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Old Oct 23, 2006, 2:25 pm
  #1  
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Borrowing a power supply on board - or can I buy at LHR

Bad planning on my part means tomorrow's trip to BOM will be filled with laptop work (3 bloody great presentations to write). My X32 battery only lasts for 3 hours so I will need to either:

* Borrow a power supply on board - not sure if BA will do this in J?
* Buy one at T4 tomorrow - if so do Dixon's sell them? And what do I want?

Thanks for assisting me out of a hole of my own making.
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 2:29 pm
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Originally Posted by Swanhunter
Bad planning on my part means tomorrow's trip to BOM will be filled with laptop work (3 bloody great presentations to write). My X32 battery only lasts for 3 hours so I will need to either:

* Borrow a power supply on board - not sure if BA will do this in J?
* Buy one at T4 tomorrow - if so do Dixon's sell them? And what do I want?

Thanks for assisting me out of a hole of my own making.
Power supply x 1 is available IFIC in F. If it is not in use, you might just be lucky.

Dixons do sell them in T4. I bought a Kensington power adapter at twice the going rate last year from them. It has adapters for most laptops. There was a thread about this somewhere, so if the search is working, might be worth looking for.
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 2:33 pm
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I bought a power supply at dixons T3 last month. They have many on offer and staff are very knowledgable. Obviously they sell many. It didn't cost too much IIRC!!
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 2:47 pm
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Thanks - time for a visit to Dixons and an expense claim shortly after....
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 2:51 pm
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Originally Posted by Swanhunter
Thanks - time for a visit to Dixons and an expense claim shortly after....
£69 or so onboard...
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 2:52 pm
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Flew LHR-CPT a few months back in J and was advised that they (BA FAs) could only offer one for sale on board. Not sure whether this was because
1. There was a courtsey charger on board that was already taken or
2. No courtsey charger was on board
3. I was in J
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 3:04 pm
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The onboard chargers are only for use in F but some crew will lend them to you if you're in J. Only caveat is that you give it back if someone in F chooses to use it. There are normally two to three on each 744 flight.

The ones in the duty free bar are good, but over priced. You can get cheaper and, to be honest, buying from Dixons would offer greater flexibility for returns if something were to go awry.
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 3:05 pm
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Originally Posted by DocH
Power supply x 1 is available IFIC in F. If it is not in use, you might just be lucky.
Before I had my own, I asked politely to borrow this once. It was in use, but the crew said they'd keep an eye on it and if the person in F stopped using it and nobody else wanted it, they'd bring it back to me. Can't say fairer than that ^

However, I wouldn't rely on it because chances are it'll be in use. So if the work is important, I'd definitely buy one at Dixons (though that does drop money in the Barely Able Authority's Shopping Centre ) or onboard (paid with the AmEx PP + your Exec Card for double-dip miles, that's a good way to spend expenses ).
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 3:09 pm
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Originally Posted by G-BOAC
....because chances are it'll be in use.
I've never seen them borrowed by First customers before, only customers in J.

Actually, on my last trip an F customer took one, but that's the first and only time I've seen that.
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 3:16 pm
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Originally Posted by Tits McGhee
I've never seen them borrowed by First customers before, only customers in J
I can only offer a sample of two - the trip I mention, and the fact my companion borrowed one in F last year too...though I was actually more referring to the sure and certain fact that if Swanhunter has important work to do, Sod's Law will kick in and there'll be an entire 14-seat F cabin full of people working non-stop to BOM, all forlornly sharing around one borrowed adaptor
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 3:59 pm
  #11  
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Originally Posted by G-BOAC
So if the work is important, I'd definitely buy one at Dixons (though that does drop money in the Barely Able Authority's Shopping Centre ) or onboard (paid with the AmEx PP + your Exec Card for double-dip miles, that's a good way to spend expenses ).
Bloody hell, there is a dilemma for our times. Line the pockets of Bloody Awful Airports or be an 'amber gambler' on duty free having one on board. I wonder if Dixons do refunds for unused products...
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 4:11 pm
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Originally Posted by Swanhunter
Bloody hell, there is a dilemma for our times. Line the pockets of Bloody Awful Airports or be an 'amber gambler' on duty free having one on board. I wonder if Dixons do refunds for unused products...
They do, indeed. 16 day no-quibble refunds, I believe.
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Old Oct 23, 2006, 4:13 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by Tits McGhee
They do, indeed. 16 day no-quibble refunds, I believe.
Excellent. The plan is complete!
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Old Oct 24, 2006, 12:04 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by Tits McGhee
They do, indeed. 16 day no-quibble refunds, I believe.
We may all indeed detest (with a passion) the outfit that it BAA, but never mind 16 days. Buying from the arse & elbow brigade does have some benefits...

From the BAA website:

Worldwide Money Back Guarantee - retail returns service
Don't worry if you change your mind about anything you've bought at the airport. Our Worldwide Money Back Guarantee means you can return it free of charge from anywhere in the world for a full refund. Simply send your purchase, together with the receipt, to the relevant address below, within three months of purchase.

Many years ago it used to be even longer - I think 12 months - and they got me a refund on an electric razor that stopped working several months after purchase. It may or may not have become waterlogged
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Old Oct 24, 2006, 3:48 am
  #15  
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I was in J from LHR-IAD in August on the UD. I asked if I could borrow an adaptor and the FA went down to F and brought one up. This did not work (I have found most of them don't seem to) so they brought me up another which did.

Then I found I did not have the right adaptor from the UK 13A socket to the USA style 2-pin to plug into the unit. So the CSD got me one from the duty free trolley on the understanding I returned it in immaculate condition I could borrow it. A really nice gesture I thought ^

It's something I've often wondered. Why isn't the in-seat power 110VAC using the standard US style 2-pin sockets?. It seems strange piping DC around to the seats which then often requires an expensive (in comparison to a simple 2-pin adaptor) inverter to turn it into anything useable. I believe new aircraft today do have the 110VAC in seat power - why only now though?
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