DJ Bitterbarn

Prologue:

As the end of 2008 started to come into view, the question of Christmas travel came up like every year. Of course, the questions that had to be asked were "how am I going to get back from Christmas in Canada", "how will I arrange Christmas with my girlfriend who will be going to Poland", and "how am I planning on picking up the last 1700 miles I need for *G next year". Obviously, the last two questions solve each other. While searching at length to find a way from ORK to POZ that didn't cost hundreds of euro, I decided to give LX another shot and of all the luck they priced in at somewhere below half of what a similar RT would have cost with the so-called LCCs. Plus, it was only slightly more to book into all sorts of mileage-earning classes for Aeroplan, meaning I could not only get to POZ and back, but I could leave my bags halfway (and not lug them around the continent), make it in time for my flight out of LHR, and STILL collect more than enough miles to requalify for 2009. Score!

Since the plan at the time was my girlfriend was going to go a few days earlier on the direct ORK-POZ, I would be solo on this trip and so was able to work out an even more convoluted routing than normal with an open-jaw through Poland to make a shorthaul from POZ-WAW on LO. So after some time booking both online and through the LX website, I was able to concoct the first part of this trip:
Segment #1: ORK-LHR on EI (Y)
Segment #2: LHR-ZRH on LX (Y)
Segment #3: ZRH-TXL on LH Cityline (Y)
Segment #4: Berlin-Poznan by rail

Part two simply consisted of the trip home, with an extra stop in the middle to meet up with a friend in London for some Dim Sum:
Segment #5: POZ-WAW on LO (Operated by EuroLot)
Segment #6: WAW-ZRH on LX (Y)
Segment #7: ZRH-LHR on LX (Y)
Segment #8: LHR-YYZ on AC (J)
Segment #9: YYZ-YXE on AC (J)

Unfortunately after the booking was finished, my girlfriend's plans changed significantly enough that she was now travelling on the same day but, since my plan had now metamorphosed into something inhuman, we found her a completely different route involving fewer stops and no overnights that worked out to be almost €100 cheaper than the so-called LCCs. It was really unfortunate, but we were at least going to get some time together in Poland before a few weeks apart over Christmas/New Years.

The only remaining question, "how am I going to get back from Christmas at home", took some work to organize. I had originally thought about just doing a simple YXE-LHR and hop over to ORK, but since this involves booking a YXE-LHR-YXE return, I did a bit of looking and eventually booked it through a number of tickets and discount codes (thanks again, MG) to beat the fuel surcharges on AC international and pick up some miles to begin the year, as well as set up for a possible trip in July. So part three became:
Segment #10: YXE-YYC on AC (Operated by QK) (Y)
Segment #11: YYC-YEG on AC (Operated by QK) (Y)
Segment #12: YEG-YYCYYZ on AC (J)
Segment #13: YYC-YYZ on AC (Y/J?)
Segment #14: YYZ-LHR on AC (J)
Segment #15: LHR-ORK on EI (despite my best intentions) (Y)

I've broken the trip report down into segments for ease of reading (it's a bit long) and tried to take pictures on the way, but the problem with this trip was that I've done a lot of these segments a few times now, and sometimes forget that I need to document everything really well. Plus, the shortest of these parts was just under 29 hours and at some point my brain goes into pure zombie-travel mode and I just given up taking pictures of everything. Pictures have been added, however they may suffer the same fate as my previous photo attempts due to picasa not liking FT as much as they should. Pictures are now fully tagged and commented, and available here

However with that disclaimer aside, I'd like to present Christmas 2008 in Europe and Canada.

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Where I learn to appreciate holding patterns

Next year, I swear I'm going to do this properly. This "working all day before a trip" thing has got to go. Especially when you're running measurements all day and have to wait for the blasted machine to finish before you can run out the door. Thankfully, though, nothing bad happened and I was on the way home with plenty of time (almost 2 whole hours) to spare. Excellent.

Of course, in those two hours I still had to finish off a bit of packing, wash a few dishes, work away at the rather large reservoir of coffee beans in the machine, and organize how my girlfriend and I would be splitting up the luggage. But as with every year that I declare I'm "going to do it properly", it all came together at the end and the taxi shows up just in time…. or a few minutes late, but who's counting. So quickly crossing the street I'm away to the airport on a Tuesday night.

The second thing I'm going to do properly next year is organize this better, and find a balance between miles and travelling with my now-sleeping girl who won't leave the house for another 11 hours, but will still only get there an hour after I do (theoretically). Long story, but it involved a few schedule changes and the lucky fact that the majority of people going this way would rather give FR (of all airlines) €300 than connect once for a third of that. It actually hurts me a bit to imagine giving MOL that much money, but it usually passes. And she's happy with it, most importantly.

So knowing we're both happy in our itineraries and will see each other in less than 24 hours (again, theoretically), the taxi arrives at ORK at 7:00, one hour before my estimated departure time of 8:00. Or that's when the gate closes. So 8:15. I pay the driver with my mountain of change (due to a shop transaction gone horribly wrong) and book him to do the same run the next morning for my girlfriend. Then I grab my bags and head into the terminal which is absolutely dead at this hour of the week.


A very quiet ORK arrivals area

An aside: ORK is almost always dead. Unless, of course, there's a dirty, cramped charter to Lanzarote departing in the next four hours. Or Malaga, Tenerife, Majorca, or Faro (for the adventurous). But any other time, it's dead. Which is really sad, but that probably explains why BD pulled out and left me stranded in this *A dead zone. But I digress.

Anyhow, there is a grand total of one visible EI employee at the checkin desks, so I hit the machines and in no time I'm checked in. Seat selection: 11F. Yes, right in front of the exit row. No recline for me today, but it's only an hour and it's the closest row to the front with only two. I'll live. Coincidentally, my rowmate gets moved to the exit row (which I couldn't select at the machine) so I have the whole row anyway. Score!

A quick stop at the duty-free to pick up part 1 of the Christmas shopping and a brief wait to read the paper and we're off. Or at least we should be but instead we're still waiting for our aircraft to arrive. Boarding time gets pushed back to about 8:20 and eventually, we're called to Gate 5.

16 Dec, 2008
EI724
ORK-LHR
Airbus A320-214 - EI-DEP
Seat: 11F


Some day we'll figure out what that funny hallway on the front of the airport is for...


On our way

Boarding under the airbridge again (good call saving money by not putting in the other three, ORK) to an EI A320 in a chilly but otherwise dry night. Lots of time for photos on this one, since there's a traffic jam at the door. Soon the light must have changed and we're moving again. I had plenty of time to settle in before the door closes and my rowmate moved back to a nicer seat. A few minutes later and we'd pushed back to where I can remember that seat F doesn't have a view of the terminal if we take off to the east. Oh well. Back to reading Cara as the captain informs us there's going to be some turbulence on the way up but it'll calm down after 20 minutes or so. It does, but not before acting up right in the middle of the food service. Since I still can't come to terms with buy-on-board, I opt for the ambience. Duty free also goes by without much notice, and soon we're turning above what appears to be lights.

The reason for our turning, as is soon explained by the captain, is that the late arrival combined with fog over London means everything is delayed a bit and we're going to be in a holding pattern for the next 20 minutes or so, unless we get lucky. We end up getting a slot in 10 minutes, but not before taking a good look out the window to "see what one can see" and getting a completely new perspective on holding. I could see close to 15 or 20 planes, all circling with us, lights flickering in the sky. It's actually a really amazing sight, with the fog below and lights up above. I'd almost be sad to leave it behind, but that would be crazy! Our turn is up and it's time to fasten seatbelts and leave your chair in its permanently-upright position.

We eventually touch down on 9L heading toward T5, with thrust reversers and everything. The captain apparently does NOT want to taxi. Instead, he wants to… find out that our stand is taken so we park with a really nice view of an Arik A340. For ten minutes. Finally, though, we pull up between a BA 757 and a BD A320 (G-MIDS) and deplane.


Arik A340 parked between T1 and T3

Thoughts on the flight: I booked this because it's the only flight between ORK and LHR. Normally, and particularly on a mileage run, I'd have booked out of DUB with BD however I also didn't want to have to leave in the middle of the afternoon to get to DUB. This means I was left with only one option, because FR to STN or LGW is rarely an option. As far as EI flights go, it was as good as you could expect. It was short and sweet, there was only a minor delay, and my bags almost came off first. And I didn't pay far more than I would like for an airline with no real FFP to speak of. I guess it's good enough for the easy connection.

Next time: Overnight in LHR and snow in ZRH

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Where it all goes off the rails

If I'd ever expressed any fondness for the dirty green mile, it's gone by now. They've taken up the (admittedly horrifying) carpet and replaced it with some kind of laminate that not only looks out of place, but is much brighter than the walls, making the room look even smaller. They've also finished putting up the swing gates to further distinguish the waiting rooms from anything remotely resembling a place you'd want to spend any length of time in. Well played, BAA.

Thankfully, the rest of my Heathrow experience is much nicer. My bags came off the plane second and the rest of T1 has improved significantly over what it used to be. Soon I'm over to T3 to find out the left luggage office is closed (thank you, EI delay) so I head out to T2 to repack and drop off one of my bags, to be picked up on Sunday.

So after a call to try and waitlist my upgrade for my flights on Sunday (at least confirmed on the second leg, read on!) I sit down at the very nice 24h Costa in T1 arrivals to type off this trip report and avoid sleeping. Maybe another wander around the terminals….


The new VS Checkin area in T3


T3 Departures, all decked out for the holidays

Nearer to 4:15, I finally gave in and head over to T2 to take advantage of all that T2 offers. Mostly this includes my departure gate and the LH Business lounge, but also the knowledge that it is more fire resistant than the other terminals. I instantly appreciated my *G card as I wander into the departures area and find the economy line for the LX checkin snaking its way far past the confinements of the barriers. Thankfully, I can take a small step to the left and use this other desk! No sleepily standing in a lineup for me today! Unfortunately I check in to find that my carry on is suddenly too much rollaboard for the tiny planes LX is intending me to take, and I think to myself "oh well, what's the worst that can happen. I have to carry a laptop around Zurich for 30 minutes" and part with my rollaboard. Power cable? Who needs it? I probably won't even get the chance to open the bag in the time it takes to get to Berlin.


I Love T2

Security was a non-event, although for the early-morning rush there's only one lane open. I coasted through, even though the moisture warriors at the entrance still seem to try and ask me to declare my liquids. "I'm only carrying an awful, broken laptop. Does it look like a liquid?", although I'm not going to say it to them directly.

Eventually, I made it up to the still-closed LH departure lounge to wait it out in the queue with a group of unimpressed Brits on tour to South America, or so I gather. It takes what seems to be an eternity to open the lounge, made even worse by the attendant repeatedly unlocking the door to come out with a very small cart and slowly chip away at a mountain of newspapers, only to go back inside and lock the door behind him. It's adding insult to injury, and the growing queue of people was starting to think about mutiny over to the open Alitalia lounge, from where the tempting smell of breakfast was wafting. Finally the remainder of the lounge staff shows up and we're ushered inside. Most people make a beeline for the coffee and breakfast, and spread out into the room. I decide to start with breakfast and move on to coffee later, taking the opportunity to watch the sunrise over the new pier of T1 and some early-morning arrivals. At this hour, though, I fell into the trap of believing the "boarding" announcement and wander down to the farthest gate they can find in T2, where the plane is not at all boarding.

After what seemed an eternity but was probably only 10 minutes, we start boarding this rather full flight to ZRH. It's fairly clear by this point that we're going to be delayed, but maybe we'll still make it in time for my connection. Why did I ever book a connection less than two hours? I can only hope we make it. At least I knew my girlfriend was safely at ORK and on her way as well.

17 Dec, 2008
LX345
LHR-ZRH
Airbus A320

Boarding the flight near the end, after the businessmen and huge families with children, I make my way down to my aisle seat near the back. I get there to find that my seatmates consist of a very small boy and an empty seat between us. No sweat. Kids are fine (my girlfriend says I'm just a big version of one anyway). We don't speak the same language? Still no problem. Before long, though, the man I assume is his father shows up from the back lav and needs to fill that empty seat. I let him in and stowed my awful work laptop because there's going to be no time for it on this flight.

We somehow manage to find a slot for takeoff, although not before learning of the weather-related difficulties in ZRH this morning which are keeping us in London. We won't be terribly late, although they are down to a single runway this morning and thus are a bit behind. Takeoff was smooth and before long we were ZRH-bound and the seatbelt sign could come off. The crew came around pre-service to offer all the children on board some kind of puzzle/game to occupy their time. Our seatmate was offered his choice, however he apparently didn't speak German or English so the FA asked his father.... who actually wasn't his father and was just some random guy after all. The actual parents, seated behind us, helped him pick out a puzzle and he seemed really happy with it for the flight. Not a fuss at all, actually quite a nice rowmate to have.

Service was the standard LX sandwich and coffee, with chocolate served later, after which I decided not to fight my tiredness and slept until we started in on our approach. Of course, while looking for my connection on the screen as we landed I found it under the heading "The following passengers have been rebooked" and realized it was going to be a longer day than I had thought. The trip to POZ was rather tight for connections so I wasn't going to make it on time. Before I could rebook, though, we had to land.

The runway which passes between the terminal and satellite was closed off due to the excessive snow, so we landed on runway 14 (I believe). Completely uncharacteristically for my experience with LX, this landing was flawless. There was no snapping straight as we landed in a crosswind, no heavy touchdown, and no physical bouncing like the last time I landed at LHR. I was really impressed with this landing! We took our time taxiing to the terminal, however, as snow removal was in progress on runway 10 and we needed to wait for the trucks to pass. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of this pass, but there would be another chance later.

It turns out Seatmate the Elder was slightly better off than me, however he was still rather worried about the possibility of missing his flight. He was on his way to a funeral in Cairo and only had a small connection window. I tried to assure him that with weather like this, the odds of there being a delay were pretty good, and he had no luggage so he could run to the E gates. I don't know if he made it, but when we got off the plane it was obvious he wan't going to give up without a fight. Good luck, funeral guy! If you're reading this, I hope you made it!

Seatmate the Younger just enjoyed his plane ride.

Thoughts on the flight: Besides the landing, a few things stood out for me on this very full flight to ZRH. Mostly, the way the crew looked after the children. It seems like a little thing to get them a puzzle or some colouring books, but it does make a big difference if their parents don't have something right away to keep them occupied. The way LX shows connections and missed connections specifically also impresses me, particularly the advance warning of missed connections. It's nice to know you don't have to fight security only to find out there's no point and you've been rebooked. You can plan ahead. I like it. Finally, the captain was very informative about our delay and why we were going to take a bit longer than normal in getting to ZRH. That sort of information is particularly useful. And this wouldn't be the first time I was impressed with ZRH today.


LX Planes in the snow

As I was in no hurry to deboard, knowing my tight connection was no more, I took it easy through the terminal, checking out some of the snowy planes at the A pier. ZRH is a nice airport to transit, and not a terrible place to be stuck if you have status or have deep pockets. And today, I'd get to experience most of it.

Next time: An extended stay in ZRH and on to Berlin

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Screw this, I'm going over there.

Knowing that my rebooking would result in at least an hour delay, I took a leisurely stroll down the hall to the transfer desks to see what was up. Upon reaching the stairs from the arrivals level, I was greeted by a new sight for ZRH. A massive, snaking line stretched from every LX transfer desk, through the baffles, and down the hall about 50m. At best guess, this would be the kind of line that you'd fight for at the very least an hour just to get a boarding pass for a flight you're already booked on. As I've lost absolutely all my patience for airport queues in the last few years, my initial reaction was "Screw this, I'll go do this at the lounge." followed closely by "I should take a picture of this".


The line for rebooking flights cancelled by snow. Yikes!

Unfortunately for today, I had miscalculated something seemingly small. The lounge staff at the SEN lounge can not, in fact, fix rebooking problems. "This is something," they tell me, "that you'll have to go down to the transfer desk for." "Curses!" I say to myself, and grudgingly head back to the transfer desks. I found a place at the back of the queue and settle in for the long haul. By this point I'm certain that I'm going to miss my train, however there's another in a few hours so it should be okay. I'll still get to Poznan before it's too dark.

After a few minutes' waiting I see the second event of the day that makes me glad that I flew with a real airline instead of giving MOL undeserved cash. I saw the station manager (or so I assumed due to his suit) come up to one of the baffles and personally take a woman with a baby out of the line and process her on the spot at the only empty LX desk. Just like that. It was something I can't recall seeing before, and really stood out as an example of what I would consider good service. Now if only they had that kind of service for *G passengers, and my day would be saved.

Actually, why don't they have a queue for *G passengers? "That's really odd," I thought to myself, and started looking around to see why they don't. And only then did a small sign catch my eye just under the Business Class screen. Something something something...looks like M&M Silver, it read to my less-than-stellar vision at a distance. Well that's odd. They seem to have one for M&M Silver... did that something something something mean StarAlliance? Finally, I just though it was worth the look so hoping that the guy behind me would hold my spot, I cut around the pillar to see that yes, it did include *S passengers... and the desk next to it was for F/*G pax! And there was no queue! Consider this day saved. The agent first asked for my *G card and let me know that the next flight to TXL was cancelled, so they'd get me on the 17:00 flight instead. Well, at least I'll get there, right?


Christmas Decorations in ZRH

So with the booking out of the way and a surprise 5-hour layover, I let my GF know that she should go on without me and I'd find a new way to get to her parents' place, then headed back to the SEN lounge for a shower before working out exactly HOW I'd be doing this. Now I realize that to all the people still fighting the rebooking line this wouldn't sound like a problem at all, but the showers in the SEN lounge aren't particularly-well controlled and I realized that at least one or more people had used the room without bothering to let anyone know, and then just walked away leaving it in quite a state. There was one clean towel left, though, and despite my best attempts to sound so, I'm not too uppity to just give'r. So I just went with it and locked the door on the way out so at least they'd clean it for the next person (on the way back it was much improved, so I blame the snow).


A beautiful wintry afternoon in ZRH!

With a significant layover remaining, I jumped online thanks to the internet stations in the SEN lounge because my laptop was almost out of power and the cord, of course, was in my bag underneath the airport somewhere. Despite not "knowing how to change the Swiss Kezboard" and not caring if my z and y kezs were inverted, I worked out there would be a train from Berlin to Piła, arriving at 2:30 AM. This is actually a much more convenient service for where I would be trying to go, except it arrived at 2:30, however my girlfriend's fantastic parents offered to come out and pick me up, avoiding a 4-hour wait in a train station! Excellent! So with that out of the way, I had to kill another few hours at ZRH.

Although I didn't take any pictures, I spent the remainder of the time having lunch, playing Gran Turismo on the PS3 (nice one, LX Business lounge!), and exploring the terminal. I finally discovered the *A lounge down by the B pier and had some great coffee and sausages there, although I hear it's scheduled to be taken over by LX in the near future, so I don't know if it will be the same place the next time I'm back to ZRH. The remainder of my time was spent back in the LX SEN lounge before it was time to go.


My ride to TXL, parked in the snow


Boarding time

After some hours of seeing everything I could in ZRH today, I headed back down to security and up to the gate, stopping to grab a few pictures of our LH Cityline BAe jet before boarding. The gate area was rather full with a number of flights to various destinations boarding at the same time, however it was still plenty manageable due to it being ZRH and not LHR T2. I do not like LHR T2, in case you hadn't figured it out by now.


An only-partly-boarded flight to TXL

17 Dec, 2008
LX (operated by Lufthansa Cityline)
ZRH-TXL
BAe 146-200 - D-AEWD
Seat 8A

Soon after I arrived at the gate, they began calling special assistance and then priority boarding, so I was on in no time and back to my window seat. Due to the rebookings and cancellation of the last flight, this was going to be a completely full house to TXL. While waiting for the rest of the passengers to board I took some time to read the Lufthansa Magazin, as I knew I'd probably sleep this flight away as well.

Once boarding had finished, we took a minute before pulling back to the deicing pad. Once that was completed, we headed out and once again were delayed on the taxi due to snow removal on Ruwnay 10. This time, though, I was able to get a good look at the clearing crew: an impressive 11 snowplows at once. The picture only does it justice in part, since we managed to sneak through the middle of the crew. But it's still interesting to see how places outside Canada handle snow. Once we were through, though, we headed back to runway 14 for takeoff. Shortly thereafter I fell asleep for the majority of the flight. I woke up on descent into TXL, roughly on time. The landing was fairly normal and before too long we were taxiing out to our stand.


Half of the snow clearing team at ZRH

Thoughts on the flight: As it has been a few years since I've been on LH, it was interesting to experience one of their smaller planes again, although the seat pitch was a bit tight. Also, 3x3 on an RJ is not exactly the lap of luxury, however I guess it gets the job done on shorthauls. For an hour where I was able to sleep away, it was fine. Plus, since it was booked as a LX codeshare, I was able to get full miles for it as opposed to the zero I'd get were it booked through LH only. For a mileage run, this is generally a positive aspect.

Next time: Berlin to Piła by DB and PKP

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay.

As the flight parked at a bus gate, we all piled off the plane and onto the bus, which then made a lap around a baggage cart and returned to the plane so someone could run back to check on something. Apparently it was unnecessary, though, since he was back on the bus shortly thereafter. This time we managed to leave the stand area and headed in to immigration, which was handled in a small corner of Terminal A. From there one simply had to head up a few stairs to the main terminal and out to the bus area. Roughly knowing where I was supposed to be heading, I managed to find the bus to the Hauptbahnhof. Conveniently, it was leaving in a few minutes so I didn't have to wait terribly long.


The bus from TXL to the Hauptbahnhof

After a 20-30 minute trip on the bus, we arrived at the Hauptbahnhof where it was time to figure out how to get on the train to Piła. Thanks to the incredibly helpful reservation agent at the DB Reisecentrum, we managed to work out a way to get there from the HBF.


The Schönefeld Airport Express at the Hauptbahnhof

Due to my internal clock being a bit mixed up, though, I thought I was two hours ahead of where I should be, so I jumped on the train to Lichtenberg only to find out I suddenly had two hours to kill in the almost-empty station. Oh well, time for food. Of course this led to some interesting discussions with the woman working in the cafeteria (apparently I've been mixing the odd polish word in with German lately) and an hour across the street at a very conveniently-located internet cafe. Soon, though, it was time to get on the train to Warsaw which would be passing through Piła.

17 Dec, 2008
Berlin-Lichtenberg - Piła
P449 Stanislaw Moniuszko




The PKP Stanislaw Moniuszko, departing Berlin Lichtenberg

Due to light loads from Berlin, I found myself in a totally empty car for the first half of the trip until we reached the Polish border. This was great, as I was incredibly tired and just wanted to relax. Sleep, however, was dangerous as there was no descent to indicate we'd be arriving at Piła, and I wasn't ready to go to Warsaw yet. Plus I had been warned that travelling alone in a cabin at night isn't a great idea, although a simple mugging wouldn't have made for half the story that transpired.

Once we arrived on the border in Kostrzyn, the train filled up considerably. Apparently a lot of people live right on the border? At this point there were very few cabins completely free and I met my first cabinmate for the trip. The guy who arrived was probably over 60, swore constantly throughout the trip (hey, you always learn those words first), and suited up like he was going to church. Of course, he soon struck up a conversation in between the constant cursing. As he quickly determined that my polish is rudimentary at best, he resorted to the universal translation trick: speak slower and LOUDER. And as bad as that sounds, it works occasionally. So the universal translator in place, the next thing he did was to grab a pair of beers out of his bag and we were going to drink and have a chat. As much as I don't smoke, I don't have a huge problem with people around me doing it so long as they go with the "One cigarette at a time" rule pioneered by my brother's old housemate. So we sat in the nonsmoking cabin, now very much not, and had some beers and talked about the world in a language of which I only have a marginal grasp.

It turns out he used to be a lumberjack but certain occupational hazards of the job got in the way. Thanks to the effects of gravity on timber and a failure in personal protective equipment, it seems he took early retirement. He was heading to Warsaw because, well, there's no work and everything is really expensive, and all the kids are moving.... somewhere to get work. The world is going to hell in a handbasket, basically. Apparently he also lost all his documents at some point (this is the part where my translation could be sketchy, or it could be the sleepless beer talking), or this was what he told the conductor when she came to check up on us. Strangely, she was completely fine with the beer and cigarettes, and strangely noncommittal about his documents. I guess she was mired in economic depression as well, and these were just minor things. Oh well. I was starting to enjoy our ride.

Time for another beer, and nearer the end of that one we got a few more cabinmates, this time in the form of some other random guy, another retired gentleman, and what appeared to be the retired gent's son. Again, dressed up sharply (I like that about Poland) and ready for the overnight into the city. Conversely, though, they all actually spoke Polish and launched into a heated philosophical discussion with the Lumberjack. I guess they were getting along okay until the conductor, apparently her life changed through the joy of a good work ethic, took a renewed interest in her duties and came back to check on us. The Lumberjack had still not found his documents by this point so the conductor took him aside to help him look for them. He came back a few minutes later to get his hat (it must have been cold in the corridor) and resumed the search with her. We never did see him again, so I guess they were really hard to find.

Now I swear I don't know how this keeps happening, but I managed to fall asleep in the few hours between my new friend leaving on his search and arriving at Piła. I even took a walk around the carriage to try and stay awake but it wasn't enough. But even stranger was the fact that I woke up just as we were pulling into the station! Yikes! So packing up as fast as I could, I jumped off the train and soon found my ride waiting! Hooray!

Finally, after a 20-minute drive and further chat in an only-semi-familiar language, we arrived at our destination only hours late! But at least now I could spend a few solid days with my girlfriend before it was time for me to fly home for Christmas. Next year, we're definitely doing this better.

Next time: Polish Domestic with EuroLot

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Quebecois est utile dans des places weird, en?

All too soon after arriving, it was time to leave again to continue the trip home for Christmas. So reluctantly getting all my stuff together, I headed to the train with my GF to make the trip down to Poznan. This would be another excessive transit, not made better by the fact that we wouldn't see each other until I got back home in January. Hopefully next year we'll be able to organize it a bit better but for now this would be a long trip. Thankfully, we had a few hours in Poznan to relax and we could take our time getting from the train station to the airport, then having some lunch/coffee before the flight.

I don't have any new pictures from the regional PKP service but this train was the "Express" and as such featured actual cabins as opposed to the open car style. There weren't too terribly many people on for the trip, but we certainly didn't find an empty car. Think of something slightly worse than the train from Berlin-Pila, and that would be this train. Connections to the airport were handled via the dedicated "L" bus from Pozan Glowny, a trip that was substantially shorter than I would have expected.

Thanks to this short service, we made it out to the airport with time to spare. Checkin was handled at the *G desk, although there was virtually no crowd today and my bags were tagged to WAW without a problem. Thanks to the benefit of POZ being a small airport, were able to wait landside until boarding was called for my flight (as I've become exceptionally slack when it comes to small airports with no discernable airside lounge). The security line for domestic departures, however, was empty and the gate immediately visible from the other side, so the trip through took minutes and we could wave good-bye for the whole time.


The POZ departure lounge

I had only minutes to survey the terminal before I made it through to the bus gate where we then waited around for the remaining few pax to arrive. I could have stayed longer, if I had known it would take as long as it did, but at least there was no worry of missing the bus. Eventually everyone was on board and we headed out to the plane.


Boarding the bus to our plane

20 Dec, 2008
LO3944 (Operated by EuroLot)
POZ-WAW
ATR42-500 - SP-EDC
Seat 10A

A minute later we arrived at our plane, an ATR-42 and boarded. From experience with the ATR and booking well in advance I had a seat nearer the back with a window, so there was no real hurry to board. Instead, I was able to have a look around on this foggy afternoon with a LH Regional Dash-8 402Q taking off to what I believe was Munich. Maybe next time I'll be on that one, or at the very least it is looking like this is how the next big mileage redemption is going to start.


Our plane, ready to board, with a LH Regional flight departing behind.


Loading luggage on the ATR42, combi-style

Boarding was a fairly quick affair, and before long we were pulling back off the stand. We took off to the west and broke through the clouds into the sun. Soon afterward, the service started and although I was able to express how much I would like some water, eventually the FA asked a question I wasn't ready for and my limited Polish was ineffective. The passenger next to me, however, went with the standby of "Do you speak English" although once she found out I was Canadian, we just stuck with French for the remainder of the flight (although French would not be a language where I would claim to be proficient). It turns out she was Polish, married to a guy from France, and taking their two young children to his parents' place for Christmas. Eventually the FA came back to pick up any trash on this short run.


Rainy takeoff from POZ

So after a great chat with my seatmate, we started our descent into WAW. It was a relatively short descent, notably that I was awake for this one. Soon we were back under the clouds and touched down smoothly, although I don't recall what runway. Unfortunately, we were also back on stand which meant another bus ride to the terminal.


On the stand at WAW, heading back to T2 to pick up bags.

Thoughts on the flight: I have no problems with EuroLot. They run a simple service with newer planes, and are generally comfortable and timely. The flight was also a bargain at only Ł30 (using the LO currency bug to save further), one of the better AC mileage earning opportunities in Europe. Would I fly them again? Most definitely! LO has never disappointed me yet and I'm happy to keep using them. Just like WAW itself, LO can be surprisingly nice.

Speaking of that surprisingly nice, there are also some interesting touches to the new WAW. Particularly, domestic arrivals are handled through T1, but you still have to go through T2 in order to get back to T1 to get your luggage. I could see why they want to do this, as it definitely underscores the major improvements made with T1, however directions are not particularly well-labelled in either Polish or English and it took some time to figure out where to go. Luckily, my bags must have gotten lost as well, because I still got to wait for them. They turned up in the end, and I was took a walk upstairs for checkin to the next segments.

Next time: Back to Zurich and an overnight in the terminal

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Contents may have shifted during flight

What I had not counted on for this leg was a maximum advance checkin time. Initially this was planned to be four hours to minimize any weather disruption, however LX doesn't even open checkin until two hours in advance which left me sitting in the terminal for a few hours, as I didn't think it was worth it to head into the city for that short a time, even if it is relatively cheap. So I took a wander around the land side of WAW, although didn't find the viewing tower, as it was already getting dark out.


Wesołych świąt w Warsawa

Eventually check-in was opened and I was able to get through into the terminal as a whole and down to the Bolero lounge to continue the wait in a more comfortable environment.

The Bolero lounge, much like WAW itself, really speaks for the 21st century Poland. This whole airport may have taken too long to finish, but it's clean, efficient, and modern, with a little bit of a relaxed atmosphere. Specifically to the lounge, though, at this time of the day it was absolutely empty, with about only 4 other pax spending the quiet evening there. Thankfully, the fridge was still stocked and there was some sort of dessert, although nothing terribly substantial. I slowly worked through some of the selection, but ended up with Zubrowka vodka (specially brewed with grass from a nature reserve in the northeast of Poland) and some snacks. Due to the low numbers, I found a quiet corner with a leather chair facing the window. Interestingly for a lounge, it was located on the ground floor with a direct view out to the tarmac, although a bit of a different view than normal. Tonight there was a SU Airbus parked at the nearest gate, although I didn't manage to get the reg off of it due to more pressing matters... more Zubrowka.


Quiet corner of the Bolero lounge

Eventually, though, I decided it was time to head up to the gate (unfortunately rather early) and remove myself from the temptation of further vodka. The flight was a bit delayed in ariving, however by the looks of things either I was really early, everyone else knew enough to wait, or this was going to be an empty flight.


Non-Shengen area of WAW T1


Our flight, with an SU departure behind

20 Dec, 2008
LX1353
WAW-ZRH
Airbus A320-214 - HB-IJS
Seat ??

After a rather lengthy wait at the gate, we finally boarded the flight and it was apparent was going to be an empty flight; there were possibly 15 people on the plane, including a few Swiss frat boys who were taking advantage of the cheap drink to be found in Poland. I decided that it wasn't a terribly important thing to be on the plane first today, and boarded nearer the end of the queue, only to find out that of all the empty seats that the Swiss guys could have taken, mine was one of them. It wasn't even an exit row! Of course, it's not like there was a terrible lack of space so I just picked a window seat farther back and stretched out.


Extremely light loads enroute to ZRH

With such a small load, we were underway in short order. At this hour, traffic out of WAW was small and we were able to taxi straight onto to takeoff in the light rain. After the roll, the lights came back on and the crew started the service. A few minutes later they came around with chocolates, practically insisting that we take as many as we'd like, as I guess they were a bit overstocked for the load tonight.

The remainder of the flight was uneventful, we followed the southern border of Poland before crossing into Germany and then over Zurich. Watching as we came in, the city seemed much less snowy than a few days ago. Finally we touched down into ZRH and exited out to one of the farther gates in the A pier, one of the last flights of the night it seemed. Eventually the seatbelt sign was turned off and even though the FAs clearly mentioned (as they always do) that you should take care when opening the overhead bins, a particularly large bottle of vodka made a leap for freedom and found its way onto the ground from one of the frat boys' overheads. Thankfully for them it stayed intact! I can only imagine how they were going to deal with more than a litre of vodka soaking into the carpets of an Airbus. Ever thought the cleaning fee for a taxi was expensive?

Thoughts on the flight: This was another great flight with LX, made better due to the substantially low load resulting in nothing but space on the flight. The crew was professional and pleasant as I've come to expect from LX crews. In all, it's just as good as I've seen on LX, and they continue to be a solid choice for intra-europe.

The next big challenge to my LX experience, though, is the overnight in ZRH. This is a relatively common although unfortunate occurrence, as all the flights to DUB leave early enough in the morning that it's impossible to connect from outside and thus an overnight is required. Normally I've booked the Ibis Messe, however this time I decided that it would be just as worthwhile to find a nice spot in the terminal, as it was only me staying and I could always just tough it out until the lounge opened in the morning. I'd have plenty of time to catch up on sleep later in the day anyway... ideally.

Now as far as overnighting in ZRH goes, the process is simple. Just don't leave the airport. The terminal shops basically close down overnight but there are plenty of open places to sit, particularly near the piano bar on the main floor. There aren't a lot of food choices overnight, but a few things stay open semi-late. Translation: I could have bought something at Burger King until about 11. My biggest problem was that the battery on my work laptop wasn't of the greatest quality (that laptop thankfully since-retired) and it was apparent that the only power adaptor I had which would work in the airport was the one I had purchased in the airport the last time... and left in Poland. Luckily, way down by the B gates someone had decided to leave their adaptor plugged into the wall. The outlets aren't exactly in the greatest location, though, so after a few hours of sitting on the floor, I gave up on playing games online and decided to instead just sleep.

For some reason, everyone who had the same idea to sleep also all decided to cluster around the piano bar on the main floor. Down the hall near the B gates, however, (off in the direction toward the *A lounge) there was an entire seating area that was completely empty. So I stretched out across a few chairs and got a couple hours sleep in before 6:15 rolled around and the Swiss Lounge was opening for the day.

Remarks: ZRH would be one of the first airports I'd choose to do an overnight transfer in if it's required. Not to say I prefer overnights but they are an unfortunate hazard to this sort of thing. Thankfully, ZRH is well-equipped for this sort of thing with relatively comfortable chairs (with no armrests) and plenty of space to get away from the crowds if it's necessary. The music is a bit omnipresent and there are no reasonably-placed power points, but if you plan on sleeping there are plenty of worse places to try and sleep (cough cough Heathrow). Would I do if it weren't just me? Probably not. For €50 the Ibis Messe is still worth it

Next time: Zurich to London Hong Kong and a reunion with my luggage

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Trouble Brewing

After a shower and breakfast the new day was much more bearable, so I busied myself in the SEN lounge with repeated tests of their Nespresso machine and the Straits Times, because why not read a Singapore paper in Switzerland when you're going in the opposite direction? And who knows where I might be in a few years? Soon my flight was boarding, so I took my leave of the SEN lounge for 2008 and headed to security. Lines were short, even this close to Christmas, and the gate was only a few minutes' walk away. I arrived and just merged into the line as boarding was starting for this rather full flight to LHR early in the morning, again thankful for not having to worry about any boarding announcement past the first.


Our flight at the gate, waiting for departure to LHR on this much-less-snowy morning


Empty rows, which won't remain so much longer


A neighbouring A330 loads next to us for its next departure

21 Dec, 2008
LX316
ZRH-LHR
Airbus A321 - HB-IOF
Seat 36A

Being one of the first to board has its advantages, especially when you're in a window seat near the back, as I so often tend to be seated with LX. This time it meant there was a few minutes wait before the crowds made it back this far and started filling up the plane (I thought it was a bit odd later on, but it's almost like we boarded front to back this time). The weather was still making a bit of trouble, though, and we ended up waiting for a few connections and latecomers. Past the empty middle seat (thank you, seat blocking) was a guy who just got off a connection from India and seemed a bit tired/stressed that he wouldn't make it to whatever he was heading. He kept asking the crew for something to drink or eat before we took off, possibly diabetic? He eventually moved up farther toward the front after takeoff leaving me with possibly the only free row on the plane.

The service on this flight was again right up to LX standard, although it took a bit longer than the last flight, what with the difference in loads. After the chocolate course, I settled in to watch the IFE and was a bit disappointed to notice that Tom & Jerry seems to have been replaced lately with another one of these hidden camera shows. Not that I dislike them as much as a lot of stuff out there, but Tom & Jerry is just more universal. The Road Runner would also be acceptable. Soon, though, landing cards were distributed and we started our descent into London.


Sunrise over Europe somewhere

As one of the few LX flights I've remained awake for, this was definitely up to service standard, although definitely not as smooth a process as the flight the night before. This could possibly be attributed to loads, but it's good to know that even loads don't particularly hurt the standard on LX as far as I've seen. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try them again in the near future, but this depends more on where we're heading in 2009. More on that in a different TR, if the opportunity arises, I guess.

We landed rather smoothly on 9L, uncharcteristically smooth for LX it seemed, However this was damped by the view from the window as we taxiied past the SQ A380 parked on stand at T3. Unfortunately, it would be a few hours before I was in T3 and this first required a walk through T2... At the back of the flight, as well, this was less exciting than normal.


Finally I get to actually see the SQ A380, as opposed to just the top of the fin hiding behind a terminal

Once we had parked at gate and the doors were opened this was no less apparent, with the queues at T2 security longer than I'd normally wish for. Thankfully, though, they moved quickly and I was soon at a desk where the agent took a look at my passport and made a comment that would define the rest of the holiday. "Canadian, are you? Did you get caught in the snow?" I really just had the presence of mind to say "No, that's coming up next!" but he had no idea how right he was going to be for the country as a whole! For three days I'd been hearing from my parents about all the weather problems in YYZ recently and trying to get me to reroute through YYC to avoid them, but I had stood by the winning trifecta of reasons for taking my chances and keeping with a connection in YYZ:

1) I had a better chance of upgrading through YYZ and had already confirmed the YYZ-YXE segment.
2) Going through YYC would mean I might not make my miles total for the year.
3) I don't much like Calgary.

So with an 8 hour layover in London on the original plan, I first ran out to Left Luggage in T2, grabbed my bag, ran over to T3, and quickly repacked everything so it would be suitable to check in/carry on. It took a few minutes to get everything sorted and soon I was in the queue to check in. This was, of course, the queue for ExecFirst/*G, so I could be thankful I didn't have to stand in the other line which, by now, was probably half an hour deep. The wait was still an eternity, though, at almost two full minutes! Luckily, the agent who did check me in was up to the usual pleasant standard of AC at LHR, and she confirmed that I was on the upgrade waitlist for the flight, and finished the checkin in very little time at all.

After the few minutes, I once again thanked my lucky stars that I didn't have to fight the line anymore and met up with a friend first for a coffee or few at a nearby Costa and then Dim Sum at London Hong Kong. I'm going to have to make more excuses to do long transits through LHR on a Sunday midmorning for Dim Sum, after this trip. The food was delicious and the view was excellent, overlooking 9L as it was being used for takeoffs including the SQ A380 that I had seen earlier. After Dim Sum, though, I wanted to head back to the terminal a bit early, as I really hoped to get some lounge time in and make it to the gate early to see if I won the aerolotto. So we drove back to T3 and it was time to unofficially start the next part of this trip.


Dangerous driving directions?


The SQ A380 departing back to Singapore

Next time: Long-haul back to Canada on the 763

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: It's a Christmas Miracle!

* Disclaimer: The following section details experiences with London Heathrow that have been determined to be unique to the poster only. Please do not attempt this sort of travel at home. *

Despite my worries about the weather and the upcoming transit, what transpired next can only be described as a series of Christmas Miracles. Having already checked in for the flights that day, I got dropped off outside T3 departures and meandered my way into the AC check-in area to see how the line was doing. Surprisingly, it had slowed down significantly so I headed up the escalator to the security line, bypassing the optional queue point where people line up to be asked if they have any loose definitions of a liquid. Instead, I just breezed on past to the boarding pass check queue or, rather, the complete lack of queue! Past the boarding pass check, the security hall was just as empty. From curb to through security it took a grand total of maybe 10 minutes.

That's not to say the terminal was empty. It was still the last weekend before Christmas. Beyond the shoe scan T3 was as busy as ever so I made tracks to the London Lounge to have a bit of coffee and use the internet for a while. I had some of the usual pre-takeoff drinks as well, and basically took it easy until the flight (now delayed, of course) was called for boarding. As I was on the list for Aerolotto today and with J5 showing four days out, I thought the odds were good and headed out to see if my luck would hold.


Air Canada B767 waiting for the trip back to snowy YYZ

For the first time in my memory our flight boarded from gate 17, the part of T3 that makes the perma-construction pier without ceilings near gate 23 look like T5. In true fashion for LHR, boarding was announced on the screens far before actual boarding commenced, so we ended up standing around in the hallway near the holdroom doors. We then continued to stand in the hallway until a few more passport checkers decided to help the situation and the line started moving more quickly. At the gate, I was welcomed by the agent and directed to another desk to talk to the agent in charge of loads, as he'd be doing the waitlist as well. The second agent took my boarding card and mentioned it was going to be a full flight, but he'd let me know when the flight was closed and they could process the upgrades so I could take a seat in Contestant's Row and relax with the rest of who I thought were upgrade candidates. Three of us had a great chat, watching as every so often a new person would show up and be redirected to the desk and talking about our odds as they changed. One girl was just trying to get back to Toronto, so she had another option later that day (which I knew from compulsively checking KVS was more open) although the other guy was trying to get to YVR to see his son for Christmas, flying on a staff pass. I really hope he made it, given everything that would happen to YVR in the coming days. Eventually, though, boarding started, there was some movement behind the desk, and the second Christmas Miracle of the day happened; I won the aerolotto and was handed a new boarding card for 1K. By this point, the holdroom had mostly emptied and as my partners on Contestant's Row were actually just looking to get on the flight, not necessarily an upgrade, I bid them good luck either on that flight or the next and boarded.

21 Dec 2008
AC849
LHR-YYZ
Boeing 767-300 C-FCAF
Seat 1F

Today's flight was absolutely packed full, and it took a little while to process all the oversells and nonrevs. I spent the meantime with a pre-departure OJ and read the December issue of EnRoute while the plane filled up. Soon we were loaded up and pushed back, assumably taking off via 9L if the runways had changed since Dim Sum. Once the roll had finished and the seatbelt sign turned off, I was able to recline and start a few movies before the crew came around to take lunch and drink orders. I had hoped for a Sleeman's, however apparently they were off the menu since the last time I was up front and the FA came back with a Canadian instead. Normally I'm not a terribly big fan of Canadian, but she'd already opened it and I don't often say no to beer unless it's particularly bad, so I had it anyway, along with a dish or so of the warm nuts.


Temporarily empty 1K on the 763, on a very full flight to YYZ


1H legroom in ExecutiveFirst on the 763

Dinner consisted of a rather excellent Moroccan lamb starter with what appeared to be a cumin seasoning on couscous, followed up by an unfortunately average chicken with a potato and leek side, and something that I can no longer recall (although the vegetables were the better half of this course). Cheese and port followed with coffee and constant top-ups of water. Apart from the chicken, the service was better than average. Cookies and ice cream came later on to round out the meal for the flight.


Moroccan Lamb with couscous


Baked chicken with potatoes, leek, and some other vegetable

I attempted to stay awake for the majority of the flight, however at one point I did accidentally take advantage of the comfortable reclining pods and woke up about 20 minutes farther into the movie. While rewinding, it struck me that even then the crew was refilling my water constantly, probably coming around every half hour whether we needed it or not. They may not have been the most talkative crew that I've had with AC, but they certainly knew their job and performed it without a hitch. It was the kind of thing you didn't really need to ask for, which was definitely a nice change.

Another nice change, and Christmas Miracle #3, was that for once thew new Thales IFE had the moving map enabled! For anyone familiar with AC's Project XM, the moving map has been a fault of the system since day 1, and even if the whole system needs fewer reboots, I've only seen the moving map work once since the project started three years ago. As far as the airshow goes, it's definitely a huge improvement over the traditional airshow, apparently akin to the NZ system, although I can't quite understand who at Thales or AC decided to okay the suggestion to put famous shipwrecks on the world map. That sort of thing just seems like it might cause undue thoughts of disasters. Video quality is, however, a substantial improvement over the old system.


The "new" enRoute IFE on board the 767-300. And a good thing, too, since I have a middle row and no window access.


Over the middle of the Atlantic, according to Airshow

After a brief play around with the airshow, I was back to watching a few more movies and otherwise just reclining the seat like it was a La-Z-Boy and making the most of this time. I did notice that the row 1 pods on the 767 have a few places where they don't fit as nicely into the rest of the plane as they should, with a bit of foam sticking out in odd places. I guess they just aren't quite as polished as the 777s which came with the pods first. Beyond the few little quirks, I quite liked the centre row on the 767, though, and found it a bit more private than the 777 centre seats. I can only suspect the A seats on this plane are even more private, with nobody facing you directly at all.

After three movies and an episode of Mythbusters, though, there was just time to play with the airshow until we landed in Toronto, only slightly behind schedule. The weather had apparently improved during the day and all the worry of the past few days about weather delays vanished. Just a bit of blowing snow remained which hardly had much of an effect on the 763. We pulled up to gate 713 in the T1 hammerhead and soon were disembarking into the terminal.


Just about back in YYZ, before the IFE is turned off for landing

Thoughts on the flight: This flight, filled with Christmas Miracles, was an interesting AC experience. I can understand that some people (read: people who aren't me) have bad experiences with AC and dislike the service standard they set. An aspect of the service today came across that way at the beginning, where the crew seemed a bit unfriendly and/or aloof in their job. By midway through the flight, however, my opinion had changed for the better, after some friendly chats with the crew and the exceptional service. I understand it's not the same class as one would expect from an asian carrier, however everything was already happening when you realized you wanted it and some things were done before you even realized you would have liked them done, which I think makes for a great flight experience. You don't have to ask, it's just done and done well, which I find more relaxing on a longhaul and much more valuable than the "seat and a smile" that you might look for in short-haul Y. The trip was incredibly relaxing as my first westbound in ExecFirst. In some ways, it was better than the eastbound (as will be compared later) just due to the slightly longer flight time and the different requirements for the westbound. I had more time to play with the much-improved IFE and airshow, and the feeling in the cabin was different, with more people opting to stay awake and more light for that reason. I also enjoyed the 763 pods immensely, quality control aside, but I'll have to wait until the 333s are finished before I can claim a favourite pod configuration (hopefully this year I'll have the chance).

Upon disembarking, I took the quick walk down to immigration and walked straight into Christmas Miracle 4: there was absolutely no immigration queue at YYZ at all. It was a case of go straight to the front of the room and be directed to a desk before even arriving at the yelow line. I did take the time to comment to the agent how great it was to travel today and she basically commented "that's great to hear, but you should have been here five minutes ago!" and she was right. The baggage hall was a zoo. Almost every belt was packed with people, mostly infrequent travellers from sun destinations by the look of it, crowded around the belts like cattle at a feedlot. Luggage suffering from missed connections crowded the walls behind every belt. Sadly, our belt was no exception and again I was treated to an amazing display of humanity in action as hordes of people swarmed the belt, many apparently on humanitarian missions; pointing out to the person standing next to them that yes, that was their bag that was coming along. I can only imagine how these people survive in life, apparently being unable to differentiate their own property in the midst of the unidentified items of total strangers. And thanks to the efficiency of YYZ baggage handling, I was treated to the directors cut of the experience, waiting through most of the procedure due to my bags being offloaded near-last thanks to the early check-in. But if this is the worst thing that happens to me today, I'm going to sound like an elitist jerk when I get to compare stories about trips back home over this holiday.

I sound like an elitist jerk a lot lately when I talk about my AC experiences.

Anyhow, with my patience with humanity firmly at an end, I plow through the hall and out to the connection belt, marvelling at how long it takes some people to read a sign and put a bag on a belt with the wheels up when you are directed to only one of two belts and the sign is in very large print. Thankfully, it takes five people to sufficiently block the intra-Canada transfer belt and there were only four today, and they were so badly organized that they even didn't have time to spread out to block the 80% they could have. I was able to sneak by on the far right and put my bag back in the hands of the YYZ handlers before heading back up to security, now fast-tracked for my convenience.

Next time: Canada Domestic and finally home for Christmas

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: You do realize Saskatoon is not Mexico?

Sorry for the lack of pictures on this segment. At the end of 30+ hours of travel I just had no more motivation to take pictures of another YYZ-YXE run.

The new YYZ security experience was surprisingly smooth, possibly due to the late hour, so I was through in no time, but not before running downstairs to check on which gate I'd be using (which was a lie anyway, but that's neither here nor there). Then it was up to the domestic MLL for a bit of a snack and some internet, as my phone has never really worked properly in Canada. The agent at the desk welcomed me in and mentioned straight away that my flight would be delayed at least half an hour, so there was no need to rush. No worry now, though, because there was only one flight, so I had plenty of time to kill.

After an hour or so of Sleeman's and Gin+Tonic, I packed up to go but noticed on the way out that the flight was delayed further. This meant that maybe, for once, I should explore the other half of the MLL. The one behind the elevators that I'd never checked out in all the years of doing this. Of course it would have to be the good business centre that I never knew existed! So a bit more forum surfing and it was time to finally head down to the gate, where my flight to Montreal was boarding.

Montreal? Wait, where?

21 Dec, 2008
AC1127
YYZ-YXE
Embraer E190
Seat 2A

Apparently, due to the late departure/arrival of aircraft, I learned our flight had been bumped from its gate to one on the pier. Thankfully, this was just around the corner and only a minute's walk away. I arrived just as priority boarding was called, so it was another case of merging directly into the back of the line and heading on board. Slick.

I had previously reserved seat 2A, in the middle row of the E-190 on the A side of the 1x2 config for this trip, as it seemed quieter and warmer than 3A and 1A respectively. The plane was full today, with a strange number of people arriving from WAW, as I noticed by the LO-stock boarding cards. Turns out they had found the shorter route to YYZ. Why on earth would they do that? The other key demo on this plane was people coming back from holiday someplace sunny, and were letting the experience die hard. From t-shirts to pyjama pants to sandals, they kept coming dressed like they rolled out of bed, if they had slept on the beach. For their sake, I hope it wasn't -35C or anything in YXE (spoiler: it was).

The purser for the flight actually surprised me quite a bit. He looked to be roughly my age and seemed like a former hockey player, but was incredibly friendly and really good at what he did. He also had a fantastic Quebecois accent, something of which I've been trying to cultivate for a few years. I didn't see much of the crew in the back, but this guy was really personable and a dramatic departure from the stereotype (actually, more AC crew are departures from than fit the bill in my experience).

I recall again staying awake until just after takeoff before passing out for a few minutes/an hour, however when I woke up the purser was right on the way to see if I needed anything to drink, and would I like something to eat? I decided to pass on the cold plate and have the chicken salad, which although a touch dry, was good enough for the shorthaul flight, and an orange juice. I'd had enough to drink earlier that evening and was in "attempt to be functional tomorrow" mode. After dinner I just went back to sleeping away the rest of the flight, as the day had finally caught up. I woke up just as we were starting our descent into YXE.

Thoughts on the flight: Although I really didn't experience that much of the flight, the crew I did see (well, really just one or two of them) were not only professional and great to deal with, but seemed like they would have stood out as crew in that other Canadian airline I hear about now and then, that west-something one that everyone always claims has good crew. As well, the J seats on the E-190 are a significant improvement over the CRA, although the strangely-small overheads on the A side threw me for a minute. I'm definitely glad to see the return of YXE to mainline service, though.

We landed about 40 minutes late in YXE and taxiied around to the multiple-airbridge gate, where a number of people were disappointingly returned to the reality of Saskatchewan in the winter as the door was opened. The coldest December in a long time took no time at all in finding its way into the cabin, and I was happy to leave it back outside where it belongs. It then took all of a minute to exit to arrivals and find my brother in the small arrivals hall. It took a few minutes for the bags to start showing up, but mercifully the YYZ handlers had a moment of lucidity and mine was the first one in the line. Score!

As an aside: to the guy in 1A, the one with the blue hair who had to be under 25. What DID you do to get a seat in, as your friends were so amazed, "first"? You had to be on either some kind of Op-up or cert, but I couldn't determine which. Good work if you were on a cert, though. I wouldn't have suspected it at all. Although I do recall seeing you in the MLL, so it must have been something like that.

So as we left YXE for the night, stopping to admire the world's greatest parking machines (seriously, I am going to record that voice some time. It's like they found the least-talented voice actor in the city and only gave him the instruction: speak clearly), I was able to close the book on this second transit of the holidays, now fully credited for 2008. It turns out this was one big Christmas Miracle in disguise, too, as Vancouver was about to experience Snowmageddon 2008 and people would be stranded for days. Thousands of hotel rooms would be booked and more thousands of people would end up sleeping or standing overnight in rebooking lines. I just had to explain to people that the FA brought me a Canadian, but she had already opened it, so I had to drink it or feel bad for sending it back.

I sound like an elitist jerk a lot lately when I talk about my AC experience.

Next time: Part 3: Off to Calgary on Jazz

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: It's a small world without IFE.

As with any holiday, at some point it has to end and we go back to the real world. In many cases, this is via a flight or two or, if you frequent sites like this, six. As I would be travelling alone on this segment I had nothing but time and the ability to make as many connections as I'd like to, while ideally simultaneously maximizing cost per mile and remaining somewhat on budget.

So as the booking proceeded, and thanks to a handy 10% discount code, I had a return path. Due to distances, YEG and YYC are equal prices from YXE, although due to creative scheduling any flight to YEG can usually also be routed through YYC for the same cost. There's also a red-eye from YYC-YYZ, where I could then score a day in YYZ and pick up my flight to LHR that night. It worked out on so many levels. It would only be marginally more than a direct from YXE but add the flexibility of stopping in YYZ on the way back (and possibly combine it with a trip to the east coast in July). It was an afternoon departure from YXE, meaning we didn't have to get up at some inhuman hour in the morning to drive in (250km drive to the airport and all). There were an extra 1000 miles on top of it due to strange routings and with all that extra flying time I could possibly get some work done. Brilliant!

So I booked it all, and then proceeded to spend the next month having to explain to people why on earth I added a needless YEG trip.

Anyhow, four days out, like a trained Aeroplan monk... er, member, I phoned in for my upgrade and got stuck on the phone for 25 minutes. But instead of on hold, this was spent talking to the reservation agent about everything under the sun. She just really wanted to talk! That YYZ-LHR upgrade was just a formality. But she did echo the comments of a different res agent that "tickets on two separate itineraries can't be combined for an upgrade request using the same certificate"..... "well, not unless the checkin agent works some very special kind of magic". So I had at least the longhaul confirmed. Good enough. And back to explaining to people a needless YEG run.

As the day approached, the weather continued in its usual fashion for Canada in the winter. It was cold, snowed a lot, and everybody got delayed. So when it came time to get ready I was a bit anxious about the one failing in my plan: a 53-minute connection in YYC to get to the redeye. Without bags it would be likely, with bags was the kind of connection that, to me, indicates a recipe for failure. But we headed out to the airport anyway to see how my luck would hold.


Arriving in Saskatoon on a typical winter morning

It was a balmy -20C when we got into YXE, and it looked so far like everything would work out. No snow, no real wind, and things were roughly on time. So I got up to the checkin counter and after a lengthy process managed to get checked in all the way to YYZ, but had to go outside and pick up my bags in YEG. Oh well, 5 hour layover. No problem. So we took off for an hour to pick up the last of the stuff I needed in the good exchange rate and some A&W Burgers, since it would be another six months until I'd be back (and A&W was convenient and not busy). Made it back to the airport just as boarding was scheduled to start, and as usual for YXE it was slow. Security took all of 2 minutes and I got upstairs to find that the flight was delayed another half hour. So instead of waiting around, I just ran back out landside and had another coffee with my parents before going back up to board at 1:30.


NW parked two gates over, heading to MSP in the cold, sunny YXE afternoon

07 Jan, 2009
AC8587 (Operated by Jazz)
YXE-YYC
Canadair Regional Jet (CRA)
Seat 01F

During the second round of "fastest security ever", they were preboarding the flight. This is definitely an advantage of small airports like YXE and ORK; just as I got to the top of the escalator, they called elite boarding which meant I didn't even have to stop walking and wandered up to the empty gate and straight on to the plane. I was met at the door by a very friendly FA and we quickly determined that my bag was definitely too large for the underpowered overhead bins, and as I was at a bulkhead it would require a skycheck. So I grabbed the pair of netbooks I was carrying (replacements for the broken-down laptop from Parts 1 and 2) out of the bag and she sent it down to the cold underside of the plane, while I sat down into 01F and waited for the boarding to finish.


Takeoff from YXE and the great views of Saskatchewan from the air

It was a full or nearly-full load on the way out, and takeoff was quick, heading out to the west side of the city, meaning I didn't have a chance to get any really good pictures of YXE this time around. But I had a great chat with my seatmate for the quick flight out and at least determined that there is a solid chance she went to school with a cousin or three of mine. There was the usual Jazz drink/pretzel service and within the hour or so we were on the descent to YYC, with the weather looking a bit cloudy and that tight connection getting tighter.

Thoughts on the trip: As far as shorthauls in Canada go, it was pretty good. The crew were definitely a bit friendlier than you can find on AC, and despite the delay we managed to make up some time enroute. Seeing as I actually don't mind the small planes (I'm not terribly larger then average) I have little trouble save for the one or two times I forget and stand up too suddenly. And the bulkhead was sufficient legroom. A tiny bit of turbulence on the way up and down, moreso on the way down, and the landing was particularly smooth. I don't really expect much on these shorthauls and although I had to finally break down and gate-check something, it wasn't terribly difficult and the bag was off very shortly after landing. All in all, a fine AC shorthaul.


Calgary, with the weather taking a turn for the worse

Next time: Dashing up to Edmonton

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: In a one horse open sleigh.



I took the next two hours and relaxed in the Maple Leaf Lounge in YYC, probably about 60% full but substantially better than it used to be and great for AC spotting.


De-icing fluid is green, apparently


C-FYNS on stand to.... somewhere less wintry?


Sunset at YYC

A couple coffees later and a great chat with my girl at home, and it was getting about time to head out again for YEG. So, cutting it close, I meandered down to the A gates only to find yet another 20 minute delay. In the spirit of the day, I said "no point waiting" and headed back up to the MLL for a Crown Royal and fruitless attempt at computer jiggery-pokery. And right on 20 minutes later headed back down.


Air Canada Domestic (Pier A) at YYC


Central Mountain Air Beech 1900D departing for either Edmonton or Lloydminster

07 Jan, 2009
AC8152
YYC-YEG
De Havilland Canada DHC-8-301 - C-GNON
Seat 05F


AC Jazz Dash 8, boarding for Edmonton

This time I was prepared and had the laptops out of the bag so I could just skycheck it right away. It might have fit under the seat, in hindsight, but oh well. For a 40 minute flight I don't really need anything. The flight today was another full house, which for a Dash-8 isn't terribly many. Boarding was a rather hurried affair, as they were obviously trying to make up time, and before long we were taxiing out. No stopping for deicing on this one, we just headed straight out to 10/28, from what I could make out from my seat, second in line for takeoff.

As quiet as the Dash-8 seems on the ground, it definitely makes up for it in the takeoff. Whether or not it's worse than the ATR, it has a rather stronger cabin-shake. Sitting directly next to the engine does not improve this.


Departing from YYC, to return in a few hours?

Engine noise aside, the flight was even shorter than the last one, clocking in at only 40 minutes. There was a pretzel/water service by the relatively-friendly-but-a-bit-exhausted FA who probably could have done with less delays in her day. I can't fault her job, though. She was good at what she did and was certainly not ready to drop responsibility just because they were a bit late. After the service, we started our descent into YEG. It had darkened up a fair bit, but the weather was still fairly calm, so I was thinking maybe this might work.

Thoughts on the flight: There's something about the 1980's styling of AC's Dash-8 that I miss in a way. It was the first real commercial airplane I've travelled on and for all intents and purposes hasn't changed significantly, even in service. Nothing spectacular, but I guess it's the nostalgia factor talking. And really, for what it is (a flight to replace what is usually a sub-2-hour drive) it serves its purpose well. I'd wedge myself into that seat again, and very well might in the near future.

But now it was time to grab this bag and get it rechecked as far as possible. Luckily, the skycheck cart was waiting for us when we got off the plane and the priority tags roughly worked, so the wait was minimal for once. Now to see how the rest of this trip would play out and if my connection would become an issue.

Next time: The plan comes apart and then together again on the Red-Eye to Toronto

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: "A very special kind of check-in magic"

The wait to recheck my bag, as a contrast to the day, seemed to take forever. Or, rather, I ended up in line behind a family with about 6 people and a thousand boxes wrapped in tape, and a lot of agents busy or disappeared. Soon, though, an agent returned, I got through to the desk and plans changed rather abruptly.


Landside at YEG, rechecking my bags

As was pointed out by the agent, the odds of me making my connection in YYC were slim to none. Luckily, there was a YEG-YYZ redeye as well, and she was already working on rebooking me on it by the time I asked if there was such a flight. And I guess I can give up the 500 miles for the return if it means making it to Toronto. And she got me a window seat at an exit row, a definite improvement over my seat from YYC! Score!

She then asked if I had my YYZ-LHR PNR and did I want my bag checked all the way to LHR? Well...... sure! I don't really need to get to it, so why not? Now in a moment of clarity, I asked if she needed to see my upgrade cert for the YYZ-LHR segment too. They often do, so it doesn't hurt to ask.

It was at this moment that she proceeded to work "a very special kind of magic" and linked my ticket numbers together and waitlisted the redeye for the same upgrade, something that up until this point was to me as imaginary as a unicorn, or Irish Summer. And although it wasn't confirmed, it was a substantial improvement on the plan. So worst case scenario now was an exit row window, best case is an upgrade and better sleep. Good deal!

So a quick trip past some very relaxed CATSA agents (everybody seems to be happy on a Wednesday night) and up to the lounge for a few hours of internet surfing and further failure to fix the bluetooth stack on my laptop. And some soup/snacks/wine, of course. Also had a great chat with the guy in charge that night who was not only friendly, but actively friendly. First a virtually-empty terminal, then really nice CATSA, then more great AC staff? I'm going to travel on Wednesday nights more often!


YEG Maple Leaf Lounge


YEG Maple Leaf Lounge

Eventually, after I had finished writing up the first part of this TR, 11:30 rolled around and it was time to head to the gate, as the MLL was closing. Thankfully, I was able to find a quiet spot around the corner from where they're building a new Chili's in the concourse. Before very long, though, I get the page to come up to the gate. Apparently the upgrade waitlist is fairly wide open, and I'm going to have a good night's sleep (or as much as you can have on a redeye). It should also be noted that the Gate Agent was one of those unbelievably friendly people who just talked to everyone, and seemed to be doing her job impeccably, even when it looked like every 5 minutes she had to remind someone that no, we are not boarding right now. But she definitely is an asset to an airline with a reputation for surliness, and should at least be recognized in some way.


YEG Concourse

Our crew, sadly, is another victim of the weather, and we end up boarding a few minutes later, due to their flight getting in late. But maybe only 15 minutes after the scheduled time, we're boarding after repeated apologies from the gate agent for the 15 minute delay.

08 Jan, 2009
AC158
YEG-YYZ
Airbus A321-211 - C-GJWN
Seat 02A

The crew that just did the fastest turnaround I've seen in years welcomed me on board in the priority group (as I secretly wish they could teach the agents at DUB how to do priority boarding at all, let alone properly). I parked in 2D, my assigned seat and sooner than later my seatmate was there. Eventually, though, it was apparent that the cabin was going to be half full, so I jumped over to 2A, mostly for the window seat.


A bit of snow on the window, some de-icing should fix that

Takeoff was going to be delayed rather substantially, since we had spent long enough on the ground to require a deicing, and apparently there was some mechanical issue that needed to be resolved. After a few minutes, the FA came around to ask if we wanted to be woken up for breakfast, to which I declined. Sleep would be a priority here.

After a few more minutes of waiting, I dozed off until we were just about to take off, then waited until the seatbelt sign was off before reclining and passing out for the night. I woke up a few times, once to the smell of eggs and almost reconsidered my decision to forgo breakfast for sleep, but dozed off again and completely missed the whole thing.

When I woke up the last time it was time to start our descent into YYZ. A medium taxi later and we were at the gate, way out at the far end of T1, down in the 120 gates. The crew and I said our good-byes and it was time to kill 14 hours in Toronto.

Thoughts on the flight: I've never been in Exec on the airbuses before, only the CRAs and E-90s, and the styling is slightly different. There's more room, a bigger centre console, and generally a more spacious feel, although the recline is smaller than I would have suspected and the 2x2 seems odd, as I normally go for the single seat on the 1x2 config of the other planes. I can't comment on the food, but the crew was pleasant and efficient, and again certainly does not at all live up to the reputation AC has in the west (this is a very good thing). I can't normally justify burning certs for domestic J, but maybe there's something to be said about Latitude fares and SWUs.

Next time: Toronto, and the trek back across the Atlantic in ExecFirst

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Foreign Languages Part Deux: Dobra służba
Or: The mysteries of YYZ baggage handling

After briefly pausing to consider if I should be saying good-bye to my bag, now waiting in the bowels of YYZ for 14 hours, the first stop was left luggage. Back up to the departures hall and I found the office, hidden inside a shop. Not exactly a purpose-built office, but it works. The two people working at this crazy hour were both distracted with work and talking, so I wandered up to the other counter and asked if I could drop off a bag. No problem. Then I actually started listening to their conversation, which was distinctly not english. But at 7am on little sleep, it took listening to their choice of radio station to narrow it down. Polish!

Only by chance, my total for the day was $4.20, and the guy asked if I had 20 cents. I did, but in a moment of cultural lucidity I remembered I had 20 grosze in my pocket. So in the best polish I can muster at 7am (and it's still amazing it even came out comprehensibly) I told him such. Suddenly I have two of the new best friends ever. So we chatted away for a while before bidding each other do widzeia and one bag lighter, I'm off to the city.


The escalators back to departures in YYZ T1


Toronto Airport Express, departing T1


On board the airport express. The promise of free wifi did not at all affect my decision to take this instead of another form of transport


Really interesting sculture at the Eaton Centre


On the GO bus at York Mills station, heading back to YYZ for the flight home

The trip into the city isn't really of any note, besides the fact that I picked up a Wii Fit board which I then carried around for the remainder of the day and as of London still had not repacked into luggage yet. By 4, however, I was back at YYZ and at this point _very_ thankful that I checked my luggage through to LHR. The lines to check in were a bit of a zoo (not terrible, but I can't deal with lines anymore) and having a boarding pass all ready to go meant it was straight up and through security, who again defied both stereotypes of Toronto and CATSA by being friendly, personable, and even joking around on the job. Nice work CATSA screeners!


A rather empty international MLL on this Thursday night

From there it was a quick run through to the MLL for an 8-hour-late shower. The facilities in the T1 International MLL are definitely up to standard, although strangely poorly-lit. Or there was a switch I missed. Either way, it was worth the trip and I then settled in at the business centre for a call home and some internet work. An hour later and I'm getting tired of office chairs, so it's time to move to a more comfortable spot with a power cord so I can charge my phone/laptop and continue working on some stuff I should have done weeks ago.

Between bouts of work and slacking there is, of course, a stream of beverages and the occasional bite to eat, but not too much for I've learned my lesson about eating when a full meal will happen in the near future. "Don't" is possibly the word I'd use. So I finally stick to my rule and by the time boarding rolls around I'm thinking a bit about dinner. Thankfully we're boarding from Gate 173 which is directly visible from my seat in the lounge. And whether or not you believe the boarding times on the board, there's really not much more convenient than being able to see your gate from the lounge, especially knowing that YYZ actually has some form of priority boarding and separate doors on the 77W for the different cabins. This was going to be fairly stress-free, so I took my time packing up and heading down to the gate, just in time for boarding.

When I got down to 173, the gate was already swarming with everyone and their eight pieces of carry-on, but I found the priority boarding line and merged right in, accidentally cutting off a girl about my age who was sitting in 11K (if you're reading this, I'm again sorry I thought you weren't in the line). The gate agent was already getting a bit short with the hordes of pax trying to bum-rush the podium, and I got a bit worried that this crew might be the one that finally ended my glory run with AC.

Thankfully, from the second I stepped on the plane this flight only served as re-enforcement of why I enjoy flying with AC.

08 Jan, 2009
AC848
YYZ-LHR
Boeing 777-300ER - C-FIVM
Seat 6A

Boarding from 1L, I was greeted by the purser directly, who took a great interest in the little stuffed chipmunk doll sticking out of top of my bag (a gift for the niece-in-not-law-just-quite-yet). Once I explained the story of why there is a little chipmunk in my bag, I headed down to 6A and sorted it out with the pax from 10A, who hadn't realized there were two cabins. No worry, though. I offered to just take his seat, but he wanted to move and I got the fantastic 6A. The only downside of this seat is there's a bit of galley noise but besides that, the seat is extremely secluded and quiet, without a lot of foot traffic on this flight.


Seat 6A on the 77W, with my new travel companion ready to go

Boarding was relatively quick, with a strangely high number of pax in my cabin being mis-seated. Thankfully, everyone was incredibly accommodating and friendly and it was resolved in no time. Unfortunately, we then received word from the flight deck that we'd be held at the gate for a while, due to something about baggage loading, or de-icing, or any of the myriad of problems that seem to plague YYZ as a whole, especially in the winter. But pre-departure drinks were already on the way so I started in on the champagne to pass the time (understanding what AC serves is not exactly "champagne" in the strictest sense) and wasted time on the netbook. We were soon pushing back, though, 17 minutes late according to flightaware. Taxiing took a relatively long time for YYZ, indicating we were probably out at one of the farther runways, although without a map and my memory being less than sharp it's hard to say.


Takeoff from YYZ, with Toronto and Lake Ontario visible below

Before long we finished our roll and the cabin crew was already into action getting the galleys ready and the service started. Official word from the flight deck was that we were expecting some turbulence and eveyone was in a hurry to get the service out of the way. This is okay in my books, since it means more time to sleep. Unlike other flights, the crew came around to take a main course and drinks order without asking about the appetizer. But they had plenty of wine, and they didn't run out of appetizers when they came around, so it all worked out.


The front ExecutiveFirst cabin on the 77W with mood lighting

While the crew was off in the galley, the Purser (Ms. F) came by to introduce herself offically (again), and mention that although she was going to be back in the Y cabin for the duration, she would be personally in charge of making sure the seats were working in their full capacity and mentioned that the IFE can be a bit finicky and they'd do everything they could to make sure it worked. She hoped I'd have a great flight and mentioned again just how much she loved the chipmunk, now sitting on my footrest, then had to get back to the back so they could hurry through this service again.


Red wine and nuts to start the flight

The service started soon after, where I started off with the smoked salmon and grapefruit (a strange combination) which did not disappoint. The salmon seemed to be topped with coriander seeds, which added just a little bit to the dish. A cheese plate, fresh bread and a french red (I don't entirely recall, possibly Chateau Moulin De Mallet, Bordeaux, France) finished off the appetizer course and we were soon on to the main course, this time I went with the roast lamb with carrots and white beans. This was substantially better than the chicken breast on the outbound, with the lamb actually quite delicious and soft. More red wine (the correct type) was offered again and I happily decided to continue. Dessert was a chocolate espresso cheesecake and tea (no coffee tonight) which was again very nice. It wasn't convincingly "espresso-y" but certainly not too sweet like many so-called coffee-flavoured products. I'm going to have to try and replicate it at home. A different FA then came around to a) comment on the chipmunk and b) ask if I wanted more French red or to change to the Chilean. After the French being so good, I figured it was time to give the chilean a try, although it would mean finishing both the water that was there for takeoff and a second bottle brought around later, to stave off the potential hangover effects.


Smoked salmon appetizer with cheese plate


Roast Lamb with carrots and white beans


Espresso Cheesecake and tea

The IFE behaved itself well, although it apparently required a reboot at some point later in the flight for certain rows. The moving map was, sadly, not enabled for this flight. After so many segments on AC TATL with the new Thales IFE, though, I'm getting rather decent at guessing where we are, so long as we are taking off, landing, or over Greenland/Nunavut (hint, Northern Quebec has more trees).


Mood lighting on board the 77W

I had intended to pick up some duty-free on the way back, but there was more word from the Capatain that the earlier flights were experiencing some significant turbulence and he'd be turning on the seatbelts relatively soon, so I watched another episode of some show or another (I don't even recall what it was anymore) and reclined out to try and get some sleep for the night.

It was probably only in the neighbourhood of 2 hours sleep by the time the mood lighting came up and I got the hint of breakfast but knowing that there was a long day ahead and I should be acclimatizing anyway, dragged myself up to a reasonably upright position in time for the crew to come around with breakfast requests. Today would be the standard hot croissant with fruit and yogurt. Normally I'd be all over the coffee, but I hadn't been in the arrivals lounge in a while and still had relatively good expectations about their coffee. So in the spirit of not being dehydrated, I went with the next best thing to Coffee... Grapefruit juice. And then a second one a few minutes later, when one of the FAs came by to see if I needed anything else. So with a good breakfast behind me, I spent the remainder of the flight playing with the IFE and watching the first few minutes of the Dark Knight again. Sadly, not a lot of good movies this month on the IFE, many of them holdovers from December. Or AC has changed when they rotate movies and I never found out. I spent a bit of time in the Mid-J galley talking to one of the crew about the very young child in J (who was exceptionally well-behaved and already more travelled than most Canadians) and flying with kids in J in general. Interesting to get some opinions on it from the crew perspective.

Thoughts on the flight: My overall impression of this segment was great! I thought the cabin crew was incredibly attentive and friendly, and definitely provided a high-quality service, particularly for AC. Some of the little things really stood out, for example how it seemed all of the crew kept track of what the pax were drinking and on a couple of occasions I was asked if I'd like more of what I was having, by someone who I knew had not served me previously. Ms. F was also fantastic as a CSD; very friendly and she seemed to be serious in making sure everyone in the front cabin had as little trouble as possible with a product that has been known for a few glitches in the past. And for the few glitches that did occur (mostly reading-light related) there were both clear attempts to fix them and apologies for anything that was out of their control, such as no duty-free due to turbulence forcing the crew to remain seated for what I understand was most of the time I spent sleeping. Although I think the dinner service was a bit rushed with no port/cheese course, this was minor in itself and actually preferrable due to more sleep time on what was a relatively short flight. The food itself was top-quality by AC standards and definitely great by mine. The was not how I would expect the J product to be, for example, on SQ but it definitely was excellent and one of my best experiences on AC so far. I only wish more people could experience this side of AC, the one where the crew is fantastic, everything runs smoothly, and the service is efficient, professional, and exactly when you need it.


Starting our descent into LHR

Of course, as happens on the way to LHR, we ended up in a hold somewhere so I got to watch more of the movie than anticipated. Soon we were on approach and landed on what I believe was 9L. We taxiied to the semi-new end of T3 and disembarked, this time checking the time as I stepped onto the jetway to finally figure out how long the whole gate-to-lounge process takes this way. Wandering the halls of T3, it seemed like we were fairly alone in the terminal. I think we were catching the tail-end of another flight unloading at the same time, so I had my Fast Track pass ready to go. Upon reaching the immigration hall, though, it was another of those odd LHR experiences and I saved my Fast Track pass for later and only ended up waiting for about 20 seconds for an open desk.


C-FIVM Parked at the gate at LHR T3

At this point, I'm probably the first person down to the luggage carousel less than 20 minutes after deplaning. This is good! Now all I can hope for is that priority tagging works and I can be out of here in under 10. Unfortunately for me today would not be one of those times. I was able to stand around and watch canister after canister come off the plane (luckily for some, the priority tagging generally works at LHR) until after a full hour from landing it was fairly clear that I wouldn't be seeing my bag on this flight. Reluctantly, I slowly headed to the baggage claim desk assuming the worst from my 14 hour layover in YYZ and disappointed that I'd now have to worry about getting it forwarded to my house. On the plus side, it did mean I wouldn't have to worry about the checked baggage limits on EI today, as the shopping in Toronto would most certainly have put it over.

So, with the few other pax-sans-bags I approached the lost bags desk, only to find my bag sitting there already! Apparently although the handlers in YYZ screwed up, they did not screw up as expected and somehow loaded my bag on one of the two previous flights to LHR! If only I had known that beforehand, I could have avoided 40 minutes at the baggage belt, my official least favourite place in the airport. So now in a much better mood, I tried to explain to one of the other passengers in line (who was much less pleased that her bag was nowhere to be seen) that in my experience any time you have a tight connection in YYZ you're likely to lose something. If anything, she seemed to calm down a bit knowing that it's not a unique event. I didn't stick around for the rest of the claim, though, as I was planning on meeting a couple friends in the arrivals lounge who were coming in from YYC on their way back home as well. It was time to head out to see if they made it.

Next time: The End

DJ Bitterbarn

Or: Killing time in the arrivals lounge and a last bit of EI.

When I arrived into the lounge, it was fairly deserted and there was no wait for a shower. I stored my bags with the staff until I'd need to repack them later and after returning to the lounge more refreshed than before, sat down for some second breakfast. While heading over to the buffet for some coffee, I had a great chat with the woman on my flight with the infant in J and eventually it was time for her to head to her flight to MAN, so I finally sat down for some coffee and fruit. Apparently time does distort some memories, because the coffee had taken a significant turn for the worse. I mean, it was rough. But still, it was better than the stuff at work and free, and I really enjoy the LHR Arrivals lounge so I wasn't about to fight the crowds to find a different coffee, so I toughed out three cups (hey, I like coffee). The wireless internet was also being sketchy on the netbook, so I eventually plugged into the business centre's big blue cable and used that one. Unfortunately (as I would learn later) the people I was to meet were delayed off the flight from YYC which caused a misconnect to their flight to ACC and apparently a stay at one of the fine local hotels.

So, in lieu of talking to them, I repacked my bags, crossed my fingers they were good enough for EI, and had a great chat with the lounge matron about practically everything; she works in most of the areas at LHR for AC and had some really interesting stories to tell. I also got some info about the (eventual) move to T1 and what it means for AC, as well as finding out that the Arrivals lounge is very overdue for a renovation which should be done the next time I come through! I suspect it also means new coffee makers, as it was my question of whether they're about to be replaced was what started that bit of discussion. All in all, it's looking fairly good for AC at LHR, although I'll probably be long gone from here by the time it's all done.

However, like all visits it had to end, this time by me looking at the clock and realizing I'd have to get a move on if I wanted to make this checkin at T1. So out the door I went, with now three relatively heavy bags and a stuffed chipmunk, wearing about two more coats than would be necessary for the weather in London. Egad! I've turned into one of THOSE people. The ones with a billion times too much carry-on. I secretly hate myself at this point but I'm also wearing a large fur hat and two coats rated for winter in Canada, not balmy January in London. Hating myself will take a back burner to "baking alive".

Thankfully, the walk down to T1 was as quick as ever (only roughly 8 minutes) and there was a very short line to check in at the new EI desks. This time, the machines worked fine and I approached the desk only to find out that my careful repacking of my bag had only managed to get it down to 23kg, or approximately €21 in EI-speak. Thankfully, the girl working today was much more concerned about *doing* her job than doing her *job*, and she either seemed oblivious to this or didn't much mind. Either way, she made my afternoon knowing that finding room for 3kg out of that bag would have been a monumental task. So having that checked in, I made my way back out to the photo point and on to security. The crowds were light and I was through in no time. Having absolutely no idea where there might be the best coffee on this side of T1, I headed down to the Costa near the old Gate 5 area, only to discover the whole section closed off and the coffee missing; apparently this Costa is the latest victim of the T1 renewal. At this point I could have wandered over to the BD domestic pier or at the very least across the hall to the other BD gate where there was another Costa, but with only a short time to go until I was at home and only Euro and CAD in my pocket, I figured I'd just pass and wait.

So with no coffee in hand, I took the long walk down the Dirty Green Mile to gate 84, where they were shockingly already boarding the flight! Early, even! Thankfully I wouldn't have to spend any more time in this area than absolutely necessary. So making sure I was far enough back that I'd hit the front of the line shortly after boarding was called for my row, we shuffled forward and in a few minutes I was on the jetway and the last flight of this rather excessive transit.

09 Jan, 2009
EI715
LHR-ORK
Airbus A321
Seat 08A


My new travel companion follows all the safety instructions

As I am ever thankful for, I was seated relatively near the front (or as near as the EI Kiosk would let me) in a window seat with an empty row. This thankfully meant space for my excessive amount of baggage, although in defense only the rollaboard went in the overhead. The laptop was able to go under the seat and the coats acted as a bit of a blanket, so I didn't take up a whole row of space. The aisle seat was eventually taken but the middle seat remained open, thankfully, but I still thought my travel companion should move. Even so, he looked pretty comfortable in the seat, almost like the reports I hear of new SQ J, scaled up to big-people size.

Somehow, I apparently have a built-in defense mechanism for short-haul intra-europe flights which causes me to attempt to sleep, particularly while seated in Y. However through pure willpower I was able to stay awake through not only boarding, but the safety demo and the entirety of taxiing to 9R, just to see who's around LHR on a Friday afternoon. Luckily I did, so I could catch sight of both the elusive FI 757 and the EK A380, which followed us down to 9R for takeoff. Also: T1 and a collection of fins.


A lineup of UK-domestic and ROI fins at T1


Heading to 9R for takeoff, past the T3 widebodies


Emirates A380, heading back to DXB


Lineup of flights waiting to depart this Friday afternoon including the EK A380


Iceland air B57 (TF-FIN) departing for KEF


EK A380 returning to DXB with LX and SK in the background


T3 widebodies at LHR


A pair of NZ heavies, probably heading in different directions

Soon, though, self-defense got the best of me and I passed out for the remainder of the flight until the captain announced we were starting our descent into ORK. This gave me enough time to get some fantastic pictures over Ireland in the afternoon, as well as over Cork City, as we were approaching from the north and passing over Blarney and Sunday's Well on the way inbound. I couldn't really see my house from up here, but work is a much larger building and relatively easy to spot. We landed heading south, which means we overshot the terminal and got to make a nice turn in the middle of the runway before heading back to the least-used airbridge ever. Of course, we deplaned under it.


Breaking through the clouds over Cork County


Cork City, on approach to ORK in the daylight


Cork City Centre and Port of Cork (as not seen on TV's Heroes)


Making a U-Turn on the runway


AerArann parked on stand at ORK

Thoughts on the flight: As far as flights with EI go, it was exactly the same as I could ever expect. It was fast, the crew was personable, and the seats were comfortable enough that I could sleep without reclining or mashing my knees into the seat in front (far more than I can say for a certain other Irish carrier). I still can't get over how much more this service is than the flights to DUB, but thanks to no more mid-morning departures from LHR-DUB on any carrier, there's not much more choice. And at least I didn't have to pay for extra baggage. So it was a good flight.

Bags came out somewhere near the middle-end of the load, not before I confirmed that the BD crew that flew out was NOT here for any reason beyond operating a charter (curses, still no return to *A world for me!) and before long I was outside waiting for the bus home. Where normally I'd be all about the SkyLink service, with the amount of bags I was carting around I'd wait a few minutes for the BusEireann service which, conveniently, stops directly outside my front door. And then opens the luggage door into a telephone pole. Twice. However it does stop DIRECTLY outside my door, so no problem with a few extra seconds and door openings. Notably, they also have created Bus-Cam, where you can watch the road on the TV screen in front. Maybe a bit unnecessary, but I have to hand it to them for trying something new.


BusCam on the way back home. Nice!

And so this 45-hour endeavour closes at home, with a great holiday over and two days to relax before work starts again.