Europe Trip 2 for 2008 from the 747 to the F70

[brissypete]

Introduction
I have been luicky enough to do two seperate trips to Europe this year, most recently over the past month. This time I travelled with my sister, brother in law and 21 month old niece.

We travelled together on the following flights:
MH140 BNE-KUL 777-200
MH004 KUL-LHR 747-400
BA700 LHR-VIE A320-200
BA697 VIE-LHR A320-200
BA314 LHR-CDG A320-200
MH021 CDG-KUL 777-200
MH141 KUL-SYD-BNE 777-200

Additionally I spent some time travelling solo and took the following flights:
OS275 VIE-TXL F70 (First flight with OS and on a F70)
LH3802 TXL-ZRH 146-200 (First flight on LH and on a BAE146-200)
HG8537 ZRH-VIE A320-200 (First flight with NIKI)

Part 1 - Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur

28AUG08 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH140 BNE-KUL
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat: 11E
Departure Gate: 78

We were allocated the bulkhead for this flight so we had a bassinet for my niece. We had been told that we had one spare seat which was blocked however on board a lady and her son had the other two seats, I didn't realise until after the flight that the lady actually had my allocated seat otherwise I would have said something.

Flight departed Brisbane ontime with a decent load probably around 75% in Economy.

Served dinner around 2 hours after departure, chose the Boiled Hake with mashed potato, quite nice.

Small breakfast of very nice muffin and small ski yogurt served about 90 mins from KL.

Conditions were generally good with some minor turbulence around Indonesia.

Our cruising altitude varied between 35,000 and 40,000 feet.

I generally tried to sleep with little sucess which seems normal for me.

Arrived in KL spot on time at 5:30AM.

Click on pictures for full size versions.

[brissypete]

Part 2 - Kuala Lumpur to London

30AUG08 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH004 KUL-LHR
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Seat: 52C
Departure Gate: C25

Departed KL about 15-20 mins late due to delivery of extra catering or something to do with catering. Headed off over the Bay of Bengal with some turbulence and the crew were required to be seated for a short period which delayed the serving of lunch.

No bulkhead for us on this flight but being a day flight was less of an issue and it was a very full flight with few seats to spare.

Lunch I had was spicy chicken with potatos, salad, cake and drinks, chicken was quite nice, one piece of potato was not cooked however otherwise quite tasty. A Magnum mini was served after lunch.

The standard snack box was served half way.

Another meal was served approx 3 hours from London although was delayed slightly due to turbulence over Bulgaria. I chose beef with potato wedges, beef was slightly tough but quite ok.

Took a different routing to last time I flew this flight, flew over Dubai, Damascus, Syria, Istanbul and into London via Southern Austria and Belgium. Cruising altitude for the first few hours was around 29000 feet and climbed to 34,000 and 38,000 over Europe.

Landed into London slightly early however there was a delay waiting for a gate and we disembarked about 15-20 mins late.

[brissypete]

Part 3 - London to Vienna

31AUG08 British Airways Flight BA700 LHR-VIE
Aircraft: Boeing A320-200
Seat: 20D
Departure Gate: Unknown

First ever visit to the new T5, very impressive terminal and much nicer than T3 and T1. Our plane was parked at a remote stand so we were bussed to the plane. Unfortunately it was raining however not to heavy so got a bit wet walking up the stairs to the plane. The bus driver was very good by only letting a few people out at a time to avoid people having to wait on the stairs in the rain. We were delayed by about 10 mins waiting for clearance to start our quite long taxi to our departure runway.

A nice powerful takeoff, some turbulence for a bit after takeoff then a mostly smooth flight. A light snack was served of a small ham and cheese breadroll and orange juice prepackaged. A full drinks service was done as well. I had two waters and a coke as I was very thirsty and tired.

Arrived into Vienna a bit late with a few bumps coming into land. Must have been some crosswinds as the plane moved a bit side to side after touchdown.

Appeared to be a very old BA A320 with dreadful legroom which was even worse as people in front of us decided to recline fully so the lady in front of me ended up with my knees in her back. Seats were otherwise quite comfortable. The age of the plane showed in the overhead lockers which appeared old and the toilet floor had a checkered lino or something and the toilet fittings all appeared quite old. It appears BA need to update their shorthaul fleet.

[brissypete]

Part 4 - Vienna - Berlin Tegel

31AUG08 Austrian Arrows (Tyrolean) Flight OS275 VIE-TXL
Aircraft: Fokker 70
Seat: 5F
Departure Gate: B40

This was my first flight with Austrian and my first time on a Fokker and therefore the Fokker 70.

Gate B40 is a bus gate so we had a bus ride to the plane which thanks to a good spot on the bus and good weather I was able to get a decent photo of the plane before leaving the bus.

We left the parking area ahead of schedule with a long taxi and a wait for takeoff due to a number of other Austrian flights all leaving at the same time.
I was in the first row of economy and had excellent leg room and the seat was quite comfortable as well. The flight was fairly full with both seats next to me taken. It appeared that this aircraft has been recently refurbished as the interior was quite fresh, this aircraft was delivered in 1996 according to the database.

A light meal of tuna and salad was served along with drinks, the meal was small but well presented.

The flying time was only 1 hour and conditions were quite good until descending into Berlin where there was heavy cloud as it was raining, there was one bump which was felt but otherwise pretty good.

On landing we took quite a well to stop, I'm guessing due to the wet conditions maybe the reverse thrust wasn't used. We then had a brief wait for a parking position before being bussed to the terminal building.

I was quite happy with my first Austrian flight and found the F70 quite a comfortable ride.

Next LH3802 Berlin Tegel - Zurich

[brissypete]

Part 5 - Berlin Tegel - Zurich

08SEP08 Lufthansa Regional Flight LH3802 (Operated by Eurowings) TXL-ZRH
Aircraft BAE146-200
Seat 14A
Departure Gate: A05

For this flight I was booked on LX3653 which is the SWISS codeshare as it was cheaper than booking on the LH flight number.

This was my first time flying with Lufthansa and also my first flight on a BAE146-200, I have previously flown on a Avro RJ100 so it was not a completely new experience.

We were bussed to the plane and they were using front and rear stairs for boarding which made for a quicker boarding as I was towards the back I used the rear stairs.

We departed about 10 minutes late and flying time was announced as 1hr 20mins.

A very basic meal consisting of a small roll and a chocolate/rice bar was served along with drinks, I had grabbed some sandwhiches at the airport so was not too bothered.

Conditions en route were quite good with only light cloud and some lovely views below.

We landed in Zurich on time and we got an aerobridge gate this time which was nice.

This flight was nearly full however I was lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me. I found the BAE146-200 to be more comfortable than the RJ100 with better head room in the window seat. Leg room was also quite good on this plane as well.

[brissypete]

Part 6 - Zurich - Vienna

12SEP08 Fly NIKI Flight HG8537 ZRH-VIE
Aircraft A320-200
Seat 07A
Departure Gate: E??

This was my first time flying NIKI who are classed as a LCC, however they are much different to other LCCs and in a good way.

Unfortunately the flight was delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft however things were sped up and we departed only about 10 minutes late. One thing which definately got sped up was the unloading of the baggage from the plane in arrival in Zurich, I watched as bags were literally thrown onto the trolleys with a number ending up on the tarmac on the other side of the trolley. Maybe this is normal but it didn't look very good.

The fare I paid for this flight was not overly cheap but on a Friday afternoon it is not surprising and it was a nearly full flight.

The cabin crew are very easy to spot in bright pink uniforms. Seating on this plane was Recaro seating like you would find on a SWISS A320 and it was quite comfortable with good leg room.

I was expecting to have to pay for food on board and was pleasantly surprised to find that sandwhiches and non alcoholic drinks are provided free of charge. I received a standard two pack of sandwhiches which was a better sized meal that what I received on “full service” airlines Austrian and Lufthansa. It was also possible to preorder or buy on board hot meals and alcoholic drinks.

There was cloud for most of this flight with some turbulence at times but overall good conditions.

I was also impressed with the flight map on this flight as it was extremely detailed and even shown left and right views so you knew what you were seeing, although mostly cloud on this flight.

We arrived about 10 minutes late into Vienna and parked at a remote stand before being bussed to the terminal.

It appeared that a number of non schengen flights had arrived all at once as passport control was a huge mass of people with only some vague resemblence to queues however it ended up moving quick enough so I was on my way fairly quickly.

I was quite impressed with my first flight on NIKI and would happily fly them again in the future.