"Thank you for flying Emirates"
i got to Birmingham airport at 7.50pm because my flight on the voucher was scheduled for 9.55pm and when i checked in online i was quite sure it was still at 9.55pm. at the airport, however, the flight was listed at 9.10pm (though it didnt really matter too much because i had already checked in and only needed to hand over my suitcase and collect my boarding pass). the queue was snaking but i got to queue at the business class line (which only had one guy in front of me) because i had checked in online (whoohoo!). funny how the ground-staff at the airport chose to give survey forms on the airport's service to people who were on the 'fast-track'. the lady wrote down that i arrived at 7.50pm and received my ticket at 7.52pm (even though i only got my ticket at 8pm because the guy in front had some passport problems) and then when i got to security they jotted down the time i arrived which was 8.10pm - makes them look really efficient. then the plane got delayed for boarding and take-off because the mechanism to load the cargo wasnt working and it had to be done manually.
did i mention that after passing through security i realised i actually carried a small victorinox in my handcarry because it was my keychain? and strangely enough it passed through security without raising any alarms. and to compound that, the guy in front of me got stopped because his keychain had a small pair of scissors in it, while mine had a small knife AND scissors. so i was praying that when i got to Dubai it would pass the security check as well. miracles DO happen. passed through without being stopped (didnt want it to get confiscated a la the Dublin incident of June 2005). prayer works! :)
was surprisingly blessed with the front row seat on my flight from Birmingham to Dubai and managed to snag an aisle seat from Dubai to Singapore. the people that were sitting around me, however, left much to be desired. on the Birmingham-Dubai leg, an huge African man was sitting next to me and for the whole time since boarding the plane to the doors shutting, he was on his mobile phone. and not only was that rude, it was annoying because he kept calling people (not that people were calling him, except maybe only one of the calls). he's take his phone out, call someone, and when the conversation ended, call another person and repeat himself. and then he'd decide to switch off his phone and put it in his pocket. 10 seconds later, out comes the phone, switched on, and then he makes a couple other calls. he didnt seem to be a frequent traveller because he didnt know that his table was a pull-out one as we were in the front row and that he had a personalised screen that he had to release from under his arm-rest. plus he held up the stewardess deciding what to eat when he was studying the menu every 5 mins before the meal.
on the Dubai-Singapore leg, i had one guy who kept jerking his chair in front of me, and 2 Arab children who kept making a nuisance of themselves behind. they kept kicking the our chairs (me and the person next to me) and could not sit still when the plane was waiting in line to take-off that the steward had to make an anouncement asking parents to ensure that their children remained seated during take-off. not that the parents actually did anything - which resulted in one of the stewardesses frustratedly instructing them to sit down from her seat where she was strapped in in preparation for take-off. plus they did make quite a lot of noise. their brother, who was sitting across the aisle from them annoyed the Malay guy in front of him so much that he actually turned around and half-yelled at him to "stop it (kicking his chair)". the boy sitting behind me threw a tantrum when he was told (finally) by his dad during the flight to sit still with his seat belt on when we were going through turbulance.
i dont think i can do long-haul direct flights very well anymore - i think transits are the way forward. food was so-so (i did feel indignant about not getting a croissant but i'm learning to let go...) but inflight radio was really nice. think that when i fly back it shouldnt be that full so that i can get a few seats together to fully recline. *cross fingers*
did i mention that after passing through security i realised i actually carried a small victorinox in my handcarry because it was my keychain? and strangely enough it passed through security without raising any alarms. and to compound that, the guy in front of me got stopped because his keychain had a small pair of scissors in it, while mine had a small knife AND scissors. so i was praying that when i got to Dubai it would pass the security check as well. miracles DO happen. passed through without being stopped (didnt want it to get confiscated a la the Dublin incident of June 2005). prayer works! :)
was surprisingly blessed with the front row seat on my flight from Birmingham to Dubai and managed to snag an aisle seat from Dubai to Singapore. the people that were sitting around me, however, left much to be desired. on the Birmingham-Dubai leg, an huge African man was sitting next to me and for the whole time since boarding the plane to the doors shutting, he was on his mobile phone. and not only was that rude, it was annoying because he kept calling people (not that people were calling him, except maybe only one of the calls). he's take his phone out, call someone, and when the conversation ended, call another person and repeat himself. and then he'd decide to switch off his phone and put it in his pocket. 10 seconds later, out comes the phone, switched on, and then he makes a couple other calls. he didnt seem to be a frequent traveller because he didnt know that his table was a pull-out one as we were in the front row and that he had a personalised screen that he had to release from under his arm-rest. plus he held up the stewardess deciding what to eat when he was studying the menu every 5 mins before the meal.
on the Dubai-Singapore leg, i had one guy who kept jerking his chair in front of me, and 2 Arab children who kept making a nuisance of themselves behind. they kept kicking the our chairs (me and the person next to me) and could not sit still when the plane was waiting in line to take-off that the steward had to make an anouncement asking parents to ensure that their children remained seated during take-off. not that the parents actually did anything - which resulted in one of the stewardesses frustratedly instructing them to sit down from her seat where she was strapped in in preparation for take-off. plus they did make quite a lot of noise. their brother, who was sitting across the aisle from them annoyed the Malay guy in front of him so much that he actually turned around and half-yelled at him to "stop it (kicking his chair)". the boy sitting behind me threw a tantrum when he was told (finally) by his dad during the flight to sit still with his seat belt on when we were going through turbulance.
i dont think i can do long-haul direct flights very well anymore - i think transits are the way forward. food was so-so (i did feel indignant about not getting a croissant but i'm learning to let go...) but inflight radio was really nice. think that when i fly back it shouldnt be that full so that i can get a few seats together to fully recline. *cross fingers*
posted by ade at
4:55 pm
2 Comments:
Greets to the webmaster of this wonderful site. Keep working. Thank you.
»
By
Anonymous, at 1:14 am
Keep up the good work. thnx!
»
By
Anonymous, at 7:19 am
Post a Comment
<< Home