British Airways - EDI-LGW-ANU-GND-LGW-EDI - J Class
Mar 7, 2003, 10:57 am
#1
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British Airways - EDI-LGW-ANU-GND-LGW-EDI - J Class
EDI-LGW-ANU-GND-LGW-EDI – British Airways J Class
For our annual holiday my wife and I decided on a week in Antigua and a week in Grenada, both in the Caribbean. BA operates 777s to Antigua (which then fly on to either Grenada, Tobago or St Lucia depending upon the day of the week) with a two-cabin layout – six rows of Club World Cradle seats with the rest being World Traveller (now the standard 9 abreast rather than the ultra-cramped 10 abreast they used to operate).
10th Feb EDI-LGW 18.50 B737-400 – Seats 7A and 7B
When we got to the Executive Lounge we were told that due to a change of aircraft there would be no catering on the flight other than drinks. We were presented with a voucher each for £3.50 to buy some sandwiches from the restaurant.
Flight boarded and left on time and arrived in LGW on time. One drinks round from the cabin crew who spent most of their time explaining to the passengers why there was no food and how they should have been told at check in and given a voucher.
11th February LGW-ANU 10.40 B777-200 – Seats 1A and 1B
Having read so much recently about the “sick 777s” at LGW, I was quite concerned that we were going to have poor service and no IFE on the 9-hour flight to Antigua. In fact everything was fine.
The reconfigured “tourist” 777s looked quite smart with the whole of the front cabin now devoted to Club World using the old cradle seats. Having got used to the flat beds it was quite a pleasant surprise to be in the cradle seats again. I personally think that in the upright position they are more comfortable than the flat beds.
We were given our newspapers, Molton Brown Kits and pre-takeoff drink of either orange or water. One passenger had a heated debate with the cabin crew about why they would not serve Champagne.
Took off on time, menus handed out and no problem with the choice of food. Three drinks rounds before lunch, so I took a couple of Kir Royales before settling on the Anubis Baruda red wine.
The menu was as follows:
Starters
Loch Fyne Bradan Rost salmon pate with toasted brioche slice
Or
Roasted baby peppers with Mediterranean vegetables and oregano dressing
Fresh salad and vinaigrette
Main courses
Grilled fillet of beef, tarragon butter, wilted spinach, sautéed mushrooms and potatoes fondants
Or
King prawn korma, rice and coriander naan bread
Or
Four cheese ravioli, pesto cream, wilted baby spinach and buffalo Mozzarella cheese
Or
Main course salad of Cajun chicken, sweet tomato, coriander and red onion
Dessert
Apple and sultana pie and custard
Or
Fountains Gold Brie and Stilton Cheese
Fresh Fruit
Wines
Champagne - Charles Heidsieck Mis en Cave 1997
White
Valentin Bianchi Chardonnay 2000 (Argentina)
Meursault 2000, Cottin Freres
Red
Anubis Bonarda 2000 (Argentina)
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Trerose 1999 (Italy)
I have actually had this exact same menu on a couple of other recent flights. The food was fine however, hot, and quite tasty. The crew were very attentive, especially with the drinks. Being sat in 1A I found that they filled our glasses on the way out of the galley and on the way back in.
Coffee and liquors followed we then settled down to watch the films. The IFE system was working fine with none of the problems we had been dreading.
Raided the larder a few times – I can’t resist Walker’s Chicken Flavour crisps.
About an hour out from Antigua they served afternoon tea as follows:
Poached salmon bridge roll and Brie with cranberry on wholemeal
Or
Egg and sun blushed tomato bridge roll and chicken Caesar on wholemeal
Warm fruit scones
Opera Gateau
Arrived in Antigua 45 minutes early and first off the plane into the blazing sunshine.
18th February ANU-GND 16.40 DASH 8-100 – Seats 5C and 5D
Due to some bizarre rule known only to the travel industry we had to travel from Antigua to Grenada on LIAT, the local Caribbean Airline. This was despite the fact that the BA half empty 777 leaves at the same time to make its short hop to Grenada. The Dash 8 takes two hours instead of 1 hour. But apparently BA Holidays cannot book seats on the BA flight even though that would make more sense.
Seat pitch on the Dash 8 was surprisingly good. In-flight catering was either orange juice or water and a packet of Tortilla Chips. Beer and Wine cost extra. We touched down in St Vincent for 5 minutes to pick up more passengers and arrived in Grenada on time.
25th February GND-LGW 19.30 B777-200 – Seats 1J and 1K
The first hour of the flight is the short hop back to Antigua, so when we boarded the CSD said that we they would not be starting the Club service until departure from Antigua. So we got our newspapers, but no pre-takeoff drink or amenity kits.
Once we had departed the crew then served either orange juice or water. They showed a half hour comedy programme on one of the video channels and then we arrived in Antigua.
We sat around for about an hour whilst the ground crew brought on the catering, the plane was refuelled, and the cabin crew changed over. Finally the passengers joining from Antigua started to board and we then got our pre-takeoff drinks, Molton Brown kits and dinner menus.
Once again the service was excellent and the IFE worked fine. The dinner menu was as follows:
Menu.
Starters
Marinated king prawns with asparagus
Or
Slow roasted tomato and heart of palm salad
Fresh salad with vinaigrette
Main Course
Grilled lamb cutlets, bean confit and grilled polenta
Or
Pan-seared breast of chicken, red wine reduction, roasted vegetables and rosemary potatoes
Or
Spinach and ricotta cheese cannelloni with tomato and basil sauce
Or
Main course salmon Nicoise salad
Dessert
Lemon and lime mouse
Or
British and Continental Cheese and biscuits
Fruit
Same wine list as outbound.
After dinner, and after watching a particularly spooky film called “The Ring” I reclined the seat and went to sleep. The next thing I knew was that the crew had nearly finished serving the continental breakfast, and that we were 45 minutes from LGW. Quickly grabbing the last couple of breakfasts we enjoyed the following menu:
Orange juice or energising fruit smoothie
Yoghurt with seasonal fruit and granola
Or
Corn flakes and milk
Mushroom and tomato toasted sandwich
Warm bread and croissants
Landed at LGW ahead of schedule and headed straight to the EC Lounge for a welcome shower accompanied by another handful of Molton Brown products.
26th February LGW-EDI 11.25 B737-400 – Seats 7A and 7B
This was a fairly standard shuttle flight. Left on time. The Ham and Cheese Deli-bag sandwich was literally thrown at us, followed by one hurried drinks round.
Overall the flights on this holiday were excellent and the service in Cradle Seat J was excellent. I know that they are going to upgrade the LGW 777s with NCW, and though I prefer the flat bed I guess it was good to experience the cradle seat for perhaps the last time.
Incidentally even though this isn’t a resort review forum, I cannot recommend Galley Bay in Antigua and La Source in Grenada highly enough.
For our annual holiday my wife and I decided on a week in Antigua and a week in Grenada, both in the Caribbean. BA operates 777s to Antigua (which then fly on to either Grenada, Tobago or St Lucia depending upon the day of the week) with a two-cabin layout – six rows of Club World Cradle seats with the rest being World Traveller (now the standard 9 abreast rather than the ultra-cramped 10 abreast they used to operate).
10th Feb EDI-LGW 18.50 B737-400 – Seats 7A and 7B
When we got to the Executive Lounge we were told that due to a change of aircraft there would be no catering on the flight other than drinks. We were presented with a voucher each for £3.50 to buy some sandwiches from the restaurant.
Flight boarded and left on time and arrived in LGW on time. One drinks round from the cabin crew who spent most of their time explaining to the passengers why there was no food and how they should have been told at check in and given a voucher.
11th February LGW-ANU 10.40 B777-200 – Seats 1A and 1B
Having read so much recently about the “sick 777s” at LGW, I was quite concerned that we were going to have poor service and no IFE on the 9-hour flight to Antigua. In fact everything was fine.
The reconfigured “tourist” 777s looked quite smart with the whole of the front cabin now devoted to Club World using the old cradle seats. Having got used to the flat beds it was quite a pleasant surprise to be in the cradle seats again. I personally think that in the upright position they are more comfortable than the flat beds.
We were given our newspapers, Molton Brown Kits and pre-takeoff drink of either orange or water. One passenger had a heated debate with the cabin crew about why they would not serve Champagne.
Took off on time, menus handed out and no problem with the choice of food. Three drinks rounds before lunch, so I took a couple of Kir Royales before settling on the Anubis Baruda red wine.
The menu was as follows:
Starters
Loch Fyne Bradan Rost salmon pate with toasted brioche slice
Or
Roasted baby peppers with Mediterranean vegetables and oregano dressing
Fresh salad and vinaigrette
Main courses
Grilled fillet of beef, tarragon butter, wilted spinach, sautéed mushrooms and potatoes fondants
Or
King prawn korma, rice and coriander naan bread
Or
Four cheese ravioli, pesto cream, wilted baby spinach and buffalo Mozzarella cheese
Or
Main course salad of Cajun chicken, sweet tomato, coriander and red onion
Dessert
Apple and sultana pie and custard
Or
Fountains Gold Brie and Stilton Cheese
Fresh Fruit
Wines
Champagne - Charles Heidsieck Mis en Cave 1997
White
Valentin Bianchi Chardonnay 2000 (Argentina)
Meursault 2000, Cottin Freres
Red
Anubis Bonarda 2000 (Argentina)
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Trerose 1999 (Italy)
I have actually had this exact same menu on a couple of other recent flights. The food was fine however, hot, and quite tasty. The crew were very attentive, especially with the drinks. Being sat in 1A I found that they filled our glasses on the way out of the galley and on the way back in.
Coffee and liquors followed we then settled down to watch the films. The IFE system was working fine with none of the problems we had been dreading.
Raided the larder a few times – I can’t resist Walker’s Chicken Flavour crisps.
About an hour out from Antigua they served afternoon tea as follows:
Poached salmon bridge roll and Brie with cranberry on wholemeal
Or
Egg and sun blushed tomato bridge roll and chicken Caesar on wholemeal
Warm fruit scones
Opera Gateau
Arrived in Antigua 45 minutes early and first off the plane into the blazing sunshine.
18th February ANU-GND 16.40 DASH 8-100 – Seats 5C and 5D
Due to some bizarre rule known only to the travel industry we had to travel from Antigua to Grenada on LIAT, the local Caribbean Airline. This was despite the fact that the BA half empty 777 leaves at the same time to make its short hop to Grenada. The Dash 8 takes two hours instead of 1 hour. But apparently BA Holidays cannot book seats on the BA flight even though that would make more sense.
Seat pitch on the Dash 8 was surprisingly good. In-flight catering was either orange juice or water and a packet of Tortilla Chips. Beer and Wine cost extra. We touched down in St Vincent for 5 minutes to pick up more passengers and arrived in Grenada on time.
25th February GND-LGW 19.30 B777-200 – Seats 1J and 1K
The first hour of the flight is the short hop back to Antigua, so when we boarded the CSD said that we they would not be starting the Club service until departure from Antigua. So we got our newspapers, but no pre-takeoff drink or amenity kits.
Once we had departed the crew then served either orange juice or water. They showed a half hour comedy programme on one of the video channels and then we arrived in Antigua.
We sat around for about an hour whilst the ground crew brought on the catering, the plane was refuelled, and the cabin crew changed over. Finally the passengers joining from Antigua started to board and we then got our pre-takeoff drinks, Molton Brown kits and dinner menus.
Once again the service was excellent and the IFE worked fine. The dinner menu was as follows:
Menu.
Starters
Marinated king prawns with asparagus
Or
Slow roasted tomato and heart of palm salad
Fresh salad with vinaigrette
Main Course
Grilled lamb cutlets, bean confit and grilled polenta
Or
Pan-seared breast of chicken, red wine reduction, roasted vegetables and rosemary potatoes
Or
Spinach and ricotta cheese cannelloni with tomato and basil sauce
Or
Main course salmon Nicoise salad
Dessert
Lemon and lime mouse
Or
British and Continental Cheese and biscuits
Fruit
Same wine list as outbound.
After dinner, and after watching a particularly spooky film called “The Ring” I reclined the seat and went to sleep. The next thing I knew was that the crew had nearly finished serving the continental breakfast, and that we were 45 minutes from LGW. Quickly grabbing the last couple of breakfasts we enjoyed the following menu:
Orange juice or energising fruit smoothie
Yoghurt with seasonal fruit and granola
Or
Corn flakes and milk
Mushroom and tomato toasted sandwich
Warm bread and croissants
Landed at LGW ahead of schedule and headed straight to the EC Lounge for a welcome shower accompanied by another handful of Molton Brown products.
26th February LGW-EDI 11.25 B737-400 – Seats 7A and 7B
This was a fairly standard shuttle flight. Left on time. The Ham and Cheese Deli-bag sandwich was literally thrown at us, followed by one hurried drinks round.
Overall the flights on this holiday were excellent and the service in Cradle Seat J was excellent. I know that they are going to upgrade the LGW 777s with NCW, and though I prefer the flat bed I guess it was good to experience the cradle seat for perhaps the last time.
Incidentally even though this isn’t a resort review forum, I cannot recommend Galley Bay in Antigua and La Source in Grenada highly enough.
Mar 7, 2003, 12:18 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Edinburgh
Programs: Still a lowly Blue with BA but inching towards Bronze. Managed to get to KLM Silver!
Posts: 4,308
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by edi-traveller:
Stayed at La Source.
Our third visit - I think it is just superb.</font>
Stayed at La Source.
Our third visit - I think it is just superb.</font>