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Emirates to South Africa! (2/4 pics and vids)

 
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jbalonso777
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Location: Never, never land

PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:13 pm    Post subject: Emirates to South Africa! (2/4 pics and vids) Reply with quote

And the action continues from where I left: http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=12498

.....It was full of people! They were everywhere, at all shops! It was finally
my turn to be in DDF! A long walk lay ahead of us, as we slowly went
towards Gate 210. As we were going through, I realized that DXB is NOT a
spotter friendly airport. (Why aren't all airports like HKG?!) Although it’s
only EK aircraft, there is an array of them. It was hard to see which
aircraft was going where. We reached our gate, and asked the agent when
boarding would start. Rudely, he said in three minutes. Flight EK713 to
HRE was from gate 209.

Shopping mall for sure!

That's us! Very Happy

As the gate opened, I saw the boarding passes of the previous flight, and
it was EK772, the A345 flight to CPT, in which my Mum’s friend was on.
(still flying, possibly in the Southern Hemisphere by now!) Waiting in the
holding area, I looked at the planes around, and realized, there isn’t a
single Boeing 777 around! What could this possibly mean? Remote stand
boarding? I was hoping so!


Spotter un-friendly DXB Sad


A332's, A343's and an A345.


That T7W was taxiing fast! Thanks to the tug pulling it Razz


Spotter un-friendliness can't stop me and Dad from fooling around Razz

BOARDING
Zone wise boarding started at around 0755, but as the line was moving
slowly, everyone was waiting, so the zones separation wasn't going to
make much of a difference. Slowly we exited the terminal, and entered
one of many co-buses in the airport. I was pondering the chances of us
getting the 1000th Boeing 777. Sadly, that one had Digital Widescreen
I.C.E, my flight wasn't. But screw it! Boeing 777-300ER was about to be a
reality for me! At really long last!






It was strange, honestly, because I expected DXB to have aero bridges
for all aircraft! It took us a while before we actually started moving, and
went towards Terminal 1, and for once, different airlines other than EK! So
there were a couple of heavies, like a VS A346, BA B747, etc. The long
drive went on, in front of the cargo terminal, then almost at the boundary
of the airport (yes, I saw a few cars on the highway!), then a couple of
turns, and finally, near the runway, a couple of EK aircraft. These included
a B773 being pushed back, an A380 (how close did I get to it? I saw its
nosewheel detail. I think that is the closest I will ever get.), and the usual EK 332’s and B77Ws. Finally, after a 17
minute long bus ride, we arrived in front of our Boeing 777-300ER.

A6-EGD it was. I then started to think about the age of the aircraft. I
started to take a few pictures, but the ground staff stopped me from doing
so. I thought it was only AUH? Anyways, I managed a few:


OHHH MYYY GODDDD!!!! :O

That looks pretty clean, how new is it? I'd have to wait till we reach CPT Sad


Thanks for that one, Dad! Very Happy (Yes, even he was stopped)

As you can see, boarding was from Door 2, so no view of the First Class
Private suites. I entered, the Boeing 777-300ER. What a feeling! It was
finally happening! This was topped up with a friendly FA welcomed me
onboard, and showed my way to the seat. I looked at the C class, and it
was the same thing as the B773. Economy was nearly the same, except
for one thing. The PTVs. The website said that there would not be Digital
Widescreen, but that was wrong! Digital Widescreen for the nine and a half
hours flight! Ohh yes, my day was made! Other than the 3-4-3 seating,
this is possibly the best type of B77W in the industry! What a start! I took
my seat 30K, and saw the contents around, which included the usual;
pillow, blanket, headphones, and, surprisingly, an amenity
kit
! I had lots of legroom, as there wasn’t an IFE box in the way!
Except for the extremely dirty wing, I gauged the age of the aircraft, and
thought it would be about 2 or 3 years old.



The massive wing didn't allow me a picture of the 77W and the 388.

The captain came over the PA system, and gave us details about the
flight, like the route, expected turbulence near the equator, the 2000 feet
change in the cruising height as we became lighter, and telling us about
the gaps in the wind created by other a/c taking off, which meant a slightly
bumpy take off. And to top it all, he was an Indian! This was a real home
feeling for me! As boarding kept going on, the passengers in rows in front
complaining about being separately seated, and demanded to be put
together, because the aircraft was empty. But, sadly for them, loads were 100%. All seats were taken. Near me, was a kid, 6 years old (he told me
just before landing, 10 hours later), who seemed quite jumpy. Cold towels
were distributed then.


THE LONGEST ONE SO FAR: EK770 DUBAI-CAPE TOWN 6TH APRIL 2012
Airline: Emirates (EK/UAE)
Registration/Aircraft type: A6-EGD, Boeing 777-31H/ER
Seat: 30K, Economy.
Scheduled departure: 0850 hours, Actual Departure: 0907 hours.
Scheduled Arrival: 1625 hours, Actual Arrival: ? hours.
Loads (exact): F, J and Y=100%

DEPARTURE
Well, a pretty good flight lay ahead of me, except for the kid. Pushback started 17 minutes later than departure time. It was the moment I had been waiting for: the MOOOOOOO of the GE-90! It lived up to my expectations! It was so loud! The whole frame was vibrating!

ROAR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJAxdsUjwGA

As the safety video and IFE features played, we made our way towards the active, racing against different EK aircraft for departure! I followed the movements with the help of the nose camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ3iVTw_4-o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Q6g-LS7pc












Caught the lights!

We lined up behind A6-EMO for takeoff, but it was a FZ B738 which sneaked ahead of its larger countrymen for takeoff.



HAH! I'm never gonna fly on you! NEVER! Evil or Very Mad


Who's going next?


Who are you in front of us?! Razz

33 minutes behind schedule, the GE90s roared into the dusky skies of Dubai, and Golf Delta headed for Cape Town!
Another roar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esaBB2e-mHE

The announcements of languages began, and I was home. Seriously. Hindi was spoken on board!

INFLIGHT



As we climbed through the clouds, without a single massive bump (brilliant aircraft comes with a brilliant pilot!!), I watched one of my all time
favorites, Johnny English Reborn. Food service started about 15 minutes
after we reached our cruising altitude. First the kids got their meal. The kid
next to me got his meal (can’t remember what) in a food box, which they
could keep for later. He kept jumping in his seat and sometimes, putting
stuff on my leg. I didn't tell him anything. I just kept my eyes on the
movie. As the real food service started, the F/A’s, while trying to get the
food trolleys through the cabin, let loose it, and it came rolling down 6 or 7
rows. Is this the EK that everyone talks about? Anyways, mistakes
happen! Once again, I took the second option for breakfast (for my second breakfast Razz ), because the first one was again mushroom omlette, like the one on EK349. Drink service began, with the really kind steward
referring to the kid beside me as ‘buddy’, like, ‘What drink for you,
buddy?’, or ‘How are you doing, buddy?’ (Yeah, he kept checking on him throughout the flight!) So I took a Pepsi.




Every time I refer to Mozambique in a sarcastic answer, I remind my self
of this movie. Wait a minute, we will be flying over Mozambique!

Banking..





One hour into the flight, food trays were taken in. I followed the airshow,
and listened to Tim Clark’s interview on EK’s massive expansion, including the new terminal, dedicated for A380s, the 1000th 777, etc. That was followed by the interesting conversation between EK’s top 3 pilots, of the A380, the B777 and A330, A340 types, as they funnily argued which one
was the best. (B777!!!). I spent some more time going through the IFE.









I went to the washroom, although it was quite turbulent. I strolled around
for about 10 minutes, as the washroom in the rear was locked. Mum and
Dad were sitting right in front of the crew rest area! Oh, how I wanted to
see what was behind that curtain! But, finally, I entered a washroom, and
was shocked to see the sad condition. Although it had amenities stocked,
toilet paper was all over and the basins were overflowing. Either it’s the
passengers, or the EK crew just didn’t want to service the washrooms. I
then remembered once being stopped by the crew of 9W, as she wanted to service the washroom. I went back to my seat, and tried to get some
sleep, but the turbulence kept me awake. Family Guy entertained me.



USB!


Kilimanjaro!


As we flew over the equator, most passengers were asleep, but the crew
gave a few drinks to the ones awake. I took a rather chilled tomato juice,
and it was refreshing!

(I'm so glad to find Fontana's tomato juice in CMB. Exactly the same!)

YEAH! (Also note 'Nevermind' by Nirvana!)




I watched a bit of Harry Potter, followed the air show, played a few
games, and the first flaw of the Digital Widescreen came.



I think I broke it Embarassed Rolling Eyes

It stopped working, and reloaded, which took 7 minutes.


Later, I just decided to fall asleep and take rest, as it had been over 24
hours since I was awake. Half an hour later, I woke up to see the sun set
mood lighting effect, as we were entering the final stages of our flight.







Another drink service began, and this time, I took a Coke, with Savory
Biscuits. I asked for two packets of those, because Dad had given me a
packet of those a few years earlier, and I really liked it! But sadly, it fell down Sad


I love the large amounts of ice there! Just enough to irritate Mom! Razz

I went for the meatball option in lunch, and home was emphasized. It was
Indian flavored! What a good feeling it was!! As we entered the boundary
of South Africa, the services were concluded. The flight seemed to get, a
bit longer after this. Probably, I was just over tired. There weren't any
signs of approach until 30 minutes before landing, where the captain told
us that there wasn’t any clearance given to descent. Luckily, a few minutes later, descent started.



That's one of the capital's of South Africa..

OH HOW MUCH LONGER?!



Finally, descent.

DESCENT AND ARRIVAL





After a quick descent, we were on final approach for Cape Town, made a
smooth landing (with everyone clapping o.O I didn't hear any emergency
signs), and quickly taxied towards the International parking area, with a
SAA A332 and BA B747.

The whole thing, and the clapping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd8UXx6kU7U




Oh that is EPIC!


Oh, come on! Door 2 again!


Very Happy

There is already something different. Compare this picture and the one of EK349 at Dubai (facing back).

J class. Exactly the same!

One fine day, I hope to sit here! (well, its possible on EK's 2 class 77W Razz )

Emirates, you've won my heart. Thank you for the wonderful experience!


The view is getting better!

And better!

HEAD ON! Very Happy


It would be a sin if I flew the A388 before I fly on the Queen of the Skies. I shall wait.

I'm sorry, but this reminded me of IXR airport Razz


Just like the B744, even she was on her way to LHR.
There were quite a few BA, SA and other budget airline narrow bodies in
the domestic bay of the airport. Engines shut, door disarmed, it was time
to get off EGD and enter South Africa! CPT is a pretty small airport, and all
formalities were completed in a jiffy. After a total flying time of about 15
hours for me, the holiday had begun in a chilly South Africa. Just as I
reached the hotel, I was extremely curious to find out the data of Golf
Delta. So, a quick check on the internet: 0.8 years old (THAT IS NEW! sad
to see the wing like that) and it is the 946th Boeing 777 built. We were so
close to getting on the 1000th 777! So close!!

So that concludes part 2 of my 4 (and an extra part covering SA)
part first ultra long TR.
In the next part: All the pictures from South Africa (RAND AIRPORT ALSO!!!!), and a flight with Kulula.com

So, another short wait Smile
Thanks for reading!
Kind Regards
Jbalonso777

Link to next TR: http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=12504
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Last edited by jbalonso777 on Wed Feb 13, 2013 3:40 pm; edited 5 times in total
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Superb, Jishnu. Thus far, the only South Africa trip report I remember on this forum is Bala's one. We all are looking forward to more pictures, more videos, more exotic places, more lovely descriptions...here's looking forward to the other parts of this report!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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abhijith16
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dude, awesome trip report! Man, I wish I had the patience to write one. I take a lot of pictures and continue to procrastinate about how I'm going to write a TR (to get encouragement and praise Razz ), and then I go lazy!

EK 77W's are superb. It's amazing how they invest so much on an aircraft, so that 3-4-3 seating layout is offset by huge screens and an amazing array of entertainment.

Looking forward to your future TRs

BTW, love all of videos on YouTube!
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Abhijith, now that you have said it, we eagerly look forward to trip reports from you!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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jbalonso777
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Joined: 05 Jul 2012
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Location: Never, never land

PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

abhijith16 wrote:
Dude, awesome trip report! Man, I wish I had the patience to write one. I take a lot of pictures and continue to procrastinate about how I'm going to write a TR (to get encouragement and praise Razz ), and then I go lazy!

EK 77W's are superb. It's amazing how they invest so much on an aircraft, so that 3-4-3 seating layout is offset by huge screens and an amazing array of entertainment.

Looking forward to your future TRs

BTW, love all of videos on YouTube!


I was equally lazy to get all this written down, but now the holidays are on, I'm doing all of it Smile
Get some encouragement and write the TR's for us! Very Happy
The 77W's are really brilliant! Honestly I was lucky to be on one of their newest ones in the fleet!

And also, thanks for going through the videos Smile

sumantra wrote:
Superb, Jishnu. Thus far, the only South Africa trip report I remember on this forum is Bala's one. We all are looking forward to more pictures, more videos, more exotic places, more lovely descriptions...here's looking forward to the other parts of this report!
Cheers, Sumantra.


Well, that's another reason why we didn't take the 9W flight Razz
But yes, I am happy to post this TR about a rather unknown destination.
More coming up Smile
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Karan69
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 1:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Awesome almost took me back to a month a ago when i was in the same dilemma as you when EK subbed my 380 ,

Fortunately i had been on an AF 380 on Upper deck Y and by the looks of things you and me and everyone in Indian sub continent will get to go whaling at Dubai in the future on numerous occasions

Also i got a new 77W just like you and as i mentioned in ur previous TR fair compensation for a 380 as they sent A6-EGO thats right the 1000th 77W

Keep up the good work look forward to reading the other reports from you

Karan
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Karan69 wrote:
Awesome almost took me back to a month a ago when i was in the same dilemma as you when EK subbed my 380 ,

Fortunately i had been on an AF 380 on Upper deck Y and by the looks of things you and me and everyone in Indian sub continent will get to go whaling at Dubai in the future on numerous occasions

Also i got a new 77W just like you and as i mentioned in ur previous TR fair compensation for a 380 as they sent A6-EGO thats right the 1000th 77W

Keep up the good work look forward to reading the other reports from you

Karan

It was sad to see 4 B777-300 on the ticket, instead of 1 of them being an A380.
I dont want to fly on the A380, seriously. I'd rather fly the B787 now or the B748i. Lets see what happens!
Lucky you are, sir! 1000th B777! I hope you have a picture of that! But I wasn't too far either, A6-EGD Wink

Sorry for the late reply.
Regards
Jishnu
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Nimish
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jbalonso777 wrote:
I dont want to fly on the A380, seriously. I'd rather fly the B787 now or the B748i. Lets see what happens!


Hmm - any particular reason for this anti-380 bias? It's a technological breakthrough and definitely a pleasure to fly on (in some ways much better than the 777/744, not sure about the 748/787). You're missing out on something iconic by choosing not to fly the 380 Twisted Evil.
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nimish wrote:
jbalonso777 wrote:
I dont want to fly on the A380, seriously. I'd rather fly the B787 now or the B748i. Lets see what happens!


Hmm - any particular reason for this anti-380 bias? It's a technological breakthrough and definitely a pleasure to fly on (in some ways much better than the 777/744, not sure about the 748/787). You're missing out on something iconic by choosing not to fly the 380 Twisted Evil.

I don't like the way they stole the show away from the Boeing 747...
Sure is a breakthrough in modern aviation, but for some reason, I like the classic aircraft more.
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