The new HfP chat thread launches – Sunday 22nd March

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• Shoestring says:

  22 Mar22 March 16:39

  countries in EU/ EEA have shut borders so Brexit is irrelevant

  obvs the right to fly/ travel over borders is an inalienable right for some people, are you going to say people can’t take the bus to the supermarket or a taxi or drive in their car next? it’s not much different

  • Novice says:

    22 Mar22 March 16:55

    No.

    I travel a lot too.

    But in this situation if we had a government who had realised things will be easier if nobody in UK gets infected by community transmission then it’s logical to think we might have been ok as we are an island.

    As far as I know and I may be wrong, the virus can’t swim and the distance between UK and France would have been sufficient.

    People start talking about rights and freedom but having a worse situation gives everyone less rights/freedoms. Uncertainty leads to fear.

    But I’m not an expert. I’m just saying we might have at least had the freedom to go to parks etc without fear if it had been contained to start with.

    • Shoestring says:

      22 Mar22 March 17:39

      your ‘running away’ is my ‘putting myself in a safe place, protecting my family from my untimely death, stopping me blocking an ICU bed’

      • ChrisBCN says:

        23 Mar23 March 00:20

        Shoestring continuing to talk dangerous nonsense. I note that many comments from dozens of people calling him out on this have been deleted – a points blog should not allow him to talk in the dangerous manner he does, unless they allow the rebuttals.

    • Rumpy says:

      22 Mar22 March 17:41

      ‘putting myself in a safe place, protecting my family from my untimely death, stopping me blocking an ICU bed’

      Rather like those that left China for safer countries when it started. Maybe they forgot to wash their hands though.

    • Rumpy says:

      22 Mar22 March 17:52

      Presumably you hovered a couple of inches above the seat throughout the flight with your accumulated knowledge whilst keeping all cabin crew and airport staff 2 metres away from you. I presume you wore gloves too when handling your suitcases so no-one handling your baggage could pick up any germs? Didn’t think so. Doesn’t matter how you dress it up, you ran away like a coward and have no way of knowing if you infected anyone else or not.

      • James says:

        22 Mar22 March 22:24

        +10

        • Donkey says:

          23 Mar23 March 01:17

          Stop crying! For god sake… Babies when they can’t get their own way! Please mummy make Mr shoestring agree with us! He has too…… Tell him mummy!

• ChrisC says:

  22 Mar22 March 16:50

  The early cases in the UK had no connection with Italy so it was here before Italy.

  And the UK always had control over it’s border and people need to remember that.

  • Novice says:

    22 Mar22 March 17:00

    I know that’s why I am saying UK should have controlled the border movements better. As in get people tested who are coming in and quarantine them but in any situation money always matters to most in power but now they are having to fork out billions to save the economy.

    I’m talking about island advantage. If there were cases which were not related to Italy why were they allowed to spread?

  • Andy says:

    22 Mar22 March 17:14

    The UK has never had full control over its border since freedom of movement came into being.

    Only once the transition period has ended will we have full control. By not being in Schengen…it just means we get to look at the passport or ID card of EU citizens as they arrive.

• Shoestring says:

  22 Mar22 March 18:08

  Now if my surmising is correct

  1. Raffles’ wife is intelligent on the high side and Teutonic
  2. She can work from home
  3. She has a low opinion of UK healthcare vs German (who wouldn’t?)
  4. She is hypochondriac (all Germans are hypochondriac)
  5. She is well aware of Covid-19 risks fast-approaching plus the old mother lion instinct will already have kicked in (2 kids) plus self-preservation

  —> Escape to Berlin (etc)/ or hidey hole, hole up for a few weeks

  • Kim J says:

    22 Mar22 March 18:34

    Yep, instead they should have dragged him/her through two airports and sat in plane seats which have been proven to be some of the most contaminated places around, that would have been far safer for everyone. Maybe you could suggest it?

  • Rob says:

    22 Mar22 March 19:04

    Nah, we’re staying here. I would happily go somewhere actually but she’s the one not keen. More than happy to rent a place for a few months.

    • Kendo Nagasaki says:

      22 Mar22 March 19:12

      At least one of you has some integrity.

      • Rob says:

        22 Mar22 March 22:23

        I doubt moving 20 miles down the road would cause a massive disturbance in the space / time vortex ….. however my wife genuinely believes that there aren’t any shops outside London and that we would starve.

  • ADS says:

    22 Mar22 March 21:57

    you forgot to add that they live in inner west london – the epicentre of the UK epidemic !

• Lyn says:

  22 Mar22 March 19:06

  Rob, would you consider an extra chat topic just for those people who are still trying to get home?

  It sounds as if quite a number of people are still stuck away from home, or have family who are, in places all over the world, and the situation is changing very rapidly. They may want to ask for advice from commenters who have recently been through the same experience, or even just have better access to the internet than they do.

• EJH says:

  22 Mar22 March 19:16

  It appears BA have pulled their daily LHR-HEL flight which I booked using Avios. Does anyone know whether I am entitled to be re-routed on Finnair for no additional cost (Avios/cash) or I just need to take the full refund and re-book myself. Obviously I would call BA but the booking isn’t for a couple of months yet and don’t want to unecessarily occupy resource. Thanks!

  • Shoestring says:

    22 Mar22 March 19:22

    under EC261 you are fully entitled to re-ticketing – so don’t go for the refund option as that lets BA off the hook & you’re on your own

    • EJH says:

      22 Mar22 March 21:52

      Got it, thanks vm!

  • Harry T says:

    22 Mar22 March 19:56

    I had booked Helsinki with BA for early May, and they simply cancelled me. I’ve claimed my refund. Would be nicer to be changed to Finnair metal!

    • Shoestring says:

      22 Mar22 March 20:03

      before going for the refund, you could have got that, Bonzer boy

      • Harry T says:

        22 Mar22 March 20:18

        I see that now! However, I’ve read on Flyertalk that Finnair are slashing their flights by 80% from early April, and I reckon the FCO will still advise against travel by early May. Better to take my money and cut my losses, I think.

        • Shoestring says:

          22 Mar22 March 20:36

          you didn’t lose out

• Shoestring says:

  22 Mar22 March 21:34

  I’m thinking of ordering 5 cubic metres of topsoil and growing tomatoes & aubergines out here in my 20 enforced weeks out here in the sun

  any objections?

  • ChrisBCN says:

    23 Mar23 March 00:27

    I think you should if you want, and maybe take a few days break from here. Might be good reflection time.

• HarryB. says:

  22 Mar22 March 22:03

  Hi HFP folks. I’d like to use my 2for1 BA voucher for an open-jaw trip LHR-MLE and then SIN-LHR. Their telephone center is (understandably) completely clogged but I’m conscious that by the time I’ll be able to speak with BA, the very few LHR-MLE seats left will be gone.
  Can I book the outbound online and then phone them in a couple of weeks to add SIN-LHR? (providing that the seats are still available of course…) Just for clarification the return seats are available already (<355 days away).
  Ta!

  • Rob says:

    22 Mar22 March 22:18

    Yes

    • HarryB. says:

      23 Mar23 March 01:34

      Thanks a million Rob, keep up the great work!

• mark2 says:

  22 Mar22 March 22:04

  Well, 362 comments on the new comment entry.
  How many were useful?

  • Freddy says:

    22 Mar22 March 22:29

    Dunno, don’t have the time or inclination to scroll through 76 pages of comments to find out

    • marcw says:

      23 Mar23 March 00:40

      Correct.

      • ChrisBCN says:

        24 Mar24 March 00:36

        Most of it was shoestring talking nonsense and then saying things to get a rise out of people…. Gotta feel sorry for the lonely old man.

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