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Category: Airlines

  • Flights – British Airways (Luxembourg to Heathrow T3)

    This is the evening flight from Luxembourg to Heathrow T3 as the earlier one had gone tech. The forlorn and lost looking aircraft can be seen towards the back on the tarmac above, with the nice and shiny new aircraft waiting at the gate. Well, relatively shiny.

    The aircraft was an A320 with the registration G-EUYC, the same aircraft that I was on when I flew out to Luxembourg last week.

    I arrived a little early at the gate, which was the quietest that I’ve ever seen at Luxembourg. In terms of boarding, this was a bit of a mess and the staff didn’t make any audible announcements about who was supposed to be boarding when. This meant that people were queueing up in the wrong place and blocking the priority lines, although there were no particular delays.

    The crew from the aborted earlier flight were also no doubt keen to get home and they were seated in Club Europe. One of them said to their colleagues that they thought they should be professional and hang back for other customers to board first, although the others collectively agreed that they didn’t like that idea.

    I boarded early and so the flight looks quite quiet from the above photo, but the aircraft soon filled up because of the delayed earlier flight. The captain apologised for the problems with the morning’s cancelled flight and the rest of the announcements were also professional and helpful. BA’s communications had been good all day and I didn’t hear any customer complain about the situation.

    I don’t know if the engineers from Heathrow had arrived on the inbound flight to Luxembourg, but work was starting on the slightly stranded BA aircraft.

    Waiting to leave Luxembourg airport. The crew on board seemed efficient, although they didn’t manage to complete the buy on board trolley service, a situation caused by BA’s policy rather than a lack of ability from the crew. There’s been great play made by BA about the 12 different covers they have this month on the new in-flight magazine. It’s fortunate that I hadn’t got myself over-excited about this, since the aircraft didn’t have any in-flight magazines.

    Arriving back into London, landing around ten minutes ahead of schedule. The pilot did say that he hoped that the ten minutes made up would be useful for those who had been delayed earlier on in the day, although since that flight was nine hours earlier, I’m not sure that the ten minutes made much difference. Anyway, all was professional and the disembarkation process was well managed.

    All in all, I thought that BA managed the problems delay well. I got to sit in the lounge for eight hours (in addition to the two hours before my first flight) and the rebooking process was simple and easy. I was given a window seat and was able to confirm everything via the app, so the technology worked well. Another customer told me that they had gone into Luxembourg for the day, but I had rather got myself settled in at the airport and decided against that idea.

    But, that’s my first flight which has been cancelled due to technical issues, so I’ll probably remember it for many years to come. Although goodness knows why, I’m sure there are better things to remember.

  • Flights – British Airways (Gone Tech and Cancelled – Luxembourg to Heathrow T3)

    This is the forlorn looking BA aircraft that should have operated route BA0417 from Luxembourg to London Heathrow T3 today. The flight was cancelled due to technical issues and customers rebooked onto other services as it can’t be fixed within the next few hours.

    Being towed from the gate…. The aircraft is G-EUYG, an Airbus A320 which was brought into service in 2010 and has always been operated by British Airways.

    The whole flight delay process was well managed by the airline and there were verbal announcements which matched the information being displayed on the app. The pilot came out after around 45 minutes to explain that an oil leak had been discovered on board en route and that engineers had gone to look at it to see if the aircraft could keep flying. The information that the pilot gave all tied in to what we had been told, so the communications seemed excellent all round.

    Unfortunately, the engineers found that the oil leak was substantial and it couldn’t be fixed locally. Engineers from British Airways are flying over to Luxembourg to fix it later today or tomorrow and until then the aircraft will remain on the tarmac.

    This is my first flight gone tech and I think I’m up to somewhere around 200 sectors flown over the last few years (with around 150 of them with BA). The British Airways app automatically booked me onto a later flight and I have returned to the lounge to spend most of the day waiting for the late evening flight back to Heathrow. On the bright side, the delay was of over two hours, was the fault of British Airways and so I have claimed compensation of €250 via the airline’s web-site.

    Not entirely lovely, but I’d rather sit in the lounge all day than be flown on an aircraft with oil pouring out of it across the English Channel. And, incidentally, this is one positive element about the current weak pound as the compensation is delineated in euros……

  • Flights – British Airways (Heathrow T3 to Luxembourg)

    Sadly, and most inconveniently as I prefer this terminal to T5, this is probably the last time that I fly to Luxembourg with British Airways from T3. It’s relocating to T5 in a few weeks, shortly before my flight which I had scheduled from there.

    I’ve written about this route before, and since I was in Euro Traveller, there’s not much that is new to say. The boarding process was all very efficient and well managed, with customers called forwards by group both for the document check and also for boarding. Although there’s a slight flaw in the plan that boarding passes aren’t checked for the latter, but I can’t imagine many people were that keen to rush on board. Although, having said that, there are always a few who barge on board perhaps thinking it might leave without them.

    I had an emergency exit row seat, so there was plenty of legroom. It was nearly a full flight and so there were very few empty seats on the aircraft, with my entire row being occupied. The in-flight magazines were a bit battered, but the cabin was unusually clean for a British Airways flight, although it was likely the aircraft’s first flight of the day.

    The crew were efficient although I didn’t see them particularly engage with any customers, although the whole buy on board process makes that much more difficult for the crew. The flight was around 20 minutes late taking off, but that time was mostly caught back up in the air, with a journey time of under one hour.

    This photo was taken on arrival in Luxembourg, with the temperature being 39 degrees, which is entirely unsatisfactory as far as I’m concerned. The aircraft was an A320 and it had the registration G-EUYC which has always been part of the BA fleet, first flying in 2008.

    Luxembourg is one of the few countries I fly into which doesn’t inspect passports by hand, they’re done my machine. As with most things in Luxembourg, everything seemed to work as expected in the airport (with the exception of the sole hand dryer in the male toilet, but that’s not necessarily the most important thing to get right in an airport).

  • Life is Prolonged When You Walk

    I saw this in the British Airways High Life magazine, I thought it was rather a nice message.

  • Flights – Hamburg to London Heathrow T5 (British Airways)

    The boarding process for the British Airways flight to Heathrow T5 was smooth and better managed than usual. Groups were called through so that Group 1 went through first, then Group 2, then Group 3 and then everyone else, sometimes it’s not quite that organised. There were also a lot of passengers with status, so perhaps that’s why they take particular care. The staff at the boarding gate were polite, efficient and visible, so first impressions were all positive.

    My first minor irritation is that this is an A321 neo, which meant that my emergency exit row seat had transformed into a normal row. Not that it much mattered as I had an aisle seat and there was no-one sitting next to me so I had plenty of space. This is aircraft registration G-NEOP and it only came into service in March 2019, so it still nearly new.

    I was in row 11 so I was seated in a seat which is the same as British Airways have been using in other aircraft, but these seats only go back as far as row 14. They went that far back in case the Club Europe cabin ever justifies such a number of passengers, and both plug and USB sockets have been put into these first fourteen rows. I had one under my seat and it was already damaged and knocked out of its holder, so I didn’t trust it to charge my devices on. It’s not perhaps ideal for an aircraft that is so new.

    For row 15 and behind that, British Airways have introduced a new ultra-thin seat which doesn’t recline. Nearly nobody I’ve heard likes this arrangement, although handily I do. I hate seat reclines and I like the ultra-thin seats as I sit in a near bolt upright manner anyway. These seats just have USB sockets, so where possible, it’s best to be seated in the front fourteen rows when on this aircraft.

    As for the aircraft, I think British Airways have gone too far with their tinkering about. They’ve taken out a washroom from the rear of the Euro Traveller cabin and this caused an evident problem on this flight as they had passengers going up and using the Club Europe toilet. One of the advantages for Club Europe is that it’s a quieter cabin, so I’m not sure what the customers will think up in those seats when there’s a queue of people standing by their seats and they themselves have to wait to use the washroom.

    And British Airways have decided to remove the drop down screens, so I can’t get to watch the moving map, or more importantly, the flight safety announcement by Chabuddy G. The crew safety demonstration on this flight wasn’t really ideal, the crew member was giggling and it wasn’t entirely audible. This meant that I didn’t see many passengers actually listening to the demonstration.

    Other than that the service was efficient and polite, but I can’t help thinking that the interior of the cabin is more Wizz Air than British Airways. That’s fine, but I don’t see British Airways have any choice but to keep on their downwards spiral of pricing if they’re determined to keep cutting corners.

    And here was a little problem at Heathrow T5, although it caused a delay of around fifteen minutes when disembarking. The air bridge to the aircraft broken down near to the front door and couldn’t be moved. This meant that steps had to be brought to the rear door and then buses used to transport passengers to the main terminal. Given that this wasn’t expected, the delay didn’t seem too excessive to me, although there were inevitably complaints.

    Given that this was a reward flight saver, the price was very reasonable and so I’m probably one of the reasons that British Airways keeps trying to save money by taking out any hint of luxury from their cabin. The pilots sounded professional, the cabin was relatively clean and so overall it was a comfortable and easy flight.

  • British Airways – Speedbird 100

    British Airways have got a bit of a partnership going with Brewdog at the moment, including a new bar at their New York Lounge run by the Scottish brewing company and they also have a new beer which has been brewed for the airline.

    The beer which has been produced is Speedbird 100 which is available for purchase in Euro Traveller and is being given free to those in Club Europe. It’s also available free of charge in the British Airways operated lounges in the UK.

    I’m not an enormous fan of Brewdog as a company, but their beer is, generally, excellent. There’s a depth of flavour to the beer that they brew and some innovative and interesting flavours. Best of all, it’s progress for British Airways to be looking at craft beers in the way they are, something which should be encouraged in my view.

    The Speedbird 100 is also rather drinkable, with a strong citrus flavour of grapefruits and oranges. As a summer drink it’s refreshing, although a little strong with an ABV of 4.8%. I do like this development from BA, I hope it’s something that evolves in the future.

    Also being stocked now in the lounges is Brewdog’s Punk IPA. I go on about this a lot, but I’d like a darker beer and Brewdog do this to a very high standard. However and nonetheless, Punk IPA is entirely acceptable and it’s positive that there is a choice of two beers from the company. The lounge also has cans of Tribute Pale Ale, the largest choice of beers they’ve had in years.

    The next step is to increase the options from three to four beers and I shall help BA by sampling numerous beers every time I visit their lounges.

  • Flights – London Heathrow T5 to Hamburg (British Airways)

    This is aircraft G-EUPO after it had landed in Hamburg Airport, arriving on time from London Heathrow T5. The aircraft is an A319 which BA have owned and operated since 2000.

    I was able to board in the first group which was fortunate as the flight was nearly full. The aircraft could have been a little cleaner, but it looked well maintained and in good order. I was in an exit row seat which was sufficiently spacious and comfortable.

    There was a crew member who seemed to be new and he was being ultra efficient in term of his security protocol. I’d far rather that he was like that than not caring, but he had a passenger remove a book from the seat pocket as they were in an exit row, which seemed slightly excessive. At the end of the flight the same crew member tried to get the customer in front of me to return his seat to the original position, which confused the seat occupant as he was in a seat which didn’t even recline. The crew member was polite though, and I liked his enthusiasm, with the entire crew seeming to work well together.

    From the in-flight menu, this is the page which brought British Airways to the attention of that media titan, the Daily Mail. The afternoon tea doesn’t include a cup of tea, which is only sort of mentioned in the description.

    The flight was fifteen minutes late in leaving Heathrow T5 due to congestion at the airport. The pilot explained he’d be remaining at the stand, as opposed to waiting in a queue on the runway, in a bid to save fuel. The pilot gave regular updates and fortunately he was able to make up time during the flight so we landed on time.

    This was yet another comfortable flight with British Airways, nothing spectacular, but efficient, well managed and organised.

  • British Airways – BOAC Retro Livery

    To mark the one hundredth anniversary of British Airways, the company has been repainting some of their aircraft. The one hundredth anniversary is a bit loosely defined since BA have been formed of some many component parts over the decades, but it’s an important event for them.

    I didn’t think that I’d see any of the aircraft, but currently parked outside of Heathrow T5 B Gates is G-BYGC which has been painted in the BOAC livery which was in use from between 1964 and 1974. It’s a bold design and I really like the retro look of the aircraft, which seems to have received a great deal of publicity.

    Incidentally, it looks like the aircraft is shortly flying to Philadelphia in the United States, now one of my favourite cities since my visit a few weeks ago.

  • British Airways – Reward Flight Saver

    My travels, and also credit card spend, means that I’ve collected a fair chunk of Avios points. There are numerous ways of using these, and I usually just use them for discounts on flights.

    However, British Airways also have a Reward Flight Saver (RFS) scheme which means that for a fixed charge and some Avios, numerous short haul destinations are available. The prices aren’t unreasonable, so for my trip to Hamburg today there is a charge of 8,000 Avios and £35. Depending how you value Avios this isn’t necessarily the cheapest solution, but it suits my needs.

    As an example of what customers can get, a return to Amsterdam is £35 and 8,000 points, as is Paris. Destinations such as Rome, Barcelona and Venice are all also £35, but there’s a charge of 13,000 Avios for the return flight. Most off-peak flights have availability for these fares, which are all in economy.

    One of the downsides is that there are no Avios points granted for the flight and also no tier points. However, since I have enough Avios and I’m nowhere near reaching enough tier points for Gold, this isn’t much of a concern.

  • Aerochk Concept

    I like this concept, which is replacing the traditional security set-up with an escalator which performs the same service.

    The Aerochk press release says:

    “When travelers arrive at the airport, rather than waiting in a separate security line, they would just walk towards the nearest Aerochk on their way to their boarding gate. Passengers would place their passport on the left side of the machine and their luggage on the right. Allowing passport , the traveller and his luggage to be checked simultaneously.”

    Now, this concept seems marvellous, but having gone through airport security hundreds of times the best systems get delays because of confused passengers.

    Passengers who don’t remove trays so that the system gets clogged up, passengers taking two litre bottles of water through security and those who forget you can’t take knives.

    I can just imagine how the system would get backed up and passengers who would try to walk down the escalator. But I still like it, I think my need for constant movement would be satisfied with a system like this.

    It’s just a concept though and I can’t imagine it’ll be introduced, but it’s a reminder of how clunky the current separate systems of baggage, security and border protection actually are.