Love...... The Journey

[Simo]

Re: Mon 9 Apr

You always do a great TR,

You have not disappointed again.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 29 Apr, Mon 30 Apr

We were handed the menus and perused what was quite an interesting selection of courses. Some of them actually sounded rather pedestrian at first glance, which made me think why they would be in such a restaurant, and at such a high price. Even the selection I eventually made for my main course seemed rather commonplace at first, so I was interested to see how this would be presented later.

As usual, with bossreggie leading the culinary charge, our taste buds were whetted with an amuse-bouche, which in this case was reminiscent of yesterday's fine meal - a soup spoon of the seafood with creme fraiche sauce. Mrs straitman actually ended up ordering this larger version of the dish later as a main course, having enjoyed it so much (but keeping in mind that the dish was very rich!).

Amuse-bouche of the familiar seafood and creme fraiche.

bossreggie implored all of us to sample the risotto, a dish of which he has become very fond of at Euro. So this simple first course was presented to all of us, and I could clearly see where bossreggie was going with the excellence of this restaurant's risotto. Wonderful flavour and creamy... just like a good risotto should be.

First course of bossreggie's favourite risotto.

The main courses followed swiftly afterwards. My selection was the braised chicken with coleslaw. Pretty simple? Sounded like it. Sounds like something you head to the supermarket to get in preparation for an impromptu picnic. This dish was no picnic! The braising of the chicken was excellent and the meat cooked perfectly. The sauce that was generously poured on the dish had great depth of flavour. The addition of some peanuts into the coleslaw - which was far from the mere shredded veg with sickly sweet 'mayo' from the supermarket (or KFC) - was a nice touch. All of the elements of the dish complemented each other well.

Main course of braised chicken and coleslaw.

On the other end of the table, a fresh rosemary carvery was being enjoyed, rustic style like a casual dinner with friends in the countryside.

Freshly carved meat anyone?

Normally, in a low key situation like this, dessert would probably be passed on unless it came as part of the meal (i.e. set menu or the like). However, many of us seemed brave enough to have a peek at the dessert menu and actually order, which was unusual for many. That said, I had a look at the chocolate pudding that seemed to be screaming for a try, so I gave in and ordered it along with a coffee. The resulting dish was yummy, to say the least. The runway of chocolate on the plate was bordered by the moist chocolate pudding and the scoop of espresso ice cream... wonderful...

Chocolate pudding dessert.

Once again, I don't know about the other members, but in my mind I was convinced that Euro had great food with excellent taste, and cemented my belief further as to why bossreggie calls it one of his preferred restaurants in AKL, as well as cementing one of my few (in fact, probably first) place in AKL that I would remember as a great place to dine. Some might argue that it'll put a nice dent in your wallet, though suffice to say when I looked at the end bill, it wasn't outwardly expensive as you would think, or at least rationalising the cost by the quality (and even quantity) of the food delivered was well and truly worth it. (And - let's admit - our Australian Dollars are worth a bit more than Kiwi pesos... err, I mean, New Zealand Dollars - no offence intended, my fellow readers from the Land of the Long White Cloud!!).

Finally - the weekend was over. Almost all of us had to return to Australia soon enough, and for me that was the next day. So goodbyes were exchanged, and much thanks of course to bossreggie for a very enjoyable weekend of food, wine and, of course, great company. As I returned to my room at the Mercure, alarms were set as I washed up before heading to bed. My three week jaunt was coming to an end...


Monday 30 April 2012


The next morning I woke up, had a quick freshen up and got dressed, ready to go to the airport. No complimentary breakfast here, but that wasn't such a big deal, considering there was an airport lounge to look forward to. Sure, it wasn't a First class lounge, but the flagship NZ Koru Club in Auckland isn't too shabby at all. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Once I was checked out, I headed out to Queen Street and found the closest Airbus stop. The Airbus is fairly regular during the main parts of the day, so waiting no more than 10 minutes for the next bus was pretty normal. What I wasn't depending on, however, was the traffic jams which we had to negotiate once I had boarded the bus.

As we sat on the Airbus seemingly not moving even an inch per hour, I got up to have a look as to what was going on. I know Auckland seemed to have a bad reputation for traffic, but I didn't think it was this bad, and it wasn't even rush hour (so I thought). Having a look ahead of the bus, I saw lots of students marching down Queen Street, seemingly without any sort of barriers or police and completely unencumbered as the vehicular traffic dared not move whilst there were marching students about. I also saw that they were dressed in graduation colours, and eventually I was told that there was some sort of graduation tradition happening at one of the universities. Apparently this is an annual thing, though suffice to say if it was annual then why were the streets not blocked off etc... the way things were going, it seemed like no one knew that this was happening and were completely helpless. You'd expect flash strike marches to have this effect, but not something which was "expected" every year.

Eventually, the vehicles managed to work out that the stream of students was not receding any time soon, so people finally resigned to finding turns off Queen Street to work around the march. Having slowly but surely extricated ourselves from the unusual gridlock in the city, we were soon back on our way to the airport.

Arriving at Auckland airport, showing the new (well, new since I was last in AKL, which is a very long time) Novotel hotel.

Having not been to AKL for quite some time, much of the terminal has changed since I was last here. Air New Zealand, for their part, had redeveloped their check-in areas with new fonts, as well as installing self-serve check-in and bag drop systems for Australian flights (normal counter check-in for other international flights) and renovation of the premium check-in area.

New standard check-in area for Air New Zealand. Left for Australian flights, with self-serve check-in and bag drop services; right for other international flights, with regular check-in desks.

The renovated entrance to the Air New Zealand premium check-in area, with their new swish font and a bright white theme, compared to an older, more corporate fashioned looking gold and koru colour theme. Strangely enough, the sign mentioning who can use the facility doesn't include Virgin Velocity elite members - seems unusual?

The NZ premium check-in area was similarly divided into two sections like the standard area, with one for Australian flights and another for other flights. Oddly enough, the Australian flights section was outfitted with five self-serve check-in machines and a small bag drop area. When I entered the premium check-in area, there were no other passengers present, so the lonely attendant looking after the Australian flights section at the service counter greeted me and showed me to a check-in kiosk.

Entering the NZ premium check-in area. The area in the far background is standard counter check-in for all flights except to Australia, whilst just around the corner to the left is check-in for Australian flights.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 30 Apr

Non-Australian flights counter check-in area.

Five kiosks for self-serve check-in for Australian flights stand tall against the wall of a very roomy check-in area.

The check-in process was pretty simple. Some people may complain on the fact that they have to help themselves in checking themselves in, but I don't really care too much, unless it's a tough itinerary. Others say it's a human interaction thing which is missing, but again I don't really mind. After finishing check-in and collecting my BP, I was guided over to the bag drop area where my bag was weighed carefully, tagged and then sent on its way. I grabbed an immigration form, filled it out, then proceeded to the lift to go upstairs to immigration through the priority lane.

Lift to the departures floor, leading to a special priority lane for NZ premium check-in users at immigration.

Immigration was cleared, well, quite easily, of course. It gives you some sense of satisfaction as you pass through priority immigration handling, then look to your left and see masses of crowds waiting to be attended to by the obviously insufficient open immigration desks (which is probably saying something more about AKL than about the benefits of priority services). Security screening was passed through easily, which is saying a bit because sometimes, for odd reasons, AKL I security screening can be rather picky about little things here or there.

The new layout with the duty free store - still positioned straight after security screening - was much better than the previous. A short walk from security screening and you get an immediate view and clear passage out to the rest of the terminal, whilst still achieving the aim of having the duty free store near security. It's so much better than the deceptive trickery (and any other number of deservedly negative descriptors which I won't mention here in order to avoid any sort of undue litigation) adopted by Sydney and Melbourne-Tullamarine, with intricate twisting paths, confusing and obfuscating the exit pathway and putting any sort of bric-a-brac in the passages.

The new view just from security screening looking out to the rest of the terminal. A much clearer passage without the commercial trickery - very commendable.

Not sure I've ever seen another airport in the world use "Relax" as a flight status. It changes to "Panic!" when very close to departure. Alright, alright... I made that last part up.

The area beyond the duty free has been redesigned to be a lot more open air, rather than the rabbit warren that it seemed like before. There's a great area in the middle for sitting and relaxing, with a giant sprouting water-like curved structure with a constant image of fishes swimming by (like being in an aquarium).

The area beyond the duty free shops, with the giant curved structure with fish swimming by.

After having a look at the new AKL airside, it was up to the Koru Club to relax before the flight.

Emperor Lounge - a pay-per-use lounge at AKL. Also able to be used by eligible MH pax, Priority Pass and select Diners Club.

A slightly more familiar door - entrance to the Qantas Club and First room, but not today.

Entrance to the NZ AKL I Koru Club.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 30 Apr

The Koru Club at AKL I is naturally NZ's flagship international lounge, and being quite the size to suit it so. There is plenty of space to relax, lounge, work and even watch television. It's not too crowded, though there were quite a few people inside at the time occupying seats. Unlike the KC at SYD, there's less of a corporate feel to the lounge due to the lack of green lantern / lamp lights, and more a relaxed one with the use of green plants helped.

Cane chair, lounge settee or high bar chair - whichever way you work there's a spot for you in the NZ AKL I KC.

Entertainment area at the KC. Kind of low key, but a nice idea. Maybe they have feature presentations once in a while. Rugby, anyone?

If you're feeling tired, there's a couple of hammocks in the lounge at the back of the mobile phone free area.

You won't have a reason to go hungry at the Koru Club, with the buffet stocked with enough reasonable and comforting food to tide you over to your next flight. At the time I was there (mid-morning), there wasn't a lot of hot food on offer, except for soup. There was, however, some filled little wraps and plenty of pastries (scones, croissants). Barista coffee was also available on demand... made by a human, not a robot.

Say... you grazing here?

Koru Club buffet in the mid-morning. Plenty of morning tea like snacks available. No pavlovas though.

Koru Club bar. Just the standard stuff here.

 

[reductionist]

Re: Mon 30 Apr

This has been a great read. Enjoyed every post. Well done.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 30 Apr

After grabbing a bite to eat and checking up on the mail, I wanted a shower before boarding started. The shower area of the KC had undergone quite an improvement since I was last in this lounge. The tiling and colours had been given a facelift, and the shower and vanity fittings in the bathrooms had all been redone up. The black tile in the bathrooms was rather similar to the new black tile being used in the refurbished VA domestic lounge shower rooms, except with much more subtle lighting so you can't see your reflection in the tile (which, depending on how body conscious or narcissistic you are, can be a good or a bad thing). The only key disadvantage of the changes compared to last time was that they had decided to remove the brand name shower amenities (which used to be in large pump bottles) and instead just put generic holders for soap, shampoo etc.. Don't know if they empty in name brand stuff into the holders or not, but it does remind you of a cheap-ish hotel that uses generic mass-supplied amenities (sometimes for all three of soap, conditioner and shampoo!).

Hallway to the shower rooms at the NZ AKL I KC.

Redone up shower rooms with black tile and sleek new fittings.

One long relaxing shower and a shave later, it was just about time to start boarding. I think the lounge calls boarding a little bit earlier, but seeing as the lounge is located quite far from the gates (especially if located at the furthest ones), it's not entirely unusual for them to call it early even if boarding hasn't commenced. I headed out of the KC and walked out to the farthest gate where a NZ 777-200 aircraft awaited to go to SYD.

Our 777-200 to SYD.


Flight: Air New Zealand NZ119 Auckland (Tāmaki Makaurau / Ākarana) (AKL I) - Sydney (SYD T1)
Depart: Sched 1245h; Actual 1253h
Duration: 3 h 30 min
Distance: 1,345 mi (2,165 km)
Aircraft: ZK-OKG Boeing 777-200
Class: Business Premier
Seat: 3A


Most of the flights between Australia and New Zealand would be operated with short haul equipment (e.g. the A320) which is all Economy seating. However, few of the flights are long haul connectors and thus use long haul aircraft with full product range, which is why I booked this specific flight for the Business Premier seating and service. Thankfully it was timed at a good time in the middle of the day!

Unlike the flight from PEK, as I stepped onto the aircraft and was warmly welcomed by the crew, having a look around I could tell that the Business section just wasn't going to be heavily occupied at all this flight. I assumed my seat at 3A and got settled in. One of the FAs working the Business class cabin, Tracy, happened by and offered me a take off drink, which I selected sparkling water.

Good ol' Business Premier product...

...with adequate, if slightly small-ish, leg room.

Sparkling water before the flight.

Boarding finished a bit later than expected, but after the doors were closed I looked around the Business cabin to find myself only one of four passengers in the cabin. Oddly enough, the other three passengers seemed to be older people (i.e. near retirement or past retirement age). Plenty of space for everyone to stretch out. Looks like the J FAs were going to have it easy for this mere 3 hour flight.

Push back and take off were pretty standard; with fine weather conditions and no impediments due to tarmac traffic, we were easily on our way and heading back towards Australia. Seat belt signs were switched off and the cabin crew sprang into action for lunch.

First things first, Tracy popped by and asked if I would like a drink before lunch. I asked for a Sauvignon Blanc, which was promptly offered along with a packet of cassava crisps.

Sauvignon Blanc and cassava crisps as pre-lunch refreshment.

Soon after, table cloths were laid out with lunch and the first course, which was a medley of seafood consisting of tuna, prawn and salmon. It was a nice entree in itself, but some of the subtler elements of the seafood seemed to be lost; for example, the sesame miso tuna just didn't seem to have that hint of sesame or miso in it.

The bread basket was promptly offered after the entree was set.

Entree of seared sesame miso tuna, coriander prawn and smoked salmon.

For the main course, originally I wanted to try the roasted chicken dish, however when Tracy came around to take main orders, she was most apologetic in informing me that it wasn't loaded (for some reason or another). So, I settle with the braised beef instead, which was a hearty and comforting meal, very much reminiscent of a good roast at the pub (in New Zealand, perhaps, due to the kumara rather than potato mash).

Braised beef casserole main.

After finishing the main, Tracy came around to solicit some feedback on my choice, given that there seemed to be no rush and she seemed rather embarrassed in not being able to supply my first choice. She then offered dessert and cheese, however I asked if it was OK if I were to have these just before landing rather than now, as I would've preferred a little nap instead. She was only to happy to do so and told me she would hold a dessert and cheese plate aside, then wake me about just over an hour before landing. My lunch tray was taken away and I put down the window shades, then reclined a little and nodded off. No need for the whole flat bed rigmarole here.......

I woke up a little time later (or so my body told me it felt like a little) and I had a look at my watch. What the - where did the time go? There was about 45 minutes left to landing. Rather coincidentally, Tracy passed by at that moment and asked whether I would like my dessert and cheese now. As I answered in the affirmative - along with a white coffee to go with it - I asked her why she hadn't woken me up earlier. "You looked so peaceful there," was her reply.

Dessert of ice cream with biscuits. Don't you think the spoon looks a bit like a little shovel?

 

[Simo]

Re: Mon 30 Apr

I am hungry and want to go back to Euro for Dinner tonight.

 

[straitman]

I am hungry and want to go back to Euro for Dinner tonight.

Sounds like a top idea.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 30 Apr

I had a big date with a cheese plate. Jokes aside, it was a simple platter with two crackers in the packet.

The timing of the dessert and cheese probably worked out for the best as I just finished up as the cabin was being prepared for landing in SYD. Not much to say about the landing, though with plenty of time to prepare the landing just before the seat belt sign was turned on again, Tracy came around to thank me for flying Air New Zealand, and I thanked her for being such a great FA during the flight. Touch down in SYD, usual taxi to the gate and now I was back home. Almost.

Being a C Pier arrival, it was a longer walk to immigration than I was used to. Immigration was easily negotiated, and then there was the usual long wait for luggage to be delivered to the belt. Customs was a breeze - couple of questions and I was waved on my way - no fuss, no openings required.

And now for something completely different (with apologies to Monty Python), this would be my first trip where I would be transferring to a Virgin Australia domestic flight rather than a Qantas one. This means a new transfer facility, which is located on the other side of the arrivals hall relative to the Qantas transfer facility. The Virgin Australia facility is a bit different to the Qantas one. For one, it's not as big as the Qantas one, though with enough increase in patronage that could easily change. Also, unlike Qantas where domestic screening takes place at the transfer facility and then you are deposited at airside T3, with the Virgin facility, you are checked in at the transfer facility (and bags accepted), but you are not screened at the facility. Instead, you wait for the bus and are driven to the common departures drop off area at T2. From there, it's through the common security screening point, or for those privileged enough, the dedicated screening point at Virgin's premium entry.

Entrance to the Virgin Australia transfer facility at SYD T1 arrivals area.

The transfer area. I took the photo behind the wall so as not to arouse too much suspicion.

As I proceeded into the transfer facility, it was completely empty except for a few staff at the counters. There was not a noise except for some light gossip amongst the staff present. As I approached the counter, I was wondering who should be helping me out with check-in.

At check-in, the attendant looked at my booking for my flight leaving at 2000h and gave a bit of wry smile.

Attendant: "You've got quite a bit of time until your flight. Would you like an earlier flight?"
Me: "How much will it be?"
Attendant: "Nothing."
Me: "Well, I wouldn't mind, but hopefully there's a good seat on my next flight."

At this point, you're expecting me to write something like she said, "I think you'll like your new seat," and gives me a smile and a wink as she hands over my BP. Nope, sorry folks it didn't happen. I received my BP back for an earlier flight in about an hour or so, and for seat 5A. Eh, it'll do. In addition to a BP with luggage tag, I was given a little ticket for the bus. Apparently I'd have to be fronting up the money for the transfer if I didn't hand over the ticket.

As I waited for the transfer bus to arrive, more pax slowly joined me in waiting. The waiting area for the transfer bus is not very big - no bigger than a meeting room size or so - so I loathe to think what the area might look like at times when domestic transfers would be much busier. Especially if it took just as long for the bus to arrive, which was closer to half an hour.

The transfer bus to T2 arrives at the domestic transfer facility.

Once at T2, I head along the drop off zone to the premium entry, make my way inside (showing the appropriate status card and BP), pass security screening and end up at the back of the VA Lounge at T2. Easy-peasy.

I chose a location on the raised terrace nearest to the windows with a view of the tarmac and got out my laptop to address some last minute messages. I also gathered a bit from the buffet; the hot food was out, but it didn't look awfully appealing, as did most of the rest of the food on offer, which kind of looked a bit dead overall. Thank goodness I can always rely on a soy latte, panforte and pistachio biscotti. Besides, I was still rather full from lunch, and let's not even stop to think about the weekend just passed....

Buffet area at the VA Lounge at SYD T2.

The hot food selection for the day, which appeared to be some sort of Mexican concoction. Pretty heavy on the chickpeas. I sampled a tiny bit, and I can definitely say that it looks a lot better than it tasted!

There wasn't a lot of time until my domestic flight, which was kind of nice since now that I'm back to reality, I'd probably rather be getting home sooner rather than later. So the boarding call was heard, I packed up, and walked over to the gate for my final flight home.


Flight: Virgin Australia DJ965 Sydney (SYD T2) - Brisbane (BNE D)
Depart: Sched 1700h; Actual 1700h
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Distance: 467 mi (752 km)
Aircraft: VH-VOW "Jillaroo Blue" Boeing 737-800
Class: Economy
Seat: 5A
Seat Colour: Red


We didn't start actually boarding until about a few minutes after I arrived at the gate, so why we were called to boarding in the lounge rather early is beyond me, much less how did we managed to depart on time.

Leg room in 5A. After a few weeks of premium travel - bar Ryanair - this is a little bit of a humbling experience.

All of us finally boarded on the somewhat full flight, the doors were closed and we were pushed back.

Another VA aircraft at the gate next to us as we prepare for pushback.

As usual, we had to make the long taxi to the third runway, which is pretty standard for SYD-BNE flights. Once we were up in the air, the cabin service commenced. Flexi meals and refreshments were offered first, followed by the rest of the pax. I didn't want to buy anything, so I just asked for a cup of water. Couldn't say the same for my seat mates - they loaded up on the buy-on-board, and coughed up an equivalent... in cash, of course.

A cup of water - enough to tide me for this brief flight.

The flight would've been a fairly standard affair if only that we were not once again subject to the delaying tricks of BNE ATC. Guess they can't help the traffic, but these ATC delays are getting pretty annoying. Apart from that messing around, we landed at BNE without fuss. Upon disembarking into the terminal, there was a bit of a long wait for bags to get onto the belt, but when they started arriving, my bag appeared somewhere within the first 10-20 pieces or so, so there wasn't much waiting around. Folks were waiting to pick me up, then I was on my way home.


Three weeks away with two major events bridged by a bit of personal travel in between. Travelling in style definitely helps making the journey as well as the destination very pleasant. Some say that the journey is not all that important, and perhaps they are right. Maybe the difference between a trip where the destination only was great, versus one where the destination and the journey were great, is the difference between liking travel, and loving travel.

I'll leave you - dear readers, if you've come this far - to decide this for yourself. Do you love travelling like I do?

Fin.

 

[anat0l]

Menu: NZ119 AKL-SYD J (Mon 30 Apr 2012)

Air New Zealand NZ119 Business Premier Auckland - Sydney
Monday 30 April 2012


Lunch


To Begin

Trio of seared sesame miso tuna, coriander prawn and smoked salmon with karengo potato salad (karengo is a New Zealand seaweed) (created by Rex Morgan)


Mains

Braised beef casserole with golden kumara mash, confit garlic, thyme roasted red onion, button mushrooms and courgettes (created by Geoff Scott)

Pan roasted chicken stuffed with lentils, mousseline, with baked semolina and pecorino gnocchi, spinach and rocket (created by Peter Gordon)

Tea smoked salmon salad with garden greens, cherry tomatoes, papaya and mango tarragon and ginger dressing (created by Peter Gordon)


To Finish

Gourmet dessert of black Doris plum and creme fraiche and cookies and cream ice cream with crisp almond wafer


Cheese

Fine New Zealand cheese and preserved fruit


Hot Drinks

Freshley brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, jasmine green tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate


Drinks


Wine

Our wine list showcases some of the best wine New Zealand has to offer - from a country that celebrates its zealous passion for producing top quality wines.

The premium wine selection on board this flight has been chosen by our wine consultants: John Belsham of Foxes Island Wines, Kate Radburnd of CJ Pask Winery and Jim Harre, nationally recognised wine judge. The fine wines served on this flight have been chosen to complement today's menu style. Your crew will be happy to discuss the selection and help you choose wines to accompany your meal.


Spirits

Glenfiddich Malt Whisky

Chivas Regal Blended Whisky

Jack Daniel's Black Label

Gordons Gin

42Below Vodka

Courvoisier VSOP

Coruba Rum

Ron Bacardi Superior


Port and Liqueurs

Portuguese Port

Grand Marnier

Baileys Irish Cream


Beer

Steinlager Pure

Export Gold

Heineken

Low alcohol lager


Cold Drinks

Mineral water

Orange juice

Apple juice

Tomato juice

Cranberry juice

Pineapple juice

Cola

Lemonade

L&P

Tonic water

Ginger ale

Diet Cola

Diet lemonade

 

[anat0l]

Errata: Tue 10 Apr

Hello dear readers.

Some of you may have noticed that there's a bit of a stuff up in the story flow near the entries for Tuesday 10 April. I was trying to correct a picture link in one of these posts (past my usual 24 hour edit window), and in the process of messaging the mods to help update it, there was a bit of a mix up and now I can't get back one of the posts which was overwritten. This post is intended to plug the post which was "lost".

Just to make it clear, this is how you would read the report with this post...

• Up to and including [post=627386]Post #29[/post] - this is OK; which is the story when I was just finishing my main meal on OZ F and about to have the second service before landing in FRA.
• [post=627388]Post #30[/post] - replace this post with the contents in [post=627393]the post linked here[/post]; this continues the story of the second service, landing in FRA then getting to the Business Lounge.
• [post=627393]Post #31[/post] - replace this post with the contents in this current post; this further describes the Business Lounge and then the boarding of my LH flight.
• [post=627993]Post #35[/post] and beyond - this is OK; the story continues as normal from here, where I'm in flight on LH to LCY, then land in LCY and so on.

---

Contrary to some stories you may have heard, there is plenty of food to be had in LH lounges - even if they are just the Business ones - though suffice to say, not a lot of it is hot food. There's snacks, big soft pretzels, yoghurts, sweets and some salads (yes, including potato salad). As for hot food, well, anyone for sausages? (Hey, we are in Germany...)

Feel like testing your inner bartender? German beer on tap is available - draw it yourself.

Yoghurts and pudding available. Not sure about the green bananas, though...

Various salads and accompaniments for crudities.

For those of you not quite getting the JFK urban legend - i.e. when he 'said', "Ich bin ein Berliner" - here is the butt of the 'joke'.

A little sample snack from the buffet - it's all typical German comforts here. On another given day, this would go down nicely with a big glass of German beer.

I saw the boarding time for my flight seem to pass by, so it was time to get moving. There were no boarding calls in the lounge - not necessarily unusual in this part of the world and for an airport with a very large number of flights every day - so I went up to the front counter to ask whether my flight was really boarding or not. A quick check of the computer confirmed that boarding had commenced and I should be making my way quickly to the gate!


Flight: Lufthansa Cityline LH936 Frankfurt am Main (Flughafen Frankfurt am Main) (FRA T1) - London City Airport (LCY)
Depart: Sched 1815h; Actual 1817h
Duration: 1 h 25 min
Distance: 386 mi (622 km)
Aircraft: D-AECD "Schkeuditz" Embraer E190
Class: Business
Seat: 2F


One of the things about the Business lounge was that it was located quite some distance away from my boarding gate, so with boarding having commenced, I was hot on my heels. To make things rather more frantic, my flight was boarding from a bus gate! This meant that they really took the whole boarding on time and being at the gate on time thing very seriously, and they will not wait!

Moving at a pace slightly faster than a military march on hot coals, I made it to the gate and was directed downstairs to the boarding area where the bus was waiting. FRA has so many flights every day, there simply aren't enough jetways to give every aircraft one. So many shorthaul flights - particularly those operated with regional aircraft like our Embraer - were relegated to getting remote stands where pax are bussed to and from the terminal.

LH A380 spotted as our bus drove to our aircraft.

Our LH Embraer E190 as viewed from the bus... and as the heavens opened.

As I boarded the aircraft, I was greeted by the cheerful FA at the door, then directed to my seat. Business Class on shorthaul LH (and indeed, most of Europe) was the usual guaranteed spare seat next to you (i.e. middle block for 3-3 configured aircraft, or an alternating aisle or window seat kept spare on 2-2 aircraft like this one). On this particular aircraft, the spare seats could be transformed into a low lying coughtail table (very low lying, it's at the same level as the seat cushion, not the arm rest, like would be normal on many other airlines / aircraft).

The spare seat with the lowered coughtail table.

Legroom in 2F.

 

[Major]

Re: Errata: Tue 10 Apr

That is one helluva TR. The detail you have amassed is astounding. Thank you for a great read.