Flying from Brum? Tell us where you're going

[Karl C]

Morning all,

Just arrived on G-EZRO from BFS. 180 on board. 08.02am arrival....outside with suitcase at 08.20. Now that's seamless travel. Well done BHX!!!

Cheers

Karl

 

[hoody]

Aberdeen on Monday 5th February.
Amsterdam Tuesday 13th February
Edinburgh Friday 23rd March

 

[hoody]

Aberdeen on Monday 5th February.
Amsterdam Tuesday 13th February
Edinburgh Friday 23rd March

 

[flymetothemoon]

EWR on 26th May or not as the case may be!

 

[Vile8er]

Madrid at the end of May. Out with Iberia Express and return on Ryanair

 

[Brum X]

EWR on 26th May or not as the case may be!

Hopefully then mate, things will work out ok for you. Looking at the schedule it does look to be operating daily in May as Ray pointed out

 

[flymetothemoon]

Hopefully then mate, things will work out ok for you. Looking at the schedule it does look to be operating daily in May as Ray pointed out

Except that fares on the days we fly are now astronomical. Says to me there ARE no flights on those days

 

[Brum X]

Except that fares on the days we fly are now astronomical. Says to me there ARE no flights on those days

 

[Otisblue]

Off to Hong Kong tonight. A bit of sightseeing, bird watching and lots of spotting. Flying Swiss.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Have a great time

 

[Brum X]

Off to Hong Kong tonight. A bit of sightseeing, bird watching and lots of spotting. Flying Swiss.

Awesome, is it BHX via Zurich ?

 

[Otisblue]

Awesome, is it BHX via Zurich ?

Yep, just got to the hotel in Hong Kong. Two great flights, as usual with Swiss. Was really hoping it would be the C Series from Brum though, but had to make do with the F100. The first flight for me in ages to/from Brum where the flight has not been packed. Probably two thirds full, nice steep take off. Those Swiss pilots do like those. I hope the lady despatcher in Brum shared all the Swiss chocs with the ground crew that the Flight Attendant gave her, lol.

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Yep, just got to the hotel in Hong Kong. Two great flights, as usual with Swiss. Was really hoping it would be the C Series from Brum though, but had to make do with the F100. The first flight for me in ages to/from Brum where the flight has not been packed. Probably two thirds full, nice steep take off. Those Swiss pilots do like those. I hope the lady despatcher in Brum shared all the Swiss chocs with the ground crew that the Flight Attendant gave her, lol.

Lol, I think they need steep approach and takeoff paths. A tad hilly over there, I’m told! ;-)

 

[Karl C]

Hi all,

Flew BHX-IST yesterday on TC-JVH. Not a single seat spare in both classes. Out of season too....can't be bad.

Cheers

Karl

 

[nwoody2001]

So, just experienced BHX for the first time in a few years.

Flew our Air France from BHX-CDG-FNA on Thurs 25th Jan.

BHX was looking good. Only hiccups to note is that AF only opened their checkin desk 2 hrs before the flight even though their website suggests its open 3 hrs prior. Also, the No.1 Lounge was pretty damn full too. That said, we were through security in less than 10 mins, the departure lounge was busy and the flight left on time. The flight was also circa 80% full on a A320.

ON the way back we flew FNA-AMS-BHX. Flight on an E190 cityhopper (?) was early and on time. The flight was also full and surprising felt to be majority full by people not from the UK which felt good. Flight landed early and parked up. Disembarked straight away and into customers. Passed through customs within 10 mins with all e-gates open. had a 15-20 min wait for luggage which whilst not ideal was nothing too bad.

all in all, BHX was looking good and operated as I would have expected.

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Just booked a ticket for Mom to join us in September.

FR2156 out and FR2157 back.

 

[Otisblue]

Just got back from HK this morning....sorry this is a bit long, but thought our airports experience on our trip might be of interest.....
Outbound from BHX was fine, no issues at all. Check-in was swift, security there was a small queue, but it moved quickly, boarding was great, quick and all on-time.

Arrived Zurich a bit earlier than scheduled with a transit time of just over an hour. We have used Swissair through Zurich 4 times in the last year ( 1 * LAX, 1 * Singapore, 2 * HK ),
and each long haul departure has been from the midfield terminal, or E gates.
Transfer is great, a short walk to the underground train which runs every few minutes. A journey (accompanied
by a yodelling, cow bell and singing tape) of 2 - 3 minutes to the midfield terminal, a very quick pass through security again, and a walk to the departure gate. Five minutes after we arrived the flight started boarding.
Flight left on time, great service on board, and just over 11 hours later and a short hold at HK, we landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

This was the first time we had cleared immigration in HK, so we were not sure what to expect. There was quite a queue when we got to immigration, probably around 200 people, so thought
we would be in for a bit of a wait, but they had loads of desks open, the queue moved really quickly and we were through in about 15 minutes. When we got through, our luggage was already
going around the belt, well impressed. So, picked that up and took the short walk to the hotel we were booked into. Could not have been more impressed.

The return flight leaves HK at 00.15. So from hotel check out at 2pm we had a long wait. From 2 - 6.30 we had planned to go to the SkyDeck, however when we got there it was closed for maintenance, so over to Starbucks in Terminal 1 for a while. We had found out the day before that Swiss do an early check in starting at 18.30, so we took advantage of that, checked in and went through security.
The airport was really busy, but there was no queue for security and we went through the egates for passport control, so easy.

The flight boarded on time and the captain advised of the 12 hour flight time. The captain then said that departure would be delayed because we could not land at Zurich before 6.05am ( scheduled time is 6.10am ). So held on the ground for about 45 mins before departure. The flight routed up over China and then Russia and there was quite a lot of turbulence over China, probably one of the worst flights I have had for turbulence. In flight service was spot on again.
Landed just after 6.10am and parked on the main terminal rather than the midfield terminal. Transit time is 1 hour. The BHX flight normally departs from the main terminal but when we checked the boards it was
leving from E27, so we had to transfer to the midfield terminal. Once we had got over there and through security the flight was boarding, so straight on. The flight had been down as an A320 for quite a while
so was expecting a decent load. I was really surprised that there was only 19 on the flight. I can only assume that there was a decent load for the return.
Pushed back on time, temp was -6 when we landed, so we stopped at the de-ice station just by the midfield terminal for a spray. First time I had a close up view of this kit and it looked really good. The cab must have
been heated as the guy only had a jumper on !
Smooth flight to BHX landing just before 8.15. Got to immigration, and a bit of a queue, looked like the Montego Bay flight landed just before us. Expecting a bit of a wait, but glad to say that for the first
time i actually witnessed some really good organisation of the egates. They were all active and there were two girls directing people to an egate as soon as it was free. This worked really well, and although
there must have been 60 - 70 people in front of us when we joined the queue, we were through in a matter of minutes. I hope they continue with this arrangement because it was really efficient and made the best use of the egates. The egate process seemed to be a lot quicker as well, so they might have carried out some server or network bandwidth upgrade behind the scenes.
Even more impressed was when we got through immigration, our luggage was waiting.
So, from landing just before 8.15, i was home by 9.30, and that was getting the bus to the offsite parking in Coleshill ( through the B'ham business park rush hour ), picked up the car and drove to just south of
Swadlincote where we live. Well impressed and great work from everyone at BHX.
I have never had a problem at BHX, and that is whether travelling either peak or off peak. Maybe I have just been lucky !
Hopefully once the BHX Masterplan is published we will be seeing new terminal facilities planned and built and I hope whoever is responsible for the design visits the likes of Zurich and HK airports. In my view they are among the best around and the facilities are superb. HK in particular, the terminal is first class, and the organisation and speed of everything is superb. The hotel room we had overlooked the north side of terminal 1 and it was fascinating watching the ground crew turn planes around. It was so quick, wide bodies, including 747's in about an hour.
One of our sightseeing trips took us to see the Big Buddha, which is not far from the airport. One of the ways to get there is to take a cable car, and this gives panoramic/stunning views of the airfield. I have tried to upload a few pictures from the cable car, but they were too large unfortunately, or it could be just me not understanding how to embed a jpeg image.
For spotting, HK is just superb. The variety of aircraft, airlines and freighters is amazing, and should be even better in years to come when the new terminal and third runway are completed.

 

[Brum X]

Just got back from HK this morning....sorry this is a bit long, but thought our airports experience on our trip might be of interest.....
Outbound from BHX was fine, no issues at all. Check-in was swift, security there was a small queue, but it moved quickly, boarding was great, quick and all on-time.

Arrived Zurich a bit earlier than scheduled with a transit time of just over an hour. We have used Swissair through Zurich 4 times in the last year ( 1 * LAX, 1 * Singapore, 2 * HK ),
and each long haul departure has been from the midfield terminal, or E gates.
Transfer is great, a short walk to the underground train which runs every few minutes. A journey (accompanied
by a yodelling, cow bell and singing tape) of 2 - 3 minutes to the midfield terminal, a very quick pass through security again, and a walk to the departure gate. Five minutes after we arrived the flight started boarding.
Flight left on time, great service on board, and just over 11 hours later and a short hold at HK, we landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

This was the first time we had cleared immigration in HK, so we were not sure what to expect. There was quite a queue when we got to immigration, probably around 200 people, so thought
we would be in for a bit of a wait, but they had loads of desks open, the queue moved really quickly and we were through in about 15 minutes. When we got through, our luggage was already
going around the belt, well impressed. So, picked that up and took the short walk to the hotel we were booked into. Could not have been more impressed.

The return flight leaves HK at 00.15. So from hotel check out at 2pm we had a long wait. From 2 - 6.30 we had planned to go to the SkyDeck, however when we got there it was closed for maintenance, so over to Starbucks in Terminal 1 for a while. We had found out the day before that Swiss do an early check in starting at 18.30, so we took advantage of that, checked in and went through security.
The airport was really busy, but there was no queue for security and we went through the egates for passport control, so easy.

The flight boarded on time and the captain advised of the 12 hour flight time. The captain then said that departure would be delayed because we could not land at Zurich before 6.05am ( scheduled time is 6.10am ). So held on the ground for about 45 mins before departure. The flight routed up over China and then Russia and there was quite a lot of turbulence over China, probably one of the worst flights I have had for turbulence. In flight service was spot on again.
Landed just after 6.10am and parked on the main terminal rather than the midfield terminal. Transit time is 1 hour. The BHX flight normally departs from the main terminal but when we checked the boards it was
leving from E27, so we had to transfer to the midfield terminal. Once we had got over there and through security the flight was boarding, so straight on. The flight had been down as an A320 for quite a while
so was expecting a decent load. I was really surprised that there was only 19 on the flight. I can only assume that there was a decent load for the return.
Pushed back on time, temp was -6 when we landed, so we stopped at the de-ice station just by the midfield terminal for a spray. First time I had a close up view of this kit and it looked really good. The cab must have
been heated as the guy only had a jumper on !
Smooth flight to BHX landing just before 8.15. Got to immigration, and a bit of a queue, looked like the Montego Bay flight landed just before us. Expecting a bit of a wait, but glad to say that for the first
time i actually witnessed some really good organisation of the egates. They were all active and there were two girls directing people to an egate as soon as it was free. This worked really well, and although
there must have been 60 - 70 people in front of us when we joined the queue, we were through in a matter of minutes. I hope they continue with this arrangement because it was really efficient and made the best use of the egates. The egate process seemed to be a lot quicker as well, so they might have carried out some server or network bandwidth upgrade behind the scenes.
Even more impressed was when we got through immigration, our luggage was waiting.
So, from landing just before 8.15, i was home by 9.30, and that was getting the bus to the offsite parking in Coleshill ( through the B'ham business park rush hour ), picked up the car and drove to just south of
Swadlincote where we live. Well impressed and great work from everyone at BHX.
I have never had a problem at BHX, and that is whether travelling either peak or off peak. Maybe I have just been lucky !
Hopefully once the BHX Masterplan is published we will be seeing new terminal facilities planned and built and I hope whoever is responsible for the design visits the likes of Zurich and HK airports. In my view they are among the best around and the facilities are superb. HK in particular, the terminal is first class, and the organisation and speed of everything is superb. The hotel room we had overlooked the north side of terminal 1 and it was fascinating watching the ground crew turn planes around. It was so quick, wide bodies, including 747's in about an hour.
One of our sightseeing trips took us to see the Big Buddha, which is not far from the airport. One of the ways to get there is to take a cable car, and this gives panoramic/stunning views of the airfield. I have tried to upload a few pictures from the cable car, but they were too large unfortunately, or it could be just me not understanding how to embed a jpeg image.
For spotting, HK is just superb. The variety of aircraft, airlines and freighters is amazing, and should be even better in years to come when the new terminal and third runway are completed.

Im glad your BHX experience was good. You mostly only hear the moans and groans so it is refreshing when you hear a good story.

Did you get any pics ?

 

[Otisblue]

We did not take too many actually Brum X, but here are a few from the cable car and one from the hotel room. They are not that good due to being taken through the cable car glass and the distance. It was a fantastic view though !! The road bridge in the foreground is the new road bridge to Macau. At the top of the pic, you just might be able to make out the equipment in the bay that is working on the land reclamation for the new terminal and runway.

View media item 6477
Hangars and Parking area and clearer view of the equipment in the bay reclaiming the land for terminal and runway.

View media item 6478
On the way back on the cable car, Tung Chung on the right, the airport on the left.

View media item 6479
Qatar 777f departing

View media item 6480
Hong Kong airlines and others midfield terminal and Cathay A330 departing

View media item 6481
A narrow angle view from the hotel room

View media item 6482

 

[Brum X]

We did not take too many actually Brum X, but here are a few from the cable car and one from the hotel room. They are not that good due to being taken through the cable car glass and the distance. It was a fantastic view though !! The road bridge in the foreground is the new road bridge to Macau. At the top of the pic, you just might be able to make out the equipment in the bay that is working on the land reclamation for the new terminal and runway.

View media item 6477
Hangars and Parking area and clearer view of the equipment in the bay reclaiming the land for terminal and runway.

View media item 6478
On the way back on the cable car, Tung Chung on the right, the airport on the left.

View media item 6479
Qatar 777f departing

View media item 6480
Hong Kong airlines and others midfield terminal and Cathay A330 departing

View media item 6481


A narrow angle view from the hotel room

View media item 6482

Those pics are awesome mate, thanks for sharing. HKG looks like a massive airport especially now it has been extended further. Hopefully we will see Cathay Pacific or Hong Kong Airlines at BHX one day.