. It was my first flight on the A330 and the second time I was flying Swissair. (This was long before Swissair stopped flying and Swiss took to the air). I was a bit disappointed 
when I saw an Airbus A310 arrive at YUL instead of the A330-200 http://www.airliners.net/open.file/212164/L/. We boarded the jet and before long were taxing to the active runway. The small yet powerful A310 took off and soon downtown Montreal could be seen below. I clearly remember we continued to pass downtown Montreal to the right and then circled around them the sun that was once shining on front of the buidlings from the East, was now behind throwing all of the building into a giant silhouette. I think he then turned west again, strange climb 
out don't you think and continued the journey over the Atlantic across much of Eastern Canada, before crossing the blue sea at night to arrive into Zurich in the early morning. It was great to be onboard Swissair ‘again”
, and apart from the other European airline I flew that being British Airways (BKK-SYD-BKK), Swissair stood out from the rest I think 
. From the ground staff, to the cabin crew, there was nothing short of professionalism. Nothing fancy, in fact very rigid, yet with a strong sense of duty and service. A very friendly yet middle aged FA asked each passenger looking through her dark rimmed glasses if they wanted anything to drink, in a heavy German accent. Some younger FA’s then followed to clear the trays later. The announcements were in German, French and English and by the time all were done it would take a long time , which you just had to listen to as the IFE would come to a halt. A group of teenagers sat around my area, and were loud and fooling around during the first few hours. However as darkness engulfed our tiny A310 it was all quiet inside the cabin, some of the teens now fast asleep 
. Very soon, the lights of France lay below and from the flight display map on the only screen in front of the plane, it could be seen that we were soon going to go right over Paris. I peeked to see I if I could see the Arc de Triomphe 
. We began our descent from that point I think, as the aircraft got quieter and the lights below got bigger and brighter. As we closed in on Swiss airspace, and the airport area in what was the first of early morning grey light outside the cabin, I clearly saw the top of tall trees pass by under our jet. We were very close to those treetops I thought 8O . After a long, yet enjoyable flight we touched down at Zurich airportWith some hours to go before my next connection to Dubai and Karachi, I wandered about the terminal area. It was uncomfortable to sit at one designated spot as somebody would start smoking. I am not sure if there was a designated smoking area but I could see none to direct the annoying smoker to . I recall looking out of the large glass windows and seeing the South African “Ndizani” Boeing 747-300 being towed out of the gate http://www.airliners.net/open.file/284103/L/ in what was now clearly bright light outside. She looked beautiful with the wonderful Zurich Control Tower in the background. Soon it was time to board the flight to KHI and I proceeded to the gate. By heart jumped and I wanted to dance :dance: as I could see the winglet and the end of the wingtip of the A330-200 showing from the only visible area of our gate. The famous white cross against the red backdrop added to the remaining of the picture. http://www.airliners.net/open.file/096537/L/ . I was going to fly on the A330 after all. The flight was full and we boarded the A330-200 soon. I boarded the A330 almost running with my pull along bag down the airbridge ramp. I could not wait to board this bird. http://www.airliners.net/open.file/222669/L/ Once again the finest European FA’s I think in the world welcomed us on board in German and English. Even though I know which side of the plane my seat is I still show them my card and love when they point to either the other aisle or the one closest to the door to your seat. We all boarded and soon pushed back out of the terminal. Zurich is one airport in the world, or I have to see others in Europe, where you can actually see trees, or what seems like the beginning of a great forest (?) right outside your window, with the runway and taxi ways not too far away. Wow!! We were soon racing down runway 32 (?) http://www.airliners.net/open.file/219066/L/ http://www.airliners.net/open.file/219067/L/ http://www.airliners.net/open.file/219068/L/ and after turning left we began our track to the Middle East. Before long the beautiful breathtaking and majestic Alps were outside my aircraft window http://www.airliners.net/open.file/468902/L/ http://www.airliners.net/open.file/493938/L/ . They looked so awesome and it seemed we were riding just above the top of them. They were really close!!. In the midst of all those mountains, I looked down and saw a little body of water at the base of some of the mountains, the sun reflecting of it like a torch on a mirror, making me blink momentarily to get rid of the glare from my eyes 8) .
The Captain came again on the air and the announcements continued in German, French and English as usual. However a man that sat at the side of me, suddenly started to smile
and then laugh :laugh: quietly glancing over to his family across the aisle who also smiled , the kids holding their mouths as the Captain began to speak in French. He did not have this reaction when he spoke German. Was the Captain’s French a bit funny to hear, which had breaks in it and was not as fluent as the German he had just spoken in. I had no idea, but I thought it was not very nice of him to laugh. When he spoke in English he told us of our route and warned that while flying over Saudi Arabia we would hit very severe turbulence . I knew it was going to be serious if we were warned in advance . And so while arriving over Saudi Arabian airspace, just as our very frozen Movenpick Ice cream was served to us, the A330-200 bumped slightly as we began our entrance into the turbulence zone. The maitre de cabine, a smart smiling mustached man, tall with a very positive attitude held onto both seats across the aisles trying to maintain his balance, yet smiling confidently that everything would be fine. My frozen Movenpick Ice Cream danced slightly sideways on my tray table, as I left it there to thaw. And then what even scared me 8O and the others on board 8O , the jet dipped nose down slightly and then rapidly nose up and continued that way for a few minutes but seemed like forever for some passengers who abandoned their ice cream to hold onto their armrests. My Movenpick ice cream actually slid down from the tray and then back as the aircraft fell prey to the turbulence outside . Even I was scared and was the worst turbulence ever, only because the jet was doing a nose up and nose down movement, as opposed to the regular swinging from side to side or up and down of the whole aircraft. We passed that horrible event quickly and once the passengers felt safe to let go of the seats, they ate their ice cream which had now melted and some gave it up altogether because of the horrid experience, sick to their stomachs :pukey: . With the ice cream cups all cleared, mine inside my stomach and trays in the upright position, we began our descent into the UAE. The coast of Dubai appeared in the dusk, the usual brown desert sand now a dull grey. We crossed over the coast to make an approach from the east on 30R and continued our descent, the airport lights lying below us on the right side. The long and majestic wings of the A330 bent downwards as the Captain turned her right over the grey desert sands, which was such a sharp contrast to the greenery and the trees right next to the Zurich airport runways that we had left behind. In the lights of the now late evening we touched down on 30R and soon the spoilers, speed brakes kicked in to slow this new majestic Airbus beauty . Better still I am madly in love with her sister the A330-300 and of course the A340-300sAfter our hour and more longer stopover we boarded the plane again and this time the jet was almost half empty as we began our final leg to Karachi. I was sitting on the right just when I realized we were going to take off from 30L and that would mean out towards the West where downtown Dubai would be clearly be visible as we climbed out. I undid my seat belt and crossed across the seats which were empty, drawing the attention of the cabin staff who were buckled in their seats at the back, one of them undoing their seat belt and walk towards me saying “Sir, you must sit down, now!” :frown: the A330 now at the start of the runway, the engines almost roaring to life. I sat into the last of the few seats from the back, the cabin now dark and so was the night outside, looking back at the attendant as he walked away not understanding why I decided to suddenly do that
. The lights of downtown Dubai could be seen in the distance soon approaching as the almost half empty jet climbed out early out of 30R, the cluster of building disappearing briefly under the wing and then directly under it, the red blinking lights on the top of some of them going off and on as they grew smaller in size, as climbed out higher into the skies of Dubai. He banked to the left and we were soon flying east again to the port of city of Karachi. The flight progressed as usual and I did not give up my seat, no reason to, actually knowing that soon Karachi would appear on the left as we would cross over the south of the city to land from the east. And shortly the coastline of Karachi appeared the lights of the most populous city of Pakistan shining, appearing and disappearing under light cloud coverage, We had flown alongside the Makran Coast the longest stretch of the Pakistani coastline, passing the cities of Jiwani, Gwadar, Pasni to name a few before, leaving the darkness of the Arabian sea behind us to the gleaming lights of the city now below us. We were now much lower and some familiar buildings of the city passed below us, their familiar neon signs being the only indication of them below, before the bright lights of the airport appeared signalling it’s position where we were going to touch down in a few minutes. 8) The A330 then began it’s regular left turn to establish itself on runway 25 (This was before the second runway was created), crossing over the famous Shahrah-e-Faisal road, with the many cars on it, their lights being the only ones moving in the million of lights below. Now clearly on our final path to the runway, we passed some low lying houses, the lights shining out of the windows and the light from some cars on some side streets below passed momentarily before the bright lights of the airport terminal illuminated the sky again , with dense darkness to the right, just as the wheels burned some rubber on the runway . The plane slowed down to a halt and the familiar tails of PIA jets with the letters PIA against dark green backdrops their logo lights illuminating every single one of them, passed us by not too far from the runway. We had now slowed down and were turning left again to taxi back to the bright terminal area of the very beautiful Jinnah Terminal. We pulled up against a PIA Boeing 747-300 as she was being readied for her flight to JFK via another Pakistani and European city, later in the wee hours of the night. The air bridge could be seen extending outwards of the gate as it closed in on the doors just behind Business Class section, to let the prestigious passengers leave first. To the warm smiles of the Swissair Staff saying 'Danke" and “Auf Weiderschen” I left the plane , totally satisfied in the airline that was Swissair, and the finest European carrier I had flown on. [/url]
