Petri
Senior Insider
Trip reporting live from various parts of USA and North America.
Departed Helsinki on schedule for arrival to cold London Heathrow, the longest lasting construction site in the world. Fast tracking through security didn't quite work, as long queue as the normal ones and the security check at LHR is one of the worst in Europe.
Had bit of a Airbus A380 spotting moment as there were two Qantas A380's parked next to each other at T3. From the lounge saw both Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines A380's take off. I've been in a big fan of 747 looks but the sheer size of A380 just makes it the king of airports. Couldn't help wondering what would be the best time of day at Dubai airport to see as many as possible of Emirates' 31 A380's, now with the new terminal especially designed for it.
Uneventful 11 hour flight in a relatively full 747-400 to San Francisco. Two glasses of champagne before takeoff, they did try to offer more twice -- not quite Cathay Pacific performance (we drank almost a bottle before takeoff) but well done.
Nice approach to SFO with Golden Gate views but unfortunately we didn't have window seats. SFO immigration and customs were relatively smooth, not much queues but rather slow. It would be nice if they'd welcome one to the country.
A great movie tip from the flight: French movie The Intouchables, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675434/
One of the best movies I've seen for ages, a good combination of comedy and drama.
Now trying to make tipping a second nature, already overtipped once Where do people get all the $1 notes?
We haven't been to the US since 2008 (a week trip to NYC to cover all the 7 continents in a year).
Departed Helsinki on schedule for arrival to cold London Heathrow, the longest lasting construction site in the world. Fast tracking through security didn't quite work, as long queue as the normal ones and the security check at LHR is one of the worst in Europe.
Had bit of a Airbus A380 spotting moment as there were two Qantas A380's parked next to each other at T3. From the lounge saw both Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines A380's take off. I've been in a big fan of 747 looks but the sheer size of A380 just makes it the king of airports. Couldn't help wondering what would be the best time of day at Dubai airport to see as many as possible of Emirates' 31 A380's, now with the new terminal especially designed for it.
Uneventful 11 hour flight in a relatively full 747-400 to San Francisco. Two glasses of champagne before takeoff, they did try to offer more twice -- not quite Cathay Pacific performance (we drank almost a bottle before takeoff) but well done.
Nice approach to SFO with Golden Gate views but unfortunately we didn't have window seats. SFO immigration and customs were relatively smooth, not much queues but rather slow. It would be nice if they'd welcome one to the country.
A great movie tip from the flight: French movie The Intouchables, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675434/
One of the best movies I've seen for ages, a good combination of comedy and drama.
Now trying to make tipping a second nature, already overtipped once Where do people get all the $1 notes?
We haven't been to the US since 2008 (a week trip to NYC to cover all the 7 continents in a year).