BA97
Nov 28, 04, 4:11 am
This is a (partial) account of two mileage/point runs with BA/IB on 26th and 27th November 2004. I'd spotted the deal (£210/$350 for four J-class sectors) a few weeks previously, detailed in this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=357945).
I think we've had British Airways Club Europe and the T1 BA lounges pretty well covered, so I'll stick mainly to the other parts of the run here:
LOUNGES
On the whole, these were pleasant journeys from a lounge perspective. They included both the BA Terraces and First lounges in Terminal 1 (thanks to my new friend flyclub for the latter) of which we've heard and seen much on this forum, as well as the Iberia Gaudi lounge in Barcelona and Malaga's own lounge operated by the airport.
The Gaudi lounge is large and comfortable but unfortunately the two PCs provided don't seem to work. However, f4free (another new friend and my flight companion on the first sector of the Friday trip) managed to get his laptop up and connected to the lounge's wireless LAN with time enough to check email before running off to get back on the aircraft we'd just arrived on :)
Again, I can confirm my fellow board members' claims that there is a definite odour of cigar smoke! Good people watching can be had as the lounge looks over the checkin area below. The staff were also very helpful, polite and spoke good English; one might even say better English than your Geordie-inflected narrator!
Considering the Malaga lounge is of the Priority Pass ilk, it was suprisingly good: comfortable, a good range of spirits and with seperate rooms for smokers and tar-free folk. Whilst in here on the second trip I also inadvertantly discovered that a copy of The Sun is more than capable of absorbing a half pint of fluid when I knocked/tipped/threw a large G&T onto the floor...
IBERIA DOMESTIC BUSINESS
BA, wisely, doesn't even try to market a domestic business class. Iberia, on the other hand, changes the logo on the headrest cover and ramps up the fares. Of the four domestic business legs this weekend, three were operated by an MD-87 in a 2-3 configuration, and one by a 3-3 757-200. Iberia don't make an effort to widen the seats like BA, it would seem, although the B/E seats on the 757-operated leg were an inch or two wider than the window/aisles.
Seat wise, the armrests don't move on either aircraft, annoyingly, so I couldn't really take advantage of (on one occasion) the complete lack of any other passengers in the J cabin! Also, there's about two inches of extra legroom for the bulkhead seats on the 757 versus the MD-87.
I echo my fellow board members' views on staff presence (or, more accurately, the lack of it) and the fact that the inflight sandwiches are...err...minimalist; Chorizo sandwich - ingredients: chorizo, bread, small plastic sword (potentially useful for slowly whittling one's way through the cockpit door). Also it seems like a pot of coffee is brewed in the morning, kept hot throughout the day and either served to passengers or used as a fuel reserve. Another offshoot of the goeordie-inflected Spanglish I attempt to speak was asking for “cava” resulted in (on seperate occasions) Coke, coffee, cava or simply a confused stare :)
IBERIA EUROPEAN BUSINESS
Whichever madman decided Barcelona airport to be one long, long corridor annoys me; the inconvenience of having to walk to the furthest gate from the lounge (about ten minutes) to what turned out to be a bus gate was compounded by the fact that we were taken back to an aircraft parked off-pier...opposite the lounge! I got on the first bus and as we'd obviously be waiting for a while the crew served drinks in J which was a nice touch; I got hold of a tasty Rioja.
As it turned out there were only three passengers in a forty eight seat J cabin, so there was no shortage of attentiveness. The crew were much more visible than the domestic flights and smiled a fair bit more too :)
I was presented with a menu soon after takeoff off which I chose grilled asparagus and veal tenderloin. However, just as I made my mind up I discover that, in fact, there is no choice - I got everything! Now I'm no expert on Spanish food but cod and veal served together? Also Iberia's caterers should either make their 'tenderloin' a little more tender than my shoes, or at least give passengers a suitable cutting device! Redeeming features of an otherwise nondescript meal were some nice foie gras and another tasty Rioja to wash it all down with.
Cabin-wise, the A320 is similar to domestic business in the 757 in that the B & E seats are a little wider, however they haven't got any headrest covers which suggests to me that they're not sold. Some forceful tugging shifted the not-quite-anatomically placed cushions out of the way and enabled me to fold the armrest back. This left me so exhausted I had to obtain another Rioja. Perhaps I should have thought of the cushion-pushing ;) on the domestic legs...
The IFE was showing a “hilarious” Spanish guy (in what I can only assume was “el Jackass”) walking around flicking biro ink into people's faces. Never mind, after three Riojas it all seemed very amusing. Club Europe's IFE (ie. the back of the seat in front of you) is definitely preferable if sober :). On remembering it's the cramped, low-ceilinged hellhole that is Terminal 2 we're arriving at, another Rioja is called for.
The J washroom is nice, well lit and with nice fittings although no Molton Brown (or equivalent) products :( A quick glance in the large mirror revealed black, Rioja-stained lips. I'm not sure if this is a direct result of flying J with Iberia, but it didn't happen on any of the BA flights ;)
SUMMARY
A great couple of days out, silver status achieved and a chance to meet three of my fellow FTers. flyclub, fbgdavidson and I have floated the idea of doing another day trip (DEFINITELY with two sectors on BA metal), perhaps a Saturday/Sunday in February time. Not sure how many we can block book at the c.£200 fare (there's only 10 J seats on the domestic MD-87s) but if anyone needs 160 tier points then let me know and we can plan a joint expedition - perhaps to SVQ as lowlyblue (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=357945&page=2&pp=15) suggests.
BA97.com
I think we've had British Airways Club Europe and the T1 BA lounges pretty well covered, so I'll stick mainly to the other parts of the run here:
LOUNGES
On the whole, these were pleasant journeys from a lounge perspective. They included both the BA Terraces and First lounges in Terminal 1 (thanks to my new friend flyclub for the latter) of which we've heard and seen much on this forum, as well as the Iberia Gaudi lounge in Barcelona and Malaga's own lounge operated by the airport.
The Gaudi lounge is large and comfortable but unfortunately the two PCs provided don't seem to work. However, f4free (another new friend and my flight companion on the first sector of the Friday trip) managed to get his laptop up and connected to the lounge's wireless LAN with time enough to check email before running off to get back on the aircraft we'd just arrived on :)
Again, I can confirm my fellow board members' claims that there is a definite odour of cigar smoke! Good people watching can be had as the lounge looks over the checkin area below. The staff were also very helpful, polite and spoke good English; one might even say better English than your Geordie-inflected narrator!
Considering the Malaga lounge is of the Priority Pass ilk, it was suprisingly good: comfortable, a good range of spirits and with seperate rooms for smokers and tar-free folk. Whilst in here on the second trip I also inadvertantly discovered that a copy of The Sun is more than capable of absorbing a half pint of fluid when I knocked/tipped/threw a large G&T onto the floor...
IBERIA DOMESTIC BUSINESS
BA, wisely, doesn't even try to market a domestic business class. Iberia, on the other hand, changes the logo on the headrest cover and ramps up the fares. Of the four domestic business legs this weekend, three were operated by an MD-87 in a 2-3 configuration, and one by a 3-3 757-200. Iberia don't make an effort to widen the seats like BA, it would seem, although the B/E seats on the 757-operated leg were an inch or two wider than the window/aisles.
Seat wise, the armrests don't move on either aircraft, annoyingly, so I couldn't really take advantage of (on one occasion) the complete lack of any other passengers in the J cabin! Also, there's about two inches of extra legroom for the bulkhead seats on the 757 versus the MD-87.
I echo my fellow board members' views on staff presence (or, more accurately, the lack of it) and the fact that the inflight sandwiches are...err...minimalist; Chorizo sandwich - ingredients: chorizo, bread, small plastic sword (potentially useful for slowly whittling one's way through the cockpit door). Also it seems like a pot of coffee is brewed in the morning, kept hot throughout the day and either served to passengers or used as a fuel reserve. Another offshoot of the goeordie-inflected Spanglish I attempt to speak was asking for “cava” resulted in (on seperate occasions) Coke, coffee, cava or simply a confused stare :)
IBERIA EUROPEAN BUSINESS
Whichever madman decided Barcelona airport to be one long, long corridor annoys me; the inconvenience of having to walk to the furthest gate from the lounge (about ten minutes) to what turned out to be a bus gate was compounded by the fact that we were taken back to an aircraft parked off-pier...opposite the lounge! I got on the first bus and as we'd obviously be waiting for a while the crew served drinks in J which was a nice touch; I got hold of a tasty Rioja.
As it turned out there were only three passengers in a forty eight seat J cabin, so there was no shortage of attentiveness. The crew were much more visible than the domestic flights and smiled a fair bit more too :)
I was presented with a menu soon after takeoff off which I chose grilled asparagus and veal tenderloin. However, just as I made my mind up I discover that, in fact, there is no choice - I got everything! Now I'm no expert on Spanish food but cod and veal served together? Also Iberia's caterers should either make their 'tenderloin' a little more tender than my shoes, or at least give passengers a suitable cutting device! Redeeming features of an otherwise nondescript meal were some nice foie gras and another tasty Rioja to wash it all down with.
Cabin-wise, the A320 is similar to domestic business in the 757 in that the B & E seats are a little wider, however they haven't got any headrest covers which suggests to me that they're not sold. Some forceful tugging shifted the not-quite-anatomically placed cushions out of the way and enabled me to fold the armrest back. This left me so exhausted I had to obtain another Rioja. Perhaps I should have thought of the cushion-pushing ;) on the domestic legs...
The IFE was showing a “hilarious” Spanish guy (in what I can only assume was “el Jackass”) walking around flicking biro ink into people's faces. Never mind, after three Riojas it all seemed very amusing. Club Europe's IFE (ie. the back of the seat in front of you) is definitely preferable if sober :). On remembering it's the cramped, low-ceilinged hellhole that is Terminal 2 we're arriving at, another Rioja is called for.
The J washroom is nice, well lit and with nice fittings although no Molton Brown (or equivalent) products :( A quick glance in the large mirror revealed black, Rioja-stained lips. I'm not sure if this is a direct result of flying J with Iberia, but it didn't happen on any of the BA flights ;)
SUMMARY
A great couple of days out, silver status achieved and a chance to meet three of my fellow FTers. flyclub, fbgdavidson and I have floated the idea of doing another day trip (DEFINITELY with two sectors on BA metal), perhaps a Saturday/Sunday in February time. Not sure how many we can block book at the c.£200 fare (there's only 10 J seats on the domestic MD-87s) but if anyone needs 160 tier points then let me know and we can plan a joint expedition - perhaps to SVQ as lowlyblue (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=357945&page=2&pp=15) suggests.
BA97.com