Aircalin flight took me on a largely delightful trip from Singapore to Noumea but there were some chaotic glitches. Société Aircalin, also known as Air Calédonie International, is the flag carrier of the French collectivity of New Caledonia, with its headquarters in Nouméa. This small regional airline operates flights to various destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and French Polynesia. Air Calin operates a fleet of modern Airbus aircraft, including the A330-900neo and A320neo. The beautiful A330-900neo is the flagship aircraft of Air Calin’s fleet, and it accommodates 292 passengers with…
Trip Reports
Category Archives for Trip Reports.
Stepping off my 1500th flight!
I am thrilled/stunned/amused/shocked to find that following my most recent flight from Manila to Melbourne, I have now flown 1,500 times!!!! This milestone feels like a significant achievement! 86 times, almost 87 times around this earth and nine times the distance to the moon! In 1968 I stepped onto my first plane and I was hooked! When I was a kid, I had flown so often that I begged my parents to take us by train from Nigeria to Australia instead of flying!! I have decided that for me, there are so many highlights of…
Best Flight Of 2022 With World’s Best Airline
Three years ago, my best flight of 2019 was with my favourite airline: Qatar Airways. In 2020, like most people, I ventured not far from home and in 2021 I only travelled within Thailand. Last year, saw me carefully resuming international travel. Of the 68 flights I had through 2022, the best flight of 2022 was again with Qatar Airways. Booking One of my hobbies is trawling the net for the best flight deals I can find. Sometimes I pinch myself at my successes! I picked up a very affordable Cathay Pacific flight from Doha…
A Year of Walking Thailand
In 2021, my goal was to walk or run 2,400KM (1,440 miles) which is kind of a lot in a year! With lockdowns in Thailand (where I am based) shutting down pubs, clubs, restaurants, pools, gyms, beaches, parks and shops for most of the year there was little else to do but walk in 34 to 37 degrees Celsius (93 to 94 Fahrenheit). The result was I actually reached a record for me of 3212 kilometres Yes, I should have pushed to get to that magic 2000 miles! This is almost the same distance as…
Walking 116 miles across Bangkok for MS
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease where the body’s own immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. This results in many different symptoms, including vertigo vision loss, pain, fatigue and impaired coordination. We still do not fully know how it starts, and how we can halt its destructive progress. Inspired by colleagues with MS, I have, every year, run or walked across multiple world cities to raise funds for research. This year, I chose to walk and/or run 100 miles (160km) through May in my 2020 home of Bangkok, Thailand. As you…
Have you been to Thailand?- Help out!
The whole world has been impacted by COVID19. Economically, socially, every single person is having some impact. We think of those who have died from the virus and those currently struggling to overcome it. Some people have been impacted wore than others. In Thailand, many people have had already meager incomes vanish. A coalition of groups in Thailand have formed COVID19 AID to help vulnerable groups across Thailand during COVID-19 through: 8,000 Care Packages for seniors, low-income families, refugees and people in need 12,500 Meals for the homeless Emergency supplies for professionals battling the virus…
Dodging National Closures – Last Plane to Bangkok
I was in the USA for family reasons on a long arranged trip and was in the Northern suburbs of Philadelphia, USA. My Home base is in the northern suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand. Having worked in public health, I monitored the virus carefully. As the infections accelerated flight cancellations, lockdowns and compulsory quarantined accelerated. I decided to cut short my US business and get back to Bangkok. This was a rather nerve wracking trip as I tried to dodge the virus, country closures and airline shutdowns. Booking Finding a way home from Philadelphia proved to…
Two stunning Qatar 350 Flights- my best trips Ever
Qatar Airways has been my favourite airline for five years now in both economy and business class. I have not yet had the privilege of flying Qatar first class. Today’s two stunning flights were from Bangkok to Doha and then Doha to Vienna. They were so good that I didn’t want to get off the plane at the end! Qatar Airways continues to edge out Emirates for my number one favourite carrier. At third place sits Cathay Pacific. Booking I find that Qatar Airways offers one of the most user-friendly online booking systems of any airline. They…
NOK Air Trip Report
If you travel around Thailand, you will see Nok’s bold yellow planes with an image of a bird at the front of the aircraft nose. The word “Nok” is Thai for Bird. I have flown them half a dozen times and recently, I joined them for a flight from Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok’s smaller airport: Don Muang. Don Munag (DMK) handles domestic and regional flights and is not to be confused with the bigger and busier Suvarnabhumi Airport. Booking: 10/10 Their easy to use website delivers and their app is one of the best…
Hong Kong Airlines revisited – Trip Report Bangkok – HK return
This is a follow on from last month’s trip report on Hong Kong Airlines. Prior to trying them late last year, I had not heard much about Hong Kong Airlines. Their Partnership with Virgin Australia (which I have Platinum status with) was the motivation to fly them and now after four delightful flights with them, I am hooked. The only issue is the on-going speculation, that they may not survive financially. This promopted me to ask the question in my last report ” are they a great airline but a lousy business?: Booking: 6/10…
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