BA1385 Manchester Airport T3 to London Heathrow Terminal 5
A Celebratory Trip to Chicago
Editors note – Apologies I left this trip report hanging in the air. The joy of work has cramped my writing style for some weeks, with only a minor let up this week.
I’ve actually got most of this written now, so it’s back to my usual trip report style. In case you’ve missed the previous segments, have a look at the contents list below.
We now return you to your usual programme of bad writing and grammar that makes any secondary school teacher wince.
Contents:
- So, Chicago eh. That’s really different.
- Take the National Express, Manchester Airport, British Airways Terraces Lounge
- BA1385 Manchester Airport to London Heathrow
- T5 – Pick a lounge. Any Lounge – British Airways Galleries South, Galleries T5B
- BA295 London Heathrow T5 to Chicago O’Hare International
- The joy of O’Hare and Crowne Plaza O’Hare
- Experiments with a Canon 40mm lens
- Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Using Amazon out of your home country in a pinch
- Back to O’Hare, The New AA Flagship Lounge
- AA86 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow T3
- Terminal change shenanigans, British Airways Galleries North
- BA1386 London Heathrow to Manchester Airport
- Luggage delivery incompetence, last-minute changes, and CrossCountry Trains home
- Why celebrate?
BA1385 Manchester Airport Terminal 3 to London Heathrow Terminal 5
British Airways, Airbus A320, Seat 10A – EuroTraveller (Economy Class)
151 Miles flown, 250+250 Avios earned, 10 Tier Points Earned.
I was warmly welcomed aboard the plane (and it’s nice to have a crew that’s fully awake first thing in the morning on a domestic hop). I headed down the aisle to my seat.
Five rows of Club Europe too.
Commenting on the seat when I got there, the cabin crew member started chatting with me – she was warm and interactive with her customers (and not just me by-the-by).
The seat (Taken at Heathrow after my ass had been on it for a while).
Legroom
As the plane settled down, boarding was in full swing, and slowly, but surely completed. The Cabin crew member did the usual check if they were willing and able to help in an emergency. I was – however – the person next to me was not, and requested to be re-seated.
That’s first time ever I’ve seen that happen in the air.
Boarding was completed on time, and the captain was hoping for an early push-back. Except… we had a 15-minute departure delay imposed on us.
All ready to go…
So much for the early start.
The view out on the ramp.
Meanwhile, the crew were conducting the early checks, and checking with passengers if they were ok.
Once pushback began, the video screens flipped down… and it was time for the new safety video. And for those who haven’t seen it before – here it is…
It’s an improvement on the old video which has had more nips and tucks than most celebrities.
With a 15-minute delay, our plane departed the terminal, and begun tracking towards the far runway.
Taxing out.
FlyBe Embraer 175
There was a short pause to cross one of the runways to allow an aircraft to land, and to create space for inbound traffic.
Is it wig or is it wam? We just don’t know which runway guard light it is…
American Airlines Boeing 757 coming in – it’s either a JFK Service or a Chicago Service. Either way, not my preferred mode of travel over the pond.
Ryanair Boeing 737-800 landing
With Ryanair passing, our BA1385 could continue to departures, where for it was reasonably busy already, with an Air Transat A310 preparing to head out to fly a Monarch rescue flight.
Our turn came, and the captain applied power to BA1385’s engines. Soon enough, we were rocketing in the morning sky.
Our Airbus A320 climbed into the morning sky, and begun the short trek down to London
With the sun rising, it was time for a song. And this seems right for some reason.
With a morning flight – and me in EuroTraveller, the crew went into action and begun the on-board service. And if you’ve been around long enough on this blog, you’ll know that it’s now Buy-On-Board on BA short to mid-haul flights.
Wonderful.
Again – the same menu as I’ve seen for some time. There were some takers from what I could see – mainly for drinks. I was enjoying the bottle of water that I purchased at the airport – mainly as the price BA are charging is… silly.
Service was carried out with a smile, and checking the customer needs were met. Again – an on-point crew helps… a lot when it comes to this sort of flight where time is precious and you need to get the clean-up done quickly.
As BA1385 approached London, the crew begun the clear down of the cabin – and whilst some customers were rushing to drink their beverage, the crew asked them not to chug their drink down, but to enjoy it – a nice touch
Eventually, our plane was directed into one of the four stacks in the Heathrow Airport airspace. A few loops of the stack, and it was our turn to start our decent.
Father Thames and the North Sea in the distance
After exiting the stack, the plane made a river approach over London, with me on the wrong side of the plane as usual for the city.
With South London looming ever closer, and Twickenham coming into view, the undercarriage was released – BA1385 went for a landing on 27L.
With our plane peeling off the runway, we taxied the short distance from the runway to Terminal 5 Domestic area
American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner and A330
British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner
A typical Heathrow T5 scene – Speedbirds lined up and one taking off.
Our plane taxied past the Terminal 5 Satellites, and towards the main T5 complex. This being a domestic arrival, we were sent to domestic side, where a gate was waiting for us. Our A320 went for it – and came to a stop at 503
With a short wait, the crew released the passengers and it was time to bid farewell
Overall: I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times – crew can make or break a flight. And this crew made it – no beating about the bush. Whilst the BA Product is still pretty bad in terms of seat and buy on board – the crew shone through to make it an enjoyable flight. They were helpful, friendly and engaging.
One even got a BA.com/Welldone out of me. Considering I was struggling to give a Golden Ticket away when I was a gold – it proves the right crew CAN make one heck of a difference.
Next: Terminal 5. Pick a lounge. Any lounge.
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