Oxon Flyer

NZ1, LHR to LAX, Business Premier, B777-300, booked using bmi miles

Check in for NZ1 at LHR T1 started well : the check in monitors were proudly displaying "777-300 now flying", and no-one was ahead of me in the queue. Things then went rapidly downhill, as, after some extensive keyboard tapping and quizzical looks, the agent turned me away from the desk, as her system said I didn't have an ESTA : "you must get an ESTA, or I can't check you in". Hmmm, I do have an ESTA, so I had to take a pew on my suitcase, whip out the laptop, and check the status : sure enough, it was "expired". So I had to apply again, pay the $14 and anxiously await the online decision. Good, I'm approved, and I go straight back to the desk and am checked straight in.

NZ had thougthtfully provided a laptop next to their premium checkin area for similarly ESTA-less passengers, and the queue to use this was 5 or 6 deep. Clearly, based on the "this is the first I've heard of this" comments coming from the queuers, the ESTA message has not got through.

Anyway, I left them behind, went straight through fast-track security : no queue here at all.

Didn't bother with the Star Alliance lounge, which I find rather dark and depressing, and went straigtht to the bmi Great British Lounge for refreshment and relaxation.

As is often the case with bmi, there was a nice comedy moment. I presented myself to the lounge receptionist, and without a word of welcome, the dialogue went something like :

Receptionist (in thick French accent) : "Did they tell you about the walk ?
Me : "Excuse me ?"
Receptionist : "Did they tell you it's a long walk ?"
Me : "Well, I had rather hoped to fly there....."
Receptionist : "To the gate. It's a long way"
Me : "Oh, Yes, I know. I'll make sure I leave in good time"

Lounge was nearly empty, and I just took a seat the the bar of "The Local", grabbed a beer and some snacks (where have the Wingnuts gone ?) and watched the rerun of the Grand Prix on the TV.

Pausing only to take a picture of the ex-GF's underwear wallpaper (that's a reference for bmi posters only....) I did indeed leave in good time for the long hike to the far end of T1.

Stopped by on the way to register for IRIS, and was processed by a rather gormless, nail-filing, phone-texting teenager. The old Heathrow lives on, in this office at least.

Got to the gate as boarding was underway, and was detained at the podium with a request to prove I had an onward ticket from New Zealand, and the CMT printout (god bless CMT) did the trick nicely.

The new 777-300 (this was the first delivered, ZK-OKM) looked splendid in the sunshine, and biz class passengers had their own jetty to door 1. Nice.

My seat was 4K, a window half way back in the first bisuness cabin. The mattress was rolled up and stowed behind the seat, with the 2 pillows and blanket in the overhead locker. Amenity kit (toothpaste/brush, earplugs, lip/eye/body lotions and a natty pair of stripy sox) was in a lovely tissue-lined box on the ottoman.

I had been welcomed at the door, and the same chap came around as soon as I had sat down, introduced himself and offered a demo of how everything worked.

I was soon presented with a nice ice-cold G&T and nibbles, and settled back for the flight. Push back was on time, and the take-off run felt strong : we were in the air less than half way down the runway.

Both my front cabin, and the smaller rear business cabin, were full, but service was smooth, well-paced, and nicely understated, starting with a little dishette of nibbles (ham, cheese, sun-dried red thing, gherkin) and then unfolding with the full menu :


Dinner

To Begin
Smoked chicken salad with mango, papaya, cucumber, almonds, and old fashioned mayonnaise

From the bakery
Potato rosemary bread, garlic bread, black olive sourdough bread.

Mains
Seared eye fillet of beef with pearl barley, bacon and cream, caremelised onion jus and green beans

Pan seared halibut with nam phrik rum dressing, herb potato mash and asparagus

Truffled potato tortellini with wild mushroom stew, cherry tomatoes and basil

Angus pure beef burger wiuth salad greens, red onions, cheese and bacon offered with beetroot and horseradish chutney

Vegetarian soup of pea and sweet potato with crème fraiche and croutons

Prawn and asparagus salad with baby potatoes, pea shoots and tomato mayonnaise

To finish
Ice cream sundae of vanilla bean ice cream, red wine and cinnamon stewed plum compote, orange and pistachio biscotti

Desert trio of lemon crème and gingernut mousse, Opera cake and peach melba

Fresh fruit selection

Cheese selection of Cornish English Brie, Cropwell Bishop Stilton blue and Butlers Secret cheddar with quince paste, fig relish and cracker selection

Hot Drinks
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate


Light Refreshment

Smoothie
Peach, apricot and banana fruit smoothie

Fruit
Fresh fruit salad with passionfruit syrup

Sandwiches
Ham, cheddar and tomato sandwich
Ceasar chicken, rocket and sun kissed tomato sandwich
Roast beef with horseradish and beetroot relish sandwich
Smoked salmon with egg mayonnaise sandwich

Scones
Freshly baked scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream

Hot Drinks
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate


Self-Service Snacks
Help yourself from our range of snacks available for you to enjoy during your flight


I had the halibut, which was piping hot, and delicious. And I overdosed on the garlic bread, which is very more-ish.
I can only echo the glowing reports about the NZs wines : some real crackers, especially the sweet dessert wine, which was sublime.

In flight entertainment was super too : the new touchscreens are so much better than the previous handset-driven ones, and the content (games, movies, CDs, TV programmes) excellent. I watched Black Swan and the K-K-K-King's Speech before turning in for a quick nap : the bed was prepared for me while I took a quick pit stop after dinner.

At this point I would have liked to say that I had time to venture behind the curtain and write a report on how the innies and outies were sleeping in their new PE pods (that is as in "squeezed in like peas in a pod"), and how the economy passengers were faring now that NZ has sneakily and quietly increased the Y cabin from 9 to 10 abreast.

However, the bed was so comfortable I just kept on sleeping, only waking when afternoon tea was served an hour out of LAX, so that report will have to wait for another day.

The only minor complaint comes at this point : the bread around the sarnies was a rather dry. Oh well, nobody's perfect, not even NZ.

Straight into LAX on a lovely clear evening, arriving 40 minutes early, even after the ritual of stopping short on the taxiway and waiting for a tug to come out and pull you in the final yards to thegate.

Immigration was a farce : we were nicely lined up with 4 or 5 booths processing the queue, but then, one by one, in full view of the queue, each officer logged off, packed up and wandered off into the night, leaving only one booth open to process the 100+ people now in the queue. Fortunately, I was at the head of the queue by now, so got through relatively quickly.

< to be continued >

Footnote

A couple of family members travelled on NZ1 LHR-LAX the day before. Same menu, same excellent experience, except they had the newest plane (OKO, only a couple of weeks or so in service), and a crew on their first 777-300 flight, so apparently there were Post-It notes all over the galley showing where everything was.

Oxon Flyer

I didn't take this flight : family members continued on NZ1 to AKL. Reports were flight was as good as the LHR-LAX leg. Menu was :


Fast Dine Supper
Enjoy our fast dine option of hot soup, chunky bread and dessert as a quick bite to eat before going to sleep

Potato, leek and watercress soup with red capsicum cream

Dessert trio of chocolate, cherry pecan brownie, raspberry almond cake, meringue with lemon curd, blackberry and toasted rice

Supper

To Begin
Cured seared tuna with salad ratattouille

From the bakery
Wholegrain sourdough bread, garlic bread, black olive bread.

Mains
Pan fried cod with scallop, wilted spinach, fried shallots and cherry tomatoes

Chefs Selection PlateSeared New Zealand lamb loin with jicama slaw and yellow bell pepper salsa, potatoes, onions abd broccolini

Vegetarian risotto with radicchio, asparagus, pea and basil, offered with rocket and parmesan salad and lemon vinaigrette

Salad of star anise duck, cucumber, soba noodles and black bean dressing

To finish
Ice cream sundae with soy coconut caramel sauce and macadam ia nut praline

Dessert trio of chocolate, cherry pecan brownie, raspberry almond cake, meringue with lemon curd, blackberry and toasted rice

Fresh fruit selection

Kapiti Kakariki brie, Kapiti Kahurangi blue and Kapiti aged cheddar served with quince paste, fig relish and cracker selection

Breakfast
Get yourself started with a strawberry smoothie or your choice of juice

From the pantry
Fresh fruit salad
Non fat plain yoghurt
Non fat plain yoghurt with wild berries
Plain porridge
Apple and cinnamon porridge
Bircher muesli
Cereal selection of Honey nut granola, Raisin Bran, Weetabix, Corn Flakes, Coco Pops

From the bakery
Mini ham and cheese Danish
Pain au chocolat
Croissant
Wholewheat, white or raisin pecan toast, offered with fruit conserve

From the stove
Waffles served with fresh strawberry compote and banana whipped cream

Scrambled eggs with chicken sausage, streaky bacon, cherry tomatoes and potato hash cake

Poached eggs on English muffin with ham, field mushrooms, tomatoes and Hollandaise sauce

Hot bacon roll – a warm roll, buttered and filled with grilled bacon, offered with caramelized onion jam and barbeque sauce

Self-Service Snacks
Help yourself from our range of snacks available for you to enjoy during your flight

Oxon Flyer

Continuing from NZ1 in LAX, re-entering through LAX security was laborious, and we had to be scanned with the new sideways-on-hands-in-the-air scanner. NZ lounge was busy, so I went and took a long hot shower, and by that time things had quietened down as NZ1 had boarded.

Grabbed a Coke and some wi-fi, then was called at 22:30 to go downstairs to board the RAR.

After the new 777-300, the 767 looked really grungy : lots of yellowing plastic everywhere and those dated boxy overhead bins.

Biz was only half full, and economy less than a third full, so everyone had plenty of space to spread out into. (note for redeemers, that would explain why there were loads of J award seats available....)

Seats were OK, leather armchair recliners with adequate, rather than excellent recline and legroom. Seat next to me was unoccupied, so that made for a more comfortable flight.

IFE was fine : good, but not as good as the 777-300, as was dinner and breakfast. Except the scrambled egg, which was superb.

Pushed back 5 minutes early, but with adverse winds touched down in RAR 20 late.


menu was :

SUPPER

Starter
Cured and seared tuna with salad ratatouille and lobster dressing

Bakery
Garlic bread, black olive bread and wholegrain sourdough bread

Main Course
New Zealand lamb with yellow bell pepper salsa, Lyonnaise potatoes and broccolini with lemon

Pan seared cod with lemon caper sauce, baby potatoes, spinach and caremelised shallots

Wood roasted chicken breast with soft herb mash, zucchini, mushrooms and red onion

Dessert
Gourmet dessert of triple chocolate ice cream and pineapple and coconut icecream with chocolate almond wafer

Cheese and Fruit
A selection of fine New Zealand cheese and fresh seasonal fruit

Hot Drinks
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate

LIGHT BREAKFAST

Wake-up drinks
Start your day with a fruit smoothie, our choice of juice, freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate

Fruit
Fresh seasonal fruit selection

Bakery
Wholemeal, white or fruit toast and orange Danish pastry

Hot Breakfast
Cheddar and chive scrambled egg and chicken sausage, mushroom ragout and cherry tomatoes
Belgian waffles, strawberries, manuka honey apple syrup and freshly whipped banana cream

Oxon Flyer

Trip report to come, here's the menu :

MAIN MEAL

Starter
Poached prawns with coriander crème fraiche and local paw paw salsa

Bakery
Sourdough bread, dark rye with caraway seed bread and garlic bread

Main Course
Seared eye fillet with porcini butter, Cabernet jus, green beans and rosemary roasted potatoes

Macadamia nut crusted New Zealand salmon with ginger and lemon beurre blanc, crushed peas, carrot, courgette and baby potatoes

Spicy Madras chicken curry with vegetable stirfry and jasmine rice

Dessert
New Zealand Titoki tiramisu with cardamom poached pineapple

Cheese
Fine New Zealand cheeses

Hot Drinks
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate

Aerosett

Thanks for the info, look forward to the rest of your report.

ArizonaGuy

Awesome. I've been waiting for a full trip report on a 77W long haul in the front cabins.

TPJ

Nice report... But could we have more pictures please

Genius1

Great report ^ I wasn't aware NZ used the 763 on such a long flight to LAX. NZ is on my airline To Do list - but at the moment am very much a oneworld flyer (despite being BD Gold! ).

LGACIC

Did you receive an amenity kit on the LAX-RAR leg? Am thinking of redeeming in J on the reverse, but for some reason the possible lack of amenity kit is really making me hesitate!