BA962 London Heathrow to Hamburg Airport
More Pleasure, More Business
In this divided trip report
Part Two Onto Business
- Part One – The Pleasure
- Part Two – The Business
- British Airways Galleries South Lounge
- BA962 London Heathrow to Hamburg – Club Europe
- IBIS Budget St Pauli
- Crystal Cabin Awards Roundup
- Aircraft Interiors Expo – What you might have missed
- Back to Hamburg Airport, Hamburg Airport Lounge
- BA967 Hamburg Airport to London Heathrow – Club Europe
- Not going home in a hurry
- Compensation Fun, Games and Paperwork
- Life is in many parts
BA962 – London to Hamburg
BA962 London Heathrow to Hamburg Airport
British Airways., Airbus A319, Seat 3A – Club Europe (Business Class)
464 miles flown, 0 Tier Points and Avios earned (redemption flight)
And a wait to board.
I was welcomed aboard the plane and headed for seat 3A for the short hop to Hamburg. If you’ve seen a short haul review on my blog before… well, not a lot has changed.
The seat.
The seat on this Airbus A319 remains as the Collins Aerospace Pinnacle seat – and it remains at the tight 30” Pitch BA insists on putting in throughout the cabin – so good luck trying to work on a laptop on this plane.
Let’s be honest – at this point, you’re paying for the antimacassar.
Legroom. Meh. Do you like the Chinos though?
At least this is an older Airbus plane – which means that the middle tray table is still there (something BA is in the process of eliminating on new fleet entries).
Which is good to put bibs and bobs on when in flight. Like drinks, cameras and so on.
Meanwhile, the cabin filled out on this Hamburg run. I know fleet planning is hard, but surely they could put on an A320/321 on this route? Whilst Hamburg can be quiet, something must have triggered in the system… rather than chuck on a smaller frame onto the service.
Meanwhile next door.
With the start of the block time nearing, it was announced that were would be a 20-minute delay due to slot control.
Nothing new there.
It was a chance to sit back and watch my luggage arrive at Heathrow airport. Or well, look at the window and think of it going on its own adventure around the airport…
… without me.
Eventually, the plane pushed back and the six-minute safety video played through the overhead monitors.
Let’s face it: the safety card works a lot better than that BA safety video.
That allowed our plane to taxi back and head to a runway for departure.
Admittedly, I was dozing off against the sidewall of the plane. There’s something about the drone of an Airbus aircraft and the engines that can help me doze off. More so with Airbus aircraft than Boeings to be honest.
Although this seems to be another plane that stalks me.
Eventually, the A319 lined up for departure and rocketed down the runway for the short hop to Germany
Up we go!
Wembley Stadium below.
With the plane in the air, the hot towel service began. Gotta love those postage stamp sized cloths.
I rested up until the food service turned up. Two options where given – a Chicken salad or a Warm vegetarian Quiche.
I took the quiche – and it was a damn good choice. It wasn’t boiling hot – but warm enough to enjoy, to warm the filling nicely.
The salad was nice and fresh too. This was with a lemon yoghurt thing that looked nice enough… but I skipped.
For drinks, I stuck with soft drinks and coffee – it’s not good manners to turn up to a meeting inebriated. Besides, there would be a chance for that later during the week (if I felt the urge… getting legless sadly isn’t my idea of a good time).
With the trays cleared, coffee came along. And yes. I needed coffee – more than I would admit. Even airline coffee is an acceptable source of caffeine when it’s needed.
Cabin during flight
Crossing over Holland.
With that, Germany was coming into view – and the plane was commencing decent. On these Euro-hops, there’s sometimes not enough time to enjoy the cabin service.
For me, time was a limiting factor I had to play with this day.
The joy of work.
The cabin was tied up for arrival, and the screens stowed away. With that, our plane made a final approach into Hamburg Airport, touching down smartly on the runway.
With the plane peeling off the runway in a reasonable time, it headed straight for the terminal area.
Lots of tails.
Eurowings Airbus A320 landing behind us
Lufthansa Airbus A319
Pegasus Boeing 737-800
After a short taxi, the plane had reached the jetbridge. There was a short wait for the jetbridge to dock – but I was soon enough underway.
And wait.
I thanked the crew and headed out.
Overall: Not a bad run at all by British Airways on this day. The service that was delivered was appropriate to the service length – even if delivery was a bit sluggish.
Whilst the EuroBusiness hard product needs a second look, the softer product is improving step by step – which is a welcome thing to see.
Next: Into Hamburg, The Ibis Budget St Pauli.
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