TR: Arnhem to Alexandria with BA in Club.
Oct 19, 2010, 11:19 am
#16
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Cambs
Programs: Mucci, BAEC Silver, Scandic 3rd Floor, PC Pleb, FB Off White, Tufty Club
Posts: 2,836
Safe travels, Arnhem!
Oct 20, 2010, 9:21 am
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Here Beginneth ...
... The Travels of Corporal Arnhem in search of Beer and Honey in BA Club.
Cpl Arnhem travelled with two adults of questionable sanity on holiday from Jersey to Virginia. He hopes that some FT readers will find his TR interesting. His Bearer's psychiatrist says it's good therapy anyway.
My journey started at Jersey International Airport. I call it International, because Jersey doesn't have any other Domestic airports [apart from the Model Aero Club Flying Field]. It is small, but almost perfectly formed, because once you pass through Security it is a Retail environment.
There is, however, a large seating area upstairs [the old Marks and Spencer shop!] where those delayed by fog, tech failures and the general inconvenience of air travel can enjoy a seat and a view of the 'great metal birds' poised at the gates.
However, such proletarian environments are not to my taste. I may be a rough and tough Parachute Regiment Bear, but I was travelling Club and determined to enjoy it. I thus searched out the cunningly concealed BA Lounge, which lies adjacent to Gate 3. Once inside, and having presented my tacky thermal-print Boarding Pass [OLCI wasn't working for this sector for some reason], I conducted an initial recce. Seating - yes. Snacks - yes. Bar - yes. But wait ... NO beer, and NO honey. It was clear this mission was going to prove tougher than I had expected.
One nice aspect is that there's a door direct from the Lounge to the Boarding Gate [by the magazine rack] which the Lounge Drago-facilitator unlocks at the appropriate moment. Cool touch! And thus it was, at around 1300 on Monday, 27 Sep 10, I boarded ...
Airbus A319, G-EUOE.
BA 8038, JER-LGW.
Seat 3B [unassigned but available and a perfect size!].
At 1310, the Captain announced that there was a no-show passenger, and that bags were being offloaded. Eventually the bags proved elusive, the elderly lady was found and was allowed to board anyway. We pushed back at 1315, and were airborne at 1332, but not before I had carefully studied the emergency procedures card!
On a scheduled 55 minute sector, there was no time to waste and the CC rapidly launched into the CE lunch service [did I mention I was flying in CE?
]
Mozzarella Salad with peppers, artichokes, asparagus and parmesan shavings. Quite delicious, I was assured, but neither beer nor honey seemed to feature so I decided not to partake. First black mark for CE on BA, in my book!
Arrival at LGW was at 1400 [10 minutes before schedule!!] which was followed by a wait for a stand to become available ... we got on the bus at 1415, and actually got land-side with bags by 1430. Then it was the taxi ride round the M25 to the LHR T5 Sofitel for a night-stop before the morning's flight to IAD.
Cpl Arnhem's story will continue later ... Moderators permitting
... The Travels of Corporal Arnhem in search of Beer and Honey in BA Club.
Cpl Arnhem travelled with two adults of questionable sanity on holiday from Jersey to Virginia. He hopes that some FT readers will find his TR interesting. His Bearer's psychiatrist says it's good therapy anyway.
My journey started at Jersey International Airport. I call it International, because Jersey doesn't have any other Domestic airports [apart from the Model Aero Club Flying Field]. It is small, but almost perfectly formed, because once you pass through Security it is a Retail environment.
There is, however, a large seating area upstairs [the old Marks and Spencer shop!] where those delayed by fog, tech failures and the general inconvenience of air travel can enjoy a seat and a view of the 'great metal birds' poised at the gates.
However, such proletarian environments are not to my taste. I may be a rough and tough Parachute Regiment Bear, but I was travelling Club and determined to enjoy it. I thus searched out the cunningly concealed BA Lounge, which lies adjacent to Gate 3. Once inside, and having presented my tacky thermal-print Boarding Pass [OLCI wasn't working for this sector for some reason], I conducted an initial recce. Seating - yes. Snacks - yes. Bar - yes. But wait ... NO beer, and NO honey. It was clear this mission was going to prove tougher than I had expected.
One nice aspect is that there's a door direct from the Lounge to the Boarding Gate [by the magazine rack] which the Lounge Drago-facilitator unlocks at the appropriate moment. Cool touch! And thus it was, at around 1300 on Monday, 27 Sep 10, I boarded ...
Airbus A319, G-EUOE.
BA 8038, JER-LGW.
Seat 3B [unassigned but available and a perfect size!].
At 1310, the Captain announced that there was a no-show passenger, and that bags were being offloaded. Eventually the bags proved elusive, the elderly lady was found and was allowed to board anyway. We pushed back at 1315, and were airborne at 1332, but not before I had carefully studied the emergency procedures card!
On a scheduled 55 minute sector, there was no time to waste and the CC rapidly launched into the CE lunch service [did I mention I was flying in CE?
]Mozzarella Salad with peppers, artichokes, asparagus and parmesan shavings. Quite delicious, I was assured, but neither beer nor honey seemed to feature so I decided not to partake. First black mark for CE on BA, in my book!
Arrival at LGW was at 1400 [10 minutes before schedule!!] which was followed by a wait for a stand to become available ... we got on the bus at 1415, and actually got land-side with bags by 1430. Then it was the taxi ride round the M25 to the LHR T5 Sofitel for a night-stop before the morning's flight to IAD.
Cpl Arnhem's story will continue later ... Moderators permitting
Last edited by T8191; Oct 9, 2021 at 7:55 am
Oct 21, 2010, 4:01 am
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Part 2 ... Onward and Westward.
And so I settled into the Sofitel at LHR T5 for a night's rest before resuming the onward journey in the morning. Not a bad spot to spend the night; the bed was large and comfortable and the facilities adequate. But Accor hotels certainly know how to charge for everything and anything!!
In the morning we set off bright and early for the 5-minute walk along the shiny corridors from the hotel to check-in at T5.
Bag-drop and Security were both extremely quick and efficient - completing both processes took less than 10 minutes. Then it was time to explore the various BA Lounges. As that aspect has been covered comprehensively on FT in the past, I shall not elaborate in detail. I explored the fairly busy Galleries South, and then headed for North which was less crowded. Beer was indeed available ... London Pride, Heineken and Grolsch, but honey was nowhere to be found. Tranquility in the North Lounge was disturbed by the duty "Mr Cell-Phone" who managed to talk non-stop for 30 minutes, but eventually our boarding gate was confirmed [B 47] and we headed to the tranquility of the virtually empty Lounge amongst the B-Gates.
28 September 2010
Boeing 747-400, G-CIVF.
BA 217, LHR-IAD.
Seat 14F
Push-back was on time at 1100, and we were airborne at 1121. Shortly afterwards, the hot towels were distributed ... along with large quantities of hot water that poured all over my Bearer. Not a great start!! At 1145, Mrs Bearer in 14F had her meal order taken; 10 minutes later both aisles were served drinks; and then at 1200 meal orders were taken from 14E. At 1215 it was 2nd Drinks (!!) and meals were served at 1230.
Lunch.
Starters
Traditional prawn cocktail
Parmesan Mousse with courgette
Salad
Fresh seasonal salad with vinaigrette
Main
Fillet of beef with horseradish sauce, Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes.
Braised chicken in a sweet pepper and tomato sauce.
Penne pasta with porcini mushrooms and truffle sauce.
Chilled main course salad of tandoori spiced salmon.
Dessert
Lemon and amaretti gateau with lemon creme fraiche.
Ice cream.
Cropwell Bishop Stilton and St Paulin cheese with savoury biscuits.
Selection of fruit.
Chocolates.
Most of the wine list seemed available, the champagne was Lanson Black Label Brut NV.
The Bearer had the 'shrimp' cocktail, as did the OH. They both found it very tasty.
He had the fillet of beef - a bit overdone, but otherwise OK.
Wine chosen was Chateau Lamothe-Cissac 2004, Haut-Medoc. Agreeably surprised, although it was a bit cool at the start of service.
She had the braised chicken - "fine but no lasting impression"!
Her wine was Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough NZ. Very nice and correctly chilled (not frozen!).
Later in the flight I checked out the Club Kitchen. It was well stocked, but neither beer nor honey was obviously available.
I understood I could have asked for a beer, but I decided to settle down and watch a couple of films ... Shrek and Alice [with the yummy Helena Bonham-Carter]. Nothing too demanding there!!
Tea was served at 1715 ...
... and we landed at IAD 1843. We were at the gate at 1855, and to our amazement were through Immigration by 1930. The CBP Agent said that the introduction of ESTA was making things run much faster [no more photographs or paw-prints]. By 2000 [UK time] we had picked up the rental car and we were rolling down the highway ... was this a record?
There were some positives on the flight:
The full wine list was available, and the white were correctly chilled.
The food was decent, although the rolls weren't quite as good as they were on the JER-LGW.
The CC were nice and friendly.
Some minor niggles:
The flood of water with the hot towels.
Service was a bit random ... e.g. 14F was offered a wine refill, 14E wasn't.
No offer of brandy with coffee.
NO HONEY
That's all for now, Folks ... more later when I have a bit of time.
And so I settled into the Sofitel at LHR T5 for a night's rest before resuming the onward journey in the morning. Not a bad spot to spend the night; the bed was large and comfortable and the facilities adequate. But Accor hotels certainly know how to charge for everything and anything!!
In the morning we set off bright and early for the 5-minute walk along the shiny corridors from the hotel to check-in at T5.
Bag-drop and Security were both extremely quick and efficient - completing both processes took less than 10 minutes. Then it was time to explore the various BA Lounges. As that aspect has been covered comprehensively on FT in the past, I shall not elaborate in detail. I explored the fairly busy Galleries South, and then headed for North which was less crowded. Beer was indeed available ... London Pride, Heineken and Grolsch, but honey was nowhere to be found. Tranquility in the North Lounge was disturbed by the duty "Mr Cell-Phone" who managed to talk non-stop for 30 minutes, but eventually our boarding gate was confirmed [B 47] and we headed to the tranquility of the virtually empty Lounge amongst the B-Gates.
28 September 2010
Boeing 747-400, G-CIVF.
BA 217, LHR-IAD.
Seat 14F
Push-back was on time at 1100, and we were airborne at 1121. Shortly afterwards, the hot towels were distributed ... along with large quantities of hot water that poured all over my Bearer. Not a great start!! At 1145, Mrs Bearer in 14F had her meal order taken; 10 minutes later both aisles were served drinks; and then at 1200 meal orders were taken from 14E. At 1215 it was 2nd Drinks (!!) and meals were served at 1230.
Lunch.
Starters
Traditional prawn cocktail
Parmesan Mousse with courgette
Salad
Fresh seasonal salad with vinaigrette
Main
Fillet of beef with horseradish sauce, Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes.
Braised chicken in a sweet pepper and tomato sauce.
Penne pasta with porcini mushrooms and truffle sauce.
Chilled main course salad of tandoori spiced salmon.
Dessert
Lemon and amaretti gateau with lemon creme fraiche.
Ice cream.
Cropwell Bishop Stilton and St Paulin cheese with savoury biscuits.
Selection of fruit.
Chocolates.
Most of the wine list seemed available, the champagne was Lanson Black Label Brut NV.
The Bearer had the 'shrimp' cocktail, as did the OH. They both found it very tasty.
He had the fillet of beef - a bit overdone, but otherwise OK.
Wine chosen was Chateau Lamothe-Cissac 2004, Haut-Medoc. Agreeably surprised, although it was a bit cool at the start of service.
She had the braised chicken - "fine but no lasting impression"!
Her wine was Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough NZ. Very nice and correctly chilled (not frozen!).
Later in the flight I checked out the Club Kitchen. It was well stocked, but neither beer nor honey was obviously available.
I understood I could have asked for a beer, but I decided to settle down and watch a couple of films ... Shrek and Alice [with the yummy Helena Bonham-Carter]. Nothing too demanding there!!
Tea was served at 1715 ...
... and we landed at IAD 1843. We were at the gate at 1855, and to our amazement were through Immigration by 1930. The CBP Agent said that the introduction of ESTA was making things run much faster [no more photographs or paw-prints]. By 2000 [UK time] we had picked up the rental car and we were rolling down the highway ... was this a record?
There were some positives on the flight:
The full wine list was available, and the white were correctly chilled.
The food was decent, although the rolls weren't quite as good as they were on the JER-LGW.
The CC were nice and friendly.
Some minor niggles:
The flood of water with the hot towels.
Service was a bit random ... e.g. 14F was offered a wine refill, 14E wasn't.
No offer of brandy with coffee.
NO HONEY
That's all for now, Folks ... more later when I have a bit of time.
Oct 21, 2010, 6:49 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Part 3 ... Homeward Bound.
My 3 weeks in the USA seemed to fly by, and it was time to head for home. My Bearers drove to IAD, where Mrs Bearer was deposited [with SkyCap and luggage] at Zone 1 Departures while he returned the rental car. Then it was time to check in at the BA Club World desk. If he'd got there two minutes earlier there would have been no wait at all, but even so we were only waiting for 5 minutes. The 4 bags were weighed in [nice allowances, BA, these people do a lot of shopping] and a member of ground staff slammed them violently onto the conveyor belt. Why did he need to do that?
Then down stairs to Security, where we headed for the "Premium Passengers" line for document checks. The 'system' appeared to be that both Premium and Non-Premium had separate lines leading to the same 4 desks; however, at around 1515 in the afternoon it was fairly quiet so there was no obvious need for 'priority'. After that we headed for the screening process, which had no priority arrangements at all and was the usual "take your pick and hope for the best" arrangement.
We discovered a TSA agent with a sense of humour, who explained that the procedures were always changing to keep everyone on their toes
It was the usual belts and shoes off, but all passed without difficulty and the whole process from start to finish was complete in 5 minutes.
Then downstairs again to the AeroTrain to the B-Gates, and the BA Lounge by B50. The speed and efficiency of the whole check-in and Security process meant that we arrived before the Lounge opened at 1530 ... so the Bearers crept off to the Smoking Lounge by Gate B73 for a quick puff.
We entered an empty Galleries Lounge at 1532.
On offer were a decent range of beers ...
Greene King Abbot Ale, Heineken, Coors Lite [I think that's 'nearly beer'] and Yeungling.
A range of dainty and fresh sandwiches were available ...
Adobo Chicken Salad Romaine Lettuce.
Honey Ham, Cream Cheese and Tomato [the closest I got to honey so far].
Roasted vegetable and Goat's Cheese.
Prawn Salad w. Lemon Aioli.
I had become accustomed to drinking wine on the trip, possibly influenced by the huge quantities my Bearer consumed, so I settled for the Prawn sandwiches and the Chicken wrap [the latter was delicious] washed down with a drop of Avia Pinot Grigio from Slovenia [
] which was really rather nice! I then settled down to guard the local area, and indulged in the popular sport of "people watching" as the Lounge filled up to near capacity.
Eventually it was getting close to boarding time, so the Bearers headed for the alternate Smoking Lounge by Gate B41 for a last puff. Perfect timing ... they reached Gate B42 just as boarding commenced for those in First, Club World, and Gold and Silver card holders.
19 October 2010
Boeing 747-400, G-**GA.
BA 216, IAD-LHR.
Seats 64 A/B
That's nice ... room for a Bear to move around, and travel in both style and comfort on the Upper Deck. First thing was the nice cool Lanson [I'm getting into this wine thing by now] and, as we subsequently discovered, a very brief encounter with rodavici from the FT community!! (We only discovered our common ground by PM a day later) At 1840 we pushed back for the flight home. By this time I was getting a bit weary and decided to watch a film ...
The pause feature was soon needed, as the Dinner service was about to start ....
Starter
Swiss tomato and autumn lentils with balsamic glaze.
Salad
Fresh Seasonal Salad with vinaigrette [what else would you expect?]
Main
Fillet of beef with truffle butter, mashed potatoes, french beans and tomato confit.
Chicken tikka masala with basmati rice.
Mozzarella gnocchi
Goodnight Express
Crocque-monsieur - ham and Swiss cheese with chipotle mayonnaise on Italian flatbread.
Dessert
New York style pumpkin cheesecake with fresh berries.
Farmhouse Cheddar and goat's cheese.
A selection of fruit.
Both Bearers settled for the Chicken option, and chose the rather nice Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough NZ. If the wine had been subjected to the same cooling process as the cutlery it would have been more successful ... neither Bearer considered asking for a refill, and none was offered anyway.
The meal was "OK" but I think they were both suffering from fatigue, and they soon settled down to try to sleep. I finished the film, which had a lovely happy ending for all the toys
Somewhere around 0-dark o'clock, the lights came on for "breakfast". My Bearer glugged his smoothie before remembering to take a photo, and having selected a roll from the basket realised what was offered ...
The roll was about 3mm from being completely stale, and the famous BA Bacon Roll never happened.
I think it could be described as an absolutely dreadful offering to Club World passengers. Yoghurt, a stale roll, a small quantity of some nebulous butter substitute and a pot of strawberry jam.
In a fairly grumpy Bear mode, I headed for the Galley. Despite the CC's denial of the presence of any honey on board, I felt the need to check myself. They did not lie ... yet again I was denied honey.
I returned to my seat, muttering and growling, for the arrival at LHR. We were well ahead of schedule, and landed around 0615 instead of 0640. Oh, great ... a remote stand, of course. Then the delay while waiting for the steps to arrive ... and then get on the bus ... and arrive somewhere in the bowels of T5 ... and only 2 staff at UK Immigration for UK Passport holders ... it was no wonder that when we finally reached baggage reclaim the bags were starting to arrive on the belt! But for once the "Priority" tags seemed to have worked. Our bags were amongst the first off, and we headed for Customs as the rest of the passengers started to drift towards the carousel.
There were some positives on the flight:
The full wine list seemed available.
The food was decent.
The CC were nice and friendly.
Some niggles:
Insufficiently chilled white wine. That's so basic I find it incredible that BA get it wrong so often.
No offer of brandy with coffee.
Breakfast was pathetic.
NO Bacon Rolls!
NO HONEY AGAIN
Pre-booked taxi to LGW for the last leg home ... the last part follows shortly.
My 3 weeks in the USA seemed to fly by, and it was time to head for home. My Bearers drove to IAD, where Mrs Bearer was deposited [with SkyCap and luggage] at Zone 1 Departures while he returned the rental car. Then it was time to check in at the BA Club World desk. If he'd got there two minutes earlier there would have been no wait at all, but even so we were only waiting for 5 minutes. The 4 bags were weighed in [nice allowances, BA, these people do a lot of shopping] and a member of ground staff slammed them violently onto the conveyor belt. Why did he need to do that?
Then down stairs to Security, where we headed for the "Premium Passengers" line for document checks. The 'system' appeared to be that both Premium and Non-Premium had separate lines leading to the same 4 desks; however, at around 1515 in the afternoon it was fairly quiet so there was no obvious need for 'priority'. After that we headed for the screening process, which had no priority arrangements at all and was the usual "take your pick and hope for the best" arrangement.
We discovered a TSA agent with a sense of humour, who explained that the procedures were always changing to keep everyone on their toes
It was the usual belts and shoes off, but all passed without difficulty and the whole process from start to finish was complete in 5 minutes.
Then downstairs again to the AeroTrain to the B-Gates, and the BA Lounge by B50. The speed and efficiency of the whole check-in and Security process meant that we arrived before the Lounge opened at 1530 ... so the Bearers crept off to the Smoking Lounge by Gate B73 for a quick puff.
We entered an empty Galleries Lounge at 1532.
On offer were a decent range of beers ...
Greene King Abbot Ale, Heineken, Coors Lite [I think that's 'nearly beer'] and Yeungling.
A range of dainty and fresh sandwiches were available ...
Adobo Chicken Salad Romaine Lettuce.
Honey Ham, Cream Cheese and Tomato [the closest I got to honey so far].
Roasted vegetable and Goat's Cheese.
Prawn Salad w. Lemon Aioli.
I had become accustomed to drinking wine on the trip, possibly influenced by the huge quantities my Bearer consumed, so I settled for the Prawn sandwiches and the Chicken wrap [the latter was delicious] washed down with a drop of Avia Pinot Grigio from Slovenia [
] which was really rather nice! I then settled down to guard the local area, and indulged in the popular sport of "people watching" as the Lounge filled up to near capacity.Eventually it was getting close to boarding time, so the Bearers headed for the alternate Smoking Lounge by Gate B41 for a last puff. Perfect timing ... they reached Gate B42 just as boarding commenced for those in First, Club World, and Gold and Silver card holders.
19 October 2010
Boeing 747-400, G-**GA.
BA 216, IAD-LHR.
Seats 64 A/B
That's nice ... room for a Bear to move around, and travel in both style and comfort on the Upper Deck. First thing was the nice cool Lanson [I'm getting into this wine thing by now] and, as we subsequently discovered, a very brief encounter with rodavici from the FT community!! (We only discovered our common ground by PM a day later) At 1840 we pushed back for the flight home. By this time I was getting a bit weary and decided to watch a film ...
The pause feature was soon needed, as the Dinner service was about to start ....
Starter
Swiss tomato and autumn lentils with balsamic glaze.
Salad
Fresh Seasonal Salad with vinaigrette [what else would you expect?]
Main
Fillet of beef with truffle butter, mashed potatoes, french beans and tomato confit.
Chicken tikka masala with basmati rice.
Mozzarella gnocchi
Goodnight Express
Crocque-monsieur - ham and Swiss cheese with chipotle mayonnaise on Italian flatbread.
Dessert
New York style pumpkin cheesecake with fresh berries.
Farmhouse Cheddar and goat's cheese.
A selection of fruit.
Both Bearers settled for the Chicken option, and chose the rather nice Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough NZ. If the wine had been subjected to the same cooling process as the cutlery it would have been more successful ... neither Bearer considered asking for a refill, and none was offered anyway.
The meal was "OK" but I think they were both suffering from fatigue, and they soon settled down to try to sleep. I finished the film, which had a lovely happy ending for all the toys
Somewhere around 0-dark o'clock, the lights came on for "breakfast". My Bearer glugged his smoothie before remembering to take a photo, and having selected a roll from the basket realised what was offered ...
The roll was about 3mm from being completely stale, and the famous BA Bacon Roll never happened.
I think it could be described as an absolutely dreadful offering to Club World passengers. Yoghurt, a stale roll, a small quantity of some nebulous butter substitute and a pot of strawberry jam.
In a fairly grumpy Bear mode, I headed for the Galley. Despite the CC's denial of the presence of any honey on board, I felt the need to check myself. They did not lie ... yet again I was denied honey.
I returned to my seat, muttering and growling, for the arrival at LHR. We were well ahead of schedule, and landed around 0615 instead of 0640. Oh, great ... a remote stand, of course. Then the delay while waiting for the steps to arrive ... and then get on the bus ... and arrive somewhere in the bowels of T5 ... and only 2 staff at UK Immigration for UK Passport holders ... it was no wonder that when we finally reached baggage reclaim the bags were starting to arrive on the belt! But for once the "Priority" tags seemed to have worked. Our bags were amongst the first off, and we headed for Customs as the rest of the passengers started to drift towards the carousel.
There were some positives on the flight:
The full wine list seemed available.
The food was decent.
The CC were nice and friendly.
Some niggles:
Insufficiently chilled white wine. That's so basic I find it incredible that BA get it wrong so often.
No offer of brandy with coffee.
Breakfast was pathetic.
NO Bacon Rolls!
NO HONEY AGAIN
Pre-booked taxi to LGW for the last leg home ... the last part follows shortly.
Oct 21, 2010, 7:21 am
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
The Last Part ... LGW-JER
The taxi arrived at LGW, and my Bearers were confused ... where are we? Where is Arrivals? Our driver explained the new system at LGW North: you get dropped off at the lowest level, then take the moving ramp. So, with 4 bags in tow we ground slowly up to the top. Where are we now? Oh, just one floor below where we need to be, and the signs for the lifts are very obscure.
Great new system, BAA Gatwick
However, when we eventually reached Departures it was perfection. Instant service at the Club bag-drop, from a lovely helpful lady. Armed with "FastTrack" stickers on our BPs, we got a bit confused by the Tensa barriers at Security until we discovered they opened a section if you had the sticker! After that there was no delay at all ... instant service without any problem.
The BA Lounge was not over-crowded, and we found some decent seats. There were a fair few young children around, but not causing any major noise. I went and checked the essentials ...
Heineken, Grolsch, London Pride.
Marmalade, Apricot Jam, Marmite.
In future I shall travel with my own honey supplies.
20 October 2010
Boeing 737-436, G-DOCZ.
BA 8037, LGW-JER.
Seat 4B
I really like these Bear-sized seats, I think BA should market them more aggressively!!
It was a typical BA Cabin Crew for this sector ... friendly and VERY quick and efficient, as they have to be on such a short sector. It seemed a matter of moments before lunch was served. The content wasn't specified, but it appeared to be some Oriental Fusion dish involving cold chicken breast chunks and a very interesting salad. Whatever it was, it was very nice.
A splash of the reliable Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc helped it slide down nicely, and by the time my Bearers had eaten their fill we were starting our descent into JER.
As usual, baggage reclaim in JER took almost as long as the flight ... especially as our bags were almost the last ones on the carousel. Eventually they arrived, and took a quick taxi ride home to start unravelling. I retired to my usual position in the Bearer's Study, and early in the evening they went to bed and slept for over 12 hours!
......................
And that's all. Probably a long way from being the most exciting TR you have ever read, but I hope there are a few useful (and less well covered) items in there to assist or enlighten.
Cpl Arnhem enjoyed his first BA experience, and has passed the word to the other Bears at http://www.holidays4heroes.org/the-sgt/ ... and he now has to complete another trip report for that, covering some of his activities on holiday in Virginia
The taxi arrived at LGW, and my Bearers were confused ... where are we? Where is Arrivals? Our driver explained the new system at LGW North: you get dropped off at the lowest level, then take the moving ramp. So, with 4 bags in tow we ground slowly up to the top. Where are we now? Oh, just one floor below where we need to be, and the signs for the lifts are very obscure.
Great new system, BAA Gatwick
However, when we eventually reached Departures it was perfection. Instant service at the Club bag-drop, from a lovely helpful lady. Armed with "FastTrack" stickers on our BPs, we got a bit confused by the Tensa barriers at Security until we discovered they opened a section if you had the sticker! After that there was no delay at all ... instant service without any problem.
The BA Lounge was not over-crowded, and we found some decent seats. There were a fair few young children around, but not causing any major noise. I went and checked the essentials ...
Heineken, Grolsch, London Pride.
Marmalade, Apricot Jam, Marmite.
In future I shall travel with my own honey supplies.
20 October 2010
Boeing 737-436, G-DOCZ.
BA 8037, LGW-JER.
Seat 4B
I really like these Bear-sized seats, I think BA should market them more aggressively!!
It was a typical BA Cabin Crew for this sector ... friendly and VERY quick and efficient, as they have to be on such a short sector. It seemed a matter of moments before lunch was served. The content wasn't specified, but it appeared to be some Oriental Fusion dish involving cold chicken breast chunks and a very interesting salad. Whatever it was, it was very nice.
A splash of the reliable Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc helped it slide down nicely, and by the time my Bearers had eaten their fill we were starting our descent into JER.
As usual, baggage reclaim in JER took almost as long as the flight ... especially as our bags were almost the last ones on the carousel. Eventually they arrived, and took a quick taxi ride home to start unravelling. I retired to my usual position in the Bearer's Study, and early in the evening they went to bed and slept for over 12 hours!
......................
And that's all. Probably a long way from being the most exciting TR you have ever read, but I hope there are a few useful (and less well covered) items in there to assist or enlighten.
Cpl Arnhem enjoyed his first BA experience, and has passed the word to the other Bears at http://www.holidays4heroes.org/the-sgt/ ... and he now has to complete another trip report for that, covering some of his activities on holiday in Virginia
Last edited by T8191; Mar 7, 2011 at 4:37 am
Oct 21, 2010, 1:32 pm
#24
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: BOS
Programs: BA Silver, Mucci
Posts: 5,289
Nice trip report, Arnhem, and may I congratulate you on your typing skills? It can't be easy typing a long TR with paws.
Psst! Arnhem! I think your bearers are very mean not keeping you well supplied with honey. They seem to be more interested in the wine!
Psst! Arnhem! I think your bearers are very mean not keeping you well supplied with honey. They seem to be more interested in the wine!
Oct 21, 2010, 1:40 pm
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
I was very gratified by the reactions of BA staff and fellow pax. I guess it helps being staggeringly handsome
What people thought of my Bearer doesn't bear [ooops] thinking about, of course, but he's used to that: it goes with the job.
PS ... he's very good to all the Team. He said something about "honey is liquid, which will cause problems at Security." I've spoken to him about that, and he's promised to arrange something for future trips.
Oct 22, 2010, 2:21 am
#28
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Oct 22, 2010, 2:54 am
#29
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Home: East Mids UK - Work (Base): Accra, Ghana.
Programs: BAEC: Silver - Marriott: Titanium
Posts: 12,086
Good Morning Cpl Arnhem, have you had your Honey this morning?
When is your next trip? Will you be dictating a Trip Report for that too?
BBB
When is your next trip? Will you be dictating a Trip Report for that too?
BBB
Oct 22, 2010, 4:11 am
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Good morning, and thank you - yes, normal diet has been restored! 
No long term plans at the moment, it's the quiet season. Most of the Bears are "on hold" in various locations around the UK, awaiting rostering for their next mission.
Now I really must get on with dictating my Mission Report.
No long term plans at the moment, it's the quiet season. Most of the Bears are "on hold" in various locations around the UK, awaiting rostering for their next mission.
Now I really must get on with dictating my Mission Report.
Last edited by T8191; Mar 7, 2011 at 4:38 am