Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 1: BD55

Edinburgh (EDI) - London Heathrow (LHR)

Although the aircraft was parked at Gate 6 as usual, boarding was by steps. I assumed that there must be some kind of mechanical problem with the jetty. It soon became apparent that the scheduled A320 had been substituted by a smaller A319 - one of those without convertible seats towards the front and just a thin panel separating the seats from the main door. I installed myself in 5A, observing that there was a baby close by in 6B, but also noting that it seemed to be much more placid than most! My Star Gold seat blocking, which had been clearly evident during on-line check-in, didn't endure: 5B was soon occupied, despite the fact that the flight was far from full. A tad annoying, but then it was meant to be the only Economy flight of the trip and it was only an hour's duration - no point in getting grumpy!

It was raining slightly as we pushed back just after eleven, and yet sunshine was in evidence too. It seemed to sum up how the day's weather had gone so far. We had an unexplained stop just short of the holding point for Runway 24. Based on observing a phone call taken by the lead cabin crew member, I formed the impression that the 'cabin secured' message had not been given to the flight deck. Once the confusion had been cleared up, we pulled onto the runway and went to take-off thrust without pausing, finally taking to the air shortly before 1115.

As the cabin crew member based at the front was looking after the Flexible Economy section only, I was one of the last to be offered in-flight service - not that it really mattered, of course.  I bought a cup of Kenco coffee and nibbled on a little two-pack of biscuits that I'd brought on board. As usual, the descent started shortly after passing Manchester.

For most of the flight, it had generally been a nice clear day, punctuated by the occasional angry-looking shower cloud. Disappointingly, the approach to London was marked by the onset of rather gloomy conditions. We flew one complete circuit in a holding stack to the north-west of the metropolis before making the standard approach over the City and just south of the West End. Despite the murky conditions and being located on the wrong side of the aircraft for the best views, I easily picked out the Thames Barrier, London City airport, Clapham Junction and Twickenham stadium. During finals, I spotted G-BOAB (the BA Concorde retained at Heathrow for purposes that were never made clear) hidden away out of public view in the south-eastern-most corner of the airport.

We touched down on 27R at 1216 and, with the very short taxi to Terminal 1, made it onto stand ten minutes ahead of schedule at 1220.

 

Date: Sat 13 Nov 2010
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Scheduled dep: 1100
Actual departure: 1101
Scheduled arrival: 1230
Actual arrival: 1220
Cabin: Economy
Seat: 5A

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