This is the 3rd leg of my SYD/GVA trip
SYDAUH http://flight-report.com/en/report-9551.html
AUHGVA http://flight-report.com/en/report-9556.html
GVAAUH http://flight-report.com/en/report-9576.html
AUHSYD http://flight-report.com/en/share-9586.html
Please refer to the first two legs for more information about the product and service of Etihad Airways.
I am starting my journey home. Geneva Airport. Friend user airport. No hassles. Glad I don't have to go through Paris or London. Thiis is the beauty of flying these days when you can fly long international route from secondary city. This is what Middle Eastern carriers are offering. Hate them or love them they do offer fabulous options to the modern travellers.
To be honest I don't remember flying to Europe from SYD via the traditional hub of LHR/CDG or FRA. No need, there are better, easier and smoother alternatives. And I really don't want to be caught in a strike :-).
Check in for the EY flight is easy. There is no one about. I go through security like a breeze through the dedicated line. There is an automated gate where you scan your boarding pass and it gives you access to a dedicated premium passenger security gate.
I go straight to the lounge. Sorry no photos but it is a very nice and cosy lounge. Not a lot of food and beverage to choose from, but at least they have nespresso….
The lounge is shared with other airlines. There is no real view unfortunately.
Passeport control is near the few gates that accommodate the long haul flights. And where traditional EK, QR and EY dock their machines. Again it is Swiss style, very speedy and smooth process. There is a long walk to the aerobridge, and sadly due to glass reflection I can't get a real nice picture also there is an ininterrupted view of the aircraft
Tonight plane operating the flight is A330-300 A6-AFB. In fact I knew it all along as I did track the inbound flight during the day. And I am very excited because I have never flown on that aircraft before. In another words, a new entry in my data base. Which is always a bonus and add to the thrill of the trip.
A close of a busy flight deck.
A dfifferent angle. The plane seen from the aerobridge. Again, sadly the glass reflection is not conducive to a good picture. Tonight plane is full in first, 3/4 full in business class and I don't know about Y class. My seat is the same as for the inbound flight. 6K. In the small section squeeze between the First class and the galley. It is to me the best seat in the house tonight.
The inflight magazine and the fleet synopsis with the new color scheme
Ready to go. The GVA Airport runway, and the terminal on the right handside. We will be taking off to the North East. Flying over the lake. There is no traffic about. We hardly stop from the gate til we roll out….
Tonight's track takes us over the French Alpes then on to Italy. The Eastbound flight traditionally takes a more Southern route than the West bound one. Tonight is no exception
Dinner is served. I am going to try NOT to sleep on this sector to get back into the SYD time zone. I will save my sleep for the AUH-SYD sector. As usual the food is enjoyable with EY, and always well presented. This is the entree. Smoked Salmon. The main will follow. Fish. And the traditional ice cream. I will asked for a second serve :-)
Tracking over Greece and soon Athens is appearing on the map.
Better still, Athens is in sight, although a bit too far to make a good picture. I have never been to Greece.
We cross the Mediterranean sea in a diagonal line, reaching Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula.
Then the plane takes a sharp left turn south of Jordan , half way between Aqaba et Sharm el Sheik, and enter The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia air space.
A long straight line and we rich the oil and gaz rich emirates.
A great shot of Doha as we are about to commence our descent to AUH.
On final approach to AUH. A glance at the Abu Dhabi Corniche.
The full track
Great FR. I loved the aerial shots of cities. Especially the one from Doha was great.
Thank you.A bit of luck too I guess....
Thanks for the FR, beautiful night shots enroute. It's always difficult to get clean cityscapes with cabin lights and vibrations, but Doha came out almost perfect!
The salmon appetizer looked good. In my opinion, the A333 is a really good looking plane, I just find the A332 to short and stalky like the B763s.
Yes I was pleasantly surprised how well the picture came out. The lights in the cabin were dimmed at that time, it made the difference.
Yes I agree the A333 is a great looking plane. My favorite however remains the 777-300. How lucky, EY has both !!!
It's smart to try not to sleep on this first sector and save the sleep for the second longer flight to get adjusted. The aerial night shots on approach are great; I always struggle with night aerial shots. The moving map is pretty :)
It is smart, but it took me a while to recover from jetlag....so in fact you never know how your body reacts to jetlag...