A Hop, A Skip and A Jump

U.K 2015

Leaving on a Jet Plane

May 23, 2015

For the first time ever, rather than flying into Heathrow, based on supply and demand of BA Executive Club seats and my fly free with a companion voucher, we chose to try departing from MCO Orlando to Gatwick UK.  As based upon my husband’s anxiety of wanting to never be late to anything, we arrived at the airport exactly at noon for our 5:35 PM flight.  MCO, as opposed to any other airport in the world from which we have flown, did not open the BA desk for bag drop until 3:00PM.  Even though we had done online check-in, had our boarding passes stored in my phone for scanning at the gate and I’d had visions of leisurely hours strolling duty-free shops, it was all for naught.  We stood in line for 3 hours.  The lines got longer and longer and longer.  We were first in line.  We had enough time to thoroughly bond with a lovely family from County Cork, Ireland who had just spent a week being Disneyfied and Universalized, as well as a week in Clearwater.  They were wonderful and has two of the best behaved children I’ve ever encountered.

It took us exactly 5 minutes after the desk opened 3 hours after our arrival to drop our bag and run.  We had a nice leisurely late lunch at The Macaroni Grill, a very quick and easy security check and voila, we hopped the train thingie and Bob’s your uncle, there I was in Duty Free spraying myself with expensive parfumes and trying on Prada and Gucci sunglasses.  There were hundreds of Brits buying duty free cigarettes, booze and M & M’s.  I purchased nothing, zero, zilch.  John was happy.  I checked to see if I felt feverish…no, just too cheap.

Boarding was easy.  I had taken a chance since our plane was a 777 and booked us each an aisle seat in a center row of 3 seats across.  I often do this on the 777s and about 75% of the time, no one is assigned to the center seat.  This was the case today.  We lifted up the center arm and had the entire row to ourselves.  As soon as we took off, I ordered a champagne and John a red wine.  I put in my ear buds and watched Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, a fantastic movie.

The flight was basically uneventful, rather like Kindergarten, they stuff you full of drink and food and more drink, then shut down the lights and tell you to nap.  Then, later, up go the lights, The Brits all begin marching around the plane so they don’t form leg vein embolisms, breakfast is served, the seat belt sign goes on and there you are at Gatwick.  It’s 6:22AM and very cold by Florida standards.  The Brits are all tanned, wearing shorts and sandals and as happy as a flock of  English Larks.  We head for Immigration check-in and luckily, because I am with my English husband, I get to go in the fast moving EU Countries passport holders line.  Our bag is at the baggage claim waiting for us when we arrive.  Unheard of at American airports.  We are soon enough in the rental car and heading down the M25 for a promised full English breakfast at Louise’s.

We have arrived...