Travel Details
1. Sydney - Singapore TZ001 B772
2. Singapore - Helsinki AY82 A343
3. Helsinki - Oslo KL1208 E190
3a. Oslo Kristiansand TRAIN - NSB
4. Kristiansand - Amsterdam KL1208 E190
5. Amsterdam - Prague OK619 A319
6. Prague - Amsterdam KL4628 F70
7. Amsterdam - Oslo KL1145 B737
8. Oslo - Helsinki AY660 A320
9. Helsinki - Singapore AY81 A343
10. Singapore - Sydney TZ2 B772
Carriers
Scoot
Finnair
KLM
Czech Airlines
[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]Background[/COLOR]
In planning for this trip, it was a constantly changing routing, where eventually just a few short weeks out, it was finalised! And the final routing would see me using an almost all new carriers (with exception to Finnair (AY)). It also had me on a new type, the Fokker70 (F70)! I was quietly looking forward to it, as I was to catching up with friends, both old and new!
[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]18th June 2012 TZ001 SYD-SIN[/COLOR]
I was dropped off at the airport by my friends JL and MC. I joined the line for scoot (TZ) where I had the 'FlyBagEat' package. Checking in was harmless, although when asked about my cabin bag, I was a little 'oh oh' as it has all my gear in it (laptop, camera and associated lenses! The agent just made sure it was of suitable 'size' and not like those huge ones you see about the place. Check-in was complete, so we had a bite to eat, and soon it was the goodbyes. I entered the departures hall, where there were minimal officers and a fairly healthy line! It took some 20 minutes in the late morning/middle of the day as the US departures were imminent!
DEP SYD 13.40 (sched) 14.30 (actual)
ARR SIN 19.35 (schedual) 20.35 (actual)
SEAT 60A
Boeing 777-212ER (ex SQ) 9V-OTC
Boarding TZ001 to Singapore commenced with scootbiz and those in the rear of the aircraft (zone 4) which was my zone. Most people adhered to this call, although one was turned away; suitably unimpressed! My first impressions when getting into the cabin was it looked good, bright in places with the yellow/purple combination. The yellow seats are those you can upgrade to, at a fee, whilst the purple is the seat you pay for! I found my seat, last of the three, and got comfy.
Soon after, our Captain come over the PA saying she "had a technical issue they were trying to correct, and that as soon as it was completed, we'd be on our way" and she also apologised for the delay. There was also a passenger that was a no-show, and those bag(s) were needing to be removed. However, we were soon on our way and taxied out to 34R. Our departure was swift, powerful and we tracked out over western Sydney. Now here is the one 'gripe' I had about scoot, and that is when they removed the entertainment systems (not an issue) they also removed the monitors on the bulkheads, and with that, there is no 'moving map'! I like to have a situational awareness, and knowing where I am (in relation to the flight progress). Additionally, they could sell this off to advertising, subsidising (a little) of the tiny weight it may have for what, a dozen monitors? Anyway, if thats my only gripe, its not a very big one!!
Soon after, the crew announced that iPads were soon to be offered for hire, and that the passengers who had pre-ordered a meal, this would be served. I had, and I was keen to see what it was like. I looked through the menu, and I chose the lasagne, mandarine segments in juice and a 7UP.
The flight progressed pretty much uneventful, and during a break, the Captain came through the cabin to the rear galley, acknowledging passengers on her way down. I thought this was kind of cool, and cud's to her for doing this! I had a brief chat about her nationality (Dutch) and how she had been with SQ for a few years, as was some of the crew. We soon commenced our decent into SIN, and were at the gate only slightly delayed from the revised time.
Clearing immigration was quick and effortless, and as I had to collect my luggage and change terminals, I caught the sky train across. My booking were held across three different PNR's! Once through to T1 from T2, I found the desks for AY to be open, and I quickly re-checked my bag and passed through immigration; less than 30 minutes after clearing them!
AY82 SIN-HEL
DEP SIN 23.50 (schedule/actual)
ARR HEL 06.35 (schedule/actual) +1
SEAT 50L
Airbus A340-313X (ex AF F-GNIF) OH-LQF
Boarding AY, compared to scoot, was a slow an onerous task, disorganised, yet it seemed to be quicker when compared to scoot overall! I found my seat, again to the rear of the plane, this time though on the opposite side. We pushed back, safety video was played, and before long we were off into the midnight skies… Typically A340 style, it was a slow climb out, but relatively smooth. Flight time tonight was some 11 hours and 25 minutes from what the Captain said after introducing his team up front. After the seatbelt sign went off, I leaned over to the wall, and thats about all I remember of the flight until I got up to go for a walk, and the lights came on in readiness for the crew to serve breakfast! I had the best sleep for almost the entire flight! Breakfast, was a simple quiche, a sausage some potatoes and tomatoes and some greens. I also had a coffee!
Arrival into HEL was relatively smooth, and this time, was from the opposite direction to when I arrived in 2010. We were not even at the gate when, en mass, people stood up to retrieve bags from overhead bins! I am still aghast as to why people do this, when, we all end up in the arrival hall waiting for bags! But, not for me this time, as my bag was checked through to OSL, so I joined the EU line at immigration (AU passport remained in its case), and I was through in no time at all. Next up, it was a matter of finding my departure gate!
19th June 2012 AY651 HEL-OSL
DEP HEL 07.35 (schedule/actual)
ARR OSL 08.30 (schedual/actual)
SEAT 7F
EMBRAER 190-100LR (OH-LKE)
This is my second AY Embraer 190 flight; the first being from HEL to TXL in 2010. We were bused out to the aircraft to a hard stand. There were some showers about, but the walk up the steps was quick. My seat was the first after the movable J class wall, and I felt a little 'cramped' with the curtain. Luckily, for me, there was a nice big window to view outside! By this stage, a shower had started, as we prepared for the flight. Cabin crew performed the safety demonstration, and we were soon rocketing off through the clouds, leaving the showers behind. Soon after, the cabin crew commenced a snack service, a coffee/tea and a snack (sweet or savoury).
However, all to soon, we started our descent into Oslo. Not having been here before, I was looking out of the window to see if I could see anything. My eyes soon became focused on an otherwise brown area just ahead, and slightly to the right.
Soon enough, the gear came down and we did a steep bank to the right to line up to what I had seen. I had been told by my friends they would get a shot coming in, and that they would meet me in the arrivals hall. I could not see them as we came into land though, and soon we touched down (was smooth), and we were soon at the gate. After deplaning, my bag came through in about 10 minutes, and as I entered the hall, there was Mr C and Mr T!
Next section - Spotting in OSLO (stay tuned...)