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February 12, 2004
British Airways, BA1393
Manchester (MAN/EGCC) to London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL)
Airbus A319-131 G-EUOH
Gate Departure Scheduled/Actual 12:25/12:30 Local Time
Gate Arrival Scheduled/Actual 13:25/13:24 Local Time
[photoid=145762]
My first ever flight with BA! And my first ever flight out of Terminal 3 at MAN!
We arrived at Manchester's Terminal 3 at 10:30, 2 hours before scheduled departure. We proceeded to the check-in desks soon after, checked in our bags and received boarding cards for the flight to LHR. I bought a film for my camera at boots and we then walked to the food court at Terminal 1. I had a Burger King and saw our aircraft G-EUOH land, I also saw V Bird A320 PH-BMC preparing for its return service to Niederrhein.
MAN was extremely busy with 6-7 aircraft waiting at the hold at 24L for take-off. At this point G-EUOH parked onto stand, we now proceeded to the departure lounge; there was no queue at security. My first impressions of the departure lounge at Terminal 3 were that it was very spacious, with an excellent selection of shops and cafes to be found. At the window I could see our aircraft, plus a 737-400 and a Dash-8. At the other side of the departure lounge I had a great view of arrivals on 24R, numerous BAe 146's, ERJ 145's landed. And a slightly more exciting arrival, an Egypt Air A300 SU-GAU, operating a Hajj charter flight from Khartoum.
It was now 12:10 and BA1393 was called to board from Gate 143. I could tell from the queue that this was going to be a full flight today. We walked down the air bridge, at the end an excellent selection of newspapers was to be found. As I stepped onto the aircraft the flight deck door was open, and I had an excellent view of the flight deck of our A319.
The friendly cabin crew individually welcomed each passenger and I made my way to seat 11E which was was a window seat near the wing. The leather seats of this A319 were great and really comfy! Magazines to be found were High Life, Business Life and a Shopping the world, short-haul brochure. The seat even had a separate pocket for the safety card and a coat hanger!
The captain then made an announcement, giving us some details of the flight. We would cruise at 19,000 FT, and the flight was reported to be smooth throughout, and we would be starting our push back in a few minutes. The cabin crew introduced themselves, and made sure everyone had there seatbelts fastened.
We now started to push back from stand; engine 2 was started first, and then engine 1. As we completed the push back, flap 1 was then selected. As we started to taxi to 24R, the flip down screens came out and the safety demonstration was shown. We waited for a MyTravel A330, bmi A330, and a Turkish 737-800 to take-off and a BA Dash 8 to land. We then lined up on the runway waited for take-off clearance and then we were ready to go.
PF selected FLX reduced take-off thrust and we smoothly rotated around where the aviation viewing park is situated. Gear was selected up soon after, and we began the short climb to 19,000 FT. We passed a small layer of fog, flaps were selected to up and the seat belt sign was switched off. At this point the flip down screens came down again, showing us interesting details of the flight.
Shortly after the seat belt signs were switched off, the cabin crew began serving the famous BA All Day Deli and a bar service. This time it was a savoury option, seasonal vegetables with a chive dip and some flavoured breadsticks, I ordered a Coke.
Shown on this photo (slightly blurry):
After smoothly cruising at 19,000 FT and at no time at all we started our decent into Heathrow. The cabin crew came round to collect all the rubbish in. On the flip-down screens it showed that we were at 10,000 FT and about 50 miles from LHR. Seat belt signs were switched on at this point.
Spoilers were extended at the beginning of the approach, flaps were selected to 1 and the gear was selected down. Spoilers were brought in and the cabin crew took there seats for landing. Flaps were then selected to 3 and then the full position and I could see the construction of T5 at this point.
We passed over the threshold of 09L and then I experienced one of the smoothest landings ever, you couldn’t feel the impact. We used idle reverse and low autobrake for the landing and we vacated the runway quite early. When we vacated a BA 767 landed soon after.
We then had a very short taxi to our stand; other BA A319’s, A320’s and 757’s were seen. Engine 2 was shut down when we were just turning onto stand. Engine 1 was then shut down a few seconds after we stopped and the seat belt sign was turned off soon after.
When we deboarded G-EUOH the First Officer said goodbye to each passenger which I thought was a nice touch. My impression of British Airways on this flight was a very good one, and I was looking forward to my return flight to MAN with them.
----------------------------------------
February 27, 2004
British Airways, BA1408
London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL) to Manchester (MAN/EGCC)
Airbus A319-131 G-EUPJ
Gate Departure Scheduled/Actual 21:00/21:02 Local Time
Gate Arrival Scheduled/Actual 21:55/21:50 Local Time
[photoid=178887]
We arrived at Heathrow’s Terminal 1 at 19:00, again 2 hours before scheduled departure. We checked in our bags for the flight and received our boarding cards for our flight to Manchester. My boarding card had seat 13E printed on it, so I new that I would have a wing view.
As we walked into the BA Gate 5 departures lounge it was filled with businessmen going to Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The selection of shops and cafes at this departure lounge was non existent. There was Costa, WHSmith and a Duty Free shop.
The view from Gate 5 though was very good; I could see the A320 at the gate which was getting ready to leave to Newcastle and our A319 G-EUPJ which was delivered to BA in late 2000. The view of 27R was also good, I saw many bmi A320’s and A321’s depart as well as a Virgin A340-600, BA A319’s, A320’s, 747’s, 757’s and 777’s.
At 20:30 the Newcastle flight was pushing back and at 20:40 our flight BA1408 was called to board from Gate 5B. BA1408 was going to be ¾ full tonight, we boarded and again a good selection of newspapers were offered, I took the Daily Mail.
The flight deck door was open again on G-EUPJ and the flight deck looked fantastic with all the lighting on. The interior of the A319 was in impeccable condition and the blue leather seats looked great. The Scottish captain then gave us some interesting details of the flight, we were to cruise again at 19,000 FT, and flying conditions were going to be pleasant throughout. He reported that Manchester was having a light snowfall at present.
I then settled into my seat (13E), the Cabin Crew then welcomed us and said that we would be ready to go in a couple of minutes. The last few passengers boarded and after that the cabin door was shut and we were pushing back from our stand. Number 2 engine was started first and at the end of the push back number 1 was started.
Now our 2 IAE V2522-A5’s were both running and we began to taxi to 27R, the flip down screens came down and the safety demonstration was shown. The flight control check was then done and flaps 1 were then selected. In front of us for take off was none other then AP-BGK, a newly delivered PIA 777-200.
We then passed BA Concorde G-BOAB on our way to 27R.
The 777 lined up, and you could hear the roar of the engines from inside our A319. Shortly after that the PF applied 40% thrust when we were entering the runway and then FLX thrust (I love rolling take-offs! ). The take-off was extremely quiet and after a 30 second roll we smoothly rotated and shortly after the gear was brought up.
The Cabin Crew then announced that on today’s flight they would be serving a chicken and mustard sandwich from the All Day Deli. I was pleased that we weren’t having vegetables with a dip! The seat belt sign was switched off and a few minutes after that we were cruising at 19,000 FT. This time the screens didn’t flip down so I couldn’t see our progress throughout the flight.
We were then served with our All Day Deli which contained a Kit Kat and a couplet of water. Then the bar service followed, I had a coke. The sandwich tasted excellent and fresh, at this point we were over Birmingham and we were going to begin our descent into MAN shortly. The captain then told us that we would be using 06L at Manchester and it was still icy.
The Cabin Crew then came around to collect the rubbish in and the seat belt sign came on. At this point we were at 5000 FT and Cheshire looked excellent all lit up. Cabin Crew were told to take there seats for landing and then flap 1 was selected, gear was then selected down. We were about 2 miles from MAN at this point and flaps were selected to full.
We passed over the threshold of 06L, flared over the runway and smoothly touched down. We didn’t use reverse thrust as it was after 9:00 and the runway was still icy so hard manual breaking was required. We used up ¾’s of the runway; we turned off and had a short taxi back to our stand.
During our taxi the captain kindly explained that the heavy breaking was due to icing on the runway that he was previously not told about. We turned onto stand 5 minutes early. We deboarded G-EUPJ and the friendly cabin crew wished us a safe journey home and thanked us for flying British Airways.
Overall BA were excellent on both flights, and I hope to fly with them again soon!
Hope you have enjoyed reading my trip reports about these short flights!
BA777
British Airways, BA1393
Manchester (MAN/EGCC) to London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL)
Airbus A319-131 G-EUOH
Gate Departure Scheduled/Actual 12:25/12:30 Local Time
Gate Arrival Scheduled/Actual 13:25/13:24 Local Time
[photoid=145762]
My first ever flight with BA! And my first ever flight out of Terminal 3 at MAN!
We arrived at Manchester's Terminal 3 at 10:30, 2 hours before scheduled departure. We proceeded to the check-in desks soon after, checked in our bags and received boarding cards for the flight to LHR. I bought a film for my camera at boots and we then walked to the food court at Terminal 1. I had a Burger King and saw our aircraft G-EUOH land, I also saw V Bird A320 PH-BMC preparing for its return service to Niederrhein.
MAN was extremely busy with 6-7 aircraft waiting at the hold at 24L for take-off. At this point G-EUOH parked onto stand, we now proceeded to the departure lounge; there was no queue at security. My first impressions of the departure lounge at Terminal 3 were that it was very spacious, with an excellent selection of shops and cafes to be found. At the window I could see our aircraft, plus a 737-400 and a Dash-8. At the other side of the departure lounge I had a great view of arrivals on 24R, numerous BAe 146's, ERJ 145's landed. And a slightly more exciting arrival, an Egypt Air A300 SU-GAU, operating a Hajj charter flight from Khartoum.
It was now 12:10 and BA1393 was called to board from Gate 143. I could tell from the queue that this was going to be a full flight today. We walked down the air bridge, at the end an excellent selection of newspapers was to be found. As I stepped onto the aircraft the flight deck door was open, and I had an excellent view of the flight deck of our A319.
The friendly cabin crew individually welcomed each passenger and I made my way to seat 11E which was was a window seat near the wing. The leather seats of this A319 were great and really comfy! Magazines to be found were High Life, Business Life and a Shopping the world, short-haul brochure. The seat even had a separate pocket for the safety card and a coat hanger!
The captain then made an announcement, giving us some details of the flight. We would cruise at 19,000 FT, and the flight was reported to be smooth throughout, and we would be starting our push back in a few minutes. The cabin crew introduced themselves, and made sure everyone had there seatbelts fastened.
We now started to push back from stand; engine 2 was started first, and then engine 1. As we completed the push back, flap 1 was then selected. As we started to taxi to 24R, the flip down screens came out and the safety demonstration was shown. We waited for a MyTravel A330, bmi A330, and a Turkish 737-800 to take-off and a BA Dash 8 to land. We then lined up on the runway waited for take-off clearance and then we were ready to go.
PF selected FLX reduced take-off thrust and we smoothly rotated around where the aviation viewing park is situated. Gear was selected up soon after, and we began the short climb to 19,000 FT. We passed a small layer of fog, flaps were selected to up and the seat belt sign was switched off. At this point the flip down screens came down again, showing us interesting details of the flight.
Shortly after the seat belt signs were switched off, the cabin crew began serving the famous BA All Day Deli and a bar service. This time it was a savoury option, seasonal vegetables with a chive dip and some flavoured breadsticks, I ordered a Coke.
Shown on this photo (slightly blurry):
After smoothly cruising at 19,000 FT and at no time at all we started our decent into Heathrow. The cabin crew came round to collect all the rubbish in. On the flip-down screens it showed that we were at 10,000 FT and about 50 miles from LHR. Seat belt signs were switched on at this point.
Spoilers were extended at the beginning of the approach, flaps were selected to 1 and the gear was selected down. Spoilers were brought in and the cabin crew took there seats for landing. Flaps were then selected to 3 and then the full position and I could see the construction of T5 at this point.
We passed over the threshold of 09L and then I experienced one of the smoothest landings ever, you couldn’t feel the impact. We used idle reverse and low autobrake for the landing and we vacated the runway quite early. When we vacated a BA 767 landed soon after.
We then had a very short taxi to our stand; other BA A319’s, A320’s and 757’s were seen. Engine 2 was shut down when we were just turning onto stand. Engine 1 was then shut down a few seconds after we stopped and the seat belt sign was turned off soon after.
When we deboarded G-EUOH the First Officer said goodbye to each passenger which I thought was a nice touch. My impression of British Airways on this flight was a very good one, and I was looking forward to my return flight to MAN with them.
----------------------------------------
February 27, 2004
British Airways, BA1408
London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL) to Manchester (MAN/EGCC)
Airbus A319-131 G-EUPJ
Gate Departure Scheduled/Actual 21:00/21:02 Local Time
Gate Arrival Scheduled/Actual 21:55/21:50 Local Time
[photoid=178887]
We arrived at Heathrow’s Terminal 1 at 19:00, again 2 hours before scheduled departure. We checked in our bags for the flight and received our boarding cards for our flight to Manchester. My boarding card had seat 13E printed on it, so I new that I would have a wing view.
As we walked into the BA Gate 5 departures lounge it was filled with businessmen going to Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The selection of shops and cafes at this departure lounge was non existent. There was Costa, WHSmith and a Duty Free shop.
The view from Gate 5 though was very good; I could see the A320 at the gate which was getting ready to leave to Newcastle and our A319 G-EUPJ which was delivered to BA in late 2000. The view of 27R was also good, I saw many bmi A320’s and A321’s depart as well as a Virgin A340-600, BA A319’s, A320’s, 747’s, 757’s and 777’s.
At 20:30 the Newcastle flight was pushing back and at 20:40 our flight BA1408 was called to board from Gate 5B. BA1408 was going to be ¾ full tonight, we boarded and again a good selection of newspapers were offered, I took the Daily Mail.
The flight deck door was open again on G-EUPJ and the flight deck looked fantastic with all the lighting on. The interior of the A319 was in impeccable condition and the blue leather seats looked great. The Scottish captain then gave us some interesting details of the flight, we were to cruise again at 19,000 FT, and flying conditions were going to be pleasant throughout. He reported that Manchester was having a light snowfall at present.
I then settled into my seat (13E), the Cabin Crew then welcomed us and said that we would be ready to go in a couple of minutes. The last few passengers boarded and after that the cabin door was shut and we were pushing back from our stand. Number 2 engine was started first and at the end of the push back number 1 was started.
Now our 2 IAE V2522-A5’s were both running and we began to taxi to 27R, the flip down screens came down and the safety demonstration was shown. The flight control check was then done and flaps 1 were then selected. In front of us for take off was none other then AP-BGK, a newly delivered PIA 777-200.
We then passed BA Concorde G-BOAB on our way to 27R.
The 777 lined up, and you could hear the roar of the engines from inside our A319. Shortly after that the PF applied 40% thrust when we were entering the runway and then FLX thrust (I love rolling take-offs! ). The take-off was extremely quiet and after a 30 second roll we smoothly rotated and shortly after the gear was brought up.
The Cabin Crew then announced that on today’s flight they would be serving a chicken and mustard sandwich from the All Day Deli. I was pleased that we weren’t having vegetables with a dip! The seat belt sign was switched off and a few minutes after that we were cruising at 19,000 FT. This time the screens didn’t flip down so I couldn’t see our progress throughout the flight.
We were then served with our All Day Deli which contained a Kit Kat and a couplet of water. Then the bar service followed, I had a coke. The sandwich tasted excellent and fresh, at this point we were over Birmingham and we were going to begin our descent into MAN shortly. The captain then told us that we would be using 06L at Manchester and it was still icy.
The Cabin Crew then came around to collect the rubbish in and the seat belt sign came on. At this point we were at 5000 FT and Cheshire looked excellent all lit up. Cabin Crew were told to take there seats for landing and then flap 1 was selected, gear was then selected down. We were about 2 miles from MAN at this point and flaps were selected to full.
We passed over the threshold of 06L, flared over the runway and smoothly touched down. We didn’t use reverse thrust as it was after 9:00 and the runway was still icy so hard manual breaking was required. We used up ¾’s of the runway; we turned off and had a short taxi back to our stand.
During our taxi the captain kindly explained that the heavy breaking was due to icing on the runway that he was previously not told about. We turned onto stand 5 minutes early. We deboarded G-EUPJ and the friendly cabin crew wished us a safe journey home and thanked us for flying British Airways.
Overall BA were excellent on both flights, and I hope to fly with them again soon!
Hope you have enjoyed reading my trip reports about these short flights!
BA777
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