Aussie Flyer

To Japan in Style - Thai Royal First Class (Part 2 - SYD/BKK, TG476)

2012-02-08T13:53:00.001+11:00

Airline: Thai Airways International

Flight: TG476 Sydney - Bangkok

Aircraft: Boeing 747-400 HS-TGX (14 years old)

Seat: 2A (First Class)

Scheduled Departure: 10.00

Actual Departure: 10.05

Scheduled Arrival: 15.30

Actual Arrival: 15.20

Passenger Load: 4 out of 10 in First Class (40%)

YouTube Video of Flight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YalyUDxQ_A8

Check-in Zone for THAI

After landing in Sydney from Melbourne I took the Qantas shuttle straight over to international. I had carry on only with a plan to buy a new case in Thailand to bring back any extras I might buy overseas. It was about 8.10am as I arrived and the economy queue was relatively long. Fortunately there was nobody in the First Class queue although the check-in girl was dealing with someone as I arrived. Whilst standing in the queue a Thai representative came and confirmed I was in first class and asked my name. A moment later I was checked in and had my boarding pass and express departures card in hand.

Departures Display

I filled in my outbound passenger card and headed toward the express path area which was basically deserted, so I was straight through security and passport control and headed into the shopping area. I had a quick look at jackets (after leaving mine at home!), but decided it was all overpriced and I would have a look at Bangkok during my overnight visit.

I headed for the Air New Zealand lounge, skipping the option of the Singapore First lounge.

Express Path this way

Plane spotting - United, Delta, Air New Zealand and Emirates

I made my way into the lounge and as I was looking for my boarding pass in my bag I suddenly realised I had left my Samsonite passport wallet at the check-in desk. I spoke to the lounge agent who made a phone call to check-in who confirmed that they had found it and would deliver it to the gate area. Phew!

The lounge was quite busy with various NZ and star alliance departures. There was a great view of my aircraft HS-TGX, a 14 year old 747 delivered new to Thai in 1997.

Hs-TGX

Another shot

Air New Zealand Lounge

Yet another shot of my bird

I was pleased to see TGX parked at the gate as I knew it was one of the aircraft with the more modern first class seating and in the week before my flight Thai had been sending old configuration birds to Sydney on a regular basis! Much to the disgust of business class passengers who went from angled lie flats to recliners. But this was not the case today!

Not wanting to miss any of the champagne I headed down to the gate area early and picked up my passport wallet which was waiting for me. A minute later boarding was called for First and Business class. I made my way straight down the airbridge and was warmly greeted and escorted to my seat, 2A.

Boarding Area

It only took a matter of seconds before I was offered a hot towel and choice of welcome beverage. I asked for and was given, the Dom Perignon 2002. In fact all 4 first class passengers were drinking it as the welcome drink and we finished one bottle between us before takeoff, with me taking the last few drops! I declined opening another bottle before takeoff and told them to pop it after takeoff instead!

Menu's were provided and the rimowa amenity kit and noise cancelling headphones were waiting at each seat.

My seat

Menu - First Serving

Menu - Second Serving

Menu - White Wine

Menu - Red Wine

Menu - Champagne

Purple coloured pyjamas and slippers were also handed out before takeoff, with one passenger immediately heading to the lavatory and getting changed. I personally prefer to wait until we are in the air to remove shoes or change clothes, in case there is an emergency (highly unlikely I know) and we have to evacuate. I think I would feel rather silly standing on the tarmac in my purple pyjamas and slippers!

Rimowa kit and headphones

Rimowa amenity kit

Mr 1K in his PJ's

At 5 minutes past 10 am, with all passengers on board the doors were closed and we pushed back. The safety video was played and I made myself comfortable.... looking forward to the next 9 hours of first class travel.

Mr Tug Driver - thanks!

Taxi'ing past another Thai 747 waiting to perform the afternoon flight

Asiana and United patiently waiting behind us for takeoff

We made our way to runway 34L and were soon powering down the runway and into the grey skies. The loud noise of the nose wheel retracting is very noticeable on the 747 in the nose section. I quite like it myself, check the YouTube video to hear it.

Goodbye cloudy Sydney!

Airshow display

Once we were airborne I popped the lid for the entertainment unit and watched our progress on the map. I flipped through the entertainment guide and settled on watching the movie 'Contagion' (which was pretty ordinary by the way). The seatbelt sign was switched off once we were above the cloud layers and I decided to check out the lavatory. It featured Bvlgari fragrance and Aigner moisturiser. Anything else you might need is in the amenity kit.

Lavatory amenities

Seat 2A

Phitek noise cancelling headset - includes cleaning cloth to sanitise

The crew were quickly up and preparing the first class bar area in the centre of the cabin. here they had a selection of soft drinks and wines along with glasses and ice. You could help yourself at anytime which was quite handy.

Bar area

Once the bar was set up I was quickly offered drinks and warmed nuts. I selected the Dom Perignon along with Perrier sparkling mineral water. I was offered additional warm nuts once I had almost finished the first lot.

Very quickly the canapes arrived and the crew got out the very large table for me. If you have a friend on board they can sit on the ottoman and dine together with you if you wish.

Canapes

I was again offered a hot towel which was left on the table on a silver tray for use during the meal I assume.

Table setting

Next up was the caviar service and the crew came around with a trolley containing the caviar, garnitures and frozen smirnoff vodka. I decided to go for the whole lot.

The caviar trolley

my caviar - with shot of vodka

Once I was done with my caviar it was time for the appetiser. The table was set with a bowl of salad and my own bread basket. I was offered a choice of salad dressing between thousand island or balsamic, I took the balsamic. My appetiser was also presented and it looked quite appealing to me.

Appetiser

One upon a time I wouldnt eat much seafood but as I have aged I've really started appreciating prawns and scallops. So this went down very well indeed. There was a side sauce which went very well with it too. Next up was my main course, the Beef Fillet with Madeira sauce.

Main Course

The main meal was quite tasty and I finished it all off. Whilst I was eating the crew were very attentive with the wines and I tried one of the white wines which was quite good. I also tried the Veuve Rose which was fine, but I soon switched back to my favourite, the Dom Perignon. I'm not sure how many bottles they loaded but it didn't run out at all thankfully.

I was already getting full by this stage but I wasn't going to miss out on anything so when the fruit and cheese tray came out I took a sample of the lot!

Fruit and Cheese tray

What I received after asking for 'the lot'

the bar

I slowly picked away at my fruit and cheese whilst i continued to watch my movie. Once I was done the crew came around and offered dessert. It was an apple and berry crumble with vanilla sauce. To go with that I asked for a cappuccino. I was also given a ferrero rocher chocolate!

Dessert

After all that food and wine I was almost ready to burst but I was very pleased! The crew soon turned out the lights so people could sleep if they wished. After a meal like that and very little sleep the night before I passed out for about 3 hours or so on the very comfortable bed. It's a pity only a thin economy class style blanket was on offer though.

Keeping business class passengers out is this very large curtain

Thai's uniquely configured 747 with galley on the side of the aircraft. First class toilets visible here too

After sleeping and watching tv it was time for the second meal service. This started about 90 minutes before arrival in Bangkok. Once again, my table was set and I opted for Dom Perignon and Perrier.

2nd meal table setting

By this stage I discovered they had Downton Abbey on the inflight entertainment system, it's one of my favourite shows. I watched episodes 1 and 2 before arrival in Bangkok. What could be better than sitting back drinking Dom in first class and watching Downton??? It's hard to beat!

Tom Yum Goong

Satay Chicken

Raspberry

Seat Controls

The captain announced our descent and weather for arrival in Bangkok as 'partly cloudy skies with temperature 32 degrees celsius'. During the descent we entered a holding pattern due to traffic congestion in Bangkok and we remained in the hold for about 15 or 20 minutes before continuing on to make a landing on runway 19R.

In the hold around some storm clouds

Arriving at gate C1

We made our way to gate C1 and disembarked. Thai Airways ground staff were waiting with signs displaying the names of the first class passengers. I made my way to my staff member and was soon on the buggy and speeding through the airport to express immigration.

Buggy ride

Once through immigration the ground staff asked if I needed any help with luggage, hotels or transport. I needed no help with any of them so I made my way landside and headed for a taxi into town. Overall a great flight with very attentive staff and nice food. Definitely a Royal First Class experience and I was looking forward to the following day's flight to Tokyo.

To Japan in Style - Thai Royal First Class (Part 1 - MEL/SYD)

2012-02-06T23:59:00.002+11:00

I travel back and forth between Melbourne and Asia many times per year, often in business, more often in economy.... but never in First Class. It was time to do something about it, and with the end of BMI Diamond Club in sight, a first class redemption to Asia was in order. There were no first class seats available on Singapore airlines on the dates I wanted to travel and Thai only operate a first class cabin to Sydney so this report covers the beginning of my journey, which would eventually find me in Japan. A very early morning flight on Qantas between Melbourne and Sydney.

My plan was to take the 10am flight out of Sydney to Bangkok so this meant an extremely early flight out of Melbourne, the 6am QF400 service. At 4am my alarm went off and I was up and in the shower. I had packed the night before so was well prepared to go. A quick taxi ride up to the Skybus station and I had my ticket in hand for the 4.45am airport bus.

Melbourne's Skybus ticket box at Southern Cross station in Melbourne

A quick check on my phone of TripIt showed all was in order with my flights currently scheduled to be on-time. Soon enough the bus arrived and myself and about 10 other earlybirds boarded it and we were on our way. At this point I realised I had forgotten my warm winter jacket which was essential for my trip to Tokyo where it was winter and subzero temperatures at night were normal!

It was too late to go back so I decided I would have to pick up a new jacket in Bangkok where I was having an overnight transit, or perhaps at the airport.

Just 20 minutes later the bus was arriving at Melbourne airport and I disembarked and made my way to the Qantas terminal and through security. I only had carry-on so I went straight to the lounge where they printed me a boarding pass.

Skybus Ride

Qantas check-in, just coming to life at 5.10am

Qantas Club

I settled down into a fairly empty Qantas club and grabbed some breakfast. I had fruit toast, bircher muesli and a coffee. No hot options in the lounge sadly, I needed to be over in the domestic business lounge for that but unfortunately my Qantas status was now only gold and not platinum as it once was... so I was stuck in the Qantas club. I had about 20 minutes spare before boarding was due to commence, so I watched the early morning news.

a Qantas Club breakfast

Seat 13A - exit row

At 5.40 am the lounge attendants announced the boarding of flight QF400 to Sydney. I picked up my belongings and headed to the gate.

Qantas Cityflyer marketing

QF400 - Qantas Cityflyer service is boarding now

Airline: Qantas Airways
Flight: QF400
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 (Winglets) VH-VZL (9 months old)
Seat: 13A (economy class exit row)

Scheduled Departure: 06:00
Actual Departure: 05:57

Scheduled Arrival: 07:25
Actual Arrival: 07:30

When I first made the reservation for this flight it was scheduled to be a Boeing 767-300 but about a week or 10 days before departure it was switched to a B737-800. I switched my seat allocation at the time to 13A for a bit of extra leg room. I was not disappointed when I got on board, as I discovered I was onboard one of the new Qantas 737's with audio video on demand in every seat. Nice!!

Welcome - iQ inflight entertainment

Heaps of legroom in the exit row, I could even cross my legs

Still pitch black outside during boarding

The flight was full in all classes and every last seat seemed to be occupied. The passengers were mostly business types as you could expect on a weekday morning. Everyone was polite and civilised as they read their newspapers or did some last minute work on their phones or laptops during boarding. Soon enough doors were closed and the safety video (no longer featuring John Travolta) was shown. The crew still stand in the aisles to do manual demonstrations of seatbelts and life jackets whilst the video plays.

At 5.57 am we pushed back and made our way to runway 27 just as the morning light was showing. A quick takeoff to the west and we were soon in cloud before popping out above it all with a beautiful sunrise in the distance.

Good morning!

It seems the clouds were restricted to the Melbourne area as they soon vanished as we headed north. Looking out the window I noticed the CFM engine manufacturers logo on the engine for the passengers benefit. Don't recall seeing it before so I took a photo:

What a lovely morning!

The crew soon were up and serving a cold breakfast. The tray consisted of bircher muesli, a packed of dried aprictors, orange juice and coffee cup. Apples were available upon request along with extra bottles of juice. Soon after the trays were handed out the crew came around with both tea and coffee. Suitable for a flight of 60 minutes although I still miss the hot breakfasts of the 90s.

The trays were soon collected and we were on descent into Sydney where the weather was looking pretty ordinary. Quite a lot of cloud and rain around Sydney this morning. Nevertheless we made a smooth approach and touch down on runway 34L. We taxi'ed past a Thai 747 on the way in, much like the one I would be traveling on a couple of hours later. However it was not that exact aircraft, that one was performing the afternoon flight to Bangkok.

On approach

taxi to gate

Disembarking!

One flight down, I was now in Sydney and it was time to get the Qantas shuttle across to international to check in for my first flight out of Australia in First Class! Stay tuned for part 2.

Delta Connection - First Class on the CRJ900

2012-01-15T00:05:00.001+11:00

A lot of the larger CRJ's flying around the USA these days are fitted with First Class cabins. This includes the Delta Connection (operated by Skywest) CRJ900. I had never flown on a CRJ900 but on a recent trip to the USA I had my chance and I took it! Today's flight is from Salt Lake City to Vancouver.

My CRJ900 parked at gate B2 in Salt Lake City

Airline: Delta Airlines (operated by Skywest)
Flight: DL4710 Salt Lake City - Vancouver
Aircraft: Bombardier CRJ-900
Seat: 3D - First Class

Scheduled Departure: 11.00
Actual Departure: 10.53

Scheduled Arrival: 12.22
Actual Arrival: 11.57

my CRJ900 parked at the jetbridge

I had arrived off a flight from Las Vegas with a pretty tight connection so I made my way immediately to gate B02. There was no time to visit any lounge. I was originally booked in economy but had been on the upgrade list due to my Flying Blue platinum status and I noticed my name was on the board as a confirmed upgrade. I made my way to the gate agent and picked up my new boarding pass for 3C. I enquired as to whether I might have a window seat and the agent informed me that 3D was empty anyway so I could have both seats. Bonus!

Boarding was called nice and early and I headed down the jetbridge. This was my first time seeing an aircraft parked at a jetbridge that also had fold out stairs. A small metal ramp is used to connect the jetway to the aircraft whilst the stairs sit underneath, unused.

The Captain doing his pre flight routine

I was welcome aboard by one of the two cabin crew working on the flight. The aircraft is fitted with 64 economy seats in a 2x2 configuration, and 12 first class seats in a 1x2 configuration. The overhead locker is removed on one side in first class for additional head space. There was a bottle of water already waiting at each first class seat and I sat down in 3D and got comfortable. As you can see below, there is one missing window in this row.

Seat 3D

The load in First was just 7 passengers with economy class looking only about two thirds full. Whilst boarding was underway the very friendly female flight attendant came around to each passenger in First taking pre departure drink orders. I had a coke.

Due to the light load boarding was completed early and we pushed back some 7 minutes ahead of schedule.... the rear engines starting up could only be faintly heard from up in row 3.

Preparing for departure

plenty of leg room

My pre departure coke

Lift off!

Soon after takeoff drink orders were taken, I had a vodka with ginger ale. Proper glassware was used, and immigration forms for Canada were also handed out.

Canada immigration form

There was no hot meal on this flight however the flight attendant came around with a basket of goodies including chips, chocolate bars and the like. I had some chips and a twix.

inflight first class 'meal'

The flight attendant serving First was pretty good with drink topups and I ordered another vodka along with some peanuts. She came back with 2 packets of Delta nuts.

Whilst I was snacking I sat back and read my book and as we headed north and towards Canada I noticed a few snow capped mountains. I decided to have a Baileys on ice before the descent.

Baileys

First Class

Overhead controls

We were soon on descent into Vancouver and the scenery was pretty nice with lots of snowy mountains. Weather in Vancouver was pretty cloudy but I did manage a view of the city whilst on approach.

Vancouver

Landing was routine and we parked at another jetway in Vancouver. That end of the airport was very quiet but by the time I got to immigration queues were quite a bit longer with a few arrivals from Asia coming in. The immigration officer had a few questions to ask about why I was in Canada such a short time but he seemed satisfied with my answers of being a 'flying freak' and I was soon landside and awaiting the Hilton shuttle bus!

A Short Hop on Air Canada Express from Vancouver to Seattle

2012-01-12T00:20:00.002+11:00

On a recent trip to the USA and Canada I was looking for a good deal for a flight from Vancouver to Las Vegas. United.com happened to spit out a routing which appealed to the aviation geek in me! Vancouver-Seattle-San Francisco-Las Vegas. With rides on Dash 8-300, Bombardier CRJ700 and Airbus A320-200. I snapped it up in an instant! I would get to add both a new carrier and TWO new types to my log.

Airline: Air Canada

Flight: AC8099 Vancouver - Seattle

Aircraft: DeHavilland Dash 8 - 300 C-GETA (delivered in 1989, 22 years young)

Seat: 8A (Economy Class)

Scheduled Departure: 17.50

Actual Departure: 18.08

Scheduled Arrival: 18.39

Actual Arrival: 18.48 (9 mins late)

I took the hotel shuttle from the Hilton Vancouver Airport (Richmond) and arrived almost 2 hours before departure time. A quick check of the departures board reveals 2 direct flights to Las Vegas leaving within 10 minutes of my flight to Seattle. Well, why fly direct when you can connect.... right? So say the aviation geeks anyway.

Departures Display at Vancouver

I proceeded to the Air Canada check-in counters where the check-in lady could not work out why on earth I was travelling such a difficult routing to Las Vegas but soon had a laugh when I explained myself. Boarding passes were issued for all 3 sectors and I made my way through to the USA departures area where we would pass through US immigration in Canada and arrive into the USA basically as a domestic flight.

Once through immigration I made my way to the Air Canada maple leaf lounge. It was pretty basic with very limited food options but nice big windows with views over the ramp.

Maple Leaf Lounge

Snacks and drinks in the Maple Leaf lounge

Views from Maple lounge - 2 x Westjet 737's

A Delta connection ERJ-170 pushes back

It was quite a long walk to my departure gate through a fairly deserted terminal and managed to take a snap of the aircraft operating my flight today. There was another Dash 8 just to its left which was operating a delayed service to Portland.

C-GETA, my Dash 8 ride to Seattle still in Jazz colours

Boarding was being called as I arrived and I made my way down the stairs and across the tarmac before settling into seat 8A. The aircraft was really showing its age and needed a new paint job. The windows were scratched and the inside very tatty. Still, it's about what I was expecting.

One of the pilots does his walkaround

Looking forward you can see our sole male flight attendant

leg room - sufficient for 40 minute flight

Seat back contents

The DHC8-300 seats 50 passengers and has one cabin crew member. Today we were served by a male flight attendant, who seemed only vaguely interested. Announcements were made in both english and french. There was a bit of a delay on the ground waiting for some late arriving passengers and we eventually departed about 18 minutes behind schedule. I had a tight connection so I was anxious that we got moving! Passenger load was approx 35 out of 50.

I do love the sound of those turboprop engines and from my seat I had a great view of the landing gear.

Wheels up!

Climb out

I actually did not expect any inflight service for a flight of just 30 minutes in the air but soon after takeoff the flight attendant did bring around some pretzels and a choice of juice or water.

inflight service

Just as soon as we were up, we were coming down again.

on descent

The sun was beginning to set but it stayed just light enough for our landing in the scenic Seattle area. I must visit this city again sometime! My first and only visit was as a 16 year old back in 1997.

short finals

Less than 30 minutes after lifting off in Vancouver we were wheels down in Seattle. Fortunately for me we parked at the United satellite that my next flight was departing from, meaning just a short stroll to the next gate. I had plenty of time!

My seat!

The Dash 8 gets ready to head back to Vancouver

All in all a good and enjoyable turboprop flight. I was impressed that a drink service was offered on a flight of such short length. Looking forward to planning some more turboprop sectors soon!

My 50th Youtube Video

2011-12-04T13:14:00.001+11:00

I have just uploaded my 50th Youtube video. It features a recent flight from Bangkok to Melbourne on Thai Airways business class. You can watch it below. If you have not already subscribed to my channel, please do! It is located at: www.youtube.com/dazz81

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW - Virgin Australia Short Haul Business, Sydney to Melbourne on the A330-200

2011-11-14T15:17:00.001+11:00

Now You're Flying

The world of Australian domestic aviation has changed recently. The once proudly low cost Virgin Blue has new management and a new direction, relaunching as premium airline: Virgin Australia. It's a gradual change but already we are seeing the new logo gradually being applied to the existing fleet, the introduction of two new aircraft types (the A330 and ATR72), and possibly most importantly, the introduction of domestic business class.

The domestic business class service arrived with the first A330 (ex-Emirates) and is featured initially only on the 'coast to coast' domestic runs between Sydney and Perth. The newly arrived 737s feature a similar business class seat although with lower seat pitch than the A330 and the existing fleet has been slowly refitted with business class seats too. There is sufficient refurbished and new build aircraft now (November 2011) for the airline to feature business class on ALL flights from the east coast to Perth and Virgin have announced business class service will be available around the rest of the domestic network starting January 2012.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA AIRBUS A330-200

So, how does an airline that never offered a business class product before prepare to launch the service? Well, one thing it can do is have test or sample flights where the crew can perfect the product and timing of services. It is one thing to operate business class on 4 or 5 hour flights to Perth, but completely another when you have barely 65 minutes in the air such as between Sydney and Melbourne. I just so happened to be a participant of one such test flight, operated by an A330-200 on the Sydney to Melbourne run. This is how they went....

Sydney Premium Entry for Virgin Australia

A friend had kindly driven me to the airport and we made use of the premium curbside entry in Sydney which has dedicated security and delivers you directly into the lounge without having to step foot in the main terminal. What a fantastic concept, I love it! It is available for business/premium economy passengers as well as gold and platinum frequent flyers.

Being a Saturday evening and on one of the last departing flights it was extremely quiet with nobody else in sight as I checked in at the desk. The lounge receptionist informed me my flight was delayed 30 mins as she checked me in and I was handed my boarding pass for seat 1A. I proceeded through security which was staffed by 4 people and I think they can't have been screening more than 10 people in the previous hour. What an easy job!

Premium Entry - Sydney

Departures display

The Sydney lounge is yet to undergo renovations to bring it up to the new standard as seen in Melbourne and Brisbane, but the premium entry more than makes up for it. It is still quite comfortable and there was a reasonable selection of cold meats, cheeses, bread, soup and dips to choose from. The bar had quite a good range of beer and wine and the barista service is available all day which is something that Qantas should definitely implement.

The Lounge - Sydney

The Lounge - Food and Beverage

View from the Lounge - pity it is not slightly higher

Being a Saturday night I felt sorry for the lounge staff with our flight (the last of the day) being 30 minutes late, meant they would be staying back late too! They did start to pack up the buffet as the clock approached 8pm, with one of them coming to ask if we needed anything else before they did. I decided to head to the gate before the boarding call was made as I wanted to take a photo of the aircraft.

THE FLIGHT

Airline: Virgin Australia
Flight: DJ888 Sydney - Melbourne
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200 VH-XFA (11 years old, formerly operated by Emirates)
Seat: 1A (Business Class)

Scheduled Departure: 20.00
Actual Departure: 20.22

Scheduled Arrival: 21.35
Actual Arrival: 21.55 (20 mins late)

VH-XFA at Gate 40

As I arrived at Gate 40 boarding had just commenced and I made use of the dedicated priority boarding queue. All passengers were boarding through the forward entry door which was connected to the jetbridge for this flight. I showed my boarding pass to the flight attendant at the entry and she warmly welcomed me on board and greeted me by surname directing me to my seat. I do like the greetings by surname, on any airline, I find it highly professional and courteous.

Seat 1A - Headsets in nice case found on each seat

The aircraft interior was refurbished into Virgin colours but I believe the seats are the same as Emirates just with new leather covers. Although not angled lie flats they are still quite comfortable with huge seat pitch and very generous recline. On a flight of under 5 hours I would say they are very comfortable.... and certainly superior to the Qantas 767 domestic offering. Each seat also has video screens available with many different channels running on a loop system. I expect audio video on demand will be a feature on the new build A330's that Virgin receive in the future.

As I was being seated a Virgin staff member came to see me and addressed me by name again (in fact I was addressed by my surname throughout the flight which was very impressive). This staff member was not a part of the cabin crew but he was on board to get feedback from the passengers about the new service. I was given a survey and pen to fill out. Shortly after a male member of the cabin crew came and offered either water or the Luke Mangan signature mocktail as a pre-takeoff drink. I took the mocktail which was kind of spicy but very delicious.

Luke Mangan mocktail

Legroom - nobody will be complaining about the lack of!

Business class was completely full, mostly of status passengers and presumably those on premium and flexi fares. As the cabin filled up the crew came around and offered newspapers.

The entertainment system was not yet available but boarding was pretty quick and we were soon pushing back from the gate. An animated safety video played with a single crew member standing in the aisle to point out the exits at the appropriate point of the video.

Add caption

Once the video was complete the cabin was dimmed and we headed for runway 16R and departed to the south. There was a little light turbulence as we climbed into the night sky and everyone got comfortable.

Seat Controls

Flight information

Soon after takeoff there was a PA which was played only in the business class cabin welcoming us on board and explaining the services available on board. Shortly after I could faintly hear a similar announcement coming from the economy cabin behind us explaining the buy on board food options. Just after the PA the entertainment system started up. I started watching an episode of the Simpsons while I waited for dinner... and we waited.... and we waited....

At this point dinner service had not yet commenced

I'm not sure exactly what the delay was but as you can see in the above photo - it was quite some way into the flight before dinner service commenced. I would have assumed that the hot meals would be in the oven on the ground so that they could start service as soon as the crew could get up from their seats. Anyway, eventually a trolley appeared in each aisle with 2 crew on each of them. There was 2 options, one of them was vegetarian and the other was Moroccan Lamb. I chose the lamb and it was presented on a single tray as you can see below:

First things first... why the aluminium foil? That is VERY economy class I'm afraid. I believe the foil should be removed by the crew just prior to presenting the tray to the passenger. The bread was offered from a basket shortly after the tray was placed on the table. Also on offer was either red or white wine, and either still or sparkling water. No other drinks were offered although I guess they were available?

The Reveal

The tray consisted of a green leaf salad with vinaigrette, bread with olive oil and dukah, a box containing two chocolate covered macadamia nuts and the main course. Can I firstly say the bread with oil and dukah was very nice! Bread was fresh and quality seemed really high. The salad though was very dull, nothing but leaf. I guess that's pretty standard though.

Bread with oil and dukah

Unfortunately the lamb main course left a lot to be desired. It was simply too dry, I guess the high altitude doesn't help things but it needed to be more saucy. By the time it hit my tray table there was very little sauce at all, and with all that cous cous you need some! It was edible, but only just. Luke Mangan - please fix it!

By the time the crew had served the last row of business class our descent was commencing and the crew came to remove my tray. There was NO top up of wine, and NO tea or coffee service. I know this is a trial service so they are certainly allowed to make mistakes but I think by this stage of the flight Qantas would have offered more wine, more bread and coffee. Something for them to work on, and I certainly mentioned it in the survey I had been given:

A few moments later the seat belt sign was illuminated and it was time to bring the chairs back into the upright position and prepare for landing.

We made a standard approach onto Melbourne's runway 16 with a relatively smooth landing. We made our way to the A330 gate at the Virgin terminal where the jetway was connected to door 2L. The cabin crew were on hand to ensure the economy class passengers allowed business class to exit first, this is certainly appreciated.

About to park at the gate

The seats as we disembark

My seat

Overall it was a good experience, they just need to work on the quality of the main course and the timing of the service. The crew really need to be up and serving dinner as soon as possible on these short flights. And somebody walking through the cabin with wine bottles for top ups would certainly be appreciated. My other gripe is the width of the business seats, have a look at the last picture above - the seat really is pretty narrow. With the terribly awkward position of the handset built in against your leg you will find the tv channels changing if you move your leg at all. Seating in a 2 x 2 x 2 arrangement would be better, with a bit more seat width please. Or at least move the handset location.

I absolutely can not fault the customer service at ALL stages, both at the lounge, and on board. The staff were exemplary at all times, and highly professional. There was NO funny business which Virgin had been known for before (like making jokes over the PA). This was greatly appreciated by me. If Virgin keep this up they just might win me over from Qantas, at least part of my travel may head their way anyway.

Now, if only they would just join Star Alliance!

Riding the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 with Delta

2011-11-09T04:47:00.003+11:00

As an avid frequent flyer and aviation fan I try to ride on as many different types of aircraft as possible. With this in mind I recently needed to get from Las Vegas to Vancouver and one of the options was Delta Airlines via Salt Lake City with a ride in the McDonnell Douglas MD-90. The MD-90 is an upgraded version of the older MD-80 with more modern IAE V2500 engines (like those found on the Airbus A320) and a longer fuselage. The aircraft was not a huge success and according to Wikipedia there is just 74 aircraft in airline service as of 2011. The majority of which fly with Delta, with Japan Airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines as other operators with several in the fleet. So for this reason I was excited to be able to book a flight on the MD90, it's not likely to happen again any time soon.

As a Flying Blue platinum member I had some status with Skyteam carrier Delta but there is no lounge for Skyteam at Las Vegas, so I stopped by Burger King for a croissan'wich breakfast. Today's flight DL790 is the second flight of the day to Salt Lake and was due to depart at 7.55am.

Breakfast!

Arriving at Gate D41 I was pleased to see the scheduled equipment parked at the gate. The aircraft for today was N927DN, a 12 year old MD-90 which was initially operated by China Eastern airlines. It was sold to Delta and joined them in July 2010.

N927DN Delta MD-90 at the gate

Boarding was called slightly late due to the crew waiting for the aircraft to cool down. Boarding was by zone number and as a Flying Blue platinum I was able to access priority boarding. Once on board I found my seat in the forward part of the economy cabin. I was impressed with the newness of the seating, obviously Delta had put new seats in when they took ownership of the aircraft. It was also fitted with inflight wi-fi, although there was no other entertainment and no tv screens at all.

Looking across from my seat during boarding

Looking across at a company Boeing 767-300 I believe it was bound for Atlanta

The aircraft is in a 2x3 configuration and leg room was tight. The flight was quite full so soon enough the seat beside me was occupied.

Leg Room

MD-90 overhead controls

MD-90 Cabin with Blue leather seating

Seatback contents

Overhead bins showing that wifi was available

Boarding was very slow with people stopping in the aisles stowing their baggage and a very full flight. Eventually doors were closed and we pushed back. The crew performed a manual safety demo with the forward crew member demonstrating each action to first class and then moving forward to the economy section to repeat the same action. The weather in Las Vegas was generally clear for the departure.

Taxi to the runway we see the dominant carrier at LAS - Southwest airlines

Making a right turn shortly after takeoff - love this scenery

climbing through some cloud

The takeoff was short and powerful and the MD-90 climbed steeply with a quick right hand turn to set course for Salt Lake City. The ride felt really stable and I enjoyed my view of the engine-less wings. Flight time was just 1 hour to Salt Lake so the crew quickly sprung into action and commenced service. Drinks were limited to either juice or coffee. I was surprised that a full range of soft drinks was not available like on United. They did offer a Delta biscuit to go with the half glass of juice I was handed. I noticed the lady opposite me asked for a tea which the crew did get for her from the galley despite it not being on the trolley.

Juice and Biscuit - the biscuit has the Delta logo on it too

It wasn't long before we were on descent and were being treated to some pretty fantastic views!

Mountains on descent to Salt Lake

Some kind of mine near Salt Lake

The approach took us along the coast of the lake before making a couple of right turns and approaching the airport from the north. The landing was super smooth and we docked at the gate about 10 minutes behind schedule.

On the ground at Delta Hub - Salt Lake city

Parking next to a Delta connection CRJ900

I am not likely to ride an MD-90 again any time soon but it was great to tick it off the 'types flown on' list. The Delta service was typical USA airline service, not bad but not particularly good. They got me their efficiently and basically on time.... my next sector was to Vancouver, I'll report on that next.

Qantas Grounded - A sad day in Australian aviation history

2011-10-29T19:05:00.003+11:00

October 29, 2011 is going down in history in Australia as the day Qantas ceased flying, due to industrial action. I am still in a state of shock but for all who don't know Qantas mainline services worldwide are now grounded due to ongoing industrial disputes with 3 unions. The announcement was made by the CEO at 5pm eastern daylight savings time.

For those flying QantasLink and Jetstar, your flights are not affected. It is an awful day for everyone involved and I hope it will be resolved as soon as possible. My thoughts go out to the employees and their families who will be affected, along with the passengers who are being disrupted.