[Anonymous]

[Hermes1964]

EDI – LCY

Waking up to a bright and sunny morning, all the suggestions were there that this would be an excellent day for the short hop back to LCY.

EDI was not particularly busy so collecting boarding passes and security took no time. The welcome at the Galleries lounge was friendly. The room layout is without particular merit, but seemed reasonably clean and tidy. A good number of the seats were occupied as the 767 service to LHR was delayed. However, this was called shortly and occupancy fell, making for a peaceful stay. Strangely although nearly 12.00pm, the buffet was still laid out with breakfast cereals, fruit and pastry. These were, however, replaced after 15 minutes or so with an appetising selection of Beef and Horseradish, Egg mayonaise, mozarella and tomato and coronation chicken sandwiches. I didn’t have any as I had an unusually large and late breakfast, but they look well filled and fresh.

Boarding was down a long staircase at Gate 5. Its a bit of a struggle if you were maxing your hand allowance as we were, but there is a lift. Once up the steps we were greeted by the purser in jaunty hat, elaborate coiffe and full “I mean business” makeup. The E170 was full, but there was plenty of space for carry ons and I find the leg room more than adequate. The cabin was clean and – wait for it – not a crumb in sight. The boarding music was Parry and all in all things were looking up

A very short delay while a passenger’s luggage was offloaded and a recorded safety demo and we off at full pelt down the easterly runway. I’m a great fan of the Embraer E series. The 170 in particular has a real “pocket rocket” feel. Some tight turns suggested the pilot was enjoying himself too, and we reached cruising altitude in no time. A bar/snack service commenced shortly after. The crew were crisp, assured and calm throughout. I’ve often experienced a lot of huffing and puffing and flap from some of the older BA short haul crews who make a bar run look like one the of labours of Hercules. Today we had none of that.

As usual we routed down the west coast with spectacular views of the lake district, miles of beach and Blackpool tower. I like having an opportunity to actually look out of the window and today was a great day for admiring the stunning British scenery and for appreciating once more how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful country, and one so untroubled by many of the sad events that befall so many other parts of the world. As I hummed Jerusalem and downed the last of a diet coke and packet of crisps, we swirled over the London Eye and headed towards LCY for an on-time touch down.

As I stood up to collect my belongs and check around the seat, a cold shard of adrenaline shot through my veins. There on my seat a small pile of crisps crumbs and, worst of all, of my own making. Should I sweep them onto the floor, possibly to remain under the seat in front or leave them insight, hopefully to be hoovered up by the cleaner? In the end a quick flick nearly did the job, but I spent the ride back on the Jubilee line, worrying about whether when the next passenger encountered them, it would be my fault or the cleaner’s for having failed to do his job properly. As I write I still haven’t resolved the dilemma and have now cause to question my whole value system when it comes to crumbs! I think I should never mention the subject again.

I’ve flown many times on BA Cityflyer and it consistently does the trick for me with minimum fuss. The crews are friendly and on top of the game, making good service look easy and second nature. The Embraers are clean and nippy and LCY feels more like a bus stop than an airport. Today I’m one happy customer.

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