Kiwi Flyer

Transit in Amman again

We arrived on a remote stand. Brrr it was cold and with clouds looming even snow could not be discounted. Business class got the first bus, with other passengers held onboard until after our bus had left. Unlike Aden, this was a decent length bus ride with the remote stands well away from the terminal.

Another visit to the transfer desk where I got 2 more boarding passes. Up to the lounge again. By the time I freshened up and posted a bit more of this report board was called. This time at the gate boarding had only just started, but it was straight on for me.

I've just realised that so far, with the exception of Yemen, I've updated some of this trip report from every country visited to date.

Kiwi Flyer

AMMAN to LONDON HEATHROW (AMM-LHR) on Royal Jordanian Airlines A310-300 A321-200 in business class

Another good set of crew. Pre-departure drinks, menu, headset, amenity kit (I'd wondered if I got one the previous day due to being an evening flight), etc. The seat beside me was taken, but with business class not very full I was allowed to move to an empty row.

Lunch, some drink and a movie. Then I grabbed a couple more hours of sleep. This seems to be the pattern I've gotten into the past few days of sleeping 2-3 hours at a time.

We had a bit of turbulence over Turkey. Beautiful snow covered mountains and plateau in clear skies. Later on the Julian and main Alps were visible sticking out above cloud cover.

The flight show had our position stuck over West Bank the entire trip.

I awoke on final descent. A small gift had been left on the seat beside me - this time a small pottery container, hand-made according to the label.

Kiwi Flyer

Royal Jordanian Airlines
Business Class menu
Amman to London
December 2008

Lunch

Appetizers or Soup

Western Appetizers
Bresaola Beef Slices
Calamari Salad
Butterfly Shrumps
Cream Cheese with Basil

or

Oriental Appetizers
Mutabbal
Stuffed Vine Leaves
Hommos

Soup

Soup of the Day

Salad

Seasonal Salad

Main Course

Grilled Beef Steak with Tarragon Sauce
Chicken Stroganoff
Grilled Hamour Fish with Harra Sauce
Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan Cheese

A Selection of Fresh Vegetables
Mashed Potatoes
Mexican Basmati Rice

Cheese & Fruit

A Selection of International Cheeses
Fresh Fruit Basket

Desserts

A Selection of Desserts or Arabic Ice Cream

Soft Drinks and Juices

Orange, Apple, Mango, Tomato, Guava

Pepsi Cola, Diet Pepsi, Seven-Up, Diet Seven-Up

Tonic, Soda, Bitter Lemon, Ginger Ale, Perrier, Mineral Water

Beer

Amstel
Henninger

Aperitifs

Martini Sweet and Dry
Campari
Johny Walker Black Label [sic]
Gordon's Gin
Absolut Vodka

Liqueurs

Cointreau
Drambuie
Bailey's Irish Cream
Cognac XO or VSOP
Fine Port Wine


Wine List

Served from 1st to the 15th of each month

White Wine

Machareus
A medley of chardonnay and sauvignon grapes from the vineyards of Madaba, Jordan. Crystal pale yellow in colour with an aroma of smokey ctirus fruits. This fresh, light and dry wine is a perfect partner for seafood, salads or poultry.

Laroche Chablis 2007
Brilliant yellow, crisp, fresh to the palate. This classic French chardonnay is refreshingly smooth and harmonious with a hint of pear and apple. Enjoy as an aperitif as well as with fish, poultry or salad dishes.

Champagne

Moet & Chandon
Sparkling pale yellow green shades, delicately fruity and floral nose with a nuance of brioche. Deliciously dry and crisp to the palate, makes it perfect to drink at any time or to accompany salads, seafood and white meats.

Red Wine

Vin D'Ammon
A blend of merlot and cinsault grapes grown in historical Madaba, Jordan. Dark ruby red, this wine has a fruity bouquet of blackcurrants and cherries with a hint of nuts. Smooth and refreshingly dry, it makes for a perfect accompaniment for red meats and cheeses.

Hazendal Shiraz Stellenbosch 2003
Rich ruby red, aromas of red berry, musk and oak. Delicious rich fruit flavours and allspice balanced by fine tannins. Pairs well with red meats dishes, cheeses and pasta.

Served from 16th to the end of each month

White Wine

Machareus
A medley of chardonnay and sauvignon grapes from the vineyards of Madaba, Jordan. Crystal pale yellow in colour with an aroma of smokey ctirus fruits. This fresh, light and dry wine is a perfect partner for seafood, salads or poultry.

Mapu Sauvignon Chardonnay 2005
Light yellow in colour with a nose that reveals floral and citrus aromas, mingled with apricot. Smooth to the palate with tropical fruit and a crisp finish. Enjoy as an aperitif as well as with fish, white meats and salads.

Champagne

Moet & Chandon
Sparkling pale yellow green shades, delicately fruity and floral nose with a nuance of brioche. Deliciously dry and crisp to the palate, makes it perfect to drink at any time or to accompany salads, seafood and white meats.

Red Wine

Vin D'Ammon
A blend of merlot and cinsault grapes grown in historical Madaba, Jordan. Dark ruby red, this wine has a fruity bouquet of blackcurrants and cherries with a hint of nuts. Smooth and refreshingly dry, it makes for a perfect accompaniment for red meats and cheeses.

Calvet Reserve Merlot 2005
Lovely ruby colour, strawberry, blackcurrant with aroma's of sandalwood and cedar, full bodied long finish with notes of gingerbread and black pepper. A perfect partner to red meat, game and cheese.

Kiwi Flyer

Thanks, but the trip is but half over. There is plenty more to come.

I agree. Even in supposedly empty or boring landscapes I usually find something of interest. The view is rarely unchanging when seen from an aircraft. I don't post much about clouds, but I do like looking at them too. They show the dynamism of the atmosphere.

Kiwi Flyer

Transit in London Heathrow again

On arrival we had a quick passport check at the top of the airbridge, then a long walk to flight connections where I just missed a bus. Fortunately the wait is less than 10 minutes to the next one, most of this time spent onboard a bus which pulled in straight after the other left.

On arrival at T5 up a level, along a corridor and around the corner. I decided to get my boarding pass changed at the service desk (to be on BA stock instead of RJ) rather than get to the security point and find I needed it done.

There was a fast-track lane at the conformance check I think it is called. But as there was no queue here, and lead to the same escalators up to security, it saved exactly no time. Upstairs I got to see the T5 security for the first time. I don't like it. Not only do we still have to remove shoes, but the system of putting everything in trays and not removing the tray is a bad design. In my case an old lady who very clearly needed assistance but was not getting any from security staff (who even shouted at other passengers who were trying to help to stop helping the old lady). Her bin was stuck at the end as she was having difficulty getting her things together. Then several empty bins stretching back into the machine. Then a big bunch of passengers who could only stand there while their stuff was stationery either in the guts of the machine or on the other side. None of the bins could move until the old lady had gotten all her stuff out, and none of us were allowed to remove the empty bins in order that the rest of the line can move. Grrrr.

Then the walk to the lounges that twists and turns through the terminal only to end near where I'd arrived on the transfer bus. It has taken a while but I reckon I've finally found a terminal that is worse designed than Auckland international terminal for forcing passengers to go twice the distance they need to and across multiple levels. Up, up, down, up. Bah.

I grabbed a much needed shower to freshen up then into the first lounge.

Champagne on offer was Lanson Rose and Cattier (?), but these were taken away before I'd even gotten through half a bottle. What is the point of a champagne bar that only has empty glasses and nothing else?

Thai-Kiwi

Hey Kiwi Flyer, as always a great read (especially now since the AUS-SAF 2nd test is complete, with an historic win to SAF).

Safe travels and all the best for 2009! Do you know yet where, precisely, New Year will fall for you?!

Kind regards, TK

futaris

To say the least... I can't recall a more odd transit in a recent Trip Report. Anyhow, made for some interesting reading.

WellingtonFF

Don't even talk about the 2nd test Thai-Kiwi, I was there at the MCG until the bitter end yesterday

Thai-Kiwi

Sorry

PM when next in WLG and I'll buy the first beer.

Actually, a WLG gathering is probably not a bad idea.......

Cheers all, TK

Kiwi Flyer

After writing up some more of this report I logged off and explored the lounge. Near the wine bar are some extra computers, thus neatly solving the drink problem.

The lounge steadily emptied for I was on one of the last flights of the night. ABout 40 minutes prior to departure I left the lounge. Despite having the furthest gate in the satellite terminal, it took about 5 minutes to reach the gate and not the 20 minutes indicated on the signs. I´d timed it well, arriving just seconds before boarding began.

Kiwi Flyer

British Airways
First Class menu
London First Class Lounge
December 2008

Breakfast

Starters

A selection of plain or fruit yoghurt

Selection of cereals

A choice of fresh fruit segments

Bakery

Hot toast

Variety of danishes and pastries

Grilled bacon baguette

Sautéed mushroom and tomato baguette

Food to order

Scrambled eggs, bacon and baked beans

Scrambled eggs, mushroom and baked beans

Accompaniments

Orange marmalade, honey and preserves


Rest of the Day

Savouries

Cold Counter

Fresh seasonal salads

Variety of dips and crudites

Chef´s selection of cheeses

Continental sliced meats

Freshly prepared sandwiches and bagels

Hot Counter

Chilli con carne served with rice

Mushroom Stroganoff served with rice

Smoked salmon fish cakes

Steak and ale pie

Tomato, Feta cheese and roast red pepper open pie

Food to order

Fresh soup of the day served with a variety of Continental breads

Two freshly prepared pasta dishes

Sausage and mash served with onion gravy

Two freshly prepared risotto dishes

Two freshly prepared toasted paninis

Freshly prepared chicken Caesar salad

Desserts

To order

Selection of mini sorbet

Lemon tart

Duo cheese cake

Afternoon tea selection

Kiwi Flyer

I think I know, but I´ve already had one very close call on misconnecting today so who knows?

WellingtonFF

Yes, I missed the last one, I think I was In MEL. Will PM when I get back to WLG, which should be in about two weeks. None of my Kiwi mates have shown any sympathy whatever over the MEL disaster

MilesDependent

Interesting reports. Keep them coming. I feel jet-lagged reading them, letalone actually travelling them! I am impressed by your stamina.

Kiwi Flyer

LONDON HEATHROW to SAO PAULO (LHR-GRU) on British Airways 747-400 in business class

I´d again nabbed a good seat and it wasn´t seat shifted away from me. Pre-departure drinks (yes one benefit of boarding early is getting a second drink, at least sometimes), menus and amenity kits were handed out, as well as newspapers.

We pushed back ontime but then held on the taxiway for a ridiculously long time given the hour and lack of flights. Eventually we were underway. Post take-off drinks and packet of nuts, then quickly followed by dinner service.

I was soon reminded why I do not like the BA Club World seat (new or old version). Not only is it narrow and claustrophobic, far more so than the herringbone suites of VS/NZ/CX/AC which are sometimes criticised on FT, but also you feel every movement made by the passenger beside you, or behind you if they adjust their footrest. The pax in 13A seemed to have a lot of trouble with their footrest - for the first hour of the flight there was an incessant banging and shaking of my seat. Very annoying.

I´d hoped to get a long sleep but only managed a couple of hours.

Breakfast was served a couple of hours before arrival at Sao Paulo.

Edited to add - I was given a survey to complete. I gave good marks to the crew who were wonderful in keeping my glass topped up, and poor marks to the product. The bumps caused by those seated beside and behind me were really annoying.