Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Vietnam 2010
Flight Log 9: LH910
Frankfurt (FRA) - London Heathrow (LHR)
I had distinctly mixed feelings as I took my seat on this flight that was never meant to be part of my arrangements. I was now destined to be hopelessly late getting home yet, if further difficulties were encountered after arriving in London, at least I would know that more options existed for completing the journey. I decided to put it all to the back of my mind and concentrate on the flight itself.
It didn't take me long to notice that this was one of the new-style A321s, based on the overhead fittings. There were seven rows in the Business Class cabin and there was nobody in either 2D or 3F - an excellent result! Boarding was exceptionally slow and indeed was not completed until 1527. The cabin crew quickly offered magazines to the Business Class passengers, the door was closed and we pushed back at exactly 1530. Although this was 15 minutes behind schedule, it seemed quite creditable considering that passengers had still been boarding less than five minutes before.
We then made the long, slow taxi all the way out to the old military runway, finally taking to the air at 1545. As we climbed through the cloud heading directly south, it seemed an odd choice. The inevitable long right turn came: at last, I was on a heading for the UK.
When the in-flight catering arrived, I was delighted to see a beautifully presented light meal. Intriguingly, it included a seventies-style prawn cocktail, and I immediately recalled a comment during the documentary that I had watched on the Singapore-Frankfurt sector, to the effect that this particular starter was making a comeback. I drank a rather pleasant Riesling Kabinett and some coffee, and was offered top-ups of both.
In what seemed like no time at all, we were over Kent and then passing north of London to make a U-turn and approach via Windsor. We touched down on 09L at 1549 GMT, braked strongly and exited the runway for the very short taxi to Terminal 1's Gate 5, the former domestic hub of British Airways.
With the single exception of the inordinately slow boarding at Frankfurt, this was a superbly executed short-haul flight.
Date: Sun 28 Nov 2010
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Scheduled dep: 1515
Actual departure: 1530
Scheduled arrival: 1555
Actual arrival: 1552
Cabin: Business
Seat: 2F
