LGW clubhouse wave

Hope everyone having a great day - I know I am as enjoying the clubhouse before the VS43 .... Redhead & 2 breakfast rolls

sounds like the perfect morning
Have a great flight

Envious of your morning!

Hope you are having a great flight & good luck in Vegas

Thanks ..... flight fairly smooth, don't think it ever got bumpy enough for fasten seat belts sign mid-flight.

A bit longer in the air than most previous trips to LAS at just over 10 hours but a timely departure meant landing within a couple of minutes of scheduled.

Strangely we all had to lower our window blinds for the taxi to the stand (didn't quite hear the reason on the announcement, not been asked before even when Air Force 1 was on the tarmac at LAS on a previous visit) but quick enough onto gate with unloading from the front door so got off before PE passengers.

Arrivals hall not too packed (maybe 50 from a previous flight) and we were allowed straight onto the automated entry machines so out in baggage hall in under 5 minutes ..... then my luggage came off in first dozen cases so I was outside having a crafty cigarette within 20 minutes of touchdown!

We were on Tinkerbelle (so no bar - but that suited me as I could only get 11A (or 12A as alternative) when I booked so it was probably a benefit having no scrum at the small UC bar on a 747 .... got 6A for the return leg so if there's a bar on the return I won't mind and might even use it for an hour myself.

A couple of minor food shortages (no beef main course available at all they said and they ran out of scones on the afternoon tea by the time they got to me - let him eat cake, apparently) but the crew were so great throughout that I didn't hear anyone complain & I enjoyed the chicken main course (and cake). Still on the September menu cycle so didn't get any of the new dishes that are rolling out onto the routes otherwise I would have dropped in a couple of pictures.

Flight deck got (rightly) quite angry as a number of people got out of their seats and started opening overheads before the seat belt sign went off (and I got the impression from a member of cabin crew that some of them were "at it" while the aircraft was still moving the last few yards to the gate .... wasn't anyone in UC so at least 14 of us weren't going to get arrested but flight deck were heavily stressing the safety aspect and that they can call for police to come and arrest transgressors so folks concerned advised to take it far more seriously on their future flights.

All in all, great CH visit with usual welcoming staff there at LGW and a great flight with a really top notch crew !

Thanks for the report. I imagine lowering the blinds is simply to keep the cabin cooler while it gets prepped for the return.

Yep, that’s exactly why. Happens frequently in the desert! Very common at Phoenix as well.

As for people standing up before the seatbelt signs have been switched off - that seems to be becoming the norm now. Utterly pointless of course - no-one’s getting off any quicker!

I imagine lowering the blinds is simply to keep the cabin cooler while it gets prepped for the return

Yep, that’s exactly why. Happens frequently in the desert! Very common at Phoenix as well.

I'm sure you're both right - it's just that even in the height of summer when it's regularly upwards of 100f in LAS I've never been asked to do that on either VS or BA before (so maybe cabin crew regularly do it after passengers are off). Ambient temperature this time was only 70f, though of course a parked aircraft on a gate in direct sunlight will heat up beyond ambient fairly quickly without airco (so possibly an APU performance issue or a gate power issue that meant it might struggle to maintain a reasonable temperature during the changeover).

In the summer the heat in LAS can certainly cause issues with aircraft - didn't Norwegian have issues a couple of years back with 787's in LAS being delayed until later in the evening when temperatures cololed (there were pretty high passenger density on those configs I think, which didn't help, other 787's were able to operate)? If memory serves didn't Norwegian cancel summer flights in/out of LAS in 2017 as a result?

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughts on the blinds issue - I wasn't too alarmed but just wondered if it was something new happening regularly that others had come across or just a one-off.

As for people standing up before the seatbelt signs have been switched off - that seems to be becoming the norm now. Utterly pointless of course - no-one’s getting off any quicker!

Absolutely right Gumshoe - the BA flight I took before this, DUB-LHR as start of an ex EU, was really full (so folks at the back would have quite a wait even once the doors were open) but while I stayed seated until folks were actively moving down the aisle 3 rows ahead of me it seemed the rest of the passengers were standing immediately they thought the aircraft might have stopped (though seatbelt light still on) and then trying their level best to drop some quite heavy carry-ons onto each other!