Swiss Tony
Aug 28, 12, 11:57 am
Preamble
Utterly fed up with the rubbish summer weather we’d been having in the UK, the Swiss family decided that it was time to find some sunshine. With the long bank holiday weekend coming up before the kids went back to school, it was a now-or-never gambit, so we started digging around for a long weekend break in the sun.
Unsurprisingly, many hotels were full, but we found rooms that would work for the 5 of us at the Sa Torre Hilton on the island of Mallorca. The next challenge was getting there – or more to the point, getting back.
Flights Southbound before the weekend weren’t too bad – Easyjet or Monarch offering seas for around the £60-£90 mark, whilst there was even some space on the BA LCY flight, albeit at an average one way fare of £160. The problem was heading back where many flights were sold out and Easyjet were asking for in excess of EUR500 per person. I will however give some credit to FlyBe here whose top fare from Palma to Southampton was just a shade over EUR200, including assigned seats, a drink & snack onboard etc etc, but they only had 4 left – we needed 5!
Anyway, surely with such a mad weekend of travel, getting 5 redemption seats using Avios would be close on impossible? Evidently not, although it took an awful lot of research on the PC and around 45 mins on the phone to the BA call centre to get there!
Our route was going to take us Heathrow-Madrid, overnight, on to Palma for 4 nights then back to Stuttgart and then finally back to Heathrow. Most of that was in business class, with only the Palma-Stuttgart on Air Berlin in economy (no business offered on most of their routes).
Southbound we were able to do reward saver flights for 15,000 Avios and £17 each. What’s more, because the Iberia flight from Madrid to Palma wasn’t showing on BA.com they waived the offline booking fee. Northbound wasn’t such a bargain -we had to do something a bit different, so the cost ended up at 8,250 miles and £154.40 each (part cash, part miles). They charged the offline fee for this, even though BA.com wouldn’t offer the two flights on one PNR, which seemed a bit harsh, but against paying EasyJet EUR500 it was all relative.
BA522 (operated by Iberia, A340) LHR-MAD
This was an evening departure from Heathrow, giving us time to do pretty much a full day’s work. I met Mrs Swiss and the kids in Terminal 5 and having already checked in online, plus no bags going in the hold, we were straight onto Security. Fast track was available to us as we were in business class – we made for the North checkpoint and were through with hardly any wait at all. Checked out the Galleries North lounge but it was like a zoo. The kids couldn’t use the play area by gate 7 that’s been installed for the summer as they didn’t have socks on, so with a C gate showing for the flight we made for the B gate lounges via the transit.
The lounge angel did a double take when she saw we had seat 1L amongst our folio of boarding passes but soon twigged and the lounge was an absolute haven of calm in comparison to our earlier attempt. My 3 kids had the small playroom to themselves and I had the wine bar to myself :D. A very comprehensive array of reds on offer, and any white wine you wanted so long as it was Chardonnay. Grated they had two Chardonnays but come on BA, you can do better than that!
The flight was called around a 45 mins before departure so we made for the transit back to continue on to the C gates. This was a shade confusing as the first shuttle didn’t open the doors on our side – obviously taking arriving passengers back to the terminal. Needless to say another couple of minutes and we were sorted.
So there it stood – the rather-large-for-a short-hop-in-Europe A340 of Iberia. Boarding hadn’t quite started but we were waved forward (by virtue of being a family) where they processed the boarding passes and checked passports. A couple of minutes later we were invited to go down to the aircraft but when we got there, the crew still weren’t ready. Another short wait then on through door 2L and the smug feeling of turning left. IB have 4 rows of sleeper seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, it was around 50% full up front and we had seats in rows 1 and 2.
No pre-departure beverages which seemed odd in a plane like that (but par for the course for European flights) and an about on-time departure. We had to taxi right over to the East of the airfield although not much of a queue for take off. Service took a while to start – I stuck with Cava to drink and a “hot thing on a salad” made up dinner. Choice was beef or chicken, although they also found some fish (salmon) for one of my kids. It was an unmemorable meal topped off with an overly sweet pudding so I compensated by drinking them out of mini bottles of Cava (not that it took long to achieve that, either!). We had been eyeing an arrival about 20 mins ahead of schedule but got caught in a couple of holding patterns north of Madrid, which left us landing bang on time at 22.10hrs local.
Staff were very pleasant, helpful with the kids (colouring sheets and crayons offered) but the plane was showing its age. Yellowing overhead lights and luggage bins that really didn’t want to stay shut, but we got there safely! I don’t believe IFE was turned on (the J class seats each have a PTV), but a moving map did track our route south on the communal screens.
Now, I hadn’t quite appreciated how big Madrid Airport was. We walked and walked, took a train, walked some more, on and on. Despite being first off the plane (airbridge at 1L), we only just made it to the 22.30hrs bus to the Novotel, which in itself was pretty badly signposted. Most importantly, we made that bus as our night was set to be a short one.
Overnight Madrid Airport Novotel
There are no hotels physically connected to the airport itself but consensus appears to be that the Hilton is the best choice at Madrid. However I was struggling to justify paying EUR220 for two rooms when the Novotel by the exhibition ground was exactly half that price (they give a 50% discount for the kids room) - we were only going to be there for about 8hrs anyway. As nted above, the shuttle left promptly, but then had to loop round the other 3 terminals and drop in at the Ibis for good measure, before finally making for the Novotel.
Check in was quick, the interconnecting rooms we’d requested were available and we were done in no time. Unfortunately one of the keys didn’t work so a quick scoot back to reception was required – appeared the problem was with the lock, but once the internal doors were opened that wasn’t our problem. By not much after 11.15pm the kids were in bed and the grown ups weren’t far behind with a 5.30am alarm call to look forward to.
Waking the kids up is never fun but we managed, got them dressed and hustled out the hotel for the 6am bus back to the airport. Just one other drop on the way and we were back at T4 by around 6.20am. In summary, I’m happy I saved the money over the Hilton, and the 12% cashback via Quidco was also appreciated. Had we missed that 10.30pm bus however I might have been less enthusiastic.
(Arguably we could have taken the 6.30am bus but not knowing the airport and not having boarding passes, it would have been a bit tight).
IB2490 (Iberia Express A320) MAD-PMI
BA.com had been unwilling to let me get boarding passes for this flight so we had to stop by a very quiet business class check in. Two incredibly jovial staff however sorted that out, pointed me in the direction of the express security line and told us how to find the VIP lounge. Proper express security this – just the five of us around, and no shopping detour once you’re through, just a matter of a few steps to the lounge. I understand that Iberia have various lounges at the airport, but this one served its purpose. Some pastries, very nice thick slices of bread for the toaster, coffee, cereals etc. Juice was a bit poor, but you can’t have it all. Lounge remained quiet throughout and we got a gate number just before 7am for our 7.45am departure. Gate was 86 or so and it was some walk. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an airport terminal that has seemed so tediously oversized – not sure if it was just the never ending walk in a straight line or the lack of sleep, but it took an age to get there. By the time we did, boarding was well underway.
Business was 3 rows of 3-3 with the middle seat blocked out. Also, the front row on the right hand side had been replaced with a cupboard. We were in 1AC 2AC and 3A, but my daughter sat in the blocked seat in row 1. Only 2 other guests in J this morning.
We hung around for a while after a prompt boarding as engineers and flight crew shuffled on and off the plane, but eventually we got the OK to leave. No international papers offered and - for the record - no pre-take off drinks. After a long taxi out, we finally took off just after 8am. Breakfast was again unmemorable – some cold meats, fruit, a small pastry and OK-ish coffee. The pineapple was perhaps the stand-out here. Moderately attentive service and we were into Palma just a few minutes ahead of schedule (which had presumably been pretty well padded in the first place).
With no bags to collect and already being in the Schengen zone, it was off to find our driver to take us to the Hilton Sa Torre.
Utterly fed up with the rubbish summer weather we’d been having in the UK, the Swiss family decided that it was time to find some sunshine. With the long bank holiday weekend coming up before the kids went back to school, it was a now-or-never gambit, so we started digging around for a long weekend break in the sun.
Unsurprisingly, many hotels were full, but we found rooms that would work for the 5 of us at the Sa Torre Hilton on the island of Mallorca. The next challenge was getting there – or more to the point, getting back.
Flights Southbound before the weekend weren’t too bad – Easyjet or Monarch offering seas for around the £60-£90 mark, whilst there was even some space on the BA LCY flight, albeit at an average one way fare of £160. The problem was heading back where many flights were sold out and Easyjet were asking for in excess of EUR500 per person. I will however give some credit to FlyBe here whose top fare from Palma to Southampton was just a shade over EUR200, including assigned seats, a drink & snack onboard etc etc, but they only had 4 left – we needed 5!
Anyway, surely with such a mad weekend of travel, getting 5 redemption seats using Avios would be close on impossible? Evidently not, although it took an awful lot of research on the PC and around 45 mins on the phone to the BA call centre to get there!
Our route was going to take us Heathrow-Madrid, overnight, on to Palma for 4 nights then back to Stuttgart and then finally back to Heathrow. Most of that was in business class, with only the Palma-Stuttgart on Air Berlin in economy (no business offered on most of their routes).
Southbound we were able to do reward saver flights for 15,000 Avios and £17 each. What’s more, because the Iberia flight from Madrid to Palma wasn’t showing on BA.com they waived the offline booking fee. Northbound wasn’t such a bargain -we had to do something a bit different, so the cost ended up at 8,250 miles and £154.40 each (part cash, part miles). They charged the offline fee for this, even though BA.com wouldn’t offer the two flights on one PNR, which seemed a bit harsh, but against paying EasyJet EUR500 it was all relative.
BA522 (operated by Iberia, A340) LHR-MAD
This was an evening departure from Heathrow, giving us time to do pretty much a full day’s work. I met Mrs Swiss and the kids in Terminal 5 and having already checked in online, plus no bags going in the hold, we were straight onto Security. Fast track was available to us as we were in business class – we made for the North checkpoint and were through with hardly any wait at all. Checked out the Galleries North lounge but it was like a zoo. The kids couldn’t use the play area by gate 7 that’s been installed for the summer as they didn’t have socks on, so with a C gate showing for the flight we made for the B gate lounges via the transit.
The lounge angel did a double take when she saw we had seat 1L amongst our folio of boarding passes but soon twigged and the lounge was an absolute haven of calm in comparison to our earlier attempt. My 3 kids had the small playroom to themselves and I had the wine bar to myself :D. A very comprehensive array of reds on offer, and any white wine you wanted so long as it was Chardonnay. Grated they had two Chardonnays but come on BA, you can do better than that!
The flight was called around a 45 mins before departure so we made for the transit back to continue on to the C gates. This was a shade confusing as the first shuttle didn’t open the doors on our side – obviously taking arriving passengers back to the terminal. Needless to say another couple of minutes and we were sorted.
So there it stood – the rather-large-for-a short-hop-in-Europe A340 of Iberia. Boarding hadn’t quite started but we were waved forward (by virtue of being a family) where they processed the boarding passes and checked passports. A couple of minutes later we were invited to go down to the aircraft but when we got there, the crew still weren’t ready. Another short wait then on through door 2L and the smug feeling of turning left. IB have 4 rows of sleeper seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, it was around 50% full up front and we had seats in rows 1 and 2.
No pre-departure beverages which seemed odd in a plane like that (but par for the course for European flights) and an about on-time departure. We had to taxi right over to the East of the airfield although not much of a queue for take off. Service took a while to start – I stuck with Cava to drink and a “hot thing on a salad” made up dinner. Choice was beef or chicken, although they also found some fish (salmon) for one of my kids. It was an unmemorable meal topped off with an overly sweet pudding so I compensated by drinking them out of mini bottles of Cava (not that it took long to achieve that, either!). We had been eyeing an arrival about 20 mins ahead of schedule but got caught in a couple of holding patterns north of Madrid, which left us landing bang on time at 22.10hrs local.
Staff were very pleasant, helpful with the kids (colouring sheets and crayons offered) but the plane was showing its age. Yellowing overhead lights and luggage bins that really didn’t want to stay shut, but we got there safely! I don’t believe IFE was turned on (the J class seats each have a PTV), but a moving map did track our route south on the communal screens.
Now, I hadn’t quite appreciated how big Madrid Airport was. We walked and walked, took a train, walked some more, on and on. Despite being first off the plane (airbridge at 1L), we only just made it to the 22.30hrs bus to the Novotel, which in itself was pretty badly signposted. Most importantly, we made that bus as our night was set to be a short one.
Overnight Madrid Airport Novotel
There are no hotels physically connected to the airport itself but consensus appears to be that the Hilton is the best choice at Madrid. However I was struggling to justify paying EUR220 for two rooms when the Novotel by the exhibition ground was exactly half that price (they give a 50% discount for the kids room) - we were only going to be there for about 8hrs anyway. As nted above, the shuttle left promptly, but then had to loop round the other 3 terminals and drop in at the Ibis for good measure, before finally making for the Novotel.
Check in was quick, the interconnecting rooms we’d requested were available and we were done in no time. Unfortunately one of the keys didn’t work so a quick scoot back to reception was required – appeared the problem was with the lock, but once the internal doors were opened that wasn’t our problem. By not much after 11.15pm the kids were in bed and the grown ups weren’t far behind with a 5.30am alarm call to look forward to.
Waking the kids up is never fun but we managed, got them dressed and hustled out the hotel for the 6am bus back to the airport. Just one other drop on the way and we were back at T4 by around 6.20am. In summary, I’m happy I saved the money over the Hilton, and the 12% cashback via Quidco was also appreciated. Had we missed that 10.30pm bus however I might have been less enthusiastic.
(Arguably we could have taken the 6.30am bus but not knowing the airport and not having boarding passes, it would have been a bit tight).
IB2490 (Iberia Express A320) MAD-PMI
BA.com had been unwilling to let me get boarding passes for this flight so we had to stop by a very quiet business class check in. Two incredibly jovial staff however sorted that out, pointed me in the direction of the express security line and told us how to find the VIP lounge. Proper express security this – just the five of us around, and no shopping detour once you’re through, just a matter of a few steps to the lounge. I understand that Iberia have various lounges at the airport, but this one served its purpose. Some pastries, very nice thick slices of bread for the toaster, coffee, cereals etc. Juice was a bit poor, but you can’t have it all. Lounge remained quiet throughout and we got a gate number just before 7am for our 7.45am departure. Gate was 86 or so and it was some walk. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an airport terminal that has seemed so tediously oversized – not sure if it was just the never ending walk in a straight line or the lack of sleep, but it took an age to get there. By the time we did, boarding was well underway.
Business was 3 rows of 3-3 with the middle seat blocked out. Also, the front row on the right hand side had been replaced with a cupboard. We were in 1AC 2AC and 3A, but my daughter sat in the blocked seat in row 1. Only 2 other guests in J this morning.
We hung around for a while after a prompt boarding as engineers and flight crew shuffled on and off the plane, but eventually we got the OK to leave. No international papers offered and - for the record - no pre-take off drinks. After a long taxi out, we finally took off just after 8am. Breakfast was again unmemorable – some cold meats, fruit, a small pastry and OK-ish coffee. The pineapple was perhaps the stand-out here. Moderately attentive service and we were into Palma just a few minutes ahead of schedule (which had presumably been pretty well padded in the first place).
With no bags to collect and already being in the Schengen zone, it was off to find our driver to take us to the Hilton Sa Torre.