Introduction
I have been longing to write this trip report since the first of these 4 flights in December but I have been so pre-occupied and lazy
finally I have the time and strength to at least start it
Part 1: London Heathrow - Lagos (744) December 2010
Part 2: Lagos - London Heathrow (A346) January 2011
Part 3: London Heathrow - Lagos (A346) June 2011
Part 4: Lagos - London Heathrow (A346) August 2011
Part 1: London Heathrow - Lagos (744) December 2010
The first trip was in December 2010 during the ''serious'' winter crisis that put most of Europe to a halt. I was returning back home from school for the Christmas break and I must say I was very lucky. Apparently the airport was very chaotic and from what I saw on TV, I was very concerned so I decided to leave school a day before so I could spend the night in London in order to be at the airport early. The two preceding VS flights to Lagos where cancelled and I knew a couple of people on those flights. This made me afraid of an imminent backlog that I felt might affect my own flight so I decided to check in online and chose my usual 14K on the usual A346 used on the Lagos route. Despite this, I kept checking with the airline in case of any cancellation. A friend of mine who was supposed to be on the flight the day before was at the airport by 12pm for A 10.20 pm flight! at least I also had someone who was telling me the real situation at the airport.
I eventually left for the airport around 5.30pm and as you can trust the rush hour traffic in London coupled with the snow, it took me over an hour to get to the airport (usually 30 minutes drive from my home). Upon getting to the airport, it seemed very calm but very very crowded. At this time, I already saw a lot of people I knew waiting for spaces on the flight. I felt sorry for them as check-in took me only 5 minutes. Probably the quickest I have ever experienced at Heathrow! At this point I really appreciated the exclusive check in and security area VS has for upper class passengers. However during check in, I was informed that my seat number had changed to 19k and I knew fully well that A346's don't have 19k in upper class, so it was either I was down-graded
or a change of equipment and fortunately for me, the latter was the case. Security was a breeze and in no time I found my way to the club house were i dropped my bags and went off shopping. Every time I go back to Nigeria, I always have to get chocolates and the funny thing is that these chocolates are available at home but I guess it's just tradition.
Once i got back to the lovely lounge. I had a couple of cocktails and some chicken curry which i did not really enjoy. Before I knew it, we were assigned a gate so I decided to start walking to the gate on time as it was not very close to the lounge. By the time i got there, they were just pre boarding but I was to excited and just wanted to get home I didn't mind. The flight was very full it almost seemed as if they also sold the jump seats in the aircraft
Boarding was chaotic as usual. I still don't understand why Heathrow still has single boarding bridges for heavies at all. Even when there are two bridges available, they still tend to use only one (at least on most flights i have been on ) Anyway at the end of the day I was just happy that my flight was still scheduled!
Upon entering the aircraft (G-VBIG I had gone on this particular aircraft before), I realised that I was seated in the nose section of the aircraft which I was excited about as I hardly fly 744's these days and when i did on LH and BA I was either in economy or club world.
IMG_0827 by
ogepma, on Flickr
IMG_0829 by
ogepma, on Flickr
IMG_0830 by
ogepma, on Flickr
I was offered a glass of champagne which I didn't refuse despite my mini drinking feast in the club house. I really couldn't be bothered.
IMG_0831 by
ogepma, on Flickr
my downed glass of champagne
IMG_0835 by
ogepma, on Flickr
Rihanna's picture really caught my eyes
The flight was delayed as they were trying to get as many people on board as possible. I really felt sorry for all the major airlines in Europe during this period.
Eventually we pushed back and the airfield looked very white and quiet. The view was nice but it's effects were devastating
. This is one advantage we have back home in Nigeria where the weather is almost always good for flying.
IMG_0838 by
ogepma, on Flickr
winter wonderland
During take off, I noticed that the feeling at the nose section was different and this intrigued me! I simply love flying and I felt like an aircraft at this point
After take off, i decided to look at the menu which is always boring and uninspiring although this time it didn't look that bad. After one of the flight attendants took my order, the purser came to me a few minutes later apologising that my choice for the starter was not available and sort off begged me to take the soup. I could understand the trouble the were going through so I didn't hesitate to say yes. Funny enough the soup was really nice
IMG_0875 by
ogepma, on Flickr
IMG_0876 by
ogepma, on Flickr
The soup with Quagmire and Joe in the background. I simple love family guy I have watched every episode at least three times !!
IMG_0877 by
ogepma, on Flickr
The main course was a typical beef and potato dish which was just ok and could have been better but then again I really couldn't be bothered
IMG_0879 by
ogepma, on Flickr
After this, I opted for some cheese and biscuits which was nice
IMG_0882 by
ogepma, on Flickr
After the meal service, I decided to lay down and watch Inception but I was so exhausted I couldn't even remember sleeping off. This is one of the problems with the upper class beds. They are just too comfortable for me that I sleep so deep in them it doesn't feel like I am flying anymore ( i don't know why this is a problem though
)At least it covers up for the awful food i usually get from VS J. I woke up a few hours later and realised that they weren't even serving breakfast so I decided to call up a cabin attendant and they offered me some self made sandwiches which i didn't feel too good about so i declined as I knew at the back of my mind that there was so much food waiting for me at home.