Travelling Light? Not Quite!
Friday 6th March 2026 – Heathrow, Terminal 5
It’s been a long time since we did a night flight from Heathrow and it was surprising how quiet – and quick – check-in and security were at 7pm. Even the B-Gate Business Lounge was really quiet too.
In the lounge, the help-yourself drinks bar is always welcome but one of the better changes BA have introduced recently is the Hot-Dog Counter, which certainly gets my ‘thumbs-up’ for a tasty pre-flight snack!
It’s hard to believe that 50 years ago in January 1976, Concorde flew from Paris to Rio de Janeiro in 7hrs 26min, including a refuelling stopover of 1hr 20min in Dakar, Senegal.
In comparison, our British Airways overnight flight BA0249 from London Heathrow in a subsonic Boeing 777 has a non-stop scheduled time of 11hrs 45min, although with only 100 passengers back then, Concorde’s fuel usage was nearly 5 times as much per passenger compared to today.
And for us in Club World Business-class, we have a lot more space and privacy today than passengers on Concorde ever had!
