  Tailfin of an Air France A321 Aircraft: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Route: Paris CDG to London Heathrow Airport Departure date and time of flight: 19:05am on the 27th December 2009 Flight Number: AF1180 Flight duration: 1 hour 10 minutes Class: Economy Class Aircraft type: A319 Punctuality of the flight: The flight was delayed taking off by around 5 minutes due to the evening rush hour traffic at Paris CDG Airport. Further more we were delayed by a further 10 minutes because we had to circle over London (Biggin Hill)- though the actually flying time from Paris airspace to London was around 30 minutes, the rest was spent just holding and waiting to take-off/land!. Any baggage issues: I was taking Air France on this connecting flight from Hong Kong via Paris CDG. Thankfully this time around there was no baggage issues, and I arrived in time with all my bags in tact! Air France do have a history of losing baggage during transit. Comments on the check-in staff and any issues: None- it was all smooth. I had come into Paris early in the morning at around 5.50am from Hong Kong and stayed all day Paris for an 8 hour stopover. My bags were in transit- so all I had to do was go through security and onto the gate. Because of jet lag, I was not that tired (really!). Comments regarding the pre-meal service: Snacks consisting of butter cookies and “Tarallucci au Fenouil” (The French equivalent of pretzels?). Comments regarding the first meal: None Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any): Just the above mentioned choices, along with drinks (Madame Minute orange and red wine) Comments regarding the second meal (if any): None Comments on the in-flight system (if any): None Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew: My selected seat was changed when I got on board the plane. I could never forget the coldness in the eyes and body language of the French cabin crew member who did not offer a proper apology when I asked to bee assigned to the seat which I had selected. I am not sure what to write over here after my experience. In regards to the customer service that I was provided by the cabin crew, I would say that your average KFC employee would do a much better job. Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): Some of Air France’s seats are beautifully covered with seat covers that are coloured in blue, red and white (representing the national flag). Likewise, some of the planes are clean and well maintained- while the majority seem to across as they need the vacuum cleaner to be used again. Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 3 (the quality of the seats, customer service, and the unkept interior of the aircraft let down the flight)      Route: Shanghai Hongqiao to Guangzhou Baiyun International Departure date and time of flight: 19:45pm on the 23rd December 2009 Flight Number: CZ3504 Flight duration: 2 hours 10 minutes Class: Economy Class Aircraft type: Boeing 777-200LR Punctuality of the flight: The flight departed on time and landed on time. Any baggage issues: No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece. Comments on the check-in staff and any issues: No check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at Hongqiao Airport. I find the operations at Hongqiao much more efficient than those at Pudong Airport. It’s not that busy, which makes it easy for the speedy whisk through security and onto the departure gates. Comments regarding the pre-meal service: Just drinks (non-alcoholic), and including tea and coffee. Comments regarding the first meal: The dinner box contained the following interesting items: apple chips (tasted more like wine flavoured crisps), a plain and boring bun, a few slices of melon and a packet containing preserved spicy pickle which you can put onto the main food. The main hot dish contained a very generous portion of healthy chicken noodles and vegetables. The food did not look edible, but in saying this I was impressed with the taste of the chicken noodles- not bad actually (though it did look like as if someone had stamped their feet onto the chicken noodles). Comments regarding the drinks service: A second round of drinks were offered after the meal. No alcohol, but plenty of milk, coffee and tea. Improvements that could be made: I cannot really comment much on the in-flight food or the environment because it was not a long flight. But it was acceptable for a short 2-hour flight- all I can say is that I had a good sleep when I went home and I had no stomach problems. Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): The 777-200 plane had a seat configuration of 3-4-3 with an all Economy Class seat set up. The plane was clean and the toilets were clean too. It was not full at all. Not bad a flight after all. The crew were friendly too. Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 7 (sorry but the food lets the flight down)         Route: Shenzhen to Shanghai Hongqiao Departure date and time of flight: 07:50am on the 19th December 2009 Flight Number: HO1152 Flight duration: 2hours Class: Economy Class Aircraft type: Airbus A320 Punctuality of the flight: The flight departed on time and landed on time. Any baggage issues: No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece. Comments on the check-in staff and any issues: No-check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at Shenzhen- the process from checking in to going to the gate took only around 15 minutes. Comments regarding the pre-meal service: Just drinks- included “Mengyiu” milk (Chinese branded milk) and Chinese branded cola and orange juice. Comments regarding the first meal: All we got was a stylish carton containing a “Mengyiu” milk carton and a “bun” filled with a slice of ham and some butter. The flight was too short and really you could not ask for more in China. In Europe it is a different story, but for a 2 hour flight, the contents provides were of a decent quality. Comments regarding the drinks service: A second round of drinks were offered after the meal. No alcohol, but plenty of milk, coffee and tea. Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any): None Comments regarding the second meal (if any): None Comments on the in-flight system (if any): None Comments on the professionalism of the cabin crew: The cabin crew were very professional and polite. Just a normal flight, without any incidents. Improvements that could be made: None...everything seemed to be OK. Juneyao Airlines has a good service because it is a private carrier, unlike most of the other Chinese carriers. Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): The A320 had a standard 3-3. Unlike most other Chinese carriers, Juneyao has their own branded interior which consists of Purple coloured seats, and matching cushions. The toilets were clean and well maintained. There was no bad smell in the cabin (sometimes plane cabins do smell). Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 9          |
 Navjot Singh inside an Airbus A320 cockpit of British Airways at Heathrow Airport About Airline PRThis is a special section on Airline Branding, and Airline Public Relations written by me on all the flights I have been fortunate enough to have been on. These are not records taken from somewhere else, but are actual flights I have been on. Most of the flight trips are officially sponsored by the airline companies in order to promote their certain routes, and aircraft. Airline promotion and PR related work in the aviation industry is one of my expertise. 
Navjot Singh at a Chinese Military Airfield
Watch exclusive videos below taken in the cockpit of a Boeing 777-300ER in-flight over Chinese Airspace.
Special thanks goes to Turkish Airlines B777-300ER Cockpit Video 1B777-300ER Cockpit Video 2
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