Introduction

I return to Heathrow’s Terminal 5 just after six in the evening for the 20h05 departure back to Basel. The flight this evening will be operated by an Airbus A 321 NEO. Considering how many of those NEOs are now flying around Europe, it really is quite surprising that I haven’t been on all that many of them so far.

The Terminal 5 British Airways North Lounge

Security is surprisingly efficient this evening, which means I have ample time for the lounge. British Airways has two lounges on the main concourse of Terminal 5, located at the northern and southern ends of the terminal building. Today I figure I might as well try the northern lounge. First, because it’s on the same level as security. Access to the southern lounge is a bit of a pain, because you first have to go one floor down, walk all the way to the south side of the terminal and then go up again two floor to get to the lounge. There is also to consider that arrivals are still on runway 09L, which means I should see the aircraft coming in right in front of me from the lounge.

The lounge is full as usual. Even so, I still manage to claim a table by the window on the gallery. It’s noisier than being in the lounge proper, but I think I have the better views from here. Other than that, the lounge is a mess. Literally. It’s not that they aren’t clearing up after people as soon as the leave. It’s just that one person on their own cannot possibly keep up with cleaning.

So, what is it this time…?

At 19h30 I go and check the FIDS, only to discover that my flight has been delayed by an hour, for a departure at 21h05. Just after 20h the gate of my flight shows up. By the looks of it, we’ll be departing from the C concourse, which is accessible by train from the main buiding. It’s the second stop.

I reach the gate just as the male gate agent interrupts his heavy duty flirting with the young lady also working at the gate to inform us that the crew of our flight has been delayed coming off their previous flight. So boarding will be delayed some more.

Boarding

Eventually, we start boarding at 21h40, which is 22h40 in Basel and only one hour and twenty minutes before the curfew comes into effect at Basel airport.

The Cabin

The cabin of the NEO is similar to that of the Airbus CEO fleet. The only difference I can make out at a glance is that there are no tray tables on the middle seat in Club Class.

My impression is also that the pitch on row four is better than it is on the CEOs. Perhaps that’s because these aircraft are also deployed on longer routes out of Heathrow. The particular aircraft I’m travelling on today arrived in the morning from Cairo, before it flew off the Marseille and picked up a delay. London to Cairo has a block time of over four hours.

The captain informs us that there’s been some failure with UK ATC today. As a result, the departure slot time has had to be calculated manually for each aircraft, causing further delays. He informs us that we should be airborne by 22h05, with a flight time of one hour and ten minutes.

The Crew

The cabin crew on this flight are really great. They’re obviously making the effort to pamper passengers to make up for the delay we’re picked up.

The Meal

Once we’re airborne, the cabin crew pass through the cabin taking orders for a late dinner. The choice is between smoked salmon and seafood or a tomato and mozzarella salad, which is what I have. The tray is served with a small container of olive oil, a warm bun and a dessert.

The dessert is a combination of cherry and lemon. I couldn’t say what it is exactly, but it tastes very good.

Arrival

Once the meal service is done, the captain comes on to inform us that we’ve received just about every possible shortcut on the route today. Soon after, we start a very steep descent into Basel. Eventually we land at 23h54, just six minutes before the curfew starts. I rush through immigration and manage to get on the last scheduled bus service back to the railway station.