Trip Report: LHR

Left HNL last flight out 9Mar to SFO, got First. Then got Economy from SFO to IAD. The flight from IAD to LHR looked great in First and Business (747 equipment) right before I left HNL, but when we got there found out there had been problems the day before in/out ORD so United had brought over a bunch of misconnects and filled the flights as well as put a bunch of these pax on standby. So of course I got left behind along with some of the revenue pax still on standby (some had been there for 24 hours). The last flight of the day was a 777, and the gate agents told me it was overbooked in Economy and Business, and sold out in First. My wife at this point was getting quite annoyed with me for not trying the nonstop SFO-LHR, which I had avoided because of the load. Finally, 10 minutes before departure, the agent told me that a couple of OA flights with connecting pax were late, so all the paying pax got on in Economy and my wife and I got the last two Business seats.

London was cold but fun. The tube (subway) service was very fast and efficient, and could get you everywhere in London. Quite reasonably priced too for a three day all-zone pass. Got to see all the usual tourist stuff, my favorite was the tower of London. Stayed in central London at a small but decent hotel about two minutes walk from Oxford Circus, and basically all the shopping my wife could handle. Really nice if you have the money to spend, which of course my wife and I have differing opinions of judging, but oh well. In London you can blow through a lot of money very quickly, by shopping or even just eating.

Left on 14Mar on the nonstop from LHR-LAX, managed to get First both there and the connection back to HNL. Was nice, my wife and I were the only nonrevs on the LHR-LAX, but it was still full of paying pax and a couple of upgrades. Business was packed as well, so I guess it was a good flight for the airline. Nice trip, but glad to be back in the warm weather of Hawaii.