Having checked in online the day before, I parked up at LCY at 0805 for my 0840 flight. Two minutes later I'd dropped my check in bag at the check in and proceeded to the security line. With no-one in front, I avoided the airside Bewley's coffee queue (about a dozen deep) and headed straight to the bar where I was immediately served with a cup of joe to help me on my way.
There are no Exec club facilities at LCY, so you make do with the departure lounge which these days is heaving. Still, I found a seat and settled down with my coffee barely five minutes after parking my car. At 0825 the flight was called, but I waited five minutes for the next call because the small holding areas at the gates are rather small and you rarely get a seat there on busy flights.
Along came final call and two minutes later I was in the gate holding area. Five minutes late we boarded. Despite conducting an indepth self-consultation of the best seat to go for during online check in, my choice proved bad as I was in window seat 5A in the cramped 3-3 configuration with 5B and 5C taken - obviously things had changed since my online check-in! I checked with a passing FA and it seemed the flight had its full complement on pax so I moved back a row to my preferred aisle seat on these aircraft. The window seat on the BAe146 in the 3-3 config reminds you that you really are in a flying tube, with a more limited space due to the curvature of the fuselage.
We then had to wait for 25 mins for a slot. I was interested to discover the difference between the old BA CitiExpress service and the new BA Connect service on this route, and I am struggling to find any. You still get a cooked breakfast, although mushrooms are missing. No dramas on board, and we arrived twenty minutes late.
On the return trip, the England-Trinidad World Cup match was playing, so the EDI Terraces was unusually quiet in the areas without a view of the TV. Also unusually I was able to get hold of a decent load of sandwiches - normally they're all gone by the time I get there. Quaffed these sarnies with a couple of mini bags of twiglets and a few diet cokes.
The return flight was slightly late in boarding. However we pushed back and I spent the journey on the laptop doing some work that's already months late. As I'd stuffed myself with sandwiches I didn't need any replenishments in the air, but on offer was a chicken and rice dish and a full, gratis bar. Again, I cannot tell what the difference is in service here now it's branded BA Connect.
Landed pretty much on time, and we had the regular LCY joke of a bus to take you fifty yards down the tarmac. My bag took all of 30s to arrive on the carousel and I was driving off within five minutes of landing.
The car parking charges are sadly more expensive than they used to be, at £24 per day in the short stay.
No traffic on the roads due to the footie and I was home at South Ken forty minutes after touching down.
All in all, I will continue to support this service. Beats the heck out of struggling around LHR.
Cheers, Howard
There are no Exec club facilities at LCY, so you make do with the departure lounge which these days is heaving. Still, I found a seat and settled down with my coffee barely five minutes after parking my car. At 0825 the flight was called, but I waited five minutes for the next call because the small holding areas at the gates are rather small and you rarely get a seat there on busy flights.
Along came final call and two minutes later I was in the gate holding area. Five minutes late we boarded. Despite conducting an indepth self-consultation of the best seat to go for during online check in, my choice proved bad as I was in window seat 5A in the cramped 3-3 configuration with 5B and 5C taken - obviously things had changed since my online check-in! I checked with a passing FA and it seemed the flight had its full complement on pax so I moved back a row to my preferred aisle seat on these aircraft. The window seat on the BAe146 in the 3-3 config reminds you that you really are in a flying tube, with a more limited space due to the curvature of the fuselage.
We then had to wait for 25 mins for a slot. I was interested to discover the difference between the old BA CitiExpress service and the new BA Connect service on this route, and I am struggling to find any. You still get a cooked breakfast, although mushrooms are missing. No dramas on board, and we arrived twenty minutes late.
On the return trip, the England-Trinidad World Cup match was playing, so the EDI Terraces was unusually quiet in the areas without a view of the TV. Also unusually I was able to get hold of a decent load of sandwiches - normally they're all gone by the time I get there. Quaffed these sarnies with a couple of mini bags of twiglets and a few diet cokes.
The return flight was slightly late in boarding. However we pushed back and I spent the journey on the laptop doing some work that's already months late. As I'd stuffed myself with sandwiches I didn't need any replenishments in the air, but on offer was a chicken and rice dish and a full, gratis bar. Again, I cannot tell what the difference is in service here now it's branded BA Connect.
Landed pretty much on time, and we had the regular LCY joke of a bus to take you fifty yards down the tarmac. My bag took all of 30s to arrive on the carousel and I was driving off within five minutes of landing.
The car parking charges are sadly more expensive than they used to be, at £24 per day in the short stay.
No traffic on the roads due to the footie and I was home at South Ken forty minutes after touching down.
All in all, I will continue to support this service. Beats the heck out of struggling around LHR.
Cheers, Howard
