Kiwi Flyer

British Airways
Business Class menu
London to Sao Paulo
December 2008

Dinner

Starters

Smoked salmon with beetroot and horseradish

or

Potted Sage Derby and Coastal Cheddar with red onion marmalade

Salad

Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette

Main

Fish pie of smoked haddock, cod and prawn

Roast turkey with parsley puree and red wine jus

Jerusalem artichoke mousseline with vegetables and blue cheese cream sauce

Chilled main course salad of winter-spiced breast of chicken

Dessert

Chocolate log with cranberry compote

Caerphilly and Y-Fenni cheese with Duchy Original oatcakes

A selection of fruit

Chocolates

We apologise if your first choice is not available.

Drinks

Complimentary bar serving alcoholic beverages and soft drinks is available throughout the flight. See inserted wine list for today's selection.

Ground coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea

Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant, and camomile with honey


Club Kitchen

Between meals, please help yourself to a drink or a tasty snack. Please visit the Club Kitchen and choose from the selection on display.

Snack salads, sandwiches, filled rolls and wraps

Fresh fruit salads and fruit smoothies or juices

Choice of luxury cakes

Crisps and chocolate, including organic chocolate

If seated in the upper deck, you can visit the Club Kitchen downstairs.


Breakfast

Starters

Chilled fruit juice

An energising fruit smoothie of raspberry and cranberry

Fresh fruit

or

Greek yoghurt with winter fruit compote

Bakery

Selection of warm breads and breakfast pastries

Main

Scrambled eggs, Gloucester Old Spot bacon, Cumberland sausage, sauteed mushrooms and tomato

Tomato omelette with rosti potatoes and sauteed mushrooms

Waffles with apricot compote

Drinks

Ground coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea

Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant, and camomile with honey


Wines

Champagne

Champagne Cocktails

Kir Royale – Crème de Cassis gives this cocktail its distinctive taste

Buck’s Fizz – Crisp, dry Champagne and naturally sweet orange juice

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Champagne
Charles Heidsieck was founded in 1851 by Charles Camille Heidsieck - the original "Champagne Charlie". Nowadays it is recognised as one of Champagne's star performers and regularly wins awards for the quality of its wines. This wine has a mid-gold colour with a fine mousse. There are classic toasty, ripe fruit aromas with a complex, mouth-filling flavour lifted by firm acidity. The finish is long and rich but also beautifully refreshing. It is made from the classic blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes. Both the Pinots are red grapes - Champagne is one of the very few white wines to be made using red grapes. Champagne is the greatest aperitif but also goes with a whole range of foods. Fish and shellfish are great companions, but it will also enhance risottos, pasta dishes and the lighter meats. Equally good with fruit desserts and cheese.

White

Carmen Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Casablanca Valley, Chile
The Casablanca Valley, halfway between Santiago and the coast, is a fairly recently developed viticultural area but it has already become the most sought after region for crisp, dry whites. This wine is fresh and appealing with grapefruit, nectarine and gooseberry fruit aromas as well as classic mineral and herbaceous notes. On the palate the wine has good weight and balance with refreshing acidity and a long and intense fruit finish.

Pouilly-Fume La Moynerie 2006, Michel Redde
La Moynerie is a one hundred acre vineyard in the heart of Pouilly-sur-Loire in Central France - it has been owned by the Redde family for six generations. The chalky clay soils are perfect for making rich, harmonious, elegant and long lasting wines. This one is deliciously crisp and dry yet full-bodied and fruity. It has pronounced flint and mineral notes and great depth of flavour.

Red

Pascual Toso Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Mendoza, Argentina
It was in the 1880s that Pascual Toso, an Italian from Piedmonte, set out to make his fortune in Argentina. Settling in Mendoza, he soon recognised the quality of its wines and in 1890 he started his own winery, which today is one of the oldest and most famous in the country. This wine has dark cherry and mint aromas alongside flavours of black pepper, mature red fruits and a hint of vanilla in the finish.

Gigondas La Haute Marone 2007
The vineyards of Gigondas, a sleepy little commune east of the city of Orange in the Rhone Valley, lie at the foot of the spectacular Dentelles de Montmirail hills. The wines are made mostly from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes and are full-bodied, robust and spicy. For many years they have been overshadowed by their more famous neighbour, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but they fully deserve recognition in their own right.

Kiwi Flyer

SAO PAULO to BUENOS AIRES (GRU-EZE) on British Airways 747-400 in business class

Continuing passengers had to remain onboard for the approx 1 hour transit. Cleaning was done, plus a crew change. A handful of passengers joined us. We got a non-alcoholic cold drink during the transit.

There was an interesting array of airlines coming and going while we were on the ground. Lots of longhaul arrivals in a short period of time.

Not much view for the first part of the trip, or the end, just some fairly nondescript plains towards the end, plus views of Buenos Aires as we flew over it.

We arrived about 20 minutes late.

Kiwi Flyer

British Airways
Business Class menu
Sao Paulo to Buenos Aires
December 2008

Refreshments

Fresh fruit plate

Selection of chilled meats and cheese

Fine herb omelette with asparagus, red pepper and olive tapenade

Toasted turkey and cheese sandwich

Drinks

Ground coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea

Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant, and camomile with honey


Wines

Champagne

Champagne Cocktails

Kir Royale – Crème de Cassis gives this cocktail its distinctive taste

Buck’s Fizz – Crisp, dry Champagne and naturally sweet orange juice

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Champagne
Charles Heidsieck was founded in 1851 by Charles Camille Heidsieck - the original "Champagne Charlie". Nowadays it is recognised as one of Champagne's star performers and regularly wins awards for the quality of its wines. This wine has a mid-gold colour with a fine mousse. There are classic toasty, ripe fruit aromas with a complex, mouth-filling flavour lifted by firm acidity. The finish is long and rich but also beautifully refreshing. It is made from the classic blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes. Both the Pinots are red grapes - Champagne is one of the very few white wines to be made using red grapes. Champagne is the greatest aperitif but also goes with a whole range of foods. Fish and shellfish are great companions, but it will also enhance risottos, pasta dishes and the lighter meats. Equally good with fruit desserts and cheese.

White

Carmen Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Casablanca Valley, Chile
The Casablanca Valley, halfway between Santiago and the coast, is a fairly recently developed viticultural area but it has already become the most sought after region for crisp, dry whites. This wine is fresh and appealing with grapefruit, nectarine and gooseberry fruit aromas as well as classic mineral and herbaceous notes. On the palate the wine has good weight and balance with refreshing acidity and a long and intense fruit finish.

Pouilly-Fume La Moynerie 2006, Michel Redde
La Moynerie is a one hundred acre vineyard in the heart of Pouilly-sur-Loire in Central France - it has been owned by the Redde family for six generations. The chalky clay soils are perfect for making rich, harmonious, elegant and long lasting wines. This one is deliciously crisp and dry yet full-bodied and fruity. It has pronounced flint and mineral notes and great depth of flavour.

Red

Pascual Toso Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Mendoza, Argentina
It was in the 1880s that Pascual Toso, an Italian from Piedmonte, set out to make his fortune in Argentina. Settling in Mendoza, he soon recognised the quality of its wines and in 1890 he started his own winery, which today is one of the oldest and most famous in the country. This wine has dark cherry and mint aromas alongside flavours of black pepper, mature red fruits and a hint of vanilla in the finish.

Gigondas La Haute Marone 2007
The vineyards of Gigondas, a sleepy little commune east of the city of Orange in the Rhone Valley, lie at the foot of the spectacular Dentelles de Montmirail hills. The wines are made mostly from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes and are full-bodied, robust and spicy. For many years they have been overshadowed by their more famous neighbour, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but they fully deserve recognition in their own right.

Kiwi Flyer

Transit in Buenos Aires again

The last time I transitted here it took just a couple of minutes. So even though my arrival was slightly late and I did not yet have an onward boarding pass I was not in the least worried about the connection for I still had an hour until departure time.

Nonetheless I bolted from the aircraft, turned left and made my way around the outside of the international terminal ... to encounter a long queue for transfer security. It wasn´t just long, but also very slow moving. Hmm. My onward flight is the only way to get the next bit of the trip done without a forced overnight somewhere. Hope I can make it.

As I slowly moved forward a LAN flight began boarding from a gate in between me and the transfer security. When I reached the gate I asked the agent if it was my flight. "Yes. Check in has closed. Go to transfer desk once you get inside to get rebooked." Oh dear. There were a couple of other passengers on the BA flight connecting to the same LAN flight.

After 45 minutes in the queue finally I reach transfer security. I´m through quickly, so why was the queue so slow moving?

I decided to head straight for the gate instead of transfer desk. After all, what do I have to lose? Nothing, but on the offchance they are holding the flight I gain by visiting the gate rather than the transfer desk.

Woohoo - they have already checked me in and hand me 2 boarding passes with a message to hurry onboard. I was the last passenger to hop on the bus for the stand, so the other 2 BA passengers missed out. I suppose they may have had Santiago as final destination thus easier to be put on a later flight than it would have been for me, or perhaps they had checked luggage (I of course had none)?

On the bus I breathed a sigh of relief.

This transit was a useful reminder that things can quickly change from an easy transfer to a misconnection, and there may be little you can do about it.

Kiwi Flyer

BUENOS AIRES to SANTIAGO (EZE-SCL) on LAN operated by LAN Ecuador A320 in business economy premium economy class

In between ticketing and travel LAN decided to remove business class and replace it with premium economy on all the exclusively shorthaul aircraft (ie the small Airbusses). I was not notified of the change but spotted it when checking my itinerary on www.checkmytrip.com At first I was dumped back in regular economy, and my seat changed from first row to somewhere near the back in a middle seat. I was, however, able to get LAN to change me to premium economy. No compensation for the downgrade. Crud. This is the first of many intra South America flights which have been involuntarily downgraded.

I had in mind that there was a 767 flight departing not long before my flight, with plenty of availability in business class. Thus I had hoped to switch to that flight for this leg. Obviously the long security queues put paid to that idea of mine.

What is premium economy like?

Well it is a lot less than business class, but better than UnitedŽs Y+. The seat is a standard economy seat but with extra legroom (perhaps a couple more inches or more), and with the middle seat blocked. The middle seat has a fold-down tray table the same as LH shorthaul. Thus seat is worse than the business class it replaces.

No lounge access, except by status. Less baggage allowance. Less mileage credited.

Less service onboard. No pre-departure service. No newspapers. Meal is reduced compared with the old business class (or continuing if you manage to book 767) - no choices, lesser quantity and quality of food and drink. No second run through with drinks.

But it is better than LAN economy. More legroom. Better service (more on this later), and better food and drink (reasonable meal cf snack box in economy).

Kiwi Flyer

Load in premium economy was about 6 (of 12 seats excluding the middle seats).

For the first third of the flight the seat belt sign was on. When it came off we got a hot towel, and then lunch. Lunch was some tender beef cuts and salmon fillet, a salad, roll, cheeses and a baked dessert.

We had a reasonable view of the Andes. I managed to sleep almost an hour on the flight.

Kiwi Flyer

Transit in Santiago #1

We got a remote stand. There was a 15 minute wait for stairs. My 2 hour connection had reduced to effectively an hour.

I got on the first bus. We followed another bus to international arrivals. There was a short wait for the door to be opened. Then slow through security and up to departure level. With boarding pass already in hand I went straight to the LAN Neruda Lounge, the best of the 3 OW lounges on offer.

The lounge agent was confused by my boarding pass stub (single flight number that passes through SCL). I grabbed a shower, and then had a few minutes to check email and FT before heading off to the gate.

Champagne is Henriot, quite a nice wee drop.

I notice the boarding time on the screens is a uniform 60 minutes prior to departure for LAN flights. The lounge staff know the real boarding time so donŽt head out too early.

Kiwi Flyer

SANTIAGO to GUAYAQUIL (SCL-GYE) on LAN operated by LAN Ecuador A320 in business economy premium economy class

We had the same aircraft but by now it was parked at a gate so boarding was simple.

The crew serving premium economy should have been happy. I was the only passenger and ended up sleeping almost the whole flight. We landed at dusk.

Kiwi Flyer

I still have a bit more time until boarding and the bubbly hasnŽt yet badly affected my typing, so IŽll try to update some more while I can.

GUAYAQUIL to QUITO (GYE-UIO) on LAN operated by LAN Ecuador A320 in business economy premium economy class

Some more trivia. Ecuador is my 23rd new country and 40th country in all visited in 2008. Quito will be the highest airport to date that IŽve flown, at 2813m, although I have been at higher altitudes on land (over 3500m).

The transit was short at 40 minutes. 28 passengers disembarked, with the rest of us (about the same number) remaining onboard. I stood and stretched my legs. 5 passengers got on for this short hop, about 30 minutes uphill to Quito.

There was a partial change of crew, and most of this who finished working were deadheading to Quito. Their bags took up most of the overhead bin space for the first few rows.

With such a short flight there was no service. No view either due to the darkness which came quickly while we were stopped in Guayaquil, a reminder that we are close to (but still south of) the equator.

We arrived about 30 minutes early.

Kiwi Flyer

Transit in Quito

I was a little worried about the effects of altitude. While I have previously been higher, that was some years ago and I have bad lungs at the best of times, and usually worse while travelling. I felt a slight weakness for the first minute or two but after that I was okay.

There were signs for transit, but the desk was deserted and door locked. Thus I decided to go through immigration even though I only had a short transit time (scheduled time under an hour). With our early arrival and being first off the aircraft I figured I could transfer landside okay even with 2 immigration crossings.

Immigration was quick, but used one of my ever diminishing blank pages in the passport. Grrr. Bag xrayed at customs, then outside. It wasnŽt as cool as I was expecting. A short walk under cover to departures, off to the left.

The departures area was deserted. I had to visit the departures tax booth, but was exempt from the USD40.80 fee due to being in transit. Then up to immigration which also seemed to be waiting just for me. Damn - another blank page gone.

I didnŽt have a chance to visit the DAC lounge, because once through immigration I was accosted by a LAN agent and escorted straight to the gate and onboard (pausing only to claim my coupon). Apparently everyone had checked in before we even landed and they were keen to get the aircraft out as soon as possible. I was the last to board.

Kiwi Flyer

QUITO to GUAYAQUIL (UIO-GYE) on LAN operated by LAN Ecuador A320 in business economy premium economy class

By my calculations, arriving in Quito I passed 900,000 flown miles of unique routes. Onward to 1,000,000!

With such a short turnaround, and our early arrival into Quito, we departed some 40 minutes early.

On take-off I was a bit more awake than IŽd been flying in and noticed how the airport is in a deep valley. Then a few minutes flying with no view of the mountains and foothills, before seeing the lights of Guayaquil spread out around the river.

Kiwi Flyer

GUAYAQUIL to SANTIAGO (GYE-SCL) on LAN operated by LAN Ecuador A320 in business economy premium economy class

Once again remain onboard for the transit. This one is a bit longer with a more complete crew swap and one of the cabin crew somehow got something in her eye and had to leave and be replaced by another.

None off, and 5 board. So still a very low load. Aircraft was re-catered.

In premium economy we got a mini amenity kit - socks and eye mask. Same as SQ business!

Once in the air the main screens showed Ghost Town. I was pleasantly surprised to get a personal digi player. I watched a couple of movies because I was having trouble sleeping.

Supper was turkey (lots of it), salad, roll, cheeses, dessert and drinks.

We arrived early.

Kiwi Flyer

Transit in Santiago #2

Much the same as last time. Stop off at transfer desk to check in for my onward flights. Then through security. A wait for the lounge to open at 0630. Then a shower before heading off to some more flights.

Kiwi Flyer

I´m now less than 2 days behind actual in this report, but the next bit will have to wait for I have another flight to catch.

Kiwi Flyer

My flight has just been delayed a couple of hours, so IŽll be able to update a bit more after all.

SANTIAGO to MONTEVIDEO (SCL-MVD) on LAN A320 in business economy premium economy class

Load was lightish. We pushed back a little early, and arrived at Montevideo even earlier. I slept much of the flight.

The schedule gave enough time for a quick trip into the city for a look around. It was good to walk outside of an airport for a change.

MONTEVIDEO to SANTIAGO (MVD-SCL) on LAN A320 in business economy premium economy class

Again I slept the flight away. It was a bit bumpy. We arrived early.