europe

Day 0: ZED travel to London and transit at Heathrow

Posted by bookoftensai on

In late September 2018, I embarked on a fun & adventure filled 2-weeks trip to Greece and Turkey with a few other stops on the way.

A bit of a background, I had opted to transit in London before reaching Greece. This decision was made solely because my employing airline only serves London in Europe. I wouldn’t recommend using London otherwise since Heathrow have one of the most expensive airport tax in the world. If you are flying from outside Europe, it’s better to fly straight into Istanbul or Athens.

Flight to London on Qatar Airways ZED Employee Discount

My trip started on a very unexpected stressful note. As an airline staff, it was my first time flying standby on a long trip. Previously, I’ve only flown standby back and forth to Seoul and Japan for short 2-3 days trip.

Imagine the horror when I reach the check-in counter and the flight I plan to take, Malaysia Airlines MH002 direct flight to London was full. I expected as much as I have been monitoring the load but still I was pretty heartbroken. Thankfully, with ZED (Zonal Employee Discount), I got on the next available Qatar Airways flight with a transit at Doha Airport.

Kudos to the staffs at Qatar Airways for the friendly service for fellow airline staff. flyzed advised that through check-in are not available but the check-in agent advised that through check-in can be done.

Meal for the day

Notes for others flying ZED on Qatar Airways:

  1. Listing is required for non-QatarAirways issued tickets and can be done by their Ticket Counter. Some QR staff seems to be unaware of this, even their own Ticket Counter which I checked with twice. The check-in agent was the one who noted that they can’t check me in without listing.
  2. Boarding pass for onward journey from Doha will only be issued by transit counter at Doha airport.
  3. If you are flying standby make sure to have a backup to your backup plan. Have different routes on multiple airlines to get to your destination.
  4. To know the flight load and seat availability you can call your local Qatar Airways call centre or use the Staff Traveller App

It was my first time on a B777 and Qatar Airways doesn’t disappoint on their newly retrofit cabin. Sadly since they have been replaced from the FC Barcelona sponsorship in 2017, we didn’t get to see the fun safety video starring the players. If you’d like to see it you can view it here anyway.

Transit accomodation and transport

There are a few options of hotels when on transit and luckily hotels around the Heathrow area are not as expensive as the city centre.

Hotels within Heathrow Free Zone

  • This is a good budget option especially for those not planning a trip to the city at all. The Heathrow Free Travel Zone (HFTZ) is a zone encircling Heathrow Airport and the surrounding area where travel on public transport is free to use.
Map for the free zone. Click to download pdf copy
  • I’ve stayed near Radisson Blu before and used this bus for my travel to Heathrow. However, I find it a bit of a hassle to stay at a hotel with no access to tube but only buses. It just means I’m required to change between to tube to get to city centre. As usual as well, I find it hard to gauge when you’ll reach your destination when on buses especially for first time tourists.
  • This can be solved however if you opt to stay at Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow as it is served by the Free Zone, Hoppa Bus and Hatton Cross Tube station.
Aboard the Heathrow Free Zone bus

Hotels near Hounslow Central or Hatton Cross tube station

  • Hatton Cross and Hounslow Central tube on the Piccadilly Line is conveniently located only 1 & 3 stops away from Heathrow Terminal 2&3 with easy connection to city centre (Direct to Kings’ Cross and 1 change to Oxford Street in 50 minutes)
  • There are more accomodations near Hounslow Central and probably more restaurants as well judging by google maps.
  • Fare £1.50 (offpeak) and £1.70 (peak) from Terminal 2&3 to both station as at May 2019.
  • Fare from both station to Oxford underground (London City) is £2.80-£4.70 as at May 2019.
  • Some hotels in this area includes Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow (Hatton Cross), The Continental Hotel Heathrow (Hounslow), Ramada (Hounslow) & Ibis Budget (Hounslow) and Ibis Budget (Hounslow)

Hope that helps fellow airline staff and travellers! My next post will be finally about my onward journey aboard British Airways to Santorini!

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