I have a lot of time for British Airways, not least as they paid for me to travel the world for many years in the most non onerous way possible. But, their IT was famously poor and it appears that’s still the case. This is what the app shows me, despite starting it again.
So, the app can’t be used. I can log in via the website, but I have to mention at this point that the Wizz Air app works every single time without delay or issue. Fortunately, I am travelling with a senior business executive who has status, so he will have to call on his contacts to resolve any issues. Or something like that….
But, on the wider matter, this is the part of a riveting new series about my trip to Gothenburg! Woooo. The flight out is tomorrow.
I think I’ve posted this before, but these are some of the new routes from Wizz Air and this surprised and delighted me, some new cities for me to explore there (well, Debrecen, Cluj and Targu Mures).
Which? have released their annual airline survey with a relatively small number of responses far too low to make any reasonable useful statistical analysis, but from this they claim that Ryanair and Wizz Air are the lowest rated in their survey. Even by their figures, Wizz Air has one of the best punctuality figures.
They like to point out that when all costs are added together then Wizz Air are no cheaper. This seems to be forget that something around just over half the passengers boarding Wizz Air flights are going with one free cabin bag and evidently don’t want to pay the costs that airlines like British Airways force upon them. I don’t want a headline price that includes a bag as I, and seemingly around half of every flight, don’t want a bag.
Which? seem outraged that Wizz Air and Ryanair dismissed their report, although that’s probably because it’s ridiculous and nearly everyone will dismiss their report until they actually make it statistically useful. EasyJet rejected it too, but in an attempt to show their relevance Which? said:
“We’ve repeatedly found that airlines that include baggage and seat allocation in their fares can actually work out cheaper overall. Fly with anyone else, if you can.”
Same old tired claptrap, at least Ryanair and Wizz Air are transparent and give customers the chance to actually pay for what they want. I don’t want baggage and seat reservations, so why have I got to pay more? So even though BA would be over four times the price and offer me nothing more, they want me to fly with them?
It’s not clear to me why Which? don’t just suggest that if you want reserved seats, a three course meal, champagne, baggage, lounge access and a VIP tour of the cockpit from the pilot then go with a full service airline and fly a lot to get the benefits of the loyalty schemes. If you want to get to Poland for £10 then fly with Ryanair and Wizz Air which is what tens of millions merrily choose to do every single month. Choice, it’s quite powerful….
I booked a taxi to the airport which picked me up from the Euro Hotel at 03:00, which is earlier than I would have ideally liked. Indeed, this was so early that my friend Julian was still in the pub in Norwich to keep my company via WhatsApp during this little journey. Excuse the blurred photo, but I rather like it in a strange way.
I booked the taxi with Uber and it was there within three minutes, which did surprise and delight me. The cost quoted for the 25 minute journey was just £3.05 which very much pleased me.
We arrived before terminal one, where I was flying from, had even opened.
I walked the 25 metres to Terminal 2, where there was a bit more going on. Not much more to be fair, but they had lights.
It was a little frosty outside, just the sort of temperature for my temperament.
Terminal 1 was dark, empty but warm.
I had arrived around two and a half hours before my flight, which I already thought was cutting it fine.
Once the lights finally flickered to life, the transition from a dark warehouse to an active terminal was almost instantaneous.
This was not a busy terminal, there was a grand total of one flight departing for the entire day. At this point, I went through security and all was well, before getting a chance to pop into the lounge, but I’ll post about that excitement separately.
And waiting to board. The boarding process didn’t feel very organised in terms of priority and non-priority passengers, but I’m not sure that it made much difference in the grand scheme of things.
After the plane had been de-iced, we were able to board and we were on schedule. The aircraft is HA-LYF, not one that I’ve been on before although they do all look quite alike….
I had enjoyed my three nights in Timișoara, the first time that I’d been there. I wasn’t keen on the early morning flight, but at least it allowed me to get back to London Luton at an early hour.
The seating Gods had given me a middle seat, but I was pleased to board and find that a group of lads wanted to sit together and one politely asked if I would take his window seat a few rows forwards. This was a very agreeable situation, it meant that I was able to sleep for just about all of the flight.
The cabin crew, who were polite and helpful, kept the cabin dark for about an hour. I was aware that they did a trolley run, but they were quiet and efficient, so they were able to sell what they needed to without disturbing everyone. I find that Ryanair can be just a little less subtle.
And safely into London Luton Airport, always a delight. Well, sort of. Because of the time difference, we landed at around 07:00, which gave me the day to get back to Norwich thanks to the car share arrangement that I have with my friend Liam. Anyway, another bargain flight for just £8.99.
There’s my friend Liam departing after kindly dropping me off at Luton Airport and it’s always a delight being back here. Well, it isn’t, but travel is about being positive.
I decided to just stay at the airport overnight, it’s not worth the faffing about leaving the hotel early to get here. And, it’s a more thrifty option. Here’s the airside area shortly after it opened.
My usual visit to Big Smoke with my Priority Pass card and it’s not often that I’m here early enough for the breakfast menu. The £18 allowance doesn’t allow a huge amount of decadence here with prices ever rising.
The poached eggs on avocado with sourdough bread served alongside a pineapple juice was a suitable breakfast for 04:00. It’s half-term this week and the airport was very busy, with Big Smoke being at capacity for much of the time that I was there.
Orange juice, latte and granola at Nolito, where I merrily waited until I got an alert on my phone with the gate number.
Coffee acquired. I’m not sure why the Wizz Air app mentioned the gate number before it was announced, as it led to several customers arriving to see no gate information and then asking staff members for help. It’s handy to get extra time to arrive at the gate though.
With the gate now announced I managed to be the first to queue up, with boarding commencing nearly immediately. This was one of the flights where Wizz Air had mentioned that there might be €100 in Wizz Air credits for volunteering not to fly. I have little interest in this, it would deny me getting any UK261 compensation if they were planning to refuse me.
There’s the aircraft positively glimmering in the morning sun.
The turnaround on these flights is something to behold, we were boarding within fifteen minutes of these passengers disembarking.
Boarding the aircraft, which was registration HA-LWQ, an Airbus A320 which Wizz Air have had in their fleet since 2012 and that I don’t think I’ve been on before.
This is one of the older aircraft in the fleet and these are the old fashioned seats that I haven’t seen in some time. I was pleased that the seating Gods had allocated me an aisle seat as the flight was just about full.
The aircraft was clean, but it felt a little rickety in places, as is perhaps evident with those yellow pieces of tape indicating the damaged overhead lockers. As for the flight, it all seemed well managed, although I was asleep for most of it so all manner of havoc could have been happening and I wouldn’t have known. I hope that I didn’t miss out on any drama though….
And safely at Timișoara Airport, a little earlier than expected. It took only around twenty minutes to get through border control, there were few British people on board and they delayed matters slightly because of the EES.
After Jonathan had left Yerevan for Milan after our two week trip, I had a wait at the airport before flying to Prague. Here’s a rather lovely artwork that was recovered from the Spitak earthquake in 1988.
There was a large seating area at arrivals which had comfortable seats, tables and power points. It wasn’t clear whether this was part of the seating area for the restaurant, but I thought that if it was they’d come over and I’d buy a coffee. One hour and twenty minutes later, a staff member came over asking what I’d like, so I requested a menu. Twenty minutes later the menu was delivered to the table, and as no-one had returned for another forty minutes, I left for my flight.
It’s not possible to use a digital boarding card as in most airports, so I had to wait for the bag drop desk to open to collect my boarding card. This is a free process and it was all suitably efficient.
After a lounge visit, which I will return to in another post, it was time to board.
Boarding the aircraft, which was registration HA-LDH, an aircraft that I don’t think that I’ve been on before.
Waving goodbye to Armenia, after a really fascinating trip to the country.
In the background is the Government’s aircraft, an Airbus A319-100 which the Republic of Armenia has used since 2007.
I had been a little disappointed that the seating Gods had given me a middle seat, but with some rearrangement, I was able to move to an aisle seat.
The airline’s planned new routes and I hope to go on some of these.
The flight was, yet again, without any incident. It was over three hours, which is about as much as I can cope for in a Wizz Air aircraft, but the crew members were professional and it was all clean and comfortable. I have very little to comment on here as Wizz Air really have everything done to a fine art and nothing was of note. The pilots gave useful updates in their announcements, including an update en route and also details of the weather and other such things.
After having arrived in Prague, the introduction of the EES system was causing delays at the border for, mostly, UK residents from other flights. I’m already registered on the system and I was at the desk for just twenty seconds, but there was a wait whilst others were processed.
And safely through border control and ready for a couple of days in Prague.
I decided that it wasn’t worth leaving the airport as my inbound flight from Madeira reached Warsaw at around 22:45 and my outbound flight to London Luton airport left at 06:00. I would have only reached a city centre hotel by 00:00 and then had to leave it at 03:00, which felt a little wasteful.
There was an hour left in the landside McDonalds before it closed, so I used that opportunity to get a little snack and charge my devices up. Although, it transpired that there were numerous power outlets dotted around the landside area of the terminal.
Very Christmassy.
It was all a bit decadent for me, but they’d certainly made an effort with their Christmas decorations.
I had a little meander around the airport to pass the time, watching an Irish passenger having an argument with the armed airport police after they told him not to leave his bag unattended. They won that argument with their line “would you like to discuss this in an interview room?” in perfect English, which I felt was suitably friendly and he backed down.
I bought these from the shop as breakfast as the lounge didn’t open until 05:00 and it’s the other end of the airport from my gate, so I didn’t want to risk it.
I was one of the first people through to the airside area.
Who needs sleep when you can explore a mostly closed airside terminal?
I found a seat with a power outlet and made a determined effort not to fall asleep and miss my flight. There were clear announcements from the gate staff and the boarding process was once again clearly signed and operated efficiently.
The aircraft was around a five minute bus journey from the terminal, it wasn’t the most pleasant of transfers given how many people they’d shoved on the bus. It felt a little endless and I’m sure we went via the city centre.
It was aircraft registration 9H-WNW, another new plane for me. The seating Gods had given me an aisle seat and I decided that I would now have a little nap on the flight home. Everything went to plan with the flight, with helpful crew, clear updates from the pilots and the aircraft was clean and tidy.
With that, it was a walk to Luton Airport Parkway railway station, the one that I’ve decided is the worst run in the country, before getting a train to St. Alban’s, confusing the gateline staff, then returning to Norwich via London, Cambridge and Ely. All really rather lovely and that was the end of my travels for the year…..
I will return to some more Funchal posts, but to continue the year’s travel, here I was back at Madeira Airport, named after Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s one of the more beautiful vistas that I’ve seen from an airport terminal building.
There were no lounges for me to visit at the airport, so I popped to Burger King as there were some power outlets.
A beer and a burger, very decadent…. It was a very clean and organised Burger King, buying the burger and beer outside of a meal deal proved to be cost effective as well.
As the temperature was pleasant, I went back outside to have a little sit down in the sun.
And after that excitement of looking at the Atlantic, it was time for the flight. Going through security had some drama as a guy with his family decided to open the barriers up and cut through. The guy at security called over “sorry, I didn’t know you worked here”, to which the barrier mover said “I don’t, I’m a passenger” and the retort was “if you don’t work here, why do you think you can change the security process?” before making him go all the way back around. This amused me, but I don’t get out much.
The airport has a viewing terrace so I went to record an easyJet flight land, with this being the Wizz Air aircraft I’d be taking to go back to Warsaw.
The boarding process was organised and efficient, with a staff member checking that passengers weren’t boarding with excessively sized bags.
Given that this was a five and a half hour long flight, I was so delighted that the seating Gods gave me an aisle seat that I purchased a chicken noodle from the trolley to help break up the journey a little. A flight this long in Wizz Air seats with a bag at my feet was a bit long, I’ll be more cautious of this in future.
The crew were, once again, professional and personable, quietly going up and down the cabin a few times with the trolley and collecting rubbish. The aircraft was clean, the announcements were clear and I can’t say that the flight went quickly, but it didn’t feel too onerous and I had paid only £8.99 which felt like a bargain.
And landed safely in Warsaw, although I wasn’t leaving the airport as I had another flight to catch a few hours later.
Back on the rail network from Warszawa Śródmieście station and every time I come here I wonder when they’re going to renovate this as it’s getting ever more rickety. The train signage here is a bit basic, but fortunately Google Maps informed me that my train was running eight minutes late.
I’ll just add here that a train ticket to the airport costs about 85p.
Now this was exciting as there was a ticket check, as the inspectors do monitor this line reasonably frequently. To my right were what I think were a Polish mother and daughter, the former was quite elderly. I, as I may have mentioned, cannot speak Polish of any merit, but I was able to understand enough of the conversation to hear what was going on.
It boiled down to this:
ELDERLY WOMAN : “The ticket machine was broken”
INSPECTOR : “So you have no ticket?”
ELDERLY WOMAN : “I’d like to buy a ticket now”
INSPECTOR : “Yes, you can, that will be 580zl [about £120] including the fine”
ELDERLY WOMAN : “But the machine was broken”
INSPECTOR : “You have no ticket”.
This went on until the train pulled into the airport and it was clear that the pair thought they were getting off and the inspector would forget it. No, the doors opened and he locked the one they were standing by.
I sat on those seats to watch the whole affair unfold, as I don’t get out much. And indeed, the two ladies weren’t getting out much, but their card did and they paid the penalty fares. This is why fare evasion on the Polish rail network seems to be so low, the inspectors will enforce those without tickets.
Very Christmassy. Airport security was interesting, the lady in front of me took a ridiculous amount of time to put her things in the bag. Fortunately, Polish airport security is friendly, calm, collected and told her to hurry up. She got annoyed and so she found herself being interrogated for the entire time I was at security. I like a bit of drama.
Anyway, I reached the lounge and got myself a Greek salad, chicken wrap, coffee and an early morning beer which was to fortify myself for the flight which would take over five hours to get to Madeira. This is another one of my favourite lounges, as there are power outlets, unlimited chocolates, unlimited olives and unlimited Feta cheese.
Mine was the 11:20 flight.
Boarding at the gate was uneventful as it was organised, fast flowing and there were plenty of seats around. Fortunately, Madeira is in Schengen, since it’s part of Portugal, so I didn’t have to faff about with any border control.
This is aircraft 9H-WNS, yet another one that I haven’t been on before. The flight lasted for five hours and thirty minutes, which is quite a strain on a budget airline if I’m being honest. I normally like having my bag under the seat in front of me, but after five hours I was getting annoyed that it was in the way of my legs that needed stretching.
The seating Gods gave me an aisle seat which was very fortunate for a flight of this length, so that did give a degree of comfort. The couple in the window and middle seat were very agreeable and didn’t barge into my seat space, with the crew merrily plodding up and down with the trolley a few times.
The flight cost me £8.99, so I can’t really complain and I find spending this amount of time without a phone signal to be quite relaxing in many ways. I have rather decided, that despite Wizz Air being a perfectly competent and comfortable airline, that flights of this length are perhaps just a bit much.
Safely in Madeira, which is my first time to the island. I understand that pilots require special training to land at this airport as there are strong winds and there’s not a huge amount of space to work with. The landing was sudden but seemed smooth, although I’ve never doubted the competence of Wizz Air pilots as they always seem professional and calm to me.
The view from the runway and the winds were certainly getting up at this stage. I had intended to walk to the hotel, but events meant that didn’t happen….. But more of that in the next ‘riveting’ post.
Another day, another trip by train to the airport. I went from Norwich via Cambridge due to work being completed on the Norwich to Ipswich line, with a change at King’s Cross railway station. Surprisingly, the first section of the journey wasn’t that busy, despite it being on a two carriage train that can be really quite packed.
I picked up my free Greggs sausage roll and then boarded the Thameslink train to Luton Airport Parkway.
At Big Smoke, the chicken tenders and freshly squeezed orange juice were a beautifully paired meal. Who needs anything more decadent than this? This is always a handy restaurant as it’s included with Priority Pass and they have plenty of power outlets to charge devices.
Mine was the 19:35 flight to Warsaw, all looking on time. It’s not a bad timed flight, it gets into Warsaw at around 22:30 their time, which is fine as long as I get out of there by the time the last train leaves at 23:45.
A pint of Menabrea and some olives at Nolito.
Some bloody awful non alcoholic Heineken alongside some odd chicken thing at My Lounge. Nice teas though, alongside the usual dirty cutlery. I’ve noticed they’ve had a few negative reviews about the cutlery, it feels odd that they haven’t made any effort to fix this.
Boarding was announced early and then they were swiftly dealing with passengers at the gate. As usual, it was clear where non-priority passengers such as myself needed to go, I like clarity.
Boarding and the seating Gods had given me a middle seat which is never ideal, but wasn’t too problematic on this flight. The aircraft was 9H-WDX, an aircraft that I have been on before when doing this journey the other way around.
The flight was very busy with nearly no free seats. I will write the same as ever about the flight, which is that the crew were friendly, the service was efficient and the pilots made clear and appropriate announcements.
There wasn’t much of a wait at border control at Warsaw airport, so I made good time and was able to get a train to the city centre. It was then just a ten minute walk to the Novotel hotel where I was spending the night, which is one of my favourite accommodation options in Europe.
I had only decided a couple of days before what I’d be doing this week and I ended up on a route that was perhaps not entirely well thought through, but there was adventure and so that’s sufficient to keep me functioning.
After a comfortable enough lounge visit, I meandered to the gate to take me back to London Luton. I do this on a regular basis, but I have to credit Wizz Air with one of the most efficient boarding processes that I’ve seen, it’s always clear where to stand which is something that other airlines seem unable to deliver.
Just a little pause though as we were waiting for the bus to take us to our aircraft. This is the British Airways A319 aircraft G-EUPJ which is decorated in the old BEA (British European Airways) livery. It’s perhaps one of the most beautiful looking liveries I’ve seen, a marvellous idea of BA to use this piece of history.
I was on board the rather more modern Wizz Air branded aircraft, registration 9H-WDM. We arrived there on a bus to add a little extra tension to the whole arrangement.
The seating Gods had given me an aisle seat near the centre of the aircraft and I had pledged not to swap seats after the debacle of getting to Venice and missing out on a goodie bag…..
Views of Venice over the water are visible from the airport.
Anyway, I board and I’m immediately asked by a passenger if I’d swap my seat to let an elderly couple sit together. After checking there were no goodie bags in the seat back, I agreed, although I would prefer that people book a seat if they really want to sit next to each other to avoid all this faffing about.
Incidentally, this reminds me of a Wizz Air flight recently, and I’ve forgotten which one, where a couple asked a lady in the window seat if she’d move so the husband could sit with his wife and child. The husband said that he was in seat 15B which was “near the window”. That’s one of the more arrogant statements that I’ve heard, putting emotional pressure to get a lady to move from her window seat to a middle seat. For avoidance of any doubt, I would have absolutely refused.
Safely back at Luton Airport. The flight was peaceful, I didn’t miss out on any goodie bags and the service was efficient as ever.
And the ever exciting 20 minute walk to Luton Airport Parkway, a railway station which amuses me as perhaps the most unhappy with the new station manager that I’m aware of, the staff appear to be in permanent uproar there for reasons unknown. Anyway, the flight was £8.99 and another bargain from my perspective.
