bradley
May 31, 00, 5:18 am
CP 96 YYC-LHR 767-300
I checked in about 90 minutes before departure. The service was quick and friendly--the agent asked about the rest of my itinerary even though it isnīt on CP. She also told me that the flight was "wide open", and checked to make sure the seat next to mine wasnīt taken.
There were a surprisingly small number of people waiting around for the flight. The boarding announcement was a bit confusing, because it asked for "business class passengers, and OneWorld and * Alliance members; business class first, please."
What did that mean exactly? That anyone in any FF program was welcome? And that elite-level members not flying in business were supposed to stand around and try to position themselves after the J-class passengers?
Anyway, once on board it was just as not full as promissed. There was basically 1 person sitting in each set of 2 or 3 seats. I was in 18A, good in the sense that itīs in the exit row with lots of legroom, bad in the sense that itīs next to the galley. At least that gave me something to watch. One of the FAs spent the time during boarding standing there reading a magazine, and she eventually came by to offer Canadian and British newspapers and magazines to everyone else.
The FA who made the announcements had the best airplane announcement voice I think Iīve ever heard. Very clear and friendly. The 767 safety card is quite amusing, since it features an interesting assortment of passengers: a construction worker fastening his seatbelt, a balerina in a tutu assuming a crash position, and a man in a purple tux and top hat jumping onto the exit slide.
The schedule had promissed "dinner" and breakfast, but since the flight left at 2150, I phoned to ask if dinner was really dinner and not a snack. Dinner, I was told. Since Iīm allergic to eggs, I had to think this over, since ordering a vegetarian meal would mean I was safe for breakfast, but also I would be stuck with a vegetarian dinner. On the other hand, it might be better to have a proper dinner and take my chances at breakfast. Thatīs what I opted for, but unfortunately dinner turned out to be a snack afterall. Grr. Luckily I had eaten around 1700 anyhow; I just wished I had opted for vegetarian food.
Anyway... the rest of the flight was pretty uneventful, except for the commotion caused by the duty-free service in the galley next to me. The FA seemed to be forever pulling carts out, turning them around, and pushing them back in. Once that was all over though, I had a few hours of sleep, and was up to enjoy coffee and what I could salvage from my breakfast.
After landing, the passport control asked me only how long I was staying, I told her 1 day, and she let me through. If only it were so simple to return to Canada. Anyway, my luggage was about the 3rd to come out, and I walked straight through customs, and took my luggage to the "excess baggage company", where I would leave it for a week.
U2 (Easyjet) LTN (London-Luton) - NCE 737-300
Taking Easyjet was not a great idea. I was cornered into doing it since I was joining some friends for this trip who had already made their reservations. Not that thereīs anything wrong with the airline really, but Luton is not handy, to understate. We wound up taking the Thameslink from London Bridge. I simply followed the advice of my fellow travellers who live in London, and we found ourselves on the wrong train. So it was back to London Bridge, and then onto the correct train to Luton. At this point, we realized we were pressed for time. When we got to the station at Luton, we had to wait for a shuttle to take us to the terminal.
The terminal is rather small, similar to YWG maybe. It has rediculous revolving doors with potted plants encapsulated in them and revolving around. We had pleanty of time to look, because we found out on arrival that checkin had already closed for our flight, which was due to depart in 25 min. Fortunately, they were willing to rebook us for free on the next flight; unfortunately, this flight was not till the next morning.
To make a long story short, it was back on the train for a few hours sleep in town, and then back out to Luton at about 6 the next morning.
The flight was okay. The seating was comfortable, the service limited, and the food and drink service on a pay for everything individually basis. The interesting thing is that we were asked to unfasten our seatbelts before takeoff, as a precaution during refuelling.
All I have to say about our stay in Nice is that it was very relaxing. We made a trip over to Cannes for a day check out the happenings of the film festival, and then another trip to Monte Carlo the next day, where things were being set up for the Grand Prix. The SNCF train service between these 3 places seemed to be pretty good and really cheap as well.
U2 278 NCE-LTN 737-300
We were much more organized for our return flight, although again following the advice of my fellow travellers, we wound up at the wrong terminal at the airport. Fortunately there was pleanty of time to make it to where we belonged, and to make our way through checkin and onto the (uneventful) flight.
FI (Icelandair) 451 LHR-KEF (Keflavik) 757
Not knowing exactly how long it would take on the tube to get to LHR, and how long it would take me to retrieve my bags from terminal 4 and get them to terminal 1, I wound up at the Aer Lingus checkin counter way early, 3 hours maybe. Surprisingly, there was quite a line already, and it moved quite slowly. FIīs limit is 20kg of baggage on flights within Europe, and I noted on the scale that my 2 bags were about 20kg each, but the agent seemed like she couldnīt care less.
This was my 5th flight on FI. Their FAs always seem more well dressed, friendly, and helpful than, for example, CPs. The flight unfortunately featured a group of about 20 14-year-old schoolgirls from England, talking, singing, and clapping at various points during the flight. The video entertainment included The Practice, Keeping Up Appearances, and a little information clip about Iceland.
Lunch was quite good for a 3-hour flight. It was (of course) fish, with vegetables, salad, bread, and desert. We landed a bit early, but this was made up for waiting for our bags. I was luckily enough to have a ride to Reykjavík, to save me an hourīs bus ride.
Since Iīm working here, although only for 3 months, Iīve had to be tested for TB, HIV, and Hepatitis, among other things.
So thatīs that. It wasnīt the most direct way to get here, but it was fun.
[This message has been edited by bradley (edited 05-31-2000).]
I checked in about 90 minutes before departure. The service was quick and friendly--the agent asked about the rest of my itinerary even though it isnīt on CP. She also told me that the flight was "wide open", and checked to make sure the seat next to mine wasnīt taken.
There were a surprisingly small number of people waiting around for the flight. The boarding announcement was a bit confusing, because it asked for "business class passengers, and OneWorld and * Alliance members; business class first, please."
What did that mean exactly? That anyone in any FF program was welcome? And that elite-level members not flying in business were supposed to stand around and try to position themselves after the J-class passengers?
Anyway, once on board it was just as not full as promissed. There was basically 1 person sitting in each set of 2 or 3 seats. I was in 18A, good in the sense that itīs in the exit row with lots of legroom, bad in the sense that itīs next to the galley. At least that gave me something to watch. One of the FAs spent the time during boarding standing there reading a magazine, and she eventually came by to offer Canadian and British newspapers and magazines to everyone else.
The FA who made the announcements had the best airplane announcement voice I think Iīve ever heard. Very clear and friendly. The 767 safety card is quite amusing, since it features an interesting assortment of passengers: a construction worker fastening his seatbelt, a balerina in a tutu assuming a crash position, and a man in a purple tux and top hat jumping onto the exit slide.
The schedule had promissed "dinner" and breakfast, but since the flight left at 2150, I phoned to ask if dinner was really dinner and not a snack. Dinner, I was told. Since Iīm allergic to eggs, I had to think this over, since ordering a vegetarian meal would mean I was safe for breakfast, but also I would be stuck with a vegetarian dinner. On the other hand, it might be better to have a proper dinner and take my chances at breakfast. Thatīs what I opted for, but unfortunately dinner turned out to be a snack afterall. Grr. Luckily I had eaten around 1700 anyhow; I just wished I had opted for vegetarian food.
Anyway... the rest of the flight was pretty uneventful, except for the commotion caused by the duty-free service in the galley next to me. The FA seemed to be forever pulling carts out, turning them around, and pushing them back in. Once that was all over though, I had a few hours of sleep, and was up to enjoy coffee and what I could salvage from my breakfast.
After landing, the passport control asked me only how long I was staying, I told her 1 day, and she let me through. If only it were so simple to return to Canada. Anyway, my luggage was about the 3rd to come out, and I walked straight through customs, and took my luggage to the "excess baggage company", where I would leave it for a week.
U2 (Easyjet) LTN (London-Luton) - NCE 737-300
Taking Easyjet was not a great idea. I was cornered into doing it since I was joining some friends for this trip who had already made their reservations. Not that thereīs anything wrong with the airline really, but Luton is not handy, to understate. We wound up taking the Thameslink from London Bridge. I simply followed the advice of my fellow travellers who live in London, and we found ourselves on the wrong train. So it was back to London Bridge, and then onto the correct train to Luton. At this point, we realized we were pressed for time. When we got to the station at Luton, we had to wait for a shuttle to take us to the terminal.
The terminal is rather small, similar to YWG maybe. It has rediculous revolving doors with potted plants encapsulated in them and revolving around. We had pleanty of time to look, because we found out on arrival that checkin had already closed for our flight, which was due to depart in 25 min. Fortunately, they were willing to rebook us for free on the next flight; unfortunately, this flight was not till the next morning.
To make a long story short, it was back on the train for a few hours sleep in town, and then back out to Luton at about 6 the next morning.
The flight was okay. The seating was comfortable, the service limited, and the food and drink service on a pay for everything individually basis. The interesting thing is that we were asked to unfasten our seatbelts before takeoff, as a precaution during refuelling.
All I have to say about our stay in Nice is that it was very relaxing. We made a trip over to Cannes for a day check out the happenings of the film festival, and then another trip to Monte Carlo the next day, where things were being set up for the Grand Prix. The SNCF train service between these 3 places seemed to be pretty good and really cheap as well.
U2 278 NCE-LTN 737-300
We were much more organized for our return flight, although again following the advice of my fellow travellers, we wound up at the wrong terminal at the airport. Fortunately there was pleanty of time to make it to where we belonged, and to make our way through checkin and onto the (uneventful) flight.
FI (Icelandair) 451 LHR-KEF (Keflavik) 757
Not knowing exactly how long it would take on the tube to get to LHR, and how long it would take me to retrieve my bags from terminal 4 and get them to terminal 1, I wound up at the Aer Lingus checkin counter way early, 3 hours maybe. Surprisingly, there was quite a line already, and it moved quite slowly. FIīs limit is 20kg of baggage on flights within Europe, and I noted on the scale that my 2 bags were about 20kg each, but the agent seemed like she couldnīt care less.
This was my 5th flight on FI. Their FAs always seem more well dressed, friendly, and helpful than, for example, CPs. The flight unfortunately featured a group of about 20 14-year-old schoolgirls from England, talking, singing, and clapping at various points during the flight. The video entertainment included The Practice, Keeping Up Appearances, and a little information clip about Iceland.
Lunch was quite good for a 3-hour flight. It was (of course) fish, with vegetables, salad, bread, and desert. We landed a bit early, but this was made up for waiting for our bags. I was luckily enough to have a ride to Reykjavík, to save me an hourīs bus ride.
Since Iīm working here, although only for 3 months, Iīve had to be tested for TB, HIV, and Hepatitis, among other things.
So thatīs that. It wasnīt the most direct way to get here, but it was fun.
[This message has been edited by bradley (edited 05-31-2000).]