Hi
I took a brave step and travelled from Northern Ireland to London Woolwich on my own and back again - I booked my own transport, hotel and a few things to do whilst being in London for 5 days and catch up with a friend who lives in London. My friend who lives in London and I used to date when he lived in Northern Ireland but he moved to London for study and work we are thinking of doing a long distance relationship. I always book special assistance in Northern Ireland just to help me remember things at airport and to be first on the plane so Im not stuck in any queues etc i mostly travel with family but I had a travel voucher and a lounge access to use up. I work in my local NHS Hospital in admin and had a discount voucher to use. I had an amazing time in London did some exploring especially in areas such as Greenwich, walking tour in relation to the Coronation, cat cafe in Bethnal Green and the sky Garden and exploring Woolwich.
I was sad to leave London and i arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5 after changing my initial travel plans due to a broken down Elizabeth line train. I went through special assistance check in and security and went to the lounge via exploring duty free and looking in the windows of designer names like Harrods and Burberry and I arrived at the Plaza Premium lounge which I researched and thought it was better than other lounges so I was keen to chill out in a lounge. I arrived at the lounge and I was told to hurry up to locate my boarding pass. I was flustered because of my change of travel plans. I showed the staff my sunflower lanyard the staff seemed uninterested. The staff seemed to look at me as if I wasnt suitably dressed. I grabbed a small 2 seater table and dumped my things and grabbed some food and a crafty beverage. The lounge was busy but the seats were comfy. I didnt want to start a row whilst there in case of meltdown. I stayed at the lounge for 2 hours until I checked my boarding information. I swiftly went to my boarding gate and advised the staff that I had booked special assistance which wasnt as high quality as Belfast. The plane journey home was nice. BA staff were really friendly and the complimentary pretzels and water were nice. Journey home was OK I used the opportunity to lodge the complaint and it was acknowledged the following day. I also let the company know that I booked the lounge access with and they were appalled.
I got on with my normal routine and i received emails back from both the lounge and the company I booked and yes I got free entry the next time I travel to Heathrow to one of the lounges and a full refund from Holiday Extras.
So a message to Autistic community is Travel solo enjoy the place you visit and yes it does pay to complain
