Only a fool pays for an upgrade

Everyone knows that there are only two ways you get an upgrade when flying in today's cut throat airlines.

The first is to hold a gold card generally won  by business travellers who never actually pay for the flight themselves anyway

The second way is to buy it by forking out huge sums of extra cash and that can earn the airline a pretty penny

Well it seems that Virgin Atlantic have caught onto that cash cow with great alacrity.

Anyone who has flown west across the Atlantic travelling in the airlines accommodation section is so Badly treated that fearing a repeat crossing Eastbound is conned into buying an upgrade.

Is it worth it?  Well there are bigger seats a so called better service from the same blond bimbo trolley dollies and there is a foot rest but you get precious little else for paying the cost of an apple iPad as an extra charge for two seats

Is it really worth it? Well since the alternative is to throw away the return segment of the Virgin Atlantic ticket and buy a ticket with another carrier I suppose reluctantly I have to say yes

Sitting in the back again is far too ugly an alternative

What ever happened to the brave words of Sir Richard Branson when he launched the then fledgling airline and why have they been forgotten to the point that instead of leading the world Virgin Atlantic now limps around it at the back of the queue

Why do they dim the cabin lights for take off and landing

Why do they dim the cabin lights for take off and landing?  Ask a stewardess and they will tell you it is FAA regulations or some other hogwash, the fact is they have not got a clue

And it turns out no one else really understands why it is done save that it is a throwback form the times when in a small plane it was important for the pilot not to be distracted by cabin lights if and when the door twist cockpit and cabin was opened at night

Fact is the cabin door is now never opened and stays bolted firmly closed to protect the flight crew from the passengers they are paid handsomely to transport around the globe

Another new rule that curtails the rights of the passenger

Flying with Virgin Atlantic recently I heard stewardesses issue yet another rather bizarre rule

Apparently the flight crew are now interpreting the no smoking rule to include the use of electronic smokeless placebo cigarettes that people with low will power can now buy to stave off their craving of the real thing.

These odourless devices which emit only water vapour are now on the banned list for the airline that was going to change the world.

But no one really knows why

Once again the flight crew have now idea why they do it and cannot supply an answer as to why the rule has been imposed.

Like everything else they do on board the blindly following the rules lets hope that we do not have to rely on them in an emergency because they clearly share one brain between the entire cabin crew.

I do not mind abiding with a new rule but am I alone in wanting to know the reason for its implementation?

Good maintainence ensures safer aircraft

Flying with a trans Atlantic carrier recently I was alarmed to see several lights flickering off and on throughout the flight.

One section of the main cabin light came on every ten minutes stayed alight for ten minutes and went out for ten minutes while else where overhead reading lights flicked on and off for no apparent reason.

Flight crew uttered the usual platitudes saying how sorry they were that it was happening but repeating there was nothing they could do.

One said she could not remove the tube because it would be a fire risk, yes she was blond and flew with Virgin Atlantic the other assured me that it was not like that on the flight out and the fault had only just developed

The stupid girl obviously had no clue because of course she had not been on the flight outwards and had she been so there would have been no need to use cabin lights during daylight

It does beg the question that if you cannot perform simple maintainence tasks to the cabin lighting system perhaps the same haphazard attitude is being shown to the engines or the flight navigation equipment.

The girls answer was to give me an eye mask to block out the annoying light.

No doubt had the engines failed she would have given me a parachute

What is it with airports and silly slogans?

Why I wonder do airports have to try so hard so convince you that they are working for good of the passenger when it is so blatantly obvious that they are not.

Just recently having waited on the ground for half an hour before our plane could get a parking slot we then walked a good half mile along a boring glass side corridor to a large stuffy room where we stood in line for twenty minutes waiting to get through passport control.

Then into a baggage retrieval hall where just 4 of the 10 carousels spilled baggage onto the floor and no sign as to where where our own luggage might be found.

Two hours after landing we finally got out of the airport and they say thats making every journey better

Clearly Drunks Fly Virgin

I do not think I have flown with a carrier who has seen fit to warn passengers about the misuse of alcohol on board trans Atlantic flights but clearly Virgin Atlantic feel there is a need to do so.

In a post departure speech made by the senior flight attendant it was made very clear that her staff  would curtail the service of alcohol  to passengers who somewhat strangely Virgin call customers, if they felt they were consuming too much.

She stressed that such curtailment would be based on consumption rather than behaviour suggesting that you can be a lout  if you drink coca cola but even the merest hint of someone asking for a double brandy to numb the pain of a nine hour flight in the smallest seats known to mankind, would result in refusal.

OK so it's cold outside! So what?

I rather like the scrolling map that many airlines provide on TV screens for the use of their passengers.

I enjoy seeing the route we will take and hope that it may enable me to pinpoint spots on the Aetna surface.  Sometimes it does and I can see and identify a mountain range or an island.

I like being told our air speed and ETA at my disembarkation airport if only that it helps me plan a visit to the planes bathroom or permit me the luxury of hanging on for a little while longer.

It is all for the most part useful information generally well presented but why I wonder do they feel the need to tell me that outside the air temperature is minus 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Do they think I might need to know its cold outside and, that in case I want a walk across the expanse of wing, I need to wrap up warmly?

Whatever happened to in flight meals?

Where is Dinner?


The two hour flight took off at 1900 hours from Gatwick to Pisa and dispute the fact that it arrived at 2200 local time when all self respecting restauranteurs have shut up shop and gone home to bed, British Airways served nothing more to eat than a tiny bag of mixed nuts.


Whatever happened to in flight meals?


Has flying become so cut throat that even the flag carriers have decided to cut back on the £1:50 they spent on a plastic tray of plastic food?


If they had but just warned us, we could have purchased a sandwich before boarding.


Britain Airways spend a lot of time and energy telling passengers they operate a non smoking flight (as if we did not already know it) but they never bother to tell you it's a non eating flight.


At least SleazyJet have the decency to offer a sandwich that, with the help of a mortgage and a sharp set of molars means you can survive thru until breakfast the next morning without having to resort to the gold plated packet of Pringles in the hotels's mini bar.

How Old is the Aircraft?

Ever stopped to wonder how old the air craft that you entrust your life to is?


Finding out can be pretty difficult because while airlines are happy to promote a large and modern fleet they are less inclined to admit to flying planes built before some of it's passengers were even born.


Boarding a recent flight to Pisa serviced by a Boeing 737-436 there is no plate by the door that passengers can inspect to see the vintage of the craft.


Judging by the condition of the seats and carpets the air craft we were flying had been subject to a series of in-air parties who had trashed it or it was showing the serious signs of ageing


Dark blue leather seats are cracked and the backs of them all damaged where fittings had been removed.  Pockets designed to hold inflight magazines were torn and spilled their contents onto the floor.


Don't even begin to wonder about the carpet but I suspect, having looked at it, that the catering department could well want to boil it up and make stock from it.  They could then use that to improve that disgusting sauce that is served by airlines to cover up the meat at meal times.

Ask the stewardess how old the plane is and they tactfully do not know.  Of course like all good stewardesses they offer to find out but when and if they do come back to tell you the answer is always gauge and erring on the implausible


So here's my suggestion.  Why not have a builders plaque riveted to the cabin bulkhead so passengers can see how old the plane actually is as they board.


What do you think?

Air Miles Are Worthless

Those of us who are frequent flyers would be well advised to check the status of whatever air miles they have accumulated - and spend them while they are still most useful.

Back in 2007 some bright spark at the Economist calculated that if all the air miles that had been issued were called in, the airlines would have to fly passengers continuously for free - for 25 years!

The usability of air miles has been going steadily downhill ever since - and the small print has been continuously fiddled with - more recently, big time.


New restrictions will apply from December 15, this year and as a result, air miles are going to be worth a lot less in the future than they are now.

The attached warning/explanation written by Merryn Somerset Webb appeared in last week's MoneyWeek.

To link directly with the MoneyWeek article, click here.

Who cannot put a seatbelt on?

I really do not know how many first time travellers there are on each airplane journey I take but I suspect the percentage of first timers is pretty low.

I am reminded of this every time the stewardess says those immortal words "the seat  belt is fastened, unfastened and adjusted like this."

You know what? I have never yet managed to put my seatbelt on while holding it above my head.

Car Hire and Driving in Turkey

Turkey is a single country almost the size of Europe and within it it has a great many Car Hire facilities yet I wonder why does it only have one map?

On a single sheet of paper the road network of the entire nation is spread out before you.

Totally useless when you want to find your way in the late evening from Daliman International airport to Gocek a distance of just some 20 minutes duration.

Road signs would help but hey: this is Turkey and anyway the locals know where Gocek is in relation to the airport.

So instead you resort to the Tom Tom or Garmin in car satellite naviagtion system which you cleverly remembered to bring with you.

You gloat at have spent the extra money at purchase when you coughed up for world maps and you set off.

The familiar voice directs you clear of the airport and tells you to turn right.  Strange you think, why would this road be un-named and come to that rough surfaced?

You carry on and only have doubts when, in the pitch darkness, thousands of small lights waver in front of you.

No worries you assure yourselves, even the sheep need to get back to the airport from Gocek, this must be the right road.

The journey continues, you turn round and head back to town.  You ask a local and he insists you were on the right road so you retrace your steps and try again.

Nerves are jangling you do not know where you are, its dark and you are tired and hungry there is not a car in sight nor a road sign to guide you.

Then suddenly, there is Gocek right in front of you and there indeed is the hotel!  Isn't in-car GPS wonderful?

Who Could Not Visit the Kebab Hospital

Any Resturant that sets up shop in Turkey using the name Kebab Hospital has got to bear with the inquisitive who just have to come in to see what it is they do to the humble kebab.

For those who venture into the street-side eatery in Gocek, the rewards are great.


For instead of treating patients, it is those who dine there who are treated!

The small kitchen is open fronted and surround on three sides by glass and it is clear they have nothing to hide.  Good honest fare served simply without fuss or bother on plastic table cloth covered tables and plastic chairs.

Ice cold Efes beer at 5 scoobies for a big glass full makes this place cheap and affordable and tremendous value for money.

Is this the most expensive international airport ever?

Passing through Istanbul we changed flights leaving the International and moving to the Domestic terminal. With an hour to spare until our connection we chose to have a beer apiece and share a bag of crisps.

Unbelievably two local draught beers and the crisps came to US$ 17

I have been to some expensive resorts and extortionist night clubs where drinks can be pricey but in a snack bar at the airport I think this is pretty outrageous

I am wondering, is this the most expensive airport beer?

Have you experienced higher prices?

Do let me know

Bored now

I have long wondered how many people pay attention while the stewardess drones her way through the pre departure safety script.

We have all heard it before, none of us is in any doubt that in the event of an emergency masks like these will drop down in front of you and everyone knows that when the you know what hits the fan it's everyone for themselves.

It is not just because of the extra leg room that I ask for the emergency exit seats.

I do so because when, and if it happens, I want out first because everyone else will panic.

They will do so because they have not listened to the safety brief.

They have not listened to the safety brief because it is boring and never changes.

So hats off to Turkish Airlines who have injected a little humour into their safety briefing films.

It does make them watchable and memorable for the first five or six flights you make with them, but know having watched them for six months or so I find I am just as bored by their same old jokes.

Why not have a different script each time you fly?

Where would we be

It is easy to get lost in unfamiliar airports with signage in languages unfamiliar to the traveller but generally speaking I am on safe ground when I board the airplane.

Seats A and B are always on the right as you head towards the tail and it's a good bet that if your seats are are a letter greater than G you need the aisle on the other side of the plane.

True, some aircraft have two alleyways and some have one but all in all it's pretty difficult to get lost.

So tell me what is the point of the stewardess taking your boarding card, Squinting at it and passing it back telling you what seat you are in or which side of the plane you are on.

Do they think we cannot read?

Stop the Scrum at Boarding

SleazyJet could easily become my favourite airline.

The have

• A good safety record
• A clean and tidy modern fleet of aircraft
• Pleasant mannered crews who appear to enjoy what they do
• A good selection of destinations
• Competitive fares

So why are they not top of my list?

Simply really it's because of the rugby scrum they persist on perpetuating at boarding.

If anyone on the high street tried to do it they would be prosecuted for inciting riots!

Not only is it dangerous but it is degrading as well bringing out the worst of human traits in your fellow passengers.

Of course I hear you say all you have to do is pay for speedy boarding and you will get preferential treatment

Not so it merely means a group of businessmen on expenses get to have their own riot before you get to have yours

There are now so many people paying for speeding boarding that the term almost breaks the trade description act

Come on Sir Stellios get a grip and give everyone a seat at checkin.

It cannot cost anything and it would almost definitely allow easyJet to become the Worlds Favourite Airline

Now where I have I heard that phrase before?

Cheap or Low Cost?

Cheap or Low Cost, call them what you like, the Budget airlines have changed the way we fly.

Now, in my opinion they are doing something else as well!  They are teaching the more traditional carriers how to behave when it comes to passenger service.

Now of course I am not including Ryan Air in that statement,  every seasoned and regular flyer knows that life is far too short for Ryan Air, but the others are definately making a real effort and are certainly showing the flag carriers a trick or two.

Yes I know, for some strange reason, EasyJet prefer to have you stamped dangerously onto an aircraft rather than allocate you a seat but at least when you get to the flying cigar tube, you are greeted with a smile and generally by someone who is clearly enjoying the job of sky waiter unlike the sourpuss poh faced girls who man the British Airways flights and think of them selves as a cut above the average passenger.

They are paid far less and even have to clean up the mess passengers make of their aircraft during the flights so if anything, you would think the staff aboard the low cost carriers would have more reason to be in a grot!

Here think I ought to rate the sleazyJet team as being even better than say FlyBe or BMI Baby.

In fact, if Sleazy where to allocate seats, they might become my short haul airline of choice.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment, I cannot be the only cantankerous traveller in the world can I?

Bordeaux Beggars Belief

I had reason to visit Bordeaux for a one night stay recently and it is not a city to commend.

It may well be France's sixth largest conurbation but I doubt that the country is proud of it either.

Beggars, loads of them, not quite to Mumbai standards, but never the less enough to notice and eventually get annoyed at.

It also seems devoid of anywhere nice to eat, what I might call middle priced food.  After an hour and a half of walking the streets peering into empty restaurants we eventually found one that served a half decent meal which with wine cost at least £35 and used ingredients that must have cost less than 10 even allowing 3 for the wine.

If for any reason you find yourself looking for an hotel and someone recommends Le Dauphin ask your self why?

Not since the days I lugged a back pack around the globe in the 1960's have I stayed in a doss house hardly better than the worst possible youth hostel.

Breakfast was rubbish and the only reason I went was because the fire alarm sounded constantly from 0720 for 10 minutes until someone arrived from a security company to switch it off.

By then I was too awake to return to my bed.

The staff, rather sensibly, do not live in the hotel and are absent from 5 30 in the afternoon until breakfast time. So they were little help and had it been a real fire I fear lives would have been lost.

Cheap yes but value for money? Defiantly no!

No Smoking

On every flight I take I am reminded during the safety announcement that passengers may not smoke during the flight that smoking on board is an offence under international civil aviation law.

I am told that smoking in the lavatories is specifically forbidden and that each toilet compartment is fitted with a smoke detector which if you fiddle with it causes you to break even more civil aviation laws.

So why is it that an airline still finds it necessary to fit signage on the inside of the lavatory door warning passengers that they risk fines of £2500 if they get caught smoking of tampering with the detection devices?

But what I really do not understand is why on the aircraft I am describing an Airbus A321 which is less than seven years old this sign is placed immediately above the ashtray that has so thoughtfully behind the door by the aircraft builder.

And NO I was not flying with Ryan Air!

Public Transport Etiquette

When I was a lad, I was taught that if I had a seat on a bus, tram or train, it was good manners to give it up if a lady or an elderly person were to board and not be able to sit down.

I was taught that pregnant ladies fell into the same category and should be shown the same high accord

It was, I was taught, just good manners to do so.

When I moaned, I got a clip around the ear and was told I would be very grateful when my time came.  Then, old and decrypted I would be very grateful that my fellow travellers had the same high standards as I was brought up with.

Well let me tell you, that time has come, and now I find, if I am lucky enough to get a seat, I get deathly stares from mothers whose five year old Johnny has to stand as the bus sways around a corner and heaven help me if I get on a crowed train and seven year old Matilda is ensconced on a pew.

I have as much chance of her offering her seat to the kindly old gentleman as getting a free trip from Richard Branson on his Intergalactic Space Shuttle 

Who Can Explain the No Electronics Rule

Who Can Explain the No Electronics Rule? 


Certainly not the stewardesses who have no clue at all why it is that in this modern day and age you cannot read an iPad while the seatbelt sign is alight in an aircraft preparing to land and take off.

Yet you can read a book or write notes with a pen onto paper so clearly distraction is not the issue.

Nor is that old humbug that using your device might affect the safe navigation of the aircraft.  iPads like iPhones have safe flight modes and when activated ensure the device does not transmit anything.

No the reason, it seems, stems form rules made way back in the 1960's  when commercial flight was still in it's formative years.  Back them portable tape recorders and wirelesses were the issue.  The microchip had not been invented and solid state was just a designers pipe dream.

Isn't it time then that old fashioned rules were looked at, dusted off and where necessary revised?  It's not as if it has not been done before.  Back in the 1960's you were allowed to carry lighters and matches on board and use them to set fire to cylindrical, paper covered, sticks of tobacco.


Now that was dangerous and flying is definitely better now that smoking has been banned.

The Cantankerous Nomad has strong views on travel but what are yours?

Schipol Airport Fails not once but Twice

I have only been to Schipol Airport four times in the last month so I do not know how often this happens but on the last two occasions when I have been herded ( can you think of a better word?) into the standing room only departure gates in Zone H the emergency exit doors have failed to open when staff have tried to get in or out on th the airport.

Now given that these are emergency exit points and the only other way out is up through a narrow set of stairs leading into the room this strikes me as somewhat dangerous

Remember it is Schipol Airport who claims to be the worlds leading airport and it is the designs and procedures of that airport that others around the world strive to emulate.

God help us!

The Cantankerous Nomad has strong views but what are yours on this subject?

Thank Goodness for the Stewardess

Thank Goodness for the  Stewardess who stands at the top of the aircraft steps to greet you.

There, she imperiously stares at you, demands your boarding pass which was checked no less than a minute ago as you left the terminal building and studies it profoundly.

She then hands it back and tells you you are in seat 11C.


Now that's something I would never have known had she not provided me with the information!

After all it was me who booked in and printed out my own boarding pass using my own paper which the checker in the terminal had the cheek to tear in half and keep a section.  And it was me who, having printed out that same boarding card, had checked to see where the computer had allocated me a seat.


You know what? I knew I was in seat 11C long before the stewardess did, but of course she has been trained to treat all passengers as imbeciles.

The Cantankerous Nomad has strong views about travel but what are yours?

Pity the Rural Traveller

Pity the rural traveller seeking to travel by train to the big cities.

Penalised by outrageous fares he is forced to consider Cheap Day tickets whose late arrival in the city severely eats into the time he can spend there.

Yet in order to get say the 0847 to London from Spigglegate he has to set off by car from his home and drive the 10 or so miles to arrive at the station way before 0800 simply because he has to secure one of the car parking spots in the station car park.

He queues up to buy his ticket from the only one of four sales windows open at that time of the morning to buy his ticket.

The ticket sales machines flash their lights inviting you to leave the queue and fall for their alluring promise to issue tickets in minutes forgetting always to mention that you have to be under five to grasp the complexities of such complicated menus that issue the most high priced of tickets on purpose.

Then armed with his ticket he approaches the automatic ticket barrier again a device so complicated that the train companies post someone there to help you use it defeating the object of saving staff by embracing automation.

Put the ticket in and bump painfully into the barrier, which has stubbornly refused to open.  Call the spotty youth in the badly fitting train company uniform over to ask what’s wrong.

“Ah!”  He says, “You are too early to use this ticket the barrier will not open until 15 minutes before the train arrives.”

Why is it that rural train stations cannot give over more space to car parks?  Is it because they do not want to make the concept of travelling by rail even slightly less depressing than it already is?

The Dutch Police are like Elephants

The Dutch it seems have a very good memory as I found out the hard way trying to pass through Schipol Airport

It seems that back in October 2007, according to Dutch police, four and a half years ago, I was caught by speed cameras driving a hire car 7 kph (4.3 mph) over the speed limit on my way back to the airport.

In my blissful ignorance I ignored the fine notice, if ever there was one sent to my home address as they are obliged to do.

In March of the following year my name was placed on the naughty boy list held by passport control and immigration

Fast forward to this week when, after umpteen visits to Holland with the last one being last week, I was apprehended as I tried to enter the country.

“Have you been to Holland before sir?” the officer asked. “Yes many times,” I said, “I was here last week,” I added helpfully.

He checked my address and as he did so a policeman appeared at my side.  Finding my name was indeed on the naughty boy list I was taken aside to the counter along with all manner of ner-do-wells including illegal immigrants

Half an hour later and 43 Euros the poorer I was free to go.

Of course given that the supposed incident happened over 4 and half years ago I was in no place to argue and although told I could appeal, the thought of spending all that time on an international telephone call attempting to reclaim my 43 Euros just did not make sense.

No wonder the Dutch do not have a Financial Crisis!

Has this ever happened to you?

The Cantankerous Nomad has strong views about travel do you?

Breeze thru Southamton but not Breeze Back

Breeze thru Southamton is the regional airports favourite slogan.  But if the idea is that the airport promotes the swift transfer for those arriving from abroad, then it needs to think again.

Passengers on all flights arriving fom overseas have to, as one might expect, go through passport control desks manned by the border protection agency.

Southampton airport has however only got three desks for officers to work at and sadly most of the time only two are manned.

Space allocated to this area means that if more than one plane lands one after the other then passengers queue for boarder control outside.  Once inside the sadists make you worm your way thru a maze of cordons until you arrive at the desk where the officer stands.

Flanking the two officers are two other men in suits dressed as the KGB would dress their most deadly of agents.  I have not yet been able to discover their function but they stand there scowling so as to put off any visitor to the country.

Does anyone know why they are there or indeed can anyone shed light on why it is there is so much space in the adjacent baggage hall when there is no space for another passport control desk.

Now I am no expert but why not ask passengers without luggage to go through passport control first so as to get them clear of the airport quickly then bring through those who have baggage to collect.  Chances are they will find their luggage gets into the baggage hall at the same time they do.  That in turn would mean fewer people at the carousels and the chance to use some of that space for another passport control desk..Buts thats far too easy isn't it?

The Cantankerous Nomad has strong views on travel but what are yours?

Make Way! Fat Lady Coming Through

Beep Beep Beep is that annoying sound made by those infuriately wide buggies that patrol the corridors and walkways leading to airport departure gates.

I am hurrying to get to Gate 4,067 at the end of concourse Z, a mile and half away from the departure lounge and already I am breaking out in a sweat.

The departure board at London Godknows Where (LGW) airport had suggested I leave 3 hours to walk to the departure gate and I left things a little late.

I move to let the machine glide by and cannot avoid noticing the lady occupant.  She is enormous!

She regally waves, in one hand a gallon bucket of Starcotas Hot Chocolate Massivario topped with swirls of cream and in the other, a half devoured cinnamon twisted sticky the size of cloths brush.  I cannot make out if she is snarling or smiling at me given that the folds of fat obscure most of her facial features.

I can see however, she is looking at me with the contempt that comes with being one who has been favoured above others.  And well she might be!

She is being chauffeured to the gate in style while we have to walk, simply because she is far too lazy to have done so herself.  What is more, we the rest of the travelling public, are paying for her to do it.

Lets face it, she is fat because she is lazy, too lazy in fact, to get exercise by walking to the departure gate which is one of the reasons I am not too overweight.

The world is pandering to fat people making them even lazier so that in time they will become fatter.

I am not talking disabled here, I am talking fat and that I suppose has become a disability of sorts but one for the most part that has been entered into voluntarily.

So why not make these trolly rides available for everyone or charge fat ladies a fare for travelling in luxury. 

Restoring My Faith in Human Nature

Arriving at the City Hotel in Oss, (the Netherlands) we found the small hotel car park full of cars.  Upon enquiring where we might park our rental car safely the manageress popped her head out of the office and offered to move hers to make way for ours.

That act of kindness to visiting foreigners immediately endeared me to both the hotel and it's staff.

We were shown to our prepaid room booked and paid for by our hosts and upon finding it equipped with two single beds asked if they had a room with a double.

The same kind manageress quickly attacked the reservations computer and announced that yes they had one but it was a suite and considerably more expensive but since it was not booked and we were only staying one night then we could have the use of it without supplement.

That's what I call customer service and that is why I have no reservation in making a recommendation to any one seeking a hotel room in Oss.  Seek out the City Hotel and stay there!

There Are Times When Flying Can Be a Pleasure

Do you remember the time when flying long haul in economy class was not an experience to be forgotten?  Do you remember when all the cabin crew were helpful, polite and friendly?

Remember the hot towel, the printed menu and the little comfort pack with socks, mask, earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

All gone now, swept away by a brigade of money pinching accountants who think passengers are cattle and should be treated that way. Well not quite! At least not on Oman Air.

We have just flown out and back to Oman with the airline and it was a revelation, a step back in time. The courteous and ever helpful staff are even under 60 and heaven help us, they gave service with a smile!  The seats were comfortable and the legroom adequate. Even the TV screen in the back of the chair in front was big enough to actually enjoy watching the on demand films.

Eat your heart out British Iberia Airways these aircraft have WiFi Internet from Inmarsat and you can use your mobile phones to call home or send text messages.

How very refreshing to learn that there is still one airline who values the custom of the economy class traveller.  There has been so very little in the past to differentiate one airline from another to the point that as travel writers we could not make a recommendation as to who to fly.  Now we are not so sure.

Flying will never be fun in the back of the plane but Oman Air ensure the experience is the best it can be.

What is business and first class is like? Sadly we did not have the chance to find out for ourselves on this trip perhaps next time……..