Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Canada & Mexico 2011
Unlucky for some?
I am not a superstitious person. If I walk around a ladder, it is for the purely practical reason of not wishing to knock it over or be struck by some falling object from above. Black cats, as far as I am concerned, signify nothing in particular. I have deliberately broken at least one old mirror and I frequently open an umbrella indoors - how else is one meant to dry it? It will come as no surprise, then, that neither do I believe that the mere fact of the thirteenth day of the month falling on a Friday somehow causes mysterious and malign forces to be abroad in the world, compelling all but the foolhardy to eschew activities such as driving and flying. Just as well, really, or this latest traveller's tale might have started rather differently.
In spite of what I've just said, I have to admit that it was an extremely busy and unusually stressful day at work. I did everything I could to keep on top of things, but when the appointed hour arrived I announced to nobody in particular, Right, that's it!, and made good my escape before anything else could go wrong. Knowing that time would be of the essence, I'd taken the relatively unusual precaution of bringing my car all the way into the city centre, so as not to leave myself subject to the vagaries of public transport. It was therefore a thoroughly convenient transfer from my workplace to my usual long-term car park, which turned out to be filled alarmingly close to capacity; thankfully, a member of staff was on duty to direct arriving drivers to the few remaining spaces. Shortly thereafter I found myself in the terminal building where, having already checked in on-line, I was able to drop my suitcase off quickly and easily at the easyJet Speedy Boarding desk.
At this point, regular readers could be forgiven
for asking two questions. First, why was I - a slightly
precious frequent flyer - starting one of my big trips on easyJet?
And secondly, why the diversion to continental Europe? A
three-letter word provides the key to understanding what I was up
to: tax. As my long-haul flight to Toronto departed from London
Heathrow early on Sunday morning, the most obvious way forward would
have been to fly down from Edinburgh some time on Saturday. The
trouble was that under the crazy Air Passenger Duty rules, such an
itinerary booked in Business Class would have involved paying the UK
government no less than GBP120. However I worked out that:
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My transatlantic journey would cost the same (before tax) if it originated in Germany, under the award flight rules of bmi Diamond Club.
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I could fly from Edinburgh to Cologne-Bonn for GBP60.
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I could stay a night at the Hilton Bonn for GBP70.
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As a transit passenger at Heathrow (i.e. stopping over for less than 24 hours) on a Germany - Canada itinerary, I would not be subject to APD.
So that was the choice: give the government GBP120
for the supposed privilege of starting a long-haul journey in the
UK, or pay a similar amount to easyJet and Hilton and enjoy a day
out in Germany for a marginal cost of ten pounds. Need I say more?
I had a particularly swift passage through Security, thanks to easyJet Speedy Boarding. It seemed ironic that use of the Fast Track channel at EDI was a perk not provided by any of the 'traditional' carriers serving the airport. Once airside, I made for the British Airways lounge, where my gold card permitted entry under the policy informally known as Open Doors, even though I was flying with 'the enemy'. I didn't realise it at the time, but it would be the last occasion on which I could enjoy that particular perk, as both my gold status and the Open Doors policy itself would have passed into history within a few weeks. I enjoyed a selection of sandwiches, crisps, cheese & crackers, a couple of glasses of Sancerre and coffee and biscuits before making my way towards the gate some 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
The luggage turned up relatively quickly at Cologne-Bonn and I was soon gliding along at speed towards the second of those two cities, on board a rather elegant silver Mercedes taxi, with comfortable black leather seats. I had chosen Bonn in preference to Cologne mainly because, as mentioned above, a hotel room there was going to set me back GBP70, whereas similar accommodation in the larger city could only be secured for five times that figure - a ridiculous amount that, apart from anything else, would have left a gaping hole in my little tax avoidance ruse. Within half an hour, I was checking in at my chosen hotel and had no trouble at all securing a late (3pm) checkout for the following day.
After briefly settling into my room, I decided to go out for a short stroll in the unexpectedly balmy conditions. I did keep it short, though: it had been a long day and there was no point in tiring myself out at this early stage in proceedings. As I drifted off to sleep after my walk, I felt happy that my unconventional method of getting this trip underway seemed to be working out just fine.