V-Flyer

This was a flying visit (excuse the pun!) to Hamburg to watch my beloved Aston Villa play in the UEFA cup. Started out from home at the unearthly hour of 0500 to catch my Virgin Pendolino from Stafford to London Euston. Train was nice and quiet and I was quickly served breakfast before falling asleep and waking up spot on time at Euston. Arrived at T5 after a quiet and uneventful trip on the Heathrow Express. I had already checked in online so just had to queue for around 5 minutes to drop my bag off. Was seen by a friendly agent and directed to The Galleries Lounge.

Security is split with club, first and gold and silver members having a seperate lane. This was strictly enforced as many people were trying it on! Through security very quickly and off to find the lounge. The Lounges are grouped together with The Elemis Spa. This looked very appealing but there was no time to sample it on this occasion.

Arrived at The Galleries Lounge and greeted warmly by one of the many staff there checking boarding cards. Went for a stroll around to see what was there and was quite impressed. There were lots of computers available, one of which was left with the V-Flyer homepage on! [y] Also several places for coffee and drinks and a good range of food including hot breakfast rolls. There was also some excellent views out over the airfield. T5 has a feeling of being large and spacious, mainly due to the good use of natural light.

Were called to board at around 1000 and were somewhat surprisingly bussed to the aircraft as we were on a remote stand. Think that BA were attempting to break the world record for most people on a bus as they really crammed us in! [:0] Arrived at the aircraft which was G-EUUN an Airbus A319 and took my seat in 1A. There is something nice about being sat in seat 1A! Chose this when I checked in online as wanted the extra space and legroom and was not disappointed. Plenty of legroom available and seats were comfortable and spacious. The plane was very full, mainly with people heading off to the football. Captain came on and talked us through the route and said we would have a flight time of 1 hour and 15 minutes. Departed spot on time for the usual mammoth taxi to the runway for departure. Were in a queue for quite some time before we were able to get airborne, once we were seat belt signs were off quickly and service started. Food was only served in the Club Europe cabin with Economy passengers having to make do with just a drink. Fair enough I suppose considering the length of the flight. Breakfast consisted of a bread roll, some cold meats, some cheese and a fruit plate with a drink and tea or coffee. This was very nice and just the right amount as I was not actually that hungry.

Landed at Hamburg on time and were quickly on stand as the terminal is very close to the runway and very little traffic about. Once off the plane it proved to be quite a hike to baggage claim and when I arrived there the bags were just coming off. Mine was amongst the first off and it was off to the S-Bahn for the short trip to the Intercontinental Hotel which was superb.

I really like Terminal 5, think they have done a really good job. It feels really spacious, light and airy. Think the lounge was very nice and the service and seats in Club Europe were pretty good for such a short flight. Overall think the extra money is worth it, especially if you make the most of your time in the lounge which I was unable to do due to time constraints.

Thanks for the TR![y]