EES registration at FCO took 3 mins to queue, 60 secs to register. Then a queue for passport control. 22 mins. Looked daunting but moved quickly. Luckily directed to the automated machines. The officer boothes had v long queues. So overall, OK. Now in a queue for a taxi that is slower than EES 😬

Today, BA554 to Rome (FCO) on this 23 yr old A320. What EES queues will greet us? I'm fed up with border officers putting a solitary stamp on a new passport page. Today I'm trying out do not use stickers on unused pages to see if they'll use a page with an existing stamp but lots of room for more

What a magnificent pint of ale

It was a super holiday. Next up, Rome. It affected the crew and some were visibly upset. The only impact on us was a reduced breakfast service an hour before landing but no one minded in the circumstances and wished the crew well, who were geat as usual

It was and quick - 13.5 hours - an hour ahead of schedule, but there was a major health incident somewhere near the rear of the plane and from what we could gather, someone regrettably died and it understandably impacted the crew. Police and ambulance got on board when we landed

A351 REG G-XWBS OF British Airways as BA32

Tonight 2nd leg of long haul fm MEL to the UK is BA32, HKG to LHR on G-XWBS, BA's newest A351. We flew on that plane to YYZ when it was almost brand new in 2024. Tonight's journey 14 hrs. Had a shower & change of clothes in the Cathay lounge during the 4 hr layover & bought a CCC compliant powerbank

A rushed photo of VH-QPA A333 MEL to HKG

Today (Sat) QF29 MEL to HKG, 9 hrs on Qantas A333. Short layover then BA32 to LHR, 14 hrs on A351. This re-route fm Australia replaces Qatar Qsuites via Doha (booked thru BA). When the shooting started I reached out to British Airways who were excellent. Trying Qsuites off for now (& maybe forever)

Been travelling and eating out every day for three weeks in Australia and New Zealand and f*** me, the first time tonight the dessert menu wasn't panna cotta, tiramisu, chocolate fudge cake or creme brulee. F*** off. Tonight a proper tarte tatin with cream. Thank you Bistrot D'Orsay in Melbourne

Qantas B738 arriving at WLG

Qantas B738 arriving at gate in WLG

On a lovely Saturday afternoon in Wellington, where we've had a great time in this small (and windy) city, off on this B738 of Qantas as QF172 to MEL. About 1600 miles, 3.5 hrs

A320 of Air New Zealand just arriving at gate

Good morning from delightful AUK. Today, short trip to WLG on this A320 of Air New Zealand, a first time on ANZ for me. Sadly no status with ANZ & flying econ as just a 1 hr flight, so had to check-in own bag & attach the tag & use a self-service bag drop & sitting at the gate 😪 😉

Today SYD to AKL on QF3 (a B789 - no photo) just delayed 3 hrs for an engineering reason 🫤. Still, good breakfast in the Qantas lounge and now 🤞for a prompt later getaway. Just gone past window is VH-OQA, the A380 whose crew heorically saved it from an uncontained engine failure in 2010

Tonight getting flying again in 2026 on BA15 to SYD via SIN. G-STBA, a 16 yr old B77W (which I was last on 4 years ago to LAX). Parked too far from the gate to get a photo. Nice club suite, dinner, a film and a good night's sleep awaits

Delicious

Our New Years' Eve dinner trio - Ch Lynch Bages 1983 (been waiting a long time to open that), Ch Leoville Barton 2002 and Ch Beychevelle 2005 (after being so impressed with it on Christmas day). First, a trip to the pub for a pre-dinner beer. Happy New Year to you all

Bottle of Ch Beychevelle 2005 and decanter

Happy Christmas everyone. Our Christmas meal wine this year this Ch Beychevelle '05 bought en primeur 20 years ago. Had the '99 a few years back which was also lovely. This case came out of storage a month ago and first taste it's just right. Cheers

You're not alone. Mum passed away this year, Dad's had to go into a care home. He doesn't want to be there and he's lost his wife of 68 years. I don't find knowing other people are hurting too lessens my pain but it helps contextualise it

Case of Ch Batailley 2013

Shame the shipper put labels on the top of these lovely boxes, but the contents' the thing. Bought en primeur in 2014, arrived today. Decided to get the '13s out of storage ahead of older vintages as this should be lovely but '13 wasn't a roaring success of a vintage

Looking forward to it (although it'll be a homeward leg)

Not been to either (although had a layover at CPH this year with SAS, forgot to mention that airline on my recent post!). I'll look for your posts! We've got our first trip to Oz & NZ in Feb. Lots of flying! We'll be in the US (Chicago again) when you're out west. Renting an apartment this time

Yup the travel bug is a difficult one to resist. We're already booked up for next year. I usually book big trips 6-11 months ahead. Next yr fewer trips but longer stays. I've heard lots of good things about Qatar. I've one Qsuite flight next year. Will need to put them into the mix more in future

Hope you enjoyed your recent trip (of course you did). Don't know how I managed to miss the posts until now. You literally trod in our footsteps a few weeks on (except Disneyland and Macau). Flights (and QSuites) looked good (an integral part of any holiday for me!). I'll be more vigilant in future

Travel over for 2025. 4 continents. Flew mainly British Airways, also Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, JAL & Singapore Airlines. Where have you been?
Aberdeen
Cape Town
Chicago
Edinburgh
Helsinki
Florence
Hong Kong
Malta
Milwaukee
Montreal
New York
Quebec City
Seoul
Tokyo
Vancouver
Victoria (BC)

This a.m. BA175 to JFK, this rather old B772 reg G-RAES. (Royal Aeronautical Society). BA175 has been our go-to JFK flight for over a decade but we've not been to NYC since '22. Interested to see how we feel on this trip which is to celebrate someone's b'day

Nice touch on Finnair flying HND to HEL over the pole. The shell-like biz seats are a nice space, thoughtfully designed & v private but 2 improvements needed - bc the seat doesn't go flat, you scooch down, a far larger pillow for better head support, & the shoulder strap is too high & rubbed my neck

After another enjoyable week in Tokyo, tonight Finnair AY62 HND to Helsinki, a 9.5 yr old A359 with the biz shell seats, a first for me. 12 hrs & I hope a good sleep. A stopover in Helsinki before back to the UK & a chance to get EES registration boxed-off nice & early & see a bit of a new city

This morning, JL92 Gimpo (GMP), Seoul to HND, Tokyo, a B77W. Had a marvellous first-time week in Seoul. A great city. Already planning the return. DMZ trip fascinating

This morning, CX410, a 28 yr old B773 (note, not the newer B77W) of Cathay Pacific fm HKG to Seoul (ICN). 3 hrs 40 mins. At HKG T1, depending on your gate, you may walk 20 mins fm security. The lounges are dotted about and (ime) not easy to locate. But it's a super modern & highly automated airport

You must post a comment on Q Suite. We're flying Qatar Q Suite for the first time next spring from Melbourne. Looking forward to it. Later this month we're trying Finnair's new(ish) biz offering from Tokyo

We've been here many times over the years and it's nice to come back again. We're actually en route to Seoul (more next week) but decided to have a few days here first as we always enjoy it. Assume you're flying with Qatar

This evening BA31 to HKG. A35K G-XWBK. Scheduled for 13 hrs. Looking forward to a decent sleep before arriving at 3.30pm tomorrow