Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 1: BA1463

Edinburgh (EDI) - London Heathrow (LHR)

This flight used a boarding technique that I didn't recall ever having seen before on a BA domestic shuttle flight: passengers seated in rows 19-33 were being intercepted at the top of the jetty and directed downstairs and outside to board using the rear steps. A cabin crew announcement confirmed that we had a completely full flight. A recent initiative to bring a more disciplined approach to the stowage of hand baggage demonstrably worked on this occasion: the last passengers to board were seated in 1E/F and they were able to find space for their carry-on bags without difficulty. Doors were closed at 1930 and pushback came seven minutes later.

Operations had been switched around at the airport, which seemed odd for two reasons. In the first place, the westerly winds had been especially strong on my arrival at the airport, but more importantly, two windsocks that we passed during the taxi clearly indicated that this situation still persisted. Nevertheless, we took off towards the east some twelve minutes before 8pm, turning left so that I could see the streetlights of West Fife twinkling far below. As we completed the realignment, there were also clear views of the two Forth bridges and indeed of the airport itself.

When cabin service got underway, I had a gin & tonic, what seemed like a thimble-ful of coffee and a small packet of 'Kent'-branded crisps.

I can only assume that the flight crew had decided not to spare the horses, because less than thirty minutes after take-off we had already begun our descent. We described a couple of circles over High Wycombe, flew eastwards towards Docklands and made a U-turn for our final approach. I was still trying in vain to spot a familiar east-end landmark through a gap in the clouds when, thanks to a sudden clearance, I realised with a jolt that we were already passing Twickenham and lined up for runway 27L. We touched down at 2046 and then wasted a few minutes sitting alongside T5's 'C' satellite building, before finally turning onto a remote stand.

Date: Wed 20 Nov 2013

Aircraft: Airbus A321

Scheduled dep: 1935

Actual departure: 1937

Scheduled arrival: 2100

Actual arrival: 2054

Cabin: Economy (Domestic Shuttle)

Seat: 1A

Next Flight

Home | Major Trips | Short Trips | About this site | Index