What’s the most tedious thing about travelling by plane?
Is it the security search? There are some mornings when I think I might as well go to the airport in my PJs and get dressed after the search. They seem to make me take everything off before letting me through anyway. But most airports are quite efficient at security and barring the odd power hungry individual barking orders it is usually tolerable.
No for me it is the baggage check-in queues. Doesn’t your heart just sink when you see those endless zig-zagging lines of miserable people pushing cases big enough to fit a kitchen sink inside?
When I travel British Airways my Silver card means I get to use the Business Class desk which can be quicker than being stuck with the masses in the Economy line. But when flying Jet2 or whichever low cost airline there are no such perks.
For years we’ve put up with it. A hour to check-in a case (for which I had to pay an extra check-in fee of course) from Edinburgh to Palma. 70 minutes wait on the return flight in Palma’s chaotic sauna of a terminal. Even the “Bag Drop” lines (when you have already checked-in on-line) don’t seem to move any faster.
So this year required innovative thinking for our week in the sun. How could we avoid starting a relaxing week’s holiday with a stressful stew in the check-in sin bin?
The answer was obvious of course. There is one guaranteed, foolproof method of avoiding airport baggage check-in queues. It came to me when I was about to click the box on Jet2’s website asking how many items I wanted to bung in the hold. I stopped myself before parting with another forty quid for two of them.
My guaranteed method of avoiding airport baggage check I queues is……. not to check-in any bags. Go hand baggage only.
I know what you are thinking. It can’t be done. Where will I put my 20 pairs of shoes? There won’t be enough room for all my outfits.
It is possible though. Yes you can get three day outfits and three evening outfits into a cabin bag and still have room for a couple of pairs of shoes. And most hotels and villas have laundry services don’t they?
What was the result of this approach?
Got to the airport only one hour, not three hours, before each flight
Walked straight past the thronging thousands in the endless zig-zag mazes in both directions
Didn’t have to wait an hour at baggage reclaim at the other end so we beat everyone to the car hire company. Similarly on the way back we were first out through customs (and quite telling that we were obviously the only 3 people from a plane load of 150 that hadn’t got bags to wait for)
Saved £40 on hold baggage fees
For a week in Europe this is the surely the modern way to travel.
Over to you: For many I guess the thought of going away without the comfort of several heavily laden bags is unthinkable. What do you think?
Someone told me that in the first 15 days of July we only had 1.6 hours of sunshine. It hasn’t been much better since and so things didn’t bode well for my annual trip to the East Fortune air show.
The Red Arrows Arrive
The rain was constantly torrential, the clouds low, and the grassy areas we usually sit and sunbathe on were quagmires of Glastonbury proportions.
The famous fan maneuver
Fortunately the sun did come out briefly enough to let the Red Arrows perform one of their stunning displays. I have posted video of them before but I think sometimes you have to look at still photos to appreciate the full splendour of what they do.
Almost!
After the display I took shelter from another deluge in the Concorde hangar and savoured the magnificence of G-BOAA – what a shame that one of these birds couldn’t have been air worthy enough to perform at the Olympics.
Barrel rolls whilst formation flying
It was great to see the Red Arrows at East Fortune Air Show 2012 after an absence of 5 years. I could have just done with an absence of rain.
Over to you: Were you at East Fortune today? What did you think despite the awful weather? Please leave a comment below or post a link to your pictures.
So there I was driving through the streets of Edinburgh on my way to David Lloyd fitness club in Newhaven when I saw the Red Arrows zoom overhead. It was just a glimpse up above the houses. Blink and you would have missed them with only their red white and blue smoke trails to denote their passing.
I got a little excited, having not seen the Arrows for years. They never seem to come to the East Fortune Airshow. But after that fleeting moment there was no sign of them.
As I arrived at David Lloyd however, I was overjoyed to find them just starting their display to commemorate Armed Forces Day – directly over Newhaven, my destination. It’s a bit shaky but my iPhone captured the highlights.
Absolutely stunning and a pleasure to see the Red Arrows in Edinburgh.
The first flight to Gatwick from Edinburgh is at 06.15, one of the first flights out, and leaves before the flurry of low-cost airlines heading to Spain, and yet the airport was very quiet. There was no queue at the Club bag drop and a very rapid 5 minutes wait at security. After a swift orange juice and chocolate mini-muffin from the BA Lounge, and a quick Facebook and Twitter site check-in we were boarding the first leg of our journey.
The Boeing 737 was G-DOCY and wasn’t as battered as some Gatwick aircraft I have been on recently. Very uneventful flight with the typical BA hot breakfast of scrambled egg, sausage, bacon, mushrooms and a blob of tomato ketchup (which seems to have replaced the real tomatoes these days). Two cups of coffee, no holding at Gatwick and arrival much to my annoyance on an international stand with a bus to the terminal.
Through flight connections centre in 5 minutes and into the BA lounge for an early glass of Champagne. The lounge is now in the Galleries style – and is actually very comfortable – but much reduced in size as there is now no lower level. Still a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours before the long haul departure.
British Airways Club World Review London Gatwick to St Lucia
At the gate priority boarding was given to Silver, Gold and Club Class passengers (as it should be) and to World Traveller Plus. The plane was G-VIIO – a three class Boeing 777-200 with three rows of Club in the forward cabin and 2 more rows after doors 2. I took my seat and a crew member almost immediately handed me a glass of champagne and a copy of The Times. I travelled in this same seat to Grenada on this very plane two years ago, but since then they’ve installed new generation of Club flat beds. The cabin did look a bit battered already, with some of the plastic seat surrounds displaying cracks and chips. But the seat is still comfy and the aircraft was clean.
Although the flight was full we seemed to get away very quickly and soon were waiting at the runway for a couple of landings before we were off. This is a video of the take of from Gatwick and the landing at St. Lucia taken from the rear-facing seat 2A.
As soon as the seat belt signs went out the crew sprang into action, handing out wash bags and menus. I must say that the current Elemis Club wash bag is quite disappointing. They’ve replaced the miniature bottles of the Molton Brown era with sachets of facial wipes and moisturiser. This is another sad example of a downgrading of the overall Club experience.
Drinks came next as the cabin manager took lunch orders. I had another glass of champagne and enjoyed a packet of mixed nuts whilst deciding on what to eat for lunch.
Review – London Gatwick to St Lucia
The menu was as follows:
Starters
Lemon poached prawn salad with herb oil
or
Winter bean cassoulet and bocconcini Mozzarella salad with rocket pesto
Salad
Fresh seasonal salad with vinaigrette
Main
Pan seared fillet steak with thyme scented gnocchi and creamed truffle jus
Chicken tikka masala with saag aloo and mushroom saffron rice
Walnut and blue cheese polenta with herbed wild mushroom and tomato coulis
Chilled main course salad of poached Loch Fyne salmon, roast new potatoes and Pommery mustard
Desert
Caramelised apple tart Tatin with cinnamon creme anglaise
Lincolnshire Poacher and Blue Wensleydale with oatcake biscuits and grapes
Fruit and chocolates
I also looked at the wine list and choose the red wine from Chile. BA have done me proud with red wines in the past and this one was no exception. Very strong, robust and spicy. I had many glasses of this over lunch with the crew filling glasses as they passed in each direction through the cabin.
The wines on offer were:
Champagne
Ayla Brut Majeur NV
White
Chablis 2008 Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard, Burgundy, France
Old Well House Grenache Blanc 2009 Western Cape South Africa
Red
Chateau Barateau 2006 Haut Medoc, Bordeaux, France
Villa San-Juliette Merlot 2007, Paso Robles, California, USA
Chono Reserva Syrah 2008, Elqui Valley, Chile
I decided not to have a starter and simply began with the salad.
Then I had the steak which I thought was quite tender and cooked to my liking. The gnocchi was very tasty and the sauce was delicious.
The desert was very sweet and moist and although I would have preferred it warm it was very tasty.
After lunch I continued to watch “Never Let me Go”, a strangely placid but very dark science fiction film with Carey Mulligan, and then moved to a another film about a brother wrongly accused of murder which completely failed to engage my attention. Perhaps the wine was just too nice and was already lulling me into holiday mode.
Occasionally I would lift the window blind to look at the sea below and the blazing sun as we approached St Lucia.
Afternoon tea arrived next, still wrapped in its cellophane and on a much smaller tray than I remember from earlier Club trips. The sandwiches were fine if a little dry, so needed washing down with even more red wine. By now I was completely in holiday mode.
Afternoon Tea
An individual choice of sandwiches featuring beef with horseradish and mature Cheddar with pickle.
Plain or fruit scones served with clotted cream and strawberry preserves.
Very soon we were approaching St Lucia and I could see the beautiful Piton mountains out of the window as we landed. First off the plane, first through immigration and off to paradise for 12 days.
Over to you: I would love to hear your travel tales. Have you flown with BA in Club World? What did you think of the service. Was it a truly premium experience. Leave a comment, share your thoughts and let me know.
