"It's all Greek to me", or "Per Astra ad Crete" with BA.
Oct 26, 2022, 4:32 am
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
"It's all Greek to me", or "Per Astra ad Crete" with BA.
EDIT - the Thread title should of course be "Per Ardua ad Crete" ... auto-correct strikes again!
“This looks interesting” said Lady T [aka iWife] back in June as we pondered how to take fullest advantage of BA Holidays’ Double Tier Points offer before it expired at the end of October. “OK. why not - let’s do it” … which thus renews our BAEC Gold status. That’s nice! So we booked something new for a week in October. A bold decision on our part, as we try to avoid places where we can neither read nor speak a word of the local language! But it was not a problem, as we discovered. The cunning plan however became rather pointless by BA extending, in August, the Double TP offer through to 30 Sep 23! Oh, well, can’t win them all, and the reconnaissance will be useful!
Rimondi Boutique Hotels
As our usual Maltese Boutique Hotel is no more, a last bit of Mediterranean experience was certainly deemed appropriate to finish our 2022 travels, so it should make a change. And a new Country and Culture and a 16th Century old city to explore!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rethymno
Prices, through BA Holidays,
Flight + Hotel (B&B) + Private Car transfer = £3326.20
Accommodation … Spa Suite … https://hotelsrimondi.hotelbrain.com...suites-estate/
Weather … tenuous and potentially a bit wet. Cancel shorts and sandals [oops, not them again] and pack an umbrella. That’s the risk of travelling in the ‘shoulder season’, of course. But the Hotel and surrounding restaurants and bars in Rethymno Old Town, combined with the ability to smoke outdoors in our suite and restaurants, seals the deal.
BUT, as things transpired, the travel experience was a 100% failure. with delays and cancellations. Every single sector was delayed AFTER boarding, and one was cancelled losing us a day of the holiday!
Saturday, 15 Oct 22.
Taxi at 0530 again … the downside of living in JE and having to connect in UK to get anywhere [other than UK, of course!].
Sector 1
0705 JER-LHR, BA2767, A319, CE seats 1A/C
Everything went fine at the Airport, and we duly boarded and settled into our seats at about 0630. With boarding complete, the Captain then announced “We’re on a ground hold due to fog at LHR”. We eventually pushed back at 0740, so about an hour of sitting there going nowhere! On-Board Delay #1 = 1 hour. A short hold approaching LHR, and we were at the Gate at 0840 and moved smartly to Connections, where Security was mercifully quick. Forget the Lounge, no time, it’s Gate A5 where we arrived at 0900. Phew!
Sector 2
0950 LHR-HER, BA2554. A320, CE seats 1A/C
Boarding was rather untidy, with only 2 staff at A5. Tensa barriers being shuffled around to try to implement boarding by Groups, and a very rude 3rd staffer now tried to manage the mess! Whichever, we were boarded at 0930 [20 mins late] and settled in to 1A/C as usual. Boarding complete … Captain announces “Thunder Storms in Crete, they’re not accepting arrivals”. As you probably know, Crete was severely battered and suffered flash flooding - and I believe I heard that the HER runway was under water! We taxied to a spare bit of taxiway, and shut down! At 1100, we then taxied to Gate A8 and disembarked. On-Board Delay #2 = 1 hour +. Refreshment vouchers were issued, and “Please report back here at 1245.” At 1345 the flight was officially delayed for 24 hours, and at 1410 the Gate staff issued assorted Hoppa Bus and Hotel vouchers for a night at the Aurora Renaissance Hotel on the Bath Road … “We will store your hold bags overnight, please clear Security tomorrow by 0730 using your existing Boarding Passes.” And so we trudged off through Arrivals to find the magic Hoppa Bus stop, where we waited for ages [the schedules are at hourly intervals]. A crammed bus conveyed us to the hotel, where their well-practiced passenger rescue procedures had us checked in quickly. Buffet dinner served at 1730, after which we decided we had had enough of Saturday 15 October and, after a last cigarette, retired to our room. What a day!
“This looks interesting” said Lady T [aka iWife] back in June as we pondered how to take fullest advantage of BA Holidays’ Double Tier Points offer before it expired at the end of October. “OK. why not - let’s do it” … which thus renews our BAEC Gold status. That’s nice! So we booked something new for a week in October. A bold decision on our part, as we try to avoid places where we can neither read nor speak a word of the local language! But it was not a problem, as we discovered. The cunning plan however became rather pointless by BA extending, in August, the Double TP offer through to 30 Sep 23! Oh, well, can’t win them all, and the reconnaissance will be useful!
Rimondi Boutique Hotels
As our usual Maltese Boutique Hotel is no more, a last bit of Mediterranean experience was certainly deemed appropriate to finish our 2022 travels, so it should make a change. And a new Country and Culture and a 16th Century old city to explore!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rethymno
Prices, through BA Holidays,
Flight + Hotel (B&B) + Private Car transfer = £3326.20
Accommodation … Spa Suite … https://hotelsrimondi.hotelbrain.com...suites-estate/
Weather … tenuous and potentially a bit wet. Cancel shorts and sandals [oops, not them again] and pack an umbrella. That’s the risk of travelling in the ‘shoulder season’, of course. But the Hotel and surrounding restaurants and bars in Rethymno Old Town, combined with the ability to smoke outdoors in our suite and restaurants, seals the deal.
BUT, as things transpired, the travel experience was a 100% failure. with delays and cancellations. Every single sector was delayed AFTER boarding, and one was cancelled losing us a day of the holiday!
Saturday, 15 Oct 22.
Taxi at 0530 again … the downside of living in JE and having to connect in UK to get anywhere [other than UK, of course!].
Sector 1
0705 JER-LHR, BA2767, A319, CE seats 1A/C
Everything went fine at the Airport, and we duly boarded and settled into our seats at about 0630. With boarding complete, the Captain then announced “We’re on a ground hold due to fog at LHR”. We eventually pushed back at 0740, so about an hour of sitting there going nowhere! On-Board Delay #1 = 1 hour. A short hold approaching LHR, and we were at the Gate at 0840 and moved smartly to Connections, where Security was mercifully quick. Forget the Lounge, no time, it’s Gate A5 where we arrived at 0900. Phew!
Sector 2
0950 LHR-HER, BA2554. A320, CE seats 1A/C
Boarding was rather untidy, with only 2 staff at A5. Tensa barriers being shuffled around to try to implement boarding by Groups, and a very rude 3rd staffer now tried to manage the mess! Whichever, we were boarded at 0930 [20 mins late] and settled in to 1A/C as usual. Boarding complete … Captain announces “Thunder Storms in Crete, they’re not accepting arrivals”. As you probably know, Crete was severely battered and suffered flash flooding - and I believe I heard that the HER runway was under water! We taxied to a spare bit of taxiway, and shut down! At 1100, we then taxied to Gate A8 and disembarked. On-Board Delay #2 = 1 hour +. Refreshment vouchers were issued, and “Please report back here at 1245.” At 1345 the flight was officially delayed for 24 hours, and at 1410 the Gate staff issued assorted Hoppa Bus and Hotel vouchers for a night at the Aurora Renaissance Hotel on the Bath Road … “We will store your hold bags overnight, please clear Security tomorrow by 0730 using your existing Boarding Passes.” And so we trudged off through Arrivals to find the magic Hoppa Bus stop, where we waited for ages [the schedules are at hourly intervals]. A crammed bus conveyed us to the hotel, where their well-practiced passenger rescue procedures had us checked in quickly. Buffet dinner served at 1730, after which we decided we had had enough of Saturday 15 October and, after a last cigarette, retired to our room. What a day!
Last edited by T8191; Oct 28, 2022 at 11:20 am
Oct 26, 2022, 4:33 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Sunday 16 Oct 22
Groundhog day! 0500 Alarm, 0600 Hoppa. Bleurgh! Quickly through the First Wing at T5 and into the First Lounge, where a bite of breakfast and some pink champagne partially reset our sense of well-being as the sun gently rose over Heathrow!!
Sector 2.2 … try again!
0950 LHR-HER, BA2554. A320, CE seats 1A/C
And finally, feeling nourished and with a BAEC Golden aura, at 0830 we made our way to Gate 19 … which was initially unstaffed! But at 0905 [on time!] boarding was called for Group 1, which seemed to be just us, followed by the pre-boarding group [??] which turned out to be something like the Pied Piper of Hamelin as all these children [+ parents] followed us down the airbridge - where did they all come from? Anyway, we were seated and the Cabaret continued … “Heraklion has imposed Flow Control as they try to recover all the flights from yesterday. We expect a 1 hour delay.” Brilliant! At 0940 the Galley was being restocked after the previous sector, and the Captain started doing flight deck visits for children to pass the time! And at 1045 we pushed back, albeit while some kids were still standing up! On-Board Delay #3 = 1 hour. Finally airborne at 1110, we started to feel this holiday might actually happen - we were beginning to consider abandoning the whole idea!
Safely airborne, and with normality restored, the CC wasted little time in starting the drinks and nuts delivery service to 12 rows of Club Europe at 1130. And, unusually, a second pass with the bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte and a basket of the impenetrable nut packets.
By 1200-ish it was fine dining time!
Despite the late hour, the Original Full British something [time of day optional] was chosen. Gosh, aren’t the sausages and bacon small these days! Glad we ate in the FLounge!
… and then it was time to settle down with our Kindles, whilst also watching the endless processing of small children to the toilet … and wishing dear Hugo and Bertie would stop banging the back of our seats! My current reading is a history of the French Revolution, which offered me some ideas.
Heraklion … we have arrived! Firmly, as the Captain caught a nasty gust of crosswind in the last 100 feet on the approach. A remote stand, of course, as HER doesn’t do airbridges, but the steps and busses to arrivals were quickly in place, where we joined a multinational collection of pax from other airlines for The Border. A fairly slow process, not helped by me joining the wrong queue … only 1 desk operating this side of the barrier, 2 on the other! But finally up one floor to Reclaim, which was a zoo! The sign indicating which flight on which belt was small and distant and, frankly, unreadable without binoculars and the surrounding floor space was fairly minimal. Of course, everyone crowded up to the edge of the belt but at least the bags emerged up a high level bit before commencing their circuit, so one stood a chance of seeing them arrive. Which ours did, to my relief. I relocated to somewhere near the edge that wasn’t occupied by Daddy, Hugo, Bertie and the other child to enable me to reach our case. And then tried to find the EXIT, which was as clearly indicated as the flights board at the Carousel - dreadful signage seems to be the HER speciality!
And so to the outside World, to find our Transfer. And here I discovered my major blunder - we were not expected. Yesterday I had emailed the BA Holidays Duty Office, noting the flight cancellation and asking them to inform the Hotel and the Transfer company we would be a day late. I specifically noted I do not have a UK-capable Smart Phone! I got a “No Reply” email attaching the FAQs and saying “We’ll get back to you”and assumed all would be well. It was not. The Transfer agent at HER basically washed his hands of the subject, but fortunately a free-lance Taxi driver noticed the conversation and offered to take us to Rethymno for €90. He was a real licensed Taxi driver, so we hopped in to his immaculate Mercedes AMG limo for the 1 hour drive to our destination. Phew. As it transpired, BA Holidays hadn’t notified the Hotel of our delay [as per their T&C] so that’s 15-all … at least the Hotel guessed what was happening and kept our booking open! I shall be speaking to BA Holidays, of course, and I think we may make separate Transfer arrangements in future as BA Holidays seem rather expensive (they charged me £119 each way!)..
Rethymno … other spellings also exist, but I’ll stick to this one as I can neither read nor speak a word of Greek. Our driver had a bit of difficulty finding where to go, as there are several hotels named for the ‘famous’ Rimondi fountain, but after calling in to another ‘Rimondi’ hotel he found where to drop us off. Rethymno is largely pedestrianised [apart from bicycles, scooters and motorcycles!] so we had a 100 yard walk down Xanthoudidou St. to reach the Hotel.
Oh, we love old places, especially when like this they are beautifully and sensitively restored. And Rimondi Boutique Hotels has done just that. Modernity squeezed into an ancient building with sensitivity. We love it! They certainly deserve their membership of ‘Small Luxury Hotels of the World’ >>> https://slh.com And to welcome us to our Spa Suite, a refreshing drink and some honey-glazed Cretan nibbles … before we crashed unceremoniously into the huge bed. Sadly the hot tub made pumping noises and we hadn’t mastered how to extinguish the room’s overhead night light, so it wasn’t a great sleep. We will sort it our tomorrow.
Groundhog day! 0500 Alarm, 0600 Hoppa. Bleurgh! Quickly through the First Wing at T5 and into the First Lounge, where a bite of breakfast and some pink champagne partially reset our sense of well-being as the sun gently rose over Heathrow!!
Sector 2.2 … try again!
0950 LHR-HER, BA2554. A320, CE seats 1A/C
And finally, feeling nourished and with a BAEC Golden aura, at 0830 we made our way to Gate 19 … which was initially unstaffed! But at 0905 [on time!] boarding was called for Group 1, which seemed to be just us, followed by the pre-boarding group [??] which turned out to be something like the Pied Piper of Hamelin as all these children [+ parents] followed us down the airbridge - where did they all come from? Anyway, we were seated and the Cabaret continued … “Heraklion has imposed Flow Control as they try to recover all the flights from yesterday. We expect a 1 hour delay.” Brilliant! At 0940 the Galley was being restocked after the previous sector, and the Captain started doing flight deck visits for children to pass the time! And at 1045 we pushed back, albeit while some kids were still standing up! On-Board Delay #3 = 1 hour. Finally airborne at 1110, we started to feel this holiday might actually happen - we were beginning to consider abandoning the whole idea!
Safely airborne, and with normality restored, the CC wasted little time in starting the drinks and nuts delivery service to 12 rows of Club Europe at 1130. And, unusually, a second pass with the bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte and a basket of the impenetrable nut packets.
By 1200-ish it was fine dining time!
Despite the late hour, the Original Full British something [time of day optional] was chosen. Gosh, aren’t the sausages and bacon small these days! Glad we ate in the FLounge!
… and then it was time to settle down with our Kindles, whilst also watching the endless processing of small children to the toilet … and wishing dear Hugo and Bertie would stop banging the back of our seats! My current reading is a history of the French Revolution, which offered me some ideas.
Heraklion … we have arrived! Firmly, as the Captain caught a nasty gust of crosswind in the last 100 feet on the approach. A remote stand, of course, as HER doesn’t do airbridges, but the steps and busses to arrivals were quickly in place, where we joined a multinational collection of pax from other airlines for The Border. A fairly slow process, not helped by me joining the wrong queue … only 1 desk operating this side of the barrier, 2 on the other! But finally up one floor to Reclaim, which was a zoo! The sign indicating which flight on which belt was small and distant and, frankly, unreadable without binoculars and the surrounding floor space was fairly minimal. Of course, everyone crowded up to the edge of the belt but at least the bags emerged up a high level bit before commencing their circuit, so one stood a chance of seeing them arrive. Which ours did, to my relief. I relocated to somewhere near the edge that wasn’t occupied by Daddy, Hugo, Bertie and the other child to enable me to reach our case. And then tried to find the EXIT, which was as clearly indicated as the flights board at the Carousel - dreadful signage seems to be the HER speciality!
And so to the outside World, to find our Transfer. And here I discovered my major blunder - we were not expected. Yesterday I had emailed the BA Holidays Duty Office, noting the flight cancellation and asking them to inform the Hotel and the Transfer company we would be a day late. I specifically noted I do not have a UK-capable Smart Phone! I got a “No Reply” email attaching the FAQs and saying “We’ll get back to you”and assumed all would be well. It was not. The Transfer agent at HER basically washed his hands of the subject, but fortunately a free-lance Taxi driver noticed the conversation and offered to take us to Rethymno for €90. He was a real licensed Taxi driver, so we hopped in to his immaculate Mercedes AMG limo for the 1 hour drive to our destination. Phew. As it transpired, BA Holidays hadn’t notified the Hotel of our delay [as per their T&C] so that’s 15-all … at least the Hotel guessed what was happening and kept our booking open! I shall be speaking to BA Holidays, of course, and I think we may make separate Transfer arrangements in future as BA Holidays seem rather expensive (they charged me £119 each way!)..
Rethymno … other spellings also exist, but I’ll stick to this one as I can neither read nor speak a word of Greek. Our driver had a bit of difficulty finding where to go, as there are several hotels named for the ‘famous’ Rimondi fountain, but after calling in to another ‘Rimondi’ hotel he found where to drop us off. Rethymno is largely pedestrianised [apart from bicycles, scooters and motorcycles!] so we had a 100 yard walk down Xanthoudidou St. to reach the Hotel.
Oh, we love old places, especially when like this they are beautifully and sensitively restored. And Rimondi Boutique Hotels has done just that. Modernity squeezed into an ancient building with sensitivity. We love it! They certainly deserve their membership of ‘Small Luxury Hotels of the World’ >>> https://slh.com And to welcome us to our Spa Suite, a refreshing drink and some honey-glazed Cretan nibbles … before we crashed unceremoniously into the huge bed. Sadly the hot tub made pumping noises and we hadn’t mastered how to extinguish the room’s overhead night light, so it wasn’t a great sleep. We will sort it our tomorrow.
Last edited by T8191; Oct 26, 2022 at 6:22 am
Oct 26, 2022, 4:33 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Monday 17 Oct and later!
Our Suite, It took a while to unravel the Rimondi’s website, because it’s actually 2 buildings on opposite sides of the street. We were in the Rimondi Estate, in the Spa Suite on the ground floor. No view, but a nice outdoor space [with hot tub] where we could smoke. Have a few pictures, including the huge and powerful shower …
Mega Bed!
Super-huge Shower
Door to terrace
Hot Tub and outside 'room'
Note life's little necessities ... Wine, ashtray and iPad, with comfy chairs!
Eventually the holiday begins, A quite excellent Breakfast with numerous and tasty hot and cold options in the hotel restaurant set us up for exploring the Old Town.
Just part of the offer ...
... and some more.
The weather was a bit cool and windy in the aftermath of the storms of Saturday. We found a small supermarket about 100 yards away, and stocked our mini-fridge with some local wine before venturing out again. The warren of narrow streets and lanes, hemmed in by old buildings, soon had us completely lost and eventually had to seek assistance. First try was the Archeological Museum, who provided a better map of the town, but we still got it wrong! Eventually a taxi office saved the day with some simple instructions despite a language barrier! In both cases we had been within 200 yards of the hotel, but the maze of streets had completely disoriented us - and of course there's almost no view to help get your bearings!.
The Rimondi Fountain
Oh, it’s so cute you could want to bottle it and take it home with you! And when the weather finally brightened up, we wandered down to the Harbour, where the bars/restaurants were more expensive! Oh, and the hordes of scooters, many doing deliveries down the narrow lanes they share with pedestrians - the electric ones are the scariest!
Of course, we had to eat out, and in the classic Mediterranean way - outside! We were fortunate to be right in the middle of a cluster of classic Cretan restaurants, all within 25-30 yards of the hotel. Yay! We ended up using the same one every day bar one, working our way gently through their menu.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ure_Crete.html
Good value (typically €30 for 2 including 1/2 L of local wine) and with very friendly and helpful staff. Delightfully authentic and freshly cooked. And as a manifestation of additional Cretan hospitality, along with the bill comes either a small decanter of Raki and a sweet treat, or another small carafe of wine. We like Cretans! And Lady T discovered she likes Strawberry Raki!!
Our Suite, It took a while to unravel the Rimondi’s website, because it’s actually 2 buildings on opposite sides of the street. We were in the Rimondi Estate, in the Spa Suite on the ground floor. No view, but a nice outdoor space [with hot tub] where we could smoke. Have a few pictures, including the huge and powerful shower …
Mega Bed!
Super-huge Shower
Door to terrace
Hot Tub and outside 'room'
Note life's little necessities ... Wine, ashtray and iPad, with comfy chairs!
Eventually the holiday begins, A quite excellent Breakfast with numerous and tasty hot and cold options in the hotel restaurant set us up for exploring the Old Town.
Just part of the offer ...
... and some more.
The weather was a bit cool and windy in the aftermath of the storms of Saturday. We found a small supermarket about 100 yards away, and stocked our mini-fridge with some local wine before venturing out again. The warren of narrow streets and lanes, hemmed in by old buildings, soon had us completely lost and eventually had to seek assistance. First try was the Archeological Museum, who provided a better map of the town, but we still got it wrong! Eventually a taxi office saved the day with some simple instructions despite a language barrier! In both cases we had been within 200 yards of the hotel, but the maze of streets had completely disoriented us - and of course there's almost no view to help get your bearings!.
The Rimondi Fountain
Oh, it’s so cute you could want to bottle it and take it home with you! And when the weather finally brightened up, we wandered down to the Harbour, where the bars/restaurants were more expensive! Oh, and the hordes of scooters, many doing deliveries down the narrow lanes they share with pedestrians - the electric ones are the scariest!
Of course, we had to eat out, and in the classic Mediterranean way - outside! We were fortunate to be right in the middle of a cluster of classic Cretan restaurants, all within 25-30 yards of the hotel. Yay! We ended up using the same one every day bar one, working our way gently through their menu.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ure_Crete.html
Good value (typically €30 for 2 including 1/2 L of local wine) and with very friendly and helpful staff. Delightfully authentic and freshly cooked. And as a manifestation of additional Cretan hospitality, along with the bill comes either a small decanter of Raki and a sweet treat, or another small carafe of wine. We like Cretans! And Lady T discovered she likes Strawberry Raki!!
Last edited by T8191; Nov 5, 2022 at 4:39 am
Oct 26, 2022, 4:34 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Saturday 22 October
Time to go home! The previous day we got Reception to check with the Transfer outfit that we were still good to go, and agreed the pick-up at the Car Park near the Supermarket 100 yards away. These Old Towns have small disadvantages! Our driver arrived nice and early, at 1145, and we were on our way back down the E75 highway to Heraklion Airport, where we arrived at 1310. The Terminal building is just one long line, with Arrivals on the left [seen from land-side] and Departures on the right. We found the BA desks in the left-hand end of Departures, Desks 20-22, and as Club Europe pax were swiftly processed. Security was equally easy, and where Lady T in an abstracted moment left her iPad and Kindle in her carry-on … which caused no concern! And so to the great Shopping Mall that is HER departures! It’s bloody huge!!
BUT … where is the SkyServ Lounge, for which we were issued tickets at Bag Drop? As with Arrivals, the signage is not especially helpful, but eventually we found a staffer who knew! First you go through Passport Control, and then you go up one floor and retrace your steps back to the left. Ah, and there it is, eventually, with no obvious signage again! Now we’ve been in a few lounges around the Planet, but this was severely dismal … more like a Dentist’s waiting room! The ‘food’ consisted of individually wrapped semi-edible rolls etc. It was dismal! And no outside view either.
Supposedly Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese ... without cheese!
Oh, and the Airport toilets outside the Lounge were pretty poor too. The Gents had water all over the floor, and Lady T observed she had the option of a lock on the door or a lavatory seat!
Anywaaaay … escape time. Gate B9 says the lady at the lounge desk [no monitors]. Off we go, downstairs, to find a very small space for BP checks before we can escape to the kerb for the bus! Priority signage not seen, but we guessed the left side of this throng might be it … and it seems it was! Quite chaotic, with no room for anyone to move until the bus arrives. Kids and baby-buggies everywhere, of course, but fortunately the 1st bus did the job.
Sector 3
1550 HER-LHR, BA2539. A320, CE seats 1A/C
Yay - Doors closed at 1534. And at 1540, “Captain speaking - we have a 30 min slot delay” . On-Board Delay #4 = 30 min.
Taxi @1602, airborne @1608, drinks round @1630, Dinner @1700.
The Lamb Curry was not very interesting, tbh, and not even very hot [temperature]. Whatever, the Malbec was OK. And back to our Kindles for the next 3+ hours.
… and so the hours dragged by: ah, if only this was a flat bed instead of an upright Economy-type seat! However - a novelty: at 1900 [by my watch] there’s a Club Kitchen basket of tat in the galley. Oh, the luxury! At 1940 we start the descent into London, so I reset my watch: it’s 1740, and I’m tired! By 1800 it appears from my notes that we had cleared the Border and Security, with Lady T’s passport again declining to register at the e-Gates, but whichever … at 1830 we’re settled back in the T5 FLounge to await the last leg.
Sector 4
1940 LHR-JER, BA2778, A319, CE seats 1A/C
This bit is easy. Which Gate? 17 or 18, IIRC … just below the FLounge. Where we boarded, and waited … and yes, the 1940 becomes the 2020 and then the 2047! On-Board Delay #5 of 5 … 1 hour! By now I have totally lost interest in BA, Club Europe and whatever food/drink might have been offered (I am reminded we has the Ploughman’s)… I WANT TO GO HOME! Which eventually we did, and having recovered our bag at Reclaim [one of the last on the belt] collapsed into a Taxi and went home. Case dumped in the hallway, open a few windows and crash into bed by 2230… and ‘cough’ … yes, the sweet little petri-dishes have given us both colds, for the first time in about 10 years according to our time expired cold medications in the cabinet - "use by 2014"!
However, disruption and delays apart, it was a very nice break and we’re already planning to return next year … avoiding School holidays and in a better season for weather! And our Tier Points posted promptly … and the bonus when posted will renew Gold, so that’s OK too. Nothing planned until March 2023 - I wonder if I can find somewhere warm to fill the gap between now and then?
Time to go home! The previous day we got Reception to check with the Transfer outfit that we were still good to go, and agreed the pick-up at the Car Park near the Supermarket 100 yards away. These Old Towns have small disadvantages! Our driver arrived nice and early, at 1145, and we were on our way back down the E75 highway to Heraklion Airport, where we arrived at 1310. The Terminal building is just one long line, with Arrivals on the left [seen from land-side] and Departures on the right. We found the BA desks in the left-hand end of Departures, Desks 20-22, and as Club Europe pax were swiftly processed. Security was equally easy, and where Lady T in an abstracted moment left her iPad and Kindle in her carry-on … which caused no concern! And so to the great Shopping Mall that is HER departures! It’s bloody huge!!
BUT … where is the SkyServ Lounge, for which we were issued tickets at Bag Drop? As with Arrivals, the signage is not especially helpful, but eventually we found a staffer who knew! First you go through Passport Control, and then you go up one floor and retrace your steps back to the left. Ah, and there it is, eventually, with no obvious signage again! Now we’ve been in a few lounges around the Planet, but this was severely dismal … more like a Dentist’s waiting room! The ‘food’ consisted of individually wrapped semi-edible rolls etc. It was dismal! And no outside view either.
Supposedly Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese ... without cheese!
Oh, and the Airport toilets outside the Lounge were pretty poor too. The Gents had water all over the floor, and Lady T observed she had the option of a lock on the door or a lavatory seat!
Anywaaaay … escape time. Gate B9 says the lady at the lounge desk [no monitors]. Off we go, downstairs, to find a very small space for BP checks before we can escape to the kerb for the bus! Priority signage not seen, but we guessed the left side of this throng might be it … and it seems it was! Quite chaotic, with no room for anyone to move until the bus arrives. Kids and baby-buggies everywhere, of course, but fortunately the 1st bus did the job.
Sector 3
1550 HER-LHR, BA2539. A320, CE seats 1A/C
Yay - Doors closed at 1534. And at 1540, “Captain speaking - we have a 30 min slot delay” . On-Board Delay #4 = 30 min.
Taxi @1602, airborne @1608, drinks round @1630, Dinner @1700.
The Lamb Curry was not very interesting, tbh, and not even very hot [temperature]. Whatever, the Malbec was OK. And back to our Kindles for the next 3+ hours.
… and so the hours dragged by: ah, if only this was a flat bed instead of an upright Economy-type seat! However - a novelty: at 1900 [by my watch] there’s a Club Kitchen basket of tat in the galley. Oh, the luxury! At 1940 we start the descent into London, so I reset my watch: it’s 1740, and I’m tired! By 1800 it appears from my notes that we had cleared the Border and Security, with Lady T’s passport again declining to register at the e-Gates, but whichever … at 1830 we’re settled back in the T5 FLounge to await the last leg.
Sector 4
1940 LHR-JER, BA2778, A319, CE seats 1A/C
This bit is easy. Which Gate? 17 or 18, IIRC … just below the FLounge. Where we boarded, and waited … and yes, the 1940 becomes the 2020 and then the 2047! On-Board Delay #5 of 5 … 1 hour! By now I have totally lost interest in BA, Club Europe and whatever food/drink might have been offered (I am reminded we has the Ploughman’s)… I WANT TO GO HOME! Which eventually we did, and having recovered our bag at Reclaim [one of the last on the belt] collapsed into a Taxi and went home. Case dumped in the hallway, open a few windows and crash into bed by 2230… and ‘cough’ … yes, the sweet little petri-dishes have given us both colds, for the first time in about 10 years according to our time expired cold medications in the cabinet - "use by 2014"!
However, disruption and delays apart, it was a very nice break and we’re already planning to return next year … avoiding School holidays and in a better season for weather! And our Tier Points posted promptly … and the bonus when posted will renew Gold, so that’s OK too. Nothing planned until March 2023 - I wonder if I can find somewhere warm to fill the gap between now and then?
Last edited by T8191; Oct 28, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Oct 26, 2022, 6:42 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2014
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Bummer about the delayed start to your holiday 
EU261 applicable?
The place seems very quaint with the wee streets even if it meant getting lost.
EU261 applicable?The place seems very quaint with the wee streets even if it meant getting lost.
Oct 26, 2022, 6:43 am
#7
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Cheers, mikeyfly! Not sure we’re HBO people, tbh, even with warmer weather. Still, we only had 2 slightly miserable days … roll on Summer, I say!
Oct 26, 2022, 6:50 am
#8
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But, yes, really cute location … we liked it a lot.
Last edited by T8191; Oct 26, 2022 at 7:06 am
Oct 26, 2022, 8:13 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2015
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Great report, and if it is a small consolation, a friend flew with EZY out of Gatwick that morning to HER as well. They departed LGW - flew almost the whole way to then find HER airport closed and diverted to ATH where they sat on the tarmac for 3hrs with no food or water and a plane load of families. Eventually the Captain agreed to allow those without hold luggage to disembark, but everybody else must return with them to LGW (another 3.5hrs back on top of the 6.5hrs they had already been on the plane!). This almost caused a riot, so eventually they allowed whomever wanted off to leave, but then it was another 2hr wait for luggage and anybody who did get off was told they must arrange their own hotel in Athens and make their own way to HER!
While you encountered delays, BA seemed to have handled the whole situation a lot better!
Pilot37
While you encountered delays, BA seemed to have handled the whole situation a lot better!
Pilot37
Oct 26, 2022, 8:53 am
#10
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Pilot37 ... that EZY trip sounded like an EPIC fail! We've had our fair share of disruptions, cancellations and delays over the years, but that one was a nightmare!
Of course, the Weather Gods make their own arrangements, but I do agree BA handled our outbound quite well.
Of course, the Weather Gods make their own arrangements, but I do agree BA handled our outbound quite well.
Oct 26, 2022, 9:43 am
#12
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Oct 26, 2022, 10:53 am
#14
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