AAmerican_in_London
Aug 8, 05, 5:17 am
I recently travelled from London to Nairobi (my home) on BA in Club World, having redeemed AA miles for this trip. Having gained a lot (AA PLAT status via the challenge, bonus miles, affinity credit cards, etc.) from FlyerTalk over the last few years, I though I would post my first trip report. Apologies in advance if it isn’t in the right format/style, but I didn’t know how else to present it other than breaking it up into a few categories.
The Award: This is probably one of AA/BA’s most generous awards – it costs 60k AA miles to travel from London to Africa in World Traveller on BA, but only an incremental 15k (75k total) to travel in Club. The ability to travel in Club for such a small increment of miles is probably one of the best uses of AA miles, in my opinion. On a side note, similar redemption exists for the Indian Sub-continent and Middle East on BA (40k –vs– 60k), and this is where I have used the bulk of my miles [and a OW190C award earlier this year for my Mom (ORD-SFO-HKB-BKK-BOM-LHR-PVG-LHR-PVG-NBO-LHR)].
Making the Booking: I booked this ticket in April 2005 for travel in July 2005 (Outbound: 1040 on July 22, Return: 0925 on July 31). BA significantly limits availability in Club, especially to non-BAEC members, and I was only able to secure the day flights on both legs (there was an evening flight the days I was travelling), requiring me to take an additional day off for the outbound, and cut my holiday short for the return. I tried until the night before departure to change the ticket to fly out/back on red-eyes, but to no avail, despite there being availability the day prior to travel.
London Heathrow Experience: Check-in at LHR T4 was painless, and took only a few minutes. Having pre-booked a seat on the Upper Deck, this was confirmed, and I proceeded to make my way to the Molton Brown Spa. I was disappointed that a number of people in the Fast Track line (some children) had been given Fast Track stickers by check-in agents as they were late for their flights, when the rest of us have to pay higher taxes for the privilege, but I was in too good a mood to let it get to me. After making my way to the lounge, I proceeded to book myself into the Molton Brown Spa for some treatments – only to be told that the first treatments do not begin until 10:00 a.m., which was too close to my flight time. This was actually very disappointing and unexpected given the number of early morning flights BA has to Africa and Eastbound. Additionally, I had come to the airport a little earlier to spend time in the Spa, but the Terraces Lounge was fine to have some cereal and read a few magazines.
The (Outbound) Flight: Because I take most of my flights on AA, and they do not use 747s for passenger travel, I hadn’t been on the Upper Deck since my time as a child in when we flew Air France from LAX – CDG – NBO & return. I was in seat 63J (forward facing NCW), which was fine except for an adolescent teenager who got up a few times to visit his parents (also on the Upper Deck). I have no problem with children in business class, as long as they are well behaved; however, they should be limited to the lower cabin, and the Upper Deck should be limited to adults and/or those who want to sleep. The service was impeccable, and the food was good. I actually watched two movies, and slept a little – the flight was otherwise uneventful.
Arrival in Nairobi: I was actually the first passenger off the plane, which was great – and I made it to Immigration pretty quickly. For some reason, a large number of people who had arrived on Sabena were in the “Visa” line – perhaps unaware that they could get visas beforehand in their country of origin – and were trying to get them on arrival. In any case, as a result, I was processed quickly and by the time I made my way downstairs to the baggage hall, my luggage was on the conveyor belt (I guess the “Priority” tags do help).
Departure form Nairobi: I was scheduled to leave on the 0925 on July 31 from Nairobi. Unfortunately, my connecting flight from Mombasa (Kenya Airways) was delayed for 90 minutes as a large bird made its way into the engine just as we were taking off, resulting in an aborted take-off attempt – my first! In any case, I called BA in Nairobi to explain the situation, and they were very gracious – kindly explaining that the evening flight was full, but that they could waitlist me, and the earliest they could confirm me was the following Wednesday. Upon arriving in Nairobi at 0930, I made my way to the BA terminal and spoke with Duke, who told me that I was on the waitlist, that he was aware of what happened in Mombasa, and that he would try and get me home at the earliest. He told me to come back and check-in at 1700, and he would see what he could do, given that the flight was overbooked: –20 in WT, -6 in WT+, -3 in J, and +6 in F.
I returned at 1700, and he managed to give me a confirmed seat (again, on the Upper Deck), and it gave me 5 hours to go home and spend time with my family. I have written a letter to BA explaining the circumstances and the high level or service I received from the BA staff in Nairobi – hopefully they will be commended.
The (Return) Flight: Given that the flight time was 2245 on a Sunday, and I had to go to work the next morning, I just wanted to get onboard and sleep. Once on-board (there didn’t seem to be much of a pre-boarding protocol in Nairobi), I got comfortable, and waited for the plane to take off before flattening the bed out (64J) and sleeping all the way through. It was unfortunate that the two women servicing the Upper Deck were both rude, brusque, and very short with all passengers. Once the plane was airborne (I had dozed off at the gate and didn’t awake until 45 minutes into the flight), I asked the attendant for a pair of socks. She insisted that she had given me an amenity bag, which she clearly had not. I asked her to come look at my seat and in my belongings if she wanted, but that I did not have one. She begrudgingly gave me one, and then went off to do her thing. I actually slept the rest of the flight, and only awoke an hour or so prior ot landing. I (politely) asked the same flight attendant for a landing card (I am an American citizen, but almost a Brit – woo hoo!), and again, she made a face and handed me one in a huff. I had also asked for a Fast Track card, which she did not provide me with, and hence I had to gently remind her. She just reached into some cabinet, said “Here!” like a stern school teacher, and marched down the stairs. In all my years of flying, especially on BA, this must have been the worst customer service I have experienced in BA J.
Arrival in London Heathrow. The arrival was uneventful and I disembarked quickly and got through immigration fairly quickly (I did not use the Fast Track card as the terminal seemed fairly empty, and it will be more handy when flying WT some time). My luggage took some time to come out, but that was fine. Off home, a quick shower, then into the office.
Conclusion: It was a fun experience, and a good use of 75k miles, although the two sets of flight attendants I was exposed to on the two flights were at the two extremes of BA’s flight attendant pool. I have booked the same journey (LHR – NBO in BA J) for November/December of this year, and am looking forward to it again. Thanks BA, for a great service on the outbound, and impeccable service on the ground in Nairobi; too bad the same could not be said for the return flight, namely because of the attendants working the Upper Deck.
The Award: This is probably one of AA/BA’s most generous awards – it costs 60k AA miles to travel from London to Africa in World Traveller on BA, but only an incremental 15k (75k total) to travel in Club. The ability to travel in Club for such a small increment of miles is probably one of the best uses of AA miles, in my opinion. On a side note, similar redemption exists for the Indian Sub-continent and Middle East on BA (40k –vs– 60k), and this is where I have used the bulk of my miles [and a OW190C award earlier this year for my Mom (ORD-SFO-HKB-BKK-BOM-LHR-PVG-LHR-PVG-NBO-LHR)].
Making the Booking: I booked this ticket in April 2005 for travel in July 2005 (Outbound: 1040 on July 22, Return: 0925 on July 31). BA significantly limits availability in Club, especially to non-BAEC members, and I was only able to secure the day flights on both legs (there was an evening flight the days I was travelling), requiring me to take an additional day off for the outbound, and cut my holiday short for the return. I tried until the night before departure to change the ticket to fly out/back on red-eyes, but to no avail, despite there being availability the day prior to travel.
London Heathrow Experience: Check-in at LHR T4 was painless, and took only a few minutes. Having pre-booked a seat on the Upper Deck, this was confirmed, and I proceeded to make my way to the Molton Brown Spa. I was disappointed that a number of people in the Fast Track line (some children) had been given Fast Track stickers by check-in agents as they were late for their flights, when the rest of us have to pay higher taxes for the privilege, but I was in too good a mood to let it get to me. After making my way to the lounge, I proceeded to book myself into the Molton Brown Spa for some treatments – only to be told that the first treatments do not begin until 10:00 a.m., which was too close to my flight time. This was actually very disappointing and unexpected given the number of early morning flights BA has to Africa and Eastbound. Additionally, I had come to the airport a little earlier to spend time in the Spa, but the Terraces Lounge was fine to have some cereal and read a few magazines.
The (Outbound) Flight: Because I take most of my flights on AA, and they do not use 747s for passenger travel, I hadn’t been on the Upper Deck since my time as a child in when we flew Air France from LAX – CDG – NBO & return. I was in seat 63J (forward facing NCW), which was fine except for an adolescent teenager who got up a few times to visit his parents (also on the Upper Deck). I have no problem with children in business class, as long as they are well behaved; however, they should be limited to the lower cabin, and the Upper Deck should be limited to adults and/or those who want to sleep. The service was impeccable, and the food was good. I actually watched two movies, and slept a little – the flight was otherwise uneventful.
Arrival in Nairobi: I was actually the first passenger off the plane, which was great – and I made it to Immigration pretty quickly. For some reason, a large number of people who had arrived on Sabena were in the “Visa” line – perhaps unaware that they could get visas beforehand in their country of origin – and were trying to get them on arrival. In any case, as a result, I was processed quickly and by the time I made my way downstairs to the baggage hall, my luggage was on the conveyor belt (I guess the “Priority” tags do help).
Departure form Nairobi: I was scheduled to leave on the 0925 on July 31 from Nairobi. Unfortunately, my connecting flight from Mombasa (Kenya Airways) was delayed for 90 minutes as a large bird made its way into the engine just as we were taking off, resulting in an aborted take-off attempt – my first! In any case, I called BA in Nairobi to explain the situation, and they were very gracious – kindly explaining that the evening flight was full, but that they could waitlist me, and the earliest they could confirm me was the following Wednesday. Upon arriving in Nairobi at 0930, I made my way to the BA terminal and spoke with Duke, who told me that I was on the waitlist, that he was aware of what happened in Mombasa, and that he would try and get me home at the earliest. He told me to come back and check-in at 1700, and he would see what he could do, given that the flight was overbooked: –20 in WT, -6 in WT+, -3 in J, and +6 in F.
I returned at 1700, and he managed to give me a confirmed seat (again, on the Upper Deck), and it gave me 5 hours to go home and spend time with my family. I have written a letter to BA explaining the circumstances and the high level or service I received from the BA staff in Nairobi – hopefully they will be commended.
The (Return) Flight: Given that the flight time was 2245 on a Sunday, and I had to go to work the next morning, I just wanted to get onboard and sleep. Once on-board (there didn’t seem to be much of a pre-boarding protocol in Nairobi), I got comfortable, and waited for the plane to take off before flattening the bed out (64J) and sleeping all the way through. It was unfortunate that the two women servicing the Upper Deck were both rude, brusque, and very short with all passengers. Once the plane was airborne (I had dozed off at the gate and didn’t awake until 45 minutes into the flight), I asked the attendant for a pair of socks. She insisted that she had given me an amenity bag, which she clearly had not. I asked her to come look at my seat and in my belongings if she wanted, but that I did not have one. She begrudgingly gave me one, and then went off to do her thing. I actually slept the rest of the flight, and only awoke an hour or so prior ot landing. I (politely) asked the same flight attendant for a landing card (I am an American citizen, but almost a Brit – woo hoo!), and again, she made a face and handed me one in a huff. I had also asked for a Fast Track card, which she did not provide me with, and hence I had to gently remind her. She just reached into some cabinet, said “Here!” like a stern school teacher, and marched down the stairs. In all my years of flying, especially on BA, this must have been the worst customer service I have experienced in BA J.
Arrival in London Heathrow. The arrival was uneventful and I disembarked quickly and got through immigration fairly quickly (I did not use the Fast Track card as the terminal seemed fairly empty, and it will be more handy when flying WT some time). My luggage took some time to come out, but that was fine. Off home, a quick shower, then into the office.
Conclusion: It was a fun experience, and a good use of 75k miles, although the two sets of flight attendants I was exposed to on the two flights were at the two extremes of BA’s flight attendant pool. I have booked the same journey (LHR – NBO in BA J) for November/December of this year, and am looking forward to it again. Thanks BA, for a great service on the outbound, and impeccable service on the ground in Nairobi; too bad the same could not be said for the return flight, namely because of the attendants working the Upper Deck.