headinclouds
Oct 19, 03, 11:43 am
Last April I bought a Oneworld Explorer around the world ticket with help from friends in the Oneworld forum that would begin in Egypt. So, how to get to Egypt with the least cash or miles? After much deliberations, settled on a Oneworld business class award ticket for 90,000 FF miles and almost 10,000 actual flight miles. The routing was Washington-New York-Toronto on AA, then Toronto-London-Cairo on BA, open jaw (really the 1st flight of my RTW ticket back to London) and lastly London-Dublin-Baltimore on EI. Egypt is an oddity, sometimes in Europe and sometimes in the Middle East. For the paid ticket, it is considered Europe, but for award tickets it is the Middle East, i.e. more FF miles for an award. Since the Oneworld award is mileage based and not region based there are some very nice advantages, especially from the eastern coast of the USA. My own experiences indicate that award seats are easier to get this way compared to the region based awards. The big drawback is that once ticketed, no changes to routing or carriers are allowed, though date/time changes are free for premium class awards.
So in September I made a booking that departed the USA on Thursday arriving Friday at midnight in Cairo. I planned to spend 3 days there before departing early Tuesday morning. Although there was a 7 hour stopover in London, the BA flat bed across the pond was the reason for the convoluted routing above. One week before departing I decided to get my delayed 6-month dental checkup. As usual, my jaw was hurting a bit. Since my dentist and I agreed that this always happens before a long or exotic trip, we just assume that it is pre-trip jitters. Pain slowly gets worse during the weekend. My dentist says to call an endodontic specialist. 3 days before flying does not bode well for this trip. Well, 3 hours later and much poorer, I have had an emergency root canal that got rid of the bad stuff, but has to be finished 2 weeks later. Now I have 2.5 days to recover. Al is going well until the night before departure and the pain resurfaces in an intense way. Oh, that happens all the time says the dentist. Great. I am not about to get on an airplane with narcotic pain killers. Time to see if the executive platinum desk is worthy of its reputation. And the answer is yes. After checking what was available on the key London-Cairo sector, I was able to delay the trip to Sunday arriving in Cairo Monday night. A 6.5 hour stay at the airport was not my idea of fun, but it was that or cancel everything. I had to accept a downgrade to coach for London-Cairo, but could try to be seated in business once in London. Another 3 days to get better and I was OK by Sunday. Onwards to the flights.
Left my house about 9am and 40 minutes later I had been checked in after the subway trip to DCA airport. It is annoying to arrive 1.5 hours before flight departure and using only 5 minutes to check in and go thru security. I walked thru with my shoes on and no hassles. I enter the Admirals club when the agent told me that my DCA-LGA flight was delayed and that I should go back out to the ticket counter and get rebooked, though I could leave my carryon in the lounge. No way. Another call to the executive platinum desk. The agent was able to rebook me DCA-ORD-YYZ, but if I took the flight that left in 20 minutes, then it would have to be in coach. It was worth a try to go to the gate and see if they would accept my old boarding passes and just give me new ones. A quick jog to the gate and the gate agent knew that I was coming and all was OK. The plus side is that my connection to Toronto was in Chicago where I could use the Flagship lounge instead of the AC at LGA. Never again will I book a DCA-LGA flight. 3 out 3 flights have had problems. No such problems, DCA-JFK. Even though I had a middle seat on an F-100, that was much better than any seat on an RJ or even any seat in coach on a BA 747. On board, it was beverage service, so what can you say. I expected a filthy plane as many AA FF’ers had complained. Not this time, nor on my other F-100 plane from ORD to YYZ. Since the sky was clear most of the trip, there were some good views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline on the approach to ORD.
Arrival was at K-19 and the terminal map showed the Flagship lounge nearby. Since I had never been there before, the entrance was discreetly hidden. Once inside the lounge was very nice. As it was only noon when I arrived, there were only 2 other patrons. Tea sandwiches, fresh fruit and veggie crudités, and open bar was nice. There were the California and French versions of Piper champagne. Not in the same league as London’s lounges or Hong Kong’s lounges but not shabby at all. And one can do some plane spotting from the chairs. About an hour later I check the status of the ORD-YYZ flight. The gate has been changed to K-17, just outside the door of the lounge. No need to leave early. Another beverage service F-100 flight, even though I was in the first/business class seat. The F-100 has the best coach and the worst first seat of AA narrow body planes. This flight had maybe 20 people in coach and 3 in first, where as the DCA-ORD was almost 100% full. Had to wait on the tarmac about 20 minutes for some unknown reason, but the flight arrived only 5 minutes late due to tail winds. I had hoped that there would be a sterile intl transfer lane, but alas no. So I had to clear immigration and customs and get rescreened to go to the departure gates, even though I already had my BA boarding pass. I did have plenty of time, about 4 hours and I was in the BA lounge within 30 minutes of deplaning.
The BA lounge in Toronto, once you find it, is a scaled down version of the Terraces lounge concept. The map to the lounge given during check-in is wrong. Had to ask at the duty free shops where it was located. About half of the lounge is allocated to pre-flight dining for premium class travelers. My inquiry about pre-flight dining in the BA forum was not encouraging. I disagree with those posters. There were 3 main buffet dishes, 2 salads, several types of breads, soup, cheese, fruit, and deserts. I tried the braised beef dish and the vegetarian lasagna. Beef dish was good, the lasagna had some bitter eggplant in it. Salads were fresh and had good variety of mixed greens. The roasted root vegetables were tasty but a wee bit stewed. The soup, red pepper bisque, was excellent. I believe that the quality of the food in the lounge was as good as that served onboard. By eating before boarding the plane, one has time to digest and sleep better, my primary goal. And I had an extra hour to wait as the plane was late in leaving London, so eating dinner at 10 PM onboard was not my cup of tea. I had an upper deck window seat facing backwards on this overnight flight (50% occupied). Since I told the FA I ate in the lounge, I was not having supper. I had to ask for my champagne nightcap though. I think it was the Charles Heidsieck brand. One sour note. One of the FA had a intense perfume that could gag a maggot. This is the 2nd time in my last 4 BA flights. Should I complain to BA? Since Finding Nemo was on the movie list, I watched that hoping to lull me to sleep. Enjoyed the movie very much, especially with my Bose headphones. Why none of the other oneworld airlines have good noise canceling headphones is a mystery to me. Although the BA seat is flat, it is a bit hard. That plus the fact that I forgot to raise my footstool caused a gap between the bed and footstool. Not a comfortable sleeping position. The arrival into LHR, although 45 minutes late, was during a gap in arrivals. It was quicker to NOT use the fast track immigration lane. Dashed over to the arrivals lounge, had a shower and quick breakfast before having my spa treatment. By now it was almost noon and my Cairo departure at 5 PM precluded any trips to central London. So back to the departure lounges for the next 4 hours.
Traversing the T4 departures area of BA at noon, it is a wonder that they manage to check-in so many people in such a short time. I would hate to use the coach check-in lines. One could make a bundle selling snacks to those waiting in line. I already had my coach boarding pass for the next segment but could not use the fast track security lanes. Thorough and quick even with about 10 or so in front of me. T4 has 2 lounge pavilions and I never remember which one had the Concorde room. That pavilion had better facilities, IMHO. Chose wrong so had to back track to the other end of the terminal. I first went to the first class lounge, but the sanctuary was in the business lounge so trooped upstairs. Not a very relaxing place so I returned to the first class lounge. I must agree with some of the BA forum regulars that the first class lounge is not as nice as it could be. All those business men (maybe 3 women in the whole lounge) all yakking on their cell phones, even in the quiet area. It was very hectic and crowded. I know that these travelers spend a lot of money using BA, but a lounge is a place to relax folks. I did not discover until it was too late that there is a soup and salad menu that one can order from and eat at the café part of the lounge. At least the champagne was good, I think Perrier Jouet. I tried at ever opportunity to see if I could get that business class seat, even at the gate. It did not matter as all business class seats were sold, but I had an empty coach seat beside me.
BA coach on a 747 is not a pretty sight. I knew that the seat pitch was tight, but even in the High Life magazine, it is listed as 31 inches. Give me an AA MRTC seat on a 767 or 777 any day. The soft drinks are those 6 oz mini cans not the usual 12 oz size. The dinner meal was tasty and better than AA. I had the psuedo chicken rice curry with cucumber riata instead of the beef stew although it did look good. At first I thought the extra packaging was wasteful until I realized that the contents were fresher than the usual way of serving coach meals. Another drawback was the condition of the lav’s. I tried 3 different ones and there was always some part of the lav that was in disrepair. I seldom see that on AA’s fleet. I did not focus too much on FA service as jet lag was starting to hit me. Boring flight which is good. The best landing ever at Cairo. Did not hear or feel the touchdown only the engines reversing. Getting a visa at the airport is easy, $15 US only and they give you 2 stamps to put in your passport. The exchange rate was good at the airport, so I doubt that one needs an ATM right away. Plenty of touts, but when I told them I was there for only 6 hours, they tried once, shrugged and walked away.
Because I was returning to London on this very same plane within 8 hours, I decided to wait at the airport. I had a book, a liter of water, and $10 worth of local currency for snacks. Forget the snacks, there are only 1 or 2 shops open 24 hours with nothing of interest to sell. I think it was the bright flood lights in the waiting area that gave it a parking lot feel. But nobody tried to hassle or hustle you. Even with doors open to the outside, it was surprising pleasant inside with few smokers. Would I do it again? No. Get an airport hotel room even if only for 5 or 6 hours. Once the BA ticket office opened, I decided it was time to check in. One clears security before the check-in counters. Some fellow in a ‘uniform’ led me to the security area for BA and asked for money. I said for what? I had 2 50 pts notes (about 16 cents) I just gave him that to get away. Check in was over in 20 seconds and I was off to the Egyptian Air Services first class lounge, shared with many airlines. It had some sweet pastries, coffee, tea, juice and comfy soft chairs. After 6 hours on hard metal benches, that was a luxury. There were some duty free shops but mostly imports at hard currency prices and rates. I was intrigued with the thought of Egyptian wine, but there was too much dust on the bottles even for my low threshold. Another screening and hand search of baggage (unzip main compartment and move hand thru some stuff) just before boarding, the 1st flight of my RTW ticket.
BA first class Cairo to London. I remember being under whelmed by BA’s first class service in the past. On CX, you notice the difference between first and business class. On QF, I don’t think there is any difference except a bed instead of a seat. On BA, I have heard that it can be sublime with the right crew. On this short flight I saw hints of that sublime service attitude that devotees refer to. The FA’s on this flight seem to anticipate one needs. Very professional, considering that first class was 100% full. The downside was there were no duvets, let alone sleeper suits. Too short of a flight. 5 hour scheduled flying time, too short? But they did find some extra pillows which helped. The amenity kits are the same in both first and business class. Nice selection of Molton Brown products in a stylish case with hand/lip balms and mouthwash/toothpaste. The brunch menu was well designed, with a traditional brunch items and not so traditional items. I had prawns in coconut curry sauce on a bed of taboule(??). I was skeptical, but it was very good. I think BA has a run on Heidsieck champagnes, as this was a Charles Heidsieck vintage. The white wine selections include a white Bordeaux, a Sancerre, and a California chardonnay. None had been chilled, but I tried the Sancerre. It was pleasant. I do not remember much about the reds other than a 96 Bordeaux and a California Pinot Noir. None seem to go with the food though and I did not taste any of them. Ennui set in so I had a snooze for about an hour or so. The first class bed is much better than the business class bed. I have changed my opinion on the merits of BA first versus business. For flights from North America, business would be OK because of pre-flight dining and the short duration from the eastern part. More than 7 or 8 hours overnight, go for first class.
Even with a noon arrival, the arrivals lounge is still open. Had to wait almost an hour for a spa treatment, but after my long shower and repacking my carryon the hour passed quickly. The hot breakfast section was closed at that time, but all other food items were available. The spa worker was surprised when I showed up 2 days in a row for a treatment. I guess she did not believe me when I said I would return the next day. Another relaxing facial. It is a tossup between facials and foot massages. You can keep your neck and shoulder rubs. Bought a 6 zone travel card and was at my Pimlico B & B by 2:30 on Tuesday. After settling in and changing some US $ to pounds, rode the trusty #24 bus up to Leicester Square and half price theatre tickets. Always more shows then time to see them all. Chose a comedy/drama, stones in his pockets. 2 actors playing 15 characters in a rural Irish town when a movie comes to film on location. A rather long day and when I return to my B&B, I did not know that I was about to sleep for almost 10 hours.
Sunny and breezy for the entire 3 days that I was in London. Another trip to Leicester Square for tickets. The musical Anything Goes had stall seats but in the front rows. A trip to the box office and I bought a front row balcony seat where one must lean forward to see over the railing. For 10 GBP, why not? Later that night when I arrived I received an upgraded ticket to the upper circle, with 2 empty rows in front of me. Spent the afternoon wandering around Hampstead Heath taking advantage of the delightful weather.
Up and out by 8:40 AM the next day for the trip back to the USA via Dublin. I had to wait for the 3rd train from Pimlico station as all trains were packed to the gills. Quick trip to Green Park and transfer to the Piccadilly line to LHR arriving at 9:50. I only had 40 minutes to check-in and get to gate 88, a long way away with no fast track in this part of T1. Although the line was long, I was thru security in about 10 minutes. This part of T1 at LHR is a disgrace. Looks like a temporary shed with very few seats and little room to move about. The EI lounge is basic with drinks and cheese/biscuits and nothing else except big armchairs to sit in. My flight to Dublin had gone from an A-320 to a 737 to a BAE 146. After a 10 minute delay in boarding I was in seat 1A on the 2 side of the 2 x 3 seating. Just a glorified RJ. Sat on the tarmac for about 20 minutes when the pilot advises us that there is a mechanical problem. Dublin has to decide what action to take. After sitting there for about an hour, the pilot tells us that a part is on its way and the flight will go at 2 PM. That’s 30 minutes after my connecting flight leaves Dublin. The whole plane is furious as many want to run over to the flight that will leave in about 15 minutes. The agent in the lounge calls up to the ticket office and explains that EI will rebook me on the BA nonstop to BWI. I hope that 1:20 minutes is enough time to get the ticket endorsed over to BA and get over to T4. After 10 minutes of typing I have my BA ticket and rush down to the Heathrow Express, just missing a train. This is going to be mad dash as I had to check in at BA. Good for me that my AA status allowed me to use the first class check-in. Check-in is over in 1 minute including a call to the gate to see if I have enough time. Arrive at the gate 19, one of the farthest away, just as boarding commences.
BA 229 to BWI is a 767 with the old cradle seats in business class. Coach was almost full, business about 50% full, and a few in first. Yes, there were first class sleeper seats on this plane. The AA business class seats on a 767 are vastly superior. The IFE screen was a tiny 3” screen and only 8 channels of video/audio. The coach cabin did not even have a movie as many parts of the IFE on this plane were not working. The CSD had complaint forms for those who wished to complete one. The FA’s in my cabin were friendly and attentive. The lunch menu had beef filet, chicken curry, poached salmon, or mushroom & cheese salad. I chose the beef, but it was well done and lacked flavor. The side dishes were fine as was the salad and starter of shrimps. Passed on the chocolate trifle and had some fruits for desert. Same champagne as on the Toronto flight with 2 whites (Pouilly Fume and CA Chardonnay) and 2 reds (99 St. Emmillon and CA Syrah). Sampled all of the wines except the Chardonnay and found them to be good, but no wow factor. The pre-landing afternoon tea had tea sandwiches (either chicken & egg or salmon & cucumber) plus a scone with clotted cream and fruit cake. I now know where all those Christmas fruit cakes go, to BA business class snacks. Arrived on time in BWI even though we had to wait to offload a no-show’s luggage in London. Was thru customs and immigration in 10 minutes, then caught the Metro bus to the Greenbelt Metro station and was home in just over an hour.
Considering all that happened during these 5 days of travel, it was a smooth trip. Hope you enjoy my report.
So in September I made a booking that departed the USA on Thursday arriving Friday at midnight in Cairo. I planned to spend 3 days there before departing early Tuesday morning. Although there was a 7 hour stopover in London, the BA flat bed across the pond was the reason for the convoluted routing above. One week before departing I decided to get my delayed 6-month dental checkup. As usual, my jaw was hurting a bit. Since my dentist and I agreed that this always happens before a long or exotic trip, we just assume that it is pre-trip jitters. Pain slowly gets worse during the weekend. My dentist says to call an endodontic specialist. 3 days before flying does not bode well for this trip. Well, 3 hours later and much poorer, I have had an emergency root canal that got rid of the bad stuff, but has to be finished 2 weeks later. Now I have 2.5 days to recover. Al is going well until the night before departure and the pain resurfaces in an intense way. Oh, that happens all the time says the dentist. Great. I am not about to get on an airplane with narcotic pain killers. Time to see if the executive platinum desk is worthy of its reputation. And the answer is yes. After checking what was available on the key London-Cairo sector, I was able to delay the trip to Sunday arriving in Cairo Monday night. A 6.5 hour stay at the airport was not my idea of fun, but it was that or cancel everything. I had to accept a downgrade to coach for London-Cairo, but could try to be seated in business once in London. Another 3 days to get better and I was OK by Sunday. Onwards to the flights.
Left my house about 9am and 40 minutes later I had been checked in after the subway trip to DCA airport. It is annoying to arrive 1.5 hours before flight departure and using only 5 minutes to check in and go thru security. I walked thru with my shoes on and no hassles. I enter the Admirals club when the agent told me that my DCA-LGA flight was delayed and that I should go back out to the ticket counter and get rebooked, though I could leave my carryon in the lounge. No way. Another call to the executive platinum desk. The agent was able to rebook me DCA-ORD-YYZ, but if I took the flight that left in 20 minutes, then it would have to be in coach. It was worth a try to go to the gate and see if they would accept my old boarding passes and just give me new ones. A quick jog to the gate and the gate agent knew that I was coming and all was OK. The plus side is that my connection to Toronto was in Chicago where I could use the Flagship lounge instead of the AC at LGA. Never again will I book a DCA-LGA flight. 3 out 3 flights have had problems. No such problems, DCA-JFK. Even though I had a middle seat on an F-100, that was much better than any seat on an RJ or even any seat in coach on a BA 747. On board, it was beverage service, so what can you say. I expected a filthy plane as many AA FF’ers had complained. Not this time, nor on my other F-100 plane from ORD to YYZ. Since the sky was clear most of the trip, there were some good views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline on the approach to ORD.
Arrival was at K-19 and the terminal map showed the Flagship lounge nearby. Since I had never been there before, the entrance was discreetly hidden. Once inside the lounge was very nice. As it was only noon when I arrived, there were only 2 other patrons. Tea sandwiches, fresh fruit and veggie crudités, and open bar was nice. There were the California and French versions of Piper champagne. Not in the same league as London’s lounges or Hong Kong’s lounges but not shabby at all. And one can do some plane spotting from the chairs. About an hour later I check the status of the ORD-YYZ flight. The gate has been changed to K-17, just outside the door of the lounge. No need to leave early. Another beverage service F-100 flight, even though I was in the first/business class seat. The F-100 has the best coach and the worst first seat of AA narrow body planes. This flight had maybe 20 people in coach and 3 in first, where as the DCA-ORD was almost 100% full. Had to wait on the tarmac about 20 minutes for some unknown reason, but the flight arrived only 5 minutes late due to tail winds. I had hoped that there would be a sterile intl transfer lane, but alas no. So I had to clear immigration and customs and get rescreened to go to the departure gates, even though I already had my BA boarding pass. I did have plenty of time, about 4 hours and I was in the BA lounge within 30 minutes of deplaning.
The BA lounge in Toronto, once you find it, is a scaled down version of the Terraces lounge concept. The map to the lounge given during check-in is wrong. Had to ask at the duty free shops where it was located. About half of the lounge is allocated to pre-flight dining for premium class travelers. My inquiry about pre-flight dining in the BA forum was not encouraging. I disagree with those posters. There were 3 main buffet dishes, 2 salads, several types of breads, soup, cheese, fruit, and deserts. I tried the braised beef dish and the vegetarian lasagna. Beef dish was good, the lasagna had some bitter eggplant in it. Salads were fresh and had good variety of mixed greens. The roasted root vegetables were tasty but a wee bit stewed. The soup, red pepper bisque, was excellent. I believe that the quality of the food in the lounge was as good as that served onboard. By eating before boarding the plane, one has time to digest and sleep better, my primary goal. And I had an extra hour to wait as the plane was late in leaving London, so eating dinner at 10 PM onboard was not my cup of tea. I had an upper deck window seat facing backwards on this overnight flight (50% occupied). Since I told the FA I ate in the lounge, I was not having supper. I had to ask for my champagne nightcap though. I think it was the Charles Heidsieck brand. One sour note. One of the FA had a intense perfume that could gag a maggot. This is the 2nd time in my last 4 BA flights. Should I complain to BA? Since Finding Nemo was on the movie list, I watched that hoping to lull me to sleep. Enjoyed the movie very much, especially with my Bose headphones. Why none of the other oneworld airlines have good noise canceling headphones is a mystery to me. Although the BA seat is flat, it is a bit hard. That plus the fact that I forgot to raise my footstool caused a gap between the bed and footstool. Not a comfortable sleeping position. The arrival into LHR, although 45 minutes late, was during a gap in arrivals. It was quicker to NOT use the fast track immigration lane. Dashed over to the arrivals lounge, had a shower and quick breakfast before having my spa treatment. By now it was almost noon and my Cairo departure at 5 PM precluded any trips to central London. So back to the departure lounges for the next 4 hours.
Traversing the T4 departures area of BA at noon, it is a wonder that they manage to check-in so many people in such a short time. I would hate to use the coach check-in lines. One could make a bundle selling snacks to those waiting in line. I already had my coach boarding pass for the next segment but could not use the fast track security lanes. Thorough and quick even with about 10 or so in front of me. T4 has 2 lounge pavilions and I never remember which one had the Concorde room. That pavilion had better facilities, IMHO. Chose wrong so had to back track to the other end of the terminal. I first went to the first class lounge, but the sanctuary was in the business lounge so trooped upstairs. Not a very relaxing place so I returned to the first class lounge. I must agree with some of the BA forum regulars that the first class lounge is not as nice as it could be. All those business men (maybe 3 women in the whole lounge) all yakking on their cell phones, even in the quiet area. It was very hectic and crowded. I know that these travelers spend a lot of money using BA, but a lounge is a place to relax folks. I did not discover until it was too late that there is a soup and salad menu that one can order from and eat at the café part of the lounge. At least the champagne was good, I think Perrier Jouet. I tried at ever opportunity to see if I could get that business class seat, even at the gate. It did not matter as all business class seats were sold, but I had an empty coach seat beside me.
BA coach on a 747 is not a pretty sight. I knew that the seat pitch was tight, but even in the High Life magazine, it is listed as 31 inches. Give me an AA MRTC seat on a 767 or 777 any day. The soft drinks are those 6 oz mini cans not the usual 12 oz size. The dinner meal was tasty and better than AA. I had the psuedo chicken rice curry with cucumber riata instead of the beef stew although it did look good. At first I thought the extra packaging was wasteful until I realized that the contents were fresher than the usual way of serving coach meals. Another drawback was the condition of the lav’s. I tried 3 different ones and there was always some part of the lav that was in disrepair. I seldom see that on AA’s fleet. I did not focus too much on FA service as jet lag was starting to hit me. Boring flight which is good. The best landing ever at Cairo. Did not hear or feel the touchdown only the engines reversing. Getting a visa at the airport is easy, $15 US only and they give you 2 stamps to put in your passport. The exchange rate was good at the airport, so I doubt that one needs an ATM right away. Plenty of touts, but when I told them I was there for only 6 hours, they tried once, shrugged and walked away.
Because I was returning to London on this very same plane within 8 hours, I decided to wait at the airport. I had a book, a liter of water, and $10 worth of local currency for snacks. Forget the snacks, there are only 1 or 2 shops open 24 hours with nothing of interest to sell. I think it was the bright flood lights in the waiting area that gave it a parking lot feel. But nobody tried to hassle or hustle you. Even with doors open to the outside, it was surprising pleasant inside with few smokers. Would I do it again? No. Get an airport hotel room even if only for 5 or 6 hours. Once the BA ticket office opened, I decided it was time to check in. One clears security before the check-in counters. Some fellow in a ‘uniform’ led me to the security area for BA and asked for money. I said for what? I had 2 50 pts notes (about 16 cents) I just gave him that to get away. Check in was over in 20 seconds and I was off to the Egyptian Air Services first class lounge, shared with many airlines. It had some sweet pastries, coffee, tea, juice and comfy soft chairs. After 6 hours on hard metal benches, that was a luxury. There were some duty free shops but mostly imports at hard currency prices and rates. I was intrigued with the thought of Egyptian wine, but there was too much dust on the bottles even for my low threshold. Another screening and hand search of baggage (unzip main compartment and move hand thru some stuff) just before boarding, the 1st flight of my RTW ticket.
BA first class Cairo to London. I remember being under whelmed by BA’s first class service in the past. On CX, you notice the difference between first and business class. On QF, I don’t think there is any difference except a bed instead of a seat. On BA, I have heard that it can be sublime with the right crew. On this short flight I saw hints of that sublime service attitude that devotees refer to. The FA’s on this flight seem to anticipate one needs. Very professional, considering that first class was 100% full. The downside was there were no duvets, let alone sleeper suits. Too short of a flight. 5 hour scheduled flying time, too short? But they did find some extra pillows which helped. The amenity kits are the same in both first and business class. Nice selection of Molton Brown products in a stylish case with hand/lip balms and mouthwash/toothpaste. The brunch menu was well designed, with a traditional brunch items and not so traditional items. I had prawns in coconut curry sauce on a bed of taboule(??). I was skeptical, but it was very good. I think BA has a run on Heidsieck champagnes, as this was a Charles Heidsieck vintage. The white wine selections include a white Bordeaux, a Sancerre, and a California chardonnay. None had been chilled, but I tried the Sancerre. It was pleasant. I do not remember much about the reds other than a 96 Bordeaux and a California Pinot Noir. None seem to go with the food though and I did not taste any of them. Ennui set in so I had a snooze for about an hour or so. The first class bed is much better than the business class bed. I have changed my opinion on the merits of BA first versus business. For flights from North America, business would be OK because of pre-flight dining and the short duration from the eastern part. More than 7 or 8 hours overnight, go for first class.
Even with a noon arrival, the arrivals lounge is still open. Had to wait almost an hour for a spa treatment, but after my long shower and repacking my carryon the hour passed quickly. The hot breakfast section was closed at that time, but all other food items were available. The spa worker was surprised when I showed up 2 days in a row for a treatment. I guess she did not believe me when I said I would return the next day. Another relaxing facial. It is a tossup between facials and foot massages. You can keep your neck and shoulder rubs. Bought a 6 zone travel card and was at my Pimlico B & B by 2:30 on Tuesday. After settling in and changing some US $ to pounds, rode the trusty #24 bus up to Leicester Square and half price theatre tickets. Always more shows then time to see them all. Chose a comedy/drama, stones in his pockets. 2 actors playing 15 characters in a rural Irish town when a movie comes to film on location. A rather long day and when I return to my B&B, I did not know that I was about to sleep for almost 10 hours.
Sunny and breezy for the entire 3 days that I was in London. Another trip to Leicester Square for tickets. The musical Anything Goes had stall seats but in the front rows. A trip to the box office and I bought a front row balcony seat where one must lean forward to see over the railing. For 10 GBP, why not? Later that night when I arrived I received an upgraded ticket to the upper circle, with 2 empty rows in front of me. Spent the afternoon wandering around Hampstead Heath taking advantage of the delightful weather.
Up and out by 8:40 AM the next day for the trip back to the USA via Dublin. I had to wait for the 3rd train from Pimlico station as all trains were packed to the gills. Quick trip to Green Park and transfer to the Piccadilly line to LHR arriving at 9:50. I only had 40 minutes to check-in and get to gate 88, a long way away with no fast track in this part of T1. Although the line was long, I was thru security in about 10 minutes. This part of T1 at LHR is a disgrace. Looks like a temporary shed with very few seats and little room to move about. The EI lounge is basic with drinks and cheese/biscuits and nothing else except big armchairs to sit in. My flight to Dublin had gone from an A-320 to a 737 to a BAE 146. After a 10 minute delay in boarding I was in seat 1A on the 2 side of the 2 x 3 seating. Just a glorified RJ. Sat on the tarmac for about 20 minutes when the pilot advises us that there is a mechanical problem. Dublin has to decide what action to take. After sitting there for about an hour, the pilot tells us that a part is on its way and the flight will go at 2 PM. That’s 30 minutes after my connecting flight leaves Dublin. The whole plane is furious as many want to run over to the flight that will leave in about 15 minutes. The agent in the lounge calls up to the ticket office and explains that EI will rebook me on the BA nonstop to BWI. I hope that 1:20 minutes is enough time to get the ticket endorsed over to BA and get over to T4. After 10 minutes of typing I have my BA ticket and rush down to the Heathrow Express, just missing a train. This is going to be mad dash as I had to check in at BA. Good for me that my AA status allowed me to use the first class check-in. Check-in is over in 1 minute including a call to the gate to see if I have enough time. Arrive at the gate 19, one of the farthest away, just as boarding commences.
BA 229 to BWI is a 767 with the old cradle seats in business class. Coach was almost full, business about 50% full, and a few in first. Yes, there were first class sleeper seats on this plane. The AA business class seats on a 767 are vastly superior. The IFE screen was a tiny 3” screen and only 8 channels of video/audio. The coach cabin did not even have a movie as many parts of the IFE on this plane were not working. The CSD had complaint forms for those who wished to complete one. The FA’s in my cabin were friendly and attentive. The lunch menu had beef filet, chicken curry, poached salmon, or mushroom & cheese salad. I chose the beef, but it was well done and lacked flavor. The side dishes were fine as was the salad and starter of shrimps. Passed on the chocolate trifle and had some fruits for desert. Same champagne as on the Toronto flight with 2 whites (Pouilly Fume and CA Chardonnay) and 2 reds (99 St. Emmillon and CA Syrah). Sampled all of the wines except the Chardonnay and found them to be good, but no wow factor. The pre-landing afternoon tea had tea sandwiches (either chicken & egg or salmon & cucumber) plus a scone with clotted cream and fruit cake. I now know where all those Christmas fruit cakes go, to BA business class snacks. Arrived on time in BWI even though we had to wait to offload a no-show’s luggage in London. Was thru customs and immigration in 10 minutes, then caught the Metro bus to the Greenbelt Metro station and was home in just over an hour.
Considering all that happened during these 5 days of travel, it was a smooth trip. Hope you enjoy my report.