On our day of departure, we were given a small extension on check-out until 1200. With cases packed, we lounged in the shade in rather warmer clothing than we had been wearing of late, and enjoyed a last lunch down at the edge of the sea at the Royal Grill restaurant.
At 1430 we assembled in the Foyer along with 4 other guests who were heading for KIN, and at 1435 we were on the road in another nice mini-bus for the trip along the Toll Road. 1625 saw us at the airport [our driver kept to the speed limit!], where we were dropped off at the beginning of the kerbside area
alongside the sign saying BA. I remember this from our last trip through KIN … the BA desks are actually waaaaay down Departures to the right!
* 2018 edit: they have moved the signs, and the BA drop-off is, at last, in the correct place at the far end of the building!
There we found the separate CW bag-drop/check-in line, and were instantly served by one of the senior BA staffers who tagged the bags through to JER and printed our BPs for the 2 sectors. We were also issued our “Club Kingston” tickets, which entitled us to Lounge access and Priority Security.
Retracing our steps back to the far left end of Departures, we entered Security and were directed to the left lanes. Shoes and belts off, iPads and Kindles and cables in the tray, carry-on on the belt and … hello? There’s a problem with my bag? After a bit of conversation and some rummaging around, it transpired that I had 2 disposable lighters in the bag, and they only allow one! In addition, a small book of matches was also confiscated … I guess the rule is “only one means of ignition”, although I haven’t been able to find where that’s promulgated. This now explains why I had a lighter confiscated 2 years ago!
By 1705 we were settled in the Club Kingston Lounge. Loads of seating available, a good selection of cold and hot snacks, and a service Bar. No trouble finding a power point either! And the foodstuffs are re-loaded regularly - they're very good at doing that - I recommend their Jamaican Patties!
We thus lounged, and grazed, until at 1845 we were invited to proceed to boarding. The 5-minute walk to Gate 5 provided some essential exercise, and by 1905 we were settled back in 11A/B again.
Fri 17 Mar 16
BA2262, 1930 KIN-LGW 0920, B777 G-VIIP, Club World, Seats 11A/B
Ah, G-VIIP has been fixed, and is back in service! Sadly the PDB Taittinger could have done with a bit more chilling, but ‘our’ CC and the wee Scottish SCCM couldn’t have been nicer. We were “Gold-Greeted”, comment was made our our disrupted outbound leg, and “I will ensure you get your first choice for dinner”. I like being Gold
There was a bit a barney about seat arrangements: it seems the CC were trying to resolve a couple having been split up. One pax was getting sufficiently excited about it that the First Officer came along to provide moral support to the SCCM as she tried to explain and resolve the issue. I’m not sure if everyone ended up happy, but after some seat-swapping the cabin settled down for the 9-hour tedium of a TATL flight. We pushed back just 5 minutes late at 1935.
Dinner … no Lobster
The swordfish was a bit dry. although tasty enough. We've had much better in Malta!!
The 'Curry' was decidedly bland - I didn't bother to finish it.
After that I/we slept fitfully, crossed 5 time zones and about 4,688 miles of Atlantic Ocean, and in a fairly zombie-like state eventually found ourselves at LGW again. At the Border, the large bank of e-Passport gates was working well: sadly most of the pax seemed to be incapable of operating them! After a couple of minutes it was our turn, and we sailed through without difficulty. At 0955 we were Airside/Kerbside having a much-needed cigarette and feeling frozen in this unaccustomed climate!!
Then it was back through Premium Gatwick, where I was pinged for a secondary scan
again, and to the No 1 Lounge for a brief visit. We again found a couple of small chairs and a side table, so felt we had been quite lucky on this trip. And then I went to the Ladies loo … whoops! During the week or so we had been away, they had switched the Ladies to the right side [3 cubicles] and the Gents to the left … where they had just
also installed 3 urinals to augment the extant 3 cubicles. A very good response to the overcrowding/queueing problems of yore.
And, finally …
Sat 19 Mar 16
BA2772, 1145 LGW-JER 1250, A319 G-DBCE, Club Europe, Seats 2A/C
With our small-ish carry-ons safely “stowed under the seat in front” [which is why we always pick Row 2] we noted that ‘our’ overhead bin was already filled. Clearly some DYKWIA Gold … possibly the one who pushed and barged his way to the front of the queue for boarding? Several of us raised eyebrows and laughed at him when he did that!
And then the simple X-Channel hop - although there was a sick passenger back in ET. The enjoyable “Extended Breakfast” of cold cuts of meat and cheese was consumed, washed down with a small Castelnau that I couldn’t refuse. On arrival at JER we were all held in our seats until the Medics and Fire people had helped the sick passenger off. That delay meant that we only had to wait a few minutes before the bags arrived on the belt in Reclaim, intact after their long journey! Taxi home, unpacked a few essentials and then decided to grab a couple of hours sleep to ensure we could stay awake for the final Match in the 6-Nations Rugby. The final result gave England the Grand Slam for the first time in 13 years … and so we fell asleep, suntanned and contented
Footnote
Sun 20 Mar 16
1203 …. Filed EC261/2004 claim on-line at ba.com for the travel delay outbound.
Mon 21 Mar 16
0804 … BA Customer Relations responded with “The total amount of compensation you’re due is £942.97,.which is.equivalent to €1,200.00 as there are two.passenger included in your claim...I’ve raised a cheque for £942.97, which will be in your name as the primary claimant...You’ll receive it soon.“ WOW, that was quick!!
** Late Edit. BA made little effort to advise pax about EC261, of course, so all the infrequent flyers down the back inevitably will have missed out on a substantial lump sum. That compensation could possibly have covered their fares in Y, for which they had been saving for ages and ages - I feel really sorry for them. Apparently there were some printouts somewhere around Sofitel Reception, but I never found them