This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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.What a four days - arrived into Newark on Tuesday, trained to Philadelphia on Wednesday morning to pick up a car and head back to into New Jersey to see a prospective customer (that was an interesting experience, talk about stoners!), back to Philly and the train to Washington, customers on Thursday, back to New York Thursday evening again on the train, one night at the Royalton, out to the office Friday, back to London that night. It's been a real trains planes and automobiles week. Not enough laughs though. Can heartily recommend the Morrison House hotel in Alexandria if anyone ever goes to old town DC!
Friday afternoon approaches and the CEO starts one of his big tent meetings in the office. I know and fear these from old since, it being a Friday, they can go on till sunset. I however have a canny plan, book my limo for 5 pm and exit pleading flight times and hope no one looks them up
. The meeting is fascinating though, so 45 minutes late I head into the car park and am in the cool back seat and heading to Newark.As some had noticed, I'd booked PE for the return, feeling brave and considering how quickly my several hundred thousand dollar travel budget was being eaten into this year. But will power just fell off like loose clothes when I reached the terminal and the first thing I said on greeting the check in agent was "I'd like to upgrade with miles". Check in was a bit of a poor experience, but the agent went off and spoke with someone - there were some shakings of heads, and came back with a "the flight is full"
. 22H it was then, just in front of the PE loos and not even a bulkhead to be had. It still really irks me that AUs and higher cannot request the bulkhead PE seats in advance. Trotting, despondently down to the clubhouse I made myself comfortable, played iPad games since I'd run out of energy to even look at email, and whiled away the time.The clubhouse was a bit on its uppers last night, they appeared to have been staff down, not as friendly and certainly not as efficient as usual. The lounge food was as good as ever though. It seems any hope of a new EWR clubhouse has gone for the moment, talking to the staff it seems the previously identified space is no more. Terminal B at EWR is a bit of a mess too at the moment as there seem to be pockets of refurbishment all over with no apparent commonality to them.
Just about an hour before the flight a change, a tannoy announcement "Will Mr Slinks please come to the desk" - yippee, that really can mean only one thing, and it was, 12G or 17K sir and with nice purple BP in hand I headed off for a celebratory champagne at the bar
.The boarding call came a little late and the clubhouse emptied, me being among the last recalling the narrow tunnel to the gate area and how busy it can get when 50 or 60 clubhouse folk leave at the same time - but lo, it's gone, there's a new, more spacious and customer friendly security zone. Much better, through in a few minutes but held up by one of those let's get all the TSA folk to look at the display on the scanner for 10 minutes episodes ... then the short walk to the circular gate area and onto the plane.
Boarding was through L1, meaning all the poor Y pax had to stumble through UC on their way with looks of frustration on their faces. Settling in nicely, noticing the few young babies on board I was grateful for a deaf ear and a pair of Boses. As it happens, the babies were fine - and I really don't mind any either, they kind of cheer me up and being childless, I can summon up the energy to pull funny faces and make them smile!
An unusually slow taxi to take-off, and with a take-off to the West, being on the K side I had a superb view of Manhattan as we left.
In flight I watched no IFE, planned for my usual cheese and wine and then bed, but found myself engaged in a long conversation with my seat neighbour, father to one of the young babies opposite, sitting with his wife. A lovely couple - relocating to London for two years with Barclay's Bank. Huge change, with a 3 month old baby, lots of stress I am sure. They had 10 suitcases and he was telling me about how his airport van had to strap some on top, then as they hit one corner one bag came off but was left dangling on the cords used to strap it to the roof!
Turns out we both had a shared interest in late 70s music through to 80s new wave. From Bowie through to the Pets, taking in the Jam, Joy Division, The The, Talking Heads and all, both agreeing that one of the best ever lyrics is:
When routines bite hard
And ambitions are low
And resentment rides high
But emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways
Taking different roads
[All together now] Love, love will tear us apart again ...
Awesome song! Have a feeling we'll be sharing a pint or too soon and looking for the next VS invitation to something great at the O2!
On the downer, the cabin crew were just so so last night - seeming to simply go through the motions without any VS flare. And we had two FSMs on board, and no personal greeting - as HackneyGuy will know, we're used to the FSM making a point of saying hello. They weren't bad, just sort of bland.
Anyhows, I'm rambling. Flight time was a little over 6 hrs, 15 minutes of stacking, and into a just rained on Heathrow, straight to gate and ... ahh, the useless bunch of a***wipes BAA can't get a boarding bridge operator to get us off the plane. You'd think they sit around and go "Like, wow, a plane came in, what do we do now!". Then after 15 mins of waiting not only that, but they then go and lock us in corridor when we do disembark for another ten minutes. Tossers!
Added to that was very slow baggage, but all the same as soon as I could I was out to meet one of my favourite AddLee drivers and with low traffic volumes back in SW15 in not too much time, to be leapt on by the dogs, and now wishing that instead of typing this I should be having 40 winks.
There's a plane at JFK, to fly you back from far away
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
I visit there once or twice a month (always stay in old town as near the bases I need to visit) and use the Monaco - a change is a good as a rest.
