StevePER
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A short report of a two week trip around Asia with my wife and son (Ethan), visiting Bali, Korea, Hong Kong and Macau flying DJ, CX, OZ and SQ.
25 Apr 2010
DJ4161 PER-DPS
Boeing 737-800 VH-VOX
Seats 28A/B/C (economy)
We were stuck down the back in row 28 for this flight, surrounded mainly by other families with small children. Ethan started the flight very well, he was a bit unsettled just before takeoff but then got into his milk and fell asleep. Unfortunately he didn't sleep long, and was awoken by the child behind us kicking his seat and yelling. But he was pretty good for the rest of the flight and wasn't a major hassle. I wonder if DJ put all the children down the back intentionally? No Live2Air on this flight but I had a good book for the short time that we had to relax. Also bought a muffin, but not the variety I had hoped for.
On arrival in DPS we purchased our visas (US$25 each, the three day US$10 visa was not available). The queues for immigration were quite long but we were waved over to the empty counter for Indonesians - one of the few benefits of travelling with a small child and much appreciated.
27 Apr 2010
CX748 DPS-HKG
Boeing 747-400 B-HUB
Seats 14A/15A (business)
At Denpasar you go through security prior to checking in. The check-in process took about 15 minutes because Qantas had stuff something up in the booking when we cancelled Ethan's seat. There's a departure tax of 150,000 rupiah that can only be paid in cash, and the only ATM is outside the building, so I went out and then came back in again to find that my shoes and belt suddenly needed removing. Ethan didn't need to pay the departure tax so now I have leftover rupiah.
The lounge was quiet and pleasant and I had a beer of some kind. There was a small amount of food, but what we had was tasty. On board, we saw immediately that we had made the right choice to cancel Ethan's seat because the herringbone configuration would have made it impossible to keep an eye on him. He was restless throughout most of the flight so we spent a lot of time walking around with him. The crew were great, and gave him cuddles when he would let them, took him upstairs at one point, and let him press buttons in the galley repeatedly which he found surprisingly entertaining.
We were staying overnight on Hong Kong at the Novotel Citygate. The bus to the hotel was poorly organised and it took longer than it should have to get there. The main problem was a couple of guys who had a massive amount of cargo to transport and decided to take the hotel transfer bus rather than go to the hassle of hiring a van. The hotel itself was good though.
28 Apr 2010
CX410 HKG-ICN
Airbus A330-300 B-LAI
Seats 11A/11D (business)
After an early wake-up call we took the bus back to the airport, where we were told during check-in that an aircraft substitution meant we had the herringbone seating again. I'm sure it's OK if you're travelling alone, but as a couple with a child it is annoying. We had a bit of breakfast in the lounge but still left room to have brunch on the flight.
Again Ethan was a bit unsettled and had to be carried around for quite a while, but again the crew were really good, asking for cuddles and playing little games. By now Ethan seemed to be developing a liking for Asian ladies, and spent the next two weeks flirting with them at every opportunity.
The weather on our arrival in Seoul was a bit of a shock - rainy and 5 degrees in the middle of the afternoon. We took a taxi to our hotel and were ripped off by a dodgy driver who will shortly be hearing from Amex.
01 May 2010
OZ8605 GMP-USN
Airbus A320-200 HL7745
Seats 20D/E (economy)
We decided that for travelling around Korea, an hour on a plane was preferably to four hours on a train so we flew to Ulsan for a short visit to Gyeongju. Check-in at Gimpo Airport took about half an hour, this time it was Expedia that had messed up while changing our booking.
The most surprisingly thing about this flight was that there were no infant seatbelts, so we just had to hold on to Ethan during take-off and landing. He was asleep for most of the flight which was very pleasant! Although the flight was really short, the crew still had time to come around for a drinks service.
While in Gyeongju, Ethan had gastro and we had to take him to hospital. Although it seemed inconvenient at the time, it wasn't a bad place to get sick with great doctors, short waiting times, and treatment so cheap we can't claim it off travel insurance (it's less than the excess would be).
03 May 2010
OZ8606 USN-GMP
Airbus A320-200 HL7745
Seats 14D/E (economy)
This time check-in was quick, and the flight was must less busy so we had an empty seat next to us that Ethan sat in for part of the flight. What is safer for a 1 year old, an adult seatbelt or no seatbelt at all?
From Gimpo we took the Arex train to Unseo (near Incheon Airport) and stayed overnight at the excellent Hotel Queen. It is well priced compared to the big brands, the rooms are great, and the shuttle bus to the airport is easy and convenient.
04 May 2010
OZ721 ICN-HKG
Airbus A330-300 HL7793
Seats 5C/D/G (business)
Another early wake-up call followed by a bus to the airport and breakfast in the lounge. This was the first time that Ethan had his own business class seat, but he didn't seem to spend much time in it. I managed to fit in three episodes of Big Bang Theory during the flight, so Ethan can't have been too challenging.
The crew on this flight were disappointing. They were hardly seen apart from during the meal service, and even then they didn't go out of their way to provide drink refills.
From Hong Kong, we took the ferry straight to Macau where we stayed one night at the Holiday Inn, then back to Hong Kong the next afternoon.
In Hong Kong we treated ourselves to a Junior Suite at the Novotel Century - by far my favourite hotel of the whole trip with excellent food and great staff. The room was good too, as you would expect of a suite. The only problem was the lights sometimes turning themselves on in the middle of the night.
09 May 2010
SQ859 HKG-SIN
Boeing 777-200 9V-SQF
Seats 15D/E/F (business)
The in town check-in is a wonderful system and worked a treat for us. I'm sure most people don't appreciate the 2-3-2 business class seating on the 777, but we found it fantastic to be able to keep Ethan surrounded. The service and the crew were excellent on this flight, and it only took a few minutes for my wife to remark "this is better" compared with our Asiana flight.
We all had pre-ordered meals for this flight, including Ethan who had spaghetti and meatballs. It took about 15 minutes for Ethan's main course to be brought out, during which he fell asleep. The crew were unnecessary apologetic about the delay, and were happy to bring his meal out again when he woke up. Spaghetti is not a tidy choice for a one year old to eat on a plane, but he definitely enjoyed it.
In Singapore, we accidently tried the Silver Kris lounge in Terminal 2 and found the food offering a bit lacking, so didn't stay long and went to Terminal 3. The food here was much more substantial, and it was a real effort not to fill up. Sadly there were no pork buns, but maybe this was a blessing in disguise because last time I ate five of them.
Ethan started to get a bit noisy so we decided to leave the lounge and found a playground for him to enjoy for a couple of hours.
09 May 2010
SQ215 SIN-PER
Airbus A330-300 9V-STB
Seats 14A/C/D (business)
The load in business class on this flight was 100%. One of the monitors for the in flight entertainment wasn't working, so we moved forward a row to give Ethan the broken one. He was exhausted from his time in the playground, and fell asleep just after takeoff. It only lasted an hour, but it was a very pleasant hour.
Again the SQ service was top notch, and we were even given a $75 voucher for swapping seats (I thought compensation was completely unnecessary, but still much appreciated and rapidly spent on duty free).
Summary
I wouldn't recommend flying with a 1 year old, even in business. But if you do, CX and SQ are a fine way to travel. Cathay were better for their interaction with Ethan, Singapore for their excellent all round service. Don't bother with Asiana.
(photos from our trip)
25 Apr 2010
DJ4161 PER-DPS
Boeing 737-800 VH-VOX
Seats 28A/B/C (economy)
We were stuck down the back in row 28 for this flight, surrounded mainly by other families with small children. Ethan started the flight very well, he was a bit unsettled just before takeoff but then got into his milk and fell asleep. Unfortunately he didn't sleep long, and was awoken by the child behind us kicking his seat and yelling. But he was pretty good for the rest of the flight and wasn't a major hassle. I wonder if DJ put all the children down the back intentionally? No Live2Air on this flight but I had a good book for the short time that we had to relax. Also bought a muffin, but not the variety I had hoped for.
On arrival in DPS we purchased our visas (US$25 each, the three day US$10 visa was not available). The queues for immigration were quite long but we were waved over to the empty counter for Indonesians - one of the few benefits of travelling with a small child and much appreciated.
27 Apr 2010
CX748 DPS-HKG
Boeing 747-400 B-HUB
Seats 14A/15A (business)
At Denpasar you go through security prior to checking in. The check-in process took about 15 minutes because Qantas had stuff something up in the booking when we cancelled Ethan's seat. There's a departure tax of 150,000 rupiah that can only be paid in cash, and the only ATM is outside the building, so I went out and then came back in again to find that my shoes and belt suddenly needed removing. Ethan didn't need to pay the departure tax so now I have leftover rupiah.
The lounge was quiet and pleasant and I had a beer of some kind. There was a small amount of food, but what we had was tasty. On board, we saw immediately that we had made the right choice to cancel Ethan's seat because the herringbone configuration would have made it impossible to keep an eye on him. He was restless throughout most of the flight so we spent a lot of time walking around with him. The crew were great, and gave him cuddles when he would let them, took him upstairs at one point, and let him press buttons in the galley repeatedly which he found surprisingly entertaining.
We were staying overnight on Hong Kong at the Novotel Citygate. The bus to the hotel was poorly organised and it took longer than it should have to get there. The main problem was a couple of guys who had a massive amount of cargo to transport and decided to take the hotel transfer bus rather than go to the hassle of hiring a van. The hotel itself was good though.
28 Apr 2010
CX410 HKG-ICN
Airbus A330-300 B-LAI
Seats 11A/11D (business)
After an early wake-up call we took the bus back to the airport, where we were told during check-in that an aircraft substitution meant we had the herringbone seating again. I'm sure it's OK if you're travelling alone, but as a couple with a child it is annoying. We had a bit of breakfast in the lounge but still left room to have brunch on the flight.
Again Ethan was a bit unsettled and had to be carried around for quite a while, but again the crew were really good, asking for cuddles and playing little games. By now Ethan seemed to be developing a liking for Asian ladies, and spent the next two weeks flirting with them at every opportunity.
The weather on our arrival in Seoul was a bit of a shock - rainy and 5 degrees in the middle of the afternoon. We took a taxi to our hotel and were ripped off by a dodgy driver who will shortly be hearing from Amex.
01 May 2010
OZ8605 GMP-USN
Airbus A320-200 HL7745
Seats 20D/E (economy)
We decided that for travelling around Korea, an hour on a plane was preferably to four hours on a train so we flew to Ulsan for a short visit to Gyeongju. Check-in at Gimpo Airport took about half an hour, this time it was Expedia that had messed up while changing our booking.
The most surprisingly thing about this flight was that there were no infant seatbelts, so we just had to hold on to Ethan during take-off and landing. He was asleep for most of the flight which was very pleasant! Although the flight was really short, the crew still had time to come around for a drinks service.
While in Gyeongju, Ethan had gastro and we had to take him to hospital. Although it seemed inconvenient at the time, it wasn't a bad place to get sick with great doctors, short waiting times, and treatment so cheap we can't claim it off travel insurance (it's less than the excess would be).
03 May 2010
OZ8606 USN-GMP
Airbus A320-200 HL7745
Seats 14D/E (economy)
This time check-in was quick, and the flight was must less busy so we had an empty seat next to us that Ethan sat in for part of the flight. What is safer for a 1 year old, an adult seatbelt or no seatbelt at all?
From Gimpo we took the Arex train to Unseo (near Incheon Airport) and stayed overnight at the excellent Hotel Queen. It is well priced compared to the big brands, the rooms are great, and the shuttle bus to the airport is easy and convenient.
04 May 2010
OZ721 ICN-HKG
Airbus A330-300 HL7793
Seats 5C/D/G (business)
Another early wake-up call followed by a bus to the airport and breakfast in the lounge. This was the first time that Ethan had his own business class seat, but he didn't seem to spend much time in it. I managed to fit in three episodes of Big Bang Theory during the flight, so Ethan can't have been too challenging.
The crew on this flight were disappointing. They were hardly seen apart from during the meal service, and even then they didn't go out of their way to provide drink refills.
From Hong Kong, we took the ferry straight to Macau where we stayed one night at the Holiday Inn, then back to Hong Kong the next afternoon.
In Hong Kong we treated ourselves to a Junior Suite at the Novotel Century - by far my favourite hotel of the whole trip with excellent food and great staff. The room was good too, as you would expect of a suite. The only problem was the lights sometimes turning themselves on in the middle of the night.
09 May 2010
SQ859 HKG-SIN
Boeing 777-200 9V-SQF
Seats 15D/E/F (business)
The in town check-in is a wonderful system and worked a treat for us. I'm sure most people don't appreciate the 2-3-2 business class seating on the 777, but we found it fantastic to be able to keep Ethan surrounded. The service and the crew were excellent on this flight, and it only took a few minutes for my wife to remark "this is better" compared with our Asiana flight.
We all had pre-ordered meals for this flight, including Ethan who had spaghetti and meatballs. It took about 15 minutes for Ethan's main course to be brought out, during which he fell asleep. The crew were unnecessary apologetic about the delay, and were happy to bring his meal out again when he woke up. Spaghetti is not a tidy choice for a one year old to eat on a plane, but he definitely enjoyed it.
In Singapore, we accidently tried the Silver Kris lounge in Terminal 2 and found the food offering a bit lacking, so didn't stay long and went to Terminal 3. The food here was much more substantial, and it was a real effort not to fill up. Sadly there were no pork buns, but maybe this was a blessing in disguise because last time I ate five of them.
Ethan started to get a bit noisy so we decided to leave the lounge and found a playground for him to enjoy for a couple of hours.
09 May 2010
SQ215 SIN-PER
Airbus A330-300 9V-STB
Seats 14A/C/D (business)
The load in business class on this flight was 100%. One of the monitors for the in flight entertainment wasn't working, so we moved forward a row to give Ethan the broken one. He was exhausted from his time in the playground, and fell asleep just after takeoff. It only lasted an hour, but it was a very pleasant hour.
Again the SQ service was top notch, and we were even given a $75 voucher for swapping seats (I thought compensation was completely unnecessary, but still much appreciated and rapidly spent on duty free).
Summary
I wouldn't recommend flying with a 1 year old, even in business. But if you do, CX and SQ are a fine way to travel. Cathay were better for their interaction with Ethan, Singapore for their excellent all round service. Don't bother with Asiana.
(photos from our trip)
