Airports and Airlines

Cyclefrance · 03-27-2006, 02:40 PM

Can't think why I started this. Oh, yeah, I'm sitting in the middle of Doha Airport, Qatar, waiting for my connecting flight to Shanghai. Just signed in to the WiFi freebie here, so God know who else is reading this. Anyway, local time is 23.20, and I take off at 00.30 for nine hours of flying.

So just to pass time, my impressions of the airports and airline I've used so far.

London Heathrow, Terminal 3 - after the chaos of terminals 1 & 2, no.3 is a pleasant surpise. Quite well laid out, plenty of shops and a reasonabe selectin of food and drink stations as well. Luckily I'm flying business class (what a poser!), courtesy of the company I'm training for when I get to Shanghai, so have been able to use the lounge at Heathrow as well as here at Doha, which leads me to....

Doha - well outside the lounge it's pretty chaotic, too many people for the current place, but they seem to have noticed this as work is well advanced on an extended terminal, so I would expect the place to be totally different in 6 months time. On the plus side, I did get chauffeur driven from the tarmac to the arrivals building in a BMW 7 series - beats strap hanging on a bus!

Qatar Airways - my chosen airline - very competitive on pricing, and I must say that the service is exceptional. I was trying to find a price competitive with the China Eastern Airlines, that the company wanted me to use. They operate a direct flight but the seats only reclined to 120 degrees. Qatar's go to a flat 165 degrees configuration. The price was £100 more than CEA, but CEA could only offer flights on Sunday out and Saturday back, whereas Qatar go daily meaning a saving on hotel bills, so Qatar was given the green light.

How time flies - 11.45 nearly already, and soon be boarding..

I'll try to find somewhere to communicate once settled in Shanghai.

TTFN

Pie · 03-27-2006, 04:29 PM

Hey CF -- what does your sig mean? Babelfish gives this highly dubious translation:

Quote:

I know my onions - those are has each dimension of my bicycle

Travel safely!

Trilby · 03-28-2006, 07:25 AM

How come CF is living the life i was meant to live?

Cyclefrance · 03-28-2006, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pie

Hey CF -- what does your sig mean? Babelfish gives this highly dubious translation:

quote:
I know my onions - those are has each dimension of my bicycle
unquote

Travel safely!

Babelfish is almost correct, and, naturally, I can forgive a technologically marred application for producing such an imperfect interpretation.

In truth it is a play on words, 'I know my onions' is an old English saying that means 'I am very capable of doing what I know best', but, in an obviously (now) vain attempt at humour, I thought I would tie this to the old cliche image of the Frenchman with his bicycle, either side of which would be hung voluminous bunches of onions - a graphic description of the French onion-seller, as he was affectionately known in my younger days. The literal translation of the second sentence is therefore: 'they are each side of my bicycle'.

Well, it brought a tear to my eye, anyway - and to avoid mis-interpretation I meant that to be a tear of laughter... but they could just have been induced by the onions, I suppose...

Cyclefrance · 03-28-2006, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

How come CF is living the life i was meant to live?

Green grass and fences, my dear, green grass and fences. It is not quite all it seems. The week's programme consists of 26 hours in airports and aeroplanes on the way out (also generating a time difference of 8 hours), and this is followed by two by ten hour days standing in front of 60+ Chinese teaching them, via a translator, about the shipping market. This is no sooner completed than it is a case of returning to the airport for another 26 hours of air travel in order to get home, Arrival time in the UK permits 48 hours to get the old body back into UK hours and in shape for regular work from Monday morning. And I haven't even touched on the time spent preparing the training course in the first place....

Aaah, the joys and romance of international travel... so overrated...!

wolf · 03-29-2006, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclefrance

The literal translation of the second sentence is therefore: 'they are each side of my bicycle'.

So, the onion thing ... is it or is it not a reference to your testicles?

Kitsune · 03-30-2006, 08:58 AM

Atlanta Hartsfield International is traveler hell. If you have a connecting flight and don't have an hour between flights, god is the only entity that can help you. All transportation is automated, but there is only one train that runs between all seven concourses. Each concourses has around 36 gates and you could end up literally walking several miles to get to your aircraft. With arond ~2,700 flights per day, there is no easy way to organize this place. All WiFi is charged by the hour. The good news: this place is so busy that you'll find some kind of bar or eatery open at almost any hour.

Tampa International - By far my favorite airport and was long before I moved here. Difficult to get lost, parking and finding your car is simple, and all transportation is automated (except for the new, long term deck) with each airside having a dedicated train. Free WiFi throughout the entire airport, too.

Dulles International cracked me up because the airsides are removed from the terminal and no trains link them. How do you get to your flight? You climb aboard a large, raised bus that drives across the tarmac. Atop the bus are massive, white fins that help the vehicle be noticed by taxiing aircraft, giving the impression of people-filled sharks traversing the airport. Ground traffic can easily delay you.

Worst airport people mover, ever!

glatt · 03-30-2006, 09:07 AM

Dulles airport is amusing if you have a lot of time to kill. If not, it's very frustrating.

Cyclefrance · 03-31-2006, 10:12 AM

Attempted to post much earlier today, but battery ran out on laptop in the airport....:

Aloha Doha - God, I'm back here again already!

Shanghai Airport was (is) an amazing piece of architecture - relatively simple but stunning in appearance. Picture below - take off from here in about 2 hours so killing time using the wifi broadband as per last time.

Leg from Shanghai to here was pretty bumpy for first couple of hours - mountainous region being crossed which excelled in the turbulence creation stakes plus strong headwinds which added an hour to the scheduled transit time. Would think this is something that would be be encountererd fairly regularly.

Cyclefrance · 03-31-2006, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

So, the onion thing ... is it or is it not a reference to your testicles?

My god woman, do you think of nothing but sex?

Oh that I were that well-endowed to sport a couple of panier-sized balls, but, no, it is sadly the bulbous vegetable and its 'location francaise' (written with a French accent) I reference and nothing else. My sincere apologies if for all these months you have been carrying around a totally different and more endearing image of me in your head...

.

wolf · 04-04-2006, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclefrance

My god woman, do you think of nothing but sex?

Actually, it's Brianna that thinks of nothing but sex. I was channelling her.

I'm the professional psychic.

xoxoxoBruce · 04-05-2006, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Dulles International cracked me up because the airsides are removed from the terminal and no trains link them. How do you get to your flight? You climb aboard a large, raised bus that drives across the tarmac. Atop the bus are massive, white fins that help the vehicle be noticed by taxiing aircraft, giving the impression of people-filled sharks traversing the airport. Ground traffic can easily delay you.

Worst airport people mover, ever!

I always thought those "fins" were covers for the posts the car/body/compartment rides up and down to change elevation.

melidasaur · 04-06-2006, 12:03 AM

Toronto Airport is the WORST EVER! It is very pretty, but there is nothing to do! You are shuttled off to these little buildings where you wait to catch your plane and there is nothing in there but a duty free shop and a crappy bar. I had two 8 hour layovers there and hope to never return. Air Canada sucks.

I love Raleigh-Durham Airport - it's so easy to get around and when I lived in Chapel Hill it was only a 15 minute drive. Very convenient.

O'Hare is always fun because it is so busy, I also like London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

03-27-2006, 02:40 PM	#1
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	Airports and Airlines Can't think why I started this. Oh, yeah, I'm sitting in the middle of Doha Airport, Qatar, waiting for my connecting flight to Shanghai. Just signed in to the WiFi freebie here, so God know who else is reading this. Anyway, local time is 23.20, and I take off at 00.30 for nine hours of flying. So just to pass time, my impressions of the airports and airline I've used so far. London Heathrow, Terminal 3 - after the chaos of terminals 1 & 2, no.3 is a pleasant surpise. Quite well laid out, plenty of shops and a reasonabe selectin of food and drink stations as well. Luckily I'm flying business class (what a poser!), courtesy of the company I'm training for when I get to Shanghai, so have been able to use the lounge at Heathrow as well as here at Doha, which leads me to.... Doha - well outside the lounge it's pretty chaotic, too many people for the current place, but they seem to have noticed this as work is well advanced on an extended terminal, so I would expect the place to be totally different in 6 months time. On the plus side, I did get chauffeur driven from the tarmac to the arrivals building in a BMW 7 series - beats strap hanging on a bus! Qatar Airways - my chosen airline - very competitive on pricing, and I must say that the service is exceptional. I was trying to find a price competitive with the China Eastern Airlines, that the company wanted me to use. They operate a direct flight but the seats only reclined to 120 degrees. Qatar's go to a flat 165 degrees configuration. The price was £100 more than CEA, but CEA could only offer flights on Sunday out and Saturday back, whereas Qatar go daily meaning a saving on hotel bills, so Qatar was given the green light. How time flies - 11.45 nearly already, and soon be boarding.. I'll try to find somewhere to communicate once settled in Shanghai. TTFN __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears

03-28-2006, 07:25 AM	#3
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	How come CF is living the life i was meant to live? __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

03-31-2006, 10:12 AM	#9
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	Attempted to post much earlier today, but battery ran out on laptop in the airport....: Aloha Doha - God, I'm back here again already! Shanghai Airport was (is) an amazing piece of architecture - relatively simple but stunning in appearance. Picture below - take off from here in about 2 hours so killing time using the wifi broadband as per last time. Leg from Shanghai to here was pretty bumpy for first couple of hours - mountainous region being crossed which excelled in the turbulence creation stakes plus strong headwinds which added an hour to the scheduled transit time. Would think this is something that would be be encountererd fairly regularly. Attached Images __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears Last edited by Cyclefrance; 03-31-2006 at 12:10 PM. Reason: add picture

04-06-2006, 12:03 AM	#13
melidasaur Traded your soul for pogs. Join Date: May 2004 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 646	Toronto Airport is the WORST EVER! It is very pretty, but there is nothing to do! You are shuttled off to these little buildings where you wait to catch your plane and there is nothing in there but a duty free shop and a crappy bar. I had two 8 hour layovers there and hope to never return. Air Canada sucks. I love Raleigh-Durham Airport - it's so easy to get around and when I lived in Chapel Hill it was only a 15 minute drive. Very convenient. O'Hare is always fun because it is so busy, I also like London Heathrow and London Gatwick. __________________ I love England, what can I say?

03-30-2006, 08:58 AM	#7
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	Atlanta Hartsfield International is traveler hell. If you have a connecting flight and don't have an hour between flights, god is the only entity that can help you. All transportation is automated, but there is only one train that runs between all seven concourses. Each concourses has around 36 gates and you could end up literally walking several miles to get to your aircraft. With arond ~2,700 flights per day, there is no easy way to organize this place. All WiFi is charged by the hour. The good news: this place is so busy that you'll find some kind of bar or eatery open at almost any hour. Tampa International - By far my favorite airport and was long before I moved here. Difficult to get lost, parking and finding your car is simple, and all transportation is automated (except for the new, long term deck) with each airside having a dedicated train. Free WiFi throughout the entire airport, too. Dulles International cracked me up because the airsides are removed from the terminal and no trains link them. How do you get to your flight? You climb aboard a large, raised bus that drives across the tarmac. Atop the bus are massive, white fins that help the vehicle be noticed by taxiing aircraft, giving the impression of people-filled sharks traversing the airport. Ground traffic can easily delay you. Worst airport people mover, ever!

03-30-2006, 09:07 AM	#8
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Dulles airport is amusing if you have a lot of time to kill. If not, it's very frustrating.

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