This flight was the first segment of my Etihad award ticket to Doha. While I could have dropped this segment and just picked up the Etihad A380 flight in London, I would have incurred a change fee on this award and the award I used to fly to Paris for changing the origin/destination of the respective tickets. To add insult to injury, I would have been forced to pay the UK APD as my ticket would have originated in London. So no thanks. Besides, I got a day in Paris out of it, so it was well worth it.
After entering the terminal, I got turned around trying to find the British Airways counter, but I eventually located it. Check in was processed efficiently, and then it was off to security and immigration. I didn’t realize until after I was past security that the joint British Airways and Iberia lounge was actually landside near the check in counters. With less than hour until departure, it wasn’t worth heading there. So I setup shop in the gate area and took advantage of the free wifi offered by the airport. And of course, I did a little plane spotting as well.
Air Europa E190
Aigle Azur A320
This was actually the very OpenSkies flight I booked my dad on.
Boarding was called beginning with Business Class followed by Executive Club and
oneworld elites.
British Airways 333
Paris Orly (ORY) – London Heathrow (LHR)
Depart: 10:55 AM
Arrive: 11:10 AM
Aircraft: Airbus A319-100
Seat: 2F (Business Class)
Although it has toiled for British Airways for almost 15 years, our aircraft, G-EUPK, looked brank spanking new on the inside as it had undergone BA’s latest cabin improvement program. The new interior looked quite sharp and even had a “new plane smell”. However, once I sat down, it became apparent that newer isn’t better. Keep in mind that intra-Europe Business Class, or Club Europe in British Airways parlance, is just an economy seat with a blocked middle seat and a meal. This was one of the worst seats I’ve ever experienced on a plane. Its padding was far too firm, and the seat pan was short. To make matters worse, seat pitch was tiny.
Push back commenced on time, and after a quick taxi and take roll, we were climbing out over the suburbs of Paris.
Flight attendants were dinged out their seats almost immediately after take off, and they got hard to work preparing for the service on this short 41 minute flight. Service upfront began with a drinks run. I ordered a mimosa.
A continental breakfast, consisting of a cold cuts and cheese platter and warm rolls, was offered. I wasn’t hungry after my huge breakfast, so I just picked at it.
We soon went feet wet over the English Channel. The sky was clear when we took off from Paris, but clouds started building up not long after we flew past the French coast. By the time we reached the middle of the channel, there was a thick overcast layer.
Surprisingly, there was no need to hold, so we flew direct into Heathrow. The undercarriage settled softly on the concrete runway, and after a short (for Heathrow) taxi we parked at our assigned gate a minute or two ahead of schedule. I thanked the great crew on the way out and then made my way into the maze that is Terminal 5.
I was eligible to use the Fast Track lane at immigration; however, it wasn’t so fast as several longhaul flights arrived around the same time. I finally reached an immigration officer 40 minutes after I deplaned. Unlike my
interaction with UK’s Border Force last year, this officer was far more affable and approachable. He shook his head after looking at my itinerary and again when I explained the “why”. Fortunately, he still admitted me into the UK and even gave me some very helpful tips to getting to my hotel, the Hilton London Heathrow T4. Following the immigration officer’s advice, I hopped on the 482 local bus which dropped me off at Terminal 4 free of charge. Then it was just a 10 minute walk to the hotel.
Mid-morning departures are the worst. Although the flights themselves are scheduled to leave at what looks to be a decent hour, they require waking up at fairly early, but not early enough to beat rush hour traffic. My Etihad flight, scheduled to depart at 9:15 the next morning, fell under this category. So I decided to stay at the Hilton over my preferred choice of staying with my friends who lived near Greenwich. It certainly wasn’t cheap at 98 GBP (~$146) for a one night stay, but the premium was well worth it as the hotel was actually connected to the departure level of Terminal 4, which Etihad operates out of at Heathrow.
The hotel itself was a nice modern facility with an atrium style design, kind of in a mold of an Embassy Suites. A lovely agent greeted me as I walked through the entrance, and then proceeded to check me in On account of my Hilton HHonors Gold status, I was upgraded to a deluxe room and granted access to the Executive Lounge, which was located next to the check in counter.
I was assigned room 407, which was an atrium facing room.
The room was of decent and had a pretty cool looking modern décor. I’m not quite sure what made this room as “deluxe” as it sure looked a heck of a lot like a standard room to me. That said, it was clean and comfortable, and that’s all that I ask for.
I had purposely scheduled a long layover so I could visit my friends, whom I haven’t seen in awhile. As I mentioned earlier, my friends live near Greenwich, which is a long ways from Heathrow. However, they still kindly offered to drive all the way out to Heathrow to meet me. While waiting for them in the front of the Hilton, I discovered a cool feature of the hotel that would warm any avgeeks heart: runway views. Had I known beforehand, I would have brought my long distance lens. But I was still able to get a few good shots with my 35-55mm lens.
My friends arrived shortly afterwards. The first order of business was to make sure the American goodies I had brought over made it safely into their custody. Now that the transaction was completed, we headed into Central London. We had a great time catching up over “linner” and a few pints. As my friend’s husband had just gotten his private’s pilot license and was quite an avgeek himself, we got into a few aviation related conversation which I’m sure elicited an eye roll or two from my friend. Time flies when you’re having fun, and all too soon it was time for us to part company. Instead having me take the Underground back to Heathrow, my friends offered me a ride back to the hotel, which was very much appreciated. T and K, thanks again for the hospitality! Hope to see y’all again soon!