Miami - Orlando (MIA - ORL)
United UA287; 07:00 - 07:57; 07.11.2001
A319-131; Seat: 1A; F-Class
Registration: ?
The Super-Shuttle picked me up in the early morning and drove me to the airport. Check-in was quick. The check-in agent was able to check my luggage through to AMS! He hardly could understand that I'd fly the next 2 days.
My next stop was the RCC. I was surprised after the UA lounges I saw before. This lounge offered also some food: cereals and yoghurt. My stomach thanked the lounge and I arrived at the gate at 6:35. I thought that I would be early but all passengers were already in the plane. The load in C-class was 6 passengers (thereof 3 crew). The seats were great for this short flight. The headrest could be moved up and down.
Push-back was at 6:55. 10min later we were airborne. Soon the FA offered coffee and a supreme nut mix. The approach flight started at 7:20. 15min later we landed.
I spend the time in the RCC. There was no food available but a lot of drinks.
Orlando - Washington (ORL - IAD)
United UA1516; 10:15 - 12:21; 07.11.2001
B757-222; Seat: 2A; F-Class
Registration: N556UA
I was greeted at the door by the FA who already worked on the flight from MIA. She wondered about my strange routing to IAD. The load in C-cabin was 100%.
Push-back was in time. Take-off was at 9:25. Soon the FAs started service. I got a coke and a party mix. That's really not much for a flight with a flight time of 1:45min. At least nobody could complain about food being overcooked.
There were no clouds and I could enjoy the landscape with a load of broad rivers. The landing was quite bumpy. We arrived 15min earlier than scheduled.
I had to look for a new boarding pass for the next flight. Check-in and security was quick, too quick considering the time I had to wait for the next flight. So it was again time for another RCC.
Washington - Manchester (IAD - MAN)
British Midland BD702; 17:50 - 05:50; 07.11.2001
A330-243; Seat: 2K; C-Class
Registration: G-WWBM
I went to gate D29. Next to us was another British carrier: British Airways with a B777. Boarding started with a first call to the C-class passengers. BD has only two classes - so C-class is their premium product. I was greeted by several FAs. The female FAs wore nice hats.
An UA agent helped during boarding. She guided me to my seat and told me that BD informed the arrival lounge in MAN about my upcoming flights. C-class passengers are invited into this lounge. BTW, arrival lounge is an understatement: arriving C-class passengers can use facilities of the airport hotel SAS Radisson.
An FA offered champagne. She showed be the bottle and filled my glass. Later she came again and wanted to refill my glass. I was asked for my favourite drink after take-off. They called me by name during the flight. Hot towels were always brought on a small board and lay never directly on the tray or on a table.
The cabin is configured with 6 seats in a row (2-2-2). The load was about 50%.
BD offered a wide variety of different magazines and newspapers. I got "Newsweek" and "Times". The FA still wanted to offer more.
An FA came and offered an amenity kit. The blue bag was presented on a tray. You can unfold the bag and hang it on a hook. The amenity kit contained a small pad and a pen, socketts, eye-shades, ear-plugs, tooth-brush, tooth-paste, mouthwash, hot/cold compress, refreshing facial spray, face & body moisturiser, lip balm, night get. (The last 4 cosmetical products were produced by SoMo, Molton Brown London). Also available on request were shaving sets, sewing kits, tissues, show shine.
Push-back was at 17:50. The flight-deck informed us about a delay because of high traffic. We were on the 10th place to take off. We started at 18:27. The inboard camera wasn't working during the whole flight.
All seats had IFE (also in Y-class). I found that their selection of games is prior to Singapore Airlines. They offered a broader variety of action, strategy, role playing, dice, card, sport, and puzzle games. But still my favourite channel is the airshow! Our flight path was IAD - Dover - Philadelphia - New York - New Haven - Worcester - Boston - Halifax - St. John's - Belfast - MAN.
Service started soon. I got a party mix in a bowl and the ordered Australian red wine which I could taste befor.
The pursor came and thanked for flying with BD. He asked about the first impressions and if I had got the invitation to the arrival lounge. He also knew about my upcoming flights and we chatted about these flights. After he greeted the passengers he filled up empty glasses.
dinner
the D.C. salad with thousand island dressing
winter vegetable broth
plunged king prawns with cilli mojo
dim sum selection with soy sauce and sweet and sour dip
roast loin of pork caramelised apple, wasabi mashed potato and shredded cabbage
fillet of beef with mushroom stuffing, green beans, grilled tomato and chunky chips
oven baked sea bass, wild rice, vegetables and a creamy tomato and basil sauce
double potato and mozzarella bake on parsnip fritter with stir fried vegetables and roasted red pepper sauce
personal bakery selection
warm cranberry and walnut tart ice cream
American praline cheesecake with whipped cream
lemon meringue pie
cheese plate
freshly ground coffee
Twinings tea selection
hot chocolate
Horlicks
wine list: champagnes
Tattinger Brut millésime 1995, Reims, France
Gardet Brut Cuvée 1995, Chigny les Roses, Montagne de Reims, France
wine list: white wines
Lawson's Dry Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2000, Marlborough, New Zealand
Chardonnay Monterey 1997
wine list: red wines
Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz 1998, Clare Valley, Southern Australia
Crianza Allonzo Tempranillo 1995, Crianza, Spain
Château Moulin-à-Vent 1993, Bordeau, France
other beverages
Sandeman 20 year old Tawny port
Glen Livet 18 years
Courvousier XO
Chivas Regal
In the meantime the cook prepared dinner. The first round started with olive oil (Monte Vilano - extra virgin olive oil), rolls and a salad. We also got a glass of water. The glass was much bigger than usually and was in dark-blue colours. And the cutlery? Plastics only. What a pity. Then I was served king prawns. The plate was huge and contained the chilli mojo on the middle. The prawns were arranged on the edge. My next order was the roast loin of pork. Again the food was arranged very, very appetising and tasted delicious. I finished with the lemon meringue pie and some coffee.
I got a bottle of water for the night and was asked if I wanted to be waked for breakfast.
breakfast
freshly squeezed orange juice
cranberry and raspberry juice
strawberry and banana health drink
fruit yoghurt
choice of cereal, full cream or reduced fat milk
fresh seasonal fruit
Individual bakery selection with preserves and Marmite
choice of fresh eggs from the skillet, fried, scrambled or omelette
boiled eggs, bread and butter
breakfast mint
I was waked up 1 hour before landing. An FA can always wake me up for any food – almost any: BD wrote in their menu "Individual bakery selection with preserves and Marmite" in bold letters. Did they really think that I would eat Marmite again? No. Never again.
Only two passengers took breakfast. The sleeping passengers missed another great food by BD. I started with the cereals. I had the choice of several different cereals. I also had the bakery selection with marMELADE.
The pursor came once again to ask about the flight. Of course I was very amazed and all the other passengers seemed to thank the pursor and the crew, too. After such a flight any pursor may be glad to do a small-talk to the passengers with all the positive feedback.
We landed at 6:00. The gateway didn’t work so we had to de-board through the back door into a bus.
It was a pity that the flight was over. I WANT TO FLY WITH THEM AGAIN. The staff was sooooo nice, the food tasted delicious all those trifles...
Accidentally I met a friend during my way to the arrival lounge. He didn’t have much time, so we went straight into the BD lounge. When he left it was too late to go to the SAS Radisson hotel. Maybe next time.
Manchester - London (MAN - LHR)
British Midland BD585; 08:50 - 10:00; 08.11.2001
A320-232; Seat: 5F; C-Class
Registration: G-MIDY
The passengers were greeted by FAs wearing nice hats and black gloves. I really like these dressing style and it differs from the other airlines.
The load in C-class was 100%. We were offered some newspapers before take-off. The plane taxied to runway 06L. We took-off at 9:11.
The FAs served breakfast: omelette, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, jam, banana yoghurt with cereals. The food was excellent. The flight deck announced decent at 9:27. The FAs collected the trays and asked again if somebody wanted more tea or coffee.
When we arrived at the gate, the gateway didn’t work, too. De-boarding was again through the back door into a bus.
Again I was impressed by BD. The breakfast was excellent. The staff was friendly and did a great job. I really like BD.
London - Amsterdam (LHR - AMS)
British Midland BD107; 12:50 - 15:00; 08.11.2001
B737-59D; Seat: 3A; C-Class
Registration: G-BVZE
I had some time to walk around LHR and went into BD lounge. The lounge is huge, the choice of drinks is standard. Food (except nuts, chips) wasn’t available.
Boarding started at 12:30. The load in C-class was 100%. I didn’t expect such a high load at noon. We were offered some newspapers before take-off.
The flight deck announced a delay because of high traffic. In front of us were planes from Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, British Midland. Behind us taxied the colourful Air Jamaica.
After take-off we were offered a snack consisting of a bagel, two cheese (Philadelphia), onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit salad, sweets and dental chewing gum. The FAs came several times for beverage service. We landed at 15:25.
I went to the luggage claim. It took over half an hour until the bags arrived. I checked them in and got the boarding pass for the next flight to FRA.
Amsterdam - Frankfurt (AMS - FRA)
Lufthansa LH4439; 18:15 - 19:30; 08.11.2001
A320-200; Seat: 5A; C-Class
Registration: ?
The lounge in AMS was quite crowded. Drinks and chips & nuts were available.
Boarding was the usual jumble on LH: there was one call for all passengers. The configuration was 2-3. There was no curtain that divides C-class and Y-class. I never saw this on LH. The load was 100%.
Push-back was a bit late at 18:33. The captain told us about the routing via DUS – Cologne – Limburg – Wiesbaden – FRA.
Take-off was at 18:46. During the flight we were served a cold dinner: salad with prawns, olives, and chicken breast. Metal cutlery was supplied. The food tasted very good. Some sweets were offered for dessert.
In the meantime it became foggy. We landed at 19:37.
Now I had no time any more to go into a lounge. I had to rush to catch the next flight. The next flight has a LH number but it is operated by Ausgsburg Airways - a member in Team Lufthansa.
Frankfurt - Augsburg (FRA - AGB)
Lufthansa LH9856 (IQ); 20:20 - 21:20; 08.11.2001
De Havilland DHC-8 Series 300; Seat: 6C; Y-Class
Registration: D-BHAL
After finishing security I ran the short distance to the gate. The personal was already informed about my late arrival. Then I hurried to the bus and soon the bus started its drive to the plane. I like these bus transfers on the airport because you get the best viewing position.
The bus took a few minutes to reach the plane. Two FAs greeted the passengers during boarding. Normally there's only one FA during that flight. So this time the second FA is onboard to learn. The first overhead luggage storage on the right side contains magazines and newspapers.
Augsburg Airways has Y- and C-class tickets. On board there's no difference and there's no special seating section for C-class passengers. The difference is only price and the possibility to change the ticket. I bought this Y-class ticket additionally to the RTW-ticket. I had reached almost 29.000 miles and had not enough miles any more to fly from FRA to AGB using a RTW-ticket (distance: 155 miles).
With a high status on LH and an early check-in it is possible to get a seat in the first row with more leg room. Today I was too late. I was just glad I had reached the flight. After flying on big planes I always doubt that I can take a seat on such a small plane without using shoe spoons (my favourite seat is 1C (though non-window seat !) opposite to the FA. After take-off I can stretch my feet).
Boarding was finished soon; the safety demo started. The load was almost 100%. The small plane started its way to the runway. Light was turned off. At 20:42 the Dash-8 reached the runway. Takeoff took 25 seconds and four minutes later the FAs were informed that they can start their service. Firstly they opened the cockpit door that remained open until approach. Augsburg Airways always opens the cockpit door after take-off. I regularly fly AGB - FRA and never had a flight with a closed cockpit door.
The FAs distributed packed towels and soon they brought a whole-meal bread with cheese (Camembert) and a whole-meal bread with salami on a small tray. Metal cutlery was on the tray though not really needed. The FAs came two times for beverages.
The time passed very fast and soon the FAs collected the trays and prepared for the approach flight. Short before landing the FAs came with a basket containing a variety of sweets. You can choose from the basket and - you can believe me - it's the same hard decision every time. The FAs really do a great job during that short flight. Everything must work - there's no time buffer if anything goes wrong. I always enjoy the flights with IQ. They offer food (especially breakfast in the early morning flights: whole-meat with cheese and salami and a chocolate muffin) and the FAs are very efficient. AGB is a Bonsai-airport: Parking is for free; it's normally ok if you arrive 20-30 min before departure (yes departure, not boarding). Security is thorough, too.
The last minutes were a bit bumpy and we arrived at 21:21. A bus picked us up and drove about 50m to the terminal. The van transporting the luggage arrived at the same time. Luggage claim is directly from the van. Very soon it was clear that my luggage wasn't there. I went to the luggage claim and they told me that time was too short to ship my suitcase onto the flight to AGB. The luggage was expected to arrive tomorrow morning. They promised to call me the next day.
I went to the car rental and luckily got a car for the last 80km to Ulm. The first snowflakes came down. At 23:00 I arrived at home. Now I was really tired and looked forward to a long sleep. Unfortunately the night wasn't long. Augsburg Airways rang at 9:00 the next day and told me that they would bring my luggage 1 - 1.5 hours later.
[This message has been edited by LH738 (edited 01-05-2002).]