A Cessna sense of flying

Last Saturday the 22nd of August, I finally ticked a milestone off the bucket list by taking a Cessna 172 flight from Point Cook to Melbourne. What an exhilarating experience it was!

Up, up and away!

Here's the video recap of the flight if you want to relive the whole experience (complete with jet sound effects for the #avgeeks in the room)

Operated by a good friend of mine (who happens to be a qualified pilot) out of the RMIT Flight Training School at RAAF's Point Cook base, the flight was a unique opportunity to try a different kind of aircraft and savour some amazing views/videos of Melbourne in the process.

The RMIT Flight Training School in Point Cook

The Cessna 172 aircraft

For some reason, despite the repeated assurances of the pilot and the strong safety record of the RAAF fleet, I was a little apprehensive about flying in a non-commercial aircraft. Turns out, I had scant reason to be afraid, as the flight turned out to be smooth, incredibly comfortable and much more illuminating than the commercial flights I've been on previously. 

Seeing Melbourne from a new perspective

Flying much lower to the ground gives you the chance to see your surroundings (other aircraft, birds, the city below) in beautifully micro detail, while also hearing the pleasing thrum of aircraft terminology in the background...

Melbourne behaving nicely on a Sunday morning

Docklands (including the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel)

The Richmond sports precinct (including the MCG) and Melbourne CBD in background

Apparently, the views are at a whole other level once the sun goes down. That might be the scene of my next adventure!

Airline review: Lufthansa Airlines (*****)

In my third airline review, I put the spotlight on Lufthansa Airlines, the full-service, national carrier for Germany. I used to travel return from Munich to Rome. Continuing my favourable experience with European full-service carriers, Lufthansa proved to be another stellar example of excellent customer service and generous value adds to maintain a competitive edge.

Date flown: October 4 (Munich to Rome, 8am departure for 9:30am arrival), October 9 (Rome to Munich, 3:20pm departure for 4:50pm arrival)

Airport: Munich Flughafen Airport (October 4), Rome Fiumucino Airport (October 9)

Class: Economy

The good

• Instant mobile alerts for change of gate: As often happens with airlines, there was a last minute change to our gate number. Thankfully, we were notified by text of this which enabled us to be on our way.

• Friendly, bilingual flight attendants: Lufthansa staff were attentive, friendly and excellent in both German and English. This made dealing with them a breeze.

• Delicious in-flight food and generous drink options: Our flight was only one hour and thirty minutes long so I wasn’t expecting anything, so imagine my surprise when I was offered a generous snack (natural yoghurt and muesli for a morning flight; Johannesbierre cake for an afternoon flight and numerous drinks (a choice from water, apple and orange juice, water, soft drinks, beer, wine, etc). After selecting one drink, you’re even asked if you want any other drinks and provided them with a smile! This beats the no-frills service provided by budget airlines such as Norwegian Air.

Johannesbiere cake - delicious!


The generous drinks provided on the Lufthansa flight - water, juice and beer!

• On-time and pleasant flight: The flight had no noticeable bumps or disturbances and departed on time

The not so good

• Shuttle bus service required from terminal to plane: I wasn’t sure if this was a Lufthansa or Rome airport issue, but it was slightly annoying having to stand on a rather slow and packed shuttle bus to reach our plane. How hard is it to connect planes to the terminal?

Other than that, I really have no complaints about Lufthansa, the service and experience was excellent. Something to note is that Lufthansa does however, use the traditional in-person safety demonstration as opposed to the digital one adopted by many airlines these days – not a criticism, just an observation.


#wingshot

How to improve:

• Provide a direct connection from the terminal to the plane: Passengers would rather not take a shuttle bus if they can help it, airports are large enough. Hopefully shuttle buses will be a thing of the past soon.

Andy’s traveler rating:

Service: 4/5
Food and drink: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5
Safety: 5/5

Overall: 19/20 – An excellent in-flight food and drink offering and stellar customer service sets Lufthansa apart from other full-service and budget airlines. A direct connecting link to the plane would be my only suggestion.

Have you ever flown Lufthansa Airlines, and if so, what was your experience? What is your favourite European airline, and why do you like them?