The HfP chat thread – Monday 17th May

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Josh says:

17 May17 May 13:17

With Sofitel T5 closed, what’s the best alternative in terms of distance? Ideally without interacting with other humans!
- Rich says:
  
  17 May17 May 13:44
  
  Premier Inn T5 is only 5 min by bus (mild interaction required) and very clean. Hilton or Aerotel T2/3 by HEX or tube, but actually quite a long walk. Thistle reopening in June, but not sure if the Pod is running yet.
  
  A lot closed, but keep checking as things open up.
  - Josh says:
    
    17 May17 May 13:51
    
    Thanks for response. Forgot to disclose that we would be using the Zipcar to get there so trying to think what makes most sense in terms of proximity to the zipcar drop off @ Terminal 5 (gosh Sofitel really is convenient).
    
    Flight is @ 10am so would rather avoid same day driving stress.
    - Rich says:
      
      17 May17 May 15:43
      
      If you’re willing to drop the Zipcar in the morning, then any nearby hotel with parking. At least you’re under your own steam for getting to T5.
      
      But if not then I think premier Inn is the most painless. Bus stop directly outside, 423, every 20 min IIRC.
- Chris Heyes says:
  
  17 May17 May 13:58
  
  Josh Sofitel closed ? We’ve been given an upgrade to a Junior Suite ?
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    17 May17 May 14:00
    
    It’s a quarantine hotel this month
Anna says:

17 May17 May 13:26

You’re going to struggle as there are no other hotels on site at T5. IHG have very good cash AND points rates on London airport hotels at the moment though, if that’s a consideration. Think they all require a (paid for) transfer so difficult to avoid other humans.
S says:

17 May17 May 13:42

Has there been a clear solution to the DragonPass/Dufry saga? I think everyone who purchased them when the HfP article was published must be in the same boat with having those passes expire?

DragonPass are saying since the Dufry membership has expired, the vouchers are no longer refundable. I thought they had been extended, and that the refundable part of it was unconditional!
- the_real_a says:
  
  17 May17 May 13:49
  
  Mine are still valid luckily. Rob was meant to speak to the Dragon-pass management a couple of weeks ago, but the meeting was cancelled. Hopefully it will be rescheduled.
  - Cal says:
    
    17 May17 May 14:50
    
    Would like to know too.
- Jody says:
  
  17 May17 May 15:27
  
  I bought when it was on here, but so far mine haven’t expired (fortunately). I do keep taking screenshots in case they disappear at some point.
  
  It would be really useful to get an answer from HfP though, it seems to have happened to a fair few people on here from the comments I’ve seen over the last few weeks.
  - Dave says:
    
    17 May17 May 16:01
    
    Agree
    - Paul says:
      
      17 May17 May 17:36
      
      If they haven’t expired, can we still request a refund (out of fear of expiry?). Likewise, for those that have had these cancelled without warning under the impression they had been extension, I would certainly want a refund.
- Char Char says:
  
  18 May18 May 00:02
  
  As explained before, they were supposed to extend them as they agreed to do this, just claim that you were told that they would be extended by someone.
  
  They also confirmed that the passes would still be refundable, mine expired and I eventually got a refund for them as they said in writing that they would be extended for 1 year and refundable. Despite them then expiring in March.
Amo says:

17 May17 May 13:52

Just been able to book my vaccination as a 37 year old (just shy of the current 38 by Jul eligibility). The booking page still refers to 38 and above. Hope this helps anyone else who like me has been refreshing the page every few hours.
- Relay says:
  
  17 May17 May 15:48
  
  Cheers, just booked mine in for tomorrow at the local centre. Not sure how much the age threshold has been adjusted, but I previously missed it by a month or so.
- Mark says:
  
  17 May17 May 15:55
  
  Booked mine too same age. Cousin to book partner who is 36 so must be moving down.
- Sam G says:
  
  17 May17 May 17:12
  
  No luck @35 yet
- John says:
  
  17 May17 May 18:58
  
  I’m 32 and my GP invited me to get Pfizer tomorrow.
  
  Brentford Leisure Centre apparently accepting walk INS after 5pm, seems to also be Pfizer these few days. Saw 200 people in the queue just now in the rainstorm
  - KBuffett says:
    
    17 May17 May 19:51
    
    I noticed Westfield London (Shepherds Bush) has a NHS Covid testing centre inside the main shopping centre. I guess there is no concern that potentially positive people have to walk around inside a shopping centre to get there and back.
Bobri says:

17 May17 May 14:22

Any anecdotal evidence on whether it’s better to arrive to LHR, LGW or STN to pass through the border quicker? Have to go through “all other passports”
Mike says:

17 May17 May 14:41

How common is it for big corporates to pull accrued revenue figures out of thin air that they know are complete BS?

I was talking to a staffer working for a well-known UK airline and they were informed by their boss to do just that, in the full knowledge the figures are bogus.
- A says:
  
  17 May17 May 17:08
  
  Is the airline listed? If so that’s a whole of naughty and likely market abuse.
- Genghis says:
  
  17 May17 May 17:15
  
  You mean deferred revenue / income? Ie cash received but not yet earned? (Not much accrued revenue going on in airline industry I imagine). No idea on airline industry but v naughty booking something as revenue (ie Dr cash, Cr revenue) if not earned (ie should be Dr cash, Cr Deferred income). Obviously there should be policies on this, compliant with accounting standards, which should be consistently applied.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  17 May17 May 17:48
  
  Ask Tesco management ..
Pete M says:

17 May17 May 14:41

Arriving into T5 from LIS just now. EU/UK passports queue taking up most of the holding area (but not spilling into terminal), all passports queue fairly short. Virtually all desks staffed. 5 e-gates working with random Covid test and PLF checks before being allowed through them. Active queue management with EU/UK queue being moved into the all passports queue when that got quieter. Saw a fairly cheery officer who wanted to see my test result (Qured worked a treat), PLF and Day 2 test (congratulated me on getting it for £60 from Randox). Overall in and out in 20mins. No idea how this will scale up though – it felt busy and that’s before people have properly started coming back…
- Rhys says:
  
  17 May17 May 14:42
  
  Glad to hear it isn’t a complete shitshow….
- stevenhp1987 says:
  
  17 May17 May 16:36
  
  My wife returned to Luton yesterday from Warsaw.
  
  Warsaw almost didn’t let her on the plane because the staff thought she took the Qured test in UK because it had a UK address on it…
  
  At Luton there was zero checks. Was around 40 people in front of her and she got through in minutes.
  - Rob says:
    
    17 May17 May 16:55
    
    Surely you can take the Qured test in the UK though? If you are doing a day trip then, realistically, you need to do it in the UK because you won’t have the ability to do it abroad.
    - Pete M says:
      
      17 May17 May 17:00
      
      The Qured tests are a bit of a risk IMHO. My BF was returning to Germany and we were ready for a bit of an argument at LIS because we both used them. In the end no one could have cared less.
- Paul Pogba says:
  
  17 May17 May 19:03
  
  Is it really beyond the wit of our civil servants to allow a link between your passport number and your NHSX account, or to integrate with IATA Travel Pass to automate vaccine verification at the e-border?
  - Paul Pogba says:
    
    17 May17 May 19:16
    
    Ignore that, I didnt realise the day 2 test had to be prebooked and the vaccine had NO bearing on entry.
    - HBommie says:
      
      17 May17 May 20:03
      
      Apart from Madeira, double vax negates PCR prior to flight I believe.
r* says:

17 May17 May 14:46

If you book a flexible ticket on BA, can it be cancelled and refunded online or does it need a phone call? Does it usually take long for the refund to appear on the card?