Saturday, 12 July 2008
Madrid (MAD) – Barcelona (BCN)
Vueling, VY1021
19:19-20:21 (19:25-20:35)
Flying time: 00:46 (hrs)

Airbus A320-214
EC-JGM “The joy of vueling” (MSN 2407), delivered in 04/2005
Seat 24F

Web Check-in, Volume 2
Vueling offers to check-in online seven days prior to departure which is outstanding – actually I had checked in about 24 hours in advance. I had pre-reserved a seat at the time of booking for 2€ which is a reasonable price.

The joy of vueling…
From my spot in the Terminal I hadn’t noticed any Vueling plane arriving, so I was surprised to discover two of them parked next to each other while walking to my gate. The aircraft bound for BCN this evening was EC-JGM, a 2005 model named “The joy of vueling”. The picture quality could be better – but I can tell it’s not easy to take a picture through a dirty window.

Smiles not Included
The crowd at the gate was quite large so I concluded the flight would be full. Shortly after boarding was started, one of the gate agents stopped a passenger with a large carry-on. After a short test by the agent it was clear the bag would have to go into the belly but the passenger didn’t want to accept. He took out a sheet of paper and after a loud argument he was finally allowed to proceed with the bag. The two agents apparently hadn’t been in good mood even before – I’m quite sure their motivation was even worse now… 😉
As so often, passengers with seats in the front of the aircraft slowed down the whole boarding process and the queue was stuck for a while in the jetway. When I finally entered the cabin, the male FA next to the door didn’t even bother to say ANYTHING, he simply looked somewhere with a neutral face expression, but definitely not at the (unwelcome?) pax. Another (female) FA didn’t bother to behave differently… :rolleyes:

Cabin Comfort & Seating
The plane was equipped with gray leather seats and colorful headrest covers – that was the first and last positive impression on that aircraft…
When I finally arrived at my seat in row 24 I was shocked about the minimal legroom – actually that seat pitch is one of the worst I have ever experienced.

One problem is the conventional seat design – certain kinds of slimline seats really make a difference. The question is how the XL seat rows (10 Euro extra per seat) with slightly more legroom affect the pitch in the regular rows – considering that Vueling has installed the maximum of 180 seats on the A320s. :confused:
The flight wasn’t completely full, some seats remained empty – including the middle seat in my row. Actually Vueling charges an extra fee of 25 Euro if you want to book a so-called Duo Seat (middle seat empty). I got that for free, but it still felt terribly cramped in that row – and the leather cover of the seats already looked quite worn. [i]”The joy of vueling”[/i]? I’m sorry to say that [i]”The pain of vueling”[/i] would have been a more appropriate name…

The Missing Flap Hinge Fairing
When I had just found a somehow acceptable seating position I discovered this – a missing flap hinge fairing on the wing:

As an experienced flyer I couldn’t care less about such a missing cover, but I’m not sure how unexperienced travellers or even people with fear of flying react to that…

Crew Introduction & the Stream of Music
Pop music from the charts had been played all the time since I had boarded the plane – actually not the best choice of tracks, in my opinion. Finally the music was stopped when the purser introduced the crew to the passengers. I didn’t hear the whole speech, but according to her, the first officer was from Toulouse and most FAs from Madrid. Nice idea, I must admit. The safety demonstration was done manually due to the lack of video screens on that aircraft. Some minutes later EC-JGM turned in and lifted off into bumpy skies after a rather long takeoff roll.

That looks like a nice neighborhood:

Short Inflight Sale
Like many LCCs, Vueling offers a wide range of food and snacks for sale. I would rate the prices as average, not cheap, but not overprized either. Anyway, the inflight sale only lasted a few minutes until the captain announced turbulences for the rest of the flight.

Goodbye, blue skies – there was a layer of thick clouds ahead on approach to Barcelona:

What a scenery: Dark sky over the sea…

…and a few sunny spots:

The final descent was not as bumpy as expected – it seems we touched down just moments before the thunderstorm really got started.

We reached the gate more than ten minutes ahead of schedule and while the crowd was blocking the aisle I could enjoy listening to the chart hits again… :rolleyes:
Anyway, I got off soon and quickly walked to the exit – where I was surprised about the very heavy rain and the masses of water on the streets. What a thunderstorm – not the kind of weather you would expect on a short trip to Barcelona…

Frontair Congress Hotel – Surprise Included
When searching for hotels in April I found the new Frontair Congress hotel in Sant Boi de Llobregat (opened in June) – actually quite cheap (60 Euro) compared to many others – and it offered a free shuttle service. I booked a room after I had been told via e-mail that they would pick me up – even though they said the shuttle timetable wouldn’t be finalized yet. One day prior to departure I had written again to remind them, also mentioning flight number and arrival time…

Well, after seeing the masses of people waiting in front of the terminals, with endless rows of cars moving slowly through the rain I wasn’t very optimistic about finding the shuttle. First of all, after asking at an info desk, I walked to the shuttle bus stop in front of Terminal B (Vueling flights arrive at Terminal C). It wasn’t a long way, but enough to get totally wet in the heavy rain. I finally called the hotel and they promised to be there in ten minutes – which actually happened. At the front desk I asked about the shuttle on the next morning – and the answer was priceless: “The shuttle doesn’t run on Sundays because it’s the driver’s day off.” :confused: :rolleyes:
Of course I was prepared for such a case and had a printout of the e-mail conversation ready – but I didn’t need it. I told them about the front desk manager’s promise and after a short discussion in Spanish one of the two ladies said: “We will call a taxi for you and pay for it.” Good news, considering that the taxi journey costs about 15 Euro.

Finally, after the first key card hadn’t worked, I entered my room. I must admit the interior was not to my taste…

Even though there was a non-smoking sign on the desk, the smell indicated it was a smokers’ room. Anyway, instead of complaining again I went straight to the supermarket some minutes before closing time – due to the lack of a minibar and vending machines in the hotel.

Conclusion
Flying Spanair was better than expected – friendly crews, a clean cabin and free snacks and drinks are good arguments in these days. Of course, the quality of catering could be better, but as I said before – the large rival Iberia doesn’t offer anything on European flights. The lack of sufficient leg room is a negative aspect, even though it was better than on the company’s A32X models. I don’t mind much about the lack of IFE on European flights – and that is even less important to me when flying on a Mad Dog. 😉

Other than expected, flying on Vueling wasn’t a pleasure at all. Booking flights and checking in is very convenient – but that’s about it. The cramped seating is terrible – and unfriendly crews can make the overall experience even worse. Vueling is not a special LCC as it may seem – it’s just another very average one in the LCC crowd. I once read that Vueling has been treating passengers well after cancellations, but I can’t comment on that. It will be interesting to see what happens to the product after the merger with clickair.

Best Regards,
PlaneHunter

Goodbye, Langkawi
Boarding was completed soon despite a load of about 90 percent and we started moving 15 minutes early. LGK’s control tower:

Usually MH flies 737-400s to LGK, but depending on demand it may be an A330 sometimes. This is 9M-MKV, a -223 model formerly active with Sabena:

We lifted off after a rather long takeoff roll…

…and passed the [i]Pantai Cenang Beach[/i]…

…before breaking through the clouds.

Nice scenery as we were returning to mainland Malaysia:

Going for a Walk…
The remaining flight was uneventful – this time we had decided not to be [i]Snack Attack-ed[/i] again… 😉
Approach under a thick layer of grey clouds…

…and over countless palm trees:

As soon as we stopped at our parking position people rushed into the aisle. However, both front and rear doors were used, so we were out fast. This time the aircraft had been parked further away from the terminal entrance so we had to walk in the heat for a few minutes – actually it was the longest ramp walk ever. At least the walkways protect from rain:

There were large crowds in the arrivals hall, but our luggage arrived quickly and we soon headed to the bus stop area to catch Air Asia’s Skybus (painted in Air Asia colors) to KL Sentral station. We were lucky to get two remaining seats in a bus just about to leave, so we didn’t have to wait another 30 minutes. The bus was equipped with comfortable seats and air condition, not bad for a one-way price of 9 Ringgit. About one hour later we arrived at KL Sentral and checked in at the LeMeridien.
If you want to read more about our stay in Kuala Lumpur, simply click here:
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=82084

Conclusion
Air Asia flew us to and from Langkawi on time, using modern and clean aircraft – for a total of some 42 Euro (return) per person. Ground and flight crews were friendly everywhere which is not a given in the industry. Seating comfort is acceptable for short flights and the prices for food and drinks on board are very reasonable. However, in order to boost sales, food quality and presentation should be improved. The LCCT at KLIA is not a place where it is enjoyable to hang around for hours, but it’s a temporary solution anyway. It’s enough to be there two hours prior to departure, so anyone who needs to connect from the main terminal shouldn’t go too early. Overweight luggage fees aren’t great, but common among LCCs in these days. In the end, Air Asia’s low fares outweigh the few negative aspects, so I wouldn’t hesitate to fly the airline again.

Best Regards,
PlaneHunter

Lovely Langkawi…
We soon realized that Langkawi is a fantastic place to spend a holiday – you get a pretty landscape, beautiful white beaches, clean water, lots of sun and very friendly people. You can also choose from a long list of activities (nature tours, water sports) and not to forget – prices in general are reasonable.
There’s also a variety of nice hotels, but some of those are quite expensive. We picked the [i]Casa del Mar[/i] located at Pantai Cenang Beach – rated number one out of 55 Langkawi hotels on TripAdvisor. It’s not cheap, but not as pricey as some of the chain hotels on the island. Location, facilities, service, food and staff were great – actually we didn’t find anything to complain.

This is a part of [i]Pantai Cenang Beach[/i]:

Nice pavilion on the hotel ground, just a few meters from our room:

Sit down and relax…

Hotel pool area and main building in the morning:

The [i]Common Myna[/i] is, as the name says, a common bird on Langkawi. They walk elegantly, their song includes croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks and whistles – and they were really interested in our breakfast every morning…

On the second day we decided to book a dinner cruise around the archipelago. On a schooner with only about 20 people on board you can enjoy the scenery…

…drinks and barbeque are included.

Langkawi is famous for beautiful sunsets…

Evening sky with ever-changing colors:

Another Langkawi speciality we can recommend is a mangrove boat tour (or a kayak tour, for those who like it). Starting point:

We booked a tour by Devs Adventures – we were only four tourists plus tour guide and boater which means we could ask many questions and learnt a lot about Langkawi’s flora and fauna.

We also met some wild monkeys while walking to a bat cave – and you really need to watch your stuff. One monkey grabbed a woman’s (orange) flashlight and fled onto a tree, but our tour guide reacted quickly, jumped onto that tree almost like Tarzan and shook it until the monkey threw back the flashlight… 😉

Well-camouflaged…and still a baby, according to our guide…

Big, but not as dangerous as some of its conspecifics: a brown jellyfish.

These are wild eagles hunting fishes. There are different theories on the origin of the name Langkawi. One suggests it’s a combination of “Lang” and “Kawi”: “Lang” comes from the Malay word “helang” which means eagle. In the past, innumerable eagles used to live on the island. “Kawi” is Sanskrit for marble, which is found in excess in this part of Malaysia. Both words formed “Helangkawi” which ultimately became Langkawi.

Ever wanted to feed a stingray? That’s possible at a fish farm in the mangroves.

Nice trail into the mangrove jungle:

Sunday, 22 June 2008
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Malaysia Airlines, MH006
23:50-06:30 (00:45-07:10)
Flying time: 12:04 (hrs)

Boeing 777-2H6ER
9M-MRQ (s/n 498 ), delivered in 12/2004
Economy Seat 36J

Check-in – but not at the Airport
After our late check-out at the LeMeridien and the evening visit to the Petronas Twin Towers’ skybridge we checked in for our flight home – well, not at the airport, but directly at KL Sentral Station. MH and a few other airlines offer check-in here which is very convenient, as you can leave your luggage, just enter the KLIA Express train and go straight to the gate. Friendly staff handed out the boarding passes quickly. Then we took the KLIA Express and arrived at the airport just 28 minutes later. We entered the main terminal departure hall for the first time and again I enjoyed the building’s great design. Then we went straight through security and took the train to the satellite terminal. The central area:

Our way to the gate:

MH006 delayed
A quick look at the departures screen showed that our flight would depart at 00:30, 40 minutes behind schedule. At that time it was about 21:00, so I assumed our plane would arrive late from another destination. However, a plane was already parked at C14 – it was 9M-MRQ, the latest 777 in the fleet, delivered in December 2004.

ATC Requirements
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and killed the remaining time by reading – spotting was absolutely impossible at night. I got exactly one registration – the very 9M-MRQ. Boarding was started earlier than expected and we were welcomed by friendly FAs. Again, load factor stood at about 80 percent in Economy. We sat down at 36J and 36K at about 00:15 and were surprised by the captain’s announcement. He said we wouldn’t be able to leave the ground earlier than 01:00 due to ATC requirements. Who knows what exactly that meant – at least they knew about the delay already hours in advance. Again FAs offered hot towels – as well as orange juice and water due to the delay. 9M-MRQ was finally pushed back at 00:45 and we lifted off from runway 32R 12 minutes later.

Late Night Dinner
Dinner service (chicken or fish curry) was started less than an hour in the air. And while cruising over the Bay of Bengal FAs had to sit down again due to turbulence. When the service was resumed, the meals had already cooled down a bit. Anyway, what we got was very tasty – and the portion was bigger than on MH005. But it makes no sense to serve a bigger portion in the middle of the night when people tend to eat less than during lunchtime. The pieces of chicken breast, the potato wedges and the slightly spicy sauce were really good, but I didn’t like the vegetables. The green salad with crabs wasn’t a culinary delight either, but I loved the caramel cream cake. Again, the orange juice served was the thin concentrate.

After dinner I reclined the seat and surprisingly managed to sleep for a few hours. When I woke up we had already passed Afghanistan and I decided to use the IFE again. Just like on 9M-MRB, the system worked well, so no reason to complain. Entertainment outside – a beautiful sunrise:

Snacks
While most people were sleeping FAs didn’t serve a snack during the night. However, snackpacks (similar contents as on MH005) and peanuts were available in the galley. I had a short chat with the friendly female supervisor and she spontaneously offered me a small bag of good candy, apparently from her personal stock. Later when she passed our row and served drinks she asked me and my girlfriend whether I had shared the candy… 😉

Breakfast
Two hours prior to our arrival at FRA a hot breakfast was served. We chose the omelette with chicken sausage, hash brown, mushrooms and green beans over Nasi Lemak. Again, it was a good and filling meal together with the fresh fruit and the croissant, even though the banana smoothie wasn’t to my taste. Not to forget – I cannot recommend MH’s coffee with its strange aftertaste.

After breakfast we were already cruising in full daylight and I used the chance to make a cabin-shot:

Approach
The 12 hours in the air had passed relatively fast and shortly before 07:00 we were on final approach to Frankfurt Airport’s runway 25R.

Pass Control Confusion
We stopped at the gate at 07:11 and said goodbye to 9M-MRQ. Some of the FAs in the front part of the cabin didn’t look very friendly when we passed them, but well, that can even happen on MH. Only two counters were open for passport control – and numerous people including us were confused by the signs. There was one large illuminated “non-EU” sign in the middle between the two counters – while rather small “non-EU” and “EU” signs were placed on the respective counters. Many people couldn’t see the tiny signs from behind and therefore lined up in the wrong queue. And as usual when I travel from FRA, the arrival area was a construction site…anyway, our luggage arrived soon, so we could head homewards.

Conclusion
Flying Malaysia Airlines was a pleasure, we can honestly say we were satisfied with our choice. Seating, IFE and facilities at KUL were excellent, cabins were clean and in good shape, service in the air and on the ground was really good. The vast majority of FAs and ground staff was very friendly. However, the overall experience wasn’t much better than on other Asian, Arabian and even some European carriers.

Based on a Skytrax rating, Malaysia belongs to a small number of 5-Star-Airlines. Apart from the fact that these ratings should be taken with a grain of salt anyway, the detailed listing on Skytrax shows that MH has 5 stars in total – but only 4 for long-haul Economy class. And I think that the 4-star-rating is absolutely satisfied. First of all, in order to deserve the 5-star-rating in Economy, the main meal service should be improved – bigger portions at the right time (e.g. during lunchtime) and an improved meal presentation would be appropriate. The selection of drinks could also be improved. MH also lacks a few details which are part of other (mostly Asian and Arabian) airlines’ long-haul products. Examples are amenity kits with socks, eye patch and earplugs, menu cards, aperitifs, ice cream or a self-service bar with a variety of snacks.

However, as I said, these are details – even without those I would certainly fly MH again and I can truly recommend the airline to anyone. As for Kuala Lumpur: It’s a great modern city with many attractions, definitely worth a visit.

Next report: KUL-LGK-KUL on Air Asia, including a selection of pics from Langkawi

Best Regards,
PlaneHunter

Thanks for all your comments!

Dear Planehunter
Thank you for yet another inspiring trip report I realy enjoy reading your
reports.
Do you be chance have any expirince traveling with SAA.
Best regard
Flyglad

Unfortunately I haven’t flown on SAA yet, even though their A346s are tempting…

What a fantastic report, thank you very much for sharing.
Two questions, & I’m sorry if I sound or am indeed thick!
1. What did your title mean, in the sense, first and last time?
2. Do you know why your T7 had an Irish reg?

1. That just means it was my first ever trip on AZ – and probably the last, considering the carrier’s problems.
2. Numerous AZ planes have Irish regs, they are leased from an Irish leasing company. Some more details here:
http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/9322.html

Have you ever flown and done a report on the Flying Kangaroo..I’d be fascinated to read it

I flew on Qantas a few times when I was traveling around Australia in fall 2006, e.g. on A332, 738, 744 and 763. I wrote reports for other forums – let me know if you’re interested in reading them.

PH

The Endless Line-up
Shortly after cargo doors had been closed were pushed back some minutes early at 16:01. Sistership I-DISE (on the very left) was scheduled to depart as AZ605 to Milan in the evening.

Another troubled carrier…

Just after the (enjoyable) GE90 start-up with noise, vibration and black smoke the captain welcomed us on board. [i]”As usual at JFK it is a very long way to the runway”,[/i] he said. And indeed, we would spend the next 30 minutes on the taxiway, followed by a Lufthansa 744…

…and various other aircraft…

…including CSA’s A310-300 OK-WAB which had flown me to JFK on the day before:

Finally, exactly 40 minutes after pushback it was our turn and the two GE90s accelerated the 777 for a powerful takeoff on runway 04L. The mighty twin lifted off shortly and I enjoyed some good views of the airport and Manhattan in the background, even though the weather wasn’t great at all. Busy time at JFK with interesting birds from around the world, e.g. Aerolineas Argentinas A343, Air Berlin A333, EL AL 744, Emirates 77W, Israir’s new A332 (in Eurofly colors), Kuwait Airways 777, South African A343, Swiss A332, Virgin Atlantic A346…

…Aer Lingus A330s, Air India 77L and 77W and Royal Jordanian A342.

The new jetBlue Terminal, quite a large building:

Last look at JFK…

…and some housing areas…

…before breaking through dense clouds.

The Ginger Ale-Test
FAs started offering drinks shortly and I decided to do a Ginger-Ale-test: It’s one of my favorite soft drinks and definitely NOT available on many carriers – usually it’s available on certain carriers famous for good service in general. After I had expressed my request a yound and friendly male FA intensified his smile, opened one of the trolley’s compartments, took out a green can, showed it to me while smiling even more and handed it out to me together with a cup, filled up with ice. Well, it was Canada Dry and not Schweppes like on SriLankan, but hey, it was Ginger Ale! Well done, Alitalia.

Delicious Dinner
Dinner was served some 60 minutes after takeoff. There was a choice of meat/veal and fish and I opted for the former.

The main course was a kind of veal goulash with pieces of tomato and broccoli – the sauce as well as the tender meat and the vegetables tasted delicious. In addition to the goulash, there was an extra plate with tasty scalloped cannelloni. I wasn’t sure about the filling, I guess it was a mixture of spinach and ricotta cheese. I also liked the slices of ham on top of the carrot and celery salad. The two bread rolls weren’t bad either, not as hard as the stuff available on numerous carriers. Dessert consisted of some fresh pieces of melon and two grapes. I would have preferred a piece of cake, e.g. Tiramisu or Tartufo, but nevertheless, it was a very good meal – much better than most of the food I have got on various European and American long-haul carriers.

Joking FAs
The friendly male FA offered wine for dinner, but I ordered Tonic this time. After he had already handed out the cup to me, I requested some ice. He took it again and asked his colleague, the female FA in the late 30s, to put some ice into the cup. Apparently she misunderstood and filled the cup with water. When the male FA told her about the mistake, she quickly took a new cup and entirely filled it up with ice. The male FA then returned the cup to me and humorously said: [i]”She’s new.”[/i] 😉

Into the Night
After dinner I admired the scenery, with the sun slowly going down. It’s always a pleasure to watch the own plane’s contrail:

Seen so often, but never getting boring – beautiful light effects during sunset:

Last look at the sun:

I tried to find some sleep and killed some time by exploring the AVOD system. Other than expected, FAs passed through the cabin frequently and offered cups with water. They had also placed a tray with water and juice for self-service in the galley. Airshow check some hours later:

Back in European skies:

Snack
Some 30 minutes after takeoff drinks were served and pretzels handed out by the friendly F/As (all of them female, at least what I saw in Economy). They also offered the famous Becherovka (herbal bitters) and Gambrinus beer, but I decided to stick to Tonic with ice and lemon.

Lunch
Another 45 minutes later lunch was served. I don’t know whether there had originally been a choice, but when the ladies arrived at my row they didn’t ask, gave me a tray and just said “goulash”.

The design of the small bowls with salad and dessert looked nice, but the first impression didn’t last. When I opened the main course bowl and tasted the sauce I was immediately reminded of these cheap goulash soups sold in cans at the supermarket. The few pieces of beef were ok, but the thin sauce was unflavored and the five slices of potato were totally softened in the brown mess. The cabbage salad was excellent – it’s actually a Czech delicacy – but the mushroom salad in a kind of sweet and sour sauce wasn’t to my taste. The dessert, a pastry filled with vanilla cream which is also common in the Czech Republic, didn’t taste bad, but it was too rich. To sum it up: the whole meal wasn’t a culinary delight.

My seat neighbor told an F/A that she wouldn’t eat any meat – and it seems she hadn’t requested a special meal in advance. So after some time she and her husband got a large black food box – which contained a selection of bowls with kosher food. Apparently there was a certain stock of these boxes on board just in case. What I found interesting was that while the lady and her husband refused to eat “meat”, they didn’t mind about the chicken pieces in their main course… :confused:

Traffic on the Right
As we were crossing Ireland my seat neighbor’s husband suddenly said loudly: “Oh look, there’s another airplane really close!” Not just the lady tried to see it, but I was also alarmed and grabbed my binoculars. It was a US Airways A330-300 climbing to cruise altitude:

“Look at the exhaust!”, the man told his wife:

The plane was close, but not close close – so it wasn’t such a great surprise. But the man still seemed to be amazed by the sight and suddenly added: “That’s close. In American airspace they would never allow that.” I preferred not to start a discussion about that issue… 😉

Ice Formations
The next few hours weren’t a pleasure, with my back starting to hurt on that seat and the airshow channel mostly unavailable. I decided to stick to my book until I noticed a welcome change – beautiful ice formations on the ground…

…soon to be replaced by a dull scenery again:

Snack
About 90 minutes from landing F/As handed out snack boxes…

…containing a hot yeast pastry filled with ham and cheese, a mixed salad with cucumber, green and red peppers as well as a milk chocolate bar. Even though the pastry felt greasy on the touch, it tasted excellent – and so did the mixed salad. Well done, CSA. However, the chocolate bar was quite rich – why not replace it by similar bars containing tasty waffles the Czech Republic is famous for?

Approach
I killed the remaining time with reading and was glad when we finally started the descent into JFK Airport, passing this tiny island…

…and larger parts of Long Island…

…together with its long coastline.

Right turn and final descent…

…over some very nice housing areas.

We touched down at 14:10…

…and already arrived at the gate eight minutes later.

JFK Airport – Immigration
No other plane had arrived at Terminal 4 at the same time, so all CSA passengers were quickly allocated to the numerous immigration counters throughout the hall. Waiting time was less than ten minutes, not bad. Fingerprinting has always been an exciting issue in my case due to some missing fingertips – all the officers had so far handled that differently at different airports: same thumb twice (JFK), both thumbs (PHL) or the regular method with forefingers (MEM). For all those who are interested in reading more about that, here’s a link to the PHL-report, featuring some officers who were, well, a bit “overchallenged”:
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=54035

This time, the officer’s first question was how long I would stay in the US – actually this had never been the first question in all the years before. “One Day”, I answered and wasn’t sure about the reaction. The officer, who turned out to be a very friendly guy, looked a bit surprised. “Just one day?”, he asked. I had the impression he wanted to hear some more details and simply referred to my aims of accumulating miles and flying different airlines as part of my aviation hobby. I was glad he was satisfied with my explanation. Then it was picture and fingerprinting time and the officer was unsure about what to do with me. He asked about previous visits and the procedure at other US airports. I told him that it had been handled differently and then he first tried the regular method. When it didn’t work he decided to scan my left thumb twice. Then he entered some more data for a while and finally showed me a picture of me taken last year, asking whether that was me. I confirmed and finally got my passport stamped. It took me about 20 minutes from the plane to the luggage carousel – probably a new record.

JFK Airport – Spotting Spots
I grabbed my luggage, took the AirTrain and went to the station “Terminal 5/6” where I had found a nice place for registration spotting some years ago. There’s a corner with elevators – and with stairs located directly behind, almost out of sight for people heading to and from the terminal. Most travellers use the elevators so only few people walk around the corner. Due to dark green glass, nobody can see you from the street level or from the walkway to the terminal. The place used to provide great views of one runway, a part of jetBlue’s Terminal 6 and many aircraft taxiing to other terminals…these days are gone now. Due to the construction of a new walkway between jetBlue’s Terminal 6 and their new facilities at Terminal 5 the runway and ramp view is blocked. It is still possible to see a part of the ramp and taxiways between Terminals 5 and 4, but the view is quite limited. Depending on the takeoff direction it’s also possible to see and identify some departing aircraft.
A similar place can be found above the AirTrain station “Terminal 2/3” – actually it’s the better one now:

(picture taken on the next day)

Of course these are places where the airport authority doesn’t want to see spotters hanging around – there’s even one sign saying that “loitering is prohibited”. If registration spotters want to stay there without being hassled after a few minutes, it’s necessary to be discrete. Whenever I assumed people could come too close or even head to the stairs, I put my binoculars into my bag immediately. No, it’s not a great pleasure to hunt planes under these conditions, but there aren’t any alternatives at JFK if you don’t have a car.
I stayed there for a total of 1,5 hours in the afternoon (with breaks in between) and took the shuttle to the Holiday Inn Express in the early evening. Time to rest before flying back on the next day… 😉

Conclusion
Flying CSA Czech Airlines was neither remarkably good nor remarkably bad – I would rate the flight experience to be rather average. Of course their long-haul equipment (along with cabin comfort and IFE) is totally outdated, but the plane and its cabin seemed to be in good shape and well maintained. Many negative aspects I mentioned should be gone once CSA introduces newer long-haul aircraft – which is likely to happen not far away in the future. While the catering needs improvement, the F/As are mostly friendly and service-orientated. The product offered on the short MUC-PRG sector is actually very competitive. As for the check-in: I’m not sure who exactly was responsible for the issues with my reservation – but the handling agents didn’t act professionally. Last but not least: Prague Ruzyne Airport allows for easy and fast connections – definitely a strong argument for choosing CSA.

Next report:
JFK-FCO-MUC on Alitalia 777 and A319: http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=81244

Best Regards,
PlaneHunter

Sunday, 24 February 2008
Cagliari (CAG) – Olbia (OLB)
Meridiana, IG 633
17:20-18:00 (17:25-17:56)
Flying time: 00:23 (hrs)

McDonnell Douglas MD-82
I-SMEB Parco di Baia (s/n 1908 ), delivered in 08/1991 to Far Eastern Air Transport as B-28001
Economy Seat 15A

Quick Check-in
After more enjoyable hours of shopping, sightseeing and dining we took the bus back to Elmas Airport in the afternoon. In contrast to what I have heard before, the busses seem to run regularly and on time even on weekends. Again it was not very busy at the airport and only few pax were waiting at the Meridiana counters. A friendly female agent welcomed us and replied “of course” after I had asked about a window seat behind the wing on the left side. This time we had an opposite takeoff direction so I expected to see the city on the left side. Later I found out she had picked row 15, but at least it was on the left side.

Emergency Plan
We passed through security and took a seat in the gate area. It wasn’t a busy time for a spotter, with only one TUIfly 73G, a Meridiana MD-82 and an Avanti Air ATR 42 around. I was glad when our plane arrived on time – a cancelation or some hours of delay and we would have been stranded. In such a case we most likely would have tried to purchase a ticket for the TUIfly OLB-STR service on Monday, plus a train ticket to MUC…
Anyway, I-SMEB, a 1991 model once delivered to Far East Air Transport, was ready to operate the service to Olbia and further to Bologna.

Cramped Seating
I had expected a light load, but the flight was packed, probably not a single seat remaining empty. As we stepped on board, a hefty painted female F/A with a disdainful face expression didn’t even look at the pax but stared somewhere else – not the kind of welcome you expect as a passenger. At least some others knew how to say hello. We walked down to our row and I was “impressed” by the cramped seating on this plane – never had experienced such a limited pitch on a Mad Dog before. With 165 non-slimline seats on the MD-82 Meridiana’s doing it the hard way. 😡

Opposite row:

Airborne for 23 Minutes
Just like all other aircraft before, I-SMEB took off from runway 14.

We enjoyed some nice views – but we couldn’t see the city center.

Note the runway on the top left corner:

The plane cruised for a while after a steep climb and soon started descending again. Mountainous terrain on the left:

Final approach into Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport:

We touched down at 17:53, only 23 minutes after takeoff. Sister ship I-SMEZ parked next to us:

Sunday, 24 February 2008
Olbia (OLB) – Munich (MUC)
TUIfly, X3 3159
20:55-22:50 (20:45-22:18 )
Flying time: 01:21 (hrs)

Boeing 737-7K5
D-AHXE (s/n 2451), delivered in 12/2007
Economy Seat 25B

The Airport Dog
Most passengers continued to Bologna so there were only few people waiting at the baggage claim. We grabbed our stuff and walked straight to the TUIfly counters in the departure hall. The counters weren’t supposed to open until two hours prior to departure but two friendly agents started working earlier. Row 25 on the left side was still available and we got our boarding passes two minutes later.
We spent some more time in the departure hall and noticed a dog which was apparently running around without an owner. Then he/she stayed for a while with a group of policemen who seemed to know him/her. Some minutes later the dog started running around again – and peed on a plant in the terminal hall. 😉

Another New 737
We had dinner at a reasonably priced restaurant, passed through security and went to our gate. Because of intensive light reflections on the windows I couldn’t see almost anything on the apron. Finally a TUIfly plane arrived and I couldn’t read the registration until it stopped at the gate. I had been prepared for getting D-AHXF again, but it was D-AHXE this time, delivered two weeks before its sister ship.

Talkative Pilot
Again a friendly crew welcomed us on board. The load was around 60 percent, so boarding was completed quickly. The general welcome announcement was the same as on the MUC-CAG service (“ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls”), including a welcome by “your tour operator”. We left the gate ten minutes early and while we were heading to the runway, apparently the First Officer started talking, introducing himself as not as FO but as “your pilot”. He gave us some interesting details about the flight, referring to runway 06, a takeoff weight of 55 tons and a takeoff speed of 260 hm/h. Then he promised to keep us updated about the flight and the routing.

IFE not Available
The screens were stored for takeoff and weren’t folded out again later. Some 30 minutes after takeoff I asked an F/A and she said there was a problem with the system. [i]”It’s still a quite new machine”[/i], she added, trying to indicate some teething problems. The FO kept his promise and informed us about flight details (cruise altitude 40,000 feet) and sights on the ground, e.g. the city of Rome (and later the Allianz Arena at Munich). He also added: “We hope you feel good on board.”

Snack
Drinks, bagels and Mars chocolate bars were served again, this time with yellow napkins.

Seats & hlx.com
The flying time was only 1:21 which passed quickly. We touched down at 22:14 and taxied to a remote position. Time for two more cabin pics. The new-style Recaro seats:

Interesting to see some [i]hlx.com[/i] markings in the cabin of a plane delivered in December 2007…

No-Camera Policy
There weren’t any inflight magazines available in any seat pockets on that sector so I asked to get one before disembarking. No problem, of course. Later I read in that magazine that TUIfly prohibits the use of digital cameras during takeoff and landing. When did they introduce that policy? Hopefully there’s not a general trend among airlines.

Conclusion
Both sectors on TUIfly were a pleasure, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly the airline again. Ground staff and flight crews were friendly, seating comfort was sufficient, quantity and quality of the (free) catering were all right, cabins were clean, booking process and check-in were convenient. And not to forget: X3 has an innovative airshow and flight info channel. It would be a real pity to lose that carrier in consequence of a merger with germanwings.
The flight on Meridiana was very short – and I’m glad about that because the seat pitch on the MD-80 was awful. The booking process was easy and convenient, check-in agents were friendly, but the F/As’ appearance was inconsistent. I would definitely fly the airline again and try its product (e.g. catering) on longer flights – as long as it’s not an MD-80 with 165 seats.

Best Regards,
PlaneHunter