BA967 Hamburg Airport to London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Club Europe)
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- BA967 Hamburg Airport to London Heathrow (Club Europe)
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Boarding at Hamburg Airport was… the usual mess I expect at a European Airport – in that the gateline is opened, passengers are scanned, then they wait in the jetbridge until the cleaning crew has completed their work, and the cabin crew are ready to receive passengers.
Anything to hit those on-time numbers these days.
Eventually, the queue started moving forward and I headed onto the waiting aircraft.
The setting sun is always a nice thing to see.
British Airways BA967 London Heathrow to Hamburg Airport
Airbus A320
Seat 10D, Club Europe
464 miles flown, 0 Tier Points and Avios earned (redemption flight)
I was welcomed aboard the aircraft and proceeded quickly to my seat in row 3. Unlike the outbound flight, this seat had “stuck”, meaning I had a window seat for the flight back to London.
It’s a small thing, but it keeps me sane, especially after a long week of pounding trade show floors.
I took one look at the overhead bins – and unsurprisingly, everyone had got to them first. I resolved to chuck the three bags under the seats in the end. Whilst this would impact legroom, it would mean that I would be able to get my stuff quickly once we landed. A small benefit, I suppose.
As for the seat, once again, we have the Collins Aerospace Pinnacle seat. This is the more classic configuration of it – with the cocktail table being present in all its glory.
It’s a small thing, but it makes a difference, especially in a “premium” cabin – something that BA needs to work on in short-haul some days.
With the cabin filling up, and a full flight to London, there was a good round of luggage jenga as people tried to stow all their bags. Thankfully, no one had to do the luggage walk of shame back up the cabin.
Power at foot.
As the cabin crew completed their work, it was time to depart Hamburg. Once again, the safety demonstration was conducted manually (as opposed to a video presentation).
Once complete, the aircraft taxied past the private jet parking as it headed towards the runway.
Wings and Condor.
Add sunset. It makes everything better.
And Private Toys too.
There was a short wait to the runway threshold, as an easyJet fight was making its escape from Hamburg.
With a roar, the A320ceo’s engines came to life as the aircraft was propelled into the sky.
This being a late spring flight, as we claimed, the red of a setting sun filled the righthand side of the cabin. I was more than happy to enjoy the heat of a setting sun, along with the photographic opportunities it gives.
Here are just some of what I captured.
Memo to self. I have got to print stuff again.
With the sunlight fading, I reconnected to the in-flight Wi-Fi. Once again, this is the BA .air system, which uses the European Aviation Network (Viasat S-Band connectivity, with Telkom 5G).
Again it was as simple as heading to the captive page, then following the on-screen prompts.
The options were the same, so I just went for the messaging tier (although if I was honest – I was pretty peopled-out at this point of the game. I just wanted to get to Heathrow, get on the coach and go home – there was a pile of crap that needed my attention in Birmingham and I wanted to be in my bed by 3:00 am if I was lucky.).
One of course needs to sign in to gain access – in this case, just my Executive Club name and password.
I was then able to access the packages and off I went a-texting
Onboard service began too – this is the advantage of being in the front of the cabin for onboard service – you get served earlier in the flight (compared to where I was sat on the outbound flight), and yes, you get first choice of food (although I would love to see a pre-order food system arrive for short haul business class – I suspect it would have the benefit of cutting the time for crew asking the choice questions, allowing for a faster service.
A choice of an Aubergine or Beef salad was offered – I went for the beef.
If I divided people in my Scone discussion on the way out, it is time to really question my senses about beef.
I swear the cow was still mooing at some point when I got my tray. I know my beef preferences are changing as I get older. I was firmly in the “kill it until it is dead and dead again”.
That’s getting to the point where I’ve learned a bit more about the cooking process and levels of doneness. But beyond a medium, I’m still out.
This… was just beyond a medium for my liking. Others would have loved it… me? A few more minutes to cook, please.
I guess I’m still a wuss when it comes to beef still… and if at home, I don’t trust me – so it’s killed a million times beef for me.
Drinks followed, and I went for my aviation usual. This time, the full double was poured directly into the glass – needing a fair amount of the tonic to mellow the gin a little. Once again, Tanqueray Gin is the order of the day on short-haul.
To round off the meal, a mango and cream was offered. Along with the dark chocolate top, it added a nice sweet note to the flight.
With dinner being cleared down, the sun continued to set as the flight crossed Europe and over the Channel.
With 20 minutes to go, the cabin was tidied up for arrivals. Thankfully, being on the right-hand side of the aircraft and with the aircraft on a River approach for the North runway at London Heathrow Airport.
With a a window view, I had a wonderful view of London as the aircraft lined up for arrivals.
Tower Bridge
A Wheel, A County Haul and the Mother of all Parliaments.
Hyde Park
It’s an approach I never tire of to be honest – especially when London is lit up.
West of the City.
Well, it makes a change compared to looking at South London, doesn’t it?
With ease the Airbus A320 landed at its home base, completing the short run from Hamburg Airport.
Pulling off the runway, the A320 taxied towards the Terminal 5 complex, pulling into one of the taxiways between Terminal 5A (the main terminal complex) and Terinam 5B (the first Satellite terminal).
Sadly, my luck did not hold, as the aircraft turned left and towards Terminal 5B. Oh well, can’t with them all.
With the engines powering down, it was time for everyone to push forward to the exit. Or that was the plan – ground control took a little time hooking up a jetbridge to the aircraft.
Once that was done, I grabbed my bags and headed for the exit, thanking the crew on the way out.
It was time to deal with Heathrow and head for home.
Overall:
A window makes a lot of difference to me – and this window seat was a good one, with wonderful views throughout. It makes up for a mediocre seat. The catering was of good quality and reasonable for a short flight (even if the cow was trying to moo).
The staff were equally friendly and engaging – which helped for the short-haul experience.
But if BA is going to keep all these old A320ceo aircraft in its fleet, it’s time for these aircraft to get new overhead bins… it would stop a lot of the luggage jenga.
Next:
One Shuttle Transit at this time of night… sigh….
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