Hello everybody
first of all I hope I'll have the goodwill of the jury as this is my first report; since I discovered this website I've admired lots of FR but so far felt too lazy to write one myself; I must say I am slightly disabled and I must give my whole attention to each stage before and during my flights, particularly when there are lots of other passengers around.
Moreover I started flying at a time when most of the excellent reporters who report here were not born yet; so I am not as young as they are and therefore not as skilfull to use this website.Indeed my first flights were on Comet IV, VC10,Caravelle, B707, Bac 1-11, Trident 1/2/3, not to speak of the Viscount and Britannia; so as you can guess I am not that young!
Last but not least, I do care for comfort, but not for alcohol or fine food as I believe they can't serve really fine cuisine at 36 000 feet; so thanks for reading my FR keeping in mind that my main expectations are:
security and safety
reliability of the airline and their schedule
seat comfort
customer relations
so let us start now with a very SMALL FR on a very SMALL flight, part of a GREAT Itinerary, which I have just carried out with my wife:
CDG/NRT on AF, december 14th 2015, business class: no report because it was so bad there is nothing to tell about; except we could redeem some miles and get two free tickets
NRT/NOU on Aircalin, december 15th, business class: no report, but very nice flight, comfortable seat, nice meals, nice crew and good service; free tickets included in the above mentioned AF booking;
Nouméa Magenta/Ile des Pins on Air Calédonie december 19th: no report but onward journey of the return reported here;
Ile des Pins/Nouméa Magenta on Air Calédonie december 20th, coach class, this report
NOU/AKL on Aircalin december 21st, business class: report under construction
Christchurch/Wellington, Air New Zealand january 12th, 2016, coach class, no report
Wellington/AKL january 17th, Air New Zealand, coach class, no report
AKL/Melbourne january 21st, Air New Zealand, business class, report under construction
Melbourne/SYD january 26th, Qantas, coach class, no report
SYD/Canton january 31st, China Southern, business class, free ticket FBlue , report under construction
CAN/CDG february 1st China Southern, business class, free ticket FBlue, no report.
No you have not reached the bonus yet; just the bougainvillea shrub on the parking in front of the terminal
Yes there is a terminal…
.jpg)
seen from the inside; wide open on either side, I wonder what happens when there is a hurricane
.jpg)
but now, there are more people on the shops side…
than on the check in side
.jpg)
but they come soon; our check in was quick and easy; on the onward flight as well as on this return flight we had one cabin bag each as we stayed just 24 hours; but maximum weight allowed in cabin is 3 kg per piece, and ours were around 5,4 kg; anyway on both flights staff told us it was ok and we could keep our bags on board with us. We did appreciate that.
.jpg)
they check boarding pass before you enter the boarding area but not when you get out onto the tarmac
.jpg)
boarding pass is very basic
the check in hall is wide open, but the boarding room is an enclosed space, with a good view airside
so let us make pictures
nothing special about boarding
.jpg)
no seat selection
cabin colours are light grey
very clear once in flight
pitch is ok for my size
some reading; say hello to our japanese fellow passengers.
do you want more reading?
sorry weather is too bad to take more pictures
and we quickly land at Noumea Magenta
.jpg)
terminal is as busy as it was the day before.
Thanks for reading, so now some holiday pictures as a reward!
Trou Feuillet, at the far end of a narrow valley, a green and wet area right in the middle of very dry land
Church in Vao small and main village on Ile des Pins
A traditional house in the village, where we got a very nice welcome
Kuto Beach, Ile des Pins
Seaside, in Grand Sud on main island
The Beach close to Hotel Meridien
Centre culturel Jean-Marie Tjibaou just off Noumea
Centre culturel Jean-Marie Tjibaou
Welcome LTQLGW and thank you for the beautifully photographed report.
Your routing looks fantastic, what a trip!
I can't speak for everyone but I sure would like to see reports even if you feel the service/flight wasn't up to standard.
Looking forward to future pictures of these beautiful destinations.
Thank you again and happy flying.
thanks for your nice comment
Yes it was a fantastic trip, I had been thinking about it for over 15 years but we decided we should wait to be retired to do it, in order to enjoy plenty of time to visit as much as we could while being down under; I've been retired for years and as soon as my wife knew when she would retire last year, I booked the tickets; I had to book 10 months ahead because there are very few free Freq Traveler tickets to New Caledonia available in this season ( there were 2 on dec 14 th and then nothing until jan 14th...!) To get the return tickets was easier, so I planned the whole trip content and then booked the free return tickets from Sydney, there was availability everyday when I booked (9 months ahead). And it was great to enjoy the long intercontinental flights in biz class for free, though AF service on Paris to Narita was very low standard. But all other flights were good.
I'll try to make the following reports in the coming days
Thanks for this first report and Bienvenue à bord
I love those small airports , they have something very special and make air travel both familiar and an adventure.
The livery is very colorful and I like it.
Don't worry about a jury : this site is just a bunch of avgeeks sharing their pleasure and experiences.
Hi
thanks for comments; I was just joking about the jury, just a way to introduce my first report; I like these small airports too, when you just walk a few yards from car park to the plane with everything quick and simple.
I know from experience the amount of time it takes to translate a FR.
Thanks for the effort of sharing your experience of a lesser known destination with the English speaking community, and welcome among the bilingual contributors !
Thanks a lot! I'm gonna try to make both versions everytime; but it's a lot of work, true!
What a lovely and exotic report! It's very dépaysant--haha, wish there was a word for that in English. I like TY's livery--it's nice to see some color in a world of blah white liveries. Reports on Air Calédonie are rare, and this is the first one in English, so thanks very much for taking the time to post and contribute to our community :-)
Welcome to flight report!
KevinDC - Community Manager
Hi thanks for comment and welcome message
btw thk you for information about edit button, I could modify report
Oh yes Ile des Pins gives you a very complete change of scene; I like the livery too and it matches well with the architecture of the small airport