Singapore - Osaka (SIN - KIX)
All Nippon Airways NH112; 23:25 - 06:40+; 26.11.2001
B767-381(ER); Seat: 5A; C-Class
Registration: JA8323


The plane arrived today from Osaka. On Saturday and Sunday the flight is operated from Dubai via Singapore to Osaka. Boarding started at 23:00. The plane is configured with two classes (C and Y). There's no F-class on this route.

The load was about 60% in C-class. I was the only non-Asian passenger. The seats were rather old but comfortable enough. The seat next to me was free. There were no personal TV screens but a big bread-crumb on the floor to watch.

A variety of newspapers and magazines were offered. I took "The Economist". 4 female FAs worked in C-class. I liked their costumes in dark grey colours with fine white business pinstripes. Firstly I hadn't an overview how many FAs worked in C-class. Constantly another FA came on high speed and brought or asked something. It remembered me of hard-working ants.

A menu was handed out. An FA asked if I prefer to be waked for breakfast next morning at 5:00. I agreed and gave my breakfast order. I got a glass of champagne and the FA told me the name of the champagne during she gave me the glass.

Push-back was at 23:20 and we reached the runway at 23:32. 5 minutes later we were airborne. Light was on during take-off that lasted about 40 sec. Soon crew and flight deck made several announcements. During the whole flight I was quite surprised about the many announcements they made. I was just glad that no Karaoke started. At 23:50 light was dimmed. I anticipated the worst: I had another look into menu. Indeed. Definitely. No dinner.

Most passengers prepared for sleep while a few waited for service. A few minutes later the FAs got sign that they could start service safely. Towels were offered. I ordered a Bloody Mary and the Handy Theatre. The sound was excellent and also the display.

Snack was offered. The mouthfuls tasted delicious. Now I switched to a dry sake (Mine no Hakubai). The FA offered to make it hot. She also suggested to try the other sakes what I denied. One sake was enough. I got some rice crackers to fill up my stomach. I fall asleep at 2:00.


Beverages: champagne
Laurent-Perrier Brut

Beverages: White Wines
Mâcon-Villages '99, France Bourgogne

Pepperwood Grove Chardonnay '99, U.S.A. California

Beverages: Red Wines
Château de Panigon '97, France Bordeaux

Bourgogne Non Filtré '95, France Bourgogne

Beverages: Japanese Sakes
Wakatake-onikoroshi

Bishounen

Mine no Hakubai


I woke up at 5:00. Immediately an FA offered apple tea or Oolong tea. Three FAs wore differently coloured blouses: green, lilac or dark-pink. They wore an additional overall in the same colour and with white stripes for breakfast service. Funny.

I took the menu "Japanese style" though I didn't have any idea what I ordered. After eating I still didn't know what I had. It tasted really good. The food looked very, very delicious and was served on wonderful china. I had the choice of sticks or plastic cutlery. With sticks I would still sit in the plane and eat. So I had to take the plastic. A lot of small packages with different (soya) sauces were on the tray, too. It seamed like a science when to use which sauce. I made my own mix and enjoyed the food. But be warned: I tried coffee that tasted horrible and changed immediately to Oolong tea.


Menu Japanese Style

Appetizer
Marinated Salmon
Grilled Beef
Half-Dried Saury Fish
Preserved Herring Roe
Sweetened Eggs

Japanese Delicacies
Simmered Prawn & Gelatinous Konnyaku in Sesame Flavoured Soy Sauce
Assortment of Japanese Pickles

Oshinogi
Japanese White Wheat Noodles

Hot Entree
Japanese Okayu with Simmered Tiny Mushrooms

Soup
Miso Soup & Garniture

Green Tea


Menu Western Style

Appetizer
Smokes Salmon with Lemon
Marinated Shrimp
Petite Salad

Hot Entree
Pasta & Vegetable Soup Minestrone Style

Fresh Fruits

Table Roll

Coffee or Tea


In the lavatories were plastic bottles with purified water for cleaning one's teeth. That's a fantastic, sanitary offer.

The captain informed at 6:02 that we would land in about 30min. The video screen showed stretching exercises with three female FAs wearing the well-known green, lilac or dark-pink blouses. No overall for the exercises but therefore a scarf in the same colour.

All FAs were very, very friendly, hard-working and helpful (though I didn't like their "service" of opening the lavatory every time I approached). The quality of the food was good. There was no dinner (only some small mouthfuls), breakfast was good. The interior of the plane was quite old, the cleaning wasn't thorough.


Osaka - Tokyo (KIX - HND)
All Nippon Airways NH142; 08:30 - 09:45; 27.11.2001
B747-481(D); Seat: 2A; F-Class
Registration: JA8961


Why to fly from Singapore to Tokyo via Osaka and not directly? There are two reasons:
1.) KIX is an interesting airport built on an artificial island.
2.) I wanted to fly on a B747-400D. Boeing constructed B747-400Ds for short routes. These planes don't have winglets because the planes are intended for short routes (1-2 hours) with many passengers. The winglets wouldn't make sense on short routes but otherwise the weight is less and more passengers could board.

Boarding started at 8:10 and was very efficient. F-class passengers were offered newspapers (I got the "Japan Times"), headsets, pillows and socks.
Advertisements were shown on the video screen: the ANA Mileage program and a fashion show next to boarding gates. Push-back was at 8:30. Take-off was 10min later and lasted 30sec. In the meantime the inboard cameras were on and showed the ground. After some turns I had a great view to KIX. A really impressive island.

The load in F-class was about 40%. One female FA worked in the F-cabin. She started service soon and offered a lunch box with fruits, salad, bread, prawns, etc. Plastic cutlery and an OJ were in the lunch box, too. The food was really great. She came several times for beverage service.

Some turbulence occurred. Immediately the FA brought covers for the beverages.

At 9:25 the approach flight started. The inflight camera was turned on again. During the flight we saw "Mr. Bean". The inflight camera provided nice sights to landing beaconing in the water.


The flight was really first class. Food was excellent and sumptuously. One of the very best short flights I ever had.


Tokyo - Vancouver (NRT - YVR)
Air Canada AC56; 19:00 - 10:35; 29.10.2001
A340-313(X); Seat: 1A; C-Class
Registration: C-GDVW


Check-in started with the usual luggage check. There was no queue at check-in but many problems with tax and fare recalculation (for the last flights with ANA). The check-in was handled by ANA. After 20min I could continue. They told me that they would inform me about their recalculation results at the gate (there I had to pay Narita airport tax). I got an invitation into Club ANA lounge. The lounge offered the usual drinks. I found the lounge rather small.

There were several passport checks during my way from the check-in into the plane. The last check was in the jetway. The agent even asked me about my name. 34 years ago I learned my name by heard and still know it. I gave the correct answer and could continue to the last luggage check. Finally I was able to board.

Many passengers were already on board. After all these security checks I was quite late. The FAs already started pre-flight service. I went to the first row in order to go into seat 1A. Someone was sitting there; 1C was occupied, too. The cabin was configured 2-2-2. So I offered to sit into the first row in the middle. I speculated that both seats in the middle of the first row would be unoccupied (two seats for one window seat; that seamed acceptable). In the meantime an FA arrived. She excused and told me that the complete first row in the middle was occupied - as usually - by newspapers. She got some laughs from the passengers for the reply.

The flight was originally scheduled with a B767. AC changed to an A340 two weeks before departure. The first time I recognised the change was during my Internet surfing session in Singapore. Maybe AC foresaw the heavy load in C-class with high yield passengers. The load in C-class was about 80% without counting the newspapers (maybe they possessed C-class tickets).
The passenger seamed to feel ashamed for occupying 1A. He switched to 2A just like a rocket. The FA showed me where I could store my cabin luggage. The overhead luggage storage on the left side of the plane was already full.
Soon I got a champagne and could chose from two different newspapers. My neighbour and I arranged to take both so we could exchange the newspapers. The flight deck greeted the passengers and informed about a flight time of 7.5 hours with an estimated arrival time of 9:40. That means 1 hour earlier than scheduled!

The seats were big and comfortable. The button for the light was on the arm. So you had to pay attention not to hit the button. My neighbour hit several times the button with his elbow and so the light turned off.

Push-back was at 19:00. 10min later we reached the runway. Take-off lasted 45 sec. The cabin lights were left on. The FAs got sign to start their service 7 minutes later. A female FA came and asked if I would like to switch to a middle seat. I thanked and wanted to keep my window seat.

The TV screens were quite big and films start individually. But what I really missed was the airshow. I hardly could believe it. There was really no airshow available.

Dinner
Salmon Teriyaki with Lotus Root Appetizer

Beef Medaillons with Peppercorn Sauce, Wild Rice Panaché, Buttered Broccoli Florets and Baby Carots
or
Grilled Fillet of Snapper with Oyster Sauce, Parslied Fried Rice, Stir-fried Oriental Vegetables

Selection of Cheese and Sliced Fresh Fruit

Lemon Cheese Mousse
or
Ice Cream Trio

Dinner Japanese Style
Sushi with Tamari
Ebi Kinuta Maki - Shrimp with White Radish
Ebi Sayori Tazunamaki - Shrimp and Japanese Needlefish Roll
Tako Yawaraka Ni - Soft Boiled Octopus
Unagi Kenchin - Fried Eel

Nori Shimeji - Seaweed and Shimeji Mushroom
Mushi Dori Sabaki - Steamed Chicken
Braised Broccoli

Hosomaki Yuba Oranda Ni - Braised Dried Bean Curd
Ebi Shiba Ni - Braised Shrimp
Sando Mama - Green Beans

Inaniwa Udon - Udon Noodles with Egg Julienne

Pickles

Amadi Sakamushi - Braised Tilefish

Young Corn

Sengiri Takenoko - Bamboo Shoots Julienne

Steamed Rice

Clear Egg Soup

Japanese Sweets


We got a wine list containing more than 30 wines on 10 pages! After I selected a wine and ordered it, the FA told me that I could forget the wine list. Only the four wines on the cart were available. After all I selected a white wine (Inniskillin).
Later I ordered a red wine (Californian Zinfandel) and the menu western style with the beef. The food was tasty. I also liked the 4 different kinds of cheese and the port wine. I finished with the Mousse, some coffee and a Baileys with ice.
The FAs did a last round with some sweets and a bottle of water. The light was dimmed at 5:40 (Canadian time).

At 8:00 I woke up and I went into the Galley. Light was turned on now. I could talk to the leading FA. She was born in Cologne and emigrated 40 years ago to Canada. Today she had her final flight after working 37 years for Air Canada.

After the talk I had to hurry to go back into my seat for breakfast. I chose the breakfast western style with the omelette.

Breakfast
Orange and Exotic Juices

Fresh Fruit

Breakfast Pastries

Yogurt

Spanish Omelette, Parisienne Potatoes, Back Bacon, Turned Zucchini
or
Crêpes filled with Apple Compote, Back Bacon, Peach Slices

Breakfast Japanese Style
Orange and Exotic Juices

Fresh Fruit Appetizer

Shiragayu - White Gruel with Pickled Plum

Okayuno Tomo

Miso Soup

Konomono - Pickles

Green Tea

We reached the Canadian mainland at 9:25. On the left side was Vancouver. The view was great. What a luck I didn't switch into the middle seats. The plane flew to the east, made some turns and then approached 26L from the east. The flight deck told about the retiring FA and invited the passengers to join the flight deck when the plane arrived at the gate.

Landing was at 9:47. The passengers soon de-boarded. I had a lot of time and wanted to say good-bye to the FA and intended to have also a view into the cockpit. The cockpit door was opened immediately after the plane had reached the gate. I had several gift-boxes with chocolates from Münchner Oktoberfest (that had ended a few days before I left for holiday) with me. I gave one of the boxes to the FA who was very, very happy (some tears came out of her eyes). Of course she recognised the Bavarian (blue and white) colours on the gift-box.
I don't know what happened afterwards. I must have got an Alzheimer-attack because I left the plane after saying good-bye to the crew. Later I remembered that I forgot to go into cockpit.

It's very difficult to summarise this flight. On the one hand were some very dull minuses like the newspapers or the wine list. On the other hand the crew was very friendly and talkative. The manners were professional and also typical North-American: quite relaxed what I really appreciate. Air Canada has only two classes (C- and Y-, no F-class). Normally two-class do have an outstanding C-class. This C-class was really not outstanding.


Vancouver - Seattle (YVR - SEA)
Air Canada AC1547; 12:25 - 13:20; 29.10.2001
De Havilland DHC-8 Series 300; Seat: 4A; Y-Class
Registration: ?


The next flight was operated by Air British Columbia. This flight has only one class: Y-class.
I had some time, so I went into Marple Leaf Lounge. I showed my upcoming flights and had no problems entering the lounge (because I connected to an intercontinental flight to Mexico). I enjoyed the stay in the lounge with free Internet access, a variety of drinks and some snacks.

Boarding started at 12:15 with a short walk to the Dash-8. The seat next to me was occupied. It's sometimes very strange why two people are sitting next to each other though there's only a light load and many rows are free. The load was about 50%.

The plane started to the runway at 12:31. 10 minutes later we were airborne and another 4 min later the FA started service. During the short flight she came twice with OJ/water/apple juice/tea/coffee and pretzels/pastry. That' really remarkable.

The view over the lakes was fantastic. The trees already showed autumnal character with different green/red/yellow colours.

The flight deck announced decent at 13:04. Soon we reached Seattle. We flew directly over Seattle with view over the Skyline. The skyscrapers in the central business distict, the city hall and the kingdome passed on the left side.
A few minutes later I could see Everett - the Boeing plant - on the left side. We landed on 16L. A Northwest DC10 started on 16R.

This was a very short, great scenic flight. The FA worked very hard and was very friendly. I will remember Air British Columbia in future.

I took my luggage and went to check-in. The agent could check the luggage through to Tuxtla Gutierrez. Great.


Seattle - Los Angeles (SEA - LAX)
United UA1827; 19:05 - 21:38; 29.10.2001
B757; Seat: 2D; F-Class
Registration: ?


There was a big crowd waiting for security check. There were only three lines. The waiting time was long. After security I went into Red Carpet Club. I had no problems entering RCC after I showed the ticket to Mexico. The lounge offered some beverages - and that was it. There was a bar where you had to buy alcoholic drinks. I got a Baileys for 5US$. I found the lounge quite disappointing.
After some time I went to the gate and boarded flight UA2177. Boarding was finished in time. The F-cabin was full.

An FA took the microphone at 16:00: "I have two news. A good one and a bad one. The bad one first: we must cancel flight UA2177 due to technical problems. The good one: we have a new plane for you that'll be ready at 17:00".
I went off the plane and turned to the gate where the boarding passes were changed. Originally I was booked on UA2177 from Seattle to San Francisco (16:00 - 17:59) and then UA2065 from San Francisco to Los Angeles (19:00 - 20:26). I received a new boarding pass with a direct flight to Los Angeles on UA1827 now. I went back into the lounge. The agent asked what happened. I told him about the cancelled flight. The agent regretted and asked about my new connection. I told him about the direct flight and he congratulated immediately on the solution. Ok, he couldn't know: 99% of the people would have been glad about the direct flight - but I would have preferred two flights instead of one as I had intended.
The lounge filled up more and more with a big crowd watching TV (motor racing). Finally it was time to go to the next flight.

Boarding started at 18:30. An FA offered OJ or water. Three seats were unoccupied: the seat next to me and the row in front of me. Push-back was in time. The light was dimmed. The plane reached the runway at 19:13. Take-off took 29sec. The FAs started service 10min later. I got an OJ and a party mix. Channel 9 was available. Dinner was served. I chose the chicken that was served with rice, paprika, two pancakes and a pastry. The food was really good. A plastic knife was on the tray; the other cutlery was metal. The chicken was already cut: I didn't have to use the plastic knife. After dinner I was very tired and had a short sleep.

We landed at 21:28. Gate 71B wasn't free, so we had to wait until 21:42. I went to the luggage claim in order to check if my bags were there. All was ok; the bags didn't come. I had a bus transfer to Bradley international. There was no queue at check-in that was operated by very friendly Mexicana staff. I got a boarding pass for the flight to Mexico City. The flight was scheduled by a B757 but operated by a B727.


Los Angeles - Mexico City
Mexicana MX137; 23:55 - 05:40; 29.10.2001
B727-200; Seat: 3F; C-Class
Registration: ?

The time was too short to go into a lounge. I went directly to the gate. Boarding started at 23:15. There were only two passengers in C. Y seamed to be full. The seats were comfortable - but nothing special. The interior looked very clean and was carefully maintained. The door was closed at 23:50. We were airborne 20min later and started before a B747 from SQ.

We got a snack (2 sandwiches, salad, chocolate bar). I asked for a wine. The FA showed me two closed bottles and excused. She had no cork-screws on board because of safety reasons. So she couldn't open the bottles. A Whisky was available and also some water. Later I asked for several other things that weren't available. The FA seamed to be very sorry about that and suddenly gave me an amenity kid. The black bag had an imprint: "Mexicana - A star alliance member" and contained: comb, tooth-brush, tooth-paste, eye-shades and shoe-polish.

The light was dimmed soon. I was very tired after all the flights. The flight was too short in order to get sufficient sleep. 2 hours later the approach flight started. We landed at 5:08.


The FAs were friendly and did their best to make the flight comfortable. Savings were obvious with the wine bottles and the small snack.


I went into Executiva lounge. The lounge had free internet access, offered a variety of drinks and also some food (cereals, fruit). I was really impressed about the lounge. The staff was very, very friendly and helpful.


Mexico City - Tuxtla Gutierrez
Mexicana MX672; 12:40 - 02:10; 30.10.2001
Fokker 100; Seat: 1A; C-Class
Registration: XA-SGE


Boarding started at 8:30. The 8 seats in C-class were occupied, Y seamed to be full, too. We were offered an OJ and some newspapers before take-off. One FA was working in C. After take-off she offered water or OJ in a glass. We also got nuts in a small bowl. I enjoyed the view over the mountains.
The flight was rather uneventful. After all the flights (NRT - YVR - SEA - LAX - MEX - TGZ) I looked forward to sight-seeing in Mexico.

We landed in Tuxtla Gutierrez in time. At the end of the runway the plane turned and drove on the runway back in order to reach the terminal. A small, clearly arranged airport.


Villahermosa - Mexico City
Mexicana MX672; xx:xx - xx:xx; 01.11.2001
Fokker 100; Seat: 1F; C-Class
Registration: XA-TKR


I enjoyed my time in Chiapas, especially: Sumidero canyon and Mayan city near Palenque.

The plane arrived at 12:15. Boarding started 30min later. All FAs were in the Y-cabin to greet the passengers. There were 2 passengers in C; Y seamed pretty full. Some newspapers were still on my seat. Soon an FA came and asked what I’d like to drink. I ordered an OJ.
The way to the runway is very short on these small airports. An FA ran to her seat shortly before take-off. I didn’t expect anything to eat because the flight time was the same as from MEX to TGZ a few days ago. I was surprised when an FA came with a tray containing a sandwich, some paprika, salad and a chocolate bar. I tried carefully the paprika. They weren’t hot. The snack was really tasty.

In the meantime we passed the Golf of Mexico and I read in the inflight magazine. Mexicana presents the fleet of the Star alliance. I missed the A340. They also list a B737-800 and no other B737s. There’s still some work to improve the charts.
An FA walked with a child through the C-cabin. A few minutes later they came back with a big smile in the boy’s face. Maybe his first cockpit visit.

The flight became bumpy now. The FAs sat down some time. We reached Mexico City with many colourful houses. The airport is in the middle of the town. After landing the way to our final gate 4 was quite long with many stops because of high traffic.


Mexico City - Merida
Mexicana MX609; 20:30 - 22:15; 03.11.2001
B727-200; Seat: 3F; C-Class
Registration: ?


I arrived 3 hours before departure at the airport. I couldn’t check-in at that time and so I took my luggage into the lounge. That’s really unusual if check-in is only possible two hours before departure on the HOME-BASE airport.
The lounge was quite empty: today was Saturday and the day before was a national holiday (Día de los Muertos): commemoration day of the deceased. Many Mexicans disguised and brought lots of flowers to the churchyards.

Check-in was quite quick. Boarding started late because the load was quite low in C (2 passengers only. Later 2 Mexicana staff came) and Y. During these days hurricane “Michelle” passed over the eastern part of Mexico. The flight was given ok to start (and there were only a few bumps).
Push-back was in time.“My” seat 3F is the bulk seat on the right side of the cabin. So the safety demo was done twice in C-class: the first time near row 1 and the second time near row 3.

Soon we were airborne and service started. We got a light dinner with salad (carrots and peas), sandwiches and a chocolate bar. The food was again very tasty.

We arrived at 21:58. Rain was pouring down and humidity was high. The luggage arrived quickly. The next days I stayed in Merida to visit Mayan cities: Uxmal and Chichen Itza.


Cancun - Miami
Mexicana MX309; 11:55 - 14:30; 06.11.2001
B727-200; Seat: 3A; C-Class
Registration: ?


The hotel woke me up 2 hours too early. I ordered a wake-up call at 7:00 and got the call at 5:00. I didn't notice that they called too early until I went to breakfast: breakfast room was closed. I waited until breakfast opened and went afterwards to the airport in the hope of spotting planes. The airport wasn't busy at that time, so I was at the gate very soon. There I noticed that the airport was boring: no lounge, only a few flights in the morning, no Internet access.

At least the plane arrived in time at 11:00. Again the scheduled B757 has been replaced by a B727. Boarding started half an hour later. There were 4 passengers in the C-cabin; the load was low in Y, too. OJ was offered before take-off.

The captain announced a flight time of 1:25, sunshine in Miami and some delay because of high traffic. Nothing happened in the morning and now we were waiting after Apple vacations Ryan'Intl and a smaller plane. 2 Allegro, 1 American, 1 Aerocaribe and 1 private jet arrived at that time. We took off at 13:16. Take-off lasted 30sec. Some passengers already reclined their seats before take-off. Rain was coming down. The sight over the blue sea was short.

The female FA working in the C-cabin started service at 13:21. She offered food on a tray: salad + croutons + cheese, Italian dressing, chicken + sauce, potato, carrots, 2 rolls, butter, pudding, marzipan.


The butter was the hottest food on the tray. The chicken and the sauce were much colder. The sauce wasn't even fluid. The roll tasted terrible. I got red wine that tasted very good.

In the meantime the sky was clear. The approach flight started at 14:05. I enjoyed the view over the Everglades with a variety of slightly different colours of green, blue and brown. Pure nature - no civilisation was in sight.

The landing was at 14:22. We de-boarded next to a B747-200 from Lufthansa that arrived a few minutes earlier from Frankfurt.

Luggage claim was rather quick. I took the Super-Shuttle to Miami Beach where I stayed the night.

The final part will take some more time. I hope I can finish it at the end of the week.