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This trip report covers an extended business trip that featured two flights on a carrier not commonly mentioned here - SriLankan. Full itinerary was as follows:

SFO-HND-SIN on JL (business)
SIN-DPS-SIN on SQ (economy)
SIN-CMB-DXB on UL (SriLankan, business)
DXB-LHR-LAX on BA (first)

I only took pictures on the DXB-LHR sector but have described the other segments based on my notes below.

Edited to add link to photo gallery (reflects DXB-LHR sector only):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1830305...7633381836857/

18-Apr-13
JL001 SFO-HND
Dep: 19:05 (actual on-time)
Arr: 22:20 (actual on-time)
11:15 scheduled flying time
Boeing 777-200
Business Class, 3K

This is an oddball departure time for a US West Coast-Japan flight; most flights leave either mid-day or at midnight. I had gotten a decent price on this flight so decided to give it a try - more on the jetlag implications of this flight's timing later.

The check-in, lounge and flight experience was almost identical to Carfield's report here.

No pre-flight beverages on JL but newspapers were distributed along with amenities from a basket. No official amenity kit otherwise. Oddly, there were no bottles of lotion in the amenity basket and the lavatories did not have any other amenities to speak of; fairly cheap of JL not to offer some sort of product on a so-called flagship route. Sleeper shirts were also distributed although I declined to take one.

Meal service was dinner and a pre-arrival snack. Dinner was almost identical to Carfield's report - in our case, beef or a roasted salmon with beurre blanc. I had fish and my travel companion had the steak. The starters were so-so but the main courses were actually remarkably delicious; easily the best fish I have ever had on a plane, and I might argue as good as anything I have had on the ground. Moist, flaky and well-flavored. Dessert was a passionfruit mousse, also delicious.

A note about the JL business class seats (this route features the older Shell Flat non-NEO style) - these seats have a real lack of storage for anything more than magazines which may be a consideration; poor floor storage as well. As reported by other folks, JL keeps its cabins very warm in-flight and I actually had to ask twice for them to dial it down a little as I was uncomfortably hot even after stripping down!

The seats and hard product I found to be very average (perhaps slightly below average). They are very hard and the footrest sort of digs into the back of your leg. Pillow was a tiny economy-class style and not suitable for sleeping. I left it behind my back for lumbar support so did without a pillow on this segment.

Pre-arrival meal was not memorable and I actually don't recall precisely what was served.

Overall, cabin service on this was outstanding with friendly and warm cabin crew. But the poor amenities, uncomfortable seat design and warm cabin temperature leave me not eager to choose JL in the future. Perhaps with some changes those can be addressed.

20-Apr-13
JL035 HND-SIN
Dep: 01:00 (actual on-time)
Arr: 06:55 (actual 15 minutes late)
6:55 scheduled flying time
Boeing 767-300
Business Class, 3K

After an enjoyable shower in the HND Sakura Lounge we boarded our onward flight to Singapore. I was surprised by the number of late, late HND departures. I was aware of JL and NH long haul schedules from HND, many of which leave around or past midnight. I did not realize that many other carriers are also active at the airport at that hour including Lufthansa, Garuda, SQ and others.

We were fully boarded and loaded within 15 minutes of first call; it always amazes me how quickly Asian carriers can get a plane off the gate! it helps when you don't have 90% of passengers bringing 12 carryon bags with them. This being an overnight red-eye, JL actually provide small "sleeper" amenity bags with eyeshades, earplugs and slippers in them. I don't know why they decline to do that on their long haul operations but I digress.

I took a sleeping pill just as I boarded so don't remember much of the flight except being awakened multiple times by fairly heavy/moderate chop and at one point pretty strong turbulence. Flying time was longer than average due to a more circuitous routing (I will assume due to storms in SE Asia). For breakfast a choice of a western omelette or Japanese-style fish and rice was served. I opted for the eggs and they were about what you'd expect.

Landing in Changi was a bit behind schedule and with a long taxi to the gate, we were about 15-20 minutes late getting in. Similar to my SFO-SIN segment, cabin temperature was very warm. A side note: this was originally scheduled as a 787 segment, but obviously was changed to a 767 due to the problems with the 787 fleet. Disappointing but acceptable. It had been scheduled as a SkyRecliner service but when we boarded it had been switched for the older Skyluxe product. I find those seats quite comfortable actually and really appreciate the fabric on the seat. Soft and more plush.

I noted that this SFO-SIN flight was a bit of a gamble for me due to the odd timings of the flights. In reality, it worked out perfectly - we stayed awake for most of the flight to HND and slept from HND-SIN. It led to a jet-lag free trip which was a blessing! We were understandably groggy the first night of our trip, but after that did not suffer once from fatigue or jet lag symptoms. Still, I'd probably not choose this flight again due to the factors above and would prefer to opt for CX or another alliance outside of Oneworld for Asia trips. I might be willing to consider MH as well (they have LAx-NRT-KUL service several times per week), although the equipment MH uses for LAX is very similar to JL (same seat type).

20-Apr-13
SQ942 SIN-DPS
Dep: 09:35 (actual on-time)
Arr: 12:05 (actual 10 minutes early)
2:30 scheduled flying time
Boeing 777-200
Economy Class, 38C

Pretty standard short haul SQ segment here with expedited, friendly but somewhat robotic cabin service. Meal choice was seafood noodles or omelette; noodles were decent. It has been a few years since I flew SQ intra-Asia and I was struck by the antiquated IFE; I remember thinking how wonderful their IFE setup used to be, but the old 777 fleet are certainly showing their age! Still, for a 2 hour flight it's beyond pleasant and a welcome bonus compared to US domestic service.

3 days at the always wonderful Laguna Nusa Dua Resort with excellent staff, plentiful breakfast and gorgeous grounds. Lots of temples on this trip plus two great sunset drinks in Seminyak. Check out La Plancha, right on the beach, for a low-key sunset experience; they have a bunch of bean bags right on the sand and the best calamari on the island (personal preference).

23-Apr-13
SQ943 DPS-SIN
Dep: 13:05 (actual on-time)
Arr: 15:35 (actual 10 minutes early)
2:30 scheduled flying time
Boeing 777-200
Economy Class, 38C

Return flight to Singapore was just as uneventful as the flight in; this was a lunch service with a choice of beef stroganoff or spicy fish with rice. The latter was as advertised (spicy!) but quite tasty. It amazes me how quickly SQ cabin teams can get service completed on these flights; they still have time after collecting meal trays to do a walkthrough with water and duty free. They may be slightly robotic but they get it done efficiently and generally with a smile.

Arrival into Changi was on the F pier. We deplaned into a weird hallway I have not ever seen before and were forced into "arrival security screening." We had to go through the full security clearance as if we were departing; liquids and gels out of the bag, computers on the belt, etc. Seemed a bit odd and I am not entirely sure of the reason for it since connecting passengers are screened again at the gate, and arriving passengers could theoretically be screened at customs. But it being Singapore, the screening was done efficiently with minimal hassle so we were on our way quickly to the city.

Three nights at the exceedingly average Peninsula Excelsior hotel. I was in Singapore for work so my days were pretty full but a stop at the ever-popular Jumbo for some chili crab was certainly on the agenda! We ate at the Jumbo in town along the river (versus the east coast) and it was ever tasty.

26-Apr-13
UL303 SIN-CMB (SriLankan)
Dep: 15:00 (actual on-time)
Arr: 16:20 (actual 10 minutes late)
3:50 scheduled flying time
Airbus A320
New business class (5 rows), 4F

I was flying to CMB to pick up an F fare for my flight home (PM me if you want details), which required originating in CMB. I found a reasonable one-way business fare on UL so used that versus EK or SQ for this segment; it made the connection in CMB more convenient and flight times were just right.

This service was on a new A320 with 5 rows of business featuring AVOD. Seats and IFE screen are almost identical to Delta's 737-800 fleet, but the IFE system is really wonderful. This is the cabin.

Menus and a choice of pre-departure beverages were distributed by the beautiful, friendly and charming cabin crew. Welcome message from the captain set the stage for a relaxed and leisurely flight to CMB. I did not keep the menu for this or the CMB-DXB segment - apologies - but it had a pretty predictable mid-haul selection of starter, salad and choice of main courses. I believe there were 3 main courses available; lamb, fish and noodles with chicken. I chose the noodles which turned out to be a very bad choice. It was dry rice noodles stir-fried with egg and tiny pieces of chicken and a few vegetables. It had no sauce, no flavor and no texture. It was served with a small plastic tub of Thai sweet chili sauce which could only do so much to improve the horrors of the dish. The starter on the tray was supposed to be a smoked squab, but it was inedible too. A small fruit bowl was on the tray set up and breads were served separate. There was a salad listed on the menu which never made an appearance, and also a mousse dessert which was absent.

The meal service completed, they passed out bottles of water and I rested and watched Argo before descent into CMB. Some moderate turbulence on the way in due to afternoon thunderstorms; we touched down a bit late and parked at the terminal with a jet bridge.

Transit process in CMB was completely painless; the UL lounge is under renovation so we were directed to a dated temporary setup inside the transit hotel in the terminal. They said the new lounge should reopen "soon."

26-Apr-13
UL225 CMB-DXB
Dep: 18:25 (actual on-time)
Arr: 21:40 (actual about 10 minutes early)
4:45 scheduled flying time
Airbus A320
Business Class, 2D

After my fairly pleasant flight in from SIN I was looking forward to my next segment on UL to DXB. I had mistakenly assumed since it was the same equipment type that it would be the same or similar cabin setup; wrong! We were directed to a bus gate for this leg which was easy enough, although a heavy tropical rain made boarding a bit wet. We boarded to find an old A320 cabin, very similar to Delta's fleet of Airbus inherited from NW (including the exact same seat design). Very tired and dated cabin with just 3 rows in business. See here for a picture from another trip report.

Champagne and pre-departure beverages were served along with menus for this segment. Options included a lamb dish, a vegetarian lasagna made with paneer, corn and pineapple with an Italian spicy tomato sauce (I couldn't get past the description) and a black pepper chicken curry with rice and okra. I had the latter and my travel companion the lasagna, but more on that later.

After departure individual handheld IFE units were handed out with a small selection of films and TV shows. On mine the headset jack only worked on one ear and my travel companion reported he could only hear about every 3rd word on his. Needless to say we pretty much gave up on these after experimenting with them briefly. Standard issue headsets do nothing to improve on the situation and since they are 2-pronged you cannot use your own without an adaptor.

As mentioned, I chose the chicken curry and it all came out on one tray with starter (more smoked meat), fruit bowl and warm bread selection. Similar to my first flight there was a salad listed that we never saw, and no attempt to serve the date-based dessert was ever made that I could see. The main course was very salty and extremely spicy, but at least edible compared to my travel companion's "lasagna." That was simply revolting to smell, look at and based on his face, to taste. You cannot make this stuff up. It was that bad.

Several areas of substantial/moderate chop early on in the flight but once we passed the Indian coast it was pretty smooth. We touched down in DXB on-time and made our way to the immigration hall along with about 192,343 other passengers. The airport was jammed with people and the wait at immigration was about 70 minutes; SriLankan did not provide us with a fast track pass so we waited in the regular line.

We had very mixed experience with the service on UL; our SIN-CMB crew were amazing, and would rival the best of any carrier, using last names without the manifest, etc. The CMB-DXB raced through dinner service then disappeared behind the curtain. Two passengers had their meal trays in front of them for a couple of hours before one of them rang to have it removed; only then did the flight attendant pass out bottles of water, which was about 1 hour out of DXB. No smiles and no attempt to provide any service beyond what was required.

27-Apr-13
BA108 DXB-LHR
Dep: 09:30 (actual on-time)
Arr: 14:05 (actual about 10 minutes late)
7:35 scheduled flying time
Boeing 777-200
First Class, 3K

I was really looking forward to this BA segment after the very average UL flights the day prior. This flight was booked about 3/4 full in F. We were lucky to get new First on this segment (it's been mostly new F but the occasional old F has been subbed in) and settled into our little suite for the 6.5 hour flight to LHR. Menus, amenity kits and pajamas were offered plus Fast Track landing cards for LHR. Amenity kit for this flight is a small Elemis bag.

The cabin crew were senior, experienced and eager to provide refined and elegant service. I felt looked after from the moment I stepped onto the 777; they clearly know their stuff.

Choice of drinks before takeoff. This is the menu from this flight:

LUNCH
Starters
Balsamic-glazed smoked duck with dried fig chutney
Arabic meze with warm fattier
Cream of vegetable soup with basil pesto
Fresh salad leaves with your choice of balsamic or yoghurt dressing

Main
Prime fillet of beef with green peppercorn sauce, turned carrots, beans and grain mustard mash
Seared salmon with new potatoes, asparagus spears and cherry tomatoes
Saffron-scented murgh handi laziz served with steamed basmati rice, paneer mutter masala, papadoms and lemon pickle
Salad of warm paprika-roasted chicken with sour cream and chive dressing

BISTRO SELECTION
Artisan rigatoni with arrabbiata sauce and feta cheese
Baked mushroom and cheese roll
A selection of biscuits
A selection of cheese and fruit

DESSERT
Vanilla panna cotta with passion-fruit coulis
Sticky banana toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce

CHEESE PLATE
Mature Cheddar
Gruyere
Stilton

Fresh Fruit

APERITIF
Kir Royale

CHAMPAGNE
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle, Champagne, France
Henriot Vintage Brut 2007, Champagne, France
Bollinger Rose Brut NV, Champagne, France

WHITE
Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2008, Jean-Marc Brocard, Burgundy, France
Bodega Castro Martin Family Reserve Albarino 2010, Sobre Lias, Rias Baixas, Spain
Envoy Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Marlborough, New Zealand

RED
Château Petit Village 2004, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Tamar Ridge Kayena Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010, Tasmania, Australia
Howard Park Leston Shiraz 2009, Frankland River, Western Australia

DESSERT
The Noble Mudpie 2010, d'Arenberg, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Warre's 1992 Colheita Tawny Port

SPIRITS, DIGESTIFS AND LIQUEURS
Gonzales Byass Sherries
Smirnoff Black Label Vodka
Tanqueray No. Ten Gin
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch Whisky
The Glenlivet 18-year-old Single Malt Whisky
Woodford Reserve Kentucky Whiskey
Drambuie 15-year-old Speyside Malt Liqueur
Otard XO Cognac

Service was utterly outstanding. I dined with my travel companion at his seat and had the soup and salmon dishes, along with the toffee pudding for dessert. The main course portion was HUGE but relatively disappointing.

Meal completed and me beyond stuffed, I worked on some documents for a few hours and took a short nap in my seat. I played around with the IFE for a bit and watched part of a couple of movies before afternoon tea service began.

SNACKS
An individual selection of sandwiches featuring smoked salmon, Cheddar cheese with chutney and coronation chicken

PATISSERIE
Scones served warm with clotted cream and strawberry preserves

Chocolate mousse brownie, almond raspberry gateau and blackcurrant frangipane tart

BEVERAGES
English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Mint Humbug, Honeycomb Camomile, Red Berry Fool and Jasmine Pearls (Twining brand)

Coffee - Freshly roasted and ground, Arabic, decaffeinated, espresso or cappuccino

I've never been a big fan of the English afternoon tea but these items made for a nice pre-arrival snack and the tea was a good pick-me-up to chase away the shadows of jet lag.

Arrival into LHR a bit late due to a holding pattern and we were in a car to the hotel within 20 minutes of door opening. Amazing for LHR!

28-Apr-13
BA263 LHR-LAX
Dep: 12:05 (actual on-time)
Arr: 15:10 (actual about 15 minutes late)
11:05 scheduled flying time
Boeing 747-400
First Class, 3A

One night in London and we were back at LHR mid-morning for our final leg, LHR-LAX in BA First! We arrived at the airport early so we could enjoy a breakfast in the Concorde Room before our flight. We declined the massage service available, although they did have available openings to accommodate us should we have so desired.

The Concorde Room was PACKED when we arrived; barely an empty seat to be found and a healthy assortment of children running around. Felt a bit like a romper room, duly unimpressed. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table to free up in the dining room, so we just relaxed and read the Sunday newspapers. Once the dining room table freed up we were seated but it took the server another 25-30 minutes to come back for our order. He reported they were a bit short staffed and apologized profusely. We ordered breakfast which arrived in fairly short order. I had a waffle which was - without question - the BEST waffle I have ever had. Malted, crunchy, not too sweet. I am still craving it now! I could have 10 more of them. By the time we finished breakfast (more like brunch really) we were 15 minutes from boarding call, so we freshened up and headed to the gate.

This was the first time I had access to the Concorde Room and I honestly was not all that impressed. I actually think I prefer the buffet-style lounges versus the dining-room style, especially if I had a short connection or time to use the lounge. The food was great but the wait was annoying, especially given the lack of other food options in the lounge. Nevertheless, it was a special treat!

We made our way to the B pier and arrived just as boarding started.

LAX is one of the BA destinations served by the Mixed Fleet crew; these are fairly new hires and work across a mix of fleet types and destinations. Given their short tenure at BA, they tend to be less experienced than the older senior crews. Indeed, I think the Glenlivet 18-year old Single Malt was the same age as the crew serving it! The cabin team assigned to the First cabin for this flight were trying very hard to please and you could tell they were doing their very best to impress. It felt a bit awkward at times but I give them high marks for sportsmanship and the attempt! Compared to the crew from the day prior, the difference in service was definitely noticeable.

I also want to make a comment about the First cabin on the 747. Coming off of the 777 cabin the day prior I was a bit disappointed by the space in the 747 cabin. The 777 is a nice wide bird and the seat space is generously apportioned. The 747 in the nose is narrower and they have really packed in the seats; those seated in 3A/3K can easily reach out and touch the feet of the passengers in 4E and 4F (the forward middle pair). Indeed, seats 4E and 4F have almost no storage space whatsoever and are easily the worst seats in the cabin. I would not be very happy if I were seated there; they were bumped by passengers and crew as they walked by and have very little privacy.

Menu for this flight is as follows:

LUNCH
British Airways Classics and Seasonal Dishes

STARTERS
Hot-smoked salmon pate with avocado, creme fraiche, chives and pickled cucumber
Buttered white and green asparagus with poached egg and chervil and truffle sauce
A light cream soup of sweetcorn and red pepper
Fresh seasonal salad with your choice of balsamic dressing with golden rapeseed oil or cream dill dressing

MAIN
Char-grilled fillet of British beef with Madeira and béarnaise sauce, wild mushrooms and chunky chips
Poached halibut on linguine with mussel, lemon and ginger sauce
Roasted loin of West Davon lamb with a morel mushroom sauce, roasted Jerusalem artichokes and a herb potato cake
Seared breast of Guinea fowl on gazpacho salad with tomato dressing

BISTRO SELECTION
Rigatoni pasta in creamy garlic and herb sauce with leeks, baby spinach and Parmesan
Warm sandwich of salted beef and Emmenthal cheese on Manoucher bread
A selection of biscuits
A selection of cheese and fruit

DESSERT
Caramel mousse with hazelnut nougatine and orange sauce
Warm rhubarb tart with ginger custard and rhubarb compote
Ice cream sundae (Custom made to your preference of ice cream, sauces and toppings. Please ask your cabin crew for today's choices.)

CHEESE PLATE
Mull of Kintyre
Devon Blue
Chaource
Saint-Nectaire
Fresh fruits and chocolates

APERITIF
Kir Royale

CHAMPAGNE
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle, Champagne, France
Henriot Vintage Brut 2007, Champagne, France
Bollinger Rose Brut NV, Champagne, France

WHITE
Puligny-Montrachet Vielles Vignes 2009, Vincent Girardin, Burgundy, France
Sancerre Sur Le Fort 2010, Domaine Fouassier, Loire, France
Eroica Riesling 2011, Chateau Ste. Michelle/Dr. Loosen, Columbia Valley, USA

RED
Château Larrivet Haut-Brion 2006, Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France
Joseph Phelps Pinot Noir 2010, Freestone Vineyards, Sonoma Coast, California, USA
Truchard Vineyards Zinfandel 2009, Carneros, California, USA

DESSERT
Bealieau La Sourcherie 2010, Domaine Pierre-Bise, Coteaux do Layon, Loire, France
Warre's 1992 Colheita Tawny Port

SPIRITS, DIGESTIFS AND LIQUEURS
Gonzales Byass Sherries
Smirnoff Black Label Vodka
Tanqueray No. Ten Gin
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch Whisky
The Glenlivet 18-year-old Single Malt Whisky
Woodford Reserve Kentucky Whiskey
Drambuie 15-year-old Speyside Malt Liqueur
Otard XO Cognac

I had eaten quite a bit in the Concorde Room so I only had the starters (one of each) and dessert, and skipped the main courses. None of them were amazing but the soup tasted fresh and well-prepared. The "poached" egg on the asparagus dish was in reality a hard-poached egg, but it still tasted fine. Not amazing but certainly good.

The caramel mousse, on the other hand, was mind-blowing. Really, really amazing.

I had a couple glasses of the Rose champagne, lovely as always! I went to the flight attendant mid-way through and asked for an additional bottle of water and some sweet biscuits (the menu had indicated they were part of the "Bistro Selection".) She could not locate anything in her cart so she grabbed some lemon cookies for me from the Club Kitchen galley.

I watched a handful of movies and worked on some documents then it was time for afternoon tea.

AFTERNOON TEA
Snacks
An individual selection of sandwiches featuring Loch Fyne smoked salmon with cream cheese, British free-range egg mayonnaise with baby rocket and Norfolk turkey with onion and plum chutney

PATISSERIE
Plain or fruit scone served warm with clotted cream and strawberry preserves
Victoria sponge, Dundee cake and berry fool

BEVERAGES
English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Mint Humbug, Honeycomb Camomile, Red Berry Fool and Jasmine Pearls (Twining brand)

Coffee - Freshly roasted and ground, Arabic, decaffeinated, espresso or cappuccino

As with the prior day's tea service, selections were middling at best but again a decent snack before arrival. Certainly is plenty of food but the quality is not the best! As the flight attendant was serving the gentleman in 4E she tipped a wine glass off of her tray which went spilling to the floor and shattered everywhere. There were shards of glass all over the cabin; I certainly hope they vacuumed well in LA. She was duly embarrassed and did her best to clean it up with a small broom.

All in all the service on BA was wonderful. I found that I preferred the 777 F cabin over the 747 which did surprise me. It is more spacious and feels more private. IFE is also better on the 777 with improved resolution and brighter monitors. Rows 1 and 2 are the best in the 747 cabin, with row 2 probably being my first preference for any future BA trips (if I'm lucky to have more!).

A RTW in 10 days is certainly a great way to see a small taste of the different parts of our globe - I'm grateful for the opportunity!

dll

I finally added the link to photos above (for DXB-LHR sector)...

BA5E

Scrolling through the pics of DXB-LHR noticed that there appears to be a new amenity kit, is this the case, and they have got rid of the horrible hard blue anya hindmarsh bag, good if they have

dll

Nope - Hindmarsh was still the longhaul kit that we received LHR-LAX. These small Elemis bags I believe are for mid-haul flights and were a scaled down set of amenities, although I prefer them. The hard bag is not particularly useful.

whatisfirst

The amenity kit they gave you is the one they hand out in Club World. Maybe they'd run out of First ones (which are still always the hard case type)?

I totally agree that the soft sided ones are much more useful for recycling at home though

flame

Excellent report, 2 things spring out to me ....

The BA product has never let me down

and

Children should not be allowed in lounges anywhere, problem is that parents will not keep them under control

tbuff

Neither should obnoxious, overweight and smelly people.

dll

Unfortunately, three of the kids ended up in the F cabin on my LHR-LAX flight with their parents They were pretty well-behaved after we reached cruise altitude and until we began descent...

I have to admit that I really do like the Malaysia Airlines policy of no kids in F.

rakers

Nice job on the photos. Some of them were quite artful.

schreibsman

I was on that flight! Sat back in Y though...and also connected in DXB on to LHR but was on the QF009.

Was glad to have a shower in the EK lounge at DXB after the wait in the non-air conditioned CMB airport.

sdemw

Maybe - its not universal that kids are a mess all the time! Our oldest is 5 and you wouldn't know she was on a the flight. under 3 was a different story.