Six By Nine? Forty Two?
“Life, The Universe and Everything”
Contents.
- In the beginning I begun to write this trip report. This made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
- First action of being 42 – Coach 210, British Airways Galleries South
- BA710 London to Zürich in Club Europe
- A brief wander into Zürich featuring the Canon 50mm F1.2
- Mostly Harmless – The Zürich Airport Observation Deck
- The Aspire Lounge, Zürich Airport (B/D Dock)
- BA717 Zürich to London in Club Europe
- The Race, The Coach, The Cold
- Six by Nine? Forty Two?
Ford Prefect: “Six by Nine? Forty Two?”
Arthur Dent: “I always said there was something fundamentally wrong in the universe…“
There’s a lot of theories about the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (a wholly remarkable book, with the words “DON’T PANIC written on the front of it in large friendly letters), about the ultimate question and ultimate answer of Life, The Universe and Everything.
Of course, The Restaurant at the end of the Universe states something rather obvious in the introduction:
“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”
Douglas Adams
And this explanation is equally valid for airlines too – if anyone discovers exactly what they’re up to with product and services, that explanation will change overnight with something more bizarre than we can believe.
Let’s have a look at the services encountered this trip:
National Express – it did the job getting me from A to B in retaliative comfort.
Heathrow Terminal 5 – its familiar to me as a second home now. Just remember which lounge you want to choose if you want a nice environment.
British Airways Club Europe – I honestly worry about this service. Whilst the outbound service was more than acceptable (if for the chatty crew paying attention to one passenger), the inbound service was acceptable as far as crew – but the soft services (namely the food) was near enough awful. Something needs to change with Club Europe – and fast.
If British Airways are hell-bent as selling it as a premium product – then make an effort to make it premium in terms of seat, service and food. The current service is nothing short a joke.
I wish I could find more positive things to say – but I’m running out of them with the current level of Club Europe service. Put it like this: If I’m paying hard cash, I’d consider EuroTraveller these days. For Avios redemptions, it’s reasonable value. But not great value.
Zürich: As every, a city that has a charm to it. I like the city, and the people – as well as the ability to walk or take public transport easily. Lots of positive points.
And decent supermarkets selling good chocolate.
The Zürich Viewing Terrace: If there’s a lesson in how to set up a viewing area, and keep lots of parties happy, this is it. A reasonable entry fee, combined with play facilities, a cafe and clear view of planes makes me a very happy person.
And that’s your lot for this adventure. Not a long one in many ways, but an adventure none the less!
Coming up
2018 is lining up to be a busy year for me, with three trips in the progress of being organised as I type (and maybe a few more if I get my backside in gear and hit the high gear of organising).
But to give you a flavour of 2018:
- Yes, Chicago will be in my future. I’ve booked and ticketed that trip already.
- In April, I’m off to Aircraft Interiors Expo and the Passenger Experience Conference. And I just ticketed that in the past few days. Expect a bad choice for that trip…
- I might also be going on a mad day trip again. This time… with company (providing we can actually agree a destination to go to)
- In May I’m off to the Eurovision Song Contest final in Lisbon. And $deity, this one is turning into a fun trip…
- In June, I might be on a mound in Dublin…
This year is shaping up to one of the more interesting ones. I hope you can join me on some of my travels.
Until then – thank you as always for reading.
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