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Tuesday, May 31, 2022
This day was complicated. First, I needed to figure out where I was going to get my Covid test done because that was required for my flight home. I could have done it locally, but I decided to just have it done at the airport to keep the day simple as possible.
Before taking my train to the airport, I visited Westminster Cathedral and got some photos. I had been there before, but I wanted to photograph it with my latest iPhone, since the last time was with my Canon DSLR. (Not sure which shots were better.) No matter. Every time you visit somewhere at a different time, the shot is unique since the lighting is unique, so it was worth trying out.
Next, I took the train over to Gatwick airport and had my Covid test completed there. It cost about $50. Certainly a waste of money, yet I had no choice, and of course I was negative.
Since travel had been picking up again, the airport was complete chaos. My ticket was business class so I wouldn't be in the general population line. However, the business class line was also incredibly long. I had to be in it because, for some reason, I wasn't able to check in on my phone. Therefore, I had to stand in the long line. I was there probably an hour before I finally made it up to the front. And wouldn’t you know it, right before it was my turn at the desk, my phone had told me that my check-in could be completed. Since I was next in line, I decided to wait and just validate it. The agent said everything was good to go. Hurrah, but bollocks for the wasted time.
I then went over to the security checkpoints. With business class, you can go through a separate security gate (And I think people can also pay for that luxury). I imagine it was much shorter than the regular security checkpoint since it went by very quickly. Now I had to find the lounge.
Since I was at Gatwick and not Heathrow, there was no Concorde lounge for me, but regardless, I would not have access to it anyway, because I had a business class ticket and not a first class ticket. This was fine as the lounge at Gatwick was quite nice too. While there were plenty of food options, I ate sparingly, and had a little wine. I didn't want to fill up before the flight. Soon we were boarding.
With this particular aircraft for BA, the business class the seats are not the greatest. They do lie-flat but the arrangement is just so goofy that you have to walk over people when they're sleeping if you want to get out of the window seat area, and if you're in the aisle seat you're very exposed to people walking down the isles.
My seat was an aisle seat since I didn't have a choice when booking (as I was using miles to get it). But a window seat nearby was not occupied. I asked if I could switch and the flight attendant said that if no one occupied it, I would be able to. At some point, I realized no one was going to take it so I just made the move myself. I’m so independent!
Because of all the airport chaos, many passengers were not able to get checked in in time so they decided to hold the plane to wait for them. That turned into an hour, and then two hours. And then some people who were checked in never showed up at all, but their bags were on the plane, so yeah, they had to remove the bags from the plane, which took another hour since they had to go through the various luggage and locate those bags. Basically, we would be leaving three hours late! In one way, I didn't really mind because I was in a very comfortable seat, but I also had only a two-hour layover in New York City. This was going to be a problem.
But there was another nice little bonus. I had asked if I was would be able to see the cockpit earlier, and they at first said probably not because their pilots would be so busy; however, with the delay, there was a lot of extra time, so they did allow me to check out the cockpit and talk to the captain and first officer. They even let me take a picture in the first officer’s chair, which was really cool. I did not expect that at all.
Soon we were up in the air.
One thing I noticed was that even for business class they're pretty crazy about what they charge to have Wi-Fi for the trip. It would cost about $25 – which was outrageous. However, the food was free and very good. Some of it was served in plastic containers, but we also got real silverware and plates. The meal was some meat, potatoes, a roll, cheese, and cake. All very good.
I also made sure to try a couple of the red wines, which didn't disappoint. I then tried out the entertainment system, which wasn't great but I did enjoy playing 30 minutes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” game for a little while. It’s addicting! I then elected to sleep for several hours.
Of course as we got closer to New York City, I was concerned about the flight home from there. But there was nothing I could do except hope that the next flight was delayed as well. However, once I got close, I realized I had missed my flight because text messages started coming into my phone saying they were boarding, and then about to leave, and then gone. The first thing I did was book a flight home the next morning. I could worry about getting a refund for that later.
The second thing I had to do was book a hotel for the night. I found an affordable place near JFK. Some of the hotels still had decent prices because of the pandemic, although that would be changing in time. After landing and passing through customs, I took an Uber to the hotel and ordered some food.
I figured I would try Popeye's Chicken Sandwich and it was darn tasty even a little cold. This was also something I could get reimbursed for. I then finally slept and woke up the next day, and took Uber to the airport.