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Thankfully it was a clean bill of health from the dentists and 90 minutes later after check up, X-rays, photos, and a seriously thorough deep clean I was £160 poorer and ordering a Bolt to the airport.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...319969d35.jpeg This is one of the smaller satellite surgeries in the leafy suburbs https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...69904cb91.jpeg Here we are again :) A new experience for me with the Bolt ride, the driver that accepted the fare was three minutes away and then headed off in the opposite direction, sending me a text that he would be twenty minutes! I told him that was too long, cancelled the ride, and picked up a 19 Lei cancellation fee. Very impressed with Bolt online support, that fee was immediately refunded on request, no quibbles. As I head back to the airport, a couple of comments on this weekends trip. I didn’t take any photos of the city itself on this visit, there are loads in my previous trip reports, but it’s worth mentioning that there are some stunning buildings in the part of the city I wandered around. Also worth noting that the pavements are in a far worse state than I remember from previous visits. There are lifted cobbles and potholes all over the place so if you are visiting, watch your step. |
Although it's a long way to go to the dentist, I'm glad you went so we got this TR.
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Here I am, happily ensconced in the lounge, and more on that subject in a minute. Firstly, the trip to the airport which took quite some time as the traffic was horrendous. I eventually arrived at the airport at 12:08.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...63cff48a2.jpeg Otopeni Tower As I was still over three hours early the BA desk was closed but one sad looking soul was camped out against the pillar. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2d5560bb9.jpeg Then to the standard craziness that is Security. Massive queue to get in https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...82ceec7bd.jpeg Usual chaos pre-security It was around half an hour from the back of the queue to airside. Airside most of the reconstruction is done and it looks a bit smarter than previously https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e0bed5e5d.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...02915a984.jpeg To gate three and onwards and upwards to the Dacia lounge https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...95518bf6e.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5bece0959.jpeg No sir, this is not the lounge for the likes of you! BA passengers now need to go through to the non Schengen side and use the business satellite lounge. This is a mini version of the Dacia lounge, same pitiful food offering, just a lot hotter as it is a huge glass house. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d6f6824e3.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...93d344d4a.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e0e52990d.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9ff1e16a3.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d1c8a4b4c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d5239d655.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...06726139a.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...79dca9e58.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ae5489ae4.jpeg A little sample of the food and a nice cold Ursus https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...75620adac.jpeg The pizza was as nasty as it looks, one bite was enough. The chicken nuggets were reconstituted, the potato croquettes greasy. It’s been less than a year since the lounges introduced any sort of hot food but I’d hoped they might have upped the game, unfortunate not. With two hours to wait until boarding it’s time to see how much of this rather good Ursus I can make disappear :D |
Originally Posted by JapesUK
(Post 36612225)
Here I am, happily ensconced in the lounge,
The pizza was as nasty as it looks, one bite was enough. The chicken nuggets were reconstituted, the potato croquettes greasy. It’s been less than a year since the lounges introduced any sort of hot food but I’d hoped they might have upped the game, unfortunate not. Have a safe trip home! |
Having had my fill of the heat on the lounge I headed over to the gates with 45 minutes to departure and ‘boarding’ being the art of herding people into a mobile sardine can.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fc9d5b339.jpeg To be fair, they did not cram the bus full, there was plenty of personal space for everyone when we set off. As we were heading to the plane I heard some gentleman with a very nasal voice pontification on the fragility of GGL cards and the length of time it took for replacements to arrive. Praying to the heavens that he was not going to be my seat mate you can imagine my delight when he left the bus and headed to the rear stairs! G-EUYJ is our sweet bird of freedom this afternoon and this was the second ever plane from way back when I started keeping records 20 months or so ago, and it brought me from LHR-OTP! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...29027e94d.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...463761d1a.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bc38a4b25.jpeg Menus have been distributed but I have a special ordered and I have a sneaking suspicion it is something a little off piste https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4dfa5ac54.jpeg Safety demonstration is now underway and we are pushing back for what looks to be an on time departure. Next Stop: London Heathrow in maybe three and a half hours time. |
Originally Posted by JapesUK
(Post 36612446)
G-EUYJ is our sweet bird of freedom this afternoon and this was the second ever plane from way back when I started keeping records 20 months or so ago, and it brought me from LHR-OTP!
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A thoroughly enjoyable flight this afternoon and an early arrival into Heathrow to boot.
I had purposefully ordered the gluten free special meal which was really decent this afternoon. Watermelon and cheese, a little pot of olives, and a chicken curry, plus some gluten free salted olive oil crackers. Desert was a coconut pot which was also pretty good. My only observation, who on earth thought steamed broccoli was an appropriate side for chicken curry and rice? https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d5e83c8c3.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3642a9273.jpeg We were well looked after throughout the flight and although I didn’t capture any of the drinks for posterity, I started with the standard trio and then progressed onto coffee and baileys for the remainder of the flight. I was not trying to break any consumption records this afternoon :) On the ground at 16:33 and now the hopefully short taxi to T3. |
Well, I made it eventually, finally in the CCR fully 90 minutes after wheels hit the ground.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e6cbd8740.jpeg It was a relatively short taxi towards the stand which was occupied! Too early at Heathrow is not your usual problem. Eventually we trundled to the gate and, nope, no ground handlers. I’d guess it was somewhere around 10 minutes before the jetty was attached, and off we go. T3 arrivals egates were somewhat bizarre with the left hand side gates being busy and the right hand side gates completely empty. Everyone playing follow the leader rather than thinking for themselves. Straight through and down into the bowels of the airport for the lizzy line to T5. Hmm, maybe not. After around 15 minutes there was an announcement that there was a broken train ahead, fix time unknown, and if you were in a hurry to go use the Piccadilly line. Off I trotted the quite extraordinary distance over to the Picadilly line and, finally to T5. First Wing security was a breeze as usual and now it’s time for dinner! https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b01c15ef9.jpeg |
Chicken and chips was the order of the day with a side of extra sauce. Delicious once again and eaten with unseemly haste.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b0d4c6338.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...335f849b1.jpeg And then it was time to retire to the bar where I am still resting and enjoying a drink or two. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...af7de5575.jpeg XO Brandy and coffee https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...949aa679b.jpeg Tiramisu Espresso Martini With maybe three quarters of an hour before it is time to go to gate it’s time to kick back and enjoy the ambiance. |
Gate A15 this evening and it’s a mess as usual. Walked up to the tensa barrier and was asked without prompting if I was Group 0, through the gate and ready to go.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dec682f5f.jpeg Next Stop: Newcastle in just under 2 hours time. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4e0f5bb72.jpeg The Concorde room from below |
Originally Posted by JapesUK
(Post 36613187)
It was a relatively short taxi towards the stand which was occupied! Too early at Heathrow is not your usual problem.
And the peak is this runway swapping at 3pm. I don't know why they are doing this. However, this results that many flights have to wait until 3pm before they can hit the runway. At the and some flights are then 30 to 60 min delayed because of this. |
Boarding commenced around 20:15 and the gentleman behind me commented on the Flyertalk tag, and I have had the pleasure of meeting drpabs
G-TTNU this evening, which I have been on twice before, each time from NCL-LHR. This has been fitted with the nice XL luggage bins so hopefully no bin battles and stress this evening. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aa60eac87.jpeg I’m back into my favourite seat 1C this evening but as usual I’m in temporarily located in 1B for boarding and one of the crew has just come along to check my seat, I guess she thought I was trying a bit of self upgrading. :) https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a931a5033.jpeg Having said ‘no bin battles’ 1F and 1A have both struggled due to the number of crew bags up front :( |
It was quite a rocky takeoff from Heathrow with the plane tilting back and forth for the first couple of minutes. Once it settled down the seatbelt lights were quickly off and service started almost immediately.
My choice of meal for this evening caused the usual amount of levity. I knew I would be eating an evening meal in the Concorde Room so I’d preorder a child meal again. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c5cb62679.jpeg Proving once more that there is not much that a bread roll cannot improve, it converted into a very nice chicken roll, accompanied by a baileys and coffee to close out the evening. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...330e238c1.jpeg By the time the crew were clearing trays the captains announcement was made that we were over Leeds and inside twenty minutes to landing. Quite surprisingly, the crew were still scurrying and faffing around ten minute later when the 10 minutes to landing was announced. They seemed to be running backwards and forwards with just one or two glasses each time, very odd. They were still securing the galley when the call came for ‘seats for landing’. |
And here we are at the end of another wander. As per usual I’m sat in the Uber writing this whilst heading home, and right now we are enjoying a little tour of the backroads because the main drag is closed for repairs.
The next trip that is hopefully worthy of writing about will be Riga in three weeks time. Before then I’m either in Birmingham for business, or London just because, and none of those will be worth putting thumbs to keypad. I hope that this epic saga cured your insomnia :D |
One of these days I have to figure out how to cross your paths at Heathrow.
Any particular plans for Riga? Advance reconnaissance before August following? What I can tell you at this point, hotel situation is good, that you probably already know, and I recommend you visit Garaza Bars for some great atmosphere, wide choice of whiskys and good beer and eating. |
Originally Posted by Fabo.sk
(Post 36613824)
One of these days I have to figure out how to cross your paths at Heathrow.
Any particular plans for Riga? Advance reconnaissance before August following? What I can tell you at this point, hotel situation is good, that you probably already know, and I recommend you visit Garaza Bars for some great atmosphere, wide choice of whiskys and good beer and eating. Thanks for the tips, I’ve done no planning as yet. |
Originally Posted by JapesUK
(Post 36613848)
It’s just a cheap filler, but now you mention it, maybe a reconnaissance mission is in order :D
Thanks for the tips, I’ve done no planning as yet. |
Great review! Loved the brewery crawl. Riga sounds like a great shout!
|
Originally Posted by BMarkus
(Post 36613513)
And the peak is this runway swapping at 3pm. I don't know why they are doing this. However, this results that many flights have to wait until 3pm before they can hit the runway. At the and some flights are then 30 to 60 min delayed because of this. |
Originally Posted by Nimrod1965
(Post 36616493)
Heathrow swaps runways at 3pm every day so that it gives the residents living under the immediate flight path a break from arrival traffic. This is only for the westerly 27 runways. For runway 09, the majority of landings are on 09L as rhe departures are on 09R; something about the taxiway to 09L not being suitable for all aircraft sizes with T5 domestic gates being so close to the runway threshold (I think).
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Originally Posted by JapesUK
(Post 36612894)
I had purposefully ordered the gluten free special meal which was really decent this afternoon. Watermelon and cheese, a little pot of olives, and a chicken curry, plus some gluten free salted olive oil crackers. Desert was a coconut pot which was also pretty good. My only observation, who on earth thought steamed broccoli was an appropriate side for chicken curry and rice?
|
Originally Posted by BMarkus
(Post 36617350)
Thanks for the explanation. However the transition is never smooth. I was on a flight departing 14:30 and held back until the runway swap has been carried out. Why not do one day runway L and the other day R. That would be much easie in my opinion.
Unless it’s quiet, the usual time that it takes from pushing off stand at T5 to take off on 27 is somewhere in the region of 25 minutes, maybe longer during runway changeovers. I would question your comment on delays up to 60 minutes occurring during this process. British Airways has a regular meeting with representatives from NATS and if flights were being delayed by 60 minutes because of this operation, they would question it. The delays might be down to other reasons. Your perception is that it is never smooth but from an ATC perspective, it’s a standard procedure that works well. |
Originally Posted by JapesUK
(Post 36612225)
Here I am, happily ensconced in the lounge, and more on that subject in a minute. Firstly, the trip to the airport which took quite some time as the traffic was horrendous. I eventually arrived at the airport at 12:08.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...63cff48a2.jpeg Otopeni Tower As I was still over three hours early the BA desk was closed but one sad looking soul was camped out against the pillar. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2d5560bb9.jpeg Then to the standard craziness that is Security. Massive queue to get in https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...82ceec7bd.jpeg Usual chaos pre-security It was around half an hour from the back of the queue to airside. Airside most of the reconstruction is done and it looks a bit smarter than previously https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e0bed5e5d.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...02915a984.jpeg To gate three and onwards and upwards to the Dacia lounge https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...95518bf6e.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5bece0959.jpeg No sir, this is not the lounge for the likes of you! BA passengers now need to go through to the non Schengen side and use the business satellite lounge. This is a mini version of the Dacia lounge, same pitiful food offering, just a lot hotter as it is a huge glass house. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d6f6824e3.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...93d344d4a.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e0e52990d.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9ff1e16a3.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d1c8a4b4c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d5239d655.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...06726139a.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...79dca9e58.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ae5489ae4.jpeg A little sample of the food and a nice cold Ursus https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...75620adac.jpeg The pizza was as nasty as it looks, one bite was enough. The chicken nuggets were reconstituted, the potato croquettes greasy. It’s been less than a year since the lounges introduced any sort of hot food but I’d hoped they might have upped the game, unfortunate not. With two hours to wait until boarding it’s time to see how much of this rather good Ursus I can make disappear :D |
Originally Posted by Nimrod1965
(Post 36617478)
The runway change has been in operation for longer that I can remember (over 30 years), there may be an agreement between HAL and the local authorities, I’m not an expert. It does require a bit of effort but at some point, aircraft have to taxi to the other runway and wait for the changeover, at some point, there has to be a slight “pause” to effect the runway change.
Unless it’s quiet, the usual time that it takes from pushing off stand at T5 to take off on 27 is somewhere in the region of 25 minutes, maybe longer during runway changeovers. I would question your comment on delays up to 60 minutes occurring during this process. British Airways has a regular meeting with representatives from NATS and if flights were being delayed by 60 minutes because of this operation, they would question it. The delays might be down to other reasons. Your perception is that it is never smooth but from an ATC perspective, it’s a standard procedure that works well. |
Originally Posted by Fabo.sk
(Post 36613824)
What I can tell you at this point, hotel situation is good, that you probably already know, and I recommend you visit Garaza Bars for some great atmosphere, wide choice of whiskys and good beer and eating.
|
What a dump... and on top of it being really busy, the flight is delayed 90 mins so far
Happy Friday :) |
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