My father, who was not Mongolian, was a Professor of Mongolian and Tibetan languages and literature here in California. We lived all over the world, from Turkey to Sweden and Costa Rica when I was a child; however, our home base was always in California. When he flew to Ulaanbaatar to receive a special award, I think he flew a Chinese airline for that flight in the late 1960s or early 1970s (?), he loved to tell the story of that flight. I was a young child, but I remember him telling me that people put live chickens in the overhead bins during the flight and one person brought a sheep on the flight! How cool is that? I love Mongolian people and the culture. In fact, my godfather, Unensechen, was Mongolian, and my middle name is a Mongolian name. My father has passed away, and I miss my daddy a lot.
I visited Mongolia in 2008. All the yurts I visited had rugs/carpets to cover the ground. Mongolia was/is still a place with a nomadic culture. I suspect this is the reason for the special carpet check. Beautiful place, btw. It’s worth getting out onto the steppe.
Randomly getting taken to the secure area of the airport for no apparent reason and then just being allowed to leave like that with no action taken was very odd.
Happened to me every time I flew into Newark from Europe; became tiresome after a few years, so eventually spoke to an agent that I had become familiar with. She confided in me, with a warning that she would hunt me down if I let it be known that it was herself that had told me this*, that I had a very similar name to an Irish gangster that they would like to have words with, and that I was always flagged inbound to EWR, and delayed until it could be confirmed that I was not said gangster. The gangster was shot dead in Dublin, and since then I've not been delayed when transiting EWR. (*she said this half-jesting, but tbh, I wouldn't want to put it to the test).
MIAT looked like an splendid airline. Nothing like I would have imagined. The airport looked very nice as well. The things I learn watching your TH-cam channel!
Ulaanbaatar has a population of around 1.4 million and is the coldest capital city in the world. It is home to roughly half of the country's population.
Correct: the coldest capital in the world. And if you happen to stroll into a bar or club: some of the hottest women in the world. Be advised, looking only! Mongolian men tend to drink alot and then think all the women are their girlfriend. So if you chat one up, they will take it that you are trying to steal their woman. And react accordingly. Even if she don't know that guy. Still, a sight for sore eyes.
Hi Noel, I go through Düsseldorf every weekend, also an horrendous nightmare for queues and security. Perhaps you should do a video about your worst airport experiences?
The "we'll take your passport and boarding pass and give them back to you before you leave" thing is a HARD PASS for me. Won't be through Mongolia anytime soon, I guess...
I worked at FRA Airport, and from my experience, I can tell you that last summer was terrible as we lacked staff in all sections. There are multiple reasons, primarily because of Covid restrictions; Noel, you should be happy that the lady at the counter simply verifies the documents from you verbally and does not check ALL of them personally because we were told by Airlines to check each and every Covid related document. And it should be done within an already very tight time window. Unfortunately, it will not get better till the middle of next year when you have enough trained people who can join the workforce and contribute. So Yeah, my personal advice is to take either direct flight whenever possible and, regardless of stories you hear, come early at the Airport and be the first at the counter. 😉
I had a chance to travel to Mongolia in December 1998. I transited through Beijing and flew on MIAT on a 727. Wonderful people who totally ignored the standard flight safety rules. Plane was old. Seats did stay upright, overhead bins wouldn’t shut. Bags piled high on seats. As soon as we started descent into Ulaanbaatar, half the plane got up to get their carryons from overhead bins or seats where it was piled up. While the FA frantically tried to get everyone to sit down, many did not. Amazing to see them standing as we landed and then it was a mad dash as they all rushed to get off the plane. I wisely sat back and watched them. Safer. Lovely people and amazing visit, but definitely a different airline experience. 😂
@@JeanClaudeCOCO I wish I had been able to return. I would say it has definitely improved based on the report from Noel. When I visited, it was just coming out from its decades long Russian rule. It’s been 24 years and I would imagine Mongolia has made leaps and bounds. The airport alone looks amazing. It didn’t look like that when I was there.
Good to see you supporting Mongolia's fishing industry Noel. Prawns on the first flight, fish on the second. I may never fly on MIAT but it was nice to see you pleasantly surprised.
@@peterfreeman9369 It has many lakes, infact there is a region called "The great lakes" region which has over 300+ lakes and has a large variety of fish
@@joshmcgregor4839 Interesting point, thanks Josh. We unexpectedly had fish in northern India about 1000 km from the sea. It was river or lake fish but it was very good.
@@rais1953 I know, I had a similar experience in Siberia when I visited Olkhon island. It was caught locally in lake Baikal, very delicious fish. I'm actually quite interested to know what type of fish are in the lakes in Mongolia.
Frankfurt was a nightmare experience for me too this summer, flight delayed 3hrs as they lost the plane on the ground, plane we was meant to have been on came in the night before but the tug got lost twice so they switched it to a dirty plane that came in that evening. Found out during the pandemic Frankfurt laid off 10k staff and couldn’t rehire that many back.
I had an interesting experience where for some reason MIAT pilots and crew were contracted in to Czech low-cost carrier Travel Service a few years ago, flew on quite a few TS flights operated by the MIAT crew around Europe- they were always extremely friendly and always had their MIAT lanyards on show
There's quite a strong Mongolian migrant work force population in Czechia, due to the American car seat manufacturer Johnson Controls recruitment practices in Mongolia for their factory there. The village of Ustek in northern Bohemia is home to many Mongolians. Perhaps that's part of the reason?
Holy cow Noel eating airplane shrimp, fish and salmon after the bad fish experience? You are a warrior! It would take me years to recover from that lol
Same flight from FRA to UBN but wildly different experiences 😂 if you are up to it, you should give Economy a go. But I will agree, the cabin crew was fantastic- even dealing with a medical emergency on my flight. Thanks for the review Noel!
Green willies 😂 Great trip report, Noel!! I could feel the anxiety rising as you were in queue to check-in @ FRA. Glad it all worked out and you had a nice trip! thanks for sharing 😃
Noel. Why do you just give them your passport and boarding pass? There is no way that I’m giving up my passport, just transiting. Consider the problems one would have as a Dominican or Kenyan. No Embassy in Mongolia and these guys loose it!
Hi Noel, the carpet is for Muslims to use for prayer, maybe on the flight if it covers the regular praying times and also for the same after landing as many Muslims like their own praying mat. I lived in Indonesia for 3 years and it is normal everyday practice. May peace be with you.
what a dumb assumption. Mongolians love carpets culturally and would take the chance to buy one when overseas. Muslims use prayer mats. Not prayer carpets. Zzzz
That seems reasonable.....but....Muslims only make up 3% of Mongolia's population. There's no prayer space . And the maximum dimensions of the carpet allowed is 2m. A bit large for a prayer mat.
Having delivered and trained crews in UB, out of Chingas Hahn airport, on the first B737-800 for MIAT (MEE-YOTT), I spent a lot of time with their government safety personnel. Great experience and great people; albeit cold into the fall. The old airport was one way in and one way out due to a small mountain directly off the departure end of runway 14. The predominant wind was from the west so delay was often encountered. The 738 had a 15-knot tailwind supplement so that helped.
got to love seat 1A, i was lucky enough to have seat 1A on a Virgin Atlantic Dreamliner from Las Vegas to Heathrow, my 1st and only ever flight in upper class..it was amazing!
Transit in FRA from T1 to T2 seems to look like an absolute Mess nowadays, Inner T1 transit even into the A+ Pier for an onward connection internationally is way easier than the mess you had to endure lol
FRA was a hassle for us too, but the tomato and mozzarella sandwiches (on freshly baked bread) we had there were amazing. Remarkably good for anywhere, but an airport?!?! One of the best things I ate during my 2 weeks in Germany.
I think it’s fine that Ulaan Baatar airport does security screening on bags in transfer. They are quite thorough. I worked in Mongolia for two years. On one occasion I checked in. My bag had got through initial security screening, but it was checked again, and I had the call to go downstairs where I had to open it. There was nothing untoward. So fine. On your flights you did not try Mongolian vodka. Some of the best in the world. You missed out on that.
I spent a few months in Mongolia in 1992. In those days Mongolian Airasys flew from Paris. On arrival at UB Airport the mist striking thing was the large number of AN 2s scattered around the airfield - left behind by the departing Soviet Air Force. UB was very underdeveloped, the people were brilliant. Stayed at The Bayangol Hotel, famous from the book "The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia". A great time.👍
Ay I've stayed at the Bayangol too for a night. Great hotel. Mongolia is much more developed know when I went in 2017. Great country with great people.
@@GTB.2020 The book is called The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia.......... I'm well aware the country is called 🇲🇳 Mongolia but in "the old days" it was often referred to as Outer Mongolia ..... that is separate from Inner Mongolia which was part of China.
@@GTB.2020 Read what I said....... I'm simply relaying what was once a very common situation - Mongolia was referred to as Outer Mongolia. I'm not suggesting it was part of China. Notwithstanding that ...... the book was called "The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia" ...... if you want to object to the title, I suggest you contact the author - that's not me! I KNOW IT IS MONGOLIA 🇲🇳
@@GTB.2020 Read what I have written. I am NOT calling it Outer Mongolia. Your abusive remarks are pointless. Having lived in Ulan Baatar for 9 months, I'm very pro-Mongolia and its position as an independent state.
I was wondering when you’d eventually get to have a go at our national flag carrier, so I am happy to have come across your video on my feed. So far, my flights with MIAT has always been economy, but one thing I tend to enjoy is the food they offer (as long as it isn’t seafood, somehow they tend to have it if you’re on a flight to/from Korea) Glad to hear that you enjoyed the flight!
Hi Noel, Ulaanbaatar looks very inviting indeed. I’ve been reading many novels lately and a good few of them have various parts of Mongolia in them so it has become one of my ‘places of interest to visit’. Stay safe and greetings from Cumbria in the U.K.
I'm a new subscriber binge watching your videos since I found your channel a week ago. You're definitely one of the best flight reviewers on TH-cam and I really enjoy your honest down to earth style. Keep up the good work and greetings from Miami
When airports treat you like that it is just so confusing. Why make it more difficult for passengers? Who is going to want to transit through there if they take your passport off you and then take you down into some random area for no reason. Strange.
@noelphilips I wonder if the carpet is for prayers? I remember a man asking if it was alright to pray on the side of a building I worked at, and he brought his own personal-size carpet to kneel on.
I was in the Frankfart Airport Casino,near my departing gate.I got ahead and quit and looked and saw my flight gate had been changed as far away as it could get, my 4 hour layover took a lot of hustle too.
Travelled to Ulan Bataar in 2006 on the Trans Mongolian from Moscow to Beijing. Spent 3 nights there. Wonderful city to visit. Great food, lovely people.
My Son and his Korean wife moved back to South Korea last year after 5 years in Berlin. They flew out of Frankfurt and had a very similar experience to yourself Noel. They almost missed their flight as it took almost 3 hours for their baggage to arrive on the belt. I`m off to visit them this week , but booked KLM, Inverness to Seoul. I remember your shot visit to "A" Seoul a few years ago 😆🤣
I know a friend who works in airline, what she said is that most foreign pilots hate going to Ulaanbaatar because of the very hilly location it is one of the difficult places to land planes.
We currently live in Korea, and I am hoping to explore Mongolia next spring through a steppes voyage, living with nomads and experiencing their traditional way of life. The emptiness of Chinggis Kahn Airport is alarming, though!
Your Frankfurt experience is why post-Covid I have no desire to go anywhere unless absolutely essential PS I flew on a MIAT 767 from Abu Dhabi to Dhaka via Chittagong op for Biman, very pleasant it was too! Rolls-Royce powered 767s are very rare
Mongolia is my favourite country I've been to so far. The geography is stunning, the people are amazing and the culture is fascinating. I took the train in from Putinia and flew Korean Air out so I didn't fly MIAT, but I did fly a private airline Hunnu Air on a domestic flight on an ATR 72 that was 13 years old going on 50. The cabin was in the worst condition of any flight I'd ever been on.
I'm impressed at the maritime power Mongolia is, especially for a landlocked country basically made up of deserts and arid steppes a very long way from any sea. Lots of seafood on MIAT, and I hear that (believe it or not) Ulanbaataar is a very much sought-after ship registration "port" as a flag of convenience...
@@ThatSB, do you know what a dictionary is? (This is a serious question. I've been asked more than once what a dictionary is when I mentioned it on TH-cam to people who didn't know it...) Then look up the word "sarcasm" and then re-read my comment above (the part about the ship registration "port" is true, though).
Talking about carpets and strange things on flights, I remember getting a Turkish Airlines flight in the late 1970s when they allowed you to check in kettles and gas rings for use on the flight to make tea
For me in europe, amsterdam is king. Hate frankfurt, specially coming from a non schengen country and them making me go through security again there. Amstedam nobody cared and i loved it
If you are disabled, and get assistance, you literally go up in the lift, down in the lift. There are no tunnels, corridors or people. It’s all so close together that I think they have secret tunnels. Zurich, although bigger, is less chaotic. Same airline group, just Swiss. Take your Granny and get assistance, it’s an experience by itself.
3 years since I flew to Frankfurt. Flying there in just over a fortnight. Only ever done it as the destination rather than for a connection. The Lufthansa luggage drop off desk at the rail terminal makes such a big difference. Return flight leaves 10:20 - I'm not looking forward to Frankfurt airport for a mid morning flight. I'm expecting it to be absolutely mobbed.
I was watching the part where you mentioned 'carry a carpet' and laughed that hard someone came in the room to ask what I was laughing at oh my god. I cannot stop laughing 🤣🤣🤣
Only 1h for your baggage in FRA? Then they were fast. 3 weeks ago I landed in FRA back from Rome and had planed 3 1/2h from Landing till my onward connection via DB. Long story short. Flight was delayed by 20mins and the rest of the time (2 1/2h) was spend waiting for baggage. And there were no information given how long it would take expect for the automated announcement that due to high amounts of passengers there would be delays. Missed the train, had to rebook out of own pocket. Thanks for nothing FRA and Scamhansa
Always avoid Frankfurt and Amsterdam if I can! Even with same operator connections it can be a nightmare just doing security never mind bags! Great video!
Finally, someone who agrees. I dislike flying through these two cities too. I'll put Frankfurt on the "always avoid" list while I put Amsterdam as "I'll guess I'll take it (if I have to)." To be fair, I only flew through Amsterdam during the beginning of the Pandemic in 2020, so everyone was just a mess. Still left a bad impression on me though.
As a Dutchie, I avoid London Heathrow as a connection. Amsterdam is a fifty/fifty chance. Frankfurt I don't know, only had a stop over there once, years ago.
I'm guessing that Mongolia is rather well known for their hand woven carpets. Perhaps those who buy one there use this option as an alternative from shipping.
@@noelphilips only one thing I would suggest is close your mouth when chewing and do not talk while chewing food. Its rude and frankly gross to watch. The rest of your videos are fantastic.
Great video. I love being able to see places and airlines that I never will be able to visit or fly through your videos. Wow didn't even realize it was a 40 minute video, time flew watching it.
Frankfurt Airport is a disaster. Every time the stress is just too much. The range and choice of food services is also very poor. If I can avoid FRA, I do.
I rarely take connecting/transiting flights but in future I will always allow 5 or 6 hours after a panic with Aer Lingus at Dublin. Traveling London-USA with supposedly comfy 3.5 hour stop in Dublin. Inbound for Gatwick an hour late then no stand free meant I entered the terminal and USA immigration with an hour till boarding and the painful slow US immigration meant a run to the already boarding plane. Not nice preparation for the next 8 hours over to States! Great video Noel
I had the same issue with my checked baggage at 2am at Quito/ Ecuador airport. It was nerve-recking as no one could speak English, they searched everything in my bag (without telling me why) and the whole action was senseless as later on the drug dog showed that the bag was totally fine 🤷🏼♀️
Interestingly enough, I flew this route in the end of June this year and our plane did not fly over Russia but took the route across Turkey and Kazahstan. However, I have the thought that it maybe did because of the Prigozhin coup, which happened two days before my flight. Also, my flight was operated by an aircraft from "Omni Air International" with a rather old Boeing 767. I actually used this route to get into Russia, as my final destination was Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, which is roughly about one flight hour from Ulaanbaatar. On the flight back in the end of July I flew with the same Boeing 767 as you, operated by MIAT. Sitting in economy, I, however, had to deal with very tight leg room(my knees were literally touching the other seat) and a cold air conditioneer. It was not the best experience, still for me it was fine as I slept during most of the flight and it was the nearly the only option to get to my destination without having to stay overnight in Moscow or Novosibirsk. Actually, this route was not even that much longer the the route I took before the war, namely Düsseldorf/Frankfurt-Moscow-Ulan-Ude, which is kind of surprising, considering the increased time you have to spend to go to Moscow or any other city in Russia. Despite all this, I highly doubt that I will be taking this route again, with the possibility of having to serve military duty there increasing and restrictions tightening.
Very exciting review, i had to try book a flight to see the carpet option for myself and yes indeed they do offer passengers to bring with them a carpet. Their conditions are... . No more than 40kg. 2. Must be folded in square and total of each length is no more than 203cm. 3. Only one prepaid pet allowed per passenger. It is subject to reservation availability. However writing pet instead of carpet got me confused for a while...😄
I love living vicariously through your trips around the world. I personally love your "Loo Reviews"! LOL! Some of those airlines have really good and comfy seats!
The bag check may also be random too and it may seem liked you were singled out but since there weren't many people in that part of the airport it may have made it easier for them to just pick you for the "random" check I guess.
Having a great time catching up on all the videos, I have missed since Facebook did the dirty Noel👍 absolutely loved this video and have to say you’re editing (if you do it yourself🤔) it’s really on point. thanks, Noel
Despite being a hub airport, never had an easy transit at Frankfurt. Use to travel to the Nordics a lot via there. Even with a standard connect 1 hour is barely enough time.
![PASULOL รามเกียรติ์ ตอนที่ 4 นนทกพบรัก [Ramakien Ep.4: Nonthok in love]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tMUQgmZzf_A/mqdefault.jpg)
My father, who was not Mongolian, was a Professor of Mongolian and Tibetan languages and literature here in California. We lived all over the world, from Turkey to Sweden and Costa Rica when I was a child; however, our home base was always in California. When he flew to Ulaanbaatar to receive a special award, I think he flew a Chinese airline for that flight in the late 1960s or early 1970s (?), he loved to tell the story of that flight. I was a young child, but I remember him telling me that people put live chickens in the overhead bins during the flight and one person brought a sheep on the flight! How cool is that? I love Mongolian people and the culture. In fact, my godfather, Unensechen, was Mongolian, and my middle name is a Mongolian name. My father has passed away, and I miss my daddy a lot.
Hello. Your history is very amazing. From Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
It’s very interesting. God bless you
Bet you thought you would get loads of likes for that essay ha😂
HEJJ
82 times U! 🤣@@Porch.monkey.slayer
I visited Mongolia in 2008. All the yurts I visited had rugs/carpets to cover the ground. Mongolia was/is still a place with a nomadic culture. I suspect this is the reason for the special carpet check. Beautiful place, btw. It’s worth getting out onto the steppe.
Randomly getting taken to the secure area of the airport for no apparent reason and then just being allowed to leave like that with no action taken was very odd.
A certifiable 'The fuck?'-moment
happens more often than you think in 3rd world countries.
Happened to me in Switzerland I find in these cases your always just happy for it not to have escalated further and happy to leave lol
Happened to me every time I flew into Newark from Europe;
became tiresome after a few years,
so eventually spoke to an agent that I had become familiar with.
She confided in me, with a warning that she would hunt me down if I let it be known that it was herself that had told me this*, that I had a very similar name to an Irish gangster that they would like to have words with, and that I was always flagged inbound to EWR, and delayed until it could be confirmed that I was not said gangster.
The gangster was shot dead in Dublin, and since then I've not been delayed when transiting EWR.
(*she said this half-jesting, but tbh, I wouldn't want to put it to the test).
MIAT looked like an splendid airline. Nothing like I would have imagined. The airport looked very nice as well. The things I learn watching your TH-cam channel!
Hey im from Mongolia I WAITED FOR THIS MY ENTIRE LIFE THANK U FOR FLYING MIAT!
Ulaanbaatar has a population of around 1.4 million and is the coldest capital city in the world. It is home to roughly half of the country's population.
alsointeresting toknowthat this flight canuse Russian airspace the European airlines cannot and Aeroflot can'tuse European Or North american airspace
It’s sounds wonderful for a vacation 😂
..And is one of the most polluted cities in the world
Thank you Wikipedia
Correct: the coldest capital in the world. And if you happen to stroll into a bar or club: some of the hottest women in the world. Be advised, looking only! Mongolian men tend to drink alot and then think all the women are their girlfriend. So if you chat one up, they will take it that you are trying to steal their woman. And react accordingly. Even if she don't know that guy. Still, a sight for sore eyes.
"Checking-in please" (said to a check In agent) Agent: "PARDON ME???" lol
Germany :D
German culture is rude in that way
Hi Noel, I go through Düsseldorf every weekend, also an horrendous nightmare for queues and security. Perhaps you should do a video about your worst airport experiences?
The "we'll take your passport and boarding pass and give them back to you before you leave" thing is a HARD PASS for me. Won't be through Mongolia anytime soon, I guess...
I worked at FRA Airport, and from my experience, I can tell you that last summer was terrible as we lacked staff in all sections. There are multiple reasons, primarily because of Covid restrictions; Noel, you should be happy that the lady at the counter simply verifies the documents from you verbally and does not check ALL of them personally because we were told by Airlines to check each and every Covid related document. And it should be done within an already very tight time window.
Unfortunately, it will not get better till the middle of next year when you have enough trained people who can join the workforce and contribute. So Yeah, my personal advice is to take either direct flight whenever possible and, regardless of stories you hear, come early at the Airport and be the first at the counter. 😉
or better avoid Germany completely, you will get a better experience even in the most desolated airport anywhere in the world 🤪🤔😁😂🤣
@@t.fahrmann9757You don’t.
U mean to tell me Germans follow procedure to the point of complete system collapse? 😂 I never would of guessed
@@chazzbranigaan9354
What systems have collapsed in your experience, please?
I had a chance to travel to Mongolia in December 1998. I transited through Beijing and flew on MIAT on a 727. Wonderful people who totally ignored the standard flight safety rules. Plane was old. Seats did stay upright, overhead bins wouldn’t shut. Bags piled high on seats. As soon as we started descent into Ulaanbaatar, half the plane got up to get their carryons from overhead bins or seats where it was piled up. While the FA frantically tried to get everyone to sit down, many did not. Amazing to see them standing as we landed and then it was a mad dash as they all rushed to get off the plane. I wisely sat back and watched them. Safer. Lovely people and amazing visit, but definitely a different airline experience. 😂
Cool!😄
Have things change since? If you’ve recently travel to Mongolia I would love to know. Thanks
@@JeanClaudeCOCO I wish I had been able to return. I would say it has definitely improved based on the report from Noel. When I visited, it was just coming out from its decades long Russian rule. It’s been 24 years and I would imagine Mongolia has made leaps and bounds. The airport alone looks amazing. It didn’t look like that when I was there.
@@marichan62 great to hear.
Chances are that the people who ignored the rules were Chinese. I have flown in China and it happens there.
Good to see you supporting Mongolia's fishing industry Noel. Prawns on the first flight, fish on the second. I may never fly on MIAT but it was nice to see you pleasantly surprised.
Mongolia is landlocked, seafood...haha.
@@peterfreeman9369 Exactly.
@@peterfreeman9369 It has many lakes, infact there is a region called "The great lakes" region which has over 300+ lakes and has a large variety of fish
@@joshmcgregor4839 Interesting point, thanks Josh. We unexpectedly had fish in northern India about 1000 km from the sea. It was river or lake fish but it was very good.
@@rais1953 I know, I had a similar experience in Siberia when I visited Olkhon island. It was caught locally in lake Baikal, very delicious fish. I'm actually quite interested to know what type of fish are in the lakes in Mongolia.
16:30 gray piece of beef: ”it’s very nice. A little bit chewy, but very nice 👍”
Yak meat is often a very grey colour if under-cooked.
Avoid Yak burgers if possible.
You're welcome.
@@ericdunn555hi, so....please tell me about the Yak burger you had. PLEASE!!! 😃
Frankfurt was a nightmare experience for me too this summer, flight delayed 3hrs as they lost the plane on the ground, plane we was meant to have been on came in the night before but the tug got lost twice so they switched it to a dirty plane that came in that evening. Found out during the pandemic Frankfurt laid off 10k staff and couldn’t rehire that many back.
Not uncommon for Germans to lose planes;
they lost a lot of planes 80-odd years ago.
I had an interesting experience where for some reason MIAT pilots and crew were contracted in to Czech low-cost carrier Travel Service a few years ago, flew on quite a few TS flights operated by the MIAT crew around Europe- they were always extremely friendly and always had their MIAT lanyards on show
There's quite a strong Mongolian migrant work force population in Czechia, due to the American car seat manufacturer Johnson Controls recruitment practices in Mongolia for their factory there. The village of Ustek in northern Bohemia is home to many Mongolians. Perhaps that's part of the reason?
We've all been there, the absolute stress of getting that connection! Fab video as per mate
Holy cow Noel eating airplane shrimp, fish and salmon after the bad fish experience? You are a warrior! It would take me years to recover from that lol
This is why i hate traveling
You have to remember in a lot of countries, they don’t queue. It’s not taught in a lot of countries
Same flight from FRA to UBN but wildly different experiences 😂 if you are up to it, you should give Economy a go. But I will agree, the cabin crew was fantastic- even dealing with a medical emergency on my flight. Thanks for the review Noel!
hi, me and a friend are planning to do the same trip as he did in the video but in economy class. may i ask why you had a bad experience?:)
@@glinnes456
Cattle class always sucks. Okay on a short flight of up to two hours. But anything longer, no way!
Green willies 😂
Great trip report, Noel!! I could feel the anxiety rising as you were in queue to check-in @ FRA. Glad it all worked out and you had a nice trip! thanks for sharing 😃
Noel. Why do you just give them your passport and boarding pass?
There is no way that I’m giving up my passport, just transiting. Consider the problems one would have as a Dominican or Kenyan. No Embassy in Mongolia and these guys loose it!
Hi Noel, the carpet is for Muslims to use for prayer, maybe on the flight if it covers the regular praying times and also for the same after landing as many Muslims like their own praying mat. I lived in Indonesia for 3 years and it is normal everyday practice. May peace be with you.
what a dumb assumption. Mongolians love carpets culturally and would take the chance to buy one when overseas. Muslims use prayer mats. Not prayer carpets. Zzzz
That was what I said it's a prayer mat
That seems reasonable.....but....Muslims only make up 3% of Mongolia's population. There's no prayer space . And the maximum dimensions of the carpet allowed is 2m. A bit large for a prayer mat.
Having delivered and trained crews in UB, out of Chingas Hahn airport, on the first B737-800 for MIAT (MEE-YOTT), I spent a lot of time with their government safety personnel. Great experience and great people; albeit cold into the fall. The old airport was one way in and one way out due to a small mountain directly off the departure end of runway 14. The predominant wind was from the west so delay was often encountered. The 738 had a 15-knot tailwind supplement so that helped.
Thank you sir for the info ❤
got to love seat 1A, i was lucky enough to have seat 1A on a Virgin Atlantic Dreamliner from Las Vegas to Heathrow, my 1st and only ever flight in upper class..it was amazing!
Sat in 1K from Amsterdam to Vegas with KLM two days ago. Loved it! Will sit in the same seat when flying back in 12 days.
Transit in FRA from T1 to T2 seems to look like an absolute Mess nowadays, Inner T1 transit even into the A+ Pier for an onward connection internationally is way easier than the mess you had to endure lol
FRA was a hassle for us too, but the tomato and mozzarella sandwiches (on freshly baked bread) we had there were amazing. Remarkably good for anywhere, but an airport?!?! One of the best things I ate during my 2 weeks in Germany.
I think it’s fine that Ulaan Baatar airport does security screening on bags in transfer. They are quite thorough. I worked in Mongolia for two years. On one occasion I checked in. My bag had got through initial security screening, but it was checked again, and I had the call to go downstairs where I had to open it. There was nothing untoward. So fine. On your flights you did not try Mongolian vodka. Some of the best in the world. You missed out on that.
For 18 hours I wondered if I should expect a horrific experience, but it turns out it was just a nice but long trip!
I spent a few months in Mongolia in 1992. In those days Mongolian Airasys flew from Paris. On arrival at UB Airport the mist striking thing was the large number of AN 2s scattered around the airfield - left behind by the departing Soviet Air Force. UB was very underdeveloped, the people were brilliant. Stayed at The Bayangol Hotel, famous from the book "The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia". A great time.👍
Sounds like an interesting book. Nick Middleton.
Ay I've stayed at the Bayangol too for a night. Great hotel. Mongolia is much more developed know when I went in 2017. Great country with great people.
@@GTB.2020 The book is called The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia.......... I'm well aware the country is called 🇲🇳 Mongolia but in "the old days" it was often referred to as Outer Mongolia ..... that is separate from Inner Mongolia which was part of China.
@@GTB.2020 Read what I said....... I'm simply relaying what was once a very common situation - Mongolia was referred to as Outer Mongolia. I'm not suggesting it was part of China. Notwithstanding that ...... the book was called "The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia" ...... if you want to object to the title, I suggest you contact the author - that's not me! I KNOW IT IS MONGOLIA 🇲🇳
@@GTB.2020 Read what I have written. I am NOT calling it Outer Mongolia. Your abusive remarks are pointless. Having lived in Ulan Baatar for 9 months, I'm very pro-Mongolia and its position as an independent state.
Frankfurt is terrible to change at due to in and outing but hard to avoid if you are transiting via Germany.
Frankfurt can really be a nightmare to connect sometimes.
Love seeing something new all the time on your channel. Great work Noel! ✈
Thanks for watching!
B767 was one of my favorite aircraft to fly on. One of the attractive features is their spacious loo and on a really long flight, that's a must.
Wow, this felt very exotic. Thank u for taking us along Noel.
What a coincidence. Just came back from a trip to Korea. Keep up the good work, Noel.
Thanks! Will do!
@@noelphilips hi
Incredible unfriendly check in staff in Frankfurt 😳
Typical interaction with Germans. They are not a friendly bunch
Glad to see real tableware on the flight(s) - looks like a good adventure/trip too!
I was wondering when you’d eventually get to have a go at our national flag carrier, so I am happy to have come across your video on my feed. So far, my flights with MIAT has always been economy, but one thing I tend to enjoy is the food they offer (as long as it isn’t seafood, somehow they tend to have it if you’re on a flight to/from Korea)
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the flight!
Hi Noel, Ulaanbaatar looks very inviting indeed. I’ve been reading many novels lately and a good few of them have various parts of Mongolia in them so it has become one of my ‘places of interest to visit’.
Stay safe and greetings from Cumbria in the U.K.
I never had a good experience connecting through Frankfurt either. Good to see that I am not the only one.
I'm a new subscriber binge watching your videos since I found your channel a week ago. You're definitely one of the best flight reviewers on TH-cam and I really enjoy your honest down to earth style. Keep up the good work and greetings from Miami
Thank you!
Aren’t these videos awesome?
When airports treat you like that it is just so confusing. Why make it more difficult for passengers? Who is going to want to transit through there if they take your passport off you and then take you down into some random area for no reason. Strange.
Noel hasn't seen the movie Airplane -- you never get the fish on a plane.
@noelphilips I wonder if the carpet is for prayers? I remember a man asking if it was alright to pray on the side of a building I worked at, and he brought his own personal-size carpet to kneel on.
I have to agree with you Noel, only been to Frankfurt a couple of times and both times were a nightmare!!
For me it’s never a nightmare but probably because I start there and not connect
I was in the Frankfart Airport Casino,near my departing gate.I got ahead and quit
and looked and saw my flight gate had been changed as far away as it could get,
my 4 hour layover took a lot of hustle too.
Travelled to Ulan Bataar in 2006 on the Trans Mongolian from Moscow to Beijing. Spent 3 nights there. Wonderful city to visit. Great food, lovely people.
My Son and his Korean wife moved back to South Korea last year after 5 years in Berlin. They flew out of Frankfurt and had a very similar experience to yourself Noel.
They almost missed their flight as it took almost 3 hours for their baggage to arrive on the belt. I`m off to visit them this week , but booked KLM, Inverness to Seoul.
I remember your shot visit to "A" Seoul a few years ago 😆🤣
I know a friend who works in airline, what she said is that most foreign pilots hate going to Ulaanbaatar because of the very hilly location it is one of the difficult places to land planes.
They built a new airport
Coming to Japan soon? Hope to see you try the Fuji Dream challenge - taking as many different colours of their great livery as you can in a day!
We currently live in Korea, and I am hoping to explore Mongolia next spring through a steppes voyage, living with nomads and experiencing their traditional way of life. The emptiness of Chinggis Kahn Airport is alarming, though!
I'm stationed in Korea currently. I have seen the Incheon Airport many, many times. Looks like your time there was quick and easy.
Your Frankfurt experience is why post-Covid I have no desire to go anywhere unless absolutely essential PS I flew on a MIAT 767 from Abu Dhabi to Dhaka via Chittagong op for Biman, very pleasant it was too! Rolls-Royce powered 767s are very rare
I've never even heard of this airline - they actually look decent, so thanks for sharing this one!
My pleasure!
the MIAT flies Boeing, 737-700, 800, MAX, 767 and 787
Mongolia is my favourite country I've been to so far. The geography is stunning, the people are amazing and the culture is fascinating.
I took the train in from Putinia and flew Korean Air out so I didn't fly MIAT, but I did fly a private airline Hunnu Air on a domestic flight on an ATR 72 that was 13 years old going on 50. The cabin was in the worst condition of any flight I'd ever been on.
I'm impressed at the maritime power Mongolia is, especially for a landlocked country basically made up of deserts and arid steppes a very long way from any sea. Lots of seafood on MIAT, and I hear that (believe it or not) Ulanbaataar is a very much sought-after ship registration "port" as a flag of convenience...
They have no maritime power
@@ThatSB, do you know what a dictionary is? (This is a serious question. I've been asked more than once what a dictionary is when I mentioned it on TH-cam to people who didn't know it...) Then look up the word "sarcasm" and then re-read my comment above (the part about the ship registration "port" is true, though).
@@goytabr do you know what a dictionary is? Then lookup the word pompous and re-read your comment above.
They do have very large lakes though
Talking about carpets and strange things on flights, I remember getting a Turkish Airlines flight in the late 1970s when they allowed you to check in kettles and gas rings for use on the flight to make tea
The look on your face in the thumbnail made this video worth an immediate watch. Either you were scared, confused, or the toilet was unserviceable. 😂
I agree Frankfurt is one of the worst airports to transfer through. I've had problems every time.
For me in europe, amsterdam is king. Hate frankfurt, specially coming from a non schengen country and them making me go through security again there. Amstedam nobody cared and i loved it
If you are disabled, and get assistance, you literally go up in the lift, down in the lift. There are no tunnels, corridors or people. It’s all so close together that I think they have secret tunnels. Zurich, although bigger, is less chaotic. Same airline group, just Swiss. Take your Granny and get assistance, it’s an experience by itself.
I did not realize that I lucked out by having a 22 hour lay over in Frankfurt.
Ahhhhhh the phrase I love to hear on a loo review "No fluid on the floor - that's always nice".
Great video - I'd never have thought that Miat would have been that good either!
Glad you liked it!
3 years since I flew to Frankfurt. Flying there in just over a fortnight. Only ever done it as the destination rather than for a connection. The Lufthansa luggage drop off desk at the rail terminal makes such a big difference. Return flight leaves 10:20 - I'm not looking forward to Frankfurt airport for a mid morning flight. I'm expecting it to be absolutely mobbed.
So agreed, FRA is a massive pain even for a standard LONDON TO FRA hop.
I try to avoid Frankfu😮rt. I prefer Amsterdam. Also large, but only one big terminal.
Noel another enjoyable video . MIAT looked impressive to fly with . I felt for you with your walk of shame in the terminal at Ulan Bator ! 😀
Thanks 👍
I'm glad I'm no the only one to have that experience at Frankfurt airport!
Love your reports about those random carriers. Looks like it was quite good on all aspects! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Brilliant explanation on why you need to hold the mic up close to your gob. I had been wondering, but it makes perfect sense!
I was watching the part where you mentioned 'carry a carpet' and laughed that hard someone came in the room to ask what I was laughing at oh my god. I cannot stop laughing 🤣🤣🤣
I don’t know why but I love to see this videos. Even the music is refreshing…
Only 1h for your baggage in FRA? Then they were fast. 3 weeks ago I landed in FRA back from Rome and had planed 3 1/2h from Landing till my onward connection via DB. Long story short. Flight was delayed by 20mins and the rest of the time (2 1/2h) was spend waiting for baggage. And there were no information given how long it would take expect for the automated announcement that due to high amounts of passengers there would be delays. Missed the train, had to rebook out of own pocket. Thanks for nothing FRA and Scamhansa
Noel you are almost always happy with each meal. I see you are back to trusting the seafood.
Noel. Get a headset which includes a side microphone like the ones that gamer's and American football coaches use. By the way, spot on review!
Or just wear AirPods like a lot of other reviewers do 🤷🏼♂️
Found it hilarious when you said "fresh Mongolian seafood" as you chow down a piece of prawn from landlocked Mongolia. 😂 16:09
Always avoid Frankfurt and Amsterdam if I can! Even with same operator connections it can be a nightmare just doing security never mind bags! Great video!
Finally, someone who agrees. I dislike flying through these two cities too. I'll put Frankfurt on the "always avoid" list while I put Amsterdam as "I'll guess I'll take it (if I have to)."
To be fair, I only flew through Amsterdam during the beginning of the Pandemic in 2020, so everyone was just a mess. Still left a bad impression on me though.
As a Dutchie, I avoid London Heathrow as a connection. Amsterdam is a fifty/fifty chance. Frankfurt I don't know, only had a stop over there once, years ago.
speaking of taxis, they charged me 40 pounds in London for a 2 kilometer drive. and wouldn't let me out of the car till I paid them.
I'm guessing that Mongolia is rather well known for their hand woven carpets. Perhaps those who buy one there use this option as an alternative from shipping.
Yes you right because its landlocked it is sometimes might be the only option
Love traveling with you Noel! 🎉👏🏼
Looks like you've gotten over your fear of seafood 🐟
Another interesting flight - Thanks for bringing us along!
Can't beat freshly caught prawns from the shores of Mongolia!
@@noelphilips The Mongolian Navy needs to defend something...
@@noelphilips only one thing I would suggest is close your mouth when chewing and do not talk while chewing food. Its rude and frankly gross to watch. The rest of your videos are fantastic.
That's probably for the best. I doubt fermented mare's milk and horse are all that appealing to the Western palate.
@@microwavedsoda who?
Great video. I love being able to see places and airlines that I never will be able to visit or fly through your videos. Wow didn't even realize it was a 40 minute video, time flew watching it.
Thanks for watching!
finally, noel and i have had a common travel experience: being stressed out in the frankfurt airport
Frankfurt Airport is a disaster. Every time the stress is just too much. The range and choice of food services is also very poor. If I can avoid FRA, I do.
I rarely take connecting/transiting flights but in future I will always allow 5 or 6 hours after a panic with Aer Lingus at Dublin. Traveling London-USA with supposedly comfy 3.5 hour stop in Dublin. Inbound for Gatwick an hour late then no stand free meant I entered the terminal and USA immigration with an hour till boarding and the painful slow US immigration meant a run to the already boarding plane. Not nice preparation for the next 8 hours over to States! Great video Noel
Great vlog as always! The food looked Great, the seat as well! Keep on flying. Be safe!
Thank you! Will do!
I flew MIAT from Berlin TXL to Moscow SVO on Boeing 767 and I was very pleased with their service
I had the same issue with my checked baggage at 2am at Quito/ Ecuador airport. It was nerve-recking as no one could speak English, they searched everything in my bag (without telling me why) and the whole action was senseless as later on the drug dog showed that the bag was totally fine 🤷🏼♀️
Had to make 2 connections at Frankfurt. Barely made both of them. Frankfurt Airport is a nightmare.
Thanks! So yeah, what was it like in economy? The food, seats, service, loos? Hope to see more of that in the future.
Interestingly enough, I flew this route in the end of June this year and our plane did not fly over Russia but took the route across Turkey and Kazahstan. However, I have the thought that it maybe did because of the Prigozhin coup, which happened two days before my flight. Also, my flight was operated by an aircraft from "Omni Air International" with a rather old Boeing 767. I actually used this route to get into Russia, as my final destination was Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, which is roughly about one flight hour from Ulaanbaatar. On the flight back in the end of July I flew with the same Boeing 767 as you, operated by MIAT. Sitting in economy, I, however, had to deal with very tight leg room(my knees were literally touching the other seat) and a cold air conditioneer. It was not the best experience, still for me it was fine as I slept during most of the flight and it was the nearly the only option to get to my destination without having to stay overnight in Moscow or Novosibirsk. Actually, this route was not even that much longer the the route I took before the war, namely Düsseldorf/Frankfurt-Moscow-Ulan-Ude, which is kind of surprising, considering the increased time you have to spend to go to Moscow or any other city in Russia. Despite all this, I highly doubt that I will be taking this route again, with the possibility of having to serve military duty there increasing and restrictions tightening.
Fantastic video. It's always nice to get more than what you expected. Safe travels!
You got that right!
Very exciting review, i had to try book a flight to see the carpet option for myself and yes indeed they do offer passengers to bring with them a carpet. Their conditions are...
. No more than 40kg.
2. Must be folded in square and total of each length is no more than 203cm.
3. Only one prepaid pet allowed per passenger. It is subject to reservation availability.
However writing pet instead of carpet got me confused for a while...😄
However writing pet instead of carpet got me confused for a while..🤣
Hell yeah! Been waiting for a Mongolia episode for years :D
And yeah, Frankfurt was my homebase airport for 12 years. It is not in the least bit intuitive to navigate! 😅
I love living vicariously through your trips around the world. I personally love your "Loo Reviews"! LOL! Some of those airlines have really good and comfy seats!
Thank you!
When you call Ghengis Khan "Jen-giss Khan" lol 😂
The bag check may also be random too and it may seem liked you were singled out but since there weren't many people in that part of the airport it may have made it easier for them to just pick you for the "random" check I guess.
I miss these regular Noel Phillips videos haha. Just a trip report 🎉🎉🎉 love your work man. 😊
Thanks a ton!
Having a great time catching up on all the videos, I have missed since Facebook did the dirty Noel👍 absolutely loved this video and have to say you’re editing (if you do it yourself🤔) it’s really on point. thanks, Noel
Welcome. Thank you I do my own editing.
Despite being a hub airport, never had an easy transit at Frankfurt. Use to travel to the Nordics a lot via there. Even with a standard connect 1 hour is barely enough time.
Yay to a 40 minute video! Keep up the awesome work Noel ✈️
It’s a new airport, not just a new terminal. The prior airport was closer in and surrounded by more urban areas.
It took a while to finish the new airport and finally open it. Then again, when has a new airport ever opened on time? 😁