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Springtime in Georgia: Part Three, To London, Sir

A trip report documenting my March 2010 visit to Katie.

1. Purpose and Planning
2. Getting Started
3. To London, Sir
4. Back in the US Airways
5. Terminal A-West, Philadelphia Born and Raised

The Glasgow Flyer might not be the cheapest way of getting to the airport from the city centre, I believe that the First AirLink services might be cheaper, however they take a less direct routing, are not 24 hours and just use ordinary buses, so do not have the special luggage racks that the Glasgow Flyer has. Of course, for convenience one could take a Taxi to the airport, and this can even be cheaper if there are several of you travelling. Still, £7 for an open return on a comfortable bus, running 24 hours a day, free wi-fi and plenty of luggage space is a good deal. So that’s what I did.

As the bus speeded on towards the airport, I was lucky enough to catch a pink wintery sunrise from the Kingston Bridge that reminded me just why I loved living in Glasgow. While the excitement of my day’s travel still filled me, I was made a little sad that I no longer got to live in my favouritest of all Scottish cities.

To cheer myself up I broke out my phone and updated my facebook status: “Murray Barnes is on a bus. Final destination: Manchester, GA”. As the bus drew closer and closer to the airport, the excitement grew and grew. I’d had airline tickets for months, but like a child in November who doesn’t really believe that Christmas is coming it had never really felt real to me. As the bus pulled off the motorway junction for Glasgow Airport, it finally began to feel real.

I’m a cheapskate, and rather like proper airline stock boarding passes, so I’d elected to wait until I got to the airport to print my boarding passes. BMI, like many airlines it seems, prefer people to use machines than actually talk to staff-members. That’s fair enough, I’m a little antisocial too, so I was happy to use the self check-in machines. Besides, I have a computer science degree, how hard could it be?

First, I tried to check in using my Diamond Club card. Nope, no record found. OK, I’ll try the passport. Nope, no record found. PNR? Nope, no record found. Sweet. After about five or ten minutes, I admitted defeat, died a little inside, and actually went up to the desk to speak to a human being.

Although there was nobody in front of me in the queue, it probably took as long for the check-in ladies to acknowledge my presence as I’d spent messing around with their machine. They were too busy talking to a male member of staff, demanding that he eat a bar of chocolate. The first thing the assistant dealing with me did was apologise and explain that their colleague was diabetic and feeling light-headed, so they were wanting to make sure he didn’t collapse. I guess that’s slightly more important than me, maybe.

Check-in was performed quickly, my bag tagged to its destination, and my seat preferences checked. I was handed my boarding passes and thanked for my custom. I pulled my backpack once more onto my back and headed on the long journey up some escalators and round a corner to security.

Glasgow Airport has three piers for gates (one domestic, one international, and one for easyjet and the Scottish islands, basically), and it used to be that each pier had its own security which meant that the main shopping area was before security. However, in December 2008 they changed this around creating one large security area before the shops. It’s a fairy large security section with many x-ray machines, though I’ve only ever seen a small number of those open at any one time. This may be because I don’t fly particularly frequently, and when I do I usually go through security at about moronic o’clock in the morning.

I’d planned ahead, I’d dressed appropriately. No belt, no watch, no steel toe-capped boots, no money in my pocket. I am an airport security ninja. Phone out my pocket, laptop out my backpack, walk up to the metal detector and I’m through with no beeps. Fantastic! Why I was still pulled aside for a pat-down, I can not be sure. I can only refer you to the picture above, and possibly point you at this article if you still don’t get it. If there’s one celebrity lookalike you don’t really want, it’s probably that one.

I ignored the World Duty Free, since I don’t drink, don’t smoke and think that perfume smells horrible. I ignored the “buy a stupidly expensive raffle ticket and WIN A SUPER-CAR!!!!!!1111″ stand, since I can’t afford a stupidly expensive raffle ticket, understand a little thing called odds, and don’t know how to drive. I ignored the shops selling tacky Scottish souvenirs, since I knew the only tacky Scottish souvenir my girlfriend wanted was me, and I ignored the signs telling me the way to my gate, since if you head onto the domestic pier, you are not allowed back into the main shopping area and I had quite a bit of time to kill.

My first port of call, as always, was Boots the chemist, where I partook of their fantastic meal deal. I was shocked (shocked!), however, to learn that the airport price was now £3.49, a whole 50p more than on the high street. Last time I’d come through the airport, the price had been the same. Still, £3.49 for a chicken and bacon sandwich, a lemon swirl cheesecake and a can of (at this point, I would like you to imagine the “ahhahhahhhhhhhah” bit from The Immigrant Song) Relentless is still a fantastic deal in an airport, and The Lord knew I’d be needing that Relentless later.

After stocking up on those essentials for my journey, I decided to go on a long and mighty quest to the international pier, and see if there was anything exciting going on out there. Not really, no. Still, it killed twenty minutes or so. After that I decided I’d had enough excitement from that pier, and headed for domestic departures, see if there was anything exciting down there. There was a British Airways plane, London City bound, loading up, but really the airport was fairly quiet so I headed for my gate to read my book

Flight: BD003 GLA-LHR
Date: 8th March 2010
Scheduled Departure: 0910
Scheduled Arrival:1040
Equipment:Airbus A319
Seat:11A
Miles: 345 flown, 300 earned

Boarding was called not too long after the plane arrived. Using on-line check-in, I’d managed to get a window seat in row 11, above the wing. Upon boarding, the flight seemed to be really rather full. I counted two empty seats, but somebody was looking down kindly on me that day, as one of those two happened to be 11B, the seat right next to me! If you came to this trip report looking for the exact time of take-off, you’re not going to get it. It was scheduled for 09:10 in the morning, and it probably happened around then. I don’t care. If that’s the kind of thing you dig, then I recommend you bog off, and maybe even read this fantastic report from Mr. Seat 2A, trip-reporter extraordinaire.

The flight, like most short-haul flights, was short and mostly unmemorable. I didn’t need the meal I didn’t get, but knowing that I’d have gotten one when I booked, but they’d taken that away from me did annoy me slightly. Still, there was an upshot of this. I wrote to Diamond Club explaining that I had never used my blue plus status, and now they’d removed the only perk, could I maybe have my 3000 status miles back? They thought about it for a few weeks, agreed with me, and gave me back my 3000 status miles, which with the 9000 or so miles I’d get from this trip, and about 4000 leftover from my last trip would be enough to push me up to Silver status level. Hooray!

It wasn’t long until we were descending into London Heathrow. I had a 95 minute layover, which I assumed would be long enough that a leisurely stroll to my gate would be OK, since both BMI and US Airways use Heathrow’s Terminal 1. Once we pulled into our gate, and we did the usual standing around waiting for the door to open thing, looking at our watches and tutting impatiently, I followed the transfers signage. Eventually I reached a bored looking woman who had a queue stretching up to meet her. She would look at your boarding pass and tell you which terminal to head for. She had to look up US Airways, which I guess is reasonable since they only have a single flight each day from Heathrow (their other London flight, from Charlotte, flying into Gatwick). Still, she eventually told me what I already knew, and I was let into Heathrow’s shopping mall.

My flight was already showing as boarding, and from gate 49, which was said to be a 20 or so minute walk away. I never trust time estimates, but I couldn’t be bothered doing any shopping, so headed for the gate straight away. So I walked, and I walked, and I walked some more. After about six hours of walking, I had to take a toilet break, and then I began walking again. I’m pretty sure I walked most of the way back to Glasgow by the time I reached the gate for my next flight, US Airways to Philadelphia, which will be the next portion of this report.

Related posts:

1. Springtime in Georgia: Part One, Purpose and Planning.
2. Springtime in Georgia: Part Two, Getting Started
3. Springtime in Georgia: Part Five, Terminal A-West, Philadelphia Born and Raised
4. Springtime in Georgia: Part Four, Back in the US Airways
5. To Munich and Beyond! Part Two: Away We Go.

A trip report documenting my March 2010 visit to Katie. Purpose and Planning Getting Started To London, Sir Back in the US Airways Terminal A-West, Philadelphia Born and Raised The Glasgow Flyer might not be the cheapest way of getting to the airport from the city centre, I believe that the First AirLink services might be cheaper, however they take a less direct routing, are not 24 hours and just use ordinary buses, so do not have the special luggage racks that the Glasgow Flyer has. Of course, for convenience one could take a Taxi to the airport, and this can even be cheaper if there are several of you travelling. Still, £7 for an open return on a comfortable bus, running 24 hours a day, free wi-fi and plenty of luggage space is a good deal. So that's what I did. As the bus speeded on towards the airport, I was lucky enough to catch a pink wintery sunrise from the Kingston Bridge that reminded me just why I loved living in Glasgow. While the excitement of my day's travel still filled me, I was made a little sad that I no longer got to live in my favouritest of all Scottish cities. To cheer myself up I broke out my phone and updated my facebook status: "Murray Barnes is on a bus. Final destination: Manchester, GA". As the bus drew closer and closer to the airport, the excitement grew and grew. I'd had airline tickets for months, but like a child in November who doesn't really believe that Christmas is coming it had never really felt real to me. As the bus pulled off the motorway junction for Glasgow Airport, it finally began to feel real. This photo, from an earlier trip, shows an incredibly quiet Glasgow Airport checkin area. 2 A.M. on Christmas Eve though, so no wonder it was quiet. I'm a cheapskate, and rather like proper airline stock boarding passes, so I'd elected to wait until I got to the airport to print my boarding passes. BMI, like many airlines it seems, prefer people to use machines than actually talk to staff-members. That's fair enough, I'm a little antisocial too, so I was happy to use the self check-in machines. Besides, I have a computer science degree, how hard could it be? First, I tried to check in using my Diamond Club card. Nope, no record found. OK, I'll try the passport. Nope, no record found. PNR? Nope, no record found. Sweet. After about five or ten minutes, I admitted defeat, died a little inside, and actually went up to the desk to speak to a human being. Although there was nobody in front of me in the queue, it probably took as long for the check-in ladies to acknowledge my presence as I'd spent messing around with their machine. They were too busy talking to a male member of staff, demanding that he eat a bar of chocolate. The first thing the assistant dealing with me did was apologise and explain that their colleague was diabetic and feeling light-headed, so they were wanting to make sure he didn't collapse. I guess that's slightly more important than me, maybe. Check-in was performed quickly, my bag tagged to its destination, and my seat preferences checked. I was handed my boarding passes and thanked for my custom. I pulled my backpack once more onto my back and headed on the long journey up some escalators and round a corner to security. Glasgow Airport has three piers for gates (one domestic, one international, and one for easyjet and the Scottish islands, basically), and it used to be that each pier had its own security which meant that the main shopping area was before security. However, in December 2008 they changed this around creating one large security area before the shops. It's a fairy large security section with many x-ray machines, though I've only ever seen a small number of those open at any one time. This may be because I don't fly particularly frequently, and when I do I usually go through security at about moronic o'clock in the morning. Just to give you an idea of why airport security might find me a little suspicious looking, this photograph is of me. Do you see? Do you? I'd planned ahead, I'd dressed appropriately. No belt, no watch, no steel toe-capped boots, no money in my pocket. I am an airport security ninja. Phone out my pocket, laptop out my backpack, walk up to the metal detector and I'm through with no beeps. Fantastic! Why I was still pulled aside for a pat-down, I can not be sure. I can only refer you to the picture above, and possibly point you at this article if you still don't get it. If there's one celebrity lookalike you don't really want, it's probably that one. I ignored the World Duty Free, since I don't drink, don't smoke and think that perfume smells horrible. I ignored the "buy a stupidly expensive raffle ticket and WIN A SUPER-CAR!!!!!!1111" stand, since I can't afford a stupidly expensive raffle ticket, understand a little thing called odds, and don't know how to drive. I ignored the shops selling tacky Scottish souvenirs, since I knew the only tacky Scottish souvenir my girlfriend wanted was me, and I ignored the signs telling me the way to my gate, since if you head onto the domestic pier, you are not allowed back into the main shopping area and I had quite a bit of time to kill. My first port of call, as always, was Boots the chemist, where I partook of their fantastic meal deal. I was shocked (shocked!), however, to learn that the airport price was now £3.49, a whole 50p more than on the high street. Last time I'd come through the airport, the price had been the same. Still, £3.49 for a chicken and bacon sandwich, a lemon swirl cheesecake and a can of (at this point, I would like you to imagine the "ahhahhahhhhhhhah" bit from The Immigrant Song) Relentless is still a fantastic deal in an airport, and The Lord knew I'd be needing that Relentless later. After stocking up on those essentials for my journey, I decided to go on a long and mighty quest to the international pier, and see if there was anything exciting going on out there. Not really, no. Still, it killed twenty minutes or so. After that I decided I'd had enough excitement from that pier, and headed for domestic departures, see if there was anything exciting down there. There was a British Airways plane, London City bound, loading up, but really the airport was fairly quiet so I headed for my gate to read my book A BMI Airbus A319 pulling into the gate at Glasgow Airport. My BMI Airbus A319 pulling into my gate at Glasgow Airport, in fact. In the background are a Continental Boeing 757-200, and a Thomsonfly "plane" (I don't know). A nicer picture of the plane. You can see the pilots. Hello pilots! Flight: BD003 GLA-LHR Date: 8th March 2010 Scheduled Departure: 0910 Scheduled Arrival:1040 Equipment:Airbus A319 Seat:11A Miles: 345 flown, 300 earned Boarding was called not too long after the plane arrived. Using on-line check-in, I'd managed to get a window seat in row 11, above the wing. Upon boarding, the flight seemed to be really rather full. I counted two empty seats, but somebody was looking down kindly on me that day, as one of those two happened to be 11B, the seat right next to me! If you came to this trip report looking for the exact time of take-off, you're not going to get it. It was scheduled for 09:10 in the morning, and it probably happened around then. I don't care. If that's the kind of thing you dig, then I recommend you bog off, and maybe even read this fantastic report from Mr. Seat 2A, trip-reporter extraordinaire. Bog standard legroom shot. BMI recently revamped their short-haul product in economy. Whereas in the past I'd have gotten a free meal for being a BMI Diamond Club Blue Plus member, this is instead what I got. Yummy! Taken from the window, some mountains (I think the Campsies, maybe) rising out above the clouds. The flight, like most short-haul flights, was short and mostly unmemorable. I didn't need the meal I didn't get, but knowing that I'd have gotten one when I booked, but they'd taken that away from me did annoy me slightly. Still, there was an upshot of this. I wrote to Diamond Club explaining that I had never used my blue plus status, and now they'd removed the only perk, could I maybe have my 3000 status miles back? They thought about it for a few weeks, agreed with me, and gave me back my 3000 status miles, which with the 9000 or so miles I'd get from this trip, and about 4000 leftover from my last trip would be enough to push me up to Silver status level. Hooray! It wasn't long until we were descending into London Heathrow. I had a 95 minute layover, which I assumed would be long enough that a leisurely stroll to my gate would be OK, since both BMI and US Airways use Heathrow's Terminal 1. Once we pulled into our gate, and we did the usual standing around waiting for the door to open thing, looking at our watches and tutting impatiently, I followed the transfers signage. Eventually I reached a bored looking woman who had a queue stretching up to meet her. She would look at your boarding pass and tell you which terminal to head for. She had to look up US Airways, which I guess is reasonable since they only have a single flight each day from Heathrow (their other London flight, from Charlotte, flying into Gatwick). Still, she eventually told me what I already knew, and I was let into Heathrow's shopping mall. My flight was already showing as boarding, and from gate 49, which was said to be a 20 or so minute walk away. I never trust time estimates, but I couldn't be bothered doing any shopping, so headed for the gate straight away. So I walked, and I walked, and I walked some more. After about six hours of walking, I had to take a toilet break, and then I began walking again. I'm pretty sure I walked most of the way back to Glasgow by the time I reached the gate for my next flight, US Airways to Philadelphia, which will be the next portion of this report.