Guided by the Stars (Alliance)

[Scarlett]

Whilst I was up golfing, the family drove past the airport. FNC has steep drops at both ends of the runway. As part of a recent upgrade where they lengthened the runway they used pillars to build out over a cove.







It’s an impressive structure.

 

[Scarlett]

To get back to mainland Portugal from Madeira, I redeemed TK miles for the three of us. J internal to a country via A* awards cost 15K miles per person (was increased this year from a previous 10K - that was a bargain in places like the US!)
The best timed flights were actually FNC-OPO-LIS on TP rather than direct to LIS, so that is what we flew.

TP1710 FNC-OPO
A320-200 CS-TNU
Dep: sched 0840 / actual 0855
Arr: sched 1030 / actual 1033






Backtracking along the elevated runway.


Eurobusiness seating on TP. Cabin only about half full.

Note that there was no TP lounge at FNC, just a small generic ANA lounge. Not ANA as in NH, but rather ANA the Portuguese airport operator. The lounges are used by many operators and are generally small and disappointing.

Flight was a bog standard narrow body ride into OPO where it was overcast and clearly had just finished raining.

We only had an hour on the ground so waited again in an ANA lounge. Again crowded, but this time with a 10 minute line up just to get in. The line seemed to be mostly due to the lady at the front desk who seemed to be having a miserable day and just took a long time doing anything. Maybe it was by design…

After a coffee and a quick snack it was off for the short sector back to LIS, this time operated by Portugalia, operating as TAP Express, sort of a QFLink to mainline TP.

TP1927 (…ish ) OPO-LIS
ERJ-195 CS-TTW
Dep: sched 1200 / actual 1223
Arr: sched 1300 / actual 1300

Yes, only a 37 minute flight. But with a few extra minutes taxiing. Still served a snack and a drink in their 2-2 J cabin.



It was actually more comfortable than the A320 earlier in the morning.

We had a final night in Lisbon with a transit hotel booked at the LIS Holiday Inn Express. Mediocre hotel - wouldn’t stay there again as required an Uber there and then to go anywhere from the hotel. But it was much better value than the airport Melia right in front of the terminal.

 

[Scarlett]

<brief interlude of reality and note that Murphy has taken an absolute stranglehold of my return flights. I should be writing up flight notes but instead am just scrambling to find a way home… isn’t it nice how when I leave gaps and overnight stops in the travel plan everything goes well, but as soon as I plan for a couple of hour connections, it all falls apart>

 

[Scarlett]

And so it begins.
I will record here for posterity, that my return flights home should have been:
LIS-MAD-CAI (IB) / CAI-ADD-BKK (ET) / BKK-SIN-MEL (SQ) / MEL-CBR (QF)


IB8871 LIS-MAD
CRJ-1000 EC-LPN
Dep: sched 1230 / actual 1448
Arr: sched 1455 / actual 1637

The first hint of a problem was an email from IB stating there would be a delay of the flight, but with no timing of what that delay was. The email arrived during the short shuttle ride from the airport HIX hotel. Check in staff didn’t mention anything about a delay. A look at FR24 indicated a one hour delay. The departure boards inside the airport were also being coy about an issue.





FR24 subsequently updated to an estimated departure of 1355. It should be noted here that my booking had a 1hr 40min connection, so this planned delay was going to eat up most of that.

We board through a bus gate, so that’s going to add more time.


Our jet is out past the engineering and cargo area.





Those hold areas where the guy in the orange jacket are used for the gate check baggage and seem a very useful feature for a regional jet.


It’s not a Mitsubishi.

The bags from the arrival flight were still being offloaded as we were boarding! Then we just sat there, all boarded and waited. And I watched my connection time disappear!