The HfP chat thread – Saturday 6th November

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• J says:

  6 Nov6 November 13:30

  Does the payment for an Amex statement have to come from the main account holder, or is there a way for a supplementary cardholder to settle the bill?

  • Reney says:

    6 Nov6 November 14:27

    Never seen it, but you can log in as the main card holder and pay using someone else’ debit card

  • Yorkie Aid says:

    6 Nov6 November 14:35

    I’m sure they will gladly take anyone’s money 🙂

    • Rob says:

      6 Nov6 November 15:30

      They don’t care.

  • Anna says:

    6 Nov6 November 15:11

    You can pay with anyone’s debit card, including Che!

  • mark2 says:

    6 Nov6 November 15:27

    Pay from bank using FastPay – details on statement

  • Alan says:

    6 Nov6 November 16:11

    I am paying my wife’s by direct debit. There was something on the website about DD payments having to come from the cardholder but it hasn’t been enforced so far.

• Toby says:

  6 Nov6 November 14:25

  Any tips on dealing with Lufthansa?

  I’ve just had a trip cancelled because the destination country is re-imposing quite strict COVID rules next week. I’m due to fly with lufthansa tomorrow, and as yet they haven’t cancelled the flight.

  My ticket doesn’t allow refunds apart from taxes (whoops, that was a mistake) and seemingly I can’t get a voucher either. I can get rebooking for a future date, but I don’t know when I’ll want to travel to that destination again. Before I get into the call queue I wondered if HFPers have any tips/ideas.

  • Ikaz says:

    6 Nov6 November 14:28

    If they cancel then there is no reason for them to not give you a full refund

    • Toby says:

      6 Nov6 November 14:30

      Thanks Ikaz, sorry to be clear, lufthansa has not cancelled my flights. The event I was going to has been cancelled, so I no longer need to go. I’m waiting (and hoping) they cancel but I have no idea if they’d cancel a flight with such short notice. The new covid measures were only announced a few hours ago

      • His Holyness says:

        6 Nov6 November 14:46

        No voucher. You can only rebook, is it a Light fare, the change fee isn’t waived for those either unless you bought your ticket before August 21.

        Basically LH think Covid is over and there are no flexible rebooking options for operating flights.

        Today is a bad day to call, I’d call M-F when more contact centres are open

        • Toby says:

          6 Nov6 November 15:37

          Well that’s bad news indeed! Thanks His Holyness

• Super Secret Stuff says:

  6 Nov6 November 14:44

  For the next installment of things I’ve seen on the Internet today, we have a new (but old design) Russian made high capacity short haul quad jet…

  https://simpleflying.com/passenger-plane-with-no-customers/

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    6 Nov6 November 14:46

    Just what the world needs right now

• Gary says:

  6 Nov6 November 15:00

  A friend visiting London for 5 days (namely Day 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) and would need a Day 2 testing reference number for UK PLF & a mandatory fit to fly PCR test on Day 2 to return to home country. Is there a fit to fly PCR test one could purchase that also comes with a UK PLF reference number?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Nov6 November 15:28

    If home testing is accepted for return to home country then my Randox day 2 PCR came with a certificate with all the details needed to use it as a fit to fly.

    • Joe says:

      7 Nov7 November 05:34

      I did this the other week – used it as Day 2 and PCR (to enter Kenya).

• John Gallagher says:

  6 Nov6 November 15:05

  I noticed a Gulfstream jet left London City earlier today heading to Seattle.
  Anyone seen a longer flight from LCY?

  • Anna says:

    6 Nov6 November 15:13

    Was it one of the delegates from COP26?!

  • Richie says:

    6 Nov6 November 15:28

    The aircraft is N720GD.

  • BP says:

    6 Nov6 November 16:14

    Used to enjoy watching the private jets taking off from LCY while waiting on my flight back to GLA. The noise some of them make on takeoff is incredible.

• Newbie says:

  6 Nov6 November 15:59

  Any idea what to do with a missing points transfer from amex to hilton? I first called amex and they said the transfer was successful and I should contact hilton about that, and hilton is saying that I need to contact amex to sort that out.

  • AL says:

    6 Nov6 November 17:25

    Call AmEx back. Tell them that it clearly hasn’t been successful because the points aren’t in your HH account. Escalate to supervisor. Think you’ve been had with the “call HH” answer!

• Paul says:

  6 Nov6 November 16:14

  I am currently in the most depressing lounge, the only one available at Manchester airport, which is itself a dull, depressing and inefficient dump! The Escape lounge currently hosting all airlines including BA. Don’t get me wrong the food is actually quite good, but it’s a portrait in windowless beige, with some very 1970’s light fittings that scream “Margo Leadbetter” The staff should be in kaftans!
  Just before 4pm and 2 passengers advised the can’t come in as this ghastly place is dedicated to Emirates long suffering customers from that time!
  And don’t come here hoping to get pissed! Just served the smallest brandy ever and when I had the audacity to ask it to be topped up, received a withering Margo look! And it wasn’t.

  As for Manchester airport! Arrival on BA is into the deserted, or should that be derelict T2, with departures from T1, a grubby area with the most awful security set up. To some extent the glacial pace of security is more to do with inept, inexperienced passengers, many of whom were visibly having to decant toiletries at the belts x ray points!
  I haven’t been to Manchester Airport in decades and on today’s experience, won’t want to rush back
  god I need a drink! 🙂

  • davef says:

    6 Nov6 November 16:31

    i think you mean the closed T3, not T2. The ever lovely gate 142.
    Did they bother to even switch the lights on? They didnt a couple of weeks back.

    • Paul says:

      6 Nov6 November 16:39

      No, the didn’t nor any of the walkways to the station! 😬

      • davef says:

        6 Nov6 November 16:46

        Oh fun, the abandoned walkway of doom.

        Latest on the travelators though there is that 3 are broken and they cant afford to fix them and the fourth is switched off to save electricity.

  • Craig says:

    6 Nov6 November 17:13

    An airport I avoid at all costs.

  • AL says:

    6 Nov6 November 17:27

    MAN’s awful. It’s my nearest (and not dearest), and all I ever use it for is to get the hell out to JFK on VS or to get to LHR for anything else.

    Security is a farce. Lounges are woeful. T1/3 needs scrapping. Not sure new T2 is actually any good. It went downhill with the rise of more LCCs taking slots there.

    Premiair isn’t bad if you can justify the £50 for what is essentially a private lounge and tarmac transfer.

    • Anna says:

      6 Nov6 November 17:36

      Indeed, Andy Burnham’s northern ambitions will never be realised unless the place gets a complete makeover.
      Actually paid £100 for 4 of us to use the Escape lounge this summer, mainly so that we could sit at a table without masks until it was time to board our flight! Food was pretty much inedible but they had a couple of decent gins and we didn’t let any withering looks from the bar stop us!
      Will definitely try Premiair now it’s back open.

      • Anna says:

        6 Nov6 November 17:37

        Have to add though, passport control at T1 has been amazingly quick this summer, even with only half the lights on!

        • davef says:

          6 Nov6 November 18:33

          You’ve been lucky. There’s been plenty of reports of 2 hours queues for passport control and waiting 3 hours for baggage this summer. Pretty normal for there.
          Having said that I was through the egate, got my bag and was out to my uber in under 5 mins a couple of weeks ago.

      • Rob says:

        6 Nov6 November 20:19

        Is it?

        • davef says:

          6 Nov6 November 22:18

          Is it what? 🙂

          Abysmal, filthy, badly organised, badly signed, poorly staffed. Still no filtered drinking water anywhere in departures. Yeah, it’s all that.
          You need surgical gloves to touch the trays in security they’re so dirty.
          Walking from duty free in T1 the other week it struck me that it’s so incredibly badly designed that all the FIDS between duty free and Starbucks are on the wrong side of the pillars, so you have to look stop and look behind you as you walk in the direction of the gates. Yes, they’re that dumb.

        • Rob says:

          6 Nov6 November 22:39

          Is PremiAir open?

        • davef says:

          6 Nov6 November 22:45

          Premiair still closed at the moment. No date for reopening that I can see

    • davef says:

      6 Nov6 November 18:30

      Same.

      Looking back at my lifetime flight record I’ve been to 91 airports and been through MAN 120 times (arrival and dept). It remains the worst airport I’ve ever been to by a country mile.

      Dont get me started on security. Almost every time I go through they flag an issue with ‘something’ in my right leg resulting in shoes off, rescan, full pat down. No other airport has ever done that. There’s no issue with my right leg, it’s a copy of the left.

      • Shaun says:

        6 Nov6 November 18:55

        I really don’t get what the issue is compared to other airports, especially when they have spent millions on the new T2. Went through the New T2 in October, secruity was so backed up, they stopped letting people in.
        My back was sent for secondary scanning, 10 bags already backed up, surely you would realise there is a problem when they have to employ someone to simply move the bags around 🙁
        Still using half of the old gated which means a trek back across the side if security down back to the old 200+ which looked derelict with the old shops and pubs bored up.
        Wish the LBA service was still going or lived nearer to NCL.

        • Harry T says:

          6 Nov6 November 19:46

          This mirrors my security experience in the new T2. I’m honestly just going to start flying via LHR or AMS, even for short haul, as departing from NCL is so much better than MAN. I will pay extra to avoid Manchester too, as it’s really a false economy. By the time you’ve driven to Manchester and wasted hours getting through the airport, the value of that lost time definitely outweighs any cost saving.

        • xcalx says:

          7 Nov7 November 07:59

          “Wish the LBA service was still going ”

          Gutted when they took LBA away again. Hate the MAN experience.

  • Harry T says:

    6 Nov6 November 19:44

    My recent experience here was dreadful. We paid for fast track security but ended up waiting for 30 mins after my gf’s bag was incorrectly flagged for review. Our fellow travellers really helped the experience by insisting they needed their bags reviewed first, as they had children…

    They also hadn’t opened anywhere near enough restaurants and bars, so it was impossible to actually buy anything to eat or drink, unless you could spare 90 mins to queue. I had to abandon a food order at a takeaway place because it took them so long to serve it and I was going to miss my flight.

• Alex says:

  6 Nov6 November 16:26

  afternoon all, visiting London for a few days at the end of the month for my partners birthday. She has booked us for lunch at ming jiang in Kensington. We are therefore looking at staying at the Hilton London Kensington. Does anyone have any feedback on it or perhaps a better option for a 2 night stay? Hilton Gold so want to make use of breakfast before long days out and about

  • AL says:

    6 Nov6 November 17:30

    Stayed a few times – dated, if I’m honest. Not the best stay. Does have cheap-ish car parking (although spaces are small). I would suggest 100 Queen’s Gate nearby, which is a Curio and honors your, er, Honors. Much nicer hotel.

  • Lady London says:

    6 Nov6 November 18:26

    IIRC Hilton Kensington is in Holland Park not Kensington. Think there’s a Doubletree in Kensington that gets ok report

  • Aston100 says:

    6 Nov6 November 20:19

    It is cheap and cheerful. Served by decent transport options.

  • Michael C says:

    6 Nov6 November 20:37

    Stayed in Hilton Kensington in Aug., and as the others said, more “value for money” than luxe, but still more than ok and suited us perfectly. The area is lovely for strolling as it is indeed in Holland Park.
    Hilton Hyde Park is a step up and, as Rob suggests, right in front of a park gate.
    I’d personally go for whichever location suits best.

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