Round The World and other travels

It was apparent even from the departure lounge that this was going to be a lightly-loaded flight. Boarding started at 1740 and was completed within ten minutes. There was a separate Business Class cabin : a fixed four rows of 2+2 seating, with bulkheads behind Row 4. I know that seat pitch is meant to be measured as the distance between the same two points on adjacent seat rows, but with the seats themselves being of a very bulky design, the actual space capable of being occupied struck me from outset as really quite tight. (This factor was to prove significant!)

There were only 8 seated passengers in the cabin, plus an infant - who, incidentally, never made a sound throughout the flight - sharing 1A. I had a pre-departure glass of orange juice, although guava and mango were offered as well, and there was also a cold towels service on the ground. Not a bad idea, that, as the atmosphere inside the aircraft was stifling

We pushed back at 1800 and as we taxied to the runway, it started to rain. Thinking of that dreadful storm the previous day, I wondered if it was a case of getting out just in time. We were very quickly at the holding point for Runway 14R and were airborne by 1808. Meal orders had been taken on the ground and consisted of a simple choice between chicken with potatoes or beef with rice. I had the beef and some red wine. In all honesty, it wasn't the best of airline food.

Although it was a little bit of a performance with a loaded meal tray, I moved to 4A at this point, as the twerp in 2A insisted on going to full recline, even during the meal service   I will admit to being one of those who has a real problem with reclining seats on short-haul flights. Let's be honest - it's just a way of increasing your available space at someone else's expense   I don't know if it was a case of keeping me sweet, but from that moment on, there was a constant procession by the cabin crew to keep topping up my water and wine glasses.   I wasn't aware of anyone else getting the same treatment. Strangely (I thought) no tea or coffee was offered - just those constant top-ups!

The crew distributed extremely hot, but very nicely scented, towels prior to the descent. We touched down in HKT at 1810 local time (Thailand being one hour behind Malaysia) and it was immediately apparent that it was a very small airport. As if to prove the point, we were at the gate just two minutes later!