A Travelling Life: June 2014

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

A Trip Report: Qantas, Brisbane to Los Angeles (October 2013)

Trip Report: Qantas, Brisbane to Los Angeles
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Qantas Airlines is the national carrier of Australia and flies to many major cities within Australia, and connects Australia to many parts of the world - and is now connecting to more of the world with its partnership with Emirates. There is a lot of competition in Australia, as Qantas not only competes with Virgin Australia but also with many Asia-Pacific airlines for its market. Qantas is a full-service airline, meaning your ticket price includes baggage and meals and IFE; given all this, their prices tend to be a bit higher. They have started a LCC brand called JetStar (on which you can use your Qantas miles, but cannot earn Qantas miles) which flies to many vacation destinations and other locations which may be more budget-friendly. I have flown Qantas a couple of times, both domestically and internationally. Internationally I have flown from the U.S. - both LAX and DFW - to Brisbane (I had the opportunity to fly on the longest flight in the world - on Qantas from Dallas (DFW) to Sydney via Brisbane). Domestically, I have flown on Qantas from Sydney to Brisbane and on JetStar from Melbourne to Sydney. This experience relays my most recent experience, from Brisbane to LAX in October 2013.

My experience on Qantas was my return flight - I had flown on Qantas from LAX to BNE in August and was now returning home. Work arranged this flight, but when I did arrange my own flight for the holidays, I found that Qantas (in partnership with American) was cheaper in terms of flights from the U.S. as they would have sales from Dallas or LAX (versus Virgin Australia and Delta).

TIP: If you want to use your miles and you are a member of AA miles, you can use those miles for the Qantas flight - they are the same flights and you use less miles.

Overall, Qantas is a nice airline but they are starting to show their age and they need to upgrade in order to keep up with the competition. The perfect example of this is the airplane used from BNE to LAX (which was also used to and from Dallas). Qantas still uses the B747 - which are nice airplanes but are older planes and they show their age in terms of comfort-ability and noise. Qantas have upgraded the seats and each seat comes with a personal IFE, a USB charger, and a decent legroom, but the B747 cannot compete with the comfort of an A380 or some B777 - especially on the 16hr flight time from DFW to BNE or the 13hr flight time from LAX to BNE. For extra legroom, Qantas has installed Premium Economy which provides additional legroom as well as other benefits. You can also purchase bulkhead seats or exit row seats which also provide additional legroom

The flight from Brisbane departs is scheduled to depart at 10:35am so that means one needs to be at the airport by about 8am to check-in. The flight goes from BNE to LAX and then continues on to JFK (although Qantas cannot sell seats from LAX to JFK so only those who boarded in BNE can continue on). There were lots of check-in counters available so check-in went smoothly - passengers to and from the U.S. are allowed 2 bags of 23kg each but be wary of hand carry because the airport authority are very strict about only 7kg hand baggage allowance!

Seats: This flight was not very full - in fact we were only 40% occupied - so many people had the entire row to themselves. At the time of booking, if you want to select a seat assignment it is going to cost you. You can select it for free 24-hours prior to your flight when you check-in online, or you can pre-pay to select your seat or pay a little more and select an exit row seat or a bulkhead seat. I am tall and so due to the length of the flight - I paid 25AUD to get a bulkhead seat with extra legroom. The price can range though from 25 to 75AUD (other airlines have also started to charge such as Singapore Airlines).

Boarding: Because it was a light load, the boarding was quick and efficient and we took off on time (when I flew in July on a full-flight to LAX, we were late boarding by 1.5 hours - with very little explanation by the crew as for the reason for the delay - and then when we got on board we sat at the gate for another 1 hour making us not 2.5 hours behind schedule - essentially making the majority of passengers miss their tight connections!)

On Board: As you board, on your seat is a pillow (pretty big by airline standards) and a blanket. An amenity kit is passed out which provides socks, eyeshades, and toothbrush/toothpaste. We left at 10:35am so after we reached our cruising altitude, menus were passed out and a lunch service started. Drinks were served prior and during lunch. Tea and coffee were served afterwards, and a special treat, hot chocolate (either mint or regular) with marshmallows were served. This was a special treat as the hot chocolate were served from cadbury pitchers and they were delicious (a nice touch for Qantas).

After the trays were cleared, an overnight packet were served which included a bottle of water, an apple, and a protein bar - this to help keep you refreshed through the long journey. Additionally, in the back of the plane Qantas keeps a stock of fruits - apples mostly - and small snacks such as mini cookies (which were good) and biscuit/crackers. There were also dispensers where you can access water.

After the meal service was completed, the lights were shut off to make the plane dark so that you can get some rest. Even though most passengers were sleeping, flight attendants would pass through the aisles (using mini flashlights to see) to pass out apples, water, mini pizzas, and other light refreshments. As I said, Qantas is a full-service airline and they keep you well-fed.

IFE: In addition to eating, Qantas has 'Q' - its IFE. In terms of availability, Q is not bad. I expected little more selection from Qantas, especially in terms of movies and tv shows. There were some, but selected episodes - it is definitely not up to par with Emirates selection - but still a decent selection. I would say this is something Qantas needs to improve on, as its competitors (Singapore, Emirates, Malaysia) have better choices.

As the cabin is dark, you can either watch movies or sleep until about 2 hours prior to landing. Since we would land at 6:40am US time, Qantas served us breakfast - either hot or cold. Hot consisted of omelet with potatoes and sausage while cold was cereal and milk. Both were served with fresh fruit (decent), a warm croissant (very tasty), and your choice of beverage - along with tea or coffee. After the meals were done, trays were cleared and preparations were made to land.

My flight was from Brisbane to Los Angeles, and then connecting to Washington Dulles. QF15 goes from BNE to LAX and lands at 6:40am - in time for the early morning connecting flights to other cities. I had 2.5 hours to get my bags, go through customs, immigration, rebook my bags to my domestic flight and then transfer to the American terminal. When Qantas was on time (which this was) this was just enough time to do everything that I needed to do. When Qantas was late once (by over 2.5 hours) I missed my connection entirely (almost everyone did). Even in Australia, Qantas provides very tight connections with marginal room for error (and their on-time performance is good but definitely not great! And when we were delayed, there was very little communication about the delays).

Overall: Qantas is a very nice full-service airline but it is definitely showing its age in terms of its fleet. Qantas recently said that it is switching from the 747 to the A380 on the Dallas to Brisbane flight - which is a welcome change. Qantas would need to keep this innovation up to continue to be relevant - especially in the growing Asia Pacific market where other legacy carriers have the same full-service with modern aircraft competing against newer LCC's with modern aircraft. Qantas is a decent airline, but I am not sure I would go out of my way to choose it - but maybe with the partnership with Emirates, Qantas will retain its legacy status!

Monday, June 23, 2014

Planes! (part 2)

plane spotting

at MED (http://www.tibahairports.com/en-EN/Pages/Main.aspx)
at MSY (http://www.flymsy.com/)

at BUF (http://www.buffaloairport.com/)
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Mahan Air - Iran @ MED

Saudia @ MED

Air Arabia & Saudia @ MED

USAirways Express @ MSY

SWA Boeing @ MSY

Wifi on SWA (I flew on 4 planes and wifi never worked)

hot chocolate luv from SWA (not bad either!)

2 Deltas - an airbus and crj - @ BUF

SWA and American @ BUF

Delta @ BUF

Southwest LUV @ BUF

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Trip Report: Ethiopian Airlines, Washington Dulles to Dar Es Salaam via Addis Ababa (January 2014)

Trip Report: Ethiopian Airlines
Washington Dulles to Dar Es Salaam via Addis Ababa
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

The New Spirit of Africa

Ethiopian Airlines bills itself as the 'new spirit of Africa'. My family and I recently traveled from the U.S. to Tanzania and decided to try out and see if Ethiopian Airlines lived up to its motto. Ethiopian Airlines is one of a few African Airlines which travels the world - others being South African, Kenyan, EgyptAir, and Royal Air Maroc. Out of this list, only Ethiopian and South African provide good connections from Europe and America to other cities in Africa (via their hubs). Additionally, Ethiopian has been prominent in competing with Middle Eastern airlines by upgrading their service, expanding to new destinations, and increasing focus on safety and comfort. Ethiopian is part of Star Alliance and is the first African airline to fly the Boeing Dreamliner (Kenya Airways was the second) and is in the process of adding more Dreamliners. In addition to competing with the Middle Eastern carriers, Ethiopian is also competing with South African on flights from North America. From North America, Ethiopian flies from Washington, D.C. (in competition with South African) and recently started flying to Toronto, Canada.

Our trip to Africa started because we wanted to go and see Tanzania and Zanzibar. Looking at what airlines to both the U.S. and Dar Es Salaam, it was a choice between the Middle Eastern Carriers, Ethiopian, South African, or Kenyan. Ethiopian had the best travel time and the lowest fare so I decided to go with them. As they are part of the Star Alliance, I thought I could book travel via United from New Orleans to DAR via United (MSY to IAD) and Ethiopian from Dulles to DAR via Addis.

I went to Ethiopian's website, which is very nice and easy navigate, and the site provided me the details from IAD to DAR but could not connect to any domestic U.S. cities. When I called the D.C. office to ask them for assistance, they informed me that even though they are part of the Star Alliance they cannot book tickets partnering with United. In order to have everything on one ticket, I would have to go through a travel agent. This is something that Ethiopian needs to work on if it really wants to compete in the international market - especially since Kenya Airways allowed me to book the flights in partnership with their SkyTeam partner Delta (they had to many connections and too many stops so that is why I did not choose them).

Why go through the hassle of booking everything on one ticket and not two separate tickets - a couple of reasons:

luggage - internationally, the U.S. allows 2 bags of 50lbs/23kilos as part of free checked luggage. Domestically, any checked bags require a charge and two bags can cost about $60 per passenger (and we were 3 passengers total).
luggage transfer - if everything is booked on one ticket, then the luggage is booked to the final destination and is automatically transferred during your connections; you do not have to go out, collect your luggage, and recheck them in.
if something goes wrong - if you have booked everything on one ticket, and should something go wrong with one of your connections, then the airline will automatically assist you in getting back to your home destination. For example, if one plane is delayed and you miss your connection then the airline will automatically assist you in getting on the next flight to your destination - booking two separate tickets, while sometimes cheaper, does not avoid these potential headaches.

In the end, I went to an online travel site (cheapoair.com - very reasonable prices) and booked my flight on United from MSY to Dulles, and then connecting to Ethiopian from Dulles to DAR via ADD. Note - Ethiopian only has one flight from Dulles to ADD, but has many flights from ADD to other destinations to double check your connection times. After I booked the flight, I emailed the DC office to confirm the flights as well as to confirm seat assignments (they were very responsive and accommodating).

The flight from MSY to Dulles was the night before so I had about 12-hour layover in Dulles (there are many hotels, inexpensive, near the airport) but due to the long-layover my bags had to be rechecked in Dulles as the airline can only keep the bags for 6-hours or less (we arrived at 9pm and flew the next day at 10am).

Ethiopian flight ET501 was scheduled to depart 10:15am which meant that we had to be at the airport by 7:30am. When we arrived to the airport, there was a long line of people to check-in (the DC area has one of the largest Ethiopian populations outside of Ethiopia so be prepared for crowds). It took a while for us to check-in as the lines were long, each passenger had lots of luggage, and many needed to pay extra. Additionally, each passenger received a color-sticker on the boarding pass to indicate at which time they would board the plane (this took a long time)

After we received our boarding passes and luggage, we proceeded to security and the gate. There were LOTS of people at the gate and it was very chaotic. Even though the flight was supposed to depart at 10:15am, we didn't start the boarding process until 9:45am/10:00am (which meant we were going be delayed taking off as well). Each passenger received a colored sticker on their boarding card and there was a sign as the order in which you were supposed to board -- nobody followed that. Once they announced the boarding, it was a rush to board the plane (very chaotic and haphazard).

The plane taking us to ADD was Ethiopian's new Boeing Dreamliner. This would make the direct flight in 12h30m. The seating is very comfortable in a 3-3-3 layout (as opposed to the 3-4-3 layout). The 3-3-3- layout made the plane seem very big and spacious (not as spacious as the A380, but still good). Since we were 3 people - we got 3 seats together and the seats were nice and comfortable. Each seat had its own personal tv set, a leg rest (nice touch), a coat hanger, and a usb charging port (also a nice touch.

After majority of the people had been boarded and seated, there was an issue - apparently the same seats were assigned to two different people. This happened to a number of people on the plane so even as we were pushing back from the gate - not all passengers were seated and not all luggage compartments closed. My recommendation, get to your seat early in boarding. Because of the delay in boarding and pushing back, and still not ready as we pushed back, we didn't take off until almost 11:45a/12pm (so almost 1.5hours after the scheduled time).

Once we were airborne, we received complimentary headsets (that you could take with you) along with an amenity packet of eyeshades, socks, and toothbrush - a nice touch. Once we reached our cruising altitude, everyone adjusted in their seat for the long flight. We were served drinks, then lunch, then drinks again, along with tea and coffee. The service was decent and efficient, with the meals also decent. The entertainment system was also pretty decent. It's not as nice nor has as many selections as emirates, but it is pretty good and has enough selections and variety to keep you occupied for at least 8-10 hours.

The new-ness and capability of the plane was well-apparent as the seats were very comfortable, the cabin looked new, and the bathrooms were nice and spacious. Even though it was a full-flight with over 300+ people on it, the plane did not feel cramped. Some snacks were served during the flight and prior to landing we were served breakfast, as we were landing around 7:45am in Addis. Again, breakfast was decent and the service was efficient.

We landed on time and taxied not to a gate, but rather to a parking stand across the taxiway from the gates & terminal. We had to deplane via stairs, but then waited on the tarmac for the buses (which were late). Once we boarded the buses (which looked pretty old) we were transported to the terminal for our 2.5 layover. 3/4 of the passengers were Ethiopians coming home for the holidays (we left in late December) while the rest of us were transit passengers to other parts of Africa.

There is not a lot to do in ADD - the duty free is pretty scarce and there are not that many restaurants or lounges. There a lot of souvenir shops and other such places, and there is one internet cafe, but that is about it. If Ethiopian really wants to build up their brand, they should really update their hub airport.

About an 1.5 hour prior to departure, we left the main hall and went through security to get to our holding gate for our departure to DAR. Ethiopian does a loop from ADD so it goes ADD - DAR - ZNZ - ADD. You can board at ADD and depart at DAR or ZNZ, or board at DAR or ZNZ and depart at ADD. We were going to board at ADD and depart at DAR (so the first stop).

After we passed through security, we went downstairs to the holding area for the buses to take us to our waiting aircraft (again, no bridge terminals but buses. There were bridge terminals there but not used for this flight). The holding area was very small, cramped, and very hot and there were many passengers there waiting for multiple flights. This led to a lot of confusion as the announcements were not made over the speaker, but rather yelled out so many people were confused. We boarded our bus (again, very old bus) to our plane to take us to DAR.

The plane to DAR - ET0805 was also nice, but an older plane (boeing 737-800) and it was a bit disappointing when coming from the Dreamliner. The seats were comfortable and the plane decent, but you could tell it was an older plane. The flight took off late - we were supposed to take off at 10:45am and took off around 11:15am - and there was a lot of waiting inside the aircraft (which seemed to be a theme on Ethiopian). The flying time from ADD to DAR was 2.45 in which, again, complimentary headsets were handed out and we received lunch. The food was decent and the service was efficient and friendly on this full flight. The first stop was DAR so those passengers who were continuing on to ZNZ had to wait for us to deplane, and wait for passengers who were going back to ADD to board the plane.

We landed at DAR, went through immigration and customs (very hot, very noisy and haphazard, and very cramped), then proceeded to gather our luggage (again very chaotic as bags were thrown everywhere), and then left the terminal.

Our return flight from DAR to ADD and then to IAD was a little different. First, the flight took off very early in the morning - at 2:10am - so it was a long day exploring and then a long night waiting at DAR airport (which does not have a lot to do). As stated earlier, Ethiopian does a loop so ADD to DAR to ZNZ to back to ADD - we had got on on the DAR sector so that meant we had a pretty empty plane to ZNZ, but we had a long wait on the ground as passengers were boarded in ZNZ. It was only supposed to be 30 minutes on the ground, but it ended up being over 1h20mins on the ground (again -- see a theme). We landed in ADD and again had to take a bus to the terminal.

Our flight landed at 7am into ADD and our next flight to IAD was not until 10:15pm - I did not purposely create the long layover, this is what the travel site had given me but I used it as an opportunity to explore Addis.

Usually, with long layovers, the airline gives you a hotel or accommodation to rest. Ethiopian had said that because I had chosen the long layover - which I actually was given the long layover - and that they had multiple flights from DAR to ADD that required less layover, they would not provide accommodation. I had been told this by the DC Ethiopian office so had already arranged accommodation for myself and family. I looked online and U.S. citizens do not need a transit visa - they can get a visa on arrival for Ethiopia. I had all this information ready when I proceeded to the immigration counter - who sent me to the transfer desk and thus started the whole process.

The transfer desk sent me to the visa on arrival, who sent me back to the transfer desk, who sent me back to immigration. After an hour of going up and down from one place to another (and all this on 2 hours of sleep) I had enough. I explained to the immigration supervisor what I had been told and what was needed, and he agreed with what I had but said that I needed to get the stamp from the transfers desk. He went with me to the transfers desk - which was completely full and inundated with people and only one person to help at least 25 people; can we say INEFFICIENT!!! - and explained the situation to the lady but she still insisted I pay for my visa (which was supposed to be free). As I said, it had been a long day and I was with my family so I just decided to pay $200 for our three visas to get us out of the airport and in a bed (when I returned to the U.S. I had emailed the DC Ethiopian Office, explained what happened, provided the evidence, and 2 months later received a check in the mail for the $200)

We went through customs and immigration and proceeded to our hotel --- we stayed at the Hilton Addis. Our return flight from ADD to Dulles took a little longer and was not as comfortable as it was on a Boeing 777 instead of the dreamliner (which was still decent but not as comfortable) and because the return flight stops in Rome and has a crew change *passengers do not get out of the plane. Again, it is only supposed to be an hour wait in Rome but we were on the ground for almost 2.5hours (very inefficient). The only good thing was that the AC and the entertainment system was on the entire time. Even though we were delayed, we still made our arrival time into Dulles. Dulles now has a separate area for international transfers so this made the process a lot easier and smoother.

Overall, Ethiopian is a good airline but there are little things that need to be improved to make it a great airline - timeliness, efficiency, customer service, and an improved hub airport. With these updates, Ethiopian could be a great airline.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Trip Report: Precision Air - Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar (December 2013)

Trip Report: Precision Air - Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar

comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

We were travelling in Tanzania and needed to get from Dar Es Salaam (DAR) to Zanzibar (ZNZ). There are ferries that cross daily between the city and the island and operate many times during the day. I have had friends take them and say they are perfectly fine, but a) I have heard too many stories of overloading on the boats; b) the water is very rough naturally and if its the rainy season (as it was when we went there in late December) than the water gets even more rough; and c) why take the chances when you can take a 15-minute flight. Having said that about the ferries, the airlines also don't have the best reputation for safety or timeliness; however, based on the research I did, the people I talked to, and my family's preference, we choose to fly.

I booked my flight online through Precision Air. Precision Air is a Tanzanian-based airline that flies to many destinations within Tanzania, and to other African countries in partnership with Kenya Airways (Kenya Airways owns 49% of Precision Air). While they do have fares and schedules available online, the website is not the most user-friendly, does not look trustworthy, and requires patience and perseverance to navigate and complete your transactions. After I booked my flight online, I emailed Precision Air to confirm the booking and they responded very quickly. I was very impressed with their response times to emails and their customer service in this aspect. After I had booked my travel, I needed to make a change to the flight and that was done free of cost (Precision Air offers a one-time, free of charge, booking change) and all through email and received the confirmations. Very efficient.

I had a couple of days in DAR after my international flight and before my flight to ZNZ, and even though I had the confirmation emails, I noticed that at DAR airport Precision Air has a stall (outside the immigration and security when you exit the doors). I went to the stall to confirm my booking and to ensure the flight was online (Precision Air was known to have some timeliness issues). I was assured that my flights were confirmed and everything was on time, and was told to be at the airport 3-hours in advance. Precision Air does have multiple flights a day to Zanzibar, but they are not as frequent and are scattered throughout the day so if you have an international connection, I would plan accordingly.

On the day of the flight, we arrived at the airport 3-hours in advance but there was nobody at the counter. We waited and 2-hours prior to departure the counters opened and we checked in and received our boarding passes. I did notice that a lot of the passengers who were flying were connecting passengers; i.e passengers who had just come off of an international flight and were connecting to Zanzibar on Precision Air and all via one-ticket. We proceeded up to the domestic waiting lounges and waited for our flight (we had about 1.5 hour to wait).

the plane @ ZNZ

There is not a lot to do at DAR airport. The domestic side has a lot of seats in the middle and then the doors to the gates against the wall. In the back of the chairs is a cafe/coffee shop, but that was about it (the international side wasn't much better, and to read about that, check out the post on kenya airways). Mainly you just sit and wait, and do some plane-spotting.

There are about 3 or 4 Tanzania-based airlines which fly around the country (and sometimes to other parts of the continent) and the one that has gotten most of the attention is 'fastjet', the startup founded by easyjet's stelios. fastjet does fly to zanzibar, but not from DAR to ZNZ. From DAR it flies to some northern cities, but mainly to other cities within the continent (very inexpensive fares to South Africa).

About 30 mins prior to the departure time, we were called for boarding. It was a little haphazard and there was no boarding announcement; they just opened the door to the gate which is was supposed to go through and people just started going through.

entrance via the rear of the plane

The plane is a turboprop and you enter from the rear of the plane (the front of the plane has no entrance). Boarding went fine and we were all seated and ready to go by the scheduled departure time.

The seats on the plane were generally comfortable and the pitch was pretty decent (I am 6'1 and I did not have an issue). As it is a small plane, there is not a lot of storage space up top or underneath your seat, so keep that in mind.

The flying time to ZNZ is 15-minutes, yep, 15 minutes so there was really no time to experience the service of Precision Air. When we landed at ZNZ, some passengers got off while others were continuing on. Precision Air usually does a loop so it goes from DAR to ZNZ to NBO and back to DAR; or DAR to ZNZ to another African city and then back to DAR - it picks up passengers at each stop (if you are on the first stop, very convenient, but if you are on the last stop then very inconvenient). We landed at ZNZ on time and were let out on the runway to walk to the airport.

For our return, we needed to change our flight again so we went to the Precision Air office in Zanzibar city (near Muzammil building with all the other airline offices) to change our flight. The wait time was somewhat lengthy, but the agent was very nice and easily helped us change our flight (for a fee this time since this was our second change, the first is free and the second costs money - not that much though; about $30 for 3 passengers). The return flight went equally smoothly and there were already passengers on board from Precision Air's earlier leg.

baggage pick-up @ ZNZ

Overall, the price was pretty good, the plane was nice and in working order and it was a 15-minute flight which I am glad I choose (when we got to Zanzibar, we were told that due to the rainy season the waters had been extremely choppy so many ferry services were cancelled for days). Yes there can be delays and there can be issues (there was an in-flight magazine with a letter from the Airline's CEO which detailed the financial trouble the airline was in and how it had to return two boeing planes, which it had required for expansion outside the country, which it is no longer doing). Having said all that, the flight was smooth, it was fast and efficient, and it was a decent price so what more can you ask for :)