Our Virgin Holidays rep had arranged to pick us up from the hotel at 1:30pm for the 4:50 flight and he arrived about 1:45. The traffic in Cairo was as busy and chaotic as usual and it took us a good hour to get to the airport where we were met by another Traveline rep who guided us through the check-in process and bid us farewell at immigration. Terminal 1 at Cairo is mainly used by EgyptAir and a few other airlines such as KLM and was refurbished a few years ago and is very modern. It is quite a small terminal with a couple of duty free shops (all prices in US dollars) and a few food outlets, including a McDonalds, Starbucks and Cinnabon. They also advertise free Wi-Fi but I have no idea as to how good it is. We saw our plane land just after 4 and we proceeded to the gate at around 4:15. Cairo Airport has introduced to 100mL liquid in a see through bag rule. However, it is only enforced at the gate and not when you pass security to get airside. My mum was carrying a bottle of water that she had bought in duty free that was still sealed and had it confiscated as we entered the gate and put alongside numerous other bottles of water. As to the passengers who had bought alcohol or perfume in duty free, I have no idea what happened to their purchases, although once in the gate area, there were some passengers who had managed to get bottles of water through and one passenger even had his extra value meal with him. I guess these passengers must have had the water in their bags (but they would have been screened) or they were able to sweet talk in Arabic.
Anyway, buses arrived outside the gate at 4:30 and we got onto the plane at 4:50. Again, no TVs or radio, but on each row of 3 seats were 2 Daily Mails (not my favourite publication). Business class passengers were offered a greater selection of newspapers including the Guardian and the Financial Times. Delays with loading and paperwork meant that we didnt take off until 5:20 and the captain announced that strong headwinds meant a flying time of 5 hours 20 minutes. Dinner followed the drinks service about an hour into the flight and the choices were:
Main
Chicken pasta
Beef with rice
Vegetable bake
Bread roll
Bean salad
Carrot cake
I chose the chicken pasta and it was without doubt the worst main meal I have ever had on a plane. The chicken was dry and chewy and the pasta wasnt much better. The dish didnt even include any sauce and to top it off, when clearing up, the cabin crew again offered barely lukewarm towels. Not a pleasant experience in the slightest. Having said that, my mum had the beef and said it was really good. I guess I just made the wrong choice.
After dinner, the cabin became unbearably hot which thwarted any attempt to get any sleep. Furthermore, the call bell was going off every few minutes with people asking for water because of the heat but also I believe because many of us had our own supplies confiscated at the gate. Another drinks service eventually took place about an hour and a quarter out of Heathrow and landing card were handed out to those that needed them, unlike on the way to Cairo. The descent was smooth and we landed at 8:45, 35 minutes late, however, we were pretty quick to the gate and deplaning and immigration was empty. As always with Heathrow, a quick trip through immigration is always offset by the wait in baggage reclaim and we all had to wait about 25 minutes before the carousel was announced and then another 10 minutes for our bags to appear. It was then a 20 minute wait for the Purple Parking bus to arrive at stand 1 (and not stand 5 as written on the card you hand to the driver). We eventually got back to Purple Parking at 10:20 and we collected our car and off home we went.
So this was my first time on BMI and summing up, check-in was easy and efficient at both ends, the seats were comfortable enough for a 4/5 hour flight and the cabin crew were courteous and professional on both flights. The food was good leaving London, but was awful on the way back, although the food on an airplane is never going to be fantastic. It would have been nice if the rolls had been warmed through and the towels were actually hot, but these are minor niggles. Overall, although there was nothing stand out or exceptional about any part of the service provided, it was perfectly acceptable and I wouldnt have a problem flying with them again.
Jonathan
