In the Air Again!

With the lifting of COVID restrictions picking up pace across the world, aspects of normal life have begun to return as well, something that has done wonders for my mental health. Whether it’s working from an actual office, something I now do for four days a week and have been since January, or the disappearance of masks from public life here in Ireland, things seem to be almost back to normal. But how has travel been affected? Well, earlier in the year I had the chance to find out. 

A full on team meeting had been arranged for one of the four regional teams I’m looking after at work. Since we’re talking about the German team, it had been decided to host it in Munich, and it was scheduled to be a big event, with even some senior leadership expected. I was asked to attend as well and so, with less than a month’s notice, I found myself with flights booked from Cork to Munich and back via Amsterdam with my favourite airline, KLM. The only apparent downside was a twelve-hour layover due to issues with the company travel policy but hey, there are worse airports to be stuck at than Amsterdam.

Outbound Flight

Cork to Amsterdam

I’ll be honest, the first element of this flight was not a very welcome one, a 3AM wake-up to catch my taxi to the airport. I was booked for the 6.10 KLM flight from Cork to Amsterdam, which meant a 4 AM taxi ride. Good thing I got mine so early as I received a text message from KLM while still getting ready that I should ideally check my cabin luggage into the hold as the flight looked fully booked, something that cost me a bit of time at Cork Airport but would make my life a whole lot easier once I got to Schiphol.

If it wasn’t for the yellow poster, you’d never know that there ever was a pandemic, given the scenes at Cork Airport.

One thing that surprised me at the airport was just how busy it was even at such an early hour. In addition to my own KLM flight, Aer Lingus were still operating their early morning flight to Amsterdam as well, whilst a Ryanair flight to the UK was also getting ready for boarding. All airside eateries were open as well, making it seem like the pre-pandemic times, especially since there was nary a mask to be seen.

Not pandemic-related, but can anyone explain the logic here to me? My flight is parked at a stand with a working jetway, but we’re boarding via stairs? KLM is willing to pay for jetways, I’ve seen it, and the Embraer 190 is compatible with the jetways at Cork airport, so what gives?

Completely full flight out of Cork, even with an Aer Lingus flight to Amsterdam leaving just five minutes after ours. Not what I wanted to see from a comfort point of view, but good to see from a business standpoint, I guess.

Before long, it was time to board, which was the first time that a difference to the pre-pandemic world showed itself. Whereas masks had been as rare sight in the terminal, we were told that they would be mandatory upon boarding. Once onboard, there was little sign of this mask mandate though. Unfortunately, there was no sign of any leg space either. Either planes got smaller during lockdown or I got larger. I’d like to think it’s the former but I suspect it’s actually the latter. Anyway, apart from that little bit of confusion with regards to mask, the flight was eerily similar to my pre-COVID KLM flights. Apart from the fact that, you know, KLM was now operating its own metal to Cork. Takeoff was to the south on Runway 16, not that there was much to see as the airport was completely fogged in! The flight itself was smooth and quick, which went a long way towards making me feel more comfortable given the small leg space, and before I knew it, we landed on Schiphol’s Runway 06.

At Amsterdam Airport

Ey yo, Schiphol, what the F***? Seriously, for a time, it seemed as if Amsterdam Airport had forgotten how to well, be an airport! The entire airport was extremely busy, which in itself wasn’t unexpected, given that I landed during the morning hub operation and on a major holiday weekend in the Netherlands, as the airport speakers never got tired of reminding everyone of. Still, Schiphol hadn’t weathered the pandemic gracefully by the looks of it. The state of repair of many facilities in the terminal, particularly around the “Airport Library”, a large transfer area between the two Non-Schengen departure lounges, was poor. The same went for the state of cleanliness. Whilst there was very little actual litter, it was obvious that much of the airport hadn’t seen a proper deep clean in some time. 

A sports bar shuttered and closed during the busiest travel day of the year at Schiphol. Not a good look.

Another shuttered bar, this one right in the middle of the non-Schengen Lounge 2, an absolute prime location. What is going on here?

To make things worse, a significant number of restaurants and other eateries were shuttered, whilst others only seemed to operate with reduced opening hours, shutting down seemingly as soon as the morning breakfast rush was over. Mind you, I’m not talking about small champagne bars and the likes here, we’re talking about the likes of Starbucks or Heineken leaving some of their airport stores closed at what seems like the busiest day of the year so far at Schiphol. Not a good look. However, even the restaurants that were open seemed to be under some restrictions. Even the largest Starbucks in the airport rarely had more than 2-3 people behind the counter, including the likes of McDonalds or Burger King, who were often the only “restaurants” open in some of the food courts! The effects were obvious and it was next to impossible to find a place to grab a bite to eat without a queue that seemed to stretch all the way to the asteroid belt!

At least the views from the lounge are still as good as ever.

Things weren’t any better in the lounges. I’d bought a pass for the Aspire Lounge in the non-Schengen area, but even this was completely overrun, whilst at the same time operating only with a skeleton crew. The result was obvious: poor food selection, virtually no free tables and loads of used dishes on any table or free surface. The crew that was there was certainly trying its best to keep the lounge in some sort of decent shape, and certainly deserve credit for their efforts, but it just wasn’t a good combination at all! It allowed me to pass the time until boarding however, so there’s that at least!

Flight to Munich

Yeah, the Schengen gates at Pier D aren’t really that comfortable…

Before long, it was time to board, from a new area of the airport, no less! Not that said area was anything to write home about, mind you. It was barren, far away from the terminal, and only sported a few vending machines and a coffee cart by the time I got there, with the former being empty and the latter being closed. Boarding at least happened on time, and once onboard, I had a positive surprise. 

I absolutely love those new seats though. I hope they’ll be rolled out throughout the fleet!

Whilst the aircraft taking us to Munich, PH-HSE, a Boeing 737-800 that had been delivered to Transavia in 2011 and taken over by KLM in 2017, it had been fitted with KLM’s new short-haul cabin, featuring Boeing’s Sky Interior and a new type of seat that not only provided great leg room even for someone of my size, but also sported USB chargers, device holders and onboard WiFi. That made the notoriously packed flight at least somewhat bearable, even though we were held back by a ground stop due to overcrowding over Munich for a while. The masks also made a return, being mandatory on the flight into Germany, which didn’t do anything to make the flight any more bearable. The flight itself was smooth and quick, though it was obviously pitch black by the time we touched down at Runway 08R at Munich. The taxi to the terminal was mercifully short and we even got a jetway rather than the remote stand I’d been dreading.

Return Flight

Well, that didn’t go as expected. I somehow managed to trip over a loose slab of pavement on the morning of my first day in Munich, landing face first on the street, in front of senior management no less, literally adding insult to injury! In the process, I’d managed to twist my right knee, right ankle, bruise at least one rib on the right hand side and somehow sprain my left wrist. I’m still trying to figure out how I managed that last part. As a result, I spent much of the business trip in pain and by the time Tuesday rolled around, I was more than ready to fly back.

That’s about the best I could do for interior shots at Munich Airport. Honestly, it’s probably the most attractive view of the airport, at least as far as Terminal 1 is concerned.

It was at this point that I began to truly hate Munich Airport, or at least Terminal 1 of said airport. When every step you take is painful, the prospects f walking long distances is singularly unappealing, and walking distances from the airport train station can easily measure in kilometres! This wasn’t helped by the fact that half of the moving walkways were shut down because of maintenance issues, as was seemingly the air condition. Oh, and all of that with a mask on, due to Germany’s insistence on mask-wearing for some reason. The fact that the airport architecture itself hadn’t aged well and resembled a German civil servant’s effort to build an Apple Store with 1980s design elements did nothing to heighten my mood. It was only when I finally made it to the business class lounge that my mood improved somewhat. The lounge was like the rest of the terminal in need of some refurbishment, a situation not helped by the fact that it was operated by Air France, but at least I could sit down, grab a bite to eat and get a drink and more importantly get rid of that damn mask for a while!

Flight to Amsterdam

Before long, it was time to board, which, between the mask and the temperatures in Terminal 1 was a breathtaking appearance. I had at least upgraded to Business Class at check-in, which meant I had priority boarding and, as it turned out, an entire row to myself. Unfortunately, PH-BXT, the 18 year old Boeing 737-900 that was to take me to Amsterdam, still sported KLM’s old short haul cabin, which wasn’t quite as comfortable as the refurbished one on the way out. Besides, hey, it’s a 737-900. A new type for my log book and an exceedingly rare one here in Europe at that!

Holiday flights are definitely picking up again.

Happiness is… V2 & Gear Up out of Munich… at least after my experiences. V2 refers to the speed at which an aircraft can continue climbing after take-off even with an engine out, just so there’s no confusion.

Presentation could be a bit better, but the food was absolutely delicious! Especially the falafels!

View of downtown Amsterdam on approach to Runway 27 at Schiphol. Can you tell that I missed flying?

Boarding was completed pretty quickly and we taxied out for a take-off on Runway 08R, the same one I’d landed on two days earlier. Not a moment too soon as I was not thrilled about Munich after my recent experiences! The flight itself was smooth and relatively quickly, with excellent service up front in business and an excellent meal. Whilst masks were theoretically mandatory even on this flight, since it had departed from Germany after all, this was not really enforced by the cabin crew, which came as a relief for me. Before long, we descended into Amsterdam, touching down on Runway 17, a Runway that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in use at Schiphol.

Flight to Cork

Amsterdam Airport was its usual chaotic self, so I won’t go into details on this here. I wrote about it at length on the outbound leg. Still, at least all the moving walkways worked, as did the self service passport checkpoints, a relief as I was sick and tired of dealing with humans at this point. Unfortunately, the flight to Cork would board via buses and depart from a remote stand, meaning I had to go to gate D-6 for my flight. I really don’t like that gate. At least boarding went quick, although my knee was not happy about boarding via air stairs!

At our Stand at Schiphol, waiting for the second bus with passengers.

Once onboard PH-EZV, the ten year old Embraer E-190 that would take me to Cork, I found that the entire Premium Economy section was empty except for my seat, so plenty of space to spread out. We quickly completed boarding and taxied out for takeoff from Runway 27.

Bye Schiphol. Hope to see you again soon but please get your act together!

The flight itself was extremely pleasant, both due to the extra space and the fact that masks were now optional, meaning I immediately discarded mine. There wasn’t much in the way of food or beverage service, but I didn’t really mind at this point. Things did start do get interesting once we reached Ireland, when the flight suddenly became a whole lot bumpier. What followed was probably the most turbulent approach into Cork Airport I’ve ever had in the 38 times I’ve flown into or out of the Rebel City. We landed in a massive crosswind, patchy visibility that sometimes dropped to next to nothing, and wing tips that seemed to write the pilot’s name into the sky whenever it was clear enough to actually see the ground. Oh, and it regularly rained cats and dogs as well because hey, it’s Ireland after all. The landing on Runway 16 was firm if pretty far down the runway. The resulting braking action was pretty firm and we were well into the red lights at the far end of the runway by the time we were slow enough to turn and backtrack to the terminal. At least we got one of the two jetway-equipped gates at the airport, a blessing given the rain.

Final Thoughts

Even without my injury, which is still slowing me down as I’m writing this two weeks later, this trip left a sour taste in my mouth. The post-COVID travel experience in Europe pretty much resembles the entire pandemic response on the continent: It’s a complete and utter clusterfuck! Mask rules are highly inconsistent between countries. Ireland has pretty much done away with masks at this point, whilst other countries still seemingly require them. There’s no clear communication around this however, at least none that I could find. I need to single out KLM here, as much as I hate doing that. Their pre-flight information policy may be pretty good, but the resources they provide are an incoherent mess. Their “ready to fly” program is intransparent as hell, going so far as to refuse me a digital boarding pass in Munich as I had to verify my documents before flying, even though I’d already done that and had the confirmation for it. 

Going back to the topic of masks for a minute, once again, inconsistency appears to rule supreme over Europe. Whilst masks were apparently mandatory in Amsterdam, no one was bothered to enforce this during the 12 hours I was there on my flight out to Munich. Not that I minded, mind you. A similar situation unfolded in Munich, where the situation was, if possible, even more confusing. It was recommended in hotels & restaurants, not needed in public but mandatory on public transport apparently. Once again, there wasn’t really much in the way of enforcement though, apart from at the airport.

As much as I understood the need for masks in the pre-vaccine days of the pandemic, at this point, I feel like they’ve run their course. With widespread vaccine availability, mask mandates or recommendations should be kicked out wholesale at this point, especially when it comes to intra-European travel. We can’t afford to hide behind them forever!