The first time I laid eyes on a Concorde at Heathrow, the first thing that struck me was how small it was. The second thing that struck me was how loud it was on take off. I remember British Airways had a different lounge for Concorde passengers that was even flashier than the First Class lounge. Not surprising given the fare was typically double First Class, as I recall. Never flown Concorde, unfortunately.
That's sadly out of my league, Gareth. I don't have an Amex Centurion Black Card either.They still have the lounge, called the Concorde lounge available to to highest category of travellers with the lesser known and not really advertised GGL (Gold Guest List) card. You can also get access by travelling on a full 1st class ticket but rarely upgrades.
That's sadly out of my league, Gareth. I don't have an Amex Centurion Black Card either.
I used to travel internationally and extensively for about six years in the late 90s early noughties. Aside from all the free food and drink, the thing I most look forward to is a hot shower, especially on a layover destination when travelling long-haul. Some of the better lounges (like Cathay First in Hong Kong) have private cabanas where you can have a long soak and freshen up before the second leg. Just make sure you don't fall asleep and miss the boarding call.Airline lounges now offer services such as massages, suit-ironing etc as well as pre-flight dining, drinks & a relatively quiet, uncrowded space.
I think a lot of people flying Club or 1st are going straight into work upon arrival, so these services are more useful than just loads of free champagne.
Whether the business-class model of travel has changed due to the advent of ever-more people working from home, remains to be seen & maybe airlines that rely heavily on their premium cabins to make a profit may have to rethink a bit?
One of the cleverer flight choices I often made was to book a round-the-world ticket when travelling to more than two destinations, and so arranged my business schedule accordingly. It's cheaper than separate point-to-point flights and you get more air-miles to boot. One of my longest trips went something like this:Out of mine as well. Managed the gold card but the leap to GGL requires lots and lots of premium class travelling or very clever flight choices.
I lived in Windsor for a while, right under the flight path. Amazing just how much noise something so small can make! There was one flight a day, in the afternoon sometime. You really couldn’t miss it!
I often use the business lounges. It's a more relaxed place where you can sit in a comfy chair and get a free snack and some drinks without having to deal with the mayhem of the main terminal area.I always wondered what happens in those 'lounges'. Can it be more than building up the usual pre flight drunkednes?
If nothing else, this is the main reason to have a BA Amex card. Shmooze the Avios points and use them for Club class upgrades. We just flew to and from Zurich for next to nothing in points and got to use the lounges both ends.I often use the business lounges. It's a more relaxed place where you can sit in a comfy chair and get a free snack and some drinks without having to deal with the mayhem of the main terminal area.
Concorde was an old 1960's plane. These things won't happen with modern planes, like the fancy Boeing MAX ones...
They don't call the elegant 747 queen of the skies for no reason. The 400 variant is my all-time favourite commercial aircraft. It's a shame most of the leading airlines have decommissioned their 747s.737 and 747 are '60s planes too, and there's still plenty of them in the fleet, and still being made.
Not really, but Peter is brilliant at presenting the details concisely, no sensationalism, just facts and explanations.I haven’t the time to watch this video yet. Does it add anything new?