Every trip has a starting point. Mine just happens to be at a coach stop 100 miles or so from Heathrow. Let’s take a FlixBus to Heathrow and explore Terminal 5 first thing in the morning, with a lounge stop.
Buckle up, kiddos. It’s a long list of contents.
With a 2 am coach, the plan was to pack everything, doze, then wake up for the adrenaline rush.
Thanks to some careful packing, I managed to pull my Lufthansa yellow and blue rucksack back into service after a long break (given the Lufthansa Blue rucksack needs a new and long zip, as one of the zips jumped off the rails).
And I’ve got my usual Marameko messenger bag. Whilst it’s not the best messenger bag. It would do. For a suitcase… I have a feeling I’ll be picking one up in Seoul or Tokyo.
After all, those who know the power of the penguin will know what happens next.
Arriving at the FlixBus stop on Great Charles Street, Queensway, there was a 920 Coach there, but that one had just finished discharging its passengers and was heading off; thus, there was a short wait for the actual 920 I was expecting to Heathrow and Gatwick.
It was also at this point that the silicone snapped on my part of my health band. Great. One mile from home, with no time to head back home, slap a new strap on and head back out. I’d have to nurse that for eight days without losing the health band.
With the driver accepting my barcode for a ticket, I headed aboard the empty coach. Once again, if you’ve seen my FlixBus reviews, you’ll know what we have. Lots of green and fabric-covered seats in a slightly tighter-than-normal seat pitch.
It’s fine for the short two and a bit hour hop down to Heathrow. Not world-breaking, although some of the voices felt like it at times, until they ran out of words on the M6. Speaking of how the driver took us to Heathrow, it was straight down the M6, M1 and around the M25 to the M4 and Heathrow. Considering parts of the M40 were shut… I could deal with that.
It was a chance to close my eyes – if only for a few minutes.
The coach made its way to the central bus station, spending a few minutes dropping off and picking up passengers who were heading to Gatwick.
The coach then made its way around the Heathrow perimeter road to Terminal 5.
I got off the coach and headed up to the Departures area – one of the gateways had a progress flag on show.
One day at a time. One action at a time. Progress is the path. Equality is the destination.
I also needed to get my boarding pass modified, as I needed it showing my Royal Jordanian Status as opposed to BA Bronze. Yes, I’m petty enough to do this to get lounge access.
# Welcome to The Big Brother House (Terminal 5 edition)
Not the first warning I’d see about power banks this trip… trust me.
With my pass modified, I passed through the normal security lanes without issue – with the process taking just under five minutes. There’s a joy in taking an early flight, as security moves fast.
They’ve changed the time indicators here too. Nice.
What was not so fast was the lounge, as it was good 15 minutes before opening time (4:45 am). I therefore did a walk around most of the closed shops, as staff were being amped up for the day ahead.
Shops do close at Heathrow, believe it or not.
With 5 am passing, the lounges had opened. As I had a gate of A9 advertised, I headed to the North Galleries Lounge,
My boarding pass was scanned, and I was allowed to enter the lounge without pushback. That works for me. As it was early in the morning, the lounge was quiet.
That was sure to change with the departures that were coming up. For now, I grabbed a seat for my stuff and a bowl for breakfast items.
Again, British Airways has its usual breakfast selection here, which is welcome to see. And it’s stocked… a first for everything.s
Hot items – sausagges, bacon, hash browns, scrambled egg, tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans.
Not bad, but nothing that will set the world on fire.
There were also bubbles. And it would be rude not to, especially on my oneworld dime. Might as well make the most of this, sinceI’m an “elite” member.’
As the sun rose and a bright red sun started to shine, I checked the clock, app and the departure board, with the flight to Stockholm marked as “Boarding”.
I took my leave of the lounge and headed downstairs and past the new Five Guys and towards Gate A9.
Down we go – Five Guys is below the escalator to the North Lounge.
At this point, the gate was full of passengers, with Groups 1 and 2 already called forward to queue up. I waited and joined the rest of the passengers in Group 3.
When the sun comes up, I can feel my love coming back again….
Eventually, actual boarding commenced, and I filtered through the passport check and boarding pass check. With a happy beep, I was accepted for travel.
It was time to get this adventure on the road.
British Airways BA770 London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda in EuroTraveller.
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