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Carrier:Saudi Arabian
Origin: Riyadh-King Khalid bin AbdulAziz International Airport(RUH/OERK)
Via:Dammam-King Fahah bin AbdulAziz International Airport(OED/OEDF)
Destination:Lahore-Allama Iqbal International Airport(LHE/OPLA)
Flight No: SV 0735
A/C Type: 747-368 HZ-AIM
Departure: 0200 Arabian Standard Time
Arrival: 0830 Arabian Standard Time
Time Taken:0630 hrs total,0500 hrs flight
Abbreviations I used:KKIA(Riyadh),KFIA(Dammam)
Reached KKIA at 2000 something.Then proceeded to the departure lounges at around 2030.There is a family lounge(old fashioned but it works) just before immigration.It is away from all crowds,etc. so its quite peaceful.
http://www.europa.com/~kim/airportinside.jpg
http://www.sofab.info/images/airportoutside.jpg
I left that lounge at 2300 and proceeded to immigration.The bored looking agents stamped my passport.I was then frisked like all others by security
Then there was this Woman with 2 brats who didnt have her passport stamped but managed to get in to departures!!She was curtly escorted back to immigration.
The Lahore,Dhaka,Delhi/Mumbai flights depart at the same times so the whole lounge is filled with people....the once clean toilets become filthy in a matter of minutes...
And then ofcourse there are the people who look at the the planes in amazement saying "oh jumbo"(to a jumbo ofcourse),"tristar"(to a biman dc 10), "airbus" (to a 777) etc.,etc.
I just looked around and saw the Biman DC-10 and a PIA 777....Man I was surprised to see it!There were also a Cathay and Phillipines Airlines flights.They were all boarding at the Intrernational Airlines terminal.
Finally our plane pulled into gate 21.It was a -368 series 747 registered HZ-AIM(delivered 1985).
Some passengers from europe or somewhere started deboarding.
At 0045 the 17 crew boarded the plane.Finally boarding was announced at 0120 and 6 lines were formed infront of one gate agent!Each member of a
single family was in a different line.Whichever line moved faster,the whole family went there causing lot of discomfort to the people.
Another interseting phenomenon that occurs at Riyadh is,that before boarding the oversized luggage of all passengers is thrown on the escalators and carried in the cargo bay.
Pretty soon I was in the plane.I looked around to see the whole cabin in chaos.Some kids were running about.Other were fighting over their seats,some over magazines and some over their mothers.I was like thinking of giving those kids some sedatives or something.
The first class section was half full,the guest(economy) class was 90% full.Saudia now has a 6-abreast,economy configuration in the upper decks of 747-300's.The last section of the plane was nearly empty with only the first 6 rows being occupied.One good thing about SV is that all flights are now non smoking.SO as soon as doors were closed,I went to the rear end and peacfully sat on the last seat of the Jumbo.
The captain for the flight was Captain Nishat.The crew of some Saudis and Fillipinos was very very good and courteous.Next door the Dhaka flight (747-100) was ready for takeoff.It taxied out first follwed by us.Anyone want the welcome announcement?
Lights were dimmed and at 0155 we were on the runway.Takeoff was smooth but very dark outside and I couldnt see a thing outside.Pretty soon we reached our cruise altitude of 21,000 feet.
After 30 minutes descent started into KFIA.We did a very very rough landing at Dammam and taxied to the gate.There were several private jets as well as Air India A310.Dammam airport though very large and beautiful is very quiet since there are very few airlines there.Even today only 20 passengers boarded.However all meals were loaded from here.The trays were piping hot and little brown bags of dry ice were placed above the handles so that they could be easily lifted.
After a few minutes doors were closed and we just sat back.30 mins to go.I saw a spectacular sun rise behind another oversized boeing (uh a 747).
We finally took off at 0430 and headed towards Lahore.After a few more minutes the meal was served.The menu was as under:
MAIN COURSE
Chicken Keema(Ground Chicken) with Yellow Rice
or
Egg(Omelette) with Mushrooms
DESSERT
Cream Cake
BEVERAGE
Water or Fresh Fruit Juice plus Tea or Coffee
I chose the Chicken and Rice which were very delicious.I had to dig around in the dish to find the ground chicken.It was all under the rice!
After the meal was served I went to sleep.I woke up around 0730 and took couple of shots.
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00166127
Then I went to the galley and chatted with the F/A's and then the Purser too.
I didnt ask for a cockpit visit,I was sure he would deny the request.
I went back to my seat and kept staring out of the window thinking about the trip,airliners.net,credit cards,etc.,etc. till descent started.I was overwhelmed with joy that I would be in my City in a few minutes.
We flew over fields,fields,fields,then a few houses,then more houses,then through the densely populated 'defence' area...I was surprised at why they had chosen such a location for the new airport.Poor People!(By the way I was one of those 'poor people' too later when I went there for spotting)
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00161233
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00166005
We passed a couple of more fields real low and burned a little bit of rubber on the runway and made a quick exit.On the ramp there was an antonov parked to one side,a PIA 777 and a PIA 310.I got a couple of pics there.
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00161230
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00189987
Before the Aircraft came to a stop everyone was up and dragging tons ofhandbags while the F/A's were yelling at everyone(well at least the Saudis were).They stopped a couple of secs later when the plane stopped.We Deplaned after 5 mins of standing in line,pushing and being pushed.
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00181552
Thankfully Immigration wasnt too busy and we were out in 15 minutes.Then went to the luggage Claim.Since our luggage is dumped in the plane first,it always comes out the last.We waited there for half an hour thankfully the electricity didnt fail and there were air conditioners too(Yeah Surprise for Lahore)...Good Work by the Govt!
Anyway I watched as the crew came out through immigration and I hurried up to the captain and thanked him for a great flight.
By the time I got the luggage the crowds had already cleared out so we passed customs without a hassle.
Thats it guys.Thanks for reading.
And thanks to Saudi Arabian!
Origin: Riyadh-King Khalid bin AbdulAziz International Airport(RUH/OERK)
Via:Dammam-King Fahah bin AbdulAziz International Airport(OED/OEDF)
Destination:Lahore-Allama Iqbal International Airport(LHE/OPLA)
Flight No: SV 0735
A/C Type: 747-368 HZ-AIM
Departure: 0200 Arabian Standard Time
Arrival: 0830 Arabian Standard Time
Time Taken:0630 hrs total,0500 hrs flight
Abbreviations I used:KKIA(Riyadh),KFIA(Dammam)
Reached KKIA at 2000 something.Then proceeded to the departure lounges at around 2030.There is a family lounge(old fashioned but it works) just before immigration.It is away from all crowds,etc. so its quite peaceful.
http://www.europa.com/~kim/airportinside.jpg
http://www.sofab.info/images/airportoutside.jpg
I left that lounge at 2300 and proceeded to immigration.The bored looking agents stamped my passport.I was then frisked like all others by security
Then there was this Woman with 2 brats who didnt have her passport stamped but managed to get in to departures!!She was curtly escorted back to immigration.
The Lahore,Dhaka,Delhi/Mumbai flights depart at the same times so the whole lounge is filled with people....the once clean toilets become filthy in a matter of minutes...
And then ofcourse there are the people who look at the the planes in amazement saying "oh jumbo"(to a jumbo ofcourse),"tristar"(to a biman dc 10), "airbus" (to a 777) etc.,etc.
I just looked around and saw the Biman DC-10 and a PIA 777....Man I was surprised to see it!There were also a Cathay and Phillipines Airlines flights.They were all boarding at the Intrernational Airlines terminal.
Finally our plane pulled into gate 21.It was a -368 series 747 registered HZ-AIM(delivered 1985).
Some passengers from europe or somewhere started deboarding.
At 0045 the 17 crew boarded the plane.Finally boarding was announced at 0120 and 6 lines were formed infront of one gate agent!Each member of a
single family was in a different line.Whichever line moved faster,the whole family went there causing lot of discomfort to the people.
Another interseting phenomenon that occurs at Riyadh is,that before boarding the oversized luggage of all passengers is thrown on the escalators and carried in the cargo bay.
Pretty soon I was in the plane.I looked around to see the whole cabin in chaos.Some kids were running about.Other were fighting over their seats,some over magazines and some over their mothers.I was like thinking of giving those kids some sedatives or something.
The first class section was half full,the guest(economy) class was 90% full.Saudia now has a 6-abreast,economy configuration in the upper decks of 747-300's.The last section of the plane was nearly empty with only the first 6 rows being occupied.One good thing about SV is that all flights are now non smoking.SO as soon as doors were closed,I went to the rear end and peacfully sat on the last seat of the Jumbo.
The captain for the flight was Captain Nishat.The crew of some Saudis and Fillipinos was very very good and courteous.Next door the Dhaka flight (747-100) was ready for takeoff.It taxied out first follwed by us.Anyone want the welcome announcement?
Lights were dimmed and at 0155 we were on the runway.Takeoff was smooth but very dark outside and I couldnt see a thing outside.Pretty soon we reached our cruise altitude of 21,000 feet.
After 30 minutes descent started into KFIA.We did a very very rough landing at Dammam and taxied to the gate.There were several private jets as well as Air India A310.Dammam airport though very large and beautiful is very quiet since there are very few airlines there.Even today only 20 passengers boarded.However all meals were loaded from here.The trays were piping hot and little brown bags of dry ice were placed above the handles so that they could be easily lifted.
After a few minutes doors were closed and we just sat back.30 mins to go.I saw a spectacular sun rise behind another oversized boeing (uh a 747).
We finally took off at 0430 and headed towards Lahore.After a few more minutes the meal was served.The menu was as under:
MAIN COURSE
Chicken Keema(Ground Chicken) with Yellow Rice
or
Egg(Omelette) with Mushrooms
DESSERT
Cream Cake
BEVERAGE
Water or Fresh Fruit Juice plus Tea or Coffee
I chose the Chicken and Rice which were very delicious.I had to dig around in the dish to find the ground chicken.It was all under the rice!
After the meal was served I went to sleep.I woke up around 0730 and took couple of shots.
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00166127
Then I went to the galley and chatted with the F/A's and then the Purser too.
I didnt ask for a cockpit visit,I was sure he would deny the request.
I went back to my seat and kept staring out of the window thinking about the trip,airliners.net,credit cards,etc.,etc. till descent started.I was overwhelmed with joy that I would be in my City in a few minutes.
We flew over fields,fields,fields,then a few houses,then more houses,then through the densely populated 'defence' area...I was surprised at why they had chosen such a location for the new airport.Poor People!(By the way I was one of those 'poor people' too later when I went there for spotting)
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00161233
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00166005
We passed a couple of more fields real low and burned a little bit of rubber on the runway and made a quick exit.On the ramp there was an antonov parked to one side,a PIA 777 and a PIA 310.I got a couple of pics there.
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00161230
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00189987
Before the Aircraft came to a stop everyone was up and dragging tons ofhandbags while the F/A's were yelling at everyone(well at least the Saudis were).They stopped a couple of secs later when the plane stopped.We Deplaned after 5 mins of standing in line,pushing and being pushed.
http://myaviation.net/search/photo_s...hp?id=00181552
Thankfully Immigration wasnt too busy and we were out in 15 minutes.Then went to the luggage Claim.Since our luggage is dumped in the plane first,it always comes out the last.We waited there for half an hour thankfully the electricity didnt fail and there were air conditioners too(Yeah Surprise for Lahore)...Good Work by the Govt!
Anyway I watched as the crew came out through immigration and I hurried up to the captain and thanked him for a great flight.
By the time I got the luggage the crowds had already cleared out so we passed customs without a hassle.
Thats it guys.Thanks for reading.
And thanks to Saudi Arabian!
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