thegoderic

I have four transatlantic flights in the next 3 weeks two in BA Club and two in BA Premier Economy, so I thought it would be worth writing some trip reports. I’m writing this as I go, so it’ll take around 3 weeks to post everything.

LGW – IAH

Booked on the early (1000) BA flight from LGW – IAH. Unfortunately I’ll be flying on the Sunday to be with my client on the Monday morning, which actually means I’ll have to leave home on the Saturday evening. I had planned to stay at GLA on the Saturday night and then catch the 0615 to LGW, but my wife suggested that I could get the train down to Gatwick on the Saturday and have more sleep on the Sunday morning. I took her up on this suggestion and had a pleasant trip down to Euston on one of Mr Branson’s finest trains, (it was pleasant and empty:- I had a coach to myself), then caught the Gatwick express and finished Saturday with a night in the Gatwick Hilton.

I was slightly worried about seating on the flight. I’d only booked the C class ticket on Thursday and MMB said that I had no seat allocated. When I tried to change it on line was told that the limit had been reached for pre-allocated seats and I would be offered one at check-in. I called the BA call centre on Thursday afternoon and was told to use OLCI at T-24 hours, which wasn’t entirely satisfactory. I rationalised that I would either get an awful seat in the middle 4 block or whisper it, the chance of an u*****e.

At Gatwick, as a Hilton Diamond, I got upgraded to the exec floor, which was very pleasant, but a huge route march away from reception. Nice room, very nice bathroom, good nights sleep and some fruit and juice in the lounge the next morning.

I then walked the 5 miles (or so it seemed) from the Hilton, to the South terminal, onto the train and into the North terminal departures. I’d pre-booked some currency with Travelex and had to collect that. For those tempted to use batravelmoney.com, my suggestion is don’t. They offer an inferior rate to pre-booking with Travelex and my experience is that proffering a BA Exec Club card when you collect the money gets you the miles anyway.

When I arrived at the Travelex counter, there were 5 staff on duty, with a queue at one position. I went to the first free slot and asked for my cash, only, yes you’ve guessed it, to be redirected to the lady with the queue who was handling the pre-booked currency. So I and 4 Travelex staff spent 5 minutes doing nothing until the lady came free and I could pick up my dollars.

There was then a line for security which moved quickly until the glass wall when I went to the fast track line and went through very quickly. I’ve recently bought a Briggs & Riley 21” case which exactly fits the new cabin baggage limits. The security agent on the machine politely explained to me that my case wouldn’t be allowed as cabin baggage from Monday and I politely explained back to him that actually it was exactly regulation size. I can see us all having hours of endless fun with this new cabin baggage system.

The LGW FIRST lounge was fairly full, but I found a seat, popped my head around the corner to the kitchen and asked for a bacon roll (incidentally if one of BA’s 146s performed some acrobatics, would that count as a BACON roll?). I went to get a drink, resisted the temptation of champagne (at 0845), got coffee and water and reached my seat at exactly the same time as the bacon baguette. Cracking service Grommit.

I stole a few Sunday papers from the lounge and whiled away a few minutes till the flight showed up as boarding on the screen. Another interminable trip in the lift, then a short walk to gate 53 where the flight was boarding. There was no priority line, but a very short general line. Two agents were processing people and I was next when a third agent appeared. I offered my BP and she said, rather grumpily, that I had been upgraded to FIRST and was in 2F. She took by BP, crossed 15K out and wrote 2F in biro on top. I thanked her profusely (well, wouldn’t you, despite the lack of graciousness in the way the message was delivered) and walked down the ramp with a spring in my step, texting various people as I went.

On arriving at the door, I was greeted and escorted to my seat. I’d hardly had time to put my bags in the locker when the first drink was offered and my champagne arrived soon afterwards, accompanied by BA’s rather nice cashews.

The FIRST cabin was full (including, I suspect a number of other u*****es) and soon after take-off I was visited in swift succession, firstly by the CSD who greeted me by name, thanked me for choosing BA and asked me if everything was OK, then by a stewardess with the drinks order.

The menu was


Drinks arrived promptly, followed by lunch orders. When I ordered the Salmon & Sausages, I was asked if it was OK if my meal was served in about 90 minutes (at noon). One of the plus factors of BA FIRST, the ability to eat when you want. As it happens I could still feel the effect of my bacon roll, so agreed for lunch then.

I’d checked the film selection before and decided which film I wanted to watch. However the BA First Life magazine had a completely different (and better) selection of films in it to those in High Life and on the BA website. This was in addition to those available from the library. I chose one from those outlined in First Life, but was confused to see that those advertised in High Life were being shown. The FA was unable to shed any light on the issue, so I settled down to watch the Bourne Identity which I’d never seen before. The film was good, but the screen size and the need to keep missing bits as I dashed to the loo to dispose of Chablis & water showed how badly BA need to update to a decent sized screen & AVOD quickly.

Lunch arrived, delivered with impeccable style & service. The salmon was simple yet delicious, quite thickly cut and very different to some of the awful stuff that masquerades as smoked salmon elsewhere. Some Chablis helped it down perfectly.

As someone who travels a lot, simpler dishes like sausage and mash do appeal to me and the reality of BA’s offering matched my expectations. Say what you like about Prince Charles, but he does sell a good sausage. I’d asked for some of the Rodney Strong to accompany it, but the FA came out with a different bottle (of Merlot) as Rodney was off. It was very pleasant, so I wasn’t too upset. The expensive wine (Talbot ’95) was very much in evidence. I do like Talbot, but have drunk my fair share of it in various BA FIRST lounges, so felt like something different.

I was tempted by cheese and port, but the FA came and offered apple crumble with crème anglaise (or posh custard as he described it), which won me over. It was absolutely delicious and the dessert wine matched it beautifully.

I’d snaffled a bottle of water from the crew earlier, but they brought them around the cabin shortly after the end of the main meal service. I probably drank 3 or 4 in the course of the trip & they were replaced magically. The moment one was emptied, another appeared.

I had hopes of cheese, but by the time I’d finished the dessert, I was well and truly stuffed, so had a cup of coffee and watched Layer Cake on my laptop. 35 minutes of total garbage later, I gave up and went to get one of the FIRST tapes.

Surprisingly (at least to me), instead of a tape that I’ve had before with BA, I was presented with a DVD and portable DVD Player. It did have a much bigger and brighter screen than the IFE system offered, but I did find it a bit downmarket. BA should get a decent sized screen and AVOD installed quickly.

Time passed in a blur of The Producers and Casablanca until it was time for afternoon tea. The cabin crew must have special training in how to make you feel ever so guilty for not being a total pig. I asked for some sandwiches and scones and was gently and humorously scolded for not taking the cakes as well. As ever, everything was delicious.

By this time, we were getting close to Houston, so I packed my laptop away, brought out a book and listened to The Verve & Stone Roses on the audio channel. BA’s audio IFE choice has improved significantly over the past few years, and it is a good idea to include a few classic albums in the mix. I think it has been a long time since I’ve listened to a complete album in one go, normally picking tracks on my ipod, and I did enjoy the experience.

As we approached Houston, the captain told us of some weather that had come in, and that had us circling for 30 minutes of so, resulting in a 20 minute late arrival. We disembarked quickly and headed to immigration control. There are two areas at IAH, and we were directed to one with very few people being processed. The other are seemed much busier. I was 4th in a queue, however three of the individuals in front of me had Columbian passports, and it seemed to take an age to process them. Finally through, I breezed passed customs and headed straight out to my destination.

In summary, although I could pick fault with a couple of things, such as the IFE quality and a couple of menu items not available, the ambiance and level of service of BA’s FIRST product does make it one of the most relaxing ways to travel.

thegoderic

Afraid it's taken a while to get this typed up. However here is episode two.

IAH - LGW – GLA

A week of fun passed (OK, I’ll admit it, a week of fairly successful business) and it was time to fly home. I left the office in my hire or should I say rental car and sped to the airport. Well actually, I drove out of central Houston in the wrong direction, realised what I was doing, headed West instead of South till I got back to the Galleria area where my hotel was, joined the 610 freeway, got stuck in an horrendous traffic jam for 30 minutes, panicked about missing the flight and finally got to IAH with about half an hour to spare ahead of check in closing.

First class check in was empty and I was dealt with very quickly. I’d started to use OLCI and changed my mind when I saw I had an aisle seat. However when I got to the desk the lady said I was already checked in. It seems a “feature” of the BA OLCI system that once you have seen the seat offered, if change of seat is not available for any reason, you are checked in. I was trying to get a window seat so I could sleep undisturbed, but the check in agent said, “I’m sorry sir, the flight is overboo… er very full so I can’t change your seat.

After check in came the wonderful US security screening. I have now decided that an ipod and some radio podcast, typically “From our own correspondent” is the cure for waiting in a security line, so the 10 – 15 minute wait passed quickly. The TSA agent at the checkpoint was quite brilliant. He kept up a running commentary of patter to all waiting, turned grumpy sods who hated the process into happy bunnies and actually made the tedious process almost entertaining.

Once through, up to the BA lounge which was opposite the departure gate. Business to the left and First to the right. Both sections were fairly full, but I found a seat in the First section. I settled down with a glass of wine and the previous day’s Grauniad and noted with amusement the stream of passengers who kept walking from the Business section to the First section through the kitchen area. After a few minutes, that day’s newspapers arrived and I immersed myself in one until I heard someone asking the lounge dragon and getting the answer that boarding would start momentarily. I popped my head outside and heard the preboarding announcement so wandered over and was one of the first people onto the plane.

Given the apparently overbooked state of the plane, I had hopes of another u*****e, but alas ended up in 11J, my original seat. The FA was with me in a flash and I was quickly provided with a Daily Telegraph and glass of champagne. What more could a man ask for? Well actually, some better air conditioning, as the temperature seemed to be set to “fry” in the cabin.

The flight boarded fairly quickly and as soon as the door closed, someone turned the setting down from “fry” to “moderate”. Not as cool as I like it, but OK.

We pushed back on time and trundled to the runway before taking off. The staff were quickly back with an order of drinks (Kir Royale please) and nuts. The BA business class nuts are very pleasant, but the plastic packaging does let the side down a little.
Dinner orders followed and I ordered Blue Crab Salad with Mango, followed by Duck Confit and foie gras on fresh salad leaves with orange dressing. Both were absolutely delicious, especially the duck main course, and I topped it off with some delicious key lime pie. This was washed down by some St Aubin and Barbera d’Asti, both stalwarts of various BA lounges, but nonetheless very pleasant. All in all a very nice meal, served impeccably by an excellent crew. The two FAs serving my side of the CW cabin were an English lady and a Portuguese man, which following the world cup resulted in lots of banter about him taking a dive in the aisle.

After the meal, I flattened the bed and got some shuteye. BA’s club beds are OK, but as a 6 foot tall bloke, I can never get totally comfortable. Having said that, I guess I got about 4 hours of solid sleep and another couple of hours dozing, before I gave up and started to read a golf magazine. I also popped into the galley area and got another bottle of water to drink.

Breakfast arrived soon after. I was saving myself for the bacon butty in the Gatwick FIRST lounge. (OT Rant, I notice that the MS Word spell check does not recognise the word “butty”. Who does Bill Gates think he is? Come to Manchester, lad and we’ll show you what real food is. You’ve never lived until you’ve eaten chip and bacon butties, possibly at the same time). Anyway, the fruit was very nice and the cup of tea most welcome.

Things got stacked away fairly quickly and we chugged into LGW about 20 minutes early. Fortunately, we were on one of the gates the right side of the new bridge, but unfortunately, all that meant was we got to the typically awful queue for passport control sooner. I could see the construction work underway for the new iris checking system which was due in July the last time I asked. I’m sure there are some good operational reasons, but I can’t understand why passengers transferring from International to Domestic flights can’t connect airside at LGW and have to go through the rigmarole of two queues, one for passports and one for security.

Having made it landside, I decided to use the arrivals lounge, although the FIRST lounge offered all I wanted (Bacon and a shower). Confusingly for anyone not familiar with the system, the BA brochure tells you to go the Meridian hotel which, of course is now the Sofitel. I find the LGW lounge gently underwhelming, although it does offer a decent shower, which was most welcome and a glass of juice in a comfy chair in a room with a nice view. After a few minutes, I wandered downstairs and joined the fairly awful queues for security. Another half an episode of “From Our Own Correspondent” later and I was airside in what looked like Chav central. I’m not a snob (he lied), but the square footage of polyester tracksuits and numbers of baseball caps on show was quite overwhelming.

The BA FIRST lounge provided a welcome sanctum from all that and I munched contentedly in a bacon roll, having decided to give the champers a miss, at 0830 in the morning. I had a couple of hours to kill before my 1025 flight, but a combination of newspapers, magazines, internet browsing and a 1 hour conference call got me through that well. The Glasgow flight showed “boarding” on the screen and I made my way to the gate.

One thing that confuses me about LGW is that both it and LHR are owned and run by the same company, but LHR does do boarding calls and LGW doesn’t. Add to this the fact that LHR makes you take your laptops out of the bag and LGW doesn’t is enough to make you feel somewhat schizophrenic when using both airports regularly.

I got to a surprisingly deserted gate. When I’d booked the flights originally, BA were showing no availability at all for any of the LGW – GLA flights on this particular Friday, which confused the hell out of me. I used my Gold card force to get a seat on a flight but was intrigued as to why they were all so full.

They hadn’t started calling the flight when I arrived and the immediate area around the gate was still very empty. The agent made a call for seat rows 15 to whatever and instead of the usual scrum, a few passengers started to board and she moved on to general boarding very quickly which got me into 2F. The mystery of the full flights was solved by the hordes of shell suited, lobster red Glaswegians accompanied by copious quantities of scabby brats who’d been to Florida. Scottish school holidays had started two weeks previously and these were the pathfinders making their way back.

I was sat next to a non holidaymaker on what did turn out to be a full flight. I was a bit thirsty, so asked for some water and was given the “snack” for the flight which was… a muesli bar. Hmm. The guy next to me asked for a whisky and dry ginger (at 1045, but hell, he was Scottish). He was somewhat taken aback to be given a miniature of 15 year old Glenlivet and to his credit, he drank the Canada Dry with the ice and then savoured the whisky.

Touchdown in GLA was about 10 minutes early and unusually for GLA, they sent the bags to the right carousel. For those unfamiliar, the system in the UK is that when travelling to the UK from a non-EU country, with a domestic flight at the end of your trip, you are not required to clear customs at your point of entry into the country, but your bags come off the domestic flight on a different belt where, at least in theory, customs agents can screen passengers. There are two features of this system. Firstly, I have never seen any customs officers at one of these areas, and secondly the baggage handlers seem to get it wrong about half the time and send your bags to the wrong belt.

To my delight and surprise, the putter I had bought in Houston had made it unscathed so I took it and my bag outside to be welcomed again into the bosom of my family, in that my daughter was accompanying my son on an extended driving lesson to pick me up from the airport.

thegoderic

LHR – BOS

The original plan was to spend a week in Boston on a training course and then return to the UK. However, something came up the day before departure which will require me to spend about 10 days in Houston following on. Current plan is to fly out on my existing ticket, then work out the best way to get back.

Departure day was very hot in the UK (well, at least by our standards) and I had a heavy case and large briefcase, so I decided to take a taxi from central London to Heathrow. Although it saved me the hassle of getting to and from the Heathrow Express, I paid for it in sweltering as we made our way through the evening traffic to the airport.

Arrived at 5.40 p.m. for a 7.35 flight, and went to the FIRST check in area in T4. The whole of the terminal was very busy including the FIRST area, but I was met as I entered, and asked if I was travelling FIRST today. When I answered I was a Gold card holder, I was pointed immediately to a free agent, who inspected my PYOB and took my bag. The whole process was very painless and over in seconds, a great improvement over the poor sods who were queuing in the lines for the other cabins (CW had something like 20 people standing in line).

The queue for security went amazingly quickly, and had a new twist. I set the alarm off, but the scanner could discriminate well enough to identify my shoes as the source of concern, so I was asked to sit down while my shoes were hand scanned, which I found a neat touch.

I was absolutely dripping by this stage, so headed straight to the Molton Brown Spa where I was able to get a shower cubicle straight away. 15 minutes under cool jets of water were most refreshing and changing into the clean shirt I’d packed in my carry on was a sensual thrill compared to how I’d been feeling when I entered the spa.

The FIRST lounge was very crowded and it took me a while to find a seat. I’d decided to top up on food and drink (alcohol to be more precise) in the lounge and then not eat or drink much on the plane, on the basis that the lounge food and drink was probably better than the economy meals served in PE.

The temperature in the lounge was reasonable, until I walked up to the bar end to get a glass of something. It was positively sauna-like there, but the overcrowding was such that every seat was taken at that end. I grabbed a glass of champagne (alas not Louise) and wandered down to the other end of the lounge where I had bagged a seat, ordering the compulsory bacon baguette on the way. That arrived soon after and I scoffed it down, helped by a second glass of champagne.

There had been a number of delays due to thunderstorms on the US East coast which was probably why the lounge was so crowded, but these were called and things gradually got more relaxed. By this time it was 7.05 and I was getting slightly anxious about the fact that the flight hadn’t been called. The screens still showed a 7:35 departure, but that seemed unlikely, so I went to the desk and asked. The agent tried to call the gate but found that to be busy. I sat down again awaiting news and sure enough, 5 minutes later, there was a call that said the flight was delayed to 8:30.

Buy this time, I’d topped the champagne up with a glass of Chablis, and wasn’t really up to more alcohol, so I decided to do a little shopping tour. I checked my carry on in the cloakroom and wandered around T4’s retail experience, coming to the conclusion that there was nothing I wanted and even if there was, I could buy it cheaper elsewhere. I was about half way along the concourse at 7:40 when the PA system burst into life, announcing the final call for BA 239. Cue panic.

I hared back to the FIRST lounge to grab my bag, asked the lounge attendant to call the gate and tell them I was on my way and set off for the gate. Those of you familiar with T4’s layout can guess that my gate was over the bridge which is a huge route march from anywhere. The thing that worried me as a hared (OK, staggered) along the interminable corridor was that there was nobody else in sight. As I rounded the final corner before the gate, my name was being called over the tannoy. The gate area was completely passenger free and I could see three BA staff sitting patiently. Frantic hand signals indicated that I was the errant passenger that they were looking for as I approached, and I finally arrived in flustered rush, probably more apologetic than angry for some reason.

One lady took my BP and entered the details in the system, but something wasn’t working. She turned to her colleague for help who checked and told me that I’d been upgraded, but not, he pointed out as a reward for being late. So I left the check in area, hot, breathless and triumphant, clutching a pass for 10G which is a great aisle seat at the front of the Club cabin.

Entering the cabin, I was quit nervous in case the eyes of all the passengers were on me for holding the plane up, but there was still much going on and no sign of imminent take off. A flight attendant appeared almost instantly to offer me a drink and I took water instead of my usual Champagne. My earlier alcohol input, combined with getting so hot in dashing to the plane made that the sensible choice. We then sat for 20 minutes and waited for no particular reason, until the doors were finally closed and we pushed back at around 8:15. We then did a ramble around the periphery of Heathrow before the captain came on and told us we were number 9 in the queue for take off. We finally took off at around 8:40.

The order for drinks came around very quickly and I had a dilemma. I’d filled up with champagne and food in the lounge in anticipation of eating nothing on the film, but here I was being offered more champagne. I decided that in the interests of research, I needed to sample what was on offer, so settled for a Kir Royale which came with the plastic packaged BA nuts.

The FA had handed menus out before take off and I was stuck for what to order. The only thing I fancied was the steak, but I have never had a steak on an airplane that did not have the texture of shoe leather. Despite that and the fact that I had pigged out in the lounge earlier, I decided to try Ballottine of salmon with herb crème fraiche, followed by Pan-seared fillet of beef with cracked black pepper sauce and potatoes dauphinoise. The salmon was fine, and the beef was OK for an aircraft meal, which translates to just about on the edible side of awful. Purely in order to provide a balanced trip report, I investigated the St Aubin and Barbera d’Asti, which were the same wines I’d had coming back from Houston the previous trip.

I topped things off with some very nice cheese and a glass of port the size of a small ocean-going vessel. That finished me off and after watching the Maltese Falcon I decided it was time to flatten the bed and get some shuteye.

Some time passed and I awoke occasionally to discover that a bottle of mineral water had appeared magically beside me which I glugged away at, trying to undo the dehydration caused by air travel and several gallons of alcohol. I awoke a couple of hours outside Boston and was in such a state of fullness that I refused the afternoon tea offered. Now I’m normally a sucker for BA’s sandwiches and scones, but despite the Oscar Wilde quote on the menu, “I can resist anything except temptation”, I did, just for once manage to resist.

We finally arrived at BOS about 45 minutes late and managed to get off the plane and through immigration very quickly. However the bags took 30 minutes to arrive and then I had to wait for a taxi before finally getting to my hotel at around 11:30 p.m.

The next day, I had to decide how I was going to get to Houston at the end of the week, and then how to get back to the UK. An hour on the PC and a call to BA suggested it would be cheaper to buy a BOS – IAH ticket and pay to change my flight back to the UK (I had an inflexible WT+ fare). As the trip was now being funded by a different project, I could fly first between BOS and IAH and upgrade to Club on the return flight. By flying with AA on this route, I will be able to check my bags through from IAH to GLA on the return trip and get enough TPs to get me to my second GUF2 voucher with my likely travel plans between now and October.

This renders the title of the post incorrect, but I’ll post some details on AA’s domestic first product, which by the comments their board is something akin to a trip to the gulag in Stalin’s Russia. We’ll find out.

ContinentalFan

Thanks very much for this very detailed and interesting report! I appreciate the time you spent letting everyone know.

SMART51

^ Witty report.Thanks.
Waiting for more

MGW2000

Loved it!

Matt

Fraser

Great stuff! Love the writing style ^

The food you had on the LGW-IAH segment in F was identical to what I had on a LHR-IAD about three weeks back. Loved the salmon so much I asked for seconds I took the fillet of beef and it was superb. Incidentally the sausages and mash you had was a J meal about 18 months ago

thegoderic

BOS – ORD – IAH – ORD – BOS AA First

Life’s too short to do detailed trip reports on domestic US flights, so I’ll collapse four into one summary.

I decided to fly AA with some trepidation. It’s a long time since I flew them and my only recent US airline experience was Business First with CO which is good. The AA board doesn’t think much of their own service, so I wasn’t sure what I should expect.

Check In and Security

Check in for AA First was generally good and efficient with queues ranging from short (BOS) to nil (IAH). The agent at IAH was happy to check my bags IAH – ORD – BOS – LHR – GLA on three separate tickets.

Again security ranged from OK to excellent in the length of line.

Lounges

As far as lounges are concerned, I am convinced that American airlines (and not just American Airlines) just don’t get lounges. BOS Admiral’s club was OK, but the pay bar for their own passengers and measly offering of snacks was fairly depressing. My BA Gold card got me a drinks voucher, but that’s not the point. BA will let you drink as much as you want and offer a much better ambience and snack selection. I was impressed though by the Flagship lounge at ORD. Pleasant staff, good selection of food and drink, plenty of space and nicer ambience.

In Flight

I had preconceptions of grumpy old flight crew. That could not be further from the truth. The crew ranged from Disneyesque charming and friendly, to efficient yet pleasant.

As soon as the rabble (coach passengers) had boarded, they came, greeted us by name and offered a drink.

Punctuality was generally much better than flying in the UK with flights opening 30 minutes before schedule and pushing back almost to the minute.

I was expected to have a stale roll to chew on, but in flight service was probably better than BA Club Europe. I had 4 x 2 hour flights and on each occasion, we had warmed nuts in a bowl as an aperitif (BA give you a plastic packet in Club World), and a decent snack that was beautifully presented with cloth napkins and decent cutlery. The only thing that let the side down was the plastic cup they served the pre-take off drink in.

Apart from the review, I did have a Homer Simpson moment on the BOS – ORD leg. As the captain hit the throttles, I felt the back of my seat give and I had to brace myself to stop the seat reclining fully and me landing in the lap of whoever was in 4F. I struggled with this during the take off roll and initial climb and was trying to get the seat upright whilst cursing AA for their clearly inefficient maintenance programme when I glanced down and noticed that my trouser pocket had become entangled with the seat release lever and was the root cause of my problem. I then fought against the effects of gravity and the climb angle of the plane to lever myself forward enough to release the pressure so I could remove my trouser pocket and lock the seat in position. I finally managed this as we levelled out. My only hope is that no-one else noticed this fool falling backwards and fighting with his trousers as the plane climbed away.

thegoderic

BOS – LHR BA 212 Club World

After arriving at BOS, I walked along to the international terminal and went to check in for the BA flight. I already had my BP, but BA needed to see that and my papers. I also wanted a BP for the LHR – GLA leg. The premium check in area was almost empty and I was quickly and efficiently dealt with before wandering off, clutching two BPs.

Unfortunately BOS didn’t seem to have an effective premium security line so I had a 10 minute wait for security but managed through there without any problems.

I then strolled off to the BA lounge complex and wandered into the FIRST lounge. The dragon (and I use that term advisedly) greeted me with “If you want dinner, go to the business lounge”. I thanked her politely and told her I didn’t want to eat thank you, so with a snarl and wave of the hand, I was welcomed into the windowless and slightly claustrophobic BOS FIRST lounge. I consoled myself by emptying a good part of a bottle of Champagne and watching Young Frankenstein on my laptop. When I saw Frau Blücher (cue whinnying horses), it suddenly struck me where the lounge dragon had been trained!

The flight was called about 45 minutes before take off so I swayed towards the gate only to discover that they hadn’t started boarding yet. This is one thing that really annoys me. I know airlines want to get people at the gate in plenty of time, but if you really want to annoy premium passengers, drag them out of the lounge early and have them stand around at the gate for 10 minutes before letting them board.

When on board, I went upstairs and settled myself in 64K. The top deck of a 747 is the second best place in the world to fly (1A on a 747 is the best of course), and 64K is a great seat to enjoy it from.

I was offered a pre flight drink and given a packet of nuts to nibble on while I watched the last 10 minutes of Young Frankenstein on the laptop.

The crew were very much in evidence and were brilliant throughout the flight, friendly and helpful. The captain came on and told us we had a very short flying time of 5 hours and 20 minutes which meant that I would get less sleep and we would arrive early so I would have time to kill before my connection to GLA. Sometimes a longer flight is better.

I ate (and I’m sorry to say I’ve lost the menu so can’t tell you what I had), and slept, waking at around 0415. The BA flat beds are OK, but don’t offer the softest night’s sleep.

I then remembered I needed to buy some cigarettes as a present for a neighbour so asked the crew if they had closed Duty Free. They had, but went downstairs and reopened it. I was very grateful, but I do suspect a degree of self interest here. Do the crew get some sort of bonus or commission on Duty Free sales?

I had been in the US for three weeks and was suffering from bacon sandwich deprivation. However a mediocre microwaved sandwich is dangerous to someone who has withdrawal symptoms, so I decided to have the cereal breakfast on the plane and a real (and presumably much better sandwich) in the arrivals lounge.

We landed the wrong way (over Windsor) and were on stand just ahead of the 0515 schedule. I came off the plane in search of a bacon sandwich and had a dilemma. Should I go to the T4 arrivals lounge and have to undergo the Heathrow Express or take the airside bus to T1 and eat there. In the end my decision was made for me by the BAA staff who told passengers that the airside bus was not running due to a “security situation”.

So off to the T4 arrivals lounge for a shower and bacon sandwich (OK two sandwiches). All was quiet and peaceful as I walked down to the HEX and made my way to T1. I came out of the lift and was greeted by a scene of total and utter chaos. People were everywhere with queues stretching around the terminal. The bmi staff were at their ticket machines explaining things to passengers, so I walked towards the BA desk to find someone to ask what was going on, only to find no BA staff in evidence. I went back and joined what seemed to be the security queue only to be told by a passenger that all bags had to be checked in so I needed to check mine in.

There then followed a ten minute search for the end of the BA fast bag drop queue where I stood stoically in the best English way for thirty minutes. No-one really knew what was going on and there were still no BA staff around to explain things so I called the call centre in Newcastle to see if they knew what was going on. They didn’t have a clue, only that there were problems at Heathrow. When I suggested that from what I could see it would be many hours before any flights left and I would go and get a train, I was told in no uncertain terms that I couldn’t possibly do that. So I waited and at around 0700 called my mother who is a notoriously early riser. She told me that 21 people had been arrested for planning to blow up an airliner and according to the news Heathrow was in chaos. Well I could have told her that!

Another half hour passed. Where is Cliff Richard when you want him? He could have done his rainy Wimbledon act and entertained the assembled masses who were practising standing still. There had still been no announcements and no BA staff were in sight. I then had a combined Aha! and Doh! moment. Why don’t I go to the T1 arrivals lounge where I may be able to ask a BA staff member ever so politely what the eff is happening, get a seat and if I’m feeling really greedy, another bacon sandwich.

Easier said than done as there were approximately 10,962,273 people crammed into T1 check in area, but I finally reached the relative calm and tranquillity of the T1 arrival lounge where the staff hadn’t a clue what was going on. We did have a pleasant chat though and they told me that they would be making announcements if and when planes started operating.

I sat and watched Sky news which brought me up to date on what was happening, with intermittent trips to the PCs to get the latest view on my flight status. The first time, BA 1474 was leaving in time at 0830. Twenty minutes later that had slipped slightly to 1415, and the next time, it was cancelled. I then went to the desk and suggested I might get a train. Instead they told me to go to the ticket desk in Zone R where they told me to get a train! I was give a phone number to report my lost bags to and headed for the HEX.

I don’t know what things were like later in the day as the hordes descended from Heathrow to get back to all points North, but the 0946 from Euston to Carlisle was empty and time passed very pleasantly before arriving in Carlisle to be picked up by my wife.

Now I know it was chaotic, but I think BA and BAA let themselves down very badly that day. I was stood in T1 from 0610 to 0730 and there was no public announcement. BA had no staff available and even if there was nothing substantial to tell people then so be it, but they should have been out and visible. This fiasco has cost BA and BAA money. I personally have booked two transatlantic trip subsequently on other carriers (CO and KLM) and the stupidly and poorly implemented hand baggage rules have driven me onto the train on a couple of occasions. (I am actually writing this log on a bearded one special from Euston to Carlisle). Rant Over.

This thread started as a comparison of various BA products, but due to a combination of circumstances, I still haven’t sampled WT+. However, I do have another two transatlantic trips coming up in quick succession and as that will involve two other airlines I intend to continue with these reports and compare BA’s business product with others.

RTW4

Your trip reports are excellent. Great reading..Thanks for everything...

thegoderic

GLA – EWR CO Business First

I had another trip to IAH scheduled about 10 days after my previous one and had seats booked. However, BA were still cancelling domestic flights fairly regularly and that combined with the fact that I still hadn’t received a receipt from BA for my flight change despite three calls to their call centre made me look at alternatives.

Discovering that the GLA – LGW connection I was due to take on the Monday had been cancelled for the last three days made me go on line on the Saturday and book a CO Business First flight GLA – EWR – IAH – LGW – GLA. Although I was booking it within 48 hours of travel, it actually cost £600 less that the refundable BA flight had.

I was on the 0900 CO flight to EWR and according to their website, I should arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before. Yeah, right. I arrived at 0700 and went straight to the empty Business First check in line where I was greeted by my concierge and the pre-check in security person.

I’m not sure I understand exactly why US (and possibly Canadian) airlines do this. I can fly BA transatlantic and not be questioned or checked in any way at all. When I fly back from the US, there is no additional security. But when flying to the US, we get the third degree. Anyway I passed the test and was allowed to check in. This was an incredibly painless process and there was no problem with the fact that my case was 25kg. BA please note that passengers have choice that they are likely to use when your stupid new luggage rules come into play.

Unfortunately GLA does not have a fast track security line so I spent 30 minutes looking totally out of place because I did not sport a track suit or have a selection of tattoos on show before passing through the checkpoint and wandering up to the KLM lounge that CO use at GLA. I seem to remember being in a truly awful and chaotic lounge in CAI a few years ago, but apart from that, I think this is the worst lounge I’ve ever used. It is a relatively small space with windows down one side. On offer was a selection of soft drinks, a jug of orange juice, a jug of what was probably tapwater, some indescribably bad coffee in a percolator that was filled in 1974 and has been brewing since and some industrial strength acid that has been decanted into wine bottles. To eat there is some packaged cheese and a few bags of Walker’s Crisps. There are two national newspapers for a lounge with perhaps 40 seats and a couple of magazines that I’ve never heard of and have no desire to read. Oh and the seats give you backache if you sit in them for more than 10 minutes.

Time passed and then the flight was called. We were departing from the gate opposite the lounge and they got this just right. We left the lounge and were the first people onto the plane. Although they had separate lines set up, they hadn’t called the economy passengers, so the BF people had a clear run. Well almost clear, because we were asked again if we’d been given anything to take on the plane since we were last asked, and some people (not me) were given a random bag check.

CO operate a 757 on the GLA – EWR route and the BF cabin was small but there seemed to be plenty of space. The seats were the usual old CO BF seats, large wide and comfortable. Good for a day flight, but they’re less than perfect for sleeping in overnight.

I was offered a drink almost immediately and chose some orange juice. A menu followed and then the CO amenity kit, which I was delighted to discover hadn’t been enhanced in any way shape or form since I last had one. I think amenity kits are generally overrated, but I value the CO kit for the bag itself which is very useful as a travel bag, and for the hairbrush which is perfect when packing light (and incidentally for brushing your hair after an arrivals lounge shower).

The departure time approached and I gained a companion in 2B. However, row 1 remained empty. By the time the door was closed at 0845, there were 7 passengers in the 16 seat BF cabin, yet they had two of us sitting together, which struck me as slightly odd. My putative companion clearly didn’t like the look of me so sensibly departed to row 1, leaving me in the same position as everyone else in the cabin with a free seat next to me. Push back was at 0902, and we soon departed GLA, taking the lesser used direction down the runway.

Soon after take off we could see Loch Lomond spread out below us which reminded me of one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had while flying. I was returning from the US via Toronto with AC and most of the economy cabin seemed to be occupied by a youth choir. After the usual cramped and uncomfortable night in economy we were close to GLA when the clouds parted and we could see Loch Lomond below us. The young lady sat next to me asked which loch it was and fortunately I knew. She immediately started singing “Oh by yon bonnie banks and yon bonnie braes” and the tune was taken up by the rest of the choir. By the time we landed, there was hardly a dry eye in the cabin.

Onto more prosaic things, the 757 has real 110v power outlets which is a change from the usual low voltage thing. (My adaptor can’t maintain a charge on my laptop with the inverter so I gradually lose power when I fly which isn’t good.)

Meal service was as ever on CO, excellent. I had a slight dilemma in that the FA came around with the nuts and drinks order at around 0945 in the morning. “What would you like to drink Mr thegoderic?” Difficult choice. Only a hardened drunkard would opt for alcohol at that time in the morning, so I made do with a nice glass of white wine, washed down with several more nice glasses of wine, both white and red. The one fault in the entire service was that there was no wine list nor any choice of wine. The white was OK (I saw the bottle later, it was Wolff Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay which is a perfectly respectable wine, but perhaps you could expect something better in business class.)

One of the delights of flying CO is the bowl of warm nuts offered with the pre-meal drinks. I don’t know about you, but I love my nuts warmed and no-one does them better than CO.

The other thing I like about CO is the way they serve dinner. None of your airline standard trolleys with packaged food in racks. They use the sort of tea trolley you might find at Betty’s in Harrogate, and they serve your starter, dessert and cheese from the trolley, selected and plated to order. Yes, BA I did say dessert and cheese.

The other delight on this plane was AVOD. This was a first for me and I loved it once they got it working. It took a couple of attempts and the odd system reset, but once it was up and running, I was able to decide for myself that MI III was not worth 2 hours of my time and switched to the Philadelphia Story which is very old and corny, but nevertheless hugely better than watching Mr Cruise strut his stuff. I’m afraid work intervened after this and I spent a couple of hours blasting away at email.

Part way through this work interlude, I became aware of a delightful smell and soon after the FA appeared with some “fresh baked” chocolate chip cookies. My iron will was clearly demonstrated in the way I limited myself to only two, washed down with a cup of the half decent coffee CO serve.

A little later we were offered a pre landing snack and I decided to give up on work at this point and turn back to the AVOD system to provide entertainment. House was one of the TV programmes on offer and I must confess I had never watched an episode before but was fascinated by seeing what Hugh Lawrie would sound like with an American accent. 40 minutes later and I was a House fan. Good mindless fun that will probably have a similar plot every week, but still worth watching.

Before long we were approaching EWR and with everything stowed away landed at around 1230, ahead of schedule. I was first off the plane and after being overtaken by two sprinters in the slog to immigration, I was able to go straight to an empty desk, and navigated that very quickly. My bag arrived after a few minutes delay, was promptly rechecked and I passed though security very swiftly and ended up in the President’s Club by 1255 which is fast by any standards.

I’m not going to give a full report of the trip down to IAH on CO domestic. The plusses of the trip were the fact that the aircraft was a 767 with International BusinessFirst layout so that I had the nice wide seat and a movie selection. Additionally the FA kept plying us with drink which was excellent, yet challenging as I had a rental car to drive at the other end so I had to keep turning her down.

However I was amazed at the so called meal that was offered. The flight is scheduled for 3 hours and 53 minutes and we had what is laughingly called a “snack” which was smaller than the starter I’d had coming over the pond. Despite a slightly late take off, the flight time was under 3 hours which made me wonder where they get some of the flight timings from, but also gave us an early arrival.

All in all a very decent trip and I arrived in IAH feeling remarkably refreshed.

Fraser

Really interesting stuff ^ Did it feel odd boarding a narrowbody to go across the pond?

Oh, and House is usually regurgitations of the same plot every week

thegoderic

It gets worse, I'm writing up my next trip which was on the KLM / Privatair B737 (sorry Boeing Business Jet) which was seriously weird.

thegoderic

Just flown over the pond again and spent some time catching up, so a bumper selection of trip reports coming up.

IAH – LGW – GLA
Continental Airlines Business First
For some reason, the booking engine had me returning via LGW rather than through EWR. At first this was a pain in the neck, but towards the end of my trip, my laptop started playing silly bees which meant I had to drop it into the office to get fixed on the way back, so the routing worked well.

After dropping the rental car off and taking the bus up to the terminal, (CO have their own international terminal at IAH), I got the lift up to the departures area and was pleasantly surprised at first sight as to how empty it was. However as I walked over to the desks, I could see a long elite queue. Muttering to myself (I don’t like queuing), I went to join then noticed an additional BusinessFirst check-in area beyond. That had no queue and I was quickly dealt with by an agent who was, shall we say on the grumpy side of pleasant without ever getting to the Gordon Ramsay level of rudeness.

The security line was short which is good because there was no elite line, and I was soon heading to the President’s Club. The queue for entrance was a little long for my liking, but after a few minutes I entered this glitzy glass and steel palace. I was feeling quite hot and sticky, so asked about showers. The agent directed me to the top floor where an attendant escorted me to a shower room that was pleasant and spacious.

I emerged a few minutes later feeling refreshed and clean. There did not seem to be a bar on the top floor, so I walked down and found a bar, that had a huge queue and a sign offering “premium” wines at $9 per glass. I think that convinced me for once and for all that US airlines don’t get the concept of lounges. For one thing, they should be available for premium class passengers and frequent fliers, and secondly, if you have to pay for food and drink, their benefits are fairly tenuous. I helped myself to a glass of water, picked up a copy of the Economist and found a seat. Interestingly it was a two week old Economist, but one I hadn’t read before.

The other thing that annoyed me about the lounge was the lack of usable space. I found it difficult to find a free seat, but a good proportion of the lounge space was taken up by the huge and impressive staircase. Strikes me that the architect’s good idea for something that was visually striking overwhelmed the concept of doing what it says on the label and providing plentiful space for people to sit and relax.

We were called and set off for the gate. Unfortunately, we had been called early and on reaching the gate, discovered that all the passengers there had taken up the free seats and boarding hadn’t started. So a grumble of premium passengers stood there for 5 minutes until boarding commenced. When we started, I was third in line, but the first two were subjected to TSA secondary screening, so I was first on the aircraft. I had a window seat at the rear of the front Business First cabin and settled myself into a very comfy looking seat that seemed different (and better) than the “normal” CO seats I’d encountered before.

An FA approached me very quickly, addressed me by name and offered me a drink, which as Marlon Brando once said was an offer I couldn’t refuse. The cabin filled up and I did have a companion in the seat next to me, which turned out to be, shall we say, interesting as the man had a serious sinus problem. This was manifest by the various noises that he made throughout the flight with assorted snorts, snores and general harrumphs disturbing my peace.

Take off was on time and I soon had to decide on the dinner choice. The menu was somewhat uninspirational, but I decided on the steak, which is always a risk. Typical airline steaks have the consistency of shoe leather and taste to match, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was not rare, but tasted of steak which was a first for me. I ate fairly quickly, decided to stop before the ice cream and flattened the seat to sleep.

Now the lack of a flat bed is one of the main reasons why I don’t fly CO more often, but this seat was a revelation. Although not 180 degrees flat, it allowed me to get some solid sleep and despite the nasal sound pollution from my neighbour, I awoke refreshed after 7 hours of excellent sleep (at least by aircraft standards).

I awoke about 90 minutes form landing and breakfast was on offer. I had some nice fruit and juice and a typical American cooked breakfast (i.e. much worse than a British one), but was altogether OK.

We landed slightly ahead of time and seemed to spend a lifetime trundling to our stand. Unfortunately Iris recognition has not made it to Gatwick South, so I was forced to wait in line for 20 minutes for passport control. I then went straight to the CO arrivals lounge which is buried somewhere deep in the bowels of the terminal. This had a fantastic shower suite, someone to press my chinos and a fairly average breakfast buffet. The downside was that the sitting / eating area was small and sparse and resembled a doctor’s waiting room, albeit with newer magazines.

I then went off to get the Gatwick Express to the office to get my laptop fixed. The lounge hadn’t got any newspapers to steal, so I decided to buy one, but forgot, so I went down the escalator from the station to the platform, discovered I had 10 minutes to buy a paper and so headed straight back onto the up escalator. I was half way up it when I heard an anguished cry of “look out” from the down escalator to my right. I looked over to see the top of what looked like a large hard shell suitcase hurtling down the escalator, and hitting some poor bloke at the bottom who went down like a row of skittles. It was both painful and highly amusing, in a Buster Keaton way at the same time. I suspect no lasting damage had been done because when I headed back down a few minutes later, there was no sign of the injured party.

I dropped my laptop off, got a replacement, had lunch with a colleague and then headed back on the Gatwick Express.

BA’s OLCI wouldn’t give me a BP, so I went to the FIRST check in to get checked in. There was a family playing at removing things from suitcases by the check in , which suggested to me that BA’s new wonderful baggage policy had claimed another victim. Getting passengers to crawl around the floor removing things from bags really enhances the premium travel experience.

My challenge came when I came with my newly purchased laptop bag to get through security. The numpty with a very inappropriately logoed “Can I Help” t-shirt told me my bag was too thick for their gauge which resulted in me throwing the very nice CO amenity kit bag into the bin, putting a few things in my pockets and then saying to him “Is that OK then?” which translates into English as “If you dare tell me there is something wrong with this now, I will insert the bag and all its contents into an orifice that will cause you not inconsiderable pain.” I know it is not his fault, but BAA have handled this whole situation appallingly, driven by the fact that they have chosen to cut corners so far that their system cannot cope. It may cause American readers to choke on their Grande Decaf Skinny Lattes, but the TSA are actually not that bad and have coped with the post 10 Aug chaos well.

I met someone from one of my clients in the queue for the scanner who had managed to blag a much bigger rucksack through the line, which proves to me how arbitrary the system is as well.

I headed through the shopping mall that is Gatwick and into the serenity of the BA FIRST lounge, where I’m afraid I made a pig of myself. A bacon baguette was ordered and despatched quickly, aided by a glass of champagne. That encouraged my thirst, so I had a second glass of champers while I made a call to my client. That in turn made me feel hungry, so scone, jam and clotted cream disappeared, followed by a third glass of champagne.
Not unsurprisingly I slept on the totally uneventful flight up to GLA. GLA is normally very good at getting bags off planes, but for once they did take 20 minutes after which I clambered into my taxi and headed home.
In summary a good trip. I think CO Business First beat BA Club World hands down in the air on a day flight, but BA’s better lounges and bed do even out the balance.

thegoderic

GLA – AMS – IAH
KLM World Business Class (Privatair Business Jet)
I was in that year end limbo where I had enough BA TPs for a GUF2, but no chance of getting a second one, so I decided to try another route for my next trip. The UK baggage policy also helped my make my decision. I could just about cope with the one small bag rule heading out, but when heading back it gets very difficult as you can’t take a change of clothes and you end up in a shambles when connecting at LGW. I looked around and KLM were officering a very sharp fare (less than £2,000) with seats on their Privatair business jet from AMS – IAH. Add to this the fact that I needed to fly out on a Sunday which would involve on 0615 start from GLA with BA and there was only one way to travel.

Consequently I arrived at Glasgow at around 0745 on a Sunday, heading off to AMS and onto IAH. I’d booked a seat on the 0900 flight because although the later flight (1110) would connect to the IAH flight, KLM are notoriously bad and I needed to be in Houston for 0900 on the Monday morning.

I’d checked in the night before and wandered into the airport mentally buying my dollars and heading to the lounge. I noticed a set of check in desks with a blue screen above them, wandered over and discovered it was for a different flight entirely. A quick scan of the check in desks revealed no obvious KLM desk, so I looked at the screen and saw the magic words “Contact Airline” This was easier said than done as there was a huge line for the KLM desk which I joined with some dismay. While standing in the line, I fired up my laptop, checked my alternatives and called KLM reservations to see if I could short circuit the line. They proved to be about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking contest, so I was forced to wait in line. I could see things going seriously pear shaped as the CO flight to EWR was filling rapidly. After about an hour in the line, someone came long the line looking for the passengers on long haul connections. My response was “If I can get on the 1110, I can make my connection. Failing that, there is an AA flight to Chicago that will connect to Houston.” The lady wrote this down ad then vanished, not to be seen again. Meanwhile, time passed, the CO check in closed, the AA check in showed signs of closing, the 1110 KLM check in opened for business and I got more and more worried. After another hour, a second lady came along and when I told her who I was and where I was heading, she said, quite casually, “You’re on the 1110, go and queue over there.” So the good news was I would make my connection, the bad news was that the KLM desk could have told me that some considerable time earlier, but chose not to.

If there is anyone from KLM reading this, think about how this sort of performance will affect my future buying decisions. Oh any by the way, do something about the GLA lounge, which is probably the worst lounge in the world. After this, we boarded and I found myself in 1E, wedged between two other large blokes with minimal space.

The food served, a prawn salad was very nice. Unfortunately, this was spoiled by the FA forgetting to offer Row 1 a drink.

After arriving in AMS, I browsed the duty free which seemed to offer spectacularly bad value. I wanted a new digital camera, and had priced a few in the UK and the US. Amsterdam duty free was more expensive than the US high street and UK internet dealers. Despite this, they seemed to be doing a steady trade.

My BP stated a 1410 gate closure for a 1510 flight which seemed fairly extreme, especially as the flight would have a maximum of 44 passengers. So although it was by now 1400, I headed to the KLM lounge which seemed to be doing an impersonation of a refugee camp. The place was grossly overcrowded with bodies everywhere. This is not what a lounge should be. I found a space, helped myself to a Bombay Sapphire and tonic, then noticed that the flight was called at 1415, so headed off for D5 which is one of the closer gates to the centre at AMS.

As is the norm at AMS now, we were security checked at the gate, and a small select group waited for boarding to commence. It was clear from the number of people in the lounge that the flight was likely to be full, and this turned out to be the case.

Not surprisingly, boarding was easy and we soon found ourselves sat in the strangest 737 I’ve ever been in. 44 seats on a plane that usually has may more looks unnatural. The seat looked OK with lots of legroom, but little stowage space. This became a problem when I tried to find space for my iPod, Sunday Times and KLM amenity kit. The kit itself was OKish, but the bag was a decent size and shape for all sorts of things. (I’m currently using one to keep my film in on this trip). Champagne was delivered and coats stowed in record time.

We settled down, pushed back ahead of time and then made our way to the AMS runway that’s somewhere near Munich (or at least so it seems!). Take off was bizarre. I’m programmed to recognise what a “normal” take off feels like on various aircraft, and if I had my eyes closed, I would say this was a heavy 747 lumbering down the runway. Initial acceleration felt like a 1972 Lada with 5 people on board and a blown engine, but speed did build eventually and after a 45 second take off run, we struggled into the air.

Soon after take off, we were handed out DigE Players which had a number of films, TV programmes and audio on them. Nice concept, but firstly the players don’t seem to work very well. (On the way out I needed a second set of headphones and adaptor, it was even worse on the way back). Secondly, there is a power cable and adaptor draped around your legs as well as the headphone cables which is easy to pull out. Finally the player takes up table space, so it is hard to eat and watch at the same time.
Next came some nuts and drinks. I do like my nuts and in Michael Winner’s terms, these were historic, both in quantity and quality. Some time later I was offered seconds, and surprising myself, said now. There is some self control in there somewhere!
Everything seemed to be happening very slowly and we were an hour into the flight (and still on the nibbles) when I passed over my house. One of the frustrating things about where I live is the time it can take to get on a plane, and this trip was a personal best, 10½ hours between leaving home and passing over again.
Service continued slowly, and we were past the Hebrides before the starter was delivered. It was excellent though, scallops and crab with asparagus with a raspberry dressing. We’d reached Iceland and were 3 hours into the flight before the Chicken with ceps main course arrived and cheese didn’t get served till Greenland. Now I know it is a 10 hour flight, but I’m sure it should be possible to speed the meal service up a little. The other thing that rankled slightly was that drinks seemed to be served when the crew were ready. They came round with the trolleys at set intervals to serve drinks, but nobody seemed to notice if a glass was empty and offer to refill it.
After food service was complete, I opened the laptop up for some work. KLM seem to have the same problem that many other airlines have (including BA). I have a large laptop and a 120W Kensington power adaptor. The in-flight power just doesn’t seem to be man enough for the job. It will charge the battery when the laptop is shut down, but when you try and run the machine off the aircraft power, it gives up. So I spent an hour on the laptop, shut it down to recharge (during which time I couldn’t use the DigE Player as there was only one outlet per seat), and then worked again. Most frustrating.
We were treated to an absolutely fantastic view of Greenland as we overflew, with sparking ice sculptures and glaciers below us. Unfortunately I was about to buy a camera in the US, so couldn’t record the scene, but many passengers were taking photos and videos.
By then I’d consumed a lot of liquid (or do I mean alcohol), so a trip to the loo was required. This was a typical short haul 737 loo, quite disappointing and cramped. Only midget contortionists could join the mile high club here!
Soon after the attendant came around with a welcome mini tub of ice-cream. A lovely tough that was most welcome, but I can actually remember this as something offered in BA economy class about 10 years ago. Another example of how cost cutting has eroded service offerings over the years.
By this time, I was ready for a sleep, and had a difficult time getting my bed into position. The design is such that everything has to be clear of the floor area before the bed will go flat, so I had a number of attempts removing assorted power cables, headphones, bits of newspaper and shoes before I could get it flattish. The bed drops as you flatten it, so you end up at ankle level which takes a bit of getting used to.
I woke up a few hours later and soon after was offered a small snack, which was better than the usual high tea affair. I had a three cheese pizza that was fine for some microwaved stodge and served its primary purpose of soaking up some of the alcohol that I’d consumed on the flight so far.
The final act of the flight was the ritual handing out of the Delft Houses, which for the uninitiated is a collection of small pottery Dutch houses that are handed out to long haul business class passengers on KLM. Some people take collecting these very seriously, but I don’t fly KLM very often and my style guru (wife) has declared them hideous, so I take them mainly for the gin. Shock horror, this time there was no gin, just a sticker saying that customs regulations prevented them filling them up on this route.
We arrived at IAH on time and despite being half way down the plane, I was through immigration in no time at all. Bags arrived quickly and my touch down to hire car shuttle time was 30 minutes.
KLM struggle to do it for me. Their connecting service to the UK varies from barely acceptable to awful, lounges leave a lot to be desired and their business jet service has more than a few niggles.