Tier Point Run to Sofia in Jul 2023: Day 2 – Sofia SOF to London LHR

I headed to the boarding pass checkpoint for Gate C1 as soon as I had disembarked the aircraft and they allowed passengers through into the holding pen about 5 mins later.

I was walking down the air bridge no more than 10 mins after that. They did pretty well in turning the aircraft around.

Back into seat 01F. No problems with locker space, but I did have someone in the next seat on the way home. You can’t have it all your own way!

It appeared the cleaners were still finishing off as passengers started to embark. I was offered a blanket and a pillow by a guy that certainly didn’t look like cabin crew and I understand from recent posts on FlyerTalk that it’s the cleaners that distribute the seat-related paraphenalia.

Looked like we wouldn’t be touching down at Heathrow until 11pm, which would mean with all the challenges with gates and having resources available to turn on the stand guidance, we may not be off the aircraft until midnight!

There appeared to be some sort of delay before we were allowed to push back. I assume that was due to the ATC restrictions in and around Heathrow. The electrical storms in London had caused a bit of an impact on arrivals and departures – hence why we were so late in leaving Heathrow earlier in the day.

Once we were cruising, the normal drinks and meal service started. Again, no menus were handed out.

For this flight, i chose the aubergine and feta cheese ravioli – fairly decent – a little stodgy but enough sauce for a change. Although, i didn’t eat all of it.

Pudding was a coconut surprise. Another sloppy thing with a crunchy coconut topping. But it was very nice and definitely a surprise. Do&Co do know how to make tasty deserts!

Landing was nice and smooth on 27L. Heading over west London at 11am, I could see the heavy bright red of brake lights along a main road heading towards the M4. I assumed that was traffic heading home from Wimbledon.

We arrived into Gate 3a with no wait for a gate or stand guidance. Hurrah! I guess it was so late, there were no other aircraft around, so I am sure we had a plethora of resources wanting to help!

Follow the whole story here: Tier Point Run to Sofia in Jul 2023