The next two British Airways Flyertalk DOs in 2013 are:

Everyone welcome, including partners (etc) and flyers with Other Airlines. More information will be posted here.

1) Hong Kong - Delaney's Pub - Wanchai, 18:30 hrs Friday 15 November.

Location: 18 Luard Road, Wanchai, corner of Jaffe Road. 3 minutes walk from Wan Chai MTR station. Take exit C out of the MTR and head left crossing the road at the lights.


Venue's Website here.


Attendees
PETER01
ThatT1Feeling
chazza
buschoi
wherenext
Beano HK- plus 3 others via PM.
=======================================
2) Leeds, Yorkshire - Confirmed as Friday 6 December, details (on venue and timings) to follow.

(Inaugural since BA started to fly to LBA!)


Attendee List - 17 confirmed, 5 maybes (updated 00:35, 6 December)

Party trains, planes, and hotels (updated 00:35, 6 December)

Leeds is the third largest city in the UK, and the cultural, financial, and commercial heart of Yorkshire. Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) to London Heathrow is one of the newer routes on the BA network having started in December 2012 – so it is about time we christen this new route and have the first ever Flyertalk do in Leeds!

Date & Time
Friday 6th December 2013. The evening will start around 6.30pm.

Venue

Sam's Chop House
8 South Parade,
Leeds,
LS1 5QX

Map

Sam's is on the corner of East Parade and South Parade. When you get inside there is the bar on the right and the raised restaurant area on the left. Our area is straight ahead through the archrway.

Food
Food will be served as a buffet and split between two servings, one at 7.30pm and the other at 8.30pm.

Our selected buffet menu.

Full buffet menu - just for reference

Sam's is open to 3am so we can stay until very late or move on.

Hotels
There are various hotel options in the city centre, including Radisson Blu, Hilton, Crowne Plaza, Novotel, Doubletree (formerly Mint), Park Plaza, Travelodge, Malmaison, Jurys Inn, Marriott, The Queens, and The Met. Also just outside the city centre are Holiday Inn Express, Premier Inn, Ibis, and Bewleys. Hopefully there is enough to cater for any budget or loyalty program.

I note that many are staying at the Doubletree. I can also recommend the top floor Sky Lounge which is open from 12pm to 2am on Friday.

:-: :-: Radisson sale of up to 30% off. Rate code is HPFLASH. Valid for stays including Friday and up to 31 January. Includes breakfast. Details on Continental Club Blog.

Airport
There are three daily BA rotations from LHR to LBA, with Friday’s inbound flights being;
BA1346 0745-0855
BA1342 1300-1410
BA1344 1905-2015

To/From Airport
There is a 757 Bus Service that is every 30 minutes during the day, or every hour in the late evening. It takes around 35 minutes to get to the city centre. Timetable here.

• If you are staying at the Holiday Inn Express the 757 goes along the main road right outisde (Kirkstall Road). Get off at the stop just past the fire station next door.
• If you are in the Doubletree then get off the 757 at Park Row (the bus turns right on to it after passing the law courts and town hall). To go back to LBA on the bus you can get the 757 from stop S7 from right outside the station entrance (New Station Street).

Alternatively, the only official private cab company at LBA is Arrow which you can pre-book, or book when you arrive at LBA. To use the taxi service head out of the terminal builidng and across to the marked up taxi "hut". You then book and pay for the taxi inside and then head outside to the specific taxi which you are booked on. The cost for LBA-city centre is likely to be around £22. Hopefully we can do a bit of coordination if people are arriving at LBA to share cabs.

There is no train service at LBA.

Rail
Leeds has one main railway station right in the centre of the city. There are plenty of trains run by East Coast to London King’s Cross, with one every 30 minutes usually. Journey time is around 2hrs 30 mins, and advanced tickets can be had for £13 each way. There are also direct services to Leeds from York, further north from Scotland, and from most other major cities in the UK either by Cross Country trains or TransPennine Express.

• If you are staying at the Holiday Inn Express then the best way is just to get a taxi - it is a short taxi ride and shouldn't cost more than £6. For the taxi rank at the station walk to the entrance/exit straight ahead after passing the ticket barriers, and it is across the road.
• If you are in the Doubletree then the hotel is a short walk to the entrance/exit on straight ahead after passing the ticket barriers, across the pedestrian crossings. Take the covered stairwell on your right, turn right again at the bottom and head under the railway arches. Whilst walking under the railway arches take the right turn after the Centre News ewsagents - there is a sign for the DoubleTree here. Walk along Granary Wharf Arches and over the metal bridge, which spans the River Aire. Turn left and exit into the plaza. The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Leeds City Center is located diagonally to your right.

For any of you booking train tickets on East Coast there is a Accor promotion with 20% off. I don't think you even need to be an Accor member to use it. You need to book by 11 November to take advantage.

East Coast / Accor promotion

City Centre
Leeds city centre is fairly compact, and we are not likely to wander too far, so once you get here you can usually walk most places with 15 minutes at most. Alternatively, there are plenty of taxis at the rail station taxi rank, or at other taxi ranks scattered around the city centre. The Leeds Hackney cabs are black and white.

If you have any question about the Leeds Do please feel free to send me (KARFA) a PM.