A month in Europe: 12 airlines, 10 countries

[JohnM]

You bet.

I'm in 1A - where are you? :mrgreen:

 

[Pushka]

I'm in 1A - where are you? :mrgreen:

Drats. Damned upgrade fairy, get your act together!

 

[viccam]

Love the report, looking forward to reading more.

 

[OATEK]

Living the AFF dream Mattg - why fly direct ...

 

[Kangarucci]

I'm in! Seatbelt secured.

 

[Mattg]

I was a big fan of the Sri Lankan Serendib lounge in Colombo! As soon as I arrived, the friendly lady at the counter asked if I would like to head on over to the spa for a free massage. Who could say no to that?

After a massage and a shower, a quick lunch was in order. There was a wide selection of Sri Lankan and Western buffet food, and a fully-stocked bar including the nice champagne served on the plane. Although the lounge was a little small, it wasn't crowded and it really did have everything you needed.



The view from the lounge:

 

[Mattg]

UL503 Colombo - London (Heathrow)
Airbus A330-300
Departure time: 12:50
Arrival time: 19:10

I was in row 2 on one of Sri Lankan's new A330-300 planes. The Business class cabin was very nice. The seats were in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration, and were almost identical to the new Business seats on Virgin's A330s.

The seat:





All seats had in-seat power & a large personal IFE screen. Also available for Business passengers upon boarding were noise-cancelling headphones, slippers, a blanket, two pillows and an amenity kit (which by the way is bright orange).

The seat reclined into a fully-flat position. I managed to get a couple of hours of comfortable sleep on it later in the flight. My only criticism was that the leather seat was a little bit hard for sleeping on.

The IFE selection was a little better than on the previous flight, and the touch screen was far more responsive, but unfortunately it was still lacking somewhat. I actually ran out of things to watch that I would find interesting. The interactive flight path map was good though.



Again, pre-departure champagne and hot towels were offered. Shortly after takeoff the first meal service commenced. Again, there were four options on the menu for each meal service:



There were plenty of drinks to choose from as well, and the crew did a great job making sure my glass was always full.

 

[Mattg]

I thoroughly enjoyed both meals.

First, the lunch service. This was the starter:



And the trio of seafood main course:



About 4 hours into the flight we flew right over Abu Dhabi:



Around this point the window shades were all lowered and the lights dimmed. I like what they've done with the cabin ceiling:

 

[Mattg]

Dinner was served about 3 hours out of London. The brocolli soup starter:



And the main course of tomato-stuffed chicken breast with vegetables:



With the exception of perhaps the lack of in-flight entertainment options, I was very impressed with both the hard and soft product on this flight. The cabin crew were fantastic and service warm. All in all it was an excellent flight.

I would seriously considering flying them to Europe again in Business class. And with deals such as this one occurring on a regular basis, I'd say that Sri Lankan Airlines is a very good option for getting to Europe.

 

[Foreigner]

Enjoyed reading your reports.

 

[Mattg]

London

I hadn't been to London (other than transiting Heathrow airport) for about 2 years so was looking forward to doing some sightseeing! Had a lovely few days, and the weather was even, I dare say, nice..... for a couple of hours.



Something was happening at Buckingham Palace.



There was a large crowd as usual at Kings Cross station outside platform 9 3/4. Last week there was also a shrine to the late Alan Rickman, the actor who played Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.



In between minding the gap and standing on the right I headed an old favourite, Camden Lock.



I also caught up with a couple of AFFers for dinner. The view was almost as good as the company of Flashback and Myrna​!

 

[Mattg]

After leaving London I would be spending 5 days in other parts of the UK before heading over to continental Europe.

My next stop was the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. To get there, I decided to fly on low-cost airline Ryanair. I've flown them a few times before and can't say that I'm a huge fan. But the saving over British Airways was significant and for a one hour flight, they're perfectly fine.

One downside of flying Ryanair was that the flight departed from London's Stansted Airport. The express train from Liverpool Street station to Stansted Airport took almost an hour and ended up costing more than the flight! (But yes, the flight was very cheap.)

I didn't like Stansted airport. It was a long walk (including a train ride) to the gate, and the duty free maze made Melbourne international look good.

Anyhow, on to the flight itself...

FR8881 London (Stansted) - Edinburgh
Boeing 737-800
Departure time: 08:55
Arrival time: 10:15



I would say that Ryanair is the ultimate low-cost carrier. The fares are very cheap, and this reflects on the service provided. They'll charge you extra for anything and everything they can get away with - even checking in at the airport. On board the plane, the legroom is poor and there is definitely no in-flight entertainment. There aren't even any seat pockets. Yet in my experience the flights always seem full. I guess that at the end of the day, dollar is king. As long as they continue offering ultra-low fares, people will fly them. And in my opinion they still beat taking a bus!

Once on board we were bombarded with advertisements. One of the ads playing over the PA reminded us that it was "time to think about the first drink you're going to order from the refreshments trolley". Once airborne the crew tried to sell us everything from lottery tickets to airport transfers, and croissants to duty-free makeup. Even the overhead bins contained advertisements for an airport in Poland.

It may seem like I'm whinging but at the end of the day, the flight was perfectly acceptable considering the price. It even arrived early - as announced by that annoying trumpet that plays right after landing. While I wouldn't say that flying Ryanair is an "enjoyable" experience, they do have a place. If the price was right I would fly them again.

 

[Mattg]

Edinburgh

I really liked Edinburgh (despite the winter weather)! What a beautiful, historic city. There was plenty to see and do. I just wish I'd allowed more time to go and explore the Scottish highlands.







Edinburgh Castle:

 

[Mattg]

My plan for the next leg was actually to take a train to Manchester (where I fly out of to get to my next stop in the Netherlands). What I didn't realise was how expensive train tickets in the UK can be at the last minute. The day before I planned to leave Edinburgh, I headed down to the train station to buy a ticket. The cheapest ticket would have cost almost 100 pounds (over $200 at the current exchange rate)! So, I decided to get a little bit creative and started searching for alternative modes of transport. I soon discovered that an airline called Flybe could get me to Liverpool (less than an hour from Manchester) the next day for around half the cost of the train. So I booked a seat on that flight.

BE163 Edinburgh - Liverpool
Dash 8 Q400
Departure time: 10:45 (Actual: 10:35)
Arrival time: 12:00 (Actual: 11:35)

Flybe (which I today learned is pronounced "Fly Bee") is a low-cost airline flying regional routes around the UK. Today's flight was on a Dash 8-400, an aircraft I've flown on many times in QantasLink livery.



The flight was very empty! There would have been less than 20 passengers on board, and the majority of those were seated in the last few rows for weight/balance reasons. I was allocated a seat in the middle of the plane in row 10.

On board:



We departed early and had some nice views after take-off for about a minute, until we hit a thick layer of cloud that was blanketing Scotland.



Snacks and drinks were available for purchase. Here's a copy of the menu:



A couple of random observations. Firstly, it was an all-female flight crew. Secondly, the crew was proactively asking anyone listening to music to remove their headphones for takeoff and landing.

We landed 25 minutes early, capping off a pleasant and uneventful flight!

I'd have no hesitation to fly Flybe again.

 

[Mattg]

Living the AFF dream Mattg - why fly direct ...

Exactly - that's one of the mottos I live by! Things are much more interesting when you take the long way...

Very much looking forward to another Mattg TR. I have loved reading your past reports and the perspective they provide from someone in a similar age bracket.

Thanks NoobFlyer. I've been enjoying your Japan trip report(s) too.

 

[Cossie]

Good stuff, most enjoyable reading. Definitely makes me want to fly Srilankan again.

 

[amaroo]

Looks like a full on itinerary! Happy travels.

 

[kermatu]

Enjoying this TR already!

 

[craven morehead]

Sign me up !! :mrgreen:

 

[smit0847]

I was a big fan of the Sri Lankan Serendib lounge in Colombo! As soon as I arrived, the friendly lady at the counter asked if I would like to head on over to the spa for a free massage. Who could say no to that?

After a massage and a shower, a quick lunch was in order. There was a wide selection of Sri Lankan and Western buffet food, and a fully-stocked bar including the nice champagne served on the plane. Although the lounge was a little small, it wasn't crowded and it really did have everything you needed.

View attachment 63585

The view from the lounge:

View attachment 63586

I was in this lounge a few weeks ago and thought it was terrific. Very amusing entrance (like an old computer game) and layout (literally one square room) but staff were very pleasant and I thought the food and drink options were well presented and extensive.