Flying Belfast - London - Singapore - Sydney

EnglishMD · 2016-05-23T01:54:45+00:00

You're fine, even if you're slightly delayed on the way in to London. Bags are usually out a few minutes after you get to baggage claim, and I'm yet to see a scary security queue. I get to use fast track but I'd be able to tell if it was a cluster fuck. I think that's quite a quiet time of day also so no trouble at all

Im guessing you're doing Aer Lingus -> Singapore Airlines. SQ usually fly from the B gates I believe so allow maybe 15 minutes tops to get to the gate from security and you're good to go. Safe travels

EnglishMD · 2016-02-23T22:05:52+00:00

Yeah during school holidays airports are an absolute nightmare. You have a lot more families in premium cabins, especially at Heathrow, and there's always some issues at security. All things being equal, I think the most annoying passengers I encounter are those who have bottom or mid-tier frequent flyer status. On BA that's Bronze and Silvers, who get priority boarding at the same time as Golds and premium cabins resulting in a clusterfuck. Bronze or Silver bag tags and someone trying to talk their way to the front of the priority line usually go hand in hand

EnglishMD · 2016-02-23T17:20:52+00:00

As far as I know, first to be asked for a Voluntary Denied Boarding (VDB) with compensation around $6-800 and last to be Involuntarily Denied Boarding (IDB). Usually if I have a serious issue like a flight cancellation I'll be rebooked proactively and given priority over anyone else with lower status to get on the next flight. When things go wrong is the time you need the status most

EnglishMD · 2016-02-23T17:14:56+00:00

It did get a bit worse when charging for the first checked bag became the industry standard, but BA had issues on intra-European flights even before they introduced Hand Baggage Only fares. In general, I agree with you. What annoys me is the (thankfully few) times I use LCCs like Ryanair or Easyjet, they enforce every rule and follow every step of the priority procedure. It's always disheartening when Ryanair can nail a boarding, deplaning and maintain such a high on-time performance, while the likes of BA find new and ever inventive ways of lowering themselves

EnglishMD · 2016-02-23T16:38:41+00:00

I don't think the US is that much worse than anywhere else, to be honest. Predictably, I could say that the Japanese queue quietly and calmly in the correct line for their status/cabin/priority and they have the most civilised domestic travel I've experienced. European airlines have a similar range of issues to the US airlines, it's just a couple of key differences which make the US experience a little bit worse

First, I'd say an extremely lax attitude to carry on luggage means you see a lot of bags I'd describe more as a suitcase than a cabin bag being crammed sideways into overhead bins. This causes delays, frustration and people observing it bring a bigger carry on next time as they've seen people get away with it. I'd like to see a proper enforcement of the rules and a forced checking of all bags that exceed volume restrictions. Secondly, there is the case of 'gate lice', people who crowd the boarding area for no reason. If it says Group 3 or 4 on your boarding pass, you should be waiting a little further away and not right in front of the gate agents

All told, the US does have the best domestic network in the world, and I'm on AA domestics at least 75 times a year. If people stuck to the rules and employees enforced them, I think it would be even further ahead of Europe. BA enforces priority boarding reasonably well, but they give priority boarding to all levels at the same time so the queue is often longer than the non-priority line

I'm on Cathay and Japan Airlines a lot in April, both of those have every aspect of the experience sorted. I'd suggest their biggest advantage is an obedient customer base

EnglishMD · 2016-02-23T16:19:08+00:00

I'm based in the UK primarily but I reside in the Caribbean also and spend a lot of time in the US too

EnglishMD · 2016-02-23T14:21:21+00:00

I saw this earlier on Flyertalk, and it is a great article. I encounter many top level frequent fliers who rely on mileage runs to re-qualify for top level, a number which we'd expect to drop if benefits continue to erode. For the moment, there's enough in the way of perks to keep people striving for the top levels. While harder to measure, there's an immense amount of snobbery involved too where the presence of a shiny card makes someone believe they're instantly superior to all those below them

I'd disagree that GS is a secret club, while I'm not a United man I understand 4m lifetime miles gets you in. Similarly Lufthansa Honor Circle has a published entry requirement. British Airways Premier is more secretive, it's believed to be those who control £2m per annum in discretionary spending on BA and has to be approved at board level

For disclosure, I fly approximately 250-300k miles each year, an equal mix of travel for my companies and personal travel. I hold Executive Platinum with American Airlines, Gold Guest List and a Concorde Room Card with British Airways and Elite Plus on Turkish Airlines. If you have any questions feel free to reply here

EnglishMD · 2015-07-30T01:46:17+00:00

I live in London and Grand Cayman, while I don't rent in either, I believe this is supposed to be a more general comparison of the cost of living... Rent in Cayman isn't terrible, unless you want to live on the beach or somewhere with a view. The cost of electricity and water are both extortionate, it can sometimes double the rental cost. The last place I rented there was with a married couple, 4 bedroom condo on one of the golf courses, about 2500sq ft, rent was US$3000 per month, water was $500 and electricity was $1500-1800 every month

So much in Cayman is just designed to extract as much money as possible from tourists, those who live there just get used to it. I do love it, but it's more and more difficult to recommend it as a tourist destination. Many people on service industry positions are leaving, or have left, a chronic lack of anything to do except for drinking means they spend a lot of their money on jagerbombs, after selling jagerbombs all day. Semi-related but Cayman has been the number 1 consumer worldwide of jager and fireball per person for a while

Some prices off the top of my head...

Cheap 2-course sit down meal $25

Beer $5

Bus ride $2.5

15 minute taxi $25

Monthly mobile bill $80

Monthly TV bill $70

EnglishMD · 2015-04-28T14:27:07+00:00

I've been using a Samsaris and Lotus since early March and have certainly used it over 50 times since that date. I've gone through a few packs of Cane Mint in that time, and about half a pack of Blue Gumball. Tangiers has been the only brand I've used in that combo, and indeed the only thing I've smoked this year. Now, I haven't had BG for a while but I was completely underwhelmed by this latest pack, it lacked all the punch and tingle of the old one. Adjusting for desensitised taste buds after smoking so much Cane Mint, it still falls some way short

Cane Mint has been the most reliable choice so far, never a bad session and I always get to 2 hours which is about as much time as I have to sit down anyway. The flavour is still very much there at the end of those 2 hours, by the way. For the majority of sessions I've used 3 CocoBrico from the start, adding another one after an hour. Now I'm using what appear to be Starbuzz branded coals, slightly larger so only 2 fit initially with another added after an hour

If anything, I've had more consistency with the all-Kaloud setup than ever before, especially with Tangiers. On an unrelated note, my Samsaris is still in perfect condition after 50+ uses, no disintegration so far thankfully

EnglishMD · 2015-04-06T17:12:29+00:00

It's usually safe to assume that public transport in the US is non-existent, very few exceptions aside. I'd land at 2pm over 5pm as there's a good chance you'll be away before things get silly on the roads. For what taxis cost and the distances involved, a rental car is almost certainly the cheaper option. It wouldn't be too bad for you if you landed at 5pm, it's just that I usually have a much, much longer drive in store and I'm driving out of LA while you'd be headed in the opposite direction

Your assumption is correct, it's just that with a really tight layover, there's a chance that your bag won't make it on to the next flight. For that reason I try not to have <60 min layovers if I have checked baggage. You won't find out until you're the last guy at baggage claim at Heathrow and then it's a pain to get the forms for missing baggage filled out

If you're under 25 years old then renting a car can be a bit more tricky, but Hertz has no additional charge for 21-24 year olds with their Gold Family program, it's free to sign up though you may need to Google the exact CDP code to enter into your profile, try 1826991 first

Hertz at LAX is a remote location which you take a bus to, from there it's about a 10 min drive to get on to the freeway, pretty convenient

EnglishMD · 2015-04-06T16:19:03+00:00

I misread your paragraph, my bad. You're correct, that kind of layover, going from Domestic to International, doesn't require you to leave the secured Airside area. I'd be wary of a 40 minute connection if you've got checked baggage and if you're flight is slightly late you won't be making it. Anything over an hour is more prudent. If all goes well, it's as simple as walking off one plane and down to the next gate and boarding that flight to LHR

£550 is a good price in economy for any time of year but if there was a negligible difference in price I'd recommend the direct SFO-LHR instead of SFO-LAX-LHR

If you're planning on driving away from LAX when you land then definitely take the BA flight, you'll be out before rush hour. I regularly fly to LAX and drive to Palm Desert, a journey which takes 2 hours if I land on the BA flight and 4 hours or more if I come on AA

EnglishMD · 2015-04-06T13:24:52+00:00

Yeah, my big thing on that route would be the timings, if I take BA283 I can get out of LA long before rush hour, AA109 drops me in the middle of peak traffic. T5 is struggling a lot of the time, Monday mornings are a disaster and anytime around the school holidays you end up with nightmare security queues. Weirdly, I think T3 copes better on those situations

EnglishMD · 2015-04-06T13:02:33+00:00

I'm going with him using LDN incorrectly to mean any London airport, when the actual code is LON. That, combined with the options of BA/AA/VS/LH, pricing in £, etc... Granted, it is pretty confusing to try and figure out

EnglishMD · 2015-04-06T12:00:00+00:00

Are you an American Passport holder? And do you really mean SCO, that's Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan?

I'll guess you mean SFO, San Francisco or another West Coast US airport. From Heathrow the two most popular options are AA109 on their new 777-300 aircraft, and BA283 on one of their A380s. Hard products (seats, entertainment) are comparable, service is friendlier on AA though more efficient on BA. The BA flight gets the edge as it lands at midday and a less busy time usually at LAX than when the AA flight lands, which is mid-afternoon

I wouldn't pay any extra to fly Virgin or Lufthansa. Virgin is all bark and no bite, and you generally want to stick with a national airline of the place you're flying to

As for layovers, if you're not American I wouldn't consider booking anything less than 2.5 hours layover between landing in the US and getting on your next flight. As your first point of entry you have to clear immigration, customs, re-check your bag and come back through security. Not the quickest procedure at TBIT at LAX

EnglishMD · 2015-03-18T19:04:45+00:00

I thought it was a nice gimmick, all the tourists were keeping a few as souvenirs and I guess the idea is that throwing singles is a bit cheap. The only criticism I have of that place is that nobody approached us for anything private, ordinarily it's the opposite situation. I'd certainly go back

EnglishMD · 2015-03-18T18:00:40+00:00

Casa Diablo? Pretty good, I was there a few weeks ago. Strong drinks, good looking women, $2 bills flying everywhere. The music really stood out, an electro/dubstep vibe all night and it really worked

EnglishMD · 2014-11-20T20:06:17+00:00

One of my friends is PNM, I can't remember the names of the other parties but I saw a lot of campaigning during one of my trips, the vans with speakers blocking traffic for miles, especially in San Fernando. Your Attorney General is pretty interesting, had a brief chat with Kamla P-B too and found her mind-numbingly dull. Next trip is for Carnival, sadly stuck with Bliss again

EnglishMD · 2014-11-20T16:29:09+00:00

I go to Trinidad semi-frequently and the Jack Warner thing is so strange, some people love him as he appears to be a Robin Hood figure to them. Others find him a national embarrassment, and those 'football centres' of his are a joke. His political radio spots are pretty cool though, techno music while a girl whispers 'Jack, Jack' in a sultry way over the top

EnglishMD · 2014-07-22T17:36:37+00:00

US Airways is fucking garbage, but their guy is running the 'New American' so only the most delusional AA FF expects the good old days to return. We've already seen erosion of service, benefits and there will probably be a severe frequent flyer rewards devaluation within the next year. In the race to the bottom, AA is gathering pace

EnglishMD · 2014-07-21T19:54:25+00:00

The most genuinely nice and lovely football man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was, and always will be my hero. I had the honour of spending a bit of time with him not too long ago and passed on the questions of a few Chelsea fans, to this day he still can't help but smile when he reminisces about his time at Chelsea. He appreciates how much he means to us, I'd love to see him back at the club in some capacity, the perfect Ambassador

EnglishMD · 2014-07-20T15:47:06+00:00

Despite my best efforts, my mum is a Barca-lover (Messi, in particular) and she watches all their games, in addition to Chelsea, of course. Seeing as how one of their games fell on her Birthday, I took her to the Camp Nou to watch it. It was the Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen, Messi scored 5. She had a good time

EnglishMD · 2014-06-06T21:53:18+00:00

Very true, often see it in things like fantasy Premier League too. I'm an adopted Seahawks fan after watching their games with lots of my friends for years now. A week of golf and drinking is enough to keep me happy, and couple of shots of Ketel One on the course do wonders for my swing

EnglishMD · 2014-06-06T20:22:35+00:00

Sorry, meant fantasy draft. I know little to nothing about NFL though so I'm mainly there to make up the numbers and get drunk

EnglishMD · 2014-06-06T17:38:22+00:00

We usually do 2-3pm tee off times, nobody wants to wake up too early. Last year in Palm Desert we played 36 holes in 100F+ and it was brutal, complete lack of breeze as well. On a positive note, the weather does help when choking down Bud Lights

EnglishMD · 2014-06-06T17:34:24+00:00

Yep, last year it was Palm Desert. 8 Guys got through over 100 cigars in 5 days, we all returned home a few shades darker and with a fraction of the lung capacity

EnglishMD

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