Back in the Southern Hemisphere
Back in NZ and am currently getting over my jetlag this week. I also have to find a new vehicle in which to continue my travels this season. Next on the calendar is a Yes gig on Monday in AKL.
Flights over were OK. First was a new B777-300ER with an upgraded entertainment system with bigger touch screen etc and I had a very useful spare seat (42B) next to me :) The best legroom I've ever had :) Better than the A380 it seems. Flight time was ~12hrs 30mins.
Unusually, to avoid Ukraine, we took a very northerly path, basically heading for Moscow. We flew along the northern coast of Germany toward the Baltic states and then turned SE just short of Moscow. This meant we spent far longer in Russian airspace and flew over Smolensk. From there we flew directly over the top of Kabul (which I wasn't expecting!) and could see a brightly lit area a short way off which I guess might be a huge prison or US complex. We flew down the edge of the Himalayas towards Lahore. Also you see all the lights from the vast urban plateau that Islamabad stands on. They put us to sleep for awhile as we crossed the patchwork of little illuminated dots which are closely spaced Indian villages. We crossed only a little bit of the top of the Bay of Bengal, before crossing some Thailand and down the peninsula to Singapore. It was lovely bright clear sunshine as we flew into Singapore, best I've ever seen! Shame I took no photo's. I had a clear view of the city and Marina Bay etc. The smoothest of landings too :)
Films I remember watching: Yves Saint Laurent****; A French thing about a group of friends going on holiday****; Lucy (Luc Besson) ***1/2; and a bit of Belle and Sebastian** (just for the theme song at the end really :)
Arrived gate A10@T3 as is common and wandered off to get a watermelon juice en route to the transit hotel. I checked straight in, had a shower and fell asleep; this time for a full 6 hours or more of the 8 I had booked. I could have snoozed more but wanted to go for a swim or get some food. I don't particularly like the 'urban street food' setting for the food court at T3. They have also added a card payment system so they can fleece you twice on currency conversion, but allow food vendors to just deal with food. I didn't have time to go over to T1 for a swim after all. My next flight was conveniently leaving from gate B2 downstairs under the transit hotel.
Heathrow new Terminal 2
Before I continue I should mention that my first flight departed from the new T2 at LHR. I had taken the 8.15am train to London and thankfully managed to get a seat right next to one of the only floor level luggage racks. One guy had to sit on the upper one behind me! I took the Circle Line around to Pad and then the Express to HXX. My ticket didn't work in the barriers the whole trip but was valid. I didn't like the new ticket check-in machines at LHR T2. Next time I will just go straight to the bag drop ladies, but they need to learn to smile. I miss the Singapore welcome and no queue. Then there were no obvious signs to find security. There was one big Departures sign hiding behind a huge pillar! Someone hasn't done a proper Usability Walk Through of that check-in hall. Hopefully it will improve. I didn't like the intimidating line of cameras at the boarding pass readers to get into security processing either. They could make that more friendly and welcoming! Amazingly security was swift with little queue and I was straight thru as it should be (unlike Stansted and EDI !!). I found Yo!Sushi easily and had breakfast. It was a long walk under the apron to the B gates where my 777 was leaving from B42.
Back in Singapore, ready for second flight
To return to Singapore now and my second flight was A380 into AKL, with flight time of 10hrs15mins. Singapore Airlines had only started running this aircraft into NZ this week. We had left SIN a little late cos someone's bags had to be removed, but we didn't make up the time. It is cold upstairs in a window seat (A77) on the A380, regardless of where you sit it seems. I also had less legroom than on the B-777 earlier! I think what they have done with the A-380s over the years is squeeze more seats in. On the Main Deck downstairs when I first flew A380s there were 4 toilets at the back. On this flight only 2 and one of those was out of action! Two have been removed to fit in more seats on this older A380. You also notice that the A380 almost constantly 'wiggles' and shoogles through the air. It does not have the rigidity of the smaller alloy built 777.
Films I remember: The Keeper of Lost Causes**; Under the Skin**; a Danish horror/thriller thing about a vagrant man who infiltrates a rich family and ppl get bumped off**; Robin Williams docos.
I saw very little on this night flight and couldn't open the shade when it was day cos I was on the sun side of the plane and it was too bright. However, I did see the west coast of NZ and Piha and Te Henga beaches as we flew in to fluffy clouds on a sunny day 18 - 20˚C. Processing was long but OK. I had to find the new domestic check-in area in International and got the helpful person to put my baggage tag on for me. Just time for some sushi upstairs and failed to find a 2 degrees proper SIM.
The walk to the Domestic terminal at Auckland is lovely in the bright sunshine. You follow the big Green Line from the front of International, around the side, passed a green space with Pohutukawa trees and drinking fountain, across to Domestic in about 10 mins. About the same walk as from a distant gate at Changi to terminal core. I was on a Bean Can (Beechcraft 1900D) for my domestic flight. No security screening cos there are only about 20 ppl on the plane and we all have window seats. A lovely sunny 40 min flight from which I could see snow capped volcanoes Mt Taranaki and Mt Ruapehu. On my side I could see one of my beaches and the Bay of Plenty. Worth it, so much better than the bus!
After a welcome soak in the hotpool, I rounded the day off with an awesome evening meal with the Macdonald clan at our favourite Japanese restaurant. Shame no photo of the wonderful spread. I made it to 9pm before crashing out for a good sleep.
Flights over were OK. First was a new B777-300ER with an upgraded entertainment system with bigger touch screen etc and I had a very useful spare seat (42B) next to me :) The best legroom I've ever had :) Better than the A380 it seems. Flight time was ~12hrs 30mins.
Unusually, to avoid Ukraine, we took a very northerly path, basically heading for Moscow. We flew along the northern coast of Germany toward the Baltic states and then turned SE just short of Moscow. This meant we spent far longer in Russian airspace and flew over Smolensk. From there we flew directly over the top of Kabul (which I wasn't expecting!) and could see a brightly lit area a short way off which I guess might be a huge prison or US complex. We flew down the edge of the Himalayas towards Lahore. Also you see all the lights from the vast urban plateau that Islamabad stands on. They put us to sleep for awhile as we crossed the patchwork of little illuminated dots which are closely spaced Indian villages. We crossed only a little bit of the top of the Bay of Bengal, before crossing some Thailand and down the peninsula to Singapore. It was lovely bright clear sunshine as we flew into Singapore, best I've ever seen! Shame I took no photo's. I had a clear view of the city and Marina Bay etc. The smoothest of landings too :)
Films I remember watching: Yves Saint Laurent****; A French thing about a group of friends going on holiday****; Lucy (Luc Besson) ***1/2; and a bit of Belle and Sebastian** (just for the theme song at the end really :)
Arrived gate A10@T3 as is common and wandered off to get a watermelon juice en route to the transit hotel. I checked straight in, had a shower and fell asleep; this time for a full 6 hours or more of the 8 I had booked. I could have snoozed more but wanted to go for a swim or get some food. I don't particularly like the 'urban street food' setting for the food court at T3. They have also added a card payment system so they can fleece you twice on currency conversion, but allow food vendors to just deal with food. I didn't have time to go over to T1 for a swim after all. My next flight was conveniently leaving from gate B2 downstairs under the transit hotel.
Heathrow new Terminal 2
Before I continue I should mention that my first flight departed from the new T2 at LHR. I had taken the 8.15am train to London and thankfully managed to get a seat right next to one of the only floor level luggage racks. One guy had to sit on the upper one behind me! I took the Circle Line around to Pad and then the Express to HXX. My ticket didn't work in the barriers the whole trip but was valid. I didn't like the new ticket check-in machines at LHR T2. Next time I will just go straight to the bag drop ladies, but they need to learn to smile. I miss the Singapore welcome and no queue. Then there were no obvious signs to find security. There was one big Departures sign hiding behind a huge pillar! Someone hasn't done a proper Usability Walk Through of that check-in hall. Hopefully it will improve. I didn't like the intimidating line of cameras at the boarding pass readers to get into security processing either. They could make that more friendly and welcoming! Amazingly security was swift with little queue and I was straight thru as it should be (unlike Stansted and EDI !!). I found Yo!Sushi easily and had breakfast. It was a long walk under the apron to the B gates where my 777 was leaving from B42.
Back in Singapore, ready for second flight
To return to Singapore now and my second flight was A380 into AKL, with flight time of 10hrs15mins. Singapore Airlines had only started running this aircraft into NZ this week. We had left SIN a little late cos someone's bags had to be removed, but we didn't make up the time. It is cold upstairs in a window seat (A77) on the A380, regardless of where you sit it seems. I also had less legroom than on the B-777 earlier! I think what they have done with the A-380s over the years is squeeze more seats in. On the Main Deck downstairs when I first flew A380s there were 4 toilets at the back. On this flight only 2 and one of those was out of action! Two have been removed to fit in more seats on this older A380. You also notice that the A380 almost constantly 'wiggles' and shoogles through the air. It does not have the rigidity of the smaller alloy built 777.
Films I remember: The Keeper of Lost Causes**; Under the Skin**; a Danish horror/thriller thing about a vagrant man who infiltrates a rich family and ppl get bumped off**; Robin Williams docos.
I saw very little on this night flight and couldn't open the shade when it was day cos I was on the sun side of the plane and it was too bright. However, I did see the west coast of NZ and Piha and Te Henga beaches as we flew in to fluffy clouds on a sunny day 18 - 20˚C. Processing was long but OK. I had to find the new domestic check-in area in International and got the helpful person to put my baggage tag on for me. Just time for some sushi upstairs and failed to find a 2 degrees proper SIM.
The walk to the Domestic terminal at Auckland is lovely in the bright sunshine. You follow the big Green Line from the front of International, around the side, passed a green space with Pohutukawa trees and drinking fountain, across to Domestic in about 10 mins. About the same walk as from a distant gate at Changi to terminal core. I was on a Bean Can (Beechcraft 1900D) for my domestic flight. No security screening cos there are only about 20 ppl on the plane and we all have window seats. A lovely sunny 40 min flight from which I could see snow capped volcanoes Mt Taranaki and Mt Ruapehu. On my side I could see one of my beaches and the Bay of Plenty. Worth it, so much better than the bus!
After a welcome soak in the hotpool, I rounded the day off with an awesome evening meal with the Macdonald clan at our favourite Japanese restaurant. Shame no photo of the wonderful spread. I made it to 9pm before crashing out for a good sleep.