Trip to Oman

I arrived in the Sultanate on Oct. 8th. d in

I left home at 6am, took a cab to Amiens train station, then a bus to TGV Haute Picardie (the bullet train station) and the TGV (french high speed train) to Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris.

The taxi driver was OK. He came late because he couldn't find the street (!). Despite this, I gave him a 10% tip and not even got a 'thank you'.

The Check-in :

The trip to Roissy was pretty much OK and I was there at about 8:30 (my plane was scheduled at 11:30). My suitcase was very heavy so I decided to check-in right away. Therefore, I went to the Gulf Air Business Class desk and almost got kicked out by some bouncer.

"This line is for first and business class, economy is this way".

OK, I was wearing no suit nor tie, but still... Anyway, I told him I had a business ticket and he let me go.This was my first trip in business class and I wanted to enjoy all of it : fast check in line, lounge, priority handling of luggage. Check in went smooth and the lady gave me a pass to get access to the lounge and put "priority handling" tags on my luggage. I don't know if these tags have any influence on the delivery speed though.

Next step : the lounge

I was looking forward to enter for the first time in the "Air France Première Lounge" (which, I guess, is rented by Gulf Air to Air France).

Finding the lounge is not so easy in Roissy terminal 1. It is at the 10th floor with few signs showing directions.

I gave my access pass to the lady behind the counter. She told me to get seated. There were chairs and couches. There were 5 or 6 people in the lounge when I came in. I took a chair and picked up newspapers among the many available. I asked the lady if I could hve a cup of coffee, she told me to help myself, which I did.

I took a cup of coffee, a tomato juice and some cookies. There was not even croissants or pastries but there was plenty of alcohol (it was 9 in the morning). I was quite disapointed by the lounge actually. After reading the newspaper and talking to my family on the phone, I left the lounge and went to the boarding gate to spot planes while I was waiting for my flight to board.

A group of French tourists came to seat next to me. They were very annoying, all dressed as if they were about to climb mountains inside the plane, all having the same bag with the name of the travel agency written on it.

Guys, let me explain something to you : when it's written we gonna climb to 50 000ft, we mean the plane is doing the job. No need to wear your trekking shoes...

Aboard the plane

Once in the plane, I had to force myself to make a left (so used to make a right to the economy class). Actually the flight attendant looked at my boarding pass as if something was wrong. But somebody actually came to show me where I was seated. He offered a hand for my carry on but I thanked him (I can still put my carry on in the overhead compartment...).

Then I could look around : there were only 12 seats in my cabins, they were huge. You actually have plenty of space. Look at the pic, if you don't believe me :

After having played with the control of the seat (leg rest, back inflating cushion,...) the seat next to me beacame occupied by another passenger.

As soon as he was seated, he started screaming at the flight attendant because he was not offered newspapers soon enough. I just could not believe it. The good thing about this stupid man is that I got this with my choice of newspaper :

What happened next ? You'll see in next episode !