Soon after I returned to the FCL at midday, it was time for my 12:20 limo to the E-gates for boarding. Escorted by a member of ground staff, three other passengers and I took the lift down to the basement level, where there was a very compact arrangement of x-ray machine, metal detector and a passport control desk. The way it was arranged in such a small scale really made it feel like a private jet terminal, and the small group of us were processed quickly.

The four of us, all headed to LAX, got on the Mercedes van which was reasonably spacious inside with nice and comfortable leather seats. A female ground agent took the driver's seat and drove the van through the maze of behind-the-scenes terminal floor, into an underground tunnel and back outside, then parked next to an entrance into the E-gates. (No jokes about female drivers please - she didn't get lost or dent the van while parking!) Once inside, she escorted us to another private security check - I later found out that the secondary screening is unique to USA-bound departures. Since it was another deserted lane, the four of us went through very quickly and went up to the departures floor. The whole experience from the FCL to the E-gates was very smooth and stress-free (bearing in mind the inevitable double security check).




No use enviously staring at the S-class and Cayenne limos - next time!



The Merc van that would take us to E-gates



Parked at the E-gates entrance



One of the many Swiss A340s that were leaving around the same time


It was 12:40 by the time I arrived on the departures floor, and boarding should have already started by this point. However, due to an unexplained delay the boarding time had been pushed back to 1:30pm - this was a whole hour later than the original boarding time. It annoyed me somewhat that the receptionist at the FCL had not checked whether there are any delays in boarding before sending the passengers to the E-gates. It's really not a difficult thing to do!



Boarding delayed until 13:30...


Well, nevermind, I thought - I would just find the Bellevue lounge situated in the E-gates and relax there until boarding eventually commences. So off I went, looking for the terminal layout map first and taking the lift to the top floor where the lounge was apparently situated. Arrive at top floor, and there's nothing at all resembling a lounge - just empty spaces and walls.

"What's going on? The lounge map definitely shows a lounge on the top floor, and I'm on the top floor!" I was very confused. Then, while I was still scratching my head in the empty spaces of the top floor, one of my fellow van passengers steps off the lift, obviously also looking for the lounge. After coming back down to the gate floor together and re-examining the terminal map, the problem became clear. They had divided the E-gates into two distinct and segregated sections, one of which handled all (and only) the USA departures, and the other handling all the non-USA departures. The Bellevue lounge was in the non-USA section. So we were in the "wrong bit".

40 minutes to go until boarding still, and we find that this "wrong bit" of the E-gates is also a complete ghost-town as far as passenger amenities are concerned. Not only was there no lounges, as I already found out, but there were only one or two rather sorry looking duty free shops - certainly not capable of holding anyone's attention for much more than about five minutes. At least there was a cafe which has some seats. I didn't particularly need to drink anything, but my fellow van passenger was having a coffee and kindly offered to buy me a drink so I opted for a bottle of sparkling water.

After sitting down at one of the tables, we chatted for a bit, then at 13:10 they called the boarding 20 minutes earlier than they planned. There was a passport check where you had to get a stamp on your boarding pass before proceeding to the gate, and I walked through the jetbridge to approach the doors of the Swiss A340 for - what was anticipated to be - a wonderful flight.



The registration of today's aircraft: HB-JMM



A343 engines, sometimes affectionately known as the "hairdryers"



Entrance to the aircraft