TR, Inaugural BA420, LHR LEI (Almeria) in CE
Mar 29, 2018, 4:18 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Madrid
Programs: BA GfL
Posts: 157
TR, Inaugural BA420, LHR LEI (Almeria) in CE
As my Mum is in a wheelchair, this TR is slightly more focused on the PRM aspects
We had flown down from Aberdeen and had a couple of hours to spare so went to the F Lounge. Notified the BA desk and they said they’d call the special assistance team – Omniserve. Flight ETD is 1315 and at 1230 the gate was shown. From past experience the Omniserve can be late or a no-show, so took my Mum down myself. Notified the BA desk who said they’d call Omniserve. Gate was A17, which is not far from the F lounge. No special inaugural flight activities!
Got to the gate and already there were several pre-boarders through, and we joined them. At this point something interesting happened. We always use the ‘Deliver to Aircraft Steps/Gate Tag’ for the wheelchair, but the gate agent came to take it off. She said the system indicated that Almeria airport will not do that. Gate agents now called for ‘any hand-baggage to be checked in’. I have some strong (read rant) comments to make about the games people play here – but I’ll leave that to another time. Boarding for pre-boarders and the hand baggage cheaters (oops!) was announced. By now there were four wheelchair users and four or five other special assistance pax, but no-one from Omniserve. Gate agent said I could take my Mum down myself, but we had to leave the wheelchair at the halfway house; I said that she couldn’t walk that last section, so I was told to wait, as I wasn’t allowed to push her down that last part. Pre-boarding started and finally one Omniserve person arrived. Pax accompanying the wheelchair users had to push them down to the halfway house and wait for the one guy to shuttle up and down
We finally boarded when CE was already pretty full. On board and here the service difference stood out. As usual the CSM and crew were great. Extremely helpful, pro-active and always with a smile. We were in 1A and 1C and boarding went well, although there was some talk of too much hand luggage but ultimately no issues. Crew said the flight was full – it was an A320. Hot towels delivered. Pushed back around 1310 and took off just before 1330. Co-pilot said flight would take 2hr 20mins, but that proved to be out a bit.
Drinks were served and then a choice of Chicken with pasta and Beef cheek – both pretty good. Wine orders were taken and poured in the galley. Crew were very attentive of my Mum – which is much appreciated. Finally broke through the clouds and had a very nice descent run as we headed South-West from Cartagena. Landed at around 1630 local time, so 15 minutes less than planned and a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule. No water salute – not allowed due to water shortages! Note: LEI does not have airbridges, the pax disembark by steps and walk less then 100m to the terminal. Not a big deal when it’s sunny and 20C. Lovely view of the Med as the airport is very close to the water. There was a BA welcome team on the tarmac and a few came on board once the main pax had disembarked. Special assistance pax were asked to go to the rear-left door where the Ambulift was positioning. A bit of a bummer when you are in row 1, but no other possibility as the bags were coming out at the front hold.
Met by a large team in the Ambulift, where they had an ample supply of their own wheelchairs, and quickly taken to the arrivals door. The apron level is actually at level -1, so there are stairs and a lift up to the main arrivals level. Through a quick Immigration check and then was stopped by a supervisor who asked if the special assistance was OK and did we need anything else (Omniserve take note). Bags and my Mum’s wheelchair were already there and so we were out quickly. The Guardia Civil (who do customs duty) didn’t wait for the special assistance pax. Almeria airport is relatively small, so just a short walk from the arrivals door to the parking. There appeared to be lots of taxis. BA did have a welcome cake but it had gone by the time we got through. Airport terminal looks pretty new and was very clean and tidy.
Overall an enjoyable flight and all of the airport staff were very friendly and helpful. Tried to tip the special assistance guy and he refused!
Hope this route does well for BA; it is currently scheduled for Tuesdays and Saturdays. Geographically it is a nice option for us, as we live half-way between Almeria and Malaga. Coming from Aberdeen the Malaga option doesn’t work as the majority of BA flights leave from LGW and going to Granada via LCY would involve different airlines. BA crew, as usual, very very good - full marks to them - and Almeria airport experience was quick, friendly and efficient.
We had flown down from Aberdeen and had a couple of hours to spare so went to the F Lounge. Notified the BA desk and they said they’d call the special assistance team – Omniserve. Flight ETD is 1315 and at 1230 the gate was shown. From past experience the Omniserve can be late or a no-show, so took my Mum down myself. Notified the BA desk who said they’d call Omniserve. Gate was A17, which is not far from the F lounge. No special inaugural flight activities!
Got to the gate and already there were several pre-boarders through, and we joined them. At this point something interesting happened. We always use the ‘Deliver to Aircraft Steps/Gate Tag’ for the wheelchair, but the gate agent came to take it off. She said the system indicated that Almeria airport will not do that. Gate agents now called for ‘any hand-baggage to be checked in’. I have some strong (read rant) comments to make about the games people play here – but I’ll leave that to another time. Boarding for pre-boarders and the hand baggage cheaters (oops!) was announced. By now there were four wheelchair users and four or five other special assistance pax, but no-one from Omniserve. Gate agent said I could take my Mum down myself, but we had to leave the wheelchair at the halfway house; I said that she couldn’t walk that last section, so I was told to wait, as I wasn’t allowed to push her down that last part. Pre-boarding started and finally one Omniserve person arrived. Pax accompanying the wheelchair users had to push them down to the halfway house and wait for the one guy to shuttle up and down
We finally boarded when CE was already pretty full. On board and here the service difference stood out. As usual the CSM and crew were great. Extremely helpful, pro-active and always with a smile. We were in 1A and 1C and boarding went well, although there was some talk of too much hand luggage but ultimately no issues. Crew said the flight was full – it was an A320. Hot towels delivered. Pushed back around 1310 and took off just before 1330. Co-pilot said flight would take 2hr 20mins, but that proved to be out a bit.
Drinks were served and then a choice of Chicken with pasta and Beef cheek – both pretty good. Wine orders were taken and poured in the galley. Crew were very attentive of my Mum – which is much appreciated. Finally broke through the clouds and had a very nice descent run as we headed South-West from Cartagena. Landed at around 1630 local time, so 15 minutes less than planned and a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule. No water salute – not allowed due to water shortages! Note: LEI does not have airbridges, the pax disembark by steps and walk less then 100m to the terminal. Not a big deal when it’s sunny and 20C. Lovely view of the Med as the airport is very close to the water. There was a BA welcome team on the tarmac and a few came on board once the main pax had disembarked. Special assistance pax were asked to go to the rear-left door where the Ambulift was positioning. A bit of a bummer when you are in row 1, but no other possibility as the bags were coming out at the front hold.
Met by a large team in the Ambulift, where they had an ample supply of their own wheelchairs, and quickly taken to the arrivals door. The apron level is actually at level -1, so there are stairs and a lift up to the main arrivals level. Through a quick Immigration check and then was stopped by a supervisor who asked if the special assistance was OK and did we need anything else (Omniserve take note). Bags and my Mum’s wheelchair were already there and so we were out quickly. The Guardia Civil (who do customs duty) didn’t wait for the special assistance pax. Almeria airport is relatively small, so just a short walk from the arrivals door to the parking. There appeared to be lots of taxis. BA did have a welcome cake but it had gone by the time we got through. Airport terminal looks pretty new and was very clean and tidy.
Overall an enjoyable flight and all of the airport staff were very friendly and helpful. Tried to tip the special assistance guy and he refused!
Hope this route does well for BA; it is currently scheduled for Tuesdays and Saturdays. Geographically it is a nice option for us, as we live half-way between Almeria and Malaga. Coming from Aberdeen the Malaga option doesn’t work as the majority of BA flights leave from LGW and going to Granada via LCY would involve different airlines. BA crew, as usual, very very good - full marks to them - and Almeria airport experience was quick, friendly and efficient.
Last edited by Lost-in-Space; Mar 29, 2018 at 4:23 am Reason: Paragraph spacing after pasting from Word!
Mar 29, 2018, 5:30 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Rhineland-Palatinate
Programs: *A Gold (A3), HHonor Gold
Posts: 5,684
Nice TR.
Regarding Omniserv at Heathrow, a high profile case led to the affected person being received by Heathrow CEO and also was mentioned in the House of Commons this week. Maybe this will lead to some changes.
Regarding Omniserv at Heathrow, a high profile case led to the affected person being received by Heathrow CEO and also was mentioned in the House of Commons this week. Maybe this will lead to some changes.