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TR - Mostly Star Alliance SYD-CPH the long way

TR - Mostly Star Alliance SYD-CPH the long way

Old Dec 14, 2012, 10:16 pm
  #1  
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TR - Mostly Star Alliance SYD-CPH the long way

My last interesting trip was flying solo to Iceland via China. Well not flying solo in the aviation sense, but flying solo as in not having to be dragged in to shoe shops, department stores and jewelry outlets as is the case when I fly with the nagging machine. Relax, she knows I call her this. Well not so much to her face but ... well you get my drift.

The trip report from my last trip is here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...evitation.html

I started to get itchy feet again and planned my next adventure to escape the southern hemisphere winter. Which in Sydney isn't really a winter at all : more like a coolish summer's day anywhere else in the world.

For various reasons that I won't bore you with here the trip didn't get underway until later in the year and I ended up with Mrs Sydunipete as a travelling companion. But more of that later.

The itinerary is as follows:

SYD - BKK TG J class B747/400
BKK - CPH SK Long haul J class A340/300
CPH - CDG SK Europe J class A321
BOD - MXP EasyJet A319/111
LIN - BRU SN Europe economy class Avro RJ100
BRU - CPH SK Europe J class MD81
CPH - BKK SK Long haul J class A340/300
BKK - SYD TG J class B747/400

Having what I call a poorly educated but well practiced palate for wine, a large part of the reason for the trip was to sample some excellent Bordeaux wines. I'll touch on a few of the highlights here (including a 1998 Ch d'Yquem), but most of the wine reviews will be on my wine blog which is here:

http://nicedrop.wordpress.com/

But for now, buckle in and enjoy the trip (report).
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Old Dec 14, 2012, 11:12 pm
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Tg472 syd - bkk 747/400 hs-tgo

At 3 hours before departure there were 3 people in front of us at the Royal Silk line and a much longer economy line. But just a few minutes later we had our boarding passes, luggage tags (booked all the way through to CDG - our final destination some 30 hours down the track), immigration departure cards, an express pass for customs and a stamp on our boarding passes for the Air New Zealand lounge which is near gate 51 from where our flight departs.



We wanted to buy some souvenirs for my Italian family so we set off in search of non-tacky T-shirts, but failed in our quest. There were plenty of T-shirts, it was the non-tacky bit we had difficulty with.

The Air New Zealand lounge was full of noisy Americans, so I tried to find a discrete corner. A short while later there was an announcement that a Delta flight had been cancelled and passengers should go to the gate. A few minutes later the lounge returned to its normal peaceful state.

The food and drink selection was much less than I remember on previous trips. No sparkling mineral water, no champagne. Some warm food, hardly any snacks and horrors of all horrors (for an Australian), the beer was warm!

Later some honey & soy wingettes were brought out. These were actually quite nice, but obviously everybody else in the lounge agreed with this assessment and they didn't last for a second pass.

This aircraft demonstrates the unlevel playing field when commercial operators have to compete with government owned airlines. This aircraft arrives at 8pm the prior evening (as TG471), waits idle until the 16:55 departure the next day. For a passenger, this gives it an excellent on-time record.



Champagne was served on boarding. Hot towel, newspapers and menus provided. Meal choice taken prior to push back 1 minute early at 16:54. Every seat in the upstairs business class cabin was taken.











I hate to sound like an aircraft nerd here, but I will. This was the same aircraft I took 7 years ago on a flight BKK to SYD and it remains to this day the worst ever Business Class flight I have had the displeasure of taking. In my defence I know this because it used to be painted as the Queen's Barge. There was only a single shared projector screen for all of business class and what old fashion recliner seats. Thankfully things have changed : there's shell seating, AVOD (much better selection than SK).

Very useful and well presented Crabtree and Evelyn amenity kit.





Pillows, blankets and noise cancelling headsets were already in place. The seat itself is a little narrow. When I put my elbow down I kept bumping the edge of the shell : overshooting the arm rest. It's also short. When fully extended my feet were still bent at the knees if the foot rest was deployed. (I'm 6'4".)



Shortly after seat belts off, plastic bags containing nuts were distributed followed by a hot savoury snack (beef kebab) which was a good size portion, but just ok to taste. This was followed by the all important drinks trolley and another moist towel.

Main course (for me) was Chicken Pa-naeng Curry which was excellent, followed by Cheese & fruit then cheesecake and coffee. From push back to end of the meal service was 2 hours exactly. About right for a dinner service. Bottled water handed out.



The drinks trolley didn't appear as often as I would have liked it to during the meal but the wines themselves were very good. I can highly recommend the 2010 Chablis 1st Cru Jacques Blanchet. It was dry, minerally and flinty. The 2006 Chateau de Chantegrive was superb with loads of pepper and spice. A miserly portion of Drambui was carefully dribbled in to my glass. It quickly evaporated. It must have been due to the high temperature in the cabin which persisted for about 3 hours until somebody must have found the cold switch. Either that or the Captain must have wound down the window. Then it got much more comfortable.

I couldn't really get comfortable in the seat. But I did watch Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Three Stooges remake.

The toilets were clean and well stocked.





Sorry about the lack of photos. Having a copilot does tend to cramp my style a bit.

The second meal was a single tray service : fruit, prawns & noodles plus chocolates. Tea, coffee and drinks offered. It was all packed away with an hour to go.

Landed at 22:04 after a brief holding pattern (about 15 mins early) and doors open at 22:10. Economy and business both scrambled for the doors together.

But all in all, Thai lived up to their promise "Smooth as Silk". The entertainment system is good (very nearly as good as SQ), but for me at least, the seat needs a bit of work.

Last edited by sydunipete; Jan 13, 2014 at 2:09 pm
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Old Dec 14, 2012, 11:47 pm
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nice start, looking forward to the rest.
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Old Dec 15, 2012, 7:44 pm
  #4  
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SK972 BKK - CPH A340-313 OY-KBA Business Class

Well if anybody can work out the Thai Airlines network of lounges in the new airport, please let me know. For this transfer the SK flight was departing from D3 so we went to the D concourse lounge.

The lounge was 100% full, in the same sense that a tin of smoked sardines is full. We had to hover over a leaving couple so we could get two seats close to each other. There was some limited hot food and drinks. The WiFi was badly overburdoned and wasn't useful so it was almost a relief when boarding started 35 mins prior to departure. Priority boarding was available, but it wasn't required. I counted only about 70 people in the gate area when boarding commenced. It must have been a light load and boarding was completed 17 mins prior to departure.

Unlike the TG flight where everything was already in your seat, only a pillow was prepositioned on the SK seats. Inflight magazines and water were tucked away in the seat back in front. FA took my coat from the seat hook and stored it for the flight.

Seating a little more spacious (and I was later to find more comfortable) than the Thai flight. The screen was slightly smaller and the movie selection much less generous. Business class 100% full.

No drinks at all offered pre-departure. There had been some discussion in these forums about SK eliminating pre-departure champagne from business class flights starting 1 October 2012. These guys definitely got the memo and took it to the nth degree.



Push back at 00:25 (5 mins early) and take off at 00:45. It seemed liked a very long, slow roll and a painstakingly slow climb. The A340 seemed to fight for every metre of altitude.

Slippers, an amenity kit and headsets handed out and passengers were asked if they wanted to be woken for breakfast. On this flight the amenity kit bag was some cheap blue felt looking thing. Absolutely impractical for any use after the flight.

Headphones were not wrap around, nor were they noise cancelling. For a late night departure it was a slow start to the service. The hot towels were threadbare. The wine list was the highlight though. Chosen by Oz Clarke there was a champagne (2006 Henriot) and a fabulous Sauternes but otherwise wines were from Italy and South America. But all very good. Despite the hour I did manage to sample each of them. Just for the academic experience and so I could write about it for you dear readers you understand.









The Syrah was excellent, but the choice of movies, like the hot towel, was thread bare. I was reduced to watching Rock of Ages.

Entree was served still wrapped in plastic, but it was delicious.



In line with those SK cutbacks, pepper and salt were in paper sachets rather than china dispensers. And of course there was no red peg.

The veal main course was dry and tough, but the bread roll was great and the personality of the FA's came through far more than on the TG flight. Mains were chosen from a trolley stacked with each available dish. This may be practical but is less restaurant like than choosing from a menu.

After the slow start to the meal service, the wine service picked up substantially, far more generous than Thai. No matter what this seat feels like I'm going to sleep on this flight!

Haagen Daas ice cream to cap it off. The FAs worked hard through out the service and despite the slow start the meal service was finished 2 hours after take off.

Seat much more comfortable for me than the Thai seat. Snacks an drinks available through the night. The toilet isn't as big as I remember a few years back. Have these been refitted?

Breakfast started 1 hr 45 mins from landing. Cold Orange Juice then a hot towel (but again paper thin). Then a substantial cold breakfast (fruit, cold meat, bread, yoghurt and cheese) then a hot breakfast for those still with room for more and the gluttens amongst us. I was in the latter category, and it was good. All was done an hour prior to landing.

FA's coordinated service along each aisle perfectly and changed uniforms several times. I think each had 4 uniforms during the course of the flight.

Sunrise just started to catch up with us prior to descent into CPH. Landed at 0618 - but it was still pitch black at ground level. Gate C120 at 0625. 15 mins ahead of schedule.

Economy held back until business had disembarked (unlike the Thai flight).

Last edited by sydunipete; Jan 13, 2014 at 2:10 pm
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Old Dec 15, 2012, 8:11 pm
  #5  
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Sk565 cph - cdg a321-232 oy-kbh

I love CPH airport. It's fairly small, easy to transit through, pretty with its dark timber floors, just enough shops and pretty blonde girls everywhere. Sorry, I didn't mean that. And a scandinavian feel to the place. That's better.

The was a single guy at security who must have been pretty bored. He dutifully stamped our passports with hardly looking at us.

We went to the SK Business Class lounge and swapped our boarding pass for a key to the showers. As discussed in another Flyertalk forum they were readily available, spacious, clean and well equipped with towels, razer, toothbrush (but no comb). After the shower I started to feel human again after close to 24 hours flying.

The lounge then started to fill up quickly. WiFi worked well, but was slow. I couldn't get email from my iPhone. Could it just be for browsing?



Went to gate B3. The A321 looks pretty full. Boarding started 5 mins late from a cramped and stuffy gate lounge with people standing shoulder to shoulder. Boarding complete 0810 and departure due 0820.

Business Class was 6 seats with 5 passengers. A passenger from Economy decided to try and bluff his way in to business class. Because the flight was crowded the FA's permitted him to stay there but gave him short shrift otherwise.

During the announcement the front toilet was described as "mainly" for the use of business class and Economy Extra passengers. Which really means it's open slather.

Magazines offered to business class passengers (but not the interloper). The nose wheel camera provided a good view forward during takeoff, then it switched to a downward view.

Hot breakfast for business class, cold for economy extra and everybody else can buy sandwiches. Tea and coffee free for all. The cooked breakfast was excellent. As good a meal as I've had on a plane. Mushroom omelette with a peppery taste, mushroom, bacon, bread roll, fruit, yoghurt, juice, tea, coffee, cheese, ham and half a boiled egg. Phew. What a meal. It would keep us going until dinner in Paris.



With all the SK long haul cutbacks, I was surprised to find that this meal came with a red peg securing the napkin. I would have gladly traded the red peg for just a little more leg room.



Beautiful views as we tracked over Amsterdam, Brussels then in to Paris. Attentive service and all cleared away with 1 hour 5 mins remaining. The closer we got to Paris, the worse the weather got. Grey skies set it and the highlight from this stage was Looney Tunes on the TV. Road Runner, Coyote etc.



Landed 1005, Gate 1013 (Terminal 1), Bags 1054. I'm not sure where terminal 1 gets its baggage handlers from. Maybe the architect is being punished, for building such a concrete monstrosity with an amazing web of escalators inside, by handling baggage for the rest of his natural born days. Or maybe it was just the marathon trek from aircraft to carousel that caused a rather long wait.

As a reward dear reader for staying with me so far, I'm going to offer a few tips about Paris:

1) Get out of it. There are plenty of wonderful day trips. The Champagne region is heaven on a stick - and the local produce isn't bad either.

2) You must (absolutely must) have lunch at La Tour d'Argent restaurant. At night it is obscenely expensive, but at lunch 68 Euro will buy you a menu dejeneur that will leave you astounded. The wines, service and the view are equally impressive. I believe you must book months in advance (I did) and I would absolutely recommend it.

3) After lunch at La Tour d'Argent, walk across the bridge to Ile Saint-Louis where you can still buy non-tacky souviners and the original Berthillon ice cream shop. You wont be able to fit any in after that lunch, but it's good to know it's here.

We then caught the train to Bordeaux for a week or fantastic food and amazing wines. If anyone asks I can write a bit about that part of the trip.

Last edited by sydunipete; Jan 13, 2014 at 2:12 pm
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Old Dec 15, 2012, 8:58 pm
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If this is the long way, then what's the short way?

JK. Good start, look forward to the rest!
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Old Dec 15, 2012, 10:57 pm
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Originally Posted by amolkold
If this is the long way, then what's the short way?
Yeah, I know. I struggled with the title. In my defence, there's a fair bit of running around before I get back to CPH for the trip home.

Perhaps "A Star Alliance comparison" might be a better title as the trip covers 3 Star Alliance carriers, different classes, paid for and reward seats. (The reward seats cost me more in taxes than the entire EasyJet itinerary.)

What about "a bottle a day keeps the taxman at bay"? At the end of the trip I'll describe my trauma associated with importing a dozen bottles of Bordeaux wine. I shudder to think what the total cost per bottle is, so I've purposely not got out the calculator.

Or just "a different itinerary". When I travel alone I usually visit more interesting places (eg Iceland) and get to sample restaurants, bars, nightlife etc. This trip with the better half I got to sample shoe shops, department stores and jewelry outlets (more than those joyous experiences later).

Regardless, I hope it's a bit of fun and you enjoy the trip.
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Old Dec 17, 2012, 1:44 am
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Bordeaux

I know it's not a flight, more of those soon.

But Bordeaux was a fantastic holiday destination. I talked before about my itineraries being those of bars (I'll be back San Francisco), Restaurants and night spots (New York, New York), but travelling this time with the other half the itinerary covered every shoe shop in Bordeaux, and not a bad attempt at covering every shoe shop in Paris. In Paris we saw Pandora (if you don't know what Pandora is then I bet you don't have daughters) who make an Eiffel Tower charm. We thought this would be a good gift for our daughters so sought o bought 2. Unfortunately they are new and hence out of stock. So I think we DID visit every Pandora outlet in Paris and definitely DID visit every Pandora outlet in Bordeaux.


I can recommend a couple of fine restaurants in Bordeaux that went a fair way to compensate for the shopping outings. La Tupina (the restaurant, not the cafe) does the best Foie Gra Poelete that one can imagine and the wine list was the most amazing I've seen outside of Paris. I enjoyed a 1962 Armagnac with dessert. 1962 being a very fine year for Armagnac and people. (or so say I).

Le Chapon Fin is a Michelin star restaurant. If you live in Sydney and know of the Blue Grotto you will know the tacky concrete facade intended to look like a grotto, but instead looks like a mad man's attempt to make something of chicken wire and old concrete. Well Le Chapon Fin has the same thing inside, but for some reason, in this corner of France it doesn't look tacky.

Speaking of tacking, the name Le Chapon Fin sounds sort of classy (especially when said with a french accent), in english in means the chook with its balls cut off. The French do have a way with words.

But the highlight of the meal was a bottle of 1998 Chateaux d'Yquem. It went well with Foie Gras Poelete and even managed to cope with a rich chocolare dessert. This is the most amazing wine.

This was our last night in Bordeax and tomorrow was a flight from the cut priced Billi terminal in Bordeaux to visit my family in Italy. So the next part of this trip report covered the only direct flight between Bordeaux and Milano - EasyJet. Stand by,
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Old Dec 17, 2012, 9:34 am
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Great TR!
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Old Dec 17, 2012, 10:34 am
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Originally Posted by sydunipete
The Air New Zealand lounge was full of noisy Americans, so I tried to find a discrete corner.
Hm. Have to say I'm not a big fan of nationality bashing on FT, but nice report otherwise.

Last edited by zcat18; Dec 17, 2012 at 10:39 am
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Old Dec 17, 2012, 7:26 pm
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Loudness...

Originally Posted by zcat18
Hm. Have to say I'm not a big fan of nationality bashing on FT, but nice report otherwise.
There is a saying in almost every language that goes something like
"You can not hear when you talk"..So if you are an American you may not
know what they sound like to others

F.A.
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Old Dec 18, 2012, 11:45 pm
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Originally Posted by zcat18
Hm. Have to say I'm not a big fan of nationality bashing on FT, but nice report otherwise.
I think we've had a disconnect. The meaning of what I wrote was intended as Americans who happened to be noisy, rather than the stereotypical view of "noisy Americans".

I made the point because they were unusually noisy and the mystery was solved when the cancelled flight announcement was made. I suspect they had been waiting quite a while, probably got a few delay announcements, sampled the liquid refreshments of the lounge to fill in the time and shared their frustrations with others before the final announcement.

I hope you continue to enjoy the report.
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Old Dec 19, 2012, 12:17 am
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Ez2756 bod - mxp a319-111 g-ezbg

After a wonderful week in Bordeaux it was time to visit my family in the North of Italy. I originally intended to use some Star Alliance points for this leg, but there were very few options available. From memory there was only TAP Portugal serving Bordeaux and that flight was in the evening necessitating an overnight stay. The rewards ticket was going to cost me so much in taxes and charges anyway and EasyJet had a direct flight at very reasonable prices - even when you add all the little extras as you go through the booking process. It mad a whole lot of sense.

I'd seen the TV shows about EasyJet and similar LCC so I knew to be careful about arriving early, checking my luggage (especially after all that shoe shopping my wife did in France) and not expecting too much. And I guess I got pretty much what I expected.

EasyJet departs from the Bordeaux Billi terminal which is purpose built for LCC.



The public area of the terminal is sparse with 3 check in areas for different flights. There's nothing to do in the public space except sit on one of the chairs or check in. Each check-in desk had EasyJet "Speedy Boarding" and normal. Both queues opened a few minutes before the advertised opening time and moved quickly.

The check in agent tagged our bags and gave them back to use to wheel to another agent standing at the start of a conveyor belt. She checked for any loose items on the outside of the bag and I presume for any damage.

Keep walking around a roped off area to the security entrance which was quite strict. On the other side was a duty free store, a cafe, ample seating, an internet kiosk, toilets even bean bags to relax. There was no Wi Fi.

This is when the cattle like experience of EasyJet really began. There was no allocated seating, but I believe this has now changed and that's got to be a good thing.

First they show the flight on the monitors without a gate number. As soon as the gate number appeared there was a rush for the gate. This was 12:10pm. At this stage there was a strict check of carry on bags for size and quantity and a few people ended up having the repack bags.

You then stand in a very small gate area in what is really just a large shed. There were very few seats. Those queued in the speedy boarding had it a little easier as there was a window ledge they could rest upon.

The door to the ramp opened at 12:30. First for speedy boarders then all the others (including us). There wasn't the expected fight to get a seat. We were right near the front of the queue, and in the end the flight was about 2/3rd full. All were on board by 12:35.

We all waited without aircon or announcements or other welcome until 12:59.

During this time I read the duty free catalog and food menu, which was reasonably priced for an airline. There was a snack pack for 7.50 Euro and sandwiches for 5 Euro.

Finally a very rushed announcement from the flight deck in English then a French pre-recorded safety explanation (no demo). A welcome from the purser in Italian and English. Then a pre-recorded safety demonstration in very slow and deliberate English.

The crew seemed to be Italian based. There was no recline on the seats and limited leg room.



Finally take-off at 13:11. So we pretty well had been standing or sitting for EasyJet's convenience rather than ours for an hour. But I'm not complaining - the price and the convenience of a direct flight made it worthwhile.

Take-off to the South then a left turn providing the left side of the aircraft with great views of Bordeaux township. The snack services was offered. The sandwich was a little dry, but not bad. Then a garbage run.

Interestingly they also offered tickets for the Malpensa shuttle (the bus from the airport to Milano) for 11 Euro. There's two points to make. 1) they cost 7.50 Euro on the bus and 2) the bus can be a painstakingly slow journey particularly in the morning peak. I've spent 3 hours on that bus a while back. The train is easier and much more reliable.

Good views of the Swiss alps despite clouds.



Landed at 2:13pm, Terminal 2 at 2:16 and luggage at 2:40 which was all about 25 minutes early.

Terminal 2 is a cut price terminal. Although the Malpensa Shuttle (bus) leaves from here, all the other services are at Terminal 1. There is a free shuttle bus between the two which is advertised as running every 20 minutes. Of course we just missed one by seconds, but fortunately the next one came in just 5 or 10 mins.

Thanks to our early flight arrival we managed to get an earlier train from the airport to Milano, then onwards to Lake Como.
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 10:13 pm
  #14  
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Sn3150 lin - bru rj100 oo-dwc

After a week in the north of Italy (my grandfather was born in the Valtellina before emmigrating to Australia) it was time to continue our holiday. It was a sad moment to leave the family and it brought tears to my eyes. No, that was just the impact of the pollution as my uncle drove us to Linate airport. On all previous occasions I have used Malpensa but Linate is easier for him to drive to / from and it had the best redemption options for Star Alliance to Brussels. But the smog was something else. It reminded me of China one year earlier.

My Singapore Airlines points, so carefully hoarded and measured over the last year or two were quickly snapped up by the computer and in exchange for a king's ransom in taxes, fuel allowance, duties, airline captains annual ball contribution and all the other things they hit you for - surely it would have been cheaper just to buy a ticket. But no - I wanted to use the points.

Wiping the pollution induced tears from my eyes we entered Linate airport and checkin was just about to open 2 hours and 20 mins prior to scheduled departure. Linate is a small airport and quite crowded. But it certainly is convenient to the centre of Milano.

Brussels Airlines has it's own terminology for fare types which wasn't reflected on my e-ticket. My redemption ticket translated to B-Flex (which I only found out after waiting in the non-B-flex line). It also gave one access to fast lane rights through security. But it wouldn't have made any difference as it was painless.

The check-in agent commented to her colleague that she thought the Australian passports were beautiful. I should have asked her why - because they are the same as every other passport - a solid colour cover with a crest on the front. I guess there is an emu and a kangaroo which could be considered cute. I just like the passport because it lets me go to interesting places.

Downstairs the air conditioning wasn't keeping up with the crowds and the unseasonally warm weather. There were lots of business travellers in suits which is to be expected for a city airport. Unfortunately our gate was directly opposite a smoking room. This inside of which closely matched the outside smog.

2 beers for 9 Euro - which is also to be expected for a city airport unfortunately. There were a few bars to choose from and a reasonable collection of shops. Wi-Fi was free for 15 mins which thankfully didn't include the long and complex logon process with Via Milano.

For an 1850 flight, boarding started at 1815 by bus and we were onboard at 1830 but not after one final display of fine Italian driving. Our airport bus driver had a disagreement with with another bus driver who cut him off. Now my Italian is pretty good, but I intentionally haven't learnt any rude words in case I use them in front of my family. So I guess the reason I couldn't understand what our driver was yelling was because he was using words I had not yet learnt. His gesticulation was right out of the Italian driver's manual though. Full marks there.

Entertainment over, we boarded the plane and took our seats at 4A&C. This plane has a 2 - 3 configuration A,C then D,E,F) so we were next to each other. There was one row of Euro business. Newspapers were offered to B-flex passengers and the flight was less than 50% full.

There was an announcement to turn off mobile phones in English, French and I presume Flemish. Passengers seem to be a mix of Italian and French speaking. Then followed a welcome announcement in French, Flemish (I presume) and English. Followed by a recorded Italian announcement.

We started to roll 10 minutes early and there was 1 hour 20 minutes flying time. Take off was to the North and not too long later a very quick dinner and drink service offered a hot pizza in a box which I thought was pretty good. The Italian group behind me agreed it was buona.





I had my first Belgian beer of the trip which was followed by coffee then a rubbish run. All was done by 1925.



The inflight magazine called B-Flex "The best economy in Europe". Based on this flight it's hard to argue. Flight deck announcements were in English only.

Shortly before descent a chocolate was handed out - but we got to keep the wrappers as there was no final rubbish run.

Landed 2008, Gate 2015 with quite a hard stop (maybe just to prove the point that you should keep your safety belt fastened until the light goes out, or maybe the ground crew needed the luggage at the front of the plane).

We were a bit early which pleased a few people with tight connections but at the end of the jetway nobody told the ground staff we were here. So picture a jetway full of incoming passengers, the first few of which were banging on the doors trying to get somebody's attention. Luggage retrieved at 2032 and after a depressingly quiet and wet drive through Brussels we reached our hotel at 2105.
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Old Jan 1, 2013, 2:50 pm
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Sk2590 bru - cph md82 oy-khe

Now, where were we? (Sorry for the delay in posting : Christmas and New Year sort of got in the way.)

I actually quite liked Belgium. But then again I like beer and I like chocolate, so the odds were always good. Except those crazy Belgians get things a bit mixed up and mix beer with chocolate, beer with cherry and beer with just about anything else that isn't nailed down.

Brussels was a very easy city to get around. It seems to have been built on the only hill in all of Belgium / Holland. It has that European street layout reminiscent of a spider web created by a spider tripping on LSD.

And, as attractive as it is, my travel advice in Brussels (like Paris) is get out of it. Withing 2 hours on an excellent train network, or buses, you can be in Ieper for sobering World War I battlefields, Bruges (surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world), Amsterdam (IMHO the marijuana cafes have given the city a very downmarket facade) and I'm sure many other equally interesting places - but time didn't permit.

When we arrived at the airport there was no queue at check in so this was effortless. It was quite a walk from check in to security though. SAS has its own lounge in a cluster of airline lounges and offered several beers and a pretty average Bordeaux Red. Quite typical of Belgium. No nibblies, just biscuits, bread rolls, salad, cold meat and cheese.

Toilets were ok. It was a reasonably busy lounge but enough space for all. 1 hr of WiFi was provided free of charge and was hassle free to connect. The lounge provided a short walk to gate A47 where our BD82 was waiting painted in Star Alliance colours.

Newspapers were available on boarding, but not handed out to business class. Boarding was due at 19:55 but started a few minutes late. Door closed at 20:25 for a 20:40 due departure. 2-3 seating configuration with 1 row of business class with the middle of the 3 kept free. Cushions on business class seats, but not economy Extra. Aircraft was 100% full. An unaccompanied minor was given one of the spare seats in Business Class. Take off at 20:35.

Meal service began promptly. Cold chicken and pasta - which was more tasty than it sounds. Cheese, chocolate and a warm bread roll. Paul Mas red wine was provided as part of the very fast and efficient service. The galley curtain was then drawn which made it hard to signal for fresh bottles of wine. It still managed to get through 3 mini bottles without raising a sweat.

Economy extra passengers got a Euro box.

There were red pegs on both SK short haul flights this trip (see notes elsewhere about cost cutting by SK where red pegs are no longer provided on long haul business class flights).

Landed at 21:42. Gate B5 at 21:46 and luggage was ready after a short 5 minute wait and we were in the wonderful Hilton Copenhagen airport about 5 minutes after that.

Sorry for the lack of photos.
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