Apr 11

#Sunset over #Tokyo, #Japan from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (South Tower). ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Apr 10

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Just a random walk through #Tokyo, #Japan, from #Shinjuku station to the @hyatt Regency Hotel.
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#instatravel #travel #travelblogger #wanderlust #luxurytravel #beautifuldestinations #bestvacations #vacation #holiday #asia #tourism #tourist ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Jan 27

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Arrival into #LCY @londoncityair from @dusairport #DUS onboard a @british_airways @embraer #E190. Full six minute video of the low approach over the #London’s city center, with the usual turn over the @shardview and #TowerBridge and the steep descent after passing #CanaryWharf. ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Jan 1

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Happy New Year 2023 from Seoul, Korea! ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Dec 7

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Me landing a #McDonnellDouglas #DC10 tri-engined widebody aircraft at #Mahe #Airport, #Seychelles in 2022. 😜
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Not really. This is another relic from the old times found at @tfc_flighttraining in Essen, Germany. Had these pictures taken with me in the captain‘s seat and then edited them in @photoshop. Just swipe through the photos to see the original photo and some more shots from this historic #FlightDeck.
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And credit, where credit is due: the amazing approach shot to Mahe (the photo in the background) was taken by Bobby F. from FotoCommunity.de.
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#FLYING #INSTAVIATION #INSTATRAVEL #AVGEEK #TRAVEL #AVIATION #FLIGHTBLOGGER #TRAVEL #TRAVELBLOGGER #FREQUENTFLYER #historicaircraft #douglas #douglasdc10 #cockpit #cockpitview #flightdeckview ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Dec 7

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Throwback to December 2019 and my trip with @canadiannorthairlines to #CambridgeBay, #Canada and back…
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#FLYING #INSTAVIATION #INSTATRAVEL #AVGEEK #TRAVEL #AVIATION #FLIGHTBLOGGER #TRAVEL #TRAVELBLOGGER #FREQUENTFLYER @canadiannorthair ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Dec 6

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Former #LTU #Airlines #SudAviation #Caravelle #FlightSimulator at @tfc_flighttraining in #Essen, #Germany.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #avgeek #aviation #upintheair #spotting #spotter #planespotting #planespotter #avgeek #airplane #flightsim @ltu.international.airways #LTUinternationalairways ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Route: #MIA - #GRU
Airline: @americanair
Class: #FirstClass
Aircraft: @boeing #777-300ER
Seat: 1G, aisle
Info: The truthful summary of this flight is “I slept and I had a wonderful sleep!”. So boarding began about 40 minutes later than scheduled, as the aircraft came in late due to the tropical storm in the region. Again, despite boarding as group 1, there was the annoying queue in the jetbridge, as the aircraft was not ready to let pax onboard. Oh well, when will you learn my dear airlines of the world?
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After boarding the cabin crew distributed the usual welcome drinks, Champagne and Orange Juice for me, but also the classic grey AA First Class pyjamas. So I immediately headed for the lavatory and got changed and afterwards put the provided @casper mattress on top of my seat. I know the AA F seat gets a lot of criticism for being too hard and having uncomfy bumps, but with the provided bedding, it’s super comfortable. I think once AA has removed all F seats from their aircraft and there is only Business Class left, people will really miss this product.
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So as soon as we had taken off, I angled my seat towards the footrest and went into lie-flat mode (what took like 5 minutes as the seat mechanism was broken) and then slept. For over 7 hours straight. I was woken up by the short announcement from the flight deck saying it’s 50 minutes until landing. So I went to the lavatory again, got changed back into my regular clothes and got a Coke Zero from the friendly cabin crew.
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Because of our storm related delay, we arrived a little bit late in São Paulo, too, which meant we came in after most of the European arrivals and thus I needed about an hour from deplaning to getting into my Uber. Usually with that flight you come in before all the other early morning arrivals and have zero queueing at passport control. That’s life…
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More high-res photos on the Carst in the Air Facebook page.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #alwayschoosethewindowseat ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Lounge: Flagship First Dining
Airport: Miami
Info: After arriving like an hour delayed from New York, due to the tropical storm in the region, I walked about 10 minutes from our arrival gate to the #AmericanAirlines Flagship Lounge at gate D30. There an agent took me from the entrance through the Flagship Lounge (first three photos), to the dedicated #FlagshipFirstDining Area. Also here the area is much quieter than the lounge itself, but it’s less beautiful than the dining area in New York, as it has only one large window. Nevertheless I did got a table facing the window and had a wonderful dinner there, as well as some @champagnelaurentperrier. My starter were the excellent Wagyu Beef Sliders and for my main course I had the Korean BBQ Grilled Skirt Steak. I skipped the Dessert, as AA had again served me their signature Corn Bread with salted Butter and I was already full from eating in lounges and on planes for two days.
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As my outbound flight was also a little bit delayed, I stayed a little bit longer in the lounge, before moving to my gate about 55 minutes before departure…
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More high-res photos on the Carst in the Air Facebook page.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Route: #JFK - #MIA
Airline: @americanair
Class: Domestic First
Info: This flight was operated by one of their @boeing #737-800 aircraft and I was in seat 1F. Despite boarding at the gate starting early, there was some annoying queueing in the jetbridge involved until the aircraft was ready to start boarding. This sadly seems to be the norm with most airlines these days, because some bean-counters have discovered that this can speed up boarding time by 1%. At least if you just believe so. That it annoys the fuck out of your best paying and most loyal passengers doesn’t seem to play a role in these calculations. 🤷🏼‍♂️
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Nevertheless we left JFK a little bit delayed as we were in a 40 minute queue to the departure runway. That’s about your average queue for JFK in my experience. Weather was beautiful and the captain announced that we would probably make up most of the delay until reaching Florida, but there was no guarantee that we would get into Miami, because a tropical storm was battering the area heavy winds and strong rain. AA had also advised me about a possible disruption by eMail, but what could I do then just ride it out? It’s not like there tons of connections to GRU AA would reroute me on.
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The costs of Wifi on AA are still ridiculously high, but you now get 2x 20 minutes of Wifi for free if you watch an ad before going online. That’s okay. And on a positive note, their choice of movies, series and music (all of Apple Music) to stream is huge and it’s all free of charge.
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Lunch was a salad with chicken and some chocolate cream cake for dessert. I just had the chicken pieces and the dessert, as I still felt full from my lunch in the lounge and soon would have dinner at Miami’s lounge. The crew was great and continuously refilled the glasses in #FirstClass.
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Closing in on Miami we ended up in a holding for an hour and nearly diverted to Orlando, but luckily got an approach clearance in the end.
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More high-res photos on the Carst in the Air Facebook page.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Lounge: Flagship First Dining
Airport: New York JFK T8
Info: Inside a few of @americanair’s Flagship Lounges (their version of a @oneworld First Class Lounge) you’ll find a separate area titled “Flagship First Dining”. This area is reserved for passengers flying on their Flagship First Transcon Service (a few certain nonstop routes from US Eastcoast to Westcoast) and passengers on international First Class Tickets. First Class arrivals with connections or outbound pax connecting to a First Class flight are eligible to access this area as well. Both cases applied to me. I arrived yesterday in First from London (on the same ticket) and now was flying to Miami to connect to another international First Class flight.
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An agent will always guide you there from the entrance and the food and drinks you get in there are a massive step up above what’s available on the buffet of the Flagship Lounges.
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That day I had Spiced Crab Croquettes, Braised Baby Lamb Shank and Warm Chocolate Cake with Icecream. Plus their amazing warm Corn Bread with salted Butter. All that accompanied by some very tasty Champagne.
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And while some of the loungers in the regular lounge area are more comfy if you’re finished eating, I still stayed in the Flagship Dining, because the regular lounge tends to fill up towards the afternoon and evening and gets very noisy, while the Flagship Dining usually stays quiet and serene.
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More high-res photos on the Carst in the Air Facebook page.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Route: #LHR - #JFK
Airline: @americanair
Class: #FirstClass
Info: This was a great daylight flight from London to New York in First Class with #AmericanAirlines. Not that I wouldn’t appreciate redeye flights, too, where the premium cabins usually give you a full night’s sleep, but these daytime flights just allow you to much more enjoy the product you paid for. I was in seat 1A. Well initially 2A, but shortly after boarding switched over to 1A, so a couple could sit together in row 2. The flight was operated by one of AA’s @boeing #777-300ER aircraft. Before the take-off I could quickly visit the flight deck and the don of the plane, I mean the captain offered to take a photo of me in his seat. Clearly an offer you can’t refuse! Food was great, even if the first dinner had too much fat around the bone. I can’t show you all food pics here, so checkout my Facebook page for more photos. Same for the photos of our arrival into New York, where we had an ultra picturesque #sunset!
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More high-res photos on the Carst in the Air Facebook page.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #alwayschoosethewindowseat ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Lounge: CX First Class
Airport: @heathrow_airport
Info: As everyone knows, the best lounge at London Heathrow’s Terminal 3 is @cathaypacific’s First Class Lounge and that’s where I went before my flight to New York. Of course I could have visited one of the other @oneworld lounges, too. There is BA, AA and QF in T3. Plus two lounges you get in with priority pass and the AMEX Centurion Lounge. But CX just is the best.
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The First Class section actually is a little bit small and can get crowded in the early afternoon when I was there. So of course my favourite throne seat was taken, but that was okay, as I first headed for the dining area anyway and had an excellent Chicken Salfrezi and the Apple and Cinnamon Tarte for Dessert. Afterwards I retreated to one of the throne seats and enjoyed a few glasses of Joseph Perrier Champagne.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

6 3

carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Route: #BUD - #LHR
Airline: @feelfinnair
Class: #BusinessClass
Info: To my surprise this @british_airways flight was operated by #Finnair, as BA seems to be a little bit short of aircraft and crews. Aircraft was an @airbus #A321 and I was in seat 1A a.k.a. the #WankerSeat. Crew was lovely and chatty, for #lunch I had the Buttermilk Chicken, which was very tasty. Overall I felt very much Finnair, but with a strange British touch to it. For the approach to London, I was sadly sitting on the wrong side for nice photos of the city from above, but that’s what you get when you book such trips just a few days before your departure.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #alwayschoosethewindowseat ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Lounge: Platinum Lounge
Airport: Budapest
Info: This is the non-Schengen Platinum Lounge at Budapest Airport. I reviewed this lounge a few times already this year and there isn’t much to add. You get comfy seating in a little, somewhat cramped space, there is not much on offer, basically zero food and you have to pour your Softdrinks from large plastic bottles. It’s obviously still better than sitting at the gate area, but really no reason to be at the airport any earlier than necessary.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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WTF?! After deplaning my WizzAir A320neo in Budapest, I saw this #Malev #Tupolev #Tu154 parked at one of the gates. And it looked fabulous! Shiny and new! Except that Malev went into insolvency like 10 years ago or so and the Russian planes have not flown for them in like 20 years or more.
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A quick check of the plane’s registration confirmed that it’s not on an active register anymore. So probably a plane from the aviation museum located right beside the airport. Must have been towed to the terminal for some special event. Cool to see!
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #aviation #upintheair #spotting #spotter #planespotting #planespotter #avgeek #nerd #airplane ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 28

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Date: Sep 2022
Route: #BER - #BUD
Airline: @wizzair
Class: LCC Economy
Info: I had booked another one of the AA First Class fares from Budapest (the third already this year) and somehow needed to get there before my lunchtime departure from BUD. So of course there was the option of flying in with all the usual airlines, but it would always have meant spending a night in Budapest. So I decided to book el cheapo #Wizzair, as they had an early morning nonstop flight from Berlin to Budapest. My first time on WizzAir. I had booked myself priority boarding and a seat near the front doors (7A), so I could get both my cabin bags onboard, as I was again travelling without a checked bag. Knowing Wizz is a ultra low cost carrier, I wasn’t expecting much and that was probably good. You get what you pay for. That’s basically zero legroom, a hard uncomfortable seat and no onboard service, but a safe transportation from A to B, which even was on-time. So guess, considering this is a LCC, one could say, that was a good flight. On too I got a barely two year old @airbus #A320neo.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #alwayschoosethewindowseat #a320 ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 26

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Date: February 2022
Route: #LHR - #BER
Airline: @british_airways
Class: #BusinessClass
Info: Go-Home-Flight with BA from London to Berlin in J class. This 90 minute midday flight was on-time, the offerings were very much reduced though, with only a salad with some pieces of old chicken being offered. Crew was good though and tried their best to make the flight enjoyable for the passengers. Back in BER, I was surprised by the AirPort Express not running and had to schlepp home to northern Berlin via the regular, slow trains. Still regretting not having TXL anymore…
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #alwayschoosethewindowseat ...

2 1

carst_in_the_air

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Sep 26

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Date: Feb 2022
Lounge: Concorde Room
Airport: @heathrow_airport
Info: Final Lounge visit on February‘s trip was the #BritishAirways #ConcordeRoom (CCR) at London Heathrow‘s Terminal 5. Very nice place, despite always being a little bit overcrowded. Breakfast was good, but generally speaking, food offerings and quality have gone down massively in the CCR since the Corona Pandemic started and BA seems to make no moves to offer better and more food again. Quite weak. And I don‘t know if you can make up for these shortcomings by just drinking all that LPGS champagne.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 26

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Date: Feb 2022
Route: #BUD - #LHR
Airline: @british_airways
Class: #BusinessClass
Info: After two days in Budapest and over three weeks away from home, it was time to return to Berlin. Via London Heathrow obviously. Why take the direct flight, when you can fly BA Business Class via London and spend another day in the lounge there. So after a short early morning stop at the quirky little lounge at Budapest Airport, where you get nothing really in offerings and even the Softdrinks are in big bottles, it was time for the second to last flight for February 2022. I was in seat 1F, which like all bulkhead seats is always a little bit reduced in legroom, but has tons of knee-room instead. You get some, you loose some, right? Breakfast was good, but not great. I went with a cheese-omelette that day instead of the full English brekky. Crew seemed to be quite nice, but I slept most of the flight after the breakfast service. After landing in London, we didn‘t get a jetty, but some horrible outside parking position around Terminal 3. And then we had to wait like 40 minutes to get off the plane, first there was no one to push the stairs to the plane and then we waited another 25 minutes for a bus.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #alwayschoosethewindowseat ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 26

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Date: Feb 2022
Route: #LHR - #BUD
Airline: @british_airways
Class: #BusinessClass
Info: Final flight of this trip, British Airways bringing me to Budapest from London, where I would spend two days for some sightseeing, before heading back to home to Berlin (via London again). It was a rainy evening flight in February, so not much to see from the windows, but a few words about the soft-product. Food looked weird, but was very tasty. Staff didn‘t look weird from what I remember and was excellent. Great service and because I was still hungry after that second dinner, they kept providing me with pre-packed #nuts. It’s the simple things that make me happy. Hehe! It was that kind of crew which would have kept your glasses always full, but I just had some Coke Zero and Orange Juice, as I had too much champagne already in the three lounges that day.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #alwayschoosethewindowseat ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 26

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Date: Feb 2022
Lounge: BA First Lounge
Airport: @heathrow_airport T3
Info: The third and final lounge I visited that day at #LHR T3 was the @british_airways First Class Lounge. There is no Concorde Room in T3, like there is in T5, but the CX lounge usually makes up for that. But in February, post-pandemic, it was still closing quite early in the afternoon, so I did spend the final 90 minutes before my flight to Budapest in the BA F Lounge. One had to order all food and drinks via a website (QR codes were on all tables) and that worked quite well, with orders coming within a very short timeframe. Obviously it helped that it was so empty this evening. I had some chicken for dinner, before heading to my boarding gate. This being not the „CCR“, but only a regular F Class lounge, there was no LPGS champagne available, but I found the Canard Duchene also quite tasty, as it also has a low level of acidity.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 26

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Date: Feb 2022
Lounge: @cathaypacific
Airport: @heathrow_airport
Info: Second stop of this day‘s #LHR T3 lounge-hopping was the #CathayPacific First Class Lounge. Beside the BA Concorde Room at T5, this is basically my favourite lounge in Europe. Lovely place, great food, great seating, convenient snacks. I just find their champagne has too much acid and I would prefer another brand here. As a bonus I even got everyone‘s favourite seat in this lounge, the #ThroneSeat (TM) in the corner of the lounge with the best runway/apron views. I later had some lunch in the dining area, which was excellent, before moving over to the BA F lounge for dinner later on.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

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carst_in_the_air

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Sep 26

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Date: Feb 2022
Lounge: Centurion Lounge
Airport: @heathrow_airport
Info: After arriving from LA on BA, I had to hop over from #LHR Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, where my final flight of this trip to Budapest would depart from. But I had nearly the full day in T3, before my trip would continue. So I had some time to do the classic T3 Lounge-Hop. As a @oneworld frequent flyer you can already visit four lounges in T3, the ones of Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, Qantas and British Airways. Additionally if you have an @americanexpress Platinum Card, you have the AMEX Centurion Lounge (newly opened this year) and two lounges you get into with your priority pass. On that day, I visited three lounges. First stop was at the #CenturionLounge, which is located right after the T3 transfer security. It‘s a super beautiful place, very nicely designed. Staff was super friendly and I got an amenity kit as welcome present. The bar is full stocked obviously and there were some food offerings available. I just had a cookie or two and some drinks, before heading for the next lounge. I‘d rate this place as an excellent Business Class Lounge, but a little bit below the First Class Lounge offerings of the OneWorld airlines in T3.
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#flying #instaviation #flyingislife #amazing #instatravel #avgeek #travel #travelgram #aviation #flight #flightblogger #travel #travelblogger #frequentflyer #flyer #upintheair #ontheroad #wanderlust #businessclass #firstclass #lounge #airportlounge #loungelife ...

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Aviation & Trip Reports

Here are my latest posts on this blog on aviation & trip reports. If you want to read more on aviation, then also checkout my dedicated page on this topic & the related social media accounts here: CARST IN THE AIR