TR - Mostly Star Alliance SYD-CPH the long way
Jan 4, 2013, 9:59 pm
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Gold, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Sk973 cph - bkk a340-300 oy-kbc
As I said earlier in this entry, I love transiting at CPH. I can usually justify a 24 hour layover to stay at the fantastic Hilton Airport Hotel, catch the metro in to town (for 36 DKK = about $5.50), do a cruise of the waterways and grab a beer and a bite at New Haven.
Being Hilton Gold I was upgraded to an Executive Room which provided a great view over the workings of the airport. The morning was -1 degree, so we watch a few planes get de-iced and commuters in the car park scrape ice from their frozen cars.
We checked in before heading in to town. One great thing about SAS Scandinavian and CPH is they let you check in 24 hours prior to departure. So with our bags taken care of and boarding passes tucked away, we headed to the metro for a pleasant (but cold) day out. The check-in agent was very pleasant and engaged us in some idle chatter while processing our bags which by this time were stuffed with the shopping resulting from 4 weeks in Europe.
We returned to the airport after dinner expecting to kill some time perusing the airport shops. However, be aware that almost all the stores close at 8pm. So instead we went to the lounge and were told the downstairs part was closing (I think downstairs is the business section and upstairs is the Star Alliance Gold Section). It was only 7pm!
Given I had only been in the downstairs section before I was looking forward to spotting the differences. But what a disappointment. Cold salads were available, pretzels, fruit, several beers, 3 bad wines and soft drinks. I prefer downstairs. I had to be satisfied just using the shoe polishing machine and sitting by the gas fire.
Here are the quiet sleep rooms which I believe are readily available. There was plenty of seating and computers. WiFi was good.
Boarding was called at 22:00 so we went to the gate which was crowded and stuffy with nowhere near enough seating. So we stood until we were onboard at 22:20.
Cranberry, orange juice and water offered. In-line with SK's new cost cutting, no champagne was offered on boarding. Business class 100% full. I counted over 200 pax at the gate so I assume the whole flight was full or close to it.
Judging by some smiles on passengers after being called on the PA it looks there there were a few upgrades. Cabin temperature set quite warm and push back at 22:42. Take off at 22:55. The captain informed us of a strong jet stream that may cause turbulence resulting in a delayed service.
Service began (and continued) in a synchronised, symmetrical and systematic way.
The duck entree was served still covered in its wrap.
The South American white was very good and the Pork main meal was one of the best airline meals I have eaten. The Sautern was a wonderful end to the meal which was accompanied with a tub of vanilla ice cream.
Flight data was not set correctly on the IFE system, so it became useless and there was the same old limited selection of movies. The highlight was watching :What to Expect When You're Expecting". I don't normally get big belly laughs from US comedies, but this was hilarious.
I then slept for 6 hours before breakfast was served when it was noon outside. Window shades started to open around the cabin providing bright sunshine and views over India near Calcutta.
Breakfast was served with processed fruit rather than fresh.
The amenity kit on this trip was in a much more functional bag than the one provided inboard to Copenhagen.
The real highlight of the flight though was a particular FA. For the first time I've actually written to an airline passing on my compliments. She was bubbly, engaging and a smile that lit up the cabin. This FA turned a normal flight in to a most memorable one.
We landed at 1409, Gate at 1415, joined the immigration queue at 1427, luggage at 1443 and in a limo by 1453. We reached our hotel (Hilton Bangkok Millenium) at 1522. (It was Sunday.)
Being Hilton Gold I was upgraded to an Executive Room which provided a great view over the workings of the airport. The morning was -1 degree, so we watch a few planes get de-iced and commuters in the car park scrape ice from their frozen cars.
We checked in before heading in to town. One great thing about SAS Scandinavian and CPH is they let you check in 24 hours prior to departure. So with our bags taken care of and boarding passes tucked away, we headed to the metro for a pleasant (but cold) day out. The check-in agent was very pleasant and engaged us in some idle chatter while processing our bags which by this time were stuffed with the shopping resulting from 4 weeks in Europe.
We returned to the airport after dinner expecting to kill some time perusing the airport shops. However, be aware that almost all the stores close at 8pm. So instead we went to the lounge and were told the downstairs part was closing (I think downstairs is the business section and upstairs is the Star Alliance Gold Section). It was only 7pm!
Given I had only been in the downstairs section before I was looking forward to spotting the differences. But what a disappointment. Cold salads were available, pretzels, fruit, several beers, 3 bad wines and soft drinks. I prefer downstairs. I had to be satisfied just using the shoe polishing machine and sitting by the gas fire.
Here are the quiet sleep rooms which I believe are readily available. There was plenty of seating and computers. WiFi was good.
Boarding was called at 22:00 so we went to the gate which was crowded and stuffy with nowhere near enough seating. So we stood until we were onboard at 22:20.
Cranberry, orange juice and water offered. In-line with SK's new cost cutting, no champagne was offered on boarding. Business class 100% full. I counted over 200 pax at the gate so I assume the whole flight was full or close to it.
Judging by some smiles on passengers after being called on the PA it looks there there were a few upgrades. Cabin temperature set quite warm and push back at 22:42. Take off at 22:55. The captain informed us of a strong jet stream that may cause turbulence resulting in a delayed service.
Service began (and continued) in a synchronised, symmetrical and systematic way.
The duck entree was served still covered in its wrap.
The South American white was very good and the Pork main meal was one of the best airline meals I have eaten. The Sautern was a wonderful end to the meal which was accompanied with a tub of vanilla ice cream.
Flight data was not set correctly on the IFE system, so it became useless and there was the same old limited selection of movies. The highlight was watching :What to Expect When You're Expecting". I don't normally get big belly laughs from US comedies, but this was hilarious.
I then slept for 6 hours before breakfast was served when it was noon outside. Window shades started to open around the cabin providing bright sunshine and views over India near Calcutta.
Breakfast was served with processed fruit rather than fresh.
The amenity kit on this trip was in a much more functional bag than the one provided inboard to Copenhagen.
The real highlight of the flight though was a particular FA. For the first time I've actually written to an airline passing on my compliments. She was bubbly, engaging and a smile that lit up the cabin. This FA turned a normal flight in to a most memorable one.
We landed at 1409, Gate at 1415, joined the immigration queue at 1427, luggage at 1443 and in a limo by 1453. We reached our hotel (Hilton Bangkok Millenium) at 1522. (It was Sunday.)
Jan 6, 2013, 9:19 pm
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Gold, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Tg475 bkk - syd 747/400 hs-tgw
We arrived at the airport via taxi at 1515 (for an 1820 flight). Mrs sydunipete didn't quite enjoy Bangkok as much as I did (and always do). Despite finding a fantastic restaurant that I can highly recommend (Basil) she was keen to make our escape.
We found our way to the business class checkin, which I must say isn't terribly well marked. From memory the sign pointed to business class domestic. Regardless, we found it and sat on the nice stools available at the checkin desk.
Following checking formalities we were shown to dedicated security and emmigration gates. Rock star treatment made even better by the 30 min massage available to TG business class customers. It was a bit of a hike from the check in area, but once at the spa there was only a 10 minute wait.
If you do this, under no circumstances then go to the lounge opposite the spa. It's the one we used when transiting on the outward journey. Go back to the royal silk lounge between D8 and E concourse on Level 3. There are two lounges to choose from one marked Royal Silk and the other Royal Orchid. I asked at the desk what the difference was between the two and I was told they were the same but Royal Silk is bigger.
The lounge provided good views of D1-D8 gates including out HS-TGW painted in Star Alliance colours.
This lounge also provided the best selection of food I've seen in a lounge for many years including soup, thai red curry chicken, dumplings, several varieties of pork bun, sweet stuff, vegetarian and halal options. To wash it down there was beer, soft drinks and spirits, but no wine. The only real let down. There was plenty of space, not too crowded and the WiFi worked well.
There is a trap for the unwary. There is a last minute bag search just at the entrance to the gate looking for liquids over 100mL. We were told at duty free that we weren't able to buy more than 100mL, but because we had already been through security and there was no permanent inspection station at the gate I was tempted to give it a go and buy the cosmetics anyway. Lucky I didn't. Moral of the story is don't be a smarty-pants and trust what the duty free people say.
1740 is the advertised boarding time for this 1820 flight. Boarding actually commenced shortly before 1800 and upstairs was fully loaded 10 minutes after that. Priority boarding was organised.
Onboard : pillows, blankets, headphones and amenity kits already in the seat. Hot towels handed out then newspapers & magazines then champagne or orange juice. Noisy seat motors were most apparent. Upstairs business class 100% full.
This time no menu was handed out, just one hand written note handed out by the FA who came around taking orders. There were 5 choices available including a mix of Asian and Western. Breakfast was chosen without even the benefit of a handwritten list.
1825 (5 minutes after scheduled departure) the captain announced we were waiting on transit baggage causing a 10 - 15 minute delay, but that we should still arrive on time.
The safety briefing was pretty average, spoken on the PA with long gaps. The FA doing the demo upstairs looked worried. Not a good look! As soon as the late contained was loaded push back commenced about 20 minutes late. Champagne glasses were removed but cabin was not prepared fully for take off. Front row had TV screens deployed, I saw hot towels and judging by the sound of seat motors not everybody was in the upright position. During taxi, seats continued to be repositioned and cabin luggage bins were opened.
Take off at 1855 and seat belt sign turned off 6 minutes after that.
The wines were :
2010 Jacques Blanchet Chablis de Cru
Cotes di Nuites-Villages
Chateaux La Branne Medoc Cru Borgoise
After the meal service there was only about 4 hours for sleep before breakfast was served 1 hour 50 mins prior to landing. Dinner wasn't bad. Cold meat entree then a tasty chilli chicken and rice dish then cheese & fruit before a cheesecake dessert.
One advantage of travelling with Mrs sydunipete is I sometimes get two desserts. The cheesecake was good.
Immigration cards and good quality hot towels distributed.
As soon as the lights were on, breakfast was promptly served. Just a plain egg omelette, spinach, mushrooms and sausage.
Nothing really special except for the fruit which was intricately carved.
Breakfast was all cleared away with an hour to go. Purser came to upper deck to say hello to each passenger.
Very smooth landing at 0735 and gate at 0740. The whole flight was "as smooth as silk". Even with duty free shopping we were in a taxi by 0817 partly thanks to the express path voucher.
We found our way to the business class checkin, which I must say isn't terribly well marked. From memory the sign pointed to business class domestic. Regardless, we found it and sat on the nice stools available at the checkin desk.
Following checking formalities we were shown to dedicated security and emmigration gates. Rock star treatment made even better by the 30 min massage available to TG business class customers. It was a bit of a hike from the check in area, but once at the spa there was only a 10 minute wait.
If you do this, under no circumstances then go to the lounge opposite the spa. It's the one we used when transiting on the outward journey. Go back to the royal silk lounge between D8 and E concourse on Level 3. There are two lounges to choose from one marked Royal Silk and the other Royal Orchid. I asked at the desk what the difference was between the two and I was told they were the same but Royal Silk is bigger.
The lounge provided good views of D1-D8 gates including out HS-TGW painted in Star Alliance colours.
This lounge also provided the best selection of food I've seen in a lounge for many years including soup, thai red curry chicken, dumplings, several varieties of pork bun, sweet stuff, vegetarian and halal options. To wash it down there was beer, soft drinks and spirits, but no wine. The only real let down. There was plenty of space, not too crowded and the WiFi worked well.
There is a trap for the unwary. There is a last minute bag search just at the entrance to the gate looking for liquids over 100mL. We were told at duty free that we weren't able to buy more than 100mL, but because we had already been through security and there was no permanent inspection station at the gate I was tempted to give it a go and buy the cosmetics anyway. Lucky I didn't. Moral of the story is don't be a smarty-pants and trust what the duty free people say.
1740 is the advertised boarding time for this 1820 flight. Boarding actually commenced shortly before 1800 and upstairs was fully loaded 10 minutes after that. Priority boarding was organised.
Onboard : pillows, blankets, headphones and amenity kits already in the seat. Hot towels handed out then newspapers & magazines then champagne or orange juice. Noisy seat motors were most apparent. Upstairs business class 100% full.
This time no menu was handed out, just one hand written note handed out by the FA who came around taking orders. There were 5 choices available including a mix of Asian and Western. Breakfast was chosen without even the benefit of a handwritten list.
1825 (5 minutes after scheduled departure) the captain announced we were waiting on transit baggage causing a 10 - 15 minute delay, but that we should still arrive on time.
The safety briefing was pretty average, spoken on the PA with long gaps. The FA doing the demo upstairs looked worried. Not a good look! As soon as the late contained was loaded push back commenced about 20 minutes late. Champagne glasses were removed but cabin was not prepared fully for take off. Front row had TV screens deployed, I saw hot towels and judging by the sound of seat motors not everybody was in the upright position. During taxi, seats continued to be repositioned and cabin luggage bins were opened.
Take off at 1855 and seat belt sign turned off 6 minutes after that.
The wines were :
2010 Jacques Blanchet Chablis de Cru
Cotes di Nuites-Villages
Chateaux La Branne Medoc Cru Borgoise
After the meal service there was only about 4 hours for sleep before breakfast was served 1 hour 50 mins prior to landing. Dinner wasn't bad. Cold meat entree then a tasty chilli chicken and rice dish then cheese & fruit before a cheesecake dessert.
One advantage of travelling with Mrs sydunipete is I sometimes get two desserts. The cheesecake was good.
Immigration cards and good quality hot towels distributed.
As soon as the lights were on, breakfast was promptly served. Just a plain egg omelette, spinach, mushrooms and sausage.
Nothing really special except for the fruit which was intricately carved.
Breakfast was all cleared away with an hour to go. Purser came to upper deck to say hello to each passenger.
Very smooth landing at 0735 and gate at 0740. The whole flight was "as smooth as silk". Even with duty free shopping we were in a taxi by 0817 partly thanks to the express path voucher.
Last edited by sydunipete; Jan 13, 2014 at 2:07 pm
Jan 6, 2013, 10:32 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Gold, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
We saw some fantastic sites, ate too much, drank too much. All-in-all just what you are supposed to do on holiday.
One of the strangest things we saw though was the Maeklong Train Market in Thailand where stall holders use the railway line to setup their stalls. Each time a train passes, they have to pack up their stalls, wait for it to pass inches away, then setup their stalls all over again. They do this several times a day.
I've uploaded the video to YouTube and it's pretty amazing. A word of warning to the squeamish. Some of the things they sell at the market aren't your everyday shrink wrapped supermarkets good. I think I've edited out the frogs, but the live catfish are still there.
Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXvaz...ature=youtu.be
One of the strangest things we saw though was the Maeklong Train Market in Thailand where stall holders use the railway line to setup their stalls. Each time a train passes, they have to pack up their stalls, wait for it to pass inches away, then setup their stalls all over again. They do this several times a day.
I've uploaded the video to YouTube and it's pretty amazing. A word of warning to the squeamish. Some of the things they sell at the market aren't your everyday shrink wrapped supermarkets good. I think I've edited out the frogs, but the live catfish are still there.
Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXvaz...ature=youtu.be