Trip Reports - BOS-MIA-GRU-LHR-JNB-HKG OneWorld F

Well, I'm off on a long trip, fortunately all in OneWorld F, so should be OK. I will be editing and adding to this tale as I go on. Mostly random thoughts, but I will do my best.

BOS-MIA
Weather here in BOS is awful, but flights are on time. It is cold, dreary, snowy, drizzly. Fortunately, I am nice and warmly esconced in the "secret" FL in BOS, which if it wasn't for the good folks at FT, I would have never known about, since no-one at check in (pleasant and efficient, however), or at the AC entry (once again, pleasant and efficient) mentioned it to me. But no big deal. When I arrived, I was the only one here, and was given a tour of the facilities, which are small but very classy. It has three rooms, plus a business center, a TV room, showers, and good bathrooms.

I park myself in one of the nice rooms, and five minutes later this couple with three sub-teenage devil spawn decide to enter the lounge, and of course, sit themselves next to where I was, forcing me to move. Not a big deal, but a bit inconsiderate, in my opinion. Stay tuned for more.

What's the food situation in the FL? Lots of others talk about the sushi, but on both my revcent visits (about this time of day) the "food" is cheese/ fruit, and some not terribly attractive rollups with what appeared to be roast beef.

Suggestion: tell the teenagers that there's a great Playstation2 set-up in the BA lounge in the International Terminal.

The food is good at the BOS FL when they put it out for the evening flights.

I am not sure when the sushi and the hot niblets come out, but I suspect it's around 4 pm, as the place clears out by 6:30 when LHR boarding is complete.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by nologic:
The food is good at the BOS FL when they put it out for the evening flights.

I am not sure when the sushi and the hot niblets come out, but I suspect it's around 4 pm, as the place clears out by 6:30 when LHR boarding is complete.</font>

I am now in the MIA FL, which outside of it being outside (i.e. security) is quite pleasant. As for the food, in the BOS FL the person who gave me a tour said that they would be putting food out later, but I left before then, so didn't get to sample any. This was unfortunate, since in the BOS-MIA flight no food (except drinks and pretzels) was served. There is some sushi and other tidbits here at the MIA FL, but I will probably head out to the food court or something to look for some KFC or similar. Have a couple of hours to kill, so will probably relax and take a shower before boarding the 777 to GRU. This will be my first time in the Flagship Suite, and I will report back on that experience.

Well, I'm back after a brief sojourn outside the FL. This airport (MIA) is a dump. I hadn't been here in a while, and I guess I wasn't missing much. To paraphrase Dennis Farina, when referring to this airport's city, "this [place] gives me the shpilkes".

Back to the FL, took a good shower. Showers are nice and clean, and include a bathrobe, something I hadn't seen before. Mind you, this FL (or the one in BOS), aren't exactly BA First lounges (or even BA Terraces, or VS UC), but they are good enough to repeat the experience.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Pickles:

Well, I'm back after a brief sojourn outside the FL. </font>

Pardon my ignorance. For what is "FL" an abbreviation?

I read this as the AA Flagship Lounge (FL)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Buster CT1K:
Pardon my ignorance. For what is "FL" an abbreviation?</font>

FL = Flagship Lounge (of which there is one in MIA, FL). Anyway, flew MIA-GRU on a 777 with the Flagship Suites. Those things are nice. It turns into a fully flat bed, and the armrests can be lowered to have more room sideways. It reminds me of a more upscale version of the BA World Club alien pod (once I woke up in the middle of the flight in a BA WC flight, looked around and felt I was in some kind of alien incubating machine. I figured Sigourney Weaver would be showing up anytime soon in her underwear).

The service was good, a bit flaky, but warm. This is probably due to the crew being Santiago and BsAs based. Those noise cancelling headsets are excellent. The only major downsides of the whole experience was that the "cutlery" was all plastic, and that there are no PJs to switch into. I used some first generation VS UC ones (the early ones, that were more like sweatpants) and got some strange looks in the cabin.

Next time I think I'll take the JFK flight, since the Miami flight is only 7:30, not enough to get much sleep.

Off to GIG tomorrow on "business", and I will report on my next leg, GRU-LHR on BA First.

BOS FL's shower rooms also have the full towel set/etc. i was based in BOS so had only used it once, during the hot summer.

IMHO FL is better than BA Terraces, especially the ORD one.
the worst AA FL is the one in LHR, every time i went there the shower was broken (when i really needed it) and i was directly to a shabby room in the AC

the BA CW armrest does not lower, i think it is the major area for improvement.

in BA and CX F flights you board in your next few days, you will be collecting nice quality PJ's. make sure your hand carry has some room for them -- nice soveniours

you have planned your direction of travel very well, i have to say, because you next F flight will always be better than your previous one.
domestic AA F, int'l AA F, BA F, CX F. life will be getting better and better, precisely in that order :d


[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-05-2003).]

I am now in LHR, just got off a GIG-GRU-LHR in BA F. Some brief comments and comparisons:

In GIG, BA has a dedicated lounge for CW and one for F. The lounges are small, but well stocked. The one in F faces the tarmac, which is kind of nice. I waited in the lounge until I was called, at which point a BA staffer came to get me (and another guy in F) and walked us all the way to the gate. We were the last to board. I was greeted by name upon reaching my sea (my slave name, which is the sweetest sound, and not "Pickles." Only Mrs. Pickles calls me that).

(2) The service on board was very good. I was attended to by a British FA of Asian descent (I'd say she was Korean, by the look), and she was great. Also, they had a couple of senior people on board that were very professional. One of them had been with BA for 34 years, and this was his last flight before retiring. He was very British and very good. At the flight arrival, they blocked off the aisles until all F passengers had disembarked. I have seen this before, and I think it is a nice touch, although some people might view it as hierarchical, retrograde, reactionary, and not in keeping with the spirit of democracy. Grin and bear it, I say.

(3) The PJs were nice, but not as nice as the original VS UC PJs. Eyeshades, VS UC wins hands down. The amenity kit was a very substantial cosmetics kit from some high falutin British cosmetic shop. There was a nice spray that you could spray on your pillow that would help you sleep. I don't know if it was that, the seat, the chamomille tea, or the fact that I was tired (Rio can wear anybody out, even on business), but I slept very well for about 7 hours. The female kit was by Dr. Hauschka, some high falutin German cosmetics company. Mrs. Pickles loves that krep, so I asked if they had a female kit to take to Mrs. Pickles. The FA looked around, and said they were all out. She also looked in the CW bag, which is by Molton Brown (another Mrs. Pickles favorite), but they had none left. In my LHR-JNB leg I will ask for the female kit up front, even if I get a weird look.

(4) I didn't eat too much ( I never do on planes), but the food was good, especially the chocolate dessert. They had chamomille tea with honey, which was classy. The orange juice was freshly squeezed (you'd expect that, coming out of Brazil). Interestingly, the AA FL in BOS also had freshly squeezed OJ, which for Boston in the middle of winter is above and beyond the call of duty.

(5) The seat is quite comfy, similar to the AA Flagship Suite, although the AA seat is more technically advanced (armrests lower, it swivels). However, the finishes in the BA seat (and F cabin overall) are nicer. Lots of noise dampening carpet (even in the bathroom, which also had some of the fake wood veneer paneling), and plenty of space to put stuff.

(6) The plane was a four class configuration 777 (F, CW alien pods, WT+, and WT), with the CW occupying the largest piece of real estate. The WT section was small, although it probably carried the largest number of passengers. There were 3 F rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. The plane was packed to the gills in all classes.

i think the amenities in F are tightly controlled. you may have to make the request for an extra set at check-in (not at the gate), or call BA to make that special request. J kits are in abundent supply, as the cost is a lot lower.

(i know this is so for CX, as i had seen the ISM (lady in black, head of the FA) count, sign and seal the package a few hours before landing, i also saw the form she filled)

if your jnb-hkg flight is on the new CX F (i guess there are still a few planes with old setting?), i bet you would wish you were on HKG-(YYZ/LAX/SFO/JFK)-BOS on your way back http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-11-2003).]

I also agree that the AA Flagship suites are technically better. The food on BA in first is immensely better as AA international service has become quite "predictable" with regards to their boring food selection in first.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pegasus8228:
i think the amenities in F are tightly controlled. you may have to make the request for an extra set at check-in (not at the gate), or call BA to make that special request. J kits are in abundent supply, as the cost is a lot lower.

(i know this is so for CX, as i had seen the ISM (lady in black, head of the FA) count, sign and seal the package a few hours before landing, i also saw the form she filled)

if your jnb-hkg flight is on the new CX F (i guess there are still a few planes with old setting?), i bet you would wish you were on HKG-(YYZ/LAX/SFO/JFK)-BOS on your way back http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-11-2003).]</font>

Possibly, but the FA seemed quite chipper about finding one for me. Of course, she might have just been nice, with no intention of meeting my request. But it was a good way of handling it. On my next leg I'll ask for a female kit instead of a male one. That way, I'm only taking one kit away, just the wrong gender, because I'm not really interested in a double freebie (there's enough junk at home of this sort already). Of course, if, as you suggest, this is done pre-boarding depending on the passenger list, then I'm SOL anyway.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Pickles:
Possibly, but the FA seemed quite chipper about finding one for me. </font>The First Bag's are quite expensive for BA. I've been told about USD 50 per bag. The case is made by Anya Hindmarch and a similar case is sold in stores for USD 150 (I kid you not!). I've got about 20 of the bags (I fly BA a fair bit and they make nice presents, it is the only amenity kit that I always collect), often BA will have 90% male kits (I think they match the loading to the passenger manifest) but most of the time it is possible to get the female kit (which is nicer, btw). For more about this designer see http://www.anyahindmarch.com

Now in JNB, after a wonderful flight with BA. Some comments:

(1) I had a meeting in London (that's why I went GIG-GRU-LHR-JNB instead of the substantially more reasonable GIG-GRU-JNB) so upon arrival headed on to the BA Arrivals lounge. I have been there a number of times, and it is fine, but the shower rooms are small, and there is no shampoo, only the bath gel. Of course, this was exactly the time when I forgot my shampoo in the hotel in Rio. I also forgot my electric shaver, which posed a trickier problem. Fortunately, I had taken the F BAg with me, and it had a shaving kit. It was the first time I had shaved using a razor since the early days about 300 years ago when my father taught me (read: early puberty). It is indeed a close shave, but it just takes too long. But I digress.

(2) Upon returning to the airport, just headed into the secure area and into the lounge pavillion by Gate 10 in T4. Question for the experts: why is there a separate Concorde and First lounge, if as a F passenger you can use either. I know the Concorde lounge is also the gate to the Concorde flights, but why not make it the Concorde/First lounge? I went down to the Molton Brown place (first time I actually had enough time) and signed up for one of the eucalyptus steam baths. Had to wait about 20 minutes, but the stuff was great. Very invigorating, and just the right thing before the long flight to JNB.

(3) The service and food on board were excellent. The crew was all very senior (and male), and I was addressed by name throughout the flight. The only hitch is that they had not distributed the sleeping pillows, and they had to get one from the roof storage in the galley.

(4) The plane was a 744, and I've never seen this before, but one of the F bathrooms had a window! I went to the loo when were still at the gate, and I could see that the ground crew could see me. Very unusual. The F cabin was about half full, and I didn't check the rest of the plane, which had CW upstairs. The flight was very bumpy overall (I don't think it could be helped, since traffic to Africa is not that heavy, and thus not a lot of information exists from other planes as to what altitudes work best), so I didn't get much sleep, and ended up watching movies instead.

(5) As to the saga of getting a female BAg, I asked them to get me one, and one materialized right away. It still unopened and is a present for Mrs. Pickles. I was worried, since there was a woman on board (who, coincidentally, I happen to know from my prior job).

(6) Arrival was very smooth and on time, and as usual, the SA customs guys don't really care about collecting forms.

Overall a very nice flight, up there with some of the best transpacific flights I've been on.

[This message has been edited by Pickles (edited 01-11-2003).]

shampoo, toothbrush/paste are available from the 'shower-room attendent'/MB agent.

sometimes they ask you, sometimes you have to ask.
(in the wing at hkg, they are placed inside the cabana/etc)

they also give you small bottles refreshing spray, MB branded, (similar to Evian spray with fragrant).

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-12-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pegasus8228:
shampoo, toothbrush/paste are available from the 'shower-room attendent'/MB agent.

sometimes they ask you, sometimes you have to ask.
(in the wing at hkg, they are placed inside the cabana/etc)</font>

Good to know. At the MB Spa, they brought out some toiletries automatically.

number_6, where did you get that user name? Is that in reference to Nr. 6 Louisburg Square? If this doesn't mean anything to you, then ignore this question...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Pickles:

(2)Question for the experts: why is there a separate Concorde and First lounge, if as a F passenger you can use either.</font>The Concorde Room is the real F lounge, the F lounge is for non-F passengers who are Emerald to use. You must be flying BA in F in order to use the Concorde Room. Slightly better food, much better wine (probably triple the wine budget), internet terminals that are available, free fax sending and receiving to anywhere in the world, great coffee, lots of little touches that make the Concorde Room much more pleasant than the F lounge. But the F lounge stocks JW Blue so BA isn't being stingy, it is a nice lounge.

Was your Eucalyptus steam bath your one free MB treatment or was there a charge? It has never been working when I am there (twice they had no hot water for the showers, I guess I have bad luck as they said it had never happened before, except it was twice for me).

The African flights are bumpy due to all the storms that form around the equator. There are about a dozen planes flying in loose formation from Europe to JNB/CPT (once I even saw another 744 while inflight). The planes chat with each other a lot, partly due to the lack of air traffic control over most of Africa. If you track your flight on the map (on the IFE) you will see there are almost always diversions to get around the worst of the storms (sometimes quite large diversions).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Pickles:
number_6, where did you get that user name? Is that in reference to Nr. 6 Louisburg Square?</font>It is from "The Prisoner", a TV show from the sixties starring Patrick McGoohan. When I fly most airlines, I feel like number_6. If you want to learn more, see http://www.the-prisoner-6.freeserve.co.uk/

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by number_6:

The Concorde Room is the real F lounge, the F lounge is for non-F passengers who are Emerald to use. You must be flying BA in F in order to use the Concorde Room. Slightly better food, much better wine (probably triple the wine budget), internet terminals that are available, free fax sending and receiving to anywhere in the world, great coffee, lots of little touches that make the Concorde Room much more pleasant than the F lounge. But the F lounge stocks JW Blue so BA isn't being stingy, it is a nice lounge.

Was your Eucalyptus steam bath your one free MB treatment or was there a charge? It has never been working when I am there (twice they had no hot water for the showers, I guess I have bad luck as they said it had never happened before, except it was twice for me).
</font>

The MB steam bath room was free (or at least I wasn't charged!). I also agree that the Concorde lounge is nicer. Fortunately for me (and not so fortunate for the people that subsidize my travel), everytime I have had a chance to use a lounge (any lounge) in the T4 Gate 10 area I have been able to use the Concorde lounge.

I don't drink wine (and rarely alcohol, especially when I am flying), so the wine budgets are lost on me. There are three internet terminals in the Concorde lounge, and none in the F lounge. Everytime I've been there they've been fairly occupied, so I'll go to the business center and use one of the half dozen terminals available there instead.

Also I guess the No. 6 reference is not the one I was thinking of...

[This message has been edited by Pickles (edited 01-12-2003).]

An update on the ongoing travel. Arrived today into HKG from JNB via CX F. Some comparos between CX and BA (AA is already a clear third in this race).

(1) On the ground. Check-in was smooth, but not particularly fancy. Was given a pass to the Terraces lounge in JNB, which was nothing to write about. Full of kids running around (which mercifully left soon after I arrived). The SA lounges looked much nicer (with their own private check-in facing the outside of the airport!). CX and SA codeshare in this route, so I imagine if you are flying on a SA ticket, you'd get access to these apparently far superior lounges.

Plane was pretty full in coach, and about 30% load in F. Boarding appeared to be chaotic, but they actually had personnel controlling the crowds by lining them up at the gate according to row number. They even had signs for each row and they would direct the people to each line. Well done. I just zoomed in with a "Welcome sir". Upon entering the plane, was led to my seat by a FA, who asked me if I wanted a drink. Asked for OJ, which was NOT freshly squeezed. Came with some sub-par canapes. However, the OJ once airborne was freshly squeezed. Go figure.

BA vs CX: Slight edge for BA.

(2) The plane. I gather CX is running their older 744s to JNB (not as competitive as the other CX routes, apparently). The plane was a bit rundown and ratty, with lots of obvious dings and scratches. This plane was fully painted on the outside with cartoon characters, so it must have been a "special" one once. The seat was fine, and everything worked OK, even the noise cancelling headsets. The armrest came down, like the AA seat. This was nice. The J section looked pretty run of the mill, no new space pod seats or anything, just regular seats. Not very appealing.

BA vs CX: Slight edge for BA, except for the lousy BA headphones.


(3) Amenity kits. The BAg is a much finer piece of glitz than the La Prairie stuff that CX distributes. However, the CX PJs and slippers are definitely nicer. No socks, though.

BA vs CX: Even, with the amenity kit round going to BA, and the rest going to CX.

(4) Food. Good caviar (lots of it), excellent food, good port wine, and top champagne. The food portions were generous, well cooked, and well presented. The only discordant touch were the plastic knives, to go along with the heavy cutlery and the cut crystal glasses and cups. It is a JNB-HKG flight, for God's sake. Does paranoia have to extend to otherwise civilized regions of the planet? What's the story? Some guys plowing the plane into the Bank of China building?

BA vs CX: CX by a dozen furlongs.

(5) On board service. CX wins hands down. Always addresed by name, attentive (perhaps too attentive) service througout, drinks refreshed through entire flight, etc.

(6) Arrival lounge. Arrival lounge? We need no stinking arrival lounge! Maybe people in HK like to look like sheize at their first meeting of the day, after getting off a 12 hour flight. Maybe its a cultural thing. BA takes this prize.

Overall: I'd give CX the edge, but BA does a nice showing. AA is far behind, their nicer seat included.

[This message has been edited by Pickles (edited 01-28-2003).]

thx pickle for the nice reports.
your comments are entirely consistent with my experience.
cx ground service is weak outside HKG in general (the exception is probably yvr/tpe and a few other ports), but the HKG check in is the best in the world http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

btw, are you staying in HKG for chinese new year? and taking CX back to US?
your thread title seems to indicate the trip ends in HKG....

The SA F lounge is truly a work of art, and jealously guarded by SAA as their one advantage. It is built with beautiful wood (for those who like the look of exotic african woods that aren't on the endangered species list) and has a fine dining room. Maybe the finest lounge in the world, partly because it is so exclusive and because they have so few guests (maybe 1% the passenger volume of the Concorde Room at LHR or the Wing in HKG). Lavishly catered (much better than the on-board food in F). If only SAA was half as good as an airline as this magnificent lounge is (I have hopes that they will recover from the pillaging of the past few years).
The BA BaG is well done (and quite expensive for BA), also the BA eyeshades are the nicest of any airline (very soft terry and excellent at blocking the light). But the CX pyjamas are far better (plus last longer). However I've recently learned that the CX amenity kit has a pen in it (something I didn't notice, and a nice touch).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pegasus8228:
thx pickle for the nice reports.
your comments are entirely consistent with my experience.
cx ground service is weak outside HKG in general (the exception is probably yvr/tpe and a few other ports), but the HKG check in is the best in the world http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

btw, are you staying in HKG for chinese new year? and taking CX back to US?
your thread title seems to indicate the trip ends in HKG....</font>

I do have the HKG-BOS ticket, but I'm likely to start the other way at some point, circle the globe and end up back in HKG, and then return to the US on that coupon. No date set yet, so trip "officially" ends here.

Thanks very much for the time and effort that you put into this - I really enjoyed reading it.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by number_6:
The BA BaG is well done (and quite expensive for BA), also the BA eyeshades are the nicest of any airline (very soft terry and excellent at blocking the light). But the CX pyjamas are far better (plus last longer). However I've recently learned that the CX amenity kit has a pen in it (something I didn't notice, and a nice touch).</font>

Mine didn't come with a pen. It came with a silver money clip, which is of no use to me, since I don't carry wads of bills around to need one. I'd would have liked the pen. Anybody interested in a swap?

Really nice report!!!!

Thanks for taking the time!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by number_6:
[B]The SA F lounge is truly a work of art, and jealously guarded by SAA as their one advantage. It is built with beautiful wood (for those who like the look of exotic african woods that aren't on the endangered species list) and has a fine dining room. Maybe the finest lounge in the world, partly because it is so exclusive and because they have so few guests (maybe 1% the passenger volume of the Concorde Room at LHR or the Wing in HKG). Lavishly catered (much better than the on-board food in F). If only SAA was half as good as an airline as this magnificent lounge is (I have hopes that they will recover from the pillaging of the past few years)B]</font>

I certainly agree that the SA F-lounge in JNB is amazingly nice. Such a nice decor and athmosphere... And the nice Menu.... Whow.... bringing back memories from visits there last year....

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pegasus8228:
i think the amenities in F are tightly controlled. you may have to make the request for an extra set at check-in (not at the gate), or call BA to make that special request. J kits are in abundent supply, as the cost is a lot lower.

(i know this is so for CX, as i had seen the ISM (lady in black, head of the FA) count, sign and seal the package a few hours before landing, i also saw the form she filled)
</font>

certainly not true on CX... Many times have I asked for extra amenities inflight to take home with me with no problem at all.. a few times I've asked for 2 or 3 extra PJ's and amenity kits and the FA's just give them to me....