BA 177, First day of LHR-JFK from Terminal 5
Jun 9, 2008, 7:11 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 262
BA 177, First day of LHR-JFK from Terminal 5
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7525360@N04/
T5 was a delight. Arrived three hours early just so that I could enjoy the experience. With barely anyone in the security line I was able to get through to the departures lounge within 10 minutes of arrival at the airport. Once through I made my way over to Galleries North where the FIRST lounge is located.
The lounge is really superb. Minimal tannoy announcements are made, except for a reminder every so often that lounghaul flights departing from satellite B take 15 minutes to reach. Pish posh I got there in 5, though I could see how those who find it harder to walk as fast may take a while, as there are a multitude of escalators, including a transit system similar to the AirTrain at JFK.
Boarding happened at what was supposed to be the departure time; I believe the reason was because it was a short flight thanks to the winds of only 6 hours and 30 minutes. Once on board I took my seat on the UD 64K and was offered the choice of a glass of champagne, orange juice or water. Bring on the bubbly, and perhaps a little water. We had to taxi to the other end the airport to take a westerly departure from 27R. Powerful thrust forward and after passing by T5 again we took off into a partly cloudy sky.
The aircraft hit some turbulence while auto throttle continuously bounced between from what felt like idle to full power. Flaps were only reduced once we broke through the clouds at around 5000 feet.
Once in the air we were handed our menus and Elemis amenity kits. When the seat belt signs were off the crew brought the bar out, but I was a little peeved that it took an hour to get a drink considering the small size of the upper deck cabin – perhaps the effect of having lost a purser position on the UD.
Bored of staring out the window and reading the occasional article in the FT, I decided to look at the choices available on AVOD. Having tried several different choices I reluctantly accepted that I had been a victim of technology mixed with cost cutting (it’s been said that the execs at BA have chosen to install two instead of three hard drives on their 747s, allowing the system to be very susceptible to freezes and required resets.) Shortly after I made it known to the crew that my system wasn’t working, I heard the dreaded announcement from the CSD:
“Unfortunately we are experiencing quite a few problems with the IFE system. I am going to reset the entire system. Please do not touch the screens or handsets while the reset is taking place. It will take 20-30 minutes but should hopefully resolve any problems.” I have heard that announcement said more often than the safety briefing if possible…
Lunch
Starters
Liam Tomlin’s poached crayfish and pink grapefruit salad with cucumber noodles and ginger dressing.
Or
Potted Sage Derby and Coastal Cheddar cheese mousse with red onion marmalade (British Classics)
Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette
Main
Shaun Hills Asian-spiced lamb rump with roast new potatoes and rich lamb jus
Fish bake with creamy sauce, braised leek and rösti dressing
Vineet Bhatia’s poached vegetables with South Indian coconut sauce, cashew nut rice and mustard-tempered asparagus
Shaun Hill’s poached breast of chicken with spinach salad and anchovy mayonnaise
Dessert
Baked New York cheese cake with elderflower and strawberry compote
Caerphilly and Y-Fenni cheese
A selection of fruit
Chocolates
Drinks
Complimentary bar service, including alcoholic beverages and soft drinks is available throughout the flight. See inserted wine list for today’s selection.
Ground coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea
Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant and camomile with honey
Club Kitchen
Between meals, please help yourself to a drink or a tasty snack. Please visit the Club Kitchen and choose from the selection on display.
Snack salads, sandwiches, filled rolls and wraps
Fresh fruit salads and fruit smoothies
Choice of luxury cakes
Crisps and chocolate, including organic chocolate
Afternoon Tea
Snacks
Sandwich selection of eff and cress with spinach and Mature Cheddar with red onion marmalade and tomato
Or
Artichoke and asparagus salad
Sweets
Plain or fruit scones served warm with clotted cream and brambie jelly
Manchester tart
Drinks
Tea, ground coffee or decaffeinated coffee
Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant and camomile with honey
Wines
- Champagne Cocktails
Kir Royale – Crême de Cassis gives this cocktail its distinctive taste
Charles Heidsieck Brit Reserve Champagne
– White
Marmesa Vineyards Chardonnay 2005, Edna Valley
Château Thieuley Francis Courselle 2006
– Red
Wattle Creek Shiraz 2003, Alexander Valley
Corona de Castilla Prestigio 2004, Ribera del Duero
or
Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso 2005, Tommasi
I went for the crayfish salad, which incidentally was extremely bland. The lamb rump which followed was delicious, if not a little over cooked but it’s what you expect coming out of an aircraft galley. The cheese plate that was served was an interesting selection of two Welsh cheeses, which I washed down with a glass of port. I especially loved the Y-Fenni mixed with mustard seeds. I passed on dessert instead choosing for a glass of Baileys on ice.
After lunch I was rather full and quite sloshed, and decided to take a short kip. Paul Simon aided by singing me a few lullabies from my iPod before I passed out for what was two hours of solid sleep. It’s always a surprise how quickly the alcohol can give you a hangover at 35,000 feet but I never learn. When I woke up I wondered through the aircraft downstairs through the Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins to take a look and stretch the legs. I heard a woman in the World Traveller cabin say to the person next to her on the walk back upstairs, “why did he walk back here if he’s just going to walk back?”
With an hour and thirty minutes still remaining on the clock before arrival, I eagerly awaited Afternoon Tea. I requested the artichoke and asparagus salad, feeling quite the glutton for having only raided the Club Kitchen a short while ago, not to mention lunch.
Landing was uneventful, and we managed to taxi to the gate within minutes. Only having carry-on baggage I made my way through immigration in 10 minutes, which was perfect. While I was waiting for my ride in the arrivals area, a woman with a clipboard came over to ask my opinion of the Terminal, as she was taking ideas from passengers ahead of the $30m refurbishment that will take place over the next 18 months.
All in all another great experience with BA. I really loved Terminal 5 and I can’t wait to go back for another longhaul flight.
Happy flying,
DSK
T5 was a delight. Arrived three hours early just so that I could enjoy the experience. With barely anyone in the security line I was able to get through to the departures lounge within 10 minutes of arrival at the airport. Once through I made my way over to Galleries North where the FIRST lounge is located.
The lounge is really superb. Minimal tannoy announcements are made, except for a reminder every so often that lounghaul flights departing from satellite B take 15 minutes to reach. Pish posh I got there in 5, though I could see how those who find it harder to walk as fast may take a while, as there are a multitude of escalators, including a transit system similar to the AirTrain at JFK.
Boarding happened at what was supposed to be the departure time; I believe the reason was because it was a short flight thanks to the winds of only 6 hours and 30 minutes. Once on board I took my seat on the UD 64K and was offered the choice of a glass of champagne, orange juice or water. Bring on the bubbly, and perhaps a little water. We had to taxi to the other end the airport to take a westerly departure from 27R. Powerful thrust forward and after passing by T5 again we took off into a partly cloudy sky.
The aircraft hit some turbulence while auto throttle continuously bounced between from what felt like idle to full power. Flaps were only reduced once we broke through the clouds at around 5000 feet.
Once in the air we were handed our menus and Elemis amenity kits. When the seat belt signs were off the crew brought the bar out, but I was a little peeved that it took an hour to get a drink considering the small size of the upper deck cabin – perhaps the effect of having lost a purser position on the UD.
Bored of staring out the window and reading the occasional article in the FT, I decided to look at the choices available on AVOD. Having tried several different choices I reluctantly accepted that I had been a victim of technology mixed with cost cutting (it’s been said that the execs at BA have chosen to install two instead of three hard drives on their 747s, allowing the system to be very susceptible to freezes and required resets.) Shortly after I made it known to the crew that my system wasn’t working, I heard the dreaded announcement from the CSD:
“Unfortunately we are experiencing quite a few problems with the IFE system. I am going to reset the entire system. Please do not touch the screens or handsets while the reset is taking place. It will take 20-30 minutes but should hopefully resolve any problems.” I have heard that announcement said more often than the safety briefing if possible…
Lunch
Starters
Liam Tomlin’s poached crayfish and pink grapefruit salad with cucumber noodles and ginger dressing.
Or
Potted Sage Derby and Coastal Cheddar cheese mousse with red onion marmalade (British Classics)
Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette
Main
Shaun Hills Asian-spiced lamb rump with roast new potatoes and rich lamb jus
Fish bake with creamy sauce, braised leek and rösti dressing
Vineet Bhatia’s poached vegetables with South Indian coconut sauce, cashew nut rice and mustard-tempered asparagus
Shaun Hill’s poached breast of chicken with spinach salad and anchovy mayonnaise
Dessert
Baked New York cheese cake with elderflower and strawberry compote
Caerphilly and Y-Fenni cheese
A selection of fruit
Chocolates
Drinks
Complimentary bar service, including alcoholic beverages and soft drinks is available throughout the flight. See inserted wine list for today’s selection.
Ground coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea
Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant and camomile with honey
Club Kitchen
Between meals, please help yourself to a drink or a tasty snack. Please visit the Club Kitchen and choose from the selection on display.
Snack salads, sandwiches, filled rolls and wraps
Fresh fruit salads and fruit smoothies
Choice of luxury cakes
Crisps and chocolate, including organic chocolate
Afternoon Tea
Snacks
Sandwich selection of eff and cress with spinach and Mature Cheddar with red onion marmalade and tomato
Or
Artichoke and asparagus salad
Sweets
Plain or fruit scones served warm with clotted cream and brambie jelly
Manchester tart
Drinks
Tea, ground coffee or decaffeinated coffee
Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant and camomile with honey
Wines
- Champagne Cocktails
Kir Royale – Crême de Cassis gives this cocktail its distinctive taste
Charles Heidsieck Brit Reserve Champagne
– White
Marmesa Vineyards Chardonnay 2005, Edna Valley
Château Thieuley Francis Courselle 2006
– Red
Wattle Creek Shiraz 2003, Alexander Valley
Corona de Castilla Prestigio 2004, Ribera del Duero
or
Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso 2005, Tommasi
I went for the crayfish salad, which incidentally was extremely bland. The lamb rump which followed was delicious, if not a little over cooked but it’s what you expect coming out of an aircraft galley. The cheese plate that was served was an interesting selection of two Welsh cheeses, which I washed down with a glass of port. I especially loved the Y-Fenni mixed with mustard seeds. I passed on dessert instead choosing for a glass of Baileys on ice.
After lunch I was rather full and quite sloshed, and decided to take a short kip. Paul Simon aided by singing me a few lullabies from my iPod before I passed out for what was two hours of solid sleep. It’s always a surprise how quickly the alcohol can give you a hangover at 35,000 feet but I never learn. When I woke up I wondered through the aircraft downstairs through the Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins to take a look and stretch the legs. I heard a woman in the World Traveller cabin say to the person next to her on the walk back upstairs, “why did he walk back here if he’s just going to walk back?”
With an hour and thirty minutes still remaining on the clock before arrival, I eagerly awaited Afternoon Tea. I requested the artichoke and asparagus salad, feeling quite the glutton for having only raided the Club Kitchen a short while ago, not to mention lunch.
Landing was uneventful, and we managed to taxi to the gate within minutes. Only having carry-on baggage I made my way through immigration in 10 minutes, which was perfect. While I was waiting for my ride in the arrivals area, a woman with a clipboard came over to ask my opinion of the Terminal, as she was taking ideas from passengers ahead of the $30m refurbishment that will take place over the next 18 months.
All in all another great experience with BA. I really loved Terminal 5 and I can’t wait to go back for another longhaul flight.
Happy flying,
DSK
Last edited by dsk7; Jun 10, 2008 at 7:28 pm
^
Jun 11, 2008, 10:57 am
#4
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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Posts: 16,351
Great trip report. I'm looking forward to trying out the Concorde Room next month on the JFK route.