Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Gatwick

  • Flights – London Gatwick South to Malta (British Airways)

    The British Airways aircraft at Malta Airport having just arrived in the morning sun.

    But, back to the start of the flight. The flight boarded early and the new group system was being enforced by the staff member at the desk, she sent someone back to the seating area who was none too pleased at that. But, if you’re going to have a group boarding system, it does need enforcing.

    The flight was around 70% full and everyone had boarded about 15 minutes before the expected take-off. There was then a delay when something went wrong with the aircraft that an engineer checked to examine, but that only took a few minutes extra.

    I was seated in 1A, so this was my view for the flight. As I understand seats 1A and 1C (there isn’t a 1B) have been created from where the wardrobe used to be. And as a reminder of that, a customer asked to put their coat up, a service which can no longer be offered. Seat 1C isn’t a great seat, as it’s exposed when boarded, so anyone sitting there is likely to get their knees banged by customers boarding the aircraft.

    The menu card.

    I’m not usually a tea drinker, but the peppermint tea seemed refreshing given the early morning start.

    The breakfast, which was perfect for my needs and is much better in my view than the cooked full English breakfast option they offer. Although, more people went for the cooked full English than for the plate of cured meats and cheeses, so it still seems a popular option.

    I looked out of the window and thought that the clouds looked like mountains. There was a reason for this, these are mountains poking up through the clouds.

    My first sight of Malta.

    The service on the flight was pro-active, indeed on the higher end of my BA experiences. The meal service was efficient and I got my first choice of food, although that was rather inevitable sitting in Row 1 as unlike long-haul, they just go straight to back in Club Europe.

    All in all, a rather lovely flight.

  • Gatwick Airport – Grain Store

    I think I’ll be here quite a few times in 2019, not for any other reason but this restaurant is included in the Priority Pass scheme. More common in the United States, this is ideal for people who have unlimited access cards, as it means Priority Pass will pay for the first £15 of any bill for cardholders. So, I might as well take advantage when at Gatwick Airport.

    Nice and comfortable surroundings, not very busy at 04:30 in the morning, although that’s to be expected. Most people tend to be in a hotel, rather than faffing around the airport during the early hours of the morning (and the late hours of the night). All clean and well presented, with quite an airy and open design.

    The bar area.

    The latte, well presented with some coffee art on top, flavour was fine and served at the appropriate hot temperature.

    I don’t usually do full English breakfasts, but decided to use this as a benchmark to judge the restaurant. I opted out of the mushrooms and they pro-actively offered me more tomato or more beans, so I went with the tomato. The presentation was quite clean, so it looked a reasonably well put together meal.

    The sausages were adequate, a decent depth of flavour, but they had a slightly watery texture. The bacon was streaky and this was fine for a couple of the rashers, but one was heavily under-cooked for my taste. I spent my usual couple of minutes cutting the fat off. The eggs weren’t good, the white had a strangely firm texture and was devoid of any taste, which the yolk was only just runny, so it was a little over-cooked. The tomatoes and baked beans were fine, there’s not a great deal that can go wrong there. For this to be described as a full English there probably needs to be another ingredient, whether that’s black pudding, hash browns or something else to add a little extra to the proceedings.

    The service was efficient and polite, with my Priority Pass payment method going through without any difficulties. They seem geared up to the whole Priority Pass process, as there’s a large sign at the entrance and some other customers seemed to be paying in the same way. I hope that this idea catches on in the UK, it’s a handy back-up for when the main Priority Pass lounges get too full.