The Silver Lining Blog

Air New Zealand, Hong Kong

GB — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:22:13 +0100

Our B747-400 is refuelled at Hong Kong International before the second leg of the journey to Auckland. Read the full account of this journey here.

Review of Emirates A380 First Class, EK001, Dubai – London Heathrow

GB — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:57:26 +0000

I know it’s becoming a little bit of a cliché to talk about how quiet the plane is. There is so little ‘roar’ from the engines on take off that you wonder how this giant hulk of an aircraft is going to build up enough speed to get off the ground. Not sure if it was the quietness of the aircraft or the noise reduction headsets, but I was particularly impressed by the sound quality of the ICE entertainment system on this flight. The large TV screens (23 inches?) in the First Suites help too.

Review of Air New Zealand, Business Class, London to Los Angeles

GB — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:00:57 +0100

How much is a national airline brand tied up with our perceptions of the country it represents? Think Finnair - generous quantities of booze on board, straightforward but efficient service, and the grit and indefatigability to take off and land in conditions which would utterly defeat the big softies at Heathrow. How more Finnish could it be? In some cases, those airlines help to define what we think about a nation. How much goodwill has Singapore Airlines generated for the city state over the years? A fair amount, I would imagine.

Review of Thai Airways Royal First Class, London to Bangkok

KB — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:35:18 +0000

The Royal First Lounge at Bangkok is very impressive - better even than Qatar Airways Premium Terminal at Doha in my opinion. There are nice private rooms to relax in (photo shown), sleeping areas, shower suites and a full service menu. The lounge staff were extremely attentive and were constantly offering to bring me food and drink. They also made me an appointment to visit the Royal Orchid Spa where I had a nice complimentary neck and shoulder massage. When the time came for me to board my connecting flight, I was personally escorted all the way to the aircraft.

Review of EOS airlines, London to New York

GB — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:01:27 +0000

The pitch seems too good to be true: an all-business airline, less than 50 passengers on a 757, flying from Stansted, fast track all the way, and considerably less expensive than BA or Virgin. Could EOS possibly live up to the hype?

As one of the world's biggest cynics, I have to say that it's almost all true! This flight to JFK was one of the smoothest I have ever had, and probably the best business class service.

The EOS staff whisk you through the check-in and security process as fast as possible to the smart lounge where attentive staff ...

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, London to NY

GB — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 03:18:21 +0100

I really want to love Virgin Atlantic. If every flight were as good as our trip to Shanghai on that awful day, I would always use them whenever possible. But Sir Richard and the gang, in my opinion, need to ask themselves a key question: are we making Upper Class as good as it could be?