This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Two and half hours later, after a swift and painless drive down the M11 (past the criminally underused Stansted), M25 and M23, my vision of having a relaxed airport experience was rudely dispelled when we found ourselves amongst hordes of people piling out of cars and queuing for the shuttle bus from the long stay car park. This was a real surprise, as when weve flown from LGW to the Caribbean in the summertime weve tended to have these buses to ourselves. Still, it was only a short trip and the drop off point had changed to the upper level since the last time we came through LGW, so no hauling bags up the ramp toward the check in area.
Id done OLCI the day before, and so it was straight to a hurry-up-and-wait state at the bag drop queue. I remain to be convinced by the advantages of this service for the customer, as I dont think we were processed with any more dispatch that than any other queue. An occasional glance at the PE check in revealed an oasis of calm, of which we would have been able to take advantage had (a) there been any PE availability back in March or (b) my silver FF card arrived. Never mind, once at the desk we were dealt with both cheerily and efficiently and sent on our way. One thing I did notice was that there was no security screening of tickets and passports when entering the line is this just a bag drop queue feature or has the security regime changed?
Security itself proved to be a bit of a non-event, through in 5 minutes. There was a shift change (or breaktime?) happening just as we were there, and I felt a sense of how lucky I was; yes, Id got up at some ungodly hour but at least I wasnt going to work.
Next up, the time of the holiday the offspring dread, the where to eat ? discussion. As usual, this ended up with one of them stalking off declaiming that they would never, ever holiday with us again as the discussion got more and more clipped and the atmosphere more frosty. We fall into two camps; one favours the coffee, danish and shop wandering option, the other the sit down full english for an hour to get away from the crowds. Eventually peace broke out and we compromised on the basis that Est Est Est had both on the menu, and the shopping party would have their victuals and leave the table early. This uneasy peace was, however, broken when it was revealed that if it didnt have egg and bacon in it, it wasnt available from the kitchen that morning. Oops. To be honest, though Id still rather spend money for a meal and a sit down away from the masses, the airport was busy it didnt feel too crowded, so perhaps there was a good rate of throughput happening.
After a short period of shopping and nervousness as no gate for the flight was being shown, the screens changed and we started the long march out to 21..or was it 23 ? Once there, the usual queue just outside was evident, but this moved pretty quickly and then once inside the call was made for those at the rear of the aircraft to start boarding, so as we were in row 63 we moved smoothly down the jetway.
As there are four of us Id tried to get two pairs of the window seats at rows 61 and up. Id managed to nab one pair at 63A and C, but had to be content with the other two seats being in the centre row across the aisle. I hadnt realized that this was not quite straight across the aisle, but actually set back slightly which made communication slightly difficult. It also made a big difference to the experience of the flight. Myself and The Favoured One had nabbed the window pair, with Partner and The Less Favoured One taking the centre row. When comparing experiences at the end, Partner and LFO stated it had been awful; the child next to her had no sense of personal space, and mummy was in no way interested in educating her darling about same. Father of same family, in the seat in front, had reclined his seat at the start of the flight and made no move to alter it during the flight. They were also inclined to tell their little darlings to get out of their seats by walking across the seat arms in the rows. Would they do this at home or when at boarding school? I think not.
Partner also reported that in both rows in front and behind the father of the party loudly complaining about the seating and enquiring as to why they hadnt their usual PE booking? Given that we also would have been happy to flash the cash for PE, I wonder how much extra PE capacity ex LGW aircraft could sensibly be allocated?
Jersey Girl G-VGAL was to the days aircraft. Generally things looked pretty clean and in good order, with the only minor disappointment in that respect being the ripped and scribbled on seatback magazines. Not a biggie, as it was close to month end (and, I assume, a change in the IFE listings) and given the choice Id rather the seat was clean, but it still felt a bit off.
IFE was NOVA, so a limited choice and no games. That said, a reasonable choice of films (the Bourne Ultimatum, Ratatouille) and I always come prepared with a book anyhow. A couple of small things I noticed; in addition to the listings magazine, a single sheet held details of the films (a precursor to losing the magazine altogether?) and the IFE handset was not detachable from the seat arm. Has that always been the case with NOVA ?
Once doors were closed, it was clearly a close to capacity flight. Boarding had felt very relaxed, and so I was a little surprised at how many seats were taken. Perhaps the systems were working as they should on the day. Id say the majority of the passengers are part of family groups, some quite extended; not much evidence of honeymooning couples at this time.
Pushed back a little late, but the flight deck announced that even with that wed be in a half hour early at ANU. Even so, for some it was going feel longer, as an announcement was made that the IFE in the middle section of the aircraft was u/s, parts were still awaited, and compensation forms would be handed out. I did wonder momentarily about volunteering up my seat and for someone and taking some compensatory miles instead, but decided that the attraction of the extra space at the side of 63A was too great..oh, and of course, being with my family. Oh yes.
Once airborne and given the signal they could get out of their seats the crew went to work. Amenity kits, headphones, drinks run and then lunch. Throughout they seemed to be helpful, smart, cheerful, polite and professional. Though at one point in the flight a message had been broadcast that passengers could go to the galley to get additional drinks, the crew seemed happy to respond to at seat drinks requests.
Lunch was a beef / chicken / veggie option, with the usual salad / cheese sides and a Gu orange chocolate dessert. I wasnt disappointed with the choice of the beef; quite tasty, and vegetables nicely on the al dente side. Having at some stage been traumatised by airline food, The Favoured One refused all sustenance apart from a can of Stella. He did cast envious glances over the kids meals (Haribo! Gingerbread men!) presented to the adjacent row, and when tea came round later (sandwich and a cookie) he prevailed upon his mother to part with her sandwich to ease his hunger pains.
I then settled in with my iPod earphones to watch the Bourne Ultimatum only to find that jack point was missing some kind of spacer and to hear anything other than a strange croaking sound I had to apply very precise pressure to the connector at a very precise point. This made the plot a little difficult to follow; the double cross was clear from the visuals and the occasional audio, but was it actually a treble or quadruple cross?
At various points I gave up and returned to my Robert Crais thriller or simply gazed out of the window. Now a flight over water is pretty dull from a sightseeing point of view, but, at the risk of getting all Fotherington-Thomas, once the cloud started to break up the shapes and shadows on the sea were quite mesmerising.
It may also have been the case that the flight deck had attended St Custards, for when they announced we would actually be about a half hour early into Antigua this was attributed to the fact that weve been pedaling very hard up here, boys and girls. This was accompanied by a request to help the crew by being nice and tidy. I did wonder whether they would be coming around with damp handkerchiefs to wipe faces and check wed washed behind our ears.
We came in to the north west and then executed a sharp turn to the east to head across the island. When turning I got a clear view of the airport, something I found unusual. Ive only ever seen an airport we were due to land at from the aircraft once before, and that was due to a go around at SFO a good few years back.
After what felt like a controlled plummet we were safely on the ground. The usual requests to stay in our seats with seatbelts fastened followed, as did the FSM thanking the crew for their work, as the aircraft taxied through spaces that seemed way too small to hold something that big.
Once down the stairs we were into a temperature hovering in the mid 80Fsand a queue for immigration. Frankly, theres nothing much you can do about it and experience tells us that the bags wont be off the plane for a while and anyway, when we get outside, itll be madness waiting for the taxis, so nothing to do but relax..not much fun though if youve got fractious small children, and the lady marshalling the queues gets these families out of the main line and through the nationals desks. It does take a while to get to the desks, not least because of those who havent listened to instructions and have failed to complete the immigration form; unfortunately none of the go to the back beloved of US immigrationOnce at the desk, the officer looks at the four of us and says ok, only one stay, the others go through and get your bags. Nice.
Then out into chaos that is the queue for VH hotel transfers. Arms being waved, voices being raised and right vouchers being thrust into the wrong hands or the wrong vouchers being thrust into the right hands (at least one group arrived at the hotel with us without their hotel booking voucher which caused a little tension). To VH credit, they are more organized than weve seen in the past and one definite plus point is that everyone is given a cold bottle of water. Eventually calm begins to descend, we bundle into a taxi ready for a week of doing nothing and that 3.30 a.m. start seems entirely sensible.
We can get better, because we're not dead yet
