G-BOAC

I’ve never been a big fan of the genuine letdown that is New ‘Enforced Fun’ Year’s Eve and this year I really fancied being out of the country and somewhere else. Where better, in fact, than in the air? It’s become a habit to fly on my birthday, why not give it a whirl on New Year’s Eve too? There was only one stipulation in my mind: it should be BA F (the idea was implanted after a very nice unexpected F experience on my birthday this year ). With that in mind, the Middle East seemed like a decent idea for a few days of warmth, especially when a friend had decided he’d be out there too with his family. So I began to investigate award routings with some regularity until one day BA F BAH-LHR 01/01/08 popped up – result! Knowing the award would be fully flexible if I needed to can it later, I duly snapped it up (for 60,000 BA Miles and 54.40 GBP).

Now the only problem was getting out there…in order to come back Regular checks proved fruitless and I was beginning to resign myself to refunding my BA award until, lo, Lufthansa were showing F class FRA-DOH on the Saturday before my BAH-LHR. This wouldn’t give me much time away, but I talked myself in to it virtually immediately as an excuse to try the LH F class product and First Class Terminal at FRA. After a false start with one bmi Diamond Club agent, I got a very helpful lady called (*cough*) ‘Michelle’ who helped me work up the exact flights I wanted (LHR-FRA 28/12 in the evening and then FRA-DOH 29/12). There was, however, suddenly a snag. FRA-DOH is a paper ticket route (how quant – something I’m not used to on BA but this would be my second run in with them on Star this year) and they’d need 14 days to issue them. Since I was booking a week in advance of departure that would kill my plan. Or it would have done, had ‘Michelle’ not agreed to make a one-off exception and permit me to collect them from the LHR T1 BD ticket desk (for no extra charge) ^ Excellent workaround and quality proactive customer service on her part…my trip was back on! Pausing only to wince at the 179.20 GBP in taxes/fees/surcharges/UK APD sham thievery/etc. (on top of 140.00 and 20,000 for my ‘Cash + Miles’ award) I handed over my credit card information and was all set.

Now, being the worrying type I wasn’t about to wait until departure to deal with any ticketing issues! Since work was now quiet in the run up to Christmas I was able to take a few hours out the next day and hit LHR sooner rather than later. I did once swear I’d never, ever use the God-awful Piccadilly line to get to/from the airport again but I decided I’d make an exception this time (and see later too – but that was not out of choice) since it was an ‘out and back’ trip, I had no luggage, I wasn’t in a hurry and I wasn’t about to just chuck away the best part of 20 quid for a HEX ‘meet and greet’ day return thing The journey itself (joining at Green Park) was about as painless as it could be to be fair. It is still a horrid way to get to LHR though. No matter, it got me there and I had my tickets in hand and was back on the return train in 10 minutes! ^ (In spite of there being a *G/Business ticket desk line clearly marked but not enforced so there was a small but chaotic queue at the desk). The only thing that surprised me (apart from the Tube working) was they just gave me the tickets – no ID check, no questions.

Bored on the journey home I passed the time on the overground section checking the HEX website just to make sure it would be running on 01/01 when I arrived home. It wouldn’t So I knew I’d be forced on to the Tube against my will and usual better judgment again within only a couple of weeks. What a way to start 2008

G-BOAC

LH4733 LHR-FRA 28 December 2007, Depart 17:05/Arrive 19:40 – Business Class

Thankfully the HEX was working for my outbound leg at least so I planned to head off for the 14:25, knowing T2 has no fast track ‘security’ and I’d have some errands to run at the airport too. I set out in good time as usual but just made it thanks to some idiot pulling the Emergency Stop on a Tube in front of us at Bond Street. I swear to God, if you aren’t literally about to drop dead and need to get off the train then you should be made very dead very quickly for using those buttons Not one sign of any emergency services or commotion of any sort as we pulled in to the station next, of course The HEX was also late – this time due to engineering works. Today was not going well so far and I was not happy! Though that may also have been due to the awful flu I had all over Christmas and which I was only just feeling a bit better from – thankfully well enough to travel at least.

From a 14:45 arrival I made the very long trek to T2 where I was checked in quickly and my shorthaul seat swapped from 4D (best I could get over the phone without a LH card) to 1C and after swinging by Travelex I joined the snaking ‘security’ queue at 15:04. It was 15:16 before I emerged…to find my laptop had been selected for swabbing. Fine. If you’d just bloody well get someone to do it not keep me standing there like a tw@ with nothing better to do for another 5 minutes These times were all from BAA’s own clocks…I should probably use my own next time, I have little confidence BAA’s work correctly

Anyway, I could now relax. The stressful part was over ^ So I made my way to the LH lounge for a drink. Last time I was here (on paid C tickets) they refused to let me in the left-hand SEN side (this deviation from the norm for *G is correct according to LH’s site) but this time there was no issue. My LHR-FRA BP had ‘FCI’ written on it to denote a first class connection and I was waved left. It was then I noticed no ‘BD*G’ was showing so I asked the lady if she could put my number in – she suggested I go and get a drink and she’d fix it and come and find me ^ When she did so, she explained they were reward tickets so I wouldn’t earn any miles…I politely pointed out I knew that, I just wanted to make sure the number and *G were ‘in’ there in case anything went wrong and status may be an advantage. She nodded and handed me the new fixed BP for FRA-DOH, saying I should keep the original LHR-FRA since “FCI is better anyway but the number is in the system now, I promise” She addressed me by name throughout (including as I left to bid me a good trip) which was a nice touch.

Champagne is available on request from the kitchen on the SEN side so I started on that – though never got to see the bottle. I tucked in to a couple of the snack rolls (meat/veg/fish offerings were out) and browsed the web via the T-Mobile WiFi and soon it was time to wander to the gate. By the time I got to gate 15 the screen was showing ‘Last Call’ and it sounded from the announcement like I’d just missed priority boarding so I joined the long, slow-moving queue as everyone filed on board. We were all done and dusted by 16:50, well in time for departure…were it not for some selfish idiot who had to be offloaded along with their cases because they somehow failed to turn up at a plane between check-in and the gate…such people go in my ‘Emergency Stop Button Pushers’ file and deserve the same swift remedy!

Despite recent disruptions, LHR seemed fairly quiet so although we pushed back late at 17:15 we got airborne by 17:30 and the short flight had us in to FRA on time. Service was friendly enough but slightly cold – a bit like the food offering (some Parma ham, processed cheese and a dessert pot…about as weak as BA’s Club Europe ‘catering’ on the same route IME). There were no hot towels or real linen (the metal cutlery was in a paper napkin), nor was there any Champagne (‘not since about 10 years on shorthaul’)…clear wins for BA there. The plane, however, was very clean and the seats comfy with the nice blocked middles and my fallback drink of a G&T was made with Bombay Sapphire….clear wins for LH there. Let’s call it a draw

A remote stand arrival yet again (though at least here there are steps and busses and drivers waiting, unlike at LHR!) brought with it the usual faff (e.g. waiting for slowmos to get the hell off the plane so we could get a move on out of the freezing cold), compounded by there being one lone EU passport desk open once we arrived at the terminal However, these were minor and typical trials – by 20:30 I was in my room at the IC.

I’ve already posted in the usual place about the IC but I was impressed. As a short notice trip I’d checked the rate last week and it was about 150 EUR++ so I decided to cash in points instead which was no problem, especially since I still got all my RA benefits – a big ^ to this property.

LH618 FRA-DOH 29 December 2007, Depart 10:25/Arrive 18:10 – First Class

I’d planned to get as much sleep as possible and basically just leave straight for the FCT and use the bath/shower facilities there. My alarm at 06:40 wasn’t welcome and I was still feeling under the weather…but then I did have the FCT to look forward to so I sprung out of bed, had a quick coffee and juice and was soon on my way. The only disconcerting thing was the receptionist not wanting to give me a folio since ‘there is nothing on it, sir’. Fair enough, I guess (she’d obviously removed the movie manually already and just thanked me for the list of minibar items I’d consumed rather than doing much with it!) but a first for me in all my stays (even reward nights) I think and it felt odd not having a bill of some kind!

When I arrived at the FCT I was greeted with warm smiles and welcomes by my new ‘PA’. She took my BP and passport and then guided me through security. It was all eerily quiet – since I was the only pax there I found out once in the lounge itself! That didn’t last long though. After a little ‘tour’ since it was my first time she said she’d be back at 09:50 to collect me and I headed for one of the bath suites. These washrooms (in the proper sense of the word!) are very well equipped and very comfortable (including robes and slippers). I enjoyed a very relaxing bath…the only annoyance being there’s no shower in the bath unit to make hair washing easier (there is a separate power shower in the room around the corner though). There were actually 2 LH FCT yellow rubber duckies in my room…I eschewed the scarier one (with wings and a halo…I think!) and salted the ‘Plain Jane’ one in to my case as a souvenir (I’d checked that was OK first and it is). I was offered shaving and toothcare kits but declined as I had all I needed in my luggage.

I then decided some breakfast was in order (especially since I’d not eaten since the lame excuse for ‘dinner’ on the LH flight the night before)…though the instant I sat down I still wasn’t hungry. It was just too early. So I grazed instead – opting for fruit and a small selection of ‘full English’ items to pick over, with some smoked salmon (I rarely pass up a chance to have that!). This was accompanied by several glasses of excellent fresh orange juice…and a Bollinger When I’d finished I wanted to check in and print my BP for my onward BA flight at evening which would actually get me to Bahrain from Doha. The real shocker for me in the FCT – no printer! I was amazed by this (nearly as much as I was by the fact Wireless access is doled out in 1hr slots with cards – OK, at least it’s free but it’s less than ideal). The staff, however, were happy to help and suggested I print in their little office instead which I did. My original ‘PA’ then brought me the print outs and handed me my BP which was now in a little red ‘First Class’ jacket (awww), offering me an apology that she’d now be leaving but was handing me over to her colleague, whom she introduced. All very slick.

I was then able to spend about an hour surfing the web, etc. and catching up on various sites over the course of a few more early morning Champagnes There were lots of servers working and not that many pax around – but only once was I topped up automatically (the other 2 times I went to the bar). As I reflected on my surroundings I felt almost guilty to be, well, not exactly underwhelmed…just not as overwhelmed as I thought I’d be, if that makes sense? It was “just a lounge” after all – some nice offerings/touches in there, but it wasn’t as big as I thought and, well, it’s still a place you just ‘wait’. I think I had built ‘it’ in my head to be something it could never be. I don’t know what exactly, but I had. Don’t get me wrong, it’s excellent and the best lounge I think I’ve been in…but I wasn’t bowled over. That, however, was about to change At 09:50 as promised I was whisked downstairs, collected my passport from Immigration and was ushered in to my Mercedes for the drive to Gate 48. Now this elicited actual excitement – a real feeling in the pit of my stomach I’ve not had around flying for a long time now. There was something very cool about driving around the airfield under and around planes in a Mercedes which has seats that ‘contour’ to your body as you go around corners to keep you in one place. That was excellent. This (for me) is what brought the whole experience together in to one word – seamless. A big ^ to LH for the whole FCT setup, it’s a fantastic way to start one’s flight, it really is – simple, easy and above all relaxing.

Gate 48 is the ‘worst’ gate according to my driver as it lacks any easy door for drop-offs/boarding. So he marched me through the queues without a word to anyone (leaving me following a tad sheepishly to collect the dirty looks!), carrying my bag all the way to my seat…1A. Ah, lovely. Today’s cabin was 50% full (1A, 2A and 2DF).

The Purser was a total delight. She was so friendly and welcoming I don’t think there was one single thing she could have done to improve anything for me the whole flight. But this is just the start. My jacket was hung, Champagne (Piper Heidsieck Rare) was poured (after showing me the bottle) and a dish of mixed nuts placed on my armrest. I was asked what size I’d like for the ‘jumper’ (kind of like half a pair of PJs for a day flight), Large or XL. I let out a guilty chuckle and ventured I’d probably need XL. “No, no, no…just large I think – trust me!” she laughed, leaving my ego fully pumped up (as if the limo and queue busting wasn’t enough!). We pushed back on time but had a long taxi…this meant the Purser took it upon herself to empty the rest of the open bottle of Champagne in to my glass ‘help me finish this one off, Mr. X’ and ‘just keep good hold of it for take-off’ was her only advice. I knew I was about to have a very good flight! I was addressed by name throughout by every single crew member, which was impressive. In fact, the only thing I’m left wondering about the flight was do LH not offer newspapers? This was the only ‘obvious’ omission vs. my ‘normal’ longhaul F (or J) experiences.

Not that I wanted to read anyway. I was nursing my bubbles as the rain formed its own little, less tasty bubbles on the window next to me. As we approached the runway I saw a mighty LH 744 hurtle down in it, creating a huge amount of spray. Most satisfying to watch – and next it would be our turn to try (and I assume fail!) to match that. By 10:50 the nose was pointing skywards, Damien Rice was playing down my ears and another sip of Champagne was passing my lips as I watched the water on the window first dissipate, then disappear as we cleared the clouds. Marvellous!

This was the perfect time for a few moments of quiet reflection and I began to ponder my answers to the ‘2007 Travel Awards’ thread over on the BA forum. It’s been quite a year travel-wise – several new airlines, some brand new places and most of it done in premium comfort. Although these opportunities are a direct result of my own hard work, I couldn’t help but think that I am really rather fortunate – it is nice to be in a position of being able to jet off on a whim in First Class for a few days for no real reason! Though I can’t help but think it contributes to being ever so slightly jaded about premium travel (e.g. not being initially overwhelmed by the FCT) – not that I’d like to test the theory by going ‘all Economy’ in 2008! Thankfully this flight wasn’t about to leave me jaded and since (given the empty stomach) I was now in danger of being rather drunk all of a sudden I was very glad to be jolted from my reverie by the Chief Purser who came to make his personal introductions, menus and wine list in hand. After the niceties I was asked when I’d like to eat and I said ‘right away’ would be good!

After quickly perusing the menu I nipped to the bathroom and was delighted to find a window in there, just like BA’s 744 F toilets have. Such a novelty to be able to, err, do one’s business and look out at the ground and clouds In the bathroom there was a small basket containing disposable Wilkinson Sword Xtreme 3 razors and shaving foam, hand crème and mouthwash. I have always wondered why BA skimp in their F washrooms for little extra ‘goodies’ – it was nice to see LH don’t (especially when you consider this accompanies a well-equipped amenity kit: headphone covers, earplugs, Pearls & Dents toothbrush and toothpaste, Clarins moisturiser, Clarins Cleanser, comb, shoe horn, eyeshades and wet wipe/towel...all presented in a nice littler Bogner Tartan zip-bag).

When I returned to my seat a hot towel was waiting for me on a plate – infused with some kind of nice scent and with a rose petal next to it. A lovely little touch. I settled in to watch Rush Hour 3 (infuriatingly cut to buggery which is a huge pet peeve of mine ) on the faultless AVOD and it wasn’t long before my cheery Purser was back with a smile, amuse-bouche (a delicate cabbage-based sorbet type thing which sounded odd but tasted nice!), Champagne top-up and a pad to take my lunch order. This was the menu:

The drinks list is equally large and impressive (listed here without descriptions):

I know the flight was short, but it felt like the meal service lasted for all of it! Not because they were slow, just because there was so much to offer... I have no problem with that My table was set for me and I was brought my ‘first class rose’ – a red rose in a little tube for which there is a placeholder in your seat. I think I’d read about this in previous TRs but never really registered it. Now I had mine I thought it was another elegant little touch. And it’s the little touches which make all the difference in these situations – also including the fact the cutlery in the napkin is ready set and separated as you unwrap it (two forks on the left, two knives on the right). A range of fresh bread was served and I opted for garlic (good, but not as good as NZ’s earlier in the year to LAX!) and a couple of pieces of small toast for my Caviar.

Now Caviar is a first for me and I was looking forward to trying it, but was stumped when I was asked if I wanted onions with it. Since I had no idea and alcohol had washed away any bravado I did possess, I simply explained it was my first time on LH F and with Caviar and asked the Purser what she recommended I do. She said that Caviar had quite a strong flavour of its own, but so do the onions so some people prefer not to have them and suggested I try both and see what I preferred, along with the egg and crème with which it is also served. Fair enough! She doled me out an extra large portion and some onions and placed this in front of me...along with a delicate little stacked tray of plates in a silver holder containing the other Canapés. I was about to crack on with things when she insisted I have the chilled Vodka with my Caviar. Out came a generous measure of highly chilled Smirnoff Red and finally I was good to go

Given my first taste for Champagne came due to flying BA J and spiralled in to rather more regular consumption, I was almost hoping I wouldn’t like Caviar – another costly habit I can live without, thanks! Unfortunately I really did like it very much, preferring to alternate between a bit with onion then a bit without. Since she had served me a generous portion, two more slices of toast were required to finish up. It was definitely the highlight of the Canapés – the beef was also excellent but the other two I was indifferent towards. The soup which followed was absolutely delicious and a great choice I thought. The main course was tasty and although the chicory was a bit over-powering, it didn’t ruin the excellent scallops thankfully. Everything was perfectly timed and paced, and my Champagne and water glasses never got to empty (in fact, the Champagne didn’t for the entire flight really!).

Dessert followed with a little bit of theatre – the crew tip the ice cream in to the hot Madeleine for you and place it on your tray as it begins to melt. Another nice touch – though the portion was rather small. Dessert wine was of course insisted upon and slipped very nicely too. I was nearly full now, but not quite. I didn’t fancy a whole cheese course but did fancy some fresh fruit (on BA in J I often take a nice juicy pear – stop it back there! – from the basket after the meal service)...and soon a whole plate of sliced fruit turned up! Perfect. By this time the tea/coffee and liqueur trolley was on its way. I needed a coffee but any attempts to be sensible were once more thwarted as my new best friend insisted I try the special Christmas liqueur Sweet, cinnamony and quite strong it also went down all too easily!

I was very comfortable in the F seat – plenty of storage space (the armrest doubles as storage, and there’s a ‘pop out’ area on the front of the armrest too, plenty of width and plenty of legroom too. Of course this was for a day flight and I found an excellent ‘lounging’ position, I cannot comment on what it may be like to sleep in, but I assume it is comfortable. What I did miss (though it wasn’t a problem today with the rest of row 1 free) is the privacy of the BA F seats, especially on the 744. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something special about the BA F seat to me. Probably psychological Anyway, as I flitted between staring out at wonderful views of snow-capped mountains below in various places (it was a very clear day) and the AVOD, I suddenly realised there was only an hour to go What brought this home was the crew bring round ‘Dinner’ menus!

I was still stuffed from Lunch but thought I’d try the fruit plate again in a nod to being healthy (every bit of fruit makes up for at least 5 glasses of Champagne. FACT. Err, at this rate I’d be ahead of the game, yes).

And that was it. Suddenly it was all over, bang on time...what a shame! As thanked my crew before I disembarked I commented they deserved their (unusually long she said) 4 days in MCT! She said hopefully I’d be back on LH in F in future...and I think I will as soon as I can find an excuse The perfect experience from start to finish, I can’t think of a better way to describe it and – right in there at the last minute – it gets my vote for my flight of the year for the overall experience.

G-BOAC

Back to Familiarly – The BA Legs – First Class

This trip was a bit of a last minute botch together so it led to an unusual and less than ideal set of flights. I knew I had to make at least one leg from DOH to BAH to get home but I also knew that I could easily pick up a few extra TPs for each one I did just in case I needed them. Working around planning to meet up with my friend (who in the end had to cancel their trip out sadly ) and looking at which night(s) were available at decent rates vs. points rates at the IC hotels, I ended up doing a silly thing: one night in each of Bahrain and Doha! So this initially meant a 5+ hour layover at DOH (I’d been actively hoping for a delay to my LH flight, not just to prolong it but also to shorten my wait!) before flying DOH-BAH on BA. I was definitely not looking forward to that long in the horrid, pokey Oryx lounge which I expected to find littered with selfish idiots taking up multiple chairs lying down during their own long layovers (the lounge is one anyone can pay to enter, sadly). Thankfully, however, I’d totally forgotten the lounge had moved from the old one downstairs which I’d last been in and grown to dislike, to a new, big space upstairs. There’s still no booze but it’s much larger and the decor much, much nicer. Even the toilets aren’t stinking pits (well, not all of them – either someone seriously needs a lesson in ‘aiming’ or they need cleaning much more often ). With dodgy but free WiFi and a trip report to start, the time actually passed fairly quickly!

There’s not much to report on the short sector itself, except to say I immediately wished I was going all the way home with the crew (just the sort of crazy itinerary I may actually have done!) because they were all on top form – the first indicator being the fact the F Purser had memorized the names on the manifest beforehand so by the time I reached ‘my’ 1A she asked “Can I hang your jacket, Mr. X?” without ever having seen my BP or name elsewhere ^ Although this crew politely and apologetically insisted they couldn’t serve booze on the ground I think I had a chilled glass of bubbles in my hand quicker than ever before in my life after wheels up! Canapés soon followed and the bottle was emptied around the cabin with top-ups and then we were down in BAH! I was left hoping my ‘New Year’s Eve’ crew would be just as good...

The IC BAH was as I remembered (comments in the IC forum as above again) and I slept very well (and very late – I needed it!) before repeating the process in reverse After a 4pm check out and some food (I really wasn’t hungry at all but figured I should try to eat something) in the bar, I trotted off back to BAH for a BAH-DOH leg and one night at the IC Doha instead, before the ‘final whammy’ of making my way home DOH-BAH 31/01 and then BAH-LHR 01/01 on my original redemption. Phew.

Now I knew that the cabin crew flying me BAH-DOH that night would be flying me all the way home the next night so I thought I’d chat with them and explain that I’d be joining them for NYE. It immediately became clear they were a delightful bunch too. It was also clear I was the only person in F on this sector which was novel Over a couple of Champagnes on the ground (and after obtaining a cheeky BAg despite the sector being so short since a certain friend of mine likes to nick them every time she visits!) we chatted and they were somewhat bemused at my crazy plan to be in the air on NYE. I think they thought I was some escaped ‘care in the community’ nutter perhaps, but they didn’t let it show The flight was so short as always but I wished them a nice night’s stay and they promised to have me a glass of something cold waiting for tomorrow night ^ With that, I was speeding on my way through immigration (who refuse to take 100 QTR in cash for the Visa, it has to go on a credit card!) and on to the IC DOH (also written up in the IC forum) where yet again all RA benefits were honoured on a reward stay ^

The weather on 31/12 was warm but not overly hot and made for a pleasant enough day by the pool reading and soaking up a bit of sun (and a couple of over-priced G&Ts!). With an 18:00 check-out I had planned to hang out by the pool until about 17:00, head back and shower and change and then check-out, grabbing a bit of dinner at the hotel before heading to DOH. Sadly, all of the hotel’s restaurants were gearing up for ‘set menu, ticket only’ New Year’s Eve dinners. D’oh, it would have to be DOH! So in no rush at all I set off in a cab to grab something to eat at DOH (if you can avoid this idea, do: there’s basically one fast food place airside and it pretty much sucks and blows at the same time) and waste another few hours in the Oryx lounge. Thankfully, ‘Go to gate’ appeared early at 23:50 which gave me an excuse to wait somewhere else at least. As I was having my ‘security’ check (so cursory it could have been an old DOS console!) I saw on the gate computer that they were oversold by 48 from BAH-LHR in Economy! Wowsers! F was showing only 4 pax, however. As I sat down I noticed the crew were on the bus outside and the Purser and one of his F galley crew waved at me which was nice of them

It wasn’t long before I was being warmly welcomed back on board in person by them and shown to my seat where, as promised, a nice cold drink was waiting for me already, along with the bowl of nuts. Superb service and they were true to their word ^ We pushed back bang on time but seemed to be delayed in the taxi – this meant local New Year came and went as we were stuck on the taxiway. A shame not to be able to toast it with another champers in my big F seat, life is so hard sometimes I mentioned in my LH report that for some reason there’s something extra special about the BA F cabin on a 744 to me – I still don’t know for sure what it is, but I do know I felt all warm and fuzzy in 1A as our 744 leapt in to the air at 00:10 with the ‘Aria on Air’ remix of the BA tune playing down my iPod. Very sad, I know, I know...but such a lovely feeling

Within minutes I had my glass of Champagne and the usual Canapés and they squeezed in a top-up on this very short hop where there were about 6 or 7 of us in the cabin. With everyone but me and Mr. 2K departing at BAH the crew were initially puzzled I wasn’t showing on the manifest back to LHR, but I explained that it was a separate PNR and I would like their help getting the ground staff to onload me (I had PYOBP’d) for the next flight. My BP was taken and handed back to me about 5 minutes after the doors had opened, along with my PJs and BAg on the silver tray with a reassuring “I’ve taken care of all that for you, Mr. X”. I nipped off to change right away and by the time I returned more Champagne was waiting. This crew were clearly going to be just the ticket to see in the New Year in style! They were all still curious about my routing and reasons so we had a nice chat as the groundstaff catered and cleaned the plane – at times I think they were wondering how I knew what I did about BA, etc. (e.g. I inquired after my CIV score) and whether I was an insider/spy of some kind. I think, however, the sheer amount of Champagne I consumed disabused them of any notion I may be ‘working’ that night

One of the crew from J came around with a very tasty pot of Arabian coffee which I really enjoyed. At that point, Paul, the Purser, broke away from the chat to fetch a menu and wine list for me. Although a sleeper service back in Club World, I knew I could still expect full service in F and had specifically banked on eating after my small, poor meal at DOH. Today’s Champagne was Taittinger Brut Millesime 2000 which has made a welcome return to the menu. The only other wine I tried was the dessert wine later on – Saussignac Cuvee Flavie, Chateau des Eyssards 2005 which I thought was about as good as the LH offering. Looking at the menu, BA’s F spirit offerings are slightly better than LH’s I thought (e.g. Tanqueray No. 10, Glenlivet 18-year-old). The menu:

Not quite as extensive as a normal F menu, but that’s not surprising for a short sector which leaves at 2am where most sane people (including me normally) would want to go right to sleep. As we pushed back it became clear nobody had joined us in F – the other two pax they’d expected had been no-shows, so it was just the two of us in there in the end ^ After an on-time push back the service began swiftly with more (though this time thankfully different as the crew joked!) Canapés before the main meal. Sticking to my Champagne (but accompanying things with lots of water too), I enjoyed the Prawn and mango salad very much and then the Lobster Shepherd’s pie which was a new one on me! It was actually rather tasty, though perhaps a little dry. However, wonderful news: there was garlic bread. And very good (i.e. not soggy or limp but crisp and subtly flavoured) garlic bread too – at last, BA, thank you! The dessert rounded things off well and I was full, but not stuffed. Towards the end of the meal I was chatting with Paul again just as we passed midnight UK time. At this point the CSD came around, shook our hands and wished us a Happy New Year which was nice (though it has to be said his only real visit to F apart from offering landing cards later – he did no formal ‘meet and greet’ like they normally do).

Throughout this I was watching ‘Sliding Doors’ on AVOD which worked perfectly – a good sign for the future I hope given its teething problems for BA this year. Unfortunately, the selection was dire! So many things to pick from, all of them crap (or, to be fair, which I’d seen recently on other flights). A bit of classic romcom tosh as I continued to plough through a seemingly never-ending fountain of Champagne was fine by me though. Somewhere towards the end one of the crew came out with an unopened bottle of Taittinger to my seat to see if she should open it. I couldn’t in all good conscience drink any more than I already had so I politely declined. Soon after that the movie was over and I made a visit to the bathroom – and upon my return my bed was all made. I think this is the first overnight F sector I’ve had since BA introduced the mattress and improved pillows and duvets and I was extremely comfortable. With an extra pillow I ‘wedged’ myself in to the seat and fell straight asleep (read: passed out perhaps ).

40 minutes out of LHR (showing a 30 minute early arrival at 06:00) after a good 4-5 hours I was gently awoken with a hot towel by Paul and a cheery ‘good morning’. Given I had rather over indulged just a few hours earlier, I felt surprisingly good and well-rested. I was loathe to leave my super-comfortable bed! However, I requested an orange juice and just the fruit plate and a pot of tea for breakfast – I had long-planned to go to the Arrivals lounge to eat properly after a shower. Once more, by the time I’d returned from the bathroom my bed was gone and my table set and a new bottle of water placed out too. Fantastic, classic pre-emptive service ^ The full breakfast menu for reference was:

After sinking a few more OJs everything was cleared away and I went to change back in to my normal clothes. This was perfectly timed for the seatbelt sign coming on – although that was followed-up some 15 minutes later with an apology that we’d be stacking over LHR a while longer. Well, you may as well start 2008 as you know it will continue! Happily, we were down by 06:15 and there was no wait for a stand, albeit one (Gate 23) on Victor Pier meaning a long hike to Passport Control. Speaking of starting 2008 in typical fashion – well done to BAA for not letting the New Year mean a new start and ensuring 2 of the 3 the travelators on the way were broken. And well done to the UK Immigration service for yet again ensuring IRIS was not working. Fantastic start to 2008 Luckily I’d forged on rapidly as soon as 2L was opened and beat most of the queues for ‘old skool’ Passport Control, meaning I had a wait of only a couple of minutes and I was in a shower room at the Arrivals lounge by 06:40 (after a quick and fruitless check for something at the Arrivals Duty Free shop – another score for BAA!). There was no Elemis Spa today but I wasn’t overly bothered as I never go in for treatments anyway as a rule. The shower hit the spot perfectly, as did a sizeable and excellent full English breakfast as I surfed the web and caught up on some news sites.

I was glad to be home (as always) but sad that the flight was over. This whole trip was a bit crazy but a lot of fun. I was blessed with excellent crews from both LH and BA and BA’s in particular made my odd choice of New Year celebration a really pleasant experience. They were such a great crew the very first site I hit in the Arrivals lounge was www.ba.com/welldone. It was certainly a different way to spend New Year and maybe a bit sad not to be surrounded by friends and family...but the serene and enjoyable surroundings (vs. being crammed in to an expensive pub/club/house party/whatever) helped make up for that. I would definitely consider doing it again in future! My wish for 2008 is that all my flights, and all my crews, be as good as this!

PS As a true post-script, I mentioned at the start my hatred for the Piccadilly Line. I was once more reminded of why lest the worryingly simple and efficient trip to pick up my tickets had any danger of clouding my judgment: 08:05 I arrived at the T4 platform, 08:25 we finally arrived at T1, an hour later we arrived at Green Park Useless, over-crowded and annoying. Had I not been in such a generally happy mood and just weathered it by getting lost in my iPod, this could have really soured the return trip!

PhilH

Excellent stuff G-BOAC - a nice detailed report. ^

camsean

Interesting read.Thanks!

More Champagne Sir?

Great report G-BOAC! I knew you'd like the LH experience!! Welcome to the *A dark side!!

Keith009

Great stuff, G-BOAC. ^

Champers - the breakfast of champions! With fry-up as an accompaniment.

Boddingtons

Same menu as I had back on December 1st on FRA-DOH-MCT.

I had the Goose as a main which was alright. I'd wanted the Lasagne originally but flyclub had eaten them all by the time I'd woken up

That Strawberry Mouse is perhaps the nicest desert I've ever had! Absolutely deligthful ^

Kiwi Flyer

Excellent trip and report G-BOAC ^^^

mijugo

Fantastic trip report. Surprising to find out, that LH is serving the same menu on middleeast-flights as on my flight to JFK. But on the other side - no pork and they serve the seasonal dishes anyway. A great dinner and and great report. Thank you for sharing!

HIDDY

A very detailed trip report as usual G-BOAC - Very enjoyable and informative.^

Rejuvenated

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

lucky9876coins

Awesome report, thanks for taking the time to write it!^

lucky9876coins

Awesome report, thanks for taking the time to write it!^

littl_flier

An excellent read G-BOAC. Thanks! ^