Wed 27 Sep 17
MLA-LGW
BA2645, 1250-1510, A320 G-GATU, CE seats 2D/F
I awoke early [by my standards] to discover some clouds. It was definitely time to go home!
A nice simple journey in prospect, and with our taxi booked for 1030 we had a leisurely breakfast, finished packing and headed downstairs [sorry, in the little lift] to settle our bill. A couple of bottles of wine when our shopping/consumption failed us (€9 each) and our taxi shuttle (€25 e/w). We were seen off by the owner, who we assured we would be returning as soon as possible!
And so to MLA airport, and the BA desks. They have queues! To be precise, they had 3 queues. One for normal check-in, one for Bag-drop, and one for “Club Europe, and BAEC Gold, Silver and Bronze”. Guess which was the longest, and slowest queue!!
Thirty (yes, 30) minutes later we escaped, and clutching our LaVallette cards [issued at check-in, for Priority Security and Lounge Access] we made our way upstairs. Security was extremely quick and efficient, and with equipped with tray-loading similar to LGW. That micro-obstacle sorted, it was time to find the Lounge.
On our last visit, in 2014, the Lounge was off the main Departures area. It is now on an upper level, accessed by an elevator. And it is really rather good! Let the pictures tell the story of decent Maltese nibbles, drinks and seating … including a lovely outside smoking terrace with comfy furniture, equipped with Mdina Glass ashtrays, no less! Great view over the Ramp area, too.
Boarding was via Gate 11, via a passport check, where everyone loitered for a while as 4 wheelchair pax were loading into the high-lift truck. What an undignified way to have to travel
And then the were released to walk across the road to our aircraft on Stand 6, where we resumed our bulkhead seats. Sadly, due to the slightly late arrival of the inbound, there was a ground delay due to a lack of slots somewhere in the ATC system … so the Captain invited pax to visit the cockpit to pass the time. Once the majority had visited, I popped in to apologise for my civil ATC colleagues
Eventually we got going, and discovered that we had another very good set of CC, and with a really on-the-ball CSD. And we were greeted in a Goldly manner again!!
Lunch was ‘interesting’ … everything bar the Main on the tray [with no bread plate this time], but a bit of juggling using the centre-seat tray created room for manoeuvre. And then the main course … Braised Beef and Mushroom Casserole, with Crushed Potatoes and Spring Onions. The Spring Onions had metamorphosed into Broccoli, and the presentation was, on first appearance, horrendous. I ate mine with a spoon! BUT, Dear Reader, it was absolutely delicious! Absolutely packed with flavour … apart from appearance, I couldn’t fault it at all. And the Dessert and the Cheddar were very tasty too!
The almost inescapable Mozzarella and Tomato starter, with the Bread Roll hanging on for dear life until relocated!
And what I called “Beef Soup”, which I ate happily with a spoon
Not much more to say … we flew, and landed at LGW … with rumours of fog developing. Oh, NO … Fog and JER are a bad combination!
And so to the last bit … Through Immigration, where only half the e-passport machines were open. Out through Arrivals to kerb-side for a quick ciggie, and back through Premium Gatwick security … haha, iWife got pinged for Secondary screening this time
Up to the BA First Lounge for a glass of fizz and a nibble of cake, and then off to the Gate for the last leg.
Wed 27 Sep 17
LGW-JER
BA2776, 1800-1900, A319 G-DBCJ, CE seats 2A/C
Ummm … we arrived at the Gate after boarding had started, despite having left the Lounge as soon as the Gate was declared, and thus shuffled on board with the herd. Nothing of note happened, apart from taking off, climbing, descending and landing. Did we even eat the offered meal? Oh, yes, we had the Croque-Monsieur again … this time served efficiently by just 2 CC to 6 rows of CE. Having recovered the case from the Reclaim belt, we emerged into a dark, damp, drizzling Jersey evening to find … no taxis. None at all. They are usually gathered like flies round dung when there’s an inbound aircraft, but not on this occasion. We were fortunately about #4 in the queue, and only had to wait 30 minutes before one arrived!
But that was it, home at last, and very contented.
………..
Afterthoughts.
Malta is an acquired taste. It has a very distinct national character, and Valletta itself retains much of its 16th century character and architecture. It’s therefore best enjoyed if you stop trying to be ‘on holiday’ and try to imbed yourself [as far as anyone could] in the local culture. That means small pavement cafes, tiny shops that seem stuck in a time-warp, and savouring being in a totally different environment from the typical high-rise concrete holiday destination. Eat local food, drink local wine, and relax! Oh, and try to learn a few words of Maltese, like "Hello" (
bonju) and "Thank You" (
grazie hafna)... it's always appreciated, and shows you've made a bit of an effort with a staggeringly complex [and ancient] language!
The weather, as you can see from the pictures, is usually lovely for much of the year. Apart from the night and morning of thunderstorms [and very heavy rain] we hardly saw a cloud, and enjoyed temperatures in the low-80s F [27º C].
We will undoubtedly return, and have established 2-way comms with the owner to facilitate that. And, with only 4 suites available [and only one with its own terrace], I’m not going to jeopardise future availability by telling you where we stayed
BA lived up to it’s usual variable reputation! On this occasion we had excellent CC on both the Band 4 sectors, which was a pleasant surprise … especially as they do this rotation as a back-to-back, which makes for a VERY long day at the office!
The Hilton at LGW(S) seemed glossy in the Public areas, but I have to say our room was somewhat battered.
Oh, the icing on the cake was the return leg to LGW, which clocked up enough TPs to renew
Gold status for another year
That was done with just ANU (Jun), OGG (Aug) and MLA (Sep) - all in Business, of course! We will now take a deep breath before CPT (Dec) on a 2-4-1 and a gratuitous, sale-tempted, KIN (Mar) to finish the Membership year! Our everlasting thanks to the Flyertalk community for showing us how to do all this stuff affordably ^