So day 2 of the BA Strike round 3....

... and what's new?

Well, ACAS are trying to rally the two together, and Unite is on the verge of going back to the staff within the next two weeks to ballot.

Oh wonderful.

But it's still he said/she said territory, with neither side seeming want a resolution. Which isn't pretty if you're a traveller.

Nothing new really.

Air Southwest... Selling up or last gasps?

Now I've dealt with the annoyance that is the BA Strike, it's time to look at the problems at Air Southwest

No. Not Southwest Airlines of USA fame, but a small little carrier in the South west of the United Kingdom.

But little Air Southwest is to be sold after operating profits drops by £600,00 in 2009.

In turn, this now brings the question the pull of Newquay Airport which Air Southwest provides 50% of the flights there.

Air Southwest has been through a bit of a bad time, with the rescission and of course the ash causing the London City service to be pulled.

Air Southwest was formed to fill in the hole that BA created when it pulled out originally from Newquay airport and a connection to London. Since then its gone on to create a regional network hubbing out of Newquay and Plymouth Airports, operated by five Dash8 300 series aircraft.

However, no companies have been mentioned in who might take over Air Southwest.

It seems the smaller carriers are being squeezed further and further, no matter where they are in the world.

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 711 - Not a Technical or Terror fault.

News today comes from Tripoli with the announcement of the preliminary enquiry of the crash of Flight 711 from Johannesburg to Tripoli.

According to the enquiry, there was not mechanical fault, there was enough fuel onboard, and there was no request for help.

Neji Dhaou, head of the Libyan commission investigating the crash, said the causes remained unknown and indicated it could be some time before his conclusions were ready.

The A330 had 104 people aboard, with just one survivor - a 9 year old Dutch boy. Multiple nationalities were aboard the plane, where as the plane itself was only 8 months old with 1,600 hours flight time and around 420 takeoff and landing cycles.

It'll be interesting to see the results of the investigation, as this is heading towards pilot error now...

Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/10195452.stm
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/05/30/342578/no-evidence-of-technical-problem-before-afriqiyah-a330.html

So BA are back on Strike. Again.

There's not much more to say other than that is there?

It's another 5 day strike, which started on Sunday and will finish on Thursday.

....Before they walk out again on the Sunday after.

BA and Unite are of course pushing at each other, but is there a case of oversimplifying the issues at stake - least of all the re-instatement of travel rights - for the public.

And striking on a Half-term weekend is just a blinder way to bring people on-side....

Airplane p0rn - Air China A330-200

It's Sunday again, so it's time for some airplane p0rn.

This week, its an Air China Airbus A330-200, parked up in the morning sunshine at Frankfurt Airport.

More of course next week!

Little Britain stars to do an Airport Comdey...

Well, as if things aren't as bad enough in Television land, David Walliams and Matt Lucas (of Little Britain fame) are writing and staring in a new comedy called "Come Fly With Me", which allegedly is going to be based in an airport.

Six parts of comedy... or six parts of way too close to the home? Guess we'll find out after the six episodes which are due later this year.

So how bad could it possibly be? Apart from the DocuRamas (Airline and Airport), there have been two shows that come to mind - Sky's Mile High and BBC's Comedy "The High Life"

With "Mile High", it's defiantly a case of Low Cost Carrier meets Drama meets dripping sex. And that's just the boys - let alone the girls...



Meanwhile, "The High Life" was a) very 80's and b).. well.. this YouTube clips really says it all...


(although keep an eye out for all the older airline references!)

Well... we'll see....

BA and Unite talks set to reconvine at a secret location... as long as no one tweets it.

So once again, the odd couple head back to the negotiating table to try and reach a settlement. 

Again Willie Walsh will meet Unite's joint leaders Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson

Thanks to the Socialist Workers entering the negotiating centre last time, the talks have been moved to a secret location

Of course, if BA and Unite can't knock their heads together, we've got two more rounds of strike action head, commencing on the 30/05/10 and 05/06/10 (Both Sunday starts).

It goes without saying of course that this round of strikes will be heading into the Half-Term Holiday in the United Kingdom.

Way to go to bring the public on-side Unite....

IATA Numbers are out... and they make bad reading...

... and guess what's to blame? Of course, it's our old friend, Eyjafjallajökull the Icelandic Volcano.

Traffic is down 2.4% in April on international traffic, whilst European traffic is down 11.7% (From a 6.2% increase).

IATA's director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani knocked out these quotes:

"The ash crisis knocked back the global recovery - impacting carriers in all regions. Last month, we were within 1 percent of pre-crisis traffic levels in 2008. In April, that was pushed back to 7 percent,"

"European carriers bore the worst of the volcano's impact. Their 11.7 percent drop in passenger traffic could not have come at a worse time. Europe's slow recovery from the global financial crisis and its currency crisis are already a huge burden on the profitability of its airlines," he said.

"The uncoordinated and excessive cancellations and unfairly onerous passenger care requirements rubbed salt into the European industry's wounds"

Well it may had been uncoordinated, but it's safety first - ok - the rules have changed as there has been more experience and knowledge gained through it.

After all, operators wouldn't want to put profits ahead of lives... would they?

Well if it isn't BA, it's AA - Flight attendants move closer to strike action

Oh dear. It seems that American Airlines is running into some of the same issues that it's OneWorld partner British Airways has, and is heading towards a Flight Attendant (not cabin crew) strike by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA).

It's got to the point where American is doing what BA did - and are getting other people trained up "for your safety"

To quote:

"To assist with necessary flying, the company is seeking volunteer American Airlines management employees who are willing to complete flight attendant training to temporarily staff flight operations. Though we hope and expect that we will not have to implement our contingency operation, this sort of planning is the responsible and unfortunately necessary thing to do to protect our customers and the company."

Sound familiar?

Whilst a strike notice needs 30 days leaving time to negotiate, American is laying down it's planning already.... 

UK ID Card owner? Congratulations! Your plastic will be invalid in about 100 Days time

Well it seems the government has confirmed it will be junking the National ID Card project within 100 days, along with the National Identity Register (and on top of that - the next-generation Biometric Passport).

For those 15000 fools citizens people victims registraints of the ID card, yes, you have a non refundable £30 lump of plastic that might be a collectors item one day.Or to quote Theresa May, said ID card holders would at least have a "souvenir" of the scheme

For travel purposes, with the the withdrawal of the scheme means one simple thing: your card will NOT be a valid form of identity to travel in and out of the country.

UK Border and Airport officials will still accept them, however when the abolition date of them is confirmed, it'll be confirmed in writing.

It's important to note whilst the National ID Card Scheme is coming to an end, the scheme operated by UK Borders (The Biometric Resident Permit)will be continue to expand covering areas such as have migrant workers, foreign students and family members from outside the European Economic Area. . 

GhettoIFE.com will keep you posted on when the cards finally are deemed "invalid for travel"

BA and Unite - Talks to resume on Friday.

Yup. This ongoing palava messup bitch fight disagreement is still go ongoing, and for now have been adjourned until Friday after mroe talks today.

Both sides are making nosies that it won't be easy, with concession fighting still going on.

Meanwhile, BA has updated it's site to cover next weeks operations - important for quite a few people as next week is the Half Term holiday in the United Kingdom.

See www.ba.com/strike for details.

Personally, I hope a solution is reached soon. This strike doing neither side any favours, and it is getting to the point where both sides are shouting "Mum did evil and I'm telling on you". 

Which for neither side, is attractive.

Ryanair expands, taking a position at El Prat....

Well Ryanair is expanding it's airline operations, and is going to base five aircraft at Barcelona El Prat with the launch 20 routes from September.

Routes going to open up to 7 flights a week to:

• Brussels Charleroi
• Dublin
• Milan Bergamo
• Paris Beauvais
• Ciampino

With lower frequencies it'll operate aircraft from:

• Cagliari
• Dusseldorf Weeze
• Edinburgh
• Oslo Rygge 
• Venice Treviso

And on top of that a bunch of domestic routes between

• Gran Canaria
• Ibiza
• Lanzarote
• Malaga
• Palma
• Santander
• Santiago
• Seville
• Tenerife 
• Valencia

That's a fair olde wodge of routes therem and will give Vueling a major run for their money, as well as the Star Alliance partner Spanair.

As we come out of this slump (and possibly head straight back into another), it's still good to see expansion.

Branson admits VS Can't make it on its own, and eyes up... Guess who.

Well someone has finally admitted what the rest of us known for quite some time - that Virgin will have trouble competing if the BA/AA tie up goes ahead, and they'll have to seek a partner.

FlightGlobal and ATI have published an interview with the Bearded one during the inaugural flight from Heathrow to Accra, Ghana.

And here's the the choice quote

"Ultimately we may have to [consolidate]," said Branson during Virgin Atlantic's inaugural flight between London Heathrow and the Ghanaian capital Accra

"If the playing field is so tipped against us that it is almost impossible to be an independent airline, we may come to a position where we have to consolidate. But this is not something we want."

Of course, Virgin is trying to keep its cards to its chest - it's pretty darn obvious who Virgin want to tie up with - and that's Lufthansa "English Patient" - BMI. 

Again to quote the Bearded One 

"There is a lot of logic in the two of us tying up," says Branson. "I don't think BMI has a future as a standalone airline so I think, at some stage, something will happen there. I think the two of us will be stronger together, rather than separate."

So looking at BMI, there's one thing that Virgin is eyeing up, and that's the slot BMI pool has, that Lufthansa Group isn't leaveraging well and instead is just putting on filler short haul services.

As Virgin is having to close routes to open new routes (whilst the older route might be loosing money, but that's by-the-by), it's using up its entire slot allocation at Heathrow, forcing expansion through Gatwick with leisure routes - a notoriously fickle market.

One of Virgin's motivators for courting BMI is the airline's slot pool at London Heathrow. This need has recently been intensified, as the new UK Government has blocked a third Heathrow runway.

Virgin is using all its Heathrow slots and cannot obtain fresh ones - so to begin a new route, Virgin has to close another. Its new Accra route came at the expense of its Mauritius service. In addition, Virgin is leasing slots with United - and it is rumoured United will want them back sooner rather than later, and thus not extend the lease.

Well, some sense may be coming to Virginland. However, the lack of a Global Alliance partner could really hurt Virgin going forward.  Buying BMI is a shortcut to Star Alliance membership....

KLM release an App....

Unforutnatly, it isn't something useful like timetables and OLCI.

But something far more entertaining instead  - it's an to track the KLM miniature houses! (Apple ITMS Link)

Then this application, which contains all 90 KLM Houses, allows you to track to your hearts content and also to quote KLM

- Overview, including image gallery, of all 90 houses;
- Maintain your collection by marking/unmarking and rating each house;
- An historical description is available for each house;
- Find the location of each house on Google Maps!

It's good to see airlines do a bit of frivolous fun like this, but if there is to be an iPhone or a Mobile device strategy, the big nuts to crack are Timetables and Online Check In. 

And KLM (as well as most of SkyTeam) are lacking on this front in terms of provisioning mobile services.

Oh and as a plug, you can see which airline has an App for their airline on GhettoIFE.com! Wander over to iPhone Airline Apps, with links to the Apps.

BA and Unite... Mum! Unite/BA is picking on me!

(I'm really running out of clever taglines at the moment.. but that's what it sounds like to me)

Anyhoo, Day 1 of 5, and traffic out of LGW and LCY were unaffected. LHR on the other hand was down to  60% of long-haul flights and 50% of short-haul.

BA has successfully flown to 85% of its long-haul destinations and 100% of its short-haul ones.

Which is nice.

Of course - no resolution is near.  If anyone is surprised... well, after the other cuts at upper echelons today, BA cuts seem minute....

I feel dirty...

... as I've booked a ticket on a "true" LCC.

It'll be the first time I've been aboard one since 1995.  Who is this LCC?

None other than BMI Baby. 

More to come later - right now I need to book a return leg...

And so BA Cabin Crew take to the pickets...

.... again.

There was a peace offer by Unite to reinstate travel perks for a suspension of the strikes, which was flatly refused by BA.

In addition, the details of the talks were leaked - thanks to Twitter and a Union representative.

Anyhoo, the damage is off - so what to expect?

LGW (London Gatwick): Operating Normally
LCY (London City): Operating Normally
LHR (London Heathrow): 70% service expected. See www.ba.com/strike for your updates.

Not fun at all.

Airplane p0rn - American Airlines Boeing 737-800 Retrojet

And it's Sunday, so even though we're one year old, it's still an excuse to stick some some Airplane p0rn on the intertubes.

Today, it's an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (N951AA) in "Retro" colour scheme... with a clone nose at the front, taken first thing in the morning (well it felt like it at 5:30am) at Atlanta Airport. 

More of course, next week!

It seems Ryanair will tart with anyone....

One of the things that you're drilled into that you've got to keep within your 10kg hand luggage allowance before you start paying hand over fist for choosing Ryanair.

Well to help you, they've worked with Samsonite to create... a compliant bag.

To quote:

To encourage more passengers to switch to carry-on bags Ryanair and Samsonite have designed a quality, durable, lightweight carry-on bag which (when properly packed*) complies with Ryanair’s approved carry-on bag dimensions.

You'll note the term "properly packed" - as it's a softsided bag, it's overpackable. Overpack it, it won't fit in the sizers. If it doesn't fit, then it's time to open your wallet up again.

And the price for this privilege? £69 or €79. Which is about a Ryanair fare when you price everything together.

Obligatory picture:

Whilst it might suit some people, I'll happily stick to my little rucksacks... (Which are substantially less), or head to Primark...

158 people died in an Air India Express flight crash at Mangalore - 6 survivors

Well the planes seem to be not landing particulally well this year. 

Today, an Air India Express Boeing 737-800, Flight 812 from Dubai to Mangalore overshot the runway on landing, and crashed thereafter.

After landing, the plane failed to halt on the runway, and continued over a cliff and landed in a valley below.  Conditions on the site indicated there was rain and reduced visibility in the area, and the pilot had not informed of problems during landing.

As the plane attempted to go around, it it a navigation becaon antenna, which ripped through the hull of the aircraft, and forced it further down.

All passengers aboard were Indian nationals, with up to 20 children aboard. 

Speaking to Indian TV from his hospital bed, survivor Umer Farooq said he heard a loud thud as the plane touched down.
"Then the plane veered off toward some trees on the side and then the cabin filled with smoke. I got caught in some cables but managed to scramble out," he said.
Mr Farooq was being treated for burns to his arms, legs, and face.

Mangalore airport lies on top of a hill with steep drops at the end of each of its two runways. One of the runways was extended in 2006 to accommodate larger planes like the Boeing 737. A former adviser to the Civil Aviation Ministry said he had given warnings in the past about the airport and said it should not be used by bigger aircraft such as the Boeing 737, due to the limited runoff area

Not a good day at all...

... and the Strike talks are intrupted...

... because the Socialist Worker protesters have managed to break into the ACAS building, climb up to the 23rd Floor.

Around 200 workers were protesting, with a dozen breaking in, forcing themselves into the meeting.

Even Unite's Tony Woodley said "If you support the cabin crew - GET OUT".
Willie Walsh just kept calm and on the phone.

The talks have broken up for now - and were five hours in to the talks. 

Way to go....

Well it beats falling out of an aircraft I guess....

There's not much more to say really...

From:

And We Are One!

Well, I never thought I'd get this far, but I'm happy to say this...

GhettoIFE.com is one year old today, and just shy of 500 posts in the first year!!!

I'd like to thank everyone who has:

• clicked
• wandered over
• accidentally clicked
• laughed at my misfortune
• Wandered over from Boarding Area, FlyerTalk, Flightsimworld, Airliners.net
• Looked at pictures
• Have left comments during this past year 
• Those at the Airlines (Oh yes. Hello to a few in particular...)
• Those at the Airframers 
• Those forced to look ;) 
• And really... everybody!

Thank You ALL once again - here's to another year of posts and probably bad humour!

Kevin


PS: I've finally got round to tidying up the keywords, and introducing little things like capital letters and correct names. Thank you for Flying GhettoIFE.com. Alas, because of budgetary restraints, we are unable to offer any compensation, but Pam Ann will serving drinks.... or not ;) 

Going into Austraila? Read your customs form if you're bringing naughty material into the country....

Well it seems Australia has been updating forms without telling anyone. In particular someone has updated the forms you must declare if you are bringing in Pornography into the Australia.

It's started to come to light, mainly thanks to the Australian Sex Party.

To quote,. Fiona Patten, president of the Australian Sex Party, said:

“If you and your partner have filmed or photographed yourselves making love in an exotic destination or even taking a bath, you will have to answer ‘Yes’ to the question or you will be breaking the law.”

Meanwhile on the other side, Australian customs say this:

"The inclusion of the question on the passenger card is intended to give a traveller the opportunity to declare adult material if they are uncertain as to whether their material would be deemed prohibited," a Customs statement said.

"Declaring the goods will minimise any action that would be considered against someone possessing such goods, unless it involves child pornography."

Obviously, this brings up the classic privacy question, as quite frankly there is some content you don't want to share in the world. And then we get to the icky definitions of what is pornography.

Just another forbile to be aware of when travelling globally...

Hattip: The Register, AFP.

BA looses a fair wodge down the back of the sofa... £531 million...

Well, in not entirely unexpected news, British Airways has made it's announcement for it's full year, and it not good.

Whilst not on Air France-KLM's level, it's still a hefty dent of £531 million. Losses for BA were blamed on lower passenger numbers, increased costs and strike action.

Whilst revenues were down £1 billion on the previous year, there have been cost savings of £990m - the major lump of it coming from lower fuel costs which mount up to £600m.

Oh yes. There's a strike happening too on Monday, but we all know that....

Anaylsing the latest round or to put it simply ... is there an end in sight?

So the BA Strikes are now ruled legal, and we're looking at the next round starting Monday.

Of course BA is disappointed, whilst Union members were singing "We are the Champions". 

Classy eh?

However Unite were quick to quote:

"This is not a moment for being triumphant. We shouldn't have been in this process. The case brought by BA was trivial and, in my opinion, irresponsible."

So singing "We are the Champions" isn't a triumph then.


BA have responded with:

"We will implement our contingency plan to keep British Airways flying," the company said in a statement.
"Unite's strikes have failed twice and they will fail again."

Both sides have bedded in hard for the long run on this one, and unless both find common ground and realise that the age of monopolistic routes is long gone and that its a fight for every passenger in these environments no matter if they're in a First, Business or an Economy seat.

And passengers if they don't feel confident will move their traffic elsewhere. It's not hard to see with prices shooting up dramaticly on all sides since each round of strikes, taking advantage of BA compromised position. 

In addition, both corperate customers and lesuire customers love one thing - certainty. If there is a wiff of uncertainty, people will look elsewhere...

And people are starting to look.

** BREAKING ** UNITE wins court action - Strikes are back on from Monday.

Here we go again it seems. The court has overturned the decision of the last round, and the BA/UNITE strike is back on.

Welcome to chaos...

More later.

FCO - Avoid Thailand unless it's essential you're there.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated their advisory on the Bangkok and Thailand situation.

In a nutshell:

The overall level of the advice has changed; we advise against all travel to specific parts of Thailand, including Bangkok.  We advise against all but essential travel to other specific parts of Thailand, including Chiang Mai.

Oh dear. The breakdown gets more interesting... (and these are some of the juicy bits)

• We advise against all travel to the city of Bangkok.
•  There were a number of violent incidents in Bangkok on 19 May, after security forces cleared anti-Government Red Shirt protest sites.  Following the dispersal of these protests, acts of violence are continuing to occur in various parts of the city. 
• The situation is highly unpredictable and further acts of violence are likely.  British nationals already in Bangkok should stay indoors and monitor this travel advice and local media. British nationals elsewhere in Thailand should wherever possible take transport services which do not involve transiting Bangkok.
• Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok is operating as normal.  The route to the airport from Bangkok city remains open but you should look at our travel advice and the media for any other information.
  
• The Thai Government have said that travel to and from the airport is permitted in curfew hours provided you are able to show officers at checkpoints your passport and airline ticket. However, in view of the risk of violence, we advise any British nationals currently in Bangkok to remain indoors during the curfew period. If you need to travel to the airport, we advise you to do so outside the curfew times even if this means starting your journey earlier than planned
• FCO advice against all travel to the city of Bangkok does not apply to passengers transiting Bangkok airport on their way by air to other destinations, either within Thailand or internationally.

More information is on the FCO site, but the general gist of it is - until the situation calms down, avoid.

Another LCC tries to make USA-STN work... but will it?

So Sun Country Airlines are going to make a bash of a Summer route, linking Minneapolis St Paul with London Stansted. But who are they, why should you care, and what are they on?

Sun Country has been through the mill, and is coming out of Chapter 11 reorganisation, and seems to be in the mood to try something different, namley running an over the pond service.

Running through Mid June to Mid August, it's a short enough deployment to not risk any losses, but long enough to see if it's a good idea or not - the idea being that one LCC connects onto another LCC.

The route is the interesting part. As they are operating the route with a 737-800 and aiming for a full load, it doesn't exactly have the legs to make it all the way from/to Minneapolis St Paul to Stansted without running out of juice. Therefore, it'll be making a stop in Gander, Canada.

This makes a map look a bit like this:

Which according to the Great Circle mapper gives the following information:

From			To		Initial Heading			Distance
2 segment path:								4202 mi
	STN (51°53'06"N 00°14'06"E)		YQX (48°56'13"N 54°34'05"W)		287°	(W)		2371 mi
	YQX (48°56'13"N 54°34'05"W)		MSP (44°52'55"N 93°13'18"W)		276°	(W)		1831 mi

It's return leg to London is pretty much the same again with a fuel stop at Gander (YQX).

Prices are meant to start at $399 per leg (but pricing nearer $500), or $1000 for a first class seat.  Whilst Y class is tolerable at 31" seat pitch, First is a staggeringly awful 39" seat pitch.

Hunt around. There are slightly better prices if you want Business/First Class. Even United are doing Z class fares for £1500ish....

Air France - KLM looses more money down the back of the sofa...

Oh dear. Money seems to be getting tighter at Air France-KLM Group today after their annual numbers have been annouced.

And it's not good news with a massive loss of €1.55 Billion Euro.

This is blamed on a mixture of things that they could come up with inculding

• Falling air trafic
• Low cargo yields
• Fuel Prices up, down and everywhere
• And the AF447 incident.

The cheichief executive, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, saidfinancial year would go down as the company's "annus horribilis", posting a bigger loss than in 1993 (before it's pre-mmerger days), and double it's losses from last year of €881 Million Euros.

That's a lot of coins to loose down the back of the sofa...

Egypt Air - Eyeing up the Americas...

It seems EgyptAir is getting a bit ambiguous with it's new fleet of Boeing 777-300ER's, and has eyes for further expansion across the pond next year when the last pair of 77W's arrive.

Currently, there is no direct Cairo to Toronto, Washington or Chicago, and EgyptAir want to change that.

Deployments of 777-300ER's are starting to happen, with an London route (temporarily until the A330-300's arrives), the Toyko route.  The next deployments will be to New York JFK, leaving two aircraft of the 6 ordered doing not a lot - hence the examination of the new North American routes - and a proposal to take Tokyo to 6 days a week once the A330's are in service.

It's good to see carriers eyeing up new services, and seeing EgyptAir do some good forward planning is welcome, as well as opening up brand new redemption routes.

Of course, those who don't like a "Dry" airline may be in for a shock....

Flight

Unite vs BA - Your decision has been delayed until Thursday....

Unite has lodged a request for an appeal of yesterdays court ruling that the strike was illeagle because of a technicality or two.

The courts will be making their formal decision on Thursday 09:30.  If this finds in favour of Unite, any appeal hearing could follow immediately.

If successful, strikes go ahead later in the month, but if this fails, Unite will once again turn to it's members to ballot on industrial action.

Wonderful eh?

Changing the goals - More ash = Not so bad it seems.

Well NATS and the CAA have seemed to change the goalposts again.

Originally 0.002mg of Ash was considered acceptable. Now subject to limited times, 0.004mg is acceptable subject to approval of engine safety.

So now there is three limits - no ash, medium ash and heavy ash.

Segmentation - don't you love it? 

In other ash news, the cloud is slowly blowing away to the north, and heading towards Norway. Of course, that volcano is still erupting... and will probably cause more chaos sooner rather than later....

Here's the NATS statement for completion:

NATS is delighted that restrictions on UK airspace can today be eased, thanks to new measures from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Aircraft can now safely fly through ‘medium density’ ash following the introduction of a new zone that defines the concentration of the ash cloud.

“NATS has been at the heart of this ground-breaking proposal and our people have worked very closely with the Irish Aviation Authority, CAA and the rest of the industry to make it happen,” said NATS Chief Executive Officer, Richard Deakin.

“Every leading player in aviation has been helping to build vast amounts of data about the effects of volcanic ash over the last month. There is mounting evidence that aircraft can fly safely through areas of medium density, provided some additional precautions are taken. This is now what has been agreed.”

Richard added that teams at NATS had been working all hours to create new and enhanced procedures to make sure the changes can take place as safely and as effectively as possible. 
Previously, the CAA has dealt with the ash cloud by applying No-Fly Zones (NFZ) in areas of greatest ash density, and Enhanced Procedures Zones (EPZ) in areas of low density, which were introduced during the six-day crisis last month. 

Today’s breakthrough means a third Time Limited Zone (TLZ) is now being introduced for areas of medium ash density.  

As a result of this change, there are no predicted restrictions on UK airspace in the immediate future. If that picture changes, NATS will update its website as necessary.

www.nats.co.uk

And now it gets icky. BA win on a technicality, UNITE to appeal.

So British Airways and UNITE reach the "end" of another tussle, with BA winning on a technicality

The judge agreed with British Airways on a technicality of the ballot if Unite followed rules in contacting its members with strike result details.

Lets get onto the quotes. BA Say....

"We are delighted for our customers that Unite's plans for extreme and unjustified strike action cannot go ahead."


"Ash disruption permitting, we will aim to restore a full flying programme at Heathrow by the weekend. We will also offer a full programme at Gatwick and London City, as planned,"

Unite comments:

"This was no challenge to the democracy and the legitimacy of the ballot.

"This was a pure technicality revolving around the notification, the communication of the result to our members which we believe was absolutely right and absolutely in compliance of the law.

"We used tried and tested methods to communicate with a global workforce that, at any one point, could be at any point around the globe."

and of course...

"an affront to democracy in this country".

(Who wasn't waiting for that line....) 

Unite are obviously pissed, and are of course are going to attempt to get this ruling overturned, and are aiming to be firmly back in the courts tomorrow (Tuesday)

This is but a short term victory - they have GOT to fix it, and this could lead to people not choosing to fly BA due to the possible disruptions. By doing this, British Airways has possibly brought itself a summers worth of trouble...

Talks are still continuing at ACAS but this isn't going to make life any easier...

**** BREAKING - BA STRIKE OFF ***

As it says in the title according to BBC news.

More coverage in 20 minutes or so...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone - apologies for the spelling!

Volcanic Ash III - Clear skies from 19:00BST... for now.

NATS have updated their advisory, and it seems to be clear skies for all UK airports from 19:00 to at least 01:00 BST 18/05/10.

Clear skies and open airports - for now..

NATS Update:

According to the latest information from the CAA and the Met Office the volcanic ash cloud clears the UK for the period 1900 (local time) until 0100 tomorrow (Tuesday) and all airports in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales will be available during this period. 

There may be some restrictions to helicopter operations in the North Sea where a no-fly zone is still in force during this period.  

We will update this information further as necessary.

www.nats.co.uk

Volcanic Ash III - The Ebbing Threat...

NAT's latest update indicates good news - and time for those who want to get out - or get into the country to do their thing.

Only the Orkney Islands are now shut, wit the rest of UK Airspace open for now.

Latest NATS statement:

Update on Monday 17 May, 1300
The CAA has lifted the no-fly zone that has been affecting flights at Heathrow and Gatwick until 1900 (local time) today. The decision comes following further information from the Met Office about the density and location of the ash cloud.  There are no restrictions at airports in Northern Ireland, England or Wales during this period.
From 1300-1900 the no-fly zone remains in place only in the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

www.nats.co.uk

Note the limit is until 19:00 BST.  Expect a decision later on that could change that....

A one of the major reasons why I'm republishing the NATS information is  that NATS haven't got an RSS feed that I can inject directly to this blog. However, I have an RSS Feed. Why not subscribe?

All volcano ash entries are tagged as http://www.ghettoife.com/search/label/Volcano%20Ash, and you can access the RSS Feed by clicking on the RSS icon - See below!

Volcanic Ash III - Easing slowly - London Area and most of UK open, NI and Shetlands Shut.

Things are looking up as airspace is reopening - with Heathrow and Gatwick operating without restrictions. However, the Shetland Isles and Northern Ireland Airports are affected badly still.

And who says there's no fun in air travel.

Updates as they come will feed onto here.

Statement from NATS below:

Update on Monday 17 May, 1100
The CAA has lifted the no-fly zone that has been affecting flights at Heathrow and Gatwick this morning. The decision comes following further information from the Met Office about the nature and location of the ash cloud.

The no-fly zone remains in place in two key areas affecting operations in Northern Ireland and the Shetland Isles. Airports falling within the No Fly Zones include: Belfast City, Londonderry, Shetland and Orkney. All other airports are open. 

www.nats.co.uk

Volcanic Ash III - Now it gets complex...

It seems this pain in the ash cloud is changing constantly, with airports closing and reopening as soon as gaps are opening up.

Heathrow and Gatwick have reopened, with restrictions inbound to LGW.

Not a fun day for wanting to be in the air...

NATS statement below:

The volcanic ash cloud continues to change shape and two key areas affect operations stretching from the South of England to Northern Ireland, and over much of mainland Scotland to the Shetland Isles. As a result, no-fly zones have been imposed by the CAA in these areas, for the period 0700 local until 1300 local today (Monday).


Airports within the no-fly zones include all those in Northern Ireland, Ronaldsway, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Northern Scotland. Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol and Farnborough are also in the no-fly zone.


Heathrow and Gatwick airports will be clear of the no-fly zone however restrictions will have to be applied due to their close proximity to the no-fly zone particularly affecting Gatwick inbounds.


Information on airports in southern Ireland can be obtained from the Irish Aviation Authority website (www.iaa.ie).


We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.

www.nats.co.uk

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone - apologies for the spelling!

Volcanic Ash III - HEATHROW AND GATWICK TO CLOSE.

NATS have updated their advice - and it's not good. The ash as feared has intensified and will be closing Heathrow, Gatwick, City and many other airfields from 01:00BST 17/05 to at least 07:00BST, there will be many airports closed. Other airports may be reopening, but how can I put it nicely... CHECK WITH YOUR AIRLINE BEFORE YOU SET OFF.

Whilst GhettoIFE may not be able to keep up over night (as some of us would like to sleep), as the morning comes round, I'll post a roundup of what's what. 

NATS statement below:

Update on Sunday 16 May, 2245
The high density ash cloud continues to move further south in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
For the period 0100 (local time) until 0700 tomorrow (Monday), airports inside the no-fly zone as imposed by the CAA, include; London Heathrow, Gatwick, Farnborough, London City, Shoreham, Biggin Hill, all airfields in Northern Ireland, Scottish Western Isles, Oban, Campbeltown, Caernarfon and Aberdeen. Cardiff remains open but operations may be limited due to close proximity of the no-fly zone.

Information on airports in southern Ireland can be obtained from the Irish Aviation Authority website (www.iaa.ie).

We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.

www.nats.co.uk

Latest NATS announcement: more airports to close

It seems the cloud of ash is drifting further southward, with BHX and Norwich closing/due to close.

London airports remain open - for now...

More later.

Update on Sunday 16 May, 1630


For the period 1900 today (local time) until 0100 tomorrow (Monday) London’s main airports will still be clear of the no-fly zone imposed by the CAA due to the high density volcanic ash cloud.


The ash cloud continues to change shape and move further south to just north of Oxford during this period. This brings Birmingham and Norwich inside the no-fly zone in addition to those airports already affected. The northerly extent of the no-fly zone in England now includes Teesside, stopping just short of Newcastle, and tracking northwest in a line just north of Carlisle, which remains in the no-fly zone.


Airports inside the no-fly zone in England and Wales now include Teesside, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Blackpool, Ronaldsway, Caernarfon, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Doncaster, Norwich, Birmingham and East Midlands.


In Scotland the no-fly zone includes the Western Isles, Campbeltown, Prestwick and Oban. All airports in Northern Ireland remain inside the no-fly zone during this period.


There are currently no other restrictions within UK airspace. Information on airports in southern Ireland can be obtained from the Irish Aviation Authority website (www.iaa.ie).


We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.

www.nats.co.uk

NATS update - uk airpace slowly closing down

Latest from NATS and it's not good news.

Whilst the London area airports remain open, a lot have now closed. See the list in the NATS announcement below.

It goes without saying, but check with your airline BEFORE you set out.

Update on Sunday 16 May, 1030


The CAA’s no-fly zone required by the high density volcanic ash cloud will not affect London airports for the period 1300-1900 (local time) today.


The no-fly zone for this period has moved east to a line stretching from Prestwick on the west coast to Humberside on the east coast and south to a line just north of Birmingham. Airports which fall within the no-fly zone include all those in Northern Ireland, Ronaldsway, Prestwick, Carlisle, Manchester, Liverpool, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds Bradford and East Midlands and some Scottish island airports including Campbeltown, Islay and Barra.


There are currently no other restrictions within UK airspace. Information about Irish airspace can be found at on the IAA website.


We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary

www.nats.co.uk

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone - apologies for the spelling!

Airplane p0rn - Lufthansa A321

It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more Airplane p0rn.

This week, still at Frankfurt Airport, it's Lufthansa's Airbus A321 in its retro-colours.

More of course next week!

Volcanic Ash III - Closures Round 1

Ok - off we go again.

All Belfast airports will be closed from 07:00BST until 13:00
Isle of Man : Closed 07:00BST until 13:00

Dublin and Shannon remain open until 13:00BST, with all other Irish airports closed from 07:00

Expect more as the day progresses.

Latest NATS statement below:

A high density volcanic ash cloud is rapidly encroaching on Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. As a result, a no-fly zone has been imposed by the CAA in airspace over parts of Northern Ireland.

Restrictions apply to Belfast International, Belfast Harbour & Ronalsdway (Isle of Man) airports from 0700 (local) until 1300 on Sunday 16 May.

The Irish Authorities have also advised of restrictions on airfields in NW Ireland from 0700 (local). Dublin and Shannon airports will remain open until 1300.
There are currently no other restrictions within UK airspace. We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.

www.nats.co.uk

Volcanic Ash III - The New Batch

Oh hell. Here we go yet again. It seems that volcano in Iceland is letting itself off again, and the ash is starting to redensify up.

Predications are it will affect UK airspace from Sunday through to Tuesday, with NATS providing the current update that Belfast and Dublin are currently open with the cloud near Western Ireland.

The situation of course "is fluid", and quite frankly, anything could happen, with 5 day forecasts being made available as needed 

GhettoIFE.com will of course bring the latest news as it comes in - and to quote "Star Wars" I've got a bad feeling about this....

Deja vu? BA once again goes off to the courts...

Am I having flashbacks to December again? Probably, as British Airways has gone back to court to stop the 20 day strike that is due to commence on Tuesday.

Lets have the spin from BA....

"The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 requires unions to send everyone eligible to vote details of the exact breakdown of the ballot result."

 "We do not believe Unite properly complied with this requirement. We wrote to the general secretaries of the union yesterday asking them to explain to us how they discharged this obligation and, based on Unite's replies, we believe that they failed to comply with the legal requirement." 

 Unite responds:

"We will be vigorously defending our ballot and members against this move by BA. We have already responded to the company, and notified them that we have fully complied with the law."

Both ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and BALPA (British Airline Pilots' Association) are pressing for negotiation, whilst the new Transport Minister Philip Hammond is perplexed by BA's move.

BALPA said ministers should work to bring BA boss Willie Walsh and Unite leader Tony Woodley together in a bid to get next week's strikes suspended.

"The last three days have changed the face of British politics with erstwhile political opponents coming together for the common good," 

"We call on Government to use that political momentum to help solve what are tired 1970s-style industrial relations. 

---
Whilst this is all well and good, be prepared.

• This is heading into the Half Term Holiday (UK)
• As well as the Spring Bank Holiday
• As well as the start of the World Cup 2010 Tournament
• London Gatwick services are expected to run as normal
• London City services (including LCY-JFK) are expected to run as normal
• Heathrow will be subjected to some cancellations
• Keep up to date at  www.ba.com/strike

And for those who have failed to rebook yet, redemption and other flying space is 1) fast filling up and 2) prices are shooting too....

A big Olá to TAM Airlines

Star Alliance today has enlarged again, with the joining of TAM Brazilian Airlines.

Now, this is quite a big thing for Star Alliance, as it fills in one hell of a hole that exists in South America (with only connecting traffic with US, UA, LX, CO and a few others). Originally, this was covered by Varig, but due to many issues (least of all bankruptcy), it was ejected from Star in January 2007.

It's taken since then to get TAM onboard, with United mentored TAM along the way.

There are a couple more entries into Star Alliance this year - Air India and Aegan (Olympic). Interesting times all around...

It's confirmed: Air France to run A380's on LHR- CDG route!

Business Traveller have confirmed the madness of Air France, and that they will be running a CDG-LHR-CDG Airbus A380 service.

Fares start from £80 (or €80) in econony, and business class seats are for sale too. A question mark if they're selling First Class ticket exists at this time (or if they decide to run it empty)

So before you go off and book that ticket, be warned that it's rostered for one flight in each direction per day, and on certain days of the week

In other words, you need to plan!

The flight numbers in question are:
AF1980 CDG-LHR (10:05-11:25)
AF1981 LHR-CDG (12:50-15:05)

Note: Times are local

The days of operation are:
June 12 to June 30 - every Saturday, Sunday and Monday
July 1 to July 31 - every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday
August 1 to August 30 - every Saturday, Sunday and Monday

Also bear in mind Air France state: “For internal or operating reasons, the carrier may change the type of aircraft without advance warning.”

Well - it seems the barmey, but it's a way of keeping training and ultilitation of aircraft up I suppose.

It should be added that this isn't without precedence.  When British Airways introduced it's 777 fleet, BA flew LHR-CDG with 777's to amass crew time and training.

Ah the fun of the industry. Next up... A Star Alliance welcome to TAM

Got one of those new fangled ID Cards? Who's a silly person then?

Well, Day 1 of a new government - and we have something called positive progress.

The National ID Card system, along with the National Identity Register has in so many words - been scrapped. The new administration has argued it has cost far too much, expensive, intrusive and have done little to tackle the most serious threats to society such as terrorism and organised crime.

Or to embarrass IPS even further, here is the Identity and Passport Service's announcement:

So basicly, if you want an ID Card, my advice is go and get a Passport. And whilst it may be valid for travel, the reports that ID Cards are being refused for travel are abound.

The cards are valid for whatever purpose they otherwise served.

So if you were one of the 1736 plus fools citizens people victims registraints of the ID card, Congratulations! You have a non refundable £30 lump of plastic that might be a collectors item one day.

So what is a new goverment doing for aviation?

Well for those beyond the UK borders will be looking wondering why it's taken 5 days for us to make a collation government. But the fact is now - we have one.

First up, 3rd Runway at Heathrow and Extension to runways.

In three words forget about it. Plans for the 3rd runway have been shelved, and a quick read of the new policies indicate that plans for extensions are under threat too. Gatwick and Stansted are hit as any requests for runways expansion are hit. Smaller airports may be hit in time.

The Conservative/Liberal Democrats wish to move to a High Speed rail lines as the preferred method moving people within the UK, and will push ahead with a new London <> Scotland High Speed Line.

Second Up Air Passenger Duty.

There is talk by the new administration of scrapping Air Passenger Duty, but to replace it with a tax on the plane and how full it is. Again, this is going to take to work out - and in the end will probably work out more expensive. Still, that's the joy of a crapped out economy...

The final part will appear in another post. It gets its own post as it's a big issue...

Another bad day: Air Afriqiyah A330 crashes at Tripoli

Oh dear. Not a good day at all. An Air Afriqiyah A330 has crashed at Tripoli airport, killing more than 100 people on board the plane.

The service which departed Johannesburg as Flight 8U771 attempted to land at 06:00 local time, and crashed on landing within the airport perimeters.

The manifests indicate that 93 passengers and 11 crew were on board the aircraft of various different nationalities

Reports and pictures indicate the aircraft completely disintegrated after landing. The Airbus A330-200 was a new addition to the Air Afriqyah fleet, and was 8 months old.

TIP is currently sealed off and closed whilst the recovery work begins.

Not a good day. My condolences to those who have lost loved ones in this incident.

Air France considers loosing its marbles... and considers a CDG-LHR A380 deployment

Ok. WHAT is Air France on THIS time?

It seems Air France is considering becoming Lemming Airlines en France with the latest news that they're seriously considering deploying an A380 to serve the London to Paris market.

Umm. April was last month kids.

Anyhoo according to Flight, the carrier is looking at other options to exploit the capacity of the 538-seat jet.

The full details are yet to be given out, there is a want by Air France to maximise usage of its 3 frames, and use it for training and operations runs.

Details if this happening will occur in the next few weeks, with thoughts that that Paris-London is a busy route and other carriers can use large-capacity aircraft on relatively short, high-density sectors.

Ok. It's been proven, Centre to Centre there is only ONE game in town in the London to Paris route, and it's called Eurostar. Air traffic has gone down the pan since the Channel Tunnel and Eurostar have inaugurated services.

I'm not sure, but this deployment IF it happens will rank high on the stupidity level.....

The Cost of Ash

It seems ash has once again clamied more victims... in the form of hard cash.

EasyJet has report it will be down from £50m to £75m
TUI have also suffered to the tune of t£90m, as it reported a six-month loss of £367m.

Thats a lot of bread.

EasyJet is on target to improve its profits, even in this bad year - including the £21m loss due the mad snow that occurred in January.

BA of course suffered, and is still suffering at a cost of £45m lost in strikes.

If last year was rough in the industry, this year might has recovery, but it's going to be rocky.

Ding Ding! Round Three of the BA/Unite spat.

Well, here we go again. UNITE and British Airways are off to strike.

The strike dates are listed below, but for completion:
18 May - 22 May
24 May - 28 May
30 May - 03 June
05 June - 09 June

This is going to hit the World Cup, and Half term holidays. Nice work UNITE. Thinking of the people.

Tony Woodley said

"There can be no industrial peace without meaningful negotiations and while management victimises trade unionists and uses disciplinary procedures in a witch-hunt,"

BA defended its approach to the latest negotiations.

"We have made a very fair offer, which meets the concerns the union raised during 14 months of negotiations and also ensures that our crew remain the best rewarded in the UK. That offer remains available," 

BA is already planning contingency measures to ensure as many passengers as possible fly during the strike periods.

All flights from Gatwick and London City airports are expected to operate as normal, BA said, while a "substantial" number of long-haul flights from Heathrow will run as planned. Additionally there will be shorthal flights to all destinations. Leasing will be in the window too.

So what to do?  Only one thing.

REBOOK - NOW!

And for those who missed it - here's Kevin's rebooking advice (published during Round 1 and Round 2). 

There is a chance that the strike action may not go ahead and that BA and the Unions can come to an agreement - we can but hope...

---

If you're planning to travel and considering re-routing

If you're paying for your ticket

If you were considering rebooking to other carriers, be aware that other carriers are starting to jack up their prices, and thus capacity will be stretched more than normal. Other carriers have zeroed availability in what cheaper fare buckets there were, and only release near enough full fare tickets or slightly discounted full fare tickets with strict fare conditions.

If you're planning a Frequent Flyer Redemption

Expect to be restricted at space maybe dedicated to full fare customers or space to book out.. In other words as warned yesterday Plan your re-routing NOW and get your redemptions in - what were wide open yesterday morning  have gone to minimal seats this morning.

---

I wish those you who are travelling BA during this period the best of luck getting to your destinations - BUT PLAN AHEAD NOW AND KNOW YOUR OPTIONS.  

Throw in this Volcano business, and you know how bad it's going to get. 

Twitter users: Be careful what you tweet. Especially on a plane.

Some Twitter users are - alas - don't tweet, but they sure are twits.

Paul Chambers of was stuck on a plane Doncaster Airport, as weather forced the airport to close down on January 6th 2010 when he was due to fly to Ireland.

He has been found guilty of sending threatening messages.

This was the message which was identified by managers at Doncaster's Robin Hood Airport, who filed a complained to the police.

Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!

Initially Paul Chambers pleaded guilty to offences under the Communications Act in February before changing his plea to "not guilty" in March.

As a result, the whole thing went to trial, and on Monday, he was found guilty of sending a threatening message, despite testifying that it never occurred to him that anyone would take the "innocuous hyperbole" in his message as serious.

He has been ordered to pay £385 in fines and £600 in costs costs by district judge Jonathan Bennett,

Paul of course has responded by twitting:

"I'd like to thank the CPS for their level-best efforts in fucking up the life of an ordinary citizen. I love Britain."

What's the term I'm looking for here? Ah yes "Never under estimate the stupidity of people". If you're stuck on a plane like that, for hells teeth moan, but don't make threats!  Her Majesties Constabularies and Special forces tend to take a rather dim view of this.

Which brings me nicely to my next post. Three letters to warm the cockles of anyone who's been to the USA recently.

TSA.

More later on - this is a nice little imaging corker.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/7706197/Accountant-used-Twitter-to-threaten-to-blow-up-airport.html

Off we go again - new BA strike dates set

Is there really much more to say?

Latest dates: (all 5 day strikes)
18th May to 22nd May
24th May
30th May
05th June

There's not much more to say other than SORT IT OUT!!!

More later


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone - apologies for the spelling!

Airplane p0rn - Iran Air A300

Time for this weeks Airplane p0rn - and for this week, its an Iran Air Airbus A300-600 taxiing at Frankfurt International.

More of course next week!

Volcano Ash: Spanish Edition!

Hola! Yes, the Ash cloud has hit Spain now.

There have been closures through the day, and this is the state of play at publication:

Repopened 
Barcelona, Girona and Sabadell reopen air traffic from 22:00CET 09/05


Closed until 02:00CET 10/05 
San Sebastián, Asturias, Santander, Bilbao, Vitoria, León, Burgos, Huesca, Pamplona and Logroño

Closed until 11:00CET 10/05 
Santiago, A Coruña and Vigo

I'm getting a nasty feeling, but expect more volcano fun next week...

Toyko Haneda... first slots decided.

.... and the losers are both United and Continental with no slots allocated.

Breakdown of everyone's wins thanks to the DoT:
Delta - Two slots - LAX (Los Angeles) <-> HND and surprisingly (IMO) DTW (Detroit Wayne County) <-> HND
American Airlines - JFK (New York) <-> HND

and...

Hawaiian(!!!) HNL (Honolulu) <-> HND

Hawaiin has been selected provide an out-of-alliance cat amongst the pigeon, whilst in a bizarre explanation DTW has been select for Central and Eastern United States Markets.

Whatever helps you sleep at night DOT....

This of course leaves the "new" United firmly with egg on face, and no chance of access to HND until some more slot open up...

Photoblog, we have a problem

For those of you who have been browsing some of my Trip reports, I'm sorry but the pictures are varying between up and down.

It appears the host (Photoblog.com) has changed all of their servers (i2.photoblog.com is dead and everything has been switched to i4.photoblog.com).

I'll be fixing them all on Flyertalk and GhettoIFE over the weekend. 

We apologise for the interruption in service. Comment cards might be available if you ask nicely. Please don't ask for compensation as all you'll get are sickbags with holes in them...

** BREAKING ** BA Cabin Crew vote to reject latest pay offer.

And in really unsurprising news, the latest offer from BA to the Cabin Crew has been once again rejected. 

With turnout of 71%, the crew have voted and there has an 81% majority against the proposals offered by the airline.

Unite of course said reject it, BA has said it's a fair offer as is disappointed.

BA is also urging an end to the dispute, citing nothing more could be gained by striking.


More worryingly, there are rumbles of if the next wave of strike action is going occur,  up to 20 days of strike action is on the cards.

The stakes are rising in this game - who is going to blink first?

Swiss show how to do Airplane p0rn with their A330's

Ok, whilst election night rattles on in the UK, I'm going to dig out some vids when I get supremely bored.

First up: Swiss show how to do airplane p0rn with their A330's



Depending how exciting or mixed this election gets will depend what more comes out...

Ash Update: ALL UK AIRPORTS TO REOPEN BY 07:00BST, IRISH BY 09:00BST

I repeat, according to NATS all UK Airports will reopen by 07:00BST.

The no-fly zone imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority tracking the high density area of the volcanic ash cloud, has moved west overnight and has now cleared UK airspace.

According to latest information from the Met Office, from 0700 (local) today (Thursday) all UK airfields will be available.

www.nats.co.uk

Irish Airspace is also opening, with a staged opening (times local)

Dublin       0400 hours local
Waterford  0400 hours local
Donegal    0400 hours local
Cork         0400 hours local
Sligo         0600 hours local
Ireland West (Knock)  0800 hours local
Galway     0800 hours local
Shannon   0800 hours local
Kerry        0900 hours local

www.iaa.ie

However, as usual check before you travel.

Latest Closure updates: It's easing - slowly.

The good news: it's clearing slowly with airfields open. In particular, most major Scottish Airports have reopened. The Outer Hebrides are still closed as are the Scilly Isles, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland airports. Irish airports are also affected still.

The current list (c/o BBC):

All Scottish Major Airports are open

Scottish Outer Hebrides
Islay 0700 (Wed)-0700
Campbeltown 0700 (Wed)-0700

Northern Ireland
Belfast International 1300-0700
Belfast City 1300-0700
Derry 0700 (Wed)-0700

Ireland
Dublin 1100-0400
Shannon 1730-0800

Isle of Man
Ronaldsway 0100-0700

Scilly Isles/England
Lands End 0100-0700
Isles of Scilly 0100-0700

Current predictions indicate that the ash will move to the Atlantic, but expect more trouble next week if the winds change back towards UK and Ireland. 
Next update: 10:00 06/05

Ash Update. Extended closing times in progress....

Well, it's getting slowly worse.... 

Scotland
Edinburgh 1300-1900 (Weds)
Glasgow 0700-0100 (Thurs)
Prestwick 0700-0100 (Thurs)
Inverness 0700-1300 (Thurs)  

Scottish Hebrides
Stornoway 0700-0000 (Thurs)
Benbecula 0700-0000 (Thurs)
Tiree 0700-0000 (Thurs)
Islay 0700-0000 (Thurs)
Barra 0700-0000 (Thurs)
Campbeltown 0700-0000 (Thurs)

Northern Ireland
Derry 0700-0100 (Thurs)
Belfast International 1300-0100 (Thurs)
Belfast City 1300-0100 (Thurs)

Ireland 
Dublin 1100-midnight
Shannon 1730-midnight

My current predictions along with the Met Office's is that it will head South over Ireland, and then West over to the Atlantic with the winds.
This situation is changing rapidly - I'll try to get an update out just after midnight. <

More Ash fun: Airspaces open and closed.

What's the term we're looking for? It never rains, but it sure does pour.

Scottish, Northern Ireland and some Irish airports are currently closed and are all on odd opening times if they reopen.

The current list (Times are local - BST):

Scotland
Edinburgh 1300-1800
Glasgow 0700-1900
Prestwick 0700-1900
Inverness 0700-1300
Aberdeen is currently open, although this is subject to change. 

Scottish Outer Hebrides

Stornoway 0700-1900
Benbecula 0700-1900
Tiree 0700-1900
Islay 0700-1900
Barra 0700-1900
Campbeltown 0700-1900


Northern Ireland
Derry 0700-1900
Belfast International 1300-1900
Belfast City 1300-1900

Ireland 
Dublin 1100 onwards
Shannon open until 1730 BST

As usual CHECK BEFORE YOU FLY. 

The latest advice issued by the CAA said airports in north-west England could safely stay open on Wednesday, with the South-East England was unlikely to be affected.

The CAA said:

"The situation remains changeable, so passengers expecting to travel from airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North of England and north Wales should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating." 

The current cloud is due to be pushed out to the Atlantic over the next few days, which may spell more distribution for Ireland.  However, it's a fluid situation.

Good luck if you need to travel!

Atlanta or Bust (oh and Frankfurt too)! (BHX-FRA, FRA-ORD-ATL, ATL-IAD-LHR) with Lufthansa and United

Atlanta or Bust (oh and Frankfurt too)! (BHX-FRA, FRA-ORD-ATL, ATL-IAD-LHR)
With Lufthansa and United. If you can't guess the class by now...

Previously...

LHR-BRU-LHR ... or "How do you burn a £50 BMI voucher without too much pain?"
MAN-ORD on BMI (29/10 ... or Did Kevin Make it to ORD?)
Kevin goes for a little mileage run on UA - ORD/CHM/IAD/EWR/ORD
ORD-MAN in BMI Premium Economy (with Pictures)
Kevin’s American Adventure – MAN-ORD-SEA-ORD-MAN (4 flights, 2 weeks) in Y..
ORD - MAN in BMI Premium Economy: How hard can a PE product drop? (also random moans)
LHR-PHL-SEA, SEA-PHX-ORD, ORD-PHL-LHR - In Y, Come and be scared with US!
LHR-SFO-LHR - If you're going to San Francisco - SFO MegaDO Trip report
Gold Run - Mr Kevincm goes to Washington with EI and US
Long Haul Commuter Run - LHR-IAD-ORD and back with UA
Saying Goodbye to a Friend - Travelling for the wrong reasons - LHR-PHL with UA (Also on GhettoIFE.com - expanded)
The BA Y+/Y Class Long Haul Experience LHR-BKK/SIN-SYD and back on a bargain fare (Also on GhettoIFE.com -Expanded)
The Autumn Run - Mixing Business with Pleasure (C/F/Y adventures with UA and US) (Also on GhettoIFE.com -Expanded)
Long Way Home - The Spring Commute with UA and CO (Also on GhettoIFE.com - Expanded)

-----

What happened to the Seoul trip? Umm. Yeah. The matter of re-qualification is more important that Seoul alas. It'll happen. Sooner rather than later. But now the matter of qualification miles takes to the fore.

For those who are unfamiliar with my trip report writing style, it is a mix of facts, fun, Ghetto IFE Systems (read on) humour and down right evilness. It takes PRACTICE this does kids - all done from the back of the plane!

For those of you who are familiar - yes - it's more of the same masochistic delights of economy class travel with a dose of madness. But you guessed that already

As usual comments are welcome as well as questions of why I didn't take advantage of the LH fare sale so I could had wrapped up *G in 3 flights...

-----

Essay Question. Is it worth it? Use diagrams as needed. Bonus points awarded if you can convince yourself it's the right thing to do. Volcano Insurance as special. (Yes, it's the introduction)

With the prospect of a hard year to re-qualify for Star Alliance Gold (and however I cut it - it will be a very hard year - the bargain fares are few and far between) it's a matter of finding the good fares when they pop up and making them work whilst making everything around those prices to extract the most benefit.

Now I could just be done with it and get a American Express Platinum Charge Card (along with the £300 fee with it) which would sort out the majority of my lounge access.

But there are other things, including the luggage allowances (which I have used in the past when I choose to take 60kg across the pond and back) and the other intangibles (for example, Op-ups here and there, reassigned seating, priority queues) - stuff you can only measure by experience.

Therefore, it's my strong thought Star Gold in my case cannot be measured by cost - but by actual usage of Gold and the benefits it gives.

A bit more math (based on prices elsewhere and last years travels)

20 lounge visits = £700 @ £35 a visit (Excluding currency variations)
2nd Item fees = £300 or so with the amount of luggage I tote around.

So we're looking a the best part of £1000 of savings - which considering my mileage runs and travel comes to a number only a few hundred notes above that, it represents excellent value to me.

The economics of a mileage run are of course in the eye of the beholder - as opposed to just "a mileage run", I do like to visit places and turn my Mileage runs into trips where possible - or as one person described online "A mileage run with benefits"

A good enough term for me

---

It was 1am on a February morning - and once again - my lack of sleep wasn't helping (as usual).

Thankfully, my office is slowly learning to appropriate this madness - It's got to the point where I've stuck a little travel agents sticker on my PC (when I start pricing better than the preferred office travel agency - people listen bizarrely).

So off I go to United.com to price this. And then it .bombs classically when I enter my address. Bizarrely, it doesn't want to accept a UK Address for the transaction, and would rather send me to United UK and charge an additional £120 for the privilege.

Well nuts to that. As much as I love to support the US aviation industry, I don't love it that much - the Bank of Kevincm doesn't support that many bail outs.

So a chat to web-support, and they refused to ticket it, stating I must use United UK website to book the ticket.

I think not.

Time to think laterally around the problem. How could I get round it?

So it was off to Orbitz to see if I could ticket it. After a major faff to make it work with the right times and other solutions so the fares marched into the correct buckets - it finally ticketed with the PNR and E-Ticket numbers showing as valid (and a payment of the Orbitz "service" fee of course.

So that's FRA-ORD-ATL-IAD-LHR sorted. Except there's one minor little issue - how to get to FRA. Now I could wander down to LHR and catch a stupid o'clock flight to FRA, or take advantage of my home airport for once and have a relative lie-in for once for this mad trip and extend this trip for a day in Germany.

The lie-in unsurprisingly won.

With a voucher in my pocket I had got, I managed to get the base fare down to £0, and taxes at £31.

Which kind of stink, until Lufthansa slaps another £4 on top for paying with a debit/credit card which really makes it stink (their "free" method of payment is surprisingly - PayPal). So £35 later, I had a PNR for my positioning flight to FRA (which would alas involve an overnight)

So obviously, I need to sort out hotels for this trip. For this run, I decided to keep my costs low, whilst trying to have a good time. For Frankfurt, a basic bed is need, but either near a major communication point or right next door to the airport. This meant browsing through the online hotel stocks to see what there was.

In this case, I've settled on The Savoy Hotel, which is across the road near enough from Frankfurt train station, whilst in Atlanta, I wanted something nice to sleep in before the long journey back - so it's off to the Hyatt Regency there - on a redemption.

Two weeks before this run was due to kick off, an Icelandic Volcano thought it would be fun to erupt, causing massive travel chaos. And there was me in some respects ready to scrub the entire trip (life in the office was getting far too busy thanks to my real job - OK you try and set up, install, a rack, UPS, 4 servers, 6 copies of Windows, 2 CentOS servers and a partridge in a pear tree, you run out of time quickly).

3 days before the trip occurred, all the air spaces were reopened and things slowly returned to normal as United were only doing waivers to the day before I was due to travel. Oh well. Thankfully my workload decreased enough to make this trip to be slightly relaxing.

My office colleagues predicted doom and delays - I was cheerfully thought that everything would be fine. And who says I'm not an optimist?

So, Lets and hum the BBC Version of Tara's Theme (wha.. you don't Remember Atlanta 1996? Sigh....), and in the style of the 11th Doctor - GERONIMO!!!!

Off to BHX!
(That's the original Birmingham kids, not the one in Alabama)

To start this little journey off, I need to position myself for the oncoming storm that is Row 99Z in a United 777. To this end, I've decided to start not a million miles from home and travel from Birmingham International Airport.

Whilst not the greatest price in the world the £3.00 fare from New Street to International isn’t bad and is easy to swallow in comparison to some fees that come my way. Interesting to not that the kiosks were also selling “Virgin Trains Only” tickets to the airport for £2.40 – useful to know know when each penny counts. Not that I got this ticket... as the Virgin direct service had just pulled out...

London Midland Trains, Birmingham New Street to Birmingham International
Class 350 Desiro "Midland" 4 Car Configuration

The train was as standard Siemens Desiro – i.e. modern, nicely designed, comfortable and reasonable for a 10 minute hop or longer. The airport on this trip was the second stop on the trains long winding road to Northampton.

After wandering up the stairs and onto the air train, and promptly dumped in the main terminal.


Nearing BHX T1

Birmingham Airport

Now I've talked about this ... airport (well it can dream being the 6th largest airport in the UK) before, but things are slowly changing at BHX.

When I last popped through it was fighting off becoming a RyanAirport and getting more carriers in. Even though US Airways came and went, if anything - the Star Alliance has tightened its grip on this airport, with Turkish, Swiss, Continental, BMI Regional and of course Lufthansa. With Emirates at BHX on a twin daily service, and SkyTeam holding as the other major alliance with Air France and KLM shuttling passengers back and forth (as well as plethora of other exotic nd not so exotic carriers), BHX is slowly improving and turning into a hub for the second city.

I arrived at BHX just before 8:45am, and reprinted by boarding pass (as to be honest I like my boarding passes to look like them – and not a piece of A4 paper). No issues there – although I recheck the loads on the plane and it was surprisingly empty – so I selected the 2nd to last row on the plane – for one simple reason – A complete row to myself.

The queues were comparatively short - a mix of the usual business people and stag/hen weekend do’s going through .

And what a fantastic system they have – a returning tray system that’s very 21st century like that shoves trays around.

No issues – and through within minutes.

As I had a few minutes, and hold one of those lovely star gold things, I decided to stop off for a lounge

Micro-lounge stop: Aviance Lounge.
Why did I bother?

Well if you're stuck at BHX for hours on end, the Aviance lounge obviously isn't the place to hang out. There's a wonderful branch of Weatherspoons (that high quality chain that has kitchen technicians - not cooks).

I had a little trouble being swiped in (least of all the attendant couldn’t be bothered to use the right reader), but after being let in I settled down for 15 minutes before the flight.

Enough time for a pre-flight drink


Regular viewers will notice my obsession with vodka when flying. I believe the two are mutually compatible.

Drinks as usual were on free-pour, and the stack range was… passable. It’s certainly better than the main terminal, and no worse than a RCC. If that’s at all possible.


Boarding was announced within the lounge , and I tootled off to the “new” international pier . It’s very modern – polished floors, gleaming metal and glass – very 2007 like and a reasonable place to be (it’s also the home to the Emirates Lounge).


The New "International" Pier

By the time I had got to the gate, a small queue was building due to the fact that boarding scanners weren’t working, so a manual count and tick was in progress. Boarding commenced with no priority for business or Star members by airbridge.


Mein Flugzeug!

Which is nice except when you have a couple who are trying to board a buggy (unfolded) on a plane. Eventually, they were moved to one side to collapse the buggy and I boarded.

Lufthansa 4901, Birmingham International - Frankfurt am Main
Boeing 737-300, Seat 23A (Equipment swap from B737-500)
449 miles flown, 0 Status miles earned, 52 Destination miles earned (thank you BMI Credit Card!)


The last time I was aboard a German carrier was when GermanWings tried to ply its trade between BHX and CGN unsuccessfully, so it’s nice to be aboard an efficient carrier for once.

The crew were in a friendly and talkative mood this morning, helping people get settled in. Pretty soon “Boarding Komplete” was announced, and after a short wait, we begun push-back.


Y'know, I get the feeling everyone knows I always end up in Chicago one way or another... even Lufthansa....

Safety announcement was an interesting one – more like a friendly chat rather than the full on “Do this or we’ll see the local authorities on you” that certain carriers (no names mentioned… you should be able to guess who I’m thinking of here)

Once complete, the plane begun one of the quickest taxi's around an airport I’ve been on. Either it was down to the light load or the captain really wanted to go back home and was taxiing like a madman to get to the threshold…

The plane was held briefly on the threshold of the runway, and then the two engines roared into life dragging the 737-300 into the air quite powerfully.


Off we go!

After a short time, the crew were released to conduct service, with a lovely plastic seeded roll to started.


The seeded roll in question.


Food whilst travelling over London - best seen in the air...


Eventually the drinks trolly came too, and it was Cola und Kaffee (with the flight attendants giggling at my extremely bad German (hey – I was making an effort for once – my GCSE German is of some cop).


Cola und Kaffee.

Service was cleared down early, and the crew went off to hide for the rest of the flight.

For compatibility purposes, I used one of the lovely branded Lufthansa Sick Bags to make a GhettoIFE system - and it fitted nicely.


I suspect James May was shocked it fitted too - Top Gear - Vietnam Special

Soon enough, after crossing into France and then into Germany, the River Main came into view, and the aircraft was cleared down again, and secured for landing.



After a gentle landing at Frankfurt, we peeled off the runway, and turned into a nice spot where we sat for the next 20 minutes waiting for a gate to clear.


Landing

Eventually the engines spooled up again and we taxied along until reaching the A-pier, and even though there was an airbridge, it was decided to do disembarkation by steps and bus.

Overall: It's hard to mess up short hops like this - and Lufthansa delivered in terms of product and service. It makes me more amenable to travelling with them in the future...

Now normally this means muggins is stuck crammed against the window of a bus – however it was the turn of the premium passengers to be disappointed as there was only one set of stairs available – at the back of the aircraft.

So muggins was first off for once (rare, but good, and a prime position for a ramp tour to immigration). After wandering around the underbelly of the airport we finally were dumped at Immigration

Immigration was a slow process, with names being typed in as well as passports examined. I was soon through and wandered through the maze of Frankfurt airport and eventually down to the Regionalbahnhoff

The vending machine saw it fit to remove €3.80 from my pocket and 20 minutes later, I was dumped at the dark underbelly of Frankfurt Hbf. After wandering to the surface, it was across the road, and my hotel was in front of me.

Hotel: The Savoy, Frankfurt am Main.
Rate paid: £39.66 via eBookers.

Well, it's an optimistic name I suppose.

An "alleged" 4* hotel, we're in reality looking at a 2* on a good day special with the other two stars gone fallen off the sign.

I've documented the hunt for the hotel in my blog, so lets look at the hotel itself. The foyer is well maintained, and looks pretty, and as is part for course in these small hotels – the lifts were small too!

Which brings nicely to the cubbyhole of the room – and there’s no other way to describe it – its small.

Whilst basic, it had the main features (power, a bed, bathroom with a nice powerful hot water blast)


The Room


[i]The Bathroom[/I
]
The Bed was as soft as heck, but I’ve slept in worse. I thought about Internet access for minutes, then thought again when I saw how much they were trying to con for access at €10/2 hours or €5 for 30 minutes. What is it with European hotels and wanting to charge the earth for WiFi?

A long walk around Frankfurt ensured – with all the interesting things that one sees.

I checked out at 6am after oversleeping without any issues or any other charges made.

Overall: For £40 what do you expect? A Crown Plaza? An InterContinental? A view of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? I’ve stayed in better and come away feeling like I’ve been ripped off. This hotel – whilst having small rooms was reasonable for what it was.

Back to FRA.


Early Morning in Frankfurt.

Another 6am rolls past and it's out of the hotel and straight to the airport on the ever efficient DB drops me back at the RegionalBahnhoff.


Up into the maelstrom

A quick wander up the B check in peer revealed an ugly sight – a very long check in queue at the United counters that wasn’t moving an inch. I joined the Premier queue (with the 1K lines backing up to) and waited it out. From the looks of things, the local IT systems decided the ability to work wasn’t needed today and the ground staff were sitting it out until things came back on line.


Not a sight I want to see..

Which was when the “go to gate” command was issued.

Once everything was back up, the queues moved quick, and I was seen to quickly, and boarding passes for ORD and ATL were issued.

I quickly made my way to the gate area, following the signs to the “US Departures” area, and went through German security theatre – again – efficient and apologetic when they needed to rescan my shoes – even invited to wait on seats whilst they were being rescanned.

Lots of typing again at the Border, and then I wandered off to find the lounge. I saw the check in boarding queue, and boarding was 20 minutes away. In the distance – I saw the sign for the Tower lounge, and after presenting my credentials, I was invited in.

Lufthansa Tower Lounge



Well... no guesses who runs this lounge
High on the 5th floor at FRA, it gives nice panoramic views of the field. Its very Swedish/German design, with a food and drink station and lots of different areas. Of interest to me was a separate snack bar where Panini and wraps were made to order. Now his Is something positive and dare I say quite premium compared to a lot of the lounges I had been in (obviously I need to get in more… or is it get out more?)


Recommend

The Panini itself was reasonable – and a nice filler for the trip ahead.


Panini


Peekaboo!
However, time was moving on, and I needed to descend downstairs for the flight.

Boarding had begun by the time I got to the gate, and everyone had lined up, ignoring this “Zone” concept. An agent was walking round, pulling elites out, and I was sent down the red carpet queue, a beep of the boarding pass and I made my way down the jetway.

United Airlines 954, Frankfurt am Main - Chicago O'Hare International
Boeing 777-200, Seat 39J
4343 miles flown, 4331 miles earned
Channel 9: On

The Pictures

I made my way to the back of the plane. Whilst 39J isn’t exactly great in the big overview of things, it’s better than Row 42/43 on a 777 (i.e. right at the back).

I plonked my stuff away, and took my seat, and was pleasantly surprised to find channel 9 on from the get-go. Meanwhile, boarding was continuing its merry way. It was looking positive in the end with a surprising amount of seats spare… until about 5 minutes from doors going to close where it seems the Ukrainian mothers convention decide it was time to board the plane, filling up all the spare seats.

Oh well., I knew my chances of an empty seat were minimal, least of all due to this ash cloud.


So... I'm having trouble working out which airport I'm at...

Pushback commenced, and a manual safety demo was done. Why they still do manual demos n these birds is beyond me unless they’re holding off redoing them until the reconfiguration of the 777 fleet begins. …

After a short wait, the aircraft turned, and begun trundling around FRA. Surprisingly, we held short of the runway for a minute to let another aircraft land, and then we were straight up in the air


Me and my shadow...


Climbing out

The aircraft begun it’s climb into clear skies, with a lovely view of the European countryside, crossing Paris, up to the Channel Islands, and the over Cornwall before heading out to the Atlantic, on what seems to be a much more southerly track than normal between The UK and the USA.


Jersey. I think

Soon enough, first service commenced with breakfast and drinks. Now regular readers will know of my dislike of breakfast service – as (and I’m being generous here) the quality of the breakfasts are… variable. Variably bad.

So I was in for a shock when I chose the United Plastic Omelet this morning. Everything was 1) Cooked, 2) Edible and 3) a good quality spread!




an Edible United breakfast? What is the world coming to?

I actually was very impressed with the service, and it proves when you have a crew who are paying attention to the ovens and a caterer who can do a service like that – it makes a big difference. Will wonders never cease?

The crew were in an eager mood today, and clear-down was comparatively quick, and soon enough the lights went down.

Time for some IFE, and once again – United's offerings are more than sub-par. Can you guess what I made next?




After watching the Doctor fail to defeat the Daleks (again) I decided that the best course of action was to get some rest. And that’s what I did. I work up in time for the Mid-flight “Snack”. Now what catering wonders would appear?

Have a guess.

Done guessing?

It’s…


Toblerone and Shortbread.

I should had guessed really

The flight plodded along, with landfall near St Johns, and a long track across Canada and into the USA. The crew were doing regular drinks runs, keeping people hydrated.


I just wish someone occasionally wiped the windows of these planes y'know.

Now there are little signs that this aircraft (Like a lot of the 777 fleet) need a bit of love and attention. Little things like cracks here and there, chipped plastic, and some foam near the toilets that looks very out of place. Whilst these are all little things, they do add up and make you wander about the state of these aircraft and when they’re going in the shop for a good old cleanup and refresh – in many respects these birds haven’t changed much since delivery on the inside.


Cracks and chips...
After passing Montreal Centre, it turned into a light chop and turbulent flight - with the seatbelt sign mostly on for the remainder of the time. Meanwhile, the crew begun the pre-arrival snack delivery service.

Again - seeded bun.

But again, it's the little touches that matter - as Frankfurt catering are showing - things like a reasonable sized bar of chocolate, nice crisps, mustard. The little things all add up.


Pre-arrival snack

Drinks followed after, and cleardown was done very fast as the bumps increased on our decent to Chicago.


Pretty much all I could see before we touched the ground

The plane itself went inland, turned and finally landed in Chicago, before the long taxi to T5 M Gates.

Overall: I keep writing good things about United at the moment, because quite frankly, things are improving. It shows with good catering, a bit of thought and customer service that any dull flight can be made good - even if you're close enough near the back row.

Back to the Bunny

10am in Chicago. Nothing like it. Except the London early morning arrival had beat us in, and as a result, the immigration queue was solid with a cabin full of 767 and 777 passengers.

Working through the switchbacks, it was nearly an hour till I was seen to. And of course, I was honest and stated why I was in the USA (Mileage running), much to the incredulous look of the immigration agents face.

A bit of deep questioning and I was finally stamped through, where the luggage belt had long since spinning, and exited the customs point, dumped my rechecked bag (with an indication which gate I should head too) and I exited the secure area.

After proceeding upstairs and taking the fun of the ATS, I arrived at T1, and proceeded through security - which for a Saturday was very quiet. As the flight was leaving from C Concourse, it means heading to United's Brainwashing tunnel, and then off to the wood panelled hell of the C17 concourse.

United Red Carpet Club C17

I've written about this lounge ad-infinitum and how it's a wood panelled hell. And of course, its distinct lack of snacks, food and anything of value.

However, there have been some improvement - little things like the trail mix dispensers are improvement, but compared to the FRA Tower lounge or even the Star Alliance Lounge at LHR, it is lacking. But hey, its a seat in a lounge.

I wandered over to the gate, to find the queue from hell. A quick chat to the agent indicated that the plane was being held by ATC for storm threats and tornado watch. I quickly added myself to the list if needed, and wandered back to the lounge, where I was re-greeted and I wandered to the bar - finding a poor leftover drink chit on the way which the occupant had long gone.

Obviously, it was liberated and converted into a vodka and cola. At the bar the was a person who was moaning about the quality of the cola. Both the bartender and I couldn't tell the difference, and after the other person had disappeared, an "accidental" top up of vodka occurred .

After that was down, I wandered back to the gate to find most of the plane had boarded, and my seat wasn't needed. I was beeped and boarded.


United Airlines 554, Chicago O'Hare International to Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International
Airbus A319-100, Seat 20F, Channel 9 On .
606 miles flown, 607 miles earned
The pictures

Of course boarding a plane which is almost boarded means no overhead luggage space. This didn't represent a problem thankfully as the rucksack is small enough to slide under the seat in front whilst not causing too many foot-space issues.

The plane was further delayed, as ATC were holding us till the last possible minute, with the doors finally closed an hour and 10 minutes late.

Take off was finally authorised and after a long taxi to the international terminal, the plane turned and off we went.


I said it was pea soup there...


Of course, with the peasoup cloud we were taking off into, it was a bumpy ride until we reached cruising altitude.


Climbing out

Entertainment begun, and for the first time in ages, I actually witnessed a snackbox run, with a few takers. Of course, knowing the plastic contained in these, I just skipped and proceed to the the drinks run.

Of course - its a diet coke. nothing changes.

The flight bumped along its merry way, until a clear-down occurred. The flight attendants also decided due to the amount of bumps, they would be doing the "Honour system" used to make sure seats were back up and seat-belts fastened.


Down below... it looks darn ugly...

Which from the looks of the 3 rows in front and the couple behind, not many people were paying attention to.

Still, the plane turned and turned, making it's final approach into ATL, where we landed, then taxied all the way back to the main terminal, docking at T14.

I thanked the crew and left the plane, and wandered through the expanse of ATL airport to the back end of luggage delivery - of course the United belt was close enough near the main exit. That didn't help much as luggage delivery was at a snails pace


Welcome to ATL.

After about 10 items of luggage spat out, my second little rucksack was spat out, and I wandered over to the MARTA station and made my way downtown.

Overall: Again, it's nearly impossible to stuff up a short segment, and it was a surprise to see a snackbox run being done. Now if ATL would kindly sort out baggage delivery speeds, we'd all be a lot happier...

Hotel: Hyatt Regency Atlanta
Price Paid: 12000 points
The pictures


Welcome!

Of course, with it being a stormy day, when I got out of the MARTA, it was throwing it down. Still - mustn't grumble.


The Atrium

The Hyatt was two crossings away, and I made it doors to be confronted with Prom season in full swing. I made my way to reception, and was welcomed, and switched from a queen room to a king room in the International tower. I was also informed my Internet would be free of charge too.


After catching the lift to the 23rd floor, I found the room - and in typical Hyatt style - very nice it is too. A nice large size, big television and a "balcony" of sorts.




The view from here...


The bed


The TV - note I'm watching local programming


The Bathroom


Opening it of course lead to rain in my face and the heat of the evening.

I wandered out to get some food, although I considered going to the Olympic Centennial park, it was 1) wet, 2) dark and 3) looked pretty darn unfriendly. I popped into the Chinese restaurant, got food to go, and wandered back into the prom night hotel and up to my room to crash for the night.

Overall: A nice enough hotel. Certainly in cash terms, I wouldn't had paid the $250 (The points worked out cheaper) they were asking for it for the night. Putting it on points made things bearable, and of course reduced the cost of the run - which is always helpful.

Homewards … or not.

Eventually I made my way back to ATL after wandering around Atlanta i the morninging, and checked in, to be met with the queues from hell both at United Check-in and the miles long queues at the TSA that to be honest, weren't moving.

After a minor grilling from the TSA why I dared to have film and have it manually scanned, I was let through.

I wandered over to the Presidents Club to briefly too out of the window, and then headed back to encounter a document issue at the gate.

Enough of a document issue to make me miss the flight .

I was re-booked onto the next day fight, and decided to just sit for a bit, and sort out a hotel room thanks to the night thanks the pink slip thing I was given (that and I refused to pay for WiFi around ATL airport)

So an extra night in Atlanta. Whoopee do.

Hotel: Embassy Suites, Atlanta Airport
Price $65+tax ($73.14)
Earning notes: 1000 BMI Destination miles (Hilton Double Dip - if they ever post )

Well it's a Hilton - Just. I arrived about 3pm and was informed no rooms were ready - so I just sat down with the laptop and typed for an hour or so.

For a suite hotel, this place was in love with its water features.


Water water everywhere...


Dining area
Soon enough I was assigned a room near an elevator - and I just went there and just watched box for a bit. A waste some might say - but to put it blunt - I wasn't hell bent to return to downtown Atlanta. On check in I was offered an apology voucher with 500 points or WiFi - like any computer geek.

Moving onto the room - yes, its a suite hotel. In other words, a window into the atrium, a window outside, a living area and a bed area.


Bed (Two doubles)




Living area

The Managers reception didn't seem to take place, and so I comforted myself with a bottle of Mountain Dew and Crisps and headed upstairs again to doze.

At 4am I woke up and finished putting my crap away, and got ready to travel. I checked out (having the bill adjusted down for the Internet voucher, and paying the stay in cash), and requested a cab to the airport as it was too early for the shuttle to run (that and I wanted to minimise the risk of anything going wrong at all)

The taxi pulled up, and I was off.

Overall: Whilst larger than the room in Frankfurt, it seems a nice enough environment (although they loved their water fountains). For what it was an how much it was - I wasn't arguing at all.
ATL, Take 2.

Another $8 later I was at the front door for ATL Departures. I walked to the main security queues to find the place almost deserted, and proceeded through security with no discussions over film scanning.

ATL seems to be well facilities, both air side and ground side. I'd just wish they'd sort the luggage claim areas so they weren't a major hike from one end of the terminal to the other.


The dead of the morning...

The gate was a short hike away, so I made myself comfortable whilst announcements were made. As Starbucks opened, I made my way over for a caffeine shot, then back to the gate where the plane was being readied to board.

United Airlines , Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International - Washington Dulles International
Canadair CRJ-700 , Seat 10A
Operated by United Express/Mesa Airlines
534 miles flown, 600 miles earned.

The pictures

Oh its back to Messy Air. Surprisingly for a Messy Air aircraft, this CRJ appears to be in better condition than the CRJ-200 that I've been in before, but again - there are signs of wear and tear - and that it needs love.


TLC need...Apply in writing to Mesa air (cash up front though)...

Boarding was completed on time, but of course, this is no ordinary CRJ-700, it's a Mesa CRJ-700. Which means of course whilst its reasonably clean, nothing that a deep clean wouldn't fix as well as a trip to the shop to repair the little cracks.


Whilst boarding was going on there was of course the usual issue of Rollaboards and no one wanting to give up their rollaboards. Sigh. Whilst I know people love them, please consider what class of aircraft you're going to fly on. If it's a tiddly regional jet, the chances of a big bag with wheels isn't going to fit into your overhead isn't it?


Retrojet - with clown nose - well it's better than looking at people trying to stuff rollaboards on a RJ isn't it?

Push-back was on time, and after taxing all the way down to the Fly Delta Jets hanger, we turned and took off.


So the dominant carrier here is....?


Off we go!



Darkness


Climbing out - Darkness and light


After a nice long climb-out, a drinks service was carried out - and the long 1 hour and 25 plod over to Washington Dulles begun.


Drinks


A lovely morning to fly

As the flight went on, we were warned of Dulles weather (i.e. Pea-soup - similar the ORD the day before, as the storms had plagued Georgia had moved north to DC).


On finals for Dulles

After cloud skipping and a fair few bumps, the plane landed in the back end of Dulles, and a long taxi to the infamous Dulles Bus station (or as everyone knows it better - the A Gates)

Once on stand, we were back on A2 I thanked the crew and deplaned.

Overall: A standard CRJ hop. But there are better options on equipment out there - the CRJ's feel more cramped each time I get aboard one... And parking up at the Dulles Bus Station feels like the final insult...

Back to Dulles.

Of course, being stuck in the back end of Dulles means a hike through all of the A concourse, and finally into the new "Train station". For those of you who are wondering, a lot of the wonderful Dulles moon buggies have been replaced with an "AeroTrain" (with limited moon buggy service around the airport now).

And whilst nice and fast between concourses, its a mile hike to get to it, then another mile to get to C Concourse at the end of it. Whist I understand this when for when the "new" Concourse C/D gets built, some of us are wondering when are they going to be bothered to start - as we all know Dulles C/D are some of the most depressing places on the planet.


Where moonbuggies once departed... Even Michelle Obama is smiling about it...

Being in Dulles of course means a visit to one of it's lovely lounges - and C7 was selected as my flight was going from C5


The Entrance to the C7 RCC


United RCC C7 Lounge

I made my way in and presented my Diamond Club card and my boarding pass, where I was greeted warmly. I then asked about my luggage, as I had this fear Air Wisconsin had once again decide to leave my luggage out in the open (as they did last May). A few clicked gave an interesting result - my luggage had decided to travel without me to London the night before.

Can anyone say the words "Security Breach" here?

In addition, I was moved forward a few rows to 30K - whilst not big, its better than 35K at the back of the plane.

But anyway, drink chits were offered freely - a shame the bar was very quiet and I wasn't in the mood for a vodka this morning. So instead I raided the orange juice and coffee bar for a bit.


The view over the bus station


Breakfast things

A shame the breakfast snacks here are so weak in comparison to other stations, but that seems to be Dulles's big problem for United - it has a big load of "MEH" to it and they urgently need to de-meh the place.

I kept an eye on the clock, and saw my flight was about to board to London, so I walked around the lounge and exited to C5 where Star Golds were being boarded. Excellent timing as always. I presented my boarding pass and was beeped aboard. America's Finest TSA was out in force at the gate, but they didn't seem interested in me this time, and let me pass onto the plane

United Airlines 922 Washington Dulles International - London Heathrow Airport
Boeing 767-300ER, Seat 30K, Channel 9 Off
3677 miles flown, 3677 miles earned.
The pictures

I boarded the plane and was greeted by a London crew heading home. I was directed to the back of the plane, where I stowed my backpack and popped the little red bag underneath the seat - running into the first problem of the 767-300ERs - the size of the IFE box in these aircraft is pretty darn big. This doesn't help when your seatmate arrives and starts intruding into the remaining foot space.

Pretty soon the plane filled up again, and interestingly, a full paper run was done through the whole aircraft. A very nice touch by the London crew.

Pushback as slightly delayed, but eventually, the plane pushed back and begun winding it's way around Dulles... and straight into a Penalty Box to allow for a storm cell to pass.

I don't know, but I get the feeling someone at Dulles doesn't like me as I'm now 3 for 3 with penalty box waits here now...

Eventually, the aircraft turned and begun a very long takeoff roll, and eventually, we were up in the air.


Off we go for one last time

Of course, it was as choppy as hell getting in the air, so it took some time for the crew to be released to conduct service.


Finally through

And when it started, it was glacially slow. Eventually, the offer of Pancakes or Omelet made its way to my row, and in a fit of madness, I chose the UA omelet again - whilst joking with the pursers what concoctions Dulles catering came up with again.


Breakfast

Well the omelet - it's "Inspired" I suppose - a cheese and spinach one. Whilst the sausage was slightly burned, I've had worse out of London.

Then there's the pastry.

Oh dear. Whilst not on US Airways bad of level catering (those who have flown TATL with US Airways in the back will know what I mean), it was lacking a lot of things.


Coffee

A drinks run followed the food, but performance seemed to be very slow in the back - maybe they were short on crew, but it did seem overly slow.

To relive the boredom, I decided to make a GhettoIFE system, and ran into a problem - plastic bags. Whilst it sounds good in theory, the plastic on these bags is - to be blunt - tough. And lets face it, I'm going to win no awards this time for the state of this system


Plastic Sickbag Ghetto IFE Systems = FAIL

However, I decided the only course of action since the cloud was solid would be to crash out of for a bit... and crashed out I did. A good 3 hours rest and I was once again ready to watch stuff on the system.

This being a shorter flight, there was of course no snack run, but there were oversalted pretzels in the galley

About a 1000 miles out from London, it started to get a bit bumpy, with solid cloud above and below us. The captain popped the seat-belt sign on, and everyone was locked down for a good few hundred miles. It smoothed out enough for the snack service to begin


The Pre-arrival snack

Whilst comparable to the FRA-ORD snack, this snack wasn't bad, but again, its the details. Things like a larger chocolate bar for example. The drinks service as I had come to expect was very slow.

A clear-down was done, and as the cloud cleared over the Irish sea, we made landfall near Swansea and begun the slow trek and decent to London.


Clearing as we cross the Irish sea

Being late of course, we were chucked into one of Heathrow's stacks (the Ockham stack) for a good five rotations before we were allowed to approach South London, turn and finally land.


Stuck in a stack


Over London

Alas, we landed at the back end of beyond, which meant a long taxi over to Terminal 1, and of course the preferred place to park US bound aircraft - the back end of beyond. The captain released the seat-belt signs, and it was a mad scramble for everyone to get out of the plane.

Overall: Not a bad service, and delays were really out of the flight decks hands, but I can't help feel that the onboard crew were short staffed - and very slow. I'm not sure about the daytime flights (although I can see the benefit of them) - maybe I'm just too used to redeye TATL's...

Back to LHR

Being a US Arrival, of course we were shoved down the back end of beyond at Gate 38 or so, therefore it was a hike to the Europier and then moreso into T1 itself.

IRIS was dead at Heathrow T1, meaning I had to join the 10 switchback queue at Passport control - again, even for a UK Citizen to entry, the passport control people were taking their own sweet time.

It was then a matter of racing to luggage reclaim to see where the little rucksack was - and it was sitting out with yesterdays luggage.

After grunting at a United Luggage handler, it was in my hands and I was through the Green Control Zone, and heading off for the first HEC or HEX to get me into town.

Heathrow Connect - Heathrow Central - London Paddington
Class 360 Desiro (Heathrow Connect 5 Car Configuration), £7.90 Single

As I headed downstairs, a HEX decided to pull out. Doing a quick bit of math in my head working out which train would make it into London in time so I could race across the city, the Heathrow Connect was chosen due to two good reasons - 1) It was the first train to arrive after the HEX, 2) it's half the price of a HEX and 3) 10 minutes .

Ticket inspection was carried out after leaving the Heathrow Central, and the guard hid for the rest of the journey.

25 minutes later, the train arrived at London Paddington at Platform 12 - time enough to get some cash out, and run to the Taxi rank.

It was coming up to 23:00 when the train pulled into Paddington - with 30 minutes to play with - with those time limits, it's no point messing around - it's easier to jump a cab and say that magical colloquium - "Euston Main Line Station, and step on it!".

And apart from the 1 minute wait outside Paddington Station to get out of the place - he did - 7 minutes later the cab was at Euston Mainline taxi drop off.

A quick bound up the stairs indicated that Euston control once again cannot organise anything, and the 23:30 was awaiting a platform description. As the deadline pasted to 15 minutes before departure, the platform was announced, and half of who were at Euston station moved in the general direction of Platform 15.

Ticket inspectors were at the entry point, and were clipping them before boarding the train.

Virgin Trains London Euston to Birmingham New Street
Class 390 Pendolino

For the last train of the day, it certainly was very busy (even up in the arches of C Coach). The train pulled off on scheduled, and happily whooshed past Watford Junction before grinding to a halt and switching to the slow lines for run up to Milton Keynes. This normally is fine - except for the slow train in-front of us.

After Milton Keynes, the train sped back up, and Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International and finally Birmingham New Street.


At Birmingham New Street

Not wanting to mess about, another taxi was hailed, and I was dropped off at the flat, bringing another adventure to an end.


My bags - normally I'd do it at the flat, but this time on a train.

Closing up

9205 miles. Not great by a long stretch, but not bad. Maybe I could had pushed the miles better, but of a quick weekend run, I'm happy with the results - even if I had to spend a second night in Atlanta.

The push for Star Gold 2011/2012 is moving along slowly and at the 1/4 way mark, I'm half way to retaining Gold for another year.

The challenge for Star Gold will continue this year - least of all I've scrubbed one trip that I due to take in July which could make qualification more of a challenge than I would like to be honest.

May I'll head East next time - as I am really fed up to the back teeth of US Immigration at the moment - but hey - I can see the immigration agents point, but it doesn't help when you've been stuck in a queue for an hour waiting to be seen to.

The facts are this though. I'm 50% done this year already, and I'm crediting to a programme that had it's first scare when the first batch of members were moved off from Diamond Club into Miles and More, and if my hunch is correct - more of us may move soon.

It could be time soon to have a mileage burning party....

Comments and Thoughts as usual welcome!