Nick
Well-Known Member
ZapBrannigan said:
Good idea!
I wish I flew it, but I was just a jumpseater.
The route was Hong Kong to Los Angeles with a 90 minute stop in Incheon (crew and cargo swap).
A huge thanks again to Polar742 (though he should rename himself to Polar744) for flight information and schedules, and Polar Air itself for being so accommodating.
We were told to stand at the information desk between terminals E and F in the passenger terminal of Chep Lap Kok airport at 5PM. A girl who worked for the airport promptly met us and escorted my friend and I through customs and security. After passing through security she handed us a folder with the paperwork documents and ushered us into a van and bid us farewell.
The van drove us on a nice tour of the airport and right up to our ride home, N451PA, Wings of Change.
After a service check was completed, we departed Hong Kong. This was a three hour leg so just two pilots. They were nice enough to invite us into the cockpit jumpseats for takeoff and landing and whenever else we wanted. The back of the upstairs was vacant so they also graciously let us use the bunks to lie down and take a nap. The business class seats are nice (equivalent to a typical 757 business/first seat) but it sure was nice to lie down flat for a couple hours after an exhausting few days in Hong Kong.
Here is one of the two bunks, as we climb out over east central China.
Here we are on the ramp in Incheon, South Korea. My friend and I put our uniform shirts back on to greet the next crew which was waiting as we pulled up from HKG. We stayed out of the way as much as we could while the workers were doing what they needed to do with the airplane. We stood outside with the new crew for a bit (three pilots to LAX and one deadheading home) and then went back into the plane.
Polar, we're jealous of your new ride!
Here we are over the Pacific Ocean, sans captain who was up for a stretch and potty break. A couple hours to go until landing.
Ride's over. Here you can see the seating arrangement as we taxi from the north complex to the south complex of LAX.
Just a few hours later we were on the luxurious Continental 757-300 redeye to EWR! (hey...we both got our own rows so it was alright).
Thanks again Polar Air and Polar742!
