The HfP chat thread – Saturday 26th June

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Clive says:

26 Jun26 June 12:17

More details emerging on the Phuket Sandbox. Three tests required. The will be PT RCR. You will be tested on arrival and then. Need to stay in your room until results are back. Further tests can be at a Gov site, they are setting up 7 over the Island or at. Hospital. Prices are 2800B and 3500-4000B respectively. Embassies will start processing CoE’s from Monday.
- Luke says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 12:29
  
  Looking forward to visiting Thailand at some point this/next year, will wait though as I assume it’ll be busy to start with.
  - Sam G says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 12:40
    
    It won’t be that busy I don’t think- no Aussies or many neighboring countries e.g. China are allowed to exit their own country / return without quarantine – so now would be a great time to go IMO – should be some great deals on 5* hotels & trips to Phi Phi etc if allowed would be very quiet. Unfortunately I’ve just started a new contract role so can’t take a long holiday or I’d be going myself!
    - marcw says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 12:51
      
      Many many many places remain closed though.
      - Sam G says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 13:52
        
        Part of the appeal 🙂 not like they’re all sat on furlough, they’ll be open if there is any chance of making some ££ I think!
      - meta says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 14:10
        
        Yes, most restaurants, cafes, etc. will be closed. Only certain government approved accommodation, so you can’t rent a pool villa cheaply. Also, you won’t be allowed to go Phi Phi islands until after 14 days. It’s basically designed to favour big spenders who don’t leave resorts. It might suit some people though.
    - BuildBackBetter says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 13:54
      
      Hope they use this opportunity to clean up the beaches. Especially maya bay.
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 13:09
  
  Less than £70 a test, very tempting indeed
  - bafan says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 13:47
    
    +1. I always wanted to visit but the crowds put me off.
    - meta says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 14:20
      
      That’s because you should go outside main periods. Always had a great time in second half of March, not many people at all and weather still fab.
      @Maya Bay has been cleaned for years now given they have limits in place now.
- Sam G says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:13
  
  Singapore Airlines are adding flights from 19th July, so decent connections are possible via Changi both ways from then + Thai are flying weekly direct (outbound, back via Bangkok). ME + Turkey hubs have to be avoided as you’d be counted as red list on your inbound
  - bafan says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 14:25
    
    I’m sure I just read that the flights have to be direct to Phuket as in not through Bangkok. Maybe I’m wrong though.
    - bafan says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 14:25
      
      Of course Singapore would be a great option in any case.
    - Sam G says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 14:52
      
      I did read somewhere this would be relaxed but can’t find it now – the “direct flight plan” only offered options via SQ & Singapore or the Thai direct flights for Brits. Emirates / Qatar are on there but you’d be classed as red list due to your transit on the way back
    - meta says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 14:53
      
      I also read only on Thai Airways as well, but that might be media misinterpreting.
      - Sam G says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 14:55
        
        https://www.thephuketnews.com/direct-flights-to-phuket-to-start-july-1-80180.php though they’ve incorrectly classified the Qatar codeshare flights as BA
        
        SQ must be sure they can carry passengers or they wouldn’t have increased to 2x daily
- bafan says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:52
  
  So I could do a week if I just stayed in Phuket? That actually is appealing given some travel pricing this summer…
  - Sam G says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 14:54
    
    Yes. you can do up to 14 days as long as you leave Phuket directly and stay in the approved hotels (you can swap around)
Muhammad Abdullah says:

26 Jun26 June 13:01

Is the Northern Lights lounge open at ABZ? And what’s the rate using code “BANL” for BA pax, I can’t get the site to price it, the flight choices don’t match the days scheduled BA services.
- Pete M says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 15:49
  
  Yes it is, can’t help on the rest.
Zoe says:

26 Jun26 June 13:12

Wimbledon have released some return tickets, but I’m stuck in the waiting room currently.
- Babyg says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 13:29
  
  #metoo – zero movement for 30mins
- Babyg says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 13:30
  
  ive got the “Please Note: If no wait time is displayed, this means you will be waiting longer than 15 minutes for your chance to purchase tickets. Once your wait time is 15 minutes or less, a countdown timer will be displayed.” had this since 1pm.. email was 12:55.. think i was way too slow
- Sam G says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 13:53
  
  A friend did just manage to buy some but he was very quick to click through, I’m in the waiting room (only saw the mail after 15 mins)
  - Babyg says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 13:57
    
    yeah i was slow too, good to know somebody got some tickets… ive been waiting for an hour.. still no 15min timer….
- Kai says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:17
  
  Managed to got in and there were plenty of tickets for sale, only for Monday-Wednesday though.
  - Babyg says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 14:32
    
    ah when did you join the Queue? vs received email.. still in waiting room…
  - Zoe says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 14:55
    
    I just got Monday tickets. Tuesday looked a bit dodgy weather wise. Still plenty of tickets left for those 3 days only
    - Babyg says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 15:22
      
      ah good to know… thanks! still in the waiting room.. no timer yet
      - Babyg says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 16:17
        
        managed to get day1 centre court.. thats a result…
      - Zoe says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 16:54
        
        I’m Day 1 centre court too! Looks like you can take in food & drink which I don’t remember from the last time I went. There is also an Amex Lounge, not sure if that’s any good but worth a look. No park and ride this year, so looks like we are taking a train to Clapham Junction then a bus.
      - Babyg says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 17:35
        
        @Zoe, each person can take in 1 x bottle of champage 🙂 amex lounge wasnt worth it last time i went… big queues, limited space, limited views..
      - Babyg says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 17:38
        
        *champagne
      - Zoe says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 17:53
        
        I’m confused as you can take a bottle of champagne but aren’t allowed glass on the show courts? How does it work in practise? I realise I’d be drinking it elsewhere but what do I do with it in the meanwhile?
      - Babyg says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 18:24
        
        ive taken bottles of champagne into centre court before, we had acrylic flutes that look the part to quaff from… this year we are actually going to take in a bunch 4 minis (20cl) vs 1 bottle per person, that way that will stay bubble and cold for the entire day.. lanson is the sponsor, so we are going with lanson 20cl… we have 2 with the covers that keep them cool, and the rest are from waitrose cellar (currently 25% off)….
      - Rob says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 19:32
        
        Have you see how small the ‘personal item’ allowed is?
    - Babyg says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 20:28
      
      @rob, nope.. but off to investigate..
Muhammad Abdullah says:

26 Jun26 June 13:21

A mailbox used by BA for maintenance notifications was hacked and ransom emails sent out on the address lists “pay $1000 in BTC or we will tell your employer you’ve been watching xxx at work”

5 LHR BA employees paid up…
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:32
  
  Thats not ransomware by the sounds of it but lol what they been hiding
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:35
  
  There’s always a few idiots.
- bafan says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:39
  
  I don’t even get what people are so afraid of, most men watch porn LOL.
  - AJA says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 14:44
    
    Not just men. But watching it while at work on employer supplied IT equipment is a no no. Same thing with watching it on your own phone but connected via wifi to the company network.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 15:37
      
      Kissing and groping the friend you’ve hired as a non-exec director is ok though.
      - Babyg says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 18:27
        
        its OK until you get caught…
Peggerz says:

26 Jun26 June 13:43

Further to my message on Monday that the booze trolley had returned to 1st on LNER EDB-KGX, Mrs Peggers is on the return journey today and she has just been offered booze from the trolley………. at the weekend. Unheard of and a major upgrade on the pre-Covid situation. Chin-chin 🍸.
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:35
  
  Yes!!! Excellent news, so worth the money on weekends!
- Tim Rogers says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 16:44
  
  Interesting news! I wonder if it’s the same to Dundee which I’m doing next weekend.
David Butcher says:

26 Jun26 June 13:43

Does anyone know yet whether the Amex Rushden Lakes offer is cumulative or does the £60 have to be spent in one transaction?
Maximus says:

26 Jun26 June 13:46

Just walked into Wembley Park to get my 2nd jab. No questions asked. Thanks to those who wrote about it on here a couple of days ago.
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:01
  
  When was your first jab?
- Andrew says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:09
  
  They didn’t even ask for your name and personal details?
- Sam G says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:15
  
  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/find-a-walk-in-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-site/ this is useful for finding spots, not many doing 2nd dose pfizer (at least near me anyway) but the actual situation may vary I guess, especially later in the day
  - Tracey says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 16:41
    
    At “my” centre, we were hosting the first no appointment necessary clinic this morning. Advertised as a first Pfizer clinic only but demand was low and we were soon offering second Pfizer jabs to anyone at the 6 week or over point.
- Lord Doncaster says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 17:54
  
  Well they just have asked who you are otherwise how can your medical record get updated to prove you’ve had it?
- Maximus says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 20:29
  
  Had the first jab 8 weeks ago. Obviously asked for NHS number, name, address, when I had the first jab but there was nothing like “you can’t have the 2nd jab yet”
Lewis Clayton says:

26 Jun26 June 14:30

Hi all, we had flights booked to Vancouver in July on a 241 to head out for a wedding. The wedding was cancelled (for obvious reasons) but then our outbound flight was too. We just called in and they processed the refund but it seems that particular companion voucher expires in August.

We didn’t find out until after the refund was processed and now we fear that we are going to lose it; when i believe we could have accepted a future travel voucher until 2023.

Is there anything we can do; or have we lost it? It’s so frustrating because we first used it to book a trip to Thailand in December 2020, then moved it out for this trip.
- Babyg says:
  
  26 Jun26 June 14:34
  
  book another flight (cheapest you can find).. turn it into a FTV…. obviously you need to be travelling with the same person again..
  - Lewis Clayton says:
    
    26 Jun26 June 14:37
    
    Thank you. So we need to find any flight that has avios and comparison availability between now and August 6th; when it expires?
    - AJA says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 14:47
      
      Yes. A cheap economy return to MAN, CDG or EDI would work. You could do one-way but I would advise against that. Just be aware that you will also have to phone BA to redeem the FTV and it will have to have award availability.
      - Lewis Clayton says:
        
        26 Jun26 June 15:02
        
        That’s great. Thank you!
    - roberto says:
      
      26 Jun26 June 14:50
      
      Look for Short haul..
      Plenty of options and won’t tie up much cash.