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Sydney to Iceland via China. Mostly J, some China Domestic Y and Magnetic Levitation!

Sydney to Iceland via China. Mostly J, some China Domestic Y and Magnetic Levitation!

Old Nov 10, 2011, 1:43 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by sydunipete
Yes, agreed. I have another longer video taken from the MagLev but it's nothing special. (I'm happy to post it if anybody requests it.)

It's only when that other train passes that you get a real feel for the speed. As I recall we weren't even at top speed at the time of the other train passing.
Amazing!! thank you for posting!
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Old Nov 10, 2011, 3:25 pm
  #17  
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Mu2111 xie - pek

We spent a few days visiting the sites of Xi'An (including the famous terracotta warriors) and gaining an insight into the amazing Chinese dating scene. We went to a fantastic rooftop bar overlooking the walls of the city which are lit up at night. This was another escape from the tour group with one other tour member and two locals.

But to get to the rooftop oasis we had to walk through a crowded bar area. The air was so thick with cigarette smoke you couldn't see the other end of the room (or that might have been the 20 RMB ($3) per big bottle beers with dinner) and thanks to China's one child policy combined with the preference for boys meant there was a 4 to 1 ratio of men to women in the bar.

I believe now it isn't possible to predetermine the sex of your child in China so in future generations the gender imbalance will not be so great.

But the contest for women was strong. Each girl was the centre of a small group's attention and there was a fair bit of man handling going on. Combined with the duf duf music and cigarette smoke it emphasised hte oasis of the rooftop bar when we finally burst out of the meat market.

The next day we returned to Xi'An airport for check-in and one of the longest security queues I've ever seen before boarding B-2317 our A300-600R for the flight to Beijing on China Eastern Airlines.



The plane looked like it had been around the block once or twice and I subsequently found out its first flight was in 1994.

At the gate, people started lining up to board the aircraft when a frail little old Canadian lady with a walking stick started pushing her way forward in the queue. She was out pushing the Chinese! (I guess when in Rome and all that stuff.) Once on board the two aisle jet she was in the wrong aisle and had to push everybody back until she reached a bulk head so she could cross back over to the right aisle. Ah the joys of travel!



2-4-2 seating configuration with less legroom than the previous leg.





After boarding we sat at the gate for 45 mins waiting for air traffic control approval ro push back. There was no reading material provided and people started moving around the cabin. (This continued after push back finally commenced without any word from the FAs.)



A hot meal was served following by soft drinks.



When asked for beer, one FA said there wasn't any, but when another was asked shortly after cans of beer were produced. Although not cold they were a hit with our Australian tour group and the poor FA was kept busy ferrying beers from the galley to the thirsty group.

There were no flight deck announcements at all on either of the internal flights. Baggage arrived promptly and then we got to experience Beijing traffic!
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Old Nov 10, 2011, 10:45 pm
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Interesting report, looking forward to the rest.
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Old Nov 11, 2011, 8:43 am
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The express card at customs didn't count for much. The queue master was waving people from the poverty queue through while us elite travellers with express cards waited.
This statement makes you sound like a complete pompous arse. I'm hope you are not because I enjoyed the rest of your report but trying to be clever (and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt about not being a pompous arse) detracts from what is an otherwise good piece of writing.
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Old Nov 11, 2011, 9:06 am
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By the way, I'm also looking forward to the rest of the trip report!
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Old Nov 11, 2011, 10:24 am
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Really great report and interesting to read about different airlines.
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Old Nov 12, 2011, 3:16 pm
  #22  
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Ca949 pek - mxp

The tour of China over, it was time to visit my extended family in Northern Italy. I'm extremely fortunate to have family that live along the Swiss Italian border between Lake Como and St Moritz. If you could have your choice of anywhere in the world, relo's with a house on Lake Como would have to be right near the top of the list.

But first I have to get there.

Beijing Aiport is new with Terminal 3 built for the Olympics. It's absolutely world class and a pleasure to travel through. First hurdle is that Business Class check in is in a different row and it wasn't sign posted or shown on the monitors. I guess a regular Beijing traveller would know this but it took a bit of finding for me.

After checking in you catch a metro style train to take you to terminal three where several layers of security are implemented. Each provides a red stamp to your boarding pass so they end up looking like this:



Terminal 3 is modern and stylish.



The lounges, although not well sign posted are up one level in this open plan environment with good views outwards and a light and airy feel to them.



There is plenty of food including a buffet dining area with real tables and chairs. What a great idea. There's also cold snacks, beer, soft drinks but minimal wine. There was an empty bottle of white and a half empty bottle of red open in a bar area at the far end of the lounge (just around the corner from the dining room).



For WiFi access to have to scan your passport in a machine at the lounge reception area to get a username and password.

Being a busy airport the lounge was at times quite and at other times quite full. When busy there simply weren't enough toilets even with the full-time bathroom attendant. I couldn't find a shower although there was a paid shower room and hourly hotel in the public area if needed.

The main downfall of the lounge was the eating habits of the Chinese. (Please don't take this as a criticism, just pointing out a cultural different here.) Noodles, soup etc were all available from the dining area to bring to the rest of the lounge. But even a banana becomes a slurpathon and it became quite grating after a while.

I've now worked out why every restaurant we went to had a separate room for tour groups. It wasn't to keep us away from the locals, it was to keep the locals away from us!

The view from the lounge is not totally dissimilar to Milano (my destination). It had rained the night before so the air was actually clear for a change. There's a large flat plan and in the distance one could see mountains. Much the same as Malpensa.

Boarding commenced a relaxed 40 mins prior to departure. I arrived at the gate 30 mins prior and boarding was almost complete. Imagine my surprise to see the same Star Alliance painted aircraft and rego number (B-6093) on the plane as the plane that took me from Sydney to Shanghai. What are the odds?



Business class boarding was through 1L, economy through 2L.

Business class was again about 50% full which provides a more spacious feel.



My faulty tray table from last leg had been fixed, but there were still a few loose panels etc.



I rejected the kind offer of slippers because of my massive plates of meat (feet) and the FA looked genuinely puzzled, "but it's a long time" she reasoned. She shortly returned with the menus.





The flight was smooth. This is about as rough as it got:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

Appetizer was bought out before nuts and pre lunch drink (this was a day-time flight) and as soon as one course was finished the next was brought out to take its place and wine topped up.

Piping hot chicken soup and lobster medallions for entree and very tasty.



The wines weren't bad with the 2008 AOC Bordeaux Blanc Jacquet Chateau a perfect match for the lobster with wasabi sauce.



I changed to the french red wine to go with the beef medallion which was served piping hot again. Lots of mashed pumpkin and vegies, but again pretty good.

One hour 20 mins after push back and lunch service is finished. While our flight path took us towards desolute high country of northern Russia.

Then I worked it out. To get a decent sized drink on Air China you order whiskey. They serve Glenfiddich and if it's low tide on Champagne pond it's high tide on Whiskey River.



I've now tested this several times and it seems to be a consistent thing. A full glass of whiskey, a dash of water from your water bottle and settle back to ignore the AVOD and watch your movie on an iPad. (Because once again the AVOD selection is poor, the best thing on it is the flight mode.)





In fact was I watching K-19 (a great Russian Submarine movie) on my iPad while flying North of Moscow drinking Glenfiddich!

Dinner service started 2 hours prior to landing in Milano.



On a few of the Chinese flights towards the end of the flight they make an announcement thanking you for your patronage and the FAs stand at the front of the cabin and bow. It's a nice touch.

The flight landed one hour ahead of schedule, but I suspect this had something to do with confusion with daylight savings time because my calculations were also out by one hour.

By the queue at the luggage carousel I suspect the entire plane had a low loading factor, but this being Italy, the bags still took a while to arrive. (But more on Malpensa next post.)

Last edited by sydunipete; Nov 12, 2011 at 9:08 pm
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Old Nov 12, 2011, 3:26 pm
  #23  
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Great report, Pete! I like both your writing style and pictures. Good luck with the rest of the trip and thanks again for this (and hopefully future) reports. ^^
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Old Nov 12, 2011, 9:11 pm
  #24  
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Originally Posted by Seat 2A
Great report, Pete! I like both your writing style and pictures. Good luck with the rest of the trip and thanks again for this (and hopefully future) reports. ^^
Thanks for your kind words. This is my first trip report and I wasn't quite aware of how much work goes into it. I now have more respect for those more frequent writers.

Reykjavik, a big gotcha about Stockholm ARN airport, lost luggage and a day spent in transit in Beijing yet to come.
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Old Nov 13, 2011, 3:19 pm
  #25  
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Mxp - vie os335

When booking the flights from Malpensa to Reykjavic I had only a few choices, the only series of flights with relaxed transfer times was MXP - VIE - OSL - KEF. But first some context,

On second last day with my family I had been told a long term desire of mine, to visit the Italian sparkling wine marking region of Franciacorta, had been organised. Franciacorta is in the north of Italy, not far from Brescia or Bergamo. It was about a 90 min bus ride from Lake Como. The concern levels grew when I found out if was a coach trip organised by a social club. Now my Italian's pretty good, but it doesn't keep up in noisy environments with the rapid and simultaneous talking that comes from a rowdy group of people. I did however pickup the term "Bunga Bunga" used several times.

We left at 5pm and I held some pitty for the poor winery we were about to descend upon. But to my surprise it was the most elegant of old Italian villas at Antica Fratta, superb sparkling wines and a menu I've translated from Italian as:

Beaten fillet with black truffle of Norcia
Fried chicken flavored with saffron and liquorice
Raw meat with egg gelato scented with truffles

Potato mousse with wild salmon, capers and lemon
Ravioli with ragout of wild mushrooms, foie gras and slices of Jerusalem artichoke soup

Leg of goose lacquered with mashed purple potatoes, spinach, cream of celeriac and natural crunch

Delicate mousse with a heart of creamy toffee with mandarin laid on a delicious biscuit with spices, all packed into a formidable balance

All with fantastic wines to match.

After getting home at 3am (well past my bed time), the next dat was hiking in the mountains, followed by another farewell dinner then a wakeup call at 3am to head to the airport the following day for an early flight and 3 hops.

What could possibly go wrong?

OS518 MXP - VIE
B737-700 Seat 2A. Aircraft OE-LNN

Check in opened 2 hours prior to departure. With 3 boarding passes and my luggage tag I noticed 2 things.



1) The unfortunate position of the printing of the "C" on the Austrian boarding pass made the girl look like she was badly cross eyed



2) There was space on the luggage tag for 4 destinations rather than just the 3 I was using. I'm going to take this as a personal challenge next time to fill all 4. Any ideas?



Austrian uses the Lufthansa Lounge which I'm quite familiar with. I'm not a fan of Lufthansa European lounges. This one is buried in the bowels of the building and again is not well marked. It's easier to find on your way to the lounge back from the gates.

To get there you have to take a tour of the inner workings of the airport which to my eye is styled upon a 1980's Soviet public toilet.

The lounge was quiet and there was just a small selection of fruit juice, coffee, pastries, Prosecco and an Italian white wine, fruit, plenty of newspapers, red wine, yoghurt.






Good work area.



The liquid breakfast menu:





Several monitors for flight information and no boarding calls. Apart from the grinding of the coffee machine it's a quite haven.

Toilets however are in the public area.

At the gate there was no priority boarding and they were being very strict on hand luggage causing a long queue. Onboard was the usual economy like seating with middle seat kept free.

One difference from other carriers is their seat design. By moving the magazine pocket to the top of the seat back more knee room is available (something my 6'4" framre appreciates).



The leather seats were firm but comfortable.



Newspapers offered pre-takeoff.

Business class 50% occupied and 3 rows available. The first of my 3 hot meals in planes today was served.



There was lovely fresh juice and coffee in a cup with a gold plated handle!



Beautiful views of the alps. We flew just South of the area where I had spent the last week and my "A" seat provided me a great farewell view of the region.

Very pleasant FA looking after business class and plenty of information from the flight deck.

Plenty of warm bread and croissants offered while I watched Bruno on the iPad. (Despite having to shield the screen during some of the naughtier bits the hardest part was not to laugh out loud from time to time.)

Everything on-time, in fact a couple of minutes early leaving lots of time for a long taxiway at Vienna.
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Old Nov 13, 2011, 8:18 pm
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Vie - osl os335

OS335 VIE - OSL
Fokker 100 by Tyrolean Airway
OE-LVI

I didn't have too much time at Vienna, but enough to check out the lounge. The Austrian Business Lounge is pretty standard European stuff except they possess what is possibly the worst curtains I've even seen. They're bright green lining a curved corridor.

They're worse than the FA uniforms which are all red from head to toe. My camera would explode if I took a photo of an FA in front of the green curtains.

After checking at the front desk you go to a fairly standard lounge. But the secret is to head towards the toilets, trying not to be put off by the curtains. Beyond the toilets opens up a more casual lounge with an open air feel and great view of aircraft operations. It's more crowded as a result.

These photos are of the boring side.





WiFi is easy, free and airport wide. No boarding calls, good selection of drinks including lots of spirits at 9:20am!

The Muenzenrieder Traminer Classic was a pleasant drop (I reasoned that it was after 7pm in Sydney), dry but with enough acidity to accompany most foods.

The toilet was a bit unusual. I've seen many different toilet setups in my travels, but this one was a first for me. It's sort of hard to describe and probably not the best topic for public consumption. But if you go to this lounge, be careful and check them out.

At gate it was probably the most strict security I've gone through (not a bad thing) but they kept speaking Austrian (I presume) to me even though it was clear I didn't understand. So I got the full treatment.

There isn't much space at the gate and there was no sign of boarding 20 mins after the boarding time shown on the boarding pass.



Onboard the F100 there's plenty of legroom in this bulkhead seat with a 2+3 configuration with blocked out seats effectively creating 1 + 2. (Book the A seats if you're a solo traveller.

The last person on board sat next to me, put his bags in the coat locker and settled in. he was promptly moved back by the FA explaining this was business class.

6 out of 9 seats taken in Business Class. (3 rows of 3 occupied by a couple of 4 singles including myself.)



A hot meal was offered with a choice of drinks. It was Salmon with rost and pesto sauce. One of the best in flight meals I've eaten and was accompanied by antipasto and a dessert.



After business class was served (paper table cloth on a plastic tray) the economy trolley was wheeled out and the 2 FAs served the rest of the cabin which meant a short wait for a drink top up. But every time one of them came forward to get something from the galley our drinks were checked.

Great FA service, a smooth landing at Oslo and an on-time landing after a very picturesque approach.
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Old Nov 14, 2011, 10:34 pm
  #27  
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SK4787 OSL - KEF (Reykjavik)

737-400 LN-TUF
Seat 1A



After my previous flight I did the usual transit additional security check which is upstairs and is certainly better than the queue I saw at the main entrance.

Oslo has a fairly large lounge at at 1:30pm I was the only person there. It was eerily quiet with just the occasional public space announcement disturbing the silence. (On my return trip it was full to the gunwales.)

Typical Scandinavian, but to my mind not as nice as Copenhagen. There was a small selection of food, some of which I didn't recognise, nibblies, no alcohol beer, a small selection of wine, soft drinks, coffee machine, free wifi, computer terminals and as a real estate agent would say "filtered" views of the runway.

At the lounge I enjoyed a very pleasant Schiller Alsace Riesling. Young, pale and a drink now style - perfect for the circumstances. I also sampled the Laroche Chardonnay "L" Vin Pays D'Oc 2010. Lots of fruit salad and oak cried out for a pork dish to bring out its best.

One interesting aspect about the airport is that newspapers were being delivered through the airport by people on scooters. Silent and deadly if you didn't keep your eyes open. (of after a few too many wines from the lounge!)

There are three sections to this airport, domestic, international (Schengen) and Internation (Non Schengen). My flight departed from the last gate before international international. The plane arrived late from its previous destination and loading was happening at 1R while we arrived at 1L.

The plane itself had one row of business class (3+3 seating with the middle seat reserved), one row of economy extra (same configuration) then economy.



As "boarding complete" was announced I looked around at a desserted business class and economy extra. Announcements were in Norwegian (I presume) with no English translation (a first for me). But I guess I already know how to do up a seat belt.

One interesting thing I noticed about Oslo is how short the pushback was for all flights. Just enough to clear the jet bridge. Then the aircraft pushes forward under its own steam turning hard straight away. Then a rapid taxi with no sparing of the horses on our way to the runway.

Once at cruising I could feel daggers in my back as the purser announced "for today's inflight service we will be serving a hot meal, tea, coffee and drinks in business class, in economy extra we will be serving a cold mean, tea, coffee and drinks. And in economy you may buy a drink."

Hot towel and pre-dinner drink and I looked across at the empty premium cabin.



The meal was Salmon (again) with potatos and lots of thyme and vegies. Cheese platter, an appetiser I didn't recognise. Small chocolate bar. Great service, "is everything ok" and plenty of top ups.



The white whine was 2010 Dona Dominga Chardonnay from Chile which did the trick nicely. And they had a few bottles on board (I know!). When one bottle was nearing its end the FA would stand over me, rake it from my hands as I poured the last drop and ask if I wanted another.



He were heading SSW most of the way with a long, beautiful sunset out my window for most of the flight and only as we started to descend did the sky get darker and we landed in pitch black about 15 mins behind schedule.





I had seen lots of videos of Reykjavik being used as a location for test landing in strong cross winds and I can see why. Although ours was reasonably smooth, the land is flat and open and the ocean covered with white tops.
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Old Nov 17, 2011, 7:52 pm
  #28  
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Sk4788 kef - osl

After close to a week in Iceland (and that's enough) it was time to start the return journey home to the other side of the planet. I loved my time in Iceland - it is so different to home with the Sun never rising too far above the horizon, a rugged beauty to the countryside, a quaint and picturesque capital city and lamb that is to die for. I managed to get a great view of the Northern Lights braving minus 10 degree (with wind chill) cold.



I'll definitely be back.

SK4788 KEF - OSL Seat 2C on a 737-800 - LN-RRT



Just over an hour before boarding I arrived at the airport, was the only person at check in and reached security where they had to raise a roller door to let me in. This obviously isn't the busiest airport in the world.

There were no signs to the lounge so I just kept walking past all the gates until right at the end I saw a sign for the Iceland Air Saga Lounge. Sure enough - that was it. It was nearly deserted and quite a closed in lounge. But otherwise fine.







It had to have the coolest lounge art I've seen in any lounge.



There was plenty of food with a selecton of pastries, cold snacks, fresh cookies and macarons, spirits, beer and wine.





WiFi, a business centre with terminals. Newspapers and a shower. With the nearby Blue Lagoon this would be a pleasant way of breaking up a trans Atlantic trip.

There was no priority boarding. There were only 2 in business class from 10 seats. It's a 3x3 configuration with the middle seat reserved and 2 1/2 rows. Right hand side has row 1, left hand side does not. Right had side bulkhead has just a touch more leg room with a small well for hand luggage (or your feet).



I heard the pilot being told 74+1 onboard.

Economy passengers were allowed to come forward to use the business class toilet, but with just the two of us, no matter how much we drank we wouldn't be able to keep it fully occupied. But it is a challenge worth thinking about.

Lunch was a rather bland pepper steak, corn fritters, potato and capsicum. Just ok.



But due to there just being 2 of us, the FA just hung about providing excellent, responsive and personal service.

The Captain came out and asked for a newspaper. Now I'm not sure I want him to be reading up on current affairs. I'd prefer he spends the flight watching dials and lights and things.

Landed on-time before transiting at Oslo again for my next leg to Stockholm. I made if with some time to spare, but I suspect this is where by bag went astray. But more on that next post.
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Old Nov 25, 2011, 8:14 pm
  #29  
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Sk884 osl - arn 737-800

Firstly, sorry for the delay in adding to the blog, unfortunately the delay isn't due to travel, but to normal work commitments.

SK884 OSL - ARN 737-800 LN-RRA Seat 5A



What an odd flight. Last time I was in Oslo, about 4 days prior, the lounge was deserted. This time is was absolutely full. I guess a 17:40 departure puts this right in the middle of peak hour.

My first concern was as I went through transit security I noticed my boarding pass was listed as Y Class and for a 737 seat 5A was a fair way back especially compared to my recent flights. But it was a short flight and I didn't have long in the lounge so I suspected it was an all economy leg.

First surprise, they let me in to the lounge with a Y boarding pass. I only have about 15 mins here and I leave in plenty of time to get to the gate and I wait another 10 mins.

Second surprise is when I board there are 4 rows of Economy Extra and I' seated behind that section in the first row behind the magical curtain. All seats are full in a 3-3 configuration and no reserved seats in the middle.

Third surprise was after boarding was complete an FA came back and slid the magic curtain one row further back in include my row. I suddenly felt special again.

There's no photos on this leg because it really was quite crowded. No elbow of leg room so I just bunkered down for the short flight to Stockholm.

Again, like last time in Oslo, a very short push back and no sparing of the horses in taxiing.

Not long after take off snack boxes are rapidly handed out to those forward of the magic curtain followed by drinks (Beer or wine included) then coffee or tea. The box contained cold roast beef and vegies, a piece of chocolate & water. Just enough to eat prior to clean up before descent. Everything on time.

Fourth surprise, and this one not so pleasant is for the first time I get the experience that lonely feeling of standing at the luggage carousel long after all your flight buddies had left with their bags. All this after me being so impressed with the yellow line about a metre away from the carousel to hopefully stop people crowding forward. (My biggest gripe about fellow travellers.)

1 hour 20 mins at Oslo obviously wasn't enough transit time for my bag.

I give it a few minutes then give up and proceed to the Baggage Service Desk where I got a number which was prioritised by travel class. The lady took my details, asked me to identify what my bag looked like then indicated she had no record of where it might be. She gave me a reference number, some reassuring words and small folder with the relevant details.

By the time I got to my hotel (about an hour from the airport) I went to the website listed in the information pack and it said my bag was found and delivery was being initiated.

By 5:30am I got a message in my room that the bag had arrived and for me to call the front desk when I was ready for it to be delivered.

I was pretty happy with the whole experience. I used to keep my toiletry pack in my hand luggage and did this for many years until once my after shave leaked and ruined my mobile phone. So ever since I've lived life on the edge and packed my shaving bag in my main luggage. I figure worst case I have to buy a toothbrush and razor. Mind you, in Stockholm that sort of extravagent purchase could send you broke. I was astounded at the prices of things. About $7 for 2 stops on the metro (Slussen to Centralen) and about $30 in a cab for the same distance which was easily walkable once I knew thew way.
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Old Nov 27, 2011, 8:02 pm
  #30  
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Arn - pek ca912 b777

All my flights so far had been daytime flights. This leg and the next were to be red eyes. I normally prefer overnight legs as I sleep reasonably well (especially after a few Air China sized Whiskeys) and I'd prefer not to lose a day when travelling away from home.

I caught the bus in to the airport and due to hotel check out times I arrived early. Checkin opened 3 hours before departure. While waiting I reminised about Scandinavian at Copenhagen airport where you can check in 24 hours in advance. But I guess that's the home team advantage.

Check in is at one end of this long airport and the boarding gate was at the exact opposite walking through a long dark corridor (there is another way, but I followed the check in person's instructions). Think old Franfurt airport with a whole bunch of light globes out. Maybe this is to soften you up for the Duty Free zone which is lit up like a Christmas Tree (and is where I should have gone through security).

The highight of the trip though was the best looking immigration officer I have ever seen. She was Swedish blonde and her uniform top was a size or two too small (if you know what I mean). She was pleasant and a great farewell Sweden image (or so I thought) to be left with.

Unfortunately, unlike every other airport in the world (that I know of anyway) the business class lounge is before immigration, not after. So with close to 3 hours to kill before my flight it was worth going back out through arrivals, explaining to the usual dour incoming immigration officer my logic (she muttered something in Swedish to her team member - probably "bloody tourists"), re-entering security (near the duty free zone this time) and arriving at the lounge. I made a mental note to allow a bit of time to reach my flight at the right time. It was a fair walk to the gate, plus I would no doubt have to explain myself to Britt Ekland's love child at immigration.

Anyway, I'm now back on track.

CA912 ARN - PEK B777 B-2067



As usual, there was hardly any signage to the lounge, just a single sign out the front of the lounge. It was dark and closed-in with no views at all. It was reasonably full and since I don't like taking photos which include other travellers, it was too hard to take a photo of the lounge and its facilities.

There was a small range of cold snacks, wine & beer. Free Wifi (username and passwords handed out by the lounge dragnon) and computer terminals. Interestingly there was a bookshelf with real books, rather than just magazines and newspapers.

The sparkling wine was Charles de Fere Cuvee Jean-Louis Blanc de Blancs Brut which was really quite approachable despite being at room temperature. I noted it was made with Ugni Blanc and "various other grapes" according to the wine maker notes. There was also a South African Semillon Chardonnay (Tokolosh 2010).

Leaving enough time I left the lounge and at immigration chose Britt's queue. She was on autopilot until she recognised me (or my passport, or her stamp inside it) and I explained my earlier plight and she gave me a lovely bemused smile before restamping my passport and waving me through.

Onboard 4 rows of business class was two thirds full. There were 2 rows of first class (in 2-2-2 configuration) with no takers. The first class seats looked like SQ regional business class so it's not surprising it was empty.

Business Class was also 2-2-2 with the least leg-room and least comfortable business class seat I think I've ever had in long-haul business class. Even a shocking TG flight I had about 7 years ago was better. My remote wouldn't retract to its housing, seats were shabby, at least one other was broken and a couple of other business class passengers seem to have been seated apart. The lack of a shell seat meant I got some movement from the person behind me.

Remember this photo is on long-haul business class!



There was a tiny low-tide glass of champagne to get things started. I was so thirsty after my long walk it didn't last long enough for a photo.

I couldn't find a power socket or inflight magazine, just duty free catalogues.

Then it got into the Air China routine, hot towels, menus handed out and orders for all meals and drinks taken while taxiing.





The salmon curry was the spiciest dish I'd eaten in 3 weeks and unfortunately wine service was very slow and english was the worst of any Air China flight I had. When I asked for a glass of the French White, a glass of water promptly arrived accompanied by a smile and a flutter of false eye lashes.

Main meals this time came out with the foil still on top but service was finished 1 hr 35 mins after take-off. The meal however was tasty.



I did my usual trick and ordered a whiskey. Here's what arrived:



There was no AVOD, just 7 video channels with dated selections and a tiny little screen.



Service commenced again at 8:17am Beijing time and was done by 8:37 with still 1 hr 20 mins before landing. Why can't they start it say 60 mins prior to landing? But it was a good hearty breakfast including corn flakes and cold milk:



Beijing pollution started to enter the cabin during descent and coughing started to pick up through the passengers.

Landed at 9:50 at gate at 9:55am - right on time. There wasn't a single announcement from the flight deck and FA english was barely passable. I'd hate to have to rely upon their instructions in an emergency.
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