Showing posts with label Heathrow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heathrow. Show all posts

Saturday, July 21, 2007

London Heathrow - What is this line?????

Stuart gets me to Heathrow with no further issues. We get to departures and there is a sea of humanity. There are lines with hundreds of people in them, snaking into tents in front of the terminal. My initial thought was that something bad happened. No one seemed to know why were were in line (a line that was not moving). I noticed some people by-passing the line, walking right past security officers and not coming back. After 15 minutes of standing in the sun, already tired from my trip, watching other enter the terminal, I thought, "What the heck, I'm in Business Class, I don't have to wait in lines!" So I strolled into the terminal, walked up to the BA Club World counter, and within 5 minutes, was on my way. The people I was standing with are probably still in line....
The rest of my Heathrow experience was great. The BA lounge, while crowded, had good snacks and the India v. England cricket match on the big screen TV's. Not sure exactly what the rules of cricket are, but fun to watch to pass the time.

London Gatwick - Where's my luggage, where's the ATM and more traffic woes....

So other than a 45 minute delay, my Continental flight was pretty uneventful. Flying business class is good, you get to use the club lounge before the flight and they let you board first. Then they wine and dine you till its time to get your 3 hrs of sleep. Not a bad deal. Immigration and customs are a breeze at Gatwick so I call Stuart (my driver for the Gatwick to Heathrow journey) to let him know I'm getting my luggage. Things are looking up! Then I wait 30 minutes for my luggage...so much for that "Business First" priority tag on my suitcase. Stuart is patiently waiting for me, and I ask him to wait for me so I can get some cash to pay him...the nearest 2 ATMs are down for service...I finally find a working ATM and we head off for Heathrow. Things are going well, traffic is light until we hit a slow down on the M25. We crawl for miles and miles. I didn't keep track of how long we were in traffic...but it was way too long. Luckily, I have a 5 hr layover....