I started writing this last night, and spent a goodly amount of time on it before discovering that the whole post was LOST due to AFF being down... 
Here is a rewrite. There are pics, but they will come later.
So I've been working on a project, one that has my team moving to a new IT system, to replace our existing tried and trusted system. Our UK colleagues use it, but despite asking since late last year for training and documentation, nothing has been forthcoming. In fact, we've been told that nothing was going to be done about it because they don't have the resources. I'd spent hours on the phone and on a computer hook up to see what this system was like, but you don't get the feel for anything else (especially when your whole workflow is going to change), so I put it to management that I need to haul my sorry but out to the UK to see how they do things over there...
I like to start work on Monday in reasonable shape, so I like to arrive the day before - in this case it's Sunday. The Qantas offering for August meant I would have to ride QF31 on a 747. Given this is also serviced by the A380, and I'd never been on one, I had to do something about this schedule... After a few adjustments, I was able to leave on Monday afternoon, arrive Tuesday, and start work on Wednesday (with a promise of a possible Tuesday afternoon if I felt up to it).
I was now looking forward to my first trip outside of Asia on what I thought would be a premium aircraft and route. As QF31 doesn't leave until after 4pm, I couldn't really justify getting to the airport in the morning, or even for a normal lunch... So a late lunch it would be, and IIRC, I got there around 1pm, and just got a 3:30 booking at the Spa.
Another first would be dining in the Sydney First lounge - my previous and first visit was only for 10mins and I really didn't know what to expect other than to ask for 2 things a) The squid/calamari, and b) The Pork belly. I felt guilty ordering both, but it turned out that both were rather (pitifully) small servings. I only got 3 small bits of pork (someone on this forum gloated about 4?) - tasty, but really only suitable for starters I didn't order more as I generally put on too much weight every time I travel, so I thought I'd try to take it easy and work on the other food groups later.
Just as I thought it was safe to head to the Spa, my boss calls me! 15mins of my valuable massage time was used up, and I had to settle for a quick neck massage before running down to the plane.
I had read a few posts on the forum, and this led me to pre-select 12E for the flight. Initial impressions confirmed this was the most impressive J configuration in the QF fleet (referring to the generic seating, not 12E, which isn't great, I think row 11 would be much better on the A380). And why do I think these seats are so good? Because I could not reach or place my feet on the seat in front! There was masses of space compared to the other J seats I had been on (747 and A330) - however, I would find out later that the shoulders would still be crammed by the "shell"
The crew were okay, but really weren't around much - mini-cabin meant minimal attention and minimal service. The guy next to me told me he "worked on one of these", and I initially thought he was an engineer, slightly embarrassed to discover he was a (somewhat discontented) FA on a positioning flight up to Singapore (you'll find the old goats get to travel F)... I also saw what appeared to be a washed up TV journo on the flight with a "shadow" next to him (I think he used to be on the nine network many years ago, couldn't remember his name, nor could I really care).
I visited the "onboard J lounge", with the Red seats which looked a bit Virgin to me... Not sure it was the best use of space, but its there with a lame magazine collection (I couldn't find any car mags, tech mags, or anything vaguely interesting). Self-service bar was cold drinks and chocolates - hot tea was by request only, which was happily provided in the rare event that one of the FA chose to appear (not that often).
It was a rather uneventful flight up to Singapore for the first leg, and since I had never visited the F lounge in Singapore, I thought it would be an interesting place to be (how wrong could you be? I was about to find out I was very wrong)
We were parked at the furthest gate from civilisation - we walked and walked and walked and walked to get to the main part of the terminal. By the time I got there, I autopiloted my way into the Business lounge, only to be advised that I was most welcome in the First lounge, which was outside to my right... Stumbling outside somewhat dazed (feeling ejected!), I eventually found the F lounge was indeed around the corner (that other lounge in the way was confusing). I had to take a double and triple take. This so-called "F lounge" was pretty much an F lounge due to exclusitivity/restriction. Looks to me like someone was rather lazy and just copied and pasted the J lounge. I didn't think the fittings or surrounds were any better than the J lounge, nor was the food or drink for that matter... This really left me quite confused and hankering to get back to my seat on the A380 (not that a 14+hr flight was ever going to be great, but I had stayed awake so I could try to force the body to sleep).
Walking back to the gate, I realised there is something else seriously wrong with going via Singapore. Not only is it a stupidly long walk to the gate, but then you have to do the security hokey-pokey again. WTF? That's just a plain inconvenience and irritation in the middle of the night. I'll take HK next time, if I have choice. Getting back to my seat, I found something familiar waiting for me - it was the blanket from my last leg. How nice, the cleaners must've realised it was the same passenger for the next leg, so didn't bother changing it for me. By the time we were ready for takeoff, I had dozed off, and awoke a few minutes later to find the trolley in the right aisle, with the FA's handing out PJs and water to the passengers in their aisle. Strangely, I had a bottle next to me, but no PJs. So after waiting a while, I thought I'd better ask, but despite being polite and trying to be nice and say PLEASE, I got a withering glare from the FA and the PJs were unceremoniously tossed at me. Sorry for wanting to sleep eh? And sorry I was, because I simply couldn't sleep well - lots of tossing and turning, which meant I ended up watching Kung Fu Panda 2, and discovered the Gourmet Farmer TV show. It was an exceptionally dry flight, I think my nose got irritated and started bleeding, and this was despite refilling and drinking my water bottle multiple times (QF seem to only carry 1 bottle per passenger?).
I guess Heathrow couldn't come fast enough...
Here is a rewrite. There are pics, but they will come later.
So I've been working on a project, one that has my team moving to a new IT system, to replace our existing tried and trusted system. Our UK colleagues use it, but despite asking since late last year for training and documentation, nothing has been forthcoming. In fact, we've been told that nothing was going to be done about it because they don't have the resources. I'd spent hours on the phone and on a computer hook up to see what this system was like, but you don't get the feel for anything else (especially when your whole workflow is going to change), so I put it to management that I need to haul my sorry but out to the UK to see how they do things over there...
I like to start work on Monday in reasonable shape, so I like to arrive the day before - in this case it's Sunday. The Qantas offering for August meant I would have to ride QF31 on a 747. Given this is also serviced by the A380, and I'd never been on one, I had to do something about this schedule... After a few adjustments, I was able to leave on Monday afternoon, arrive Tuesday, and start work on Wednesday (with a promise of a possible Tuesday afternoon if I felt up to it).
I was now looking forward to my first trip outside of Asia on what I thought would be a premium aircraft and route. As QF31 doesn't leave until after 4pm, I couldn't really justify getting to the airport in the morning, or even for a normal lunch... So a late lunch it would be, and IIRC, I got there around 1pm, and just got a 3:30 booking at the Spa.
Another first would be dining in the Sydney First lounge - my previous and first visit was only for 10mins and I really didn't know what to expect other than to ask for 2 things a) The squid/calamari, and b) The Pork belly. I felt guilty ordering both, but it turned out that both were rather (pitifully) small servings. I only got 3 small bits of pork (someone on this forum gloated about 4?) - tasty, but really only suitable for starters
I didn't order more as I generally put on too much weight every time I travel, so I thought I'd try to take it easy and work on the other food groups later.Just as I thought it was safe to head to the Spa, my boss calls me! 15mins of my valuable massage time was used up, and I had to settle for a quick neck massage before running down to the plane.
I had read a few posts on the forum, and this led me to pre-select 12E for the flight. Initial impressions confirmed this was the most impressive J configuration in the QF fleet (referring to the generic seating, not 12E, which isn't great, I think row 11 would be much better on the A380). And why do I think these seats are so good? Because I could not reach or place my feet on the seat in front! There was masses of space compared to the other J seats I had been on (747 and A330) - however, I would find out later that the shoulders would still be crammed by the "shell"
The crew were okay, but really weren't around much - mini-cabin meant minimal attention and minimal service. The guy next to me told me he "worked on one of these", and I initially thought he was an engineer, slightly embarrassed to discover he was a (somewhat discontented) FA on a positioning flight up to Singapore (you'll find the old goats get to travel F)... I also saw what appeared to be a washed up TV journo on the flight with a "shadow" next to him (I think he used to be on the nine network many years ago, couldn't remember his name, nor could I really care).
I visited the "onboard J lounge", with the Red seats which looked a bit Virgin to me... Not sure it was the best use of space, but its there with a lame magazine collection (I couldn't find any car mags, tech mags, or anything vaguely interesting). Self-service bar was cold drinks and chocolates - hot tea was by request only, which was happily provided in the rare event that one of the FA chose to appear (not that often).
It was a rather uneventful flight up to Singapore for the first leg, and since I had never visited the F lounge in Singapore, I thought it would be an interesting place to be (how wrong could you be? I was about to find out I was very wrong)
We were parked at the furthest gate from civilisation - we walked and walked and walked and walked to get to the main part of the terminal. By the time I got there, I autopiloted my way into the Business lounge, only to be advised that I was most welcome in the First lounge, which was outside to my right... Stumbling outside somewhat dazed (feeling ejected!), I eventually found the F lounge was indeed around the corner (that other lounge in the way was confusing). I had to take a double and triple take. This so-called "F lounge" was pretty much an F lounge due to exclusitivity/restriction. Looks to me like someone was rather lazy and just copied and pasted the J lounge. I didn't think the fittings or surrounds were any better than the J lounge, nor was the food or drink for that matter... This really left me quite confused and hankering to get back to my seat on the A380 (not that a 14+hr flight was ever going to be great, but I had stayed awake so I could try to force the body to sleep).
Walking back to the gate, I realised there is something else seriously wrong with going via Singapore. Not only is it a stupidly long walk to the gate, but then you have to do the security hokey-pokey again. WTF? That's just a plain inconvenience and irritation in the middle of the night. I'll take HK next time, if I have choice. Getting back to my seat, I found something familiar waiting for me - it was the blanket from my last leg. How nice, the cleaners must've realised it was the same passenger for the next leg, so didn't bother changing it for me. By the time we were ready for takeoff, I had dozed off, and awoke a few minutes later to find the trolley in the right aisle, with the FA's handing out PJs and water to the passengers in their aisle. Strangely, I had a bottle next to me, but no PJs. So after waiting a while, I thought I'd better ask, but despite being polite and trying to be nice and say PLEASE, I got a withering glare from the FA and the PJs were unceremoniously tossed at me. Sorry for wanting to sleep eh? And sorry I was, because I simply couldn't sleep well - lots of tossing and turning, which meant I ended up watching Kung Fu Panda 2, and discovered the Gourmet Farmer TV show. It was an exceptionally dry flight, I think my nose got irritated and started bleeding, and this was despite refilling and drinking my water bottle multiple times (QF seem to only carry 1 bottle per passenger?).
I guess Heathrow couldn't come fast enough...
