Part 2

Following on from Part 1 here’s the return leg: Enjoy!
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BA2751
Zurich Kloten (ZRH-LSZH) – London Gatwick (LGW-EGKK)
31st August

G-GFFI – Boeing 737-500

History:
G-GFFI British Airways 2000-11-09
LX-LGS Luxair – Luxembourg Airlines 1995-09-15

DEP: (1130)/ 1148 actual
ARR: (1210)/ 1242 actual
Duration: (01:40)

Seat: 15F

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After a great holiday, waking up to views like this…

What a view!

It was time to return to the UK. After an early wake up a seamless combination of buses and inter-city trains got us from Interlaken to Zurich Flughafen with no fuss! The train station at the airport is below ground so it was a ride up the escalators (which take baggage trolleys on them even though they’re stepped…pointless info there :D:D) and a fair treck through the sprawling check-in concourse to get to the BA desks. They were operating a system wherby everyone checked in at the self check in machines with the help of a member of staff then moved along to the desks to drop off bags. The woman helping us was very quick and jumped straight through it – pressing the wrong button for ‘no bags’! Didn’t seem to make a difference anyway so hey!
That done we passed through a typically fast and efficient passport check then had a croissant and coffee whilst watching a Thai A340 prepare for departure. Duty free next, but because we were going from the satellite pier ‘E’ we still hadn’t been through security, so a wasted shop when we got to the till :(.

Thai A340

The gate was called by this time so it was a quick hop on the transit train to the pier, which is a fair way out from the terminal, unlike at STN for example.

British Airways A319 operating the Heathrow service

Security was a breeze and we finally got some duty free :p. Then we went to gate 64E and boarded, after a small wait. There was another passport check before the actual boarding desk, where our boarding cards were stamped by an immigration official, before being taken 1 metre later by the gate agent! (Is this something to do with transit passengers or omething…?).

Boarding card stub

As I came down the airbridge (glass again) I was delighted to see “FI” on the nose wheel door, meaning G-GFFI, a 737-500. We were greeted and sat down. I noticed the interior looking tired and a bit dirty on the floor, though not as much as on the outbound on -TB.

“Wilkommen Zum Fussball” dba Fokker 100

Turkish A310

The captain made an announcement shortly after to introduce the crew of Charlie and John on the flight deck and Barry (Purser), Becky (Line trainer) and Harrison or Harry (Being assessed?). As per usual the Purser would be looking after the Club Europe cabin with the other two in Euro Traveller. We then sat on the ground for 10 minutes warming up with the sun on me, until the captain announced that we were departing on a SE runway so would have to wait for 20 minutes to get a slot. Those minutes soon passed and we pushed back and taxiied while the crew did the safety demo. We then sat on the runway for a few minutes and then commenced another powerful take-off roll.
Soon after the crew came round with the drinks/meal service. This was far better than on the outbound; the purser made an announcement explaining what was available. The snack was a choice of muesli bar or a bag of nuts and I had the bar as the nuts had run out by the time they got to row 15 and a Coke to go with it (in a cup this time!). During this service Becky
was pushing the trolley when Harry was getting something out of it from the bottom – and he got a nasty bump on the head! Ouch!

Front cover scan of last month’s ‘High Life’ magazine

Drink and muesli bar

The remainder of the flight was pleasant enough, with the duty free/high life shop service again offered, with a much better take up this time around. The crew were far more friendly than on the outbound and very welcoming, joking and making conversation as they did the service with the passengers (though I’m not convinced on being called ‘Matey’ :D:D). As we crossed the channel the captain gave some more info on our route so far and the weather in Gatwick, a mild 19 deg. 15 minutes later he was back on again to inform us that we were entering a holding pattern for 10 minutes. As we turned I got an amazing close up view of another BA 737 beneath us! Wow!

Soonish after takeoff from Zurich

Then we came into land, over Weir-Wood reservoir and East Grinstead and onto 26L (as if that means anything to any of you up north :p) I got a video of the landing – not the greatest quality but… judge the landing for yourself!

Click Here (Won’t embed)
Video of arrival on 26L

It was a rapid taxi back up towards the terminal and onto stand 551, beneath one of the huge pillars that support the Pier 6 bridge, though sadly not crossing it this time :(. I made sure to thank the crew for their job – it was great and made all the difference. Then out into baggage reclaim and away – but hopefully not for long 😀

GB Airways A321 with BA 777-200

G-GFFI on stand at LGW

Thanks for reading, I’ve enjoyed writing it and hope you’ve enjoyed reading it! Please let me know what you think!
Phil