I had managed to assign an exit row seat for this 11 hour flight, but as I made my way over to the E Gates at Zurich, I was still hoping for an operational upgrade into C, the flight being fully booked. Alas, I found myself settling into seat 30A, next to a UN delegate on her way to a convention in BKK and facing a flight attendants’ kid on the jump seat.
Our takeoff was only slightly delayed, but the captain promised an on-time arrival in the city of Angels. My memories of this flight seem to have paled in comparison to the ones to follow, what I do remember though is the surprisingly friendly service, the decent pasta with spinach for dinner, the entertainment system that kept freezing up (
The A340s are not so new any more and I really think that by now they should have fixed all the bugs!) and a measly excuse for a breakfast, served in cardboard and plastic and consisting of greasy croissants and some overly sweet yogurt.
I didn’t sleep much on this flight, not surprising considering that I sat in a Y seat. The extra legroom made for comfortable lounging though, and so I just dozed a bit and engaged in conversation with my seat neighbor (even the UN send their people in Y these days it seems) and the girl on the jump seat. With her mum being a flight attendant, she had hoped for a free First Class seat. Well, no luck! Unlike in the friendly skies, “employee class” seems to yield to paying passengers on Swiss.
As forecast by the crew, we touched down in Don Muang on time and sure enough, they were playing Golf again. The bare thought of the Thai climate made me sweat, and I was glad to stay inside the air-conditioned terminal with its very distinct smell. On my way out of the plane, I grabbed a Business Class menu and wine list to see what I had missed:
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| Cover | Introduction | Menu | Wine | Drinks |
| Note: All images can be clicked at to open in a larger version. | ||||