Here we go... Aircraft on the BD flights is anything of A319/A320/A321, I have no record... Only hotels of note (for me, anyway) are listed. You can assume half the hotels in Amsterdam should be there too...

January

Alas, a relapse, and too ill to travel

February

A successful 'test flight' that has me back in the air...

1: LHR-CDG BD C 32x
2: CDG-LHR BD C 32x

March

3: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
4: AMS-LHR BD Y 32x
5: LHR-AMS BD C 32x
6: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
7: LHR-OPO TP Y 321
8: OPO-LHR TP Y 320
9: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
10: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
11: LHR-AMS BD C 32x
12: AMS-LHR BD C 32x

April

13: LHR-AMS BD C 32x
14: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
15: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
16: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
17: QQW-XPG ES C TRN
(Hotel Prince de Galles)
18: XPG-QQW ES C TRN
19: LHR-CDG AF C 320

(And I have to break in at this point to introduce a mad dash as part of a 5-hour stopover, into a maternity unit in central Paris, to meet my close friends' wonderful, 12-hour-old baby daughter. The happiest event of the year!)

20: CDG-TAS AF C 319LR
(Le Meridien Tashkent)
21: TAS-DEL HY Y 310
22: DEL-BLR 9W C 738
23: BLR-COK 9W Y ATR
(Malabar House Hotel)

May

24: TRV-BOM 9W Y 738
25: BOM-LHR BA C 744
26: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
27: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
28: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
29: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
30: LGW-BUD BA C 734
(Andrassy Hotel)
31: BUD-LGW BA C 737
32: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x

June

33: AMS-LHR BD Y 32x
34: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
35: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
36: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
37: AMS-LHR BD Y 32x
38: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
39: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
40: QQW-XPG ES C TRN
41: XPG-QQW ES C TRN
42: LHR-AMS BA C 319
43: AMS-LGW BA C 734

Note the subtle change in airline to AMS there. About the time that BD announced their 'New Business Model', coincidentally enough... Still a few more, though, enough to keep *G for another 18 months.

July

44: LHR-AMS BD Y 32x
45: AMS-LHR BD C 32x
46: LHR-VIE OS Y 321
47: VIE-BUD OS Y DH8
(Le Meridien Budapest)
48: BUD-VIE OS Y DH8
49: VIE-LHR OS Y 320
50: LGW-AMS BA C 734
51: AMS-LGW BA C 734
52: LGW-PRG BA C 734
53: PRG-LHR BA C 320

August

54: LHR-AMS BA C 319
55: AMS-LGW BA C 734
56: LHR-VIE OS C 739
57: VIE-TSR OS C DH8
58: TSR-VIE OS C CR4
59: VIE-AMS OS C 319
60: AMS-LHR BD Y 32x

(Another aside here, as I decide to buy a bike, as I used to cycle everywhere, and could use the exercise. At this point, I start commuting daily by bike, but also discover that LCY is within cycling distance of both home and work. I have rarely used public or private transport in London since. A month or so later, and I also buy a bike in Amsterdam, something that really transforms your perspective of the city.)

61: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
62: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
62: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
63: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
64: LCY-AMS KL Y F50

September

65: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
66: LHR-HEL BA Y 319
67: HEL-LHR AY Y 321
68: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
69: AMS-LCY KL C F50
70: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
71: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
72: LCY-AMS KL C F50
73: AMS-LCY KL Y F50

October

74: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
75: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
76: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
77: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
78: LCY-CDG AF Y 143
79: CDG-PRG AF Y 320
(Andel's Hotel)
80: PRG-AMS OK Y 321
81: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
82: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
83: AMS-LCY KL Y F50

November

84: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
85: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
86: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
87: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
88: LHR-AMS KL Y 762
89: AMS-MXP KL Y 737
(Le Meridien Excelsior Gallia)
90: MXP-BKK TG C 345
91: BKK-HKG TG F 744
(Langham Place)
92: HKG-MNL CX Y 343
93: MNL-CEB 5J Y 320

December

94: TAG-MNL PR Y 734
95: MNL-HKG CX Y 333
96: HKG-BKK TG C 743
97: BKK-MXP TG C 345
98: MXP-AMS KL Y 738
99: AMS-LCY KL Y F50
100: LCY-AMS KL C F50
101: AMS-LCY KL C F50
102: LCY-AMS KL Y F50
103: AMS-LCY KL Y F50

And that's me for the year! Unless I find a weekend away over the Christmas/Hogmanay period... But 99 flights and 4 Eurostar rides are more than plenty for one year.

Best Flight: Tough call against the unexpected BA C flight BOM-LHR (rebooked from a cancelled BD award flight), but the TG 345 in C wins it, for the extra size of the seat, the quality of the new aircraft, and the sheer friendliness of service.

Worst Flight: Not through virtue of the airline, and especially not the crew, but there was one LCY-AMS flight that was so turbulent (in that little F50) it was extremely uncomfortable to the point of scary. The sole FA persevered with serving sandwiches and bottled water, despite having to jump from seat to seat, as she couldn't stand up!

Best Airport: LCY. Having rediscovered it, nothing will draw me back to LHR when there's a decent alternative from here. It's small, efficient, friendly, and I can ride there on my bike, and now, the DLR goes there too! Not bad for a city this size...

Worst Airport: BOM international was awful, from the queues, to the crowds, to the especially bad mosquito bites I got waiting in the huge traffic queues to get there.

Best Lounge: The Wing (C) at HKG. The first time I have experienced a lounge this enjoyable and innovative.

Worst Lounge: BA C at BOM. Overcrowded (I ended up giving up my seat and leaving) and badly stocked.

Best Hotel: Malabar House. I couldn't fault it in the slightest. Friendly, laid-back, luxurious and with the best food in town. An honourable mention to Nuts Huts in Loboc in the Philippines, though - wonderful huts and surroundings, pretty good for the equivalent of £6.50 for two.

Worst Hotel: The Cock Inn, Milton Keynes. Yes, the location may not be the most inspiring, and it was a great venue for the wedding reception I was at, and friendly with it. The rooms, though - stained, damp walls, overpowering bleach smells barely masking something far more unpleasant I didn't even want to think about, as well as a pervading odour of lamb fat in the hallways.

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