Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: A Tale of Two Cities (2010)
Flight Log 3 : LX2026
Zurich (ZRH) - Madrid (MAD)
When I finally boarded replacement aircraft HB-IJN, I quickly settled into 1A. There were six Business Class passengers spread around the three-row cabin and the excellent news was that 1C and 2A were both unoccupied. As regular readers may just have noticed, I like my personal space! We pushed back at 1256, four minutes ahead of the revised departure time of one o'clock, but woefully behind the original schedule. I reflected on my earlier premature thoughts regarding how everything in Switzerland often appears to run strictly by the clock. But a jet aircraft is a complex piece of equipment on which we place enormous demands and which we entrust with our lives, so I'd much rather be late and safe. Take-off was from the short-haul Runway 28, after a brief wait for two departing aircraft ahead of us in the queue.
When service got underway, the Purser departed from normal procedure and used a most unconventional pattern, delivering the food front-to-back down the starboard side, followed by front-to-back down the port side. The starter was a green leaf salad with oil and vinegar dressing, while my main course consisted of a surprisingly generous piece of chicken breast served with rice, courgettes and olives. Finally, there was a portion of Camembert and the usual selection of bread rolls. I drank water and some more of the Jacquart initially, coffee and chocolates being offered afterwards.
Our routing was via the French cities of Lyon and Toulouse. A bumpy patch was encountered prior to crossing the Pyrenees into Spain and the seat belt signs came on for a period. By this time I was back on the Jacquart, accompanied by little bags of Pretzel nibbles.
A five-minute ATC delay was experienced prior to final approach into Barajas, during which I realised that I was in danger of nodding off! By 1525 we were on the ground at this vast airport and making a fast and lengthy taxi towards our allocated gate, arriving very nearly a full hour down on the schedule. Despite this, it had been a thoroughly pleasant flight.
Date: Sat 20 Mar 2010
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Scheduled dep: 1225
Actual departure: 1256
Scheduled arrival: 1440
Actual arrival: 1538
Cabin: Business Class
Seat: 1A
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