My first TR: British Airways Economy. EDI-LHR-SFO-LAS-LAX-LHR-EDI
Sep 5, 2011, 4:50 pm
#1
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,139
My first TR: British Airways Economy. EDI-LHR-SFO-LAS-LAX-LHR-EDI
British Airways UK to West Coast USA in Economy. (122 photos)
Well this is my first ever go at a Trip Report and first of all my many thanks to matthandy who has been extremely helpful and advising me re photo editing etc. Other thanks to HIDDY who has also been a great help too and finally aks120 who kindly guested me into the FLounge at LAX on my return home. Thank you to each and every one of you. Thanks to Prospero too for allowing me to post this here first for a run.
I have had a lot of pleasure reading TR's so felt it was time to put something back in. I know they are not to everyone's liking but you can please some of the people some of the time....................
For those who may only want to view the photos please click here and onto the slideshow which on most I have added comments. I apologise this isn't in the form of a 'traditional' TR but my valiant efforts at uploading them to FT failed miserably. I am new to this 'digital' age and I left school nearly 30 years ago! I hope there may be something here for everyone.
We have been lucky over the last 4/5 years (thanks to FT) to have travelled mainly Club to MRU 3 times (inc 1 F and a WT+), F to Mia return on a 241 and CW to YVR so the thought of an economy seat for 10 hrs 30 minutes filled me with fear.
The report is mainly photo based but here is an idea of our itinerary which started from Edinburgh at the end of June. Our holiday was for 2 weeks and travelling was myself, Mrs P, 14 year old Junior P and my 'fit as a fiddle' 77 year old Father-in-Law. This was a particularly significant trip for him as he was recently widowed and in need of a bit of a good time.
Edinburgh to London Heathrow
The morning we flew out, as can be seen from the photos, was indeed very sunny and it was an effortless process from check-in to the gate. It's a big relief checking cases in at a regional airport and not having to see them again until your destination. All the BA/BAA staff we encountered were very pleasant and what took me aback was how busy it was! Security was literally heaving but we only had to wait about 10 minutes. Of course it was the start of the Scottish school holidays.
We flew on an Airbus A321 and it sort of reminded me very much of the old 757's which used to fly from there. Pushback was on time and we were seated in row 13 A,B,C and D. We had a great crew bearing in mind it was the first flight out. We were welcomed onboard with a smile and service was swift. That makes all the difference. The breakfast was very nice and before we knew it we had landed. Most folks seemed to be leaving Heathrow and there was only a trickle of us who went onto Flight Connections for our onward flights.
Heathrow Terminal 5
Then onto flight connections with no wait whatsoever. Security was quick too but as has been said many times over there is always someone holding folks up. Some guy had forgotten to take his belt off, his pockets were loaded with keys etc and he seemed to take an eternity to put his stuff in the tray and a queue in our lane quickly built up much to the annoyance of a few others. I for one was starting my holidays and another few minutes wasn't going to make much of a difference anyhow.
The terminal was quite busy and as Junior P doesn't like plane food I had to buy him a breakfast. The service was excellent and one of the Managers was pro-actively going about asking customers if everything was OK. The staff seemed cheery and motivated and remembering it was only about 8.30 am thats not bad!
Duty Free was visited and Mrs P spent a 3 figure sum buying cosmetics.
I had a good wander around the terminal, plane watching and Junior P invested his pocket money/holiday money on a nice pair of earphones for his iPhone. It was amazing to see all the different nationalities waiting for their flights. I went into one of the Jewellers, can't recall what it was called, and Junior P and I had a browse at some of the Rolex watches there. One was Ł56,000 (yes 56 thousand)
Thats more than I earn in a month! (dreaming)
Well it was onto the B terminal and our flight was from Gate 45. A look revealed it was G-BYGE (High-J) and it had the New First Class. Boarding was strictly enforced and there were a few chancers trying it on in the Fast Track lane who were politely and rightly sent on their merry way.
We had booked seats in the rear of the aircraft, 51 B,C and 52 B,C. These were very good but as I soon found out the aisle is quite busy there. My seat 52B had quite a nice bit of legroom (see photo) as there is no A seat. The flight was great, the food nice and well prepared (and hot!). Service from the crew was excellent. In fact it was actually better than I have experienced in my limited Premium travels, with the exception of our outbound trip to Mauritius in December 2010. The two guys worked their socks off on a packed flight. Genuinely nice too.
San Francisco
On our arrival at San Francisco it was raining Cats and Dogs so to speak and I was impressed with immigration which was seamless. The Customs guy was very friendly asking the usual questions and in no time we were through. However thats where it went downhill. The taxi Steward/Marshall was hopeless. There were only a handful of passengers waiting and he couldn't have organised a piss up in a brewery. Shocking and 25 minutes later we got a cab. He must have been new as the Taxi Drivers weren't too impressed with him either. A taxi whisked us to outr Hotel, Comfort Inn by The Bay. The taxi driver was driving far too fast and I commented on this and he did slow dow. It was raining heavily and I was concerned not only for myself but his other passengers.......MY FAMILY! He was scruffy and his taxi was a mess and I wasn't impressed. He also spoke to someone on his mobile a few times and my choice of words was firm but polite. He got the message.
The hotel was not too far away from the Piers and the Crookedest Street in the World was only 3 blocks away but a very steep climb! The hotel was not that great. Noisy Aircon, poor insulation and the TV was something from the 80's. It served it's purpose though. We did the usual touristy things there, Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Piers, Trams, Union Square etc. The big Red Bus Tour was fab and there quite a large number of homeless, small gangs near to the City Hall district but there were also tourists thereand to be fair none of them seemed to be getting any hassle. I wouldn't fancy it at night though.
We also visited Union Square which I thought was nice.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable 4 days in SFO.
Las Vegas
Well Vegas was Vegas and we flew there on Southwest Airlines and I had booked direct online. It was cheap for the 4 of us, IIRC it was about $378 total. Again it was nice but too hot. The only reason I booked there was as my FIL wanted to see it as he hadn't been there since 1994 when he went with my MIL. It was 111 degrees when we arrived on a Saturday early evening but it actually rained that night and the next few days seemed a bit cooler, only in the high 90's
We stayed in the Excalibur which was fine but the next time I would stay nearer the main part of the Strip. My FIL revisited Treasure Island where he had been with my MIL mnay years before. It was quite emotional for all of us as she was a huge part of our lives and was like a second Mum to me.
We went to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and a ranch neat to the Skywalk which we did. We did lassooing (is that how you spell it?) and a few other things. It was like a small Cowboy Town and Junior P and I had a good laugh being locked up in the County 'Jail' and we also had a mock 'shootout' firing blanks with one of the staff judging who was the 'fastest draw'. Great day and the scenery was amazing. One word of warning though although the Skywalk is great it is a VERY bumpy road part of the way, which is felt even more on a big Coach!
The Hotels were nice to walk about in and the NY, NY rollercoaster was great fun. Junior P also wanted to see the Transformers 3 film which was launched just after we left so we went to a nearby cinema, just me and him. A boys night out. Not usually my kind of film but I was surprised I enjoyed it. I had a chuckle to myself though as the audience were very vocal when the bad guys were getting beaten. You just wouldn't see that sort of thing here in the UK but I was fine with it and ......I even joined in.
Los Angeles
Again a Southwest flight. Both were very efficient and the staff friendly. We stayed in The Residence Inn by Marriott near to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive was only a 20 minute walk away. We visited Universal Studios, Farmers Market (very nice and loads of shops too), went on a Bus Tour. (Go with the Red Bus company not the Yellow one, seemed more frequent). The area where the hotel was was nice and seemed safe. There was a local deli as well as a few good restaurants as well as a 24 hour garage.
Home
I had been browsing through ba.97.com and saw that aks120 was on the same flight as me. She kindly guested me into the FLounge at LAX and we had a chat, a bit of food and a few glasses of Champers. Lovely. She is a really nice genuine person and our mutual interest in avaition and other matters soon became apparent. The 2 hours or so seemed to fly in. I had left the rest of them floating about the terminal and they understand my likeness of all things Aviation related which I have had since as far back as I can remember. Thanks aks120 ^^^
Well a nice flight back to the UK and a nice crew but not as enthusiastic or as friendly as the outbound. Still good overall though. We were seated in the front Y 'mini cabin' (It was again a High-J version but I never clocked the reg number.) It was immediately after the doors closed it was much more peaceful and I would def sit here again. We were in row 35 however as soon as the doors were closed it was apparent there were about 8 or 9 empty seats so Junior P moved into 33K with no one next to him, and we had 3 seats to ourselves and FIL was in 33H with no one in the middle.
A seamless connection to EDI and before we knew it we were back home...............................
Thats it and hope you enjoyed it! Feedback very welcome, positive or negative.
regards
Pete
Well this is my first ever go at a Trip Report and first of all my many thanks to matthandy who has been extremely helpful and advising me re photo editing etc. Other thanks to HIDDY who has also been a great help too and finally aks120 who kindly guested me into the FLounge at LAX on my return home. Thank you to each and every one of you. Thanks to Prospero too for allowing me to post this here first for a run.
I have had a lot of pleasure reading TR's so felt it was time to put something back in. I know they are not to everyone's liking but you can please some of the people some of the time....................
For those who may only want to view the photos please click here and onto the slideshow which on most I have added comments. I apologise this isn't in the form of a 'traditional' TR but my valiant efforts at uploading them to FT failed miserably. I am new to this 'digital' age and I left school nearly 30 years ago! I hope there may be something here for everyone.
We have been lucky over the last 4/5 years (thanks to FT) to have travelled mainly Club to MRU 3 times (inc 1 F and a WT+), F to Mia return on a 241 and CW to YVR so the thought of an economy seat for 10 hrs 30 minutes filled me with fear.
The report is mainly photo based but here is an idea of our itinerary which started from Edinburgh at the end of June. Our holiday was for 2 weeks and travelling was myself, Mrs P, 14 year old Junior P and my 'fit as a fiddle' 77 year old Father-in-Law. This was a particularly significant trip for him as he was recently widowed and in need of a bit of a good time.
Edinburgh to London Heathrow
The morning we flew out, as can be seen from the photos, was indeed very sunny and it was an effortless process from check-in to the gate. It's a big relief checking cases in at a regional airport and not having to see them again until your destination. All the BA/BAA staff we encountered were very pleasant and what took me aback was how busy it was! Security was literally heaving but we only had to wait about 10 minutes. Of course it was the start of the Scottish school holidays.
We flew on an Airbus A321 and it sort of reminded me very much of the old 757's which used to fly from there. Pushback was on time and we were seated in row 13 A,B,C and D. We had a great crew bearing in mind it was the first flight out. We were welcomed onboard with a smile and service was swift. That makes all the difference. The breakfast was very nice and before we knew it we had landed. Most folks seemed to be leaving Heathrow and there was only a trickle of us who went onto Flight Connections for our onward flights.
Heathrow Terminal 5
Then onto flight connections with no wait whatsoever. Security was quick too but as has been said many times over there is always someone holding folks up. Some guy had forgotten to take his belt off, his pockets were loaded with keys etc and he seemed to take an eternity to put his stuff in the tray and a queue in our lane quickly built up much to the annoyance of a few others. I for one was starting my holidays and another few minutes wasn't going to make much of a difference anyhow.
The terminal was quite busy and as Junior P doesn't like plane food I had to buy him a breakfast. The service was excellent and one of the Managers was pro-actively going about asking customers if everything was OK. The staff seemed cheery and motivated and remembering it was only about 8.30 am thats not bad!
Duty Free was visited and Mrs P spent a 3 figure sum buying cosmetics.
I had a good wander around the terminal, plane watching and Junior P invested his pocket money/holiday money on a nice pair of earphones for his iPhone. It was amazing to see all the different nationalities waiting for their flights. I went into one of the Jewellers, can't recall what it was called, and Junior P and I had a browse at some of the Rolex watches there. One was Ł56,000 (yes 56 thousand)
Thats more than I earn in a month! (dreaming
)Well it was onto the B terminal and our flight was from Gate 45. A look revealed it was G-BYGE (High-J) and it had the New First Class. Boarding was strictly enforced and there were a few chancers trying it on in the Fast Track lane who were politely and rightly sent on their merry way.
We had booked seats in the rear of the aircraft, 51 B,C and 52 B,C. These were very good but as I soon found out the aisle is quite busy there. My seat 52B had quite a nice bit of legroom (see photo) as there is no A seat. The flight was great, the food nice and well prepared (and hot!). Service from the crew was excellent. In fact it was actually better than I have experienced in my limited Premium travels, with the exception of our outbound trip to Mauritius in December 2010. The two guys worked their socks off on a packed flight. Genuinely nice too.
San Francisco
On our arrival at San Francisco it was raining Cats and Dogs so to speak and I was impressed with immigration which was seamless. The Customs guy was very friendly asking the usual questions and in no time we were through. However thats where it went downhill. The taxi Steward/Marshall was hopeless. There were only a handful of passengers waiting and he couldn't have organised a piss up in a brewery. Shocking and 25 minutes later we got a cab. He must have been new as the Taxi Drivers weren't too impressed with him either. A taxi whisked us to outr Hotel, Comfort Inn by The Bay. The taxi driver was driving far too fast and I commented on this and he did slow dow. It was raining heavily and I was concerned not only for myself but his other passengers.......MY FAMILY! He was scruffy and his taxi was a mess and I wasn't impressed. He also spoke to someone on his mobile a few times and my choice of words was firm but polite. He got the message.
The hotel was not too far away from the Piers and the Crookedest Street in the World was only 3 blocks away but a very steep climb! The hotel was not that great. Noisy Aircon, poor insulation and the TV was something from the 80's. It served it's purpose though. We did the usual touristy things there, Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Piers, Trams, Union Square etc. The big Red Bus Tour was fab and there quite a large number of homeless, small gangs near to the City Hall district but there were also tourists thereand to be fair none of them seemed to be getting any hassle. I wouldn't fancy it at night though.
We also visited Union Square which I thought was nice.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable 4 days in SFO.
Las Vegas
Well Vegas was Vegas and we flew there on Southwest Airlines and I had booked direct online. It was cheap for the 4 of us, IIRC it was about $378 total. Again it was nice but too hot. The only reason I booked there was as my FIL wanted to see it as he hadn't been there since 1994 when he went with my MIL. It was 111 degrees when we arrived on a Saturday early evening but it actually rained that night and the next few days seemed a bit cooler, only in the high 90's
We stayed in the Excalibur which was fine but the next time I would stay nearer the main part of the Strip. My FIL revisited Treasure Island where he had been with my MIL mnay years before. It was quite emotional for all of us as she was a huge part of our lives and was like a second Mum to me.
We went to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and a ranch neat to the Skywalk which we did. We did lassooing (is that how you spell it?) and a few other things. It was like a small Cowboy Town and Junior P and I had a good laugh being locked up in the County 'Jail' and we also had a mock 'shootout' firing blanks with one of the staff judging who was the 'fastest draw'. Great day and the scenery was amazing. One word of warning though although the Skywalk is great it is a VERY bumpy road part of the way, which is felt even more on a big Coach!
The Hotels were nice to walk about in and the NY, NY rollercoaster was great fun. Junior P also wanted to see the Transformers 3 film which was launched just after we left so we went to a nearby cinema, just me and him. A boys night out. Not usually my kind of film but I was surprised I enjoyed it. I had a chuckle to myself though as the audience were very vocal when the bad guys were getting beaten. You just wouldn't see that sort of thing here in the UK but I was fine with it and ......I even joined in.
Los Angeles
Again a Southwest flight. Both were very efficient and the staff friendly. We stayed in The Residence Inn by Marriott near to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive was only a 20 minute walk away. We visited Universal Studios, Farmers Market (very nice and loads of shops too), went on a Bus Tour. (Go with the Red Bus company not the Yellow one, seemed more frequent). The area where the hotel was was nice and seemed safe. There was a local deli as well as a few good restaurants as well as a 24 hour garage.
Home
I had been browsing through ba.97.com and saw that aks120 was on the same flight as me. She kindly guested me into the FLounge at LAX and we had a chat, a bit of food and a few glasses of Champers. Lovely. She is a really nice genuine person and our mutual interest in avaition and other matters soon became apparent. The 2 hours or so seemed to fly in. I had left the rest of them floating about the terminal and they understand my likeness of all things Aviation related which I have had since as far back as I can remember. Thanks aks120 ^^^
Well a nice flight back to the UK and a nice crew but not as enthusiastic or as friendly as the outbound. Still good overall though. We were seated in the front Y 'mini cabin' (It was again a High-J version but I never clocked the reg number.) It was immediately after the doors closed it was much more peaceful and I would def sit here again. We were in row 35 however as soon as the doors were closed it was apparent there were about 8 or 9 empty seats so Junior P moved into 33K with no one next to him, and we had 3 seats to ourselves and FIL was in 33H with no one in the middle.
A seamless connection to EDI and before we knew it we were back home...............................
Thats it and hope you enjoyed it! Feedback very welcome, positive or negative.
regards
Pete
Last edited by PETER01; Sep 5, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Sep 5, 2011, 5:02 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Quite close to NQY
Programs: BAEC Silver,clubcard,clubcard plus, BA Amex................ And Mucci x3 ;)
Posts: 9,488
nice to hear a positive experience again of Y
im considering it myself for a possible trip to OZ next year due to the normal crap CW & F award availability
cs
im considering it myself for a possible trip to OZ next year due to the normal crap CW & F award availability
cs
Sep 5, 2011, 6:50 pm
#3
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Scotland & London
Programs: BA GGL, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Mucci des Salons Ouvrants
Posts: 3,025
Great trip report - thanks for putting the effort in to show us the Y product in a good light.
It was a pleasure meeting you too - and the champagne and good company made the wait for the flight a lot more bearable! ^
Regards
aks120
It was a pleasure meeting you too - and the champagne and good company made the wait for the flight a lot more bearable! ^
Regards
aks120
Sep 5, 2011, 8:13 pm
#4
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,207
E-gads a Y trip report on this forum...the horror and shock of it all.
Well I think it was great to read and see pictures of a family going on holiday and enjoying themselves in WT without even a mention of a T5 lounge. ^
The Y food looks very nice especially your wifes beef dish....I wouldn't mind some of that.
Thanks for the mention but I only played a very small part in helping you out.......when can I expect the cheque?
Well I think it was great to read and see pictures of a family going on holiday and enjoying themselves in WT without even a mention of a T5 lounge. ^
The Y food looks very nice especially your wifes beef dish....I wouldn't mind some of that.
Thanks for the mention but I only played a very small part in helping you out.......when can I expect the cheque?
Sep 5, 2011, 11:44 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: BA Gold, Hhonors Diamond, SPG Platinum, AVIS Presidents' Club
Posts: 563
Thanks for the TR, I am just doing the same round trip as well with Mrs Wadge but not from EDI and fortunately not on Economy 
Currently in Vegas now. I considered writing up one TR one day as well but I woudnt be able to remember so many details... how do you remember the gate numbers??
Currently in Vegas now. I considered writing up one TR one day as well but I woudnt be able to remember so many details... how do you remember the gate numbers??
Sep 6, 2011, 12:26 am
#7
Suspended
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 4,959
Why did you go through security at Heathrow on your outbound flight? Were you not connecting off a domestic - you don't have to reclear security in this instance
On iPad at the moment and only read the text, but very enjoyable and got me laughing a few times. Youre a good writer, Peter. Keep the TRs coming!!
On iPad at the moment and only read the text, but very enjoyable and got me laughing a few times. Youre a good writer, Peter. Keep the TRs coming!!
Sep 6, 2011, 12:45 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Scotland
Programs: # Neodymium #
Posts: 968
I've had to go through security every time I'm off a domestic BA and transferring in T5 to another flight. Took me an hour once to get through.
Sep 6, 2011, 12:46 am
#9
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Global Again
Programs: OWS IHG Diamond + Accor Plat, Scandic Top Level
Posts: 762
Nice to see a positive TR in WT
The BA WT product is very good, although could do with stocking more London Pride. When I travel they always seem to run out of this brand and offer me that yellow stuff.
One only has to do a long haul Y class with China Eastern to understand how good it is
The BA WT product is very good, although could do with stocking more London Pride. When I travel they always seem to run out of this brand and offer me that yellow stuff.
One only has to do a long haul Y class with China Eastern to understand how good it is
Sep 6, 2011, 2:10 am
#11
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Iver
Programs: BA GOLD/OWE BA Amex Prem Plus Tesco Airmiles Qantas Bronze IHG SPG Eithad
Posts: 2,902
Sep 6, 2011, 2:38 am
#12
Join Date: May 2009
Location: London
Programs: BA
Posts: 1,408
Lovely report The food didn't look too bad at all (save for the breakfast, but even that's taken a nose dive in CW).
I'm in a similar boat - got a wedding in Oz at some point next year. Miles rich, but fully aware of the inability to get their on miles. Dreading the concept of not flying CW over such a long distance (and I'm 6foot4).
Considering PE on Qantas (UD of an A380 ), or even AirAsiaX (purely for space).
edit
Saying that, current (sale?) fares LHR-SYD in CW are coming up at Ł2700 rtn for Oct and Nov 2011.
The food didn't look too bad at all (save for the breakfast, but even that's taken a nose dive in CW).
You will never survive the trip, cramped in the back. so unless you get well oiled up before you get on i do not fancy your chances. Thinking about doing it and actually doing it are two different storie
Considering PE on Qantas (UD of an A380
), or even AirAsiaX (purely for space).edit
Saying that, current (sale?) fares LHR-SYD in CW are coming up at Ł2700 rtn for Oct and Nov 2011.
Last edited by malkie; Sep 6, 2011 at 2:44 am
Sep 6, 2011, 2:53 am
#13
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Iver
Programs: BA GOLD/OWE BA Amex Prem Plus Tesco Airmiles Qantas Bronze IHG SPG Eithad
Posts: 2,902
Thank you for sharing your TR with us, thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and then seeing the photos which were superb, and so clear, loved the photos of SFO the photos of Alcatraz and Vegas made me reminess when we were there many years ago, vegas is such a fun place to go just to see all the hotels and different themes they come up with, we have stayed in the Excalibur,many years ago, have stayed in Monte Carlo and Treasure Island. So glad you all had a lovely time, even though you were in Y, at least you had good seats and great that your son and FIL were able to not have anyone next to them. The food did not look too bad, suppose it is quite nice to see that some of FTers travel in Y and to be able to show photos where some of us never get to see the food wrapped up in foil etc, and that little bottle of wine on the tray. We await more TR when you and the family are away again. Thank you Peter ^
Sep 6, 2011, 3:11 am
#14
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Quite close to NQY
Programs: BAEC Silver,clubcard,clubcard plus, BA Amex................ And Mucci x3 ;)
Posts: 9,488
And yea the current sale fare is looking good, thanks for pointing that out, if it was a year ago I'd have no problem paying it, but things change, priorities change, in the process of buying a house so the money isn't quite as available as it was
Plus if I do it prior to the end of my membership year I'll still have lounge access thanks to my current silver card so that should help to soften the blow slightly
cs
Sep 6, 2011, 3:58 am
#15
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Iver
Programs: BA GOLD/OWE BA Amex Prem Plus Tesco Airmiles Qantas Bronze IHG SPG Eithad
Posts: 2,902
Well if we go and if I can't find availability for miles and voucher I'll be doing it in Y. I don't quite understand why I wouldn't survive the trip when thousands of people per day do it and survive !!
And yea the current sale fare is looking good, thanks for pointing that out, if it was a year ago I'd have no problem paying it, but things change, priorities change, in the process of buying a house so the money isn't quite as available as it was
Plus if I do it prior to the end of my membership year I'll still have lounge access thanks to my current silver card so that should help to soften the blow slightly
cs
And yea the current sale fare is looking good, thanks for pointing that out, if it was a year ago I'd have no problem paying it, but things change, priorities change, in the process of buying a house so the money isn't quite as available as it was
Plus if I do it prior to the end of my membership year I'll still have lounge access thanks to my current silver card so that should help to soften the blow slightly
cs