BA/US 2.5 week business trip PHX/LHR/MUC/ARN/DUB/BOS
Introduction
This report covers a quick 2 1/2 week business trip to London, Munich/Nuremberg/Augsburg, London again, Stockholm, Dublin, and Boston. The focus is on some of the strategies and tactics employed to travel efficiently for business, as well as maximizing time during travel. I'll post an update each day, though this is not a live trip report, but "tape delayed" by two weeks. Flights This trip also took advantage of the business class fare sales on BA from Dublin to the US. My company used BA OnBusiness points to book a positioning flight from Phoenix to London. We then booked a BA CW ticket DUB-LHR-PHX-LHR-DUB, with the return a few weeks after the conclusion of this trip. We then booked tickets on BA in CE for LHR-MUC-LHR and ET for LHR-ARN-LHR-DUB. We also had a ticket in ET for LHR-BGO-LHR, but this was postponed until the fall. And just after the longhaul trip started, a PHX-BOS-PHX ticket in F on US was booked for a couple of days after returning to Phoenix. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7716/1...2d343711_z.jpg Hotels The hotel strategy for this trip was varied. The flight to Munich was very early in the morning, so one night was booked at the Heathrow T5 Sofitel using the secret hotel offer via lastminute.com. Two nights were booked at the Hilton Metropole near Paddington, to be close to the Paddington Express, as this makes it easy to leave luggage for the day and then take the train to the airport. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8776/1...f02a705e_z.jpg In Germany, I stayed with friends that live in Augsburg. Upon return to London, I needed to be near the parliament area for a conference, so two nights were booked at the Royal Horseguards hotel due to its proximity and highly rated internet access. Two nights in Stockholm were booked at the Scandic Anglais hotel near a customer location. The night in Dublin was at O'Callahan's St. Stephen's Green, in order to force myself to go into the city. For Boston, a suburban hotel (Crowne Plaza Boston-natick) near our customer location was chosen. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5447/1...806a76d1_z.jpg |
May 11: PHX-LHR, Old F as CW
May 11
PHX-LHR BA 0288 Old First sold as CW Seat 1A Scheduled: 19:40 - 13:25 Actual: 19:40 - 13:37 Because BA is offering old First as CW on select routes until October, I took advantage of this and reserved seat 1A. While others may prefer row 2, I like the view from the three windows, and the quiet at the front of the cabin. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7752/1...066756e6_z.jpg I arrived at PHX around 17:00 for the flight. The check-in counter no longer has a dedicated first/gold line, but the wait in the CW line was about 5 seconds in duration. My bags were quickly tagged to London, and I headed upstairs and was through security within 5 minutes. Even without TSA PreCheck for this international flight, it was quick to clear security at PHX on a Monday evening. I made my way to the Club at PHX, and I was the first passenger in the First section of the lounge, and was alone for roughly thirty minutes. The lounge never reached more than 50% of capacity, a pleasant surprise as I've never experienced it this empty. Since my last visit, they have rearranged the chairs, with no noticeable changes. This lounge is basic but pleasant, and offers a great view of the 747 when it arrives. There are a very limited of power outlets, so arrive early if you want to work on your laptop. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7698/1...534217f8_z.jpg While I was hopeful for New First, I checked online and confirmed that the inbound aircraft would be old first seats. I actually have an old Apple empower adapter for my MacBook Pro, and this is one of the few remaining opportunities to use it (the other being AA MD80s). I wasn't particularly hungry, so I really just had still water and worked prior to the flight. I talked with a few of the passengers, as they were trying to understand the concept of Old First sold as CW. Our flight was a touch late, and as is typical in Phoenix, BA calls for boarding from the lounge after most passengers are already on board the aircraft. The boarding process was a bit flawed this time, as they did not enforce the fast track lane. That said, I only waited a couple of minutes before boarding. I was welcomed aboard and quickly found my seat. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8867/1...a6fe0ec7_z.jpg[ I had a pre-flight still water (orange juice and champagne were offered as usual), as well as the BA and Elemis amenties kit/wash bag. While the quality of what is included in the elemis bag is not stellar, the bags themselves I find very useful for travel. I'll put shoes in them, or cables or smaller gadgets. BA have at least removed the scary razor and restored the eye mask and ear plugs based on customer feedback, undoing a poorly received enhancement. I still don't understand why they don't just put the toothbrush/toothpaste combo in the toilet, and I do think they could make the contents more interesting. Phoenix has a very short taxi from BA's gate 25, as it is right next to the start of the runway. We were held a bit by air traffic control, and then cleared for departure. For dinner I had the prawn starter (ok), salad (ok), and the beef for the main (edible but not great). As much as I am not a fan of the beef, my recent attempts at chicken, fish, and pasta on BA have been even worse. I skipped dessert as I wanted to sleep and find that dessert prevents me from sleeping quickly. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5324/1...273664ef_z.jpg I recently created my own more comfortable bed experience for when I fly on BA and airlines like CX. It's a 3/4" yoga mat trimmed to fit inside hand baggage and roughly matches the height and width of my body. I also brought a thin flat sheet for use on top of the yoga mat. This works surprisingly well and is much more comfortable. Unfortunately the light in the cabin was dark, and so I have no photos to show this. The main drawback is that I must check baggage as it takes up the majority of my hand baggage, and it also results in me brining along more luggage than I would like. Packing minimally for two weeks is not easy when visiting climates with a variety of temperatures, with both formal meetings and casual workout clothing. I slept for maybe 2-3 hours, which is about as much as I typically get on this flight. It was definitely a more comfortable experience with my upgraded environment. Sleep was however impacted by the temperature in the cabin rising to at least 25C. I watched a pair of movies over the course of the flight, Jupiter Ascending via the IFE, and Lucy on my iPad. Both kept my attention and were entertaining, but also allowed me to do some light work in parallel. The Old First experience is fine, but it definitely feels old. The sad IFE screen, the old empower port, the lack of storage space of any kind at the seat. But the bed is nice and the additional personal space over CW is worth it. Breakfast was served about 75 minutes prior to arrival and it was fine, a mix of fruit (good), bacon roll (better than the usual BA experience), and orange juice. Overall the crew was friendly and accommodating. While not the most memorable BA crew, there was nothing bad about the experience. |
May 12: Arrival in London
May 12
The report for today is a bit light on photos as I was apparently too tired to take out the camera, so I've included a couple of randomly related photos. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5470/1...39e65b91_c.jpg Upon landing at LHR T5B, I chose the transit train and it arrived right as I did, so at least this time, it was faster than walking via the tunnels. Fast track immigration was anything but fast. It feels like they are intentionally limiting the rate for non-UK passport holders, in order to get them to pay for the new trusted traveler scheme. I considered the offer, but the price is five times the annual price of the US Global Entry program, and does not include the equivalent of TSA PreCheck. After a 30-40 minute wait, I was quickly processed, and I was told about the trusted traveler program. I said it seemed expensive for what it is, and maybe they should have more than two people assigned to the fast track queue! If this is how they are going to process fast track, I may have no choice, however, the e-gate queue looked equally slow. The fastest queue actually appeared to be the non fast track lane. My bags were ready as soon as I made my way downstairs. I then made my way down to the Heathrow Express. While I am normally fine with the tube for getting to most of London, I used the express train as I was staying close to Paddington, and it's a better experience when you have checked bags due to the space for luggage. After a quick 20 minute ride on the Heathrow Express, I made the five minute walk to the Hilton Metropole and checked-in. Check-in was quickly processed and I found my room on the 11th floor with a view facing north looking at Edgware Road. The Metropole is undergoing major renovations in the lobby area. The room itself was basic and like Old First, a bit tired, but was fine for two nights. The bed itself was very soft, and not in a good way, and did not make for particularly comfortable sleep. I grabbed some water and snacks for the room from M&S across the street. I also topped up my O2 account so I would have sufficient data on my unlocked iPhone while in the UK. These details are not particularly exciting, but are intended to share some of the things I do to quickly make business travel as efficient as possible. After a quick shower, unpacking, and connecting to the wifi (free for basic service, or an actually usable service for £15/day), I made my way via the tube to the Clerkenwell area around 4pm for a quick meeting, and then I gave a talk at a meetup group in the evening. After the meetup, I spent a couple of hours talking to the attendees at a pub. I don't drink alcohol, so mostly I enjoyed water and chips. I made my way back to the Metropole a bit after 11pm. After a quick FaceTime chat with the wife and kids, and a short bit of work and fitness, I slept, or tried to at least. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8770/1...5b9b8758_c.jpg |
May 13 and 14: Meetings in London
May 13 and 14
Meetings in London I managed two 2-hour naps during the night, with about an hour break in the middle of the night, as my sleep schedule was a bit off. I woke up early and went for a quick run, showered, and then took the tube to Canary Wharf for a breakfast meeting at Carluccio's with a customer. Breakfast was nice, especially for a local chain restaurant, and after some discussions, I made my way back to my hotel to work for a couple of hours. I then had a lunch meeting in the Shoreditch area, so I took the tube again, met, ate, walked around a bit, and then returned to the hotel again to take a few WebEx and Skype meetings with people in the US. Then off on the tube again for dinner meeting at 7:30 at Polpetto, which is an excellent Ventian-style tapas restaurant in the soho area. After dinner I took another walk, and then found the tube back from Green Park to the hotel. Another quick FaceTime chat, a bit of work and fitness, and sleep. Days like this can be as grueling as days with 10 hour flights, as I find myself spending half my time just getting around the city, or figuring out where to go next. It also probably doesn't help that I cram so many things into each day! The next day, I woke up early (around 4:45am) as I wanted to get a proper workout. I took a bus 10 minutes north to Kilburn to enjoy a crossfit class, and despite only having about 3-4 hours of sleep again, I had plenty of energy for a great workout. There was a nice sunset to start the day. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8783/1...94ff46d9_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7720/1...c2db6c0a_c.jpg I returned to the hotel by bus, and had a quick breakfast at Patisserie Valerie, then showered, worked for a bit, and checked out of the hotel. Because I had some items that I would not need until early the next week, I left a bag at the Left Luggage facility at Paddington Station. This service is really efficient for multi-phase trips, or in my case, when you bring along a large yoga mat to make the longhaul seat more comfortable. :) After grabbing a quick snack from M&S, I took the Heathrow Express back to Heathrow, and arrived at the Sofitel. During check-in, I explained that my wifi experience was very poor on my previous stay, and asked to be in a different part of the hotel. I was told that they had since upgraded their internet access, but that she would make sure I was in a better part of the hotel. This time the paid wifi was excellent and reliable. I worked for a few hours, and then made my way to South Kensington for a dinner meeting at Franco Manca. It is decent, though does not compare to the legendary and award winning Pizzeria Bianco located in Phoenix (difficult to believe, but it's seriously one of the best pizza places in the world, based on my extensive taste tests!). We then walked for a bit and continued our meeting at a pub near Glouster Road station, before calling it a night. A tube ride back to the airport, and by the end I had the tube car to myself. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7692/1...d42b318d_c.jpg I finished my night with a FaceTime chat and some more work, and then to sleep by midnight. |
I look forward to the rest. I may share with some of my friends who believe that travelling for business is all about fun, and they do not understand the day to day challenges that we must face.
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Nice pictures!
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Thanks roadwarrier and trainsplanes! Indeed, traveling for work can be rewarding, but it's not the same as a holiday!
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May 15: LHR-MUC
May 15
LHR-MUC BA 948 CE Seat 1D Scheduled and Actual: 06:55 - 09:45 After getting a better quality of sleep with a better bed at the Sofitel, but still only 4 or so hours, I showered and checked-out, and walked for three minutes to reach LHR T5. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5328/1...c7e2d460_c.jpg For this short trip I chose to travel with hand baggage only for the outbound, and check a bag on the return. This would allow me to minimize time on arrival in Europe, whereas when I arrive back in London, the time to clear immigration is usually longer than the time for a bag to arrive. I proceeded through LHR T5 north security and there was no separate fast track line, and really no queues at all given the very early pre 6am time. I walked to the south lounges, and had breakfast (bacon, sausage, orange juice, bread, etc.) in the GF lounge. I was informed that the flight to Munich would be from the B gates, but did not rush over there. This was in part because I've never seen the GF lounge so empty, and enjoyed the unusually quiet and pleasant experience. The wifi was also very fast and reliable, in contrast to recent visits. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5324/1...41781452_c.jpg I purchased CE for this flight, as I had a fairly tight train connection for my meeting in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), and wanted to be first off the plane. Because the trip included a weekend, the price wasn't that unreasonable (unlike the £1000+ BA wanted for my trip to Stockholm a few days later!). I departed the lounge about 35 minutes before the scheduled departure time, and took the transit train as it was very empty. I reached the gate about two minutes before boarding commenced. We pulled back from the gate early after an efficient boarding process, but were told that we would have a 30 minute wait for a slot from air traffic control. That said, our flight was still on-time due to the padding included in the schedule. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7754/1...d4f367af_c.jpg For this flight I was feeling very tired. I ate a small bit of the breakfast, but mostly I slept. While I was in 1D, 1F was empty so I took advantage of the nice views to take a few photos of the take-off and landing. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5343/1...2f260963_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5328/1...7c2c01e0_c.jpg The meal in CE was a typical BA shorthaul breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, bread, fresh fruit, juice), and was a bit better than your average breakfast on AA. Yes, it was a second breakfast, but I didn't expect to have much time for lunch today. In general BA's eggs turn out much better than those of US-based carriers. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7766/1...6051095e_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8889/1...b9fe1e25_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7702/1...8c1728e7_c.jpg Upon arrival in Munich, I was first off the plane and through immigration very quickly. One advantage of the terminal used by BA is that you rarely find yourself behind another flight. I found my way to the S-Bahn station within a few minutes. I took the S-1 train to the München Hauptbahnhof. I had pre-purchased train and subway tickets online, which made for an efficient journey. At the Hbf I had more time than expected, so I ordered a käse brezel and used the wifi during my hour or so prior to my train to Nürnberg. The ICE train to Nuremberg was very nice. The total journey was about 1:15, and I had a pleasant seat in first class with a table, and worked and ate my pretzel. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5455/1...408a41f2_c.jpg At Nuremberg Hbf, I quickly made my way to the U-Bahn and took the subway a few stops to my meeting. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5323/1...a0a554f4_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8873/1...0ecd7ae8_c.jpg After 4-5 hours of discussions, I bid my client farewell, returned via the U-Bahn, and then slept on the one hour ICE train to Augsburg. Upon arrival in Augsburg., I was met by my friends and enjoyed dinner at a brewery right next to the train station (Brauerei S. Riegele). I enjoyed a ribeye steak and fried potatoes. |
Fast track security is available in the North Security at the far left hand end
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Originally Posted by Calchas
(Post 24880923)
Fast track security is available in the North Security at the far left hand end
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Originally Posted by dylanks
(Post 24881216)
Yes, it normally is, but it wasn't at 5:30am... once you cleared the fast track boarding scan, all queues converged together basically.
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May 16-17: Augsburg, Germany
My friends were moving into a new house the weekend after my visit, so I spent the majority of the weekend helping them prepare for their move across town in Augsburg.
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7675/1...5ef9f07c_c.jpg This was particularly interesting, as it seems that Germans receive bare-bones kitchens and must install everything, whereas Americans are used to moving into a house with everything in place in the kitchen. As such, we spent a lot of time working on building kitchen counters, adding electrical sockets, leveling things, and other handy work. I did enjoy German food for breakfasts (pretzels, bread, meat, etc.). https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8810/1...1449b2d8_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5347/1...8cef91ae_c.jpg We had lunch each day at a pair of different biergartens (one in Augsburg, the Waldgaststätte Parkhäusl, which is located near the zoo, and one near München, Villa Romantica, which has a very nice view). https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5341/1...a5d27246_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7798/1...53fca28e_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7709/1...31c52483_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8789/1...7b315f15_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5454/1...129228a5_c.jpg For dinners we enjoyed the cooking of my friends. I also managed to catch up on sleep a bit, averaging closer to 7 hours per night, which would help for the long week ahead, where I had six flights over six days. |
May 18: MUC-LHR
May 18
MUC-LHR BA 949 CE Seat 1D Scheduled: 10:30 - 11:20 Actual: 10:30 - 12:28 My friends were nice enough to drop me off at the München airport, and after checking in I found a couple of German snacks and then the basic BA lounge. Check-in, passport check, and security were all fast (less than five minutes total). Frankly this lounge has seen much better days, and was very crowded other than these sofas in the middle: https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8841/1...052cd094_c.jpg The food selection was fairly poor (I'm not sure how a lounge in Bavaria cannot have pretzels!). The flight boarded on-time, but we were informed that due to rain and wind at LHR, that ATC was limiting traffic flow into LHR and that our take-off slot was delayed by 30 minutes. So we pulled back from the gate as it was needed for another aircraft, and then waited. BA cabin crew brought snacks around (some nuts typically found on longhaul flights) and some still water. The cabin temperature was a touch too warm. We departed, and during the flight, lunch was served. It was a very basic combo of meat and mozzarella, bread, etc. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8850/1...f083505e_c.jpg As we approached London, we were further delayed by ATC. We landed about an hour late, and then arrived at a bus gate right next to the high number A gates. After all of the CE passengers were onboard, we were quickly bussed to the arrivals and flight connections area. Looking at the queues again, fast track again appeared slower than the normal queue, so this time I conducted an experiment and took the normal non-EU passport queue. I observed that the people at the end of the fast track queue when I arrived were only 50% of the way through the queue when I was finished after about fifteen minutes. I was quickly through the terminal and on the Heathrow Express. I'm pleasantly surprised with how much the wifi on the hex train has improved to become mostly usable. Upon arrival at Paddington, I fetched my extra luggage, and then took a taxi to the Royal Horseguards hotel. I was pleasantly surprised with this hotel, other than my room having a musty scent to it. The wifi was possibly the fastest and most reliable I've experienced in a hotel (and offered at no additional charge), and overall the service was stellar. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8776/1...f02a705e_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8858/1...b13414d0_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8862/1...f4ee5af9_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7726/1...7d6c4741_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7696/1...eb72e400_c.jpg I did not have time to try the flat screen tv set built into the wall of the shower. There was a protest outside the Sri Lanka embassy which made for an interesting arrival. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8761/1...57b99fa7_c.jpg After a quick shower and some work, I took the tube to the Shoreditch area for a dinner at HIX at the Tramshed. They make a nice steak, and I had an enjoyable meal and nice conversation with some people organizing and speaking at the conference I would attend the following day. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7715/1...bd19ce51_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8889/1...8f1972ab_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5446/1...1099e5ee_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7775/1...278bb2ac_c.jpg I returned to my hotel via tube around 10:30pm, and finished my day with some FaceTime, a short bit of fitness, and a bit more work, before falling asleep around 1:00am. |
May 20: LHR-ARN
I woke up around 6am, showered, had a repeat of the previous day's Royal Horseguard's breakfast, and then checked out and took a taxi to Paddington, and then the Heathrow Express train to LHR.
May 20 LHR-ARN BA 778 ET Seat 12A Scheduled and actual: 11:20 - 14:45 I arrived at Heathrow fairly early (around 9am), and was in the Flounge by 9:30. First class and Club world check-in were both very crowded, so I waited about 10-15 minutes for the first class area. South and north security were both allegedly the same wait, but south fast track was very crowded, so I headed to north security and was through within five minutes. At the Flounge, I sat on the terrace as it was already a bit crowded in the lounge. The lounge and terrace were a bit too warm, and there were a series of announcements about the toilets not working in the south lounges, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...uncements.html I enjoyed the again fast wifi, and worked until it was time to board from gate A5. Fast track boarding commenced a few minutes after I arrived in the gate, and I was in my only non-aisle seat of the trip. Just before boarding was finished, a pilot sat in the middle seat (12B). However, a few minutes later a flight attendant asked if she could see his boarding pass, and then stealthily moved him to CE. That was fine with me, as the exit row had more legroom than his final CE seat. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7769/1...294f9908_c.jpg I was tired, and slept the majority of the flight, though was awake long enough to take a few photos from the air. The cabin temperature was a touch too warm. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7734/1...12ce5163_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8871/1...7626f91a_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7713/1...d2033daf_c.jpg Arrival at ARN was efficient, though baggage delivery was slow and the lack of priority baggage service by BA further delayed things. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8758/1...6d438afe_c.jpg I took a pre-booked Arlanda Express train to the city, and realized I had booked the ticket for the wrong day. Luckily this was not an issue and more humorous than anything else., and I had the tickets printed at the central station. https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7722/1...2dfc72df_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5323/1...2640dc45_c.jpg After finding cash from a bankomat, I took a short taxi ride to the Scandic Anglais. In my experience, Scandic can be widely variable as they have locations at all price points. This hotel is one of their nicer ones, with a Jamie Oliver Italian restaurant in the lobby. I was quickly checked in to my room, and enjoyed the fast wifi. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5461/1...d3034491_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8868/1...1b3fa7c1_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8871/1...238dcb42_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5447/1...806a76d1_c.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8788/1...3c6b6371_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5332/1...67c921e4_c.jpg After some meetings and a shower, I headed to dinner at Restaurang Niklas for a meeting with a client. The dinner was excellent, with the Secreto Iberico (polenta) and a nice chocolate brownie for dessert. The restaurant itself has very interesting decor, with kitchens throughout (I did not ask, but it appears that they probably offer cooking classes during off hours). As I will often do at restaurants, I asked the server what she recommended, and ordered as suggested. I find that at the right restaurants, this often leads to enjoying something I would not normally order, and it worked out well on this occasion. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5348/1...563714ed_c.jpg https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7661/1...9f8b741b_c.jpg I walked back to my hotel around 10:30pm, had a couple of meetings, and finished the night with FaceTime and some fitness. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8767/1...257d700b_c.jpg |
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