The Caledonian Sitter

 And a guest blogger :

Having visited Orkney 4 times now I have discovered that there are only two options to get there: quickly (which isn't actually that quick) or cheaply. Previously I've gone for the quick option and flown up from both Luton and City airports and had to sacrifice purchasing a couple of pairs of sought after Jimmy Choos.

I've been persuaded to try the overnight train from Euston to Aberdeen to see what its like before he ventures out onto it. For further details see the Scotrail website

For this delightful train ride you have two options a bed or a seat. As I was going for the cheap option I decided to get a seat for a mere £33 rather than splash out close to £100 for a bed. As the journey was 10 hours and 18 minutes, it meant that my seat cost me £0.053 a minute. Not bad value really.


The seats are large - more like airline seats and they all recline slightly so it didn't seem too bad. And if worse came to worse I had seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones to keep me company. Despite my hopes that I would have a carriage to myself I wasn't the only person to be persuaded into a seat and there were about 12 people in my carriage.

One thing I like about travelling on trains is seeing the countryside and looking out the window. However, for most of the journey this was my view:

The journey itself wasn't too bad as there is a bar open until 7am serving food and drinks. And gin. I was especially thankful for the gin.

I managed to get a couple of hours asleep before arriving in Edinburgh at around 4am. What they don't warn you about is that the train splits into three at Edinburgh – one part goes to Aberdeen, one to Inverness and the other to Fort William (I think). Which isn't the most delicate or quiet of processes. We were in Edinburgh for around 40 minutes before setting off again. Now what you don't get when travelling by plane is the views – which were beautiful. Who knew that Inverkeithing was so delightful at 5am.

The train makes several stops between Edinburgh and Aberdeen but because they're just dropping off and not picking up the train was actually running ahead of schedule so we got into Aberdeen around 7.25 ahead of the scheduled 7.35. This gave me plenty of time to get to the airport to catch the 9.05 flight.  

All in all, not a bad way to travel and I would probably do it again – it has the advantage that you can do a days work travel overnight and then have a full day in Orkney the next day. Although next time I will get a bed.

NABAFWBAFNFWBACF - the return check-in

There is a bit of a problem with  some BA flights NotABAflightwithaBAflightnumberforwhichBAcollectfare (NABAFWBAFNFWBACF for short ) as described here and here and here.

Briefly

• A flight with a BA flight number that is booked, and the fare paid to BA  through the BA website is not a BA flight.
• Online check-in is not available through BA website  for non-BA flights.
• BA don't tell you how to book online for a NABAFWBAFNFWBACF

So I have a journey  in 2 steps

• BA3296 from London (City) to   Aberdeen
• BA4040 , a NABAFWBAFNFWBACF from Aberdeen to Kirkwall.

I couldn't check in through the BA website for the NABAFWBAFNFWBACF travelling down to London. This is the screenshot.
And coming back ?

You can !.

Just to check , I logged in to the Flybe website, with my BA booking reference

and the flight is listed. And I have the option to check in online for this NABAFWBAFNFWBACF.

Check in for the NABAFWBAFNFWBACF flight through the BA website ( which BA Customer Relations have told me I can't do, or check in through the BA flight reference put into the FlyBe website ?

 ,

So I checked in for the NABAFWBAFNFWBACF, through the BA website. It seemed to be OK. They gave me the option of printing off a Boarding pass as well.

And  having completed that I went back to the BA fight reference login the FlyBE webite on the FlyBe website , and I'm checked in.

 

So the online check-in is different if the NABAFWBAFNFWBACF is the first or second flight .

Confusing ?

Whats the chance that I get any sense out of BA Customer Relations  when I point this out to them ?

Checking in for NABAFWBAFNFWBACF

So the time has come - what happens when you try and check in  online for NABAFWBAFNFWBACF flight.

Log in to the BA website

 On-line check in is open - for the flight that is listed

Departs Kirkwall Fri 20 Jun 17.25 

Arrives Aberdeen. 

But remember this is NABAFWBAFNFWBACF. Its not a BA flight. 

But I can't check in  to the flight that is listed ( the NABAFWBAFNFWBACF flight). They tell me I have to go to the airport. 
But i can check in for the BA flight 

So I now have a boarding card for a BA flight. But BA  tell me that for the check- in and Boarding card  for a NABAFWBAFNFWBACF flight I have to go to the Kirkwall airport.

But  the NABAFWBAFNFWBACF flight is provided by Flybe.  So what happens if I put by BA  booking reference number ( 7xxxxxC ) into the Flybe website ?

It logs me in !

And I haven't got a BA booking reference, I've now got a completely different Flybe booking reference.

And the Flybe website tells  me that I have to  check in for my Aberdeen -London flight at the airport.

And heres the proof - a Boarding card for a NABAFWBAFNFWBACF, produced from the Flybe website with the BA flight number listed 

BA expecting me to turn up at Kirkwall airport  to check in is not unreasonable ( even though i don't have to ).

Flybe expect me once Ive arrived in Aberdeen 

• to go to the baggage carousel  to retrieve any hold luggage
• leave the departures area and go to Aberdeen Arrivals hall 
• Go to a BA check-in Desk 
• Go back through security
• Go and wait in the Departures area that I have just left. 

Joined up thinking and planning to make travelling easy ? 


We shall have to see what happens on the way back when the NABAFWBAFNFWBACF is the second stage of the journey.