queenie82
Queen of the 5 Castles
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2008
A Wander around the West Midlands and North East Wales
Ill start by saying I dont have a good record of completing Trip reports and still have one or two . in an unfinished state. One was started just because I wanted to report the eventful beginning. With much prodding I got up until mid way through (after skipping over part) but in any case I will start with this disclaimer before little miss lord of the TR (you know who you are) says anything.
Ok so I recently went to the UK for a couple of weeks to visit my DBF. We based ourselves in Shropshire and did sightseeing around there. My DBF knows this area quite well and seemed to enjoy showing me around this part of the world.
Part of my reason for reporting on this trip is to show you guys what is in the area. Im not going to tell you exactly what DBF said about Cardiff but suffice to say he thinks the North of Wales is much nicer and as a pom
pom or *pommie - an Australian nickname given to English people. Somewhat derogatory in nature the term can be used in both a positive and negative context. There is a debate as to how the word came about, some believe the original term "POME" is an anacronym for "Prisoner Of Mother England" the title given to convicts sent to the early Australian penal colonies. In a reverse of circumstances Australian's joke that it is the English who are now the prisoners in their own country (mother England) as the Australian lifestyle is widely regarded as better than England's.
he says that the English arent terribly welcome in Cardiff. (I dont know the details its similar to the hatred between football clubs over there???)
Anyway. This area doesnt feature generally on the whirlwind trips Aussies make to the Mother land. So Ill show you whats here in case you do think it might appeal.
The order of destinations was sort of planned but also to do with my exhaustion levels after travelling for 30 hours.
My journey - For those interested I flew United airlines because due to the merger I managed to work through an anomaly in their system to score a trip SYD-LHR for $1700. (Although interestingly they then advertised as low as $1350 for this up until March but I couldnt have gotten the dates I wanted and the connection through LAX is much longer than SFOs 6 hours.)
This was the same cost as flying Virgin Atlantic (which was who I was going to go with if only because they fly about the tightest connection around) but United gave me more useful mileage points and TWO 23kg bags. Oh and much more relaxed carry-on baggage allowance. If it fits theyre happy. As opposed to the witch at QANTAS who charged me $100 for 5kg excess baggage for my HK-SYD flight home last time
and forced me to check in my gorgeous brand new carry on roll on Even though my ticket bought through Air France GAVE ME the 12kg allowance vs QANTAS 7kg. 
My thoughts on United to USA are unchanged. I had lovely flights with good service. However I found the British based United crew somewhat lacking in personality and service. The Breakfast served before arriving in LHR was a continental style with a pastry, yoghurt and something else. Not bad really. Just not what Im accustomed too. It also did NOT include alcohol despite being an International flight. Strangely people happily parted with $5-$7pp for a teeny bottle of spirits or wine. But THIS causes delays as they only accept credit cards.
As to WHY this different type of crew is the case it could be because the approach to becoming a flight attendant in the USA is different to the UK. Many people who become a flight attendant in the UK do it as a temporary passing through job. A friend of DBF did it for a few years before becoming a paramedic. Many women do it to find and marry a pilot (no joke), and many do it to get a few years of travelling around seeing places. However you DO have to be there a few years before you get to go to the good places. In the USA becoming a flight attendant is a career. As many say United have an older crew often. Which I really appreciate actually. They can be lovely and quirky and actually help well with small children. They also know their job well and can work VERY fast and VERY efficiently.
Someone DBF knew worked for BMI and they had to clean the aircraft largely themselves at each turn around on the short hops around the UK. Which is why they come around SO MANY TIMES to collect rubbish as the more they have to do after you get off, the more chance of a delay in turn around.
SPEAKING of which all my flights were delayed. The ones to and from LHR the most. Why? Late arriving aircraft. Now I dont so much mind delays except when they keep changing HOW delayed it is.
My layover in SFO was to be 6 hours each way, which of all airports to be stuck in while in the USA, this is one of the best. But I chose to try out the United Club to see what it was like. Now those expecting something like what you find in Hong Kongs travellers lounge. You will be SORELY disappointed. I do think the United club is over priced and depending on how youre travelling probably NOT worth the money. But as I was travelling alone I think it was worth the $39. If only for the large Disabled toilets, which catered for me and my carry on and would give you space to change and have a cursory wash should you desire. There is no shower or place to securely store your bags but there is a decent amount of space and a variety of sections which means you can spread out and there was usually one fairly quiet area.
If you are considering using it you can buy a use onetime anytime pass online which is valid at any United Club for up to a year for $39. $50 is what they charge if you rock up at the door. It includes free wifi (although the standard SFO wifi is pretty good) and as much alcohol as you choose to drink.
The food is only snacks such as Walkers shortbread, crackers and cheese, fruit (which I think was nice having fresh bananas), things like trail mix, and my personal favourite tiny carrots the size of carrot sticks. They were literally tiny carrots. Not sliced up carrots to make carrot sticks. They were in baggies and cold and I had great delight munching on them.
The non-alcoholic drinks were various sodas as well as lemonade and juice.
After my lounging in the club before my SFO-LHR flight I wandered down to the gate (just around the corner). I knew the flight was delayed but it had been listed with a new departure time for over an hour so I figured they actually had worked out when they would depart. I showed up 45mins before that time only to find that they were still waiting to finish cleaning the aircraft and the flight crew hadnt even been allowed on board yet.
I always try and get to the gate at or before the listed boarding time as with my Premier status I get to board just after Business class sometimes with depending on the mood of the people scanning your ticket. This means I KNOW my carry on will get to sit just above me
and I can get all organised.
So after waiting some more we finally boarded and took off. The actual flight deck crew were Americans and one I saw getting on looked like a 70s porn star or cast member of Airport
.depending on which analogy you prefer. DBF prefers the former
despite being an aircraft spanner
but if you miss the point of the analogy. He had the thick glossy hair and mo.
The flight was fairly smooth. The landing was good. Although we did circle heathrow about three times and taxi around the airport for quite a while. Punishment for being late
I always feel safe in the hands of United flight deck crew. Ive never felt nervous of the quality of their flying skills. I quite often see them get on board and there is always a senior captain who really looks the part and when you hear them (through channel 9 on the inflight system) talking to the tower they are always confident and professional.
ANYWAY
My beloved Aircraft spanner (a term used for those who like watching aircraft take off and land) was tracking all my flight movements and being updated on my flight delays through the flight track app on his phone and was waiting for me in arrivals with a nice warm hug. From LHR we drove west and so the trip began.
Aside: I timed my trip largely to work in with DBFs and my own work schedules but I also timed it very neatly in terms of weather. The previous weekend they had had quite a bad snow storm and many flights in and out of Heathrow had been cancelled. When I arrived it was still quite low temperatures and snow on the ground (because it hadnt yet melted) but we had pretty good weather overall for the two weeks.
Ill start by saying I dont have a good record of completing Trip reports and still have one or two . in an unfinished state. One was started just because I wanted to report the eventful beginning. With much prodding I got up until mid way through (after skipping over part) but in any case I will start with this disclaimer before little miss lord of the TR (you know who you are) says anything.
Ok so I recently went to the UK for a couple of weeks to visit my DBF. We based ourselves in Shropshire and did sightseeing around there. My DBF knows this area quite well and seemed to enjoy showing me around this part of the world.
Part of my reason for reporting on this trip is to show you guys what is in the area. Im not going to tell you exactly what DBF said about Cardiff but suffice to say he thinks the North of Wales is much nicer and as a pom
pom or *pommie - an Australian nickname given to English people. Somewhat derogatory in nature the term can be used in both a positive and negative context. There is a debate as to how the word came about, some believe the original term "POME" is an anacronym for "Prisoner Of Mother England" the title given to convicts sent to the early Australian penal colonies. In a reverse of circumstances Australian's joke that it is the English who are now the prisoners in their own country (mother England) as the Australian lifestyle is widely regarded as better than England's.
he says that the English arent terribly welcome in Cardiff. (I dont know the details its similar to the hatred between football clubs over there???)
Anyway. This area doesnt feature generally on the whirlwind trips Aussies make to the Mother land. So Ill show you whats here in case you do think it might appeal.
The order of destinations was sort of planned but also to do with my exhaustion levels after travelling for 30 hours.
My journey - For those interested I flew United airlines because due to the merger I managed to work through an anomaly in their system to score a trip SYD-LHR for $1700. (Although interestingly they then advertised as low as $1350 for this up until March but I couldnt have gotten the dates I wanted and the connection through LAX is much longer than SFOs 6 hours.)
This was the same cost as flying Virgin Atlantic (which was who I was going to go with if only because they fly about the tightest connection around) but United gave me more useful mileage points and TWO 23kg bags. Oh and much more relaxed carry-on baggage allowance. If it fits theyre happy. As opposed to the witch at QANTAS who charged me $100 for 5kg excess baggage for my HK-SYD flight home last time
and forced me to check in my gorgeous brand new carry on roll on Even though my ticket bought through Air France GAVE ME the 12kg allowance vs QANTAS 7kg. My thoughts on United to USA are unchanged. I had lovely flights with good service. However I found the British based United crew somewhat lacking in personality and service. The Breakfast served before arriving in LHR was a continental style with a pastry, yoghurt and something else. Not bad really. Just not what Im accustomed too. It also did NOT include alcohol despite being an International flight. Strangely people happily parted with $5-$7pp for a teeny bottle of spirits or wine. But THIS causes delays as they only accept credit cards.
As to WHY this different type of crew is the case it could be because the approach to becoming a flight attendant in the USA is different to the UK. Many people who become a flight attendant in the UK do it as a temporary passing through job. A friend of DBF did it for a few years before becoming a paramedic. Many women do it to find and marry a pilot (no joke), and many do it to get a few years of travelling around seeing places. However you DO have to be there a few years before you get to go to the good places. In the USA becoming a flight attendant is a career. As many say United have an older crew often. Which I really appreciate actually. They can be lovely and quirky and actually help well with small children. They also know their job well and can work VERY fast and VERY efficiently.
Someone DBF knew worked for BMI and they had to clean the aircraft largely themselves at each turn around on the short hops around the UK. Which is why they come around SO MANY TIMES to collect rubbish as the more they have to do after you get off, the more chance of a delay in turn around.
SPEAKING of which all my flights were delayed. The ones to and from LHR the most. Why? Late arriving aircraft. Now I dont so much mind delays except when they keep changing HOW delayed it is.
My layover in SFO was to be 6 hours each way, which of all airports to be stuck in while in the USA, this is one of the best. But I chose to try out the United Club to see what it was like. Now those expecting something like what you find in Hong Kongs travellers lounge. You will be SORELY disappointed. I do think the United club is over priced and depending on how youre travelling probably NOT worth the money. But as I was travelling alone I think it was worth the $39. If only for the large Disabled toilets, which catered for me and my carry on and would give you space to change and have a cursory wash should you desire. There is no shower or place to securely store your bags but there is a decent amount of space and a variety of sections which means you can spread out and there was usually one fairly quiet area.
If you are considering using it you can buy a use onetime anytime pass online which is valid at any United Club for up to a year for $39. $50 is what they charge if you rock up at the door. It includes free wifi (although the standard SFO wifi is pretty good) and as much alcohol as you choose to drink.
The food is only snacks such as Walkers shortbread, crackers and cheese, fruit (which I think was nice having fresh bananas), things like trail mix, and my personal favourite tiny carrots the size of carrot sticks. They were literally tiny carrots. Not sliced up carrots to make carrot sticks. They were in baggies and cold and I had great delight munching on them.
The non-alcoholic drinks were various sodas as well as lemonade and juice.
After my lounging in the club before my SFO-LHR flight I wandered down to the gate (just around the corner). I knew the flight was delayed but it had been listed with a new departure time for over an hour so I figured they actually had worked out when they would depart. I showed up 45mins before that time only to find that they were still waiting to finish cleaning the aircraft and the flight crew hadnt even been allowed on board yet.
I always try and get to the gate at or before the listed boarding time as with my Premier status I get to board just after Business class sometimes with depending on the mood of the people scanning your ticket. This means I KNOW my carry on will get to sit just above me
and I can get all organised.So after waiting some more we finally boarded and took off. The actual flight deck crew were Americans and one I saw getting on looked like a 70s porn star or cast member of Airport
.depending on which analogy you prefer. DBF prefers the former
despite being an aircraft spanner
but if you miss the point of the analogy. He had the thick glossy hair and mo. The flight was fairly smooth. The landing was good. Although we did circle heathrow about three times and taxi around the airport for quite a while. Punishment for being late
I always feel safe in the hands of United flight deck crew. Ive never felt nervous of the quality of their flying skills. I quite often see them get on board and there is always a senior captain who really looks the part and when you hear them (through channel 9 on the inflight system) talking to the tower they are always confident and professional.
ANYWAY
My beloved Aircraft spanner (a term used for those who like watching aircraft take off and land) was tracking all my flight movements and being updated on my flight delays through the flight track app on his phone and was waiting for me in arrivals with a nice warm hug. From LHR we drove west and so the trip began.
Aside: I timed my trip largely to work in with DBFs and my own work schedules but I also timed it very neatly in terms of weather. The previous weekend they had had quite a bad snow storm and many flights in and out of Heathrow had been cancelled. When I arrived it was still quite low temperatures and snow on the ground (because it hadnt yet melted) but we had pretty good weather overall for the two weeks.
I've copped enough flack about that thanks 
.
