Arrived at T1 at 5am where we were directed to the Premium desk and with only one person in front of us we were checked in very quickly. We enquired if we could use the lounge with our Amex cards Or Flying Club Gold Card but were told that as it was a charter flight it wasn't possible.
The flight an Airbus 320 departed on time at 6:20am. The cabin was spotlessly clean with comfortable leather seats and pull down foot rest. Breakfast was served 45 minutes after take off and was very good - cornflakes with fresh milk, fresh fruit salad, breakfast rolls with butter and jam, full cooked breakfast, bacon, sausage, omelet, mushrooms and beans served with bucks fizz and tea or coffee. There were films to watch but as it was only a 2 hour flight I didn't bother. The BMI crew were excellent and it was service with a smile all the way. We landed on time in Nice and having no baggage to collect were very quickly outside in the pleasant warm sunshine.
The trip was very well organized. Coaches met us at the airport to transfer us to Jardin Exotique de Monaco (as close as you can get on race day) where we boarded a local bus to Casino Square. We watched the race from Café de Paris where they served a nice meal and drinks all afternoon. It’s not the best view of the race but the large screens let you see all the action in a great atmosphere where you can walk about and socialise.
We had some free time after the race but access to some areas was limited until 6pm. We started to make our way back just after 7:15pm and were back at Nice Airport in plenty of time for the 10pm flight.
Went into the Riviera lounge at the airport with our Priority Pass cards and it was quite full with F1 Team Engineers etc. Ross Brawn was happy to discuss Michael Shumacher’s problems for the day with us – what a nice man.
The return flight with the same plane and crew left on time and they were just as good as on the outbound leg.
, if i was button i would have hit the bottle hard that night.