With international travel still heavily restricted at the time of this flight being done in late 2021, I was facing a winter of many Domestic flights within my native United Kingdom with British Airways out of London Heathrow- which is not a bad thing by any means!
The bulk of my flights since March 2020 have been flying BA A320-family aircraft to/from London Heathrow
I have a OneWorld Frequent Flyer account with Finnair, and my account I normally try to maintain OneWorld Ruby tier status. Which for me translates to 20 flights (10 return trips) per year. However the pandemic has forced the hand of Finnair to extend their Status lifespans three times over 2020 and 2021. I had until June 30th 2022 to get OneWorld Ruby…
However in July 2021 I managed to acquire my sought after OneWorld Ruby status. With another extension that allowed the June 30th 2022 expiry date, I set myself a challenge….
My OneWorld Frequent Flyer program of choice since 2015 has been the Finnair Plus!
If I got to 46 flights (23 return trips), I would become OneWorld Sapphire, meaning flying economy with the likes of British Airways, Finnair and Iberia within Europe (at the least) will also provide some extra perks of usage including business class lounge access, priority security and check in as well as time of booking FREE seat selection! Also my chosen OneWorld program will allow me four free upgrade vouchers with Finnair within Europe, or one long-haul upgrade.
OneWorld flights in Europe are dominated by either British Airways, Finnair or Iberia.
With a one time opportunity to make this happen- I simply went with the thought of "MAKE IT HAPPEN!", so this is what I'll be getting up to, a lot of BA, IB & AY short haul flights as European skies re-open and I try to bull doze my way to OneWorld Sapphire for the 2022-2023 flying season.
I am trying to hit OneWorld Sapphire (46 flight segments) by the end of June 2022. At the time of writing I'm at 29 flights with 17 outstanding and six flights booked to happen!
British Airways BA1335 (NCL-LHR)
Anyway- enough of me dribbling on, here's the Flight Review!
After an interesting day trip to Newcastle (see Tourism Bonus bellow) it was time to head home on the flight BA1335 which was scheduled to leave Newcastle at 16:50pm (GMT), we transited to Newcastle Airport via the Metro system. We had checked in online before our out-bound flight left London as it was a day trip, and as we had no hold luggage- it was straight through into the Terminal & security before finding ourselves airside.
On-board the Newcastle Metro, taken earlier in the day.
It was lovely to see Newcastle Airport a lot more busier and back to its former self after my August 2020 visit. Most the retail outlets were open, but most the pubs and cafes had already closed trade as the last few scheduled flights were trickling out.
As is normal for British Airways, the flight was to arrive and depart from Gate 3 at NCL Airport. Checking out FR24- I found G-EUYH was my flight this evening, a plane I had flown previously from London to Gibraltar in February 2020, shortly before the pandemic.
Me and a mate of mine who I was travelling with boarded in Group 3, which we had through my OneWorld Ruby status. My friend doesn't have an executive club membership- he gets the same benefits if travelling with me on the same booking.
We boarded the Airbus A320, we took our seats at the rear of the aircraft, seat selection was for free 7 days before the flight with my OneWorld status, one of the perks I like about flying BA. I was seated in Seat 21A, which offered a good wing view, with space to see scenery bellow.
Luckily for me my Row on the left side remained empty for this flight down to London Heathrow, the flight was quite busy- but I appear to have lucked out on this occasion!
We pushed back behind schedule about 10 minutes, which wasn't unusual, but after pushing back we had to wait on stand for a bit, which took up quite some time… The pilots came on the speaker to reveal our conundrum- one of the engines wasn't working, however it appeared to be a computer (IT) technical problem as opposed to a more serious mechanical technical issue, we held back another twenty or so minutes and the crew managed to get our engine working again.
We taxied out to the runway and we took off into the night and headed for the south- bidding farewell to an amazing gem of the UK! Highly recommend a short visit to Newcastle to anyone looking at a UK "Staycation".
Given the short nature of the flight, I opted to not use the Speedbird Cafe and just enjoyed a quick Harrogate Water and packet of Tyrell's salted crisps, which has become a nice permanent return to BA under the Sean Doyle leadership. Critic where you wish, but I like the new BA Euro Traveller service.
If you don't want to buy extra from the Speedbird Cafe before a UK or European BA flight, you still get two freebies!
The flight was only about 50 minutes in total, the main cruise lasting about 30 minutes. We had a lot of cloud to fly through, but it wasn't long before I got some romantic night views of the city of London as we were heading into our final descent.
We passed along the Thames as we flew over East, Central and into West London getting closer to LHR.
We arrived onto the North Runway with a great view of the BA Hangers as we zoomed pass on finals.
We landed at London Heathrow almost an hour behind schedule, luckily me and my mate were terminating here, I don't know if anyone connecting onwards had any major issues, hopefully not!
As we arrived on stand at the domestic gates for Terminal 5A, I had the fortune to see the latest special livery from British Airways, G-TTNA, the first Airbus A320-neo to enter the fleet was repainted up in a turquoise/blue Eco-friendly livery to promote the British Airways company promises towards a greener future. I am quite sceptical of Airlines/Airports on their "Green targets" and aims, but if you have a view or opinion- don't hesitate to comment, I would like to hear!
Excuse the poor quality- its not easy getting phone pictures at night. But here is G-TTNA in its "Eco-liner" livery.
We de-planed the aircraft in selected groups of rows. Seated at the back we were one of the last ones off, but as we went through the jet way, I got a sighting of our Airbus A320 neighbours. Concluding another BA "Milkrun" towards my Sapphire project.
Bonus : Click here display hide
Newcastle- November 2021!
Sightseeing during a snow ridden November in the UK was something new for my travel books. I showed my mate a few landmarks about the city centre I found during my more pleasant summer trip the previous year, including the Arches at China Town!
Who can forget the iconic Grey Monument, the statue named after the UK's 24th Prime Minister, Charles Grey (1830-1834) who is well known for being the UK PM to oversee the abolition of slavery in the UK & British Empire. He is the name sake for the popular Earl Grey tea, and his wife was the namesake for Lady Grey tea (which is EGT with citrus flavouring), as well as the 1832 Parliamentary Reform Act, which often leaves him regarded as the first "modern" Prime Minister.
Some more photos I took as we explored central Newcastle.
Newcastle University campus.
This old fashioned car park looks a bit like a birthday cake!
The main highlight for me was finally visiting the brand new Hard Rock Cafe location in the United Kingdom- the Newcastle Cafe! Quite a few iconic rock/pop artists hail from the area including bands; The Animals, The Dire Straits & Roxy Music. Check out the "Local Legendary" offering for the HRC Newcastle- the "Whey-Aye" Burger!
My mate is into sports, so we visited the Newcastle United stadium, which he enjoyed!
We closed off our Newcastle day trip with a visit to a local Geordie pub, for some Newcastle Brown Ale!
See more
Verdict
British Airways
6.4/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi2.5
Meal/catering5.0
Newcastle - NCL
8.8/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness9.0
London - LHR
8.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access7.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness9.0
Conclusion
Newcastle Airport may not be as iconic as London Heathrow in terms of UK Airports, but its a great regional airport and its amazing to see it getting back together following 2020, I await my next visit!
Newcastle- Great city, worth a good day out if you are a BA Flyer looking at a day trip somewhere different.
4 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Hey Thanks for the report mate! lovely pictures of the bonus. You were quite lucky not to have any other pax next to you! I like this new blue special livery. Yes Airlines want to be greener but they don't be green just yet!
I think the whole "Eco-flyer" talk from airlines is simply a way of justifying cost cutting and a "Get out of Jail" marketing ploy rather than any useful progression. I will give some credit with airlines cutting back uses of paper, promoting the acquisition of new aircraft. But I think its a bit too fake. Glad you enjoyed the review, got some interesting BA flight reports due very soon!
Seems traffic in the out of the UK will finally pick up now that the UK have done away with all the over-the-top restrictions with pre and post-arrival PCR tests fpr fully vaccinated pax. It was pretty obvious that the travel bans, testing and isolation measures had done nothing to keep Omicron out of Britain so it was logical to open up again so good on the UK for making a logical decision for once, after 2 years of unpredictable ever-changing entry rules.
I am trying to hit OneWorld Sapphire (46 flight segments) by the end of June 2022. At the time of writing I'm at 29 flights with 17 outstanding and six flights booked to happen!
Good luck! Sapphire is the sweet spot. Ruby doesn't really get you much. Sapphire offers good value with lounge access, free extra baggage allowance, free seat selection, etc
You flight was super empty! I'm finally been back on BA recently after an almost 2-year hiatus avoiding Heathrow (per reasons mentioned above) and was surprised to see T5 so active! Tons of people in the terminal, and my MAD-LHR flight was completely full! SAN-LHR a little less so, but still a healthy load. This was the middle of January just before the testing requirements were dropped.
I'll try not to swamp this place with too many BA flight reports! lol I'm over the moon with the lifting of restrictions, I am eyeing a multi-city Finnair trip to Finland at this time! Glad you had a good time, I look forward to the reports!!
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6 Comments
lovely pictures of the bonus.
You were quite lucky not to have any other pax next to you!
I like this new blue special livery. Yes Airlines want to be greener but they don't be green just yet!
Glad you enjoyed the review, got some interesting BA flight reports due very soon!
LYSflyer
Seems traffic in the out of the UK will finally pick up now that the UK have done away with all the over-the-top restrictions with pre and post-arrival PCR tests fpr fully vaccinated pax. It was pretty obvious that the travel bans, testing and isolation measures had done nothing to keep Omicron out of Britain so it was logical to open up again so good on the UK for making a logical decision for once, after 2 years of unpredictable ever-changing entry rules.
Good luck! Sapphire is the sweet spot. Ruby doesn't really get you much. Sapphire offers good value with lounge access, free extra baggage allowance, free seat selection, etc
You flight was super empty! I'm finally been back on BA recently after an almost 2-year hiatus avoiding Heathrow (per reasons mentioned above) and was surprised to see T5 so active! Tons of people in the terminal, and my MAD-LHR flight was completely full! SAN-LHR a little less so, but still a healthy load. This was the middle of January just before the testing requirements were dropped.
Thanks for sharing!
I'm over the moon with the lifting of restrictions, I am eyeing a multi-city Finnair trip to Finland at this time!
Glad you had a good time, I look forward to the reports!!
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