SOAK01 does Disneyland and Canada on CX/AC/WS

[soak01]

Well, after 12 months of planning our trip to Disneyland and Canada for a white xmas finally arrived. The plan had been to fly our beloved SQ but due to the cessation of flights out of Vancouver we were left with the choice of CX or NZ offering the best choice out of ADL and allowing flying in to LAX and out of YVR. In the end it came down to price and availability with CX winning out. It would also give us the chance to try out those infamous Olympus seats in Y.

So our routing was as follows:

CX104 ADL/MEL/HKG
CX880 HKG/LAX
AC571 LAX/YYC
WS257 YYC/YLW/YVR
CX839 YVR/HKG
CX105 HKG/ADL


30 November 2009
Cathay Pacific CX104 ADL/MEL/HKG
B-LAH Airbus A330-300
ADL/MEL STD 1215 STA 1405 Flight time 1:20
MEL/HKG STD 1530 STA 2145 Flight Time 9:15

CX104/5 operates a triangular service of HKG/ADL/MEL/HKG. B-LAH arrives in ADL after its overnight flight as CX105 from HKG.

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So now for the traditional leg room shot. The seat took a little bit to get used to and yes after so much flying it was a bit hard on the back-side but we certainly appreciated not having the person in front recline in to our own space.





Getting ready for push-back.



Video coverage of the taxi and take off from ADL.

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Flying over South Australia enroute to Melbourne





Some shots taken whilst at Melbourne (MEL).







Flight left Melbourne on time with very smooth flying conditions to Hong Kong.

[soak01]

Some shots taken enroute from Melbourne to Hong Kong.







30 November 2009
Cathay Pacific CX880 HKG/LAX
B-KPH Boeing 777-300ER
HKG/LAX STD 2345 STA 2015 Flight Duration 12:30

Flight left HKG on time with a load of approximately 85% in Y. Flight deck and cabin crew consisted of primarily US based crew. Unfortunately. Due to the time of night I was unable to get any shots from the airport or aircraft except the nose camera shot on approach to LAX.



US arrival documentation was handed out shortly after take off and again prior to landing. Whilst long, the flight went smoothly with very little turbulance. Studio CX certainly kept us occupied and the crew, whilst far more robotic that SQ girls, made regular drink and snack runs during the flight.

1st to 5th December
Disneyland and Los Angeles

After a slow morning it was time to hit Disneyland.

[soak01]

Had to take this one. A drive-thru Krispy Kreme outlet.



Disney California Adventures



Tour Of LA and Hollywood

Rather than take one of the organised bus tours operating out of Anaheim, we arranged a private car tour through a company called "Rays Economy Tours". I cannot recommend them highly enough. We were picked up at 9.00am and spent the whole day touring, Hollywood, Beverley Hills, Rodeo Drive, Homes of The Stars and Santa Monica before returning to Anaheim at 6.30pm. The driver even kindly waited for us at our hotel and dropped us back to Disneyland.

[soak01]

6 December 2009

Time to leave Anaheim and head back to LAX for our flight to Canada.



Not knowing what to expect of US security arrangements at LAX, we gave ourselves plenty of time to check-in and clear customs which left plenty of time for some plane spotting.

[soak01]

Finally it was time to leave the United States and head north to a snowy Canada. On boarding the pilot gave us the news that it was snowing in Calgary and -18C.

Air Canada AC571 LAX/YYC
C-FLWH Embraer E190
STD 1205 STA 1610 Flight Duration 3:05

An earlier E190 leaving for Edmonton.



Departure from LAX



Some shots taken over the Rockies and yes that is ice on the window.









Flying over the Canadian Rockies

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Commencing descent into Calgary International Airport (YYC)

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Approach and landing at YYC

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[soak01]

Snow clearing in Calgary (YYC)













Winter has obviously arrived.







Welcome To Calgary

[soak01]

Trans Canada Highway #1 from Calgary to Banff







Banff



Banff Springs Hotel



Banff Hot Springs



Chateau Lake Louise

[soak01]

Calgary Downtown







January 2nd 2010
Time to leave Calgary and to fly to Vancouver. Our flight to Vancouver would be on Westjet (a canadian low cost carrier) which is based in Calgary and would include a short 20 minute layover in Kelowna, British Columbia enroute.

Westjet WS257 YYC/YLW/YVR
Boeing 737-700
STD 1105 ATD 1215





Not bad legroom for a low cost carrier.











Taxi & Hold Of Flight WS257

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Take off from Calgary for Kelowna

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Approach & landing in Kelowna (YLW)

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After a short 20 minute layover, we departed Kelowna enroute for Vancouver (YVR)

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Approach & landing at Vancouver (YVR)

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[soak01]

2nd January to 5th January 2010
Vancouver

Vancouver Skyline





Capilano Suspension Bridge





Grouse Mountain









Canada Place







Gastown Steam Clock

[soak01]

Looking from Downtown to North Vancouver



View from the Marriott Pinnacle





6th January 2010

Time to leave Vancouver and to return to Adelaide. We checked in on-line and had been assigned the seats that we requested. On arrival at the bag drop, check-in was processed promptly leaving plenty of time to explore YVR and to take advantage of the observation area.

[soak01]

Arrival of Cathay Pacific CX838 from Hong Kong, an Airbus A340-300 being operated by B-HXH. After a 90 minute layover, we would fly on her back to Hong Kong.

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Cathay Pacific CX839 YVR/HKG
B-HXH Airbus A340-300
STD 1350 STA 2015+1 Flight Duration 14:25

Pushback and engine start from Gate 65

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Taxi to runway 26L

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Take-Off

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[soak01]

And again, the customary legroom shot. I actually found that there was more legroom on the A340 that on either the A330 or B777. It was also far quieter.











Sunset over northern Russia or China

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7th January 2010
Cathay Pacific CX105 HKG/ADL
B-LAC Airbus A330-300
STD 2345 STA 1050

After a 3 hour layover in Hong Kong, we boarded our last CX flight. CX105 would be an overnight flight to Adelaide taking us over Manila, Darwin, Alice Springs and Coober Pedy. Economy was 100% although approximated 2/3rds of passengers were continuing on to Melbourne from Adelaide.







After our overnight flight we flew along the Adelaide coastline and them made our approach and landing, arriving on time and a temperature of 39C.

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So would I fly CX again. My first preference would always be SQ, but CX certainly for the Y passenger does make for a good alternative.

[albert]

It's pretty interesting to see that despite having a retroffited seats and screens installed, the a340-300 flight show is still an old version (i found the old one to be much informative) .

[SQflyergirl]

Nice report. Ah the Magic of Disney

[hsf]

Impressive pictures!

Thank you.