Live Update: Farewell KLM MD-11 - KLM692

Final Update @ 2135hr: 

I will never forget such awesome livery dressed onto the beautifully shaped MD-11!  Despite my slight watery eyes starring from the rear, which formed a tri-engine shadow, I've enjoyed every moment of today!  #KLM #KLMMD11 #KLMCANADA #MD11


Here are the final photos:  

 

Water cannon water salute ... (AC 772 from HKG waving goodbye to where it evolved from)

 

Taxiing to Rwy 23

Take-off @ Rwy 23

Take-off, front gear lift-up ...

Take-off, heavy load lift-up ...

Gears Retracting

Ascending, slight wind drift ...

Au revoir, Je T'aime!

Update @ 1756hr:

Au revoir, KLM MD-11, my favroutie plane with the most awesome colour scheme at all times!  :(' 

Actual photos to follow tonight.

Update @ 1750hr:

Water salute!

Update @ 1745hr:

KLM692 pushed back.  A bit of crowd here as well!

Update @ 1635hr:

Arrived at spotting site.  A few other spotters are already here in place by Rwy23.  An hour more till the final witness of it!  

In the meantime, brother MD-11F is parked beside Rwy23.  

Update @ 1515hr:

Located a spotting site, but now at T3 trying to see if there is any special ceremony.  Just spot with a counter agent, but it will be at the gate, nothing on public side.  They do have some balloons at the counter for this farewell purpose though ... Will head back to spotting site by around 1600hr.

Initial Post @ 1300hr:

The luxury of seeing one of the rarest and most beautifully shaped aircraft operated to YVR on a daily basis was foremost the most awesome scenic view in Richmond, Canada.  April 29 of 2012, I plane spotted for the sole purpose of waving goodbye to the last KLM MD-11 commercial service to YVR.  Today, and now resided in Toronto, there must be fate between me and KLM's MD-11s where I am in town on a Saturday to plane spot once again, for the sole purpose of waving farewell to the last YYZ commercial service.  Those who knows, I love KLM's livery on the MD-11s, and will always be!   

Stay tune here starting now for the live update of the final commercial KLM MD-11 service at YYZ, scheduled for departure at 1735hr.  Regretful to also note, this will be the second to last commercial service in the world, followed by the last and final KLM MD-11 commercial service just 1hr 25min after between YUL-AMS.  Proud to say, Canadians get to see the best for the last!  (Though, there will be a non-regular commercial service Farewell Flight on the Nov 11, 2014, out from AMS).  #KLM #KLMMD11 #MD11      

KLM 692  .  YYZ-AMS  .  Dep 1735hr EST
KLM 672  .  YUL-AMS  .  Dep 1900hr EST

NGOReview Flights & Airports: AC151 YYZ-YVR

For my first official Air Canada flight that was operated by Air Canada itself and not by Jazz or Sky Regional, all I have to say was bravo, awesome flight!  Also stay tune for the review on the return sector of this trip; it was an another outstanding experience.  

NGOReview Flights and Airports
Flight	AC151		Airline		Air Canada	Date	09 April 2014	Status	On Time
Origin	YYZ		Destination		YVR	Aircraft	A320-200	Seat	15D
Dept.	2255		Arr.		0058 +1	Duration	5hr 3mins	Class	Economy
Services				Comments					Score (Out of 5)
Friendliness		Airport		At Check-in ·     Friendly & warm ·     Self-offered clear directions to pre-board screening area and advised gate number, which was not shown on Passbook Hold-room Boarding ·     PA was professional and clear ·     Ticket taker wasn’t too friendly					4.5
		Inflight		·     FAs were generally friendly with professional manners and enthusiasm ·     While making a purchase for a set of headphone and the blanket set, the FA offered to wait for me to look for my Aeroplan number even though I advised that it’s on my phone but my phone is out of battery.  She further offered to wait while I think of alternatives to look for the card number.  She was very patience and she did sound like she really care.  Wow!   ·     Who said Air Canada crews are grumpy and mean?  The FA joked around professionally while serving me coffee.  “You bought a blanket for a good sleep but you want to drink coffee to keep yourself awake?”					5+1 bonus = 6
Crew Announcement				·     PAs were overall professional, moderate tempo and mostly clear ·     There were a few turbulence seatbelt announcements that were rushed					4
Terminal Service				·     Priority boarding for special needs and passengers with children being offered ·     Air Canada Lounge ·     Simply ordinary services that most carriers would offer					3
Safety				·   FA clearly asked exit rows PAX if they understood English, and explained in detail the instructions to unlock and open the doors for evacuation.  This is the clearest instruction I’ve ever heard.  The most impressive I found was the instruction to check if outside is clear and safe prior to opening the exit door, which is the first time I’ve heard of.  The FA also clearly explained how to release the doors, and if “this” one isn’t safe, there is another set a row back (for the A320s). WOW!            ·   Safety video seems too relaxing, and the music was too calming.  As a person who always pay attention to the safety demo, my eyes almost shut for a nap half way through the video.  Most PAX do not pay attention to the safety demo, so it would be wise to make it more interested and attention catching.					4+1 bonus = 5
Cabin Style				·     Very comfortable on this A320, in fact very spacious! ·     Leg room was impressive, especially when I was between rows 12-15 where seat pitch is 35”, which is 2 to 4 inches more than the latter rows.  These are not premium economy rows, but simply regular economies. ·     The seat itself was comfortable as I personally prefer fabric seats over leather.					4.5
Inflight Food & Drinks				·     Limited meal purchase for late evening flights, which was a bit disappointing.  I would totally prefer trying the inflight dinner meal purchase over eating at the airport terminal.  ·     Complimentary beverage was available, but no snacks served.  Snacks can be good even for late night flights!  ·     Coffee quality was good ·     Beverage/Water runs were quite frequent					3.5
Crew Uniform				·     Standard style uniform, overall neat and tidy					3.5
Inflight Entertainment				·     The enRoute system offered a variety of videos and music ·     This is so far the only North America carrier that I’ve been on that offers an entertainment system like a 5-star Asian carrier for a domestic narrow body flight ·     The enRoute magazine was worth a read as well					5
Total Out Of 45									39
Percentage of Satisfaction									87%

Note:  Review(s) completed and copyrighted by registered user of spotting-aeroplane.blogspot.ca. 
Reviews based on personal experience and does not represent other individuals' views.
When a "WOW" comment is given, likely chance there will be bonus scores added.