PART THREE - THE LONG JOURNEY HOME
Eight days seemed surprisingly long, considering we usually go to VA for 3 weeks. However, the days and hours passed pleasantly by until that sad moment when things such as OLCI, and packing, and last-minute shopping reared their corporate heads. After basking in 75F-80F warmth, and almost unbroken sunshine, a quick look at the Weather Channel told us it was going to be “Back to Reality”.
INBOUND
Saturday 10 January 2015
AA 0270
B757, unknown registration
First seats 3A/B
0828 HNL-LAX 1555 (5h 27m)
Friday evening … the packing was done (travelling light, only 2 suitcases) and the Shuttle pickup at the hotel by Roberts was scheduled for 0535 [eeek] and outwith our control, so we turned in early-ish. Unfortunately, at 2330, we were woken by the sounds of a room party on the floor below. A peek over the balcony confirmed that a group of Japanese had clearly returned from a night on the sake, had the balcony door open and were generally baying at the moon raucously. A phone call to the Front Desk gained the response “Oh, dear - I’ll get Security up there right away.” Good answer, and sure enough within 5 minutes peace was restored (although I faintly heard them in the distance having relocated to another room!).
Saturday morning, and iWife beat the alarm clock by 10 minutes. What is this thing called 0420? Whatever, the necessary morning functions completed [including a quick cigarette or 3] we were checked out by 0520 and on the mini-bus to the Airport. At check-in our bags were tagged through to LHR [will we see them again?] and again given TSA Pre … I could get used to this!! We thus entered the Sakura Lounge in the middle of the main Terminal at 0615. Now at this point I have to confess to having had what you might call a “white collar job” as an RAF officer, so I have no experience of what a Factory Canteen looks like. But the Sakura Lounge at HNL gave me that instant impression, as we entered the Feeding Zone (I use the term feeding in the loosest sense).
Nourishment, Sakura-style. There was a hot pot of soup if that's your thing at this time of day.
All of a sudden, Baxter Storey and the LHR Lounges looked like Heaven on Earth
Anyhow, we boarded the AA racing jet in a semi-zombie state, pushed back on the dot of 0828, and thundered across the Pacific again … having a brief opportunity to take a snap of Waikiki Beach through the window as we went.
When airborne [this time without the hyperactiveve foreigners] another AA Breakfast was served, again with a bread plate for my warm fresh biscuit
If I remember rightly, this was a Leek Quiche with spinach - yes, that’s green spinach, but the colour didn’t come out as well as it should. Quite tasty, no complaints at all.
And 5h 25m passed, reading our Kindles and wanting to go back to bed! But this was no flat-bed luxury, this was AA Domestic First. Whatever! We arrived back at LAX at T4, slipped outside [marvelling at the poor signage, and grateful that I had memorised the airport layout] to indulge in our dirty habit before entering the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) next door. It was a lovely California day - the sort you never see in the movies …
Anyway … following the signs to “All Gates” [far right of the TBIT and up the escalator] we braced ourselves for Security without TSA Pre. “Oh, Nice” … theres a lane on the left in the Tensa barrier maze for First and Business pax, so off we go. A TSA Agent is patrolling the lines, explaining what is required … yes, shoes and belts off, laptops and iPads and Kindles in a tray. But all said with immense charm and good humour! The guy was almost like a young hip-hop artist, gesturing and spinning around - but conveying the message clearly, and with great wit. How different from LHR!!
We zoomed through in under 5 minutes, met another smiley TSA Agent whilst stacking our trays, and complimented him on proceedings. He said “Tell that lady over there”, so we conveyed our pleasure to the 3-bar Watch Supervisor and her 2-bar colleague. It was a really delightful security experience!! ^
And so to the oneWorld Lounge, somewhere over to the right and up a level. Not brilliantly signed, but ‘over there through the Shopping Mall’
We watched spellbound for a while as they played laser-projected clips of a Buster Keaton movie [Google that for yourself, kids] on a wall … clever stuff, eh?
… before finally entering the cavernous halls of the Lounge. I won’t waste your time elaborating on that. It had a large Bar, a hot and salad servery area but no sign of small bites anywhere. Strange - no bucket of pretzels or anything. Anyway, we didn’t want to spoil our yummy BA dinner on board the aircraft.
Saturday 10 January 2015
BA0268, booked as IB4662
A380, G-XLEG
CW seats 59A/B
2045 LAX-LHR 1500 (10h 15m)
Gate 150, it says, so we wander in that general direction. Much gathering of random people, not a Tensa barrier in sight, no signs saying who/what/where/when … just the occasional call from the desk, including one for us! Are we upgraded/downgraded/offloaded? No, they just want to ensure we’re here, so have your BP and Passport scanned there, please. My pulse returned to normal. All rather muddled and confusing, but anyway we boarded. Smart illuminated signs tell the pax where to go by seat row number - it’s a shame the one for the upper deck is completely obscured by part of the building, and can only be seen once you’re through the gate! But it’s up the escalator, along the airbridge, and this time we’re at the back of the larger CW cabin.
As readers of the “Best Seats on the A380” thread will know, these are the seats where you can see, and be seen, by pax in WT+. Indeed, they passed my aisle seat endlessly … and then the CC passed the other way, trying to find space in CW for their carryons. OK, it’s not helped by the slightly smaller outboard bins on the upper deck, but “Why, oh Why, doesn’t BA enforce it’s own rules on carryon sizes?”
So … another MF crew, and the two young gentlemen looking after ‘our’ aisle were really excellent. Engaging, industrious, involved, caring … all you could ask for, really. I was a lucky recipient of the latest iteration of the CW amenity bag … the unisex one, without the $0.10 razor
There’s a longish
thread here on the topic if you’re in to amenity kits in detail!
Pushback at 2100, airborne at 2115, so late already! The F&B service was much better with this crew:
- 2245 Starter and tray
- 2310 Mains
- 2345 Dessert (i had the cheese, and was offered extra biscuits!)
- 2359 Lights out!
Oh, Dinner. I almost forgot!!
The Menu
The Grass Course
Curried Crab Salad - nice!
Beef … yup, it was beef.
Tiramisu … plain and unadorned [pronounced ‘dull’]
And so to sleep. Now I mentioned in Part 1 how quiet the A380 is [at least, where we were sitting]. I have also mentioned in the past the fact that neither I not iWife can sleep on aircraft. It may have been the early start to the day, combined with the 5h:30m flight from HNL and the 4h:50m layover at LAX, but we both slept for about 5 hours.
W00T
AND … the BA Breakfast wasn’t that awful plastic cup of fruit bits in syrup, but a proper fruit plate [accompanied by the inescapable BA Bacon Roll and a cold, dead croissant].
Pass the cream … oh, sorry, this is Breakfast on BA
And then there we were approaching LHR … and holding … and eventually landing and parking at T5C. The usual schlep to the Border, which we crossed with no delay at all, and reached reclaim at 1550. Made 2-way contact with Barry, our regular driver, who had largely recovered from his ‘flu, and then it’s time to drive to LGW. When did we reach curb-side? Can’t remember, but let’s say a little after 1600 … and MCT to LGW is 3 hours, an our flight is at 1810. Eeek! Fortunately the M25 on a Sunday is reasonably quiet, so we made it to LGW in about 40 minutes: as UK travellers will know, that can easily double if anything goes wrong on the M25 or M23.
And so to the last leg of the odyssey …
Sunday 11 January 2015
BA2776
A319, G-DBCK
CE seats 4D/F
1810 LGW-JER 1910
We marched briskly to bag-drop, donated 2 cases in exchange for boarding passes, zoomed through Priority Security (behind an elderly gentleman who was quite unprepared for proceedings], grabbed the essential Duty Free ciggies … check watch … hit BA Lounge for 10 minutes and then head for Gate 54 for boarding. We waited about 10 minutes before boarding commenced, and then … we flew to JER, with a quick Dinner of some cold “Teriyaki Beef on Noodles Salad” thing. i was beyond caring, but ate some of it to show my gratitude to BA for feeding me in CE
Arrived on schedule [Gate 10 again, even the Captain was surprised], a short wait for bags, grab a taxi, home and … collapse! What was that? About 30 hours? And we’re still alive?
Monday was unpacking, sorting Admin, eating some vegetables at last, rescuing The Cat from her hotel and [in my case] retiring VERY early to enjoy 11 hours sleep.
Tuesday was getting on with this TR, while iWife started on the laundry.
Wednesday will be completing Part 4, because I have had enough of TR writing for one day
Back soon