Aviation Discussion

[stut]

12 hours is definitely enough time for a city tour. You can be downtown within an hour off the Manchester flight. Head up the Peak, take the ferry, walk the Chinese hollywood star walk, take some Dim Sum in Happy Valley and get back to the airport.

That's a great day out, just there! Even if you just make it on to the Peak Tram, it's worthwhile.

 

[Royston Vasey]

BA 747-400 G-BNLK positioned from Heathrow to St Athan yesterday for scrap. The beginning of the end?

Not the beginning of the end, it's been underway for some time! But there are plenty of 747s younger and recently refurbished, plenty of years before they all go, particularly the G-BYGs.

I flew G-BNLK on a very rare summer EWR turn a few years ago, it diverted via Toronto inbound in appalling storms but made it, and the entertainment didn't work on a number of seats including mine and my reading light was stuck to on! One of the few tail numbers I remember flying as it was unusual, and a little surprising to be flying a bird from the 80s even in 2014.

 

[Techniquest]

I tried replying a couple of days ago while on break at work, but while trying to quote a post it all locked up on me and I had to get back to work. I'd have replied sooner, but more important matters got in the way. Eating, sleeping, then having horrible dreams, finally going back to sleep and only just waking up in time for work last night, then spending my breaks with one of my favourite members of my squad basically has taken up the last 48 hours!

To the honourable forum member who looked up those flights with United for me, I have failed to make that route come up. I've had to sacrifice my Airbus Avoidance moves as a result, but I have a fair few ideas now I've caught up on this thread. I'm a bit short on time this morning, having managed to put myself over an hour behind plan as it is, so I haven't time to credit the forum member who looked it up, but I do thank you!

Same to those who commented on the HKK stayover thing, that's a good idea. Gets another country added to my list too...Bald Rick, I have noticed your post about CX, and amongst my own research this morning post-work (which is why I'm behind plan!) I must agree with the straw poll. They look good for comfort based solely on a trip report video for a LHR-HKK video filmed in late 2017 on a B777/2 that I watched, although Etihad's A380 did look really good too.

The other night I got allocated 2 weeks off work in mid-March, and I am presently engaged in working out a plan to fill at least part of that time. The keen observers amongst you will already have worked out what I'm looking at, and I would hope you'll all agree using the last £158 of some inheritance from my late godmother is being used wisely, and that she'd no doubt agree this is a good use of that money...

Stay tuned for more details in the next 24 hours!

 

[Techniquest]

OK then gang, after moving the funds around this morning, making a trip up to Mum's and spending 90 minutes shopping around using her laptop (can't believe it's nearly 4 years since I bought her that for Mother's Day!) I am able to confirm this much:

There is only 1,263 hours in my way before I take off for Sydney!

I have an almost full credit card again, but it will be so worth it! I'm as excited as a kid on Christmas Day right now, I can't wait to get going already! I ended up looking up Cathay Pacific (from Gatwick, £645), Emirates (£735-ish was too much), BA (£841 to include a hold bag, £740-ish without so no thank you), Phillipines (for an all-Airbus journey I was not willing to pay £608), a Flybe/Etihad combo via Amsterdam from Birmingham was tempting for £662 but the winner ended up being Etihad at £608.85 booked via Opodo (Etihad's own website was playing me up).

For less than 2 months' notice, those fares are actually around £200 less than I was going to pay for October, so I'm actually very pleased. I've never flown Etihad before, but I've got an awesome route so not complaining!

I know you're all dying to know what I went with, and my family have yet to be told where I'm off to next, but that happens later! So here's my choice of route:

11th March 2019

Manchester to Abu Dhabi on EY16
Abu Dhabi to Brisbane on EY484

12th March 2019
Brisbane to Sydney on EY6327 (codeshare with Virgin Australia)

16th March 2019

Sydney to Abu Dhabi on EY455

17th March 2019

Abu Dhabi to Manchester on EY21

BRING IT ON!

Oh, and the mother is not happy I'm going on my own :roll:

 

[fowler9]

12 hours is definitely enough time for a city tour. You can be downtown within an hour off the Manchester flight. Head up the Peak, take the ferry, walk the Chinese hollywood star walk, take some Dim Sum in Happy Valley and get back to the airport.

Fair enough mate. I think it would be a bit of a rush myself especially if you don't know the place. To be honest I'd do it as well if it were me. Ha ha.

 

[fowler9]

OK then gang, after moving the funds around this morning, making a trip up to Mum's and spending 90 minutes shopping around using her laptop (can't believe it's nearly 4 years since I bought her that for Mother's Day!) I am able to confirm this much:

There is only 1,263 hours in my way before I take off for Sydney!

I have an almost full credit card again, but it will be so worth it! I'm as excited as a kid on Christmas Day right now, I can't wait to get going already! I ended up looking up Cathay Pacific (from Gatwick, £645), Emirates (£735-ish was too much), BA (£841 to include a hold bag, £740-ish without so no thank you), Phillipines (for an all-Airbus journey I was not willing to pay £608), a Flybe/Etihad combo via Amsterdam from Birmingham was tempting for £662 but the winner ended up being Etihad at £608.85 booked via Opodo (Etihad's own website was playing me up).

For less than 2 months' notice, those fares are actually around £200 less than I was going to pay for October, so I'm actually very pleased. I've never flown Etihad before, but I've got an awesome route so not complaining!

I know you're all dying to know what I went with, and my family have yet to be told where I'm off to next, but that happens later! So here's my choice of route:

11th March 2019

Manchester to Abu Dhabi on EY16
Abu Dhabi to Brisbane on EY484

12th March 2019
Brisbane to Sydney on EY6327 (codeshare with Virgin Australia)

16th March 2019

Sydney to Abu Dhabi on EY455

17th March 2019

Abu Dhabi to Manchester on EY21

BRING IT ON!

Oh, and the mother is not happy I'm going on my own :roll:

Sounds amazing mate. Brisbane airport is really quite nice but I guess you won't see too much of it. Sydney will be amazing. As a weird aside look out for Bustech CDi's in the Sydney area. The first double decker designed and built in Australia. My exes relative who we stayed with in Gold Coast is high up in Bustech and he took me to the factory a few times while he was fixing glitches on one of the first two prototypes.

 

[Bald Rick]

OK then gang, after moving the funds around this morning, making a trip up to Mum's and spending 90 minutes shopping around using her laptop (can't believe it's nearly 4 years since I bought her that for Mother's Day!) I am able to confirm this much:

There is only 1,263 hours in my way before I take off for Sydney!

I have an almost full credit card again, but it will be so worth it! I'm as excited as a kid on Christmas Day right now, I can't wait to get going already! I ended up looking up Cathay Pacific (from Gatwick, £645), Emirates (£735-ish was too much), BA (£841 to include a hold bag, £740-ish without so no thank you), Phillipines (for an all-Airbus journey I was not willing to pay £608), a Flybe/Etihad combo via Amsterdam from Birmingham was tempting for £662 but the winner ended up being Etihad at £608.85 booked via Opodo (Etihad's own website was playing me up).

For less than 2 months' notice, those fares are actually around £200 less than I was going to pay for October, so I'm actually very pleased. I've never flown Etihad before, but I've got an awesome route so not complaining!

I know you're all dying to know what I went with, and my family have yet to be told where I'm off to next, but that happens later! So here's my choice of route:

11th March 2019

Manchester to Abu Dhabi on EY16
Abu Dhabi to Brisbane on EY484

12th March 2019
Brisbane to Sydney on EY6327 (codeshare with Virgin Australia)

16th March 2019

Sydney to Abu Dhabi on EY455

17th March 2019

Abu Dhabi to Manchester on EY21

BRING IT ON!

Oh, and the mother is not happy I'm going on my own :roll:

That’s a cracking price. Presumably you chose that route with EY455 in homage to the SWR suburban fleet...

You can pack a lot into 3-4 days in Sydney. Train up to the Blue Mountains is a must; wait for clear weather.

 

[Bald Rick]

Meanwhile in other news, my boycott of a certain airline appears to be working....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46916389

Ryanair issues profit warning as fares fall

 

[Aictos]

Meanwhile in other news, my boycott of a certain airline appears to be working....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46916389

Ryanair issues profit warning as fares fall

Make that two people boycotting them, my last trip was enough to last me a lifetime with them!

In other news, has anyone used Luton to fly from/to at all? I've used Stansted, London City, Gatwick and Heathrow but never Luton so how much time do I need to take from arriving at the front of the airport to going though security and ready to board my flight? Especially as I'm only taking hand luggage like I always prefer to do so

My flight will be at 08:45 on a weekday so how late can I arrive before it's a no go to fly?

What's the airport like? I've been there a few times but never flown from there so am keen to hear what it's like to use compared to the other London airports, I know it's nothing like Heathrow but interested to hear how it compares to Gatwick and London City.

 

[Techniquest]

Make that two people boycotting them, my last trip was enough to last me a lifetime with them!

In other news, has anyone used Luton to fly from/to at all? I've used Stansted, London City, Gatwick and Heathrow but never Luton so how much time do I need to take from arriving at the front of the airport to going though security and ready to board my flight? Especially as I'm only taking hand luggage like I always prefer to do so

My flight will be at 08:45 on a weekday so how late can I arrive before it's a no go to fly?

What's the airport like? I've been there a few times but never flown from there so am keen to hear what it's like to use compared to the other London airports, I know it's nothing like Heathrow but interested to hear how it compares to Gatwick and London City.

I flew out of Luton and back into it earlier this month, I quite like it. Most of the airport has been modernised so it's quite nice now.

I would say, outside peak holiday times, that 2 hours before your gate closes is plenty of time. So a flight taking off at say 8am (so on average gate close time of 7:30am) I'd aim to be there around 5:30am up to about 6am. That might sound like overkill to most people, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Security wasn't too long a process (cleared within 15 minutes) when I went and due to being there over 3 hours before my flight I didn't have any queue at bag drop for my Ryanair flight. Other airlines had queues but nothing major when I looked. Even so, it all depends on where and when you're flying in my experiences at most airports.

WiFi is free and very good too, which is always a bonus. Pre-security had a better variety of places to eat and drink for reasonable money in my opinion, more restaurants post-security but they won't be cheap. For coffee Pret is available both before and after security, as is Starbucks. Costa is only pre-security, as is M&S Simply Food and Burger King. WH Smith is available both pre and post security too.

The bus/coach terminal is right next to arrivals and departures, so very conveniently placed! Compared to London City, it's obviously a lot bigger. Gatwick is bigger than Luton, but I prefer Luton to Gatwick personally. As a Ryanair fan, I prefer Stansted although Luton is closer for me to get to and it has direct coach links to Paddington, Baker Street, Golders Green as well as Victoria. You can also get to Luton Airport from Milton Keynes with Stagecoach's route 99 which uses coaches, not a route I've yet tried but certainly handy for avoiding London if coming from the Midlands. National Express serve Luton Airport to quite a few destinations too, certainly less hassle than using the train to Luton Airport Parkway and the shuttle bus onwards.

 

[Techniquest]

That’s a cracking price. Presumably you chose that route with EY455 in homage to the SWR suburban fleet...

You can pack a lot into 3-4 days in Sydney. Train up to the Blue Mountains is a must; wait for clear weather.

Cheers, I'll make sure I look that up later today. The flight number had no bearing on my choice of booking. The flight times, price and routing was more important quite honestly, as was who I flew with. Philippines look good based on trip report videos I've watched, but so do Etihad. Cathay Pacific look decent enough too admittedly, but the £37 difference and it meaning flying from Gatwick made a big difference. When I land back in Manchester I will probably take advantage of the opportunity to stop off at my sister's place in Cheshire on the way south. Gives me a chance to catch up with her and to obviously have a bit of a rest before continuing home.

My big problem now is that I will still have a week after landing to fill before going back to work, and I don't yet know what I'll do with that time. Same for the few days between finishing work and departing for the other side of the world, as I know I'm going to be very much keen to just get going!

Sounds amazing mate. Brisbane airport is really quite nice but I guess you won't see too much of it. Sydney will be amazing. As a weird aside look out for Bustech CDi's in the Sydney area. The first double decker designed and built in Australia. My exes relative who we stayed with in Gold Coast is high up in Bustech and he took me to the factory a few times while he was fixing glitches on one of the first two prototypes.

Cheers! Aye I'm not at Brisbane airport for long, the 2.5 hours there is basically getting off one plane (terminal I is the one I arrival I think, which must stand for International) and making my way to terminal D (clearly the Domestic terminal) for my 737-800 onwards to Sydney.

Fair game on the buses, if I remember I'll keep an eye out. I'm bound to see some on my way around the city! I'm also hoping to see one of those XPTs.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I flew out of Luton and back into it earlier this month, I quite like it. Most of the airport has been modernised so it's quite nice now.

I've not been since the work has mostly been done, but before they started it was always fine to me. It's quite quick to get through, with short walks and very fast checked luggage delivery - probably the fastest medium sized airport for that, and faster than my experiences (a number of years ago now) of LCY, which really *should* be faster but isn't.

I would say, outside peak holiday times, that 2 hours before your gate closes is plenty of time. So a flight taking off at say 8am (so on average gate close time of 7:30am) I'd aim to be there around 5:30am up to about 6am. That might sound like overkill to most people, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I'd do the same (maybe even aim for 5am) and have a leisurely sit down cooked breakfast with the spare time. On one occasion only in two years or so of frequent weekly commuting would I have missed the flight if I'd arrived an hour before - this happened because both the M1 and the railway were having issues that cleared at the same time and so a massive crowd arrived at once. I didn't miss the flight due to the slack, but did miss breakfast that morning!

Gatwick is bigger than Luton, but I prefer Luton to Gatwick personally. As a Ryanair fan, I prefer Stansted although Luton is closer for me to get to and it has direct coach links to Paddington, Baker Street, Golders Green as well as Victoria. You can also get to Luton Airport from Milton Keynes with Stagecoach's route 99 which uses coaches, not a route I've yet tried but certainly handy for avoiding London if coming from the Midlands. National Express serve Luton Airport to quite a few destinations too, certainly less hassle than using the train to Luton Airport Parkway and the shuttle bus onwards.

I dislike Gatwick due to the very slow checked luggage delivery and long walks (after which the bags really should be there already but they're not). Worst airport for baggage delivery speed I've ever used.

There's also another option for MK if you're nearer Bletchley than CMK or don't mind two very easy changes - change at Bedford for the Marston Vale. But the 99 is a very reliable coach service because the layover is approximately an hour at the MK end, so motorway delays are absorbed easily. On many days you can see two of them at the same time (one about to depart, one just arrived) at MKC station.

 

[Aictos]

I flew out of Luton and back into it earlier this month, I quite like it. Most of the airport has been modernised so it's quite nice now.

I would say, outside peak holiday times, that 2 hours before your gate closes is plenty of time. So a flight taking off at say 8am (so on average gate close time of 7:30am) I'd aim to be there around 5:30am up to about 6am. That might sound like overkill to most people, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Security wasn't too long a process (cleared within 15 minutes) when I went and due to being there over 3 hours before my flight I didn't have any queue at bag drop for my Ryanair flight. Other airlines had queues but nothing major when I looked. Even so, it all depends on where and when you're flying in my experiences at most airports.

WiFi is free and very good too, which is always a bonus. Pre-security had a better variety of places to eat and drink for reasonable money in my opinion, more restaurants post-security but they won't be cheap. For coffee Pret is available both before and after security, as is Starbucks. Costa is only pre-security, as is M&S Simply Food and Burger King. WH Smith is available both pre and post security too.

The bus/coach terminal is right next to arrivals and departures, so very conveniently placed! Compared to London City, it's obviously a lot bigger. Gatwick is bigger than Luton, but I prefer Luton to Gatwick personally. As a Ryanair fan, I prefer Stansted although Luton is closer for me to get to and it has direct coach links to Paddington, Baker Street, Golders Green as well as Victoria. You can also get to Luton Airport from Milton Keynes with Stagecoach's route 99 which uses coaches, not a route I've yet tried but certainly handy for avoiding London if coming from the Midlands. National Express serve Luton Airport to quite a few destinations too, certainly less hassle than using the train to Luton Airport Parkway and the shuttle bus onwards.

So arriving at Luton between 6am and 7am for a 8.45am flight ought to be plenty of time? bearing in mind it probably be around half 6 when I get there.

I know the bus/coach terminal is at the front of the airport as I used to use the shuttle bus quite often when I went there to spot a few years ago.

I take it that the wifi is easy to use? Do you have to sign up or is it a case of tick one box and connect?

With Starbucks and Costas as I more then likely be using these facilites, are the prices uprated as it's a airport or do they have the same prices as you find on your average high street outlet?

Is there any part of the airport once you get though security that you can see what's on the apron or not? Ideally someplace with seats and near a coffee outlet...

I'm flying with Team Orange mostly because the flights are reasonable priced but I've not used them since 2013/2014, what are they like these days?

How long does it take from gate to bus though when you arrive at Luton?

 

[Techniquest]

For an 0845 flight, arriving as late as 7am *should* be fine but I would aim to arrive a little earlier just in case. As the saying goes, it's better to be an hour early than 5 minutes late!

When I returned last weekend, I was off my flight at 21:21 and out of baggage reclaim at 21:34 much to my surprise. I was outside by the buses by 21:38 and arrived on foot at Ibis Budget and in my room at 21:49. Do bear in mind I walk at a considerable rate though, faster than the average person does, so timings for normal people will be slightly longer.

WiFi was a quick registration form of about 5 boxes (name and email kinda thing) for 4 hours of free WiFi that day. Takes moments to fill in and you only have to do it once.

I didn't use Starbucks or Costa, so I didn't check prices, but Pret charge High Street prices so well worth going there. I love my Pret coffee so I wasn't going anywhere else! Only view of planes I had after security was of a couple of gates near the Pret post-security, so no really good views of the action sadly.

I've not flown easyJet since my visit to Isle of Man several years ago, so I can't comment on them whatsoever. When it comes to LCCs, given the choice between easyJet or Ryanair I will pick Ryanair happily.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I've not flown easyJet since my visit to Isle of Man several years ago, so I can't comment on them whatsoever. When it comes to LCCs, given the choice between easyJet or Ryanair I will pick Ryanair happily.

Because it's cheaper, or for another reason? Sleasy is more expensive, but I find the extra money is justified by the better service.

 

[Techniquest]

Because it's cheaper, or for another reason? Sleasy is more expensive, but I find the extra money is justified by the better service.

Cheaper is one reason, but I also prefer 737-800s to the A319/320/321s. Given orange is my favourite colour (pointless fact for you all!) you'd think I'd like easyJet! Another reason for preferring Ryanair is the route network, and the crews are pretty good in my experience. Never had a bad lot yet, not that I did on my two easyJet flights mind!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Cheaper is one reason, but I also prefer 737-800s to the A319/320/321s

Why's that out of interest? Boeings are less refined, noisier, smaller (so a narrower aisle), have smaller overhead bins (except the new Sky Interior) and are less safe (because they don't have the Airbus flight control philosophy that makes it far more difficult for a pilot to do something stupid by accident). While I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid 737s, the Airbus is certainly a superior aircraft in near enough every way, though I'll admit I think Boeing have pulled it back with the excellent 787.

 

[Aictos]

For an 0845 flight, arriving as late as 7am *should* be fine but I would aim to arrive a little earlier just in case. As the saying goes, it's better to be an hour early than 5 minutes late!

I was looking at arriving around 6.30 which is early but I'm sure I be able to find something to do like prop up a coffee bar....

When I returned last weekend, I was off my flight at 21:21 and out of baggage reclaim at 21:34 much to my surprise. I was outside by the buses by 21:38 and arrived on foot at Ibis Budget and in my room at 21:49. Do bear in mind I walk at a considerable rate though, faster than the average person does, so timings for normal people will be slightly longer.

That's quite fast, I bet you don't walk as fast as me though..

WiFi was a quick registration form of about 5 boxes (name and email kinda thing) for 4 hours of free WiFi that day. Takes moments to fill in and you only have to do it once.

That's not bad, so once you've done all that if you fly out of Luton again in say 6 months time, it should remember you?

I didn't use Starbucks or Costa, so I didn't check prices, but Pret charge High Street prices so well worth going there. I love my Pret coffee so I wasn't going anywhere else! Only view of planes I had after security was of a couple of gates near the Pret post-security, so no really good views of the action sadly.

Never used Pret as usually use Costas or Starbucks especially as the latter does Peppermint Mochas

I've not flown easyJet since my visit to Isle of Man several years ago, so I can't comment on them whatsoever. When it comes to LCCs, given the choice between easyJet or Ryanair I will pick Ryanair happily.

The last time I flew with Ryanair, it was Bremen to Edinburgh and with issues in Bremen and the awful cheap and nasty announcement it was enough to put me off them for good.

Because it's cheaper, or for another reason? Sleasy is more expensive, but I find the extra money is justified by the better service.

I know they both like to upsell products on board and that Ryanair has slightly more legroom but as it was far cheaper to use Easyjet I'm going with them.

Cheaper is one reason, but I also prefer 737-800s to the A319/320/321s. Given orange is my favourite colour (pointless fact for you all!) you'd think I'd like easyJet! Another reason for preferring Ryanair is the route network, and the crews are pretty good in my experience. Never had a bad lot yet, not that I did on my two easyJet flights mind!

My first two flights were with Ryanair to Almeria and Easyjet on the way back, the crew there was fantastic yet the way back was chaos!

However it was due to the issues created by Ryanair last time in Bremen which gave me such a bad experience I vowed never to use them again and this isn't a slur against the staff just the company.

As a example, when I flew with American Airlines to Chicago a few years ago, not only did the flight crew do the customary thank you for travelling with us but they also said we know you can fly with our rivals so we do appreciate you travelling with us which to me is simple, honest and sincere.

Why's that out of interest? Boeings are less refined, noisier, smaller (so a narrower aisle), have smaller overhead bins (except the new Sky Interior) and are less safe (because they don't have the Airbus flight control philosophy that makes it far more difficult for a pilot to do something stupid by accident). While I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid 737s, the Airbus is certainly a superior aircraft in near enough every way, though I'll admit I think Boeing have pulled it back with the excellent 787.

I'm not fussed about the aircraft type as long as I get from A to B so don't have any favourites.

 

[Aictos]

Deleted

 

[Bald Rick]

In other news, has anyone used Luton to fly from/to at all? I've used Stansted, London City, Gatwick and Heathrow but never Luton so how much time do I need to take from arriving at the front of the airport to going though security and ready to board my flight? Especially as I'm only taking hand luggage like I always prefer to do so

My flight will be at 08:45 on a weekday so how late can I arrive before it's a no go to fly?

What's the airport like? I've been there a few times but never flown from there so am keen to hear what it's like to use compared to the other London airports, I know it's nothing like Heathrow but interested to hear how it compares to Gatwick and London City.

I use Luton a lot, most recently on a weekday morning for an 0840 Easyjet flight. I left my front door 12 miles away at 0700, and was in the departure lounge at 0740; time to buy some water and a paper from Smiths, a leisurely scoffed bacon roll from Pret, and a stroll to the gate. From airport front door (all new!) to departure lounge was 17 minutes, and that includes hold baggage drop.

It’s had a bad press in the past, but it really is an easy airport now. I’m there again twice in the very near future so will update again if it all goes wrong!

Is there any part of the airport once you get though security that you can see what's on the apron or not? Ideally someplace with seats and near a coffee outlet...

I'm flying with Team Orange mostly because the flights are reasonable priced but I've not used them since 2013/2014, what are they like these days?

How long does it take from gate to bus though when you arrive at Luton?

The Luton terminal maps are here: https://www.london-luton.co.uk/inside-lla/map-of-inside-lla

You can see the eastern apron, the two piers, and Taxiway Delta (and the work to build a new parallel Taxiway) from seats that are located between Bella Italia and Pret. You can just see the easterly end of the runway also, so can see aircraft landing taking off or landing depending on the wind direction. You can’t see the main apron from any part of the departure lounge.

Easyjet are great. I’ve never had a bad experience with them, save for the departure lounge at Bordeaux (which wasn’t their fault) in about 50 flights. Even once when a plane went u/s, they found another one straight away and we were on our way with less than an hour’s delay. (Compare to Ryanair, 5 flights booked of which 3 actually flew, 2 of which were bad experiences).

On arrival, gate to bus time depends on whether you have hold bags or not, are domestic or international, and if the latter, what the immigration queue is like.

If you are domestic and hand luggage only, it’s 5 minutes max.

International with hand luggage only, usual time is about 10-15 minutes. If you are unlucky enough to be the last of a batch of 3+ flight arrivals in 10 minutes the immigration queue can stretch to 15 minutes on its own, particularly if the flights have many non EU passengers (flights from certain parts of Eastern Europe and Israel. There are plenty of e-passport gates though which helps.

Hold bags are delivered quickly; sometimes my hold bag arrives at reclaim before I do, and that is almost a certainty if there is any sort of queue at immigration.

 

[ld0595]

Not a bad price you got there, Techniquest. I recently booked myself and the missus Glasgow-Melbourne-Brisbane then Cairns-Sydney-Dubai all on a Qantas (via Emirates) booking alongside a Virgin Australia between Brisbane and Cairns for about £1000 each between end of May and mid June. Definitely not the cheapest but I'm happy to be doing the A380 all the way between UK and Aus!

Seems like you'll be on a good mix of aircraft. (787, 777 and A380 if my understanding is correct.) Enjoy it! Honestly, the A380 is the best aircraft in the skies if you're flying economy in my opinion. Sounds like you'll have a great trip. If you want to get out of Sydney on the train, I'd recommend getting out at Katoomba and visiting the Blue Mountains. I loved it there!

 

[Techniquest]

Why's that out of interest? Boeings are less refined, noisier, smaller (so a narrower aisle), have smaller overhead bins (except the new Sky Interior) and are less safe (because they don't have the Airbus flight control philosophy that makes it far more difficult for a pilot to do something stupid by accident). While I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid 737s, the Airbus is certainly a superior aircraft in near enough every way, though I'll admit I think Boeing have pulled it back with the excellent 787.

I must concur with the 787, my favourite (so far!) long-haul craft. Only flown the type 3 times yet though, Norwegian's EI-LNI LGW-JFK-LGW (yep, several days apart I had the same 787!) and BA's G-ZBKO YYZ-LHR. Due to get some serious mileage on 787s in March though, MAN-AUH-BNE is all down for 787-10s apparently at this time when I go.

Not had an issue with aisle size on 737s so can't comment there, although I did notice just how small the overhead bins are on the non-refurbished Ryanair interior compared to the new Sky interior when I was flying last week.

Noisier is not a bad thing, I'm thinking purely from an enthusiast point of view of course there. I will one day try out easyJet again, as Ryanair don't always go where or when I want to go (I kid you not, I've revised entire trips around such a fact before now), although I do need to get back onto Jet2 again as they are my second favourite airline. Great crews, 737-800s (I'd be happy to try out their New York service one day too) and good fares normally. I was very happy with their package holidays when I used them last year and would happily do so again later this year when I inevitably go on a trip to conquer more of Europe!

I was looking at arriving around 6.30 which is early but I'm sure I be able to find something to do like prop up a coffee bar...

06:30 should be plenty early enough realistically. If you're flying at peak school holiday times I would ensure you allow plenty of time, I'll never forget how massive that queue for security was when I flew from Manchester in the summer holidays last year, and that was just in the separate Jet2 area! I still had plenty of time (I had arrived at least 2 hours before gate close time) to get through and so forth, but I learnt not to book a trip in peak holiday season again!

That's quite fast, I bet you don't walk as fast as me though..

My average walking speed is 3.9mph, although the average in recent weeks has included walking home after really long exhausting shifts which slowed my speed down!

That's not bad, so once you've done all that if you fly out of Luton again in say 6 months time, it should remember you?

In theory, yes. If the SSID doesn't change, and you don't change your phone, then I would imagine so. Last week was my first ever visit to Luton so I can't say for sure.

Never used Pret as usually use Costas or Starbucks especially as the latter does Peppermint Mochas

See I avoid mochas, not because I don't like them but they're incredibly unhealthy! Peppermint mocha sounds ridiculously nice it must be said. I usually just get a 99p filter coffee in Pret, and as of the time of this post if you take your own cup they take 50p off the price. It's one heck of a bargain, and I regretted not taking my travel mug with me last week after all. Given I had 4 coffees from Pret (I had arrived at 04:10 for my 11:05 flight, due to the way my train times etc worked out) I could have saved a fair bit of money!

The last time I flew with Ryanair, it was Bremen to Edinburgh and with issues in Bremen and the awful cheap and nasty announcement it was enough to put me off them for good.

Fair enough, I've never had a bad experience with my 23 Ryanair flights so I can't comment.

I know they both like to upsell products on board and that Ryanair has slightly more legroom but as it was far cheaper to use Easyjet I'm going with them.

See there's a thought, another reason why I like flying with Ryanair, the legroom is bloody brilliant. I'm only 5'10" or 5'11" (somewhere in the middle so it depends who's measuring me! ) which probably helps a fair bit. I do think the lack of seatback pockets helps a bit in that respect too.

My first two flights were with Ryanair to Almeria and Easyjet on the way back, the crew there was fantastic yet the way back was chaos!

However it was due to the issues created by Ryanair last time in Bremen which gave me such a bad experience I vowed never to use them again and this isn't a slur against the staff just the company.

Aye the crews and ground staff are generally really good with Ryanair. Or at least they are in my experience but I've never had a significant issue with my flights. I vowed back in March 2016 (how is that nearly 3 years ago?!) that I would never fly Norwegian again for similar reasons, that being partly down to the crew and partly down to being given different seats to what we actually paid extra for. Also had issues with the in-flight catering and the post-flight experience with Norwegian wasn't great either. It was a shame though as the outward flight had been almost perfect!

As a example, when I flew with American Airlines to Chicago a few years ago, not only did the flight crew do the customary thank you for travelling with us but they also said we know you can fly with our rivals so we do appreciate you travelling with us which to me is simple, honest and sincere.

That's good to know, it's the personal touches like that which make a surprising difference. Good quality customer service always makes for a more positive experience, and I'm really hoping that Etihad deliver it when I use them in March. I'm told they've got an excellent Skytrax rating, so it will be interesting to see how they actually do. Same for the Virgin Australia leg, I've heard good things about them too.

I'm not fussed about the aircraft type as long as I get from A to B so don't have any favourites.

See I do have favourites but the majority of my flying as I was growing up was on 737s so I guess that's where that comes from. I haven't yet looked it up, but I did Cardiff to Portugal and back way back in October 1992 which I think was with Britannia at the time. I was talking to Mum about that trip last night (I would have been only 7 at the time so a LONG time before I got into aviation) and apparently we had TV screens on the plane. The headphones weren't working at my brother's seat apparently, and we apparently also had some significant turbulence over the Bay of Biscay. I do wonder what aircraft type that might have been!

Air 2000 is an airline I have sadly almost no memory of, in terms of the actual flights, except it was from Gatwick to Athens. On a separate (this was part of a school-organised optional trip, and I was lucky enough to visit Poros twice through it) I think trip, coming back we had a very lightly loaded flight back to Gatwick with Monarch, although again the memories aren't too clear as this was going back to 1999/2000. I didn't get into the aviation scene until 2012. I also have a few vague-ish memories of Ryanair flights for my 18th birthday from Cardiff to Dublin (December 2002, I think it would have been 737-800s by then?) and a few others from the days of the 1p flights!

If I had dates and so forth I'd add these flights on my Flightdiary page, frustratingly I don't so one day I'm going to have to fly from Cardiff, Portugal and Athens just to get them on my map!

Not a bad price you got there, Techniquest. I recently booked myself and the missus Glasgow-Melbourne-Brisbane then Cairns-Sydney-Dubai all on a Qantas (via Emirates) booking alongside a Virgin Australia between Brisbane and Cairns for about £1000 each between end of May and mid June. Definitely not the cheapest but I'm happy to be doing the A380 all the way between UK and Aus!

Not a bad price for your flights there fair game! I was saying to one of my housemates last night that when you look at my fares it works out at just £304.42 each way. For a trip to the other side of the world I reckon that is fantastic value!

Hopefully you'll have a brilliant trip too!

Seems like you'll be on a good mix of aircraft. (787, 777 and A380 if my understanding is correct.) Enjoy it! Honestly, the A380 is the best aircraft in the skies if you're flying economy in my opinion. Sounds like you'll have a great trip. If you want to get out of Sydney on the train, I'd recommend getting out at Katoomba and visiting the Blue Mountains. I loved it there!

Lots of people are recommending Blue Mountains, I will actually look them up in a bit. I need another coffee first though, the first one's not been quite enough to get the brain working yet.

The A380, given I normally avoid Airbus crafts, is going to be interesting. It's just one of those planes that has to be tried out, it's like the 747 in the sense of it being an icon of the industry. Hopefully in 2020 I will get to try a 747 too, and yes I'm already working on plans for 2020! There's two destinations in mind, that being New Zealand and Tokyo. However I am eyeing up some destinations in the USA too.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Re legroom Sleasy is indeed an inch tighter on pitch but provided you avoid the rear section of the A320 where an extra row has been squeezed in you actually get more space as the new seats are thinner.

 

[atillathehunn]

So as promised I went through both Stansted and Luton this past week and went with an open mind, particularly on Luton.

Stansted arrivals: long walks everywhere. Passport check pretty empty and would say a 5 minute wait. Followed by another long walk to the station, narrowly missing my train. 30 mins wait for the next Cambridge. However that station is very open and cold, and the trains for Cambridge leave at the very far end. And the tannoy was making a horrible noise throughout. Unimpressed.

Luton: flight was due to depart 15.10 (in the end early). I caught the 13.05 from St Pancras and got to Luton Airport Parkway at 13.25. Scrummage down the escalator to the barrier. Horrible design and nearly caused injury with the volume of people crowding the bottom of the escalator. Bus to airport rammed full and expensive. On the positive, love the new front of house stuff. Very open and easy. Security screens said 27 minute wait but queue management meant it was 15. I liked that. However just one girl was working the loading side and so some people were confused what needs to go out and stay in. I like the huge trays that mean everything can go in one tray. Also, unscientific but I didn't see any bags at my belt or others I walked passed get secondary screening.

Shopping mall for weeks, irritating. Departures are rubbish. Over crowded, dark, loud. Exactly like Manchester. Grabbed a tea at Pret (following Tech's extolling its virtue) and enjoyed the plane watching for a few mins. Boarding was fine and easyJet gods smiled on me with a randomly allocated exit row seat. Very pleasant crew and a smooth flight.

Would use Luton again.

 

[atillathehunn]

I must concur with the 787, my favourite (so far!) long-haul craft. Only flown the type 3 times yet though, Norwegian's EI-LNI LGW-JFK-LGW (yep, several days apart I had the same 787!) and BA's G-ZBKO YYZ-LHR. Due to get some serious mileage on 787s in March though, MAN-AUH-BNE is all down for 787-10s apparently at this time when I go.

Not had an issue with aisle size on 737s so can't comment there, although I did notice just how small the overhead bins are on the non-refurbished Ryanair interior compared to the new Sky interior when I was flying last week.

Noisier is not a bad thing, I'm thinking purely from an enthusiast point of view of course there. I will one day try out easyJet again, as Ryanair don't always go where or when I want to go (I kid you not, I've revised entire trips around such a fact before now), although I do need to get back onto Jet2 again as they are my second favourite airline. Great crews, 737-800s (I'd be happy to try out their New York service one day too) and good fares normally. I was very happy with their package holidays when I used them last year and would happily do so again later this year when I inevitably go on a trip to conquer more of Europe!



06:30 should be plenty early enough realistically. If you're flying at peak school holiday times I would ensure you allow plenty of time, I'll never forget how massive that queue for security was when I flew from Manchester in the summer holidays last year, and that was just in the separate Jet2 area! I still had plenty of time (I had arrived at least 2 hours before gate close time) to get through and so forth, but I learnt not to book a trip in peak holiday season again!



My average walking speed is 3.9mph, although the average in recent weeks has included walking home after really long exhausting shifts which slowed my speed down!



In theory, yes. If the SSID doesn't change, and you don't change your phone, then I would imagine so. Last week was my first ever visit to Luton so I can't say for sure.



See I avoid mochas, not because I don't like them but they're incredibly unhealthy! Peppermint mocha sounds ridiculously nice it must be said. I usually just get a 99p filter coffee in Pret, and as of the time of this post if you take your own cup they take 50p off the price. It's one heck of a bargain, and I regretted not taking my travel mug with me last week after all. Given I had 4 coffees from Pret (I had arrived at 04:10 for my 11:05 flight, due to the way my train times etc worked out) I could have saved a fair bit of money!



Fair enough, I've never had a bad experience with my 23 Ryanair flights so I can't comment.



See there's a thought, another reason why I like flying with Ryanair, the legroom is bloody brilliant. I'm only 5'10" or 5'11" (somewhere in the middle so it depends who's measuring me! ) which probably helps a fair bit. I do think the lack of seatback pockets helps a bit in that respect too.



Aye the crews and ground staff are generally really good with Ryanair. Or at least they are in my experience but I've never had a significant issue with my flights. I vowed back in March 2016 (how is that nearly 3 years ago?!) that I would never fly Norwegian again for similar reasons, that being partly down to the crew and partly down to being given different seats to what we actually paid extra for. Also had issues with the in-flight catering and the post-flight experience with Norwegian wasn't great either. It was a shame though as the outward flight had been almost perfect!



That's good to know, it's the personal touches like that which make a surprising difference. Good quality customer service always makes for a more positive experience, and I'm really hoping that Etihad deliver it when I use them in March. I'm told they've got an excellent Skytrax rating, so it will be interesting to see how they actually do. Same for the Virgin Australia leg, I've heard good things about them too.



See I do have favourites but the majority of my flying as I was growing up was on 737s so I guess that's where that comes from. I haven't yet looked it up, but I did Cardiff to Portugal and back way back in October 1992 which I think was with Britannia at the time. I was talking to Mum about that trip last night (I would have been only 7 at the time so a LONG time before I got into aviation) and apparently we had TV screens on the plane. The headphones weren't working at my brother's seat apparently, and we apparently also had some significant turbulence over the Bay of Biscay. I do wonder what aircraft type that might have been!

Air 2000 is an airline I have sadly almost no memory of, in terms of the actual flights, except it was from Gatwick to Athens. On a separate (this was part of a school-organised optional trip, and I was lucky enough to visit Poros twice through it) I think trip, coming back we had a very lightly loaded flight back to Gatwick with Monarch, although again the memories aren't too clear as this was going back to 1999/2000. I didn't get into the aviation scene until 2012. I also have a few vague-ish memories of Ryanair flights for my 18th birthday from Cardiff to Dublin (December 2002, I think it would have been 737-800s by then?) and a few others from the days of the 1p flights!

If I had dates and so forth I'd add these flights on my Flightdiary page, frustratingly I don't so one day I'm going to have to fly from Cardiff, Portugal and Athens just to get them on my map!



Not a bad price for your flights there fair game! I was saying to one of my housemates last night that when you look at my fares it works out at just £304.42 each way. For a trip to the other side of the world I reckon that is fantastic value!

Hopefully you'll have a brilliant trip too!



Lots of people are recommending Blue Mountains, I will actually look them up in a bit. I need another coffee first though, the first one's not been quite enough to get the brain working yet.

The A380, given I normally avoid Airbus crafts, is going to be interesting. It's just one of those planes that has to be tried out, it's like the 747 in the sense of it being an icon of the industry. Hopefully in 2020 I will get to try a 747 too, and yes I'm already working on plans for 2020! There's two destinations in mind, that being New Zealand and Tokyo. However I am eyeing up some destinations in the USA too.

Great price for that Tech goor job finding that and getting it in the diary. Etihad in the air are ok but on the ground dreadful. Your trip is short enough for hand baggage so that's good, Etihad loves to lose a bag.

Hope you have a great trip out there. Blur Mountains, also the train down to Wollongong for beaches and nature reserves.

 

[Aictos]

Just one question about Easyjet, if you don't pay the extra to prebook a seat when you do check in, do they give you the worse seat they can find or do they just give you whatever seat is free or is it a case of they give you the middle seat as they prefer to reserve the window and aisle seats for these who pay a little extra?

 

[atillathehunn]

Just one question about Easyjet, if you don't pay the extra to prebook a seat when you do check in, do they give you the worse seat they can find or do they just give you whatever seat is free or is it a case of they give you the middle seat as they prefer to reserve the window and aisle seats for these who pay a little extra?

Read my post above ^^ I didn't pay and got allocated an exit row.

There is more to it than payment including balance.

 

[Aictos]

Read my post above ^^ I didn't pay and got allocated an exit row.

There is more to it than payment including balance.

So it's not worth paying the extra to prebook a seat?

 

[atillathehunn]

So it's not worth paying the extra to prebook a seat?

Only you can answer that. What is that money worth at the other end and how much do you value certainty of seat?

 

[atillathehunn]

FWIW I never select a seat and rarely end up in the hold.