Crossing the Pond Yet Again [American Airlines] AA 47 LHR-ORD (London/Heathrow->Chicago/O'Hare) trip report [아메리칸항공] AA 47 런던/히스로->시카고/오헤어 탑승기

AA 47 LHR-ORD (London/Heathrow->Chicago/O'Hare)

DEP LHR 14:25 29 DEC 2011

ARR ORD 18:30 29 DEC 2011

Flight Duration: 09:05

Aircraft: B777-200

At last, this trip report marks my last flight of the 4-segment return trip from Seoul, Korea to Chicago/O'Hare.  I have traveled from Korea to Hong Kong to Helsinki, Finland and finally to London/Heathrow so far.  Today's flight would be AA 47, a B777-200 which would take me back home to Chicago, IL from London, UK. 

Here is my total trip itinerary from start to finish.

(Click each flight segments for trip reports)

Outbound

ORD-LHR: AA 86 DEP 18:05 13DEC2011 ARR 07;55 14DEC2011

LHR-HEL: BA 794 DEP 11:20 14DEC2011 ARR 16:15 14DEC2011

HEL-HKG: AY 69 DEP 00:10 15DEC2011 ARR 15:20 15DEC2011

HKG-ICN: KE 608 DEP 00:55 16DEC2011 ARR 05:20 16DEC2011

Inbound

ICN-HKG: KE 601 DEP 13:45 28DEC2011 ARR 16:50 28DEC2011

HKG-HEL: AY 70 DEP 01:30 29DEC2011 ARR 06:30 29DEC2011

HEL-LHR: AY 831 DEP 08:00 29DEC2011 ARR 9:10 29DEC2011

LHR-ORD: AA 47 DEP 14:25 29DEC2011 ARR 18:30 29DEC2011

I was originally scheduled to board AA 87 flight that would be leaving 10:20AM from London/Heathrow. However, the Finnair flight from Helsinki (AY 831) was delayed about 3 hours, causing me to miss the flight.  I was rebooked automatically into the new flight as soon as I got to London/Heathrow American Airlines transfer counter.  There, I was able to confirm a window seat.

Layover in Terminal 3 was overall a hectic experience, especially since it was during the Holiday Season.  Terminal was very crowded. I didn't want to be at the central waiting area. Instead, I decided to pay 10 Euros and take a shower at the No. 1 Traveller Lounge and spent rest of my time at the lounge until it came time for me to board the Chicago-bound flight at 13:50.

The Miami-bound AA B767-300ER

Boarding the flight for Chicago/O'Hare.

I apologize once again for picture quality.

It was nonetheless a window seat... but with not so good view to outside.

The flight route for today's flight.

London/Heathrow was as busy as always. We spent about 30-40 minutes alone just for taxing for take-off. 

And the plane finally took off toward west. Today's flight would take us toward Scotland and Iceland before crossing southern bit of Greenland and entering Canadian airspace. We would be coming into Chicago from the north.

Nice (dirty) wing view.

Meal was served after takeoff. I don't remember if there was any choice for the meal. What came out was a chicken dish with sauteed pasta with salad and ginger biscuits. Not a bad meal for AA.

I ended up falling asleep for the rest of the flight today.  I woke up about an hour before landing as the flight attendants were passing out the pizzas. 

Descending into Chicago. Local time was around 17:00.

Lake Michigan should've been visible down there, but the clouds were hiding the view.

Sears Tower is visible beyond the wing.

My checked bag ended up not showing at the baggage claim, but AA was quick to locate the bag in London/Heathrow. They flew the bag over on the next flight to Chicago and mailed it to my personal address in Chicago. I appreciate the airline's help in locating the bag and mailing it to me directly within couple days. 

Not sure if I'll ever make such crazy trip itinerary anymore, but I sure did enjoy my first time ever being in Europe. 

USA to Korea with Finnair [British Airways] BA 794 LHR-HEL (London/Heathrow->Helsinki/Vantaa) trip report [영국항공] BA 794 런던/히스로->헬싱키/반타 탑승기

BA 794 LHR-HEL (London/Heathrow->Helsinki/Vantaa)

DEP LHR 11:20 14 DEC 2011

ARR HEL 16:15 14 DEC 2011

Flight Duration: 2:55

Aircraft: A320

Following my trip from Chicago/O'Hare to London/Heathrow (Link to aforementioned Trip Report here), and after my 3-hour layover in Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3, it was time to board my flight to Helsinki. As a reminder, this trip would be a part of my 4-segment trip from Chicago to Seoul, Korea.  The itinerary was as follows:

(Click each flight segments for trip reports)

Outbound

ORD-LHR: AA 86 DEP 18:05 13DEC2011 ARR 07;55 14DEC2011

LHR-HEL: BA 794 DEP 11:20 14DEC2011 ARR 16:15 14DEC2011

HEL-HKG: AY 69 DEP 00:10 15DEC2011 ARR 15:20 15DEC2011

HKG-ICN: KE 608 DEP 00:55 16DEC2011 ARR 05:20 16DEC2011

Inbound

ICN-HKG: KE 601 DEP 13:45 28DEC2011 ARR 16:50 28DEC2011

HKG-HEL: AY 70 DEP 01:30 29DEC2011 ARR 06:30 29DEC2011

HEL-LHR: AY 831 DEP 08:00 29DEC2011 ARR 9:10 29DEC2011

LHR-ORD: AA 47 DEP 14:25 29DEC2011 ARR 18:30 29DEC2011

Terminal 3 was packed that day. All of the seats in the waiting area of the terminal were taken. I purchased some beverage and sandwich at Pret a Manger and spent most of my layover time walking around the terminal.  All of the stores were filled with toys and souvenirs for the London Olympics that would be happening next year.

In terminal 3, the gates don't open until the flights are ready to board. All passengers generally wait in the central waiting area until when the flights' statuses (as shown in the screens) are changed to "Ready to Board". It even shows how long of a walk it would take for the passengers to walk from the central waiting area to their respective gates.

British Airways flights to Finland (as well as other Scandinavian countries and others in East Europe), were operating out of Terminal 3 today. Turns out I would be boarding the plane by taking an on-ramp shuttle there from boarding gate.

Terminal 3 Virgin Atlantic Airways check-in counters. There were flight attendants in red everywhere.

Terminal 3 central waiting area. It was seriously packed in this place.

Heading toward my gate, Gate 24A.

As you can see, no waiting area within these gates.  We were headed straight for the on-ramp shuttles.

The shuttle to my flight from Gate 24A.

The British Airways A320 which would take me to Helsinki today.

The airstair provided by BA.

Next to me was a Vienna-bound British Airways A320.

After take-off toward northeast, a sandwich and beverage was served. Sandwich contained slices of ham, cheese, spinach, and mayonnaise.

About one-third of the way there.

It was about local time 14:00 and sun was beginning to set already.

Approaching Helsinki. The plane was entering Gulf of Finland.

At local time of around 4PM, the plane arrived at Helsinki/Vantaa Airport.

Disembarking the plane.

We boarded an airport shuttle to the arrivals gate.

The customs and immigration was a breeze. There was no line at all in this airport.

At Helsinki city downtown area.

Click here to see some pictures from my layover experience in Helsinki downtown area. (To be posted soon)

Click here for my next flight, Finnair AY 69 from Helsinki, Finland to Hong Kong.

USA to Korea with Finnair [American Airlines] AA 86 ORD-LHR (Chicago/O'Hare->London/Heathrow) [아메리칸항공] AA 86 시카고/오헤어->런던/히스로 탑승기

AA 86 ORD-LHR (Chicago/O'Hare->London/Heathrow)

DEP ORD 18:05 13 DEC 2011

ARR LHR 07:55 14 DEC 2011

Flight Duration: 7:50

Aircraft: B777-200

Courtesy of www.flightaware.com

Hello readers! This trip report would be the first of series of 8 trip reports for my trip back to my motherland of Korea from Chicago.  You read it right! I took a four-flight segment each way to Korea just to save some money. All Asian airlines bound for (or connecting to) Korea would cost me about 1500-1600USD. But when I happened to check out Finnair site, they were offering Chicago to Hong Kong at much lower price at under 900USD for the roundtrip. I purchased the flight right away, about a month before the itinerary itself.  In order for me to make it to Korea, however, I still needed to spend extra 300USD for my roundtrip ticket between Hong Kong and Seoul/Incheon. I decided to go with Korean Air, since they were offering an A380 service between the two cities at the time. I scheduled myself a A380 Korean Air flight after arriving into Hong Kong via Finnair.

This trip would mark my first time for many things. I will list them all here.

1. First time traveling into Europe

2. First time on American Airlines B777-200

3. First time on British Airways

4. First time on Finnair

5. First time ever crossing Atlantic Ocean

6. First time ever on an A380.

I could go on and on, but these were the main highlights of the trip. The itinerary was as follows:

(Click each flight segments for trip reports)

Outbound

ORD-LHR: AA 86 DEP 18:05 13DEC2011 ARR 07;55 14DEC2011

LHR-HEL: BA 794 DEP 11:20 14DEC2011 ARR 16:15 14DEC2011

HEL-HKG: AY 69 DEP 00:10 15DEC2011 ARR 15:20 15DEC2011

HKG-ICN: KE 608 DEP 00:55 16DEC2011 ARR 05:20 16DEC2011

Inbound

ICN-HKG: KE 601 DEP 13:45 28DEC2011 ARR 16:50 28DEC2011

HKG-HEL: AY 70 DEP 01:30 29DEC2011 ARR 06:30 29DEC2011

HEL-LHR: AY 831 DEP 08:00 29DEC2011 ARR 9:10 29DEC2011

*LHR-ORD: AA 47 DEP 14:25 29DEC2011 ARR 18:30 29DEC2011

(*Originally, I was scheduled for AA 87 that was scheduled to depart at 9:55AM from London/Heathrow, but the AY 831 from Helsinki/Vantaa got delayed for about 2 hours, causing me to miss this flight and re-booked into the next Chicago/O'Hare-bound flight, AA 47)

The left B767-300 was bound for Paris.

It was a cold Chicago morning afternoon.  I got to Chicago/O'Hare Airport Terminal 3 at around noon, about five hours earlier than the scheduled boarding time for my London/Heathrow bound flight.  During my time, I saw Japan Airlines and Iberian Airlines departing from nearby gate K12. 

My boarding pass for tonight's flight... I was pretty much stoked!

Dinner would be provided for tonight's 8-hour flight to London.

I departed from this gate (K16) almost exactly a year ago for my flight bound for Miami. (Trip Report Here)

The seat layout for economy class for the AA B777-200 was 2-5-2.

Each seats had TV system on them. But it was one of the oldest systems out there.

Tonight's flight route map to London/Heathrow.

For the main dish for dinner, it was pasta.

The pasta had marinara sauce, olives, and cheese on it. It was meatless.

Arriving into British airspace.

Flight route from Chicago.

London suburbs was starting to be visible. 

And the plane started holding pattern for the approach into London/Heathrow.

Sorry for the quality of the picture. The plane shook a bit during the approach.

Making circles around London city limits.

London downtown below.

I could spot some of the famous landmarks, such as the parliament and the Shard.

And the plane touched-down at local time 7:40AM.

Walkway to customs and immigration.

Outside Terminal 3.

It was a cold, crisp London morning.

Click here for my next flight, British Airways BA 794 from London/Heathrow to Helsinki, Finland.

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