LHE-KHI
1 hr 27 mins
777
AP-BGJ
ECONOMY CLASS
finally I had the opportunity of flying the queen of the flagship .. the 777
i especially booked myself on this flight just for the sole purpose of flyin the 777 and comparing it to the 743
Anyways as it was the peak season and I was traveling on a weekend on a sublo ticket my odds of getting onboard the flight were very high. but as the first officer was a colleague of my father he had requested a jumpseat for myslef on the flight and sooo i was lucky enough tobe issued a boarding pass i was th elast one to get onboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday evening, not much traffic except for an Indian airlines A320 and a 733 to sharjah , and of course my flights plane, 777 AP-BGJ, the departure lounge was jam-packed as it was a full flight boarding announced at 530 as th departure of 305 is 6 pm daily the usual haphazard no row wise procedure began loads of ppl with tons of over weight cabin baggage were being stopped at the door of the aircraft , i checked in last but got on waay b4 many ppl,
as I got the boarding stub scanned and handed over to me,i proceeded to gate 8 Where olf Juliet stood gracefully maaan the size od those GE 90s was massssive!!!! i entered the aerobridge and once again the usual
PIA AROMA hit my nose i wondered at how quiet the plane is , no noise virtually silent on ground,
the door was as wide as a jumbo's door but opens as a slide out not push and turn type.i entered in through door L2 and was greeted by an attractive stewardess who guided me to my seat and the
while i entered th eplane i saw the CMS it was all enclosed in an LCD that showed the cabin status, IFE controls , bgm controls and light switches in a 7 inch touch screen system very impressive!!
i headed to ward 32E ,
tempo cabin layout 3-3-3 , economy plus was no different except for a curtain divider nothing else no increased legroom no special footrest nothing!
the plane was new but well worn!!!
scratches cracks are now evident
th espeakers were rattling and boarding music was making skipping noises my overhead rack was jammed and the one infront was waaay to loose to be loaded as it fell open after every few seconds.... wut a shame for a new aircraft????
the screens were showing a demo about the moughal architecture with matching mughalai music ( sitar by Nafees Ahmed of course)
the plane smelled nice though ( very strong lemony air freshener had been sprayed)
the ground power was working efficiently as i didnt feel hot on the ground and the aircon was functioning b4 pushback aswell
the crew was a mix of seniors and fresheees. All were well groomed and smart and pleasant looking.
before i knew it every one was seated and pre takeoff water and newspaper service was done!
economy plus pax were being given scented towels and juice like business plus.
travel prayer was screened and then announcements were made,,, the audio system was a disappointment... the speakers make loud beeping and cracking noises and the sound remains muffled and an irritating echo tops it all
safety demo stopped working halfway thru!!!!!!!!!
i mean wut the ............. its been 1 year vintage and this is wut has become of the latest aircraft , the jumbo on my way back was way better in cabin appearance and audio system .wise
The flap deployment and retraction and engine startup were soooooooooo smooth and almost soundless it was unusually quiet
the tyres made no rubbing and clunking sounds like 310 an d747 make while taxiing out.
Takeoff was powerful yet jerk less and the audible twirling whine of the GE's sounded so good to the ears. Takeoff roll was for about a good 25 seconds and tyre retraction seemed effortless. Boy i have some very scary stories about tyre retraction on the 74M's lol.
i thoroughly enjoyed the interactive air show that had various modes of city views e.t.c
the airhostesses rolled out the trolleys quickly and efficiently all very smart shapely girls one had left Air blue recently and joined PIA.
THE CAPTAIN CAME ON THE public address system to give flight info
Our climb was 35000ft and the route was over Okara, Multan Bahawalpur, Rahimyaarkahn, Sukkur then finally Nawabshah and into Karachi
THE FOOD WAS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!
half a measly bran and cheese sandwich, a tuna filled croissant and a so called French caramel pastry that tasted more like Karachi's diesel laden air!!!
Followed by juices and tea or coffee,
i could see that the economy plus pax were served out form trolley as well
i wonder y .... But the food in front was definitely better and varied.
i decided not to eat and took a lil walk while the cabin staff was busy so i could take a lil look on the business plus. wooooow it seemed to be cramped in the pics that i had seen f it but in reality it is quite spacious and contemporary very new age. th eservice up here was a far cry form my rows as expected ... the toilets were clean and unclogged ( only a very rare phenomenon on PK) lol and well stocked ( so i presumed that the lil kleptomaniac's didn't enter the toilets as yet to steal the cologne and moisturizer bottles )
The meal service took a little longer than expect to clear, and after passing sukkur was began to descend .... i went back to the mid galley where the first officer and the stewardesses were chatting he introduced me to the crew . I talked to the first officer who said that flying this aircraft is phenomenal as everything is soo automated and smooth , i was hesitant about asking if he let me in the flight desk and so i didnt ask.
The stewards and hostesses were very friendly in the economy plus galley who had time for a lil chat with the aviation enthusiastic passengers and helped me get familiarized the 777's working procedures and IFE systems. the VCC is located right behind the cockpit adjascent to the toilets in front of th eL1 door. it consists of a PC and various cd and hi-8 casette jacks. and audio is totally in memory stick and CD.
I asked why the audis system is muffled and beeping and they said that this particualr aircraft has a history of these snags on long haul it automatically plays the overseas ditching demo and alarms passengers and at times it gets very loud by itself there is some problem with the software as the command is at times misinterpret by the computer.
tjhe descend was a little bump and rough th etouchdown was not heavy but light enough to be mistaken as an in-flight bump! The thrust reversers were powerful and made a lawnmower like sound and sent everyone a light pushing sensation and th brakes were not hard yet efficient in decelerating the plane
lights were turned on announcement mad e that we've landed and the temp was 29 degrees. and the time was 7:45 pm
music swithced on again, funny, this tune had the ACE OF BASE " i saw the sign" tune ..well the Nafees Ahmed instrumental version of it..lol
we docked after a long taxi in and I got off last i thanked the crew for an enjoyable experience
all in all aid give this flight 6 out of ten as the food was horrid, seats were a not in good shape and the clarity of safety briefings was sub standard as compared to other AIRLINES
the 777 may b more technologically advanced then PIA 743s but t the 777 can simply not take th e743's place in seat pitch wdth and recline, overall appearance and layouts744s would have made a more convincing deal i.s.o 777 300! ATLEAST
and friendly
