#1927 – AvGeek Weekend Trip #8 (AMS – BOD – CDG – AMS)

ENGLISH

Posts in the AvGeek Weekend Trip series:
1. AvGeek Weekend Trip #1 (AMS-CDG-STR-AMS)
2. AvGeek Weekend Trip #2 (AMS-MAD-FRA-AMS)
3. AvGeek Weekend Trip #3 (AMS-LYS-NCE-AMS)
4. AvGeek Weekend Trip #4 (AMS–CDG, ORY–LYS–AMS)
5. AvGeek Weekend Trip #5 (AMS-CPH-ARN-AMS)
6. AvGeek Weekend Trip #6 (AMS-CDG, ORY-MRS-BOD-AMS)
7. AvGeek Weekend Trip #7 (AMS–CDG–LYS–AMS)
8. AvGeek Weekend Trip #8 (AMS–BOD–CDG–AMS)

Twelve days ago I went on another AvGeek Weekend Trip. As I said, at some point I hesitated going on this trip but in the end, and I am glad I did this, I decided to put aside the hesitation and still went. And here is the story of the trip 🙂 .

***

My first flight was scheduled to depart at 14:30, but I arrived at Schiphol at around 11:00 so that it was on time for brunch at KLM’s Crown Lounge, haha 😆 .

Flight: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1317
Equipment: Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGP (“Pelicaan”)
ATD: 15:05 CET (Runway 18L of AMS)
ATA: 16:25 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)

At 13:45 I went to the gate only to find out that a Transavia’s Boeing 737 (in SunWeb livery) was still there but was already ready for pushback. However, this was a sign that my flight would be delayed. This was not the best circumstance especially for today where my connecting time in Bordeaux was quite tight, so I got a little bit anxious, haha 😣.

Well, at least about two minutes after the Transavia flight’s departure, the KLM’s Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGP that would operate my flight parked at the gate. Indeed it was really quick! Good job, Schiphol!! Haha 😆 .

A KLM’s Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGP named “Pelicaan” arrived at the gate some two minutes after the departure of the Transavia flight.

Nonetheless, boarding commenced about 20 minutes behind schedule. There was also a queue for take-off at runway 18L so the plane left the ground 35 minutes after the scheduled departure time, haha.

There was nothing I could do at this point beside to just be in the moment and enjoy. So along with my complimentary snack, I ordered white wine (and this was after a couple glasses of sparkling wine earlier in the lounge). This worked, though, as I felt calmer afterwards.

The complimentary snack service on board KLM’s flight KL1317 to Bordeaux.

Anyway, at 16:25 we landed at runway 23 of Bordeaux Airport. We parked at the gate next to an easyJet’s flight that just arrived from the UK. Knowing there would likely be a border control at the airport, I rushed after deboarding. Indeed there were already quite many people forming lines at the border control, but luckily the lines went quite fast, haha.

I had to change terminals in Bordeaux because I was transferring to a domestic flight but luckily the airport was not really big. I could immediately went to the security check because I already had my boarding pass. And guess what, it was still 10 minutes ahead of boarding time! I made it! Haha 😆 .

Air France’s Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAK at Bordeaux Airport

Of course, though, I had no time to drop by at Air France’s lounge there as boarding started not long after. Interestingly (I had never experienced this before), we were told to board as quick as possible because the airport would be closed for two hours starting from 17:30 for a training. So we had to make our 17:25 departure otherwise we would be delayed at least until 19:30.

Flight: Air France AF 7637
Equipment: Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAK
ATD: 17:29 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)
ATA: 18:27 CET (Runway 27L of CDG)

Boarding went efficiently where I settled onto my comfortable seat 1A. I found it quite funny that at 17:19, when boarding was still ongoing, the captain announced we had 11 minutes for departure, lol 😆 . We took off at 17:29, just in time before the airport closure!! 😀

A few of these planes were already in position as we were taking off from Bordeaux

It was a pleasant domestic flight with Air France; and I especially enjoyed seat 1A! Haha 😛 . About one hour later, we landed at runway 27L of Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.

After getting my boarding pass back to Amsterdam, I went to an Air France’s lounge. I came in with no expectation after my latest experience there just one month earlier where I was very disappointed with the meal offers. This time, though, Air France redeemed itself and the service went back to pretty much how it was before. Phew!!

The meal service at Salon Air France

The meal service at Salon Air France

Btw, the brownies in the right picture above was really, really good!

Flight: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1246
Equipment: Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGX (“Scholekster”)
ATD: 20:29 CET (Runway 27L of CDG)
ATA: 21:10 CET (Runway 18R of AMS)

At 19:45, I left the lounge and went to the gate nearby. Not long after, boarding started for flight KL1246, which would be operated by a KLM’s Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGX. The flight was not full today so boarding went quite quickly.

Boarding a KLM’s Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGX as flight KL1246 to Amsterdam.

This was a normal Paris – Amsterdam flight. Probably because it was a late flight, KLM only served a small bag of crackers instead of the usual sandwich/wrap. At least it tasted good, though. Anyway, at 21:10 we landed at the Polderbaan in Schiphol, just six hours after taking off to Bordeaux!! Hahaha 😆 .

Seat 7F on board PH-BGP

The “Kaagbaan” (runway 06/24) was under maintenance

Dutch weather 😣

Approaching runway 23 of Bordeaux

Bordeaux Airport

Seat 1A on board F-GTAK. I really, really like Air France’s peach cabin lighting

Snack service on board Air France’s flight AF7637

The perk of an empty middle seat

Paris – Charles De Gaulle Airport

The famous Air France’s concorde at CDG

Seat 7F on board PH-BGX

Snack service on board KLM’s flight KL1246

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri AvGeek Weekend Trip:
1. AvGeek Weekend Trip #1 (AMS-CDG-STR-AMS)
2. AvGeek Weekend Trip #2 (AMS-MAD-FRA-AMS)
3. AvGeek Weekend Trip #3 (AMS-LYS-NCE-AMS)
4. AvGeek Weekend Trip #4 (AMS–CDG, ORY–LYS–AMS)
5. AvGeek Weekend Trip #5 (AMS-CPH-ARN-AMS)
6. AvGeek Weekend Trip #6 (AMS-CDG, ORY-MRS-BOD-AMS)
7. AvGeek Weekend Trip #7 (AMS–CDG–LYS–AMS)
8. AvGeek Weekend Trip #8 (AMS–BOD–CDG–AMS)

Dua belas hari yang lalu aku pergi dalam rangka AvGeek Weekend Trip lagi. Seperti yang waktu itu kuceritakan, aku sedikit ragu untuk pergi dalam perjalanan ini tetapi akhirnya, dan aku lega aku memutuskan ini, aku tetap pergi. Dan berikut ini ceritanya 🙂 .

***

Penerbangan pertamaku dijadwalkan berangkat jam 14:30, tetapi aku tiba di Schiphol sekitar jam 11:00 supaya waktunya pas untuk brunch di Crown Lounge-nya KLM, haha 😆 .

Penerbangan: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1317
Pesawat: Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGP (“Pelicaan”)
ATD: 15:05 CET (Runway 18L of AMS)
ATA: 16:25 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)

Jam 13:45 aku menuju ke gate dimana ternyata sebuah Boeing 737nya Transavia (dengan livery Sunweb) masih terparkir tetapi sudah siap untuk pushback. Hanya saja, ini adalah pertanda bahwa penerbanganku akan terlambat. Dan ini bukanlah situasi terbaik untuk hari ini dimana waktu transitku di Bordeaux amat singkat, jadilah aku sedikit merasa khawatir, haha 😣.

Yah, setidaknya sih sekitar dua menit setelah pesawatnya Transavia berangkat, sebuah Boeing 737-700nya KLM dengan rego PH-BGP, yang akan mengoperasikan penerbanganku, langsung parkir di gate-ku. Sigap dan cepat banget ya! Good job, Schiphol!! Haha 😆 .

Sebuah Boeing 737-700nya KLM dengan rego PH-BGP bernama “Pelicaan” tiba di gate sekitar dua menit setelah keberangkatan pesawatnya Transavia.

Toh walaupun begitu, boarding berlangsung 20 menit di belakang jadwal. Kebetulan juga ada antrian untuk lepas landas dari landasan pacu 18L sehingga pesawatnya baru terbang 35 menit terlambat dari jadwal, haha.

Nggak ada yang bisa kulakukan di waktu ini kecuali untuk be in the moment dan menikmatinya. Jadilah untuk menemani snack komplimennya, aku memesan anggur putih (dan ini setelah dua gelas sparkling wine di lounge, haha). Dan trik ini bekerja loh, aku merasa kalem setelahnya.

Layanan snack komplimen di penerbangan KL1317nya KLM ke Bordeaux.

Jam 16:25, kami mendarat di landasan pacu 23 Bandara Bordeaux. Kami parkir di sebelah sebuah pesawatnya easyJet yang baru saja tiba dari Inggris. Karena aku tahu akan ada pemeriksaan paspor di bandara ini, aku berjalan cepat-cepat setelah turun dari pesawat. Benar saja, sudah ada banyak orang di pemeriksaan imigrasi sehingga antrian panjang terbentuk. Untungnya sih pemeriksaannya berlangsung cepat, haha.

Aku harus pindah terminal di Bordeaux karena aku transit ke penerbangan domestik. Untungnya sih bandaranya kecil. Aku dapat langsung menuju pemeriksaan sekuriti karena aku sudah mendapatkan boarding pass. Dan ternyata waktu itu masih 10 menit sebelum jadwal boarding dong! Aku berhasil dan ternyata tidak terlambat! Haha 😆 .

Sebuah Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAK milik Air France di Bandara Bordeaux

Tentu saja tidak ada waktu untukku mampir di lounge-nya Air France di sana karena boarding berlangsung tak lama kemudian. Menariknya (belum pernah kejadian kepadaku sebelumnya), penumpang diminta untuk naik pesawat secepat mungkin karena bandaranya akan ditutup jam 17:30 selama sekitar dua jam untuk latihan penerbangan. Jadi kami harus berangkat tepat waktu yaitu jam 17:25 sesuai jadwal. Jika tidak, kami harus menunggu setidaknya sampai jam 19:30.

Penerbangan: Air France AF 7637
Pesawat: Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAK
ATD: 17:29 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)
ATA: 18:27 CET (Runway 27L of CDG)

Boarding berlangsung efisien dan aku duduk nyaman di kursi 1Aku. Lucu juga rasanya jam 17:19, ketika sebagian penumpang masih boarding, kapten mengumumkan bahwa kami memiliki waktu 11 menit untuk berangkat, haha 😆 . Akhirnya, kami lepas landas jam 17:29, pas banget sebelum penutupan bandaranya!! 😀

Beberapa pesawat ini sudah berbaris ketika kami lepas landas dari Bordeaux.

Ini adalah penerbangan domestik dengan Air France yang nyaman; dimana aku terutama menikmati kursi 1A! Haha 😛 . Sekitar satu jam kemudian, kami mendarat di landasan pacu 27L Bandara Charles De Gaulle di Paris.

Setelah mendapatkan boarding pass-ku untuk kembali ke Amsterdam, aku pergi ke sebuah lounge-nya Air France. Aku masuk tidak dengan ekspektasi apa-apa akibat pengalaman terakhirku kesana sekitar satu bulan sebelumnya dimana aku dikecewakan dengan layanan makanannya. Kali ini, Air France menebus dirinya kembali dan level layanannya kembali ke sedia kala. Fiuh!!

Layanan makan malam di Salon Air France

Layanan makan malam di Salon Air France

Btw, brownies di foto sebelah kanan enak banget loh!

Penerbangan: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1246
Pesawat: Boeing 737-700 reg PH-BGX (“Scholekster”)
ATD: 20:29 CET (Runway 27L of CDG)
ATA: 21:10 CET (Runway 18R of AMS)

Jam 19:45, aku beranjak dari lounge dan berjalan menuju gate tidak jauh dari sana. Tak lama kemudian, boarding penerbangan KL1246 dimulai, yang mana akan dioperasikan dengan Boeing 737-700nya KLM dengan rego PH-BGX. Penerbangan ini tidak penuh hari ini sehingga boarding berlangsung cepat.

Boarding sebuah Boeing 737-700nya KLM dengan rego PH-BGX sebagai penerbangan KL1246 ke Amsterdam.

Ini adalah penerbangan normal Paris – Amsterdam. Mungkin karena penerbangan malam, KLM hanya memberikan satu bungkus kecil crackers bukannya sandwich/wrap seperti biasanya itu. Tetapi crackers-nya enak sih, haha. Anyway, jam 21:10 pesawat mendarat di Polderbaan di Schiphol, hanya sekitar enam jam setelah aku lepas landas ke Bordeaux!! Hahaha 😆 .

#1921 – Photo Tales (40)

ENGLISH

This edition of Photo Tales is aviation related, haha 😛 .

Photo #88

easyJet and RyanAir at Rome – Fiumicino

While flying from Rome to Amsterdam for my Post-PhD Trip, I spotted these two birds side by side at Rome – Fiumicino Airport. Yep, the two airlines that, for better or for worse, revolutionized the (European) airlines industry, RyanAir and easyJet (And, to some degree, Southeast Asia too because easyJet inspired Tony Fernandes to make AirAsia as it is today).

While, arguably, they targetted different “market” from more traditional full-service airlines, their impact was so big that it forced those more established airlines to adjust. As one consequence, now, the ticket price of those so-called full service airlines also has become more affordable, in general. However, there is more to that, which brings us to the next photo…

Photo #89

A British Airways’ Boeing 767 at Schiphol

One flight I am super interested to try is British Airways’ Boeing 767 daily service between London and Amsterdam (especially after Garuda Indonesia stopped its Amsterdam – London Gatwick route last year), haha 😛 . I always find it fascinating to fly wide-body on a short-haul flight! Haha 😛 .

Anyway, but there are two things which make me hesitate to book a return trip with them (well, three if you consider the visa requirement 😛 ). First of all, British Airways is a member of OneWorld, while as you know I am more of a SkyTeam fans nowadays.

Secondly, as per earlier this year, British Airways stopped providing complimentary snack and drink in any of its short-haul flights. Instead, it now offers buy-on-board (BoB) stuffs, just a la an LCC. You see, clearly this is an (negative) effect of LCC on the full service airline. Well, given that British Airways’ CEO used to be the CEO of Vueling (a Spanish LCC), this was, somewhat, not really “out of nowhere”. But still, you see another “effect” of LCCs to mainline airlines?

Photo #90

An American Airlines’ Boeing 757 at Schiphol

Anyway, on a separate note, I spotted an American Airlines’ Boeing 757 at Schiphol this March. Yes, American Airlines, meaning the plane was used to fly North Atlantic; and, yes, a 757, a.k.a. a (long-ish) narrow-body plane! 😱

I don’t know about you. But to me, I much prefer to fly wide-body when flying medium to long-haul. My longest narrow-body flight was AeroMexico’s Boeing 737-700 flight from Boston to Mexico City (3,663 km). And it was in economy class without personal IFE! Lol 😆 . Anyway, so I certainly will avoid crossing the Atlantic from/to Amsterdam with American Airlines, then 😛 (Beside, they are OneWorld too 😛 ).

BAHASA INDONESIA

Edisi Photo Tales kali ini akan berkaitan dengan pesawat, haha 😛 .

Foto #88

easyJet dan RyanAir di Rome – Fiumicino

Ketika terbang dari Roma ke Amsterdam dalam perjalanan Pasca-Phdku, aku melihat dua burung besi ini parkir bersebelahan di Bandara Roma – Fiumicino. Iya, dua maskapai yang, baik secara positif maupun negatif, merevolusionsasi dunia penerbangan (Eropa), RyanAir dan easyJet (Dan, sedikit-banyak, Asia Tenggara juga karena easyJet menginspirasi Tony Fernandes untuk membuat AirAsia seperti sekarang ini).

Walaupun, di satu sisi, mereka menarget pasar yang berbeda dari maskapai-maskapai full service yang lebih tradisional, efeknya cukup terasa juga sehingga maskapai-maskapai yang sudah lebih lama ada tersebut harus menyesuaikan diri. Salah satu konsekuensinya, sekarang, harga tiket dari maskapai-maskapai full service tersebut juga menjadi relatif lebih murah secara umum. Namun, efeknya tidak hanya sebatas itu saja, yang membawa kita ke foto selanjutnya…

Foto #89

Sebuah Boeing 767nya British Airways di Schiphol

Satu rute penerbangan yang sangat ingin aku cobain adalah penerbangan hariannya British Airways dengan pesawat Boeing 767 di rute London – Amsterdam (terutama setelah Garuda Indonesia menutup rute Amsterdam – London Gatwick tahun lalu (masih belum bisa move on)), haha 😛 . Seru aja kan terbang dengan pesawat berbadan lebar di penerbangan jarak dekat! Haha 😛 .

Anyway, tetapi ada dua hal yang masih membuatku ragu untuk membeli tiket pp dengan mereka (eh, tiga ding kalau persyaratan visa diikut-sertakan 😛 ). Pertama-tama, British Airways adalah anggota OneWorld sementara sekarang ini kan aku lebih suka SkyTeam.

Yang kedua, per awal tahun ini, British Airways tidak lagi memberikan layanan snack dan minuman gratis di penerbangan jarak dekat mereka. Dan sekarang, yang ditawarkan adalah produk-produk buy-on-board (BoB) gitu deh, a la penerbangan LCC lah. Nah kan, jelas ini adalah efek (negatif) dari LCC ke maskapai full service. Eh, tapi dengan mempertimbangkan CEOnya British Airways yang mana dulunya adalah CEOnya Vueling (sebuah maskapai LCCnya Spanyol), ini mungkin tidak terlalu mengherankan yah. Tetapi tetap aja lah, terlihat kan “efek”nya LCC di maskapai-maskapai besar lainnya?

Foto #90

Sebuah Boeing 757nya American Airlines di Schiphol

Anyway, mari kita berganti topik, aku melihat Boeing 757nya American Airlines di Schiphol bulan Maret ini. Iya loh, American Airlines, artinya pesawatnya dipakai untuk terbang menyebrangi Samudra Atlantik; dan, iya, Boeing 757, alias pesawat berbadan kecil (tapi agak panjangan)! 😱

Aku nggak tahu dengan kalian yah, tetapi untukku sih aku lebih suka terbang dengan pesawat berbadan lebar ketika terbang jarak menengah dan jauh. Penerbangan terjauhku dengan pesawat berbadan kecil adalah dengan Boeing 737-700nya AeroMexico dari Boston ke Mexico City (jaraknya 3.663 km). Dan penerbangan itu di kelas ekonomi dan tanpa IFE personal pula! Haha 😆 . Anyway, jelas deh aku akan menghindari terbang menyebrangi Samudra Atlantik dari/ke Amsterdam dengan American Airlines kalau begitu 😛 (Di samping itu, mereka juga anggota OneWorld sih 😛 ).

#1915 – 2017 Easter Long Weekend Trip (The Transport)

ENGLISH

Posts in the 2017 Easter Long Weekend Trip series:
1. Introduction
2. The Transport
3. Zürich

My routing to get to/back from Zurich was quite interesting:

The routing this long weekend. Created with gcmap.com

Yep, I flew Amsterdam – Paris CDG – Rome FCO – Amsterdam, haha 😆 .

Departure to Zurich

My KLM Amsterdam – Paris flight departed from an “unusual” gate at Schiphol. Usually, an Air France/KLM Amsterdam – Paris vv flight uses a gate in Pier C of Schiphol. This one, though, used gate D61, thus indicating (to me) that the plane was used from a non-Schengen route before my KL1233 flight to Paris.

Delayed flight to Paris

Anyway, the flight was delayed today due to its late arrival from Birmingham (See, my guess was correct 😀 ). I wasn’t worried with my connection as the delay wasn’t that bad and I had enough transit time in Paris.

It was another full flight today with a Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXE that was named “Havik”. It was a regular Amsterdam – Paris flight where we took off from Polderbaan and landed at runway 27R of Paris – Charles De Gaulle.

A KLM’s Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXE

Obviously, I waited at a Salon Air France in Paris. During my latest AvGeek Weekend Trip, the lounge was closed for a renovation. So obviously I was quite excited to see the “new” lounge.

I was disappointed with the renovation result. The small alley connecting the two sides of the lounge was removed and I only noticed minor changes with the furniture. What disappointed me the most was, however, the food service. Only few things were served in the food area. Considering this was an Air France lounge in their main hub (Paris – Charles De Gaulle Airport), this was sad.

The food service at an Air France’s lounge in Paris. This looked sad to me.

My flight AF1814 to Zurich departed on time. It was operated with an Airbus A318 reg F-GUGK. We took off from runway 26R of Paris – CDG and then headed east towards Zurich. As before, I felt like the complimentary snack quality in Air France decreased this year. They served vegetarian sandwich in this flight. While it was bigger than KLM’s sandwich, it was much less tasty to me; which was a shame considering they were French 😦 .

A vegetarian sandwich as a complimentary snack

Anyway, about one hour later, we landed at runway 28 of Zurich – Kloten Airport. Here is the landing video:

To my liking, we parked at a remote stand upon arrival, where the passengers were, then, brought by a bus to the terminal building, haha.

An Air France’s Airbus A318 reg F-GUGK

Back to the Netherlands

I was excited especially for my first flight because: (1) it would be operated with an airline I had never tried before (Alitalia CityLiner) and (2) it would be operated with an airplane type I had never tried before (Embraer ERJ175). Yeay!! 😀

I arrived at Zurich – Kloten Airport about two hours before the flight. After checking-in and passing security, I headed to a Dnata lounge. The lounge was nice enough for an “off airport” SkyTeam lounge (Zurich Airport was more of a Star Alliance Airport, given that it was the main hub of Swiss International Air Lines). I was still full with my complimentary breakfast at the hotel, though, so I was not really in the mood of eating anything in the lounge anyway.

Dnata Lounge at Zurich – Kloten

Boarding went quite smoothly, where the 88-seater Alitalia CityLine Embraer ERJ175 reg EI-RDG was ready to take us to Rome – Fiumicino. It was a regular Alitalia flight, where a bag of mini chocolate biscuits was served with some limited selection of drinks. The weather in Rome was also nice today, as we were landing in runway 34R of Fiumicino Airport. Here is the landing video:

Again, I was happy that the plane parked at a remote stand today, haha 😛 .

An Alitalia CityLiner’s Embraer ERJ175 reg EI-RDG upon arrival in Rome-Fiumicino

My transit time was not very long today and I knew that Alitalia’s lounge was quite far away. So I decided to walk briskly there, had a quick lunch for 15 minutes, then went back to the departure area, haha 😛 . The food in the lounge was quite good, though, in my opinion. The lounge lady was also super friendly. Yeah, still pretty much the same impression of the last time 🙂 .

The food service at Alitalia’s Schengen lounge

My AZ110 flight back to Amsterdam was operated with an Airbus A320-200 reg EI-DTA. Here is a timelapsed video of the departure from Rome-Fiumicino:

Departure and take off from runway 25 of Rome-Fiumicino, @alitaliaofficial flight AZ110 Airbus A320-200 reg EI-DTA 🇮🇹🛫🇳🇱. #Zilkos2017WeekendTrip #timelapse #Alitalia #SkyTeam #Airbus #A320 #A322 #AirbusA320 #Airbus320 #runway25 #✈️ #aviation #avgeek #avgeeks #instaaviation #instaplane #instarunway #takeoff #🛫 #EIDTA #AZ110 #FCOAMS #instatravel #travelgram #wanderlust #iloveflying #frequentflyer #Fiumicino #airport #instaairport

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Apr 17, 2017 at 8:26am PDT

It was an uneventful flight with Alitalia. This flight made me realize that, indeed, Alitalia had cut “cost” big time with their services on board. When I asked the flight attendant what they served as drinks, it turned out that they only had water, tea, coffee, and cola. Yep, that was all. No juice, no beer/wine. For snacks, on the 2 hours and 15 minutes flight to Amsterdam, the choices were only biscuits or crackers. Given that Alitalia has been struggling financially, this might not be of a big surprise, though.

Complimentary snack and drink on board Alitalia’s AZ110

We landed at runway 36R of Schiphol Airport. This was a convenient runway where the taxi time to the terminal building was very short, haha. I got off the plane, and then took the train back to Amsterdam. Here, my short long weekend ended 🙂 .

Seats on board PH-BXE

Complimentary snack on board a KLM flight

Aisle seat

On board Air France’s Airbus A318 F-GUGK

Seats on board F-GUGK

Yeay empty middle and aisle seats!!

Taking off from runway 26R

Dnata Lounge

Zurich Airport

Hello, CityLiner

My 5A seat on board EI-RDG

Good seat pitch

ERJ175 safety card

Taking off from runway 28 of Zurich Airport

The Alps

Complimentary snack service on board Alitalia CityLiner

Seat 10F on board EI-DTA

The right wing of Alitalia’s EI-DTA

On board Alitalia’s Airbus A320-200 EI-DTA

Alitalia’s hand soap

Alitalia’s Airbus A320-200 reg EI-DTA

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri 2017 Easter Long Weekend Trip:
1. Introduction
2. The Transport
3. Zürich

Ruteku untuk pergi ke/kembali dari Zurich cukup menarik:

Ruteku long weekend ini. Dibuat dengan gcmap.com

Yep, aku terbang Amsterdam – Paris CDG – Rome FCO – Amsterdam, haha 😆 .

Keberangkatan ke Zurich

Penerbangan KLM Amsterdam – Parisku berangkat dari gate yang agak “nggak biasa” di Schiphol. Biasanya, penerbangan Air France/KLM rute Amsterdam – Paris pp menggunakan sebuah gate di Pier C Schiphol. Kali ini, yang digunakan adalah gate D61, yang mana (untukku) mengindikasikan pesawatnya digunakan di rute non-Schengen di penerbangan sebelumnya.

Penerbangan ke Paris terlambat

Anyway, penerbangannya sedikit terlambat hari ini akibat pesawatnya terlambat tiba dari Birmingham (Nah kan, tebakanku benar 😀 ). Aku sih tidak khawatir dengan keterlambatan sebentar ini karena waktu transitku di Paris cukup panjang.

Penerbangan ini penuh dengan pesawat Boeing 737-800 dengan rego PH-BXE dan bernama “Havik”. Ini adalah penerbangan biasa di rute Amsterdam – Paris dimana kami lepas landas dari Polderbaan dan mendarat di landasan pacu 27R Bandara Paris – Charles De Gaulle.

Sebuah Boeing 737-800nya KLM dengan rego PH-BXE

Jelas, aku menunggu di Salon Air France di Paris. Nah, di waktu AvGeek Weekend Trip terakhirku, lounge-nya sedang ditutup akibat pekerjaan renovasi. Jelas dong kali ini aku penasaran dengan lounge “baru”-nya.

Aku sungguh kecewa dengan hasil renovasinya. Gang kecil yang menghubungkan dua sisi lounge-nya kini tidak ada lagi dan aku hanya melihat adanya sedikit perubahan saja dengan mebel-mebelnya. Yang paling mengecewakan adalah layanan makanannya. Hanya sedikit sekali yang disajikan hari itu. Dengan mempertimbangkan ini adalah lounge-nya Air France di bandara yang merupakan markas mereka sendiri (Paris – Charles De Gaulle), menurutku ini menyedihkan.

Layanan makanan di lounge-nya Air France di Paris. Untukku, ini nampak menyedihkan.

Penerbangan AF1814ku ke Zurich berangkat tepat waktu. Penerbangan ini dioperasikan dengan sebuah Airbus A318 dengan rego F-GUGK. Kami lepas landas dari landasan pacu 26R Bandara Paris – CDG dan kemudian bergerak menuju arah timur. Seperti yang lalu, aku merasa layanan snack di penerbangannya Air France juga menurun kualitasnya. Mereka menyajikan sandwich vegetarian di penerbangan ini. Walaupun ukurannya lebih besar daripada sandwichnya KLM, rasanya lebih tidak enak untukku; yang mana sungguh disayangkan dengan mengingat mereka kan maskapai Prancis ya 😦 .

Sandwich vegetarian sebagai layanan snack

Anyway, sekitar satu jam kemudian, kami mendarat di landasan pacu 28 Bandara Zurich – Kloten. Berikut ini video pendaratannya:

Yang aku suka, kami parkir di sebuah tempat parkir remote loh, dimana penumpang dibawa dengan bus ke gedung terminal, haha.

Sebuah Airbus A318 milik Air France dengan rego F-GUGK

Kembali ke Belanda

Aku merasa bersemangat terutama dengan penerbangan pertama hari ini karena (1) akan dioperasikan dengan maskapai yang belum pernah kunaiki sebelumnya (Alitalia CityLiner) dan (2) akan dioperasikan dengan tipe pesawat yang belum pernah kunaiki sebelumnya (Embraer ERJ175). Hore! 😀

Aku tiba di Bandara Zurich – Kloten sekitar dua jam sebelum keberangkatan. Setelah check-in dan melewati sekuriti, aku menuju ke Lounge Dnata. Lounge-nya cukup oke untuk ukuran lounge SkyTeam “airport luar” (Bandara Zurich adalah bandara Star Alliance karena merupakan markasnya Swiss International Air Lines). Aku masih kenyang sih dari sarapanku di hotel, sehingga aku sedang tidak ingin makan apa-apa di lounge-nya.

Lounge Dnata di Zurich – Kloten

Boarding berlangsung lancar, dimana Embraer ERj175nya Alitalia CityLiner yang berkursi 88 buah itu siap mengantarkan kami ke Roma – Fiumicino. Ini adalah penerbangan reguler dengan Alitalia, dimana sebungkus biskuit coklat disajikan dengan pilihan minuman yang terbatas. Cuaca di Roma juga sedang baik hari ini, seperti yang nampak ketika mendarat di landasan pacu 34 Bandara Roma – Fiumicino seperti di video berikut:

Lagi, aku senang pesawatnya parkir di tempat parkir remote, haha 😛 .

Sebuah Embraer ERJ175 milik Alitalia CityLiner dengan rego EI-RDG ketika tiba di Roma-Fiumicino

Waktuku transit tidak terlalu lama sementara aku tahu lounge-nya Alitalia cukup jauh. Jadilah aku berjalan cepat kesana, makan siang cepat-cepat selama 15 menit, dan kembali ke area keberangkatan, haha 😛 . Makanan di lounge-nya lumayan oke, menurutku. Petugas lounge-nya juga ramah banget. Ya, impresi positifku masih seperti ketika terakhir kali aku ke sana 🙂 .

Layanan makanan di lounge Schengen-nya Alitalia

Penerbangan AZ110ku kembali ke Amsterdam dioperasikan dengan pesawat Airbus A320-200 dengan rego EI-DTA. Berikut ini video timelapse keberangkatan dari Roma-Fiumicino:

Departure and take off from runway 25 of Rome-Fiumicino, @alitaliaofficial flight AZ110 Airbus A320-200 reg EI-DTA 🇮🇹🛫🇳🇱. #Zilkos2017WeekendTrip #timelapse #Alitalia #SkyTeam #Airbus #A320 #A322 #AirbusA320 #Airbus320 #runway25 #✈️ #aviation #avgeek #avgeeks #instaaviation #instaplane #instarunway #takeoff #🛫 #EIDTA #AZ110 #FCOAMS #instatravel #travelgram #wanderlust #iloveflying #frequentflyer #Fiumicino #airport #instaairport

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Apr 17, 2017 at 8:26am PDT

Ini adalah penerbangan uneventful dengan Alitalia. Di penerbangan ini, aku disadarkan dengan pemotongan “biaya” besar-besarannya Alitalia dengan layanan mereka di pesawat. Ketika aku bertanya ke salah seorang pramugara mengenai pilihan minuman, dijawab mereka hanya menyediakan air putih, teh, kopi, atau cola. Iya, itu doang. Nggak ada jus, nggak ada bir/anggur. Untuk snack, di penerbangan 2 jam 15 menit ke Amsterdam ini hanya diberikan pilihan biskuit atau crackers. Yah, dengan mempertimbangkan kesulitan finansialnya Alitalia, ini tidak lah begitu mengherankan sih ya.

Layanan snack dan minuman di penerbangan AZ110nya Alitalia

Kami mendarat di landasan pacu 36R Bandara Schiphol. Landasan pacu yang nyaman banget dimana waktu taxiing-nya singkat, haha. Aku keluar dari pesawat, dan kemudian menaiki kereta kembali ke Amsterdam. Di sini, perjalanan singkat long weekend-ku berakhir 🙂 .

#1906 – AvGeek Weekend Trip #7 (AMS – CDG – LYS – AMS)

ENGLISH

In mid-March, I went on another Avgeek Weekend Trip. At the time I wasn’t sure whether I would write the story or not. Well, as it turned out, I have decided that I would 😀 .

My routing this weekend. Created with gcmap.com

Posts in the AvGeek Weekend Trip series:
1. AvGeek Weekend Trip #1 (AMS-CDG-STR-AMS)
2. AvGeek Weekend Trip #2 (AMS-MAD-FRA-AMS)
3. AvGeek Weekend Trip #3 (AMS-LYS-NCE-AMS)
4. AvGeek Weekend Trip #4 (AMS–CDG, ORY–LYS–AMS)
5. AvGeek Weekend Trip #5 (AMS-CPH-ARN-AMS)
6. AvGeek Weekend Trip #6 (AMS-CDG, ORY-MRS-BOD-AMS)
7. AvGeek Weekend Trip #7 (AMS–CDG–LYS–AMS)

***

While boarding for my Amsterdam-Paris flight AF1341 was on time, I felt a little bit anxious today because it took awhile to complete. You see, my connecting time in Paris was only 50 minutes and two years ago this short transit time backfired on me. At the time I missed my connecting flight in Paris due to delayed departure from Amsterdam (because of de-icing).

The first flight today was with this Air France’s Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAD

Anyway, the flight today was operated with Air France’s Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAD. And, as usual, it was a regular pleasant Amsterdam – Paris flight. As the last time, I felt like the complimentary snack service on board an Air France’s mainline short-haul European flight had decreased in quality a little bit.

The complimentary snack on board flight AF1341. The snack used to be better. This was like HOP!’s level of service last year.

Thank to the buffer time in the schedule, we only got in Paris 5 minutes late. It was not bad at all given that my connecting flight would depart from the same pier.

But then, as it turned out, my connecting Paris – Lyon flight AF7644 was delayed for about 1 hour due to technical problem! Lol 😆 . They had to find a replacement aircraft, which meant they would have to “downgrade” the flight from an A321 to an A320 that was smaller. Consequently, a few passengers were called in the gate, presumably because they needed to be moved to some other flights because of this downgrade. Thankfully, I wasn’t one of them.

Lunch at Air France’s Lounge at Paris-CDG

Anyway, I used this now extra time to have lunch at an Air France’s lounge. The lounge at the pier was closed due to some renovation work so I had to go to the lounge in the next pier. Due to capacity constraint, they did not let qualified passengers to invite guests into the lounge, which infuriated one guy in front of me.

When it was boarding time, I went to the gate. And for the first time ever, my flight would depart from a remote stand of Paris – Charles De Gaulle Airport!! 😍 So they had to take the passengers to the plane with buses, and we got to board via stairs! 😀

Second flight today with this Air France’s Airbus A320-200 reg F-GKXO. We gotta board via stairs!

The flight today would be operated with an Air France’s Airbus A320-200 reg F-GKXO. I was originally seated in seat 1A but I was asked to move to seat 1C because I had two toddlers and their mother sitting next to me, and the older toddler would need to sit in a window seat 😣. Anyway, it was another regular flight to Lyon.

At Lyon Airport, I checked-in for my flight back to Amsterdam. After passing security, I went to an Air France’s salon there. I just intended to ask whether the lounge after immigration still welcomed SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers (It did in August, see AvGeek Weekend Trip #4). Luckily I asked because apparently it did not anymore, even though the attendant did not seem to be really sure about it.

Artsy stuff at Lyon – St. Exupery Airport

I waited there a little bit, but then I was bored. You see, Air France’s lounge at Lyon Airport was really underwhelming (read AvGeek Weekend Trip #3). And so I decided to leave, pass the immigration, and try my luck at the lounge after that. It turned out the attendant was correct, the lounge no longer took SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers 😦 . As there was no way to go back to Air France’s lounge, I just waited at the departure hall.

Third flight today with this KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer ERJ190 reg PH-EZB.

The flight back to Amsterdam would be operated with a KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer ERJ190 reg PH-EZB. It went on time, really smooth, very efficient, and pleasant; just like any other typical KLM flight 🙂 . Just after 19:30, I was already back at Schiphol, haha 😆 .

I had dinner at the airport before heading back to Delft. And here, this short AvGeek Weekend Trip of mine ended 🙂 .

On board Air France’s Airbus A321-200 F-GATD

Taking off from runway 24 of Schiphol

SkyPriority bus

Air France’s Airbus A320-200 reg F-GKXO

The complimentary snack on board flight AF7644

I love this peach lighting!!

Curtain

Air Dolomiti at LYS

On board KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer ERJ190 PH-EZB

The complimentary snack on board flight KL1416

Delft

I can’t wait!!

I actually start to like aisle seats even more nowadays 🤔

Dolphin livery!! 🐬

Dinner at Schiphol

BAHASA INDONESIA

Pertengahan Maret lalu, aku pergi dalam sebuah Avgeek Weekend Trip yang lain. Waktu itu aku nggak yakin apakah ceritanya akan kutulis atau tidak. Ternyata, aku ada waktu sekarang sehingga aku akan menceritakannya 😀 .

Ruteku akhir pekan ini. Kubuat dengan gcmap.com

Posting-posting dalam seri AvGeek Weekend Trip:
1. AvGeek Weekend Trip #1 (AMS-CDG-STR-AMS)
2. AvGeek Weekend Trip #2 (AMS-MAD-FRA-AMS)
3. AvGeek Weekend Trip #3 (AMS-LYS-NCE-AMS)
4. AvGeek Weekend Trip #4 (AMS–CDG, ORY–LYS–AMS)
5. AvGeek Weekend Trip #5 (AMS-CPH-ARN-AMS)
6. AvGeek Weekend Trip #6 (AMS-CDG, ORY-MRS-BOD-AMS)
7. AvGeek Weekend Trip #7 (AMS–CDG–LYS–AMS)

***

Walaupun boarding penerbangan AF1341 Amsterdam-Parisku berlangsung tepat waktu, aku sedikit merasa was-was karena prosesnya berlangsung lama. Begini, waktu transitku di Paris hanya 50 menit saja dan dua tahun lalu waktu transit yang singkat ini membawa pengalaman buruk. Waktu itu, aku ketinggalan penerbangan koneksiku di Paris akibat terlambatnya keberangkatan dari Amsterdam (akibat de-icing).

Penerbangan pertama hari ini adalah dengan Airbus A321-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GTAD ini

Anyway, penerbangan hari ini akan dioperasikan dengan Airbus A321-100nya Air France dengan rego F-GTAD.Dan, seperti biasa, ini adalah penerbangan yang nyaman dari Amsterdam ke Paris. Seperti yang lalu sih, aku merasa layanan snack di kelas ekonominya Air France di penerbangan jarak pendek intra-Eropa kok sedikit menurun ya kualitasnya.

Layanan snack di penerbangan AF1341. Snack-nya dulu lebih oke nih. Ini sih seperti level layanannya HOP! tahun lalu.

Untung akibat buffer time di jadwal, pesawat hanya terlambat 5 menit saja di Paris. Nggak masalah lah karena penerbangan lanjutanku kan dijadwalkan berangkat di pier yang sama.

Tetapi kemudian, ternyata penerbangan lanjutan AF7644 Paris – Lyonku terlambat 1 jam dong karena masalah teknis, haha 😆 . Mereka harus mencari pesawat pengganti, yang mana artinya pesawatnya harus di-“downgrade” dari A321 ke A320 yang lebih kecil. Sebagai akibatnya, ada beberapa penumpang yang dipanggil ke gerbang, aku duga sih mereka harus dipindahkan ke penerbangan lain karena downgrade ini. Untungnya, aku bukan lah salah satu dari mereka.

Makan siang di Lounge Air France di Paris-CDG

Anyway, waktu ekstra ini kumanfaatkan untuk makan siang di lounge-nya Air France. Lounge di pier-ku sedang ditutup karena sedang direnovasi sehingga aku harus pergi ke lounge di pier sebelah. Karena keterbatasan kapasitas, kali ini mereka tidak mengizinkan penumpang dengan akses ke lounge untuk membawa tamu ke dalam, yang mana membuat bapak-bapak di depanku marah besar.

Waktu naik pesawat, aku pergi ke gerbang. Dan untuk pertama-kalinya, penerbanganku akan diberangkatkan dari tempat parkir remote di bandara Paris – Charles De Gaulle!! 😍 Jadi mereka harus membawa penumpang dengan bus dan kami naik pesawat melalui tangga gitu deh! 😀

Penerbangan kedua hari ini dengan pesawat Airbus A320-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GKXO. Naik pesawatnya dengan tangga!

Penerbangan hari ini dioperasikan dengan Airbus A320-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GKXO. Awalnya aku diberikan kursi 1A tetapi aku kemudian dipindah ke kursi 1C karena dua batita dan ibunya yang duduk di sebelahku. Dan batita yang besar mesti duduk di kursi jendela gitu deh 😣. Anyway, penerbangannya sendiri adalah penerbangan reguler ke Lyon.

Di Bandara Lyon, aku check-in untuk penerbanganku ke Amsterdam. Setelah melewati sekuriti, aku pergi ke lounge-nya Air France. Aku hanya berniat untuk bertanya apakah lounge yang berlokasi setelah imigrasi masih menerima penumpang SkyTeam Elite Plus (Agustus lalu sih iya, baca AvGeek Weekend Trip #4). Untung aku bertanya karena ternyata tidak lagi demikian, walaupun petugasnya juga nampak kurang yakin sih.

Hiasan berseni di Bandara Lyon – St. Exupery

Aku menunggu di sana sebentar dan kemudian merasa bosan. Jadi lounge-nya Air France di bandara Lyon memang kurang oke gitu deh (baca AvGeek Weekend Trip #3). Jadilah aku memutuskan untuk keluar, melewati imigrasi, dan untung-untungan dengan lounge setelahnya. Ternyata petugasnya benar, lounge ini tidak lagi menerima penumpang SkyTeam Elite Plus 😦 . Karena tidak mungkin lagi kembali ke lounge-nya Air France, aku menunggu di gerbang keberangkatan saja.

Penerbangan ketiga hari ini dengan Embraer ERJ190nya KLM Cityhopper dengan rego PH-EZB.

Penerbangan kembali ke Amsterdam dioperasikan dengan Embraer ERJ190nya KLM Cityhopper dengan rego PH-EZB. Penerbangan ini tepat waktu, mulus, efisien, dan nyaman lah; sama seperti standar penerbangannya KLM lainnya 🙂 . Sekitar jam 7:30 malam, aku sudah kembali lagi di Schiphol, haha 😆 .

Aku makan malam di bandara sebelum pulang ke Delft. Dan di sini, perjalanan AvGeek Weekend Trip singkat ini berakhir 🙂 .

#1894 – AvGeek Weekend Trip #6 (AMS – CDG, ORY – MRS – BOD – AMS)

ENGLISH

In mid-February, I did my first Avgeek Weekend Trip of 2017 to Marseille (via Paris on the outbound and via Bordeaux in the inbound 😛 ). At the time I wasn’t sure whether I would write the story or not. Well, as it turned out, I have decided that I would 😀 .

The routing this time 😛 . Created with gcmap.com

***

Posts in the AvGeek Weekend Trip series:
1. AvGeek Weekend Trip #1 (AMS-CDG-STR-AMS)
2. AvGeek Weekend Trip #2 (AMS-MAD-FRA-AMS)
3. AvGeek Weekend Trip #3 (AMS-LYS-NCE-AMS)
4. AvGeek Weekend Trip #4 (AMS–CDG, ORY–LYS–AMS)
5. AvGeek Weekend Trip #5 (AMS-CPH-ARN-AMS)
6. AvGeek Weekend Trip #6 (AMS-CDG, ORY-MRS-BOD-AMS)

AF 1341 (Amsterdam – Paris CDG)

Flight: Air France AF1341
Equipment: Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAM
ATD: 11:42 CET (Runway 09 of AMS)
ATA: 12:30 CET (Runway 09L of CDG)

The weather in Amsterdam was not quite cooperative this morning. The fog was quite thick which limited Schiphol’s runways use for safety reason. Consequently, my 10:40 flight was delayed to 11:30. Luckily I spared quite a lot of transit time in Paris so I wasn’t worried at all. I just enjoyed my now extra time at KLM Crown Lounge, haha.

A foggy morning at Schiphol and an Air France’s Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAM

Anyway, today’s flight was operated with Air France’s Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAM. It was a regular Air France’s Amsterdam-Paris flight so I wouldn’t get to too much details here. However, I did feel that the quality of the complimentary snack they served on the flight had been reduced, though.

Landing at runway 09L of Paris – Charles De Gaulle Airport

Paris – Orly

Just like in my 4th AvGeek Weekend Trip, I had to change airports in Paris, haha. Thank to my Flying Blue Gold membership, I was entitled for free transfer between the two airports with Le Bus Direct (one way journey would have cost €21).

Salon Air France at Orly Airport

Unlike in my 4th AvGeek Weekend Trip, this time my flight was scheduled to depart from Hall 20 of Orly Airport. And there was an Air France lounge in this hall, yeay! Haha 😆 . Anyway, the lounge was descent, though the food selection could have been more substantial especially given that it was the after lunch-time period, in my opinion.

AF 6016 (Paris ORY – Marseille)

Flight: Air France AF6016
Equipment: Airbus A319-100 reg F-GPMF
ATD: 16:18 CET (Runway 08 of ORY)
ATA: 17:19 CET (Runway 31L of MRS)

My flight AF6016 departed on time today. It was operated with an Air France’s Airbus A319-100 reg F-GPMF. After boarding, I settled onto my 1F seat. It wasn’t a full flight today. In fact, the two seats next to me were empty, so it was really nice! Haha 😛

Taking off from runway 08 of Paris – Orly Airport

We took off from runway 08 of Paris – Orly Airport, and then made a southward turn towards Marseille. Again, it was a pleasant uneventful flight with Air France. A mini snack and drink service was provided about halfway through to Marseille. About an hour later, we landed at runway 31L of Marseille Provence Airport.

Marseille

As you know, just a week before, I also spent my weekend in Marseille. So it indeed felt quite “weird” for me to be back there this weekend, haha 😆 .

A beautiful sunny day in Marseille!!

Obviously there was not much difference; but the weather was much better this weekend. There was almost no cloud and on Sunday, the sun was shining and it was about 16°C!!

AF 7017 (Marseille – Bordeaux)

Flight: Air France AF7017
Equipment: Airbus A320-200 reg F-GXG
ATD: 15:15 CET (Runway 31R of MRS)
ATA: 16:04 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)

The lounge at Marseille Provence Airport was small but, in my opinion, provided really good service. I really loved it! 🙂

Air France’s Airbus A320-200 reg F-GKXG

Anyway, the flight today was operated by Air France’s Airbus A320-200 reg F-GKXG. Luckily, it departed on time (I had quite a tight connection time in Bordeaux). I settled onto my bulkhead 2A seat after boarding. Again, the domestic flight was not full this afternoon.

As before, this as another pleasant and uneventful flight with Air France. At 16:04, we landed at runway 23 of Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport. Here is the landing video:

Quick Transit in Bordeaux

My domestic flight from Marseille parked at Terminal B while my connecting international flight to Amsterdam was scheduled to depart from Terminal A at 17:00. So I was quite in a rush to move between the two terminals given my quite tight transit time. Having said that, I found our gate in Terminal B to be super convenient as it was basically next to the airport exit door! Lol 😆

KL 1318 (Bordeaux – Amsterdam)

Flight: KLM KL1318 operated by KLM Cityhopper
Equipment: Embraer ERJ190 reg PH-EZF
ATD: 17:07 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)
ATA: 18:46 CET (Runway 36C of AMS)

This flight to Amsterdam was quite a full flight with a lot of connecting passengers (out of Amsterdam). So no wonder the crew tried to leave Bordeaux as soon as possible given the headwind to Amsterdam we would face today.

KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer 190 reg PH-EZF at Bordeaux Airport

Anyway, the flight would be operated with KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer ERJ190 reg PH-EZF. Not long after settling in my seat 9A, we departed and took off from runway 23.

At around 17:30, the complimentary snack service (a wrap, which was quite nice) was distributed. Overall it was a pleasant flight with KLM, as usual. Btw, this flight also highlighted the noisiness of an Embraer ERJ190, hence enhancing further my take on ERJ190 vs CRJ1000, haha.

Sunset on board flight KL1318

At 18:46, we landed at Schiphol Airport. The taxiing was quite long today, despite we were not landing in the Polderbaan, haha. We parked at the famous Fokker Farm and were taken by a bus to the airport terminal. I had my dinner at a restaurant at the airport before heading back to Delft with train.

So many delayed flights this morning

My seat 7A on board F-GTAM

Complimentary snack and drink on board flight AF1341

Le Bus Direct between Paris – CDG and Paris – ORY

Salon Air France at Paris Orly

Air France’s Airbus A319-100 reg F-GPMF

My seat 1F on board f-GPFM

Good legroom

Complimentary snack and drink on board flight AF6016

Landing at runway 31L of Marseille Provence Airport

Marseille

Marseille

Seafood spaghetti in Marseille

Lounge at Marseille Airport

Good legroom on seat 2A on board F-GKXG

The beautiful Southern France

Complimentary snack and drink on board flight AF7017

Bordeaux Airport

Bordeaux Airport

Complimentary snack (wrap) and drink on board flight KL1318

Fokker Farm at Schiphol

BAHASA INDONESIA

Di pertengahan Februari, aku pergi dalam rangka Avgeek Weekend Trip pertama tahun 2017 ke Marseille (via Paris sewaktu berangkat dan via Bordeaux pulangnya, haha 😛 ). Waktu itu aku tidak yakin apakah aku akan menulis ceritanya atau tidak. Nah, ternyata, aku sudah memutuskan aku akan menuliskannya 😀 .

Rute kali ini 😛 . Dibuat dengan gcmap.com

***

Posting-posting dalam seri AvGeek Weekend Trip:
1. AvGeek Weekend Trip #1 (AMS-CDG-STR-AMS)
2. AvGeek Weekend Trip #2 (AMS-MAD-FRA-AMS)
3. AvGeek Weekend Trip #3 (AMS-LYS-NCE-AMS)
4. AvGeek Weekend Trip #4 (AMS–CDG, ORY–LYS–AMS)
5. AvGeek Weekend Trip #5 (AMS-CPH-ARN-AMS)
6. AvGeek Weekend Trip #6 (AMS-CDG, ORY-MRS-BOD-AMS)

AF 1341 (Amsterdam – Paris CDG)

Penerbangan: Air France AF1341
Pesawat: Airbus A321-200 reg F-GTAM
ATD: 11:42 CET (Runway 09 of AMS)
ATA: 12:30 CET (Runway 09L of CDG)

Cuaca di Amsterdam sedang kurang bersahabat pagi ini. Kabutnya cukup tebal sehingga penggunaan landasan pacunya Schiphol jadi terbatas untuk alasan keamanan. Akibatnya, penerbangan jam 10:40ku jadi ditunda hingga jam 11:30. Untungnya, aku memiliki waktu transit yang lumayan lama sih di Paris sehingga aku tidak khawatir. Jadilah aku menikmati waktu ekstraku di KLM Crown Lounge ini, haha.

Pagi yang berkabut di Schiphol dan Airbus A321-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GTAM

Anyway, penerbangan hari ini dioperasikan dengan Airbus A321-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GTAM. Ini adalah penerbangan regulernya Air France di rute Amsterdam-Paris sehingga aku tidak akan menuliskan banyak detail. Hanya saja, aku merasa bahwa kualitas snack yang dibagikan di penerbangan ini kok agak menurun yah, hmm.

Mendarat di landasan pacu 09L Bandara Paris – Charles De Gaulle

Paris – Orly

Seperti di AvGeek Weekend Trip ke-4ku, aku harus berganti bandara di Paris, haha. Berkat keanggotaan Flying Blue Gold-ku, aku bisa mendapatkan transfer gratis di antara dua bandara ini dengan Le Bus Direct (tiket satu arahhnya dijual normal dengan harga €21).

Salon Air France di Bandara Orly

Tidak seperti di AvGeek Weekend Trip ke-4ku, kali ini penerbanganku dijadwalkan di Hall 20 Bandara Orly. Dan di sana ada lounge-nya Air France loh, hore! Haha 😆 . Lounge-nya cukup nyaman, walaupun pilihan makanannya terlalu ringan sih apalagi waktu itu kan setelah jam makan siang ya, menurutku loh.

AF 6016 (Paris ORY – Marseille)

Penerbangan: Air France AF6016
Pesawat: Airbus A319-100 reg F-GPMF
ATD: 16:18 CET (Runway 08 of ORY)
ATA: 17:19 CET (Runway 31L of MRS)

Penerbangan AF6016ku berangkat tepat waktu. Airbus A319-100nya Air France dengan rego F-GPMF digunakan hari ini. Setelah naik pesawat, aku duduk di kursi 1F-ku. Penerbangan hari ini tidak penuh. Malahan, dua kursi di sebelahku kosong dong. Asyik ya! Haha 😛 .

Lepas landas dari landasan pacu 08 Bandara Paris – Orly

Kami lepas landas dari landasan pacu 08 Bandara Paris – Orly, dan kemudian berbelok ke arah selatan menuju Marseille. Lagi, ini adalah penerbangan yang nyaman dan uneventful dengan Air France. Layanan snack mini dan minuman juga dibagikan di tengah perjalanan. Sekitar satu jam kemudian, kami mendarat di landasan pacu 31L Bandara Marseille Provence.

Marseille

Seperti yang sudah pada tahu, seminggu sebelumnya juga aku menghabiskan akhir pekan di Marseille. Jadi memang “aneh” rasanya aku kembali lagi ke sana akhir pekan ini, haha 😆 .

Hari yang indah dan cerah di Marseille!!

Jelas tidak ada banyak perbedaan; tetapi cuaca kali ini jauh lebih enak nih. Hampir tidak ada awan dan di hari Minggu, matahari bersinar cerah dengan suhu udara 16°C!!

AF 7017 (Marseille – Bordeaux)

Penerbangan: Air France AF7017
Pesawat: Airbus A320-200 reg F-GXG
ATD: 15:15 CET (Runway 31R of MRS)
ATA: 16:04 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)

Lounge di Bandara Marseille Provence kecil tetapi, menurutku, layanannya oke banget loh. Aku sukaa! 🙂

Sebuah Airbus A320-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GKXG

Anyway, penerbangan hari ini dioperasikan dengan Airbus A320-200 reg F-GKXG milik Air France. Untungnya, penerbangannya tepat waktu (waktu transitku cukup ketat di Bordeaux). Aku duduk di kursi 2Aku setelah naik pesawat. Lagi, penerbangan domestik ini tidaklah penuh.

Seperti yang lalu, ini adalah penerbangan nyaman dan uneventful dengan Air France. Jam 16:04, kami mendarat di landasan pacu 23 Bandara Bordeaux–Mérignac. Berikut ini video pendaratannya:

Transit Kilat di Bordeaux

Penerbangan domestikku dari Marseille diparkir di Terminal B sementara penerbangan koneksi internasionalku dijadwalkan di Terminal A jam 5 sore. Jadilah aku agak terburu-buru untuk pindah terminal akibat waktu transitku yang mepet. Eh, walaupun begitu, aku merasa gerbangku di Terminal B itu nyaman banget loh karena pada dasarnya berada tepat di sebelahnya pintu keluar bandara! Haha 😆 .

KL 1318 (Bordeaux – Amsterdam)

Penerbangan: KLM KL1318 dioperasikan oleh KLM Cityhopper
Pesawat: Embraer ERJ190 reg PH-EZF
ATD: 17:07 CET (Runway 23 of BOD)
ATA: 18:46 CET (Runway 36C of AMS)

Penerbangan ke Amsterdam ini cukup penuh dan ada banyak penumpang transitnya (via Amsterdam). Jadi tidak heran krunya berusaha untuk berangkat dari Bordeaux secepat mungkin akibat headwind yang akan kami hadapi di perjalanan ke Amsterdam hari ini.

Embraer 190nya KLM Cityhopper rego PH-EZF di Bandara Bordeaux

Anyway, penerbangan hari ini dioperasikan dengan Embraer ERJ190nya KLM Cityhopper dengan rego PH-EZF. Tak lama setelah duduk di kursi 9Aku, kami berangkat dan lepas landas dari landasan pacu 23.

Sekitar jam 5:30 sore, layanan snack dibagikan (berupa sebuah wrap, yang mana cukup enak juga). Secara umum, ini adalah penerbangan yang nyaman dengan KLM, seperti biasanya. Btw, penerbangan ini juga menggaris-bawahi keberisikan Embraer ERJ190, sehingga memang mempertegas pendapatku akan ERJ190 vs CRJ1000, haha.

Senja di penerbangan KL1318

Jam 18:46, kami mendarat di Bandara Schiphol. Taxiing-nya lumayan lama hari ini, padahal kami tidak mendarat di Polderbaan, haha. Kami parkir di Fokker Farm dan kemudian dibawa bus ke gedung terminal bandara. Aku makan malam di sebuah restoran di sana sebelum kembali ke Delft dengan kereta.

#1882 – Post-PhD Trips (Part I: Genova)

ENGLISH

Posts in the Post-PhD Trips series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Genova
3. Part II: Cinque Terre
4. Part III: Firenze
5. Part IV: Roma
6.Part V: A Weekend in Marseille

Getting to Genova

The flying route map today. Created with gcmap.com

There was no direct Amsterdam – Genova flight on the day of our travel so we had to transit at Paris – Charles De Gaulle (CDG). Upon checking-in, we got an unpleasant news where my parents and brother were on stand-by on the Paris-CDG – Genova flight (We were not in the same tickets as I would return to Amsterdam from Rome while they would continue to Spain), while my seat was confirmed, due to overbooking. The check-in agent at Schiphol was not able to change anything in their system so she suggested us to contact the transfer desk at Paris – CDG. It was quite annoying, but for whatever reason I was not really annoyed, haha.

Flight: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1245
Equipment: Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXL named “Sperwer”
ATD: 17:51 CET
ATA: 18:37 CET

Anyway, I could guest one person to the KLM Crown Lounge at Schiphol. We decided that my brother would go with me to the lounge while my parents would window-shop at the airport, haha. We had our early dinner at the lounge where, coincidentally, one of the warm dishes was pasta, haha!

A KLM’s Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXL

At 17:00, we went to the gate where we met our parents. Not long after, boarding started. The flight today would be operated with KLM’s Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXL. Long story short, it was a regular Amsterdam – Paris flight with KLM so I would not write too many details here, haha.

Complimentary snack on board KLM’s Amsterdam – Paris flight

Upon arriving in Paris, we went to Air France’s transfer desk at Terminal 2F. The agent mentioned that my parents and brother’s status on the flight had been confirmed, meaning they got to fly to Genova this evening! Phew!! The nice agent also apologized for the system which must have made us worried.

But then, I noticed that my father was assigned to my confirmed seat. And so I asked the transfer agent, who, then, stated that apparently I had been upgraded to Europe business class!! Ahahah!! 😆 Yep, my second upgraded flight in January! 😛 So definitely I was not complaining 😛 .

As our flight would be operated by HOP! Regional, we had to go to Terminal 2G. So we did. Long story short, it was boarding time.

Flight: Air France AF 1416 operated by HOP! Regional
Equipment: Embraer ERJ170 F-HBXG
ATD: 21:46 CET
ATA: 22:52 CET

We boarded HOP! Regional’s Embraer ERJ170 reg F-HBXM. I settled onto my 1C seat, enjoying my Europe business class experience, haha. Once almost all passengers boarded, however, the captain announced that there was an ICT problem with the plane’s computer that we needed to change plane 😣.

Boarding F-HBXM

So we all deboarded the plane and went back into Terminal 2G. While this was certainly inconvenient, I did understand this sort of disruption could always happen. I did not blame the airline for it, in fact I agreed with the captain’s decision not to fly with a clearly malfunctioning plane, no? Haha…

We changed plane to this HOP! Regional’s F-HBXG

At least this incident happened at Paris – CDG, HOP! Regional’s main base so it was not difficult to find a replacement plane. About 30 minutes later, we were allowed to board another Embraer ERJ170, this one had registration F-HBXG. Then, I settled onto my 1C seat where I noticed there was a slight interior difference between F-HBXM and F-HBXG.

Wet towel service just after take-off

Long story short, we departed about one hour behind schedule. Once we took off and reached the cruising altitude, the FA distributed wet towels (like, “real” towels instead of tissues 😛 ) to Europe business class passengers. Then, the dinner service followed not long after. The dinner consisted of a cold platter with cheese and a raspberry tartlet, accompanied with a selection of drink which I opted for their champagne! Haha 😛

Light dinner service on board HOP! Regional’s Europe Business Class!

Overall it was a smooth flight towards Genova. There was mini turbulence just before landing at runway 28 of Genova’s Cristoforo Colombo Airport.

After taking our luggage, we took a taxi to go to our hotel in the city center of Genova.

Amazing legroom on seat 1C

Genova

Due to our late arrival, we only had about half a day to spend in Genova; which we found to be the ideal amount of time to spend in the city, haha.

Wet day in Genova

Unfortunately, though, the weather was not the best today where it was drizzling pretty much during the entirety of our half a day in Genova. Nonetheless, we still managed to walk around the city, haha. Genova was not very big, where everything was pretty much within walking distance.

In general, I would split Geneva into two (touristy) regions: the old town and the port, haha. As I call it, the old town was the old part of the city, haha. It was a typical Italian city, though, where it was not exactly really “clean” but this was what made it “uniquely Italian”, in my opinion, haha. And the drizzle actually added onto the atmosphere as well, somehow.

Old town of Genova

The port was, well, a port, haha. It was not the most beautiful port or marina I had ever seen, as in the distance I could see some containers. But its contrast with the old Italian building just accross the street made it interesting.

Port of Genova

Btw, regarding the safety, it was actually fine when we walked during the day. However, our hotel guy mentioned that we should avoid some streets during the night, for safety reason, hmmm…

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Taking off from runway 24 of Schiphol

Window view

Europe Business Class on board HOP! Regional’s Embraer ERJ170

Cockpit

The dinner menu on board HOP! Regional’s Europe business class

Genova

Genova

Piazza De Ferrari, Genova

Piazza De Ferrari, Genova

Piazza De Ferrari, Genova

Genova

Genova Port

Genova Port

Poseidon in Genova Port

Genova Port

Genova

Genova

Cristoforo Colombo

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri Post-PhD Trips:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Genova
3. Part II: Cinque Terre
4. Part III: Firenze
5. Part IV: Roma
6.Part V: A Weekend in Marseille

Menuju Genova

Peta rute penerbangan kali ini. Dibuat dengan gcmap.com

Di hari keberangkatan kami tidak ada penerbangan langsung Amsterdam – Genova sehingga kami harus transit di Paris – Charles De Gaulle (CDG). Ketika check-in, kami mendapatkan berita kurang menyenangkan dimana orangtua dan adikku berada di posisi stand-by di penerbangan Paris-CDG – Genova (Tiket kami terpisah karena aku akan kembali ke Amsterdam dari Roma sementara mereka akan lanjut ke Spanyol), sementara kursiku sudah terkonfirmasi, karena overbooking. Agen check-in di Schiphol tidak bisa mengganti apa-apa di sistemnya sehingga ia menyarankan kami untuk mengontak meja transfer di Paris-CDG. Agak menyebalkan sih, tetapi entah mengapa aku kok tidak terlalu merasa sebal waktu itu, haha.

Penerbangan: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1245
Pesawat: Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXL bernama “Sperwer”
ATD: 17:51 CET
ATA: 18:37 CET

Anyway, aku bisa membawa satu tamu untuk masuk ke KLM Crown Lounge di Schiphol. Kami memutuskan adikku akan ikut aku ke lounge sementara orangtuaku berjalan-jalan di area pertokoan bandaranya. Kami sempat makan malam di lounge dimana, kebetulan, salah satu menunya adalah pasta loh, haha!

Sebuah Boeing 737-800nya KLM dengan rego PH-BXL

Jam 5 sore, kami menuju gerbang dimana kami bertemu orangtua kami. Tak lama kemudian, proses naik pesawat dimulai. Hari ini penerbangan ini akan dioperasikan dengan Boeing 737-800nya KLM dengan rego PH-BXL. Singkat cerita, ini adalah penerbangan normal Amsterdam – Paris dengan KLM sehingga aku tidak akan menuliskan terlalu banyak detailnya, haha.

Layanan snack di penerbangan Amsterdam – Paris-nya KLM

Ketika tiba di Paris, kami pergi ke meja transfernya Air France di Terminal 2F. Agennya berkata bahwa status orangtua dan adikku di penerbangan ke Genova telah terkonfirmasi, artinya mereka bisa pergi ke Genova malam ini! Fiuh!! Agennya juga meminta-maaf akibat sistemnya yang tentu telah membuat kami tidak tenang.

Tetapi kemudian, aku melihat bahwa kursi papaku kok nomornya sama dengan kursiku. Jadilah agennya aku tanya lagi, yang mana kemudian menemukan bahwa ternyata aku sudah di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropa loooh!! Ahahah!! 😆 Iya dong, upgrade keduaku di bulan Januari! 😛 Jelas dong ya aku senang, haha 😛 .

Karena penerbangan ini dioperasikan oleh HOP! Regional, kami pergi ke Terminal 2G. Singkat cerita, waktunya naik pesawat.

Penerbangan: Air France AF 1416 dioperasikan oleh HOP! Regional
Pesawat: Embraer ERJ170 F-HBXG
ATD: 21:46 CET
ATA: 22:52 CET

Kami menaiki pesawat Embraer ERJ170nya HOP! Regional dengan rego F-HBXM. Aku duduk pewe di kursi 1Cku, menikmati pengalaman duduk lagi di kelas bisnis Eropa, haha. Nah, ketika boarding nyaris selesai, kaptennya berkata bahwa sistem ICT pesawatnya bermasalah sehingga kami harus ganti pesawat 😣.

Boarding F-HBXM

Nah, jadilah kami turun dari pesawat dan kembali masuk ke gedung terminal. Walaupun tentu ini kurang nyaman, aku memahami benar kejadian tak terduga begini pasti memang bisa terjadi lah. Aku sama sekali tidak menyalahkan maskapainya atas ini, malahan aku setuju dengan keputusan kaptennya untuk tidak memaksakan terbang dengan pesawat yang jelas-jelas rusak kan, iya bukan? Haha…

Kami berganti pesawat ke F-HBXGnya HOP! Regional ini

Setidaknya insiden ini terjadi di Paris-CDG, basis utamanya HOP! Regional sehingga tidak sulit untuk mencari pesawat pengganti. Sekitar 30 menit kemudian, kami dipersilakan menaiki Embraer ERJ170 lainnya, kali ini dengan rego F-HBXG. Lalu, aku duduk di kursi 1Cku dimana aku perhatikan ada sedikit perbedaan di interiornya F-HBXM dan F-HBXG, haha.

Layanan handuk basah setelah lepas landas

Singkat cerita, kami berankat satu jam di belakang jadwal. Setelah lepas landas dan mencapai ketinggian jelajah, awak kabin membagikan layanan handuk basah (maksudku, handuk “beneran” gitu bukan tissue doang, haha 😛 ) ke penumpang kelas bisnis Eropa. Lalu, layanan makan malam dibagikan tak lama kemudian. Makan malam terdiri dari sajian dingin (cold platter) dengan keju dan tartlet raspberry, disertai dengan pilihan minuman yang mana jelas dong aku memilih champagne-nya! Haha 😛

Layanan makan malam ringan di kelas bisnis Eropanya HOP! Regional

Secara umum ini adalah penerbangan yang mulus ke Genova. Hanya ada sedikit turbulensi kecil sebelum mendarat di landasan pacu 28 Bandara Cristoforo Colombo di Genova.

Setelah mengambil bagasi, kami menaiki taksi menuju hotel kami di pusat kota Genova.

Legroom yang mantap di kursi 1C

Genova

Karena kami tibanya di malam hari, kami hanya memiliki waktu setengah hari di Genova; yang mana ternyata ini adalah waktu yang pas banget untuk menjelajah kota ini, haha.

Hari yang basah di Genova

Sayangnya, cuaca hari ini kurang oke dimana gerimis turun sepanjang setengah hari kami di Genova itu. Toh walaupun begitu, kami tetap jalan-jalan dong, haha. Genova bukanlah kota yang besar dimana semua tempatnya praktis bisa dicapai dengan berjalan-kaki.

Secara umum, aku membagi Genova menjadi dua area (turis): area kota tua dan pelabuhan, haha. Seperti sebutanku, kota tua itu ya area kota tuanya gitu deh. Tipikal kota Italia lah, dimana suasananya memang cenderung tidak “bersih-bersih” amat tetapi justru ini yang membuat aura “Italia” gitu, haha. Dan hujan gerimisnya juga membuat atmosfernya menjadi lebih gimanaa gitu.

Kota tua di Genova

Pelabuhannya itu adalah pelabuhan, haha. Bukan pelabuhan atau marina paling indah yang pernah kulihat sih, apalagi di kejauhan bisa terlihat kontainer-kontainer gitu. Tetap kontrasnya dengan gedung-gedung Italia di seberang jalan membuatnya menarik.

Pelabuhan di Genova

Btw, ngomongin keamanan, sebenarnya aman-aman saja sih ketika kami berjalan-kaki di siang hari itu. Namun, orang hotel kami menyarankan kami untuk menghindari beberapa jalanan di malam hari untuk alasan keamanan, hmmm…

BERSAMBUNG… 

#1874 – 2016 Year End Trip (Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam)

ENGLISH

Posts in the 2016 Year End Trip series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

Transitting at PVG

This time, my luggage was tagged all the way to Paris so in Shanghai I would not need to pass immigration and recheck it in (read Part II); but of course this meant I would need to do that in Paris. But this was not a problem as I knew Terminal 2E, 2F, and 2G of Paris – Charles De Gaulle well (the terminals of SkyTeam flights 😛 ).

At least we parked at a proper gate at Shanghai Pudong

Anyway, my transit experience this time was not as seamless as in Part II mainly because there were two checks a transit passenger had to pass, and in each there was a quite long queueing line.

The first one was a document check. I chose to “take a risk” and took the shorter automatic line (where instead of being checked by a human officer, I would need to use the automatic machine myself to scan my documents). I saw some people in front of me failed to scan their documents so they went all the way to the back of the manual-check queue. Luckily, when it was my turn, it all worked well! The second check was the standard security check.

Buffet warm noodles dish at China Eastern Lounge

Obviously I went back to the awesome China Eastern Lounge. Unfortunately, though, all seats in the best spot of the lounge (read: the massage chairs area 😆 ) were already taken. Well, I was hungry after the non-existence of breakfast service on my earlier China Eastern flight MU5030 anyway (read Part VI), so I stayed downstairs in the restaurant area. The breakfast was good, actually, where they provided quite proper Chinese noodles dish!

AF 117 (Shanghai – Paris)

Flight: Air France AF 117
Equipment: Boeing 777-300ER reg F-GSQG
ATD: 11:19 CST
ATA: 15:45 CET

My Air France flight to Paris today would be operated with a Boeing 777-300ER reg F-GSQG. I was really lucky because the cabin of F-GSQG had been upgraded to Air France’s newest one!! 😍😍😍

An Air France’s Boeing 777-300ER reg F-GSQG

Anyway, after boarding I settled onto my 31A seat. Luckily, seat 31B was left unoccupied for the flight!! Yeay!! So me and Mr. Seat 31C co-used it as our extra space, lol 😆 . Once boarding completed, we departed and took off from runway 17L of Shanghai Pudong Airport. The weather condition had not changed that much since I landed three hours prior, where low-hanging cloud was still there.

Taking off during rain

Not long after take-off, the flight attendants distributed the complimentary mini snack service along with some drinks. About an hour later, this was followed by the lunch service which options were French (beef and spaghetti) or Chinese (I didn’t even bother to memorize what it was). It was a super easy decision to always choose the French option on board an Air France flight! Haha 😆

First lunch service on board flight AF 117, the French option

The meal service was delicious enough, though I had had better ones on Air France. Throughout the flight, some snacks and drinks were provided for free in the galley as well; though Air France did not promote it as much as some other airlines (like KLM or Garuda Indonesia).

On board Air France’s Boeing 777-300ER F-GSQG

As I said before, the cabin F-GSQG had been upgraded to Air France’s newest cabin. This meant: the newest generation of AVOD PTV!! First of all, the size of the screen was optimal. It was big enough without being too big that it hurt your eyes, lol. The content had improved a lot since the last time I flew long-haul with Air France too (flight AF 7 from New York to Paris last year). Air France branded their new AVOD as “Air France Touch”, possibly as it was a touch screen as well.

Air France Touch

I watched three movies: How To Be Single (🙈), Zootopia (thanks to my new colleagues), and Crazy Stupid Love. The music collection was quite descent too, though I still found it to be really really “French-centric” 😛 . Anyway, one of the best feature of the new AVOD was the Map! It was really cool and the level of details was amazing.

The super cool new map feature!! 😍

I was able to sleep for about four to five hours in total on this flight, which was not bad considering it was a day flight. About two hours before landing, a second lunch service was provided. There was no option for this one, though, which was chicken and rice with tuna salad.

The second lunch service on board flight AF 117

The weather in Paris was also not in the best condition today where, just like in Shanghai, it was full of low-hanging cloud. At 15:45, we landed at runway 26L of Paris – Charles De Gaulle Airport. Here is the landing video:

Thankfully we parked at Gate K in Terminal 2E, so the walk to Terminal 2F would not be that far. Long story short, I passed immigration and took my luggage.

Transitting at CDG

Thanks for the ride, F-GSQG!!

From the luggage hall of Terminal 2E, I crossed the airport to Terminal 2F where I checked-in at Air France’s priority desks. I got my Paris – Amsterdam boarding pass, checked-in my luggage, and passed the security heading towards the lounge.

I wanted to check the flight status so I looked at my boarding pass for the flight number. And then I just realized that I had been upgraded to Europe Business Class!! 😍😍😍

Champagne at Salon Air France

Anyway, I waited for my flight at Salon Air France at Terminal 2F. At one point several lounge attendants went around distributing some champagne, haha.

KL 1244 (Paris – Amsterdam), Europe Business Class

Flight: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1244
Equipment: Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXI named “Zilvermeeuw”
ATD: 19:04 CET
ATA: 19:51 CET

After boarding, I settled onto my 2D seat. The flight was full today so boarding took some time to complete. Anyway, as in the standard European flight, business class on board PH-BXI was “Europe Business Class”, i.e. the seats were as in economy but with some extra legroom and blocked middle seats.

Obviously the mandatory Europe business class selfie

Once we departed and reached the cruising altitude, the dinner service was distributed by the crew. It was just a mere 50 minutes flight so, indeed, it felt a little bit rushed. Anyway, the main course was mixed salad which was really delicious. They also served warm bread with it, though my favorite (aside from the salad) was the delicious mini mousse. For the drink, I chose sparkling wine.

Dinner service on board KLM’s Europe business class

After I finished my meal, the purser took my empty tray and asked me what I wanted to drink. Well, considering a friend was waiting for me in Amsterdam and I was just coming back off a 36+ hours journey from Indonesia, I asked for a cup of warm coffee, haha.

A glass of coffee before landing

Anyway, at 19:51 we landed at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. It took me about 30 minutes before I got my luggage (typical Schiphol 😆 ), and then I met my friend in front of Burger King.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Noodles for breakfast at China Eastern Lounge

My seat 31A on board Air France’s F-GSQG

Stuffies

Empty middle seat!

Air France branded headset

Air France’s chic safety demo

An electricity port

Snack and drink service just after take-off

The left wing of F-GSQG, a Boeing 777-300ER

Tea

The front economy section on board Air France’s Boeing 777-300ER F-GSQG

Drinks at the galley

The level of details of the map feature was amazing!

Back in Europe!!

Snacks at the galley

Some snacks to accompany my movies

Started the descent towards Paris

Seat 2D in KLM’s Europe Business Class

The legroom of seat 2D

Sparkling wine

The dinner menu

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri 2016 Year End Trip:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

Transit di PVG

Kali ini, bagasiku langsung di-tag menuju Paris sehingga di Shanghai aku tidak perlu melewati imigrasi dan meng-check-in-ulangkannya lagi (seperti di Bagian II). Tetapi memang sih, ini artinya di Paris aku perlu mengurusnya lagi. Tapi ini bukan masalah karena toh aku cukup familier dengan Terminal 2E, 2F, dan 2Gnya Bandara Paris – Charles De Gaulle (terminal-terminalnya penerbangan SkyTeam 😛 ).

Setidaknya kami parkir di gate deh di Shanghai Pudong

Anyway, pengalaman transitku kali ini tidak semulus di Bagian II karena ada dua cek yang harus dilewati setiap penumpang transit, dan untuk setiap cek itu kami harus antri super panjang.

Pengecekan pertama adalah pengecekan dokumen. Aku memutuskan untuk “ambil risiko” dan mengambil jalur pemeriksaan otomatis yang antriannya lebih pendek (jadi bukannya dicek petugas, aku harus menggunakan mesin untuk pengecekan dokumen-dokumenku). Aku lihat beberapa orang di depanku gagal dalam pengecekan dokumennya sehingga mereka harus kembali dan mengantri di urutan paling belakang dari jalur pemeriksaan manual. Untungnya, ketika giliranku, semuanya berlangsung lancar! Pemeriksaan keduanya adalah pemeriksaan sekuriti.

Mie hangat buffet di Lounge China Eastern

Jelas dong aku kembali ke Lounge China Eastern yang keren banget itu. Sayangnya, kali ini semua kursi di bagian terenak dari lounge ini (baca: area kursi pijat, haha 😆 ) sudah dipakai orang lain. Yah, karena toh aku sedang kelaparan akibat tidak adanya layanan sarapan di penerbangan China Eastern MU5030ku pagi itu (baca Bagian VI), aku makan saja di area restoran di lantai bawah. Sarapannya sendiri enak loh, dimana mereka menyediakan menu masakan mie ala China yang enak!

AF 117 (Shanghai – Paris)

Penerbangan: Air France AF 117
Pesawat: Boeing 777-300ER reg F-GSQG
ATD: 11:19 CST
ATA: 15:45 CET

Penerbangan Air France-ku ke Paris hari ini akan dioperasikan dengan pesawat Boeing 777-300ER dengan rego F-GSQG. Aku beruntung karena kabin F-GSQG ini sudah di-upgrade ke kabin model terbarunya Air France!! 😍😍😍

Sebuah Boeing 777-300ERnya Air France dengan rego F-GSQG

Anyway, setelah boarding aku duduk di kursi 31Aku. Untungnya, hari ini kursi 31B kosong loh!! Horee!! Jadilah aku dan Bapak Kursi 31C menggunakan ruang ekstra dari kursi yang kosong ini, haha 😆 . Setelah semua penumpang naik, kami berangkat dan lepas landas dari landasan pacu 17L Bandara Shanghai Pudong. Cuacanya masih belum berubah dari tiga jam sebelumnya ketika mendarat, dimana awan-awan masih menggantung rendah.

Lepas landas ketika hujan

Tidak lama setelah lepas landas, awak kabin membagikan layanan snack mini dengan minuman. Sekitar sejam kemudian, layanan ini diikuti dengan makan siang dengan pilihan Prancis (daging sapi dan spaghetti) atau China (yang mana aku tidak pedulikan, haha). Jelas adalah pilihan amat mudah untuk selalu memilih pilihan Prancis di penerbangannya Air France kan ya! Haha 😆

Layanan makan siang pertama di penerbangan AF 117, pilihan Prancis.

Layanan makanannya sendiri enak kok, walaupun aku pernah makan yang lebih enak sih di Air France. Di sepanjang penerbangan juga terdapat snack dan minuman cuma-cuma yang disajikan di dapur; walaupun Air France tidak terlalu mempromosikannya seperti beberapa maskapai lain sih (misalnya KLM atau Garuda Indonesia).

Di dalam pesawat Boeing 777-300ERnya Air France dengan rego F-GSQG

Seperti yang kubilang sebelumnya, kabin F-GSQG telah di-upgrade ke kabin terbarunya Air France. Ini berarti: generasi terbaru pula untuk AVOD PTV-nya!! Pertama-tama, ukuran layarnya optimal banget. Cukup besar tetapi nggak terlalu besar sehingga tidak menyakitkan mata, haha. Isinya juga sudah jauh lebih baik daripada terakhir kali aku terbang jarak jauh dengan Air France (penerbangan AF 7 dari New York ke Paris tahun lalu). Air France menamai AVOD baru ini “Air France Touch”, mungkin karena layarnya adalah layar sentuh.

Air France Touch

Aku menonton tiga film di penerbangan ini: How To Be Single (🙈), Zootopia (gara-gara kolega baruku nih), dan Crazy Stupid Love. Pilihan musiknya juga cukup lengkap kok, walaupun menurutku sih masih agak terlalu “sentris Prancis” 😛 . Anyway, fitur terkeren AVOD baru ini adalah petanya!! Keren banget dah dan detailnya mengagumkan.

Fitur peta baru yang keren banget!! 😍

Aku bisa tidur selama sekitar empat sampai lima jam di penerbangan ini, yang mana lumayan juga mengingat ini adalah penerbangan di siang hari. Sekitar dua jam sebelum mendarat, layanan makan siang kedua diberikan. Tidak ada pilihan untuk layanan ini, yang mana berisikan nasi dengan ayam dan salad tuna.

Layanan makan siang kedua di penerbangan AF 117

Cuaca di Paris juga sedang kurang oke seperti di Shanghai, dimana penuh dengan awan-awan rendah. Jam 15:45, kami mendarat di landasan pacu 26L Bandara Paris – Charles De Gaulle. Berikut ini video pendaratannya:

Untungnya, kami parkir di Gerbang K di Terminal 2E, yang mana artinya aku tidak perlu berjalan jauh ke Terminal 2F. Singkat cerita, aku melewati pemeriksaan imigrasi dan mengambil bagasiku.

Transit di Paris CDG

Terima kasih atas tumpangannya, F-GSQG!!

Dari aula pengambilan bagasi di Terminal 2E, aku menyeberangi bandaranya menuju Terminal 2F dimana aku check-in di konter prioritasnya Air France. Aku mendapatkan boarding pass Paris – Amsterdam-ku, memasukkan bagasiku, melewati pemeriksaan sekuriti, dan kemudian menuju ke lounge.

Aku ingin mengecek status penerbanganku sehingga aku mengecek boarding pass untuk melihat nomor penerbangannya. Nah, baru lah aku sadar kalau ternyata aku telah di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropa!! 😍😍😍

Champagne di Salon Air France

Anyway, aku menunggu penerbanganku di Salon Air France di Terminal 2F. Di satu waktu, beberapa petugas berkeliling lounge sambil membagikan champagne, haha.

KL 1244 (Paris – Amsterdam), kelas bisnis Eropa

Penerbangan: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL 1244
Pesawat: Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BXI bernama “Zilvermeeuw”
ATD: 19:04 CET
ATA: 19:51 CET

Setelah boarding, aku duduk di kursi 2Dku. Penerbangan hari ini penuh sehingga boarding memakan waktu cukup lama. Anyway, sesuai standar penerbangan di Eropa, kelas bisnis di dalam PH-BXI adalah “kelas bisnis Eropa”, artinya kursinya sama seperti kursi di kelas ekonomi tetapi dengan legroom yang sedikit lebih lapang dan kursi tengah yang diblok/tidak digunakan.

Jelas dong selfie wajib kelas bisnis Eropa

Begitu kami berangkat dan mencapai ketinggian jelajah, layanan makan malam dibagikan kru. Karena penerbangan ini hanya sepanjang 50 menit saja, memang rasanya agak terburu-buru. Menu utamanya adalah mixed salad yang mana rasanya enak loh. Mereka menyajikannya dengan roti hangat, walaupun favoritku (selain saladnya sih) adalah mousse mini yang enak banget!! Untuk minuman, aku memilih minum sparkling wine.

Layanan makan malam di kelas bisnis Eropanya KLM

Setelah aku selesai makan malam, purser-nya mengambil nampan kosongku dan bertanya aku ingin minum apa. Berhubung temanku sudah menungguku di Amsterdam sementara aku baru nyaris tiba setelah perjalanan selama 36 jam lebih dari Indonesia, aku memilih segelas kopi hangat, haha.

Segelas kopi sebelum mendarat.

Anyway, jam 19:51, pesawat mendarat di Bandara Schiphol di Amsterdam. Aku harus menunggu sekitar 30 menit sebelum mendapatkan bagasiku (Schiphol banget deh 😆 ), dan kemudian bertemu temanku di depan Burger King.

BERSAMBUNG…