Silas' Blog

Hello, this is the blog

2026-10-02T16:09:52+10:00

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Boarding groups are a social experiment and I am losing

2026-10-03T12:18:34+10:00

i want to talk about boarding groups. specifically the group 4 people who stand at the gate during group 1.

The setup

there are 9 groups on this airline. NINE. the gate agent called “pre-boarding” (fine), then “group 1”, and immediately ~40 people moved forward. the screen said group 1. i was group 2. i stayed seated like an idiot.

What actually happened

group 1 boarding: about 15 legit group 1 people
the other 25: a mix of groups 3–7 who just walked up and got sent back
the getting sent back took longer than boarding group 1 itself
by the time group 2 was called, there was a blob, not a queue

The thing that gets me

it’s not even faster for them. they still sit in the same seat. the plane leaves at the same time. the only thing they gain is standing for 25 extra minutes in a jet bridge that smells like carpet.

i timed it once. gate to seat as a group 6 person who waited in the chair: 4 minutes. gate to seat for the guy who stood up at group 1 with a group 6 pass: 31 minutes.

What I want

call groups on the screen and make the scanner refuse early groups loudly. a sound. a bad sound.
seats at the gate that face away from the gate, so nobody can see the queue forming and panic.
that’s it. that’s the list.

anyway i’m group 2 again tomorrow. i will be sitting down.

Aurora Air AU204 HEL–SIN, A350 Business

2026-10-03T12:18:34+10:00


Date	6 March 2026
Aircraft	A350-900 (OH-LWX)
Seat	3A, window, “throne” seat
Scheduled	23:55 → 17:10
Actual	00:41 → 17:32
Block time	11h 51m

Before the flight

lounge was the non-schengen one, which had that weird quiet energy at 22:30 where everyone is either asleep or on a laptop. they had salmon soup. i had two bowls. no regrets.

boarding started 23:20, i was on at 23:24. pre-departure drink was a choice of sparkling or blueberry juice. took the juice, it was good, slightly sour.

The delay

we pushed back late because of de-icing, then sat on the taxiway. captain did three announcements, each one more apologetic than the last.

Minutes late at each point

Boarding 0 min

Door close 18 min

Pushback 31 min

Takeoff 46 min

Landing 22 min

made up 24 minutes in the air which i respect.

The seat

somewhere over kazakhstan, about 6 hours in

3A is one of the “throne” seats with side tables on both sides. massive amount of surface area. the footwell is fine for my size 43 feet but i wouldn’t want to be bigger.

things i noticed:

the bed mode button needs to be held, not pressed. took me two goes.
the reading light is bright enough to read by. somehow this is rare.
universal power outlet AND usb-c. both worked.
no door. didn’t miss it.

Food

supper. the reindeer was the main

they served supper at 01:30 local which is insane but i ate it anyway. reindeer with mashed potato and lingonberry. honestly great. dessert was a cloudberry thing that i’d fly them again for.

breakfast before landing was an omelette that tasted of nothing and a very good rye roll.

Scores

Seat 9/10

Bed 8/10

Food 8/10

Drinks 7/10

Crew 9/10

Wifi 4/10

Punctuality 5/10

Overall 7.1/10

overall: would book again, would not pick the 23:55 departure again.

The Grand Pelican, Lisbon — 3 nights, room 1204

2026-10-03T12:18:34+10:00

booked this because it was €40 cheaper than the place i actually wanted and the photos had a nice tiled bathroom. the tiled bathroom is real. a lot of other things are also real.

Check-in

arrived 14:52, check-in is “from 15:00” and they made me wait until 15:00 exactly. sat in the lobby for 8 minutes watching the clock. the lady was nice about it but she also very clearly wasn’t going to do it early.

key cards: 2, both worked first time (rare)
welcome drink: a voucher for a welcome drink, redeemable only 18:00–19:00. didn’t make it.
lift: one lift for 14 floors. on day two it had a handwritten “slow today” sign.

The room

the view from 1204 at about 19:10. this was genuinely worth the €40 i saved

12th floor, corner room, two windows. the windows open properly, not the 4cm hotel tilt thing. huge win.

The bed

firm. like actually firm. four pillows, all the same, none of them were the good kind. i slept fine but i want it on the record that a menu of pillows would cost them nothing.

The bathroom

the tiles. about 1 in 12 of them is dark blue and i could not find a pattern

the shower has a rainfall head AND a handheld but they share one tap and the switch between them is a mystery knob. i got cold water on my back every morning. water pressure 10/10 once you figure it out.

Breakfast

day 1 plate. the eggs were from a tray

07:00–10:30, included. the pastéis de nata were good, the scrambled eggs were sitting in a tray under a heat lamp at 07:05 which means they were made at like 06:30. coffee machine was the push-button kind with a queue of six people.

day 3 i skipped it and got a nata and a bica from the place downstairs for €2.40 and it was better.

Scores

Location 9/10

Room 8/10

Bed 6/10

Bathroom 7/10

Breakfast 5/10

Wifi 3/10

Staff 8/10

Overall 6.6/10

Would i go back

yes, but i’d ask for the same room. the non-corner rooms on the booking site looked half the size.