Above: Flying near the Tibetan Plateau, 40,000 feet doesn’t seem so high.
It was a 0440 wake up for the 0830 Air New Zealand flight from Hong Kong to London Heathrow. I caught the last “Night Bus” to the airport at 0510 but I should have slept for 15 minutes longer and caught the 0530 normal bus … because the Night Bus takes a longer route through the cargo centres.
I couldn’t have asked for a better flight with 3 seats … except that the armrests on Air New Zealand don’t come up fully on this particular aircraft.
After the scenic portion near the Tibetan Plateau, I did manage to get 3 one-hour lie downs. I don’t think commercial aircraft typically fly right over the highest portion, which I could see in the distance. Combined with 3 TV programmes and 2 meals, the 13h15 flight went rather painlessly.
Landing at Heathrow at 1445, I took the tube to St Pancras station where I met my brother-in-law Mike. He drove us to his place outside of London in Norfolk for my short two night stay. I felt very bad as it was further than I remembered and we were stuck in traffic … rather unexpected on a Sunday afternoon.
Flying near the Tibetan Plateau, 40,000 feet doesn’t seem so high.