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

T3 felt quite busy from the outside and fast track security was busier than last week as well. But it was still only about 5 mins before I was into departures and heading towards the lounges.

I decided to base myself in the BA First Lounge today. Last week I was in the Cathay First Lounge. It’s not much of a comparison to be honest. The Cathay Lounge wins easily on all scores. But as the saying goes: a change is as good as a rest.

I helped myself to the breakfast buffet in the BA Lounge.

Whilst I was up at that end of the lounge, I enquired about access rights into the new dining area.

Definitely First Class passengers only and BAEC GGL members not entitled to use it. Sad.

After enjoying a spot of brunch, I headed out on a wander around T3.

Nothing much going on to be honest, but I enjoyed stretching my legs.

I had noticed early on that the flight was already showing a 45-50 min delay – no reason given, but I assumed it was down to ATC restrictions. Numerous other flights were also showing delays.

As it happens I found out later on that all of these delays were caused by a fly-past in Central London organised to celebrate King Charles’ Trooping the Colour.

As a result, Heathrow was scheduled to be closed for 20 mins which meant the inbound aircraft coming from Gibralta was very late in arriving.

A spot of early lunch was enjoyed in the Cathay Business Lounge Noodle Bar.

My flight to Sofia left from Gate 3a. The gate was assigned as of 14:05 and when I got down there, gate staff advised that the aircraft had only just arrived, so there would be a delay before boarding would commence. I think this was in response to a number of passengers (including me) standing around the door waiting for the nod to commence boarding.

Flight: BA0892 Equip: A320
Sched Depart: 14:00 Actual: 15:23
Sched Arrival: 19:10 Actual: 20:17
Takeoff: 15:44 Landing: 20.14

It was chaos at the gate. The gate crew didn’t know what was going on. Some passengers were getting frustrated – some were clearly desparate to get to Sofia!

We finally boarded about 50 mins after the flight was due to depart. I got the impression that there would be a further delay after boarding, probably due to further ATC restrictions.

Whilst waiting to board, I noticed (at least) 3 others that I recognised from last week. Some even ended up in the same seats!

You can’t help think this is all very bizarre!

We pushed back just before 3:30pm, so not far off 90 mins late. This A320 didn’t have power sockets under the seats and the tray tables were fold down from the bulk head rather than built into the arms. So not as nice an aircraft as last week.

My relationship with the cabin crew didn’t get off to a great start. The first cabin crew member asked about putting blankets up in the lockers, so I decided to sit on my blanket to ensure it was secure. However, a second cabin crew member asked me to pass the blanket to him since “it was a loose item”. I then said that technically my pillow was also a loose item. He said: I guess it is and took that off me too. Crazy!

Note there were passengers in the front row with tablets which were technically loose as well and far more dangerous in the event of an emergency.

The second thing that I fell out with cabin crew over was their misuse of overhead lockers that are supposed to be available for use by … passengers!

The crew had used 2 of the lockers above row 1 in addition to another locker marked for use by cabin crew. So my bag was moved a row or two back so that a cabin crew member could access their bag! Thanks!

Anyway, moving on with the quality of the flight!

Normal drinks and meal service were provided in an efficient manner by the crew. No menu this week but the options and meal I selected was the same as last Sat.

As last week, the lamb was beautiful, with sweet potato mash and peas/green beans. The pudding was the cheesecake, which was stunning again.

Having remembered to bring my earbuds this time, I listened to some music as I dozed the final hour or so before landing at Sofia.

There were some great views of snowy mountains on the way into Sofia.

We arrived into Gate C1 – the normal gate that BA use.

Sofia was wet and horrible.  I could see that on final approach as rain drops started streaming across the aircraft windows. On the ground, it was miserable. Sounded like it has been like that all week. Not sure I am selling Sofia as a place to visit am I?

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