February 24, 2019
Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair


Most FlyerTalkers are into upgrades and mileage accrual (I’d estimate about 99.95% of you) so I won’t waste your time describing all the various items for sale at the fair. Instead, I’ll go the quick and easy photo report route and then we’ll get back to the trip at hand.



Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair


Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair


Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair


Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair


Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair


Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair



February 25, 2019
Arkia Airlines Economy Class ~ A321LR Neo ~ Amsterdam, NL to Tel Aviv, IL ~ 230p – 800p ~ Lunch

Arkia is one of those obscure airlines you hear about now and then but never expect to fly upon. El Al grabs all the headlines as Israel’s national airline, but over the years Arkia has steadily grown into Israel’s second largest airline with a strong regional presence throughout Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.

As you may recall, the reason I am flying home via Tel Aviv is because I wanted to make the most of my First Class award on British Airways. Flights to London from European cities and most regional Middle Eastern cities offer no better than Business Class which in most cases is an Economy Class seat with a light meal offered. BA’s two daily 777 departures between Tel Aviv and London offered a full international First Class service complete with suites, menus and seven course meals.

Check-in at Schiphol was interesting. Arkia’s check-in area is located way down at the far end of the airport terminal and of course the hotel shuttle dropped me off at the opposite end of the terminal. Upon arrival, I joined a line of about a dozen people. Before approaching the counter, we were first interviewed by security personnel. Understandably they thought it a bit odd that anyone would fly back to the U.S. via Israel, and so I was invited to join a couple of them at a nearby private room for further questioning.

Now, now – it’s not as bad as it sounds. Their questions were reasonable and straightforward, as were my answers. You may recall I had wanted to stay in Israel for 3-5 days but unfortunately there was no award space available on BA until nine days out. In the meantime I had receipts and confirmations printed out for all of my airlines, hotels and rental cars for this trip and so, after few minutes it was determined that while my travel plans might qualify me as a bit eccentric, I did not appear to represent any viable threat to the State of Israel.

With a couple hours to burn before departure time, I decided to check out my lounge options. Surprisingly – given the size of Schiphol and all of my various lounge memberships – those options were limited to a pair of independent Aspire Lounges. Arkia is not affiliated with any airline alliances such as Star Alliance, so my United Club card did me no good. Priority Pass got me into the Aspire Lounge, however. Unfortunately, the lounge was located on the other side of the airport from where my Arkia flight would be departing, but what the heck – I’ve got time, so… better get walkin’…

It took me a while to find it, but once I’d made my way up the correct escalator and made a sharp U-turn, the lounge entrance loomed ahead. After all I went through to get here, I wish I could tell you that the Aspire Lounge was a wonderful oasis of comfort, style and quality foodstuffs in the heart of Schiphol. Alas, the Aspire Lounge 41 was – to me at least - adequate at best. Certainly it was a far cry from the quality you’d expect from a similar independent type lounge found in Asia or Australia. The wooden floors and stiff cushioned couches lent a utilitarian air to this lounge. Picture Here. The food offerings were very basic (A soup that was mostly broth, shredded cabbage salad, rolls, cheese slices and turkey slices) while the beer was standard Heineken served off the tap. I didn’t check out the other drink options and eventually settled for a turkey & cheese roll with a glass of water.

One good thing this lounge did have was an excellent view of the central airport tarmac. As expected the ramp was dominated by lots of pretty blue and white KLM planes offset today by a red tailed Turkish 737 and a Delta widget liveried A330.



Amsterdam Tarmac View


Amsterdam Tarmac View


Finally I commenced the long walk over to the G Concourse, located on the far side of the airport – the very last concourse down. It took me about 15 minutes but the sight of my shiny new A321NEO-LR parked at the gate was worth the shoe leather.



Arkia’s A321NEO awaits boarding


Arkia is the launch customer for the 321LR and to commemorate the occasion they’ve come up with an attractive new livery incorporating a multitude of colors slashing from the rear of the fuselage forward. The effect is quite striking really, and as an added bonus the colors vary from one plane to the next. The airplane assigned to my flight today was 4X-AGH – the very first 321LR delivered to Arkia. Here’s a nice view of it courtesy of Arkia’s public relations department…



Arkia’s First A321NEO 4X-AGH
Photo courtesy of Arkia


Boarding – Schmoarding – I’m no longer going to waste any time writing about the boarding process unless something noteworthy happens, such as the jet bridge collapsing. So what if it went smoothly. It’s just a bunch of people trying to get on an airplane and so they do and that’s that. Henceforth let’s not waste any more time writing of it.

So one of the things I look forward to when stepping aboard an airliner that I’ve not flown before is the visual impact of its interior. Is it bright and inviting? Is it spacious? Without anybody saying anything, does the interior in and of itself welcome you aboard the airplane?

Now here in America most all of the airlines are pretty boring, generally presenting us with a cabin full of dark blue or grey leather upholstered seats with plain white cabin walls and bulkheads. Thankfully, Arkia was more up to the task with beige and brown seats accented with colorful headrest covers. The seats were well padded, too – not the chintzy slim-line seats favored by so many carriers these days – and they were comfortable to sit in.

My seatmates were also well-padded – a couple of middle aged ladies assumedly returning to Israel from a European holiday. They spoke very little English, so apart from an initially awkward greeting we ignored each other while they carried on and giggled like a couple of parakeets on nitrous throughout the flight.

I should note here that Arkia does not offer a First or Business Class cabin. I’d say about ninety percent of my flights have come aboard mixed configuration aircraft, so to board an aircraft the size of an A321 and look out over that long cabin of six-across economy class seating is initially a bit disconcerting.

My worst ever experience in this regard was aboard a World Airways DC-10. When the DC-10 was introduced back in 1971, most airlines configured their economy cabins in a spacious 2-4-2 arrangement. Later, with deregulation pushing fares so low that airlines needed more seats per airplane to realize a profit (or even break even!) the configuration changed to 2-5-2. World, which was initially a supplemental or charter carrier, outfitted its DC-10s in a butt numbing 3-4-3 arrangement right from the get-go. Greyhound busses are more comfortable! Thankfully my flight on that aircraft was a short one – a one hour hop from Los Angeles up to Oakland. The only thing comparable today – from my experience at least – would be aboard European or American ULCCs (Ultra Low Cost Carriers) such as Ryanair, Vueling or Spirit.

This was my second flight aboard a 321NEO, the first having come aboard an Alaska jet back in November. The engines are not only more powerful but they’re also noticeably quieter. I was sat back in row 18 and the cabin noise and ambience was pleasant throughout the flight.

Flight time on this 2020 mile long flight to Tel Aviv was just a bit over four hours. I wasn’t sure what to expect with regards to service but found out soon enough when the drink cart made its appearance followed shortly thereafter by a flight attendant passing out complimentary pre-packaged tuna salad sandwiches on a roll. They were decently sized sandwiches but a bag of chips would certainly have been appreciated.

The aircraft had no Wi-Fi or in-seat power sources. Nor did it have any inflight entertainment. In this day and age that’s pretty surprising. Regardless, the seat was comfortable and I always have plenty of distractions in the form of a book, a magazine or two and a manila envelope full of crossword puzzles that I’ve torn out of the back of my “The Week” magazines. The flight passed quickly and soon we are soaring over the threshold and touching down nicely at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.

TLV is a medium sized airport that impressed me with its modern terminal building and spacious well-lit concourses. The signage was excellent and – surprisingly – customs and immigration was little more than a formality through which I passed with ease and alacrity.

I’d managed to find an affordable place to stay through Hotel.com. It was not a proper hotel per se but rather a small apartment located just upstairs from my host’s apartment. My host, Avi, met me outside Arrivals in a well-traveled little coupe – something like a Toyota Corolla. There was a bunch of stuff already in the trunk and the back seat but we managed to find room for my oversized suitcase (remember, I was lugging four boxes totaling nearly 30 pounds of postcards with me) and made our way over highways and side streets to Avi’s Place. Along the way we stopped at a bakery and I purchased a couple of items to have with coffee in the morning.



My balcony and table at Avi’s Place


The view of Tel Aviv from my balcony


The next morning, Avi delivered a full hot breakfast to me, carrying the tray of local delights up the narrow circular metal staircase. We chatted a bit over coffee. Like many Israelis I’ve met, Avi was well traveled including having worked for a few years in both New York and Miami. It was a shame that I couldn’t have stayed longer because Avi would have been a big help in helping arrange for things to see and do around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The next time I go back to Israel, it will be as a destination rather than an overnight stopover. I could easily see spending at least a week in the area and am already looking forward to making that happen someday – hopefully sooner than later.