Transfer at Heathrow

At 06h10 I step off the A350-1000 that brought me from New York and into Terminal 3 and follow the purple signs for transfers to Terminal 5. Being one of the first arrivals this morning, there aren’t many people about yet.

There’s only one other passenger with me on the bus making the transfer from Terminal 3 to 5.

The journey between terminals takes about ten minutes, and features some excellent views of both the ramp and southern runway.

The British Airways Club Lounge

I have quite a long wait ahead of me. My departure to Basel is not until 15h10. Naïvely, I expect the lounge to be empty enough at this time of day for me to be able to secure a window seat. But I should have known better. After all, this is Heathrow airport, which is never quiet.

I don’t take any photos in the lounge. On the one hand, I’m feeling rather tired. On the other, the place is just too busy. Not long after I arrive, the lounge fills up to the point that it’s not just busy but crowded. It feels more like a railway station than an airline lounge.

The food options are great though, and change throughout the day. But the toilet situation is a problem. There is a constant queue for the loos.

We’re having one of thos days…

Boarding for my flight is from gate A1 in the main terminal. Boarding starts with a call for passengers in Group 1, which comprises of Executive Club gold members and Club Class passengers.

There are nine rows of Club Class, with a total of 36 seats. And the flight is full today, probably because the Art Basel is on this week, which usually draws a large crowd of visitors from overseas.

I take my seat on 6F. And then we wait. At some point, boarding comes to a halt because there’s a disabled passenger in a wheelchair on board that the ground staff didn’t manage to pick up in time. It slows down the whole process, until eventually, we miss our slot.

The captain informs us that we’ll have to wait at least fifty minutes before we get airborne. Our gate is needed for the next flight. So we push back, start our engines and taxi towards the departing runway 27R. Abeam Terminal C we stop and shut down the engines while we wait.

After about fifteen minutes we restart the engines and continue to runway 27R. And then it starts to rain…

The rain intensifies…

… and about two miutes later the heavens open and the rain comes pelting down. We make a right turn and then another to point us in the opposite direction. And then we stop and shut down the engines again.

The captain comes on again to inform us that the wind has changed, so that departures have switched from runway 27R to 09R. But then shortly after, the engines are shut down again and we are informed that all departures have been halted because of a storm cell passing over the airport.

Eventually, the storm passes, but we are informed that several aircraft have been holding in the air for so long that they’re running out of fuel. As a result, departures remain suspended while ATC switches to parallel approaches to bring the aircraft in as quickly as possible.

And this is, I think, where the cabin crew make a misjudgement – because they allow passengers to move about the cabin and start serving drinks and nuts.

At some point, the engines are restarted and we start moving slowly to the threshold of runway 09R. But it’s taking us a while because there are a lot of aircraft standing around in the wrong place by this time. One of the passengers in row 3 decides that now would be a good time to go to the loo. The crew are busy clearing the cabin for take off and don’t detect her wandering off.

By this time we’re already turning onto the active runway. The cockpit crew do not make a further announcement to inform the cabin that we’re ready for take off. I keep waiting for the lady to emerge from the loo. The engines start spooling and I half think that maybe she slipped out without me seeing her. But there is an empty seat on row 3. The brakes are realeased and we go thundering down the runway.

We’re still climbing out and being jostled around by the storm when the lav door opens and the passenger emerges. We actually took off with her sitting on the loo.

At least she’s safe. But I still think that the crew could have done a better job. I’m aware that the cockpit crew must have been up to their eye balls in work, what with the runway switch, the changed weather and negotiation with ATC. Nonethless, they are required to advise the crew when take off is imminent. And tha cabin crew simply let things in the cabin get out of control.

The Meal – Afternoon Tea

Once we’ve settled into the cruise and the cabin crew have made sure that toilet lady is unharmed, the service begins. On this flight there is an afternoon tea service. There is a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sandwiches and scones with and without raisins.

The sandwiches are roast beef, coronation chicken…

… and salmon.

There’s also a small and very sweet piece of Battenberg cake (not Victoria sponge cake).

Arrival

Eventually we’re start our descent into Basel after a flight time of one hour. We fly a circuitous route into the airport because it’s been raining heavily here too. We touch down just after 19h, nearly two hours behind schedule. But by this stage I’m too tired to care. I just want to sleep.

Conclusion

As Shakespeare says, all’s well that ends well. Which in this case refers to the lady in the loo. Even so, I think this was an interesting case study to watch unfold of what happens when a group of people who are expected to work together wind up in a situation where unexpected events unfold.

Personally, I think the operation at Heathrow is impressive. They handle ridiculous amounts of traffic with just two runways. But I also think that today’s events also show that the system is really running at the limits if what is still safely possible. And that is concerning.