Malta with BA (again) and a bit of inconvenience.
Oct 11, 2019, 4:55 am
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Malta with BA (again) and a bit of inconvenience.
What? Malta again? Well, yes, because we really adore Valletta, and the non-tourist bits of Malta. Why do you think we keep going back? OK, I know, a handy 240 BAEC Tier Points every time, but it’s more than that … it’s a lovely and relaxing place to live in the middle of largely unspoilt history.
Previous TRs are here …
) and for us both to get back into routine before …. a simple JER-LGW-MLA with BA, and on this occasion I remembered to abate the cost with Avios! Club Yerp for us both was thus a £660 - bargain, saving £400 by using 75k Avios. Palazzo Valletta booked with the owner [now a friend?] in the Penthouse for 6 nights at about £1,000. What’s not to like? We adore the residence, and we love the City … twice a year will do nicely!
And, as the previous TRs show, we really try to avoid ‘cookie-cutter’ chain hotels: small privately-owned and quirky is far more to our taste. We were watching a TV programme on ‘The World’s Most Luxurious Hotels’ and agreed that we didn’t like them at all. Too much bull**** and bling four our taste - we are ‘normal’ people.
Having covered the locations in those earlier Tis, there seemed little point to doing a reprise of the same old stuff, so this TR will mainly focus on the flights and airport aspects … and thus be a bit boring!
BOOKING. All done on 7 May, having weaved our way around the awkward/random BA schedules on this route. Outbound on 10 Oct at 1605 gave us a reasonable chance of being able to get to LGW on the same day, albeit with the penalty of a lonnnnnng layover there (1035-1605) as BA had kindly dropped the lunchtime JER-LGW rotation. Inconvenient is the polite word for that, but at least we will have the First lounge to … lounge in. And at least the return on 16 Oct was sensible, with just 1h50m to savour the familiar delights of LGW.
CHANGES. On 30 May, BA kindly informed us that our return flight on the 16th had been cancelled, and that we were rebooked for the 15th. Oh, hang on!!! … this trip was short enough without you stealing a day of it. A few minutes chat on the BAEC Gold line successfully moved the whole trip forward a week to 3-9 Oct with the same flight times [give or take 10 minutes or so] … at no charge, of course. Still stuck with the 5-hour layover, though
Accommodation rebooked with ease, and we relaxed.
OFF WE GO … EVENTUALLY.
3 Oct 19
BA2771, JER-LGW, 0935-1035, A319, CE seats 1A/C
Utterly routine from our POV, with the added luxury of NOT being on the 0705 red-eye! Punctual boarding at Gate 10, with the ‘status pax’ being shepherded into our own waiting room as usual. Once airborne, we enjoyed the Great British Breakfast, or whatever BA call it these days … and on this occasion it was indeed great. We received 2 rashers of decent back bacon (yes, TWO) and the scrambled eggs with chives were both fluffy and tasty. We were delighted!
On arrival at LGW we ‘enjoyed’ the experience of the new Domestic Arrivals via an airbridge. This was our 2nd encounter, and on this occasion I took the time to take a sequence of photos as we trudged along, down stairs and up stairs in the windowless warren of corridors behind/beneath Gates 1-5.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31612431-post21.html
Eventually, after the usual kerbside cigarette or 2 [it also helped to pass the time!], we re-entered and proceeded through Departures to the BA First Lounge. Logging on to the Lounge WiFi, I discovered an email from CheckMyTrip flagging a delay on our departure from 1605 to 1807. I immediately checked with Reception, but they knew nothing about it. More emails from CMT came in, with further delays … 1807>1826>1835! Reception checked with Ops, and all was revealed. ‘Our’ aircraft was doing Gatwick-Zagreb, but due to thunderstorms had to divert to Dubrovnik … and once the storms had cleared, the a/c made its way back to Zagreb, before heading back to Gatwick. No wonder it was late … and according to Reception/Ops, BA also had 2 s/h a/c gone tech already, so no chance of a replacement.
Tracking the aircraft’s progress on FR24, I eventually saw an ETA at LGW of 1742. Having entered the Lounge at around 1100, eventually a Gate was declared for our 1835 departure. Don’t get me wrong, the LGW(S) FLounge is quite nice, but spending the best part of 7 hours sat there at the start of a short holiday was not exactly a laugh a minute. What was extra-annoying was discovering that on this day, BA had kindly operated the lunchtime JER-LGW, of which I was unaware when doing the re-booking ... that could have saved us at least 3 hours of tedious Lounge time!
3 Oct 19
BA2644, LGW-MLA,1605-2010 ~1835-2230, A320, CE seats 1A/C
The Gate was eventually declared at 1750, so I quickly emailed our accommodation to re-schedule the limo transfer with our new ETA . And, whenever it was [somewhere around 1900] we eventually staggered into the air for the 2.5 hours or so to MLA. So, yes, 2.5 hours late.
No bulkhead on G-GATU, so we had loads of legroom and a panoramic view of the the jump-seats, Galley, and the ‘Doors to Manual’ bit. This doesn’t bother us at all, although some here find that unpleasant.
And we were fed … some sort of “Chicken Ding” microwave meal, which claimed to be ’Thai Chicken Curry’. It was edible, if unmemorable.
And eventually we arrived on the lovely, crazy, Island of Malta at some ungodly hour in the dark. Obviously first off the aircraft, a quick totter across the service road to Immigration [instant] and Reclaim [slow] before linking up with our limo driver for the 15-minute run into Valletta. The Owner had patiently awaited our arrival, and we were quickly installed in our familiar suite. Unpack and collapse!
Previous TRs are here …
- 2014 - “A Tale of Two Cities” - BA in CE, JER-LGW-MLA
- 2017 - Malta with BA in Club Europe
- 2018 - Malta, Four Sectors, Three Airlines … and all BA??
- 2019 - May, didn’t write one. Basically same as the last two, although all with BA!
) and for us both to get back into routine before …. a simple JER-LGW-MLA with BA, and on this occasion I remembered to abate the cost with Avios! Club Yerp for us both was thus a £660 - bargain, saving £400 by using 75k Avios. Palazzo Valletta booked with the owner [now a friend?] in the Penthouse for 6 nights at about £1,000. What’s not to like? We adore the residence, and we love the City … twice a year will do nicely!And, as the previous TRs show, we really try to avoid ‘cookie-cutter’ chain hotels: small privately-owned and quirky is far more to our taste. We were watching a TV programme on ‘The World’s Most Luxurious Hotels’ and agreed that we didn’t like them at all. Too much bull**** and bling four our taste - we are ‘normal’ people.
Having covered the locations in those earlier Tis, there seemed little point to doing a reprise of the same old stuff, so this TR will mainly focus on the flights and airport aspects … and thus be a bit boring!
BOOKING. All done on 7 May, having weaved our way around the awkward/random BA schedules on this route. Outbound on 10 Oct at 1605 gave us a reasonable chance of being able to get to LGW on the same day, albeit with the penalty of a lonnnnnng layover there (1035-1605) as BA had kindly dropped the lunchtime JER-LGW rotation. Inconvenient is the polite word for that, but at least we will have the First lounge to … lounge in. And at least the return on 16 Oct was sensible, with just 1h50m to savour the familiar delights of LGW.
CHANGES. On 30 May, BA kindly informed us that our return flight on the 16th had been cancelled, and that we were rebooked for the 15th. Oh, hang on!!! … this trip was short enough without you stealing a day of it. A few minutes chat on the BAEC Gold line successfully moved the whole trip forward a week to 3-9 Oct with the same flight times [give or take 10 minutes or so] … at no charge, of course. Still stuck with the 5-hour layover, though
Accommodation rebooked with ease, and we relaxed.
OFF WE GO … EVENTUALLY.
3 Oct 19
BA2771, JER-LGW, 0935-1035, A319, CE seats 1A/C
Utterly routine from our POV, with the added luxury of NOT being on the 0705 red-eye! Punctual boarding at Gate 10, with the ‘status pax’ being shepherded into our own waiting room as usual. Once airborne, we enjoyed the Great British Breakfast, or whatever BA call it these days … and on this occasion it was indeed great. We received 2 rashers of decent back bacon (yes, TWO) and the scrambled eggs with chives were both fluffy and tasty. We were delighted!
On arrival at LGW we ‘enjoyed’ the experience of the new Domestic Arrivals via an airbridge. This was our 2nd encounter, and on this occasion I took the time to take a sequence of photos as we trudged along, down stairs and up stairs in the windowless warren of corridors behind/beneath Gates 1-5.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31612431-post21.html
Eventually, after the usual kerbside cigarette or 2 [it also helped to pass the time!], we re-entered and proceeded through Departures to the BA First Lounge. Logging on to the Lounge WiFi, I discovered an email from CheckMyTrip flagging a delay on our departure from 1605 to 1807. I immediately checked with Reception, but they knew nothing about it. More emails from CMT came in, with further delays … 1807>1826>1835! Reception checked with Ops, and all was revealed. ‘Our’ aircraft was doing Gatwick-Zagreb, but due to thunderstorms had to divert to Dubrovnik … and once the storms had cleared, the a/c made its way back to Zagreb, before heading back to Gatwick. No wonder it was late … and according to Reception/Ops, BA also had 2 s/h a/c gone tech already, so no chance of a replacement.
Tracking the aircraft’s progress on FR24, I eventually saw an ETA at LGW of 1742. Having entered the Lounge at around 1100, eventually a Gate was declared for our 1835 departure. Don’t get me wrong, the LGW(S) FLounge is quite nice, but spending the best part of 7 hours sat there at the start of a short holiday was not exactly a laugh a minute. What was extra-annoying was discovering that on this day, BA had kindly operated the lunchtime JER-LGW, of which I was unaware when doing the re-booking ... that could have saved us at least 3 hours of tedious Lounge time!
3 Oct 19
BA2644, LGW-MLA,
The Gate was eventually declared at 1750, so I quickly emailed our accommodation to re-schedule the limo transfer with our new ETA . And, whenever it was [somewhere around 1900] we eventually staggered into the air for the 2.5 hours or so to MLA. So, yes, 2.5 hours late.
No bulkhead on G-GATU, so we had loads of legroom and a panoramic view of the the jump-seats, Galley, and the ‘Doors to Manual’ bit. This doesn’t bother us at all, although some here find that unpleasant.
And we were fed … some sort of “Chicken Ding” microwave meal, which claimed to be ’Thai Chicken Curry’. It was edible, if unmemorable.
And eventually we arrived on the lovely, crazy, Island of Malta at some ungodly hour in the dark. Obviously first off the aircraft, a quick totter across the service road to Immigration [instant] and Reclaim [slow] before linking up with our limo driver for the 15-minute run into Valletta. The Owner had patiently awaited our arrival, and we were quickly installed in our familiar suite. Unpack and collapse!
Last edited by T8191; Oct 11, 2019 at 6:29 am
Oct 11, 2019, 4:56 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
WE’RE HERE AGAIN!
Nothing special to report, really … all pretty much the same as those last 2 TRs. We wandered around Valletta, ate and drank at assorted street establishments, and enjoyed the view and sunshine on our private rooftop terrace as usual.
We did have the opportunity to meet up with a local FT-er gypsyjaney over a couple of glasses of Prosecco [for us - she was driving!] and discovered the basis of her user-name.
Dining Out ...
Merchants Street (Triq il-Merkanti) is full of eateries. We like La Pira.
Camilleri make great cakes and pastries ...
A typical Wine & Spirits shop ...
And, after 3 days of gorgeous sunshine and wandering, it was then of course Sunday when almost everything in Valletta [and the rest of Malta] is closed! A few places were open, so at least we could eat! And then came Monday, in future to be known as ‘Biblical Rain Day’. It poured down, almost but not quite incessantly … we managed to get out for a late lunch between downpours, before being confined to barracks again! And popping outside on our terrace or elsewhere for a smoke was not really an option! Perhaps Tuesday will be drier? Yes it was … by and large the rain was replaced with gale-force winds!
We felt huge sympathy for 2 of our fellow guests at Palazzo Valletta Suites, charming young ladies from Poland, whose 3-day visit mainly comprised ‘Closed’ and ‘Rain’. They were very phlegmatic about it though, and showed me their 4ºC temperature at home
Hey-ho, the weather is what it will be. We’ve drawn short straws several times this year, starting with a wet PHX in Feb, another very windy MLA in Apr, showers in UVF in Jun, pouring in Yorkshire in Jul … at least Virginia was dry and sunny! PLEASE, Mr. Weather God, give us nice weather for South Africa in Nov!!
Nothing special to report, really … all pretty much the same as those last 2 TRs. We wandered around Valletta, ate and drank at assorted street establishments, and enjoyed the view and sunshine on our private rooftop terrace as usual.
We did have the opportunity to meet up with a local FT-er gypsyjaney over a couple of glasses of Prosecco [for us - she was driving!] and discovered the basis of her user-name.
Dining Out ...
Merchants Street (Triq il-Merkanti) is full of eateries. We like La Pira.
Camilleri make great cakes and pastries ...
A typical Wine & Spirits shop ...
And, after 3 days of gorgeous sunshine and wandering, it was then of course Sunday when almost everything in Valletta [and the rest of Malta] is closed! A few places were open, so at least we could eat! And then came Monday, in future to be known as ‘Biblical Rain Day’. It poured down, almost but not quite incessantly … we managed to get out for a late lunch between downpours, before being confined to barracks again! And popping outside on our terrace or elsewhere for a smoke was not really an option! Perhaps Tuesday will be drier? Yes it was … by and large the rain was replaced with gale-force winds!
We felt huge sympathy for 2 of our fellow guests at Palazzo Valletta Suites, charming young ladies from Poland, whose 3-day visit mainly comprised ‘Closed’ and ‘Rain’. They were very phlegmatic about it though, and showed me their 4ºC temperature at home
Hey-ho, the weather is what it will be. We’ve drawn short straws several times this year, starting with a wet PHX in Feb, another very windy MLA in Apr, showers in UVF in Jun, pouring in Yorkshire in Jul … at least Virginia was dry and sunny! PLEASE, Mr. Weather God, give us nice weather for South Africa in Nov!!
Last edited by T8191; Oct 16, 2019 at 3:35 am
Oct 11, 2019, 4:56 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
GO HOME!
9 Oct 19
BA2645, MLA-LGW, 1130-1400, A320, CE seats 1A/C
A slightly early breakfast at 0800, where the Owner insisted on providing a Smoked Salmon salad [despite our protests], and with the bill, taxi fares and staff tips sorted, the ‘duty limo’ arrived on the dot for an 0900 departure! We have to get aboard quickly, as we're in a quite busy one-way street with just one lane of traffic - cause a delay and the car horns start blaring from the drivers behind! Some 15 minutes later, we were at the airport, where of course the desks weren’t open yet … they do a strict T-2. This placed us conveniently at the front of the queue for bag-drop, which at MLA has one lane for Gold/Silver/Bronze/Club Europe. We felt this 10-minute wait a better option than our previous 30-minute waits in the queue following a later arrival!
Bag dropped, BPs issued together with our La Vallette Lounge passes - which also cover Priority Security. Upstairs to a polite and painless Security, a quick burst of ‘Dufry’ cigarettes for me [€30/200] and up to the Lounge. Our fave lounge on the Planet, with the outdoor smoking terrace, overlooking the Apron. OK, the cushions were soaked, and even the underlying webbing left me with a wet bum, but it wasn’t long to wait … a glass of ‘Breakfast Wine’ and a couple of Pastizzi, an it was time to go to Gate 12.
Border controls are near the Gate areas on the outbound, with a short-ish queue, before being abandoned in a mass of people and Tensa Barriers. An EasyJet was about to depart at the same time from Gate 13, so it was really a muddled environment. Then, without a word on the PA, the doors were opened and we Group 1s were processed … on to the bus The EastJet crowd were also boarding their bus right behind us … I hope everyone got on the right one! And we sat, with my bum slowly drying, until the bus was full … cancel priority boarding for today! AND, when we got to the aircraft, forlorn on its remote stand, we were of course in the wrong place for the front set of steps! With a bit of nimbleness, we made it to the steps and found space for our carry-ons close to row 1 … as ever, the front bins are full of ‘flight essential’ stuff.
Up and away, in the approved manner and on time, and soon we were above the clouds heading for home. Ah, the mature lady CSD is going round the CE cabin greeting BAEC Golds … except us! What had we done to justify being ignored?!
Hey, ho, it’s time for Lunch and the CSD took our orders.
I couldn’t face another BA Chicken Breast, although iWife was brave. While debating the choices the CSD remarked that “the Chicken is lovely, the Risotto is lovely, the salad is lovely … I’m proud of what we serve.” I begged to differ, having eaten on BA often enough to know! Anyway …
Roast Chicken … the Porcini Jus had a touch of Bisto gravy about it.
Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus Risotto … somewhat dried-out, stodgy and largely tasteless.
You can judge how “lovely” both dishes were by the leftovers on our respective plates!
With that minor disappointment overcome, it was time to settle down with our Kindles for the next couple of hours until arrival at LGW, where the handling pilot (a Junior First Officer) performed a perfect touchdown with not the slightest trace of a bump! We slowly trudged from the Gate (way out at the far end of the ‘roundhouse’ at LGW(S)) to the Border, where no delay was encountered. And so to Arrival and kerbside for a quick *cough* before performing the usual Departures processes and grabbing some of iWife’s Duty Free ciggies. About 20 minutes in the FLounge preceded the announcement of Gate 5, and off we go for the last leg.
9 Oct 19
BA2774, LGW-JER, 1550-1650, A319, CE seats 1D/F
On this occasion the BP readers at Gate 5 seemed to working properly, and we found some seats near the airbridge to await boarding. A few minutes later, Group 1 was called and we headed to the aircraft. Oh, the shock … yet again ‘our’ seats had been reserved before we could reserve them [back in May]. We had to be VERY careful not to seat ourselves on autopilot!
LGW was fairly quiet at this time of day, and we were soon airborne and ready to enjoy BA’s Afternoon Tea … with Tea of Coffee on offer! A very tasty little meal, and perfectly appropriate for the time of day. More Kindle time ensued, although not a lot as the sector today only took 40 minutes, and here we are at JER - home again!
That’s it - another trip done and 960 TPs in the “Bank of BA” already for this Membership year. We shall try to find a way of spending the 518,849 Avios in the HHA in due course! We’re now taking a few weeks off from holidaying … 37 days to go for our first encounter with QR, LGW to CPT via DOH. We’re looking forward to that, and of course a couple of weeks in the Western Cape.
Bye for now, and thanks for reading!
9 Oct 19
BA2645, MLA-LGW, 1130-1400, A320, CE seats 1A/C
A slightly early breakfast at 0800, where the Owner insisted on providing a Smoked Salmon salad [despite our protests], and with the bill, taxi fares and staff tips sorted, the ‘duty limo’ arrived on the dot for an 0900 departure! We have to get aboard quickly, as we're in a quite busy one-way street with just one lane of traffic - cause a delay and the car horns start blaring from the drivers behind! Some 15 minutes later, we were at the airport, where of course the desks weren’t open yet … they do a strict T-2. This placed us conveniently at the front of the queue for bag-drop, which at MLA has one lane for Gold/Silver/Bronze/Club Europe. We felt this 10-minute wait a better option than our previous 30-minute waits in the queue following a later arrival!
Bag dropped, BPs issued together with our La Vallette Lounge passes - which also cover Priority Security. Upstairs to a polite and painless Security, a quick burst of ‘Dufry’ cigarettes for me [€30/200] and up to the Lounge. Our fave lounge on the Planet, with the outdoor smoking terrace, overlooking the Apron. OK, the cushions were soaked, and even the underlying webbing left me with a wet bum, but it wasn’t long to wait … a glass of ‘Breakfast Wine’ and a couple of Pastizzi, an it was time to go to Gate 12.
Border controls are near the Gate areas on the outbound, with a short-ish queue, before being abandoned in a mass of people and Tensa Barriers. An EasyJet was about to depart at the same time from Gate 13, so it was really a muddled environment. Then, without a word on the PA, the doors were opened and we Group 1s were processed … on to the bus
The EastJet crowd were also boarding their bus right behind us … I hope everyone got on the right one! And we sat, with my bum slowly drying, until the bus was full … cancel priority boarding for today! AND, when we got to the aircraft, forlorn on its remote stand, we were of course in the wrong place for the front set of steps! With a bit of nimbleness, we made it to the steps and found space for our carry-ons close to row 1 … as ever, the front bins are full of ‘flight essential’ stuff.Up and away, in the approved manner and on time, and soon we were above the clouds heading for home. Ah, the mature lady CSD is going round the CE cabin greeting BAEC Golds … except us! What had we done to justify being ignored?!
Hey, ho, it’s time for Lunch and the CSD took our orders.
I couldn’t face another BA Chicken Breast, although iWife was brave. While debating the choices the CSD remarked that “the Chicken is lovely, the Risotto is lovely, the salad is lovely … I’m proud of what we serve.” I begged to differ, having eaten on BA often enough to know! Anyway …
Roast Chicken … the Porcini Jus had a touch of Bisto gravy about it.
Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus Risotto … somewhat dried-out, stodgy and largely tasteless.
You can judge how “lovely” both dishes were by the leftovers on our respective plates!
With that minor disappointment overcome, it was time to settle down with our Kindles for the next couple of hours until arrival at LGW, where the handling pilot (a Junior First Officer) performed a perfect touchdown with not the slightest trace of a bump! We slowly trudged from the Gate (way out at the far end of the ‘roundhouse’ at LGW(S)) to the Border, where no delay was encountered. And so to Arrival and kerbside for a quick *cough* before performing the usual Departures processes and grabbing some of iWife’s Duty Free ciggies. About 20 minutes in the FLounge preceded the announcement of Gate 5, and off we go for the last leg.
9 Oct 19
BA2774, LGW-JER, 1550-1650, A319, CE seats 1D/F
On this occasion the BP readers at Gate 5 seemed to working properly, and we found some seats near the airbridge to await boarding. A few minutes later, Group 1 was called and we headed to the aircraft. Oh, the shock … yet again ‘our’ seats had been reserved before we could reserve them [back in May]. We had to be VERY careful not to seat ourselves on autopilot!
LGW was fairly quiet at this time of day, and we were soon airborne and ready to enjoy BA’s Afternoon Tea … with Tea of Coffee on offer! A very tasty little meal, and perfectly appropriate for the time of day. More Kindle time ensued, although not a lot as the sector today only took 40 minutes, and here we are at JER - home again!
That’s it - another trip done and 960 TPs in the “Bank of BA” already for this Membership year. We shall try to find a way of spending the 518,849 Avios in the HHA in due course! We’re now taking a few weeks off from holidaying … 37 days to go for our first encounter with QR, LGW to CPT via DOH. We’re looking forward to that, and of course a couple of weeks in the Western Cape.
Bye for now, and thanks for reading!
Last edited by T8191; Oct 11, 2019 at 6:37 am
Oct 11, 2019, 7:29 am
#4
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Programs: BA Bronze, Emirates Silver, Virgin Silver, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,403
Thanks for another enjoyable TR
That doesn't half look a hike and a half at Gatwick! Was it just as bad getting to your Jersey flight on the way back?
That doesn't half look a hike and a half at Gatwick! Was it just as bad getting to your Jersey flight on the way back?
Oct 11, 2019, 8:06 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
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Mercifully, the return connection was a sensible hour or so. Outbound is perpetually a PITA when there’s no lunchtime flight from JER. I have a feeling we’re going to have to overnight at LGW again next time, and pick a day with an early flight ... at least that gives us a bit of the day in MLA on arrival, instead of getting there in the evening.
And, yes, Western Cape is irresistible. This will be our 4th successive year, although sadly without a 2-4-1 ... I’m poised to catch the release of reward seats for Nov/Dec 2020
Oct 11, 2019, 11:23 am
#8
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Join Date: Mar 2010
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Posts: 32,146
Oct 11, 2019, 3:22 pm
#9
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,596
Avios redemptions are even worse. I rather thought some of the Margaret river wineries would fulfill your stay criteria.
Oct 12, 2019, 6:58 am
#10
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Malta
Programs: BAEC Bronze
Posts: 671
'Nothing Special'? What a cheek - this was a very special, red letter visit! I'm glad we managed our own mini FT Valletta 'do' at long last and a chance for me to meet the very nice and smiley Mrs T8191 - plus a nice chat in the sunshine. The Upper Barrakka has to be one of my favourite places in the whole world. Already looking forward to your next TR from Capetown. Here its stopped raining at last, but that's about all one can say about it - you had the best weather for most of your visit.
What a cheek - this was a very special, red letter visit! I'm glad we managed our own mini FT Valletta 'do' at long last and a chance for me to meet the very nice and smiley Mrs T8191 - plus a nice chat in the sunshine. The Upper Barrakka has to be one of my favourite places in the whole world. Already looking forward to your next TR from Capetown. Here its stopped raining at last, but that's about all one can say about it - you had the best weather for most of your visit.
Oct 12, 2019, 9:23 am
#11
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Bregenz, Austria
Programs: AA, BAEC, Alaska, Flying Blue, United, IHG, Hilton
Posts: 2,950
It's a bit later and further east for me this year. I'll be spending NYE on board and AF A380 to JNB, followed by a side trip to Vic Falls and a Test Match in PLZ.
Oct 12, 2019, 11:42 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
BTW, just finalising ‘20b MLA’ for next May ... already!!