Journey – LCA-LHR
Flight no. – BA663
Class – Club Europe
Seat – 1F (no seriously this time it is 1F)

I have a relaxing but exceptionally hot day travelling to LCA from PFO (and I actually plan for this and wear a throw away t-shirt on the journey to the airport and dump it in the lounge). My mind is not 100% in the game as a couple of last minute purchases are left in the car to be forwarded on to me. I remember the last time I transited through LCA-LHR-HKG-SYD (BA-CX-CX) I had trouble with getting boarding passes all the way through. This time I am pleasantly surprised to get BPs all the way to the SYD (although the J BP on QF HKG-SYD is hopefully going to have a fairly short lifespan ). I wonder afterwards is the combination of BA-BA-CX is the trigger for that.

LCA has a much improved exterior over my prior visits there but that does not extend to the check in area which is as ugly as ever. I am quickly through immigration and security – I do feel a little out of place with my focussed experienced* passage through check in compared to the lobsters in shorts and flip flops . The LCA makeover doesn’t extend to the Cyprus Airways lounge which is still a stinker. Sadly the smoking section of the lounge seems to have been expanded rather than eliminated I jump on line using the lounge computers (of which there are 4 or 5 which is not bad) to catch up with AFF and FT and to PM Kiwiflyer regarding my experience of LHR transfers.

Boarding is scheduled for 16:30 but “starts” at 16:10 so I make my way to the gate to join the large queue to go through the gate into the holding pen before catching the bus to the Aircraft. This time my rollaboard doesn’t fit into the overhead end on over seat 1G (it fitted end on over 1A outbound) so again I feel a little guilty about my hand luggage challenge – but again thankfully there is sufficient space in the overheads for everyone**.

Again I fell asleep on take off and missed the “hot” towels but I was at least awake for drinks The Pomery is actually quite nice and is served with some delightful little canapés – a vol au vent, pork on bread and some brown thing. It is as I look at the canapés that I realise I have left the gift from my mother in car – a Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker.

They are showing OOTP on the 10cm main screen which does slightly devalue the cinematic experience. Dinner is chicken with tortellini but strangely drinks are served once all meals have been served. Which basically means that I have finished my main before a glass of wine is served???? Now it is not about getting jeremied it is just that I don’t have anything to drink with dinner at all – not even water….

I continue to watch the movie which thankfully (despite the reduced cinematic experience) is over 2 hours long. I reflect that although the screen is small I am actually more comfortable than when I watched it at the Odeon Marble Arch when it was first out at the movies. I mentally prepare myself for the transit/lost property reclaim/ F lounge and then sleep for about an hour. As with other seating choices on this journey this choice leaves a little to be desired. The bulk head is not great for my 6’ 2” frame but I will concede that I am this time not subject to recliners!

After landing I am thinking of being first off but as I reach back to grab my rollaboard someone pushes past me so my careful plan of 1F getting me out first is slightly scuppered As we deplane I am sublimely confident and relaxed. I know I will have two bags through FCC and will be picking up my laptop and will be in the F lounge shortly.

I see that FCC has no queues and politely enquire about the location of lost property….



I am told that lost property is landside so I will have to immigrate, find lost property and then – horror of horrors check one of my bags through to SYD! So it is off immigration behind some very large queues and after some difficulty I find lost property – or at least what I thought was lost property…



Lost property actually turns out to be the left luggage area as lost property closes at 7PM. Did I arrange for the item to be left here – umm no. Ahh then I will have to call lost property in the morning or call back the next day to collect it – a little tough to do when I live in SYD…

So with that knowledge I troop back to check in, safe in the knowledge that I just immigrated and am about to check a bag for absolutely no reason at all With more than the occasional curse muttered under my breath I pass through the very nice R zone (a first for me) which I see takes you directly to the lounge – a nice touch.

In the lounge I am so depressed that I almost don’t bother with a glass of champagne – but I manage to force one down (the options of white or pink are given – and looking down, noting that I am not wearing a skirt or dress I opt for the white). I jump online and update AFF and FT with my latest baggage trauma.

I duck out of the lounge for a few minutes to grab book three of the Wheel of Time as I forecast that I will finish book 2 probably about an hour outside of HKG***. Back in the lounge I check whether my QFF points balance has reduced and sadly at the moment it is still on 75K which means no sign of an upgrade yet…

There is just time to force down some shiraz before heading to the gate



* Ok based on current performance I will accept some element of debate on my interpretation of “experienced…

** That is not to say that everyone was actually in the overheads just a small Albanian family that seemed to be smuggling their uncle into the UK. I wasn’t sure it was politically correct to advise the Cabin Crew of this so in typically English style I just pretended that nothing unusual was occurring.

*** Yes I lead an incredibly sad existence that I plan my life like that but that is who I am and the forecast is unsurprisingly accurate…