PresRDC

Part X – The Long Road Home (October 31, 2003 – November 2, 2003)

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and it was time to begin the long journey home. After a free morning lounging around the hotel (and getting my massage), I left the hotel at 1:00 PM. After an hour drive, I arrived at CPT.

South African Airways flight SA 352
Departed: Cape Town (CPT) @ 4:10 PM
Arrived: Johannesburg (JNB) @ 6:10 PM
Boeing 747-400
Business Class Seat 1A

Check-in was much the same as the last time, meaning that it was somewhat disorganized and chaotic. Nevertheless, I was checked-in quickly and assigned my pre-selected seat, 1A. I again visited the Baobab Lounge, which was full of South African rugby fans busily watching the Springboks in the World Cup.

Boarding was once again done by airstairs and no priority was afforded to Business Class passengers. Fortunately, this time, we did not have to take a bus to the waiting 747-400, named Kempton Park, which, having arrived from JNB an hour earlier, was parked just outside the terminal. I boarded through the L-1 door and made my way to the first class cabin. Although this was only a two class service, SAA’s American office in Florida (which, by the way is an excellent and customer focused operation) came through for me and got me a seat assignment in the First Class cabin. Seeing as I was a status-less passenger traveling on an award ticket, I felt quite lucky. SAA’s First Class seats are, according to its website, based on the Swissair/Swiss First Class seats. They were quite comfortable and reclined fully flat, with a ottoman that moved back and forth with electronic controls, which I thought was cool. While the seats were comfortable, I found them to be just a little bit too exposed. I guess I prefer the more cocoon-like effect of the Cathay and Qantas First Class seats. That said, these are great seats and I would be thrilled to fly to London in one of them.

The meal service was very similar to that offered on the previous flight, featuring a hot snack of various hors d’ouerves and the ubiquitous biltong, which I still refused to eat as it still looked like freeze dried terd. The service did seem somewhat more personalized in this cabin, perhaps because the head flight attendant’s “Auntie” was among the passengers.

We landed on time and I was again transferred to the Sheraton Pretoria by the hotel’s car service/bodyguard company. I was again upgraded to a Towers room, which was exactly the same as my previous room, the only difference being that everything was on the opposite wall.

Cathay Pacific flight CX 748
Departed: Johannesburg (JNB) @ 1:00 PM
Arrived: Hong Kong (HKG) @ 7:45 AM (next day)
Boeing 747-400
First Class Seat 2A

I woke-up around 7:30 AM and, after a quick breakfast, checked-out of the hotel. The car I had arranged was ready when I was, and, after a quick stop to pick-up some additional money, we were on our way to JNB, which took about forty-five minutes. As we pulled into the airport I could not help but notice that there was no Cathay aircraft among the row of aircraft parked at the remote gates or at the terminal. I was not really worried as I had over three hours before the CX 748 was scheduled to depart and a very long layover in HKG. On arrival at the terminal, there were no carts around, so my driver went to fetch one. Unfortunately, he misunderstood me and retained a skycap, which is not what I wanted. Oh well, what can you do.

The check-in lobby of the International Terminal is arranged in a long row and passengers pass behind the check-in desks to reach Passport Control and the Departures Lounge. Cathay’s check-in area was second from the end on the left of the lobby (with your back to the curb), right next to Singapore Airlines. All checked luggage had to be weighed and tagged immediately upon entering the check-in area, which took some time as the scale was manual and the weight needed to be written on the tag (there was no mechanism for priority to be given to premium passengers at the weighing station). There was one check-in desk each for First and Business Class and the check-in staff, although, apparently not Cathay employees, wore Cathay uniforms. After a few minute wait, I was helped by a purple-coated gentleman at the First Class counter. My bag was checked through to New York and I was given boarding passes for both flights and lounge passes for both the British Airways lounge at JNB and the Cathay lounges in HKG.

After passing through the check-in desks, passengers are funneled toward Passport control, which, thankfully, was not busy. The Departures Hall was quite large with several stores and eating areas. I made my way to the British Airways Terraces Lounge, located one level below the main Departures floor. Although the Cathay Pacific website indicates that First Class passengers are entitled to use the SAA First Class lounge, I was not given this option, so I think the information on the website is inaccurate. The lounge was decent, with the standard Terraces décor and food offerings, mainly finger sandwiches and chips (crisps to those of you reading this from across the Pond). It was also busy as Comair, a British Airways franchise carrier operating domestic South Africa and regional African routes, also uses this lounge for its Business Class passengers. In the evenings, of course, it is used by British Airways for its two Speedbird departures to LHR. The lounge features shower rooms, bathrooms and various seating areas, including some with outdoor style lounge chairs. The biggest weakness of this lounge is that it is located in the basement and, thus, there is no view. Of course, Virgin Atlantic, whose lounge is located above the departure floor, has not let this escape its attention and has a cheeky reference to it in one of its advertisements!

Feeling as though I should have purchased more souvenirs, I left my bags in the luggage room and headed back upstairs to do some shopping. I spent the most time (and money) in Out of Africa, a general African souvenir store. I also visited a book store to buy a coffee table book on South African wildlife. I also had a look out the window to see if the Cathay aircraft had arrived. From what I could tell, it had not.

I returned to the lounge for a while, leaving at 12:15 PM. The CX 748 was scheduled to depart from Gate 1, which is where I headed. The gate agents had passengers form two lines, one for premium passengers and one for Economy Class, but we were not allowed to board. We ended-up waiting in that hot and stuffy area until 12:45 PM, when boarding finally got underway. I guess that I was correct that the plane was delayed on arrival from HKG. As the CX 749 is scheduled to arrive before 7:00 AM, the inbound passengers must have experienced quite a delay. It would have been nice had the gate agents made an announcement about the delay, so that we would not have had to line-up, but so be it.

Once I boarded, the typical Cathay service was very much in effect. You would have had no idea that the flight had just arrived and that it was catered late. On American, the flight attendants would have been visibly harried and there would have been no pre-departure beverages. As it was, we had a choice of beverages and a pre-departure snack of a butterflied shrimp.

Despite the late boarding, we pushed at 1:15 PM, only fifteen minutes behind schedule. Take-off followed ten minutes later and we were on our back to HKG, where we would be arriving in just over twelve hours.

Once at cruising altitude, we were given menus and asked our beverage choice. Unsurprisingly, I choose a Cathay Delight, which was served with the usual warm pistachios. Pajamas were also distributed at this time. Soon, the purple-clad Purser was taking lunch orders. Here is a transcript:

I opted to partake in the salmon and caviar course and the soup. For my main course, I selected the duck. The lunch service began as we were passing over the Mozambique coast. After my table was set with the usual bread dish, egg-shaped salt and pepper shakers, butter dish, toothpick and metal flatware, the caviar and salmon serving trolley came around. As on the previous flights, it was delicious. The soup was also good and was even better when served with warm garlic bread and other breads. My main course was a disappointment as it turns-out I do not like five spices sauce. Live and learn. Had I not been nearly full, I would have ordered something else. I elected to have the cheese course, which was presented on a wooden cheese board and cut to order. There were five cheeses, ranging from blue cheeses to soft cheeses to the usual cheddar option. I tried all but the blue cheese as I do not like the taste except in small amounts on salads. The cheese was served with crackers, carrot and celery sticks and some assorted nuts. I then decided to have the ice cream with the butterscotch and Smarties, which are little candies. I would have preferred a proper ice cream sundae cart, but I know many people find this tacky in First Class.

Being November, Cathay had updated its movie offerings and, during the meal, I was busy enjoying “American Wedding” on StudioCX. It might not be everyone’s choice for a movie to watch while eating, but I found it hysterical. Of course, I liked the previous two films very much. By the time lunch was over, it was already getting dark and many passengers had settled into sleep. Alas, it was too early for me to sleep, so I just walked around the plane and chatted with the flight attendants. Eventually, I got tired and slept for about three hours. This flight is clearly designed to depart at such a time that it arrives in HKG in the early morning. However, it leaves at such a time that sleep is difficult to achieve.

In addition to the lunch menu, there was a dedicated refreshment menu. Here is the transcript:

Our 747-400 took a more southerly route than the CX 749 took to get to JNB. After leaving the African landmass just north of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, we proceeded across the Mozambique Channel and skirted the extreme southern tip of Madagascar. From there, our green, grey, red and white chariot took-up a northeasterly track passing over St. Denis on Reunion Island and Port Louis on Mauritius. After nearly eight hours over water, the CX 748 made landfall over the Indonesian Island of Sumatra and passed between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. After crossing the Gulf of Thailand, we overflew coastal Vietnam before entering the South China Sea north of Qui Nhon and south of Da Nang. After overflying Hainan Island, we began our descent into HKG, approaching from the southwest.

About two hours out of HKG, just as the sun was beginning to rise, breakfast was served. Here is a menu transcript:

I elected to have the fruit appetizer, some Corn Flakes and scrambled eggs with sausage, tomato and mushrooms. It was quite good and even better with a warm croissant. I found it interesting that there was no dim sum on offer on this flight. I guess they cannot make it in JNB.

Over the course of the flight, the CX 748 made-up for its fifteen minute departure delay and we began our descent into HKG at 7:15 AM while following the Baker One STAR. Our 747-400 touched down on Runway 7L at 7:40 AM and had a quick taxi to Gate 40, the same gate from which I departed for JNB some ten days earlier. In just under two hours, our 747 would be departing for Bangkok and Singapore as the CX 713. Later that evening, it would return to HKG non-stop from Singapore as the CX 716 where it, presumably, would depart for either Europe, Australia or Los Angeles, if not having a well-deserved break.

Seven Hours at Chep Lap Kok

I left the plane and recleared security at the W-1 transfer point and made my way to The Pier for a shower. The Pier is Cathay’s second and newest lounge, located one floor below the Departures Level in the Northwest Concourse. The Pier has separate First and Business Class sections and entrances. Although there are no Cabanas at The Pier, there are large shower rooms with rainmaker showerheads, so I was content. It was too early to have a gate assignment for my onward flight, so I decided to just go to the closest lounge. After a revitalizing shower, I checked my e-mail at one of the numerous computer terminals. As at The Wing, The Pier has roving waiters taking drink orders.

After an hour or so on the computer, I was getting hungry, so I made my way to the restaurant for some food. As in The Wing, the restaurant on the First Class side of The Pier is known as The Haven. By the time I arrived, they were just about to switch over from breakfast to lunch. As I really wanted some dim sum, I helped myself before they were removed. Big mistake. More on this later.

After my dim sum, I decided to check-out one of the Daybreak Rooms on offer in The Pier. These rooms serve the lounge/relaxation function of The Cabanas and feature a comfortable brown leather chair and ottoman, an LCD screen and a control panel from which one can select audio and video programming, set the lighting level in the room and summon for an attendant. There were no on-demand videos, which I thought was surprising, but one could choose several live television channels, including CNN. The audio selections were on-demand and arranged by genre. In fact, they were the same programming on offer on StudioCX.

About thirty minutes later, I started to feel sick. At first, I thought it was just from fatigue, but it continued to get worse and soon I was full-on sick. Although I do not know what caused it, I assumed it was food poisoning as I rarely ever get sick from germs. Of course, I blamed it on the last thing I had eaten, the dim sum. I guess it could have been something else, but I am blaming it on old dim sum.

At about 2:00 PM, after several bouts of vomiting, I was feeling a little better and decided to head down to The Wing as my flight was leaving from Gate 3, which is located across from that lounge (and is the same gate at which I arrived from SFO). I decided to walk there as I needed the exercise and I had time to kill. Once at The Wing, I just sat-around trying to get my strength back and trying to take my mind off the prospect of being sick for an eighteen hour marathon flight across the Pacific Ocean and North America. I was feeling much better, so I decided to pay a visit to The Cabanas, where I thought a shower would perk me up.

By the time I was done with my shower, it was just about time to head to Gate 3 for boarding.

Cathay Pacific flight CX 888
Departed: Hong Kong (HKG) @ 4:05 PM
Arrived: New York (JFK) @ 8:30 PM
Intermediate Stop in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (YVR)
Boeing 747-400
First Class Seat 2A

Boarding began at exactly 3:30 PM and I was among the first to enplane. On arrival at the L-1 door, I was greeted by the First Class purser and escorted to my usual place, Seat 2A. The flight attendants had set-out a large number of newspapers and magazines, which I pursued after storing my bag in the overhead bin. I was offered the beverage of my choice, so I selected a Perrier, which was served with an hors d’ouerves of pear slices poached in red wine. It was okay, but I would have preferred something protein based.

The First Class cabin eventually filled to capacity and the flight attendants handed-out pajamas to those who wanted them. I changed into my usual shorts and t-shirt before departure and most other passengers changed as well. The guy sitting behind me decided to wear a pair of Zumba pants and a sleeveless t-shirt. He then had to go into his bag in the overhead bin multiple times, meaning that I got the pleasure of having his hairy pits in my face on multiple occasions. Warning, here comes a rant. Unless playing basketball, I do not think that men should be allowed to wear sleeveless shirts. It really is gross and, especially in a first class cabin, is inappropriate. Now I know many of you think that wearing shorts and t-shirt in first class is inappropriate and that I am being a hypocrite, but at least I wasn’t exposing my fellow passengers to pit hair. Okay, rant over.

We pushed exactly on time at 4:05 PM and had a short taxi to the threshold of Runway 25L. We ended-up waiting for nearly fifteen minutes before we could maneuver onto the runway, as there was a lot of other traffic. After a FedEx MD-11, it became our turn to rocket into the sky. After a forty second takeoff run, the CX 888 lifted into the heavens and we were on our way to YVR. Presumably due to air traffic, it took us a while to reach our cruising altitude and, by the time we did, it was getting noticeably darker. The Captain announced that our flying time would be a long eleven hours and fifty minutes, which would put us into YVR about ten minutes late.

Once at cruising altitude, the flight attendants swung into action and I soon had a Cathay Delight with a plate of warm pistachios. We were also, of course, given menus. Here is a transcript of the dinner menu:

By this time, I was feeling fine and was pretty hungry, so I decided to order dinner. Big mistake, but more on that later. I decided to start with the caviar and salmon and then have the soup. The YVR based male Purser talked me into also having the salad. For my main course, I selected the stir-fried chicken as I had had it before on the CX 873 in August 2002 and loved it. Tables were laid and we were all given personalized cards from our three flight attendants wishing us a pleasant meal. A nice touch. The caviar and salmon were good as usual, but once again, my complaint about too little condiments still stands. The soup was excellent and was served with garlic bread or other bread items. The salad was pretty good as well. I liked that the salad dressing was served on the side in a little pitcher. My only complaint about the salad was that the tuna fish was canned. If Cathay really wanted to make it top notch, they would use ahi tuna seared rare. A guy can dream, can’t he? The chicken was delicious as it was the previous time I had it. It is a small portion, but after eating so much already, I did not mind. The fried rice was also excellent. I skipped the cheese, and asked for the chocolate cake with a side of the caramel ice cream. I was misunderstood and served both the ice cream and the cake. The cake was absolutely excellent and the ice cream was pretty good, but was too frozen, which is a common problem on Cathay Pacific. In case any flight attendants are reading this, please take the dry ice off the ice cream at least twenty minutes before serving. During dinner, I watched “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” on StudioCX. One of the best features of StudioCX is that it offers both current and classic films.

Our route to YVR was considerably more south than the route the CX 873 took to HKG. After departing HKG, we proceeded on course to Taipei, which we overflew about an hour and ten minutes later. From Taipei, the CX 888 took a northeasterly heading across the Ryukyu Islands, passing just north of Okinawa. Our mammoth flying machine then skirted the southeastern coast of Kyushu on the Japanese archipelago. After overflying the city of Yokohama on Honshu, we headed out over the Northwest Pacific, crossing the International Date Line south of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. We stayed south of Alaska and made landfall over Canada south of the Queen Charlotte Islands. From there, we proceeded over Vancouver Island before beginning our approach into YVR.

After dinner, I reclined the seat and tried to sleep under my duvet. Soon, however, the nausea returned and I became quite sick. Being sick on an airplane is never fun, but, if you are going to be sick on plane, being sick while a Cathay Pacific First Class passenger is a pretty good place to do it. The flight attendants were genuinely concerned and even offered to summon an ambulance on arrival at YVR. I was not that sick, but it was a nice gesture. For the rest of the flight, I alternated between being sick and trying to sleep. It made for a long flight. Although I was in no condition to sample any of it, there was a separate snack menu. Here is a transcript:

By the time brunch was served, I was not feeling much better, so I decided to skip it. On flights to YVR, SFO and LAX, Cathay offers brunch as its second meal service. For all intents and purposes, this meal is the same as Cathay’s breakfast service, but does not feature freshly made eggs. Here is a menu transcript:

Let me tell you, the smell of food while you are sick is disgusting. In fact, it made me more sick. This time, however, the bathrooms were occupied as people were changing back into their street clothes. Fortunately, the flight attendants found me an empty bathroom in the upper deck Business Class cabin and kept it free for my use. It was very much appreciated.

Soon, thank God, it was time to land in YVR. We overflew the city and, on a clear day with the Canadian Rockies in the background, it looked beautiful. I will have to visit sometime. We landed at 11:20 AM, only five minutes behind schedule and were on stand a few minutes later. While disembarking, I thanked the crew for their help with my illness and, on the airbridge, Canadian health officials were taking our SARS declarations, but did not appear to be doing any temperature checks.

Doing Time at YVR

All passengers continuing to JFK had to disembark with all our luggage and wait in the boarding gate. There was no lounge access for premium connecting passengers, but passengers originating in YVR do have lounge access. There were vending machines in the lounge area and Cathay had set-up some free coffee and water. While in the gate area, I checked my voice mail and downloaded two weeks of e-mail onto my Blackberry. I also witnessed the arrival of the CX 838, an A340-300 operating the second daily service from HKG to YVR (actually this aircraft was parked next to us at HKG’s Gate 2) and the CX 828, the daily A340-300 service to Toronto. Up until a few months earlier, this flight operated via Anchorage. Then, the United States ended its policy of not requiring visas for transit passengers and Cathay moved the flight’s stopover to YVR. As such, by 11:45 AM, there were three Cathay aircraft docked side-by-side at YVR.

And Now, Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Flight

Soon, it was time to once again board the 747-400 for the final leg to JFK. Connecting passengers do not get new boarding passes for this leg and seat assignments remain the same. I was escorted to Seat 2A by the new First Class Purser, who asked me how I was feeling. Apparently, the previous crew left a note for the new crew informing them of my situation. This is a perfect example of what makes Cathay Pacific a unique airline, mainly attention to detail and genuine caring. As it was, I was feeling substantially better and was even getting hungry.

We were given a choice pre-departure beverage and I chose a Ginger Ale. There was no hors d’ouerves service on this leg. Nine First Class passengers reboarded the CX 888 in YVR and, although Cathay has fifth freedom rights on this route (meaning they can carry passengers only between YVR and JFK), there were no new First Class passengers. We pushed about ten minutes behind schedule at 12:35 PM and, after a fairly lengthy taxi, were airborne at 12:46 PM.

At cruising altitude, we were asked for our beverage and meal choice. I decided to stick with Ginger Ale, which would have been served with more pistachios had I wanted some. The menu for the YVR-JFK leg was included in the menu we were previously given. Here is a transcript:

Being hungry, but not wanting to overdo it and get sick again, I decided to just have the porcini ravioli. I really, really wanted to try the lobster, but I thought that might have been just too heavy. I did, however, take notice of the rest of the meal service. The antipasto course was served first and was plated to order from larger silver serving trays placed atop the serving trolley. The soup and salad courses came next. I received my ravioli with the main courses and it was pretty good. It consisted of four large red, white and green striped ravioli with a pink cream sauce. I skipped dessert out of an abundance of caution.

All the while our 747-400 propelled itself across the North American landmass. After departing YVR, we flew just north of the once contentious 48th Parallel before entering American airspace over the Hungry Horse Reservation in northwestern Montana. From there, we proceeded north of Great Falls, Montana and overflew Bismarck, North Dakota. Entering Minnesota over Moorehead and flew across the state enroute to Duluth. After crossing into Wisconsin near the Port of Superior (where, freshly loaded with 26,000 tons of iron ore, the Edmund Fitzgerald began its final voyage), we made a turn to the southeast enroute to Detroit. Overflying the Great Lakes, the CX 888 passed over parts of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Over Detroit, we took a more easterly course over Lake Erie and flew just south of the Pennsylvania/New York border before beginning the approach into JFK.

As the CX 888 neared the end of its eight thousand mile, eighteen hour journey, the flight attendants offered a final meal service, of which I choose not to partake. Here is a transcript:

We began our descent into JFK just after entering New Jersey. Flying south of New York City, we continued our descent and overflew Sandy Hook before turning to the north and approaching JFK. After intercepting the Canarsie VOR, we made a sweeping turn over Howard Beach and landed on Runway 13L at 9:05 PM. From there, we had a short taxi to British Airways’ Terminal 7 and were on stand at 9:15 PM. After a total elapsed travel time of nearly twenty-one hours, the CX 888 finally arrived at JFK. In just under two hours, our 747-400 would begin the return journey to YVR and HKG as the CX 889.

We deplaned through the L-1 door and, as on all over Cathay flights, Business and Economy passengers were held back until all of us in First Class had departed. There was no line at Immigration and I was at the baggage carousel within ten minutes of leaving the plane. Unfortunately, my bag was not among the other First Class baggage appearing on the belt first. It finally showed-up nearly twenty minutes later. Grr.

Thankfully, I got through Customs with no extra search and met my driver. After a fifty-five minute drive, I was finally home.


[This message has been edited by PresRDC (edited Mar 15, 2004).]