Once again, a nice early start leaving home at 03:30 for a 7am departure. My satnav again trying to take me via the scenic route but I knew there had to be a better way via A-roads so ignored the lady and followed the motorway which was much easier.
Unfortunately, the A370 was closed for road works so I still ended up on country lanes, really narrow ones this time!
I had checked in on line (Seq. 3) and only had the one bag which was small enough to take into the cabin so I by-passed the check-in counters and straight upstairs to Security.
Queues were long and it took a while to get through, especially as I managed, yet again, to get the random ping from the scanner. Had the requisite pat down and off I went to get a coffee while I waited for the flight to be called.
Going to the gate, I marvelled at the great thought put into the design of airports. Departing from gate 33, I headed off in a westerly direction, went up the stairs and then headed back the way I had come to the far side of the main containment area, down the stairs again to catch the bus. They do like you to get a bit of exercise.
Once on board the little E145, it was soon obvious that this was the emptiest flight to ABZ that I had had, not that it affected me as I had been able to get seat 6A which is on of the single seats (1 + 2 configuration). I also have this one for the return leg tomorrow morning.
The CC gave a cheery Good Morning but I noticed that very few pax were actually showing their boarding passes so I surmise that they are regulars on this route.
Something else which I picked up on was that not once was I asked for any sort of identification. Simply scanned my BP to get into the Security area and then showed it to the desk at the gate.
The heating was going full blast on board which made it quite warm but, luckily, not unbearable.
Push back was unusually a couple of minutes late but with a very short taxi to the threshold, we were soon airborne and climbing through the very thick cloud cover.
The seat belt signs were switched off just as we flew into an area of light turbulence and came on again almost immediately. They stayed on for the rest of the flight, even during the smooth times.
Breakfast of a breakfast bar, packet of mango pieces and a small tub of yoghurt with a cup of the proverbial lukewarm coffee was served and soon it was top of descent and a long slow approach began to land from over the North Sea. As the coastline came into view between the clouds, the nose dropped and a much quicker descent ensued.
Landing was smooth and we were soon parked up at the gate.
We then had to wait while 2 suitcases which had been dropped off at the airstairs on boarding were retrieved from the hold. That took about 10 minutes and then another holdup at the taxi rank with no taxis available. First time I have ever seen that at Aberdeen. Took nearly 20 minutes before I eventually got one.
All in all, a good commute with no issues, nothing exciting and safely to my destination.
Unfortunately, the A370 was closed for road works so I still ended up on country lanes, really narrow ones this time!
I had checked in on line (Seq. 3) and only had the one bag which was small enough to take into the cabin so I by-passed the check-in counters and straight upstairs to Security.
Queues were long and it took a while to get through, especially as I managed, yet again, to get the random ping from the scanner. Had the requisite pat down and off I went to get a coffee while I waited for the flight to be called.
Going to the gate, I marvelled at the great thought put into the design of airports. Departing from gate 33, I headed off in a westerly direction, went up the stairs and then headed back the way I had come to the far side of the main containment area, down the stairs again to catch the bus. They do like you to get a bit of exercise.
Once on board the little E145, it was soon obvious that this was the emptiest flight to ABZ that I had had, not that it affected me as I had been able to get seat 6A which is on of the single seats (1 + 2 configuration). I also have this one for the return leg tomorrow morning.
The CC gave a cheery Good Morning but I noticed that very few pax were actually showing their boarding passes so I surmise that they are regulars on this route.
Something else which I picked up on was that not once was I asked for any sort of identification. Simply scanned my BP to get into the Security area and then showed it to the desk at the gate.
The heating was going full blast on board which made it quite warm but, luckily, not unbearable.
Push back was unusually a couple of minutes late but with a very short taxi to the threshold, we were soon airborne and climbing through the very thick cloud cover.
The seat belt signs were switched off just as we flew into an area of light turbulence and came on again almost immediately. They stayed on for the rest of the flight, even during the smooth times.
Breakfast of a breakfast bar, packet of mango pieces and a small tub of yoghurt with a cup of the proverbial lukewarm coffee was served and soon it was top of descent and a long slow approach began to land from over the North Sea. As the coastline came into view between the clouds, the nose dropped and a much quicker descent ensued.
Landing was smooth and we were soon parked up at the gate.
We then had to wait while 2 suitcases which had been dropped off at the airstairs on boarding were retrieved from the hold. That took about 10 minutes and then another holdup at the taxi rank with no taxis available. First time I have ever seen that at Aberdeen. Took nearly 20 minutes before I eventually got one.
All in all, a good commute with no issues, nothing exciting and safely to my destination.
Last edited by welsheagle on 05 Nov 2014, 20:02, edited 1 time in total.