Trip report

I don’t know if this is going to be of much interest, but I’m at a lose end so I’m posting it anyway!

I spent last week with family in Zambia. It was a fairly good journey overall, and proceeded as follows:

12 July
IOM-LCY, Flybe flight BE 105

I paid £113 for this flight, versus £280 on BA to Gatwick. No brainer! The aircraft was a Dash 8-300, rego G-JEDF. It was built in 2000, and still felt newish inside. I checked in early, and the nice check-in agent asked if I wanted an extra legroom seat. Nice start to my journey! Flight time was 1 hour 10 minutes and very uneventful. I declined to pay for tea and biscuits – I’d topped up in the terminal anyway, which is always going to be more comfortable than an aircraft seat.

12 July
LHR-LUN, British Airways flight BA 255

Not so cheap this time, but the only alternatives for Lusaka were indirect with changes at Amsterdam & Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Joburg. I opted for convenience.

I was initially annoyed with BA, as I was in the process of inserting my credit card in the self service check in machine, when I noticed a sticker. Not available for: a,b,c,d…in fact a load of destinations, with a lot in Africa. How annoying! Then had to queue up as usual.

However I am prepared to forgive BA because of what happened next. I handed my boarding pass to the gate agent, who looked quizically at her screen and told me I had been upgraded. Wow, that was unexpected. I spent the next 10 hours in Club World, which is certainly less tiring than toilet class. The aircraft had the “old” cradle seats and not flat beds; non the less, it was comfy and I liked it.

My purveyor was a B 777-200, rego G-YMMB. My second aircraft of the day was also constructed in 2000. I was sat a few feet forward of the intake of the left hand side RR Trent 895. Those things are beasts!

20 July
LUN-LHR, British Airways flight BA 254

Another 772, this time G-YMME dating from 2000. This is wierd, 3 aircraft in a row from the millennium year.

Stuck in toilet class this time, although I did snag an extra legroom window seat (26K).

The interior of this bird was not as neat as her sistership. I sneaked a peak into the First cabin, and the backs of the seats were scuffed and very mucky. But the flight was smooth, apart from a few snags in Lusaka.

About 25-30 passengers were not carried, as someone had messed up the overbooking. They were being routed via JNB and did not look happy about it. I was asked if I would volunteer, and I said yes but only for an upgrade. No deal sadly.

With only 2 flights a week from Lusaka to London, there are usually hardly any no-shows. I was therefore a little surpirsed that BA would overbook, especially to such a large an extent. BA’s franchisee Comair operate a 732 from LUN to JNB and I would imagine they struggled to fit in all those extra pax. Not to mention the JNB-LHR leg – at the moment everyone is flat sold out, according to a few friends how are trying hard to get back to the UK. However, SAA fly the 738 on that route so they may have had to place some people on that flight.

The aircraft was packed to the rafters; every seat taken. The police even had to be called, as one unlucky passenger insisted on boarding anyway.

Arrived LHR at 8pm (2 hours late) and spent the next 60 minutes waiting for my bags. The baggage reclaim area of Terminal 4 is very poor – low ceilings, lack of seats, inadequate air conditioning and a bit too crowded.

I got my bag, and took a coach to LGW, as I was booked into the Le Meriden there.

21 July
LCY-IOM, Flybe flight BE108

An old aircraft this time – dating from 1999. It was G-JEDD, a Dash 8-300 again, and a good flight.

Flybe were asking for volunteers to take the later flight – apparently there were weight/balance issues, as the aircraft was only 2/3 full. I volunteered, as the £120 compensation on offer was more than I paid for the flight! Sadly, it was not to be and I took my original flight.

Overall, I enjoyed my flights even though I had to drive the 200 miles from Lusaka to Kitwe. Normally I fly on Zambian Airlines, but Kitwe Southdowns airport (5km from my parent’s place) is now closed for resurfacing and the nearby Ndola airport only has 2 flights a day from Lusaka – badly timed for me.

One comment though – everyone is using aircraft that are too small. LHR-LUN merits a 744 really, the 772 lacks the passenger capacity. Maybe there are freight issues. Likewise, IOM-LCY seems a good fit with the Dash 8-300, but sometimes flights are a bit too full and a larger aircraft would be a good move. I noticed a Flybe 146 on the ground at IOM, so maybe that was pencilled on for the later flight. Most flights are routed BHD-IOM-LCY and I have observed over the last year that maybe 2/3 or 3/4 of passengers are flying the IOM-LCY leg.

Hope everyone is still awake!