Six flights in seven days – a new record

Doing more than one meeting a week isn’t new. The record here is seven in a week, if I remember rightly, however these were usually done as part of one big tour stretching several days. Going back and forth several times in one week – and actually travelling three countries within that one week – is a novelty… even for me. And not one I am eager to repeat anytime soon I hope.

So Monday morning saw me getting up really early and flying from Heathrow to Luxembourg. Luckily the country isn’t all that big and getting to the dealer and back to the airport was fairly quick. So no problem catching my flight back in the evening.

This was my first time at Luxembourg airport. It certainly has an advantage in terms of speed. Since it is fairly small, it doesn’t take long to get out once landed (or to get through security when leaving again) and ways are relatively short. However it is not the most entertaining airport to spend some wait time (in my case a bit more than 2 ½ hours). Once you are past security, there is pretty much nothing on offer. A small duty free shop, a rather expensive wine bar, which saw me buying a small cup of coffee for almost 5 Euros and a few snack bars offering sandwiches etc (albeit without proper seating, so no use when trying to kill time). So should I end up in Luxembourg again, I might stay landside a little longer, hoping that there is more on offer there. As my flight back was Lux Air, not British Airways, I do not know if they have a BA lounge, nor would I have been able to use it if they had.

Wednesday morning somehow felt a little like groundhog day. Another early morning with my alarm going off just before 4am (even earlier than Monday), another cab to yet another airport (this time City airport, rather than Heathrow, for some added variety). Unfortunately I did not sleep very well the night before and was running a little low after just two and a half hours of sleep.
So off to Zurich it was for not just one but two meetings that day.

Upon arrival we were greeted by glorious sunshine and blue sky, making up for the lack of sleep (well a little at least). Still a tad chilly, but it promised to be a perfect autumn day (and with almost 20 degrees later in the afternoon, it sure was).

Again both meetings were fairly close to the airport, so getting it all done in a day wasn’t a problem and I was left yet again with a few hours spare at the airport before heading back to London. But unlike Luxembourg, Zurich airport has plenty to offer. As this time I was flying British Airways I knew I was able to head to the lounge anyways. They actually have two BA lounges in Zurich and after a quick check that my flight was leaving from area E again (which is the satellite away from the main terminal), I boarded the shuttle and made my way to E and to the BA lounge there. Which is much nicer than the one in the main terminal. And thanks to its remote location also less frequented.

When the weather is nice, you can sit on the terrace and overlook the aircrafts coming and going and catch some air and sunshine whilst you wait.

I like the architecture of Zurich airport. I find it a very pleasing building, lots of concrete and glass. Nothing new for an airport obviously, but somehow it just works at Zurich… at least in my humble opinion.

Friday saw me finish my working week with yet another trip, this time to Frankfurt to visit the family for the weekend. It was my gran’s birthday that week, so it goes without saying that I did my best to be there for the big party on Saturday. Unfortunately the party invite came after the other trips were already arranged, otherwise I would have tried to plan it a little better and possibly combine them a bit. But hey, you grow with your challenges.

With London – Frankfurt being such a popular route and Friday being such a busy day the afternoon and evening flights are bound to be delayed and last week was no exception. We accumulated an hour delay by the time we eventually took off. Weekend here I come.

So tell me, how was your week?