Trip Reports

Category Archives for Trip Reports.

Bucket List Check: 900mi By Train from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok

Bucket list… check! A journey I have been wanting to do for over a decade! Over the last week, I travelled by rail from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia to Bangkok (BKK) in Thailand. I have previously ridden a sleeper train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (before Singapore closed its main train station). Six trains took me over 1,500 km (900 miles). Travel time was 25 hours 35 minutes (including delays and wait times). It cost me $US72 for a mix of travel in First, Second and Third class. If you went for the cheapest option (which…

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Sampling Singapore’s New Capital Express -from Canberra to the heart of Asia

CBR: Canberra, Australia to SIN, Singapore SQ292  Boeing 777-200 Scheduled Departure: 12:35  Arrival: 05:40 8 hour 5 min flight Total distance: 6,205 km/ 3,856 miles /3,351 nautical miles Canberra, the capital of Australia must be one of the few national capitals in the world to not have an network of international routes connecting it to the outside world.  This means that every flight overseas from Canberra necessitates a change in Sydney (awful place to transit) or Melbourne (better) Last September, Singapore airlines added service to Wellington and Singapore four times a week dubbing it the “Capital Express”. Qatar will start service to Doha…

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Small plane, Big Service to Amman: Royal Jordanian’s Economy

DOH: Dohar, Qatar  to AMM: Amman, Jordan RJ647  Embraer 175 Scheduled Departure: 12:30  Arrival: 14:25 2 hour 55 min flight Total distance: 1,047 miles / 1,671 km / 902 nautical miles Booking: 8/10 On this sector, it was a toss up between Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian. I figured it was time for a revisit with RJ as I have had more Qatar flights in recent days. While I believe, QR are the superior airline, RJ have a very solid, pleasant product. RJ’s website has been updated since I last used it. The improvements look visually good. The initial booking page…

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The world’s best airline: Qatar Airways Economy Dubai to Doha

DXB, Dubai International, UAE to DOH Doha Hamad International Airport  Qatar: Qatar Airways  QR1025 Scheduled Departure: 09:30  Arrival: 09:40 1hour 10 (In reality, a 40 min flight) Total distance: 235 miles /383 kilometres/ 207 nautical miles   Since I first started flying Qatar Airways five years ago, they have never let me down. Consistently high service with leading edge on everything. I often wonder if on my next trip with them, I will be disappointed. Has not happened yet! Today, a review on my shortest flight ever with them! Was curious to see if they keep their standards up!…

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All of My 2016 Trip Reports

As mentioned earlier this month, I flew 119 times for business and pleasure last year with 20 airlines in 2016. Big highlights of the year were my first five flights on the 787 Dreamliner, my first flights with Sri Lankan, my 380th flight with Qantas, my 350th flight on a Boeing 737 and flying into the Maldives. Here are the year’s ten Trip Reports (oops I need to post more Trip Reports!): 2016’s Best flight: My 380th Qantas flight in A380 FIRST – My Flight Rating: 96%  (4.8 out of 5)  My 2nd 787: Thai Business Brisbane…

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2016’s Best flight: My 380th Qantas flight in A380 FIRST

MEL, Melbourne, Australia  to DXB, Dubai, UAE  QF9 Scheduled Departure: 23:25  Arrival: 06:35 14hrs 10 mins Total distance: 7252 miles / 11671 km / 6302 nautical miles For my 380th flight with Qantas, I wanted to do something special. It had to be on a Qantas Airbus 380. That narrowed routes to: Sydney or Melbourne to  Dubai and /or London Sydney or Melbourne to Los Angeles Sydney to Dallas-Fort Worth As I was going on to Bangkok and Cebu for New Year’s Eve, the US bound flights were the least logical. So I ended up doing a…

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Air Asia-My Worst Flight of 2016: an uncomfortable journey in a crammed, cramped aircraft with unwelcoming staff.

JHB: Johor, Malaysia to DMK, Bangkok AK 1807 Departure: 19:25 Arrival: 20:42  Distance: 1,399 km -869 miles 755 nautical miles  I know it is not yet the end of the year yet but my award for the worst flight, out of 107 so far for the year goes to Air Asia Malaysia. I rate each flight I take for every factor from Booking to Check-in right through to deplaning and keep a tally of my rating using Flightmemory.com.  The scores averaged out gives me the ranking of flights, airlines and airports. I have never been a fan of discount carrier AirAsia but they were…

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My 5th Dreamliner Flight: Jetstar “Business” to Singapore

MEL, Melbourne, Australia  to SIN, Singapore  JQ7 Scheduled Departure: 12:00 Arrival: 16:50 Actual Departure: 13:34 Arrival: 18:06 Total distance: 6,040km -3,753 miles Bookings: 10/10 While operating just one class on domestic services in Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam, the carrier runs a StarClass (Business Class) on key international flights between Australia and Honolulu, China, Japan, Singapore and Thailand. I thought I would try this option out, especially as it gave me another ride on a 787, making it my fifth 787 ever! Jetstar’s website is very easy to use. I like the way, they handle choosing between one way and round trip bookings. It is very…

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Qantas 737 Business between NZ and Australia

WLG: Wellington,  New Zealand to SYD: Sydney, Australia QF164: Scheduled Departure: 15:55 Arrival: 17:40  Distance: 5,689 km -1,387 miles Auckland to Sydney is a route rich with options. China Airlines (Skyteam), Air New  Zealand (Star),  Latam and Qantas (One World), Emirates and Virgin Australia all offer flights across the”The Ditch” (which is how Aussies and Kiwis refer to the Tasman Sea). I have flown every one of these airlines in the past few years.  However, between Wellington and Sydney, only two airlines fly and only Qantas offers Business Class seats. Booking: 8/10 Qantas booking engine is much improved. There are still a few small…

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Sri Lankan to the Maldives -4 Marvellous Business Flights

BKK:  Bangkok,Thailand to MLE: Malé, Maldives, Via CMB:, Colombo, Sri Lanka (and return) Four flights, Business Class. One A320, a 321 and two A330s While there are a stable of airlines I really enjoy flying, I get a kick from trying a new airline for the first time. We found a very attractive Business Class deal from Sri Lankan airlines from Bangkok to the Maldives which meant I got to ride in my 93rd airline and enjoy a new One World partner. Booking: 8/10 Their website is very easy to navigate and looks very clean…

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