BA768 London Heathrow to Oslo Airport (Club Europe/European Business Class)
Growing Old with In Style
In this mammoth trip report (note, headings subject to change)
- Yes. I’m that old. Next.
- Off to Heathrow, Terminal 3 and Cathay Pacific Lounge
- BA768 London Heathrow to Oslo Airport (Club Europe)
- The Best Laid Oslo Plans, and the OSL Lounge
- TK1754 Oslo to Istanbul International Airport (Business Class)
- A new airport – Istanbul transit. Shame it was in a rush….
- TK055 Istanbul to Singapore (Business Class)
- Welcome back to Changi, Ibis Budget Ruby, Geylang
- Back to Changi Terminal 4 and AirAsia AK710 Singapore to Kuala Lumpur International.
- Into Kuala Lumpurand the Holiday Inn Express KLCC
- To the Batu Caves
- Exploring Kuala Lumpur
- Back to KLIA, The Golden Circle Lounge
- MH627 Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Changi (Economy Class) with Malaysia Airlines
- HOTEL: Intercontinental Singapore, Bugis
- For the love of Nasi Lemak and Hawker Markets
- Exploring Singapore, whilst avoiding Rain
- Pokémon Centre Singapore
- Back to Changi, and the Lounge
- TK209 Singapore Changi to Istanbul Airport (Business Class)
- Into Istanbul and the Sheraton Levent, Istanbul
- Back to Istanbul Airport and the Turkish Airlines Lounge
- TK1753 Istanbul Airport to Oslo Airport
- A leisurely Oslo transit
- SK815 Oslo Airport to London Heathrow
- Homward
- Older, Never Wiser
BA768 London Heathrow Terminal 3 to Oslo Gardermoen Airport
Airbus A320ceo
Club Europe, Seat 5F
750 Miles flown, 35 Avios Earned
Boarding the A320, I was welcomed by the crew. Thankfully, I only had a few rows of seats to pass before I reached my home for the flight to Oslo.
American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER next door
The seat, as I’ve reviewed many times, is the B/E Aerospace/Collins Aerospace Pinnacle Seat.
Meh legroom.
On the older aircraft, these seats do get hammered in a bit, and this seat was no different. Thankfully, this being an older seat aboard an older aircraft,t the middle seat had been converted into a cocktail table.
With Storm Bran causing issues already, our aircraft made haste out of Heathrow. Given that this aircraft is part of the BA single-aisle fleet, the safety demonstration was carried out manually.
With that done, the aircraft continued its taxi out and soon, to a runway.
Virgin Atlantic A330-900
Virgin Atlantic A330-300
British Airways Boeing 777-300ER
It was time for the engines to spool up and lift us into the sky.
The climbout was more than a little bumpy thanks to the storm, but things soon settled down for the 2 and half hour cruise to Oslo.
Onboard, the aircraft is currently fitted with British Airways’ current connectivity solution, which is based on the European Aviation Network platform. This means there’s in-flight internet for those who need it and can pay.
Care to pay?
I wasn’t in the mood to pay, so I used my BA Club Membership to score free messaging access. A useful perk to remain online.
You are connected. Be grateful that I do not disconnect you…
British Airways will soon adopt Starlink as a connectivity solution. Which reminds me, I really need to invest in a VPN I can trust as this becomes more prolific.
With five rows of business class, my row was a little quieter, with only two people in it (and quieter the row after), and the crew worked through the service quickly.
As I was onboard a morning flight out of Heathrow, this would be the usual Club Europe Breakfast service – a choice of cold cuts, an omelette or a full English breakfast – something some will miss on the shorter runs soon, to allow staff to spend more time hidden behind the curtain.
Champagne and Orange juice. Self-internal mixing Bucks Fizz.
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Festive, I see.
Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. The BA Breakfast isn’t a bad one to have in the air, especially when paired with their champagne (let’s keep this train going for a bit).
And it’s a typical BA Breakfast – that’s all I can say about it. It was more than passable, not slimy and good for a nibble in the air. Certainly, if this wasn’t the first thing I had that morning, it would be more than acceptable to nibble on in the air to fill a hole.
With the service cleared down and a cup of coffee in my hand, I peered out ot the world outside as the aircraft continued to make its way to Oslo.
Two hours and a bit go fast, especially if you doze off during the flight. I woke up around 30 minutes from Oslo, as the scenery unfolded around me
Soon, the aircraft was at the top of the descent, making a rather bumpy approach to Oslo Airport.
With the rest of the service cleared down, the aircraft descended into blue sky, touching down at Oslo Airport.
From the runway, it was a short taxi over to the Non-Schengen part of Oslo Airport, where our A320 parked up.
Korean Air Cargo Boeing 777F behind us
With the aircraft being directed to one of the non-Schengen gates at Oslo Airport, the engines powered down, finishing the first leg of this grand adventure.
After 2 and a bit hours of comfort.
I thanked the crew and headed off into Kenya. I mean Norway.
Overall:
A very simple A to B hop with British Airways. The staff were pleasant as they always are, and with reasonable food and beverage options and drinks flowing to keep people happy, especially with the extended time a two-hour flight gives to deliver a more relaxed service.
Although with the cuts to Club Europe being made on the shorter sectors, you have to wonder if the longer sectors are next for “enhancement”.
We’ll have to see – even as I start to lower my Oneworld flying.
Next:
Let’s head to where the Giraffes are… and the Zebras. Or maybe not, with fate playing its hand on me.
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Depending on your router at home, you might be able to use it as a VPN. I have Ubiquiti equipment which is a bit higher end and it provides an easy way to set up a VPN. I used it during our recent trip to Germany and France to stream from.
Some other midrange equipment also provides this option if you don’t want to pay for a VPN. Some prefer paying because they want to be seen as if they are in a non-US country.
I’m a bad IT person – I run an ISP router.
I’m looking into the Ubuqity platform during the year, then will look at a roll my own solultion. For now, I’m going to cheat and probably use a hosted soultion like PIA as part of my “my data, my business” option.
After all, running Opera as a proxy/VPN is hardly the way to go longer term….