Dave_C
Jul 18, 04, 4:56 pm
This is my first trip report, so please be gentle. I suspect it’s a little verbose, let me know if you drop-off to sleep half way through.
15 July 2005 – BA868 LHR-BUD, Club Europe, Seats 4A & 4C
Check-in started the previous day, online; the flight seemed fairly empty, but stuck with our pre-assigned 4A and 4C as they weren’t bad.
The next morning, woke up fairly early, finished the last of my packing, and managed to snag a lift off my Dad to Wimbledon station, in return for giving the dog a quick walk first. There happened to be an Edgware Road train already at the platform, so it was a quick thirty-minute journey up to Paddington, arriving just in time for the Heathrow Express. Unfortunately, HI hadn’t made it, as his train to Victoria was twenty minutes late. He arrived just as a HeX was pulling out, swearing at Southern trains.
Half an hour later, we pulled into Heathrow Central, quick walk to the lifts and into the heaving mass that is the main check-in area at Terminal 1. Thankfully, we headed for the “Zone R” premium check-in area, which is usually dead. However this morning, It was fairly busy, so we preceded to a self service check-in machine to get our BP’s. Inserted the EC card, it searched for a few seconds, spat out the card and told us to go to a desk. The man in front of us in the check-in queue wasn’t having a good day with the machines either, it had just swallowed his paper ticket and seemed just a touch annoyed when the check-in agent couldn’t help him. ceBA working as it should do then. We had no problems getting ours, went through the dedicated security in about two minutes, did a short survey for the BAA lady, and on to the Terraces.
Quite a few people milling about in the entrance area, including another rather irate customer, shouting over at the lounge manager. From what I could make out, he was trying to get his wife and kids into the First lounge on his gold card, and was quite correctly turned away. Some people just come across as idiots when making scenes like that. Once in lounge, managed to find my favourite spot in the upstairs part at the very back of the lounge. It’s great as they don’t allow kids up there, and up a flight of stairs – most people don’t tend to make it that far. The only problem is to get breakfast, you’ve got to bring all food up the stairs again, and carrying bowls of milk for cereal that early can be challenging! A couple of coffee’s, danishes, muffins, and bowls of corn flakes later our flight was boarding at gate 28.
Walking to the gate (28 is right at the end of the pier), half way along, BAA were re-screening all the passengers going to gates greater than 25. This seemed pretty strange, especially considering there was a flight to Tripoli from one of the lower numbered ones! Boarding had already started, and after a short queue we were nicely ensconced in 4A and 4C. This morning it was one of the few remaining 757’s, and is always nice when (as they did this morning) board from 2L, so you don’t get everyone tramping through the CE cabin.
A hot towel was offered before take-off, which was only a short taxi-ride away on 27L. The flight wasn’t full, and it was once of the shortest take-off rolls I’d had in a long time. Unfortunately, even before the seat-belt sign had turned off, the person in front of me immediately reclined his seat all the way back, and went to sleep. A bit pee-ed off, we moved to empty 2D and 2F and stayed there for the remainder of the flight.
I’ve already ranted about the food in a separate thread on the BA forum, but breakfast was utterly mediocre – certainly not what I’d expect from Club Europe. Also, as it was now 11.30, it was a little late to be serving breakfast. It consisted of a fruit plate, a choice of pastries, under-cooked bacon, a sausage, some yellow splodge (which I assumed to be scrambled egg), tomato and mushrooms. I was remarkably under-whelmed. The CSD, Roger, who was an absolute star, did his best to make up for the sub-standard offering. Two G&T’s were supplied (it’s never too early for a G&T) which helped immensely. After the food was cleared away, and another G&T, we started our descent into Budapest Ferihegy Airport. We chatted about the fewer number of CSD’s on short-haul, good places for night-stops and the replacement of the 757 with the A321. Apparently they’re going to be configured as a single long, cabin, with no mid-galley that the 757’s have – very crew unfriendly they were saying. I personally really like the 757, so will be sad to see them leave the fleet.
Budapest airport has got two terminals, 1 and the shiny new 2. Malev is in 2A, the major European airlines 2B, and the charter and low-cost scum are in the old 1. Disembarking from door 1L, we were first off, through immigration, customs and into the arrivals area where we got a minibus into the town.
If people want, I’ll do a mini-city report for our time in Budapest. We had a fantastic time; the people were great; I’d recommend it to anyone. Oh, and it’s cheap, and the men were very cute too!
15 July 2005 – BA868 LHR-BUD, Club Europe, Seats 4A & 4C
Check-in started the previous day, online; the flight seemed fairly empty, but stuck with our pre-assigned 4A and 4C as they weren’t bad.
The next morning, woke up fairly early, finished the last of my packing, and managed to snag a lift off my Dad to Wimbledon station, in return for giving the dog a quick walk first. There happened to be an Edgware Road train already at the platform, so it was a quick thirty-minute journey up to Paddington, arriving just in time for the Heathrow Express. Unfortunately, HI hadn’t made it, as his train to Victoria was twenty minutes late. He arrived just as a HeX was pulling out, swearing at Southern trains.
Half an hour later, we pulled into Heathrow Central, quick walk to the lifts and into the heaving mass that is the main check-in area at Terminal 1. Thankfully, we headed for the “Zone R” premium check-in area, which is usually dead. However this morning, It was fairly busy, so we preceded to a self service check-in machine to get our BP’s. Inserted the EC card, it searched for a few seconds, spat out the card and told us to go to a desk. The man in front of us in the check-in queue wasn’t having a good day with the machines either, it had just swallowed his paper ticket and seemed just a touch annoyed when the check-in agent couldn’t help him. ceBA working as it should do then. We had no problems getting ours, went through the dedicated security in about two minutes, did a short survey for the BAA lady, and on to the Terraces.
Quite a few people milling about in the entrance area, including another rather irate customer, shouting over at the lounge manager. From what I could make out, he was trying to get his wife and kids into the First lounge on his gold card, and was quite correctly turned away. Some people just come across as idiots when making scenes like that. Once in lounge, managed to find my favourite spot in the upstairs part at the very back of the lounge. It’s great as they don’t allow kids up there, and up a flight of stairs – most people don’t tend to make it that far. The only problem is to get breakfast, you’ve got to bring all food up the stairs again, and carrying bowls of milk for cereal that early can be challenging! A couple of coffee’s, danishes, muffins, and bowls of corn flakes later our flight was boarding at gate 28.
Walking to the gate (28 is right at the end of the pier), half way along, BAA were re-screening all the passengers going to gates greater than 25. This seemed pretty strange, especially considering there was a flight to Tripoli from one of the lower numbered ones! Boarding had already started, and after a short queue we were nicely ensconced in 4A and 4C. This morning it was one of the few remaining 757’s, and is always nice when (as they did this morning) board from 2L, so you don’t get everyone tramping through the CE cabin.
A hot towel was offered before take-off, which was only a short taxi-ride away on 27L. The flight wasn’t full, and it was once of the shortest take-off rolls I’d had in a long time. Unfortunately, even before the seat-belt sign had turned off, the person in front of me immediately reclined his seat all the way back, and went to sleep. A bit pee-ed off, we moved to empty 2D and 2F and stayed there for the remainder of the flight.
I’ve already ranted about the food in a separate thread on the BA forum, but breakfast was utterly mediocre – certainly not what I’d expect from Club Europe. Also, as it was now 11.30, it was a little late to be serving breakfast. It consisted of a fruit plate, a choice of pastries, under-cooked bacon, a sausage, some yellow splodge (which I assumed to be scrambled egg), tomato and mushrooms. I was remarkably under-whelmed. The CSD, Roger, who was an absolute star, did his best to make up for the sub-standard offering. Two G&T’s were supplied (it’s never too early for a G&T) which helped immensely. After the food was cleared away, and another G&T, we started our descent into Budapest Ferihegy Airport. We chatted about the fewer number of CSD’s on short-haul, good places for night-stops and the replacement of the 757 with the A321. Apparently they’re going to be configured as a single long, cabin, with no mid-galley that the 757’s have – very crew unfriendly they were saying. I personally really like the 757, so will be sad to see them leave the fleet.
Budapest airport has got two terminals, 1 and the shiny new 2. Malev is in 2A, the major European airlines 2B, and the charter and low-cost scum are in the old 1. Disembarking from door 1L, we were first off, through immigration, customs and into the arrivals area where we got a minibus into the town.
If people want, I’ll do a mini-city report for our time in Budapest. We had a fantastic time; the people were great; I’d recommend it to anyone. Oh, and it’s cheap, and the men were very cute too!