The musicians struck up on Friday afternoon in the middle of the airside departures level at Heathrow Terminal 5. The guitar and double bass combo were called The Cash Cows – a name which will raise a hollow laugh from airline bosses who say the French, Qatari, Saudi and Australian owners of the UK’s biggest airport enjoy a licence to print money.
The first song, as I recall, was Brown Eyed Girl. Van Morrison’s classic contains the line “In the misty morning fog”. But outside the skies were clear and air-traffic controllers were coping with the busiest day of the year so far.
Entertaining though the band was, I wished I was halfway to Istanbul. And, as I discovered later, someone else would have been glad if I had been airborne.
The back story: I had paid £266 for the early evening British Airways flight to Turkey’s largest city. There was an afternoon flight, but it was priced at over £400. And besides, work commitments meant I probably wouldn’t make it to the airport on time.
For once, the Tube and Elizabeth line journey from central London to Heathrow proved smooth and swift. As a result I turned up ridiculously early for my booked flight – and just in time for the earlier departure to Istanbul.
As (almost) always, I had only cabin baggage and could easily speed through security. I found a helpful BA agent and asked if there might be any space aboard the afternoon flight.
Yes, he said, there are two seats left. For a moment I pictured myself enjoying a drink beside the Bosphorus on Friday evening, rather than touching down after midnight as my ticket prescribed.
“But unfortunately they’re not in your class of travel.
I have no interest in BA’s short-haul business class for a three-hour flight. From what I can seek, economy class on Turkish Airlines is more than a match. Yet I bet there were economy passengers on that flight with better British Airways Club status than me (not a high bar) who would have been delighted with a free upgrade. It might have cost BA a few pounds in complimentary drinks, but the lucky passenger would be more likely to choose British Airways in future.
Such an upward move would create a space in economy . For the pleasure of an evening in Istanbul I would gladly have paid, say, £60….
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