One of my post-breakup treats was the chance to visit our (now: my) friend in Copenhagen. Now post breakup (I won't go on, I promise) I had all these offers of places to visit and people to see, so although my heart was heavy, having a list of cities to go to made it easier. So I went off to my HR department just to clarify the number of days holiday I had left. Our holiday year is April to April, and in September 2009 they told me .... "Oh... it looks like you owe us a day".
So with that in mind, Norwegian Airlines £29 fare, on a flight that fitted in EXACTLY with work, seemed perfect. 1935hrs from Gatwick, returning at 1835hrs from Copenhagen. And so the flight was booked...
January came surprisingly quickly, and I was looking forward to seeing Denmark.
Uneventful Southern train from Victoria to Gatwick, and a chance to spend some time in the No. 1 Lounge at Gatwick. No online checkin with Norwegian, but the self check in kiosk was very fast and seat selection was offered.
The lounge was nice (I had Eggs Benedict, but at that time of the evening probably not the best choice) and there was complimentary wine and some alcoholic drinks, as well as pastries, fruit, cupcakes etc. Service was OK. Working in a 5* Hotel I could see where improvements could be made, but there was nothing shocking, and it was a very pleasant way to spend time. I have uploaded the pics to my photo album, a new feature on V Flyer.
I am bit impatient and I left the lounge at 1920hrs for the 1935hrs flight - the flight ended up being very very late, and in future I will stay in the lounge till the last possible moment.
At the same time, the last FlyBE service from Gatwick to Belfast had been cancelled, and they were busy booking passengers into local hotels, overheard some interesting comments, mainly showing that those passengers at least had no idea what their rights were in the event of the airline cancelling.
Back to me though, the flight was about two hours late. Boarding took forever for some reason, but soon we were on our way. The interior of the aircraft was very like British Airways - and the service was efficient, but not especially friendly.
I purchased a sandwich was quite nice - the menu was a little bit more imaginative but wasn't all that.
There was a lot of turbulence just after leaving Gatwick - the worst I have experienced on a short flight, but once we were over water it was fine.
Landing in Copenhagen at midnight, -13, and they were busy blowing snow off the runways. Interesting that the planes and trains and Metro kept running, although of course snow at -13 is powdery and is more manageable than the wet stuff we get...
I won't bore you with the saga I encountered in snow swept Copenhagen, suffice to say it was at times like a scene from Doctor Zhivago.
The rest of the the stay was fine - it's a fantastic city, and I will definitely be back.
Would I chose Norwegian again? Not especially. A little bit more personality would be welcome - rather than thinking "Oh, I'd fly them next time" I think "I'll pay another £30 for SAS or Cimber next time...". This was confirmed by the flight home but another report for that...
