LONDON HEATHROW to HAMBURG (LHR-HAM) on LH 737-300
London Heathrow is only second to Los Angeles in my personal record of number of different airlines flown to or from a particular airport, and number of terminals used on arrival or departure at a particular airport. Today I am adding both a new airline at LHR and a new (or rather first time for me) terminal, the one current terminal or part of terminal I have not yet used.
LAX 9 airlines - NZ, QF, LA, AA, UA, SQ, AC, LH, BA
LHR 7 airlines - NZ, BA, BD, QF, IB, EI - and now LH
SIN 6 airlines - NZ, SQ, CX, QF, BA, EK
AKL 6 airlines - NZ, QF, SQ, LA, TG, EK
LAX 6 terminals - T2, TBIT, T4, T6, T7, T8
LHR 4 terminals - T3, T1, T4 - and now T2
Between London and my destination today I had many routing options. I chose to go through Hamburg for several reasons. The connections were not in my view risky ones. I'd arrive at my destination in the evening, but not too late (important consideration after the long trip). By not flying nonstop from London to destination I got considerable extra miles and status miles (thanks to generous minimum mileages). Hamburg isn't too much of a deviation from straight line meaning not wasting too many miles of those alloted in the RTW. I get to visit a new airport.
First though, I had to check in at the FCC. They were slow processing the passengers in front of me. I don't like the setup at FCC very much. Each airline has it's own counter and even though mostly (all?) staffed by contract workers rather than airline staff, no agent idling by in any of the other 20 counters can help you. I've noticed this many times before and I'd be annoyed if having made it through FCC security I ended up missing a flight due to slow check in. I've had a couple of close calls and so now I tend to allow extra transit time if I can, on itineraries where I can't or a good chance I won't be through checked already. I now allow a minimum 3 hours and only start feeling comfortable at around 4 hours.
I get issued boarding passes for my remaining flights today as well as for tomorrow (unprompted). Great it means I do not need to turn up to the airport as early.
Having read on FT that the LH lounges are nothing wonderful, I pondered for a moment whether I could use one of the other T1/2 lounges instead. Being tired I decided against fighting the mighty BA lounge dragons and the SQ lounge is out of the question being in a completely different terminal which I cannot access. So I trudge the corridors to the LH lounge. The terminal looks very tired and dire. There are very few flights at this time of day so it is also quiet.
The pier layout is a bit odd with gates on either side. The odd bit is that in an attempt to separate arriving and departing passengers there is a wall down the middle, but with regular openings to allow pax to cross over to or from the gates on the "wrong side" for arriving or departing pax. An odd micky mouse arrangement.
The LH lounge is upstairs. There are 2 elevators, one is open at departure level and locked open (not sure why) and the other is at the upper level. Of course it will not descend due to the other elevator already being at this level. So I climb the stairs instead. The lounge is functional without being stunning. There is a small (and crowded) SEN/HON/First class side and a larger FTL/*G/Business class side. Other than size and slight differences in food and drink offerings they are identical. There is a view of some gates and the FCC. Newspapers. No shower. No computer terminals (only expensive wifi).
I rearrange my carry-ons, now back into 2 pieces. Rehydrate. Scribble some notes for this trip report. I head to the gate at the appropriate time. Looks like the flight is not very full (it was hard to tell in the lounge due to a few afternoon LH flights leaving within an hour or so).
The short flight offers no IFE. Meal is a very tasty feta and tomato salad, rolls, an apple crumble type small desert, some chocolate. The usual tea, coffee, apple orange tomato or blackcurrant juice, wines and beer.
Our taxi is fast - speeding past several departing longhaul aircraft lumbering along in the adjacent taxiway. As we lift off I see both Air NZ aircraft parked up at opposite ends of the "T" of T3 - one the 777-200ER I flew in on and the other the 747-400. Both will be heading back to Auckland in a few hours, one via Hong Kong and the other via Los Angeles.
We get great views of the many estuaries and waterways lining the North Sea along our route. Still I am reminded by the way the view fades out into a grey-brown murkiness how spoilt I am in the Southern Hemisphere with far less pollution than is evident here in Europe even on the finest of days.
The short flight passes quickly and we land slightly behind schedule.