7 into 72 does go.

[JessicaTam]

Well here was I thinking a quick dash around Asia wouldn’t warrant a trip report. Especially as I only have a mobile phone to write it with. But the flight delay gods had other things planned. So here goes …

I am going to EU in September to watch some cars driving round and round very fast. The best way to do the trip from a BA TP/$ perspective was a RTW trip. I could have 16 legs, and each one needed to be over 2,000 miles to get min 140TPs. Anything less is only usually 40.

The best place to start a RTW trip cost wise is actually Japan. But I had to get there to start it. Hence a quick trip on my days off in July.

This stretch is MEL-HKG-NRT (Y) NRT-KUL-ICN-KUL-SYD (J) SYD-MEL (Y). The Y flights are the connections to make it happen. In September I will continue with MEL-SYD (Y) SYD-PER-LHR-DOH-FCO … But that is a tale for another time.

 

[JessicaTam]

My first CX flight left MEL a bit after 1400 on Tuesday and I land back in MEL about the same time on Friday. So 72 hours to do 7 flights. Oh, and I don’t leave an airport so technically I leave AU but don’t go anywhere.

I was a bit late finishing night shift on Tuesday so a shower and a cafe breakfast were in order. Then a bit of leisurely shopping before heading to the airport. “Why not go there and maximise lounge time?” I hear you ask. My total itinerary is 26 flights on the one PNR, so OLCI is not going to cut it. I need to check in with a human so lessening the risk of something breaking.

I walked up to the CX checkin bang on three hours before the flight to HKG. I handed over my passport and watched for the agent’s reaction to my booking. I swear she almost took a step back. She looked so stunned that the manager came over to see what was wrong. Same reaction x 2.

They asked if I had done the clearances for South Korea and Malaysia. I merely replied that I was only transiting so don’t need to. They were happy with that and out started coming the BPs. I only got 5 which I was disappointed with as I was hoping to get the lot. Oh well, the transfer desk in KUL should be able to help me out.

I think I have given them something to dine out on for a while.

 

[JessicaTam]

As a OWE I have access to the QF F lounge so headed there for some lunch and a glass or two of something nice. After a couple of hours I wandered into the House lounge as that is CX’s contract lounge. A nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Boarding started soon after and I was one of the first to board. I settled I to my window seat and found I had a double shadow, so I was able to stretch out a bit. The CX crew were very attentive with the Y cabin manager and head CSM coming to welcome me and ask if there was anything I needed. I did ask for the PE headphones which they obliged. I then discovered they don’t fit the Y headphone socket. Oh well.

A stiff g&t was followed by a vego creamy pasta for lunch. A fairly similar dish was also the pre-arrival meal. Minus the g&t.

Is it just me or has the range of movies dropped recently? I struggled to find something to watch that interested me. I did have a novel to fall back on so no big deal.

I arrived in HKG and was quickly through transit security. I then headed to the CX Wing F lounge as I didn’t have a gate number yet. I prefer the Wing over the Pier for the dining options. It turned out that there was not much for me to choose from in any case. And as it turned out, my flight was leaving from gate 5, so I stayed put as it was the closest lounge.

 

[JessicaTam]

My next flight was to NRT. I headed to the gate only to find we were standing around for quite a while. About a 30 minute delay as they “resolved some technical issues”.

I had lost my shadow on this flight a couple of days ago, and Y was showing full. PE was soon full too with only a handful of empty seats in J. So I had my fingers crossed.

Once boarding started my finger crossing was rewarded. The beep at the gate signalled I had gone from the first row of Y to the last row of PE. Less than a metre in distance, but a level up in comfort that was very welcome.

As soon as we were wheels up I curled up and tried to sleep, which I actually managed to do. We landed about 15 minutes late which didn’t worry me as I had a 3 & 1/2 hour connection. Straight to the JAL Sakura F lounge for a shower

I walked in at 0725 to be told that the showers didn’t open until 0730. I amused myself for five minutes and then went back.

I have to say, lounge showers are worth their weight in status! I realise I hadn’t explored this lounge much previously and discovered the dining room on the level above. A pretty good range of foods but you have to use the app to order. My phone wasn’t cooperating so I was handed an iPad.

After breakfast I went for a walk and visited the CX lounge. This has been closed the last couple of times I have been to NRT so it was good to see it open. They are open until 2130 so that bodes well for next year’s lounge crawl. It is a very big lounge so I struggle to imagine what it would be like if it got busy.

 

[JessicaTam]

A bit out of order, but here is a shot of one of the cabanas in the HKG CX Wing lounge. This is the first time I have managed to snag one as they usually have quite a wait.



Yes there is a bath tub, and a couch to snooze on. The attendant was quite clear though - only one and a half hours, please.

 

[JessicaTam]

I made my way to the gate for my MH flight to KUL. I stopped at a shop nearby and one of the MH flight attendants said hello. I told her I would see her in a few minutes. We got to chatting about the Ishiya chocolates on offer. She said she always stocks up when she can. A bit like me and FruChocs I guess. I ended up buying a small box.

We boarded soon after and I settled into 1H. A bit more luxurious than my previous flights. I spotted the FA (Natalie) and told her about my purchase. She looked a bit worried and said she hoped I liked them. That crew got the last of my packets of TimTams so I had no more backups in case I didn’t!

We pushed back and whilst the plane headed for Malaysia, I headed for the land of nod. I got a good five hours sleep. I then had some ice cream and hot chocolate for “breakfast”. What could be better?

I’ll tell you what. Natalie gave me the hot chocolate *and* a white and a milk chocolate from her purchase. I tried them and enjoyed them both. I think she was still worried that I would regret my purchase. In fact after trying them I told her that I had made a mistake - I hadn’t bought enough! Good thing I am in NGO in a couple of months and can get some more. They are pieces of chocolate sandwiched between two thin pieces of biscuit-like material. Seriously yum, but not cheap. My 12 piece box cost JPY980, so about $10.

Great service Natalie. I made sure to pass on my thoughts to the CSM.

1H:

 

[JessicaTam]

Once in KUL, I headed to the MH F lounge and their sleeping room. It was a 7 hour layover so I figured I would finish my tour of nod. Note I said “was”.

A few hours in and my watch beeped. Too early for my alarm, I thought. Yep, MH66 delayed from 2330 to 0400. Sigh. I dozed for a bit longer then figured I might as well head to the main terminal for a while.

The train is still out of service and the best it could get from a staff member about when it would be running again was “next year”. I think that has been the standard line for the last three years.

Things were a little different this time, with a dedicated J/F lane. This led me to a much nicer bus with only one other passenger. We waited for a while and then were asked to leave the bus and to get in the car instead.

The car turned out to be a very swanky BMW limo. As I walked up to it the doors opened. I hadn’t seen that on a passenger car before. Lots of controls in the back seat that I didn’t dare touch.

Coming back to the satellite terminal it was back to a normal bus with the plebs. Sigh.

Here’s hoping there won’t be any further delays. I can obviously get back from ICN to KUL as it will be the same plane. And I still have a few hours up my sleeve before my SYD flight. But I want to have a ride in the Beemer again in the daylight. Is that too much to ask?

The fancy bus before the ‘op-up’.

 

[JessicaTam]

I just looked it up and the BMW was a current model 7 series. So top of the line. It also had a 31inch 8k screen in the back. It was folded up so I thought it was part of the sunroof.



In retrospect, I don’t think I want one. Not very practical if its top speed is 25kph.

 

[craven morehead]

Crazy stuff

 

[serfty]

Coming back to the satellite terminal it was back to a normal bus with the plebs. Sigh.

Access to the "Business" bus departing the main terminal is from near gate 1G

Malaysia Airlines to Introduce Exclusive Luxury Private Terminal Transfer Service with BMW Group Malaysia and Ingress Auto Beginning 1 February 2024

www.malaysiaairlines.com

 

[JessicaTam]

I went back and had another snooze until it was time to board MH66. That went smoothly and I found myself in 5H. This is actually a crew rest seat so there is a curtain that can go around the whole seat. I don’t need that as eye-mask and ear plugs were more than sufficient for me to be able to get some sleep after takeoff. I did see that the curtain obscured the screen so wouldn’t be a good seat for a daytime flight.



I woke on time for the meal service and I had my regular vego special meal. Except this wasn’t regular. It wasn’t pleasant at all. Olives and mushrooms on a noodle and mashed ‘something’ base. Pass.



We landed and dawdled our way to the gate. I think we waited for every plane in ICN to go past before we could get to our gate. Eventually the door opened at about 1155. I walked along the air bridge to find someone with a sign with my name and ‘MH67’ on it. They were there to escort me from the plane at gate 49 to the plane at, erm, gate 49.

It turned out this was the agent’s first time doing a meet and greet. She did make a couple of calls as we walked to check on the process. About halfway to the transit area she realised she should check my passport to make sure she had the right person.

The escort didn’t have any ability to skip any queues and we just followed the pretty obvious ‘transit’ signs. It only took a couple of minutes to get through security and we were out in the main concourse by 1210.

We parted ways at this point as I wanted to go to the OneWorld lounge and she wanted me to go straight to the gate. After I promised to have a quick shower and only be ten minutes she acquiesced. Ok, I ended up being twenty but boarding had only just started.

I didn’t have long to visit the OneWorld lounge but from what I could see it was pleasant enough. A good sized bar and a fair choice of food. No a la carte dining that I could see. I didn’t get a chance to see what wines were on offer, but I am sure that info is available elsewhere.

The lounge has two showers. You need to get a key from reception. The shower on the left is labeled ‘left’ and the one on the right, ’right’. The shower itself was good although the room was a little small. There was limited space to put my toiletries or other knick-knacks as the hand basin was almost free standing.

 

[JessicaTam]

I wandered in to the boarding queue and the agent came and found me. She looked a little worried as boarding had started and I guess she wanted me to be first on board so she could tick off her meet and greet task. She actually needed to give me replacement boarding passes - which were identical to the ones I had.

Boarding was complete by about 1300 so an awesome 1 hour turnaround for the ground services.

So much for efficiency. The captain needed something signed off by an engineer, just after the air bridge had been withdrawn. So quite the wait for that to come back. Then of course we had lost our departure slot, and the inclement weather compounded that delay.

It is after 1430 and we are still at the gate. All that good work with the rapid turnaround has gone to waste. Sigh.

We ended up pushing back a few minutes later and proceeded to give way to everyone on the way to the runway. Those Malaysians are just too darn polite!

Once in the air I asked for a g&t. It was rather strong so needed the whole can of tonic to water it down! This was followed by lunch with a pleasant Pikes SSB. A movie and a snooze capped off my flight.

Five down, two to go.

 

[JessicaTam]

I am still none the wiser as to why the flight to ICN was so delayed. I had the planned crew for the flight and the aircraft we used was sitting on the ground in KUL the whole time.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Access to the "Business" bus departing the main terminal is from near gate 1G

Malaysia Airlines to Introduce Exclusive Luxury Private Terminal Transfer Service with BMW Group Malaysia and Ingress Auto Beginning 1 February 2024

www.malaysiaairlines.com

Can WP’s take it in Y?

 

[JessicaTam]

Can WP’s take it in Y?

The signage is clear - Business or First class only.

Except of course MH doesn’t have an F product anymore.

Edit: the person at the entrance only took a fleeting glance at my BP so I reckon anyone could bluff their way through.

 

[Sprucegoose]

The signage is clear - Business or First class only.

Except of course MH doesn’t have an F product anymore.

Edit: the person at the entrance only took a fleeting glance at my BP so I reckon anyone could bluff their way through.

I’m not good with rules….

 

[JessicaTam]

I’m not good with rules….

Hang on a minute. I didn’t know you could spell Y, let alone have experienced it!

 

[Sprucegoose]

Hang on a minute. I didn’t know you could spell Y, let alone have experienced it!

ha ha …..I didn’t know your could spell BMW but yet you have indulged!

I flew into KL on MH795 the other day…….and have a flight from KUL to SIN on Sunday in Y, normal transmission will then resume.

I felt your presence in the terminal …..spooky.

 

[serfty]

Can WP’s take it in Y?

The signage is clear - Business or First class only.
...
Edit: the person at the entrance only took a fleeting glance at my BP so I reckon anyone could bluff their way through.

In March at the entry near gate 1G, both my WP card and MH Y boarding pass were indeed scrutinized. No soup for me ...

I guess that was early days ... maybe they can be a bit more lackadaisical these days. (BTW, back then there was no such service in the reverse direction, i.e. satellite to main.)

 

[Pushka]

Boarding was complete by about 1300 so an awesome 1 hour turnaround for the ground services.

Slightly OT. The Fiji air in Adelaide does a one hour turn around. I was skeptical but it happened yesterday with family onboard, in fact it left three minutes early. Adelaide can't even do a domestic in that time. Well, a little hyperbole but it's often 45 minutes. But did it with an International?