Index to previous Genius1 trip reports

This will be my fourth and final trip report for 2012. A few months back BA had a pretty good premium sale, with particularly good prices for shorthaul Club Europe routes. In need of some TPs for the first time in a few years beyond my usual travel pattern, I booked a night in Istanbul, a city I had been contemplating visiting for some time. IST is a ‘Band 4’ route in BA language – one of the few longest CE routes that most agreeably earns BAEC members double the amount of tier points when compared to other shorter CE routes (ie. 160 return, instead of 80).



Unfortunately, the only flights available that suited my dates included the third earliest BA departure from Heathrow of the day to any destination, at an eye-watering 06:20. At least this would allow me an afternoon in Istanbul, despite the 2 hour time difference.

It was a stupidly early start for me from my West London apartment, arriving at Heathrow via the Long Stay car park at around 04:45. I picked up some Turkish Lira at the Travelex store at check-in when it opened at 05:00, and proceeded through the completely empty Fast Track lane at North Security with my iPhone boarding pass. So efficient was I in undressing myself that the security agent commented I must fly a lot…

I was the second person into Galleries Club South, and managed to snap a few images of the deserted space before grabbing a bite to eat from the mainly continental selection. The sole hot items were porridge, toast/pastries and bacon/mushroom/tomato rolls. A lounge manager was patrolling the lounge and asked whether I was comfortable.























My flight soon showed as departing from T5B, and so a few minutes later I was ensconced in the Galleries Club lounge in the satellite building, which was busier than the T5A lounge due to a number of early morning shorthaul departures from T5B today.







Boarding was hassle-free through the Fast Track lane. Our A320 today, G-EUUB, had 4 rows of Club Europe, and I was seated in 2A. Cushions, blankets and headphones were on each CE seat at boarding.

After take-off, the efficient crew handed out hot towels, before offering magazines. The drop-down LCD screens showed a BBC News update, followed by a film (the new Bourne movie, IIRC) that I was unable to watch due to the headphone port at my seat being inoperable. I didn’t really mind as it was too early for me to be watching a film, but did mention it to the crew so that it could hopefully be fixed on return to LHR.