This report covers the following sectors, airlines and lounges

MALAYSIA: MEL TO KUL
KUL: Plaza Premium Lounge
MALAYSIA: KUL TO FCO
ALITALIA: FCO TO NAP
ALITALIA: NAP TO FCO
EASYJET: FCO TO NCE
FCO: Fretta Allata Lounge
AIR FRANCE: NCE TO CDG
AIR FRANCE: CDG TO FCO
MALAYSIA: FCO TO KUL
MAYALSIA: KUL TO MEL

AND will also cover various mishaps and incidents (flight delays, stuck on tarmac for 2 hours, small hotel reviews, small city stories)



Background

While I do travel quite a bit for work, this was my first leisure trip in 5 years. My father passed away 5 years ago and it has been a long overdue trip to see my family in Italy, some of whom I had never met before. As I was travelling with a friend of mine's daughter, there was no chance i could fly Business for any of the sectors, so had to suck it up in Y for the entire 9 flights. I would have paid for business for at least the MEL to FCO sectors, but couldn't and wouldn't leave my friend alone in Y as it was her first trip away also.

Flying from Australia to anywhere is painful enough, however i was really excited to see my family and also do some sightseeing all within a brief 13 days and hoped I would manage and not get too tired after all the flights.
My other half stayed behind in Oz, so for the first time in many years this was my first leisure trip alone without him.

As Alitalia no longer fly to Australia and I am a member of their program, my only option was to fly codeshare with Malaysia for the longer legs, and then Alitalia or other partners within Europe.

Considering it is peak time to travel from Oz to Europe, I got a terrific price and only wish I travelled Business the whole time for a fraction more.

Would I survive missing him? Would my ankles and legs survive the flights? Would I become addicted to airport shopping? Would I survive being in Y for so long?



Malaysia: Mel to Kul
Depart: 3pm
Actual: 3pm
Flight Time: 8 hours 10 mins

Thanks to a muck up in our booking at check in (for some reason they weren't linked) I asked if the exit row was available (which it was) and was not charged an extra fee for it.
Upon weighing my hand luggage was told it had to be 5 kg or less. As mine weighed 9 kgs (ipad alone weighs 1 kg) I had to reduce and put more stuff in my checked in bag. I am sure the cosmetics and toiletries I had in hand baggage weighed the extra 4 kilos alone.

The lines to leave the country in Melbourne are ridiculous...do they think we have nothing better to do with our time? Why have 2 desks open and 300 people waiting to depart? Almost an hour later, I was browsing duty free (or do I say buying!), with a quick chance to also grab a coffee and something to eat and it was boarding time. (After buying 10 magazines for absolutely no reason as I had heaps of reading material on the iPad)

First impression of stepping onto Malaysia's 777 was that it was dated and in major need of an overhaul. Our exit row seats were fairly standard, however the seat width for Economy is quite generous as opposed to other carriers (34in).
Seat configs are 2, 5, 2 and I would hate to be stuck in the middle of the 5 (spoke too soon...ended up there in the 2nd flight and just torture!)

The seats are all different colours. Some pink, purple, blue etc....who on earth chose that colour scheme and the ugliness that is the FA's uniforms in beyond me. Colour blind? Bad fashion sense? They looked like really bad curtains my Nanna used to have in the 70's.

Water or juice was offered prior to take off which is a nice gesture and the take off was smooth with no dramas. Could barely understand the pilot speaking through the crackle, but figured there were no major problems

Malaysia's IFE is probably the worst I have seen. Screen was blurry at the best of times and the selection was very small for English movies/shows. IFE comes out of from the bottom when sitting in exit rows which I found annoying and could barely move. Used my carry on case to prob my legs out which made it a little more comfortable.

First meal was served about an hour after leaving Melbourne. Choice of chicken or lamb and I chose the lamb. It was basically a lamb casserole with beans, potatoes and rice. Stale bread roll, pasta salad, fruit salad, water and choice of drinks (I don't drink alcohol while flying).
The lamb however was edible and quite tasty so I was happy enough.

The flight went fairly quickly after watching a couple of movies and the inflight service. The FA's weren't all that cheerful, but they were pleasant enough and kept busy the entire flight.

I regretted selecting the exit row for the amount of people waiting in line to use the toilets and stood there having a good gawk at us (Seriously....I think this is the rudest thing to stand and just stare at people that have the exit row!) That and the fact that we had a window with the safety door, and families kept bringing their children to peer out the window. I wanted to open that exit door on occasions just to get rid of them.

2nd meal was a chicken sausage roll which is close to one of the worst things I have ever eaten. Picture a chicko roll, mixed together with a bad kebab and that doesn't even come close to how bad this thing was.

We arrived into KUL right on time with 2 and 1/2 hours to wait in transit.

KUL is a fantastic airport, extremely clean and well posted signs everywhere. I could have spent my entire shopping budget in this airport alone...but alas I did the sensible thing and went straight to the Plaza Premium Lounge.

The lounge was on the 2nd level, close to the Emirates Lounge (which looked fantastic). The ladies at reception were very friendly and spoke excellent English. The lounge was fairly full when I arrived, but food and drinks kept being topped up (decent selection of hot and cold foods inc fresh fruit), Coffee machine, alcohol, ice creams etc.
4 computers, area to read and relax, smoking lounge and massage room (1 hour wait for massage, so booked in straight away) The massage went for 20mins and was neck and shoulders only, but well worth the wait and an excellent service from this very clean and quiet lounge.
Some pics of the lounge below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11/5943654926/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11...n/photostream/

Had a chance to check emails, make a phone call home (they charged about $1 for the call home) and have a decent coffee and some fruit.

I also walked down to the gate area to see if I could get different seats for the next sector, however this next flight was totally full and no changes could be made. (I even asked about paying for Business, but nothing available).

Made our way to the gate right on boarding time, thanks to the flight board in the lounge and was feeling quite relaxed about taking the next sector, though it was expected to be 12 hours and I had no idea where we were sitting (and only praying I didn't end up in the row of 5)

And guess what? I ended up in the row of 5, right smack in the middle...seated next to a lady who wanted to show me photos of her daughter's wedding and grabbed my arm continuously as she was scared of flying....

More to come...