I Spent 10 Hours on Surinam's STRANGE National Airline

[@andysalmon9162]

in the first minute Noel gives a perfect example of how to treat check in staff. I wish more people would do this

[@Unknown_Ooh]

I never understood why people get rude or angry with check in staff due to their own lack of knowledge or preparedness. It's like some people book a ticket and there's no rules and the airlines cater to them specifically 😂

[@marcospark2803]

Well, if there is no one on line or you have Business class tickets it's quite different than when you've to wait 1 hour until you are served lol Also, it depends on the agent, there are those we're really cool but there are others who seems to hate their job.

[@xavilend]

@@Unknown_Ooh I saw someone I worked with just lay into flight crew for not giving him upgrades, he was hassling the flight attendants about his "status" and "points" and how they shouldn't treat him this way. I have a feeling they knew exactly how they wanted to treat him, and will continue to do so. I have no points, status or fame or anything, but got a few incredible upgrades... spoiler, I'm very polite.

[@Antti-ur7ri]

This is an old Finnair plane, realised from the business class seats, which are still pretty much the same. Flew many times Helsinki-HKG-Helsinki onboard this beauty! Nice to see it’s still operating.

[@naturallyherb]

The most ironic thing about their latest A340 is that it involves a full-circle story: several years ago they operated an older A340, but switched to an ex-Singapore 777-200 supposedly because it was better for the fuel economy. However, they couldn't get ETOPS certification for that one so they had to fly the long way around to be close to the shoreline, flying from Amsterdam up to Iceland, then to Newfoundland, then through the Caribbean into Suriname. That took 13 hours instead of 9 hours and so became very uncompetitive compared to KLM on the same route. After ditching that 777, the airline chartered aircraft from various airlines like Hi Fly before purchasing this ex-Air Belgium A340 which was originally a Finnair aircraft. Just to show how much they love the A340.

[@Zechariah340]

Hi there, you were right on certain points but I would like to point out some inconsistenties with your story. I'm from Suriname, and here is the summarized version of the story. Surinam Airways operated two A340-300s before the one they have now. The first one was registered PZ-TCR and the second one PZ-TCP, The one we have now is PZ-TCW. The story of our Boeing 777-200ER PZ-TCU is actually a bit funny. Surinam Airways was looking to lease a Airbus A330-300 (they also considered going for the 330-900Neo) for the PBM-AMS route since most of their pilots were already type rated on the A340 so switching to the A330 wouldn't be a big issue. While working on a lease for the A330, Boeing approached the Surinamese government (Surinam Airways is owned by the government of Suriname) and said that they have a 777-200ER which they would be able to lease at a far lower price than what the A330 was at that time. Surinam Airways wasn't to keen on taking the Boeing 777, because none of their pilots were type rated on the 777 so they would have to train their pilots and cabin crew which also costs alot of money, but the government pushed them to take it. So eventually they opted for the 777 but later they noticed that it had issues with its engine and after an inspection they noticed that the engine wasn't properly maintained, remember the aircraft came from Boeing, so instead of paying to fix it they sent it back and then they leased a KLM A330-200 for a short while. While that was going on Surinam Airways was working with Air Belgium to lease the A340-300 which they're currently flying now. But I was told that the A340 might only stay for a short while, because they really want to switch to the A330. Surinam Airways has a fleet of 3 aircraft. 2 Boeing 737-800 (PZ-TCV / PZ-TCX) and 1 Airbus 340-300 (PZ-TCW) Sorry for the long story😅

[@burningfuel8836]

@@Zechariah340 That KLM A330 was a Hifly A330 carrying the old livery of KLM as it was already phased out :)

[@Zechariah340]

@@burningfuel8836 oh really, I didn't know that, thank you for clarifying that 😄

[@mikerozeboom3490]

​@@burningfuel8836the former KLM A330 is flying at Airhub Airlines, not HiFly.

[@alexbeuerman7608]

Actually, I heard that they "retired" the last A340 when it was surrendered by the lessor for missed payments. Then the 777 had an expensive engine problem that they couldn't afford to repair, after a few weeks of service. They've been in dire financial straits for a while.

[@stellarsjay1773]

Following Dutch football, I’ve learned quite a bit about Suriname. The history and culture is fascinating. Even though they are in South America, their national team plays in the North/Central America region because they are a Caribbean nation. I’d love to experience their multi national culture.Thanks for taking us there.

[@jibberism9910]

I was lucky enough to be sent their as a graduation assignment with 2 others. Spent 5 weeks there doing research for a Dutch entrepeneur and I could spend a good amount of screenspace on it all. It is a very small country in many ways, almost a village so to say. Absolutely unique. It's over 20 years ago now. One of my best memories, especially now I understand some things a bit better. It's a shame the NL and Suriname don't have better relations than they do.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Here are some interesting facts about Suriname: Besides Dutch, they also speak Sranan Tongo which is an English-based creole. It's English-based because before Dutch settlers, it used to be an English colony! The English brought Africans for plantations, and so Sranan Tongo developed among them and the English colonists. Its use as a lingua franca expanded after the Dutch took over the colony in 1667, and 85% of the vocabulary comes from English and Dutch, plus some vocabulary from Portuguese and West African languages. After African abolition, there was a need for labor on the plantations, and so many Javanese, Indians, and Chinese ended up there. The star on their flag represents unity and the continents they came from. Suriname retains 93% of its original forest cover, the highest percentage in the world! Most Surinamese live along the coast! When it comes to biodiversity, the country is known for the blue poison dart frog which are endemic to the country's Sipaliwini Savanna, so if you ever see a very blue dart frog in a zoo or a pet shop, now you know they're found only in Suriname! Besides the blue poison dart frog, they're also known for the Goliath birdeater (despite its name, it rarely eats birds), the largest spider in the world by mass (175 g) and body length (up to 13 cm), and the Common Surinam toad, a toad found throughout the Amazon, known for incubating its eggs in honeycombed chambers in the skin of the mother's back. Suriname won their first (and so far only) Olympic gold medal in Seoul 1988 when Anthony Nesty won the men's 100-meter butterfly. He would also win the country's only other medal, a bronze medal, at Barcelona 1992. He became the head coach for the Paris 2024 USA Men's swim team, and has been head coach for the Florida Gators swim team, the school he attended.

[@smikejasper4461]

'Powered by four hairdryers and the curvature of the earth...' - Love it, Noel!

[@karloarsch1579]

It never gets old, even if it is as old as this aircraft, which I LOVE!

[@anthonyobrien3841]

Nice one :). Never flew on an A340 but I gather the take off roll can be boring.

[@maxverschuren6858]

​@anthonyobrien3841 A340 flies very comfy. I liked it. I flew an Iberia one back in the days. Amsterdam-Gran Canaria. Stopover in Madrid or Barcelona and from there on with the A340 to GC.

[@apveening]

@@maxverschuren6858 It is very nice and very quiet (on the inside), especially when compared to the noise buckets made by Boeing.

[@1nsanejochem]

@@anthonyobrien3841 I flew one from Frankfurt to Denver. Very comfy and quiet and Lufthansa had it refitted not too long ago. It does take ages to get off the ground though which I didn’t anticipate when I flew it so I was like: “are we just taking a roadtrip there or what?”

[@kennethstein8394]

It’s so nice to see a little bit of the exotic places you fly to. I know this is a aviation site but it’s nice to see obscure places.

[@tech9803]

Me too, I like the travelogue parts, especially since it's a place we see and hear very little about.

[@culcune]

It would go hand in hand that if he was going to travel on obscure airlines, it is only fair that he show us around a bit in the country he ends up in.

[@Andre_XX]

Yes, more of it, please.

[@JeanClaudeCOCO]

Great it’s wonderful and I don’t know if I will ever see it beyond reading about it.

[@hajow9303]

Two things: Suriname has a lot of people of Javanese-Indonesian descent. Hence the Indonesian food is kind of Surinamese food. Second: nice to see you getting aquainted with Surinamese Sambal. Its spicyyyy

[@petesmart1983]

Yep slaves from Dutch other colony so that why there was influence of them in Suriname and other Dutch colonys

[@E59th]

@@petesmart1983 You're wrong. Indonesians (Javanese) and Indians (Hindustani) weren't brought to Suriname as slaves but rather as contract workers after slavery was abolished.

[@SantomPh]

​@@E59ththe Indians were brought by the British before they traded Suriname to the Dutch for New York, usually as indentured labor. The Javanese were brought by the Dutch as manual labor and also as exiles from rebellions.

[@E59th]

@@SantomPh No. Clearly, you have never been to Suriname and you read something somewhere that doesn't make sense or that you remember incorrectly. Does the Lalla Rookh mean anything to you? That ship marks the first serious wave of Indian immigrants to Suriname. They arrived in 1873, were contract workers and brought to Suriname to replace indentured laborers.

[@SuperDecdog]

@@E59thindentured labour is slavery by another name

[@aditbajnath]

As a Surinamese person, i am very happy that you have vistited Suriname and were impressed my our airline, since it has been a controversial subject in the last years. About the food: anything that is not western food you can consider surinamese. And for a correction: it is supposed to be the home of the president but he doesnt actually live in there. Its only being used for government events

[@tobyhillier3828]

Loved this, Noel! I went to Suriname in 2014 for a short break, and loved the multicultural happy nature of the place. Can't wait to go back!

[@organi10]

This was actually really fun to watch. I was born in the Netherlands but both my parents are from Suriname. I was there on vacation in September as well!

[@RobertSK931]

Very Nice to see this airline and country. Thanks for taken us on a tour also, I really enjoy that. Looking forward to see next video from South America. Regards,from Robert in Sweden 🙂✈️✈️

[@Steve-xf4uv]

Noel, you're not getting older you're getting better ! A cheese plate and glass of port on Surinam Airways - very classy. And I agree, I'm a Boeing man BUT I love the A340. Flew on an Air Canada A340 years ago, yep they had at lest one of them..

[@sjb1058]

brilliant touch with the glass of port, Noel! enjoying a glass myself after dinner this evening! Paramaribo looks very nice so far. looking forward to the next videos! cheers!

[@captainmetz]

Great Video as always! I love to see the snippets of vlogging the city once you get there! I doubt I am be the only one but it would be great to add some more vlogging of the cities! Thanks for great content!

[@dc-travel]

Lovely video! I saw the A340 parked at Pengel Airport when we were flying out of Suriname in March. And yes, I agree, people are very lovely in this part of the world.!

[@theliamcooke]

Surinam is a mish-mash of food and cultures, that's why the food selection was a bit interesting! They have this amazing peanut sauce & fried plantain dish!

[@birdmanmarbella]

I flew A340's a few times with Virgin from Heathrow to Jo'burg. Nice comfy business class, and yes, the climb to cruising altitude is leisurely compared to more modern aircraft.

[@aerotechify]

Gotta love the tiny CFM56s on the huge A340-300.

[@daigriffiths399]

The A340 was pretty much the last aircraft designed and built before engines got reliable enough for twin-engined airliners to get certified for ETOPS. If you're not sure what ETOPS is, to quote the CAA: 'An extended Range Twin Operations approval (ETOPS) permits twin-engined aeroplanes to operate over a route that contains a point further than one hour flying time at the approved one-engine inoperative cruise speed.' Consider this: if you lose half the engines on an A340 you will fall out of the sky. If you lose half the engines on an A330 you'll just keep going.

[@aerotechify]

@@daigriffiths399 I know what ETOPS is; I've just always been amused by the tiny engines on a large aircraft. Even the 747-400 is powered by CF6s, PW4000s, or RB211s, which all produce nearly twice the thrust. Albeit, it's always been said that the 747 is overpowered.

[@CocoNut2018]

I like the proportion of the engines to the overall plane. It looks like the classic 707 and DC-8 planes. I enjoy floating up and taking time climbing. More comfortable than B777.

[@daigriffiths399]

@@aerotechify Ah, well - I have a story about that 😆 Many decades ago I was in the London ATC Centre as a privileged guest when the controller I was shadowing drew my attention to a B747SP departing CDG. "Watch him", he said, "He'll be calling for level changes every two minutes and will be at FL350 by the time he passes over us". And so he did and so he was - the 'lump' was a *seriously* overpowered aircraft!

[@tech9803]

John Leahy of Airbus once joked the A340 had an unfortunate tendency to birdstrikes - from behind...

[@gabrielzander5987]

Gotta love the slow take offs on the A340. I remember flying on the Iberia A340 to Havana back in 2007. We almost took the entire 3200m to lift off in Barajas.

[@steve69640]

Paramaribo does have another airport, "Zorg en Hoop" airport is near the center of town. It is considerably busier than the big airport but serves much smaller aircraft (mostly Otters & Caravans) on domestic routes.

[@riazedn4728]

Het is meer binnenlandse vluchten van parbo naar albina of nickerie

[@voornaam3191]

​​​@@riazedn4728 Maar je kan er prima landen met je eigen vliegtuig. Waarom blijft iedereen toch in die stomme auto's zitten? Mensen zijn helemaal niet zo slim. Echt niet. Rij eens naar Brazilië. Of Curaçao. Ben je dagen bezig. Stom.

[@riazedn4728]

@@voornaam3191 rijden naar Curaçao?

[@riazedn4728]

@@voornaam3191 rijden naar Curacao goe vanuit Suriname? Wat praat je allemaal?

[@CuteCatsofIstanbul]

Whenever I travel to the Netherlands, I have to eat Surinamese food every single meal, every single day. Their tofu/tempeh and veggie dishes are the best if you ask me. When I lived there, my Surinamese colleagues (only colleagues whom I can call friends) would cook for me and bring in the most amazing dishes to the office for me. Everyone would be so envious. Simply the best!

[@thomasz.8011]

Noel, I follow since you had only 20k followers and I got the feeling you should also start with travel vlogs. Your side infos besides the aviation content are brilliant.

[@stmisbehavin662]

I flew on a Surinam Airways DC-8 when I was 11 years old, back in the '80s. It was a KLM flight though, from Amsterdam to Kano with a stop in Tunis. My parents got teaching jobs in Nigeria and we lived there for two years.

[@ambc8970]

we are NOT in africa. we are in south america.

[@stmisbehavin662]

@@ambc8970 Yes, I am aware! Surinam Airways and KLM have often borrowed each other's aircraft, and on this occasion it was a KLM flight but with a Surinam Airways aircraft.

[@jwenting]

@@stmisbehavin662may have been a KLM aircraft that was slated for delivery to Surinam airways and had already been resprayed.

[@thatbajanone]

Welcome to the Caribbean Noel! Suriname actually has a very large population of descendants from Java, Indonesia so that's why you saw alot of Indonesian originated food it is a VERY multicultural country. Hope you enjoyed.

[@repatch43]

Not surprised Noel, some of the nicest people I've ever met have been from Suriname

[@horseathalt7308]

@thatbajanone Are there are White Dutch Europeans left in Suriname? Curious.

[@thatbajanone]

@@horseathalt7308not many, they only make up less than 1% of the population

[@horseathalt7308]

@@thatbajanone Interesting to hear. Any idea why almost all of them left?

[@jesper4528]

I do not think there were many in Suriname to begin with, you had some farmers that were brought to Suriname to work the farms when slavery was about to end but that was a small number.@@horseathalt7308

[@fatdandelions]

"I think its salmon" 🤣🤣🤣 Are you sure ?!? It looks like fresh "stale" tuna. It looks like someone left it on the table for quit some time. 🤣🤣🤣

[@christopherten-eyck4473]

Long runway. First 20 minutes, then 365 minutes Wow. Great video. Hello from Pa USA 🇺🇸. Love your channel. Makes my Sunday morning great 👍

[@kevinmartin4870]

Longest taxi and takeoff I ever had was at DFW, I thought we were driving to my destination.

[@cantliff9]

its probably the taxi that took the longest. Schiphol is known for having a long taxi - the easyjet crew pointed out when I landed there last year edit, i made this comment before I saw the jokes on screen from Noel on the take-off roll

[@johnm348]

This was a lovely video. So glad you showed some of the city too! Thanks

[@noelphilips]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Ryuuranger]

Surinamese cuisine is amazing it’s a mixture of Dutch, Indonesian and Indian cuisine combined

[@germyw]

As well as African. How could you leave that out?

[@Ryuuranger]

@@germyw whoops my bad I didn’t see that

[@nataschaadama9363]

Chinese, Jewish, African…..

[@E_Legal_Alien]

⁠triggered 🤣

[@ed8742]

And chinese food

[@richard99cookify]

Love that A340, shame I'll never fly on one, and also loved the walking around bit at the end, really awesome feel-good review this one!

[@6yjjk]

Thought I recognised those seats - ex-Finnair bird. OH-LQD, their Marimekko flowers special livery. I've been on it three times, all in business class HEL-LHR or LHR-HEL; might even have sat in that seat! Good to see the old girl still alive and earning her keep.

[@Srananbloke]

Wow Noel, this might be one of my favorite videos by you yet! Been waiting for a long time for someone from the avgeek-KZbin community to cover this trip. Glad you took the ride! And great to see you liked it, just like the lovely country of Suriname! My parents are from Suriname, myself being born, raised and living in the Netherlands. I visited the country multiple times and always enjoyed it. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity so far to fly Surinam Airways (or SLM, as it is sometimes called locally in both Suriname and the Netherlands). KLM tends to be more reliable on the AMS-PBM route, as Surinam Airways had some troubles in the recent past, both financially and capacity wise. Great to see they got their groove back somehow with their ‘new’ A340 and 737’s. Deboarding in PBM is and always will remain one of my favorite deboardings in the world. Just imagine how that moment was before Covid hit the world, when KLM still flew the 747-400 into PBM! As for the cuisine: Because of the colonial history of Suriname, the country is a unique melting pot, combining the best of India, Indonesia, China and Africa, amongst some other influences. The country is everything but your typical South American country, having a more Caribbean flavor rather than a Latin one. And one of the best ways to indulge yourself in that melting pot is Surinamese food, where all those different cultures and influences are present. That explains the Indonesian food on board, all the Chinese restaurants as well as the spiciness. I hope you also had the opportunity to try some Roti with chicken curry during your stay there. Best food in the world period ❤️🇸🇷 Thanks for visiting and enjoying the country of my parents and grandparents. I really enjoyed your video. Looking forward to your next South American/Caribbean adventures!

[@placeholderGER]

Seeing the A340 Takeoff Roll reminded me of a Flight on Air Namibia i took some 15 Years ago by this point. Because of the Elevation of Windhoek Airport the Takeoff Roll felt like as if we were going to roll to Frankfurt the full length of the Journey :D

[@lvovodessa]

I had the same experience with the Lufthansa A340 in Bogotá.

[@Earwaxfire909]

Can you spend more time exploring the airports? The culture and structure of airports are my favorite parts of my trips!

[@jeremypearson6852]

I think you gave a nice honest review. It’s so nice not to see someone nitpick on minor stuff. An expat watching in S Florida.

[@wertrocks123]

Hey Noel, i know you're an aircraft guy but damn, i would have loved to have seen a bit more of that hotel room and also the price! You're like the other half of Walk With Me Tim. If i watch the two of you together i can get solid reviews on both flights and rooms lol

[@planesgamingtt]

Lovely review! You're so close to where I am. Maybe some content in the Southern Caribbean soon? Loved this video once again!

[@AJD7233]

Thankyou for this lovely video! And Suriname is indeed a very beautiful, very very green (93%), cute small country that has a very rich and unique history. Suriname is a Mixing pot (like we call it ourselfs) of Chinese, Indonesian, African, Jewish, Indian people and ofcourse not to forget the originals Native Americans like myself which it makes it so special and unique. Nothing like this in any other country. Hence why you have such unique beautiful mixed people only in Suriname. Thankyou once again for being such a lovely men just doing your thing. Love to see it!☺️😊

[@timmarsh8303]

Noel your videos are always full of great information, which I found very helpful. I really enjoy all the different airports and airlines you use. Keep up the fantastic videos looking forward to more. Take care and stay safe👍👍

[@noelphilips]

Glad you like them!

[@EuanMcG]

Noel: "You never see an angry Dutch person" Jos Verstappen: "Am I a joke to you? 🤬🤬🤬"

[@wyunaboy]

the thing is, he doesn't look angry..or no one takes him seriously when he is angry hehe he looks like he has some personal problems

[@MegaHariboboy]

Noel 'generalisation' Philips strikes again. I also hope he realises that Suriname has an 'e' at the end of it.

[@FormulaMia]

Was about to say the same thing 😂😂

[@mauricematla8379]

Well too be fair Jos is mostly indeed a joke.

[@simonhutchings6073]

Noel great video .lovely to see this A340 in detail I’ve seen this Airbus overflying my town en route a few times. Those A340 2/3 ‘s certainly like to ground hug on take off .😃

[@noelphilips]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@TheRareVideosXL]

What a lovely flight and a beautiful country.

[@meliskramer4520]

Loved this! Was waiting for a trip report on Surinam Airways A340 and was excited to see Noel actually did it. Interesting plane. From the inside you can see it's an ex-Finnair aircraft and on the outside they didn't put much effort in hiding it's an ex-Air Belgium aircraft as well. Although it's kind of a clever way to save costs on repainting. They just made the black orange and it's in Suriname Airways colours. You could say orange is the new black 😊

[@yvonnesmith6152]

LOL….the aviation sector is still rather small, even globally. What are the chances that a person will recognize the very plane Noel is flying on, from years past? Funny 😆

[@DuckOfRubber]

I couldn’t help but laugh during the takeoff roll. I’ve been on an A340 one time, years ago, and it felt like that thing would never get off the ground.

[@6yjjk]

Watched Air Jamaica's depart LHR on a sweltering day, it was terrifying.

[@bardo0007]

Suriname is on my to do list before I get too old. Very interesting mix of people and culture.

[@meljohanna]

You are most welcome to visit😊

[@alexdavis5766]

Always wanted to visit Paramaribo, ever since I saw it in an atlas when I was 9-10 years old as I loved the sound of the word 😂 It’s on my bucket list and this video makes me want to go even more! Suriname looks like such a pretty country

[@AJD7233]

Thats so cute☺️😊 you will love it!

[@KevinJones-qp9er]

I Love the meanings of never feeling 4 of the HALT you mentioned i wont ever forget that . THANKS NOEL ❤

[@StarTrek2047]

Just Awesome! Thanks for keeping us entertained Noel !

[@noelphilips]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@silentman-ze3gu]

Love the a340. Used to fly Finnair on the a340 from Singapore to Helsinki before the a350. The a340 is so much more comfortable. They call the a350 ‘wide body’ but it’s just too cramped

[@neiltinkler987]

I remember the same kind of take off experience when Royal Jordanian used the Airbus A340, think they had the 300 version too back in 2002, first time to Thailand via Amman from Heathrow

[@simondavies4603]

Quite nostalgic for me! Twenty years ago I used to regularly fly on A340s; fond memories of the window in the toilet and the very distinctive takeoff characteristics. Surely the lack of in-flight entertainment on a nine hour inter-continental flight is a major negative?

[@clairedobson2240]

Great video & what a nice airline. So pleased you are going to cover South America

[@zzizahacallar]

My mother is from Ecuador and I would love to see more of South America. Very beautiful.

[@MultiSUPERLATIVO]

Hello Noel. A young dream, to fly with Surinam Airways... so it is cool to take this ride with you. 9:44 I was reading and according to Japanese (they are the ones who created this hospitality item) etiquette, the hot towel, known as Oshibori (絞る), has the only purpose of sanitizing one's hands. It is not expected to wipe one's face with the Oshibori. ☺

[@supericeman1]

Nice Suriname adventure thanks for sharing for the longest time I didn’t know where Suriname was what a delight to fly on an a340 these days

[@alancobbin]

Surinam looks awesome,thanks Noel👍😉💪

[@myrabenson1603]

Another interesting video on Your journey to South America flight looked OK 👍 and the country looks laid back 👌 thanks again for sharing 👍 x

[@napke8571]

Oh man, the A340 is such a cool plane! Everything seems to be so in order. The size, the 4 engines, the wings....business class looks pretty fine on Surinam airways!!

[@FreeFlyer89]

Hahaha! I always thought the A340 engines were too small. But welcome to the Caribbean Noel and you finally found a loo with a view despite the little mishap with the window not being frosted. 😅

[@mattscarf]

I think that’s the version that has different engines than planned and is known to be underpowered. The -500 and -600 got the planned engines and they’re noticeably bigger

[@ByronLina]

Flying A340s from Bogota at 2800m altitude was good fun. Air France had to stop selling about 20 seats to reduce weight after a couple of close encounters with local mountains!

[@schalitz1]

Tahiti is the same way. Really cool to get off a Frenchbee A350 by air stair and walk to the open air terminal. Btw Paramaribo's downtown is uncanny. I live in New England and it literally looks like someone took one of our towns and moved it, like you said, "to a place with better weather."

[@SciFly7]

Nice video and good to see a review of an airline from near my area 😁 I especially LOVE your description of the takeoff run, since the A340-300 is so grossly underpowered. It's like having 4 APUs instead of 4 engines. Big difference to the A340-600. The worst thing of that and the older A330s is overhead bin space... a wide body aircraft with commuter aircraft overhead storage.

[@becsterbrisbane6275]

Haha, you were full of gags on this one Noel, great video! Can I just point out however that what I now realise was the individual light in your seat on that flight really did look like a faucet for your very own in-seat water refilling station? I would totally go for that on a flight, lol

[@Hammertime4404]

Great video Noel, 9:05 you flew right over my home town, recognised it straight away!

[@paulchandler211]

Love the A340, last time i was on one was a Lufthansa one from Hong Kong to Frankfurt in Jan 2023, flight time was 14.5 hours on account of not flying over Ukraine/ Russia.

[@lolalumikola]

That's actually Finnair's old plane! :D it really caught my attention as those seats were exactly the same as old Finnair business class! And before air Suriname, air Belgium used it😁

[@voornaam3191]

Yes, Surinam Airways has always had YELLOW planes. Maybe they finally found out that yellow planes bring them bad luck? And debts? And crazy financial managers?

[@ohheyitskevinc]

7:05 😂 Great airline and fun trip! We still have LH A346s to MUC from CLT occasionally. EWR-MUC are currently A346s too. Fun, lumbering jet. I did J in one a few years ago but went back to use the economy lav since it’s downstairs.

[@FreeTvINC]

9:17 you flew right over my house, I swear on my life

[@kavishsewnandan8718]

Thanks for this great video! Landing into Suriname is a beautiful sight where you, indeed, have the feeling of landing straight into the Amazone Rainforest. A small correction though; the international airport of Paramaribo is not called 'Paramaribo International Airport' but 'Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport', named after a famous Surinamese politician of the past.

[@DJourney87]

I saw this plane as I traveled to Amsterdam for my birthday this year. I'm not much of an aviation geek but I definitely was confused as to what plane this was because I've never been on one before. Now I know!

[@jedgar63]

I still haven't flown on one, but did get to see one (Lufthansa) landing as my plane was waiting to take off.

[@armyavi8tor]

I used to fly to Suriname when we flew down there on the 319 with AA. Such a strange place with the fusion of cultures. Wasn’t a fan of the super long drive to the hotel in the 2 lane highway in the dark. Good food and coffee though! The airport is something left to be desired.

[@makiwa]

I only went on a A340 once in 1999, and that was from Johannesburg, (Jan Smuts) to Brussells with Sabena.... Really comfortable flight!

[@Bob-s9z7r]

New to show very well done big fan all the best be safe....

[@noelphilips]

Thank you and welcome!

[@harveycooper2246]

Hi Noel, great video as always. Good to see somewhere more unusual. Would you ever consider a trip around the Greek islands, the smaller lesser known airfields? The scenery is spectacular and not something I’ve seen much of on KZbin

[@camotech1314]

That gentle take off climb was so fun to watch.

[@belugast]

Great video, that A340 looks ex Air Belgium and a glass of port is a lovely drink with cheese, nice. 😍

[@ljacobs357]

Always enjoy your reviews on airlines most people never fly.

[@ZaimoZaragazzo]

I don't know why people feel the need to compare the pure wooden buildings made of solid sustainable Surinamese timber to Amsterdam. These buildings in Paramaribo have a veranda/balcony and the wooden pillars have a surinamese twist of craftmanship. I have NEVER seen the same in Netherland.

[@AJD7233]

Yeah, it is either the other way around😅

[@gennarosavastano9062]

2 of the best cuisin’s i know suriname and indonesia yum!! I am lucky living in the netherlands.

[@Heidi_Bradshaw]

The Loo with a View Review! Great vid Noel!

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

Great vlog as always! The A340 have their own SID from apts like JFK. A DC-6 climbs faster! Here on YT there are a cockpit video from Swiss dep PVG-ZRH and the A340 is at MTOW. ATC wants them to climb, and they are not able. Lol! Keep up ths good work. Be safe!

[@dCarey906]

Wonderfull and thank you for bringing us all along to parts of this world that i wont see

[@gittae8725]

Great report Noel🙂 I flu Swiss air A340 last summer, throne seat 4K, it was great😊

[@chrisrawley-bassoon4020]

Once flew Surinam airways from Curacao to Port of Spain.. They did a stop over there before continuing to Paramaribo.

[@philhubb5885]

Love the 340. Flew it a couple times on Turkish Air about 15 years ago.

[@Draintheswamp888]

Love Surinam

[@brend2718]

24:45 Have you ever hear of Max Verstappen?

[@uzmaahmed.catmoon]

Gem of a video Noel & super exotic. Couldn't help but to laugh at the everlasting takeoff though

[@STORMCLOUDGREY]

Impressive loo. It looks like that one is actually in the cabin rather than downstairs in the cargo hold.

[@steffanaarts-greven1352]

They have been using A340s for years. I worked around the Schiphol platform 5 years ago and an A340 with their livery was a common sight back then.

[@TransistorBased]

Upgrades are no joke. In 2021, I was able to snag a business class seat on the top deck of a Lufthansa 747 going from New Jersey to Frankfurt. Total cost was around $1,100

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing life on the road!!

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family here in the USA while you travel.😊

[@seancardinez624]

Hey Noel. Sort of watch your videos as my sunday morning wake up routine. Pity the S. American leg got messy this time. I live in Trinidad and if ever you're doing a itinerary through the Caribbean and happen to land here again I'd be happy to show your around. You can also fit in a trip to our smaller island Tobago. More than a dozen 15min flights a day and walking distance to a great beach!

[@glennhunter7242]

Kia ora. I can't afford a holiday away yet, BUT your videos give me the excitement to dream and plan. Nga mihi

[@MrJimheeren]

I just love the sound the A340 makes, a nice low rumble. I like the new interior though they used to fly with a former Air France A340 until recently and those chairs really had seen better days. I believe SA bought this one from Fin Air if I’m not mistaken

[@mastanoob593]

It's indeed one of Finnair's old A340s and still has their old business class seats. This particular aircraft left Finnair in 2016 and was used by Air Belgium before SA acquired it this year.

[@hevgambles4842]

Me and my husband are going to do a drinking game and drink when we hear you say, "quite nice", we will be hammered 😂 other possible words could be, "nevermind" or "pretty cool". Love your videos!

[@N145PM]

What an absolutely fantastic vid this was. I love the exotic carriers, destinations and aircraft. Keep them coming, Noel .. this was brilliant.

[@bigmuggs123]

Wonderful video Noel as always.

[@noelphilips]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@maritabrammer348]

god......... i love your sense of humor keep it up!!!!!!!!

[@noelphilips]

Thank you!

[@TheSurboy]

Thanks for the review Noel, very nicely done.

[@noelphilips]

Glad you liked it!