Hong Kong to Switzerland with Air Berlin Cancellation
Autumn is a great time to visit Europe. The crowds are gone, the students have gone back to school, and temperatures drop. I had wanted to return to Switzerland for a 3rd time after the previous 2 trips were met with bad weather. I had kept an eye on airfares over a few weeks in the summer, with Qatar initially winning with a sub-HKD 4000 price including tax - a great deal for the time of year. As I procrasinated, their prices creeped up but Etihad came to the rescue. After Air Berlin, one of their affiliates, announced bankruptcy proceedings, I thought it would be interesting to experience one of their flights before they close up for good. My trip would start in Berlin and end in Zurich. All for about HKD 4600.
Etihad offers an evening departure out of Hong Kong, arriving in Abu Dhabi before midnight. I like this flight as I didn't need to sleep along the way, and would arrive in the UAE a bit tired for the night at the airport hotel. I would wake up refreshed and continue my journey to Berlin the next morning, which should keep jet lag at a minimum. Both these flights would be on the A330, which is great for my window seat as it is only 1 person away from the aisle for the lavatory. Unfortunately, Air Berlin does not allow advanced seat slection.
Air-side, spotting was decent with some interesting Dreamliners.
My bird would be in traditional colours tonight.
We boarded as another rainstorm began, and soon I heard the lightning alarm come off at the airport. I guess we would be a bit delayed tonight as the crews waited for the storm to pass. The flight deck updated us to confirm the alarm and the delay. We ended up pushing back half an hour late.
My previous Etihad flights were not particularly impressive. The IFE and food could not compare to Emirates, and that opinion still held tonight.
However, one thing about the IFE I particularly liked was the live TV option, which was available for several international networks.
The flight map was also quite good - not as futuristic as what the latest offers out there, but still provides all the info I need.
The wifi option was well-advertised and a nice feature for these long-haul flights.
As expected, we arrived at a bus gate. The new terminal was nowhere near completion, just as a few years ago on my last visit.
A huge crowd was exiting that late into the night. I was surprised to find China Daily being distributed here. Anyway, it wasn't a long walk to the airport hotel for a relaxing night.
As I checked my messages in my room, I found out my Air Berlin flight had been cancelled. In fact, many of their flights were suddenly cancelled for "operational reasons". Alarmed that I would be stranded in Abu Dhabi, I headed back to the terminal to find a customer service representative. T3 sent me to T1, and by this late hour, I had to wait and push a bit to get a supervisor to rebook me. I had initially been offered the same Air Berlin flight the day after on Sept. 5, but worried that could get cancelled again, I refused and asked to be rerouted to another German city, such as Frankfurt or Munich and then connect domestically to Berlin.
The agent checked a number of European ports and noted all were overbooked on Sept. 4. I was told it was due to the long weekend in the UAE. The only possible routing on their computer was through Belgrade on Air Serbia, another one of their querky affiliates, but it wasn't possible for them to book it for some reason.
Realizing my Germany portion of the trip would probably need to be abandoned, I asked to be sent to Geneva directly on Sept. 6, the next possible flight. The agent said most European ports would be available again by then after the long weekend, and moved me to that flight. I would then have 2 extra days to spend in the UAE. I guess it's not too bad to be stranded in the UAE.
By now, it was late into the night, and early morning Hong Kong time. I went back to the hotel to extend my stay and retired for the night.
To be continued.
My full report : http://www.globalphotos.org/etihad3.htm