Tier Point Run to Sofia in Jan 2024: Day 3 – Sofia SOF to London Heathrow LHR

By Nige on Sun 28 Jan 2024 at 20:18
Type: Post
Story: Tier Point Run to Sofia in Jan 2024
Tags: British Airways | LHR | London Heathrow | SOF | Sofia | Trips

I had a quick wander around the terminal and it was quite busy – busier than it was two weeks ago. I am not sure the bars were open last time I was here.

Back on board with plenty of time to spare. Bit of musical chairs at play: 01F moved to 01D on the way back; 01A moved to 01F and 01D moved to 01A.

The exciting question was: who would take the remaining front row seat? A regular or a newbie?

I got my power kit ready for plugging in after take off.

Flight: BA0891 Equip: A320
Sched Depart: 19:20 Actual: 19:10
Sched Arrival: 20:55 Actual: 20:29
Takeoff: 19:32 Landing: 20:24

Push backed ahead of time, although it seemed to take a while to get to the runway.

Nice and relaxed start to the drinks service. Dry Jan continues for me, so water and ice with a pack of mixed nuts. The bag of nuts is one of my favourite snacks – highly underrated.

The Cabin Services Manager (CSM) joked with the front row that we changed seats to make it feel like a different flight.

The meal service included a vegan option of veg curry with coconut rice, which I had to go for based on the success two weeks ago.

The starter was an attempted salad of lettuce gem and coleslaw. It was OK, but it felt a step back for BA starters.

We had bread rolls loaded for the flight back to Heathrow. A few people asked why they couldn’t have offered them for the outward flight. That’s not allowed, apparently.

Cheese was cheddar and Stilton. The pudding was an odd affair but fairly tasty, so I wasn’t going to complain too much.

I was looking forward to getting into my hotel room. Although these simple B2B trips do not involve too much effort, they are still tiring to do.

The answer to the critical question: seat 01C was left empty!

We arrived about 20 mins early onto a remote stand. Always the way when BA arrives early into Heathrow – it’s like Heathrow is serving BA a penalty for daring to turn up early!

Buses were delayed reaching the aircraft, but once they arrived, it didn’t seem to take too long before we were walking along the T3 corridors back to Arrivals.

Another success at the automated passport kiosks at T3 – yipee! Then it was a smart walk back to the tube station and I timed my arrival just right. I ran and jumped onto a train just as the doors were about to close.

I had previously checked into the Hilton Garden Inn at Hatton Cross, so I didn’t need to visit the front desk. I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep!

Another day of flying on the cards for tomorrow!

Follow the whole story here: Tier Point Run to Sofia in Jan 2024