LX183

I just got home not too long ago from my first day at school. It had been a rather busy few days over the new year period and I, myself had been fleeting here and there over the weekend, literally.
This entry will be the locus of a most magical new year's eve I had! In which, I flew high above and reached the clouds, again literally.
This is because on this last day of 2005, I had taken a flight onboard Swiss International Airlines to Bangkok, Thailand, Land of Smiles. My flight was LX183 scheduled as 9.20pm departure to Bangkok. Boarding time was at 8.20pm. I had been so excited about my flight I didn't slept well the previous night. And armed with a large water bottle, numerous stationary to record my adventure, my trusty camera and a pair of tired dark-ring-encircled eyes, I was ready for my flight!
I had checked in early at the airport, which had been relatively empty. I wandered around, enjoying the seemingly spirit of sadness all around of the loss of a year and yet the excitement that glowed in the faces of the passengers as a new year awaits. I personally was thrilled to have this opportunity to enjoy the last LX183 flight of the year. (The next day, I would enjoy the first LX182 flight of 2006!)
Here are some pix taken at the airport.

Can you spot my flight on the display board? Swiss International Airlines LX183 to Zurich codeshare with Qantas Airways QF3853.










On the left is the display board outside Gate 44, displaying the details of Korean Air KE642 to Seoul. I would like to try Korean Air some day. Its one of my favourite airlines too.
On the right, that's the flight I was about to take. For those of you who don't know, a codeshare agreement is an agreement between two airlines in which an airline can sell seats on another airline's flights. In this case, QANTAS Airways can sell tickets to passengers travelling to Bangkok/Zurich on Swiss International Airlines flight LX183, though none of their crew will be on board, and the aircraft used belongs to Swiss International Airlines. There, here you go, that's codeshare for you. So don't get mixed up when you see another airlines' flight numbers on your flight's display board. I have heard of cases of aunties who refuse to board Cathay Pacific flights because they are codeshare with American Airlines and they had presumed the airline was a US airline and deemed unsafe to travel on.

Back to my flight, I went early to the boarding gate and waited in the waiting lounge. I noticed there were many Indian nationals on my flight, which had relatively few passengers, about 60 I guess. A few QANTAS passengers, noticeable by their QANTAS luggage tags and.... a whole troop of Thai ladyboys! Or in Thai, "Katoeys" or "Toot Toot". Or in mandarin, we prefer to address them as "Ren Yao" which literally means "human demon". Well... the most amusing part was, from a distance they were having a conversation in rather manly deep tones but as I walked near them, they changed to a feminine high-pitched voice. Actually the more amusing part is they totally looked like young pretty ladies, unfortunately, their macho vocals betrayed their womanly appearance.

The registration number of my aircraft is HB-JMG, delivered to Swiss International Airlines on 22 December 2003. It was an Airbus A340-313X and the interior was very new and clean. I liked the brown chairs complimented by classy ebony food trays and individual entertainment systems. When I entered into the economy cabin, I was astounded to see a young beautiful stewardess, who greeted me, "Good evening" in a pleasant soft tone. Sheepishly, I just muttered "hello... good evening". So much for hitting up on pretty girls. blah...

The pilot welcomed us in English and German, and a recording of welcome messages in Thai and Mandarin was played. Soothing music was played as the plane taxiied on the runway for departure. We pushed back at 9.27pm and departed soon after at 9.51pm. I was pleased with the smoothness of the takeoff. During the flight, we cruised at an altitude of 38 000 feet or 11 582 metres at a maximum speed of about 968km/hr.

The meal was served quickly after the takeoff and the smell was soo good. I think I almost drooled after catching a whiff of the aroma that was overwhelming the cabin. It turned out to be Asian style fried noodles with generous chunks of chicken. It tasted delicious! Though the portion was small, I enjoyed my meal very much, partially due to the warmth and politeness of the crew. There was a small piece of rashberry (?) cake for dessert and I downed my meal with a Carbernet Sauvignon Californian Special Selected Red Wine, served by a friendly steward who offered to help me take a photo, speaking to me in a foreign tongue until I realised later after the meal, he was talking to me in Thai! I was surprised when he came back smiling and said, "Aroi! Aroi!" which means delicious in Thai. Here are some photos of my meal

However, I was really delighted at the superb service provided by the flight crew, all Europeans I guess. There were smiles all the way and the friendliness lit up my entire journey. I was offered another bun from a basket and drink service twice! Each time, a different flight crew attended to me. I would like to give thanks to a special flight attendent, M. Jeger who, noticed I was jotting down the flight information, gave me two postcards! She was this really nice blonde lady who chatted with me about the different models of planes Swiss International owns and gladly signed an autograph I requested after I was moved by her and her team's excellent performance. It was definately my best flight experience ever!Well... like all good things, it had to end when I arrived in Bangkok at 10.27pm Bangkok time, 11.27pm Singapore time. I packed my stuff and left the plane, bidded farewell by the wonderful flight crew who wished me a happy new year. Yeah I had one. Thanks to you guys.