BRU-MAN-LHR-BRU with SN and BA (1-2-3 Nov 05)

Post by **sn26567** » 01 Nov 2005, 18:41

As this 8th trip to Manchester this year was combined with a trip to London, I had once the opportunity to sample BA on LHR rather than the Eurostar which I usually prefer. But let's start with the beginning.

It did not start very well. I had booked a BA ticket about three weeks in advance. The first leg was operated in codeshare by SN, the following ones by BA itself. When I checked my reservation on the BA website two days before departure, the first leg on SN was OK, but the two following ones had been cancelled. I thought the flights had been cancelled, and there was no possibility for me to change them right away on the website ("Manage my booking").

Thus, the next day (one day before departure) I asked a secretary (my secretary was on holiday) to check with our corporate travel agency (Expedia Corporate): my secretary had forgotten to confirm my reservation with them. It cost us EUR200 over the initially quoted price of EUR450! But at least my flights were booked as wanted.

On 1 November I arrved at the airport without trouble: my wife drove me and it was a holiday in Belgium. I checked in with my Privilege card (also valid on BA flights) at an automatic machine, with the kind assistance of an SN lady. And I was surprised that the SN machines check you in even when you have a BA ticket. I selected seat 8F.

The queue at the X-ray and baggage control was huge: there were four special planes (two from Thomas Cook Belgium and 2 from TUI Belgium) to Liverpool with very quiet Anderlecht suppporters. It took some 15 minutes to get through.

Flight BA4953 BRU-MAN, operated as SN2173
BAe 146-200 registered OO-DJE
Scheduled/actual departure time: 09:30/09:43
Scheduled/actual arrival time: 09:50/10:00
Seat 8F (window) - Load factor: 85%

Welcomed on board by purser Charlotte, assisted by Elise. (Where were you, Bart?). Possibility to get a newspaper on entrance; The only fresh ones were English (remember: it's holiday in Belgium), so I chose the Daily Telegraph, printed in Brussels! The Connect magazine was delivered very soon afterwards. Half of the plane was filled with other Anderlecht fans, also very quiet.

Departure was delayed by some late passengers because of the length of the control. Take-off from 25R under sunny skies, and soon we reaced the cruising altitude of 28,000 ft. Landing in Manchester on 24R after one hour and 5 minutes of an excellent flight. In the meantime we had reveived a small breakfast consisting of one small roll with cheese, a blueberry yoghurt and an orange juice, to which I added coffee. Not to forget the traditional Neuhaus chocolates.

After a day of work in the Manchester area, I am now at the Bewley's hotel at the airport.

Tomorrow, flight BA1389 MAN-LHR on a 757 (it is years since I have flown one).

To be followed.

sab319 · Post by **sab319** » 01 Nov 2005, 19:59

nice report, lookign forward to the rest!!

Vinnie-Winnie · Post by **Vinnie-Winnie** » 01 Nov 2005, 21:32

Nice to read your dedication to this website and the nice and concise report U've just written!

If you got az bit of time go and check Trafford center! It's huge and amazing! Both for shopping and as a place to see! (not dreaming though since this is a Business trip)

Never read the Sunday telegraph again! It's an outdated newspaper out of touch with reality really!

Comet · Post by **Comet** » 02 Nov 2005, 09:40

I see you opted for the boring way to get from Manchester to London by air!

Already counting down the days to my next stay in Bewley's!

Post by **sn26567** » 02 Nov 2005, 18:18

Comet wrote:I see you opted for the boring way to get from Manchester to London by air!

Why should it be boring? No, it was OK.

Part 2. 2 November 2005.

The Bewley's is no longer what it used to be; the only restaurant is a bland Irish brasserie with tasteless international cuisine, although the Irish beef is probably worth the money. After a bad night's sleep, I had a tasteless breakfast at the Bewley's and proceeded to Terminal 3, a 5 minutes walk. I had confirmed my seat on the BA website the night before. I went to the automatic registration machine to get my boarding pass, once again helped by a friendly BA lady. As my Privilege card did not work, I had to use a regular credit card and enter the flight number, and all went smoothly afterwards.

Flight BA1389 MAN-LHR
B757-200 registered G-CPET
Scheduled/actual departure time: 10:00/10:00
Scheduled/actual arrival time: 11:00/11:01
Seat 16A (window, over wing) - Load factor: ~100%

I was surprised that my boarding pass indicated class C (Business UK) as I had a Y ticket. This does not mean anything: all the seats are the same, 6 abreast, blue leather. A little bit narrow (more than in an A320 for example), but with a nice legroom. We were greeted by an army of flight attendants (6 to my count). Departure was timely and take-off from 24L.

The 757 (on which I had not flown for ages) always impresses me by its length: you seem to be in a flying cigar. It also has a surprising power when it takes off. At cruising altitude, we were served a steaming-hot Deli breakfast sandwich with ham, mushrooms and gruyère cheese. I took coffee with it, which was accompanied by a Walkers shortbread biscuit.

The flight was not very long, and we landed timely on 27R in Heathrow. The taxi to the stand in Terminal 1 was the shortest I ever saw: only a few metres after leaving the runway we were docked to an airbridge. Heathrow was as busy as ever (I had not been there for years. Remember: I always travelled by Eurostar).

It did not take me long to find the way to the Underground station, and one hour after landing I was at my hotel, the Park Lane (Sheraton) in Central London.

Tomorrow, return to Brussels on BA392, an Airbus A319.

To be followed.

Comet · Post by **Comet** » 02 Nov 2005, 19:54

To everyone reading this - Bewley's is a nice hotel, with nice rooms and a nice breakfast spread.

Why should it be boring? No, it was OK.

You've been dealing with me long enough to know what I mean by that comment! If I was doing MAN-London I would fly into LCY - much more fun, as I say.

Post by **sn26567** » 03 Nov 2005, 12:56

Comet wrote:If I was doing MAN-London I would fly into LCY - much more fun, as I say.

I would have loved trying it, but to get a reasonable fare I had to book the whole trip on one singlle airline, and the only one available for my routing was BA, which does not fly into LCY.

Post by **sn26567** » 03 Nov 2005, 13:35

Part 2. 3 November 2005.

I got up at 6:15. At 6:45 I left the hotel and took a bus to Paddington Station and from there the Heathrow Express to Heathrow terminal 4. I did not want to take the Underground again, as it does not go to terminal 4 until September 2006 and you have to take a bus connection at hatton Cross. The price is a whopping £13.00 (£22.00 in First class), vs £3.80 in the tube. But the ride is very fast and comfortable.

I checked in at an automatic machine; got seat 15E and could not change it: I had forgotten to select a better seat on BA.com the night before! I still had more than one hour to spend, and I had breakfast at one of the eateries of the air side. That was a brilliant idea, because ... (you will see later).

Flight BA392 LHR-BRU
A319 registered G-EUPA
Scheduled/actual departure time: 8:55/09:03
Scheduled/actual arrival time: 11:05/11:15
Seat 15E (middle seat) - Load factor: ~80% in C (10 rows in 2-3 seating); ~100% in Y (10 rows in 3-3 seating)

Again there was an army of 6 flight attendants (that's a lot for an A319! SN take note!). The seats in economy class are 6 abreast, in blue leather. The same seats are rearranged 2-3 in business class. Ample legroom and not as narrow as in the Boeing narrow-bodies.

Departure was a little bit late due to heavy traffic. the delay was compounded by the fact that we had to cross an active runway (27L) to reach 27R from which we took off. And there was also a queue at 27R. We finally took off at 09:25.

Heathrow was as impressive as ever, with an incredible collection of wide-bodies, mainly 747-400s, but also some A340s.

The announcements were only in English, except for tapes in French and Dutch and one sentence in French by the purser ("Je m'appelle Helen et je suis votre chef de cabine. Contactez-moi si vous avez un problème") (the language skills of BA flight attendants do not improve), and no mention whatsoever was made of the codeshares with AA and SN.

Then came the surprise: in the aftermath of the Gate Gourmet strike, the situation had not yet returned back to normal (one month later!), and no breakfast would be served! Only coffee or tea, with a Walkers shortbread. Was I glad that I had taken breakfast at the airport!

The flight (at only 21,000 ft) was rather bumpy because of strong winds. Landing on 25L and arrival in Brussels were of course somewhat late. After customs, I went to the train station, saw one train leaving before my nose, and finally got back to the office one and a quarter hours after landing.

Give me back Eurostar any time! But it was worth trying...

The End.

Comet · Post by **Comet** » 03 Nov 2005, 14:08

An interesting series of reports! I would love to fly in a 757, apart from a 777 that is the only Boeing jet I have never been in. Their take off performance is always impressive, I used to see some superb efforts when we were in Glasgow. The BA 757 service sounded good, but I think they are removing the type from the domestic services.

And rail fares here in the UK are almost always extortionate, unless you get one of those cheapo tickets to London.

Sabena_690 · Post by **Sabena_690** » 03 Nov 2005, 14:37

Hi André,

Thanks for the interesting trip report!

Are you serious that BA did not provide you with a) a food voucher at check-in or b) sandwiches at the gate?

All passengers flying BA on a flight without catering should get one of the above.

You were lucky on your MAN-LHR flight, as all domestic flights leaving behind 10am do not get the traditional English breakfast.

It is indeed a pleasure to fly a B752 on such a short domestic hop! And BA does indeed have an army of flight attendants on its flights.

Frederic

Post by **sn26567** » 04 Nov 2005, 08:34

Sabena_690 wrote:Are you serious that BA did not provide you with a) a food voucher at check-in or b) sandwiches at the gate?

Thanks for your comments, Frederic and all others.

a) I never saw an automatic check-in machine provide a food voucher

b) Neither did BA provide a sandwich at the gate.

Compounded with the fact that the plane was full in Y meant that the flight cold have been better. And at theend of the day, it is good the SN name was not associated with that flight.

My conclusion remains: next time, Eurostar.

Sabena_690 · Post by **Sabena_690** » 04 Nov 2005, 09:05

André,

There should have been somebody from BA distributing food vouchers in that case...

Not that much food is needed on a LHR-BRU (certainly when there is already a drink service), but when BA claims that everybody will get a food voucher, they should have to give one to everybody.

From BA.com:

BA.com wrote:In addition all customers on flights with no onboard catering are entitled to a refreshment voucher.
Customers can collect these vouchers from check-in, customer service desks, Fast Bag Drop or in the lounge.

You should have asked for one!

Regards
Frederic

Advisor · Post by **Advisor** » 04 Nov 2005, 14:01

Nice report Andre

Thank you for sharing