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FIRST FT TRIP REPORT AA/BA
PART 1, WILL CONTINUE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME
Hey everyone. I have thrown on here a couple of trip reports that I have done elsewhere, but this is my first for FT. I did an American Airlines mileage run, hence will post at Trip Report and AA, maybe BA. I would very much appreciate your thoughts and critiques, thanks. The overall itinerary was LAX-MIA AA 777 BUSINESS, MIA-LHR AA 777 PEE-ON (COACH), BA A319 LHR-AMS (ALL COACH FOR THE REMAINDER), BA(BRITISH REGIONAL IN BA COLO(U)RS EMBRAER AMS-MAN, BA 733 MAN-LGW, BA 735 LGW-CDG, BA A319 CDG-LGW, AA 777 LHR-JFK, AA 767-200 JFK-LAX. This was my first long haul trip after 9/11, arrived back from Down Under right after 9/11, but wasn't nervous about Qantas. Also, they had just started the new baggage checking rules, so that added some salt to everything. Also, when I was booking this thing, had booked, courtesy hold, that Reid guy was lighting his shoe on an AA flight from CDG to MIA. That was a challenge to go ahead and do this, but I am glad that I did. For anyone who has elite status, I assume most of you are and everyone on the AA board seems to be in the same boat as me, AA Platinum or other AA elite, you know how important this stuff is. Anyway, I started out LAX-MIA 777, Business Class, very nice. Easy check-in. Tried to schmooze a free upgrade out of the agent, the only time I dressed up for it on this trip, and she explained that since 9/11, no more free upgrades, no more first class ticket jackets, etc., and a whole bunch of other things have gone bye! No more magazines onboard or in the Admirals Club, save American Way. Looks tacky and cheap, but I always bring my own. To my surprise, no special baggage check at LAX, bags were off, and off to the Admirals Club, which I have access to on an int'l itinerary. Again, no magazines, some left over newspapers, free magazine-promotional(crap) and American Way, all very tacky and cheap. Oh well. Had a couple of drinks then off to MIA. It was nice to get airside again, a no-no since pax only after 9/11. Hate that rule. The whole world, save the Aussies(whom I love), do pax only to the gates. The Kiwis started as of 9/11. Maybe someday they will figure out that any dipstick http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif can go buy a ticket, go airside, and then leave. DUH! I, ah, kind of, sort of, did that during the Gulf War, can't keep me from my lounges. So far, haven't found the need, but if I need to, it is an option. They have actually made it very easy to sneak airside(think e-ticket, hmmmmmm). Gee, like terrorists would never think about it. Incredible!!! Anyway, the pax only rule is un-American. It is a Euro/Canadian rule that leaves the airside in Terminals empty and underused, and can create havoc for people trying to see/greet loved ones. Was the case with my fiance, making a difference of about an hour with her, but I digress. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Anyway, good to be airside again. So many shops there, nothing in the public area. Almost depressing to go to LAX, save Bradley, to visit. Boarding was easy, wasn't profiled, YEAH!!! Said *CLR* on my boarding pass, so as a loyal Platinum they must like me. The seat was great, 60" of legroom, and just very comfy. The negative, I get to sit next to cell phone man(yes, I have a cell phone and love it!), but this was ridiculous. Non-stop yacking from the time I boarded til they closed the door. Then he pulls out the airphone and more yacking. Drove me literally insane. I was looking for a seat to move to, but all windows were taken. This guy just never shut up, oh my! One of my turnoffs to Business Class, cell phones, laptops, and their crap all over the place, and usually not very friendly. I put my headphones on, pulled out Business Traveler, and tried to ignore him. It wasn't easy. I think he called everyone he ever knew. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Some kid tried to give himself a free upgrade. They caught him, kicked him back to coach, but they were good sports about it. He was dressed in a very tacky way, which I don't care, but if you're gonna try to sneak up there, hey, dress the part dude! FYI, there were several empty seats in the middle, rare for AA Bus. We had a 2 hour delay, so killing off any free time in MIA, but was relieved that I didn't have any connections. Many were stressing out as they had connects to South America. What I hated was the BS. They kept making announcements, another 20 minute delay, etc...etc..finally after 2 **** hours, we're off......I get mad cause that stuff happens all the time....Also, cell phone man made it worse.... The flight was great, flying across the Southern US, they had the map, going out over Louisiana over the Gulf of Mexico. There were thousands of boats and ships out there, cool. Haven't seen that since Asia, a nice sight to see again. The food was great. Sorry, I give all menus to a friend in Paris and they are long gone. The usual AA chicken, salad, and then tiramisu, with a nicely given sundae on top(asked for), love their sundaes, but have to say the Tiramisu was very good as well. Very good orange juice, as AA doesn't serve Perrier, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. Unfortunately, my first time with the plastic yuckware. All plastic, was surprised for a domestic US flight, expected it for the UK. It was a nicer set than in coach, so, whatever... It is just tacky for upfront, I don't care about it in the back, and fewer things to, ah, "borrow" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Hmmm I can assure you it is more economical than safety, but they will never admit it. They had the usual IFE/ personal video, which everyone has(on the 777 and Airbus), by the way. AA's IFE is not the best, with CBS Eye on America (I hate CBS so much!!!! where is NBC when you need them ? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) and tons of I love Lucy. Can we get some more sitcoms please? To my delight, they had a Japanese audio channel which I enjoyed and listened to the majority of the trip, as well as some Brazilian music. Hey, the plane was going on to Rio, so why not? Had one Japanese song going through my head the whole trip. Would be terrible if they had some Euro music on there!? UGH Again, the service was good, lot's of refills on the drinks, and gave a few SOS(Platinum comment cards) to one F/A, who was just great. She gave me the extra sundae. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif They also did a cookies and milk service prior to landing, which I love, but like with JFK, they always wait way too long to do that service and I know the F/A's take home half of them. Let's see some seconds, please. We had a cool approach into MIA, straight in from the West. You could see the lighted bridge out to Key West, yes at night. Love flying into this airport. After landing you can feel the humidity, the windows steam up, etc. I was the last to get my bags as I had to look around a bit. They completely re-did the baggage claim from last time, interesting. Picked up some Cuban food, not bad. It is weird to need to speak Spanish there, but it is fun. I took the airtrain out to concourse E, but no ticket, so couldn't go past security, oh well, all AA, but the train helps you to see most of the airport. Then waited over an hour for the shuttle to the Doubletree Club Hotel, and sweating bullets. Dang humidity! Ugh! Yes, I yelled at them, 2 phone calls. They knocked off $20 off the rate, not bad. The hotel is more or less a dump(ok more http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ), but good view of MIA and the Southerly runway, so guess what I did(watched planes). The hotel is cheap and you get Hilton miles, with a double Hilton promo, worth it. I love the Embassy Suites MIA, but too expensive, especially for an overnight transfer. For that matter, I love Embassy Suites period, how could you not? I ordered the biggest calzone I have ever seen and BYO my own Perrier, thanks, from a local pizza place. Molto bene! I overnighted at MIA to get more miles out of the trip( a reason to fly AA alone), upgrade on the 777, hard to do domestically, and I just love MIA, though I can't stand that awful humidity. Plus, it is a nice, warm break during the winter, with Europe freezing. I love Miami, for that matter. What a beautiful place. ------------------ MD AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold |
Nice trip report, it was quite entertaining to read. Thanks!
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PART 2 MIA-LHR : The next day I played around MIA, schmoozing my way into the Int'l terminal(A concourse) so I could access the BA terracess lounge, Perrier and all, makes the Admirals Club look like a freaking joke. The agent(not very friendly) had to look up my status, but as I knew what she really should know, I was in) Needless to say I "borrowed" some Perrier and Milano cookies. The lounge is comfortable, nice lounge chairs, with a view of the field. Conversely, the AA Admirals at B concourse(they duly closed the one at D, which was nice) was packed with no where to sit, may as well sit in the terminal, which is what I did. By the way, there was a LONG line for first class check-in at AA, but she was friendly and forgot to ask the security questions, oops..... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Let alone anything with the bags, so guess standard bag match, which they usually do internationally,is in place. I think we are now at a point where there is more security domestically than internationally, oh great. After BA, with my Priority Pass card, made my way to Club America, a private club all over MIA, though they just closed down one of the other clubs, GROWL(hate club closures!) OPENING = GOOD!, CLOSING = BAD! This is a very nice lounge, very comfy, and Perrier everywhere(Brian, in your dreams dude! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) . They had the full bottles. There isn't much to eat save nibbling on some nuts and whatever that 5,000 hands have played with, ok. The seats are very comfy, but the staff are so unfriendly. Time to smile. They were all latin, so English was not their strong point to say the least but they could have been friendly, just doesn't hurt. I was surprised as the people from Miami usually are quite friendly. I had discovered something new here. You can access from airside concourse A(where I was, the int'l terminal), concourses B, C, D, and E, without having to go back through security. Have never seen this before. If it hadn't been for 9-11, I wouldn't care, but since that time, going through security in the US has become a major, major pain!!! shoe checking and all, which wasn't done at all on this trip, hmmmmmmm I was glad that I had done my airport shopping, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, as in pick up timetables, baggage tags, etc, on the way in. Someone had left out old boarding passes and goodies, and I mean OLD, lying on one of the counters, so I was happy. Within a short time my bag is full, what can I say? I love all the carriers from the Carribean and Latin America, makes me excited just to see some odd ball airline from Venezuela, etc..... Ok, as I had said, quick trip to Admirals, Concourse B, YUCK! The agent was nice and so she earned an SOS card, but nowhere to sit, too crowded, too noisy. Nothing different from the concourse, DUH! They had no business closing the club at D, which was so nice. Also, by going airside, I had forfeited the club at E which is landside, also nice with good views, oh well... I have access to the DL Crown Room in F or G, but again, will leave till next time, DL has internet access and free everything... AA comps the basics, why I would never pay for Admirals, get real! I am amazed to see so many people pay $$$ for it... The only really good US airline lounge is Northwest Worldclub, but that may be a secret, so, shhhhhhhhh http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Boarding gate to LHR was a madhouse, with a new present from 9/11. They now check your passport at the gate, never did that for a domestic airline, but the European ones always have. Maybe Abdul could sneak onto a flight with someone else's boarding pass? you never know!?, but it did throw me off and I had to go fish for my passport, vs. the drivers license now checked on all flights that was readily available. Then, they did a changing of the guard on the passport check, had to show it again 10 seconds later when they scanned my boarding pass, again having to fish it out, not happy. The gate area was swamped, tons of people, and many were sent to secondary check, then they had to prove they had done the check before boarding. Horribly unorganized! First, it was coach, so not much to expect. The flight was heavier than expected, but I had the bulkhead aisle, a good seat, I think 21 something(right hand side). I still have to enter all this stuff in my flight logbook. Since 9/11, they now keep all the curtains open, so we get to see everything. Good for us in coach, tacky for those who paid $5K or more to fly Business Class. No longer any privacy. I could tell from the outset that the crew was not as friendly, typical transatlantic, with one F/A in business chastizing a guy over his cell phone, ok, I liked that!, but he was rude. As I had an aisle seat, had to look over my neighbor for a view of the planes at MIA on takeoff, northerly runway, some view of the lights around the airport, then with a turn, no more view for me. FYI, from MIA, it is straight out over the (Atlantic) ocean to Europe, not up the coast which you'd expect, hence, why do a window? I got up several times to stretch my legs, strongly recommended against DVT and all. The food was good. I had expected the cheap plastic as I was now back in coach and the beloved UK has a rule of all plastic on all flights, while they are doing full silverware, including the knives, within Continental Europe, go figure. American Airlines meals, overall, are good. I have always liked the quality, and in my opinion, they are the best for US Airlines, but no match for AF, fyi. The crew overall weren't that friendly, too senior, rushed the service, but did come out for more drinks rounds than in the past. My personal view is that they were keeping an eye on us, with all the curtains open, more F/A's were out and about than I have ever seen, with a F/A in Business on the jump seat facing us, and watching. I understand, but annoying. How I always pictured Interflug, the former East German airline. Reminded me of how one of my French professors would go out in the hallway during our exams but would peak in, you never knew when he was watching http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I brought reading material, again, Business Traveler, studied the OAG(Flight schedules) for a future trip to South Africa, and followed the flight map while listening to those cool Japanese songs, I still have that one in my head. We had a nice breakfast before approach, small, cooked omelette and accompaniments, like a banana or something, not sure. The omelette was good. My seatmate, a very nice Swedish man living in London, was quiet the whole flight, then we chatted in the last hour, as this usually happens. He is a Star Alliance Gold, so we compared notes and he answered questions about the EU-European Union, very informative...(FYI, I used to be a United Airlines Premier Executive, the equiv. a Star Alliance Gold, so could relate). Anyway, we came through the clouds and London rain, I could see some view over him, & watching the flight map. To our surprise, and my enjoyment, we did an aborted landing at Heathrow, as I knew we were way too high for landing, so I got a freebie, yeah! Love flying into Heathrow. We turned around and had to go back into the London queue for landing(they should have short cut us back in). The dear Pakistani child in the row in front(middle of the cabin) didn't agree with that maneuever and duly, ah, got sick shall we say, and we could all smell it http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The captain finally came on and told us why- that another plane hadn't cleared the taxiway. It was a BA 777, fyi. move it buddy! So, we came in again, freebie approach, and landed. The family of the baby got up and the F/A duly came back and chastized, it was a draw, kind of fun, but the smell was ICK. I parted goodbye to my new friend and entered Terminal 3, which I love. All kinds of nice planes from around the world. I love the new Gulf Air colo(u)rs. ------------------ MD AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold |
PART 3 LHR-AMS Ok, arrived at Heathrow Terminal 3. It was great to get off that dear plane, even if it was at the very last gate of that outer satelite. Great to be able to walk and see all the planes at T3. I know sounds stupid, but I love the big radar tower at Heathrow spinning around, always fun to see. Now we start off with British bureaucracy(idiocracy if you prefer http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ). There is a rule that you can't visit the lounges airside in any way if you are an arriving passenger, not the case in any other country in the world that I know of(would be physically impossible in the US with the set up of our airports). To my surprise, there is another rule, can't visit a lounge, even though you walk right past it, if you are a transfer passenger until you have cleared security again. If you are going out of Terminal 3, I don't have a problem with it, but I do if you are transfering to another terminal as you then have the pleasure of clearing security twice, which is really quite a pain. They stamp your boarding pass, oh goody. I had the option of exiting through HM Immigration and customs, but then the landside way to Terminal 4 is a royal pain. I believe, if I am correct, that it is because of the British rule that arrivals lounges( a good concept) was created. London was the first place to have arrivals lounges because of this rule, but I am glad that the concept has spread worldwide. In other European countries, you can visit the lounge on arrival, no problems. Oh well. I do it all the time in Paris and Frankfurt. Just give them your flight #. This is helpful when I only fly into the airport, out of another, would feel cheated by not being able to visit. So, I played their game, after visiting the Admirals Club and confirming the rule, went to the secure area, fortunately no queue(line), did the security fun, then toured the shopping area, which happens to be one of my most favorite on earth. The British Airports do have wonderful shopping and departures areas. Singapore and Sydney the same. Then I was able to visit Admirals, in my opinion their best club in the system, though the new DFW club at A concourse gives competition. I also visited the Kuwait Airways Lounge, which I am entitled to under the Priority Pass program( can visit many lounges around the world, love it!) The negative was that when I had gone to visit the BA lounge at T3, to which I had full access and was completely empty, she had sent me away, saying as I wasn't flying BA out of Terminal 3, I couldn't go (BS!) The fact that my fellow Americans(cool guy working there) took me at Admirals says it all. The fact is, if you are traveling on a Oneworld flight, with the appropriate status, you have lounge access and she was just being nitpicky, one of my gripes about my ancestral Britain. Oh well. She did tick me off, in all honesty, more on principle. Usually, I visit other lounges to get magazines, but would be flying out of here later and had enough rubbish to carry, so didn't bother. Anyway, for my first time, I took the transfer bus to Terminal 4, kind of fun, as you go out onto the field and then underneath the tarmac. It was a new approach to Terminal 4, which is huge. I also love this terminal, excellent shopping and the BA Terraces are great. I had 5 hours altogether between flights, set up that way, so I had plenty of time to check out the shops and then hang out at the 2 lounge areas, with permission to visit the First Class lounge, all very nice. It was my first time to avail of the comfortable showers facilities there, a pleasant touch after an overnight flight, and I did come out feeling fresh. At this time, BA's sandwhiches were out(which are delicious) along with several little cookies and nidbits to munch on. I grabbed a few of the snacks and then went to the gate. I also visited the KLM lounge on the other end of Termainl 4, gratis a Priority Pass. Nice, but very basic snacks. The irony is that I can visit this lounge at LHR but not the KLM lounges at AMS, save when I used to fly Northwest/KLM Business some time ago. I boarded my first BA A319, possibly my first A319 altogether, though I could have sworn I have flown an Air Canada 319bus before, will have to research the flight log book. Friendly crew greeted me and the plane was immaculate. I was surprised to find the bulkhead ( a plus of AA Platinum/Oneworld Sapphire) to be the row behind Business, nothing special/roving curtain. Business Class in Europe is a joke as it is a moving curtain, but then Bus. class is really full Y fare. I loved the inflight map that popped down from the overhead. Standard announcements and then a good take off out of LHR. North, over the orbital, and NE toward Holland. Middle seat open, fellow yank at the aisle, didn't say a word, which was fine. I was reading Business Traveler and passing out here and there. They did a quick white snack bag of a sandwhich and a cup of water. Sometimes you get a biscuit/cookie, muffin, or whatever. I didn't care. First, I was full from the lounge and second, I was exhausted, as I had been up for who knows how long. Was counting the minutes til I hit my bed at the Amsterdam Airport Sheraton, a very nice hotel. They do a nice full beverage service, duly taking my Malverns sparkling water, a la Americain(with ice). We had the customary approach over the Dutch coastline, love it, completely straight and flat, nice, then over the countryside. The negative was that they had retracted the map, hate that! Turns out with winds and maneuvers by the Amsterdam ATC, the pilot referred to it as the tour of Holland http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif and we actually had a nice bit of scenery, flying over the coastline and some small villages, loved it!, we had to circle for about 20 minutes or so. Then for my first time I had a spectacular view of Amsterdam, right hand side, from the air. This I loved. You could see everything and clearly AMS has grown since I was last there years ago, very impressive. We had a good touchdown and taxi to the gate. BA and all the British carriers seem to share one concourse, concourse D. It is perfect, it is the last concourse in the international area of the airport, but next to Schengen(no borders in Europe ), so works well for customs. I was exhausted and knew I would be back later when I flew out, so I took a quick look and then went to get my first passport stamp in 2002. I miss the old stamps from Europe pre-Schengen, now they are all generic and boring, but it is still fun to get a stamp. They were impressed with my couple words of Dutch and smiled. Then baggage reclaim, always happy to see my bags again http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Last time I was here, no customs officers were present, as the area shares with the schengen arrivals and no customs for those boarding in the UK, but full customs for anyone coming from outside the EU as this was my first port of entry into the EU. I made the mistake of being friendly, again, surprised he was even there, and said hello. For some reason, I feel funny saying Goed Dag, don't know why. He then asked if I spreek Nederlands? I don't speak Dutch but know a few words and understood him. I think he was surprised when he knew what I had asked. When he saw I was a bonafide Yank tourist he waved me on in the Green channel, but I think he was suspicious that I was actually Dutch trying to get by through speaking English. A customs tip, they are usually after their own citizens coming home, very much the case in the US, as they usually have the most to declare, when they are returning home. It was cool to be landise again, pushing my luggage cart between the shops. They have an entire shopping concourse in the arrivals level, probably one of the best in the world, why Schiphol is one of the World's favorite airports, I agree. The way to the Sheraton is via a large shopping area, very spacious, up a ramp, through the bridge to the car parks, and there you are, in the lobby. The hotel is fanstastic, very comfortable, good colors, multi level atrium, and the staff are as friendly as could be. As a Sheraton/Starwood Gold member, I was upgraded to a Club room, but missed the Executive room, so next time, will have to shoot for that http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. When I said "tot ziens" (goodbye), the staff at the desk just smiled. Impressed. Hey, Dutch is a neat language. Can you imagine my relief when I hit the room? It is a gorgeous room, as requested, high floor with a view of the planes. The bed is incredible and just everything, bathroom and all, very nice. I stayed there once before and swore I would get back. One of the advantages of staying by the airport, the hotels are newer and cleaner, vs. the hotels downtown that are so overpriced and old,for the most part... With a little bit of energy left, how, I don't know http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, I changed and checked out the main terminal. The place was packed, tons of people everywhere and you could see the new security checks in place(manual/KLM and X-ray/Delta) for the US flights. I love this airport and my favorite is that Oneworld has its own areas at the end of the check-in concourse at the South Terminal, every Oneworld airline has a very large and spacious facility. Kind of a :-P~~~ to the Star Alliance, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I would like to see an area like this at all airports, as from what I have seen, it is the first of its kind. As mentioned before, great shopping. I went to the airport supermarket and bought a few fresh sausages, bread, and some Droste Dutch chocolate-pastilles, love those! I was looking forward to Spa, a Dutch/Belgian mineral water, very good. So took a short break from Perrier. All good and for a reasonable fee. Ah, my first time with the Euro, which I exchanged at the customs area exchange desk. They are cool in that they are close to the US $$$. With Holland before, it was divide by 2, no problem, but with Greece, it got sticky, so the Euro will come in handy. However, I would ask the Europeans if they are ready to lose some individual sovereignty??? If they are, great. I would never want to part with the US $$$. Too special. The Euro will make traveling easier for us and them, however, I think that years down the line, they will miss their own money and having control over it. I am proud of our British cousins holding on to the pound. Denmark and Sweden also held on to their crowns,fyi. Ok, it was an evening of sleep and watching Euro tv. My favorite being CNN Int'l, truly a good station. I toured the hotel and love the ice machines, they know us Americans http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The job now was to fight the jetlag, from which I was exhausted. ------------------ MD AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold |
Guys, seriously, do you want me to go on with this? I am happy either way, just that I need to see more interest to take the time to write this stuff. Thanks, Michael ------------------ MD AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold |
You can't leave us hanging PLEASE finish the report. They are great to read.
Thanks Nat |
"You can't leave us hanging PLEASE finish the report. They are great to read. "
Global, you are a stud! I so much enjoyed reading your comments and now this, cheers. I will get on it. No one was saying anything so I figured, why bother. Although my aviation penpals have shown an interest, so, I am guess I am letting people down :=))) Take care and thanks, appreciated. ------------------ MD AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold |
PART 4, AMS-MAN BA EMBRAER JET Ok, time to pick it up. Thanks for showing an interest, I needed that. With jetlag, one usually arises early in the morning, and no exception here in Amsterdam. I stayed at this Sheraton long ago and remembered their incredible breakfast buffet. Hence, I made my way down there to the nice, comfy restaurant. The room is spacious, unlike many Euro resto's, no offence :=))), the staff are friendly, and English is not a problem, one reason I love Holland and more so Amsterdam. Needless to say the buffet was excellent, with some of the packaged cheeses and things "ACCIDENTALLY" falling into my pocket, OOPS! :=))) Hey, for 20 something Euros, close to $20 something $$$, I don't have a problem. I sat next to a flight crew, I think it was Garuda, embarrassed that I can't remember. More F/A's just kept coming in and they all squeezed in at the one table.... I could have asked them thousands of questions, i.e. may I have your wings please?, but I was polite. I had a good view of some of the planes at the last concourse at Schiphol on the int'l side, where some of the funky intercontinental goodies come. EVA 744 is nothing rare for me, but cool to see. ELAL 757, love the old colors... I wanted to sneak over there and watch the boarding, a fun process to watch... The most secure flight on the earth, more fun to be a lurker than a pax and then can walk away :=))), though I got into trouble in Frankfurt photographing the plane(757). The Germans and the Israelis didn't like that and I was followed/watched for quite a while, I still remember that, UGH!!! There were the usuals, tons of KLM, NW, and what have you. Anyway, I had to hit the lounge upstairs where I swiped some San Pelligrino and they had some Westin chocolates....nice lounge, top floor of the hotel, decent view, but my room is just as comfy, plus, it was time to go explore Schiphol. San Pellegrinos included http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The hotel is connected via a long pedestrian bridge to the train/shopping area at the arrivals level. So convenient, every airport in the world should have something like this... I went outside to get some fresh air and that was enough, dank U. Freezing and that wind thing going nuts, was enough. I did a quick check on the shops, not very long, met my friend from Paris there last summer and we lived in the aviation shop. I honestly, I know crazy!, completely avoided the aviation/model shop. Too much temptation. I was on a budget and I had probably spent 200-300 $$$$$$ last summer.....plus, no room in the baggage to carry all that STUFF. Had it been at the end of the trip, who knows... then you can just spend :=))) Ok, toured the departures area, West and South..... Packed to the gills with people and very busy. For some reason, and Frankfurt is similar, everyone is walking fast and on their cell phone, almost pushing you out of the way. I noticed London was a little more relaxed and more so Paris, which is nice. The crowding and rushing was driving me crazy, to be honest..... I am so sick off all those cell phones....... Do these people have a freaking life off the thing??? I love mine, but get real :=))). I did a check of all check-in counters, not to much to nick, but I tried... I think a few timetables.... There are more pickings at the West area. Croatia inflight magazine. Yes, Darwin, I have one for you :=))) (dang they are heavy!). The creme de la creme was the Ghana Airways magazine. I asked the woman if she could hand me it, she did, I was very happy. Anything from Africa puts a smle on my face, as Philippe knows well :=))), merci! Not too much else, to my surprise...... Anyway, now came the guts and glory. With my carry on and my flight ticket on BA to Manchester, not due for several hours that evening, I went to the Schengen area security control ( no borders/passport control) , showed my ticket(vs. boarding pass), they didn't say a word, and let me in. OK! :=) Some airports I think would make a big deal if it is about 10am and your flight leaves at 1800, or supposed to anyway, :=))). A cute oriental girl wanted to check my pocket at security control, to be honest, no problem there :=))). What a change from getting frisked by guys at London, Miami, and Vienna, and a pleasant one at that, smile. With that, I was able to get a substantial part of the airport out of the way and see a new concourse. Granted, the concourses at Schiphol are very generic, but I want to see all atleast once. I hit both concourses, very, very LONG!, all the way to the end. My reward was a leftover Montreal Gazette(in English) newspaper which I duly removed. I love Montreal, love to get news from there. It was mine!!! I had access to 2 lounges, Globeground and some new company, they seem to be all over Europe now... the first one didn't check a boarding pass, nice, and was reasonably spacious.... I borrowed their Financial Times(love that paper) and several chocolates and biscuits, many of which went to my friend in Paris. I could tell people were watching me take a few trips over, nothing big....No inflight magazines to borrow, so that sucked! Had a couple of hot chocolates, not bad, and the staff was friendly... Some guy was yacking in some Eastern European language on his cell phone, was driving me crazy to find out what it was-hey, I love languages, I gotta know... I am gonna go with Polish, if no points, fine... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Went to the other lounge-Globeground. Small hole in the wall, clean, but too small, as British Midland came in and took over half of their lounge... I should have just left. She wanted a boarding pass and didn't want to show her my ticket, so we played a game. Won't go through all the details but it was exhaustive doing a 360 around this woman. I spent maybe 5 minutes there, too small, nothing good. My reward was some sparkling water and she let me take the BM inflight magazine, sorry Darwin, only one..... was surprised that she so readily let me have it... With that, I checked out the shops, the fresh smell of cheese and all, very nice! Didn't want to bother with passport control til I left. If you do, they scan your passport and it stays on your record for who knows how long. Brussels looked at me more closely for doing the in and out thing of their airport, hence, I shall be more careful as I go to Europe several times a year.... if it had been the old days of just Holland, I wouldn't care......Now, officers in Athens and Copenhagen are looking at your ins and outs in Amsterdam. OH Schengen!!! Anyway, bought some chocolates and yes, she wanted to see a boarding pass. UGH! Schengen, no more Duty Free, what is going on? It is technically a domestic part of the airport. To the positive, she accepted my ticket( if I were to hang out there til 6pm I really would have no life :=))) ), no questions. I was amazed. FYI, no tax on the items bought, the store eats it, so it does pay to shop airside. I can see getting through security but after that you should be checking in at the transit counter. No, AMS is cool. I know other airports would have made a fuss. Why I love Schiphol so much! With that, one last persousal and downstairs through customs... Was a little concerned, as no checked luggage and hence, no coveted green tag, so, I just went through... When I had come through last summer, there were no officers. Now, they had 2/3 officers and someone's bags were being thoroughly checked in the customs booth, poor soul. They must be watching out for the white baggage tags, glad to no longer have one. Once you land in Europe, save Switzerland, there is no customs..... but you may have to show a boarding pass from your flight. What the dear woman at Globeground wanted to see from my, hmmmmmm, arrival flight from Paris........:=)))))))))) I know that I will get into trouble when I say that I had passed on going into Amsterdam. Atleast Brian will chastize me, fair. I had a very comfy room, was a little tired, and wanted to pack all the new goodies that I had picked up on the trip, SO FAR. Bad, I know... I am still unpacking. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif This is one of the nicest hotel rooms, didn't want to leave it, and it ain't cheap either. I figure I can do the take the train to Amsterdam next time, and there will def. be a next time. Everyone speaks English, so never a language problem, very, very nice!!! and the women are cute...Yes, I am engaged, but I think I am still allowed to look!?, right dear? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I did a swim in the pool. Nice pool, had it to myself most of the time. It had that fresh water that you get in Switzerland and Germany, hence, my stay was longer. I love anything with water....More relaxing and enjoyed the 4pm checkout gratis a Sheraton Gold status. Again, the staff couldn't have been friendlier. A quick check out and threw my bags onto a baggage cart and off to BA. I may have said before, Oneworld has its own check-in area at Schiphol, which I love. It is large, spacious, and nicer than the hometown KLM and NW areas. As a Oneworld Sapphire I was able to check-in at the BA Club Europe check-in and she was friendly, it was quick, and I was happy :+))). I want to see similiar Oneworld check-in zones at all airports! Would be wonderful. By the way, stick * Alliance, :-P~~~ http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Ok, some more looking. Checked out the upstairs, restos and all, full from breakfast and snacks from the lounges, but wanted to see all areas of the airport. Another present from 9/11, the beloved observation deck was closed, BOOOOOOOOOO. Ok, too cold, but still, I would have endured, even with my leather jacket packed away. I remember it from days past, good views and lot's of room to move around. Dang 9-11........ I went to the far end of the West terminal, swiped some Martinair baggage tags, rare for me!, and did the passport control thing. I politely waited in line, queued, handed my passport to the officer, who was cool, gave me my exit stamp, even though I would be back in dear old Schengen tomorrow. An EgyptAir pilot waltzes right up thinking he can flash his passport, nah ah. So the MS crew blocked my way waving their passports. Can you say rude? They made the rude European people look good, I say ugh... I have been to Egypt so know what it is like... they are kinda, ah, impatient!!! :=))) Wait your turn, then you can go. I liked how the officer controled them. They were humbled(read pissed). Security was a breeze compared to earlier... though no women wanted to check my pockets http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif((((((((((( . http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. There was a dang cute Dutch girl, security officer standing to the side........UGH......:=))) ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
I remember all this from before. Good shopping areas and made my way out to the intercontinental gate area(far left concourse). Hit it all the way to the end, then back, no rewards, nothing to pick up. There is a good view from the end of the concourse. Some weird ex-airplane parked by the trees, couldn't figure out what that was, I think ex-military.
An EgyptAir A321 came in, fun to watch them unload. The Dutch border police didn't like 2 of the pax on there, so I got to watch them take them at the end of the jetway and escorted them to the police area. Was I curious, oh yeah!!! I, concidentally, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, walked back to the main terminal with the interesting party. Was just so curious why they wanted these 2 even before they had hit passport control.... hmmmmmmm Then back in the main terminal, plain clothes police/immigation politie were questioning some people from the Middle East, sorry, can't tell where from. Yes, I lurked, I watched.... bad of me, jawohl!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. He was trying to speak to them in different languages to establish communication and check their documents. I was surrprised that this would happen to people who are leaving or in transit. HMMMMM I was impressed, as many Dutch can do, with his language abilities. Speaking German, English, and something else... Good German, by the way... Ok, hit the shops, maybe one other concourse, just so generic. Watched all the pretty KLM planes. Yes, I love the blue... the 2 standard lounges, to my disgust, were closed. Not happy, I like to hit every lounge that I can, if even for 2 minutes. Plus, they usually have goodies. Dang! So off to the BA lounge I went, medium sized, but packed to the gills. Had to fight for a seat. With all due respect, a bunch of stuffy Britts, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, all dressed in suits and ties yacking away. Ok, they were speaking English, that is a good thing. But there is always such a stuffiness to the BA lounges, don't care for it. I feel it more so in the BA lounges than anywhere else. Interesting. I had a few SPA's, Belgian/Dutch mineral water, and then couldn't take the crowding anymore. Some group of London businessmen and women congregated next to me and it was all I could take. So, parked my bag there, taking all essentials, and back into the terminal. I went to the KLM lounge and to my amazement walked right in and no one said anything. I could have stayed, but didn't, didn't feel right. Although I have had access to it before as a former NW Gold. I miss that. I began to realize that I had given myself too much time airside. All the lounges are upstairs, checked out all, was done. Then an annoucnement came on hearing Manchester in Dutch, uh oh... yes, the MAN flight was delayed by an hour. UGH. I am tired. The jetlag was settling in, as it usually does in the evening, and so contrary to the packed lounges, found some chairs by the window, all to myself, the best lounge ever, and parked it, looking at my pickings in the last few hours, i.e the KLM inflight, which is good and getting some rest......If I ever had to sleep in an airport, this would be the place. Perfect nook and cranny. Did a cursory look at the BA lounge, swiped some waters, oops, waved goodbye to the unfriendly attendant, and down to the gate... Since I was there, checked out the concourse. Too generic. I made the horrible mistake of picking out Aero, the German magazine, and Airliner World, setting them down on the desk, and walking away as she was busy, never to see Aero again on this trip, UGH... Aero is all in German but good pics, good info, und ich kann lesen einige Deutsch. ( I can read some German). I picked up Airliner World in Britain, their home turf, but so regretted Aero... I did buy some more Droste chocolates, the big package, just loved those.. To my surprise, saw them all over Europe, but figure they are fresher in Holland. The excitement was that the Embraer was a new plane for me. The drag was the delay, I was tired, and the gate holding area was full, no seats, and a bunch of Britts who looked as exhausted and out of it as I was... poor souls. Boarding was down the stairs, outside into the rain, yuck!!! bad if you wear glasses. The girl waving us on was cute, so something. No more Dutch women for a while, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I climbed the stairs after memorizing the aircraft registration #, will give later at the end, and entered the very narrow tube... wow! the crew were friendly, but I was amazed with the size. The positive, I had a seat all to myself, first class, as far as I am concerned, and their was room in the overhead for luggage.... I coudn't believe that they actually had a Club(Business class) with the curtain drawn, on this small thing? It is neat to be back in the English speaking world. They didn't speak a word of Dutch, which is rude, although I think most, if not all, were Britts and me, the one token yank. We pulled out, did the safety demo, and took off into the clouds. I realized that I was enjoying the plane, very much so the one seat to myself, what a pleasure! The Embraer is operated by British Regional( a new airline and a new plane for me, yeah!) on behalf of BA, in BA colo(u)rs, one of those funky multi-colored schemes. I so loved the older scheme with the blue crest, so British. They never should have done away with it. FYI, the Britts were pissed when their flag carrier went and put that crap on their planes... I would be livid if our airlnes removed the flag... Now BA has given in to public disust and put the flag back on, but what they had before was perfect... Same with ELAL, so perfect before, now all that white crap. These airlines never learn!!! :+))) My friend Matthew, who I mention in a bit, stopped flying BA unless he had to, after they made the stupid move. Go Branson!!! They did the standard BA sandwhich thing in the white bag, whatever... It was cloudy most of the way and then on approach, we flew over a sizeable city to the East... anyone have any clues? Leeds perhaps??? I miss the flight map when they don't have it, fun to see where you are ... We started descending, flew over the outskirts of Manchester, nice, and made a soft landing... much to the opposite of tomorrow's flights. I collect the safety briefing cards, heck, I collect everything. Was sad that I could really only get one off the plane, sorry guys. It was up and out... Thanked the crew for the pleasant flight and down the stairs. Cold, but felt good to be out for a moment. I think some sports team was congregating, I waited for a sec and they waved the yank on. This was my first time arriving at Manchester internationally, so a new set of halls and doorways and all...... Yes, I love airports.!! was my second time to MAN, as of last summer, so I knew where I was going...... I had to be the only non-European from the flight, so while the others flashed something to the plain clothes Her Royal Majesties passport inspectors, I got to go to the side and fill out that stupid card( I hate that thing so much!!!) while everyone else went around. I really thought he might let me get away with it, ah, no. It takes 2 seconds to fill out, though easier when they are given on the plane, often not done on EU flights, as they don't need them. The frustration, again, with all due respect, as the Germans, for example, don't have to fill them out and walk right in. UGH! Everyone who came to help England fight the Germans, and really, not that many years ago, such as Yanks, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, and Springboks, get to stand in very long queues/lines and fill out paperwork, while the Germans who were dropping bombs on Manchester walk right through, as do the other Europeans, many of whom, to put it politely, don't like the Britts, and that is an understatement. Think football hooliganism(embarrassing!) Don't worry, I get pissed in France as well when they make me fill the cards out, though French immigration does seem easier. The irony is that when I go to Germany, it is easy to get in. I have to ask for a stamp, no landing cards, and very quick. Go figure........ I think the Britts really need to think about who their friends are and treat them accordingly, and quickly. Atleast they were smart enough to stay out of Schengen, a total soveriengty breaker, so I give my ancestral people much credit there, the same with the Euro. I hope that our British cousins can see that no humour is lost on this irony, I can assure them. They are our best friends, along with Canada, and so I would prefer to see an entry that shows that friendship... bearing in mind that we bounce in and of the UK several times, as I did, but when one comes to America, it is usally one landing. I know our procedures are a pain, they are a pain for us as well, in fact I loathe coming home and going through US customs. Then again, you usually don't bounce in and out of the US like you do in Europe, and Australia is very similar, even requiring visas of us, UGH!!! Anyway, sorry for the digression, but wanted to share, see if others feel the same. Atleast, I did get my first Manchester passport stamp. Down the stairs to the narrow baggage claim, was surprised, and out the customs exit without a single officer. Ahhhhhhhh nice, but do they realize that people can fly to Amsterdam from Timbuktu and connect at AMS onto a UK flight?? (DUH!)... gee, that could never happen. I know that bags are X-rayed at the first point of entry into the EU, but still, too casual. Why I no longer take Euro customs seriously, too many holes and loopholes. Anyway, the fun begins. I was looking forward to staying at the SAS Radisson, in airport, but knew of the conseuences. With the new bridges/tunnels between terminals, no shuttle. So you get to push your trolley and bags quite a fair distance to the hotel. The only part I really minded were the 2 lifts/elevators, making it more of a pain. I have always wanted to stay here, having high expectations. The lobby is very nice, the rooms were something else. One of my fellow yanks was taking forever at check-out, hence, the delay. If I sense a delay, I pull out something to read, to keep productive. Check-in was friendly, requests answered, although I wish they could have given me a higher floor. I stay at airport hotels for the view, so I can watch the planes. Terminal 2 was pretty much in my way, UGHHHHHHHHHH, and with the rain, all night fyi, the view was obscured, but I guess was doable.... I was dissapointed with the rooms. It is a reasonably new hotel, but the rooms don't show it at all....Old and average furniture, with my bed slumping down... I guess I missed my AMS Sheraton..... I have been cooresponding with my mate Matthew for a while and now I got to meet him. Nice young man who lived outside Manchester, came over and I appreciate his making the journey... I think he was pleasantly surprised by the package I had for him, safety cards from home and the trip, as well as other goodies picked up along the way. Was happy to have one less thing in my bag. He, in turn, gave me a nice set of Emirates safety cards, and they are a welcome addition to the collection, to say the least. He had sent me a very generous package of cards a while back, so he got on my good list very quickly http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Plus, he is friendly and fun to be around. He is the kind of Englishman, if you will, that I adore. Some Britts are stuffy and annoying, something that I don't care to think about when half my heritage is British, which I am very proud of, fyi. The common people like Matthew and a pilot that I had sat next to flying from Paris to Montreal( he was so cool!), they are the Britts that you just have to love. Need more of them. The South African English and the Aussies are similar, laid back and so fun to be around. Did I mention that I love Australia? Anyway, we talked airlines, planes, travel, swaped experiences, and toured an empty airport, watching the Pakistan 747 leave for Islamabad 5 hours late, I do like that colo(u)r scheme. I enjoyed hearing his experiencs, he outta share them on here. Flying a Pulkovo TU-154 with the seats flopping up and down, Emirates, etc..... This kid has traveled the world at a young 20 something....amazing!!! I had to be 30 or so before I took my first solo to Europe......though I had been many times with my family. Anyway, it was great to set down after a long day and kick back and watch TV in English with the rain outside........ ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Keep going Michael, I'm enjoying the trip reports http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Mark...... |
Mark, thank you, I need the encouragement.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
WT36: I'm really enjoying this trip report and I always enjoy your comments on other trip reports. Thanks! Keep up the good work and happy travels.
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by blairvanhorn: WT36: I'm really enjoying this trip report and I always enjoy your comments on other trip reports. Thanks! Keep up the good work and happy travels.</font> A bientot. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Thanks for the entertaining report. I truly enjoyed your airport "shopping". Before I learned about Flyertalk I thought I was the only person looking for timetables and baggage tags of Yemenia or Air Mauritius...
On the other hand I really can´t follow your logic in combining the WWII and the HM customs procedures, let alone the football hooliganism. Does the US customs give preferential treatment to the allied countries´ citizens and give much harder time to the Japanese citizens fir example? The Schengen, what makes it a total sovereignity breaker? Since this is a Flyertalk, I really appreciate the fact that it has made intra-European flying much easier and less hassle-free. Compared to domestic US flying for example. I really don´t see how the national sovereignity of the European nations can be diminished with losing a few passport/customs checks. I am quite sure that you know Europe cherish a long history of nationstate that one agreement really cannot wipe out. Enough of that, waiting for your next installment! Regards, niko |
Niko, Terve and kiitos for your support. Let me answer some things, proofread the next section http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, been distracted, and then will try to post tonight. "Thanks for the entertaining report. I truly enjoyed your airport "shopping". Before I learned about Flyertalk I thought I was the only person looking for timetables and baggage tags of Yemenia or Air Mauritius... >>> No, oh my, there are thousands! We collect everything from the airlines, for me, more so safety briefing cards, amenity kits, and then the general ticket jackets/boarding passes( I like it when they allow me to keep the whole boarding pass after boarding, something which AA is good for), baggage labels and tags, etc...The list goes on. Far from the only ones... You should write me personally if you have more questions. My friend from Paris met me in Madrid-Barajas one time and they had dozens of airline model planes hanging in the air, he was salivating http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. It was fun to watch. As for the others, quickly here, if I may. I was making some points for people to think about. Wasn't trying to be offensive or anything like that. I love Europe so much, while being a good and devout American, I relate well to Europe. I am just questioning are the Europeans thinking about their sovereignty!? Yes, the border crossing show sovereignty. I feel it when I go to Canada, as the Canadians want you to feel that you are in Canada, same with Mexico. The border is a sense of protection. I am glad that the UK/Ireland are out of schengen, they'd be crazy to join, but I was also against Greece(insane!) and Scandinavia for joining. Scandinavia has its own sovereignty, and they need a border with Europe, especially with Norway and Iceland not being members. It roped them into all that, and then you have immigrants and refugees freely running around Europe, it is crazy. The Swiss border is easy to cross, I have done it thousands of times, so it is all a joke. I could go on, maybe elsewhere http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. As for the UK, many of us in the "colonies", if you will, feel that the UK sold us out and joined Europe, at our expense. They have much more in common with us:US, Canada, South Africa, HK, Australia, NZ, etc, than they could ever have with Europe. I mentioned the Germans as one example, that they were fighting, now the Germans walk in very easily, while we stand in long lines at Heathrow, can be up to an hour at times, after we came over and fought for the dear souls-our cousins. A good part of my ancestry is British, so very proud of that. But they piss us off when they treat us like 2nd class citizens when we arrive and then the other Europeans walk in very easily. It is too weird. They are crazy to do such a thing and it is remembered, I can assure you. Everytime I enter the UK I get pissed thinking about it. Again, another story. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. As for the US, yes, we created the visa waiver program for our "allies", if you will. I knew a girl, went out with, who worked at the US embassy in London. I had no idea how hard it was to procure a US visa, I could relate horror stories, so they should be grateful for visa waiver, which is now under attack in our congress. Reid is a Britt and Massooui is French, so, alot of debate. I am grateful that we have it, as I have many friends in Europe. Again, I love Europe! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I just want to see the UK not forget its colonies, which it is doing in the EU, with respect. The US is very security conscious but at the same time, I feel bad that Britts have to have some kind of visa to get in, but then you have Reid types ready to blow up planes, it is messy. Also, you have to differentiate the feelings of the American people vs. the Gov't, with respect, that can be very different. I don't think people in other countries realize that!? Anyway, maybe I can post more my feelings on this elsewhere... Let me go proofread and post. Take care & kiitos. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Great .. sorry about the rain as it's a lovely area to visit when the sun is out.
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Cheers mate.
Ready for another round? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Worldtraveler36:
[B] Niko, Terve and kiitos for your support.> Cheers Michael, congrats for your fluency in Finnish... The Schengen didn´t actually change all that much (travel-wise). Even before Finland joined the EU my passport was very seldom checked within Europe. <Yes, the border crossing show sovereignty.> Learned that the hard way 60 years ago with the Russians... Actually we have had Nordic co-operation from the 60s allowing travel without passports and free movement of labour etc. within the five Nordic countries. The only difference nowadays is that I can buy tax-free alcohol on my way to Norway... Finland has a long landborder with the Russian Federation and no one underestimates the importance of that border. That might lead us to discuss the ban of landmines, which Finland has not ratified, but this surely is not the place for that either! Regards, Niko P.S. Go Finland!! (olympic hockey against the USA in SLC later today) |
(SORRY, THEY ARE MAKING IT HARD FOR ME TO POST, SO WILL BE IN SECTIONS)
PART 5 MAN-LGW, LGW-CDG, PAR Ok, I appreciate everyone's patience. I am sorry for writing so much. Obviously I have written many things before, as so many people want to know different things and aspects of the service. I am wrirting this for FT but also for my aviation friends and penpals. After a night of rain-Manchester, which I actually enjoyed, to be honest, as we don't get alot here in LA. I watched some planes come in and then had to check out the breakfast buffet, not bad. I stared through the window in the hotel resto into the offices of Terminal 2, could have been nicer. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif (i.e. T2 blocks one's view of anything good, oh well, the food was good). I checked out the pool at the SAS Radisson, but too many people in it and wanted to move on. So, I toured Terminal 2, picked up a few goodies from the airline counters, and kept an eye on the security check at the US airlines. Def. more laid back than at Heathrow, which works for me. It was the first time that I had even seen a USAirways timetable, so I took several and Ryan Air also gave me several. Then came the dreaded load up the bags, found a cart in the lobby, checked out, with a smile http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, and did the lug the bags thing to Terminal 3. 1 and 2 are not bad, but for some reason, the trip to Terminal 3 using the pedestrian access and with bags is somewhat of a pain and wouldn't care to do it again. I will say that it was good to go through T1 with people in it, unlike the night before when it was empty. I checked in for the BA flights to LGW and CDG and the agent couldn't have been nicer. Again, one of those Britts that I just love. Was fast and easy and then the queue for the security check. As I was on a domestic leg, had to smile for the security camera. Then when you go to the gate, they check the same pic and let you board, very clever. It allows the mixing of the domestic and int'l passengers in the int'l/airside of the terminal and hence, you get all the shops and lounges. This, if I am correct, is done throughout the UK, save Heathrow, and I have to accord our British cousins alot of credit for this idea. I prefer if over the Continental Europeans doing away with their borders altogether, bad for security. Ok, BA Terraces lounge and was very nice. Compared to my last visit, the place was dead empty. The staff here are very friendly and warm. Sandwhiches and other goodies are out, plus the needed sparkling water. Took a seat by the window and watched some interesting planes come and go, one being a Russian something TU-154, love to see those! Most of the planes are oddball charters, much like LGW, and a ton of BA Embraer jets, which now I have flown, :-P. The boarding announcement came and off I went. I did a quick perousal of the shops, not too much to look at like at Gatwick, then to the domestic gates, vs. the int'l ones. Smile for the camera and you are back in Britain. No customs or anything, love it! Unlike my flight to Heathrow last time, where the gate was right there, I had really pushed my luck by doing the last minute thing as the Gatwick flight may as well have left from Gatwick. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif All the way down to the end of the hall, down some stairs(why stairs??? Manchester likes stairs for some reason!), and then the last gate in oblivion. They were paging my name and that of a few others and we were waived on board. I had made a polite, but to the point remark about the plane leaving from the last gate. Tons of empty gates and all that walking for nothing. I don't mind the walking, but bad if I cut it to the last minute thinking it was one of the front gates. It was a BA 737-300. Crew were very friendly, smiling, seats are comfy, and I had 3 seats to myself with no one in front of me, very nice! So, I knew that I could atleast grab 3 safety cards off this plane, was a start. It would be easier if you just handed me a stack, I'll tell ya http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I have so many people waiting for these cards, oh, the pressure http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Take off with a good view of the airport and terminals and into those big and nasty clouds. I was able to sneak a quick trip to the loo, half the time I do it just to get up and look for things to nick(take, borrow, as you prefer http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ). Also feels good to stand up. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
(UGH, THIS IS GONNA BE LIKE 5 SECTIONS)
They announced major turbulence so we were asked to sit. Then, a big surprise, with winds so strong at Gatwick they said we may have to land at Stansted Airport(way out of London, and far from Gatwick!). This was a tough one, never been to Stansted Airport before. I was on the motorway at one time on the way there and it wasn't in my dad's interest to go, so, we didn't go http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. Oh well, someday. I also knew that any problems could kill my evening in Paris, which is too sacred. They said they would try it and boy, did we try it! I don't know if I have ever in my life experienced such turbulence. Even so bad that I kept the air sickness bag next to me, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I didn't need it, but was good to have it there. I clutched my airliner magazines and a little prayer went along way. We did the customary approach into Gatwick(near the South Terminal) and the winds were indeed NASTY. Plane shook around and I did my best not to get airsick. Bounce, bounce and touchdown, Yeah!!! No Stansted, not today anyway. Someday! I was so happy to be on the ground, can't even tell you. LGW was a full house, lot's of good planes, the most special being the Air Zimbabwe 767. We arrived at the domestic area of the BA North Terminal, second set of doors, and I told the gate agent how happy I was to be on the ground, boy did it feel good. I have taken alot in the air on different flights, so I guess this was bad to feel so relieved to be back on the ground. I was happy to see that I didn't have to go through security again(rare for a UK airport!) and a hallway led me into the Terminal. Apparently, some planes were sent to Stansted so many planes were delayed, more so one to Cuba, which we heard several announcements for. I love LGW North Terminal and as usual, didn't have enough time to go see everything. I have access to the BA Terraces Lounge, the Sir Hardingham( generic handling lounge), and the Delta lounge, which I am sure was closed. Not bad for one terminal. The shops are also incredible. The area is large, spacioius, and clean. Why I love UK airports so much. Some of the best airport shopping in the world, but the pound is too expensive for us! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. Hit the BA Terraces lounge. There is a way to sneak into the First Class area, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, he he he, but didn't bother with that this time. I have done it 2X, and very easy. It is actually very small, no where near the size that it should be, maybe to turn us lurkers away!? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I am happy with the upstairs. The BA Terraces lounge at LGW are outstanding. Big, spacious, 2 level, with excellent views of the field and planes. At certain times of the day, as was the case in Manchester, they do a very nice sandwhich service, which I normally love. This was not one of those times and with my stomach doing somersalts from the approach, was fine to just drink mineral water. I decided to try out their shower suites. Not quite as nice as LHR T4, but good. An attendant, unlike at LHR, gave me a couple of sets of toiletries and enjoyed a nice shower. The hike at MAN made me all sweaty. Peroused the lounge some more and the Sir Hardingham, or something like that... they have a certain candy bar that I love and more to take, with a couple of timetables and inflight magazines. The attendant was very sweet, unlike the usual older woman who must be on PMS all the time http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Sorry, has to be true. She chases people away. I wished that I had more time to see the shops, they are good, get some BAA points on my card. I have to be the only Californian on that program(BAA shopping)! They were calling my flight and again, they pulled a fast one on me. I miscalculated my time to the gate as it was one of those outer space gates. Dang! Don't mind the walk, just don't understand why they would put a plane way out there, as there were plenty of closer gates. I asked the gate agents if we were walking to Paris http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Said more in fun than complaining. Again, a weird operation. Down the ramp, that is fine. Then down a staircase, again, huh? outside, COLD!, onto the field, ok, I liked that part, easier to see the aircraft registration number(for the logbook), and up the stairs to the plane. I was kinda wondering why, again???, the stairs, they had a good jetway up there, huh? Whatever...... As long as American Airlines doesn't pull this all the time, I will live. FYI, British Midland, now BMI, did this all the time at Heathrow. Last flight of the day, would park at the very last gate, tons of empty jetbridges, but we got to use stairs, stairs down, stairs up, and then the massive hike to customs, with full carry on. Maybe the Britts think this is funny!? I don't know. I don't find it amusing... A royal pain, if you will. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Ok, the plane was empty. Good crew. Some guy a few rows up comes back and sits in the row behind me, didn't get that one. Are you watching me sir? Did he know I wanted to get some safety cards??? I had found that one peculiar. Oh well, with this flight, a BA 737-500, safety card is a BA 737-300/500, I will now have 6, so that is good. Might have grabbed one more on the way out. For some reason his sitting back there made me uncomfortable. He reminded me of a past professor that I didn't like, don't know why, he just did.... One of those bad karmic things I guess. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.
To my annoyance, not a single word of French was spoken. Hey guys, atleast do the recording. I think the Britts are some of the worst for foreign languages, it is amazing, and they make us Yanks look good http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Our airlines do a service in foreign languages, but it is usually tacky High School French, etc., annoying to the natives, I can assure you. Taxied out to the one runway, not a bad view. Garuda 744 at T1, one of LGW's special planes. We took a shortcut in front of someone else and took off, into the clouds. Great. Quick and tacky white bag service, get rid of that (bloody) thing please! After a flight or 2, I am sick of them. I actually prefer BM's sandwhich service. If you had paid an actual full fare for this flight, you'd be asking for caviar, trust me. This was a visit Europe Oneworld pass. Not cheap, not debt ridding. I love the flights from London to Paris, nice and short. Well, not quite. More weather. More circling. They warned us. Oh no, not again. This one was worse! It was great to come through the clouds and see beloved France. I could almost cry, sometimes I do! As you will see later, I love France and more so Paris. A few lights here and there, then came the winds... the 737 was bouncing around, scary. I usually sit on the right side for the approach into CDG, but like last time, they had pulled a fast one on me and circled, approaching from the East, and the view on the right side, sucks! unless you land at the Air France side, doesn't happen with anything at T1. Oh well, dommage! The winds were so strong, we literally swayed back and forth on approach and landing, have never experienced that before, don't care to either. I remember seeing a plane video with a 747 landing at Hong Kong swaying, scary! Well, now I have done it. Airsick bag please!!! I was surprised when they announced connections to Qantas at the satelite. Actually, not a bad idea. Skip the fun of LHR and fly LGW-CDG-Aussie. Not a bad idea indeed. CDG Aerogare(Terminal) 1 is one of my favorites. It is old and dirty, no space to move around, no air conditioning/climatisation, but I love it!!! I really do love the design, the satelites, the long walkways to customs, the check in area, all..... It is so cool. My friend Brian hates it, but then you look at the generic crap at Terminal 2, with 5, soon 6, terminals that are generic and boring. T1 has class.... love it!!! One of my biggest delights in the past is to see my friend( he works for Air France and can go everywhere) stand in the jetway when I come in, pas ce temps ci/not this time here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. Oh well. I have been picking up candy for him all over the place and no suprise greeting. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif ........ I usually visit the lounge upstairs( I think le salon Bleriot-the one for us pee ons, not the good stuff :-P~) but was laden with carry on, and what, I have no idea(cling clang http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ). Oh, goodies borrowed from the lounges, sorry http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. So, skipped that, checked out the Duty Free shops, etc. They keep adding a satelite to the Schengen area(YUCK!), so the int'l area keeps shrinking....... Let me help you out, get rid of Schengen!!! ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
I love the French passport officers. I also like the uniforms. Some of the women are just beautiful! Probably one of the very few countries in the world where you can say that, a passport officer being cute and nice. Oh, by the way, I adore French women http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. They are cool. I hate the stupid yellow cards that I must remplir(fill out),. like the ones back in the UK, but this seems to go easier, for some reason. Again, we saved you from the Germans. The Germans, in this case, walk in with no border check, and we are filling out forms......We really need to be thinking about this one. An argument for American isolationism perhaps??? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Kidding. Mais, ironic, one has to admit that, svp.
Maybe the Dutch appreciate our coming over to help??? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif . Again, I have an easier time entering Germany than I do France or the UK. Maybe in the next life someone will explain all this to me, too confusing now and gives me a migraine. Ou la la. Upon request in French, he stamped my passport and I was back into Schengen! Yeah!!! They are blown away when I speak French. Yes, some Americans do speak French. I did a minor in school, happen to love the language. It is fun to see their faces. At the same time, I will sometimes let them speak English, many in Paris speak English, too int'l, just to hear their cute accents. Quick baggage retrieval, and then lo and behold, not a single customs officer. If you want to get technical, guys. By allowing customs free with Holland, and you can get anything in Amsterdam, you are really wasting your time with customs at that point, and they know that. The French put up spot checks trying to get people coming from Holland. So the intelligent one would come back through Germany, a short side trip for some wurst. Please! I know CDG like the back of my hand, probably more than most Parisians, that is funny. I knew where to go to hit the Hyatt bus, and there it was within 5 minutes, nice. That same idiot from the plane was there, wanted to curse him, but was nice. Sorry, but when you look like an ex-professor that I hated, there you go. Unlike Heathrow with their Hoppa from hell, CDG was intelligent enough to maintain their shuttles. The drivers are friendly, are bilingual, and actually help you with your luggage. I want to speak French, they want to practice their English, so makes it fun. One Sheraton driver, when he saw that I was from LA, asked me many questions, all in English. You feel special http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. One of my now favorite hotels in the world is the CDG Hyatt. Go stay there and see why. The hotels in Paris, for the most part, and with great respect, are old, dirty, and way overpriced, especially anything in the high name brand range. This is why I stay at CDG. This hotel is a paradise. Large, spacious, clean, nice lobby with bar and resto areas, and the staff are impossible to beat. I get so pissed off in the UK when I have to do everything for myself(thanks to the bloody hoppa). Not here. The bags went from the van to Gregory, le porter. He is cool. Fernando checked me in, he is also cool! Immediate upgrade to the top floor, Regency Club( I had a certificate), and all the works. He is from Mexico, so I spoke some Spanish, he liked that. Hey, I am from LA, por favor! He made me feel welcome in a way that very few hotels on this earth make me feel, save Asia and maybe Australia/New Zealand. Gregory took the bags up and we did the Frenglish thing. He started ripping on Quebec French, sorry, one of my major pet peeves. It ain't French, and the French people feel that resoundingly. The English Canadians speak better French, and the French people make fun at that... Different accents, slangs, and all...Vivre le joual http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. LOL I do love Quebec, fyi. The room, like last time, was wonderful. Comfy, nice, soft bed, and felt like I was home. I was in Paris, I was home! A quick trip to the lounge and more goodies. Swiped some cans of Perrier and Orangina(2 of the greatest things God ever put on this earth!), some prosciuto(heavenly), and back to the room. No sooner did I lie down did the phone ring and mon ami was downstairs. I was tired, but I love seeing this wonderful man! He was in LA a week earlier for the LA airliners show. My friends were blown away when we said, see you in Paris in a week, well, ca c'etait une semaine.. He duly, a fellow lounge lizard, checked it out. Helping himself to the wines and cheeses, etc....This is truly one of the best hotel lounges ever. He handed me a bag full of aviation hobby goodies, won't mention, don't want to make collectors salivate :=))), inflight magazines is one of them, as I love them, especially from Africa. On top was the largest box of choclate, French and dark, that I had ever seen in my entire life. I could have passed out, it was wonderful. A German friend back home who visited duly enjoyed the chocolates, even though she hates France. I wanted for her to give France some credit, she didn't http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. OH well. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
We drove into Paris, one of my favorite places on earth. For me, going into Paris is like a dreamstate. I can't believe that I am there. It is so beautiful, romantic, and Heavenly. Many moons ago on my first trip there, with my family, we were on the Eiffel Tower and I thought I was in Heaven, I still feel that way. Never go up on the Eiffel Tower with me, I never come down and it is a pain for everyone else http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Ask my family! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
OH that place is incredible. When I saw it on this trip for the first time, it was like my heart sank(does that sound right?). The most incredible sight is when they have the flashing white lights all over it. it is truly one of the most touching sights ever. If Parisians are proud of their city(and they are), they have an absolute right to be. I am proud of LA, so, can relate...... The creme de la creme for a trip to Paris is going to Champs-Elysees. Love this place and again, dreamstate. Mon ami ripped open the American box of chocolates that I always give him, fun to watch, I will tell you. He had about 3 bags of aviation things to sort through and it is fun to see him go through everything I bring him. While he waited inside for a table at our usual resto, Fougets, I stayed outside like an American goof and took in the wind, rain, and cold, I loved it! It was a fresh feeling and it just felt so good to be there. We had a nice dinner, of course!, and caught up on things. I appreciate his interest in my fiance and getting married. Many were surprised that I, the worldtraveler http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, would actually settle down, but his reaction was the most interesting. We had 2 French women(older, fyi) next to us who clearly eavesdropped on our conversations, kind of fun. Most was in English, though the waiter came over, prepared, speaking English, and I spoke French, hence, he went to French. Hey, I had my translator http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I adore this translator!!! He is a good man and very happy to call him a friend. Probably one of the most generous and kind hearted souls one could ever meet. Helps my view of the human race. If more were like him, it would be a different world, to say the least. As he was scheduled to get up early, he was nice by not dropping me off at the Air France bus, and took me back to CDG, which is a drive, when you live in Paris. It was a karmic payback when I stayed out with him til 2am at LAX one week earlier waiting for his lost bag that AF messed up in Paris and had to send via Air Lib( I hate that name). See, karma really does work. Merci mon ami. I was exhausted but did my best to stay up and catch up on French tv, which I love. They even had Fox news, in addition to CNN Int'l and BBC World, all of which are great stations(hey, they are in English http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ). One more trip to the lounge and more drinks, I still have some. END OF PART 5 ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
P.S. Go Finland!! (olympic hockey against the USA in SLC later today)
>>>AH, GO USA!!! :=))) WE NEED SOME MORE GOLD MEDALS! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Thanks for writing. Yes, the border with Finland and Russia is important. My grandfather came from Latvia, so I am grateful for the now existing border between Latvia and (mother Russia) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Feel free to write me directly, if you wish. Kiitos, Michael and by the way, go USA!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
WT36:
Love the details of your trip report! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Reading about your trip made me wonder about how far one could go on a mileage run and never set foot outside. If you stay at hotels that are all connected to the airport, not just sleep in the airport! ------------------ Never put off till tomorrow the flight you can take today. |
Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I love the airport hotels, as I enjoy spending time in the Euro Airports. I go to Europe with my family and they drag me along to all the museums, plays,and cultural things when I am with them. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Which is also fun.
A quick congrats to Canada! on the Gold medal. I love our neighbor to the north and I am very happy for them. Maybe now they will truly clean up the Olympics. Such corruption is disgusting. My .02c. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Ok, we pick it up in Paris. Gonna have to finish this thing or I will forget, LOL. Had a nice breakfast in the Hyatt lounge. Le monsieur would not allow me to take it to the room, so had to eat there, but I find the room more comfortable. Well, they had CNN on and easier to get seconds. Very good Croissants, miniature baguettes, cheeses, meats, and cereal. Bien sur, Badoit(French mineral water). Some tv and then a swim, nice pool. The negative is that you have to walk through the lobby, go outside, and then enter a separate building across from the lobby, and yes, it is cold outside. I wore shorts over there and got some looks, but I can tolerate the outside air for a few minutes. Had the pool to myself and was very nice! One of my necessities in life, swimming. Too cold to go jogging, make up for it when I get home. Wasn't sure what I was gonna do, waited to hear from my friend. I was considering taking the Air Fance bus to the area near the Arc de la Triomphe, can't think of the name offhand. He called and asked if I wanted to do lunch at CDG 1, sure. Aerogare 1 has an incredible buffet, very good food. Typical Euro small tables and small personal space, but the food is wonderful and you get to hear the flight departures announcements and they have the departures/arrivals screens inside. I always see the same waiter, Africain, very kind and dear. I wonder if he remembers me? I always get good service and the Oranginas keep coming. We had a chance to talk more and catch up on things. Telling me more about the state of Air France and a whole bunch of airlines that I have had no info on. The chocolate mousse here is incredible! Much better than at the resto. from last night. Plus, I was exhausted the night before, so was nicer to feel awake and fresh. He paid, appreciated, and then some, as I treasure this place. We did a tour of the terminal and did more "airport shopping", http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, plus, as he works there, could get me more goodies. I love this terminal, the check in areas, the, ah, beautiful women that are everywhere, and the many different kinds of tourists passing through. I love to see the Africans, with their flowing robes, hats, and smiles. They congregate around the counters speaking French in cool African accents. They are so friendly. He had an early morning so I excused him and let him go, was sad http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. I opted to go back to the hotel and get some rest before heading back. One of the negatives to CDG and all terminals, they have no left luggage facilities, so a pain, has to be the only airport in Europe without one, as boy do they come in handy. It would have made hopping into Paris easier. Had a friendly check out, au revoir to Gregory and Fernando, they are both so cool, grabbed a couple more cans, and off to the airport. This trip is a pain as they go around all the terminals at 2, then over to 1 with like 20 stops in between. It is fun once to see everything but time consuming afterward. I decided to play it safe and pass on the trip into Paris, would get stuck in there, traffic, temptation to stay and play, whatever http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I knew that I would be back. Check in at BA was swift and easy. She was ready to send all my bags through to LA. Oh was that tempting. I was playing with sending some bags through to NY, but then do I want my luggage sitting there in a holding area at Heathrow? let alone JFK. Ah, think baggage theft by employees, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif, does happen. Did a last walk around Departures level, took the moving sidewalks in the glass tubes to the departures, then cheated, swung around, and came out to arrivals, only works if you have a boarding pass and now they put a checkmark at the control, ugh. Did a last walk around arrivals, outside with a view of all the planes and inside, with annoying Algerians bugging me for a taxi. Do I look like I need a taxi??? UGH! Have to take the elevators down to D's and back to the routine. Looked for the other entry way and off to passport control. They noticed the checkmark and didn't ask any annoying questions, merci. FYI, while it is only in French, if you sneak in there, glass tubes, without being an actual passenger, there is a big fine. Sometimes they let their guard down and you can sneak in. We used to be able to do it all the time, no more. Also, you must return through customs, which in this case, there was no one there. There was also a flight in from Algeria, had a problem with the customs freebie therein. But when we had come back from South Africa in the past, they must have had a dozen officers waiting, so you never know. Compared to the mornings, which can be a disaster, there was a very small line at passport control/control de passportes. I asked him for an exit stamp, he obliged(France is one of the few countries to give an exit stamp), and wished him a Vivre la France! Something I can say with all my heart and he smiled. Checked out the Duty Free, bought some more chocolates, and then took the elevators to the lounges. I have access, if I am correct!?, to the Salon Bleriot. It is the generic lounge, which I have with PP and many business class passengers have access. The First lounges are nice but have never had access, ugh...I have stopped by and asked for magazines, but didn't want to lug them. My carry on was full. How, I will never know. Sometimes the staff are very nice, this was not one of them http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif. She was a pain. I think I spoke more English just to annoy her. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The Lufthansa boards/FT have referred to the attendant at the LH lounge at Munich as a warden, I like that word. Ca sent bien pour lui, that goes well for her. I took the private area, with the tv, encore, CNN, did check out the French stations one more time. "Borrowed", ah hmmmmmm, some more Oranginas and the nice chocolate mints they have on the counter. They also have copies of the Aeroports magazine in the magazine racks, those were gone! :=))) In all fairness, I did buy the current one at my forray at Arrivals that evening, so these were freebie past issues, appreciated. I used to have access to the TWA lounge, was nice, upstairs, with a decent view. Now all gone. Very sad about that. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Just had to comment...
I just spent my entire luch hour reading your posts! ( I know...I'm a slow reader) They were great! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I felt as if I was reading a novel...that's how much you held my interest. Made me want to make the 1.5 hr drive South to MIA and catch the next flight to London! Keep up the good work...Those are some of the best trip reports I have read on FT! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif [This message has been edited by Bean (edited 02-21-2002).] |
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bean: Just had to comment... I just spent my entire luch hour reading your posts! ( I know...I'm a slow reader) They were great! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I felt as if I was reading a novel...that's how much you held my interest. Made me want to make the 1.5 hr drive South to MIA and catch the next flight to London! Keep up the good work...Those are some of the best trip reports I have read on FT! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif [This message has been edited by Bean (edited 02-21-2002).]</font> Blush! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Thank you kindly for the nice words. I try to make it interesting. I know this stuff is LONG, but I have to tailor it to many people, not just on here. Your kind thoughts are appreciated. I have another part waiting, just has to be proofread, should be on today. Kind of left everyone waiting at CDG http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Thanks. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Kind of left everyone waiting at CDG
There are worse places to be stuck waiting. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif |
PART 6 CONTINUED
CONTINUATION OF PART 6 Ok, I stopped there as I have had problems submitting to FT. Understand, when you write a book. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Everyone wants different details, so I must include everything. Made my way through security, sans probleme. No frisking by a cute French girl, oh well. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Was amazed how easy it was. I have heard some horror stories since 9/11. I notice airports, after the US flights have left, chill a bit in the evenings. That works for me! Made my way through the long moving sidewalk, are we walking to London? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The BA satelite, I think 7??, I can't remember, pardon, is the last one to convert to a new inside satelite security system, which I hate. The satelites are fairly sized, though old, I will say, with a fair amount of room to move around. Now, they are enclosing them with big glass doors and windows that go half way in the satelite area, with the security checkpoint. That means that the waiting area, once you have gone through security, is ridiculously small. Don' care for that. You could see the setup for the new design at the side, so was glad that I could enjoy the CDG 1 Satelite experience one more time. In the future, I won't go through security clearance til I am ready to board. They might think they are very clever in what they are doing, meaning now, no matter what, you must clear security before boarding a plane, before could transfer within satelite and you could skip it. However, I also feel safer the sooner security takes place, then the whole airside is secure, not at CDG 1. The lines were long and the place was crowded. Tried to go to the side and read my magazine. It seemed like it was mostly Britts, pretty much the BA satelite. The French kind of whisper quietly to each other, I know, I like to eavesdrop http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The Britts, like us, talk more loudly, more openly, especially the football type, if you will. So it is a different feeling with the pax here. I am always amazed at the difference when going from Paris to London. It is a weird feeling, like going literally between 2 worlds, and it takes 45 minutes to do that. The 2 groups are so incredible apples and oranges, and I love them both. An American living in Paris said one time I must be shizophrenic(spelling?) because I love and can relate to both cultures and peoples. They are so different, something you see in Canada. The groups in Canada pretty much hate each other, and don't want to speak each others language. I guess that an American can be neutral and relate to both. Who knows? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I was pleasantly surprised to see another A319, vs. the 757 that it was supposed to be. They did the American style profiling, security at the side, I passed, yeah!, and boarded. Full plane. No free upgrade. Actually didn't ask, no big deal. Business Class in Europe is a complete joke, I hope they know that!? It is a moving curtain. After the buffet, I didn't need any more food. A friend of mine in Paris works for BA, had he been working there, he would have upgraded me. Gee, not like upgrade the Oneworld Sapphire, that wouldn't make any sense!? amazing. I sat next to 2 fellow Americans, busily talking to themselves and not very friendly. The kind of fellow Yank that I am not big on,to be honest. It is these rude people who travel and make Americans look bad, then, when people come to America, they find there are much nicer and politer people here at home. I said hello, she ignored me, so, screw her! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. We had a beloved ATC delay, might have been due to LHR, which is always congested, so we sat on the taxiway and I read my aviation magazines. I do love the pull down inflight map from the overhead. Good old BA, in true British form, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, didn't speak a single word of French. That just amazes me and they ought to be ashamed! They went out and put all that crap on their planes, removing the "Flag", to look more int'l, then they don't speak, even a few courtesy words of French, one of the world's most spoken languages. amazing. FYI, if you flew Air France, would be completely bilingual, but then AF has a bad habbit of putting things in BIG FRENCH, small English. I hate that! It is annoying to the anglophone (English speaking person) and I assume they know that. Tacky when they put their signs like that at US airports. Their service is impeccable, so, have to decide do you want the good service or the principle? Off we went, quick take off, a few lights north of Paris and then into the clouds. It is always hard for me to leave France/Paris, and this was by no means an exception. Kind of an emotional low when I have to leave, an emotional high when I get to come back. They came around with that tacky white snack bag, get real! My last flight on BA for this trip and I have had enough of those. Took a sparkling water, that was good. I think we did some circling and then had a cool approach over a cloudy London. Nice view, clouds, nice view, clouds.. .I love the approach into Heathrow, one of my fav's, and always better on the right hand side, as you fly right over London. Last summer we came in on Aer Lingus from Dublin and we flew right over Picadilly, that was cool! Standard approach, to the West, but was cheated by seeing the hotels on the right side, vs. the diagonal where you can see the terminals. Then add insult as he taxiied around the terminals, I was on the wrong side, view would have been good, over to Terminal 4. If anyone knows the runways here, kindly let us know, cheers. The woman next to me stuffed the seat pocket with used newspapers, very tacky. UGH!!! Swiped the 3 safety cards from the seat pockets and was happy with that. Down the 20 or so hallways to arrivals. Oh, fyi, the service was average. They were kind of friendly, but very busy, rushed, so nothing special. Love the short flight. Do you realize that with all the time spent, I could have taken the train from Paris to London and it would have been far less hassle. I hope that the airlnes are aware to this!? T 4 requires alot of walking, but fun to see the row of 747's outside. A plane came in from Moscow-BA, so that was cool Again, my gripe about UK/Europe immigration. The Europeans lined up at the Euro line, flashed a passport or whatever, and waltzed thorugh. We were sent to the pee-on line, not tooooo bad, but still a wait. I will give them credit for their organization and a gentleman sending you to the officer. An immigration officer had asked for a Russian interpreter and a fellow yank behind me, very kind of him, took a jump in the queue in return for translation services. I am sure it was appreciated. But BA should have a Russian interpreter on hand, oh, wait, BA..... never mind :=) The irony is that while we Yanks are sent to the pee-on line, especially when coming from Europe, and there are no immigration checks within Europe, is that only one of the officers was, ah, British, if you will. I think the one in front was a Filipina, not sure, which is fine, just ironic. Thousands fought and died for this country, a country of my ancestry, and only one of the officers was a Britt who spoke like a Britt, if you will. I find that to be too ironic. If they had flown in from their native land, back at that time, they would be in this queue, too. Interesting. Sorry if sounds racist, it is not, just making a point. Most US officers, whatever their backgrounds, which are many, sound like Americans. Oh well. I, in turn, was sent to the one Britt, a nice woman. She gave me my coveted Heathrow stamp(probably my favorite, apart from Zurich) on an empty page and waved me through. She was cool. I like the baggage reclaim at T4. Big and spacoius, a pleasure to arrive. Again, like last time, no customs officer. Was surprised with the Moscow flight. Last time there was a Tel Aviv flight when we came in and no customs.... Not quite sure I get that... anything outside of the EU should be looked at!? After passing through the customs officerless area, too werid, especially at 4!, they have an arrivals shop, bought some Godiva with my money that still has the Queen on it, no Euro thingy here, thank goodness. The hassle of Terminal 4, vs. the others, is that they long ago( and I was pissed when a bus driver from Gatwick told me this, doing me a huge favor!) did away with the transfer bus to terminals 1,2,3, as well as the Hoppa service to the hotels. The geniuses, UGHHHHHHHHH, make you go down to the Heathrow Express, take the free train(later goes on to Paddington Station in West London and ain't cheap, especially coming from US$$$) over to 1,2,3. Then it is a massive walk to any of the terminals. I did it last time having checked my bags through. Then you make your way to the terminal, then to Hoppa, then to the hotel, and you get to pay for it. The people who are in charge of Heathrow ought to be shot, UGH..... I can't imagine planning something so incredibly stupid. I don't think any one thing could possibly turn tourists off Britain more than this crap. Sorry for the vent, but as I am big into airports, I take it seriously. Just naive and creates a hell for the arirving/transfer pax. (STUPID FT WON'T LET ME POST THE WHOLE THING, 2 SECONDS, S'IL VOUS PLAIT MONSIEUR ET MADAME) :-P ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
OK, MEIN DAMEN UND HERREN, MORE PART 6
Accordingly, there was no way I was gonna do this, too tired and too many bags, checked them all to LHR, knowing my fate, so took a cab. Taxi driver, an actual Englishman, WOW!, who actually spoke English, was pissed about the low fare to a nearby hotel. I felt bad, he had to queue to get in there, and this is all he got. He didn't say it, but he showed it, was not happy. In turn, it cost me 14 pounds plus tip, to go to a local hotel, the Rennaissance, my address at Heathrow. That comes out to about $20US, not funny. Makes you wonder about Heathrow. If you land at the other terminals, you have the Hoppa, but you pay for it, the driver doesn't help you with bags, and they make a couple of stops, going to the Crowne Plaze just pisses you off, to say the least. As written, the Rennaissance Heathrow is my home over here. A porter was found(they are always nice here), check in was quick and friendly. They, like Passport Control, had one Britt at the counter, but the other Euros, mine was German, are very nice, and they even smile when I speak German or Italian to them. (with what little Italian I know, molto bene!) They gave me my upgrade, Marriott Silver does the trick, to the top floor facing the airport. Yeah!!! 5+ freaking hours to make this trip, it is not even believable. This is the best view of LHR that you could ever have. If I were to live in London, I would stay there, just for this view. Clear view of planes landing, taking off, taxiing, and all. Can see my beloved South African 747s parked at 1. I love that colo(u)r scheme. When the Concorde takes off, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, it shakes the entire building. Love it! If you are sleeping, you won't be afterward, I can assure you http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Ran over to the lounge, they had some weird food there, yuck!, grabbed some bottles of water for the room, some of those delicious Rennaissance chocolates, and back. Immediately back at the room, my fiance calls me and I needed that. It was great to hear her voice and catch up, it was so needed, I can't even tell you. It was great to be looking at this view, talking to her, and looking forward to the day when she will be with me at that hotel http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. It was her first int'l call and as luck would have it, she got the one Britt working at the front desk, I found that funny. Nothing like calling England for your first time and getting Helga with a Berlin accent, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. All in fun. Alles lustig. Ordered room service. Horrible club sandwhich, YUCK!, was good last time, but delicious chocolate and vanilla ice cream. It was fanastic!!! Next time, skip the sandwhich, more ice cream. It was fun to eat and watch the last of the planes going out, with a nice table at the window http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The highlight again, seeing the SAA's heading out. I think one of the flights was cancelled, so it sat there all night at T1. No Jo'burg for you tonight! Probably all put on BA. I watched Iranian, Sudanese, Egyptian(soap opera) and all the other foreign tv stations on there, not a bad mix, and fun. There just wasn't much on the London stations(including Sky 17(joke), and no sitcoms. Plus, I was looking forward to watching all the int'l tv, can you tell I am international? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Our cousins across the pond have many good sitcoms(comedy tv shows), I have several video tapes of them here at home, but they never show them when I am over there! I think "Yes, Prime Minister" is one of the most clever shows ever made on this earth. Genius. RTL of Germany seems to have the best sitcoms in Europe, but then they are dubbed into German. Think subtitles people!!! Keeps it authentic. Hate dubbing! Cosby dubbed in German is too much of a joke. I love their Wochen(week) show, hilarious! Enjoyed watching the last of the flights out and closed the evening with a catch up on CNN. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Worldtraveler36,
Vous avez écrit une sommaire charmante au sujet de votre voyage. Bien fait! Paris me manque. |
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by francophile: Worldtraveler36, Vous avez écrit une sommaire charmante au sujet de votre voyage. Bien fait! Paris me manque.</font> Merci pour les bons mots. Paris et la belle France me manque beaucoup, comme toujours! A bientot. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
Guys, any thoughts ??? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I need encouragement. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Actually, working on another round. thanks. ciao.
------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
I'm sorry to read that there are certain aspect of Great Britain that you do not seem to approve of.
I'm sorry but I take exception to the tone of some comments that I believe may have been written without thinking through a) Cultural differences and b) security considerations. Exampoles to consider are as folows: As a NON US citizen on a caribbean cruise last Year I had to "Wait in Line" no less than three times to be seen be US inmmigration officers. This necessitaed getting the children out of bed at 6am in the morning and "waiting in line" for two hours!!!! on each occasion NCL were nice though they tried to sell us bottled water whilst we waited. If you vist the BA board then you will know all about business class. MERRY has written a nice piece to explain why it is. When you arrived at Manchester airport from Amsterdam the Customs staff have a complete airline manifest that allows them to profile passengers with odd tickets or connections from destinations that may be of interest. Did you notice the cameras in T3 that are at the end of each gate area? When you passed through immigration did you notice the spare officer to the left of the desk area and the nice mirrors they have for you as you fill the forms in? Did you notice that the luggage from AMS arrives on the same luggage belt every time? Did you notice the screening of the reclaimed luggage before it arrived in the hall? Travel should broaden the mind not close it. |
Good report, but a bit hard to follow (rambles a bit).
|
Hey everyone, I appreciate the comments, really I do. I actually learned something here. I am not feeling well at all so can't go and defend my position like I normally would, too tired and out of it, sorry. Before I add the next segment, which thankfully I completed before feeling "ICKY", need to proofread, I do want to apologize if I have offended anyone, which it seems I have. Sorry. If you knew how much of an Anglophile I am, as I am sure my friends are doing now, you would laugh. It is crazy to get chastized by a Britt, but I suppose that it is funny in its own way. Sometimes I will, if you will, "stir it up", to get a conversation going. I even do this in church, I like discussion. Terrible, I know, but someone has to do it http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. I can do it with any country, airline, people, including my own, as I want to get people into a conversation, something many of my professors were quite good at. As for some of the operations at MAN, no, haven't seen them. It is uncomfortable to be the odd man out at customs when everyone else breezes through and you get to be checked. I am sorry for your experience on NCL. As you will see in the next segment I blast US customs, which, apart from Australia and maybe Canada?!, is one of the biggest pains in the Western World, along with the DMV(Dep't of Motor Vehicles) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I always begrudge the experience. What I want for our British cousins to do, and to do it quickly, please, is realize who your friends are. Your friends are the descendants of the realm, if you will, scattered around the world in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, etc., and we can be treated like dirt when we arrive in the "Motherland." Then the people who were dropping bombs on you only so many years ago are walking into Britain with no checks, whatsoever. BAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDD! I know, it is not that big of deal, but I want for people to think about it, including my fellow Americans, which some have done. Anyway, let me go on and finish this thing. As soon as I am better I will complete the next and last segment, NY to LA. Take care. Again, sorry for any offences. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
PART 7 LHR, LHR-JFK As usual, woke up early to arriving jets from all over the world. I can't close the drapes, too much going on out there, and it is not long before this yank is standing next to the window(breathing on the window, drives my fiance nuts :P~ ), watching the arriving planes. This is assisted by having the listing for Heathrow Departures and Arrivals on the tely. Other than some CNN, had some odd foreign station on for a small diversion. Like the morning news from Egypt(they have broadcasts in English). Where else will you hear about the latest sales at Omar's in downtown Cairo? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. After finishing some nidbits, cookies/biscuits and all, realized I was still hungry so went down for breakfast in the hotel resto(restaurant for us Yanks). FYI, resto. is a short term in French for restaurant and it works well for me. Bkst was good, for some reason had higher expectations. I don't think there was one Britt down there working, all foreigners. Again, doesn't matter, just pointing it out. I hope we don't ever reach that point where Americans are no longer needed. I think they actually have English people in Sheffield, last time I checked. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif he he he Service was average and the food, well, would need to hold me over to dinner. More plane watching and packing. Packing and plane watching. You get the idea. While I love the view, and why I am there, the room is too small for me and I am going nuts.( I will save you all time, short drive, I know http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif LOL ) There is a wonderful BAA centre near the hotel, but just didn't feel like giving up the golden view. After the room was too small for me, hit the lounge for some more freebies(waters, English newspapers for my Anglophile mom/mum, and the Rennaissance chocolates, which need to be replenished!!! Hmmmmmmm Some Yank keeps taking them http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ). Check out was easy, now for the dreaded Hoppa. As I have complained before, and I shall complain again, and again. I hate the freaking Heathrow Hoppa. Again, it is the shame of Britain. In the old days the hotels at Heathrow would all have their own coaches/buses, very comfortable, nice, plush, driver worked for the hotel and helped you with your bags(the Crowne Plaza staff were smashing!), and no charge( as in the case of every other (bloody) airport on planet earth, save, guess where, Gatwick!). Gatwick gives it to you free to the hotel, but charges you to go back to the Airport, so a bit better than LHR. Still unacceptable. Could destroy the concept of the Airport Hotel. Munich Airport Marriott also does that, and ain't cheap! Then again, it is miles from the airport and they gave you lot's of perks at turndown. LHR is a Heaven for aviationists such as us, but pure hell for the travel(l)er, though Cairo could compete. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif (that airport is crazy!) But that is another story. The porter was great, gave me a good sendoff, helped with the bags on the bus, I can get my own bags, but it is nice. Had the pleasure (NOT!) of giving one of my coveted Hoppa tickets saved up from last summer when (daddy http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) paid the bill for the hotel(Crowne Plaza) and of course, I duly put that, and, AH, other things, on the room. When traveling with parents or your millionaire spouse, IT GOES ON THE ROOM!!! My brother and his fiance duly learned the trick. Ok, my emotional drive into the airport. Tons of police cars and hence, police, at the entrance, I think it was an accident. All around that cool model of the Concorde. There is something special about going through that tunnel into the airport. Hard to explain. More so when you are leaving at the end of the trip, always emotional. My family and I would do a 3 week or so jaunt around the UK/Europe, with a culmination at Heathrow. So, at the end, it was sad. I would go nuts leaving if I didn't think I could get back. As an AA Platinum, it is guaranteed. Living on the West Coast vs. those in the East, it is the best way to achieve and renew Platinum, hands down, unless you actually have to fly someplace http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. The driver sat on his, ah, big can, smile, and I took care of the bags all by myself. Thanks for nothing. It is fine, just again, miss the spoiling of the good old days, now have to go to Paris to get that. Found a cart and on they went, headed over to Park Lane-American's fancy, smancy private check-in for us big shots in First, Business, and Elites. But if you are not flying up front, they still wont give you Fast Track(Express way through security, an ingenious idea that we are finally getting going over here, DUH!!!)), so you still feel like a little pee on. FYI, Gatwick gave me AA-Fast Track, saves time. The agent was nice and friendly. Quick check-in. It is a pain to wheel the carts across the street as the lazy one wouldn't drop me off there, but once you are there, it is worth it. A gentleman wanted to search my bags. Was worried what he might think about all of my "Airport Shopping", ah hmmmmm, in the bags, and commented that I must be a plane spotter, which he is as well. He was cool! He understood my addictions. I gave her/agent a couple of SOS cards(American Platinum positive feedback cards). Those, fyi, unlike what someone wanted to do on here, are not to be used as bribes for an upgrade. That is bad dude! Seriously. I was quite disturbed to see a pictogram of a camera and a line through it on the front window(No photos mate). Especially in plane spotter Britain!!! Immigration and customs, I can understand, though I have photographed those areas, no flash, stupid!!! but to do this in the public area of Heathrow Terminal 3, that made me uncomfortable. Again, as I say, we are slowly becoming East Germany. In the old days(not good!) of Eastern Europe, you could be arrested for taking pics at their airports, as friends of mine from all over Eastern Europe attested to. I believe them. I have heard horror stories. Now, the wall is down and we are SLOWLY implementing such utter rubbish policies in the Free West. Or is it free? Hmmmmmmm Anyway, not pleased. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
PART 7 CONTINUED(SORRY, HAVE TO SUBMIT IN PIECES) LHR-JFK I did a quick tour of the departures area, not much to take. Cool to see the check in for a couple of odd flights, one was a Royal Jordanian Hajj flight, that was neat. It would be fun to walk around in your robe all day, yeah! I am serious. The intelligentsia at United, AA's archrival, had the sense to use X ray machines for check-in, impressed. I consider a hand search of luggage so intrusive, unless truly warranted. So United gets one point, but that is all! :-P! Checked out the Arrivals area. Boring! Very boring! I was depressed to see that the NICE lounge called the Island was now gone. I visited pre-Priority Pass acceptance, then PP gave us access, couldn't go over the summer, was nice to my family by sticking with them, hmmmmm, and now I am sure that it was one of the casualties of 9-11. I will tell you, it was nice and the staff were cool. So, again, I got screwed. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif FYI, I did visit the American Arrivals lounge at LHR T3 once, never again. The most unfriendly "warden", aka witch with a B, and I really mean that, ran the show. My being a Platinum meant nothing and she chased me away. I just wanted to look. I would never use it when arriving with luggage as want to get ot of there. The place sucks anyway. I did complain to her superiors at AA check in and they said they would take care of it. I hope so. No one with that AAttitude should be working there. A quick perousal of the upper floor area, again, boring. A bunch of fast food outlets on display and very overpriced both for being at an airport and cause of the Pound. Everyone takes a killing when they come to the UK financially and they don't try to work with us, sad. Unless dad is paying, I now spend more time on the continent, much more affordable, though the Euro will bring that down a bit. A basic 5 pound burger and meal really comes out close to $10 US, insane. It might be a deal for the Britts, but it is a killer to the Yanks, Canadians, South Africans(Heaven help you! at 12 ZA Rand to the pound), Aussies, Kiwis, etc., who all come home to the "motherland", if you will. Oh well. Now, fun time at security. YUCK! They wouldn't give me Fast Track, Gatwick does, but then it is basically Dallas on AA and they leave too early, want the day at LHR. Entered the security area, long wait, expected the worst, last time took me 15 minutes to clear. For the first time, Americans are seeing such garbage on our shores, and we don't like it. In Europe, you expect it. There were several empty machines/processing areas. Please raise airport taxes but don't hire more personnel, hence, lining the pockets of those stupid administrators who stick you on a train to get to Terminal 4 and started the wonderful Hoppa. Smile. Sorry for the sarcasm, but I always feel that way leaving Heathrow with all the lines and everything. Finally, brains were on and they allowed us to shuffle over to FastTrack, cheers. The security check was easy and painless. Wow. Their machines, as pretty much with most of Europe and now I suppose in the US, are so sensitive, I just take everything out and throw it into my carry on, yes, a pain with coins, but I never beep. Haven't beeped in a long time! Nice! I just adore the souls who are cleaning out their pockets with the household furniture coming out. Come on mates. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Think about those behind you! The credit that I will give here, the European, and even more so the British(and Swiss) security personnel are very professional, educated, and have it together, unlike the idiots at American airports who just make you cringe and think, power trip for a High School dropout. Atleast now, they have to learn to speak English(in the US), gee, that is so nice. ------------------ Michael AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+ Hilton Gold Sheraton Gold Marriot Silver |
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