Moomba

After three days of allowing the inner child to run free it was time to make our way back to the UK.
Our driver picked us up at 09:30 on a grey and rainy morning in Orlando. It seems we picked the right day to leave. The weather got progressively worse on the 40 minute drive to the airport and it was positively pouring by the time we got there.
We thanked the driver and made our way into the AA F check-in desks in the terminal building. There was no queue and we were served almost straight away. We informed the agent we were travelling on to MIA, LAX and onto LHR on a separate BA ticket. She took all the details and didn’t even comment about our strange routing. She tagged the bags all the way to LHR and printed boarding passes for the first two flights.

We were quite early for our flight so decided to wander the airport a little before going airside. After 45 minutes or so we went to join the security queues.
There were normal queues and an ‘expert traveller’ queue but we couldn’t find a priority queue. We decided to join the expert traveller queue and see what happened. Our BPs and passports were inspected and we joined the queue. It was very slow moving and the other non expert queue was rolling along at a much speedier pace. It took us probably 15 to 20 minutes to get to the front just as they started to use the nudo-scope. Terrific. I made it through this unscathed, apart from whatever lasting effects there are from those new war on terror excuse for harassing people.

We caught the train across to the mid field terminal and found a place to park ourselves. AA doesn’t have a lounge at MCO and my other option of priority pass was lacking also so it was the main terminal wait for us. To top off this our flight posted a 15 minute delay due to late incoming aircraft. No doubt the soggy day had some effect and thunderstorms over Miami were adding to the bargain.

AA seem to have a habit of boarding their premium passengers prior to the boarding time printed on the BP. We had learnt our lesson and where ready this time. Boarding for the First cabin was announced and we made our way down the ramp to the plane.

Flight AA1593 MCO-MIA Seat 2A
Aircraft: 757
Departure time: 12:05

I was welcomed on board and directed forward to the First cabin. I threw my bag under the seat and sat down. My friend was just putting his bag up top and he said ‘We have a celebrity on board’. I turned around to see Sir Patrick Stewart coming down the aisle to sit in 2F.

As boarding continued the crew collected my jacket and the captain announced a flight time of 39 minutes.

We pushed back at 12:15 and taxied for a while whilst the safety demonstration played in English and Spanish. We eventually took off at 12:30 and once safely in the air the crew came out with a back of snack mix and asked what I would like to drink. I went with a bloody Mary, my friend and Sir Patrick did likewise.
The crew delivered the drinks soon after and I sat back and watched the clouds roll by.



It was quite choppy and the captain announced that he would not be turning the seat belt signs off as we would be descending soon anyway. The crew managed to do a second BM for my friend and I before we had to batten down the hatches for landing.

We landed at 13:13 and taxied to our gate. The plane we were on was actually going to LAX next but had opted not to catch that flight as we preferred the 767 flight a couple of ours later.

Again we did the whirlwind tour of MIA and walked from one end to the other and then caught the shuttle train back to where we started. An Admiral’s Club was located near our arrival gate and we went upstairs to rest a while. On spying my boarding pass the agent said ‘Are you an Admirals’ Club member?’ I said no but we connecting onto a BA international flight to London. She said ‘from LA?’ incredulously. I said yes. She typed away and then collected 4 drinks vouchers and handed them over to us and asked us to enjoy our stay.

We went inside and I was shocked to see how small it was. We perched at the bar and ordered a drink with a voucher each and looked at the menu. We were both quite peckish so we ordered some food at the bar.

Another drink later and an hour or so on it was time to head down to the gate for our flight to LAX.

We backtracked along the terminal to our gate and they had just started boarding at 15:05 even though the BP stated 15:10. We were able to go straight up and have our BP scanned and headed on down the ramp.

Flight AA0277 MIA-LAX Seat 5B
Aircraft: 767-300
Departure time: 13:40

On boarding we made our way to our seats and I placed my jacket on my lap. The flight continued to board and after it settled a bit a crewmember came by and took my jacket to hang. One of the crew came around with trays of OJ, water and ‘champagne’. I took a sparkling wine to sip on whilst waiting. The captain announced a flying time of 5 hours and 4 minutes and announced some score information about a ‘World Cup’ Baseball game that was being played.

We pushed back at 15:35 and taxied out to the runway listening to the bi-language safety video again.
We took off at 15:55 and climbed into the grey skies above MIA.

After the ding the crew passed out portable entertainment units that included a small IFE unit and a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones. The content of the IFE was fairly limited and as usual there was not a lot that appealed to me. I ended up watching a birthday concert for Stephen Sondheim and listening to some music.



A round of drinks were then offered with the always delectable warm nuts. Of course I went with a scotch and dry to accompany these tasty little morsels.



The purser came by and announced that there were no menus loaded and explained what they had on board for the dinner service. He did start at the back and FEBO was observed. On offer this afternoon were a Lemon Thyme Chicken or Cheese Ravioli.

After drinks, and a re-fill it was time for the main event. A hot towel was distributed first and then the trays with the salad and starter were handed out. There was a choice of balsamic or Caesar dressing that was applied by the crew on demand prior to the tray being laid out. There was also an offer of pretzel bread roll, cheese roll or white roll. I was offered another S&D but declined in favour of some wine.



The starter was a prawn with noodles arrangement that was quite nice although as usual the cold prawns do tend to be a little tough. Refills of my wine glass were offered during the meal and after the starter was dispatched my chicken main course was set before me. The meal was quite nice and the crew very efficient and kept busy offering refills of wine during the meal.



After the main course was done and the tray taken the crew came back around with a trolley and the famous AA sundae service. Warm chocolate, butterscotch or berry sauce with nuts and whipped cream. I went with my usual butterscotch with nuts and hold the cream. A nice cup of joe accompanied this dessert.



After the meal service the crew cleared away and let us get on with watching movies, sleeping or whatever. They came through a couple of times to see if anyone needed anything. Around an hour out of LAX that familiar baking cookie smell permeated the cabin and soon after I was being offered a Toffee coconut cookie or a chocolate chip cookie. I went with the former and declined further offers of drinks.



Closer to landing the crew did the rounds with one final service offering of a glass of sparkling water with lemon in it.

We then got ready for landing at LAX and touched down at 18:15 and taxied to the gate.

We had tried to see if there was a way to get to TBIT without going landside and failed. We went to the AA customer service centre and asked a scary looking witch but she said we needed to go out and walk to the next terminal. Oh well what is another trip through security but a pain the neck.
We made our way outside and along the short walk to the TBIT terminal building where we located the BA desks and grabbed our next boarding passes. It seems seamless travel from AA to BA is not a smooth as the other direction and the agent needed to key our baggage tag details into the system.

We made our way into security after a bit of a browse around and the queues were very short. The usual BP, passport check and then another trip through a nudo-scope followed.
The entrance to the elevator leading up to the lounge was directly in front of us but we decided to wander down past the gate first to see what was on offer down there.
Nothing much was the answer to that. A few concession stores and some gates was about it. Back we went and up the elevator to the OW lounge. The agent at the F side greeted us and said they would call the flight when it was ready to board.

Inside the long thin lounge were various seating areas with a TV at one end and very QF style food and beverage set up along one side. There were various hot and cold food items and soup along with the usual sandwiches, crisps, sweet treats and the like.
I grabbed a glass of the bubbly and some food and connected to the wifi to do a bit of surfing.








We eventually got bored with the lounge and once again went out for a wander up the other arm of the terminal where the TG flight that I had arrived in on back in January was making ready to depart its long journey home.

After deciding that this arm was about as interesting as the other arm of TBIT we went back to the lounge again to wait out our flight.

Eventually it was time to go down and we made our way out just as they announced a slight delay. We decided to keep on walking down anyway.
At the gate we waited a while and they finally started boarding at 21:05. We used the elite line and made our way down to the aircraft.

Flight BA0268 LAX-LHR Seat 62A
Aircraft: 747-400
Departure time: 21:35

We were welcomed on board at door 1A and directed down the aisle and upstairs. The crew up there greeted us and directed us to our seats. I settled myself in the window seat making use of the storage bins and my jacket was taken and hung by one of the crew.

The crew came around with champagne, water and juice to sup on whilst waiting for departure. The captain announced a flying time of 9 hours and 19 minutes. We pushed back at 21:34 and taxied out to the runway. As we pushed back we could see our BA 747 had been nestled between a QF380 and a QF747 at the gate.

We took off at 21:49 and after the crew were allowed up they immediately came around a closed all the window shades. Amenity kits and menus were handed out and the drinks trolley rolled out for its first and only run of the evening.

I grabbed a Kir Royale and this was accompanied by a packet of not warm nuts.



The meal service started straight after and on offer tonight was:

Dinner
Starters
Duo of Santa Barbara hot smoked and balik salmon with fingerling potato salad

Heirloom tomatoes with Burrata Mozzarella and lemon mosto basil dressing

Main
Meaux mustard marinated fillet of beef with Madeira wine jus, glazed root vegetables and potato fondant

Organic chicken tikka masala with basmati rice, dal, caramelised onions and toasted naan bread

Spinach and Ricotta lasagnette with tomato vodka sauce and sautéed chanterelle mushrooms

Chilled main course salad of seared marinated prawns with seasonal organic greens, roast beets and goat’s cheese

Dessert
Flourless Valrhona chocolate cake with strawberry

Rouge Affinee and Idiazabal cheese served with raisins on the vine

A selection of fruit

Varda chocolates

Wines
White
Le G de Chateau Guiraud 2010, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, Bordeaux, France

Baileyana Chardonnay 2009, Santa Barbara County, California, USA

Red:
Chateauneuf du Pape 2008, Domaine des Senechaux, Rhone, France

Sequana Pinot Noir 2009, Santa Lucia Highlands, California, USA

Champagne:
Taittinger Brut Reserve NV, Champagne

The meal trays were delivered and the requested starter was placed on the tray. An offer of rolls and wine was made. I went with the salmon starter and some of the French red.



There was no offer of any more wine throughout the whole meal although I suppose I could have asked for some. I went with the Indian main meal that was rather tasty as was the starter but the curry option on BA flights has always been the ‘safe’ option.



After the main course I was offered dessert or cheese. I couldn’t pass up the chocolate dessert with some of the insipid stuff BA calls coffee.



The meal was cleared away and the cabin dimmed for the evening. I looked through the IFE choice and as usual struggled to find something to watch. I ended up just watching Halloween episodes of both the Simpsons and Family Guy. After these I hunkered down to get some sleep until breakfast time.
Around 90 minutes out of London the crew turned on the lights and came around with a wake up hot towel.

On offer for breakfast was:
Starters
Chilled fruit juice

A morning boost drink of mango, pineapple, mint and wheat germ

Fresh seasonal fruit
Or
Special K cereal

Fruit yoghurt

Bakery
Warm bacon roll served with tomato ketchup

A selection of assorted breakfast pastries

I was offered the ‘apricot’ boost drink that I accepted and it seems it was apricot and not the one mentioned on the menu. After this the trolley was rolled out and breakfast trays handed out. I opted for the cereal breakfast and followed this up with a bacon roll.





I asked for tea with lemon for my morning beverage and this was more palatable than the coffee.

The CSD was absent from the upper deck for all of the flight until he handed out arrivals cards just before landing. This was odd as I thought BA CSD were now supposed to work the upper deck on a 747 during the meal service. He also tried to give me a fast track pass and gave us both instructions on how to get to the arrivals lounge. It was up to us to point out to him that both of these would be closed when we arrived.

After breakfast it was time to make ready for landing.

We landed at 14:16 and taxied up to the terminal building. The captain announced that we would be held for a while until our gate was free. A few minutes later we started moving again and made our way to the far end gate in terminal B.

After thanking the crew and descending the stairs I awaited the doors being opened at door 1. Eventually someone did so and the plane started to empty. After the long walk to the middle of the terminal building it was down, down to the transit rail that links the infield terminal to the main terminal building. A transit was 2 minutes away as we had just missed one. We finally made it over to the main terminal and up to immigrations. The queues were not too bad and the IRIS machines were in action, which is always a blessing.

I was through quickly and down to the baggage carousel to wait for the bags. They had already started to pour out from the bowels of the airport although BA’s concept of priority bags was living up to the usual standard. My bag eventually made it out around 10 minutes later but my friend’s did not. We waited and waited until the same set of bags kept circling the belt. I eventually suggested my friend visit the baggage desk with his bag tag and I would wait to see if it appeared.
He came back around 10 minutes later with his bag in tow. It had been re-routed via SFO and was at another belt. Well thanks a lot for letting us know BA. Do you even understand the simplest concepts of communications and customer service?

Well there you have it a rather lack lustre flight. The crew were quite friendly and jovial but the service was a little lacking. Notifying the CSD, or someone at the belt or an announcement could easily have averted the baggage balls up but no they would rather have us wait for nothing. Bad form.


The arrivals lounge was well and truly closed at this time so it was a quick farewell to my friend and I was down to the HEX and the tube to get home.

FriendlySkies

Thanks for the BA report ^

And, for the future, you are allowed to opt-out of the Nude-O-Scope at ALL US airport. Unlike the UK, TSA is required to allow you the option of getting a pat-down, vs. being irradiated.

Moomba

Thanks FriendlySkies. I did know I could opt out but it isn't worth the hassle to me. I would rather join in on the class action law suit someone will create in a couple of years against the TSA for irradiating us.

origin

A great trip report thanks. ^

tuapekastar

Thanks for the TR Moomba...great reading. The A318 service LCY-JFK sounds an interesting little beast.

jamiel

The LCY flight sounds very similar from your description to that of the Concorde...convenient if you're from right around the airports, but diminishing in convenience and utility if you're coming from any distance away. Such is the penalty of the popularization of the 767....when I took the Concorde in 1998 I lived in Tampa...what a pain to have to fly to JFK to catch the flight...welcome to 1978!

Moomba

Thanks origin

Thanks tuapekastar. As I fly a fair bit anything new has that novelty factor the first time. As noted above I would, given the opportunity, take this service again.

Although the 318 service is a nice experience it pales in comparison to the rocket in terms of desirability. I think if I still had a choice of SSR and a domestic connection or a direct flight I would go Concorde. The same can't be said for the 318 service but if the connection wasn't too painful I would do this again.

Petrus

Great report Moomba! ^ The LCY lounge seems to have improved it's snack/food options considerably since I tried the service soon 2 years ago.

They irradiate diamonds to alter colour... imagine what it does to humans?

Abidjan

Great report. ^

Yahtzee

Good report - although that second sentence concerns me.

Moomba

Thanks everyone for the feed back

matthandy

Nice update Moomba although I was hoping for photos of you on the log flume!

Interesting that you had Patrick Stewart on your flight, did you say anything to him?

It interesting to see that BA still no proper breakfast, even on the west coast flights....

FLYGVA

Great report ^

Moomba

I didn't speak to Patrick Stewart. I think everyone deserves their privacy no matter who they are. He was extremely polite to the crew and other passengers without a hint of DYKWIA.

I know. I have always found BA to be stingy on their second meal service on anything but the ultra long haul flights.

Thanks FLYGVA

BA304

Great report. ^

I'd like to try the LCY service but it wouldn't be terribly convenient for me. However, as you say, time in the air is better spent than time in an immigration queue.

The service (once in the air) seems a little bit like a CW+.

How generous.