Background to the trip

In November 2011 my flights tally sat at the figure of 99. This was a particularly tantalising figure, knowing that my next flight would be my 100th, and perhaps time to do something special. I had toyed with making this the A380 and us having a big holiday, but then the A380 will be around for years to come and there will be plenty of opportunity to fly on the beast in the future. For now, there are a number of types coming to their end of life that I have always promised to get on and never actually done.

The MD80, CRJ200, numerous smaller turboprops, all leave a significant gap in my logbook. My plan was to do some Scandinavian megatrip using some airmiles I had unexpectedly accrued. MD80s, Dornier 328s and CRJs were the order of the day. However further investigation revealed this would cost upwards of £200 and would use all of my airmiles, leaving none for a potential future flight.

It was then that A.net user BMIFlyer suggested hopping on a LET-410 out of Blackpool on their short hop to the Isle of Man. Pe@rson chipped in and suggested trying to combine this with a Do228 or Metro. However investigation revealed that tying up all of these flights in one day would be difficult. The Do228 only operated the GLO-IOM route at inconvenient times and was relatively expensive. The Metro is no longer used, and the LBA-IOM flights are operated by a Jetstream 31. It would still be a new subtype (I've done the J41 already), but not as rare as a LET410.

I decided to try and cover all 4 corners of the UK and Ireland, so decided on an Aer Arrann ATR42 IOM-DUB, connecting to an Aer Lingus A320 back to London. From there I could go to Scotland and back to MAN/BHX, however by the time the flights arrived in Scotland I'd have missed the last flights back on a Saturday. Instead it would have to be LHR-MAN on either BA or BD. BA was an earlier flight, but came in at more than twice the price once I'd used some of my airmiles. The LHR-MAN sector cost £37, using 4500 Diamond Club miles. There was also the offchance that the scheduled A320 would be subbed for an ERJ145 (although strangely, through my sheer avoidance of the A320 for being so common, I've only actually flown on one, over ten years ago!). I would also have to get to BLK for 07:30 on a Saturday morning, but with a train station next door and regular connections from Preston and Manchester Airport, it was but a 90 minute train journey from Manchester Airport. I could leave the car there and then just hop straight back in on arrival from LHR for the drive home.

My route was decided. Here is the plan:

10 DEC 2011

BLK-IOM NM VAA103 LET-410 08:25-09:05
IOM-DUB RE RE374 ATR42 11:10-11:50
DUB-LHR EI EI168 A320 14:10-15:25
LHR-MAN BD BD592 A320 17:55-19:00

4 flights, 3 new airlines, 2 new aircraft types, one airline that may not be around much longer.

The grand total, including all flights and train fare came to just over £150. It would mean an early start, leaving home at 3.30am to get to Manchester for 5am. I booked my parking (£12 for 24 hours in the multi-storey), and train from Manchester to Blackpool

The day of the flight was fast approaching, when the UK was hit by the first of the snowfall for 2011/2012. A few days out, I had to make a decision on how this was going to work. Driving across a snow-covered Peak District in a blizzard at 4am did not seem particularly wise, and that was if the roads were open. If the passes were closed (very likely) it would be a detour via Leeds, and a 2.5 hour drive instead of a 1.5 hour drive, and potentially a missed train – meaning the whole day would be off. I looked at the prices of hotels and discovered that along with some of my remaining Diamond Club miles, I could stay in the Bewleys at Manchester Airport the night before for £15. I booked it without hesitation and managed to change my parking so that I was in T3 multi-storey (closer to the hotel), and only a short walk from the terminal when I got back. At least with an evening drive it would mean not quite such an early start on the Saturday, although with a 5.45am train it still wasn't exactly a lie in!

The day of my trip soon came around, and on a dark, cloudy night it was time to make the trek across the Peak District to Manchester. The M62 was closed turning the motorway journey into a 4 hour journey to cover 80 miles, so the only option was to bite the bullet and head straight across the Peaks. This journey can be treacherous at the best of times, but with heavy snow, fog, ice and gale force winds, this was not going to be a pleasant drive.

The drive started off OK, and I was getting a little complacent. However things soon turned messy. The snow started falling around 20 miles in as we started to climb into the peaks. Before I knew it, the roads were covered in sheet ice and packed snow. At times I was driving at 5mph. Sometimes I got up to 25mph. Then the blizzard hit, and it was near-whiteout conditions. Then the fog hit as well. The ABS kicked in countless times. I skidded twice on bends and almost crashed. Treacherous was not the word. I was pleased when we started descending towards Stockport and as quickly as it had come, it went.

For those interested, here is a (time-lapsed) video of my drive to the airport:

                                                                  

I finally arrived at the airport 55 miles, and 2 ½ hours later. I parked in the designated multi-storey car park, and in the pouring rain decided to go and try to checkin for my BMI flight back to Manchester the following evening. No such luck, the machines were not playing ball. Instead I fought my way through the torrential rain to my accommodation for the night, the Bewleys Hotel.

There was a queue to check in, but finally I got checked in. They offered me a shuttle bus to the train station, but it was only across the road (a 2 minute walk!) and I'm not that lazy! In any case, I always prefer not to have to rely on other people when travelling. I headed up to my room where it was time to crash out in time for an early start the following day. At this point I realised I'd made a schoolboy error. I'd completely forgotten my train tickets for the following morning! I'd have to purchase them again at the train station as it was too late to contact them now.

My room (385) at Bewleys Hotel.  Not fancy but its only for the night

View from my room.  The rail station is on the right.

I hardly slept overnight, and I woke up at 4.45 ready to head out to the station. The rain had stopped by now and frozen into an icy glaze. It was almost impossible to walk without falling over. I had to walk on the road, which fortunately was deserted at this ungodly hour. I called into the petrol station for a cup of coffee (£2!!) and stumbled across to the railway station. The tickets were the same price as I'd paid online, so I bought them from the machine and headed to the platform where my train was waiting.

My train waiting to take me on the first leg of my journey to Blackpool

m 
05:31 and the 05:45 train isn't even switched on yet.

I was approached by an eastern European lady who was looking for the train to Wrexham.  She wanted to know if this was the correct train.  I looked at her piece of paper with trains listed on and advised she'd need the Llandudno train which was on the other platform.  "Are you sure" she said, as someone had told her she needed platform 1.  "It says Llandudno on the other train" I said, at which point she grabbed her husband and with suitcases legged it to the other platform to catch the correct train.

At 05:40 the train's engine started and the lights came on.  The doors unlocked to allow us entry to the train.  I got on the train and in no time we were on our way north.  The train was empty at this time of the morning, only a couple of other dedicated travellers.  However more people got on at Manchester Piccadilly, heading to Edinburgh.  At Bolton the peace was shattered as a group of around 30 teenagers boarded.  Fortunately there was only a couple of stops up to my connection at Preston, where I deboarded into a freezing cold morning.

The 07:00 to Blackpool soon rolled into the station, a rattly old affair with two carriages.  The train was barely any warmer than the platform, and was similarly empty.  This was a slow train that stopped at every station en-route to Blackpool.  As we neared Squires Gate, the sky gradually began to lighten a little, and I got off the train at Squires Gate for the short walk to the airport.

Blackpool Airport in the early light

I entered the terminal to be confronted with signs advising that I had to pay £10 for the privilege of using the airport, as an "Airport Development Fee".  This is paid into a touchscreen machine that spits out a little receipt, seemingly the only area benefitting from this "Development" fee.

I took my receipt and online boarding pass to the guy on security, an old guy with milk-bottle bottom glasses taped together like Jack Duckworth.  He looked at my boarding pass and said "I always wondered how people got these long names".  "Marriage" I said.  "Has a lot to answer for, that" he said.  He ticked my name off a list of passengers, looked like there would be six on board this morning.  He then replaced my printed boarding pass with a real one, and bid me a pleasant flight.

I entered the departure lounge, in reality a metal shed with some seats in it.

The departure lounge at Blackpool

There was a Jet2.com 737 parked outside, in preparation for the later Alicante flight, for which the majority of passengers in the departure lounge looked to be heading.  The rain started again, sounding like thunder on the terminal's tin roof.  I popped to the gentleman's room, and as I came out heard the din of a turboprop pulling onto stand.  I looked out of the window and sure enough, here was my ride for my 100th flight, LET-410 OK-TCA.

Boarding was called through gate 5 (quite why five gates are needed here is anyone's guess).  The flight was to Belfast City calling at Isle of Man.

The doors were opened and we walked out to the aircraft in the rain.

Our ride for today sitting in the Blackpool rain

This aircraft has a colourful history, having been delivered new to Aeroflot in 1990 as CCCP-67638.  It was converted into a freighter and served with Air Polonia Cargo and Sky Express, before being delivered to today's operator Van Air Europe in 2007.

This aircraft in its former guises:

 

This is my 100th flight, my first LET-410 and my first time with Van Air Europe (and Manx2 for that matter).

 

Date	10 December 2011
Airline	Van Air Europe
Flight No	NM103
From	Blackpool (BLK)
To	Isle of Man (Ronaldsway) (IOM)
Aircraft	LET-410 Turbolet
Registration	OK-TCA
STD/ATD	08:25 / 08:35
STA/ATA	09:05 / 09:01
Flight Time	0:26

 

We were welcomed at the steps by the pilot, who gave us sweets to suck for take-off.  I could hardly contain my excitement as I climbed the steps into the 21 year old aircraft and walked up the inside.  I was walking along the aisle of one of my rarest aircraft to date, and my first Soviet airliner.  Unfortunately I was beaten to the front row by the chap in front of me, but I took the seat behind him.

The pilot shouted "Toodle-pip" to the ground agent and pulled the door shut.  He walked to the front of the cabin and welcomed us aboard.  He announced his name as Alex, the first officer today was Mariusz.  He asked us to please watch the short safety film which was about to be shown on the LCD TV fastened to the front wall of the cabin.

He pressed play on the DVD and as the video was playing, climbed into his seat and strapped in.  

The safety video on Manx2 is quite humourous, and done by school children from the Isle of Man.  Here is the video:

                                   

The pilots started the engines running and we began our taxi out to runway 28, backtracking most of the length of the runway, the wheels splashing in the rain puddles.

Before too long we did a U turn and without stopping, the pilots opened up the throttles and we were on our way.  

     

Acceleration was very brisk, getting pushed right back into our seats.  I couldn't help but harness a massive grin on my face as we rocketed down the runway. Within a few hundred feet, we were airborne and at a good altitude above the terminal building, bouncing around in the rainy morning air.  We got an excellent view of the town of Blackpool, Blackpool Tower and the Pleasure Beach with its rollercoasters twisting into the sky.  One thing that did not look too inviting this morning was the beach, the waves crashing onto the beach in the gales.

The pilots set the aircraft's autopilot to 3000ft and flew the aircraft by hand for the lateral navigation.  

Bouncing through the clouds at 3000ft

 Unfortunately 3000ft placed the aircraft smack in the middle of the cloud layer, and for the majority of the flight we were being bounced around in the cloud, occasionally getting a glimpse of the choppy Irish Sea down below.

Continuing across the sea

Next cloud bank coming up

Cloudy sky

The "In Flight Entertainment" (if you could call it that) was a documentary about the history of the Isle of Man.  This played on the big LCD screen at the front of the cabin, the sound coming through the intercom speakers.  Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to it, most were busy looking out of the window.

Rolling on through cloud

Breaking through the cloud for a while, trailing aircraft up above

As we continued across the sea, I spotted the massive Walney wind farm in the middle of the sea.  This was followed by a rig out at sea.  I certainly wouldn't fancy being stuck out here in this weather.

Walney Wind Farm.  When complete this will be one of the largest wind farms in the UK, 15km off the coast.

Gas platform in the Morecambe Bay field

First Officer Alex flying us over the Irish Sea.

Choppy sea down below

The Isle of Man coastline in the distance

We continued across the open sea, before finally we could see the coast of the Isle of Man in the distance.  It grew closer and closer until we could start to make out some buildings along the coast.

Douglas, capital of the Isle of Man

We began our descent towards runway 26, bouncing our way down the approach path.  As we got closer to the coast it got more and more bouncy, as a result of the cliffs on short final.  Through the flight deck we could see the runway ahead.  

We touched down on runway 26, the props going into reverse pitch as we rolled out along the runway.  We taxied in to the terminal, pulling onto stand a few minutes early.

As the captain performed the shutdown checks, Alex unbuckled and came into the cabin, welcoming us to the Isle of Man and asking if we could please remain seated until we are asked to leave the aircraft.  He did not seem particularly comfortable with speaking to an aircraft full of passengers, and to be honest I wouldn't be either!  He opened the back door, shouting "Hello again" to the ramp agent.  As the steps were placed into position, he signalled for us to leave the aircraft.  I said thank you as I disembarked, and grabbed a photo of our ride.

OK-TCA sitting on the ground at Ronaldsway

We walked into the terminal to be greeted by a sign apologising for the disruption during the airport's renovation, followed by the following sign:

I love the definition of "Renovation" over here :-)

I walked through the terminal, being directed through the "International Arrivals" channel, strange seeing as though we are strictly speaking part of the British Isles.  As I arrived in the terminal I texted my wife to let her know I'd arrived safely, and noticed that my phone was now roaming to Manx Telecom.  How frustrating, seeing as though the landlines on the Isle of Man are all BT, yet for mobile phones it's classed as abroad :-(  However the good news is the airport has free Wifi.  I headed outside the airport (so I could at least say I'd visited the Isle of Man!), and shot a few photos:

Outside the terminal building

Weird numberplates!

Memorial plaque for an aircraft that crashed after flying from this airport

Legs!

I wandered around to try and get some photographs of the ramp.

easyJet A319 landing from Liverpool.  I hadn't realised easyJet flew here

My ride from Blackpool continuing on its flight to Belfast City

Heading off for takeoff

I headed back into the terminal as there as a very cold wind in the air.  I decided to head upstairs and grab myself some breakfast.

Manx2's latest aircraft type?

There is a little cafe upstairs which was deserted.  I decided on a breakfast bap.  "Are you hungry?" the lady asked.  "Well I've been up since 4.30am and I'm freezing so I need something to warm up!" I replied.  She buttered a cob and stuffed it with 4 slices of bacon and 3 sausages.  "Enjoy your meal" she said, as I walked off with grease dripping from the cob.  It did taste nice though, even if it did resemble something from a truck stop!

I took a seat near to the window to eat my breakfast, three airport workers were sat on the next table.  They appeared to be excited about a new pound shop that was opening in Douglas today.  "Ooh yes I'd heard about that" one said.  "Ooh they have those in England" said another.  Simple things I guess....

Over the ramp from where I was sitting was a Manx2 Do.228 that appeared to be having some problems starting engine 1.  The aircraft was surrounded by mechanics and two fire engines, with a few firemen there as well.

Finally they got the engine running, and boarding was announced for the "delayed Manx2 flight to Gloucester".  

Engines running and ready to go

I never noticed the weird shape of the landing gear on the Do.228 before.

I decided it was time to head through security to departures.  There was no queue and it took no time at all.  Once I got through the departure gates were empty with maybe 5-6 people scattered around.  There was a small shop and seats, and a TV area showing kids TV for a baby with her mother, later to join my flight to Dublin.

I would love to get on one of these one day.

Another Manx2 LET coming in

Pulling onto stand

Before too long another aircraft was on appraoch, with the distinctive shape of the ATR.  My plane was coming in from her flight from London City.  She landed and taxied into the stand in front of me.

My ride to Dublin pulling onto stand

Captain looking out of the window

Almost looking like a toy, as ground crew swarm the aircraft to perform their tasks to turn the aircraft around

Opening the baggage hold door to unload the bags

About 15 minutes passed before I head a radio crackle into life.  "Yeah we're ready for the passengers now".  Shortly after, an announcement was made.  "Ladies and gentlemen, Aer Arann flight RE374 to Dublin is now ready for boarding.  Please make your way to gate number five".  I headed to the gate where only one passenger was waiting.  There were only a few passengers on this flight, including the lady with the infant.  They went down to board first, and the rest of us followed.  We walked down the stairs and across the apron to our waiting ATR.

Walking across to our waiting ATR

Date	10 December 2011
Airline	Aer Arann
Flight No	RE374
From	Isle of Man (IOM)
To	Dublin (DUB)
Aircraft	ATR42-300
Registration	EI-BYO
STD/ATD	11:10 / 11:16
STA/ATA	11:50 / 11:42
Flight Time	0:31

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This is 101st flight.  It is my second ATR flight, and my first on an ATR42.  It is also my first flight on Aer Arann.  This aircraft was delivered new in 1989 to another, larger Irish airine, Ryanair believe it or not where it served three years.  It then went to Brit Air in 1992, and Cimber Air, Denmark in 1996.  Aer Arann took delivery of the aircraft in 2002.  This aircraft also starred in the airline's "World Air Routes" documentary. 

As I boarded the aircraft, I was welcomed aboard by Brendan, a rather effeminate but lovely Irish flight attendant.  The cabin was playing the sounds of Wham's "Last Christmas" as we boarded.  I took my seat in 3F.  I was a little worried about the space in this seat after reading a trip report saying it was the most cramped seat on the aircraft, but I needn't have worried.  I'm 6'4" and although it was tight, it certainly wasn't uncomfortable.  Moreover the other seats on the aircraft all had similar amounts of room, so it wasn't bad at all.

In front of me was an empty row, and in front of that a pair of rear-facing seats that weren't in use (not selectable at online check in).  Row 2 would have had plenty of leg room however.

Brendan welcomed us aboard from his seat at the rear, and said he would be conducting a short safety demonstration.  He came to the front to carry it out, and used it as an opportunity to do his cabin check.

Captain Gerald Mishler welcomed us onboard today's 'short hop' down to Dublin, introducing himself and first officer Bernadette Sellers.  He advised that we could be cruising at just 10,000ft for today's flight.  It would take around 29 minutes, and the weather in Dublin was "Nice" and "4 degrees C".

Before long we were pushed back, and we started our engines.  I was rather hoping for an H-mode one engine taxi, however both engines started simultaneously and we began our taxi to the runway.  "Cabin crew, seats for takeoff" came the PA from first officer Bernadette.

We taxied out to runway 26, lined up, powered up and were on our way to Dublin.

Another short yet powerful takeoff followed, and we were airborne in no time.  I watched our shadow racing along the ground.  We carried on in a straight line after takeoff, following the coast down to the southwestern tip of the island.  

Southern tip of the Isle of Man

Nice view of the engine

Over the Irish Sea again, Irish coast just visible in the distance

From there within a few minutes we could see the Irish coast.  We had been airborne just 12 minutes before captain Gerald announced our descent into Dublin.  

Beginning our descent, Lambay Island just north of Dublin is visible

Turning onto final approach

Still turning

We approached Dublin from the sea, and descended down to the Dublin area.  The landing gear extended, and we got closer to the ground.

We approached runway 28 and passed the new Aer Lingus terminal as we touched down.

Flight attendant Brendan welcomed us to Dublin in both English and Gaelic.  We had a lengthy taxi to the back end of the aircraft where we parked on a remote stand with a bus waiting.  

Parked on stand.  Could they have made this stand any more remote, we're almost at Shannon!

We drove in past many Ryanair 737s, it was evident that Terminal 1 is the stomping ground of Ryanair!

I said thank you to Brendan as I deplaned, "Have a great day" he replied.  The ground crew met the lady with the infant at the steps with her buggy so she could have it all the way to the terminal, a nice gesture particularly noticeable as many airlines make you wait for the buggy until you get to baggage reclaim.  That journey can be a killer with your hand baggage and a baby!  I hopped onto the bus, satisfied with a very pleasant little flight and a positive impression of Aer Arann, Ireland's lesser known airline.  

As I got off the bus, I was ushered towards the international arrivals door, and I went through to immigration.  I had completely forgotten that part of my journey would be international, its a good job I'd remembered my passport just in case!  I showed my passport to the Garda officer, who was very pleasant.  "Thank you, and have a lovely day" came the response.

I exited into the terminal, my next task to find out where I needed to head for my next flight.  Terminal 2 was the answer, but while I was here I thought I'd check whether I could check in for my BMI flight yet.  I was conscious that I needed to do this, but the machines weren't playing ball again.  I headed to the BMI ticket desk to ask them, and got stuck behind an African guy trying to find out how to ship half his posessions as hold luggage.  He was happy to bring it but not so happy when he was told it was €14 per kg!  He was sent to an excess baggage company to arrange this.  The chap behind the counter was very helpful, he advised that it wouldn't be possible to check in here as I wasn't flying with BMI to London, and you can only check in if your BMI itinerary starts at your current location.  I asked if 90 minutes in London would be enough time, "Oh, plenty of time" he said.  I bid him farewell and set off to try and find Terminal 2.

It didn't take long.

This monstrosity is Dublin's new terminal.  It is awful in my opinion, both in and out.  And it cost €600m.

After eventually finding a way inside the metal monstrosity (via an unsignposted emergency door that was open), I walked inside and headed for the new terminal.

Inside the walkway.

"Criochfort 2", or translated "Crock of shite 2"

Departure board for T2.  I love how anyone not Aer Lingus is told to "Go to Terminal 1", i.e. f**k off :-)

It is clear who's castle this is!

I had a wander around, although I had already checked in so no need to avail of these facilities.  I headed for security.  The whole concept in this terminal seems to be to get higher and higher as you go through the airport, you check in at ground level, then head upstairs for shops, then upstairs again for security and departures.  Maybe it's meant to be symbolic of 'Taking Flight', but to be honest it was just a massive hassle.  I can't imagine what it would be like with a large group of passengers tackling escalator after escalator.  And what happens when they break down?  Those lifts didn't seem too big to me.

Next came security.  The queue moved fast, I opted for one with a pleasant Irish lady scanning the bags through.  However at the passenger in front of me, she went on a break and on came a woman from London.  This is where things went downhill fast.

"Any gels, liquids or sharp objects?" she barked.  "No", I responded and shook my head.  She looked at me blankly.  "Well?" she said.  "Sorry?" I asked.  "I ARKSED you a QUESTION" she retorted.  "And I gave you an answer" I said.  "So HAVE you got any gels, liquids or sharp objects" she asked.  "No, nothing" I responded.  "What, you haven't even got a laptop?" she barked.  "No, I have no sharp objects, no laptop and no gels or liquids" I answered.  "Right then" came the response, and I walked through the scanner feeling very wound up.  I understand these people have to do a job and maybe she didn't hear my response, but there is no need to speak to people in that tone.

Fresh from my encounter with the arsy Brit, I headed to duty free to pick up some presents for my wife for when I got home.  Duty free here is a bit misleading, as to go to the EU (where 90% of flights from here go) there is no duty free, so you are walloped with a higher price.  But nonetheless I thought I'd pick up some perfume for my wife and a bottle of vodka, and whilst in Dublin I thought I'd treat myself to a bottle of Jamesens (last time I was here I didn't pick any up and regretted it ever since!).  All in all it came to over £80, some expensive alcohol then!

As I purchased it the girl asked if this was my last flight today.  "No I'm connecting in London" I responded.  She sealed the bottles in a clear plastic bag to get through security.  As I walked away from the shop, a sudden realisation dawned on me.  In my haste to purchase alcohol, I'd forgotten that I hadn't even checked in for my next flight yet.  How was I going to get 2 litres of booze through security when you can't even take a bottle of mineral water through?  Crap, had I just wasted £80 to see my goods confiscated, to give a very inebriated evening to some burly London security officer?

Today was just starting to get worse and worse.  Dublin was not treating me kindly and to be honest I just wanted to be back on home turf.  I couldn't even call my wife for a chat as we were now on Ireland's terms, and a simple chat would cost a fortune.

Fortunately the airport gives 10 minutes free wifi, so I checked Facebook and checked my emails to try and pass some time.  Soon my gate was announced and I made my way down to the gate area (yes down an escalator this time).  I realised my aircraft was sitting right at the end on the first gate, and remembered a great photo spot back in departures.  I headed back up the escalator and got a nice photo of my next ride, EI-DEE.

My next ride, preparing for my flight

A gaggle of Aer Fungus

I sat down at the gate, and within moments boarding was announced.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, Aer Lingus announce the departure of flight EI168 to London Heet-Row through gate four-oh-noin".  "Top of the mornin' to yer, nar feck off yer gobshoite".  (OK, so I added the last bit in, but felt like thats what they should be saying after my experience of DUB today).

I walked down the jetway and we boarded "Utan" for our flight back to the mainland.

Boarding the aircraft. 

 

Date	10 December 2011
Airline	Aer Lingus
Flight No	EI168
From	Dublin (DUB)
To	London Heathrow (LHR)
Aircraft	Airbus A320-200
Registration	EI-DEE
STD/ATD	14:10 / 14:19
STA/ATA	15:25 / 15:10
Flight Time	0:53

This is 102nd flight.  It is my second A320 flight.  It is my first flight on Aer Lingus.  This aircraft was delivered new to Aer Lingus in June 2004, making it just over 7.5 years old.

I was greeted at the door by an older gentleman, who directed me to my seat.  "Just down dere" he pointed, in the only direction possible unless I was flying the thing.  I placed my bag into the locker and took my seat in 7F.  This aircraft felt like a jumbo jet in comparison to my previous two flights, and it was also a longhaul by comparison, being my longest flight of the day.  I have always avoided flying on A320s where possible, judging them too common to purposely fly on.  However through this policy I have only ever flown on one before today!  Now was the time to bump up my numbers.

View of newer A320 EI-EDP on stand next to us

We were welcomed aboard by British captain James Whelan, who really did not seem to have the time for making such announcements.  The announcement went something like "Welcome aboard, captain James Whelan, flight to London, 59 minutes, weather nice".  All in about 3 seconds.  We pushed back from the stand as the safety briefing played.  We pushed back several minutes early, but then had to wait for 5 minutes for a sister A320 to pull onto the stand next to us.

We were soon taxying out very speedily to the active runway 28, where we lined up, powered up and off we went into the clear sky.

We climbed out from runway 28, making a right turn shortly after takeoff.  We got a beautiful view of the whole of Dublin Airport down below.

Dublin Airport on the downwind leg

City of Dublin with the airport just in front of the engine

We continued towards the coast, climbing to an altitude of FL310.  We headed out across the Irish Sea towards the north of Wales.

The cabin crew commenced their inflight service, a buy on board offering.  I was extremely thirsty as until now I'd only had a cup of coffee at breakfast today, but I wasn't going to pay €2.50 for a small bottle of water.  However, the lady two seats across from me asked for water and was given the option of tap water or bottled.  The tap water was free, so I asked for a glass of water as well, when it came I downed it in one I was so thirsty!

Sunshine breaking through over the Irish Sea

Overhead the Irish Sea

Heading towards Wales

We flew towards Anglesey in North Wales.  From there it was inland on a path towards Stoke on Trent, then a right turn to fly overhead Birmingham and down towards the London area.

Reflection in the engine.  Bet you can guess the airline!

Captain Whelan came over the PA again and did not seem as rushed this time.  We were shortly to be beginning our descent down to London.  The weather was looking very pleasant, and at this time it did not look like we would have to enter a holding pattern, but he would advise us if this changed.  We were due to arrive around 15 minutes early.

Shortly after this, the cabin manager came on the PA to advise that if anyone wanted to purchase anything from the Sky Shop they could do so by calling the crew using the crew call button.  One person did this to buy a bottle of perfume.

Banking left to commence our approach overhead Leamington Spa

We began our descent and the crew came around to collect the rubbish from the service.  We got closer to London and banked left to begin our approach to the north of London.

We took a left turn at Leamington Spa, and then directly towards Watford. 

Compton Pools, to the east of Stratford-upon-Avon.  Gaydon Aerodrome (disused) under the cloud.

Patchy clouds over Oxfordshire

Banbury, Oxfordshire.  The polygon shaped lake in the middle near the bottom is Grimsbury Reservoir.

Commencing our approach over north London

As we commenced our approach, I could see a Virgin A340-600 on approach ahead of us.  This was flight VS901 from Tokyo which landed just ahead of us.  It looked like my luck was in, I'd chosen a seat on the right hand side of the aircraft with the hope we would be landing on 27L and I would get a good view of Central London on approach.  The weather was good, and we were going in for a 27L arrival.

Unfortunately at this time the battery on my camcorder decided to die, so I had to take still shots of the approach.

Making our right turn onto final approach over East London.  The Millenium Dome/o2 Arena is visible.

Continuing our turn onto final approach.  London City Airport is just below the wing.

London's Financial district, with Canary Wharf in the centre

"The Shard", due for completion May 2012.  When complete it will be the tallest building in the UK at 1,017ft.

Central London.  Visible here is Hyde Park, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Cathedral, Houses of Parliament/Big Ben and the Millenium Wheel

Overview of Central London with many landmarks visible.  Buckingham Palace is in centre-left, Battersea Power Station bottom-left.

West London, Kew Gardens below the engine and Brentford north of the river

Hounslow area of London

Industrial estate on the A312 near the airport

The famous Hatton Cross tube station, and BA maintenance at Heathrow

South African A330 in the maintenance area

Touchdown!  New terminal in the background.

Our aircraft on short final (from heathrowcam.net)

We vacated at high speed to the right, as a KLM Cityhopper F70 was very close behind.  There were another three aircraft on final approach behind that one.

Vacating to the right, aircraft lined up on T3

We were welcomed to London Heathrow by the cabin manager, who took great delight in telling us we had landed over 15 minutes early.  

We taxied around the west of Terminal 3, following the Virgin A340 that landed in front of us.  

Iberia A321 in special colour scheme heading back to Madrid

Aircraft lined up on T3

After a few minutes we pulled on stand next to sister aircraft EI-DEN, which was about to pushback for her flight to Dublin.

Pulling on stand.  Are we back in Dublin?

Most people seemed in a rush to get off the aircraft, so I sat back and waited for the queue to go down a little.  I deplaned and was bid a good day from the crew at the door, and made my way into Terminal 1.

Heading through the metal tube to the terminal

There was no passport control to go through, which I though strange seeing as we were coming from an international flight.  

I emerged into the check in area, and had to decide what to do about my duty-free selection.  I then had an idea.  I didn't need to take my rucksack on as hand baggage for my next flight, so if I removed my lenses and put them in my pockets, I'd be able to cram my duty free into my rucksack and check it in.  The only issue would be having to wait for it to come through the carousel at Manchester.

That doesn't look too healthy!

I spoke to a helpful BMI employee and asked him if it could be taken on, he said unfortunately not as security would indeed confiscate it.  He pointed me in the direction of the check in desks and wished me a pleasant flight.  I queued for around 10 minutes, and when I got to the counter the lady advised me that this lane was only for those who had checked in at the machines.  "I'm sorry" I said, "but the chap over there asked me to come and check in here".  "It's no problem" she said, "I can check you in here but its just for your information for next time" she said.  "Would you prefer a window or aisle seat?" she asked.  "A window please" I responded.  "I can see you're quite tall, would you like an exit row?" she asked.  "Yes please" I responded.  She tagged my bag and wished me a good flight.  Finally some excellent customer service I thought. 

I decided to take a wander outside for some fresh air.

Definitely at Heathrow!

Exterior of Terminal 1

I headed back inside to try and head through security.

Christmas trees in the check in area

I proceeded to the security area where there was quite a queue.  There was a fast track lane that was empty, maybe this is for premium passengers.  I had to have my photograph taken as I entered the queue.

As I queued, another passenger hadn't noticed that it was a fast track lane, and tempted by the prospect of not having to queue, ducked under the barrier to join this queue.  No sooner had she done this did a security guy come running up.  "Madam!  Madam!" She turned to the security guy.  "Can't you READ?!?!? It says FARST TRACK!!"  How condascending, surely a simple explanation would have sufficed rather than trying to make people feel stupid.

I finally got to the end of the line and set the machine off as I walked through (the first time today, and no difference in what I was carrying).  I got patted down, the chap flickedthrough my passport and sent on my way.

Once through to the Terminal 1 shopping mall, I decided to grab a meal deal from Boots, a sandwich, 1 litre bottle of water and large bag of crisps for £3.79.  Then I headed to Boots for a can of Relentless to try and wake me some in time for the drive home!

There was a chap dressed as Santa walking around ringing a bell and shouting "Ho ho ho".  

My flight status soon changed to "Go to Gate 8".  I headed through to the gate area and had to queue to have my boarding pass checked against my photograph.  I got down to the 8 gates (8A-8F), and sat and waited while I took a couple of photos.

Lufthansas waiting to go back to Germany

BA 747 off somewhere exotic

Lufthansa Airbus at the gate

I just happened to check the screens to find out if my gate had been specified yet, and noticed it said "Go to Gate 76".  I asked the lady at one of the desks who had no idea where it was, only "Back out the way you came in".

I headed back and found the gates only went down to 77 through here.  I had to go back through the photo check area into the departure lounge with the shops, then out to gate 76.  After walking seemingly the length of the terminal, I reached a closed door.  Another passenger was also there.  After a couple of minutes, a BMI employee came down to open the door.  "Can I help?" he said.  We asked if this was gate 76.  He looked at our boarding passes and advised that we were in the wrong gate.  "But it says 76 on the wall" we enquired.  "Yes you are in 76, but your flight is going from gate 77.  77 is this gate next door".  "Can't you just let us through" I asked.  "Unfortunately not" he said.  Basically it seems that the same aircraft stand is serviced by two gates, 76 and 77.  76 is for international flights, 77 is for domestic flights.  The employee could not let us through from the international side to the domestic side as by law the two areas must be kept seperate and they simply cannot let passengers hop through.  We would have to go all the way back into the departure lounge yet again, before coming back around and through the photo check again to enter gate 77 through the correct door at the other end of the gate.  "But our flight leaves in 15 minutes" we said.  "Don't worry, we know you're here and we will not go without you" he said.

So me and my fellow passenger headed back through to the departure lounge, and followed the sign to go back yet again to gate 77 and 8.  We queued for the photo check.  The lady scanned my boarding card and the machine let out a decisive beep.  She scanned it again and it beeped again.  "Is there a problem?" I asked.  "Yes" she said.  "The machine is saying you have already been through once already".  "I have" I said, "But the gate changed and I had to come back through".  "I'm sorry, I can't let you through again.  You will have to go back out to the check in area and get your boarding card re-issued, and have a new photo taken".  "But my flight leaves in less than 10 minutes" I said.  "Hold on" she said, and rang for her supervisor.

The supervisor turned up a few minutes later, a South African chap.  The lady explained my predicament.  "So you have been through once already?" he asked.  "Yes, and the gate changed so I came back through, but now it has changed again and I have to come back through" I said.  He pulled out a 3 page form that he had to fill in, just to allow me back through.  After filling it in, he confirmed that indeed I had to go to gate 77, and scribbled on my boarding card that I had already been through bio-metrics.  At this point he said "You're going from 77 aren't you".  "Looks like it" I said.  "Could you do me a massive favour please?"  "Go on.." I said.  "A passenger on your flight left his boarding card here.  Could you please take it with you and give it to the gate agent?  If they have any problems please tell them to give me a call".  "Of course" I said, confused by how such stringent security and 3 pages of forms to fill out had to be done just to let me get to my flight, yet they were giving me someone else's boarding pass.

My "Special Needs" boarding pass

I headed down to the gate where the passengers had already began boarding.  I went to the gate agent and showed him my boarding card.  "Oh you made it then, we've been waiting for you!".  I handed the agent the other chap's boarding pass and explained what the security chap said.  He looked confused but thanked me for bringing it.  "We're boarding now" he said, so I joined the queue and saw the other chap that had gone to the wrong gate with me.  "You made it then" he asked.  "Yes after some trauma" I replied.  It seemed that we weren't the only passengers to have been given the runaround, a lot of the other passengers were complaining at having to go to 76 and then back to 77, it seemed I was the only one who had jumped and gone straight to the 8 gates and had the problems getting back through, it then changed to 76, before changing again to 77 after most passengers had gone to 76.

What an absolute pain in the backside, when it would just have taken somebody opening a door to let people through in the first place.

Never mind, it was now time to board, and we headed down the jetbridge to the aircraft.  

Date	10 December 2011
Airline	BMI British Midland International
Flight No	BD592
From	London Heathrow (LHR)
To	Manchester Intl (MAN)
Aircraft	Airbus A320-200
Registration	G-MIDT
STD/ATD	17:55 / 18:10
STA/ATA	19:00 / 18:47
Flight Time	0:37

This is 103rd flight.  It is my third A320 flight.  It is my 10th flight on BMI British Midland, making them my most travelled on airline now.  This aircraft was delivered new to BMI in March 2001, making it almost 11 years old.

As I boarded it hit me how very spacious this aircraft was.  The business class cabin was very spacious and I made my way down to row 11 where I was to be seated.  Being an exit row there was plenty of space here too.  

View from my seat

The rest of my fellow passengers boarded, only 20 in total.  This was my second flight on BD592 LHR-MAN, the last time I was on an A319 which was also almost empty.  Now we are on an A320 that is similarly empty.  Not a good sign for this route, surely they'd be better putting a smaller aircraft on the route?  They run it with an ERJ-145 a lot of the time, I am curious as to the need for an A320 for 20 passengers.

A lot of the passengers asked "Can we move seats?".  The flight attendant said that once the doors were closed people could sit wherever they liked as the flight was almost empty.  "Can we move to those seats up there" several passengers asked, pointing to the business class cabin.  "Unfortunately not" came the response, "I don't make the rules",

The captain welcomed us aboard however I did not catch his name.  By this time I was so tired after my runaround I just wanted to sleep and get home.  The TV screens were deployed for the safety demonstration which played as we pushed back from the terminal.  

As the engines started the power transfer unit started "barking", to the amusement of many other passengers.  "That doesn't sound too healthy" said one.  We commenced our taxi out to runway 27R, and joined a long queue for takeoff.

After a powerful takeoff we took the standard routing for this flight - a right turn out overhead Slough, direct to Leighton Buzzard and then left to join the airways towards the northwest.

The fasten seatbelt sign was extinguished after only a couple of minutes of flight as we were still climbing quite steeply in the SID, but I was desperate for the loo so wobbled my way towards the back of the aircraft straight away.

Once back at my seat, the trolley was working its way up the aircraft.  A few passengers complained at having to pay for a cup of coffee.

We turned left overhead Leighton Buzzard and headed towards the West Midlands.

 Coventry by night.  The M6 and its junction with the M69 crosses the bottom right-hand corner, the Ricoh Arena can be seen on the right hand side.

Coventry in the foreground, Birmingham in the background, linked by the M6.

Birmingham by night.  The M6 snakes in from the left hand side, the M42 heads off to the bottom right.

Tamworth, Staffordshire by night

Stoke-on-Trent

We soon began our descent, and carried out a circular hold overhead Buxton, in the cloud.  Before too long we were coming down the approach path for runway 23R, and touching down smoothly.

We were welcomed to Manchester and the crew were pleased to announce we had arrived early.  As we taxied in the PTU started barking again, to the amusement of my fellow passengers.  We pulled onto stand and the engines were shut down.

I deboarded the aircraft up the jetway, and headed for the baggage reclaim.  The belt was already going round and my bag was one of the first through.  I headed out to the car park and then was back on the road home after a very long day!

I decided to head home across the Woodhead Pass which was completely clear of snow and ice, and was home within 90 minutes of setting off, ready for a rest!