Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Spring Fever 2008
Flight Log 10 : EY378
Bahrain Manama (BAH) - Abu Dhabi (AUH)
So this was to be the second new
carrier of the trip and the first on which I'd be earning no
frequent flyer benefits at all
I was still looking forward to it, of course!
Boarding got underway at 0950 and I was the first of three to be
shown to my seat in the First Class cabin. My initial reaction was
to let my jaw drop a bit as it was unlike any layout I'd experienced
before, although I did recall seeing pictures on-line somewhere -
almost certainly in a FlyerTalk trip report. The cabin had an airy
and spacious feel, due to the complete absence of overhead lockers.
I wondered whether somebody would hang my jacket and then noticed
that I was meant to do it myself, as a neat little one-hanger
wardrobe is built into the seat design! I soon found my little
drinks compartment, pre-filled with three assorted cans of soft
drinks. My TV screen was HUGE - far and away the biggest I've ever
seen on an aircraft.
I was offered a pre-departure drink and asked for
Champagne. It seemed silly not to, as it is one of the major
recurring themes of this trip
This was followed by the customary
offer of dates and Arabic coffee, traditional symbols of Arab
hospitality. I noticed that there was a little lounge area,
presumably for use by First Class passengers on longer flights, just
forward of the cabin and aft of the cockpit. The Captain announced
at this point that the expected flight time was 50 minutes and that
we would be cruising at 25,000ft. We were pushed back early at 1023
and the nosewheel camera was switched on
I was able to follow our progress along the yellow taxi lines
out to Runway 30R for a 1037 take-off.
The in-flight meal consisted of a small pasta salad, to which was added a hot beefsteak and/or king prawn - I had both! This was supplemented by a couple of bread rolls and a small fruit salad. I drank water and apple juice, followed by coffee, figuring that it wouldn't do me any harm to give the fizzy stuff a miss for a change. In-flight entertainment consisted of an episode of the very funny Canadian programme 'Just for Laughs', which seems to be a popular choice for airlines around the world.
On approach into Abu Dhabi, my attention switched between the view from the nose camera and observing the network of mostly empty roads out of my own window. We touched down at 1230 and arrived on-stand exactly on schedule at 1235. Perhaps just a couple of minor gripes about an otherwise pleasing cabin : one, there aren't many cubby holes for things the size of (say) a book; two, the colour scheme, if you look closely, isn't all that good at hiding dirt.
Date: Wed 23 Apr 2008
Aircraft : A330-200
Scheduled dep : 1030
Actual departure : 1023
Scheduled arrival : 1235
Actual arrival : 1235
Cabin : First Class
Seat : 1A
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