ScottC
Dec 13, 01, 4:18 am
As part of a tradition it was once more time for my bi-monthly shopping trip. Sometimes it’s close (Brussels or London) and sometimes it’s not so close (HKG) or this trip, NYC. These trips are always very short so I try to make the most of them. This time I was booked on the following (award) trip:
Sat. AMS-LHR
Sun LHR-JFK-LHR (BA1, BA116)
Mon LHR-AMS
The first part of the trip was uneventful, I used my AMS Privium card to skip the queue (http://www.schiphol.nl/privium). Left on time, landed on time and then had to wait 15 minutes for the steps to arrive as this bus was staying in LHR.
The original plan was to spend all night in London drinking, grabbing a movie and waiting in an internet café. By the time I landed in LHR (around 19:15) I was so tired I decided to use the LHR Hilton. I went inside and asked rates, they could only offer a rate of about 350 pounds. I then walked over to the sitting area and used my cellphone and laptop to book a room online at just 60 pounds. Got a nice room without an upgrade but did get breakfast included. Had a lovely nights sleep and an even better breakfast http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif
After packing the few things I had brought I walked to the terminal. The walk from the terminal to the Hilton is only 5 minutes and is all in a tunnel like concourse. check in was pleasant, but then this was the first / Concorde check in area. Security at LHR was easy, nothing different than pre 9/11. I passed through some of the terminal shops and then walked to the Concorde lounge. The gate lady tried to send me to the downstairs lounge (first/gold) but when I pointed out I was on the BA1 she looked kind of surprised and apologized. The lounge was nothing special, it was pretty busy and the F&B was not as impressive as I had expected.
Boarding started at exactly 10:00 for pax in the back if the plane. This was my second time on Concorde so it was nothing new for me but seeing her and getting on board was once more a lovely experience. When on board I had the ever present OJ but skipped the canapés. Departure was spot on time with take 20 minutes later. Take off was a little weird as we were ready to roll we left the runway and went back to the end of the queue of other planes to let them take off, probably we were running a little early for our JFK arrival?
Take off is the most impressive part of flying her, it is almost twice the speed of a regular plane and makes a terrific noise (afterburners on). After 70 seconds of afterburner they are turned off, the plane slows down and you really feel her drop a bit. The rest of the flight was nothing special. The food was pretty bad (I had an English breakfast) although the drinks service made up for that.
At 09:23 we landed at JFK. Once more, landing is quite impressive as that also happens at great speed. After a short taxi we were in the dismal T7 at JFK where they are still busy with renovations (I think they have been at this for 3 years now…) Customs was very fast today, with my past experiences in mind I did not know what to expect, certainly because I was only flying up and down.. This time I was lucky, the agent asked the purpose of my visit, I said help “I’m here to help you by doing some shopping” He smiled, thanked me and wished me good shopping! In just 2 minutes I was out of the terminal building. Looks like Scotish red haired Concorde travelers were not being profiled that day http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
I decided to take the bus downtown, traffic was good so at 10:40 I was in front of Grand Central. I didn’t know what to expect in NYC, I was surprised to notice almost nothing had changed. Seeing the skyline and missing the TT was weird but that was almost all there was to notice on any changes.
My quest for an Xbox started. I checked out all the regular stores (CompUSA, Virgin, HMV) all to no avail, I ended in an electronics store on Times Square where I bought one for $125 more than the regular retail price… But who cares, I am one of the first here in Holland to get one http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif
After even more shopping and a spot of lunch my feet told me it was time to quit. I added the final things on my list at Barnes and Noble and took the bus back to JFK. My past experiences told me that the bus would do T1-T6 before stopping at T7 so I managed to persuade the driver to stop at T7 first, much to the surprise of the other passengers… It amazing what a little persuading can accomplish http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
The terminal was very busy but luckily BA has a dedicated gold/first check in and security line. Several people tried to join this queue with silver cards etc.. but were send back to the other (very lone line). Security here was a joke, when bags were passing through I could see the x-ray agent looking around, chatting to colleagues and basically looking bored, real safe feeling I got from them… I was through in about 5 minutes and proceeded to the BA Concorde lounge as I was on a first class ticket. When I was in the lounge I unpacked all my shopping bags and tried to fit them in my shoulder bag (no way). I discovered that the Basic Instinct DVD I bought had an Ice Pick in the box (as in the movie), imagine security letting me though with that..
After a quick drink the desk agent came over and asked if I would like to be on an earlier flight into LHR, as I had tried to do this earlier when booking and again at LHR without luck I was surprised he managed. He even got me my favorite seat. First was pretty empty with just 5 pax in the cabin. After a quick dinner of Corn Chowder and Fillet of beef I slept for the entire flight being woken up 15 minutes before landing.
Once more the LHR-AMS trip was quick although very busy full of chatting businessmen and women. Without any hassle at customs in AMS I proceeded to my office and worked all day before falling in bed around 23:50. Needless to say I was very tired but content that I had managed to get everything on my shopping list.
Stay tuned for some photos and scans of the menu.
Sat. AMS-LHR
Sun LHR-JFK-LHR (BA1, BA116)
Mon LHR-AMS
The first part of the trip was uneventful, I used my AMS Privium card to skip the queue (http://www.schiphol.nl/privium). Left on time, landed on time and then had to wait 15 minutes for the steps to arrive as this bus was staying in LHR.
The original plan was to spend all night in London drinking, grabbing a movie and waiting in an internet café. By the time I landed in LHR (around 19:15) I was so tired I decided to use the LHR Hilton. I went inside and asked rates, they could only offer a rate of about 350 pounds. I then walked over to the sitting area and used my cellphone and laptop to book a room online at just 60 pounds. Got a nice room without an upgrade but did get breakfast included. Had a lovely nights sleep and an even better breakfast http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif
After packing the few things I had brought I walked to the terminal. The walk from the terminal to the Hilton is only 5 minutes and is all in a tunnel like concourse. check in was pleasant, but then this was the first / Concorde check in area. Security at LHR was easy, nothing different than pre 9/11. I passed through some of the terminal shops and then walked to the Concorde lounge. The gate lady tried to send me to the downstairs lounge (first/gold) but when I pointed out I was on the BA1 she looked kind of surprised and apologized. The lounge was nothing special, it was pretty busy and the F&B was not as impressive as I had expected.
Boarding started at exactly 10:00 for pax in the back if the plane. This was my second time on Concorde so it was nothing new for me but seeing her and getting on board was once more a lovely experience. When on board I had the ever present OJ but skipped the canapés. Departure was spot on time with take 20 minutes later. Take off was a little weird as we were ready to roll we left the runway and went back to the end of the queue of other planes to let them take off, probably we were running a little early for our JFK arrival?
Take off is the most impressive part of flying her, it is almost twice the speed of a regular plane and makes a terrific noise (afterburners on). After 70 seconds of afterburner they are turned off, the plane slows down and you really feel her drop a bit. The rest of the flight was nothing special. The food was pretty bad (I had an English breakfast) although the drinks service made up for that.
At 09:23 we landed at JFK. Once more, landing is quite impressive as that also happens at great speed. After a short taxi we were in the dismal T7 at JFK where they are still busy with renovations (I think they have been at this for 3 years now…) Customs was very fast today, with my past experiences in mind I did not know what to expect, certainly because I was only flying up and down.. This time I was lucky, the agent asked the purpose of my visit, I said help “I’m here to help you by doing some shopping” He smiled, thanked me and wished me good shopping! In just 2 minutes I was out of the terminal building. Looks like Scotish red haired Concorde travelers were not being profiled that day http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
I decided to take the bus downtown, traffic was good so at 10:40 I was in front of Grand Central. I didn’t know what to expect in NYC, I was surprised to notice almost nothing had changed. Seeing the skyline and missing the TT was weird but that was almost all there was to notice on any changes.
My quest for an Xbox started. I checked out all the regular stores (CompUSA, Virgin, HMV) all to no avail, I ended in an electronics store on Times Square where I bought one for $125 more than the regular retail price… But who cares, I am one of the first here in Holland to get one http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif
After even more shopping and a spot of lunch my feet told me it was time to quit. I added the final things on my list at Barnes and Noble and took the bus back to JFK. My past experiences told me that the bus would do T1-T6 before stopping at T7 so I managed to persuade the driver to stop at T7 first, much to the surprise of the other passengers… It amazing what a little persuading can accomplish http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
The terminal was very busy but luckily BA has a dedicated gold/first check in and security line. Several people tried to join this queue with silver cards etc.. but were send back to the other (very lone line). Security here was a joke, when bags were passing through I could see the x-ray agent looking around, chatting to colleagues and basically looking bored, real safe feeling I got from them… I was through in about 5 minutes and proceeded to the BA Concorde lounge as I was on a first class ticket. When I was in the lounge I unpacked all my shopping bags and tried to fit them in my shoulder bag (no way). I discovered that the Basic Instinct DVD I bought had an Ice Pick in the box (as in the movie), imagine security letting me though with that..
After a quick drink the desk agent came over and asked if I would like to be on an earlier flight into LHR, as I had tried to do this earlier when booking and again at LHR without luck I was surprised he managed. He even got me my favorite seat. First was pretty empty with just 5 pax in the cabin. After a quick dinner of Corn Chowder and Fillet of beef I slept for the entire flight being woken up 15 minutes before landing.
Once more the LHR-AMS trip was quick although very busy full of chatting businessmen and women. Without any hassle at customs in AMS I proceeded to my office and worked all day before falling in bed around 23:50. Needless to say I was very tired but content that I had managed to get everything on my shopping list.
Stay tuned for some photos and scans of the menu.