counter with his finger pointing at the Y-class check-in “now check-in there”. I am starting to believe it’s not bad luck I’m having with Asiana, they seem to have a good number of people who couldn’t care less about customer service.

Check-in was quick at the Business Class desks, and the agent offered a “wide seat for you sir today”. The main deck business cabin was used for economy class today, so I was a happy camper at this point. I then headed to the Asiana Lounge, planning to go to the Singapore Airlines lounge later, as their bar opens at 3pm and Asiana's food selections weren't the best. Had I known about Asiana’s nice own rules completely against Star Alliance procedures, I would not have made this mistake. About six pages worth of discussion regarding this matter can be found at:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351247

I won’t add anything here about the lounge issue, but I was obviously totally pissed off. Thumbs up for the SQ loyalty department for their handling of the issue though, and even sending a follow up e-mail to wish me a pleasant trip and nice lounge visit on another trip (TG metal to BKK).

Boarding started on time, and I basically walked straight from the Asiana Lounge to my seat in the first row of business class. The seats are of the ancient type, and totally out of place on longhaul routes such as LHR where the competition CX/SQ offer flat beds in C. However, they were nice and comfortable for the BKK run, especially considering I paid for economy. Legroom is about 45-50”, and there is an old style small PTV. There are no adjustable headrests, snake lights or anything like that though. We were pushed back on time, with a very full load in the back and C-class passengers enjoying their F-class seats in the nose of the Jumbo.

I took a few pics of the usual suspects (KE/OZ) while taxiing – before one of the flight attendants shouted “turn off”. Takeoff roll was quite long; I guess we were loaded with cargo as well for the 5-hour flight. Menus were handed out on this flight after takeoff, and they also contained a nice guide about Thailand. A male f/a was serving the business class part of cattle class today, he was friendly enough and service was rather good. I had some Chivas Regal with coke during the initial drink service – OZ serves quality scotch in economy I must say.

The meal was a choice of chicken or beef – I had the beef as the fancy description printed in the menu sounded good. It came with a Thai papaya salad and some sort of fruit cake for dessert. Quite good overall, but still it was plain and simple economy class food that you would expect on any carrier. The Chivas kept flowing on this flight, and I enjoyed watching the darkening sky from my big and comfy seat. Time always flies when you are seated in a premium cabin… After a while, it had got totally dark outside, and we flew directly over Hong Kong – it surely looks stunning with all the lights on. Check Lap Kok followed, and one could clearly see the shape of the passenger terminal as it was all lit up.

We then continued avoided flying over Hainan island, and proceeded directly over Da Nang and the north-eastern cities of Ubon Ratchathani and Surin onto the Thai capital. After the usual 21R approach, a smooth landing followed, and we had arrived 30 minutes early. We then taxied to pier 2 as Asiana uses terminal 1. I always find terminal 1 immigration a bit slower than terminal 2, and today was no exception. My bag was already waiting however, and I took a taxi to the good old JW Marriott.

JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok

I was not very satisfied here on my 7th stay back in April, but must say they handled everything perfectly this time. My high floor king bed room was waiting as was the GM’s welcome letter. One of the front desk ladies escorted me to the room as well, this hadn’t happened for a while at this hotel for me. Overall I had a great stay, and looking forward to returning. For more JW info, you may want to read my older trip reports.

05 September 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Asiana Airlines OZ 342
Boeing 747-48E
HL7418
2230-0550 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 33D

It was time to head to Don Muang at about 8:30pm, and I made it there half an hour later. Asiana check-in was crowded with more tour groups and than I have ever seen at check-in, as well as a very large number of Thai construction workers heading to work in Korea I guess. The single business class desk had a line as well, but it only took a few minutes. The desk was manned by a clueless Thai Airport Ground Services agent, with the Asiana supervisor constantly barking orders at her. I asked if I could have one of the better seats in the front of Y class – “Your seat is 33D” was the reply.

Then the fun started when she wanted to see a Korean re-entry permit… Finnish citizens don’t need one and I politely pointed out this to her. “Where card” was repeated about a dozen times until I pulled a random ticket out of Korea from my bag… Supervisor’s next order was “no Asiana card – no lounge invitation”. It would have been appropriate to at least explain that I can use any TG/SQ/LH lounge, but that would be too much to ask from Asiana I guess. I then bought my 500 baht PSC ticket – a tour group leader happened to buy 300 of these tickets just before me.

Immigration had no lines whatsoever, and I made it to the TG Royal Executive lounge by pier 3 in no time. I decided to ask for the massage service although it’s only advertised for TG C/F passengers, and the guy apologized that it is not available for passengers not travelling on TG. He tried to get an exception from his supervisor, but no way. His efforts were appreciated nevertheless. Due to the lack of computers in this lounge, he suggested that I might use any other TG lounge or the SQ lounge next door. Not exactly how Asiana folks in Incheon see Star Gold lounge access…

I headed to the SQ lounge, as the huge north corridor TG lounge has not been renovated. SQ had upgraded their single computer since I was there the last time, and I managed to check emails and book a Priceline hotel night. Drink and snack selections were pathetic compared to the TG lounge, but staff was very friendly as usual. I headed to pier 2 at around 10pm, and OZ 342 was just starting boarding at gate 24. It would be operated by the other full pax 747-400, namely HL7418.

Boarding process was ridiculous, the right side usually reserved for premium cabins and elites was roped off, and after a C-class pax was told to join the awfully long queue, I did so too. It did move relatively fast, and soon I was onboard the jumbo without any greetings whatsoever, the f/as just pointed at the aisles, depending on where your seat was located. The real Y class section was a madhouse, a couple of tour group leaders kept running in the aisles while people were boarding… Lower deck business class was again used for Y, but the agent made no effort to put me there. Obviously it’s not a right to be seated there, but it would be the appropriate place for Star Golds.

The guy in 33E was separated from his friends in 33ABC, and kept staring at me – probably wanting to change seats. They kept swapping newspapers and meal items throughout the flight – great. The seats were awful, same style as the TG 777-200 ones, but I swear these were narrower. Pitch was very tight as well, definitely not 34” that I read somewhere. This was going to be one tough red-eye to Incheon. We were pushed back on time with a 100% load in cattle class. AT this point Mr tour group leader asks the F/A if he can use the bathroom – no problems at all. He then proceeded to distribute some landing forms when we were taxiing.

Menus were distributed after takeoff – quite nice for a 5-hour flight. The dinner was a choice of fish or beef; I had the beef, which was the standard Asiana affair. Not good but not bad either. They seemed to use LSG Sky Chefs in Bangkok instead of Thai Catering, and sometimes I wonder if LSG Y-class meals from some stations are really for us passengers or our four legged friends… The beef was served with rice and the salad was of some weird looking and tasting Korean variety; I ate it for the lack of anything tastier.

Once the trays were cleared, the flight attendants simply pulled the usual US/European trick; disappeared for the rest of the flight. During the meal service, the captain gave the usual details, and proudly announced that “air condition in Incheon very cloud”. Guess the weather would be cloudy, but how can you be a 747 captain with this level of English command? Garfield was the movie for the flight, sleeping was not a possibility in the confined space of 33D, so I watched it. At least I was able to pass some time that way. Lights stayed on for the most of this night flight, I wonder why.

We started our approach to Incheon Intl at around 5:20am, and the flight attendants appeared again to serve us water or orange juice. Landing was on time – 5:50am isn’t exactly the rush hour at this airport or any other for that matter. Immigration was deserted, but I must say I’m stunned how the Koreans simply run and cut in front of you even at immigration, let alone at a subway station. Officer was probably still half asleep; he pulled out a book and tried to find how long Finnish citizens can stay in Korea. My priority tagged bag appeared quickly, and I headed to the bus stands.

10 September 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Thai Airways International TG 659
Boeing 777-2D7
HS-TJH “Suphan Buri”
1030-1350 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 32H (Bulkhead)

After an utterly boring lecture, I made the mistake of visiting thaiair.com – it resulted in me being about 300 eur poorer. The Thai online booking is weird to say the least, it won’t take your credit card number when the “ticket pick-up from office” is chosen as delivery method. Well, since e-tickets are not available on this route, that was my only alternative. I had no clue where the office was, and neither did the two first taxi drivers who spoke no English at all. Third one finally had some clue, and I got to the office half an hour later. A very friendly agent issued my ticket, and I was good to go three days later.

I made it to Incheon at about 7.30 am, Thai counters would be opening ten minutes later. At exactly 7.40, the station manager came to apologize that they’d need a few more minutes to turn on their system. I requested a first row aisle seat, 31C was assigned and the rude Korean Air agent tossed the boarding pass at me. Since Korean is their handling agent, I asked which lounge TG uses – “Singapore” was the answer. I was secretly hoping I would get to check out the KAL lounge but oh well.

An airport representative was checking the size of carry ons – didn’t speak a word of English but it was obvious she wanted to check how heavy my bag was. None of her business in my opinion if TG was ok with it; luckily she let me go as well. After the U.S. style security check with shoes removed, individual body check, carry on through the machine three times and opened laptop bag, I was deemed to be no threat to our 777 this morning. Immigration was quick, and I was enjoying hot breakfast in the SilverKris lounge soon. The wireless internet makes time to pass by quickly, and after witnessing a fully loaded, dirty Orient Thai 747-100 with paint peeling off taxi in from BKK as OX 300, it was time to board.

HS-TJH was waiting next to two United 777s, and boarding had just started, so I boarded through the elite/business side without delay. 31C/32H are the best seats in house behind the curtain, the bulkhead does not extend so far, so you have basically unlimited legroom. I moved to 32H later as the middle seat on that side was empty. Newspapers were distributed, and “Suphan Buri” was pushed back on time for the hop down to Bangkok Don Muang.

Service started with roasted almonds with drinks as well as hot towels. My aisle was served by a young lady and gentleman, both gave absolutely great service throughout the flight. The female one looked very cute in her blue dress as well… The meal was a choice of beef or chicken, I had the beef if my memory serves me. Served with rice, it came with a very tasty seafood salad, warmed rolls, mango dessert, Korean kimchi as well as some red pepper paste and seaweed stuff for those who want it. For some reason, they served my and my seatmate’s meal directly from the galley as the first row is usually the last to get served.

Wine and water glasses were refilled constantly, and cognac was offered after the meal as usual. IFE on these 777s is pretty much non-existent, so I fired up my MP3 player after the meal service while enjoying Ballantines cokes. There was no need to ever use the call button as the crews were constantly patrolling the aisles. I happened to be in the lavatory when immigration forms were distributed – mine were conveniently left on the traytable and drink had been refilled.

Our routing took us over Taipei, then towards Vietnam and over Isaan to Bangkok as usual. As we were starting descent to Don Muang over my ex-girlfriend’s hometown, the male f/a insisted I take one more drink and he’ll bring some snacks… Sure enough, five bags of almonds and another drink arrived moments later. At this point, I had to get the “customer satisfaction survey” out of the seatpocket. Another refill was offered upon handing the survey to the guy, but I had had enough drinks by this time.

LH747FTL

We touched down a few minutes early on 21L, and taxied to pier 3 if I remember correctly. Immigration had short lines, but I was waved over to a Thai passports only counter and was through in seconds. As I had no checked bags, I was at the airport bus stop a minute or so later. Next A3 to Thong Lo would be in 10 minutes, so I decided to wait and save some baht.

12 September 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Thai Airways International TG 658
Boeing 777-2D7
HS-TJD “Mukhadan”
2350-0715+1 – On Time
Royal Executive Class, Seat 22D

This flight showed C4 D4 J4 Z4 Y0 availability the day before, but knowing TG, I wasn’t expecting anything in terms of nicer seats. After some bar hopping, it was time to catch a taxi to the airport – I was not looking forward to this red-eye at all. Thai’s Star Gold check-in was deserted while C-class desks had lines – the guy looked pretty bored in his “Thai Premium Services” jacket. I asked for 32H or an exit row seat – “Sir one minute please” and he picked up the phone. A few moments later, his printer spat out a blue boarding pass which he handed to me with a big smile and “Big seat for you tonight sir, business”.

I cleared immigration quickly, and went to the great new lounge by pier 3. Although my boarding pass had “UPG C/CL” written on it, TG decided to bear the costs of my lounge visit instead of writing down my LH card details. I believe at least Virgin and Cathay do not allow lounge access for upgraded passengers. Having arrived rather late, I had just enough time for the massage service, which is excellent. Hopefully it will be a permanent feature and not just a trial.

I left the lounge for gate 4 quite late – and then realized it was one of those bus gates in the basement. Another guy qas running towards the area as well – asked if he is by any chance on TG 658 as well. He told me to mind my own business. Obviously, I was on the last bus, with about five other passengers. We then drove to the cargo ramp, where my old friend HS-TJD was waiting next to a sad looking Orient Thai classic, also headed to Korea as OX 300 later that night. I have flown on Tango Juliet Delta previously from Bangkok to Phuket.

Thai’s 777-200s have the infamous 2-4-2 seating in business class. Although narrow, I found the seat to be ok as far as old style business class seats go. It’s a bit narrow, but legroom is about 45-50”, there is a PTV as well as a proper legrest and adjustable headrest. Royal Executive class was more or less completely empty, I had the middle block of four for myself. As soon as I got to my seat, the flight attendant rushed to me offering the usual pre-departure drinks and a hot towel. I had a glass of Piper Heidsieck champagne. Service was nice but I prefer the looks of her younger colleagues in the back.

Menus and amenity kits were handed out later; the menu features pictures of chilli on the cover and is quite nice and stylish. The amenity kit was one of the best that I have had in business class. Shaped like a traditional Thai pillow, the contents ranged from various quality toiletries to earplugs and a nice foldable comb. Unfortunately, I left the amenity kit unintentionally on the Korean Air bus the next morning – I woke up and had to rush out at the correct stop.

We were pushed back on time, and took off without delay from 21R as usual. A light snack was served after takeoff – this consisted of a plate of open sandwiches and another plate of pralines. I had champagne to drink. A hot breakfast was served in the morning – yoghurt, fruit plate and a choice of an omelette or Asian style breakfast. I fell asleep after the first meal service and woke up as we touched down at Incheon a few minutes early. A big thank you for Thai for the upgrade – 22D was a great seat to spend the red-eye in.

15 September 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Asiana Airlines OZ 371
Boeing 767-38E/ER
HL7263
0900-1150 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 10C (Bulkhead)

I decided to stay at the Hyatt Regency Incheon the night before in order to avoid an overpriced taxi ride in the morning. A very nice and modern hotel – but the room rate was EUR 140 and a drink in the deserted bar EUR 11, enough said. The Best Western next door will do if I need to stay in Incheon in the future. Lots of crews seemed to be staying at the Hyatt, I spotted at least CX pilots and KE cabin crews. It’s a KAL Hotel branded as a Hyatt actually.

I made it to the Asiana ticket desk at around 6:50 am – ticket printed and tossed at the desk in front of me; efficient but not friendly. Check-in was the same procedure, not that I expected anything else. Security was overly tight again, I passed through two metal detectors without a beep and they still wanted to do the additional stuff with the handheld thing. Sometimes I feel tempted to ask why those detector gates have actually been installed… The screening procedure has been exactly like this on every subsequent trip, along with some additional bag searches.

I have decided to use the lounge closest to departure gate as it’s quite a distance between the two (SQ/OZ), usually it means Asiana Lounge for OZ flights. A nice hot breakfast and some net surfing later, I was ready to board the 767 down to Manila. Filipina flight attendants warmly greeted me upon boarding; their Korean colleagues didn’t say a word. 10C is as good as economy gets on these things – legroom is decent but the seat size is more suited to Asians.

We pushed back on time, took off without delay, and service began soon. No drink service to start with, just meals and one round of water/wine refills. Choice was beef or fish – I had no idea I’d be eating this same trash on all routes ex-ICN for the next two months… I chose the beef – Korean style beef with Korean vegetables and some flavoured rice… It was completely tasteless, yet the portion was large. Service was decent until I received a decent amount of red wine on my shirt… They were simply pouring it over other pax to the passengers in middle seats while Thai and SQ for example fill your glass and then hand it to you…

No other service after the lunch – I ordered one Chivas+Coke and fortunately fell asleep for a while. OZ Manila flights don’t even have a movie, so needless to say they are rather boring. Landing was on time, I was rather shocked to see OZ has no infant seatbelts. The baby in 10A was basically jumping on her Filipina mother’s lap when touching down, while the Korean father was conveniently reading a newspaper in row 11...

Immigration was a breeze this time, and priority baggage worked fine. After getting some cash from an ATM, I lugged my staff upstairs and took a regular taxi to NAIA terminal 2 in order to avoid the downstairs rip-offs.

15 September 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC)
Philippine Airlines PR 849
Airbus A340-313X
F-OHPK
1500-1615 – On Time
First Class, Seat 2A

Same flight as last time, but this time I finally got to try the Airbus A340-300 First Class. Check-in and security was a breeze, and I headed to the Mabuhay Lounge as usual. As I had a few hours to spare, I decided to ask if they had an adaptor available so I could plug in my laptop and do some trip report writing . The lounge supervisor personally went to find one for me, and I was even more pleased to find out that they offered free wireless internet as well. That made time pass by a lot quicker obviously. I also enjoyed some sushi and a few beers – definitely a top notch domestic lounge.

Boarding was from S2, and started on time. The A340 First is arranged in a 2-2-2 layout just like business, but legroom was very generous. The seats are electronically controlled, and recline to almost flat position. As we were waiting for boarding to be completed, newspapers, hot towels and drinks were offered. Later, the flight attendant responsible for my section took the dinner order from me as well as introduced herself.

The flight itself was just like described earlier, so I won’t bother going into more details. My food choice was stir fried beef with noodles – tasty meal again. As soon as the trays were cleared, we were already on descent into Mactan Cebu… I could have handled a longer flight in these nice seats. I stayed again at the Marriott, nice stay with some small glitches.

19 September 2004
Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Philippine Airlines PR 848
Airbus A330-301
F-OHZM
0930-1040 – On Time
Mabuhay Class (Business), Seat 17K

I had bought a ticket for the 7:30 am departure, but decided that’s way too early… I first tried to upgrade it to C at the local travel agent – no business class was offered. The flight had been changed to a regional jet… err Beoing 737… one class service. It was an easy choice to rebook onto business class on PR848, leaving two hours later.

This was another CEB-MNL run, nothing special but a nice flight. This morning, my side of business class was served by a very nice lady called Erica, and assorted dim-sum was served in business class. A quick ride, and an on-time arrival into Ninoy Aquino made it easy for me to get to terminal one in good time before Asiana check-in would close.

19 September 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Asiana Airlines OZ 372
Boeing 777-28E/ER
HL7596
1500-1615 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 10C (Bulkhead)

Asiana check-in was quick at the business class desk – but the lady was a trainee. She had to ask everything from the supervisor, and forgot to put any priority tag on my bag. Also, it was the usual hassle showing onward tickets from Korea to here and there. “Asiana Airlines – Asia’s Hidden Jewel” lounge invitation was handed to me, and luckily this time the departure gate was in the same concourse as well.

The Misacor lounge was it’s usual self – some pasta and pizza to eat and tequila and other spirits to drink. After a while, the 777-200 landed, followed by a company 767 freighter. What I find funny is that when OZ operates a 767, KE is a 777. On days when OZ sends the 777, KE is usually a 747. Some kind of rivalry here? The lounge was deserted and comfortable, and boarding was soon called.

After the customary bag search at the gate, I boarded the triple seven, and took my seat in the first row of economy. 10C has pretty much unlimited legroom as the bulkhead doesn’t extend that far. The seat itself was old-style, thick seatback and no adjustable headrests. However, it was much more comfortable than the 767 seats of Asiana. There is also a standard PTV, and I especially liked the e-mail/SMS feature.

After a while, one of the flight attendants came and told me “your bag is too big”. I said it’s a standard Air Canada brand carry on, and the bin can be closed just fine. “It’s too big and too heavy. You move it.” Fine. If 12 kgs is too heavy for her to move, I surely can get up and move it. To her amazement, I simply closed the bin without moving the bag. Flight attendant didn’t say a word. I figured if Thai 777 bins can be closed, surely the ones on OZ could be closed as well.

The doors were closed early, and we were pushed back with two passengers in business class and about 50% load in economy. 10B remained empty which was nice. Took off without delay, and the meal service started soon. Service was poor throughout the flight, something I’d expect on a U.S. domestic flight. The meal was beef or chicken – the beef was again very bland and tasteless. I asked and got a whisky with coke after the meal, the order for a second one an hour later was met with “no more” from the same “Senior Stews” who had issues with my carry on bag. At least on Ryanair, they’d let me purchase my drink…

I sent a few e-mails using the PTV and followed the flight path on Airshow in order not to get bored – thankfully the seat was rather comfortable when reclined. We started our descent quite early, shortly after passing the island of Jeju, and touched down at Incheon a few minutes early. Korean immigration was a total joke that day – three desks were open for non-Koreans (with lines extending to the concourse), while the rest were for Koreans and were empty. I was through after about 45 minutes, and obviously my bag was waiting there on the belt.

LH747FTL

21 September 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Thai Airways International TG 657
Boeing 777-2D7
HS-TJE “Chaiyaphum”
2100-0035+1 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 40 DEFG

It was time for the Chosuk holidays in Korea. All ticket prices had been jacked up, but thankfully just a phone call to Thai was enough to get my existing Q-class ticket changed to the evening Bangkok run on Tuesday the 21st of September. I arrived at Incheon a few minutes before Thai was scheduled to open their counters. When approaching the C-class desk, the Korean Air agent rudely told me “system down, wait in line”. Meanwhile, the TG station manager running around and apologizing for the delay.

After about ten minutes, the systems were up, and I made my way to the abovementioned Royal Executive Class desk again. As usual, I asked the agent “Would you have something in the first row for me, preferably 31C or 32H?”. Not getting any of it, she asked “First row, why you want?” I said I need the extra legroom, and the supervisor immediately came to the desk and told the KE lady to issue a boarding pass for 31C for me. Bag was tagged to Don Muang, and off to the SilverKris lounge I went. Security was the usual hassle, but thankfully immigration was deserted this evening.

A cheerful Singapore Airlines agent welcomed me to the lounge by “Welcome sir, how are you tonight?”. Quite a contrast to these OZ/KE ground agents who don’t give a sh*t about customer service based on my experience. Needless to say, the lounge was great. I had some pasta and prawns for dinner, and later moved to the bar to enjoy a few glasses of champagne. The bar closed conveniently at 8:30pm, so I made it to the gate where boarding was just about to start.

After seeing my passport, the TG supervisor cracked a few jokes in Finnish, and told me he once had a Finnish girlfriend. A good start for a flight that would be one of the best I have had on any airline so far. I was one of the first to board, and the cheerful ladies welcomed me onboard. The flight turned out to be very empty, yet 31ABC were all occupied. Just as I was going to ask if I can move before takeoff, one of the air hostesses ( yes, the TG name tag says Air Hostess) came and asked “Mr. Lufthansa747, I have four seats reserved for you back there so you can have some rest.” I was amazed.

She then asked if I’d like a Bangkok post or some other newspaper – I told her I’d actually prefer The Nation. A few minutes later, she came to my seat, apologizing for the delay and handed me a few magazines from business class as well – “I thought you might like these as well”. We were pushed back early, and took off into the dark Korean sky, touch down in Krung Thep would be five hours later. Shortly after takeoff, drinks were served with roasted almonds and hot towels were offered.

When clearing the cups, the lady immediately asked if I want another Singha beer, ran to the galley and came back with the can a few seconds later. Meals were served shortly thereafter – the crew showed the choices with descriptions and photos on a laminated card. I had the chicken instead of pork and it was good. It came with a delicious seafood salad, warm roll, a pack of Korean kimchi, some dried seaweed and a delicious mango dessert. Wine and water refills were offered about five times throughout the meal before coffee/tea/cognac service.

Shortly after the meal, I headed to the galley to return the C-class magazines – ended up chatting there with the inflight supervisor and a steward for almost two hours. The touch-screen LCD they have on the 777 is definitely very sophisticated, the supervisor explained to me various stuff like the screen that showed that all doors were armed, passenger calls etc. He had been with Thai for a long time, and remembered flying to Helsinki on the DC10s back in the late 1980s. Meanwhile the younger guy of Indian origin never forgot to refill my glass of Ballantines and Coke.

At some point, it got a bit turbulent, and the asked me to return to my seat with “we’ll refill your drink and don’t hesitate to ask for anything” comment. Later, the purser came down with a plastic 747 model and TG playing cards as I had told him I was an aviation enthusiast. Thanks to the drinks they managed to serve me in the galley, I fell asleep and only woke up as we were taxiing to the gate at Don Muang. When deplaning, I could only think about the “We hope to provide you with the best service possible” part of the usual Thai Airways welcome aboard speech. Immigration was a breeze, and I was back in Bangkok.

27 September 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Phuket International (HKT/VTSP)
Orient Thai Airlines OX 267
Boeing 747-246B
HS-UTB
0845-1005 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 20A (Exit Row)

My plan was to go to Phuket for a few days – it just got postponed day after day due to enjoying a bit too much of you know what in some watering holes every night. Finally, on September 26th, I went to bed a bit earlier. My el-cheapo place to sleep obviously had no wake up calls, so I had to trust my good old mobile phone and it’s capabilities to wake up someone who loves to sleep until the afternoon on holidays… My Samsung made a lot awful noise at 6:30 am – mission completed.

The taxi ride was quick as usual from Sukhumvit, and I was queuing in front of the One-Two Go ticketing counter at about 7:20 am. I told the guy I need a one way to Phuket, handed him my passport and Mastercard, and a minute later and 1150 baht poorer, I was the proud holder of the end product of the his HP LaserJet. With “PNR: CONFIRMED SEAT”, I was obviously good to go to Phuket. According to the ticket, I had paid with a Visa card that had expired a few months ago, but we are talking about Orient Thai here…

Check-in was rather quick – I asked for the business class upgrade – “plane no have upper deck” was the agent’s answer. Hmmm, right there on the seatmap it says “HS-UTB B747-246B”. I was about to crack a joke about a 747 without upper deck but managed to just leave with 20A assigned for me. Security was a breeze as usual at Don Muang domestic, and after grabbing a greasy burger from the Burger King upstairs, I headed down to gate 9 for boarding. The downstairs bus gate area was a total madhouse, with the OX flight and TG flights to Phuket and Chiang Mai.

Soon, the TAGS buses pulled up to the gate, and boarding started for OX 267 to Phuket. The load was over 300 this morning, and the pilot in command would be First Officer Cruz from the Philippines according to the papers I saw at the gate. After a five-minute bus ride, we pulled up to Uniform Tango Bravo – not exactly a pleasant sight… Paint was falling off all over the place, the fuselage was very dirty and the registration under the wing seemed to be painted with a paintbrush… “B747-246B CN 20529” was painted next to door 5L.

After walking up the stairs, the sight that greeted me was even worse… The inside of door 1L looked like it had been beaten up by somebody, complete with holes filled with some green stuff. A young flight attendant was all smiles when greeting the passengers, the rest of the interior didn’t look as pleasant. Lower deck was fitted with ancient seats, with blue seat covers that were worn beyond imagination. Armrests were missing or hanging into the aisles. A movie screen was removed; simply a black hole was left.

The agent, who insisted we had no upper deck, had thoughtfully given me seat 20A in the exit row. But I would rather not have looked at the exit door… Window frame was crushed, the slide compartment had holes, and the door was very dirty. One of the F/A lights as well as the compartment below the crew jumpseats was broken. Overhead bins were broken and seat numbers were missing… My window shade was missing. The view outside wasn’t much better - anybody with some kind of fear of flying should not look at the engines or the wing.

APU on this particular machine was inoperational, but Orient Thai had splurged for a TAGS ground air conditioning unit this morning. We were pushed back right on time, but engine start-up with the various ground equipment took approximately 20 minutes. We then started taxiing like there was no tomorrow for runway 21R for takeoff. All of a sudden, some of the old overhead compartments of course opened on the bumpy taxiway… So what’s the solution? The flight attendant in the jumpseat told me “Sir bin very heavy – you can help me?” Yours truly got up and started closing the 2-3 bins next to my seat while the flight attendant enjoyed her jumpseat. Quite a bit of fun as Mr. Cruz was speeding on the taxiway…

Flight attendant thanked me, but suddenly I decided to review the door operation from the safety card… Might be too heavy for her as well I guess. We entered runway 21R, and after a long noise roll, the 32-years old jumbo graciously lifted off and we were on out way to Phuket. Service started as we were still climbing – the 747-200 is not exactly a rocket – and was the standard Orient Thai offering. Their new peanuts are quite tasty though. The galley looked funny with a few cases of coke stored in place of the usual carts…

I was curious to see the rest of the plane, so I went all the way to the back before using one of the lavatories. “Icelandic law provides up to 2 years of imprisonment for tampering with lavatory smoke detector” completely cracked me up… This particular jumbo is the oldest in Orient Thai fleet, having spent time with JAL, Air Atlanta Icelandic, Air Algerie, Saudia and god knows who else. Soon, our American captain announced descent into Phuket – Mr. Cruz is not very talkative based on my flights CNX-BKK and this one…

As soon as I made it to my seat, I heard a loud bang from the right side of the 747… Not especially comforting by looking at the shape of the plane, but I guess it was nothing major as I’m still here writing this report. Mr. Cruz soon slammed down the nose and we were really descending into Phuket International Airport. After the usual nice views, the poor old jumbo made a very hard landing, and the engines were screaming at full reverse thrust.

Phuket was rather busy this morning, with two company 747s operating charters to Taipei and Incheon as well as one Phuket Air B747 and a Thai A300. As I had only hand luggage, I was waiting for the shuttle bus outside in no time.

29 September 2004
Phuket International (HKT/VTSP) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Bangkok Airways PG 806
Airbus A320-232
HS-PGU “Guilin”
1320-1440 (1330-1440)
Economy Class, Seat 2F

My plan was to fly Orient Thai back as well, but due to their late arrival into Bangkok, I decided to try the new Bangkok Airways A320 on this trip. It cost about 600 baht more than Orient Thai, but I’d be on a brand new A320 and get to Bangkok in the afternoon instead of 10pm. I arrived at Phuket International about an hour and a half to spare, and a Bangkok Air employee escorted me past the lines as soon as he saw I had only hand baggage. I asked for a seat in the front, and 2F was assigned promptly.

I then headed through security quickly, and into the Bangkok Airways lounge. A better description would be tourist meeting room… It was full of Russians and Italians heading home. The internet was slower than traffic in Seoul, checking my hotmail took 10 minutes. I would have preferred the serene surroundings of the Thai lounge despite the lack of internet access.

The Airbus was scheduled to arrive late from Bangkok, and the staff simply placed a sign on the gate counter. Somebody went to ask about it and the answer was “we are not boarding, have a seat.” My experience with PG is that their staff is not anywhere as friendly as on TG or even Orient Thai/Air Asia for that matter. Boarding started at around the scheduled departure time, and I was the first to board the A320 after some Korean VIPs.

Legroom in row 2 was quite good, but the seats looked cheap and small considering they were only two weeks old. Not even winged headrests. Otherwise, the interior was obviously very nice and fresh considering the age of the airplane. First flight had apparently been to Phnom Penh on 16th of September.

The flight was full of foreigners, and crew didn’t seem too enthusiastic today. Takeoff was about 20 minutes late, and we flew over the JW Marriott Resort and Sarasin Bridge when climbing. Our routing then took us over Surat Thani and from there straight into Bangkok and its Don Muang airport over the Gulf of Thailand.

Meal service on Bangkok Air is very good – this flight was no exception. We were served pork cutlets with rice and vegetables, and ice cream for dessert. A small but very tasty meal. I also purchased a can of Singha for 40 baht – unfortunately it was not cold at all. The dropdown LCDs were showing the flight path throughout the flight, so I was entertained especially after firing up my MP3 player.

Landing at Don Muang was on time, and we parked at a remote stand next to some older Phuket Air B737s. Feeling cheap, I caught the A3 Airport Bus to Sukhumvit in order to save some money.

LH747FTL

02 October 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Phuket International (HKT/VTSP)
Thai Airways International TG 221
Boeing 747-4D7
HS-TGF “Sri Ubon”
1820-1940 – On Time
Royal First Class, Seat 1A

Don’t ask why I went back to Phuket – I have no idea myself either. Anyway, I got to Don Muang at around 5pm, and after confirming that TG 221 would indeed be a 747, I purchased a full fare C ticket on that flight. My name was spelled wrong on the ticket, nobody raised an eyebrow. Check-in was a breeze, and after the agent tried to give me seat 22A, I requested something in rows 1-4… 01A was promptly assigned.

Orient Thai’s OX 283 – the cheapest flight to Hat Yai and a 747 – was just opened for check-in as well, the lines looked terrible. Anyway, I wasn’t subjected to any lines today, so I conveniently bypassed this zoo and entered the Thai Airways lounge. After a few snacks and a can of Coke, I decided to head to the concourse to do some spotting as the domestic Thai lounge is nothing special. OX283 to Hat Yai was pushed back and then sat on the taxiway for 20 minutes… All of a sudden, HS-UTC (another 747 with inop APU) was towed back to its stand and passengers deplaned. I would love to know how OX handled this…

Boarding for TG 221 started on time, and was from downstairs again as the 747 was sitting at a remote stand. I was quite pleased as we pulled next to Tango Golf Foxtrot – one of the two new Thai B747-400s. Everybody seemed to board via door 2L, I was the rebel and walked up the stairs to door 1L… I was then promptly escorted to seat 1A, my bag was stowed in the closet, and a glass of ice tea, a cold towel and The Nation arrived within minutes. TGF was equipped with the new First Class sleepers – very comfortable seats in my opinion though the older First seats are wider.

Just as doors were closed, it started raining heavily, and a thunderstorm was in full swing as we were taxiing to 21R for takeoff. I have seen U.S. airports closed in lighter weather, but Captain Alongkorn simply announced that there would be a slight delay as ATC was increasing the separation between departing aircraft. After sitting there on 21R for a few minutes, the jumbo powered up and we thundered down the runway and took off into the storm clouds. It was possibly the bumpiest takeoff roll I have experienced, nevertheless seatbelt sign went off at 10000 ft and service started despite the very bumpy ride.

Captain soon came on and apologized for the delay and bumpy ride – “we had to wait for the worst clouds to get out of the way for the safety of all of us” was what he said. Prawns in chilli sauce was served this evening – very nice but a bit on the spicy side. Flights in First always pass by too quickly, and we soon started our descent into rainy and stormy Phuket. Nobody seemed to mind the bumpy ride – everybody used the toilets as usual and the seatbelt only came on at around 10-15000 feet.

The final approach was very rough with some crosswinds combined with the thunderstorm, and the pilots slammed down the jumbo harder than I have ever experienced. The face of the Thai lady in 1H was priceless as the nose gear right below us slammed down to the runway… We then taxied to the terminal, and parked next to Orient Thai’s HS-UTJ which has apparently returned from Ghana. It was operating OX 266 to Bangkok.

03 October 2004
Phuket International (HKT/VTSP) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Thai Airways International TG 222
Boeing 747-4D7
HS-TGR “Siriwatthana”
1010-1135 – On Time
Royal First Class, Seat 1K

I booked this flight just to get on the Thai MD-11 – otherwise I could have taken a later flight as my connection to Singapore and Incheon wasn’t until later. The Thai MD11s are infamous for their technical problems, and unfortunately this time was no exception…

Due to the early morning departure, I wasn’t in the mood of a tour of all back alleys in Patong, so instead of the shuttle van, I took the overpriced hotel car to the airport. The driver was a bit on the crazy side fortunately, and I was at Thai’s premium check-in counter at about 55 minutes before departure. The old guy was happy to assign a first class seat for me, so I thought I would finally get the Douglas tri-jet. “So is it still scheduled to be an MD11”, I asked. With a big grin on his face, old guy tells me the bad news – “No sir, jumbo today.” He probably thought I was happy about the change…

Security was a breeze, again nobody raised an eyebrow about my misspelled name and the coins I forgot in my pocket didn’t matter either. I didn’t really feel hungry this morning after about 4 hours of sleep, so after a bottle of coke in the lounge, I was all set for another trip in Thai’s first class cabin, albeit the older one with more seats.

The masses of tourists had lined up already at the gate, so me and another business class passenger simply went to the front and as usual, the agents boarded us first. The other passenger was a very attractive young Thai lady, happened to have seat 1H and after a glance at her boarding pass, I found out she was a ROP Gold member. She had her eyeglasses on for the duration of the flight, didn’t accept any food/drinks and didn’t speak a word with anybody. Possibly some Thai celebrity I thought.

Not very attentive crew on this flight, they looked tired and nobody bothered escorting us to row 1 – usually that happens if you sit in the F cabin. I stowed my roller bag into the closet, and settled into the comfortable seat. Pre-departure drinks and cold towels soon arrived, but nobody bothered to offer newspapers this morning, they were simply laid out on the desk found in the middle of the nose cabin.

Pushback was on time, and the 747 had a full load onboard this morning except for the empty upper deck I believe. Takeoff was powerful as usual on a 1-hour 747 flight, and flying time to Don Muang would be one hour. It was cloudy enroute, no views whatsoever. Food service was the usual non-mealtime tiny pastry on a plate, ridiculous and should be skipped altogether if TG doesn’t have money to serve a proper meal in business class. I would expect a bit more for 3730 baht - that would buy you three flights on the low cost carriers.

A rather uneventful and smooth flight, I simply reclined my seat end enjoyed the comfort whilst dreading the 6hour red-eye in Singapore economy class the same evening… We landed on time, and docked at the domestic terminal for once, so no bus transfer was needed.

03 October 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Singapore Changi (SIN/WSSS)
Singapore Airlines SQ 65
Boeing 777-312
9V-SYA
1330-1655 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 36C (Exit Row)

I believe I snagged an error fare on singaporeair.com, 10000 Baht or about 200 EUR return to Incheon, via Singapore and in M-class, thus giving full mileage credit. These have traditionally always been restricted to the Incheon non-stops from Bangkok that are gone as of Oct 31.

After the long trek from the domestic terminal to the Singapore check-in, the pleasant enough Thai Airways agent asked whether I’d like to go on the 1330 flight instead of my original one two hours or so later. I agreed as that would give me enough time to get to the city in Singapore for a quick visit. Most likely, she offered it because my original flight seemed to be very full.

Exit row aisles were assigned all the way to Incheon, yet she managed to get me somebody else’s boarding pass for SIN-ICN. I noticed “FLIGHT COUPON REQUIRED” on it – mine was an e-ticket. Sure enough, it was for the guy in 49C, while my seat was 49H. After apologizing for her mistake, the correct one was printed, and I was on my way to the Thai Airways lounge near pier 5.

A long shower felt very refreshing at this point, and some Black Label on the rocks after that didn’t hurt either. I could hardly finish my drink, and SQ 65 had switched to “Final Call” on the screens. It was still 40 minutes before departure, but I headed to the gate anyway. After passing security, I saw the Singapore gate to be deserted, hurried there, and was one of the last passengers to board. Very weird to say the least. But the reason was apparent once on board – load today was approximately F0 C3 Y100 on 9V-SYA.

After the hike from the lounge, I could have handled another shower… The thoughtful Singapore girl handed me some tissues from the lavatory once she noticed I had obviously been running to the gate. The seat was very comfortable for economy class, rather wide and big, and of course legroom was excellent in the exit row. After two Indians bound for Delhi via Singapore took 36A and B, doors were closed. However, pushback wasn’t until very close to the scheduled departure time. Meanwhile, hot towels were provided but newspapers had to be picked up at the door before boarding if you wanted one.

We then taxied to runway 21R for takeoff, and took off without delay with the distinct whine of the big Rolls Royce Trents filling the cabin. Service started with the usual SIA drink service that I dislike very much; water, juice and beer on a tray instead of the full selection. Meal service followed shortly, and was a choice of chicken or pork if I remember correctly. I had the chicken and it was quite tasty. There was also a basic salad and some cake on the tray. Overall quite good but very small portions compared to Thai’s meals for example. Drink refills were plentiful on this flight mostly due to the Indians requesting something all the time, so the guy just filled mine as well.

Sierra Yankee Alpha is not equipped with Wisemen 3000 IFE, so I took out my MP3 player and enjoyed two glasses of Baileys on the rocks during the remainder of the flight. Approach and landing into cloudy Singapore was nothing out of the ordinary. We landed early, but due to a long taxi, arrived on time at terminal 2. Overall a nice flight with good food and decent (yet non-smiling) crew.

Singapore

After clearing immigration and walking through customs, I left my roller bag in storage and took the train to Orchard road. This now requires two changes, but it’s still very cheap at SDG 1.25 per trip. I sent some emails and mistakenly got a burger from a McDonalds for half price before heading for a cold Tiger beer at a nearby bar/disco. The place was hopping at 7pm, and at this point I was really not looking forward to the long night flight to Korea.

After hearing enough hilarious estimates about how long it takes me to get to Changi to catch my flight from ladies from a certain neighbouring country, I felt like switching to free Tiger at the airport lounge. “Your flight 1130, you go airport 1100 is ok I know, taxi ten minute” was not what I wanted to try this evening… I finished my second Tiger walked out to search for a taxi. Left Orchard road at around 8pm, and was in the SIA Premier lounge about half an hour later.

LH747FTL

03 October 2004
Singapore Changi (SIN/WSSS) – Seoul Incheon (ICN/RKSI)
Singapore Airlines SQ 882
Boeing 747-412
9V-SMO
2330-0655+1
Economy Class, Seat 49H (Exit Row)

So, the plan was to do some studying in the lounge and send a report that was due Monday morning. Whether it was good or bad, I was very happy to find out that I couldn’t plug my laptop into the power sockets to get the report written. Food was good in the Premier lounge, they had hot dishes for dinner which was very nice. The lounge itself is poor compared to the SilverKris Lounges; I wish SQ would take the same approach as Cathay and build large enough lounges so that Star Golds could also use the proper business class lounge.

I surfed the net for an hour or so while sipping a few cans of Tiger, and soon it was time to board. Knowing I was flying Singapore Airlines, I expected nothing but still secretly hoped for the lovely beep from the boarding pass reader meaning a seat change… This was the end of Korean Chusok holidays, and the plane was packed with tour groups. I later found out that instead of upgrading, SQ had re-routed passengers in economy class via Bangkok… 882 was 100% full in Y and looked rather empty in premium cabins.

9V-SMO is what I’d call Singapore’s version of a cattle truck – old business class seats, old IFE and rather worn looking interior. I later mentioned to one of the F/As that I was very surprised not to see the Spacebeds... "Of course this plane has Spacebeds." No, you have the older Ultimo seats in business class. "Maybe you know better than me" was his reply...

Flight attendants were clearly not looking forward to this overnight package tour express to Incheon – especially the Korean flight attendants looked very sour. My seat was as good as it gets on the 747 – yet it was very small and cramped compared to the 777 seat I just had earlier.

Just as I was returning from the lavatory prior to pushback, some clueless Korean chap was trying to steal my seat, also sitting on my stuff that I had left on the seat. He didn’t move until the Singapore boy from the galley ordered him to do so. Guy in 49J started bragging how he can’t sit next to his friend… Too bad.

Hot towels were provided before pushback again, the flight attendant ended up dropping about ten of them on the floor at regular intervals though. Looked very unprofessional. Pushback was on time, and announcements were made in Korean as well as English. I do have an opinion about providing such announcements as well as Japanese and only providing English announcements to BKK/MNL for example, but oh well… Takeoff was quite late due to a few aircraft in front of us, but the crew was still expecting an on-time arrival into Incheon the next morning.

After takeoff, menus and amenity kits were handed out. Menus are the usual nice Singapore Airlines ones, but I don’t get the point of the amenity kit. It contains socks and a toothbrush – I usually wear socks anyway and toothbrushes are available in lavatories. How about providing something one could use on an overnight flight, such as an eyeshade and earplugs? Snack was served after takeoff – a cheese or ham sandwich. I had the ham one and it was nice and big. Drinks could be ordered, no drink rounds were made. This didn’t affect my package tour seatmate’s drinking – after a few “screwdrivers with extra vodka”, he was telling me how much Koreans can drink and later disappeared for the rest of the flight.

I couldn’t get any sleep, and again this plane didn’t have the much-advertised Wisemen 3000… I watched a bit of some movie, and the Singapore boy made a good job refilling the drinks from the nearby galley. Yet, the flight seemed to last for an eternity… A hot meal was served before landing (read 4:30 am), and it was a choice of an omelette or chicken with rice. I had the chicken again and it was quite good.

We landed on time, and the scene at passport control was just what I expected but didn’t want to see… Three lanes for non-Koreans with lines stretching out to the concourse while all the Korean desks were basically empty. Yet they didn’t accept anybody there. I was through after an hour, and the SQ baggage claim looked funny with all the priority tagged (I guess foreigners’) bags sitting next to the carousel.

Now in a hurry to get to university, I made the mistake to take a taxi… It was stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours and cost about the same as a full fare TG C ticket BKK-HKT.

My opinion about SQ remains the same, great choice in F/C but Y is very ordinary. For some reason, also on the return, ICN-SIN had awful service while on BKK-SIN the crew tried very hard and service was great. More reports to follow soon.

06 October 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Korean Air Lines KE 621
Boeing 777-3B5
HL7533
0800-1050 (0800-1020)
Economy Class, Seat 37G

I decided to try out Korean Air this time, mostly due to my previous experiences with Asiana and the fact that I had never flown on Korean before. Due to the early departure time, I spent the Tuesday night at the Best Western Premier Incheon – not much different from the Hyatt Regency but about EUR 50 cheaper. I took their first shuttle bus to the terminal at 6:20 am, and arrived at the Korean Air check-in counters shortly thereafter.

There were no lines this early, so I was quickly checked in by a friendly agent, and assigned seat 37G in the middle block of five. Security and passport control were deserted this early as well, so I was soon wandering around in the airside without lounge access. After a very unhealthy breakfast that consisted of a Burger King Whopper, french fries and Coke, I made my way slowly to gate 15 for boarding. Meanwhile, two Jumbos suitable for any aviation museum, namely HS-UTC of Orient Thai and HS-VAO of Phuket Air, successfully completed their charter flights from Phuket. I also noted a shiny new Northwest A330-200 earlier.

Boarding started on time, and I was rather shocked to see that Korean Air conducts random security checks at gate. Oh well, the main screening is pretty much an exact copy of U.S. procedures so this fits into the picture as well. Thankfully I was not stopped, and soon a smiling Korean Air flight attendant welcomed me aboard the longer version of the Triple Seven. As soon as I settled into my seat, it became apparent that the two Korean carriers have very different seat comfort onboard.

Legroom was excellent, around 34” I believe, and the seat was rather wide for an economy class seat. There was also a footrest and an adjustable headrest. The flight was far from full, perhaps about 40% load in economy class. That meant I had two seats for myself, not bad at all. We were pushed back on time, and took off without delay as well. The captain on this flight was an American while the first officer was Korean. Cabin crew was very friendly, attentive and attractive.

Our flight time was quite short this morning, and the pilots expected an early arrival into Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Service started with hot towels, followed by peanuts and drinks. As most Asian airlines do on morning flights based on my experience, the meal was a choice of hot breakfast (omelette) or a lunch dish (chicken with rice). I went with the chicken, a basic airline meal I would say. Drink refills were plentiful and the flight attendants kept patrolling the aisles to see if anybody wanted something.

After the meal, I reclined my seat (very generous recline), and enjoyed a cold beer, served with honey-roasted peanuts. Audio entertainment had more choices than on Asiana, and my MP3 player stayed in the bag for this flight. Soon, the pilots announced descent into Manila, and soon the SM warehouse with “MABUHAY” painted on it was greeting me on final approach. Due to the earlier arrival time, we beat Saudia and JAL when it comes to immigration, and it was deserted. I then took a cheap regular taxi from upstairs to terminal 2.

06 October 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC)
Philippine Airlines PR 849
Airbus A340-313X
F-OHPM
1500-1615 – On Time
First Class, Seat 1A

I had a rather long layover in Manila – I suppose I could have switched to the 1pm A320 but decided to take advantage of the free internet in the lounge and enjoy the First Class seat on the A340 instead. A friendly guy checked me in – “I’ll get my supervisor to release the first class seat for you. Is 1A fine for you sir?” Well, it definitely was.

I enjoyed some food and drinks in the lounge for the next few hours while surfing the internet. "Papa Mike" arrived on time from Hong Kong, meaning also an on time boarding for PR 849. I was greeted by very attractive and friendly lady at the door – “All the way to the front sir” she said. Another equally friendly and attractive lady soon took my meal order while a male flight attendant was offering hot towels, drinks and newspapers.

“This is your flight PR 849 to Cebu – passengers to other destinations and ground staff should now leave the aircraft as we'll be closing the door” was announced soon, and we were all set for an on-time pushback. As we were taxiing for takeoff, I noticed a Lufthansa A340 in the LHT Philippines hangar; apparently they are doing some maintenance there for the LH fleet as well. Takeoff was powerful for this short hop to Cebu, and service started soon after takeoff.

My meal choice this time was tuna patties with noodles, served with wasabi sauce. It was very tasty, and the fantastic flight attendant kept addressing passengers by name throughout the flight. Thumbs up for PAL for changing the meals very frequently. As I had finished the meal, we were already on descent into Mactan Cebu. As I reclined my seat a bit, I was immediately offered a blanket.

Landing was on time, and the poor Airbus kept shaking like there was no tomorrow due to the runway being in very poor condition. Another great flight on PAL, I like them almost as much as I like Thai Airways International.

10 October 2004
Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Philippine Airlines PR 866
Airbus A330-301
F-OHZN
1950-2100
Mabuhay Class (Business), Seat 11K

Due to the late departure of Korean to Incheon, I was able to still stay almost full day in Cebu. Marriott charged only a very reasonable PHP500 fee for late checkout until 6pm. The airport was quite a zoo this time in the evening, mainly because both PAL and Cebu Pacific were mostly delayed to Manila this evening.

Luckily, the aircraft for PR 866 had come in from Tokyo Narita, and my flight was on time. After a quick check-in and PHP 100 poorer (tax), I made my way quickly to the Mabuhay lounge and fired off some emails. They have two computers in the rather small business center. F-OHZN was being refuelled and bags were loaded; this would be a new A330 for me.

Boarding was on-time, and the load was rather light in both classes this evening. Crew was very nice as usual, and I chose some chicken dish for dinner. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was another tasty PAL domestic meal. Other than that, it was just like other MNL-CEB or CEB-MNL flights, not much to report. We landed on time, and as usual, a cheaper taxi from the departures level was my ride to the old international terminal.

LH747FTL

10 October 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Korean Air Lines KE 624
Boeing 777-3B5
HL7573
2350-0425+1 (0000-0355)
Economy Class, Seat 39H

Check-in lines for Korean were terrible, luckily I spotted a “no checked baggage” desk, and fortunately the guy guarding the entrance didn’t have problems with my two carry-on bags. Check-in took the usual 10 minutes, but after I had showed the supervisor about four tickets out of Korea, she was convinced that my intention was not to overstay in Korea.

I do find it very funny that countries like Korea, Japan and the U.S. always make a huge deal of this issue. Sure, if I was a Philippine national with a one-way ticket, then I could see the possible risk. Meanwhile, countries where I could see myself living such as Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong or the Philippines couldn’t care less. Passport control this evening was rather quick, and I made my way to the Sampaguita Lounge.

Sampaguita Lounge, NAIA 1

This is a lounge open to everybody; you just need to pay the entrance fee of 300 Pesos or about USD 6. Used to be USD 15, but even with USD 6 it was still nearly empty. Free offerings include sandwiches, peanuts, water and juice, as well as internet access. Additionally, you may purchase alcoholic drinks and more substantial meals. My can of Carlsberg cost 50 Pesos. The two guys were friendly, and the place is well worth the low entrance fee if you don’t have access to other lounges.

Boarding started on time, and this is where I started missing my elite benefits. The gate area was very crowded with the Korean flight as well as an Emirates flight about to start boarding. I waited what seemed like an eternity until my row number was called (the 777-300 is a long plane indeed!) while watching the elites and business class passengers skip the long line. It seemed to me that the aisle seat on the side had a bit less legroom than in the middle block, but it was still comfortable.

Crew was friendly and nice again, I just wonder who had assigned the seats for this flight. It was about half full, but still most people seemed to have no empty seat next to them. Again, a foreign captain was in charge of the aircraft, with a Korean first officer doing the actual flying. We were pushed back at midnight, but again the pilots estimated an early arrival into Incheon.

Service was similar to that on ICN-MNL, I had beef to eat this time. It was again ok but not amongst the best meals I have had in economy class. This flight operates at such horrible hours – 1:50 was the remaining flying time after the meal service was finished. Not enough to get any decent sleep, and we were scheduled to land at 3:55am – 2:55 am by Filipino time.

The flight deck guys had estimated the arrival time well, and indeed we landed just before 4am. Incheon was deserted at this hour, needless to say. The immigration guy seemed to be sleeping as well, at least he looked like he had never seen a Finnish passport before.

The fun began after clearing customs. I had left my (overweight for KE) bag at the Best Western, and it was not easy to find a taxi driver to do such a short trip at 4am. I finally found one “no meter, you pay 10000 won”. Ridiculous, but I had no other choice. It was still cheaper than storing the bag at Incheon Airport. Korean Air buses don’t operate at night, so I also had to wait about 40 minutes for the first bus to city… Let me tell you the day at university was not a whole lot of fun after this flight…

13 October 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Singapore Changi (SIN/WSSS)
Singapore Airlines SQ 883
Boeing 747-412
9V-SMQ
0905-1435 (0940-1500)
Economy Class, Seat 49A (Exit Row)

I almost missed this flight thanks to my habit of hitting the snooze button too many times… This morning, I obviously mixed up the buttons but thankfully woke up at 6am. After a very quick shower, I realized I had just missed a bus as well, the next one would be in 20 minutes. This got me to Incheon at 7:50 am, just in time.

A Singapore Airlines representative was welcoming First/Business class passengers, and after seeing my Lufthansa card, she escorted me to the empty First Class desk as Raffles had a group trying to sort out their mountain of bags and the associated excess charges. Luckily, an exit row seat was still left, albeit a window with the slide compartment blocking some of the legroom. Off to security I went, but an officer refused to let me continue with my standard-sized carry on bag. Nothing I said seemed to help, he wanted SQ to give a written OK for the damn thing.

Fuming at this point, I went back to the Singapore First desk and explained the matter. “So what is his problem? Your bag is fine sir.” She grabbed a marker and wrote CARRY BAG OK!! on my boarding pass. Now the officer was happy to let me pass… After completing the usual procedures in about 10 minutes, I was soon enjoying a nice breakfast at the SilverKris lounge. 9V-SMQ was waiting outside – it could handle a repaint I guess.

Boarding was conducted in an orderly manner as usual, and I was onboard in no time. A Singapore Girl welcomed me onboard, while her Korean colleague didn’t bother saying a word, let alone smiling. 49A was a decent seat, the legroom is a bit limited but I still prefer it to normal rows. The plane looked very tired inside, had no Wisemen3000 and no spacebeds. A 6-hour flight is not exactly a short hop, and I would expect these much advertised features to be in place on a 747.

Pushback was delayed by 40 minutes as “The authorities have decided some individuals can’t join us this morning and we have to find the bags.” The jumbo was perhaps 40% full this morning to Singapore, and again a few of the crew didn’t seem to be happy to be there. Hot towels were handed out, and menus after takeoff.

We finally pushed back at 9:40 am, and took off shortly thereafter. Peanuts and the usual limited selection of drinks were offered before lunch. Lunch was a choice of Korean style beef or chicken with vegetable paella, I chose the chicken. Comparable only to Lufthansa economy food on BKK-MNL-BKK, the main course was simply disgusting. Totally tasteless etc. The salad was ok, and ice cream for dessert was very nice of course.

Drink service was very poor, no refills whatsoever were offered. I wanted a water refill, and waited for it with the call button on for almost 10 minutes. Meanwhile, 6 flight attendants passed by, nobody was even looking if a passenger needed something. I would almost expect that on certain airlines, but couldn’t believe that happened on Singapore Airlines, after all they claim to offer “inflight service even other airlines talk about”…

I wasn’t interested in the old-style PTV, so decided to try to sleep for the rest of the flight. It’s never easy in cattle class, but I managed a few hours, and then it was time for the afternoon snack. It was a big sandwich, either tuna or ham. I chose the ham and it was much better than the abovementioned main meal.

On approach to Changi, we passed a company 777 – it was so close I could easily read the “Jubilee” text near the cockpit windows. He landed on the parallel taxiway eventually at about the same time I believe – at least a 777 was landing there. After a smooth landing, we taxied to terminal two and arrived approximately 25 minutes late. A nice touch was the cheerful Singapore Girl in red dress thanking everybody for flying SIA upon deplaning.

13 October 2004
Singapore Changi (SIN/WSSS) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Singapore Airlines SQ 66
Boeing 747-412
9V-SPD
1600-1720 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 33G

Due to the late arrival of SQ 883, I had hardly enough time to visit the SIA Premier Lounge this time. No hot food was available at this hour; I just had a Diet Coke and checked my emails before trekking back to the E-gates where SQ 66 to Bangkok was just about to start boarding. Security was quick, and after the SATS guy took the larger part of my boarding pass, I basically walked straight onboard as they had just started pre-boarding.

9V-SPD had all the much-advertised bells and whistles, and a young and friendly crew to serve us on the short hop to the Thai capital. Legroom isn’t the best on SIA’s Megatops, but it was not a problem for the short 1h50min flight. Hot towels were again offered before pushback, and doors were closed on time at 4pm. Load in economy class was 100%, but premium cabins looked quite empty.

The cabin was a madhouse during boarding; there was this huge Chinese tour group shouting and blocking aisles… A guy from this group was seated in front of me, and was coughing like there was no tomorrow… Due to SARS I believe, he was provided a mask by the crew and asked to wear it throughout the flight. I’m pretty sure myself SARS and other things are well alive somewhere in China unfortunately.

We were pushed back a few minutes late, and the Australian captain welcomed us onboard and expected an on-time arrival at Don Muang. A hot meal was served on this flight by the friendly and attentive crew, I chose beef with rice. The other choice was duck with noodles. The beef was good as was the dessert cake and Caesar salad. Drinks were refilled, and service was what I would expect on SIA. I just find it strange that in both directions there was a huge difference in service on BKK-SIN and SIN-ICN sectors. Bangkok yields must have crashed after the entry of low cost competition, yet the crew still seemed to go the extra mile.

Wisemen3000 is a great system in my opinion; I especially like the “My Playlist” feature where you can select songs from tons of albums. After the meal, the in-flight supervisor came to ask me if the meal was edible and if everything else was ok. A very nice touch and much appreciated that he actually checked to see where Star Golds were sitting.

With a nice meal and good entertainment, the flight passed by very quickly, and soon we started our approach to Bangkok International Airport. The routing had so far taken us over the Gulf of Siam and near Pattaya, landing would be on 21L this afternoon. Another smooth landing today marked an on-time arrival of Singapore 66 at Bangkok.

Immigration was a quick as usual, and I took a taxi to a dump hotel where my suitcase with Raffles Class priority tags looked very much out of place.

JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok

Since I have achieved Marriott Rewards Gold status after my last stay here, I just had to try it out for one night again. A flawless stay I would say. I was upgraded without questions to the Executive Floor, a nicer room than a notmal room at this hotel. The lounge is fantastic as well, great views and the evening cocktails/snacks included everything you can imagine. A complimentary breakfast was included as well - I chose the buffet at Marriott Cafe, undoubtedly the best breakfast buffet I have seen so far.

On Friday 15th of October, my mum arrived for her first visit to Thailand. Don Muang was an absolute madhouse that afternoon, I have never seen so many people at any airport before. Needless to say it took her a few moments to clear customs...

Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok

I checked in in the morning already before picking up my mother, a suite upgrade was available for $50 which I took. It was another xx01 non-renovated suite but of course very nice nevertheless. A highly enjoyable stay, and the breakfast buffet at Next2 is a great way to start a day as I have mentioned before.

Intercontinental Bangkok

The Intercontinental is perhaps the best location for shopping in Bangkok, and conveniently located right next to BTS Chit Lom station. I called earlier to request room preferences etc, but was very pleasantly surprised that we got upgraded to a huge corner room on the 28th floor. A funny incident was that at check-in, my nationality was listed as Afghanistan... The rooms here are modern and very nice, one of the best Bangkok hotels for sure in my opinion.

LH747FTL

17 October 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) - Phuket International (HKT/VTSP)
Thai Air Asia FD 100
Boeing 737-301
9M-AAL
1020-1140 (1015-1125)
Economy Class, Seat 15F (Exit Row)

I booked this flight when it was only 500 Baht. Someone messed up and charged my Visa card twice, and Mastercard once. I contacted Air Asia about this, a very unhelpful response that I should fax in copies of all credit card statements and follow up with a call to Kuala Lumpur... If they can't see in their systems they have got the money three times, I'm surprised they are able to keep the booking records. Faxes and calls and "about 4-week investigation" wasn't worth the 29 Euros (I booked the tickets separately on different days). But this incident makes me think twice before booking with FD/AK again.

We got to Don Muang domestic a bit too early, and got the supermarket style receipts at check-in without any major wait. Staff were all smiling and helpful. After clearing security, another Burger King breakfast was in order. Boarding was the usual mad rush from gate 66, but luckily I still found the whole exit row to be available. 15A/F have no seat infront and are great seats.

The classic 737 was in good shape inside, and the leather seats are rather comfortable. Flight attendants were helpful and friendly. However, if they happened to work for Thai Airways or another classy airline such as SIA, none of them would be allowed to work with their hair completely messed up... But this was Air Asia, not Thai Airways we were taking.

Pushback and departure were early, and Bangkok International was full of the usual suspects - basically 747s, more 747s and some small looking B777s and A330s. Takeoff was the usual 737 affair, and no complimentary service was offered on this flight of course. I bought a bottle of water for 20 Baht, quite reasonable although three times the 7-Eleven price.

We flew over Surat Thani as usual, and then approached Phuket International from the ocean side, thus missing all the beautiful small islands that you see when approaching from the other side. Landing was early as well, and I was majorly pissed off to see Orient Thai's HS-UTH preparing for departure to Hong Kong. I haven't been on that 747-100, and this morning it had operated OX 267 from Bangkok...

We had no checked baggage, and the JW Marriott driver was waiting already. About 15 minutes later, we arrived at the resort.

JW Marriott Phuket Resort&Spa

An amazing deal via Priceline for $41, the going rate for our dates was $230 via Marriott.com. An upgrade to a terrace room was granted due to my Gold status, and the room was fantastic as usual. I have written about this resort before, it's undoubtedly the best resort I have ever been to. Unfortunately the Priceline days seem to be over...

18 October 2004
Phuket International (HKT/VTSP) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Thai Airways International TG 218
Airbus A300B4-622R
HS-TAT “Srimuang”
1855-2020 – On Time
Royal Executive Class, Seat 14B

As we were connecting to Asiana Airlines at Don Muang, the good old 747 service TG 920 was too late as was Orient Thai. Not really willing to trust OX or the low cost carriers with an international onward connection, I booked Thai business class. We left the resort at 17:50 and arrived at Phuket International Airport 15 minutes later via the resort’s limousine. Check-in and security procedures took a grand total of four minutes. Twenty minutes from the resort to Thai’s lounge was a convenient way to end this quick Phuket holiday.

Unfortunately, TG 218 was scheduled to be an A300-600, and turned out to be one as well. It has the worst seating in business of any Thai machine; comparable to that of the infamous old 743/744 configuration. We skipped the boarding chaos and settled into the old business class seats. There are no adjustable headrest, no proper legrest (fold-down footrest only), and the seat pitch is minimal 38 inches. It’s fine for a domestic flight but not suitable for longer flights such as Bangkok-Osaka or Bangkok-Jakarta.

The usual pre-departure service of drinks, towels and newspapers was offered, and pushback was on time. A hot meal was served after takeoff, and consisted of various seafood items with noodles. We had a nice dinner at the Marriott Cafe just before leaving the resort, so we weren’t particularly hungry. Service was good as usual, such a difference between Air Asia and Thai business class no matter what some people think.

The flight was 100% full in the back, mostly foreigners connecting to international flights. Unfortunately, I was doing so myself today as well. Approach into Don Muang was smooth as silk as was landing, and we docked at gate 62 of the domestic pier if I remember correctly. We then had to pick up the larger bags from the storage and make our way to the zoo… err Asiana check-in.

18 October 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Asiana Airlines OZ 342
Boeing 747-48E
HL7428
2230-0550 (2300-0600)
Business Class, Seat 23A

Asiana check-in was a total mess; one counter was open for business and elites, two for economy class and two for groups. There were about 200 people queuing to the counters, everybody with a massive pile of luggage. Business class had about five people in front of us… A better solution would be to have two business class counters, two economy class counters and one group counter. Just call people from economy lines to the business counter or group line to economy class counter if the situation warrants.

Check-in was done by a robotic, non-smiling Thai ground-handling agent while the Asiana supervisor was standing right next to her. By the looks of the OZ supervisor, I guess my jeans and polo shirt were not proper attire for boarding her aircraft. Meanwhile a Korean guy in a suit tried to push us out of his way, needless to say he didn’t succeed. My mum’s comment “How can this airline have such poor customer service attitude and why was that guy in a suit so rude?” pretty much sums up the situation. I requested seats in the front and 30F and G were assigned.

Meanwhile, the usual show with tickets started, the supervisor seemed to have some issues about our BKK-ICN-BKK return tickets. She demanded to see tickets out of Bangkok – go figure. Meanwhile, the check-in process had already taken ten minutes and I was getting tired of it… My reply was that she saw the tickets out of Korea, it doesn’t make a difference where either one of us lives. She reluctantly agreed, but refused to accept one of the three roller bags as checked baggage. “That’s hand carry, NOT check-in!” Wise move on a full 747, but anyway, we struggled away from the desk with the three maximum size bags.

Immigration was quick as usual, and the pier 3 Thai Royal Executive Lounge with friendly and smiling staff was such a peaceful haven compared to the Asiana zoo. I would have never chosen Asiana in the first place, but it was the only option as my mum was connecting to LH at BKK on the return… After a few snacks and drinks in the lounge, it was time to board the red-eye to Incheon. There was no separate boarding for elites, just two long lines. Not that it surprised me the slightest…

Seats 30FG are in the middle block of the first row of economy class. Legroom in these bulkhead seats was something I have never experienced in a bulkhead row before. Also, the large old-style screen was literally a few inches from our faces. Asiana sure likes to pack in the cattle in their two all-passenger B747s. I asked the purser if it was ok to move to the empty lower deck business class cabin – no problem after takeoff he said.

Pushback was half an hour late due to unknown reasons, but there were no queues for takeoff from 21R. As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off, we left the charter-type accommodations for a pair of spacious seats in row 23. The cabin slowly filled up as more and more people moved. This is surely the worst way to treat your frequent customers; how about putting all status members there at check-in? This is usually done at Incheon but the Asiana Bangkok folks seem to have a problem with this as well. The business class seats were as described earlier; after all it was the same aircraft (HL7428).

Menus were distributed after takeoff; they were for OZ302/304 Hong Kong – Incheon. Needless to say the actual food was not anything like the stuff listed there. Nobody apologized for the incorrect menus. Surprise, surprise, the meal was a choice of beef or fish just like on September 9th. I had the beef and it was not very tasty at all. The salad was good though and dessert passable. Drinks were refilled once during the meal service. Asked if they have Baileys after the meal – “What is that?” was the reply.

Just like last time, lights stayed on for ages due to duty free sales etc... And the Koreans sure like their duty free. I asked for an eyeshade and earplugs – the Thai flight attendant brought them quickly but my thank you in Thai was met with a blank stare. Yet, she was marginally friendlier than the Korean “senior stewardesses” that clearly didn’t want to be on this night flight and provided service comparable to a United LAS-ORD red-eye a few years ago.

Thanks to the comfortable seat, I managed to sleep until we were on final approach and the crew prepared the cabin for landing. Incheon was very empty this early, so immigration was rather quick.

LH747FTL

22 October 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok (HKG/VHHH)
Asiana Airlines OZ 301
Boeing 747-48E M
HL7414
0900-1150 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 27A

The next trip was a Varig Smiles award ICN-HKG-NRT-ICN for only 15000 miles per person. When I booked the tickets, I hadn’t flown Asiana. So, due to the 747 combi, I chose them over the Thai flight an hour later. Check-in at the Asiana Business Class counters was quick, and we got our pre-assigned seats 27A and B. next to the stairs where OZ has only two seats on the side.

Immigration and security were busy this morning, so that somewhat cut the time to be spent in the lounge. A nice hot breakfast was served in the Asiana Lounge as usual; it is overall a very nice lounge. Boarding started on time at gate 9, where the combi was waiting with its side cargo door open. The seats were totally different from the all-passenger seats on this plane, older but more comfortable. The best thing was the very generous legroom. Perhaps the 74E has the 34 inches that I remember hearing somewhere?

We were pushed back on time, and the captain with an Australian accent welcomed us onboard Asiana 301 to Hong Kong. It was a sunny morning, and I was looking forward to some nice views from my window seat. When flying alone, I never choose window seats in economy class unless they are in exit rows nowadays as I like to get out of my seat easily. We were quite heavy with cargo I guess, as takeoff roll was quite long for the short three-hour flight.

The views were great during climb and all the way to Taiwan, after which it got cloudy. We flew directly over Incheon airport during climb, continued to Jeju, Taipei and then onto Chek Lap Kok. Taiwan looked absolutely stunning with all the mountains I must say. Service on this flight was considerably better than on the Bangkok/Manila runs. Menus were distributed, but unfortunately the meal was again the same as on pretty much all my Manila flights. Some fish in a dark sauce, Korean vegetables and rice. I can’t stand that dish but the Korean style beef is not any better.

After the meal, I had a Chivas with coke while enjoying the views. It was basically a full glass of scotch and a can of coke – helped me nicely to fall asleep over Taiwan. I had woken up at around 6 every morning for the last week or so, and was absolutely exhausted anyway. I woke up as we were on descent. These pairs of seats near the stairs are highly recommended – very comfortable as far as economy class goes.

We landed at Hong Kong International a few minutes early, and taxied past what seemed like half of Cathay’s fleet to one of the gates that don’t require the train in order to get to arrivals. Immigrations was quick – no questions asked and passport stamped as usual. Priority baggage worked nicely, and our bags were on the carousel already when we made it there. We then took the very convenient Airport Express to Kowloon. Overall, this was probably the best Asiana flight I have taken so far.

New World Renaissance Kowloon

A far cry from its 4-star Priceline rating, the hotel has a very convenient location in Tsim Sha Tsui. After convincing the front desk clerk that I was indeed a Marriot Rewards Gold member, she proceeded to give us a non-upgraded smoking room. Rooms are tiny in this hotel as well as a bit old and run down. Ours reeked of cigarette smoke. We had a view towards the Inter Continental Hong Kong, i.e. no view at all. The club lounge had free cocktails from 5:30 pm until 8 pm, but the food was very disappointing compared to the other lounges. Breakfast was a bit better, yet nothing like Seoul Renaissance’s club breakfast. I used the fitness centre as well; no shower or sauna facilities are available unless you count the single shower stall in the toilet. I probably won’t return to this hotel despite having Marriott elite benefits.

24 October 2004
Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok (HKG/VHHH) – Tokyo Narita (NRT/RJAA)
United Airlines UA 890
Boeing 747-422
N198UA
0920-1415 – On Time
Economy Plus, Seat 36A

All Nippon had only one reward seat available, so United was the only choice for this flight. It turned out to be a nice choice as well. We checked in at the Airport Express Kowloon station, and unfortunately there was a throughout check of checked baggage for everybody. It took a while for the guy to search the bags, but meanwhile the check-in staff thoughtfully issued our boarding passes and gave directions to the Red Carpet Club once at the airport.

The train was quick and convenient as usual, the best thing is that you don’t have to worry about your bags anymore as they are already checked in. Once at the airport, passport control and security were relatively quick and painless. We then headed to the Thai lounge to have some breakfast, they have quite nice offerings of dim sum, noodles, toast, ice cream, yoghurt and fruits. We later changed to the Red Carpet Club – it’s much larger and has a better drink selection but pretty much non-existent food.

Two United jumbos were sitting next to each other next to the lounge; one of them would be operating UA 890 to Dulles via Los Angeles and Narita. No idea if the actual aircraft actually made it all the way to Washington, very likely there was a plane change enroute. Boarding started on time, and a Japanese flight attendant was greeting passengers at the door. I later found out that almost the entire crew was Narita based.

United’s economy plus is a nice product; the additional legroom was very nice to have even on this rather short hop to Japan. Newspapers were handed out before pushback, just like on most Asian airlines. Boarding was soon completed, and we pushed back roughly on time with a rather high load at least in economy class. Takeoff was from runway 7R, meaning a departure over the city. Unfortunately, it was a very cloudy morning so nothing was visible.

Service started shortly after the seatbelt sign went off, and hot towels were distributed. A full drink service with United snack mix followed before lunch service. Lunch itself was a choice of an omelette or chicken with rice. I chose the chicken, and it was very good actually. It came with a large fresh salad and fresh fruit for dessert. This meal was better than any of my Asiana meals. After the meal, I had a Baileys on the rocks while filling out the questionnaire handed out by the cabin crew.

I felt like having another Baileys – so being seated in a window seat, I used the call button. My drink was delivered in less than a minute after pushing the button. On this sector, channel 9 was not turned on, so I decided to have a nap before arrival – the legroom definitely helped in successfully completing this mission. We landed at Narita on time, and followed a company 747 to terminal 1. The number of United and Northwest heavies at Narita is amazing. It was nice to see also NWA classics still in service – one was just arriving from Honolulu.

Overall a great flight on United, and as strange as it sounds, I’d choose them over Asiana every time in economy class should they offer services from Incheon to Manila or Bangkok. My expectations were quite low, but everything on this flight went smoothly, the crew was nice and the food was good. Not to forget the average joe’s equivalent to business class – Economy Plus.

Narita 1 Immigration was painfully slow that afternoon, it took close to 45 minutes to pass through. With the subsequent customs questioning and bus wait, we left Narita about two hours after arrival. The bus to Grand Hyatt took another two hours in rush hour traffic… No wonder the Japanese and Korean airlines introduced the Haneda-Gimpo shuttle, a Tokyo-Seoul business trip in a day would be a nightmare using these Narita and Incheon airports, both located in the middle of nowhere with horribly expensive transportation options.

Grand Hyatt Tokyo

Located in Roppongi, this ultra modern five-star hotel is everything a luxury hotel should be. Our room on the 19th floor had fantastic views of the city. The room itself was perfect; beds comparable to Westin’s Heavenly Beds, a large plasma TV, free broadband internet, electrically controlled curtains, a fancy sound system, dvd player etc… The bathroom was the best I have had so far – plasma TV, huge tub, rainfall shower, separate toilet etc. The Grand Hyatt Tokyo is the best city hotel I have visited so far. So how much did it cost? Nothing as this was a Hyatt Faster Free Nights award night. Around 300 EUR per night usually I believe.

LH747FTL

25 October 2004
Tokyo Narita (NRT/RJAA) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Asiana Airlines OZ 105
Boeing 767-38E
HL7506
1030-1300– On Time
Economy Class, Seat 14A

After another painfully long bus trip to the countryside, we checked in for Asiana 105 to Incheon. Check-In was handled by ANA, and the very polite staff immediately escorted us to the next available counter, holding back the long economy class queue. Pre-assigned seats 14 A and B were given, and the friendly ANA agent explained how to get to the ANA Signet Lounge.

Security and passport control were quick, and soon we were in the abovementioned Signet Lounge. It’s nothing special by Asian standards, yet adequate. There is some Japanese food and sandwiches for breakfast as well as a full beverage selection. Amongst the ANA and JAL planes, I noticed a LH 747 bound for Frankfurt as well as a PAL 747 for Manila and an Austrian A340 for Vienna.

Boarding was from one of the bus gates downstairs – it was a total zoo there with JAL Reso’chas leaving for Guam and Saipan as well. No pre-boarding was available, and the bus to our 767, parked near terminal 1, was totally packed. Newspaper selection at the door was poor for us English speakers – only IHT was available. The rest of the papers were all Korean or Japanese.

After passing the small three-row business class cabin, it was time to experience the legroom in normal rows of the Asiana Boeing 767. An experience I wouldn’t like to repeat soon… The legroom was at most 31 inches, and the seats were very cramped. No wonder the 767-300 seats 260 passengers in Asiana configuration.

Pushback was roughly on time, and we taxied to the runway for departure amongst the Japanese and American widebodies. Takeoff was the usual 767 affair, and service started shortly after the seatbelt sign went off. Hot towels were offered, and lunch was served shortly thereafter. It was a hot meal without choice. There was a starter of Japanese noodles, and the main course was some fish with rice – not great but better than the fish out of Incheon.

I managed to sleep for a while after the meal, and woke up as we were descending into Incheon. We landed after a JAL 747 and after a long taxi, arrived at the terminal. Immigration had some lines, but thankfully it wasn’t too bad this afternoon. My mum then checked in for her flight to Bangkok and it was time for me to go back to Seoul.

27 October 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Asiana Airlines OZ 371
Boeing 767-38E
HL7515
0900-1150 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 10E (Bulkhead)

Yet another trip to the Philippines. So you may or may not figure out what happened on the night of June 29th this year… Asiana was the cheapest, would get me miles and lounges as well as extra baggage – not a tough choice really. This time I had an e-ticket, they have finally introduced them on most routes.

Not much to report about this flight – everything was same as on earlier flights, also again the same meals. It was a full 767 with average crew and we were on time. A more detailed report would be simply a copy of the earlier OZ 371 reports. Asiana’s Star Alliance B767 was departing for Guangzhou from the gate next to ours, I’m yet to get on that machine.

27 October 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC)
Philippine Airlines PR 849
Airbus A320-214
RP-C3224
1500-1615 – On Time
Mabuhay Class, Seat 1A

This flight was scheduled to be an Airbus A340, and I was looking forward to another comfortable ride in first class. Seat 1A was assigned at check-in, and I was a happy camper. While enjoying a few drinks and free internet in the lounge, I noticed an A320 at gate S2. Indeed, my flight had been changed to an A320 instead. Quite a disappointment to go from nice first class seats to a narrowbody.

The A320 offers three rows of coach seats with a few more inches of legroom. These are called business class seats. Basically it’s the same pathetic set-up as in Europe. Despite the flight being downgraded to an A320, it was still only about half full.

A hot meal of chicken patties with prawns was served, and I was glad to see PAL is again using real glasses in domestic Mabuhay class. The flight was on time with nice service, and my baggage came out quickly enough. The authorities in Cebu have now restricted access for meeters and greeters – they can no longer get to the arrival hall side of the road.

31 October 2004
Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Philippine Airlines PR 848
Airbus A330-301
F-OHZT
0930-1040 – On Time
Mabuhay Class, Seat 15K

Another early morning departure… This was actually the first time I bothered to wake up for the Marriott club lounge breakfast – it was poor to be honest. Not that I care much, the staff is nice and they offer nice food and drinks in the evening.

After half an hour in a taxi and some time in the departure hall, I was again about the last passenger checking in for PAL 848 to Manila. The guy joked about Nokia phones once he found out I was from finland, and handed me a boarding pass for 15K in business class. I checked my emails in the Mabuhay Lounge, and it was soon time to board the A330.

Another on time A330, another good hot meal and another nice crew – that’s about as much as there is to say about this flight. Real glasses were used again so I believe they are now used systematically again on domestics.

31 October 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Asiana Airlines OZ 372
Boeing 777-28E ER
HL7597
1320-1820 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 10C (Bulkhead)

After a quick taxi trip to NAIA 1, a huge line for Asiana check-in was greeting me. Fortunately, the business class desk was empty, and a friendly Filipina lady checked me in and handed me an invitation to the MIASCOR lounge. I had screwed up my calculations, so I had to exchange a HKD 20 note in order to pay the departure fee.

Passport control took about 20 minutes, as there were a lot of Saudia, Gulf Air, Cathay and Eva Air passengers going through. The Taiwanese were happily snapping away pictures in the immigration hall – nobody cared as usual. I had some pizza and drinks in the lounge before boarding – the rest is pretty much equal to the earlier 777 flight. Thankfully it was a different 777 this time.

Incheon was busy as usual this time in the evening, passport control took about 40 minutes and I was invited to a customs check… Bags were checked, X-rayed, checked, X-rayed etc… Pirated DVDs of various kinds from Hong Kong were detained. Apparently I can pay a fee and get these back upon departure. Finally, about 1h20min after arrival, I was allowed to enter the Republic of Korea and start the two-hour ride on a bus to downtown.

05 November 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok (HKG/VHHH)
Thai Airways International TG 629
Boeing 777-2D7
HS-TJG "Pattani"
1050-1345 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 31A (Bulkhead)

This trip was another Varig award at the bargain price of 15,000 miles. Check-in was quick, but security a total hassle again. My bag was X-rayed three times, I had to take out my laptop and they also conducted some test for possible explosives. Luckily, immigration was not very busy, so I was enjoying the SilverKris Lounge shortly thereafter.

Shortly before boarding, an Incheon International Airport employee came to tell me I can not stand near the gate, I must sit down immediately. One of the strangest experiences at an airport so far... I was amongst the first to board, and took my seat in the first row. The middle seat stayed empty for quite a while, until a Korean businessman boarded and took it. Load was 100% in economy class, I would be very interested to know how the Korean Air staff had handled possible upgrading.

Takeoff was on time, and the routing was pretty much exactly like on OZ 301 that I took a few weeks ago. Meal was a choice of chicken or beef - I took the Thai-style chicken curry and it was good. Drink refills were offered once before coffee/tea and cognac service.

I then headed to the back to have a drink as the window seat was rather cramped. Officially it's not allowed to drink and stand near the exits on Thai, but as expected, I ended up chatting there in the rear galley with some flight attendants for quite a while. Great people and wonderful service on this flight again.

We landed at Chek Lap Kok on time, and as a remote gate was used, I had to take the train to immigration. I tried to beat the masses by pretty much running all the way - and managed to get to immigration when there were no lines whatsoever. As soon As I made it to the baggage claim, my bag just arrived. Overall, it took me a mere 15 minutes from the plane to the Airport Express train this afternoon.

LH747FTL

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

This was another Faster Free nights award. I was upgraded to a harbour view room, which was very nice. The room itself was large and modern style, definitely very nice. Bathroom was large as well, but a bit older style and just a normal shower was in place, not a rainfall one for example. Complimentary continental breakfast was available from room service for all Gold Passport members which was great. A great hotel, yet not as nice as the Grand Hyatt Tokyo.

06 November 2004
Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok (HKG/VHHH) – Tokyo Narita (NRT/RJAA)
Air Japan NQ 912 - Sold As ANA NH 912
Boeing 767-381/ER
JA604A
0955-1445 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 18E

I took the Airport Express to Chek Lap Kok as usual, and check-in by a friendly agent was quick at Hong Kong station. My boarding pass correctly said MILES&MORE LH*G on it unlike on Asiana boarding passes where it says /NO MILE/ on award tickets.

The ride was fast and comfortable as expected on the half full train. Secority and immigration were both quick and painless at HKG, and I then took the train to the remote gates. ANA uses the Plaza Premium Lounge - you can also purchase access to this one. However, the ANA section was separate with additional food and drinks. I had some noodles for breakfast, and then headed to the nearby Thai lounge as the ANA one was very crowded. TG lounge was basically empty as their 777-3D7 was just pushing back for Bangkok from a nearby gate.

Boarding started on time, and the Cathay agents properly searched for elites and Club ANA passengers at the gate area and escorted them past the queues. Upon boarding the 767, I was very pleased to see the new 777-style interior, new seats and entertainment system in place. What a huge difference the new interior makes compared to old and dated original 767 interiors.

My seat was in the first section of economy class cabin, behind the large Club ANA Asia cabin. The seat was rather comfortable, but legroom was very poor. It was even worse with the fold-down footrest making it difficult to put your feet under the seat infront. Nice idea, but the footrest was not useful for me as a 185cm tall person as I had my legs jammed up against the seatback anyway.

ANA Skymaster AVOD system was in place as well, it's not as good as SQ's Wisemen3000, but still very good. Pushback was on time, and takeoff was from 07R. Routing today was pretty much the same as on UA before, and it was again cloudy all the way.


Service started with hot towels, drinks and peanuts, followed by lunch. Lunch was a choice of fish with rice or some tuna dish, I opted for the latter. The small tray was full of stuff, including japanese noodles, a chocolate for dessert, a warm roll, salad etc. Food was good and the Air Japan flight attendants were very pleasant.

A very uneventful flight after the meal, I tried to sleep but it was not possible with the legroom offered on this bird. Overall, I'd say I prefer the ANA product compared to United expect for the legroom. Both companies were very good on the HKG-NRT sector. The 767 with the new interior was excellent.

Hilton Narita

Immigration at NRT 2 was quick, but the schedule for the Hilton bus is pathetic. I had to wait 35 minutes for the next one. I booked an award night at this hotel for only 10000 HHonors points - a bargain in Japan. The reward confirmation clearly says "HHonors Gold and Diamond members are eligible for room upgrades and added amenities" - yet the guy said "We don't upgrade golds" as usual. I hate it when the hotels publish this stuff all over the place, and the properties never deliver. Marriott Cebu always also refuses to upgrade golds as well. The room was small and rather old - the property looks nice from the outside but the room was not great at all. Luckily, they provided free breakfast for me, and the buffet was not too bad. Location is in the middle of nowhere. In the morning, I took the shuttle to the terminal and then an expensive bus to Haneda. The highway near Narita was closed due to fog, and the trip took half an hour longer than scheduled.

07 November 2004
Tokyo Haneda (HND/RJTT) - Okinawa Naha (OKA/ROAH)
All Nippon Airways NH 127
Boeing 747-481D
JA401A
1150-1435 – On Time
ANA Super Seat, Seat 2K

Tokyo Haneda... It's an airport I have always wanted to visit, and finally had the chance. The departure hall is not overly big, yet the number of check-in counters and kiosks is amazing. ANA will be moving to the new terminal in December. I opted to pay the upgrade to a Super Seat at check-in for 6000 Yen, surprisingly cheap considering Japanese prices.

Security was quick and the staff were extremely polite. I then went to the ANA Signet Lounge which had very poor offerings. Peanuts to eat, a funky beer machine and Japanese whisky. But the view was amazing, and provided great photo opportunities. The yellow Pokemon was perked right in front of me, but unfortunately departed to Okinawa 1h20min before my flight.

Later, the other Pokemon arrived as well, but it wasn't scheduled for my flight either, and went to Itami. The number of heavies is amazing, and the JAL/JAS A300s and JAL/ANA 767s look tiny compared to all the domestic jumbos and B777-300s. The number of classics is pretty much non-existent nowadays - I believe ANA has two true SRs left - with the short upper deck that is. Both visited Haneda today - one operated NH 27 to Itami and the other one was scheduled to depart for Sapporo Chitose. JAL has a few classics left, but they all have the stretched upper deck. And the *******s changed my return flight from a 74R to a 744... That would have completed the 747 passenger versions for me, but oh well.

Boarding started 20 minutes before boarding, and from the pretty much non-existant English announcements, I understood that priority boarding was available for Star Golds. A very friendly ANA flight attendant greeted me at the door, and I turned left to the Super Seat nose cabin. Storage facilities are very poor - small overhead bins in the nose and the usual closet is removed on domestic versions to allow more seats. Luckily, I just managed to store my bag under the seat. There are seven rows in the nose instead of five on LH business class for example.

Super Seats are old style business class seats, with adjustable headrests and a legrest. Pitch is about 38", not great by any means but adequate. I was offered various English newspapers, as well as slippers by the lovely ANA lady who did not speak any English basically. We were pushed back on time - amazing how they manage to board over 500 people in just 20 minutes. This flight looked very full, so I guess we had 550-560 passengers onboard.

A lot of JAL/ANA planes were of course at Haneda, as well as a Korean 747 arriving from Seoul Gimpo, and a Thai A330 was parked near the hangars. The crew apologized for the delay due to a few aircraft queuing for takeoff in front of us. Takeoff was not very powerful, and climb was far from steep. Do the domestic 747s have de-rated engines or something?

Meal was by any standards not very good on this flight - a Japanese Obento box and complimentary wine and beer in the premium cabin. It was an interesting meal as I like to try Japanese food sometimes, but with the fares ANA/JAL charge for Okinawa flights for example, you'd think they could offer hot meals in Super Seat cabin. But I'm not sure if these cattle trucks even have ovens installed in the galleys.

I then reclined my seat, and it was quite comfortable, so I fell asleep for a while. One music channel was availanbe in English, I listened to it a bit before landing. Landing at Naha was on time of course, and we parked next to the Yellow Pokemon at the domestic ANA pier. My bag was the first one on the belt.

ANA Laguna Garden Hotel

I had really no clue as to where to stay at Naha, so I booked the cheapest option via zuji.com.hk - not exactly cheap at 120 EUR. But the rest of the nights were award nights on this trip, so it was not too bad. The hotel is located in the middle of nowhere basically, not a convenient location at all, but at least they had a pool and access to a beach. The room was tiny with a single bed, not worth even half of the 120 EUR rate, but this was Japan after all.

08 November 2004
Okinawa Naha (OKA/ROAH) - Osaka Itami (ITM/RJOO)
All Nippon Airways NH 106
Boeing 747-481D
JA8959
1420-1610 – On Time
ANA Super Seat, Seat 7A

I made it to Naha Airport quite early, as check-out of my hotel was strictly at 1200 or extra charges would apply. The airport is quite nice, and has great views for spotting. I paid again the very reasonable 3200 Yen for a nicer seat, and headed upstairs to A&W to have something to eat.

I then headed through security to the ANA Signet lounge which was small and had no food. Drinks consisted of soft drinks, local beer and Japanese whisky. I had some from the most expensive looking bottle and watched while a Philippine Airlines A320 arrived from Manila and departed just half an hour later.

Otherwise the variety of aircraft was the usual Japanese domestic one - 747s, 777s, 767s and a few Japan Transocean Air (JTA) B737s. I headed to the gate 25 minutes before boarding, but they weren't boarding yet. The agent came to tell me that they'd start in five minutes and "You star gold member first". Very nice and friendly service. Unfortunately it was another standard 747-400D, I was really hoping for one of the Pokemon jet.

Load to Osaka was very light, I should probably have stayed in Y... The seat was similar to the one on HND-OKA, but ths time I had the seat next to me free. Food was more or less non existent - a fancy box with a few candies and cookies. I had a few glasses of red wine and walked around the aircraft later. The seats and pitch are quite good actually, and the upper deck economy class looked nice.

We landed on time at Itami, Japanese domestic flights seem to be always on time. Had a nice view of Kansai on approach. Baggage came out relatively fast, and I took the bus to Osaka Hilton - the only reasonably priced airport bus in Japan so far.

Hilton Osaka

This was another redemption night, and I was upgraded to a very nice renovated deluxe room. Great modern decor, but the bathroom was tiny. Osaka hilton has a great loaction next to Osaka Station. I walked around the area a bit, not very interesting in my opinion and extremely expensive. Breakfast buffet was nice and also complimentary for HHonors Golds.

LH747FTL

09 November 2004
Osaka Kansai International (KIX/RJBB) – Seoul Incheon (ICN/RKSI)
Asiana Airlines OZ 111
Boeing 767-38E/ER
HL7263
1310-1500 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 10G (Bulkhead)

I took the limousine bus from the Osaka Hilton to Kansai, another new Asian airport located in the middle of nowhere. The ride took about an hour, and I arrived at the Asiana desks well ahead of departure. Agent at the Business/Star Gold counter was apparently a trainee, and the supervisor had to help with everything. However, they managed to check me in all the way to Bangkok (separate tickets) which was appreciated.

I then headed through security and immigration without delay, and took the train to the ANA Signet Lounge closest to my gate. It was quite simply the worst international lounge I have ever been to, small selection of drinks, practically no food and no internet stations available. Also, there were no windows and the place was about the size of a closet.

Boarding for OZ 111 started on time, and a smiling OZ flight attendant greeted me at the door. I had a bulkhead seat which was comfortable enough. Also, the flight was far from full, so the seat next to me remained empty. We were pushed back roughly on time, and taxied past a bunch of Chinese jets as well as a Korean A330. I snapped a few pictures until a rude flight attendant was again pointing at me and saying “off”. I have never had a problem using my camera on any other airline.

We taxied past some Japanese cargo jumbos and took off without delay. Having browsed airlinemeals.net, I was expecting a Japanese cold obento box. Instead, the crew tossed out a tray with two sandwiches and a cup of orange juice and disappeared for the rest of the flight. I had so good views of Korea as the weather was nice, and soon we were on descent to Incheon.

During descent, various passengers and their luggage were reseated near the front. Most didn’t bother wearing a seatbelt or stow their bags properly, the crew didn’t care. As we landed, the guy next to me decided he needs to go to the toilet as we were reversing on the runway… He was told to go back to his seat though, so he stood there next to his seat for the rest of the taxi to the terminal.

09 November 2004
Seoul Incheon (ICN/RKSI) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Asiana Airlines OZ 341
Boeing 747-48E/M
HL7421
1720-2050 – On Time
Business Class, Seat 14B (Upper Deck)

I asked for a business class seat at Osaka for this flight, they had no clue what I was talking about. Upon arrival at Incheon, I went to the nearest Asiana transfer counter, where a very helpful lady assigned 14B on the upper deck for me. I believe all Bangkok flights operated by a 747 use at least one section of business for economy class, on the combi it’s the upper deck.

I then headed to the Asiana lounge, the food and drinks there were very welcome after the poor offerings on the Kansai-Incheon flight. This sector itself must be one of the most hated for business travelers – both airports are very far from downtown, but the flight takes less than two hours. I expected a full pax 747 for the BKK run, but HL 7421, a combi was waiting at gate 7. OZ has always full flights to Bangkok, but perhaps there is also a lot of cargo and a combi is needed on some days.

I was greeted by a usual Asiana flight attendant on the upper deck – not very friendly at all. She was actually the only one serving us on the upper deck, and service was very slow obviously. The seats seemed to be a bit more comfortable than the 747-400 pax business class seats – or maybe that’s just an illusion. The seat was comfortable, and I was very grateful I wasn’t stuck back in the cattle section.

Upper deck filled up completely, and it was obvious Asiana had again put just about anybody to a section that should be filled with frequent flyers. There was also a group of women from Iraq or Iran (just saw their passport for a few seconds) – they should have been sent to the nearest shower before being allowed to board. Later, they kept stealing items from the meal trays, shouting to each others a few rows apart etc etc… Premium zone indeed.

Drinks were served first; I had a Chivas with coke and an Asiana snack mix. A quick look at the menu card revealed that the meal would again be the same… I have now had the honor to eat the same meal in August, September, October and November on three different routes. Very poor in my opinion. Had some wine with the meal and another Chivas with Coke afterwards. “Last one” said the sole flight attendant. I was quite happy this would most likely be my last time this fall experiencing this kind of service from “The Jewel of Asia” (that was printed on some OZ lounge invitation).

I believe the PTVs had only 4 movies, so I got out my MP3 player, reclined my seat and stared at the airshow map showing 3:30 as remaining flight time… Request for a can of beer was declined as well, and she did not find a customer comment card when I asked. I later went to the lavatory, and amazingly this flight attendant asked how I like the service on Asiana… Trying not to be rude, I merely complained about eating the same food for four months. Also told her some folks stole about half of the contents from the meal tray – “that’s ok” was the reply. I was really pissed off about this group of middle-eastern women – I could smell the sweat even when being seated two rows apart and their shouting and loud chatting made sleeping impossible.

Water and orange juice was offered prior to landing at Don Muang. The routing was the usual one I have described before, so I won’t go into details here. Landing on 21L was slightly ahead of schedule, immigration was a breeze, but bags took a long time to arrive. Taxi driver was a complete *******, his meter was fixed to screw up the fare by about 100 Baht, Oh well, at least I made him drive downstairs instead of the usual tollway and he seemed pissed off about that.

11 November 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Phuket International (HKT/VTSP)
Orient Thai Airlines OX 267
Boeing 747-246B
HS-UTP
0810-0935 (0840-1000)
Business Class, Seat 15K (Upper Deck)

I bought an advance ticket from a travel agent this time – it cost about 200 Baht extra but flights to Phuket are quite full nowadays. I somehow managed to wake up for the flight as well – no idea how but I had no alarm clock or anything due to visiting too many watering holes the night before.

A quick shower, and I was soon in a taxi to good old Don Muang once again. Quick trip in the early morning, and I arrived at the Orient Thai check-in lines at 7:20am – in other words five minutes before the desks were scheduled to close. However, this is Thailand and not some Ryanairland, so I was promptly checked in at 7:50am, and the friendly lady said “we start boarding 7:30 sir”. The upgrade receipt this time says “UDDATE BUSSINES CALS”. She wrote a few versions down first before deciding which one to put on the official receipt…

Security was quick, and I walked straight onto a waiting TAGS bus at gate 9. After a long drive, we arrived next to a decent looking old bird – HS-UTP to be more exact. Uniform Tango Papa is another 1972 JAL vintage. A friendly girl greeted me at the door, and I made my way up the spiral staircase. Upper deck and the whole plane was in good shape. Another nice and friendly lady greeted me there, and offered a pre-departure drink in a Kampuchea Airlines glass. Upper deck on HS-UTP has 16 old JAL Reso’cha business class seats, quite comfortable. Also the usual Seiko clock displaying BKK and TYO times was present.

The flight attendant offered to store my bag as there are no bins whatsoever, and was surprised when I said “It’s ok, I know the closet is back there”. There were two other passengers in 15A/C, and two mechanics later took seats in the last row. We pushed back late as usual, and a noisy takeoff from 21R followed after the captain welcomed us on board the “Boeing 747 series 200 Jumbo”.

As we were slowly gaining altitude, service started – more drinks in Kampuchea glasses and new style OX peanuts – they are very tasty actually. After a few drink refills, I went to have a look downstairs, quite full and the interior looked very nice unlike the one on UTB. Snapped a few pictures and listened to the roar of the old JT9D-7s in the very back before heading back to the serene surroundings of the upper deck.

All too soon, we left our cruising altitude and started approach into Phuket International Airport. The flight attendant took her seat in front of me, and we had an interesting chat about Orient Thai and her job. Definitely not a very glamorous schedule they have… The destination she hated the most was Incheon – with a funny remark “I think better you stay here in Thailand”. I can imagine what a charter with 462 Koreans is like… Our flight to Phuket had 311 passengers, and the continuation, OX 218 to Hong Kong had about 200 booked.

We made a smooth landing a little behind schedule but it never seems to bother me on these 747 Classics with nice flight attendants. Only problem is that the schedules to HKT are rather inconvenient for me.

13 November 2004
Phuket International (HKT/VTSP) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Nok Air DD 7503
Boeing 737-4D7
HS-TDB “Phuket”
1035-1200 – On Time
Nok Plus, Seat 12A

Since Orient Thai leaves so late in the evening, I decided to try something else this time. Booking on nokair.co.th was convenient, and I could even choose a seat from a seatmap. Seemed too good to be true, and that was unfortunately the case. I arrived about an hour before departure, and was greeted by a Thai Airways employee whose attitude was “since you are not paying to fly TG but our low fare airline, I’ll treat you like crap”.

“Your bag is too heavy. You must go pay for 5 kilos, then come back”. Funnily, Orient Thai had no problems whatsoever with my bag. So, off I went, cursing my decision to fly with this low fare airline instead of TG. After getting a receipt for the abovementioned 5 kilos (250 Baht), I went back to the unfriendly lady… She handed me a boarding pass for 58F. Getting pretty pissed off at this point, I told her I had actually paid for the Nok Plus cabin and chosen 11A as my seat. “System says you book economy. You have confirmation print out?” Well, I didn’t even have a clue of the PNR to be honest.

After some other staff went to the ticketing kiosk, I was finally given 12A in the premium section. Boarding pass said “Thai Royal Executive Class” and DD 7503 C. Now, it was time to go get a refund for the excess baggage charges. I was given 300 baht which I pocketed and walked to security. Expectedly, one of the agents soon came running and asking to get the 50 Baht back… Such a quality operation DD has here.

My Nok Plus fare was about 2000 Baht, the same would have gotten me a TG V fare with lounge access and 40kgs luggage allowance as Star Gold. TG is obviously better value in this case, but I wanted to try Nok. The best value is still 1950 Baht for Orient Thai Business Class. I obviously had to wait in the general waiting area, being booked on a low fare airline. Boarding started on time, and was handled entirely by Thai Airways staff again.

The 737 had full Thai Airways interior, and I had one of the old style Royal Executive Class seats. Unlike on the A300, pitch on the 737 is about the same as in economy class, and my seat was poor value on this almost empty flight. There is no complimentary service on Nok, they sell TG snackboxes and soft drinks. The funniest part was when one of the girls asked “Sir, you want to buy airplane?” while holding a beach toy Nok plane.

Crew was very young and friendly, dressed in beach shirts and light brown skirts. The 737 was spotless inside, had Thai Airways safety cards and was flown by TG pilots as well. The routing was the usual, and I slept the entire flight until we were on approach to Don Muang. Landed on 21R and arrived at the domestic terminal after a short taxi. There was nothing wrong with the inflight service, but considering the price, hassle, no miles, no lounges etc, I think Thai is a better deal if you have a problem flying with the best i.e. Orient Thai.

LH747FTL

14 November 2004
Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD) – Seoul Incheon (ICN/RKSI)
Thai Airways International TG 658
Boeing 777-2D7
HS-TJA “Lamphun”
2350-0700+1 (0015-0720)
Economy Class, Seat 32C

This flight was overbooked in economy, and wide open in business, so I was hoping for an upgrade. However, when you expect one, it never happens. I got to the Star Gold counters with long lines about 1h20min before departure, and after a short wait, was checked in by your stereotypical Thai Airways BKK ground agent. No smiles, and she lied to me that 32C would be the first row. Go for the older guys if they are working at the premium desks, I’ve had much better experiences with them.

I then headed quickly through immigration to the Thai Royal Executive Lounge, and had a massage before checking out the old lounge as it was closer to the basement aka international bus gates. Trying to get a better seat, I offered to pay the discounted upgrade fee, fare difference etc, but not surprisingly it was “not possible.” I guess it makes more sense to upgrade non-status Korean tour group members for free – that was the case here.

I boarded the last bus to the aircraft; it was HS-TJA, Thai’s first 777 this time. The interior was worn, my armrest was broken, and the 3-4-3 configuration combined with a non-bulkhead/exit row was awful. I went to the lavatory but pushback just started at the same time – no problems, go ahead said the purser. Takeoff was half an hour late for some reason, and I was not looking forward to this redeye.

A snack is served after takeoff – a pastry with drinks that is. Additional pastries were offered to those who wanted. The seat was pretty damn uncomfortable, so I went to get a drink from the galley – actually ended up spending the next three hours there chatting with the purser and inflight supervisor. IFE was broken on this aircraft, but the IFS managed to get it working after a few re-boots. Although TG has pretty spartan IFE on the 777s, the control panel was still a sophisticated looking LCD screen. I had a few drinks as well, and the crew seat was much more comfortable than 32C anyway.

As they were starting the breakfast service, I went back to my seat and wished we’d be at Incheon already. A narrow seat, no empty middle seat and the guy in front of me fully reclined – as bad as cattle class seat comfort gets. The 3-4-3 config is tolerable in bulkhead/exit rows, preferably with an empty middle seat, or if you have a set of 3 or 4 seats for yourself. But since Incheon flights are always full of Korean tour groups, it is the ideal plane I guess.

As per the purser’s recommendation, I had the Thai chicken dish for breakfast, and it was pretty good with the usual extras such as yoghurt, fresh fruit and warm rolls and croissants. We landed at Incheon late, and I joined the usual long queue for passport control… This was my first bad experience with Thai this fall, although the cabin crew was great as usual except for the two Koreans.

16 November 2004
Seoul Incheon (ICN/RKSI) – Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL)
Philippine Airlines PR 469
Airbus A330-301
F-OHZM
2020-2330 – On Time
Mabuhay Class, Seat 16K

After finishing classes at university at 4pm, I took a bus to Incheon as usual. Being rush hour, it took almost two hours. Check-in is handled by Korean Air, and the agent was pleasant enough. The lines and amount of baggage for economy class were insane. Korean Air seemed to use their own system for PR, since my boarding pass has these weird KE reservation numbers etc. Although it says FQTV PR, my miles haven’t appeared in the account.

KAL Lounge, Incheon KR

I got an invitation to the smaller KAL Lounge near CX and NW lounges. Apparently, this is the place where KE sends all partner airlines’ premium passengers. I have never been to the main KAL Lounge, so I can’t compare them. This one was however quite nice, with modern design. Food offerings were poor compared to SQ though, no hot food was available. Cold snacks consisted of sushi, sandwiches and some paninis. Drink selection was smallish but decent. They had two computers available with free internet.

The lounge also has a good view of the tarmac – at the nearest gate was a good old JAL 747-246B (JA8160), preparing for departure to Kansai Osaka. Boarding for PAL 469 started on time, and the stories I have read about domestic vs international PR service were definitely true. I was greeted by a non smiling grandma who was just about to collapse from the weight of jewelry she was wearing. Another equally disinterested lady would be serving the business class cabin with her tonight.

The flight had showed full economy cabin and wide open in business the day before, but unfortunately the Korean Air agents upgraded over 20 passengers (all Koreans), and we pushed back with a full load in both cabins. Pre-departure drinks were only water or orange juice, poor for an international dinner-time flight.

Most of the upgraded Koreans sat the entire flight with their winter jackets on and had no clue how to use a PTV, reading light, seat recline etc. I know who they were as the KE agent simply came onboard and handed them all their new blue boarding passes and took the old ones. What a discrete way to handle operational upgrades. Menus were distributed after takeoff, but were immediately collected back when the grandmas had taken the dinner orders. However, I managed to hide the Cebu-Incheon menu in the seat pocket later, and will post it when I find it.

Mixed nuts in nice bowls were served with drinks first, followed by dinner. The starter was delicious and nicely presented, but the garlic bread was cold. I had the chicken for main course and it was great as well. Dessert was an economy class style piece of cake. Drink refills were offered once during the service. Fresh fruit (bananas, apples and oranges) were offered with the dessert course. The upgraded guy across the aisle from me kept asking for this and that until the flight attendant got pissed and said “could you please wait as I have to serve others as well.”

After the meal, crew disappeared for the rest of the flight but thankfully responded to call buttons. The seat, while comfortable for short domestic hops, is in my opinion not very comfortable for sleeping. I had a few glasses of champagne and relaxed for the rest of the flight. The guy next to me got out his digital camera and started browsing pictures of various clearly underage Filipina girls. I felt like stuffing the empty champagne glass into his mouth…

We landed at NAIA on time, and quickly taxied to terminal 2 which was deserted. I was the first at immigration along with a Korean guy who presented an empty immigration form. I mean, how stupid can one be? The rest seemed to ask the Filipina flight attendants to fill in their forms…

Immigrations was a breeze as was customs. The female officer said “Hi sir, good evening… err it’s morning already isn’t it? Have a nice stay.” Since it was very quiet at terminal 2, I had no choice but take an overpriced airport taxi to my hotel (350 Pesos and a jerk trying to pocket 150 as tip as I paid with a 500 Peso note).

Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila, Ermita

I have been waiting to visit this hotel since its soft opening in mid-September. The rate was a decent $81 per night, and I would also earn 2000 Gold Passport bonus points. The lobby is nice and modern and check-in was reasonably quick. The bellhop then escorted me to my room on the 9th floor. The room was large and very nice – on par with new Hyatts elsewhere with very modern design. There is also a DVD player in every room. The bathroom is great, with a superb rainfall shower and a bathtub next to it. They also have an airport style metal detector at the door and no manual check like older hotels in Manila. Ermita area has a lot of bars and clubs nearby, and the Hyatt has Manila’s largest casino I believe. A highly recommended property.

17 November 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC)
Philippine Airlines PR 857
Airbus A340-313X
F-OHPJ
1200-1315 (1300-1405)
First Class, Seat 1B

I woke up quite late, and got stuck in traffic to boot. I was pretty sure to miss the original flight as I didn’t even have the e-ticket receipt with me. This piece of crap Finnish ISP has a new system that doesn’t even let you know what it determines to be junk mail – obviously the Philippine Airlines e-mail was considered junk. I picked up a copy of the itinerary receipt at the PAL ticket office at 11:20 in order to enter the terminal building, and was surprised when I was still able to check in. No wonder after a quick glance at the boarding pass – departure had been pushed back by 30 minutes for who knows what reason. Seems to be common practice at PAL.

I was also assigned seat 08H – such seat doesn’t exist on the A330 that was scheduled. Sure enough, an A340 was waiting at S2, and I got my seat assignment changed to 1B in the Mabuhay Lounge. The snacks and drinks were the usual, and the departure time got pushed back to 1pm due to emergency lightning problems on the A340.

My return flight was booked as CEB-MNL-ICN – but according to the agents it was a too short connection in MNL. To boot, the earlier flight had been switched to a 737 with no business class. Luckily they came up with the best possible solution – “sir why don’t you take the nonstop Cebu-Incheon flight?” Booking was made and I was told to go to the Mactan ticket office to get my tickets revalidated. I wanted this flight to start with, but the contracted Korean travel agency serving as PAL agent was too incompetent to understand such a complicated request.

The flight was nice and uneventful, a good hot meal was served by a young and attentive crew. Such a total difference from the international service. PAL has a stupid seniority system in place like the American carriers, and the younger crews only fly on domestic flights. Landing was about an hour late, and I then headed to the ticket office.

They didn’t quite understand what I was trying to say, and I was sent to international check-in at first – they thought I wanted to fly to ICN on the flight leaving in 10 minutes. After explaining that I need the Sunday flight, I had to wait about an hour as PAL computer system was down. I then got an awful looking piece of paper – two separate tickets stapled together with a handwritten note “Pls accept for CEBICN nonstop.”

21 November 2004
Mactan Cebu International (CEB/RPMC) – Seoul Incheon (ICN/RKSI)
Philippine Airlines PR 488
Airbus A330-301
F-OHZR
1500-2020 – On Time
Mabuhay Class, Seat 11A

Check-in was a total zoo with probably 99% of the passengers being Korean tour groups. My fancy ticket also caused some confusion, but after a few minutes I had a boarding pass and lounge invitation in hand. I then paid the international terminal fee and cleared immigration which was very quick and painless compared to the ordeal one has to go through at NAIA 1 on busier days.

Mabuhay lounge was pretty poor by international standards – same snacks and drinks as in the domestic lounge and a few bottles of alcohol to boot. A Korean group decided it was appropriate to chat loudly, set up a camera with tripod and pose for pictures in a business class lounge. One of the main advantages of lounges is that you get away from the hustle and bustle of the general areas of the terminal – that was not the case here.

Boarding started on time as the A330 had arrived from Manila well ahead of the Incheon departure time. Security check was conducted at gate and was the usual walk through affair. I was greeted by an older lady who was very friendly and we chatted a bit about my holiday in Cebu etc. Pre-departure drink selection was the same, i.e. poor. The bulkhead row doesn’t have that great legroom, but I had the seat next to me empty and wasn’t in the middle of upgraded Koreans like on the ICN-MNL sector.

Dinner orders were taken before pushback, I chose beef medallions with roasted potatoes and champagne to drink. I was addressed by name all the time by the two ladies, while they asked the Koreans “what do you eat?” and “Drink? Beer, wine, what?” Pushback was on time, and we took off for the four hour sector without delay. Meals were served shortly after takeoff – the appetizer was crabmeat salad, and the beef main course was very tasty. Garlic bread was hot and delicious this time, and drinks were refilled a few times. Dessert was some Y class type of thing, don’t remember what exactly.

During the rest of the flight, generally no service was offered in the cabin, but the old guy working the galley made sure my champagne glass was never empty and he also kept bringing me bowls of mixed nuts. Very good service for me on this flight, although the Koreans might think differently. I was the only western passenger in the business class cabin.

We arrived at Incheon on time, and taxied to a gate that was just vacated by another PAL A330, bound for Manila as PR 469. Overall, the flights were well worth the rather low business class fare. A bit more legroom and enthusiastic crews would make the product much better.

I was treated to another full search by Korean Customs – quite pathetic as they only picked the very few foreigners while Koreans themselves simply walked through. I had of course just missed the Korean Air bus, and had to wait about 25 minutes for the next one.