silonic

I accidently came across FT back in November and since that time I've been trying to learn the acronyms, study the tips and maximise my status from the experts on here. To them I would like to say thank you for allowing me to see travel in a different light. (My OH may not be as complimentary but only time will tell!!)

I moved to AMS a few years ago and realised after a little while that I could hit BA Silver status with less TPs if I registered my AMS address. Being a "no brainer" I did this straight away, only to find out late in 2011 that this privilege was being taken away from me.

All of my BA travel has been off my own back. Even though I do some travel with work, most of that is done on KLM metal. Unfortunately my father passed away in 2010 and for the last 18 months I been flying at least once a month to check on my mother. Due to knowing the regularity of my travels, I ended up buying LGW-AMS-LGW tickets (leaving on a Sunday and coming back on a Friday sometime the following month) as I found the price for the tickets were a lot cheaper (£39 singles), than buying AMS-LGW-AMS (approx €56 singles). As I still have a UK bank account it made sense doing it that way.

I regularly took advantage of the POUG in MMB and for an additional £49 - £59 I could upgrade to CE. So effectively for me, 5 return trips would get me 400 TPs & Silver status for around £900-£1000. I hit Silver for the first time in Sept 2011 and fairly soon after got the email telling me that things would be changing. I therefore needed to get another 800 TPs by March if I was ever going to experience Gold.

With my usual return trips to London in CE, one WT+ to NYC and a honeymoon booked (also in WT+) I realised I might actually be able to make Gold. That is when I found FT - realised how conned I had been booking WT+ tickets, starting learning about MFUs and before I knew it I was booked on a Tier Point Run to hit Gold.

This is my first ever Trip Report, so hope you like it. Having never prepared for one before, there are plenty of things I would probably have changed but this is going to focus on lounges, flights, food and service!

If you're still reading.....Enjoy!

silonic

AMS – LHR BA449
A320, Seat: 1A
Scheduled 10.40am, Actual Take off 10.47am
Landed 10.47am

On a cold Friday morning, at about 9am, I set off from home and caught the number 1 tram to Amsterdam Lelylaan station. There are at least 6 trains an hour that leave here to Schiphol and the journey is only 7 minutes long as Schiphol is the next stop. I have to admit to being very lucky to be able to check luggage and be sat in the BA lounge within 25 minutes of walking out of my front door. It differs from being stuck in traffic on the M25!!

I’ve embraced living in Amsterdam and usually I would take my bike to the station, but on this occasion, as travelling with luggage I decided to leave it at home! “Interesting Fact Alert”: There are apparently 1 million bikes in Amsterdam and 750,000 cyclists.



I’ve been into the AMS Galleries lounge on a number of occasions. You are usually greeted by one of three greeters. It can vary on how much they actually “greet” you depending on how much stress they’ve had that day but fortunately for me, I was warmly welcomed and told that they would announce when my flight was ready to board. The lounge was fairly quiet that morning, with very few business travellers flying to London on a Friday morning.



The “cuisine” in the AMS lounge has always been slightly quirky. If you’re flying in the afternoon you might come across some sandwiches but invariably the food on offer includes
- Crisps
- Some kind of Doritos nibbles
- Radishes
- Cucumber slices
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Crackers
- Green Olives
- Blocks of Cheddar Cheese in wrapper
- Spicy sausages

They also have their napkins in a great red, blue and white pattern which I can’t tell if it’s patriotic of BA or of the Netherlands flag.



View from the BA lounge



Fortunately for me, it was breakfast time. There’s not a huge selection to choose from but I decided to start my day with a strawberry yoghurt and an apple juice.



With about 30 minutes to go till departure our flight was called so I packed up my stuff and headed to gate D18. It’s about a 5 minute brisk walk, using some travelators to get to the gate. By the time I got there I was surprised to see that there were just 4 people in the security line. In case you didn’t know, AMS have their metal detectors and X Ray machines at the Gate when flying with BA. This does mean you get to the BA lounge quicker after checking in as you only have to go through passport control but it does also mean that any drinks you may buy at the airport must be consumed before you get on board.

Considering I was going to be going through the security process about 7 or 8 times in the next 4 days I was relieved I already had a fairly good pattern going. Everything in my trouser pockets went into my jacket. Jacket off, belt off, ipad out, watch off – shoes could be kept on at this airport!! 2 minutes later I was walking down the air-bridge and found there was no-one waiting to board. I was on time so no need to feel guilty about keeping people waiting. I was welcomed by name on board and got myself comfortable into seat 1A.

Fortunately for me no-one was sitting in 1C so I stretched myself out a little and sat through the pre-flight safety messages.

After settling in I was offered a hot towel. There are a number of different hot towels I’ve had with BA over the years:
1) Warm towel, not hot
2) Hot towel that is boiling hot
3) A perfect hot towel that lasts for approx 5 seconds and then dies a quick death (as they should do)
4) Any of the above towels but have too much water within the towel meaning drippage that usually leaves me with a wet crotch and hopes that no-one thinks I’ve had an accident.

This flight was Towel number 1!

After take-off I was asked by name if I would like some breakfast. The food itself was the mid morning cheese and meat plate. Still never sure about the piccalilli but the rest was enjoyable. There was only one drinks service but with a tea, water and Orange Juice I felt hydrated enough. I did say yes to another roll – I had only had a small breakfast!!



One of the things that have always bugged me a little are the milk sticks. I drink my tea fairly strong so therefore I only want a splash of milk. Due to this, you’re left with a lot of milk in a stick, that when on its side can either create a stream or even worse, I’ve found myself accidently squirting milk over myself when placing a heavy item on top of it.

On today’s flight it was like I had a message from a higher being. The sun was coming through the window at a very small angle and it seemed only right to put the milk sachet into the spare glass (alright I was just trying to find things to photograph at this point!!)



When flying from AMS to LON, it always feels like the moment you’re taking off you’re being told we’re coming into land. I do admire the CC being able to get a full service in and still manage to make you feel like you're not being rushed. I guess the real irony is that due to the time difference and the clocks going back an hour, we landed at the same time that we took off!

It was then time to disembark and look forward to the fast track security for connecting flights

silonic

Now seems a good time to introduce you to my itinerary. The more I read through FT, the more I learnt about new ideas I wanted to try and therefore the more my plans changed. So initially I wanted to buy an MFU and try my first ever CW flight. I wanted the flight to be long enough that I could appreciate the new class of travel, whilst also being able to sleep long enough to try and prevent jetlag. Looking through the sales in December, a good price for me was flying either to Vancouver or Seattle.

I ended up choosing Seattle.

I realised with the TPs that I would earn for this flight that during the honeymoon, that I have booked in February, I would become a Gold member during the outbound leg. A quick question on the BAEC forum told me that I wouldn’t be able to surprise the new Mrs S with entrance to the First lounge as you had to be Gold, not about to be Gold.

So how could I earn a few more TPs before then? Well, I started reading about cheap AA flights in F that could get you some good TPs. So I decided to book myself a SEA – LAX – LAS – LAX – SEA internal flight, for what I believed was going to be for 240 TPs. The next thing I read was that AA flights operated by Alaska didn’t accrue TPs – bugger!

HOW MUCH IS THERE TO LEARN?? (and how much is this going to cost me ) Oh well, time for me to just enjoy what I’ve now got booked.

Being a big NFL fan and being a huge Pats fan (New England Patriots) I decided to meet up with some cousins in Las Vegas for play-off weekend so we could watch 4 games and enjoy a little social gambling.

The itinerary was going to be pretty hectic but I’m young (so I keep telling myself) so why the heck not.
LHR – SEA, arrive Friday afternoon
SEA – LAS, via LAX leave Saturday morning
LAS – SEA, via LAX, leave Monday afternoon
SEA – LHR leave Tuesday evening.

There was really just one plan I was going to keep to – and that was say “Yes please” to everything I was offered.

silonic

LHR – SEA BA049
Boeing 747, seat 64K
Scheduled 14.35, Actual Take Off 15.23
Landed 16.20

One of the things I’ve really liked about FT is the willingness to share; whether this be advice, information or, as I saw with the Lounge Meet Up Thread, the possibility to guest someone into a lounge. As I was going to be in LHR I decided to extend this offer to anyone who wanted to be my guest into a lounge, admittedly just a Galleries lounge, but a lounge nevertheless.

I was extremely surprised and grateful to receive a PM from a fellow FT’er who explained that they were going to be flying from LHR on the same day, at approx the same time and would I like to be their guest in the Concorde Room? As their PM said it is a whole other world compared to galleries...

Yes I would!!

So when I switched on my phone after arriving from AMS I was delighted to see a text from liamrugby letting me know that the Concorde “Dragon” had my name and knew I was his guest. For the first time ever, I didn’t really care too much about the ridiculous state of Fast Track Security at T5 and actually just walked to a clearer security line and made my way down to the lounges.



And here is the entrance way to the Concorde Room



It was rather a comical moment as the Gentleman on reception, who could not have been nicer if he tried, got very confused with my arrival. This had nothing about being a guest – that information was clearly written down in front of him – but after scanning my boarding pass his screen was showing that this was my first ever CW flight. The conversation went something along the lines of:
“Hi, I’m here as a guest of liamrugby”
“Ah yes, we’ve been awaiting you. He wasn’t exactly sure where you were flying to but thought it was LAX but I couldn’t find you on any manifesto”
“I’m actually flying to Seattle”
“Ah yes, I can see now. Oh wait, it says this is going to be your first CW flight”
“That’s correct”
“Oh, right – well I should be welcoming you to the Club Lounge but obviously you’re here instead”
“That’s not a problem is it?”
“No, no, not at all. However I should be telling you a little about the Club World seat. I guess you don’t know how to operate it”
“I don’t know, although I’ve read up on the CW section on the BA website”
“Well I should tell you about the dimensions of the seat, but I can’t actually remember them”
“Really it’s fine, I’m very excited to be flying on my first CW flight and looking forward to experiencing The Concorde Room”
“Excellent, well have fun and enjoy your trip”

So in I entered. I met up with my host straight away who had to leave for 20 minutes or so for a meeting. I found myself a nice little seat in front of the fire and made myself comfortable.



I loved how well lit the bar area was and was tempted to prop myself on a stool there. However, I thought it would be a bit more “proper” if I took a seat and waited to be served.



A minute or two later a waitress asked me if I would like a drink. I asked what she recommended and she said “how about a nice glass of champagne? It’s Tattinger or a Bollinger Rose”. The Tattinger sounded lovely and so it was when it came.

My host came back and joined me for a few drinks. It was a great way to start a trip, being able to share a few travelling stories whilst marvelling at the surroundings we both found ourselves. I guess if I was doing this properly I would have booked myself a Cabana or a treatment but to be fair, this was extremely fun and a quick way to pass the time.

The lounge itself is really peaceful. You’re aware that there are thousands of people swarming around in the terminal just outside the glass doors, yet you don’t feel it. Nothing seemed rushed; everyone looked relaxed and I did feel like a VIP.

After 3 glasses of champagne we decided it would be a good idea to have some lunch. Although we could have eaten in the lounge area we thought it be a bit more enjoyable to eat in the dining room. We took a seat with the best view of the bar (well I did) and perused the menu.



For starters we had a choice of:
Seasonal Soup of the day with crusty bread
Salad of Ragstone Ash goat’s cheese, heritage beetroots, toasted pine nuts, Secrett’s farm leaves
Cornish crab with avocado, black olive toasts, citrus dressing

T5 Classics were:
Caesar Salad (with grilled chicken or hot smoker Severn and Wye salmon)
Four cheese tortellini, courgettes, chard, lemon crumb
Shepherds pie made with Lake District lamb, buttered seasonal farm vegetables
British antipasti plate

Signature Sandwiches:
British Airways prime organic beef burger, Ford farm smoked cheese, potato wedges
Pressed club sandwich, British chicken, free range egg, Wiltshire cured bacon

Dessert:
Panna Cotta, bramble confit
Chocolate mousse, salted caramel, mandarin
Sticky toffee pudding, caramel sauce, custard
Seasonal fruit salad
Selection of cheese

I decided to start with the Cornish crab



And then had the beef burger for main course



It seemed wrong not to carry on drinking the bubbles with lunch (hic)



It was around this time that we were aware that the lounge was now being graced with the presence of Chris Martin of Coldplay fame. We were contemplating asking him if he would be happy for a photo but unfortunately he had left by the time we had finished our lunch.

I bid farewell to my host, who went to catch his flight and took my seat back at the fireplace. At that stage the waitress from the restaurant came over and asked if I wanted dessert now. Keeping to my mantra, I said Yes Please and agreed to have one more glass of champagne. I went with the chocolate mousse and it was definitely the highlight of the lunch for me



At this point a lady walked towards me and my mind went in overdrive trying to work out where I recognised her from. I’m fairly positive that my face was now showing recognition and was expecting hers to change to. I couldn’t remember if she was a friend of a friend or an ex work colleague or maybe someone I had met on holiday.....

It was at this point I realised it was Kate Winslet..........I quickly dropped my gaze from hers and realised I was only starring at a Oscar winning actress. Hopefully she gets that a lot. A quick text to Mrs S to let her know followed by a ton or replies expecting pictures, autographs, exchange of phone numbers!! I left her to herself (and her new beau) and headed for my flight to Seattle.

After reading another section on FT about the best CW seats, I had chosen 64K for my outgoing flight. We boarded the plane from a Club & First entrance and was shown along to the stairs that would take me to the UD. I had flown UD before, about 10 years earlier when flying with Virgin. They used to have they Premium Economy in the UD but this was going to be the first time I was experiencing CW up the stairs.

The UD was about 2/3 full



There were a number of things that struck me straight away. First of all was the room. I couldn’t get over how much room I had. For those of you that travel in CW or F a lot, this is just part of the norm, but I was just impressed with the space I had.



I’ve never done this on a flight before:



There were a couple of other things I liked about 64K. Firstly, I was able to get out without having to step over anyone. Secondly, having 3 windows to myself made me feel like I was sitting in my own private jet



The two major negatives about this seat were:
1) The person sitting in 63K never stopped kicking their foot rest. This was attached to my head and became rather frustrating. Being British, I didn’t complain but instead gave a couple of sharp looks which seemed to eventually do the trick.
2) The CC insisted on doing everything via the divider. I wish they would have come round to my feet – especially when I was watching a film and was lost in my own world when a hand came close to my face, from across the divider and made me jump out of my skin. The reaction didn’t quite match the action, but I still would have seen them better had they come round the corner from my feet!)

Anyway, I wanted to enjoy this as much as I could as I had no way of knowing when I might experience this again (I knew I was never going to experience my 1st ever CW flight again after this!). I was offered a drink and decided to have one more Tattinger along with a glass of water.



I like that you’re actually treated like an adult in these higher classes. I knew I needed to switch my ipad and blackberry off. The CC knew I needed to and I did without having to be told a million times, 15 minutes before the door shuts like I’m used to! How refreshing....

We took off about an hour late and I started looking through the menu at what was going to be my next meal. I had already realised that my usual daily calorie count was going to be blown away on this trip, so I just swallowed my pride and decided to carry on the New Year’s Diet when I returned!

Starter:
Pheasant, duck and pistachio terrine with plum and baby onion confit and lightly toasted brioche.
Five Mile Dairy Goat’s cheese with blood orange dressing

Salad:
Fresh Seasonal salad served with vinaigrette

Main:
Seared fillet of Herefordshire beef with a Parmesan crust served with celeriac dauphinoise and savoy cabbage
Roasted breast of corn-fed chicken with bread sauce, rich chicken jus, roasted root vegetables and sautéed Jerusalem artichokes.
Winter vegetable casserole with spelt pearl barley
Chilled Main Course salad of Severn and Wye smoked salmon with pastrami spices, red cabbage slaw and pumpernickel bread

Dessert:
Chocolate and raspberry delice with raspberry coulis
Cropwell Bishop Stilton and St Paulin cheese
Selection of Fruit

Chocolates

Whilst pondering on my choice I was offered a drink from the bar. I decided that it was time to move away from the Champagne and to try something a little different. Not sure why, but really fancied a G&T and they had Tanqueray as well which made my choice even easier. This was served with a selection of nuts



When ordering time came, I decided to start with the pheasant terrine.



It was ok – it was a little dry for my liking and I felt it lacked seasoning but my taste buds may have taken a little hammering from the Tattinger! However I did have a glass of Baileyana Chardonnay 2009, Santa Barbara County, California. This wasn’t a knock out wine but it certainly had a nice fruity undertone which I felt accompanied the pheasant.

Another FT thread I had read warned about eating any type of beef on flights due to the chance that things like steak will invariably be overcooked. Taking this advice on board I decided on the chicken.




It was a rather dry and needed the rich jus that came with it. A little criticism here would be the wish to not have my gravy served in an aluminium foil cup. Surely a little chinaware ramekin or even a small gravy boat would be more attractive to the eye (and less painful to the touch) than the current offering.

I decided to throw convention out of the window and I had a glass of the La Crema Pinot Noir 2009, Sonoma Coast, California with the chicken. To be honest, I feel Pinot’s can be served with anything (sorry to offend all wine connoisseurs).

For dessert I had the chocolate and raspberry delice with a cup of tea



Maybe because I’m a chocoholic but I thought this was a great dish. The chocolate was dark and bitter and the coulis worked really well with it, softening the flavour and giving it a fruity lift.

silonic

One thing I have challenged myself to do in the next 5 years is to start trying to like whisky. I am a big fan of Bourbons and other fairly hard spirits but I just can’t seem to drink whisky. I’ve been advised on a few good ones to introduce my palate to but until that time I’ll just have to enjoy a Baileys as a post dinner drink (and my cue for a well earned sleep!)



About 4 hours later I woke up and decided to have a venture about. I walked down to the Club kitchen and although not very hungry, picked up a couple of items that I could eat later on (and be able to take a picture of)



With 2 hours of the flight remaining the CSD came over to introduce herself and said she understood it was my first ever flight in CW and how was I enjoying it? “It’s been great so far”Was there anything I didn’t like? No, not really. Great, well welcome and can you feel out this questionnaire? “Sure”. Wasn’t sure if I was being set up here but thought it was nice for the CSD to say hello, although if I had one comment it would be that she came and saw me earlier in the flight (maybe she did, I was asleep!)

I really liked the CC who were looking after us in the UD. They were attentive when needed but were also willing to let us enjoy the AVOD system if we were using it without interrupting us too many times. There was always one of them in the galley and they were more than happy to get more drinks whenever I wanted – although from this point this was purely focussed on water. I was still getting kicked from behind occasionally and my “neighbour” decided it was fine for him to belch and break wind – I find this kind of behaviour disgusting and remember my father always telling me that you can’t put a price on good manners. Even with these annoyances I was surprised out how quickly the flight seemed to be going and was starting to realise that my maiden voyage in CW was coming to end. Better prepare myself for tea.....

So tea consisted of 3 finger sandwiches:
Scottish Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese
Roast Beef and Mustard
Cream Cheese and Cucumber

In addition there was a scone with strawberry preserve and clotted cream.



I did think it was funny that the sandwiches were served in the cellophane wrapper. If the CC had unwrapped them and put them on a plate, we’d be none the wiser and from a presentation point of view, I thought this would be nicer. I’ve heard a number of people complain about the sandwiches but I actually thought they tasted ok. Seemed to have travelled fairly well.

I then ensured that the jam and clotted cream were put on the scone in the only “correct” way of doing so.



In a recent BAEC thread, the topic of scones was discussed.....in depth. One query was how a lady could eat a scone without it crumbling everywhere. Well I’m delighted to announce I trialed a new method of cutting the scone into quarters and happy to say it did not crumble away and was a perfect size to pop into the mouth in one go.



Following tea, we were now ready for our arrival in Seattle. We landed about 16.20 and were at the gate by 16.25. One of the biggest advantages of being sat in 64K was being the first person down the stairs and approx the 6th person off the plane. It meant that I didn’t have to queue long in immigration and had my luggage by 16.55 and headed for the train.

broms

Loved reading about your experiences, flights, and enjoyed the pictures! Great TR, and glad FT has already given you so much.

Looking forward to reading about future trips, let's hope you have plenty more celebrity sightings.

BA.MF.CSM

Hello!

Wonderful photos, and a great trip report! I always love reading these!

Just to answer a few of your thoughts regarding service etc;

The service standard in CW is to always serve through the divider screen. It is in the interests of health and safety as having to contort one's body around the back of the seat is not good.

The standard is to pour any sauce in foils into the main meal dish. This should have been done, however, i do understand that not everyone likes the sauces we serve with our entrees, and so it was probably a little bit of extra consideration from the crew on the day.

The sandwiches that come in the plastic wrapper are in there to stay as fresh as possible. There simply is'nt the time to unwrap everyone's sandwiches, and there is no hygienic way of then placing the sandwiches on the plate, other than wearing gloves, or using tongs. I think the majority of our customers would prefer a slicker service, and avoid having to be woken earlier as the service would take longer.

The CSD/CSM is actually only required to greet, in person, GOLD and PREMIER card holders(time permitting). Although SILVER card holders are very important customers, it is simply unrealistic to expect us to do greetings for them, too. If there is a very light load, and there is excess time, I would consider greeting Silver cards too, but there rarely is. As I gain experience, one of my targets is to interact on a name basis with all of my customers in CW, but this will take time.

Hope that clears a few things up

Happy flightings!

Kind regards

BA.MF.CSM

silonic

Thanks very much It's quite fun putting some of my thoughts down in words. Hopefully you're ready for more - as this TR has barely started

Big fan of celebrity sightings - the return leg was slightly disappointing but you'll have to stay tuned with regards to that!

Thanks again and really appreciate you giving me the insiders knowledge. I guess a lot of that does make sense and now I actually am a Gold member I look forward to being greeted by the CSD in person

silonic

Just a little prior warning, this next posting does not have any pictures in it but fear not, after this short interlude we'll be back with some "interesting" photos from the next leg of my journey.

In the meantime.........

Getting to downtown Seattle really is a breeze. For approx $45 you can jump in a taxi to downtown Seattle. Journey time can be about 25 minutes but if you arrive around rush-hour, expect to at least double that. Personally I took the Central Link light rail. Think my ticket to Westlake (the very final stop) was about $2.75 for a single. I then took to the monorail to the Space Needle and walked a few blocks to my hotel.

I stayed in a really cute place called The Maxwell Hotel. I now realise that to the professional traveller I should have stayed somewhere to gather Avios. Something to keep in mind next time I do a TP run but for now, I really like this place and it gets 2 thumbs up! ^^

I arrived shortly after 6pm and I was knackered (considering it was now 3am in Amsterdam and I had been up for 21 hours now). Sleep was screaming at me but I had other plans – I actually did!! Another great thing about FT is the ability to just send random strangers PMs and then garner some fantastic local knowledge. Seeing the location of 2 particular FT’ers I sent PNWBrit and chucko a PM asking for advise on where they could recommend for food. I was only going to have 2 meals in Seattle (Friday night dinner and Tuesday lunch) so I chose 1 recommendation from both of them - and thank you very much for taking the time to get in touch.

PNWBrit recommended Matt’s in the Market and being a Friday night I thought it be wise to make a reservation a few days before my arrival. Admittedly, over the last 18 hours I had eaten enough to feed a small community......alright a LARGE community.......... but having spent many years working in restaurants I know the annoyance of “no-shows” so a quick shower and I was heading towards Pike Place Market.

Matt’s in the Market, as the name suggests, is in the market (well in the entrance way to the market) and is located on the 3rd floor of a building hosting a number of other eateries. It’s a cute little place with approx enough room for 35-40 covers. Being a Friday night it was bustling but I had already booked myself a seat at the bar, having confirmed that I was still able to select from the main menu. In the right hand corner of the restaurant, as you walked in, was the open planned kitchen and there were 3 chefs furiously working. Having “been there and done that” I full empathised with seeing one of the chefs take a frantic swig at a bottle of water whilst moving straight onto the next dish.

There were about 5 or 6 wait staff and I probably stood at the door way for about 7 minutes before someone came over. To be fair, they were busy and having experienced Dutch customer service, only have to wait 7 minutes didn’t really affect me.

I had already told myself that I would only have a soft drink with dinner but the appeal of a locally brewed IPA was too much, so I changed my mind within about 45 seconds of sitting down. I was excited to be in “fresh fish and seafood territory” so decided to avoid the meat offerings and instead went for a starter of “baby arugula and Dungeness crab, avocado, citronette, marcona almonds”. This salad was unbelievably refreshing and if there was any criticism it was the need to wanting more of the delicious crab – kind of blew away the crab appetizer I had at the Concorde Room earlier that day (although by this point it might as well have been a year ago the way my mind & body was feeling)

I decided to try the locally caught Pacific Cod, with fingerling potatoes and pureed fennel. I could tell straight away that the fish was fresh, unfortunately though it was undercooked. I caught the attention of the barman who was doubling up as my waiter and asked him if he could just ask the chef to put it back in the oven for 3 more minutes. The barman explained that this was the way they served the cod. Though I’ve not been working in catering for quite a few years, even when I did I never would share this information when the occasional complaint would arise when dining out at restaurants. I knew this cod was undercooked and was fairly sure the head chef would realise when he saw what I was seeing.

He did, as 30 seconds later the barman now apologised for the fish and explained that they had a new chef working and that they would be cooking the dish again from fresh. Not a big deal as it can happen to the best of us but I appreciated the gesture in starting again.

In fact they went a step further and actually comp’d my beer and salad, which I thought was very kind. By the time I had finished my main course, I knew it was time to say my goodbyes and get a taxi back to the hotel for a well earned rest – possibly just a food coma!

I think I fell asleep within 4 seconds of my head touching pillow, but not before I had set my alarm for a 5.30am start

silonic

SEA – LAX AA 6778 but operated by Alaska Airlines 456F
Boeing 737-800, Seat: 3A
Scheduled 08.00, Actual Take off 08.13
Landed 10.33am

I took advantage of the hotel having a good rate with a local town car company and got picked up at 6am. It was a struggle getting out of bed, but it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me and I’ve...........got to stop singing random Michael Buble songs!

The weather in Seattle was now getting cold and there was a fine drizzle coming down on this particular Saturday morning with a pending snow storm in the forecast. Being so early in the morning we made the trip to Seattle Tacoma within 25 minutes, barely 15 hours after I had last left the airport.

To my amazement the airport was heaving with people. There was a real bustle about the airport, similar to being at Schiphol on an early midweek morning. There were long queues at the booking terminals so I found the 1st class check in and asked the Alaska Airways checkin if I needed to print my boarding pass? Absolutely not, was the reply and so the friendly and jolly checkin clerk had my two boarding passes in hand with assurances that my case would arrive in Las Vegas. I was then showed the fast track security line which, although looked quicker than the normal security line, was still at least 40 people deep.

Normal procedure – items in trouser pockets into coat pocket, coat off, belt off, ipad out, watch off....and shoes off here too and then I got x-rayed for the first ever time. It’s a bit of a weird process especially once it’s completed but you then have to wait on the 2 foot prints as the security officer listens, via ear piece, to the “man in the sky” who either gives you the thumbs up or thumbs down. As expected I got the ^

I then headed for the Alaska Airlines lounge. There were 3 greeters behind a desk and they were all in particularly good moods considering the day and the early hour. I was explained that downstairs is more for business people and therefore quieter, whilst upstairs is a more lively place. I chose downstairs and grabbed myself a slice of fruit bread and a pot of jam. To be honest the lounge was nothing to really write home about



But wasn’t bad compared to some of the domestic lounges I had experienced in the past.



They were also correct about people keeping quiet in the lower lounge. There were plenty of signs to remind you in case you forgot



Now this is slightly embarrassing, but I do remember a while ago seeing a plane and noticing a brief glimpse of its tail and thinking to myself “wow that must me a Jamaican airline as that looked like Bob Marley on the tail”. Well for the first time ever I came across my Bob Marley plane again and this time I realised my stupidity as I stared at the plane that would be taking me to Los Angeles.

Has anyone else ever made that mistake?



I had to take a shuttle across to the S gates so literally had 10 minutes in the lounge, just enough time to download a paper onto my iPad, before heading to the gate. Upon arriving I saw the priority lane and headed down. Everyone was getting there BPs scanned but mine beeped upon arrival. I knew there wasn’t going to be an upgrade, unless the captain was asking me to sit in the Jump Seat, but instead the checkin lady looked down at a piece of paper and said “Ah Mr. Silonic, you’re good to go ahead”. Ok, I will.

I took my seat next to a middle aged lady and felt so bad that within 30 secs of sitting down I realised my camera was in the hold above, so having clambered back over her I got my prize possession and got ready for the flight.

First class was 4 rows in a 2/2 formation. There were big arm rests in between you and your neighbour and an extra tray that pulled out from the armrest for drinks. Tray table was also in all of the armrests instead of being pulled down from the seat in front.



Upon boarding we were offered a water or a coffee. I decided the caffeine pick up would be worthwhile although still find adding cream instead of milk an acquired taste.

It does always amaze me the number of different ways that safety announcements are made depending on the airline you are travelling with. I guess I’m used to BA’s style however on Alaska they explained the oxygen masks before talking about the seatbelt. On KLM flights across Europe they don’t even bother talking about the life jackets – obviously not expecting any kind of Hudson style landings in Europe!! Well today the person speaking obviously needed the toilet because I’ve never heard a safety briefing spoken so quickly.

Captain welcomed us on board and was very jovial and chatty, mixing his pre flight chat with humour and info. Then he introduced a male cc who was on his first flight with Alaska Airlines. He even gave us his bio, including growing up in the costume design set for star wars; being a body stunt double for Mulder from the X Files and something else which escapes my mind.

As we took off, we eventually flew through the darkness and the rain and found a beautiful sunrise above the clouds







After about 15 mins of flying the cc came round and by name asked us if we would like a drink and if we would be having breakfast. Yes and Yes (Obviously!!), although did decide to stay away from the alcohol after yesterday’s indulgence and asked instead for a diet coke. Breakfast was 2 pies. One was with egg, bacon and cheese whilst the other was filled with egg and sun dried tomato. They were, for a better word, different.....



They were accompanied by a hot tomato wedge, a strawberry and a pineapple chunk. I have to admit, the pineapple was one of the sweetest and tasty pineapple I had eaten for a while – would have been happy with a bowl of that.



One cool thing was the napkin. It had a button hole in the corner so should you wish to pin it to you neck you could just push the top button of your shirt through the hole and not worry about it falling down or getting any food down you.

Now this is where the kid in me came to fruition. It’s been a while since I’ve taken a US domestic flight but all of a sudden I realised I could connect to Wifi – wow. Not sure if there was a discount or a code for F passengers but I spent $9.99 or so and just had to send my OH an email from 32,000 feet!

One final round of drinks were offered and then we got ready to land into LAX.









I did ask the cc if they knew where I had to go for my connecting flight but they didn’t have a clue – so as I left the plane it was time to look where my LAS connection was.......

AC_Good_Will

pics are great.
Interesting to see all the details

1P

You've already had a reply to this, but it's worth noting that unwrapped sandwiches develop hard, crusty edges much more quickly in a pressurised cabin at altitude than they do at ground level. Myself, I'd be grateful to the FAs for leaving them in the wrapper. I've had too many that had been unwrapped just a few minutes before and had already developed "The Edge".

vecta

Loving the trip report (and pics!), looking forward to the rest.

PNWBrit

Hi Silonic,

Glad that the Matt's in the Market recommendation worked out OK, even with the "cod issues"! It can be a pretty busy place on a weekend (as can pretty much all of the downtown restaurants) so glad you were able to get a place and that you took the opportunity to sample some of our local brews.

Thanks so much for the detailed flight report of the LHR-SEA leg. As I think I may have mentioned, me and the wife and child are heading to the UK on the same flight next month and it'll be the little one's first trip in BA CW (and our first in quite some time: somehow having a baby/toddler doesn't make one too keen on transatlantic flying...) so getting a first-hand report is very useful.

Cheers,

PNWBrit

MrDplus

Great report and nice pictures! What camera do you use?