MAN – JER – LGW (quite long)

Hi, this is my first trip report so please be kind! 😀

My uncle lives in Jersey and my gran used to visit every couple of months but due to the LBA-JER route being axed it is now harder for her to get there, (sorry any DSA fans) but DSA has being tried and tested and it doesn’t rate well with her so we decided to go over with her to help her to get to MAN and for a shorty break too.

My Dad couldn’t get any more time off work so my Mum,Brother,Gran and myself booked with bmi baby to go down to jersey on the 17th August, for my Mum and I to return on the 23rd of August to LGW to get my exam results and for my Gran and Brother to return to MAN on the 1St September.

So the 17th came and we got the train from York to Manchester Airport, we headed over to T3 to check in, passing horrendous queues in T1 from security all the way past the MyTravel check in area! We arrived at the bmibaby desk to find no queue which was good and we were checked in quickly. Before we checked in our flight had a 30 minute delay but we didn’t think much of it and proceaded to get some lunch. Later we headed through security and into the heart of T3 which was very busy. We got some seats and waited for out gate to be announced.

Flight: WW3905
Aircraft: (scheduled to be a B735 but was actuallly a B733 .. more later)
STD: 14.05
ATD:17.55
STA:15.25
ATA:18.40

Well the screen said we would get a baording gate at 14.05 (original time of departure) 14.05 came and passed and at 14.20 we were given a 51 we proceaded to gate 51 where we waited and waited until 15.00 where we got: “bmibaby regret to announce an indefinate delay due to a technical fault .. next info 16.00pm” Great! we watched out the window as people were on and off Boeing 737-500 G-BVZE. 16.00 came and past and at 16.30 we were told that out aircraft was going nowhere and we should move to gate 48 where a larger aircraft was arriving.

At gate 48 Boeing 737-300 G-OBMP was parked and we waited another half hour with no information at all as to what was happening. We were fobbed off with the aircraft was being cleaned but looking inside it clearly had not being cleaned! We were called to board at 17.30 and we all got on the aircraft. First impressions were OK but they got a lot worse once I got my seat, 18C. crappy old seats, filthy floor and the cherry on the bun was a used fake fingernail in the seat pocket! Well we eventually pushed back at 17.45 and taxied to the runway and went. Crew were very frumpy and scruffy just wearing shirts and fleeces. Flight was OK but a bit bumpy, arrived at JER just under 3.5 hours late.

Had a great visit with my uncle and cousins and quickly it was time to come home 🙁
My Mum and I chose LGW as it was cheaper than MAN and we wanted a change so we checked in this morning at the BA desk on time and waited with my Mum, auntie and cousins next to the play area. at 09.45 we were given gate number 3 and said our farewells and went through a very slow security that failed to pick up a paid of tweezers and nail scissors in my mum’s bag which she had accidently left in her makeup bad. Well we headed to gate 3 where our aircraft was waiting.

We waited about half an hour and seats 1-12 were boarded and then the rest were boarded with my seat being 14F. We were all boarded and yet our luggage was still outside but it was quickly put on the aircraft.

Flight:BA8036
Aircraft: Boeing 737-500 G-GFFH(i think bout it could have been ‘FJ)
STD:10.15
ATD:10.30
STA:11.10
ATA:11.10

We had a great flight with BA, good leg room and a lovely clean cabin with very friendly crew and informative pilots.We made up time an landed on time despite out late departure. lol if only every airline was like BA …!!!

For my bmibaby flight i’m rating it 3/10 … poor all round really
and my BA flight 10/10 … great flight great airline and for £30 cheaper than my bmibaby flight 😀

Hope I haven’t bored you all to death!