Good morning!
I'm back in the UK, having flown back Sat/Sun on the "red eye" overnight BA flight. I used most of my Avios points to upgrade to a flatbed, thus enduring somewhat mitigated discomfort. The brand new Dreamliner 787 really was impressive though. Twin-engined, wide-bodied, and very much a step-change downwards in terms of engine roar. I was impressed with the push in the back acceleration on take-off, but with so little engine noise, did have an anxious few moments wondering whether the pilot had put his foot down enough to achieve lift-off. I need not have worried of course.
24 hour airport operation must surely only be a matter of time. Tough luck to the NIMBYs who bought houses under the flight path, in the full knowledge that planes make a loud noise. I like seeing planes take off & land, so would happily live under the flight path. Something like a 787 glides in almost silently, like a giant, graceful eagle, so anyone who objects to that should move elsewhere.
I'm going back to Abu Dhabi in early Dec 2016, to the same hotel, the Yas Viceroy. I've stayed in lots of top hotels, but have never before experienced such an astonishingly high level of service. Nothing was too much trouble, and the staff were all so courteous and happy.
I only paid for a standard room, but 2 upgrades later, I was in the Presidential Suite, on the 1st floor, directly overlooking the slow corner of the F1 track. Where else can you conduct your ablutions in pole position?
Every now & then, one would hear a blast of high octane exhaust gases, and I could raid the minibar and enjoy myself watching fast cars roar past. The Manager told me that our suite was booked by the same customer every December, for the Grand Prix, and he pays a £5-figure sum for the peak 4 days. All the furniture is removed, and it is used as a hospitality area for his friends.
So it was a remarkable treat for me, paying next-to-nothing to enjoy the same suite. Here's half of the living room, that doesn't overlook the F1 circuit:
Here's a panoramic shot of 180o of the living room. See the F1 racetrack on the left:
Sadly, I missed…
