After spending 11 hours in the plane (and another four hours in the airport and commuting to the Airports) I am finally home, completely wrecked and jet lagged. Nevertheless, the good news is that I have lots of good stuff to write about.
In case you were wondering why I was slacking off last week, I was actually reporting, and have to admit enjoying life in a real metro. Wow, London had this special buzz, which used to be sole purview of New York. Is London the new New York? (Travel tip: Virgin Atlantic is the only way to fly. The best flying experience thus far on transatlantic route.)
Among various articles planned, The State of The Euro Startup Scene, a video interview with Saul Klein, who is running Seedcamp, a European version of YCombinator, and an exclusive interview with Skype cofounder Niklas Zennstrom.
At FOWA, I met with some really cool companies, including XCalibre. (Read my post about them.) And of course there are updates on some of the more well known companies, like Jaiku. This is clearly going to be busy weekend!
Okay I am off to make some real coffee now, and see if I can push falling asleep for another six hours or so. Yankees are playing Cleveland, and not doing so well. Bummer!
RE: flying Virgin
You must have been in Upper Class for your Virgin flight. If so, then I whole heartedly agree! They really, really give you the red carpet treatment. From picking you up in a limo and checking you in while you’re still in the car at Heathrow to the best first class lounge ever, Virgin really knows how to pamper you.
If however, you were in economy/coach then I couldn’t disagree more. Coach on Virgin is so cramped you can’t even fit your knees in if you’re over 6 ft tall. It is freakin’ ridiculous.
In short, if you’re gonna fly Virgin…only Upper Class. Otherwise, you might as well check into the cargo hold.
premium economy was my mode of choice – it was pretty good. i really don’t have any complaints with the whole experience.
Two things Om:
1) I can’t believe the gods of Cleveland summoned a swarm of locusts to stop the Yankees.
2)United Business to LHR is just fine with me. I’m sure you fly enough to get 1K status and upgrade yourself for free. Do it!
Virgin Atlantic are the best for the transatlantic flights alright. I’ve gone with the likes of United and Delta recently and it is brutal… no personal monitors or choice on the viewing, and bad service. Regarding “is London the new New York”…? Well, that is a strange statement considering that London has been a major world city for over 1000 years. It’s so insanely expensive, but there are a lot of great Indian restaurants there which makes it worthwhile.
James I agree with you on VA vs the United Airlines. I am not surprised that most of the people I know prefer VA.
Anyway about the new NY statement, I felt a massive electricity in London, a new kind of vibe which was not there. And i mean it was everywhere. October is not exactly tourist season, and even so the city was throbbing.
Welcome back.
It is good have you back home safe.
And thanks for that tip about flying Virgin airways. I think you are right.
I am impressed by Richard Branson’s business acumen