777Brit
Jul 21, 03, 10:21 am
It was my wife’s birthday, so I decided to take her on an impromptu trip to Amsterdam for the weekend. Here’s one of my ‘express’ trip reports. The amazing thing about this trip is that there was absolutely no frequent flyer mileage activity (earning or spending) involved! Crazy!!
Saturday July 12th, 2003
Basiq Air (http://www.basiqair.com/en) (Operated by Transavia) HV5896
STN-AMS
Boeing 737-800 (PH-HZK) (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/373550/M/)
Seats 14A/14C, Economy
Scheduled to Depart 0755, arrive 0955
(Actual Depart 0755, arrive 1020)
After a 5am start and a very pleasant 29 minute drive up the M11 motorway, I arrived at the new mid-stay car park at London Stansted Airport. As we drove into the car-park, I notice a sign saying “Daily rate £12.00”. I researched the cost before travelling and on the BAA website (http://www.baa.co.uk) I was quoted a price of £12.50 per day. However, I noticed that the car-park is operated by Meteor Parking, so found their website (http://www.eparking.uk.com) and booked the same car park for just £8.50 per day. After parking and a 10-minute wait for the bus, we finally arrived at the terminal building at 6.05am.
Stansted, when empty, is an exceptionally spacious, light and airy building. However, on this Saturday morning, it was anything but empty! It seemed that the entire population of the South East of England had chosen to fly on Easyjet and Ryanair today. Dreading a lengthy wait for check-in, we fought our way though the crowds and found the Transavia check-in desk. Singular. 1 desk. There was just one other person in front of us in line. After waiting 2 minutes, we hand our passports to the agent for our e-ticket check-in. I request exit row seats. The agent informs me that we have seats in row 30. I again request exit row seats, only to be told that they are blocked for gate use only. The agent advises me that the flight is “very full” today. Hmm. I ask for the bulkhead seat. We’re informed that the first 17 rows of the aircraft are blocked. 17 rows!! We get seated in 18AB.
We head to security and wait around 8 minutes before passing through the screening point. This is actually much more efficient than Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 or 4. I note that every screening position is fully manned. Well done, BAA Stansted!
After shopping and a very pleasant breakfast in the Windmill Pub, we head to gate 33 at 7am. When we arrive at pier 2 (via the automated transit system), I notice that the entrance to the pier is still gaily painted in the bright yellow and dark blue livery of now-defunct carrier ‘Buzz’. (Purchased by Ryanair in 2002). After many flights to Germany on Buzz last year, I actually felt a tinge of sadness at their demise.
Boarding for our 7.55am flight commenced at 7.35am. As we boarded, I checked with the gate agent about exit row seats and she advised me that row 14 was available and we can just sit there. So, that’s exactly what we do. There’s about 40” legroom in this row, similar to AA First Class on a 737-800. After a bang-on-time departure, we taxi out to runway 23 for departure. The captain announces our flying time of 36 minutes and away we go!
After a rapid assent, we level out at FL260 for the short flight Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The crew begins their ‘A la carte’ inflight service, consisting of soft drinks and beer/wine, along with light snacks, available for purchase from the cart. Some 10 minutes later, my ears pop as we begin our descent into the Dutch capital. Our landing is smooth and we taxi to the gate area, only to come to a grinding halt when we find our gate occupied by a KLM B737-800. We wait 20 minutes for the gate to become available, before finally taxiing onto stand and deplaning via the jetbridge. We take the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station for our weekend extravaganza to begin.
NH Hoteles ‘Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky’ (http://www.nh-hotels.com/busquedas/detallehotel.jsp?NEMO=KRASNA)
Business Deluxe Room, Royal Wing
When I made the reservation, I provided my wife’s birth date (optionally) to see what might happen. The hotel’s rack rate was EUR364.00, but I managed to find an online special rate of just EUR160.00, which was a pretty good saving. The reception clerk wished my wife a very happy birthday and upgraded our room to the Business Deluxe, from the Business Standard. These rooms have just been refurbished to a very high standard, including the most comfortable hotel beds I’ve ever slept on, along with marble bathrooms and beautiful polished wooden floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. A very welcome upgrade indeed! Ten minutes after settling into our room, there’s a ring on the doorbell. (No knocking in this five-star establishment!).
Room service delivered a bottle of ‘Moet et Chandon’ champagne with a note wishing my wife a very happy birthday from “the front desk team”. Now that’s impressive service!
We wandered out of the hotel to explore the fine city of Amsterdam. If you happen to find yourself in this city, I thoroughly recommend a good hour of walking around, simply exploring on your own. It’s really easy to find your way around, and it’s such fun actually walking in a major city! After a visit to the Flower Market, we head back to the hotel to get ready for going out later that evening. We have the bright idea of enjoying a few cocktails in the hotel bar before we go out. This turns out to be a big mistake, not because of the prices but because the bar-staff don’t believe in measures and every cocktail is exceptionally alcoholic! When I give the staff our room number, the barman disappears behind the bar, only to return a few minutes later with a “Happy Birthday” song playing in the background. Two complimentary Kir Royales later, we head out to find some dinner, which doesn’t quite happen…..
11.30pm. Time to eat. We’re back in the hotel, so after a quick call to the 24 hour room service, some very tasty food is delivered to our room within 15 minutes. The rest of the evening is a bit of a blur…
Sunday July 13th, 2003
Basiq Air (http://www.basiqair.com/en) (Operated by Transavia) HV5897
AMS-STN
Boeing 737-800 (PH-BXK) (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/374367/M/)
Seat 15D/15F, Economy
Scheduled to Depart 1945, arrive 1950
(Actual Depart 1950, arrive 1951)
We arise at 10am and decide to head out to find some breakfast. After some sustenance, we go to the Sex Museum for a bit of a laugh, (it’s recommended as a fun diversion!) and then head back to the hotel for the 12pm check-out. We’re a little late checking-out, eventually making it down to reception for 12.30pm, but it doesn’t appear to be a problem and the reception staff are gracious and courteous as expected. We leave our backpacks with concierge and head out to do some more exploring.
At 1pm we board a canal boat for a 90-minute tour of Amsterdam. The tour costs a very reasonable EUR6.00 and provides running commentary in Dutch, German, French and English. The skipper of the boat is highly skilled, manoeuvring our canal boat in and out of the sometimes exceedingly tight canal system. After the tour, we head of on our own walking tour and enjoy some shopping and snack on the best pommes frites with curry sauce(!) that we’ve ever tasted.
By 4pm we beginning to flag a bit, so we had back to the Krasnapolsky to relax for an hour or so. After a few more cocktails we head out into the 90F heat of the Dutch capital for our walk to Amsterdam Centraal, to take the train back to Schiphol. We make the 5.06pm train, arriving at Schiphol some 20 minutes later.
Amsterdam Schiphol, along with Stockholm Arlanda, is one of my favourite European airports. Why? Because there’s so much to see and do, coupled with great duty-free shopping and a fantastic ‘Wings’ (aviation) shop too! The whole airport is clean and tidy and very modern and just works much better for me than Heathrow or just about any US airport.
We head to area 1 for the Transavia check-in and are confronted with huge queues of people. Not as huge as the bmi British Midland queues, but still, they’re pretty long. We line-up in the shortest queue and wait our turn. Suddenly, the guy in front of me starts panicking and rifling through his bag. He can’t find his passport. Basiq Air is a purely e-ticket carrier, so this poor fellow can’t even check in. His partner drags him from the line and suddenly, we’re first! The delightful Basiq Air agent checks us in and I request 14A and C again, as I know these are exit row seats. Strangely, the agent replies that they’re not, and we should take row 15 instead. This puzzles me, so the agent shows me the seat map on her computer and sure enough, row 15 is the exit row. Very strange indeed!
After we’re checked-in, we go to the ‘Wings’ shop, then head out through security and indulge in some last-minute shopping. Once we’re stocked up with ‘Gouda's Gilde Siroopwafelen’, Gouda cheese and other assorted dutch delicacies, we head to gate D4 for departure. This is when my suspicion is aroused. I look out of the window and see a KLM 737-800 sitting on the apron. Hmmm…perhaps our flight is delayed or we have a gate change? We take a seat and some 15 minutes later, the flight called for boarding. We pass though the gate reader and sit just behind the agent position. After another 5-10 minutes, we commence boarding. We board the KLM 737-800! Our seats are in row 15, which is actually just behind the second over-wing exit. 14F doesn’t exist though, so I have legroom from row 15 to row 13 to stretch out. Fantastic! We push-back 5 minutes late and the purser makes an announcement, welcoming us onboard this “Transavia operated flight, aboard a Boeing 737 leased from our partner KLM”.
We commence taxiing for take off. And we taxi, and taxi, and taxi and then taxi some more. Some 20 minutes later, I’m sure we’ve taxied to England, but apparently, it was just to the new runway 36L (http://www.schipholview.nl/index_spotinfo.html#AREA) at AMS. This runway opened in February 2003 to reduce runway congestion at Schiphol. It works, because the aircraft head out on a cross-country hike to get to it! Eventually, the engines spool-up and we take off, heading due west back to England. After a very smooth flight where the crew manages to offer the a la carte (http://www.basiqair.com/gen/images.nsf/bqfiles/menukaart.pdf/$FILE/menukaart.pdf) service in the short flying time, we touch down smoothly at Stansted at 7.45pm local and arrive on the gate at 7.51pm. After a short ride to the terminal via the transit system, we’re out of the airport and headed back to the mid-stay car park by 8.10pm.
Amsterdam is a wonderful destination for a short break from the UK. The flights are cheap and plentiful and theres loads to do when you get there. [NH Hoteles are now my new favourite hotel chain too) Basiq Air does exactly what it says on the tin – they get you there cheaply, on time (more or less), comfortably and you pay for any extras. A simple service philosophy that works very well!
Edited to fix UBB
[This message has been edited by 777Brit (edited 07-21-2003).]
Saturday July 12th, 2003
Basiq Air (http://www.basiqair.com/en) (Operated by Transavia) HV5896
STN-AMS
Boeing 737-800 (PH-HZK) (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/373550/M/)
Seats 14A/14C, Economy
Scheduled to Depart 0755, arrive 0955
(Actual Depart 0755, arrive 1020)
After a 5am start and a very pleasant 29 minute drive up the M11 motorway, I arrived at the new mid-stay car park at London Stansted Airport. As we drove into the car-park, I notice a sign saying “Daily rate £12.00”. I researched the cost before travelling and on the BAA website (http://www.baa.co.uk) I was quoted a price of £12.50 per day. However, I noticed that the car-park is operated by Meteor Parking, so found their website (http://www.eparking.uk.com) and booked the same car park for just £8.50 per day. After parking and a 10-minute wait for the bus, we finally arrived at the terminal building at 6.05am.
Stansted, when empty, is an exceptionally spacious, light and airy building. However, on this Saturday morning, it was anything but empty! It seemed that the entire population of the South East of England had chosen to fly on Easyjet and Ryanair today. Dreading a lengthy wait for check-in, we fought our way though the crowds and found the Transavia check-in desk. Singular. 1 desk. There was just one other person in front of us in line. After waiting 2 minutes, we hand our passports to the agent for our e-ticket check-in. I request exit row seats. The agent informs me that we have seats in row 30. I again request exit row seats, only to be told that they are blocked for gate use only. The agent advises me that the flight is “very full” today. Hmm. I ask for the bulkhead seat. We’re informed that the first 17 rows of the aircraft are blocked. 17 rows!! We get seated in 18AB.
We head to security and wait around 8 minutes before passing through the screening point. This is actually much more efficient than Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 or 4. I note that every screening position is fully manned. Well done, BAA Stansted!
After shopping and a very pleasant breakfast in the Windmill Pub, we head to gate 33 at 7am. When we arrive at pier 2 (via the automated transit system), I notice that the entrance to the pier is still gaily painted in the bright yellow and dark blue livery of now-defunct carrier ‘Buzz’. (Purchased by Ryanair in 2002). After many flights to Germany on Buzz last year, I actually felt a tinge of sadness at their demise.
Boarding for our 7.55am flight commenced at 7.35am. As we boarded, I checked with the gate agent about exit row seats and she advised me that row 14 was available and we can just sit there. So, that’s exactly what we do. There’s about 40” legroom in this row, similar to AA First Class on a 737-800. After a bang-on-time departure, we taxi out to runway 23 for departure. The captain announces our flying time of 36 minutes and away we go!
After a rapid assent, we level out at FL260 for the short flight Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The crew begins their ‘A la carte’ inflight service, consisting of soft drinks and beer/wine, along with light snacks, available for purchase from the cart. Some 10 minutes later, my ears pop as we begin our descent into the Dutch capital. Our landing is smooth and we taxi to the gate area, only to come to a grinding halt when we find our gate occupied by a KLM B737-800. We wait 20 minutes for the gate to become available, before finally taxiing onto stand and deplaning via the jetbridge. We take the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station for our weekend extravaganza to begin.
NH Hoteles ‘Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky’ (http://www.nh-hotels.com/busquedas/detallehotel.jsp?NEMO=KRASNA)
Business Deluxe Room, Royal Wing
When I made the reservation, I provided my wife’s birth date (optionally) to see what might happen. The hotel’s rack rate was EUR364.00, but I managed to find an online special rate of just EUR160.00, which was a pretty good saving. The reception clerk wished my wife a very happy birthday and upgraded our room to the Business Deluxe, from the Business Standard. These rooms have just been refurbished to a very high standard, including the most comfortable hotel beds I’ve ever slept on, along with marble bathrooms and beautiful polished wooden floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. A very welcome upgrade indeed! Ten minutes after settling into our room, there’s a ring on the doorbell. (No knocking in this five-star establishment!).
Room service delivered a bottle of ‘Moet et Chandon’ champagne with a note wishing my wife a very happy birthday from “the front desk team”. Now that’s impressive service!
We wandered out of the hotel to explore the fine city of Amsterdam. If you happen to find yourself in this city, I thoroughly recommend a good hour of walking around, simply exploring on your own. It’s really easy to find your way around, and it’s such fun actually walking in a major city! After a visit to the Flower Market, we head back to the hotel to get ready for going out later that evening. We have the bright idea of enjoying a few cocktails in the hotel bar before we go out. This turns out to be a big mistake, not because of the prices but because the bar-staff don’t believe in measures and every cocktail is exceptionally alcoholic! When I give the staff our room number, the barman disappears behind the bar, only to return a few minutes later with a “Happy Birthday” song playing in the background. Two complimentary Kir Royales later, we head out to find some dinner, which doesn’t quite happen…..
11.30pm. Time to eat. We’re back in the hotel, so after a quick call to the 24 hour room service, some very tasty food is delivered to our room within 15 minutes. The rest of the evening is a bit of a blur…
Sunday July 13th, 2003
Basiq Air (http://www.basiqair.com/en) (Operated by Transavia) HV5897
AMS-STN
Boeing 737-800 (PH-BXK) (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/374367/M/)
Seat 15D/15F, Economy
Scheduled to Depart 1945, arrive 1950
(Actual Depart 1950, arrive 1951)
We arise at 10am and decide to head out to find some breakfast. After some sustenance, we go to the Sex Museum for a bit of a laugh, (it’s recommended as a fun diversion!) and then head back to the hotel for the 12pm check-out. We’re a little late checking-out, eventually making it down to reception for 12.30pm, but it doesn’t appear to be a problem and the reception staff are gracious and courteous as expected. We leave our backpacks with concierge and head out to do some more exploring.
At 1pm we board a canal boat for a 90-minute tour of Amsterdam. The tour costs a very reasonable EUR6.00 and provides running commentary in Dutch, German, French and English. The skipper of the boat is highly skilled, manoeuvring our canal boat in and out of the sometimes exceedingly tight canal system. After the tour, we head of on our own walking tour and enjoy some shopping and snack on the best pommes frites with curry sauce(!) that we’ve ever tasted.
By 4pm we beginning to flag a bit, so we had back to the Krasnapolsky to relax for an hour or so. After a few more cocktails we head out into the 90F heat of the Dutch capital for our walk to Amsterdam Centraal, to take the train back to Schiphol. We make the 5.06pm train, arriving at Schiphol some 20 minutes later.
Amsterdam Schiphol, along with Stockholm Arlanda, is one of my favourite European airports. Why? Because there’s so much to see and do, coupled with great duty-free shopping and a fantastic ‘Wings’ (aviation) shop too! The whole airport is clean and tidy and very modern and just works much better for me than Heathrow or just about any US airport.
We head to area 1 for the Transavia check-in and are confronted with huge queues of people. Not as huge as the bmi British Midland queues, but still, they’re pretty long. We line-up in the shortest queue and wait our turn. Suddenly, the guy in front of me starts panicking and rifling through his bag. He can’t find his passport. Basiq Air is a purely e-ticket carrier, so this poor fellow can’t even check in. His partner drags him from the line and suddenly, we’re first! The delightful Basiq Air agent checks us in and I request 14A and C again, as I know these are exit row seats. Strangely, the agent replies that they’re not, and we should take row 15 instead. This puzzles me, so the agent shows me the seat map on her computer and sure enough, row 15 is the exit row. Very strange indeed!
After we’re checked-in, we go to the ‘Wings’ shop, then head out through security and indulge in some last-minute shopping. Once we’re stocked up with ‘Gouda's Gilde Siroopwafelen’, Gouda cheese and other assorted dutch delicacies, we head to gate D4 for departure. This is when my suspicion is aroused. I look out of the window and see a KLM 737-800 sitting on the apron. Hmmm…perhaps our flight is delayed or we have a gate change? We take a seat and some 15 minutes later, the flight called for boarding. We pass though the gate reader and sit just behind the agent position. After another 5-10 minutes, we commence boarding. We board the KLM 737-800! Our seats are in row 15, which is actually just behind the second over-wing exit. 14F doesn’t exist though, so I have legroom from row 15 to row 13 to stretch out. Fantastic! We push-back 5 minutes late and the purser makes an announcement, welcoming us onboard this “Transavia operated flight, aboard a Boeing 737 leased from our partner KLM”.
We commence taxiing for take off. And we taxi, and taxi, and taxi and then taxi some more. Some 20 minutes later, I’m sure we’ve taxied to England, but apparently, it was just to the new runway 36L (http://www.schipholview.nl/index_spotinfo.html#AREA) at AMS. This runway opened in February 2003 to reduce runway congestion at Schiphol. It works, because the aircraft head out on a cross-country hike to get to it! Eventually, the engines spool-up and we take off, heading due west back to England. After a very smooth flight where the crew manages to offer the a la carte (http://www.basiqair.com/gen/images.nsf/bqfiles/menukaart.pdf/$FILE/menukaart.pdf) service in the short flying time, we touch down smoothly at Stansted at 7.45pm local and arrive on the gate at 7.51pm. After a short ride to the terminal via the transit system, we’re out of the airport and headed back to the mid-stay car park by 8.10pm.
Amsterdam is a wonderful destination for a short break from the UK. The flights are cheap and plentiful and theres loads to do when you get there. [NH Hoteles are now my new favourite hotel chain too) Basiq Air does exactly what it says on the tin – they get you there cheaply, on time (more or less), comfortably and you pay for any extras. A simple service philosophy that works very well!
Edited to fix UBB
[This message has been edited by 777Brit (edited 07-21-2003).]