Due to the irregularity of flights and the start date of the tour, I had to fly down to Sydney on Christmas day and spend Christmas Eve in the Formula1 Hotel near the airport. The saving grace here is that the motel is next door to the Krispy Kreme factory which is open 24/7. Needless to say when the smell woke me up at 2am I couldn't refuse!
The morning flight on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong was sub-standard. I always thought Cathay was a classy airline... they were the first to put those personal TV's in economy. Then I realised that was about 10 yrs ago and they hadn't had an upgrade since... The screens were fuzzy & tempramental and the seats were pretty average. Oh and because of the "jewish" nature of the trip they had given me the kosher meal... great because I got served first... not so great because it tasted so bad I couldn't eat it! The little bit I did eat made me feel sick and my stomach made funny noises all the way to Hong Kong.
If you ever get a chance to fly EL AL I definately recommend it! They would have to be one of the airlines most targeted by nasty people but as a passenger you feel perfectly safe and the service is fantastic. Their security philosophy is that items don't cause problems on their own, people do. So you're not subjected to the indignity of taking of your shoes/belt etc to be searched & you don't have to carry your toiletries in a clear freezerbag, they even give you real cutlery on the plane!!!. They do, however have a pretty tight security net. You have to start check in about 4 hours before departure because they have ex IDF (Israeli army) staff interview each passenger before you even see the check-in counter. They ask basic questions like what you're planning on doing there etc. And that's really the only impact on your travel, from then on you're a valued passenger and they have the highest level of service I've seen on any flight. You do notice the security guards at the gate and are aware that there are a few armed air marshals hidden among the passengers but it's no biggie. You're flying on the safest airline in the world! |
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