2020 wrap-up…

Easy to do this, I was one of the final people in my corporation to travel before travel between our sites was stopped back in March.
My first time flying with Loganair and now I’m a big fan — great airline and hope they can grow stronger when all this ends

Most bizarre business, BA wins hands down !! When I finally head back to HK it won;t be with BA , but thanks for processing the full refund even when I only wanted to move flights .

Special mention to the “Station Hotel” in Portsoy— a family run hotel that still managed to offer the same level of hospitality to me and my golfing pals despite the anti-social restrictions brought about by Covid

This is easy… just 6 flights all to Moscow, did fly a new route however LHR-SVO with BA.

The pandemic meant spending our time grounded in Switzerland (which is no bad thing) and discovering a little more of Europe with a road trip to Quiberon. I would say the Sofitel in Quiberon was spot on with their ‘new’ way of working, we felt safe at all times, equally Les Sources des Alps in Leukerbad was on-par with their procedures and the ‘safe’ feeling.

Not much else to say for 2020 apart from I know every part of the local woods, fields, lanes, rivers, hills etc… 🙂

Pleased the year is nearly over……

Sectors: 32 (+1 tomorrow night; 75% down vs 2019)
Most impressive COVID airport operation: DXB (by a mile)
Most impressive COVID airline: EK (able to make the flight feel ‘normal’ while being safe)
Most impressive call centre handling: BA (repeatedly – if only their whole operation was as good as their call centres)
Lasting lesson: will never take the privilege of travel for granted ever again

Here’s to a return to normality soon!

Good subject

Flew only 29 sectors this year (about a quarter of normal) although 25 of these were before the 17 Feb, so it could have been, maybe a ‘bumper’ flight year.
New route FCO-BDS (Brindisi) which I flew 4 times.
New airline FlyNAS from KSA – No better or No worse than Saudia after their change in catering, (used to be a ‘full hot meal’ then become ‘a cake and a juice in a bag’), and Etihad, whom have been catering with ‘a cake and juice in a bag’ for some time – their boutique service long gone.
Worst experience – getting locked/trapped in Riyadh for more than 7 months.
Best experience – Leaving Saudi Arabia at the end of September on a ‘flight to Freedom’
Most expensive Covid-19 Test – Riyadh, KSA – approx Euros400/-
Cheapest Covid-19 test – Helsinki, Finland – free on arrival.
Only one flight cancellation – with SAUDIA, which was dealt with (on-line) and repaid in full to my Credit Card within one month. No complaints there.

And as @Fair2380 said above – I shall never take my freedom, liberty and privilege to travel for granted again.
Those of us who are Europeans should also recognise our democratic freedom that whilst there have been restrictions (up to Dec 23rd) on travel, one has ALWAYS been able to travel for various reasons, and borders were NOT closed as they have been in other countries, whom we all know many various examples.
These liberties we should always cherish.

The Season’s Greetings to all, and let us all hope and pray for a return to the ‘old’ normality, maybe sometime around spring in this coming New Year of 2021

Pre Lockdown Just 6 sectors.
Then no flights at all until mid November when I came back to South Africa – which was just 2 sectors.
I felt Covid safe flying both Swiss and Safair though I felt Swiss’s boarding procedures were quite unsafe and illogical.

Normally I’d have flown between 50 and 60 sectors so about 90% down on usual.

Mrs. LP and the boys all flew Qatar and all felt very safe, as did the youngest flying Safair.
However both Mrs. LP and eldest boy felt unsafe flying Kulula – not to mention on arrival at George, they did not open the doors and turned off the engines, no APU, and no external APU was connected. Doors kept firmly closed and no stairs. After 15 minutes Mrs. LP stood up and started protesting to at least open the doors for ventilation, especially with the virus, and was backed up by plenty of angry Afrikaners. Doors then opened and finally stairs were attached and the could disembark. there was a Safair plane which arrived a few minutes after and they had stairs etc attached immediately. One can’t help but wonder if Kulula owed the airport money???

Plenty planned for 2021 if tarvel is allowed!

Since retiring four years ago my business travel has evaporated to zero. However, we continued to travel extensively in my retirement, until 2020.

We flew LHR-SCL-EZE and return to/from Iguazu in January, but nothing since. We had booked four return flights to various destinations the rest of the year (all on BA), moved one set of flights to April 2021 and received refunds/vouchers for all.

However, the pandemic severely restricted our son’s business travel. He is Top Platinum El Al, Silver BA, Platinum United, plus the occasional private jet within mainland North America (main client’s plane). Until January 2020 he flew twice a month TLV-LON-NYC-YYZ or variations within these, plus forays to Prague, Bucharest and Warsaw from London. He hasn’t stepped foot in a plane since February.

Just 6 sectors for me this year – last one 8th March. Starting 2021 (1st January) with DUB-DXB-BKK so we’ll see how it goes.