Boeing 767-200
AC848 - 20:15
Seat 12D
Question Further down - Weird scanner devices in Customs Hall T3
Despite the snow, it only took 50 minutes to get from Waterloo to the airport, the problem was that I went in to Terminal 1, after dropping off the Avis car, rather than Terminal 3.
My paperwork and the travel company we use, still says departing from Terminal 1 ! Good job I had plenty of time to make the transfer.
When I eventually worked out how to get to T3, via the many up and down Elevators that are required to get there, the check in area was empty and I walked straight up to a check in agent.
This matches my experience at Heathrow.
My luggage was checked and weighed, and my main case was right on the limit, and in future, I will have to travel lighter, as during my stay, Air Canada announced it was making a second bag chargeable from January 2010.
My hand luggage was also weighed, and I was 3Kgs for the laptops, and 14kgs for the paperwork and cables etc in the rolling bag. Much stuffing of pockets resulted in a 10.6Kg carry on !
Security was a breeze, although they did want to scan my laptop bag a second time.
The terminal was quiet and deserted, and it appears the International section where I was, had limited shopping opportunities, and what I did see as a potential present for my wife was not priced, so I could n't be bothered to find out.
So I ordered the same thing on the internet.
Knowing the food on the outbound journey was poor, and they would probably take ages to serve it, I opted for a burger and fries, and settled down to eat.
I was halfway through my meal, when there was a commotion coming from the jetway of the Air Canada flight to Caracas, and a nearby English women moved seats so she could see and hear what was going on. The shouting went on for quite a while, and appeared to be a lone male voice.
Shortly afterwards a man was quietly standing at the check in desk, surrounded by Security personnel, with a look and body language telling me, that we was the guy shouting, and had been refused aboard, for reasons I do not know. Some time later the police turned up, however, the man had left the area by then.
Boarding the flight back to London took place on time, and was reasonably quick as there were 4 separate lines. The wait to get to my seat was a little longer, although I had selected 12D, people were taking their time to get settled. The flight looked pretty full and although boarding by row number was in effect, it
was n't very efficient. We were a few minutes late in departing, due to waiting for 6 passengers to board, and I suspect they were connecting from other AC flights. The flight time of 6 hours and 22 minutes was announced meaning we expected to land on time.
I noticed at 12C, the leg room was much better than 12D, due to the positioning of the bulkheads, so that will be my next seat !
The drinks service was prompt, and surprisingly so was the food, although the Chicken and Pasta option was poor, and I did n't finish it. AC's offerings make me miss the VA meals, which I have always found reasonable plane food.
My Touchscreen stopped working right at the start, and despite 2 reboots, was not functional so no movies or TV for me, so off to sleep for a few hours.
The seats do not recline well in Economy, and I had a pretty uncomfortable and restless sleep. The Bose headphones helped a little.
We were woken with around 90 minutes to go, with a drink and the coldest, tasteless Muffin known to man. I am sure it did have a flavour, I just could n't work it out.
We landed on time, and headed down to Immigration, both of the IRIS machines were operational and again I got through with 1 instruction.
On my way down to the baggage claim, I was stopped by the BAA survey team, and a woman wanted me to answer some questions. She could n't or would n't explain what it was for when I asked, and seem surprised I wanted toknow why
I was questioning why she was questioning me. I don't think she really knew.
So I answered her questions, as I had nothing better to do, and it transipred at the end it was to gather some details on the balance of trade etc, which negated what I had told her I spent, as I work for a Candian company, spending
money in Candada, so technically, the money I spend comes from outside of the UK anyway.
The bags turned up reasonably quickly and I headed through the Customs hall, and noticed something new. The fact that there were no Customs agents, is not new, but there was 3 doorways to walk through, that appear to have some sort of sensor
like device. I did have a look at them, but could n't work out what purpose they had. Anyone have any idea ?
Was home by 9.45, which was around 75 minutes after landing, not the best, but not too bad.
The LHR to YYZ journey is one I'll be making frequently in the future, as I have a team in Canada. So the Virgin AU card will not get renewed, and I will hit SA Gold by the end of Feb.
In summary
o Below average food (again)
o Below average attitude of Cabin Crew (again)
o IFE did n't work
o Uncomfortable seats
Really, really makes me wish Virgin flew to Toronto.
Mark
