There were no queues through security and we didn't have to face the wind tunnel this time. The departure area was fairly quiet as there was only a Mexico flight and a couple of Canadian ones to go out that night. Maxjet do not offer lounge access but it wasn't too busy and there were plenty of seats to go around.
Boarding was done very quickly and canapes offered. However, pre-take off drinks were only offered on the left hand side of the plane (A&B) but none on ours (J&K). I enquired about this and was informed that the captain had requested an early take off slot so they had to stop the drinks run. However, we were still there for another 20 minutes and nothing further happened. We did take off precisely on time but not early as the captain would have liked.
One of the storage cupboard doors came open on take off and about 8 bottles of water and an empty bottle of champagne and cassis came flying down the aisle. Thankfully the two people in seat row 1 on the aisle managed to stop them going further down the plane and smashing.
The digEplayers were distributed and I was a little surprised to find exactly the same options for films/TV etc were on offer. Watched the Jennifer Aniston film 'the break up' as I wanted something lighthearted to watch before sleeping.
The crew then came around with drinks - plenty of champagne was offered - I think this time to make up for the lack of it pre take off. About 2 hours into the flight the tray tables were laid out and salad and a roll were offered for starters. It then took approx another hour before the main course was delivered. After a further hour, we got our dessert. I can safely say I've never had a plane meal last 3 hours before and just when you wanted to sleep! I gave up with the liqueur as by then it was midnight and I just wanted to sleep.
Thankfully the Maxjet seats are sufficiently angled to allow a decent rest and they offer good pillows too. As the plane is quite noisy, I found it easier to sleep with my headphones on and just put on one of the music channels as it blocks out the majority of the noise. The headphones are a lot better quality that the dodgy foam things they use on Virgin PE.
Approximately 2 hours prior to landing, a breakfast of fruit or cheese omelette was offered.
The approach to landing was exactly the same as on the outbound - a short roller coaster ride. Once on the ground, hopped onto the monorail to get back to the main terminal for baggage collection which was relatively quick compared to LHR.
The Pink Elephant long stay parking bus was quickly located and we were then to face a nice 3 hour drive back to the Midlands.
The only thing I can say though is to check the landing times as our itinerary stated we should land at 12.30 but we actually landed at 2.30pm - I felt sorry for anyone wait to collect people due to the incorrect timings. The timings were not due to delays on take off or inflight. I think it was just due to them giving incorrect information on the paperwork.
