With plenty of time to spare between my recent arrival from Newcastle and the upcoming departure to Dublin, I chose to go landside and come back in via the First Wing, rather than use the transfer route. The First Wing is a real bonus if you have use of it, it is only busy at the peak of the morning rush, every other time it’s quick and easy. The First Wing has its own private security area which makes getting airside incredibly fast, and has the added benefit of leading directly to the first lounge and from there, to the Concorde Room.
I managed to learn something new about those fancy new security scanners—they absolutely loathe stacks of paper. So, naturally, my rucksack got flagged and promptly rejected. The culprit? a newly acquired stack of Skyflyer log books from the previous flight! I suppose paper now counts as contraband.
Eventually, I made it through and walked straight through the first lounge and across the hallway to the Concorde Room where I arrived right at the magical switchover between breakfast and lunch. I was offered both menus and, after a moment’s deliberation, decided to try something off the lunch menu. The shellfish bisque, and the chicken with coq au vin sauce sounded just the ticket.
Landside and back in I went, which was a hassle all on its own. And, as it turns out, I managed to learn something new about those fancy new security scanners—they absolutely loathe stacks of paper. So, naturally, my rucksack got flagged and promptly rejected. The culprit? My newly acquired stack of Skyflyer log books! I suppose paper now counts as contraband.
Eventually, I made it through and arrived at the Concorde Room right at the magical switchover between breakfast and lunch. I was offered both menus and, after a moment’s deliberation, decided to try something off the lunch menu. The shellfish bisque had been calling my name for some time, and the chicken with coq au vin sauce sounded just the ticket.
To my pleasant surprise, the food arrived in record time. Both dishes were fantastic, but the bisque stole the show! I didn’t expect to enjoy it that much, but there I was, spooning it up like it was a guilty pleasure. The chicken was a hefty portion of meat compared to the modest amount of veg and sauce. Cooked perfectly and moist as can be, though I’d suggest asking for a little extra sauce to round things out. You can never go wrong with more sauce!
With my ever Edinburgh flight showing ever increasing delays there was time for a coffee and a brandy before I needed to drag myself away and head to the gate
LHR-EDI
BA1446
G-EUYN
Departure: 14:27
Arrival: 15:16
And so, I made my way to the gate where, unsurprisingly, the delay seemed to be stretching like a piece of chewing gum. The crew were here, but our plane was evidently not in the mood to make an appearance just yet. Figuring I might as well be proactive, I approached the gate agent to ask about Group 0 boarding. He said he’d make a call but was happy to let me pre-board. Sounded good to me! I ended up stationed at the top of the escalator, making small talk with the crew for a solid 20 minutes while we all waited for our elusive aircraft to arrive.
Finally at 13:30, the plane appeared and the crew headed on board. Clearly, we were not going anywhere before 14:00. Deep breaths. This crew is a lively lot, full of cheerful banter at the front, which is always a promising start.
Finally, boarding began at 13:40, and I have to hand it to the crew—they raced through the safety checks like seasoned pros. Boarding wrapped up at 14:05, and then the pilot chimed in with an update: the plane had been stuck in an incoming traffic jam, which explained the lengthy delay getting to the gate. Oh, and as luck would have it, there’s another jam on the outbound. We’re expecting to push back shortly, but it’d be a solid half-hour before we take off. And so, the waiting game continued.
It was an interesting flight, the crew got off to a poor start and they really had to get their hustle on at the end, the landing gear were down and they were still securing the cabin! They got there in the end but it was really only just. The meal choice was salmon with avocado or salad with avocado, did I get to California early?!?
The rest of the flight was spent watching the world go by, and we landed just over a half hour late. Time to find the BA lounge.
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