Priority Pass *Update*

Following my recent acquisition of a Priority Pass lounge card I have to say that I’m finding it very useful and value for money.

I recently made the following flights used the lounge at each each sector: Singapore-Kuala Lumpur-Dubai-London Heathrow. After calling home to collect my wife in KL I paid the joiners fee in each lounge and the free WiFi, food and comfy seats was appreciated. Perhaps now the complaints have finally be vindicated.

Upon arriving at Heathrow we had a few hours to kill before the National Express bus arrived so we used the Air Canada Arrivals Lounge. Whilst this doesn't come close to the Virgin Revivals lounge it does have clean bathrooms with hot showers and offers a great location to freshen up after a flight.

Airport Lounge Access with Priority Pass

Access to airport business lounges is typically only gained if you are an airline CIP (commercially important passenger) however throughout world there are some shared lounges which you either pay on the door, book a visit using one of the many holiday add companies or join a lounge membership scheme such as Priority Pass.

Being a regular air traveller I try to keep my time at the airport to the absolute minimum and often grab a quick snack/drink on the way though. I'm fortunate that my weekly commute is between Singapore (Changi) and Kuala Lumpur which are two very good airports.

During my usual routine which involves a quick stop here and there followed by a snack (sandwich/burger meal) which costs SGD 7-10 and if there is a queue its very rushed pitstop.

Following my recent protracted delay at Changi I started thinking that things things would be easier if I can get lounge access so that I can just sit down, relax and nibble on some snacks.

In some previous roles I was fortunate to travel business class on a regular basis and become accustomed to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge however those privileges have long since passed.

After some research I found that the Priority Pass Membership scheme looked good and offered several membership plans based around usage including an unlimited visit plan. Some further searching led me to some discount codes which gave USD 80 discount on the first year as well as renewal making the total cost per year at USD 319.

Whilst this is no small sum I estimate that I will use the lounges 65+ times per year which equates to around USD 5 per visit.

Not all of the lounges offer alcohol however the Plaza Premium lounge has a beer tap and when a pint of beer in the bar opposite will cost around USD 10+ the Priority Pass membership starts look very good value.

Now when my wife (The Lady in Seat 12B) found out the conversation went along the lines of, you have bought what? why do you need this because the trip is only short? makan why do you need to makan at the airport, why do you  etc etc  etc......

The conversation carried on until I made it clear that any more complaints and the treasury would be carrying out an audit on expenditure at Watsons, Guardian and all the other beauty places frequented over the past 24 months following which a reluctant approval was given... sweet!

Laptop Chairs @ Changi Airport

In many airports around the world trying to find a working internet connection is a massive task on its own let alone finding a free connection that actually works.

Changi Airport is undoubtedly one of the top airports in the world and due to its efficiency many travellers arrive check in fairly late and bypass many of its great facilities. As a frequent traveller I fall into this category and from time to time I take notice of the new facilities for travellers.

Free Wifi is available throughout Changi and it actually works well. In addition to this there are several internet points with PC and laptop docking desks available in the quieter corners of the departure lounge. Now if this isn't enough some of the gate lounges also have laptop chairs which contain a power point a a retractable LAN cable.

On one of my recent trips I arrived early at the gate and thought I'd try out the laptop chair and I’m pleased to say that its works well.

Not to be outdone KLIA has finally fixed its free Wifi and it seems to work consistently albeit slowly.

Some thoughts on 10 years ago

I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday yet my memory of 11th September 2001 is still very clear. It was a day the world changed for the worse and day so many lives were shattered. I was on a home leave trip back in the UK as the attack happened and will never forget feeling when I first saw the planes hitting the WTC.

A few days later I flew back to Malaysia on a very tense flight with hardly a smile from anybody. Apart from increased security in some areas KL was completely normal, which was in stark contrast to the hysteria in the UK press about what life as westerner would be like in a muslim majority country after 9/11.

A lot has happened over the last 10 years in the world and the legacy of 9/11 was felt tonight when I had to go through the usual hassle of the airport security check.

Sitting on my short flight home tonight it was a moment to remember all those lost 10 years ago - RIP.

Singapore to KL on MAS and what a disaster it was!

The Man in Seat 12A is back!

As regular traveller I’m well used to flight delays and even the odd cancellation with some of the less well run airlines such as Tiger Airways.

Following a long break from Malaysia Airlines mainly due to cost issues I managed to secure a reasonably priced SIN-KUL return ticket oleaving on the Friday 18:15 flight (MH608). After arranging an early finish I was feeling chuffed because would be home in time supper and I managed to get my usual seat.

Upon arriving at the gate despite the screens showing on time I found out that the nice new shiny b737-800 had a delay of 20+ mins.

Things then took a turn for the worse when the take off was aborted whilst speeding down the runway due to a technical problem.

After parking up for a while we moved to another gate where were kept on the plane for a further 1 hour and occasionally told that they were trouble shooting a technical problem before they decided to offload us.

On the positive side I had lots of legroom in the emergency exit row

I couldn't help look at the SQ/Silk air flights leaving and wish I had travelled on them like I usually do.

 
Nobody thought to stop the delayed 19:15 flight or even move people to the silk Air fight at 20:00 and to make matters worse the 21:15 flight was almost full so people with MAS connections were prioritised over others.

When I challenged one of the cabin steward's I received as to why we were not updated and the other flight held etc I received a rather condescending response which was met with some comments I’m not proud off.

Upon being dumped back in the terminal a complete lack of information from the ground ensured that the situation was a complete shambles. The ground staff at the gate didn’t want to make an announcement and seemed completely clueless.
 

Unhappy passengers

   
Some people were being rebooked on the 21:15 flight others were told that the flight is going at 22:00 and some were given food and beverage vouchers. After a period of time we were all asked to just go to the food court and show our boarding pass to get a brink and a sandwich.

Again chaos occurred because they don’t sell sandwiches and many people were asking can I have this or can I that

With budget airlines you almost expect a poor service but with a full service carrier such as Malaysia Airlines I expect better.

Fortunately the late night inbound flight which stays in Singapore was used to take us back to KL at approx. 00:40 and the men with spanners were due to work on the broken plane overnight.

Upon boarding the old 737-400 I realised that Seat 12A exist and the cabin crew said that the ground crew should have move my seat.  Fortunately for me that even with the crew of the original flight travelling as passengers there were spare seats for me to take.

So after leaving leaving my office at 16:55 I arrived back home in KL at 02:45 due to a 6:40h delay.

On Saturday I curiously checked the Changi website and found that the early morning flight from SIN-KUL was cancelled. I guess there the plane wasn’t fixed and/or there wasn’t a crew available.

Well done MAS you screwed up my evening as well as a plane full of people on Saturday morning.

Journey to Bangkok

We recently took a trip to Bangkok and thought we would try Air Asia’s online/mobile check in service. Between us we have a BlackBerry and an Iphone and found that both applications worked well. When using a phone you are issued a bar code which you need to validate and then a boarding pass is printed from the terminal.

Upon arriving at KL’s LCCT we headed for the self service check in machines only to be initially confused over which terminals to use.



The web/printed boarding pass machines are on the right of the pic and mobile phone readers are on the left. Its disappointing that the separate machines are needed however I believe that this will be addressed at some point in the future.




The check in process worked well and we then proceeded to the baggage drop counter. Fortunately the counter was not busy but my perception is that if you need to drop baggage then the process takes just as long as it would if we checked in at a normal counter.

Just after check in I discovered this Police View box. With the modern day CCTV installed and armed patrols walking around is there really a need for a policeman to stand on a wooden box?

The flight as operated by Thai Air Asia and was pretty standard and the pre ordered hotdog was quite tasty for an airline snack

Arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport was via a domestic gate which meant slow a disembarkation whilst we waited for buses to ferry us to the international section.

The airport has been the centre of much controversy with the current complaint being around the immigration queues. Unfortunately we were not sparred and the hall was packed with the slow working officers taking almost 1 hour to process our queue.

The local media has reported that the problems are compounded by the immigration department not having any budget left to pay overtime so the airport authority will be paying millions of Thai baht try and prevent even more problem during the upcoming festive season.

Bangkok is now the proud owner of an airport express train with services being mixed between express and commuter stopping trains with the latter extended to Phaya Thai which is linked to the Skytrain station . The express train to the City Air Terminal takes 15mins and costs THB 150 and the city commuter train takes 30mins costs THB 45.

Depending on where you are staying and the traffic situation it could be much quicker however I know that the traffic around the City Air Terminal at Makassan can be very congested. Owing to us arriving early evening and staying just off Sukhumvit we decided to take the commuter train to Phaya Thai and then take the BTS to Nana.

The train was busy and we were lucky to get a seat however the ride was smooth and journey passed quickly. Upon arrival at Phaya Thai we found that there is no down escalator and the single lift was very small which resulted in a queue forming.

The connection to the BTS involves some staircases and at Nana station there is a long set of stairs to descend which is not easy with a heavy bag.

Considering that this is an airport link its disappointing that the designers haven’t seen fit to provide sufficient ease of access for people with baggage.

The train does provide a fast value for money alternative to taking a taxi and can be usful is you have light luggage and arrive in peak times.

KUL-SIN - A Commuters Story

For the past 4 years I’ve been a regular commuter between KL and Singapore and must have spent countless hours and dollars on flights and long distances buses between these two locations. A few people have asked me what it’s like to like to travel the 330+ km on a weekly or even twice weekly basis.

My preferred way of travelling when I’m not in a rush or when public/school holidays are taking place is by bus due to the value and comfort that they provide. Taking a flight is usually quicker provided that you minimise the wait time at the airport and everything runs like clockwork with no delays whatsoever. The total journey time for a flight is typically is 3.5-4 hrs vs 5-6 hrs by bus

Last Sunday I took AK709 from KL to Singapore and I thought I’d record some of the trip details and show you what a typical journey is like.

• Trip Date: Sunday 23/1/11
• Flight: AK (Air Asia) 709
• Time: 17:00

Owing to my haphazard travel planning the ticket was purchased around 24 hours before the flight at a cost of MYR283 which included a hot seat for extra leg room. No luggage option was needed due to myself only having hand luggage.

  

A taxi was booked to pick me up at 15:00 and as usual they arrived a little early. The journey from Wangsa Maju to KLIA/LCCT usually takes around 50-55 mins however owing to the rather poor mechanical condition of the taxi (Proton Wira) that started shaking if the driver exceeded 88 km/h the journey took a little longer than usual.

For many foreigners their first experience of a Proton is when they travel in a taxi and I’m sure that they are mentally scared for life with an image of a dirty, noisy, uncomfortable car with questionable maintenance forever ingrained on them.

We arrived at the LCCT at 16:01 and the taxi cost was MYR 80 inc toll which is about normal. Another much cheaper option is to take the LRT and then the shuttle bus from the KL Sentral however it adds a considerable amount of time and pretty much removes the upside of the quicker travel time that flying provides.

The LCCT is basically a large cargo hanger type of building containing rather basic and basic industrial style fixtures. Owing to the popularity of the budget airlines the terminal was way over capacity and an extension was added to ease the pressure on the terminal. The extension has helped somewhat but I find the place more akin to a bus station than an airport and its the complete opposite to the relaxing ambiance and fantastic architecture of the main terminal.

A few pics of the terminal are below:

  

A brand new LCCT is currently being build to the west of the airport and once open in a few years time the current building will revert to cargo use or be demolished

The LCCT is only a few hundred meters away from the main terminal however owing to the road layout a terminal transfer entails a 20km drive. As per the local press some plans are being discussed to look at other options which may involve transiting people airside.

   

For Singapore flights the check in boards will always display Kiosk for the checkin counter due to the airline wanting you to use the self serve or web check in facilities. Air Asia now allow people to book tickets up to 4 hours before departure however owing to credit card processing times any tickets booked within 48 hours are prohibited from using the web or self serv check in counters.

For the inexperienced traveller this can be confusing and I'm sure that many people must wonder round looking for counter ‘kiosk’.

  

As a regular I usually give the board a cursory glance and head to counters S8/9 for check in. These counters are used mainly for the flights to Thailand and most of the time I’ve been lucky not to encounter significant queues.

Check in was swift and completed by 16:07 so with my stomach yelling lapar lapar (very hungry) it was time to grab a quick snack at McDonalds. The restaurant was it usual busy self and full of people buying the bare minimum food or drinks so that they can sit there for hours playing on their laptops or reading a book. As a solo traveller it really winds me up when I can’t easily get a seat because of all the people facebook’ing, talking or even sleeping!

 

As with the main terminal the food costs more than that found of the majority of McD’s outlets and they sneakily try and hide it my changing the menu format and listing the price of just the burger and the fries/drink as an add on to make seem cheaper rather than just displaying the total price.

Food was completed by 16:24 and it was time to walk round to the immigration counters. Despite there being only a few counters open the immigration and security formalities were completed swiftly.

  

The now extended LCCT is now much better then when it opened and a few shops and food outlets have been added just after security prior to descending to the gate level. As I was collecting my bags from the xray machine the first call boarding was made at 16:32. Air Asia  customers who purchase hot seats are also entitled to priority boarding so to ensure that I didn’t miss out on this I rushed to the gate hence the lack of photos of the gate area.

  

Fortunately today there were no delays and after a minute or two we were allowed to start walking to Gate F62 to board the aircraft.

Air Asia run an extremely efficient turn around operation and today was no exception. I noticed that the last of the arriving passengers were still disembarking from the aircraft as I walking to the gate and upon boarding the crew were still wiping clean the last few seats. 

 


   

None of the gates at the LCCT have aero bridges so a walk in the heat and noise is needed to reach your aircraft. Although the A320 is a small jet aircraft, when standing at ground level it size seems anything but small.



  


 

The crew of an adjacent aircraft finding time for a chat. Photography in this part of the airport is forbidden so you have to be discrete and quick.  

I boarded the aircraft at 16:38 and owing to my regular seat being booked I was temporarily the man in seat 14a today. 

  

Rows 12 and 14 are adjacent to the over wing emergency exits and provide greater leg room. The only downside apart from the extra cost is that row 12 doesn't recline and row 14 only reclines on some aircraft

Most people found their seat quickly however there are always a few people who seem to be lost or only just realised that there are not sat with the partner because they didn’t pay extra to choose their seats.

Whilst waiting for everybody to board I snapped a few pics from the window

At 16:51 boarding was completed and the doors were closed a few minutes later. After a short taxi to runway 32R we departed at 17:03 heading north before making a u-turn back towards Singapore.

Despite the flight duration being short I typically snooze, catch up reading magazines or listen to music.

Owing to the journey being pretty short the relatively low cruising altitude of approx 22,000 ft is reached quickly and typically only a few minutes are spent at this level.  All too quickly at 17:23 it was time to start our descent as we passed the town of Batu Pahat. The decent was quite bumpy until we were below the clouds which is quite normal owing to the large amount of tropical storms that take place every day along the coast line. 

Due to the abundance of clouds photo opportunities were limited so I've added one from a recent Silk Air flight. The pic below shows Pulau Kukup and if you look at the top right of the pic the coastline of Tuas (Singapore) is just visible. 

Today we were vectored around the south of Singapore over the Riau Islands of Indonesia and seemed to take a slightly more southerly route than usual.

Due to some GPS issues the I've used sample track from a few weeks ago although the route was almost the exact same taken on this flight.

A landing from the south on the left runway at Changi provides fine views of East Coast Park and the sprawling condominiums dotted along the coast.

The pictures below were taken on a recent trip back to Singapore and start with a hazy Marina Bay and end with The Bayshore condominium (my old home).

A smooth landing was performed at 17:43 and we arrived at T1's gate D37 a few minutes later. Disembarkation of a single aisle aircraft is never quick however from from row 14 it only took around 5 minutes.

Terminal 1 is undergoing major renovations which also includes an extension to the retail area. As a result of this parts of the terminal are closed off with screens to hide the construction work. In T1,2 & 3 there are two immigration halls at each end of the terminal and a little tip to share is that if one is full then take a short walk to the other because it’s usually quieter.

As a Singapore employment pass holder I’m able to use the ICAS system (Immigration Automated Clearance System ). This is a superb system that reads your passport/access card and then performs a fingerprint scan thus allowing me to clear immigration in less than 1 minute.

Today I was travelling light with just some small hand baggage so a few minutes after leaving immigration I boarded a taxi at 18:00 reaching home at 18:23.

The total journey time was 3:23 which is pretty good going and close to the best I’ve had which is about 3:15. I hope that this gives you a little insight into my regular rather tedious commute that I perform.

Strange numbering system in Jakarta

As a fairly seasoned traveller I tend to be on auto pilot when traversing the local airports here. On Sunday morning whilst travelling back from Jakarta to Singapore I encountered a situation that totally stumped me.

For those of you who have not been to Soekarno-Hatta airport before all the check in desks are laid out consecutively from 1-100+. As usual I entered the airport around half way point and found that Tiger airways were using desk 101. Its a fair walk to the end and after passing desk 98 the next few were closed and had no number. I continued to walk and ended upon the domestic section without any luck finding the Tiger airways check in crew. Walking back the other way musing to myself wondering if the previous night had affected more than I thought I still couldn’t find the desk. After walking back almost to where I started I gave in and asked for help. The kind Thai airways staff pointed me towards the start of the desks. Despite highlighting that my desk was at 101 and not number 1 they insisted it was correct.

Sceptical  and wondering if they were trying to inflict more pain on tired looking bule I forced quick smile followed by a terima kasih I carried on walking. After a few minutes I finally I found my desk #101.

Mystery solved, the numbering system at the airport is as follows:

• 1,2,3-24
• Followed by 99, 100,101. 102
• Followed by 25-98 then followed by a few unnumbered desks

Is it a ploy to make people late so they miss their flights thus making more money for Tiger?  

I doubt it so help me here understand why some idiot designed the system like this?