Erk's Northern Hemiwanderer, June 2014

[erkpod]

At YOW. I was able to be pre-cleared by US CBP in YOW so I didn't need to clear it in DTW.





My plane YOW - DTW.

 

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Funky tunnel linking concourse A to B & C at DTW.

 

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So called Express Tram running on concourse A at DTW. I chose lounge time over tram time.

 

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More DTW Express Tram

 

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A little more time at DTW this time with about 4 hours between YOW - DTW and DTW - LHR.



Preparing to enter the main DL Sky Lounge on concourse A.

 

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More DL Sky Lounge pics



Preparing to board at DTW



Down the back of the bus in 52A (originally 43G or thereabouts) but I got a shadow.

 

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Blue skies in English airspace.



Close to LHR. Apart from holding for a little while, the trip was ok.





Plane spotting at LHR

 

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15 minutes through passport control & 30ish minutes plane to street. Too bad the trip to the hotel took so long, though!



I'm using an iPhone & not a DSLR. Not flash enough for you?

 

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I had to go from T4 to T5 but via the main station meaning 2 trains.



After a series of trains, travelators & lifts, I found the local bus interchange at T5.

 

[erkpod]

My view from my hotel. Plane spotters will love it. Very small village - I don't feel like I'm a 5 minute bus ride away from Heathrow but I feel like I'm in a small village.

And now my photos are up to date! More text to follow.

Overnighting Tuesday night here near LHR then flying to AUH before J on VA to SYD on Friday.

 

[erkpod]

Erk, I thought that there was no free luggage on DL for VA plats, only priority tags. Or are you simply successful in convincing them otherwise?

I've never been charged on DLd or DLi as SG or WP. There was one time I almost got charged ex MDW in January but it got reversed at the counter.

They wanted to charge me $100 for YOW - DTW - LHR. I've got one large bag & 1 medium bag - both well under any allowance.

My usual line is something like "I'm *insert status here* on VA & I'm under my allowance."

I usually have to point out what a VFF card is, who VA is & that the status when booked (and on the BP) doesn't usually match the status at time of travel.

It might sound DYKWIA but $100 (for example) is $100.

 

[erkpod]

Spoiler alert:




Greetings from the EY Flounge at LHR. On my way to AUH.

 

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I was suprised to see BBC3 & BBC4 were starting their transmissions at 1900.





On Tuesday night, I went back to LHR T5 as the shops there were the closest to the hotel.

But I missed the bus narrowly in both directions so I had to wait 20 minutes for the next bus.







I liked the display that told me how busy security at T5 is.

 

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There were lots of planes going in & out of LHR over my hotel. But with the TV on, the noise was barely noticeable. The location was good but if you need any food/drink apart from pub food, LHR T5 is the best place to go.

The hotel has a limited shuttle service to/from the airport but the 423 bus is free to the hotel & beyond.

 

[erkpod]

Do people still use the mailboxes at the airports?







T5 water feature



Another pub in the village.

 

[erkpod]

Wednesday 18 June 2014
Flight Report
LHR - DTW - YOW

DL19 LHR - DTW
DL4027 DTW - YOW

When I checked in for DL19, I knew that the flight would be delayed due to the late arrival of the aircraft on the previous sector.

I went to the DL Sky Lounge & it was a nice place to spend a couple of hours.

When I arrived at the gate, it was like a zoo. Not only was my flight to DTW there but at the next gate, there was another DL flight to ATL.

Knowing that I would have time, I headed to the Observation Deck. Had I had more time & something other than an iPhone, I could have spent a lot more time there.

Back downstairs, there seemed to be no urgency to get the plane out. If it was another airline, it might have been possible to get out earlier. But once you've lost your slot at LHR, good luck!

One of the best benefits of having VFF status on DL is priority boarding. I had to squeeze past several people who thought all they needed to do was camp out near the desks.

There was also people who clearly abused the pre-boarding call. The pre-boarding is for those who need extra time, not as an alternative to priority boarding - get some status!

Boarding on any US airline seems to take forever & this time was no exception. I had a shadow & a nice lady on the other side of the shadow.

Pushing back around an hour late, I was hoping to make up some time in the air due to a short (100 minute) connection.

I enjoyed the IFE including watching all of season 1 of Brooklyn 99, a cop comedy from New York. I'll have to find out more about it. I wouldn't mind watching it again.


The food was ok (I had the chicken) but this wasn't helping my connection. The plane's doors opened around 1330 local with my next flight at 1410. My new seat buddy agreed to swap seats at the end of the flight so I could get a head start from the aisle.

Getting past the slow people, I hauled some serious cough as I headed to CBP. I saw a lady who directed me to the American line. A CBP officer directed me back to the everyone else line but the original lady directed back to the US citizens line. On previous trips into LAX, there was an effort to assist those with tight connections. Here, not so much.

I got to the front of the line & the officer asked me if I had a green card (no) and then why am I in the US citizens line. Usual questions done & I'm off. It would be nice if we could use the smart gates like we allow US citizens to do.

My next hurdle was TSA. Seeing the TSA Pre line empty & long queues, I asked if I could go down that line. Denied.

Thinking that there was no way I could make the gate now approaching 1400, I went to the DL desk who told me that my plane to YOW was also delayed with a new ETD of 1500 in lieu of 1410.

With less need to rush now, I returned to the TSA lines & jumped ahead of slow unorganised people. Normally I'd wait but I zoomed around them.

When I made it to the front of the queue, a lady using a wheelchair was popped in front of me - surely that would be a good use of an empty TSA Pre line for everyone.

Green lighted & no pat down at TSA, I jumped into the nearest Sky Club. I was told there's one closer to the gate & that I should use that one.

Passing through the funky tunnel & now looking to increase my lounge time, I had made it from plane to lounge including crossing the US border in 35 minutes.

Taking some time to relax, I called K to let her know about my new ETA into YOW. Her interweb had been down earlier due to a scheduled outage but she had been following my progress.

After some lounge time, I boarded my CRJ to YOW. A CRJ for an hour is a lot different to a 7 hour trans-Atlantic trip in a B777.


I was surprised to find how small YOW (and Ottawa in general) was. A 15ish minute wait at Canadian passport control was ok after a long day & being around an hour late. An added complication was no luggage on arrival. It was later found later that day (Wednesday) at YOW but it was not delivered to K's house until Friday lunchtime after I called them to ask where my bags were.

 

[erkpod]

Flight Report
Wednesday 25 June
LHR - AUH
EY12

Boarding the first free shuttle of the day at 0600 from the hotel, I had a free tour of LHR. The driver worked out where he was going & organised the luggage accordingly.


The driver had no idea about how to use the demister & had to stop because he couldn't see out the window. One of the passengers worked the demister & we could see again.

The driver asked around the cabin about flight times & considering there was a couple for a flight earlier than mine, I said to the driver that he could go to T5 first for them.

I eventually got out of the shuttle at 0635 but still had lots of time to check in.

Once again, the check-in staff tried to charge me for bags & once again, I pointed out that I'm VA/VFF WP.

I had to get one of the bags wrapped due to the broken locks & I dropped it off & once again was almost charged for bags.

Off to the EY lounge which was very nice. I was offered a spa treatment at least 3 times but I didn't feel like it. I just wanted to sit & relax but I felt pestered. If for instance I'm eating, I don't want to be disturbed.

Boarding started late according to the screen in the lounge. The receptionists were going to tell people when the flight was boarding but when the screen said final call, I left.

Boarding was slow and we pushed back marginally late. I watched a doco about Ferrari World which was in the wrong order on the IFE & slept a lot of the flight.

Because this flight was earlier into AUH, I was able to appreciate the surroundings (lots of sand!) a lot more than on the VA flight earlier in the month.


Arrival was on or close to time. Passport Control took about 5 minutes & the bags were awaiting me when I got downstairs.

Knowing more about where I was going compared to last time, I walked to the Premier Inn at T3. Tomorrow is a full day here before flying out Friday.

 

[erkpod]

A scale model of an EK A380 isn't the usual thing you'll find in the middle of a roundabout.



Another piano playing traveller.



Preparing to head through security - breezed through!





EY lounge, here I am!

 

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Not easy to get shots in the EY lounge.

 

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GET ON THE PLANE, ERK!



Looking towards a DL plane on the ramp as I wait to pushback.



Out the window shot.



AUH Tower



Looking up the front when leaving the plane in AUH.