Journey – NRT-DFW
Flight no. – AA176
Class – First
Seat – 1J

I am quickly through immigration and this time it is straight to the F lounge. I know the AC here is great but it just isn’t an F lounge. I jump online, grab a glass of Moet and relax. Take off is 11:50 so at about 11:15 I start sauntering towards the gate knowing I have plenty of time.

As I cross the Terminal I can here my name being called “mr simongr – please make yourself known to the ground staff as you are the last person to board and we are about to leave without you – thankfully you don’t have any luggage so you are easy to leave behind”. I am in a little shock as it is only 11:20 so I still have 30 minutes???

I start to rush to the gate and am pretty much grabbed by a member of staff and thrown to the gate. It is only as I board that I recheck my boarding passes and note that my DFW-LGW flight departs at 11:50 whereas my NRT-DFW flight departs at 11:30 – oops… See what I mean about my head not being in the game…

I actually walk onboard at 11:25 and everyone is stunned that I actually made it. I sheepishly go to my suite and am pleased that not only am I on board but I am also in a Flagship Suite – my first experience of these.

The staff are fantastic – no surly or negative comments and no admonishments – just an offer of a glass of champagne – which I gladly accept I do however feel like a total rookie

As I said this is my first experience of Flagship suite and I am very impressed. I like the little bit of movement you can – it feels a gimmick but it does give you that little bit of freedom of movement. I am slim (well not as slim as I used to be) 6’ 2” so the narrowness of the seat is not an issue for me. I would rate these seats over the current 744 QF F seats by quite a margin.

As I did board a little late I miss out on the fish option (noting again a lack of menus in F) so settle for steak which looks ok. My initial drink is a Kirin beer with my mozzarella balls canapés- I elect to skip the “fruit of the devil”*

Appetiser is a prawn salad and smoked salmon. The prawn is an incredibly dense meat which is a little surprising. Given I am having steak for main I skip the steak Caesar salad. As I have said on many occasions this is just something that I don’t understand – a salad course between courses. The steak is surprisingly nice** and is joined by more Australian Koonunga Hill Shiraz.

I am pleasantly surprised that there is AVOD on board and no DVD player. It is not clear from the AA website that there is AVOD on the suites. This is “confused” further as F class pax get a “video selection” card of available movies. But it was AVOD so I was able to watch the end of O13 and the whole of “Next” which was a great Nicholas Cage movie. I make further in-roads into Season 2 of Numb3rs which I am starting to really like as a show – brings me back to my days when I used to be a maths whiz – my how times change … I sleep for a couple of hours after lunch but not much more than that. I either needed to fall asleep for the full flight – kind of tough with a late morning flight or at least get 4 – 5 hours…

Shortly after the beer service stops ops: , about 3 hours out from DFW breakfast is served – there is some confusion as I end up with both omelette and cereal – which to me amounts to a single breakfast rather than some form of extra breakfast…

Towards the end of the flight I utilise the “working position” of the seat which is really good – obviously not much work is done but it is nice to sit directly looking out of the window as I read a book – it helps to break the journey.

[excessively long aside]

A quick comparison of F

Ok I now have experience of three four five versions of F on a decent long haul flight – Old CX (Airbus and 747), Current QF, Old AA and new AA so it might be time for a bit of a league table based on the key components of what makes a good F class for me: seat, booze, segregation from the hoipolloi, service, food and the soft stuff

Seat

AA new
QF
CX 747
CX Airbus
AA old

The new AA seat is the obvious winner for me. I like the movement (if that wasn’t clear above), there seems more available space than QF and CX (unless you have the bassinet positions). The CX seat feels smaller and on the airbus I felt very close to the pax next to me – so have a window seat (I have had all window seats on QF) was a big step up for AA. The AVOD worked and the screen was a decent size.

Booze

QF
CX 747/Airbus
AA/AA

AA is the clear loser here due to starting off by serving Champagne in a plastic cup. Also the G&T is a little overly strong. QF makes a good stand with good simple wines and beer rather than stellar and risky wines (I only drink ANZ wines if I have the chance with the exception of Champagne of course. The CX G&T is the best but QF gives it a run for it’s money.

Now although there is a ranking in this section the graduations between carriers is minimal – the plastic cup is a bit downer for AA though.

Segregation from the Hoipolloi

QF
CX 747
CX Airbus
AA New
AA Old

Now this will be a slightly obvious order here as the 747 has you turning left always so you don’t ever get battered as the herd as they troop off to weigh down the back of the aircraft.

AA new almost sneaked in here as I did turn left on boarding due to using the 2L door being used.

Service

CX Airbus
CX 747
AA new
AA Old
QF

Now this might be a little controversial. CX takes this out comfortably with the Airbus edging out the 747 simply virtue of the cabin crew being able to serve quenelles of sour cream with the smoked salmon and caviar during turbulence so bad that I held onto the trolley for them to stop it taking off. Generally attentive staff with nice little touches that make a difference.

I guess the controversy will be QF. Now I have to admit that my last two QF F flights have been fantastic – perhaps even better than CX. The problem is that I have had one flight where the service was average and one where the service was poor. Now I don’t get aggrieved at that in J but in F I want a consistent standard especially when they set the benchmarks so high. That is why AA edges out QF. On AA I know I am going to get a fairly friendly but casual service standard but on QF I either feel like a rock star or interference to their busy schedule.

Food

Now this is a tough one and one that I am overall most disappointed with. By the reports from SQ and things like “book the cook” with plates of lobster being splashed everywhere I was really expecting something special when I flew in F but in general I am not blown away.

There have been nice touches – the caviar service on CX, the steak sandwich on QF (although I think now the relish is referred to as a “spicy relish” so that is off the menu), the Thai beef rolls on QF and the hot (well not always hot) fudge sundae on AA - these were all great. But the main courses in general have been a let down – over cooked beef and lamb (QF and CX), tasteless pasta (QF), random vegetables (CX), repetition of appetisers (AA) – frankly a litany of mains that I look back without fondness. Now I know all of my F seats have been points/certificate upgrades so I can’t complain that I didn’t get what I paid for – but it has made me think that when I can pay for F (on an AONEx for our Anniversary one year) I know I wont be paying for the food – just for the seat.

The Soft Stuff

This is the things around the flight – the pyjamas (or lack thereof), amenity kits, greetings on boarding – and frankly AA is left for dead in this regard. Amazing that on my last flight they didn’t even have an amenity kit and when they do it is the same as the J kit. Overall in F on AA you are not paying for the soft stuff. CX and QF would be for me on a par – neither are a quantum leap above J (except for the PJs) but I would be interested to benchmark CX/QF against EK or SQ – mind you that would need a quantum shift in my travel patterns

Conclusion



But seriously for me I am lucky in a way that there isn’t a choice in a way. Into and out of Oz I will try and fly QF on a 744 so that I can points upgrade. TATL and TransPac I will try to get on an AA flight and eVIP. At any other time if I have the opportunity I will fly F on any OW carrier that I can.

Now if only I could get that elusive Op-Up to F on BA….

[/excessively long aside]

[narrator]

If our readers will recall simongr was just regaling us with his journey from NRT to DFW on AA in a Flagship Suite. When we last left him he was sat looking out the window using the “working” position of the flagship suite – obviously not working but we have made our judgements regarding his work ethic. As we rejoin him I sense that we may be about to land

[/narrator]

We begin our descent into DFW and I slide my suite into the landing mode and keep reading as we have a slowish descent. I only have an hour and a half or so of layover here so it will be a dash to the AC and then boarding almost. As we are in F I employ the usual NM style of airport travel and am quiet surprised that I am not outpacing everyone else – I guess I was really on a road warriors’ flight. Thankfully they are mostly Americans so they don’t beat me to the immigration queue. I am the very first non-US national from our flight to get to the immigration queue and the ponderous understaffed US immigration process strikes again. I am in the queue for over thirty minutes – behind the previous flight. The staff are incredibly slow to get set up when they start to open more booths and for the love of god people – can you please organise your visas BEFORE you arrive. The number of people who seem to have to be taken off for further processing is staggering and it means that we are frequently down to 1- 2 immigration staff

Finally I am through immigration into customs where I am selected for random screening Perhaps because I was honest and said I was on my way to Cyprus after the US? The customs staffer who rifles through my bags is actually pretty good and friendly. He takes great interest in my travel notebook and comments on my opinions of the last F flight ops: After 10 minutes of this (heaven help anyone who was travelling with anything but hand luggage only) I am finally on my way to the AC.

Obviously nothing is that simple as I have to negotiate a painfully slow (even with the express lane) security process to get into the Terminal. I then take the long way round on the skytrain the correct terminal (might have been quicker to walk almost…)

At the AC I am given a drinks voucher – I assume due to the international itinerary – and then book the shower. I just have time to grab a cold beer and check AFF before I am called for the most pathetic shower of the journey But I am refreshed as I check my BP about 10 times to ensure I have the correct boarding time …

*also known as olives

** Remember guys we are discussing food on an American carrier – the benchmark is set pretty low

Ah good some more updates. Next chance I get to print this out I will for reading matter on yet another longhaul flight.

how can QF be better thant CX in these 2 cetegories?

The seat (even the old F) is much wider and softer than QF, and have retractable arm rest.

Also QF's F Class is so tight in space no matter which seat you are in you feel cramp compare to CX. They pack 14 vs 12.

I would suggest a SIN-EWR flight - I got a little carried away

It felt like the CX seat was shorter than the QF seat and when flying on CX on the airbus I had the centre seats and have always had the window seat on QF - so I have felt close to the other F pax.

In terms of the first category of being separated from the hoipolloi - that refers to the people behind the curtain rather than the people of substance up the front

Not a problem. I have a lot of flights coming up.

Looking forward to your next instalments

Next installments probably Monday as I will be home in the afternoon waiting for the kitchen guys to deliver stuff...

Journey – DFW-LGA
Flight no. – AA728
Class – First
Seat – 3A

I head to the gate a little early as I need to grab some cash for the taxi ride to the city when I get to NYC. This is probably the hardest part of the journey – some terminal maps indicate that the ATM is at Gate 28 and others at gate 25, the “helpful” chap at the info desk says that the ATM is at gate 30 and I finally find it at gate 26!

Boarding actually starts a little early (but I am here on time so no issues there) and as I board I realise this is an S80 and I have booked the left side of the cabin so my carry on take up a good chunk of the overhead. Thankfully my seat buddy who normally travels with hand luggage this time due to various circumstances is travelling with checked luggage.

As ever there is only water and orange juice offered as a pre-flight drink and the joys of US domestic travel come rushing back to me. Boarding early does mean however a slow and lengthy boarding process so I have plenty of time to write up some notes getting me up to date pretty much. I even stopped writing the notes on this flight as I had gotten to the point where I was writing about the notes I was writing about this flight.

For once I make a bold move after take off – I start a conversation with my seat buddy. I guess 18 hours without human interaction other than cabin crew and ground staff makes even the lone gunman twitchy. We actually had a decent chat about flying and travel – he was an extensive Hiltonian as well (ok so I am not an extensive Hiltonian – just a recently frequent Hiltonian). Thankfully and finally he asks for a beer after take off so I don’t feel too bad to be the only one drinking again… most of my seat buddies seem to have “taken the pledge” and often look at me with disdain when I sip a glass of wine

Lunch is served and I foolishly gamble on the Turkey sandwich and a glass of white “wine” – let us never mention the “wine” again. The service is however great – at least on a par with the international first I just left. We are asked how many beers we think we might like to have on the flight as they only have a small number of our choices up here and they will need to go and get more from down the back and put it on ice for us (hmm I really should carry those applause stickers with me). As usual the warm gooey cookie is a tasty messy treat – and I pass on the offer of a second.

This is on reflection a really bad seat choice – window seat bulkhead. Admittedly I have no recliner but it is really pretty uncomfortable. I do really need to review my approach to seat selection for future trips. I think I have over thought some of them and not actually worked out what is the important part of the seat selection…. You know I think it is time for a little exercise in seat selection.

[aside]

When I were a lad and we had to walk fifteen mile through fog and snow just to see a sign post to the airport you had to turn up 7 hours before the flight the day before yours just to avoid being stuck in row 632 between Martin Ruane and Shirley Crabtree and you took what you were given and were grateful for it. Now it’s all “forward aisle” this and “5E for FEBO” that. The pressure I am put under by the rest of the FF community to choose the official best seat in the house is quite daunting. It takes phone calls, logging into MMB on the BA website, FEBO and even then it’s a gamble. Have you checked the type of aircraft, who was it leased from, is it mid, lo [sic] or high J, are you sleeping or peeing, is it a domestic flight on an international flight number? So many potential pitfalls – and then some of the guidance can’t even agree. Seat Guru lists some seats as “this is a great seat but also a bad seat” – I mean c’mon guys throw me a bone here!

And then you have my non-OCD friends who I say “Have you requested a seat yet?” to respond with “No, but my booking says 3C – seems ok”.

Q. Am I overthinking this?
A. Yes – probably

Q. Does it matter?
A. Based on this trip – very much so. I made some horrendous mistakes – mostly around being in the front row.

Anyway – here is the logic I sort of applied to this trip:

- No matter how bad the food is it is always important to have a choice
- If food is not a question then forward is better – I don’t want to be responsible for death or injury of pax that might get trampled as I sprint for the immigration queue
- For a night flight where I want to sleep window is good
- Anywhere I really want to see the view coming into the city the window is good
- Day flights where views are not important it has to be the aisle

Now these sound like great concepts but the outcomes were horrid – too many bulkheads, window seats when I was awake, the left side of the S80 with the only saving grace being 64K on a NNCW which was great apart from the non-functioning AVOD at my seat

So what is the outcome – will I be less picky? I think not, looking at my upcoming trips the seat selection will be key (unless the F upgrade comes through ) I just need to work smarter, not harder

[/aside]

My seat buddy offers to share a cab and ordinarily I would say no but this time I am more relaxed about it. However as he has checked bags and I am free and easy the cab share doesn’t happen.

After the meal service the flights drags a little but eventually we are landing at LGA with my specially selected window seat. This is my first day time landing into New York and I am really excited about looking at …. clouds over New Jersey…

It is however a beautiful day in Manhattan – it is warm and sunny without being humid like China. I am off the aircraft like a Whippet chasing a piece of fur on a mechanical track in the misbegotten belief that there is a rabbit there, poor poor whippet how badly we mistreat you…

The queue for the cab resembles the Friday night melee in Sydney but without the neat lines of cabs – on the upside though unlike the Sydney melee this cab queue flows like mischief of rats sliding through the greased pipes of the local [name of fast food outlet redacted to avoid potential litigation].

In the can the meter goes on which always unnerves me in foreign cities. I was sure that there was a fixed fee from LGA to the city but I am proved wrong. It is a pretty speedy cab ride to the city but we hit gridlock as we hit Manhattan. Unsurprising given that it is 5 pm on a Friday night. Eventually I get out about 100 metres from the Doubletree Suites – another advantage of hand luggage only and I walk to the hotel….

The Doubletree Suites Times Square

I am not sure what I was expecting from the DTS TS. I had of course been to the DT on Lexington so the benchmark should have been set pretty low. Check in is painfully slow and I am not given many Diamond benefits other than complimentary breakfast – no exec lounge or evening cocktails…

[aside]

Just a quick one here – I am sure I have read about how the Diamond benefits are not recognised outside of the US and this is not matching my limited experience – the Conrad and Hilton Shanghai had great Diamond benefits and the DTS TS has basically nothing.

Obviously this is not an exhaustive sample but I will update as time progresses on.

[/aside]

The room itself is pretty small and drab. It does have three discrete rooms – lounge, bedroom and bathroom – but in total floor space I would estimate that it is pretty close to the DT on Lexington room that I had. My first impression is not one of awe and if I recall correctly a lot of people had rated this hotel pretty highly.

10 minutes after debagging (that means unpacking rather than the UK boarding school interpretation of the phrase ops I find that there is free wi-fi in the room and I am able to check the opening times of the Apple store on 5th Avenue (24/7 365 days a year if you are interested) so it is offski to the Apple store to get my iPod Touch

On the relatively short walk there I stop by the Tumi store as part of my plan to get a new garment bag whilst I am here. The same chick serves me as the last time I was here enquiring about the same thing. I am informed that they will deliver the bag free of charge to my hotel if I want – very tempting.

But back to the main objective of my New York quest – the Apple store.

[aside]

Just for the record I love New York. I have always been a bit of an Americanophile. I grew up watching Dallas and Hill Street Blues (perhaps not the greatest reflection of American life) rather than Emmerdale and Z Cars (although as I grew up in Birmingham I did watch Crossroads). I lived on an American Air Force base in the UK as a teenager, visited American military recreation centres in Germany and Italy when I lived in Germany and played American Football at an English University – I think you might be seeing a theme here.

When I was looking to change jobs just before I moved to London I actually explored the possibility of moving to New York (my other grand idea was to go to work for Microsoft – kind of ironic as I am now a die hard Apple fan…) so when I took my current job with the offer of two NY trips per year I almost pulled their arm off accepting the job.

I have now been to NY five times and as soon as I get there/here I still and filled with a feeling of satisfaction and comfort. I now know my way around, know exactly how quickly I need to walk to make across streets without stopping for the lights to change and even have particular diversions that I take just so that I can my favourite store or building.

I just can’t wait to bring mrssimongr here next year!

[/aside]

Normally I love the 5th Avenue Apple (just for the record I am not on a Commission from Apple for each time I use the word Apple in this report – but just in case they are reading and are feeling generous – apple apple apple apple apple apple apple apple apple store but tonight it is a total Zoo – I guess partially because the new iPod range has just been released. Knowing that I will be paying by card and can skip some of the queues I do my usual trick of paying some random Apple staffer for the iPod and with a spring in my step it is off back to the hotel – via the Tumi store to collect the garment bag – c’mon admit you knew that I wouldn’t pass up on opportunity to get didn’t you Hmm I have been in Manhattan an hour and I have already spent A$1,000 – perhaps I shouldn’t think about bringing mrssimongr here.

Now for those of you concerned that the purchase of second garment is going to derail The Great Hand Luggage Challenge – don’t be afraid, not very afraid at all. I am going to offer my existing garment bag to one of my colleagues when I meet them in NY.

I refrain from skipping back to the hotel but I certainly do have that happy shopper glow. The glow is somewhat diminished by the room service – a thick soft soggy pizza I thought a New York pizza was thin crust and Chicago was thick????

I catch up on a little more Numb3rs,c all mrssimongr and crash out on schedule at about 10PM. The only slight problem is the 3AM wake up – hmm that wasn’t suppose to happen. But it did so I watch more Numb3rs, call mrssimongr and prepare myself for a day in NY.

Now here is the problem I may have peaked too early in my NYC shopping. As I am travelling with just hand luggage there isn’t much I can buy. Also with mrssimongr spending like a demon in my absence in Sydney and my spending on glasses, iPod and luggage, Tiffany’s and Bloomingdales are off the menu on this trip! I do however mange to get some smarttips for my Kensignton power adapter and some CDs for sisterofsimongr (availability of CDs in Cyprus is poor and they are expensive).

I am intrigued that a large number of stores are closed on Saturday as it is Yom Kippur – not something that one sees in Sydney that often.

A little more relaxing and my colleague arrives a little later than planned from London so it is a late dinner but a fairly early night with not much drinking going on (given the last time we met for dinner we went to bed at about 3AM this is a very tame event).

Sunday is planned to be a very exciting day for me – my first baseball game – going to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays. After another 4AM wake up it is with some trepidation that we catch the subway up to the Bronx to watch the game. The train doesn’t seem actually to be running on our platform but eventually a train does roll up and we are on our way. It is a pretty long journey but eventually we are coming up out of the subway at Yankee Stadium!!!!!

We make our way to our seats, stopping to get mrssimongr a T-shirt and simongr a cold cold beer. Our seats have a fantastic view of the field and I am in heaven! The game is great but reaches crisis point in the fifth innings when they stop serving beer direct to your seat! Thankfully the relief team steps up to the mark and we can still buy beer at the concession stands inside the stadium. It was touch and go there for a few minutes.

I have a truly fantastic fascinating day – both watching the game and watching the fans. I get to see foul balls flying into the crowd, eat baseball hot dogs, drink beer and am amazed to see people moving seats during the game – something as an Englishman I would never contemplate. This does have its merits as a nice couple move next to us and explain some of the nuances that we might have missed and have an interesting discussion on the merits of the science behind global warming. This is a truly awesome day!

Back at the hotel we agree to meet for dinner at about 8PM and I grab a couple of hours sleep and then go to meet my colleague – only to get an email at 9:15 that he has only just woken up. Another quiet cheap night for our boss!

We have an intense and productive 3 days in the office (no bloodshed but close at one point which required me to take a walk around the block). By Wednesday morning I am feeling the effects of a cold that one of my colleagues was just shaking as he got to New York so Wednesday is not a fun day for me and I have a quite night in. Strange for me that I now no longer feel like I have to get out and see New York any more – and I know I am coming back in six months potentially and definitely in twelve months.

[aside]

Rugby in the East Village

[narrator]

For reference, these events take on the morning of 22 September, just before the lack of shopping and after the purchase of the iPod touch

[/narrator]

One of the more amusing parts of my trip was trying to find somewhere to watch the England/Samoa Rugby match. Given my travels on this trip I have not been able to see any games . The concierge at the hotel directs me to a bar in the East Village – somewhere I have never really explored – so I get a cab there only to find that they aren’t showing the game and I have to walk another 6 blocks to somewhere they are showing it. There is a US$20 fee just to watch the game but it is worth it.

I sit down to a couple of cold beers and decent brunch and watch a sub-par England team get through the game. Quite depressing really.

I decide then to walk from Soho to Times Square along Broadway as it is a really nice day. Sadly the weather turns as I turn onto Broadway and the heavens open – so it is a cab ride back to the DTS TS.

[/aside]

[aside]

The Un General Assembly and Visit of the Iranian President

Another interesting part of the New York visit was the impact of the UNGA and the visit of the Iranian President. Our office are on Lexington Ave, not far from the Waldorf and the security was huge! It was interesting so see the differences between APEC in Sydney and UNGA in NY. Sydney was turned into a virtual ghost town, whereas NY was exactly the same – just with road closures and a million cops and guys with ear pieces. I am stunned by the attitude of some of the Americans – they are fuming that the roads are closed and they have to route via a different block. They way they are talking you would think that they were living in a police state.

[/aside]

It is with a little sadness on the Thursday morning that I check out of the hotel – I have made the decision that for the same number of points for the trip next year I will book the Waldorf. Yes the DTS TS are in a good location for things and the room is a decent size – but I think for a special trip a little more elegance might be the go. And the Waldorf is closer to Bloomingdales and Tiffany’s

I grab lunch with my Boss and Eurocolleague at Good Burger – Home of the Good Burger – a truly great lunch. The burgers are really tasty without the meal as a whole being over-filling. I grab my bags back at the office and finally commence my journey home.

A Town Car picks me up outside the office and it takes 75 minutes to get to Jfk at 3PM in the afternoon! As ever I get my wry smile as we turn onto the Van Wyck expressway when I see the towers at Flushing Meadows from the MIB movie.

In my head I am convinced that I am leaving from T9 but as we pull up at T8 I look over and see the derelict T8. I cant believe that flew form there only a couple of months ago.

You find more on the HHonors web site - Diamond benefits are listed here: Diamond VIP MembershipWhat is not clear is who choses.

The point is moot anyway as I do not believe this Hotel has an "Executive Lounge".

As far as seating goes; I pick and choose from available options depending on When, Where & What. Without going to too much detail, my decisions are made weighing a combination of aspects: I prefer bulkheads/exits (it's amazing how far back some of those AA 757 "First Class" Seats recline); window for routes/airports not flown before (or little) - otherwise aisle, West Side for morning flights - East Side for Afternoon (keeps sun out of eyes and generally better views). I tried FEBO, OK if it matches but the viewing is more of a consideration. (Of course I've had a couple of flights where the "preferences" (FEBO) rule was not followed.)

Yay he's learning! ^

Journey – JFK-LHR
Flight no. – AA100
Class – First
Seat – 3J

Using on the 8 eVIPs that I claimed I would never need I am in F again on this flight. As above this is my first departure from the new T8 (in fact it isn’t as I have departed from here a couple of times – I just haven’t checked in here) and am pleasantly surprised by the F check in. It is like a bigger version of the QF F check in at SYD. It is a segregated area walled off from the other Pax. The main difference between SYD and JFK T8 is that there is no real difference between F and J pax here as opposed to the very clear distinction between F and J at SYD. I guess this reflects the nature of the two products – F is very much “upgraders choice” I believe in the US whereas for QF it is still a premier product (and getting better next year I hope).

The joy of hand luggage has me in the security queue pretty quickly but that is the start of my frustration. The premium security line is horrendously slow – so slow in fact that the main line is moving faster – a problem exacerbated as TSA staff direct non-premium pax to the WTMDs in front of the Premium pax.

Finally I am through security and I am a little disorientated. I can see sign posts to the AC but nothing to sign post the F lounge. Up and down the terminal a couple of times and I decide to head into the AC only to find that the F lounge is hidden in the AC – no signs at all. I guess the reason for my disorientation is that I thought I would be going to the AC I went to before when I did my crazy US tour on BEHEMOTH. I am quickly into the lounge and am handed a free wireless card and told that the service will be complimentary from October onwards.

After a couple of glasses of Chandon and a quick catch up with AFF and a call to mrssimongr I make my move to the gate for a very confusing boarding process. Initially we are told that the flight will be delayed (which is somewhat unnerving given I only have 2 hours transfer in LHR)

[aside]

Just picking that apart for a few minutes. It is a very sorry state of affairs that we have to think that 2 hours is not enough time to transit at an airport. Now that is for someone travelling first class inbound, no immigration delays expected, business class outbound and access to all elite speed privileges - how on earth could an economy passenger hope to get through???

[/aside]

Immediately after we are told that boarding will be delayed the doors to the Gate are opened and we are called for boarding. Confusion continues to reign supreme as I am first through the gate and on may to board about 10 metres ahead of the nearest other pax. The cabin crew are then out of the aircraft and stopping pax from boarding for some reason. So I am stood at the entrance to the aircraft by myself whilst everyone else is 10 metres back…

I am able to see as I look through the door that we do indeed have suites again and I am very pleased Onboard we are advised of further delays and my concerns about my connections are stating to prey on my mind. I know that there is nothing I can do about this but given the lack of connecting flights from LHR to Cyprus and the fact that my parents are meeting me at the airport which is 90 minutes drive from their house I just want everything to run smoothly.

We are advised that we will delayed for a little while I am able to catch up on some TR notes, listen to some music and finally we get menus on this flight. We however do not get an amenity kits – which to be honest given their quality compared to QF and BA in J/F is no great loss. The delay is now really starting to weigh on my mind and as the Captain tells us we are able to turn on electronic devices as we will be the ground for a further hour as the taxiway is completely full – and looking out of the window I see what he means. The Captain also turns on the IFE system! Although this is great it is not filling me with confidence…

Finally we begin take off and looking around you can see that the taxiway is almost as busy as the expressway I took to get here! In the air meal service begins pretty soon and I am served the strongest G&T in the air – and that is not necessarily a good thing The meal itself is lovely – a fall apart lamb shank. However for some reason – either the bubbles or the muse – I just have to get stuck into typing up the trip report so I only pick at the meal. The service is pretty good if as ever a little casual. I ask them if I can have my sundae a little later as I am really enjoying writing up the report and don’t want to be distracted. It is a great plan until I crash out that is and then doze for the rest of the flight.

I am half asleep for the last hour of the flight so I am little rushed putting my gear away for landing. As we begin descending I note that it is 7AM and I am meant to be boarding for LCA at 08:20 and I still have two bags with no guarantee of being able to get two bags through security on a transit at LHR. We are told we have 10 minutes to landing – which I know means at least 20 mins until the gate.

Deplaing I rush to get to FCC and given the little sleep and a little alcohol I find the walk a little draining. I almost miss the bus to FCC but use the “short connection” excuse to squeeze on board.

So we finally reach the final hurdle for The Great Hand Luggage Challenge – FCC at LHR! As I round the corner to FCC I see a guy being pinged for a bag that looks smaller than my garment bag so a little nervously I keep ploughing towards the WTMD and no-one looks at me. Through pre-screening for fast track and I have no trouble. Finally the last hurdle the screening itself – again no challenge to The Challenge. Then that is it, free at last – thank the Lord I am free at last.

After the WTMD it is a little rushed as I try and get out of the way of the people behind me whose flight was boarding 10 minutes ago. All packed up I am off to see if I have time to get a bacon sandwich in the lounge as this has in fact taken less time than I had expected. There is no gate listed for my flight and as I have 15 minutes before official boarding so I head to the F lounge for my first LHR F lounge experience. I am stunned at how small the lounge actually is – but it is large enough for me to get a seat, a bacon roll and a glass of Piper! A quick call on the mobile to mrssimongr (I can be bothered to boot the laptop up and use Skype – a mistake I will expand on later). I actually think I had enough time to get a shower as our outbound flight is a little delayed as a small team of Nepalese Sherpas have to be recruited to bring the aircraft up from the south coast or it is towed to the gate – one of the two…

Sadly there is a growing list of airports where 2 hours is not enough connection time. When flying into LHR with shortish connection, I try to check status of flights out of LHR before boarding my flight to LHR. It can make a difference reducing stress if you know your onward flight has been delayed a couple of hours so it doesn't matter if your flight to LHR is a bit late.