Mr Kevincm Returns to Washington – Off to Manchester Airport, Manchester Airport and the BA Terraces Lounge

Mr Kevincm Returns to Washington DC – Off to Manchester Airport, Manchester Airport and the BA Terraces Lounge

In this… well.. mess:

• How far can you go for a £1 (+Tax)?
• Off to Manchester Airport, Manchester Airport and the BA Terraces Lounge
• AA735 Manchester Airport to Philadelphia
• A long Philadelphia layover featuring the US Customs and the TSA at their best.
• AA4545 Philadelphia to Washington Reagan
• Holiday Inn Washington Reagan
• The Marriott Marquis, Washington DC
• The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – National Mall
• The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – The Udvar Hazey Building
• Back to Dulles, British Airways Dulles Lounge
• BA216 Washington Dulles to Heathrow with the Airbus A380
• Heathrow Transfer, North Lounge
• BA1530 London Heathrow to Manchester
• The joy of coaches, and CrossCountry trains from Manchester to Birmingham
• Short and Sweet

3:30 at a Birmingham Digbeth.

Hello Luggage! Yes I can do light.

So here we go again, and we’re back at the beginning of many of our adventures – Birmingham Digeth Coach station.

One day, I’ll spend more and take the car/stay overnight. But not this time (and considering how much airport parking is… I can live without it.

So, here we are again at Digbeth. And as usual, an Uber had dropped me off as usual at Digbeth… and I was pretty sleep deprived. As usual.

Not a lot changes .

With the coach arriving, it was time to head off to Manchester Airport.

Boarding 538 to Aberdeen by Coach…. that’s a long way to go on 6 wheels.

Legroom

The coach would go via Wolverhampton, Penkridge, Stoke on Trent (where I was a day earlier) and finally, Manchester Airport.

With a fair few stops, I had zero chance of dozing off for continued periods. So, I was catnapping all the way. On top of that, there was a baseball game I was paying attention to. A few weeks earlier, Chicago had been covered with W flags as the Cubs were going for the World Series

And in a sign of the impending doom of the world – it was a Cub win

(the US voted the week after to seal doom).

Thankfully, the coach was lightly loaded for the ride up to Manchester (although the coach would be going on a lot further than Manchester) and soon I was at The Station at Manchester Airport.

With me there it was time for the great hike over to Terminal 3 where American Airlines have their departures handling.

Song time!

Yo listen up here’s a story, About a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night and everything he sees
Is just blue Like him inside and outside

Eiffel 65 – Blue – Crappy video here

Thankfully, I didn’t need a trolley – Manchester Airport charge £2 for the privilege of hiring a trolley (non refundable).

Oh you want a refund on trolley. That’s cute.

Through the tunnels and the terminals, I was outside again, and on my way to Terminal 3.

Of course, I should go on to say that like most UK Airports, Manchester Airport will attempt to sell anything

Well, not from this machine.

Arriving at T3, I headed up to departures… to discovered everything had changed again – with FlyBe occupying the space that American Airlines Premium check-in normally lives in.  No matter, heading around the corner, I came to the main check-in area… and to the side – the premium check in area.

Priority. Providing you get in the queue first.

The area was being hogged by camera crews heading out to Washington DC for a particular event – the final few days of the US Presidential race.

Of course we know how that ended.

After a probing interview with the check-in agent, my boarding passes for Philadelphia and Washington DC.

That done, it was time to head through security. Thankfully, Terminal 3 security was quiet for a change – so I was through in a couple of minutes as opposed to the 10 minute pain in the whatsits  that this airport likes to make.

Once through, I made a quick dash through Duty Free (picking up a bottle of bubble in a secure bag for a certain unnamed blogger), and then onto the British Airways Lounge at Manchester Airport

British Airways Terraces Lounge, Manchester

I was welcomed to the lounge, and I made my way in. One thing I do like about this lounge is the layout and the views over the runway. Always a good thing to see.

Sadly, there are some downsides to this lounge – namely the catering isn’t very strong on warm items (the only warm items being porridge and pastries)

Pastries, Toast, Crisps

Don’t tempt me with that wine this time of morning.

Not bad ideas. Needs a little something though…

Bingo.

Sadly, I couldn’t get to vodka and orange straight away – mainly because I was have an argument with Microsoft’s excuse of a product called Sharepoint.

For those who don’t know Sharepoint, it is a multiheaded hydra that doesn’t know when to give in… or when to make you quit. The day before I had been restructuring the portal. Whilst waiting for the flight, I rebuilt some menus, checked permissions and pondered what quantity of vodka would make things better.

Eventually the “I’m done” email was sent…. And it was time for Orange and Vodka. Trust, me – it’s a breakfast drink. It contains one of my five a day, and induces sanity for a long haul flight.

And – I don’t condone excessive drinking – I had the one drink. How much vodka in that one hasn’t been calculated…. but it was niiceeeeee.

Because Sharepoint can do a lot of things to a person.

With the work done, it was time to watch planes. Because… planes.

My inbound American Airlines A330-300 (incorrectly booked as a -200, Image – Economy Class and Beyond)

Air France Airbus A320 with Sharklets 

Thomas Cook A330-200 landing

And a KLM Boeing 737-700 so the Boeing fans don’t get left out.

Eventually, the display screens indicated I should head down to board. I packed my trash up head back downstairs. As I was heading out, I was advised boarding hadn’t actually begun – and I should wait a few minutes.

I waited – and got bored. Eventually, I headed to the gate, to be confronted with a long queue and a ever pushing back boarding time.

In the end boarding commenced at departure time. That’s never a good sign. Boarding was completed in strict priority order which was nice to see being enforced.

When the time came, I went forward. My boarding pass and passport were examined, and I headed down the jetway to the waiting Airbus A330

Next: AA735 Manchester to Philadelphia

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