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.)