* Holiday Inn (2 nights)

I was very impressed by the Holiday Inn, especially for the £41.50 per
night
amount I was paying,

And you can earn airline miles if you join their club.

* London - Washington DC (British Airways) 23rd June

Taxi into Terminal 4 the next morning at 7.30 (flight for 11.50),

4 hours ??? or am I missing something ? ( I know they have long checkin
queues at times, but not that long...)

went past
the BA service area, saw a total of 3 Concordes on my way in, impressive.
Also realised just how huge Heathrow is! Not long to wait to check in,
queued for about 5 minutes, and gave my documents to the checkin agent,
she
fiddled around with her computer for a long time and then set off some
sort
of beeping buzzer thing, whilst continuing to tap furiously at her
computer
console. I thought had been flagged as a security risk, or was going to be
held there and forced to pay the excess baggage they didn't charge me at
Newcastle!. Eventually her phone rang, she listed for a second and then
said
"ok". She then told me that I now had a seat on the plane, but it's a good
job as I was there so early, as if I was any later then it would have been
seriously unlikely I would have actually gotten on the plane "summer
transatlatic flights are always SO overbooked" was the reason given.
Apparently I'd be mad to be there any less than 3 hours before the flight.
(I'm thinking I will arrive 24 hours before on the way back!!). She had
given me an isle seat, which is good because thats what I would have asked
for.


A questions (probably for highflyer) - if you do the interent checkin thing
24 hours before departure are you in any way protected from (or less likely
to) being bumped ??


Films weren't much of a selection, but enough to keep me occupied. After
the
news I watched "How to lose a guy in 10 days" and "Maid in Manhattan",
tried
to watch "Catch me if you can" but it was flickering and unwatchable. The
rest of the time I was tuned into the "Hits 55 Compilation" they had on
Channel 6. Food was a chicken corma, with also with some salad, a
chocloate
covered bread type thing , bread, and usual choice of mini-cans. They
served
a sandwhich in the latter 3/4 of the flight. As well as coming around
fairly
regularly with drinks.


Did you get a menu card ?, or anything to wipe your hands with ?


I noticed the pitch on the BA seats is quite good but can cause a problem
for people behind when someone reclines, the person in front of me was a
rather big person (not fat, just big) and he reclied all the way, and when
he moved around he pushed the chair so far back I thought it would break,
and was about 2 inches from my nose. I had to recline my seat to give
myself
room. Although I did inform him of the problem and he agreed not to
recline
so much.


and also on many airlines you cant see your own TV screen properly if the
person in front reclines.


Got to arrivals to be greeted with with what must have been a queue of
more
than 100 people waiting for immigration control. I very boring hour of
queueing (sorry, waiting in line!) followed before I got the desk, handed
in
my form, they stamped my passport, answered the questions, and I was on my
way.


Has anyone here tried that ipass thing ? (I've propably got the name wrong)


Next I had to go through security again, my first experience of the
infamous
TSA! The only thing different from UK security is that I had to remove my
laptop from my bag and put it through the scanner seperately, whereas in
the
UK they were happy for it to remain inside its bag.

They also seem to strongly suggest you remove your shoes and belt at most
airports in the US.


Boarded the flight and took my seat beside the window. I'd known from
posts
in newsgroups that United provide ATC radio on the in-flight audio
channels,
so I tuned into that immediately. I have to say that this is an awesome
(as
they say out here) feature. It made my flight 100% more interesting than
usual.

Definately agree with that - but can be 'interesting' when they loose
contact with the plane in front of yours for (what seems like) 10 minutes on
the approach to land when you are both in cloud.

However unlike BA , when you ask for a Pepsi you get a full size
can, not a mini size can! (plus it's an American size can, they are bigger
than the European ones)


Good job you didnt go Delta - they pour your drink from a can into your
glass which is already full of ice, so you end up with about a quater of a
can.
We boarded but were told about 10 minutes after we were due to take off
that
there was going to be a delay. There warning lights illuminated in the
cockpit apparently. The pilot informed us that he was 100% confident there
was nothing wrong with the aircraft,

Does that mean he doesnt believe his own warning lights ?