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LHR-VIE-TIA and back OS Y

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  • LHR-VIE-TIA and back OS Y

    The 6.15 flight is a bit too early for my liking but what can you do. Caught the 4am bus from Oxford it officially gets in a 5.15 but at that time there is no traffic so arrived at 5.00. T2 is the closest terminal to the central bus station so I was at check in by 5.10. As a senator I can use the business check in where there was no queue so check in was completed very quickly. Then it was up the escalator to departures where the queue from hell awaited me for security. It was stretching three lengths of the terminal. When I got to the front of the queue an hour later I could see only half the machines were manned plus the ones manning the one I went through were more interested in chatting than getting people through security. Obviously by the time I got through security there was no time to go to the Senator lounge so it was straight off to the gate. Due to the delays at security it was 6.30 before everyone had turned up. Then the captain announced that we would have to wait at the gate for another 20 minutes due to congestion at Vienna. Then he announced that we would arrive only slightly late as he would fly faster to make up time. Now this does not make much sense to me if we are being delayed due to congestion at VIE what is the point in flying faster to get there.

    I had been allocated 30D which is one row from the back on the A321. Now I thought Senators were supposed to be allocated seats at he front of the cabin. Oh well it did not really matter and at least I had the seat next to me empty. Service is now very minimal in Y on OS. You get a snack a slice of cheese and slice of ham, a roll and some sort of cake. Plus tea/coffee or soft drink. It is enough to keep me going until I reach VIE and can stock up at the Senator lounge. The most noticeable thing about the FA’s is how red they are. The OS uniform is really very red indeed but the FA’s themselves are very friendly.

    In the end we arrive about 30 minutes late. Which gave me about an hour until my TIA flight. I went to the Senator lounge by the A gates. It has to be the smallest lounge any airline has in their home airport (there is another one by the C gates but it is not much bigger). It is totally packed literally standing room only. So I grabbed some food which I always think has been a strong point of the OS Senator lounges. So I had eggs, bacon and a coissant. Decided that there was no point in standing in the lounge so headed out to the gate. This was a good decision as the security queues were almost as bad at LHR.

    The flight to TIA was on Austrian Arrows the regional branch of OS. They use a Fokker 100 on this route and it was the first time I had been on one of these planes. I again was right at the back of the plane. This time it did matter as I was right by the engine and it was SO loud back there. The service was the same as OS although the uniforms of the FAs were a lot less bright. One advantage of being at the back of the plane was that when we arrived at TIA I was one of the last onto the bus to the terminal and therefore I was one of the first off. Therefore I had a relatively short queue for immigration. After immigration you have to pay €10 tax. My bag was already on the carousel. The trip from the airport to central Tirana is about 30 minutes. The actual road to the airport has to be the smallest road out to an international airport in the world it is basically just a country lane. However at least they have resurfaced it. When I first went to Albania 5 years ago you needed a 4x4 vehicle to get down the road it was in such a bad condition.

    I though the 6.15am flight going was bad the return flight left at 5am. I arrive at the airport at 4am. There is a long queue for check in and no business class check in counter so no way to skip it using my *G status. At least there was a queue, the first time I left Albania it was just a free for all at check in. The queue moved very slowly as everyone seemed to have excess luggage. Then the supervisor came over and took everyone with a huge amount of luggage to one side to deal with them and the queue started to move quickly. I got to immigration and there was only one desk open for foreigners but as there was only two people in front of me I thought it would be OK. However the old lady at the front had something wrong with her passport. After about 15 minutes someone came to open another booth whilst the original officer sorted out the problem with the old lady (I saw her on the plane so they obviously did get it sorted). There was no queue for security and also no tax payment I am sure you used to have to pay tax when you left Albania as well as when you arrived. For you non-smokers out there avoid TIA although there are large no smoking signs they are generally ignored.

    This time I was actually given a seat near the front and boy was it quieter up front. The flight left about 5 minutes late and due to strong headwinds they could not make up the time en-route. As I only had a 30 minute transfer time in VIE 5 minutes late cuts things fine. At least when we landed I saw we were pulling up to a gate in the A area and they had already announced that the LHR flight was going from A46 so I though excellent just a short walk between planes so no problems with the transfer. However when I got to the door of the plane I saw even though it had pulled up to an airbridge there were steps down to a bus to take us to the terminal. We then had to wait for everyone from the plane to get on the bus. In the end I got to the terminal building just 10 minutes before my flight was due to depart. Luckily the queue for security was not so long as earlier in the week. Yet again I had been allocated a seat at the back of the plane and this time the seat next to mine was taken (whatever happened to blocking out seats next to Senators?). We took off a little bit late but arrived at LHR about 10 minutes early at 8.30am. No wait for a gate that I often find you have to do at LHR if you arrive early. There was a huge queue for European passport holders at immigration but as I have registered for IRIS I could use one of the automatic machines for which there was no queue at all. When I got to the arrival hall the biggest shock of all firstly my bag had made it onto the LHR flight I thought that with such a short transfer there was virtually no chance that my luggage would make it. But even more amazing was that my bag was already waiting for me on the carousel. Then it was off to the Heathrow Express to London to get some rest before tonight’s LON SIN DO VI

  • #2
    Nice trip report, Lobster. Looking forward to more about your (for me) out-of-the-ordinary trips to places I haven't visited.

    Next stop, Jerusalem?

    (I hate those busses particularly at LHR. They negate a very important advantage [i.e., first off the plane and to immigration] of flying C when coming home.)
    ‘Lean into the sharp points’

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    • #3
      Originally posted by jjpb3 View Post
      Next stop, Jerusalem?
      Ooh I'm actually heading there in late 07. It's a political expedition with Labor Friends of Israel and the itinerary looks very exciting - including a desert camp out and a visit to the Israeli Defence Force HQ.
      All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

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      • #4
        Lobster, thanks for the insight into Albania

        KeithMEL, a trip report is a must then

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by 9V-JKL View Post
          KeithMEL, a trip report is a must then
          Long way to go though. We're still in the process of raising funds and the like so all our members will have a chance to go. But yes a trippie will be supplied when it finally happens.
          All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by KeithMEL View Post
            Ooh I'm actually heading there in late 07. It's a political expedition with Labor Friends of Israel and the itinerary looks very exciting - including a desert camp out and a visit to the Israeli Defence Force HQ.
            Hi Keith

            Well hopefully I will be back from Israel by the time you get there as if I'm still there then that would mean I have been there a year and that definitely is not in my plans.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Lobster View Post
              Well hopefully I will be back from Israel by the time you get there as if I'm still there then that would mean I have been there a year and that definitely is not in my plans.
              Pics please!
              All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

              Comment

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