jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 8391 times:
My eighth trip of the year will take me to Madrid. Admittedly, it wasn't the first place I thought of going to but after reading a thread on here many months ago about what European routes BA fly their 767's on something interesting was mentioned. That if you choose the right flights, its possible to fly out on a British Airways 767 and back on an Iberia A340. Decision made! My planned trip to Rome got scrapped in favor of a pair of widebodies to Madrid instead. Interestingly my outbound BA flight offered a Club Europe price of just £149 so I snapped that up too - not sure if it was a mistake or not but either way it was a good deal.
Although I booked through BA, I thought I’d send myself an IB E-Ticket for the collection
At this point I wasn't too sure weather I’d be on an IB A340-300 or -600. Both seem to operate to Heathrow, however the -600 seemed more common. Checking the BA website only confirmed that I’d be on an A340 of some description:
Given the choice I’d rather be on the -600, however either opportunity to fly a long haul jet on a two hour flight suited me!
Next up was a hotel. I was surprised at how many there were within a reasonable distance from the airport train, with a price that fits my budget. In the end I settled on the AC Cuzco Marriott for around £70 for the night.
The weather definitely looked warmer than the UK!
24 hour before departure, it was time to check in online…
…or so I thought.
A few tries later and I managed to get my boarding pass.
The following morning, I decided to try my luck at checking in for my return flight. And it turned out I was in luck.
This Confirmed that I would be on the A346.
And finally my boarding pass was issued. This was a much easier experience than the one I had with BA yesterday!
I also decided to get a boarding pass on my phone. IB seems to have the best looking mobile boarding passes!
Upon checking the British Airways app, it told me that my outbound flight had an hours delay. Oh well, more time in the lounge!
The new departure wasn't scheduled until 16:15, however as I wanted to get the most of the BA lounge at T5, I set off a bit earlier than needed, just after midday. My lift to the airport would be by my now usual means:
Interesting that National Express seemed to have gone back to the older style coach on this route again now. Although the Woking Railair branding seems to have disappeared, the interior remained the same.
No big issue for a 25 minute run to the airport, but not sure I'd like to spend more than a few hours on here - very retro. Reminded me of going on a school trip!
At around 12:30 the coach arrived at T5.
I headed off to check in to get my souvenir boarding pass. There was no mention of the delay to my flight though.
Olympic memory tree
T5 overview
Then I made my way through the fast track security. Although it wasn't particularly fast. Around 15 minutes later I was out into T5
Once airside, I had a choice to make.
I decided to go with the North lounge.
Bit of heritage in the toilets!
It was a little busy but I still managed to find a seat. I was impressed with the food offerings!
Just a bit of pasta for the moment
Followed by a couple of sandwiches - with a view!
Shortly afterwards, I decided to go and see what the South Lounge had to offer.
FID’s
It wasn't that much different to the North lounge but as it was bigger it didn't feel quite as busy. An added bonus though was that it had ice cream!
Thanks to Gabriel Chew for not only reminding me, but giving me directions too!
At just after 14:00 it was time to head down to gate C65. Seemed a little bit early to me, as according to the FIDs departure wasn't due for another hour and 45 minutes!
At 14:30 I left the lounge and made the long trek over to the C gates.
G-BZHB would be doing the honors this afternoon.
Trying out the panorama mode in iOS 6 for the first time.
Whilst I was waiting fellow trip reporter Gabriel Chew passed on some of his travel wisdom yet again - that all premium passengers departing from T5C could claim £15 worth of food/drinks/merchandise from Starbucks. I went and enquired about this and came away with a decent haul!
Thanks Gabriel!
Despite the plane being on stand and the gate being announced long in advance, there wasn't a great deal going on at the gate. I wasn't bothered though as I had a good view.
I asked one of the staff when he expected boarding to be started, but all he said was that the flights delayed and he didn't know why, and that boarding should start in around 10-30 minutes. So really covering his arse there! Eventually an announcement was made over the PA saying the delay was down to the aircraft coming in late from its previous journey.
Gate overview
BA462
LHR-MAD
13th October 2012
767-336ER/G-BZHB
Seat: 08K Club Europe
Scheduled: 15:15/18:40
Off Stand: 15:54
On Stand: 16:31
At 15:25 boarding started.
I was pleased to see that this was one of the refurbished planes.
Turns out I was the last to enter the pretty empty Club Europe cabin, as I was asked if the seat I had was ok by the cabin crew and that if I wanted to move feel free.
Just before pushback, hot towels were handed out.
The captain came over the PA and announced a flying time of 2 hours. He also mentioned that due to the weather there were a few problems with departures. After my trip to Amsterdam a few weeks back being delayed due to the rain, I was having my doubts if Heathrow could actually operate in the rain.
At 15:48 the jet bridge detached and at 15:54 we pushed back. And that's when the fun began. I noticed that we had been sitting on the Tarmac after pushback for quite a while with the engines running – nearly fifteen minutes in fact. At first I thought that maybe we were being held up by ATC for some reason.
My views for the best part of half an hour
At 16:12 the captain was on the PA again and gave some news that no a.netter wants to hear after they had chosen a flight specifically for the aircraft type. The plane had a technical problem and that he was currently in contact with the ground crew as to what the best course of action was – weather it was best for the ground crew to tell him how to fix it or return to stand. At 16:18 the captain came over again, and said that it was a hardware problem rather than a software glitch and that we would indeed be heading back on to stand. He also mentioned that he didn't know at this time if it would be quicker to fix this plane of find another. I was hoping for this one to be fixed!
At 16:29, we finally moved. But not to anywhere interesting. Just back to the same stand we had pushed back from.
Whilst waiting, the afternoon tea service started.
I asked how many hours the crew had left and the flight attendant said they had 12, so there were no worries about this flight being cancelled for that reason. Only unless something was seriously wrong with the aircraft. They also mentioned that even if this flight was cancelled, there were another two Iberia flights later tonight with plenty of room on, so I will get to Madrid tonight.
The next hour or so was spent watching the ground crew go back and forth between the flight deck and slowly eating the sandwiches that were put in front of me.
Ground IFE
At just past 17:10, the captain came over again and this time said that we would now be flying with Iberia as this plane couldn't be fixed. Annoying as I was looking forward to flying this 767! Luckily I've arranged a flight later in the year on a pair of BA 767's so it wasn't a major loss. Although I was still pretty disappointed.
After having a brief chat with one of the cabin crew about all things aviation related – including a couple of thing he asked me not to share here about the 767 fleet - he very kindly invited me up to the flight deck. Things were a lot more relaxed on this trip and I spent a good 15 minutes up there chatting about the problem (faulty pitot heater), taking pics and aviation in general. He also mentioned that the ground crew had given him permission to fly, although he had to avoid any icy conditions. He wasn't confident of being able to do this with the rain around, plus the fact the return flight from Madrid would be around 22:00, so in the interests of safety he decided to stay on the ground. Also the fact that fitting the part would take 45 minutes, however getting the part to the plane, testing and paperwork would mean a very lengthy delay. I also mentioned the problems I had with my flights to Nice and Amsterdam – the captain mentioned that I must be unlucky as this was the first major problem he had in eighteen years!
At 17:40, it was back into the lounge, and new boarding passes were issued.
My new ride, although not as exciting as the first
Luckily I still had a window seat. The ground agent was also quite insistent that due to Iberia not serving any food, that I should go to Starbucks and top up. I told him I already had, although he said I should go again and tell them to bill it to BA! Also interesting to note was that there were only around 30 people on board the original flight. Including 7 in the Club World section so a very low load.
Clearly nobody can read the please take a seat sign.
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 8442 times:
IB3167
LHR-MAD
13th October 2012
A321/EC-JEJ Riofrio
Seat: 03F
Scheduled: 18:40/22:10
Off Stand: 18:53
On Stand: 22:13
Boarding started for the second time today at 18:20. Most people decided that they were going to use the fast track lane, despite a member of ground crew telling everybody it was for premium pax only.
2nd legroom shot of the afternoon. Or fast becoming the evening.
The business class cabin on this A321 was quite full. Hardly surprising really considering it had two flights worth of people in it now. Despite this I still didn't have a seatmate.
We pushed back and made our way out to runway 27R.
And finally, just before 19:10, we made it into the air, nearly four hours later than anticipated.
It was interesting to note that there were no announcements from the flight deck. In fact the crew were a bit dis-interested in general I found. They weren't rude, but not overly friendly either. Certainly very different to the BA crew from earlier, who were very friendly and seemed like they couldn't do enough for you. At least they were quite good looking!!
Around twenty minutes after take off the cabin crew came round and took the dinner orders. After eating in the lounge twice, eating on the aborted BA flight and having a cinnamon bun after the ground staff told me there wasn't any food served on board, I think it was safe to say I made a profit on these flights purely by the amount of food I ate! Meal choices were fish or meat... A little bit ambiguous there. After giving a confused look, she elaborated a little more. The meat was a hamburger. So I went for that. Although it was more a lump of beef than a hamburger.
I don't normally drink that much, but after the afternoon I've had this went down nicely.
Not bad, although the meat was a little on the tough side.
As it was now nighttime, watching the world go by beneath us was a bit of a non-starter.
Therefore, the rest of the flight was spent browsing through the many newspapers I'd acquired throughout the day, and the inflight mag.
Hope my return goes to plan.
Oh and updating the trip report of course! I also asked the cabin crew what time we were due to arrive into Madrid. They said around 22:00 local, so the total flight time was around 1 hour 50 minutes. Interesting how the A321 could do the trip 10 minutes quicker than the 767. If it hadn't broken down of course.
Initial descent started just before 21:30 local, although there wasn’t much to be seen tonight.
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 8422 times:
Sunday morning started quite late due to being woken up by a load of people shouting outside my room at about 3:00am. As it was now daylight, I could admire the view from my 15th floor room properly.
I got ready and went out to see what Madrid had to offer. First off was a short walk down the road
Outside view of the hotel
Santiago Bernabau
Then it was on to the very easy to use Metro into the city.
No question who the main team in town is
A short train ride later and I was in central Madrid.
Plaza Mayor
Then a bit of random wondering!
I’m sure I’ve seen a bar just like this somewhere else this year…
Puerta de Alcalá – built in the 1780’s
Then on to a very nice walk around the Buen Retiro Park
Monument to Alfonso XII
At around 13:30 local I made my way back to the airport.
Columbia Metro station
IB Check in area
I went about my usual trick of acquiring a souvenir boarding pass. I went up to the check in area indicated by the displays, only to be turned away and told to 'go round there'. I 'went round there' and all I could see we're self serve check in machines. Hmmm better than nothing I guess. Except this proved to be a problem too.
I then went to see customer services. Again, this was a no go as they were 'ticket sales only'. For my final attempt, I went to the bag drop area where there was more confusion. I clearly stated that I wasn't checking in any bags, all I needed was my boarding pass, to which the check in agent asked to see my boarding pass. When we were finally on the same wavelength, I asked if the flight was still due to be operated by the A340, however this request was totally ignored. Oh well. My patience in attempting to get a boarding pass was finally rewarded however.
The next hour or so was spent looking round the very impressive terminal.
Then around 70 minutes before departure I made my way over to the RSU gates via the shuttle.
Not sure I've seen a LAN in the flesh before?
T4S Overview
Well it's still scheduled to be an A346, but as I found out yesterday anything can change that!
Slowly the gate area started filling up, before boarding was announced at 15:25
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 8428 times:
BA7058/IB3166
MAD-LHR
14th October 2012
A340-642/EC-LEV Isaac Albeniz
Seat: 33A Economy
Scheduled: 16:00/17:20
Off Stand: 16:04
On Stand: 17:30
Boarding was the usual disorderly chaos. At least the ground crew seemed to be enforcing the boarding by row number only rule, however people just crowded the gate area stopping people from getting through.
A bit of pushing and shoving later and I was on to the air bridge. There was a bit of a queue on the air bridge although I didn't see the reason for it.
The legroom was about average.
Hmm if I was going long haul on this one, I'd expect there to be something here...
I’m pretty sure I was supposed to have a seatmate, but he looked around a bit confused, then sat across the aisle a row in front. Suited me and I wasn't about to help him out... Pushback was just past 16:00 local, and we made a pretty quick taxi out to 14L, however once we got there we had to wait for a while.
We took off at 16:25 into some quite cloudy skies. Once again there was no communication from the flight deck so no idea on how long the flight was due to take. The load was pretty reasonable for a big jet on a short route – around 70-80%.
Watching the world go by. Fast becoming my favorite hobby!
Nearly home
Cabin service started around 20 minutes after take off. As I hadn't eaten all day, I decided to try out a sandwich for a hugely overpriced €7.
The crisps weren't included in the deal, they were some that I had 'borrowed' from the lounge yesterday.
As the crew were very slow at getting round to me, descent had already started by the time I was eating. As they reached the row behind, the lady sat there asked for a landing card. The response she got was 'they've already been given out', before walking off. I already had the impression that the Iberia staff weren't the most helpful bunch around after all the faffing trying to get my boarding card earlier, and this had now confirmed it.
Overflying my home town for the third time! Poor pic though
The McLaren F1 team HQ a few miles from my house.
As I saw my home town more than a few times, I knew that we were in the Ockham hold. Not that the flight deck confirmed this. Once again they were pretty silent for the entire flight.
As we were rolling out on runway 27L, everybody decided that it would save them some time by getting their things together now - which was slightly unbelievable. But more shocking was that there were no announcements from the crew telling people to sit down either!
Pic taken just after landing.
It was then a pretty short taxi over to T5C.
On Stand
Passing through the business class section on the way out
Then it was a case of following the signs to the exit, via the transit system.
One last look at the A346
T5 arrivals - brings back memories of working here during the construction of T5
Then it was out to the coach station to wait for the coach home. Luckily it was one of the newer types this time.
I hate the M25
Once the coach arrived, I took a walk back through town as I wanted to grab a bite to eat then headed off home.
Small bit of aviation in town.
And that concludes another trip. Very disappointed not to actually fly on the 767, although considering I sat on it for a couple of hours and the full service was given I guess I had a taste of BA Club World. Although as somebody pointed out to me at work the following day, it was more a case of the worlds most expensive restaurant than going away anywhere! Taking this into consideration, the Iberia Business experience was a bonus really, although I still think BA has them beaten by a long way. As I've mentioned previously in this report, I feel their staff at best are not interested and at worst just downright rude. Madrid seemed like an interesting city and it would of been good to have a few more hours there although I wouldn't rush back there any time soon. The metro system there is very good though, so easy to get around.
Doesn't IB keep the middle seat free in C, like most carriers?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): The next hour or so was spent looking round the very impressive terminal.
It's an architectural marvel, but the place is pretty boring besides that. Too far away for decent views, especially from the main terminal. And all you can see there is boring Iberia busses, and there's limited seating too.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): The load was pretty reasonable for a big jet on a short route – around 70-80%.
Perhaps a lot cargo to be transported between the two hubs? Would also explain the 767 in spite of the low load.
I39OO From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2012, 43 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 8184 times:
Hi Jwhite, thanks for sharing your TR!
It's bad to see that you've had an unfortunate experience on BA's 767s on your flight. I think the 76s are showing their age and years over years of intensive usage are exerting a heavy toll on them. I read somewhere that there's one of them stranded in Canada and the reliability is quite low.
Personally, after 4 flights on BA's 767s, I don't like them. They're really noisy if compared to an A330, windows aren't that big, storage space is limited unless you're lucky enough to get a refurbished one and... well, I'd rather fly down to Spain on a E-jet, if only City airport wasn't on the other side of London for me.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): The captain came over the PA and announced a flying time of 2 hours. He also mentioned that due to the weather there were a few problems with departures. After my trip to Amsterdam a few weeks back being delayed due to the rain, I was having my doubts if Heathrow could actually operate in the rain.
It's not rain, rather wind and poor visibility lowering the flow rate. And, if you consider that the flow rate at LHR is at max. capacity on a normal day, there isn't any space to play with once delays start kicking in.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): At 16:12 the captain was on the PA again and gave some news that no a.netter wants to hear after they had chosen a flight specifically for the aircraft type. The plane had a technical problem and that he was currently in contact with the ground crew as to what the best course of action was – weather it was best for the ground crew to tell him how to fix it or return to stand. At 16:18 the captain came over again, and said that it was a hardware problem rather than a software glitch and that we would indeed be heading back on to stand. He also mentioned that he didn't know at this time if it would be quicker to fix this plane of find another.
Bad luck, but it's good to see you've been looked after by both crew and staff on the ground. I've learned that BA can be brilliant when it starts hitting the fan, whereas they can be average on a normal day.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): I then went to see customer services. Again, this was a no go as they were 'ticket sales only'. For my final attempt, I went to the bag drop area where there was more confusion. I clearly stated that I wasn't checking in any bags, all I needed was my boarding pass, to which the check in agent asked to see my boarding pass. When we were finally on the same wavelength, I asked if the flight was still due to be operated by the A340, however this request was totally ignored. Oh well. My patience in attempting to get a boarding pass was finally rewarded however.
I was in Madrid last week, already issued with boarding pass, and didn't know where the security was. I approached a queue minder who then directed me to the desk, insisting for me to have a proper boarding pass... I guess that they were the same people you've had issues with, now they must be printing BPs for everyone!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 3): Boarding was the usual disorderly chaos. At least the ground crew seemed to be enforcing the boarding by row number only rule, however people just crowded the gate area stopping people from getting through.
It's a thing I've noticed at BCN and MAD: gates don't have loads of space and the fast track service isn't provided. As a result it's a little bit of a scrum, with Spaniards and foreigners alike elbowing their way forward... It's strange because, until a second before boarding starts, the queue is absolutely perfect, spanning dozens of meters in front of the gate. I've witnessed people lining up for an Air Berlin flight which hasn't arrived yet from the previous leg!
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 6, posted (7 months 1 week 19 hours ago) and read 7498 times:
Nice report James. Good that you got to try out the refurbished 767, shame you didn't get to fly it! How come you didn;t do Y on BA (free catering), the C on IB?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): Thanks to Gabriel Chew for not only reminding me, but giving me directions too!
No problem, although I see they've gone for a cheaper brand now.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): Whilst I was waiting fellow trip reporter Gabriel Chew passed on some of his travel wisdom yet again - that all premium passengers departing from T5C could claim £15 worth of food/drinks/merchandise from Starbucks. I went and enquired about this and came away with a decent haul!
ba319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8264 posts, RR: 56 Reply 7, posted (7 months 1 week 12 hours ago) and read 6839 times:
Hi James,
Nice read and pictures, thanks for sharing.
Good to see you got on one of the refurbished 767's,if not flown on, not been that lucky myself, the un-refurbished ones are really quite grotty now.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): Whilst I was waiting fellow trip reporter Gabriel Chew passed on some of his travel wisdom yet again - that all premium passengers departing from T5C could claim £15 worth of food/drinks/merchandise from Starbucks. I went and enquired about this and came away with a decent haul!
- Well that's a result, I guess that's because the C gates lack a lounge.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): After having a brief chat with one of the cabin crew about all things aviation related – including a couple of thing he asked me not to share here about the 767 fleet
- Likely about how unreliable they are getting I suspect.....
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): interesting to note was that there were only around 30 people on board the original flight. Including 7 in the Club World section so a very low load.
- Yikes, a very light load for a 321.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): I also asked the cabin crew what time we were due to arrive into Madrid. They said around 22:00 local, so the total flight time was around 1 hour 50 minutes. Interesting how the A321 could do the trip 10 minutes quicker than the 767. If it hadn't broken down of course.
- I guess that's down to later time of day thus less air traffic.
IB service looks pretty much as it always has done, very hit and miss.
sultanils From Belgium, joined Mar 2010, 1188 posts, RR: 29 Reply 8, posted (7 months 1 week 9 hours ago) and read 6522 times:
Hi James,
Nice story mate. Too bad your BA flight wasn’t happening in the end. But you got a taste, that should be satisfying as well (for the moment). You got to see the in’s and out’s of 2 Oneworld carriers. No doubt which one rightfully deserves to be in the alliance and which one not...
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): I thought I’d send myself an IB E-Ticket for the collection
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): including a couple of thing he asked me not to share here about the 767 fleet
Hey, if you say A...
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): I clearly stated that I wasn't checking in any bags, all I needed was my boarding pass, to which the check in agent asked to see my boarding pass.
So was it really a miscommunication or unwillingness to accomodate your request?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): Hmm if I was going long haul on this one, I'd expect there to be something here...
I’ve flown these oldies a few times to LatAm. I wasn’t bothered by the non-existent IFE back then, but perhaps I would be now.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): As I've mentioned previously in this report, I feel their staff at best are not interested and at worst just downright rude.
To be honest, I have had some really good crews and some mediocre ones. But rude, no... I guess you can call it ‘the Spanish way’, but I agree it’s not very customer minded...
Think I'll be heading straight for the South next time!
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 4): It must have been a terrible wait though.
Didn't seem too bad actually - and that was down to the crew who were frequently coming round and chatting to everybody. Much better than the wait on my KLM flight back in August.
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 4): Doesn't IB keep the middle seat free in C, like most carriers?
Not totally sure - I didn't notice anybody sat in the middle seats, yet the armrests weren't pushed together to block the middle seat off either so the width wasn't any better than in economy.
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 4): Perhaps a lot cargo to be transported between the two hubs?
Thats the reason I've heard for it.
I39OO
Quoting I39OO (Reply 5): I read somewhere that there's one of them stranded in Canada
Yes, thats another thing that the captain mentioned to me. In fact he also told me that he got a message asking him to go over to Calgary to collect it the following day. Im sure he said there's another one stranded somewhere too.
Quoting I39OO (Reply 5): I'd rather fly down to Spain on a E-jet
Something that I'll be doing next month.
Quoting I39OO (Reply 5): Personally, after 4 flights on BA's 767s, I don't like them.
I actually found it ok. Although in fairness, I didn't actually fly in it, but i found it perfectly acceptable for the hour or so i was onboard.
Quoting I39OO (Reply 5): Bad luck, but it's good to see you've been looked after by both crew and staff on the ground. I've learned that BA can be brilliant when it starts hitting the fan
They definitely were, and Ive sent an email to BA to pass on my praise of everybody involved from the flight crew to the ground crew.
Quoting I39OO (Reply 5): I was in Madrid last week, already issued with boarding pass, and didn't know where the security was.
I also had problems, as I was trying to use a mobile boarding pass by that point. I just kept getting pointed in different directions.
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (7 months 1 week 5 hours ago) and read 6172 times:
Gabriel,
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 6): How come you didn;t do Y on BA (free catering), the C on IB?
The BA flight was only £149, where as IB wanted around £400 I think. And if i'd shelled out that much and the A346 ended up getting subbed i'd have been very disappointed as the A321 I went on wasn't really anything special.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 6): I see they've gone for a cheaper brand now.
It wasn't that good either - tasted like it had been thawed out then re frozen.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 7): Good to see you got on one of the refurbished 767's,if not flown on, not been that lucky myself, the un-refurbished ones are really quite grotty now.
I'd seen pictures from other reports on here of them. Ideally I would of wanted to go on an old one first then a new one. If i get an old one on my upcoming flight, I'll no doubt be disappointed now!!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 7): Well that's a result, I guess that's because the C gates lack a lounge.
Thats what the ground staff rebooking me said. Although in the South Lounge they made no mention of it when I asked.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 7): Yikes, a very light load for a 321.
It was the 767 that had the load of about 30! Just an estimated guess though - it was only enough to fill up around 2x rows of seats at the gate. The A321 seemed pretty full to me.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 7): Likely about how unreliable they are getting I suspect.....
Hmmmm not exactly...
Nils,
Quoting sultanils (Reply 8): No doubt which one rightfully deserves to be in the alliance and which one not...
I was thinking the same. Especially when you can book IB flights on the BA website without really realising. The IB flight had a flight number of BA522 so its not even an obvious code share.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 8): It’s funny to see you collecting al kinds of BP’s. To me it’s just a piece of paper that’ll land in the bin asap
I've saved them for every single flight I've been on (although all of them before around 1998/1999 have been long lost) so it wouldn't feel right if i stopped now!
They were very fresh, although no doubt they will be in a not so great state before long.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 8): Good to see that the crew wasn’t sitting idle!
Definitely weren't! Although cant comment about what was going on at the back of the plane, although being a light load it wasn't a great hardship for them. Also noticed the first officer doing the rounds in the cabin, although by that point I'd stolen his seat at the front of the plane!
Quoting sultanils (Reply 8): So was it really a miscommunication or unwillingness to accomodate your request?
Who knows, but eventually she seemed to give up and just gave me a flick of the hand as if to wave me through - either way it wasn't the best way to treat a customer.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 8): I guess you can call it ‘the Spanish way’
I was tempted to think that, but all the Spaniards I know from home are nothing like what I encountered!
CaptainRed From Germany, joined Oct 2010, 578 posts, RR: 19 Reply 11, posted (7 months 1 week 5 hours ago) and read 6155 times:
Hi James,
great report, with some beautiful pictures as well. Sorry to hear about the cancellation of the 767 flight, really bad when you booked that flight because of that plane. But then, things like that can happen and at least you had a cockpit visit and a chat with the captain, I think that was a nice compensation.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): that all premium passengers departing from T5C could claim £15 worth of food/drinks/merchandise from Starbucks
Now that's good service here, very nice.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): After my trip to Amsterdam a few weeks back being delayed due to the rain, I was having my doubts if Heathrow could actually operate in the rain.
Well, fortunately it is Britain and it is raining only very rarely there ...
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): He wasn't confident of being able to do this with the rain around, plus the fact the return flight from Madrid would be around 22:00, so in the interests of safety he decided to stay on the ground.
Good decision here by the Captain, safety always should come first.
Looks good, although too much salad and too less meat for my taste ...
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): Oh well. My patience in attempting to get a boarding pass was finally rewarded however.
Wow, what a hassle, I guess it is somewhat common that you do online check-in and get your boarding pass at the airport only. After all you are not always able to print it out, especially when on the road.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): As I hadn't eaten all day, I decided to try out a sandwich for a hugely overpriced €7.
Ouch, now that's really expensive, and that sandwich even looks very small.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): As we were rolling out on runway 27L, everybody decided that it would save them some time by getting their things together now - which was slightly unbelievable. But more shocking was that there were no announcements from the crew telling people to sit down either!
Unbelievable, some people. And even more unbelievable that the crew obviously didn't care. Not good.
Anyway thanks again for this interesting report. Also liked your destination pictures of Madrid, certainly an interesting city.
They certainly do - especially with the BA 767's by the sound of it.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 11): Good decision here by the Captain, safety always should come first.
Exactly - I'd rather be sat here disappointed that i didn't get to fly, rather than in in the air with a problem and disappointed that i did!
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 11): Looks good, although too much salad and too less meat for my taste
My thoughts too - in fact I only actually ate the meat from the main meal!
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 11): Wow, what a hassle, I guess it is somewhat common that you do online check-in and get your boarding pass at the airport only. After all you are not always able to print it out, especially when on the road.
I know - every other airport/airline I've done the exact same thing and managed to get a boarding pass printed with no questions asked. Even from the Flybe customer service desk at LGW - and I would of thought they would just tell me to join the main queue!
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 13, posted (7 months 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 5303 times:
Hi James,
great report with nice pictures! Bad luck is sometimes part of our hobby, just experienced that some days ago when an A333 showed up instead of the desired 77W.
As for Iberia - I avoid that carrier after a trip to MIA more than 10 years ago. Horrible crews, cramped seating, bad food, no decent IFE. It seems things haven't changed.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): That if you choose the right flights, its possible to fly out on a British Airways 767 and back on an Iberia A340. Decision made!
Good plan!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): At just past 17:10, the captain came over again and this time said that we would now be flying with Iberia as this plane couldn't be fixed. Annoying as I was looking forward to flying this 767! Luckily I've arranged a flight later in the year on a pair of BA 767's so it wasn't a major loss. Although I was still pretty disappointed.
That's too bad. At least you have another BA 767 trip ahead.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
After having a brief chat with one of the cabin crew about all things aviation related – including a couple of thing he asked me not to share here about the 767 fleet - he very kindly invited me up to the flight deck.
I guess they regularly have problems with the 767 fleet...
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): He also mentioned that the ground crew had given him permission to fly, although he had to avoid any icy conditions. He wasn't confident of being able to do this with the rain around, plus the fact the return flight from Madrid would be around 22:00, so in the interests of safety he decided to stay on the ground. Also the fact that fitting the part would take 45 minutes, however getting the part to the plane, testing and paperwork would mean a very lengthy delay.
That's odd - I'd expect such a decision to be made in concensus.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): It was interesting to note that there were no announcements from the flight deck. In fact the crew were a bit dis-interested in general I found. They weren't rude, but not overly friendly either.
Welcome to IB.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Therefore, the rest of the flight was spent browsing through the many newspapers I'd acquired throughout the day, and the inflight mag.
Ah, wrong engines on the A340...
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Hmm if I was going long haul on this one, I'd expect there to be something here...
Sure, but it's IB. Expect nothing and get even less...
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): As I hadn't eaten all day, I decided to try out a sandwich for a hugely overpriced €7.
Wow, are they crazy to charge 7 Euro for that tiny sandwich?
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 14, posted (7 months 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 5191 times:
Hi James
Great trip report, thanks for sharing it with us.
I did not realize that the Euro767s had 777-style bins as well! Too bad about the cancellation.
Glad you made it just a few hours later.
Great to see the IB A346 on the MAD-LHR leg as well! However I wouldn't take any chances on trying them longhaul.
Quite shocking to know everybody was out of there seats on roll out.
MAD looks great as well, probably plannig on going there sooner or later.
Knightsofmalta From Malta, joined Nov 2005, 1416 posts, RR: 17 Reply 15, posted (7 months 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 5168 times:
Hi James
thanks for posting this interesting report. I've been contemplating doing this trip myself just to find out exactly how bad Iberia really is.
Obviously it's irritating when your aircraft goes teach but at least you were still able to enjoy BA's afternoon tea service before they decided to cancel the flight.
And I really greatly enjoyed the pictures you took, excellent quality!
FLIEGER67 From Turkey, joined Sep 2003, 4391 posts, RR: 57 Reply 16, posted (7 months 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 5082 times:
Hi, J.,
great pictures about Madrid and good to follow this story.
Also when the BA 763 was a no go this time. More luck the next time!.
Good to catch the IB 346, also a surprise for me when I was on the MAD-LPA route upgraded from the A321.
palmjet From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2001, 1051 posts, RR: 16 Reply 17, posted (7 months 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 5058 times:
Hi J
Super report and some great pics !
Sorry you missed the 767 - I note that it was the same aircraft that carried me to LCA back in May - thankfully she did not go tech then.
I love Madrid - it's only of my favourite cities in Europe. Your pics do it justice too - great shots.
I really enjoyed your inflight pics on the way home too on the A346. Nice to see a report about the shorthaul flight this big bird does. Like the AC A319 at LHR, it's weird seeing the IB A346 there too !
Your experience with IB confirm that they are truly one of the worst airlines in Europe. I've not flown longhaul with them but on the shorthaul flights I've endured with them (through work), they have been shockingly awful. Not so much a problem with the hardware - but their ground service is woeful and their personnel and their flight crews need a good kick up the backside.
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 784 posts, RR: 2 Reply 18, posted (7 months 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 4816 times:
Hi J,
Excellent report with many nice pictures! Its great to see MAD so well represented in your report as my newest report I am writing also includes MAD
Shame about missing out on the 767 even though you allready got the full service on the ground, nothing beats flying a 767 intra-europe. Same with the A346, nice to see you caught that flight and there were no troublems except for the crew, but that seems to be expected from IB unfortunately.
Great pictures of Madrid too, it looks like a nice city!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Next up was a hotel. I was surprised at how many there were within a reasonable distance from the airport train, with a price that fits my budget. In the end I settled on the AC Cuzco Marriott for around £70 for the night.
Same here when booking an overnights stay in Madrid, I went for the TäCH Madrid Airport myself though
Well I hope so as I was impressed with the refreshed cabin.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 16): Good to catch the IB 346, also a surprise for me when I was on the MAD-LPA route upgraded from the A321.
Those kind of surprises are acceptable!
PJ
Quoting palmjet (Reply 17): Your pics do it justice too - great shots.
Cheers - just wish i had a bit longer to explore the park.
Quoting palmjet (Reply 17): Like the AC A319 at LHR, it's weird seeing the IB A346 there too !
I was thinking along the same lines as we were taxying in. Mad that you flew across the Atlantic on an A319 and i flew a 2 hour intra Europe hop on an A346.
Quoting palmjet (Reply 17): Not so much a problem with the hardware - but their ground service is woeful and their personnel and their flight crews need a good kick up the backside.
To be honest even the hardware wasn't that great. I found LH economy better than IB business.
win1290 From Thailand, joined Jan 2012, 249 posts, RR: 2 Reply 20, posted (6 months 3 weeks 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 3842 times:
Hi James,
Very nice and details trip report once again, thanks for sharing.
Must be quite dissapointed that the 767 flight got cancelled. But the BA crew were great that the offered snack when on ground, and very nice indeed that you got a flightdeck visit on the 767! As for the lounge, both lounges look good and the food offerings look impressive. But I would have chosen the South one purely because of the ice creams haha. Very nice as well to know that premium pax got a 15GBP voucher at Star Bucks, never known about it before.
The crew on Iberia didn't sound good on your flight. Quite opposite to the team I had on my IB flight early in the year though. But the A340-600 flight was definately a good catch! 7 GBP for a sandwich! thats very expensive! was the drink included in the price?
Madrid airport Terminal 4 looks super. I like the design. Really like your photos of Madrid as well. I have to agree with you there that the Metro system was very easy to use, and it was quite new and clean as well. Your photos reminded me of my Madrid visit early in the year. It definately is a nice city to vist.
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Reply 21, posted (6 months 3 weeks 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 3751 times:
Hi Win,
Quoting win1290 (Reply 20): Very nice and details trip report once again
Thanks!
Quoting win1290 (Reply 20): Must be quite dissapointed that the 767 flight got cancelled.
I was a bit yeah - but I've got a longer sector booked on one in a few weeks so not a total loss.
Quoting win1290 (Reply 20): But I would have chosen the South one purely because of the ice creams haha.
I did find the South a bit better for some reason - probably because it was a bit bigger, so didn't feel as crowded even though it was just as busy.
Quoting win1290 (Reply 20): 7 GBP for a sandwich! thats very expensive! was the drink included in the price?
It was €7, so not quite as bad, and the drink was included. Although the meal I got on LH was around the same size and that was included in the price.
Quoting win1290 (Reply 20): Your photos reminded me of my Madrid visit early in the year.
I had read that report not long after you posted it.
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 24924 posts, RR: 60 Reply 22, posted (6 months 3 weeks 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 3745 times:
Hey James
Great report . Well kudos to BA for serving the meal on the ground. At least you were not hungry. So you got your CE experience kind of and another meal on IB
Nice to see the refurbed B767. Did you notice if those style seats reach back into the first part of Y or is all of Y those scary looking ironing board type that I have seen?
Love the new overhead lockers and IFE screens , the old ones were way overdue for replacement.
Nice to catch the A340 back and I like the IB seats on those. Shame the service was not upto scratch.
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 722 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (6 months 3 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 3230 times:
Just a quick update on this. I filed a request for compensation ba.com around a week ago and received this email this morning:
Quote: Thank you for contacting us about your claim for compensation.
You are entitled to compensation for cancellation of your flight BA0462 on 13 October 2012. The distance of your disrupted journey, as calculated in accordance with EU legislation, was 1500km or less. Based on this, you are entitled to 250.00 EUR in compensation.
As there was one passenger included in the claim, the total compensation due is 250.00 EUR.
We are arranging to send you our cheque, which will be made out to you as the primary claimant, in your local currency, which is equivalent to £200.81. You will receive this under separate cover.
Thank you again for following this up with us and I hope you will fly with us again soon.
Very easy to do via the website and no questions asked. Once again, great customer service from British Airways.
dcajet From United States of America, joined Aug 2004, 367 posts, RR: 5 Reply 25, posted (6 months 3 weeks 3 hours ago) and read 2846 times:
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 24):
Just a quick update on this. I filed a request for compensation ba.com around a week ago and received this email this morning:
Quote:
Thank you for contacting us about your claim for compensation.
You are entitled to compensation for cancellation of your flight BA0462 on 13 October 2012. The distance of your disrupted journey, as calculated in accordance with EU legislation, was 1500km or less. Based on this, you are entitled to 250.00 EUR in compensation.
As there was one passenger included in the claim, the total compensation due is 250.00 EUR.
We are arranging to send you our cheque, which will be made out to you as the primary claimant, in your local currency, which is equivalent to £200.81. You will receive this under separate cover.
Thank you again for following this up with us and I hope you will fly with us again soon.
Very easy to do via the website and no questions asked. Once again, great customer service from British Airways.
Had this cancellation happened on Iberia, the paperwork required for you to receive any compensation would equate to a small forest. And on top of that, your granny's birth certificate, the Captain's logbook and sworn affidavits from each cabin crew member confirming that you indeed had been on that flight.
A tale of two airlines.
Cheers,
"Unattended children will be given espresso and a free kitten"
IberiaA319 From Spain, joined Sep 2005, 560 posts, RR: 40 Reply 27, posted (6 months 2 weeks 6 days 3 hours ago) and read 2460 times:
Thank you for posting this excellent report, and thanks for posting so many pictures!!!
I enjoyed reading it with the pictures of my hometown, in Madrid. I like especially the pictures from the Retiro park, but also from the city center. The hotel was definitely a good choice.
Also, nice to see some pictures of a refurbished BA767.
Now that looks delicious! At least you got afternoon tea, even if it was on the ground!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): I told him I already had, although he said I should go again and tell them to bill it to BA! Also interesting to note
Did you go back, did it work?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): Cabin service started around 20 minutes after take off. As I hadn't eaten all day, I decided to try out a sandwich for a hugely overpriced €7.
That’s worse than the lo-co carriers.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): As we were rolling out on runway 27L, everybody decided that it would save them some time by getting their things together now - which was slightly unbelievable. But more shocking was that there were no announcements from the crew telling people to sit down either!
Simply appalling.
Happy flying
Infodesk
"Do nothing in haste, look well to each step and from the beginning think what may be the end" - Edward Whymper
Quoting infodesk (Reply 29): What a shame you missed BA’s 767. Clever planning on your part though, so at least you got the A340 on the way back.
Yeah in all honesty I was expecting the A340 to be the problem as I had heard it gets subbed for an A321 quite a bit.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 29): Really enjoyed your pics of Madrid, the colours are so vibrant.
Thanks - As I mentioned in a previous reply, I was very lucky with the weather.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 29): Now that looks delicious! At least you got afternoon tea, even if it was on the ground!
Wasn't too bad - although there could of been a bit more! Although I'm led to believe that there is also some quiche or something offered normally in addition. Guess they didn't have time to dish that out as they served the food after it was announced the flight had been cancelled.
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 31, posted (6 months 2 weeks 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 2347 times:
Hello James!
Nice report again!
Good to see you made it to Madrid after all, shame to miss the BA 767 though but good to hear you have it planned for later. Where will you be heading?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): It was a little busy but I still managed to find a seat. I was impressed with the food offerings!
Indeed, the BA T5 lounges are probably the best ones I've visited!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter): The next hour or so was spent looking round the very impressive terminal.
MAD T4 sure looks impressive, I'd love to visit Madrid one day, and I'll have to make sure I fly with OneWorld so I can experience that terminal!
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 31): shame to miss the BA 767 though but good to hear you have it planned for later. Where will you be heading?
I'll be heading to Larnaca, again in Club Europe. Only downside is that it departs from T3 at LHR so wont get to go in the T5 lounge.
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 31): Indeed, the BA T5 lounges are probably the best ones I've visited!
They were pretty good but very busy - seemed to be be a bit of mess in the South lounge though - old newspapers on chairs, dirty plates on tables etc. Still one of the better ones I've been in. Although I still think the VS lounge at LHR has it slightly beaten.
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 31): MAD T4 sure looks impressive, I'd love to visit Madrid one day, and I'll have to make sure I fly with OneWorld so I can experience that terminal!
I was impressed with how big it was - walking down to arrivals, it went on as far as the eye could see. And as I was on a widebody on the return, I got to sample T4S also. Not quite as impressive as the main terminal but still a good building. Just a shame the staff had to let the experience down...
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