Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Flights – Gatwick South to Naples (British Airways)

    This is G-GATM, the British Airways Airbus A320-200 aircraft which was flying from London Gatwick to Naples. Interestingly (well I think), this aircraft initially belonged to ACES Colombia and was operated by them in South America. They went bust in early 2004, just a year after they acquired the aircraft, and Wizz Air took it on as part of their initial fleet of planes. It remained in the Wizz Air fleet until December 2014 and it was repainted and came into use by British Airways in January 2015 as part of their new second-hand fleet to be used at Gatwick on short-haul operations.

    The boarding gate was spacious with plenty of seating and the screens were clear. The boarding process worked well and customers queued where BA wanted them to.

    On board, the flight was relatively full, although the seat next to me was left unfilled. These are exit row seats so they were spacious and the crew member reminded occupants of their responsibilities in the event of any incidents during the flight.

    There was a queue of aircraft waiting to take off, including easyJet and BA planes.

    Another BA aircraft joining us in the queue for take-off, which didn’t seem to take an overly long amount of time. Our flight ultimately actually arrived a few minutes early into Naples and it was a smooth journey with no turbulence of note.

    These look like clouds at first sight, but it’s the Alps. The captain made an announcement telling customers on the right hand side of the aircraft to look out, and as luck would have it, that was where I was sitting.

    Shortly before landing.

    Naples Airport is one of those where customers are shuttled to the terminal by bus transfer. There were two buses which left promptly and weren’t over-filled. I was slightly concerned when I saw that there were literally hundreds of people at the immigration desks, so I was anticipating a long wait. Fortunately those with passports were despatched to automated kiosks and so my wait transpired to be under three minutes from entering the terminal to leaving it.

    Overall, another smooth and successful journey with British Airways, who seem to me to be delivering some consistently impressive flights. The flight cost around £32 as a single fare in what is a crowded market as Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet all operate to Naples, along with numerous other international carriers.

  • Gatwick Airport – No.1 Lounge (South Terminal)

    I’ve written about the No. 1 Lounge at Gatwick before, but this was my second visit and I remain quite impressed by its offerings.

    The welcome from the staff member was friendly and professional, and I was offered the same menu as I had been given on my visit in early February (by same menu I mean that the contents were the same, it wasn’t the exact menu I had before). I went for the fish finger wrap, a basic item which isn’t going to overly excite in terms of the portion size or its presentation, but it’s a handy snack. I still wonder though for someone paying full price to enter the lounge in the morning whether they’d be entirely satisfied with the one item they can order.

    The main seating area in the lounge and there are power points below the seats which proved useful.

    In addition to the single item from the cooked menu that’s available, there’s also a variety of other food to choose from and this is unlimited. The mini muffins and pastries are decent quality ones, with a selection of fruits and yoghurt. There were a couple of different cheeses available, but it was the cheddar cheese which pleased me greatly, a rich and mature flavour.

    Everything in the lounge was clean and organised, although since I was the second person in, I’d have been surprised if it was all in a mess. The staff were visible and helpful, keeping the lounge clean and tidy, and I noted they were willing to help with a customer’s complex food allergens question. I was in the lounge for around 40 minutes before I decided to move on, but it’s a relaxing location in the morning to stay for longer.

  • Gatwick Airport – Grain Store (Visit 4)

    As I’ve posted about (three times before), the Grain Store is part of the Priority Pass scheme at Gatwick Airport South Terminal. I visited here this morning at around 5am and it was moderately busy inside with a staff member promptly acknowledging me on entry. There’s a choice of more cafe style seating or restaurant seating, but as usual, I went for the latter.

    I’m working slowly around the menu and since I haven’t had tea here before, I went for something new. I have next to no knowledge about tea, but it tasted fine to me and there were enough for over two cups full. It was nicely presented in a black teapot and the water was at boiling temperature.

    The chorizo, avocado and poached egg on toast. There was an interesting variety of temperatures going on, with the egg, chorizo and toast being hot and the avocado, feta cheese and the plate all being cold. The presentation was just a little odd as well with some random elements around the plate, it’d have probably looked better on a slightly smaller plate. Anyway, that sounds like I’m overly concerned about the plate used, which isn’t really the case.

    The egg was cooked perfectly so that it was runny when I cut into it, with the portion size of the chorizo in particular being generous. The avocado was evenly spread and had a decent flavour, although it had made the toast quite moist. The toast and chorizo did though both add texture and the chorizo had a firm but pleasant taste to it.

    There was no check back during the meal and the service seemed a little scripted, but it was efficient and the food and drink was brought over promptly. The restaurant was clean and seemed organised, with the pricing being reasonable given the quality offered. The meal price came to £14, which was within the £15 allowance which is provided for by Priority Pass.

  • Naples – Streets

    Just a few photos of streets in Naples, with the city being surprisingly busy with tour groups.

  • Megabus (Heathrow T5 to Gatwick)

    Today I’m going from Heathrow T5 to Gatwick, ready for a flight tomorrow. Usually I’d get the Underground Piccadilly line up from Heathrow and then get a train to Gatwick from Blackfriars with Thameslink all using Oyster. However, since it was early morning that would mean that the prices to do that would cost getting towards £20 and it would also take a couple of hours.

    I checked the National Express price, and that remains at a ridiculous £26 for a single journey.  Although it’s a convenient service to take, I find it unfortunate that a company price gouges like that, it’s not a great image for tourists. The price is so ridiculous that for any group of two people, it’s just as cheap to take an Uber.

    Fortunately, the wonderful Megabus have taken an interest in this route. If booked ahead this ticket can be under £10, although mine was £15 booked just before the journey. This is more expensive than going from Norwich to London with Megabus, but at least it’s a chunk cheaper than National Express and I’m sure they have some high overheads to operate to and from airports.

    The bus arrived on time, at 10.00, with a scheduled journey time of 70 minutes. It was clear from the ticket details where to wait for the bus, although the actual information at the bus stop could be clearer as it was nearly all for National Express. I was confident that I was in the right place though and there were Heathrow staff nearby to offer assistance to anyone who wanted it.

    The driver looked at the ticket on my phone seemingly confused, although he must have seen hundreds of them before. He looked at his watch, looked puzzled and so perhaps he thought it was a different time of the day to what it actually was. Who knows…. The driver didn’t exact engage like the American Megabus drivers, but that’s not unexpected.

    I got the seats at the top and there were plenty of working power outlets and there was also wi-fi available.

    I had a lovely view of the sweeping countryside. Well, the motorway.

    This photo doesn’t really show it, but there were an alarming number of chips and cracks on the bus’s windscreen. I can’t imagine that it’ll last too many more journeys. The driver seemed competent though and his driving was professional and smooth throughout.

    Anyway, the bus arrived into Gatwick early, so the journey took just 50 minutes. For the price I think this is a really decent service and hopefully it’ll take some trade away from National Express who I think are over-charging quite heavily for such a short route with such a captive market.

  • Los Angeles – Laguna Art Museum (Tangerine by David Simpson)

    “Simpson began experimenting with interference paints, soon becoming fascinated with the mercurial characteristics of the medium. Interference paints, which have only six pigment variations containing micro-particles covered with titanium oxide, reflect and refract light, giving rise to nuances of color and optical illusions of depth.”

    I’ve pinched this text from Wikipedia and it was written about David Simpson, who created this artwork in 2018. I have to say, it was in my very inartistic opinion, the most abstract artwork the museum had on display. The viewer is meant to look at the various tones of what looks to me like nearly the same colour. But, each to their own, I’m sure it’s a masterpiece to some people.

    I’ve come to the conclusion though when the information panel by a painting manages to describe solely how the painting was created and doesn’t mention any meaning or relevance that it might have that there’s one obvious conclusion which can perhaps be drawn. And that’s the art gallery hasn’t got any clue what it is either. But perhaps art isn’t meant to mean anything.

  • Los Angeles – Laguna Art Museum (Therapy by Dan McCleary)

    Dan McCleary is a Californian artist and he has been spending some time trying to promote art to communities in Los Angeles. This oil painting seemed to have some clarity, and the information panel noted that “this seems to highlight the sometimes absurd complications in one human being’s attempts to understand another.”

    McCleary, who was born in 1952 and is still painting, has the honour of having an artwork in The Met in New York, which I consider to be the best gallery in the United States. It’s called McDonald’s Number 1, but The Met has decided not to put it on display. That would irritate me if I’m being honest, if such a great gallery had a work of mine and then they left it out the back….

    Anyway, I know nearly nothing about art, but I like the style of this artist’s paintings.

  • Flights – Boston Logan to Heathrow T5 (British Airways)

    My favourite aircraft is the A380 and this was the plane G-XLEG which was delivered to British Airways in 2014. It was a moderately busy flight, although my bulkhead row of ten seats had just one other person on it, although the crew moved another two onto it just before departure. This meant plenty of space for me, rather different to my American Airlines flight of the previous day. Sitting on the lower deck of the A380 it is genuinely difficult to know that this beautiful aircraft has taken off, I never tire of just how much of an engineering triumph this is.

    The initial drinks run took place around 45 minutes after take-off, with the crew member saying she was surprised how little alcohol was being requested. I was content with my orange juice, sparkling water and mini pretzels.

    There was plenty of choice on the in-flight entertainment system, although I had hoped for some episodes of Friday Night Dinner again which unfortunately weren’t there. There were though some episodes of People Just Do Nothing and This Time with Alan Partridge which I hadn’t seen before.

    The meal was served around 20 minutes later, consisting of a salad with dressing, roll, chicken casserole with mashed potatoes and vegetables, caramel dessert and then cracker with cheddar cheese. Several people declined their food tray, but I most certainly didn’t. There was also the option of pasta with cheese, which I think has been an option on nearly every BA long-haul flight that I’ve ever taken.

    The quality was fine, the chicken was tender and had a decent amount of flavour, the vegetables retained some firmness to add some texture and it was all served hot. The dessert was also above average in terms of the richness of the taste. The salad was a little dull, but the dressing helped somewhat.

    I had some problems with my screen during the flight, but the crew member was able to successfully reset it. The moving map didn’t work though even after the reset. The crew were helpful with this and everything else, they were also visible throughout the flight. I thought that the temperature in the cabin was just right, although I suspect that this meant most other people were cold. The pilots and crew members made appropriate announcements throughout the flight and they came across as friendly and professional.

    The breakfast option was a croissant with tomato cream cheese, which tasted better than it looked. Another customer, who had refused his evening meal, didn’t look thrilled and a fair few of these were returned uneaten to the crew. The presentation really does need looking at and perhaps some choice to improve the options somewhat.

    However, overall, I thought that this flight still represented superb value for money. Coming in at under £125 there is pretty much no money in this for British Airways, but I won’t complain about that. The food and drink was served efficiently, the aircraft was clean and the crew were helpful and friendly. Lots of space and British Airways is once again becoming my favourite airline.

    The landing of the A380 was though quite heavy at the end of the flight which led to a crew member saying “we’ve certainly landed, I can guess that’s the First Officer landing that”.

  • Airbus A380 – Spelling

    Hmmmm….

  • Boston – The Club Lounge (Terminal E)

    I didn’t really experience much of this lounge as I was waiting here for just over an hour for the BA lounge to open. For most of that time I was the only person in the lounge, so the atmosphere was certainly quiet. There was just one staff member in the lounge and he seemed helpful and pro-active.

    This was my preferred seating area, large desks and plenty of nearby power outlets. Although, to be fair, there was no shortage of power outlets around the rest of the lounge. There were numerous different types of seating available and several smaller and more private areas.

    More seating. There was free wi-fi in the lounge, but it didn’t work very well and so was the main reason that I left to go to the BA lounge. Everything else seemed to work as expected though and there were toilets and showers within the lounge.

    The food selection at breakfast was average, there were some cereals, fruit, pastries and yoghurts to choose from. I didn’t have anything as I had just eaten, with the exception of a cereal bar which were also available here. The flavoured waters were good, as were the coffees, so that was all good.

    Part of the drinks and food selection on offer.

    All in all, it’s a perfectly reasonable lounge, but nothing exceptional. The unreliable wi-fi was the problem for me, and ironically it’s one of the few places in the airport where wi-fi isn’t available, as there is public wi-fi in the rest of the terminal which didn’t reach into this lounge. There also wasn’t a view from the lounge, so it did feel a little like being in a basement. But it was clean, comfortable and functional, so worth it for those with a lounge access card but perhaps not quite so good for those wanting to pay for access.