My 920th flight was also my first  flight into London City. As a result of this flight, I have now flown into and/or out of every one of London’s five airports. The other are: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead and Luton.  London City Airport was opened in 1987 after six years of planning and construction. The airport is located within the newly developed Docklands precinct of London (11 km: 6.9 miles) from the City of London. In 2011, the Airport served nearly 3 million passengers.

Booking: 9 out of 10

This flight was operated as an Air France service by its subsidiary CityJet. The booking was fairly straightforward, once I had mastered which Air France website I wanted. AF has multiple versions of their website and I had stumbled onto the Greek one! There is no city named Dublin located in Greece, it seems! AF allow passengers to pay a non refundable deposit to hold the ticket for three or four days. I did not want this option and went straight through to payment and ticketing.

Check In: 9 out of 10

Online check in was an absolute breeze. Air France offer this option 30 hours before departure. At Dublin airport, CityJet operate from Terminal 1 which looks like a shabby bus shed with a very congested check in area.  I proceeded to the very small Air France check in area where I was warmly welcomed by the check in agent who turned out to be from Poland. I made an assumption that being a small plane, my 10kg roll on bag would have to be checked . My very friendly agent said “there would be no problem” taking it on. Security in terminal one, which has had some negative reviews, was okay. It was a little slow nonetheless.

I did something unusual for me  and opted for a window seat right at the back of the plane, so determined was I to have a ringside seat to watch my London City experience.

Boarding: 8 out of 10

Boarding was very fast. Passengers were able to board via both front and rear stairs so it I got a warm hello from the flight attendant at the rear door and easily fund my seat in the last row. There was indeed plenty of space for bags which I was surprised at and I stowed my roll-on easily. The plane had two flight attendants.

Most of the passengers  appeared to be travelling on business. I greeted the gentleman next to me. He  grunted, picked up his stuff and moved to Row 15. To be fair, there was an empty seat next to him, as a result.

On Board: 7 out of 10

Cityjet use the Avro RJ85 Avroliner. They fit 95 passengers in a one class layout. Rows 2 to 15 inclusive are in a 3-3 layout. Row 1 has two seats only. Rows 16 and 17 are 2-3 seat layout. Pitch is 30″ or 31″ and seat width is 17″, so it is a little squeezy. This was my first ever flight on the Avro. The craft is popular with a number of European airlines including  Brussels Airlines, CityJet, Swiss International Air Lines and Lufthansa.

We had some quite strong turbulence right at the start of the meal service but this did not continue. The Cabin felt a little ‘worn’. The seat was comfortable enough.  I was exhausted enough to fall asleep very early on.

Meals: 6 out of 10

I was sleeping when the staff arrived at the back row and so I missed the simple meal service of drink and snack.

Entertainment: 0 out of 10

These flights into or out of London City could surely be candidates for wifi? I know Air France are adding wifi from February 2013. I wonder if these planes are candidates at all?

Landing: 10 out of 10

This is what I was looking forward to. We came in low across the Docklands and then began a very rapid descent. It was thrilling seeing the city lights rush toward us.  In seconds,  we smoothly touched down on the single 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) long runway (09/27). The climb and the short runway restrict the type of planes allowed at the airport significantly. Dash 8s, Fokkers and Saabs are of course included. The larger types include Embraers and Airbus 318. Crews must be certified  to fly 5.5 degree approaches in order to land at the airport.

Our plane decelerated rapidly and then parked smoothly near the gate. There are 18 gates at the airport. Stairs were placed on the front and read stairs within a minute, and we began disembarkation. Twelve minutes after landing, I was on a train leaving the airport. Border control was painless.

The Verdict

My Flight Rating: Overall 70% (3.5 out of 5).

My Overall rating of  Air France   3.9 out of 5 (based 32 000km travelled with them)

Skytrax Rating of CityJet: 3 star

Positives:   The landing, London City Airport arrival procedures

Negatives:  Entertainment system, dated cabin, Dublin Terminal 1

Would I fly them again? Yes

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IAG CEO Willie Walsh has thrown down a challenge following  nine months of losses at Iberia and a 25% fall in third quarter profit for the group. This week he said:  “We want Iberia to be strong and successful. For too long the narrow self-interest of the few has damaged the long-term future for the many. We will not hesitate to take necessary steps to protect the interests of our shareholders.”

It looks like Iberia is going through the same medicine that British Airways went through two years ago.  The immediate changes are:

• Iberia capacity will be reduced by 15 percent next year
• 25 of Iberia aircraft will be cut
• 4,500 jobs more than one-fifth of the total workforce will be eliminated
• short-haul salaries will be reduced to the levels of low-cost carriers,
• unprofitable routes will be suspended
• Iberia Express will take over an increasing share of Iberia’s short-haul flights
• Vueling, Spain’s second largest airline will become a wholly owned subsidiary through a 113million Euro take-over bid for the remaining 54 percent IAG don’t own. Vueling announced last month that it was expanding its network in 2013 to a total of 100 destinations.

The response to Walsh words and IAG announcements by the Spanish UGT general workers union was a statement that “Iberia is being dismantled,”. IAG has already been in conflict with the Spanish pilots union SEPLA over pay and conditions. Arbitration has failed to solve this. I suspect we are going to see some stoppages and difficulties at Iberia .

 Related Posts:

2012 Airline Bankruptcies

Spanair no more

The Vanishing Colours of Europe’s Tails

Malév Malaise- Hungary’s flag carrier demise

One of my  Boarding Area colleagues The Wandering Aramean notes that there is a free Kindle guide available for those travelling to the Olympics.

Useful for the rest of us at any time.

This week I celebrate my Birthday  in “sunny” pre Olympics London. Lots of building work around the place. I am still not sure how the city will cope with the actual Olympics!

I have flown 842 times. In that time, one child has kept me irritated for an entire flight. As he bounced up and down the seats with his oblivious mother staring at her video screen, an exasperated fellow passenger asked if she had brought anything for her child to do. She looked up and shrugged her shoulders, saying “No” and went back to watching  her screen. A few babies have disturbed my takeoffs and landings but not enough for me to want children removed from my aeroplane. Most I have met on board have been well behaved or in awe or both. On the other hand, adult passengers that talk loudly on night flights, recline their seats, pack the luggage racks badly, keep the light on on night flights, abuse the flight attendants, dirty the lavatories, or step on my feet when walking across the emergency exits, annoy me more. Besides, for the first 15 flights of my life,  I was a child under 12.

So I was very interested in Malaysian Airline’s announcement  last Wednesday that children and infants under the age of 12 will be banned from the upper decks of their new Airbus A380 as well as the plane’s First Class.

The announcement overshadowed almost every other detail of the new Airbus services. The first plane due for delivery in June will start flying Kuala Lumpur daily into London in July. The second one will double the London capacity. KL- Sydney will follow from 25 September, 2012 as flights MH123/122 replacing the Boeing 747-400 aircraft currently serving the route. This means four airlines will be flying A380s into Sydney  and four into London (Emirates, Qantas, Singapore currently operate the plane at those two airports).

The Malaysian A380  has a brand new livery of blue and metal colours (pictured). No decision has been made as to whether the colours will be rolled out to the whole fleet. I really like the livery. The colour represents a new era as they join One World and fight to keep their five star Skytrax rating which is “under review”. (If Skytrax downgrades them, then that means with the loss of Kingfisher’s status, there will be five carrying the 5 star moniker compared with seven last year).

Malaysian’s Airbus A380 will have 494 seats compared with:

• Korean: 407  (my report here)
• Qantas: 450 (not reviewed)
• Singapore: 409/471 (not reviewed)
• Emirates: 489/517 (Three airlines A380s compared)
• China Southern: 506 (not flown yet)
• Air France: 516/538 (Reviewed January, 2012)
• Lufthansa: 526 (Review posted October last year)

There was talk of having four classes with a seat count of 503. Instead, Malaysian has dropped premium Economy and  increased the business cabin on the upper deck.  Seven of the seats are reserved for crew giving the plane 487 seats. 420 of these seats are economy, Business and First Class. On the lower deck are 350 Economy seats and the  eight kid free First class seats. The child proofed upper deck will have 66 Business and 70 economy seats.

First-class pitch will be 85 inches. The seats will flatten out to a full 87-inches. In flight entertainment screens are  23-inch. Business class: 74-inch pitch and full flat bed seats each measuring 72 inches in length  with individual 17-inch IFE screens. Economy-class seats will have a 32 inch pitch and an 18 inch seat width with 10.6-inch individual screens. Every seat on board will have a USB port.  AC electrical outlets Ports will be installed at every Business and First seat and shared with every two seats in Economy.

Now for the child ban. Malaysian have instructed travel agents that their booking system will not allow passengers under 12 in First class, or the upper deck. This is hot on the heels of a 2010 US survey identified that nearly 60% of travellers want airlines to create a family-only section on flights. This was a consequence of a confidential settlement between Qantas and a 67-year-old American passenger who sued the airline after a 3-year-old screamed on her flight. Further,  most  survey respondents said they wished to sit as far away from young children as possible. Those who support banning kids, point out that the chance of a small child or baby being disruptive is far greater than that of any other traveller. Those against point out that children likely to fly Business are usually behaved. plus it means all parents seeking to fly Malaysian will have to fly Economy.

So is this policy Wacky or Wise.? What do you think?

Air Zimbabwe logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1996, I spent a glorious ten days in Zimbabwe. Many say that was the last good year for the country. Since then sanctions, corruption, seizure of farms, mines and businesses have made Zimbabwe a no go zone for tourism and business. These same conditions have reduced Air Zimbabwe passenger numbers from 1 million in 1999 to 23,000 in 2005 due to suspension of many of its flights and suspension from  the international financial and booking system by IATA over unpaid fees.

The airline kept flying from 2005 to 2011 and even launched a new service from Harare to Kuala Lumpur.  Last year, however, was a horror year for the carrier with something going wrong almost every month:

• Feb 2011: South African fights suspended over unpaid landing fees
• May 2011:  suspended by IATA over unpaid fees
• May 2011: domestic fights suspended by Civil Aviation Authority Zimbabwe CAAZ over safety concerns – with some resuming in July
• Mid-June 2011: Flights to London and South Africa  suspended because of a debts to  fuel suppliers.
• August - September 2011: Pilots go on strike for 50 days over unpaid wages
• Nov 2011: flights suspended over unpaid fuel bills
• Nov 2011: Airline debt reaches $US140million
• Dec 2011: one of the struggling airline’s 767s is seized at Gatwick airport on behalf of American General Supplies over a $1.5 million outstanding debt. The debt is paid with passengers stranded for a week

2012 was not much better:

• Jan 2012: Air Zimbabwe’s last remaining plane was grounded
• Jan 2012: the airline suspended all services to London and South Africa fearing any planes may be seized
• Jan 2012: the airline comes under Judicial management
• Feb 2012: Pilots refuse to resume domestic services because of unpaid salaries and allowance
• 24 Feb 2012: Air Zimbabwe was grounded until March
• 1 Mar 2012: The airline is grounded indefinitely

Will Air Zimbabwe fly again? 

The airline had $140 to $150 million owing. Their average plane was 24 years old. Air Zimbabwe’s reputation was so bad that at the end,  not even government officials were using the carrier. Very strong competition has arrived in the form of Emirates flying five times a week to Dubai. Air Namibia will add services in April so there is not a huge incentive to fly Air Zimbabwe.

Yet, the Government in March formed a new State-owned company, Air Zimbabwe Pvt Ltd, dissolving Air  Zimbabwe Holdings in the process. This meant that the debt of the “old” Air Zimbabwe has been transferred to the Zimbabwe government meaning creditors of Air Zim will need to talk to the national government. An interim board to oversee the operations of the new company was immediately set up. Then Transport Minister Nicholas Goche announced that they had leased an A320 for use on regional routes. There is a rumour that this, 320 that was flown in secretly into Zimbabwe in  January.  There was a suggestion that the two 767s will be leased out to raise cash.  Pilots and flight attendants recently attended refresher courses at the airline’s headquarters at Harare Airport in preparation for flying soon.

So Air Zimbabwe may be dead yet ready to be resurrected?

Stranded Passengers in London

This is the fourth time I have flown British Airways on this sector- and my last. BA will cease flying this route from this Friday March 3rd.  Qantas will terminate its Bangkok to London services on March 26th and its planes will turn around in Bangkok. Instead both airlines will “swap” passengers at Bangkok. The same thing is happening with their Hong Kong flights. Both airlines will maintain their services via Singapore (the “Kangaroo Route”). This shorter “hop” will be where all through Australia-London passengers will be fed. Passengers going via Hong K and Bangkok will be choosing to stop. I have some disquiet about how these reductions in service will help “sell” Qantas as a carrier which I have blogged about previously.

Competitors on the non stop Bangkok to Sydney sector are now Thai and Emirates. Air Asia, Malaysian, Singapore all offer one stop service.

This was the 22nd British Airways flight in my life.  I also flew their predecessors BEA and BOAC a lot. I have flown them in total enough miles to go around the world four times.

Booking: 10 out of 10

The British Airways website is very clear and very easy to use, It loads quickly. Booking and paying is a breeze.  Entering my frequent flyer number, and choosing my seat was simple. I chose an exit row aisle seat. Love it!

Check In: 10 out of 10

I checked in online and was really disappointed to find that I had lost my emergency exit seat. Worse I now had a middle seat almost at the back of the plane. I looked for seats near the front of the cabin and could not see anything that a 185cm 6’1 frequent flyer would find comfortable so row 51 it was.

On arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, I made my way to the clearly signposted British Airways Gold/Business Check in counter where a very friendly check in attendant greeted me.  I mentioned politely to her how disappointed I was to have been relegated from exit row to back. She said “Let me have a look. Well sir, the plane is very full. We have moved you to  another class of srevice. You are in row 18.” In other words, the magic words: “you have an upgrade”. Row 18 on this 747 is in British Airways call “Club World” *Business Class) . Thank you BA!

Lounge: 8 out of 10

Bangkok Airport’s British Airways/ Qantas Business lounge is airy, pleasant and comfortable. The showers were very nice. Food included little mini lamingtons  which made this Australian  very happy.  The lounge could not be faulted.  

Boarding: 8 out of 10

Finding a gate at Bangkok airport always seems a challenge for me. I have been there so many times and I still manage to lose Boarding gates! So I arrived a little stressed at the gate. After that, Boarding was pretty smooth but on the plane itself, the pace felt very frantic. It was a clearly a fully laden flight and passengers and crew seemed to be everywhere. I was glad to be offered a welcome drink! I asked for Sparkling wine but was told I could have champagne instead. (When I last flew Business with Air New Zealand, I asked for a champagne but was told on the ground they could only serve me Sparkling Wine!).

Unlike Business Class on Air New Zealand, Virgin and Qantas, no cabin crew member welcomed passengers on board individually. Crew on these carriers show passengers the ins and outs of the cabin. Not sure if BA don’t do it or if the heavy passenger load precluded it.

On Board: 8 out of 10

The 747 felt old. The interior fittings in Club World (Business) looked dated. My seat was great, however. There were a total of 52 seats in the Club World cabins, all 180-degree fully flat sleeper seats. The window seats all face the rear, as do the E & F seats. The seat has a 20″ width and 73″ pitch. On Qantas 747 on the same route you get 21.5″ and 60″ . Thai gives you 20″ and 55″ on their 747.

I chatted to my seat neighbour, before we raised the privacy screens. He was not convinced about flying backwards.

I initially found the BA service a little out of character. I could not place my finger on what i found jarring about the crew attitude. They won me over when I asked for a sparkling water, however. The cabin attendant leaned forward and said “we don’t have any.  It looks like they drank us out of it from London. It was a very full flight.” He said “I have looked“  Ten minutes later, he was back with a bottle from First Class. Very nice!

Safety: 10 out of 10

I feel I have seen the BA safety video many times now. Is it memorable or dated? Crew took safety briefing and checks carefully. 

Meals: 9 out of 10

Following my doctor’s noting my iron levels are low, I chose steak or my main course, Again, there was the slight jarring of service. Bizarrely, my flight attendant could nt recommend  a wine to accompany it. and even when prompted did not know the difference between the wines on this trolley. The steak with a  nice French red was perfect.

I found out later that British Airways have snacks available for club world passengers including sandwiches, smoothies and chocolates for access through the flight.  They didn’t mention it and I regret I didn’t check it out.

Entertainment: 8 out of 10

British Airways has  ”HighLife Entertainment’s Audio and Video On Demand (AVOD)”. In ClubWorld the flat TV screen is  26cm (10.4 inches). It rotates out in front of you and allowed lots of room to adjust it. noise canceling headphones are, of course, provided.  The 100 movies and TV programmes included lots of Downton Abbey, an excellent Mockmentray about Monty Python’s Life of Brian but one episode only of Mike and Molly, one of Modern family, one of Big Bang and one of Parks and Recreation! There were also 50 music CDs and audio books and 20 games which I didn’t play.

The Verdict:

My rating: 91% (5 out of 5)

Positives:   Meals, Lounge, Check in, Seat

Negatives:  Boarding, lack of Personal welcome

Would I fly them again?  Yes, especially if you upgrade me again- but alas it won’t  be on British Airways on this sector for a while

My last Trip Report: February 14: Malev – Rome (ROM to Budapest (BUD) Boeing 737

Qantas Airways has temporarily grounded one of its A380 superjumbos after discovering dozens of hairline cracks in its wings. They have said tehy:

1. do not pose a threat to safety

2. they are different from the types of cracks that manufacturer Airbus found in the wings of two jets last month

Should we be worried about my beloved A380?

My second favourite airline Air NZ has been losing $NZ1 million per week on long haul traffic. It is now investigating ways to cut $NZ100 million out of expenses. Some of the rumours I have heard are:

• reducing London flights  (NZ flies to Heathrow via Los Angeles and via Hong Kong every day)
• pulling out of London altogether handing sectors over from LAX and HK to Virgin Atlantic
• slashing hundreds of jobs
• halting all “large  projects” (the message from Air NZ CEO Rob Fyfe: “no sacred cows”)
• reducing the quality of meals and service in Premium Economy and Business

Any bets on what may happen?

The good news is that its domestic and trans-Tasman routes are making money and overall the company to make an $NZ81m profit after tax this year.

Roy Morgan has released results, from their regular phone poll survey of public opinion in Australia.  Som key feedback from the Australian public suggets that respondents were:

• more inclined to blame management (56%) than the unions (42%) for the shutdown
• overall disapproving of the shutdown with 61% against it and 35% approving
• wanting federal government sooner (64%) -with 32% disagreeing

This suggests that the Qantas Board and Management have a long row to hoe to get Australians to support their move and new directions.