Royals on the Road: Travel and arrival

April 3, 2007 4:26:54 AM
En route:

We didn't get to bed until 2:30 the morning of our flight out - and then had to be up at 5:30 to catch an early flight.

First leg: American Eagle, RDU -> JFK, about 1h45m, on an Embraer.
We aren't frequent domestic air travelers, and it seems that every time we fly something has changed.
We had been warned to pack our liquids and gels differently, so we were ready for that; we knew that domestic airlines were cutting back food service, so we brought some snacks.
Still, even when you know what to expect, it's all pretty annoying, especially when you're already exhausted and you know it could be different.

That first leg was on a small jet with 1/3 seating. A smooth flight, and an unusually professional 50-ish steward (can I call him that? - "flight attendant" seems wrong for him somehow) who was offering pretzels for sale for $4.00, but with a self-deprecating sense of humor about the absurdity of the whole thing. We appreciated that - there are too many people who work in customer service but only grudgingly, wishing they were doing something else, anything else. One always wonders why they stay in the profession. In our case, it was good to see someone working with people who actually liked working with people - it made the whole experience a lot more pleasant for us.

But given a choice, we'll fly Cathay Pacific any day.

Second leg: Cathay Pacific, JFK -> HKG, about 15h, on an Airbus 340-600.
As I write this we're most of the way through a 15-hour flight from New York over the North Pole to Hong Kong. Last I checked, we had just passed over eastern Mongolia!
Eastern Mongolia!

I think Cathay Pacific must be the closest you'd come today to what you'd imagine air travel used to be like - before four-dollar bags of pretzels and ziploc bags of shampoo, before a million cries from nameless faceless airline shareholders drowned out their customers' whispered whimpers that they'd still rather have quality service that treats them with respect. Cathay staff consistently show that precision professional friendliness that's the stuff of legends now but you want to believe used to be more common - crisp as new money, slightly detached, but always regular and ready . They stand out among all the bedraggled customers - no crumpled shirts or weary faces here, but scarlet uniforms that look as if they had come from the tailor just that morning. Even the food - it's still airline food and you'd find better at a good restaurant, but passengers look forward to the meals not just because they're hungry, but because the food's pretty good and it's tastefully presented - as tastefully presented as any pre-packaged coach-class airline food could be, that is. Coffee and hot green "Chinese tea" after every meal. And you've gotta love that they serve Coke from Hong Kong, made with real cane sugar instead of the sticky high-fructose corn syrup we get here. Yes, even the Coke tastes better!

April 3, 2007 9:01:04 PM (AM Philippine time)
Our last leg had us arriving at Manila about midnight.
Third leg: Cathay Pacific, HKG -> MNL, about 2h, on a Boeing 777.
Not much to elaborate about on this one - maybe I'll post later about the Hong Kong airport. (Pictures follow.)

Our family from Calamba picked us up; between going through immigration and customs, finding our ride, and stopping off for a midnight snack, we got home about 3 AM and to bed about 4. Jet lag isn't the only problem after a trip like this - you really don't, or at least we really don't, get a chance for a full night's sleep, and it didn't help that we didn't get one before we left. Travel itself is tiring, and losing sleep doesn't help. I'm sure we'll have the same problem when we get back.

For now, we're glad to be here. We leave tomorrow for our final destination.

Some pictures follow - click on any of these to see more, from my flickr photostream.

For Peter: