BA1321

I took this somewhat lengthy trip to Cyprus for a family wedding recently, and thought I’d take the opportunity to write up a report, mostly as it was my first experience with New Club World on BA, and my longest ever sector in Club Europe.

I was originally schedule to fly the first sector from CLE-JFK on AA but the connection time was a little to short for comfort, especially as I had to pick of bags at terminal 8 and schlep them over to T7 for the BA flight. So the day before travel, I cancelled the AA sector and booked myself on the early morning flight from Akron Canton to La Guardia instead. So I went from a 1:35 minute layover, to a little over 9 hours… Oh well, plenty of time to spend in the Terraces lounge- more on that later.

CAK – LGA
Flight: FL201
Carrier: AirTran Airways
Departs: 06:25am
Arrives: 07:50am

Check in was a breeze at 5am for the 6:25 flight. Security at CAK was pretty orderly, with lots of staff on the scanners. I upgraded to Business Class at the check in desk for $40, and got 1A- cabin was apparently wide open.
Flight was called at around 6:10 and I was among the first to board. Walked down the jetway to find…uh..no one at the door? No one in the galley either? I turned right and found one of the flight attendants reclined in seat 1B and another one walking down the aisle towards me. No reply to my “Good Morning” she simply pushed past me into the galley.
Boarding was completed fairly rapidly, and I would say the plane was about 75% full. Quite a few open seats in Business, mostly middle seats open in the back of the bus.
Pre-departure drinks were served, and the safety demo completed. I noted the amount of times the flight attendants referred to “federal law” during their various announcements, prohibiting this, that and the other. Seemed a little over zealous compared with say, CO who forms the majority of my domestic flying.
Flight was smooth- cruise at about 27,000 feet with wheels up to wheels down time of 59 minutes. Service was pretty nondescript, but I was hardly awake for the majority of the flight anyway. I do love the XM satellite radio in every seat- some great tunes.

Arrival at our gate in LGA was a little delayed because there was still an aircraft on our stand. I was in no hurry, but bags were out in about 10 minutes, and the next shuttle to JFK left about 10 minutes later. All in all, I arrived at JFK around 9am. For a 6:15pm flight. Lovely.

JFK – LHR
Flight: BA 112
Carrier: British Airways
Departs: 6:15pm
Arrives: 6:25am +1 day

The shuttle dropped me off at the door of T7, and I walked into the Club World check in section to find it deserted. There was a member of staff on the ticket desk opposite, but she was dealing with a customer so I walked around the corner to the Economy check in on the other side of the wall. Three agents were working the deserted counter for BA flights, with other agents working sections for ANA, Cathay and Qantas flights. Three agents, no customers, no line, and check in took about 3-4 minutes. Agents were pretty surly, and I felt I was genuinely inconveniencing them by daring to need assistance. Maybe I’m being a bit picky but there was a definite huffy attitude as she closed her copy of “Us Weekly” that had been perched on top of her keyboard.

I cleared security in no time at all, and went for a browse around the stores. Not a huge selection of shops to choose from, but enough to kill an hour before I headed to the lounge to camp out for the day.

The Terraces at JFK is definitely one of the better lounges in BA’s network. Spacious, clean and well stocked, it provided everything I needed to while away a day waiting for my flight. When I entered just before 11am, there were few people in residence, and I assumed those who were there were waiting for the ANA flight listed as the next departure on the screens. I found a nice sofa, and settled down to read and catch up with emails (thanks to the now free wireless ^ )
Over the course of the afternoon the lounge filled up quite a lot, and by 4pm was “bustling”. Flights to Madrid, Manchester and LAX/Sydney were all departing in the early evening, as well as the usual slew of Heathrow services, and it was quite a mix of passengers (lots of Aussie accents which was nice).

At 4pm I scooted over to the spa to book a facial- my first ever spa appointment with BA! I had my pick of appointment times and chose 4:40 so I could enjoy a shower before hand. The shower suites were very good, large and well stocked with good water pressure in the showers. I do miss the Molton Brown shampoo though- this lavender Elemis stuff smells a bit old fashioned for me… (think Grandmama’s perfume )

I decided during the facial that I would have the torture chair turned off, as it was really starting to hurt my back with all of the pummeling, and Joel (the incredibly nice masseuse) said that just as many people elected to leave it off as have it on. The spa room was very large and comfortably equipped, although the music being piped through could be distracting to some (if you don’t happen to like Ella Fitzgerald…) It was over too soon, and I headed over to the pre-flight supper to grab a bite before I boarded.

Pre-flight dining at JFK opens at 4:30pm and the buffet room is quite large. Choices included salad (various bits to go on top of the greenery such as cherry tomatoes and mozzarella yum…), and about three hot entrees along with one prepared in front of you by the lounge chef. Desserts were a little poor- 2 types of cheese (no Carr’s water biscuits) and some brownies were all that was on offer.

I tried not to make too much of a pig of myself, having a small salad, a crab cake (very nice) and some pilaf rice followed by some brie with a glass of white wine. As I sat looking out of the lounge windows over the check-in area, my flight was called, and I made my way down to Gate 5.

General boarding was still under way, but there was a fast track line and it was being used correctly. The excitement was mounting, as this was my first time in New Club World since it launched (I ditched BA for my last few trips in favour of Continental, for my sins). Upstairs and into 64A with no fuss. The all male crew upstairs were lovely and I could tell within minutes it was going to be a good flight. They were in surprisingly good spirits given they were on the fourth leg of what they called a “back-to-back” which sounded extremely grueling. Across the Atlantic four times in four days, they deserve a medal!

Take off was delayed somewhat simply due to volume of traffic trying to get out of the NYC area at that time of night. We were twenty-something for take off and our 6:15pm departure became closer to 7 o’clock. Due to favourable winds we made up the time en-route and touched down early into Heathrow at 6:18am.

Since this was not a sleeper service flight the lights seemed to stay on for quite a long time, and were on for breakfast about 5am too, so not much rest on the new “more comfortable bed”… On the subject of the seat, I am torn (much like the fabric of my footstool). While the privacy is wonderful, and the seat is definitely softer, the many many comments posted on the BA board about the “flimsiness” are well founded. The outer arm rest wobbled quite alarmingly, the tray table when fully open was quite flexible, and my footstool kept sliding down the mounting bracket. For all of it’s faults, the older Club seat always felt very sturdy and well put together.

Since this was my first time in NNCW, it was also my first experience of BA’s AVOD. It worked flawlessly, and the large screen was a big improvement. The new reading light was ok, but it could have been brighter especially since there are no overhead reading lights anymore. Overall, I gave the experience 8.5 out of 10 based on the seat alone. Compared with my most recent trip on Continental in BusinessFirst, this was miles ahead. The crew, as previously mentioned, was spectacular. Nothing was too much trouble, every request met with a smile and a cheeky comment.

Arrival into LHR was unusual in that we didn’t circle at all, but headed straight in. We were on stand at T4 (grrr should have been T5 by now) by 6:30am and it was off to the transfer bus for my flight to LCA from T5.

This part of the transfer process was much like my old schlep over to T1 for a domestic, except the queues for the buses seemed a lot longer. The bus ride was also a lot longer, perhaps double the length of the trip to T1, but much more interesting views- passing right under the nose of the Singapore Airlines A380. We pitched up to T5 at about 6:50 and stood in another queue. And stood. And stood some more. Apparently we had to be “processed” to make sure we were “ready to fly”. I .....ed at the lady on the desk about having no fast track facilities. “It’s not needed” she said. “We’re only really busy at this time of day”. Then how about you only have it open at this time of day. “Oh you should write to the executive club and tell them, there’s nothing we can do” she says… Yeah, because I can imagine how the Executive Club would treat such a letter....

Then off up the escalator to…yes more bloody queues. Shiny new terminal, same old Heathrow. My good mood from the earlier flight had completely dissipated at this point. This time at least there was a fast track, although I had to show absolutely no proof of eligibility to enter! I was asked, “Business or First, Sir?”. “Business” I said and was admitted… Took about another 15 minutes to get through “fast” track and into… Bluewater? Lakeside? The MetroCentre? Goodness what a lot of shops. I thought people were exaggerating but it truly is like a shopping mall. In T5’s defense, it was also very bright, airy, clean, and surprisingly quiet given the number of people passing through. I walked the very short distance to the North Galleries lounge, intending to have a few minutes to cool off and grab a quick shower. First impressions- not bad. I wish I had known my flight would leave from closer to the South Lounges, as I believe they are a little better equipped, and certainly larger. This one was rammed with people, and so instead of sitting with a cup of coffee for a few minutes, I walked straight to the shower suites. Oh dear. What a disappointment compared with JFK, and T4/T1 for that matter. Designed as wet rooms (not very smart) they were extremely small, poorly ventilated, and the water pressure was dreadful. It kept running hot and cold, so I quickly gave up. I wandered back into the lounge to see my flight was boarding from the A gates at the other end of the terminal, so I headed to board. No fast track for Club or elites at the gate, but boarding was quite quick nonetheless. Down the jetway, and onto my first ever BA 767, and in short haul config at that.

LHR - LCA
Flight: BA 662
Carrier: British Airways
Departs: 8:45am
Arrives: 2:50pm

I had the dubious pleasure of 1D for this, the longest of short haul flights to Larnaca. Dubious, because although you are in the front row, with no one to recline into you, you suffer having to watch a Gameboy sized LCD screen for the IFE. In our case, the IFE wasn’t working anyway, so it was somewhat a moot point.

Push back was on time, and it was a short taxi, with manual safety demonstration, before a powerful takeoff and slow turn south east towards Germany, and the eastern Mediterranean. Bar service commenced quickly, with a significant portion of the front cabin opting for champagne to accompany breakfast. Trays followed the bar service, with a small plate of sliced melon, kiwi fruit and a grape, along with a plate of yoghurt (lemon flavoured, and rather bitter) topped with granola. I took the full English option which was pretty much the standard Club Europe greasy breakfast, and certainly nothing to rave about. Nonetheless, it passed the time quite nicely, and by the time breakfast was cleared away, along with another drinks run, we were well over half way to LCA.

A word on the CE seat. Another big I’m afraid. I know all the excuses, I’ve heard them all before. Yields are low, the route doesn’t justify the investment in better seating etc etc… But by the end of the flight, my lower back was numb, my knees aching and I just wanted off the damn plane. Not that there are many other choices. CY also fly the route, but according to experienced members of the BA board, only the seats are better, the service being indifferent at best. I suppose it was better than a Thompson charter. Prior to this my longest sector in CE was LGW – TRN where I thought the seat perfectly adequate.

Landing into LCA was early and it was a laughably short bus ride to immigration and baggage claim that reminded me a little of YHZ (Hamilton, Ontario) with its cattle shed type construction.
Nevertheless, immigration was wonderfully brief (I am used to entering the USA, so I am starting to suspect everywhere else in the world is better by comparison) and baggage was delivered quite quickly. And my bags made it! I have to admit, I was nervous, given the stories floating around here about the nightmares of transfer bags and T5 but mine were among the first off the belt.

Outside to a waiting sibling in a rental car, and off to Paphos for a week of sun and relaxation.

Return flight LCA-LHR-ORD-CLE to be posted shortly.

TPA us ff

As a former resident of North Royalton, great report! Thanks.

camsean

Thanks for an interesting trip report.

Cyba

Good, well written and comprehensive report. The description of the pre-departure dining at JFK, wobbly NNCW seats and the whole BA662 experience brought back memories to cause slight shivers down my spine

BTW, the most probably reason for the manual safety demonstration on 662 is that half the screens on the plane were out of order (rather commonplace on BA's 767s)

Genius1

Very well written trip report. Perhaps some pictures next time?

BA1321

Shucks, thanks Where is the "blushing" smiley?
I was too cowardly to take any pics in the lounge and on board. I did get some of the outside of T7 at JFK including the construction area for the new drive-through check-in (taken from the Airtrain station) so I will try to post when I do the second half of the report.

BA1321

Part 2:
Well, I have to say, I like Paphos. Perhaps the circumstances for my trip (a family wedding) put me in a better frame of mind, regardless I truly enjoyed my time there. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and I had to return to work after just a week on the island (a fortnight would have been much better).

We set off for LCA at around 1:30 to try and make sure I wasn’t too late to complete check in, as there were some road works to circumnavigate around Nicosia. The check in hall at LCA is not particularly pleasant, with the desks being arranged around 3 of the 4 walls, making queuing a bit of a mess. The Club Europe queue at the BA desks was very slow, and I wished I had been able to OLCI as this could have saved me quite a bit of time I feel.

Security was laughable, no liquids out, no shoes off, through the scanner in less than half a minute and into the departure lounge. Thanks to the BA board ^, I knew exactly where to look for the Sunjet Lounge, although quite honestly I don’t know why I bothered. I wish I had spent a little more time on the other side of security with the family who were flying home to the UK the next day. The lounge has large windows overlooking the carpark in front of the airport. Chairs reminiscent of any Travelodge/Days Inn lobby and a random scattering of newspapers was about as good as it got. Drinks were available, but I couldn’t see any ice and none of the soft drinks appeared chilled. I decided to walk down to the holding pen and grab a newspaper for the flight. Due to aforementioned reports on the BA board, I knew it would be stiflingly hot, there would be nowhere to sit and if I didn’t get there early enough, there would be no newspapers left. Pretty soon the buses arrived (no priority boarding for Club, it was a free-for-all after the wheel chairs went) and it was off to the plane.

LCA - LHR
Flight: BA 663
Carrier: British Airways
Departs: 4:50pm
Arrives: 7:40pm

No matter how many times I see the BA tail fin, it never fails to make my heart beat a little quicker. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are, if you see it flashing past an airport window, or in a line of tails at a distant outstation, you just know that an air of civility, and a decent cup of tea awaits you onboard… Sentimental hosh-posh maybe…

Up the steps and into the same 1D as my outbound flight, although I noted that this 767 was a different reg, and thankfully had working IFE. The cabin crew, although truly lovely, were a bit like “Stepford crew”. Every one of them was tall, slender, and attractive, with immaculate uniforms and 100-watt smiles.

Take off was on time, and we were scheduled for a flight time of 4:50 touching down about on time into Heathrow. Dinner service was a leisurely affair this Saturday evening with a bar service, canapés (a piece of Chicken Tikka on bread, a piece of smoke salmon on bread and a little pastry olive tapenade thing that was just nasty). The CSD informed me that the champagne was running a bit low, but that he would put a couple of bottles aside for me if that was to be my choice of drink. Fantastic service, given that I am just a lowly blue. Unfortunately, the bottles he kept for me where not well chilled, indeed they also ran out of ice about half way through the flight.
Dinner preparation was taken care of in the galley (i.e. no seat-side slop ‘n’ drop from the plastic tubs) and I chose the beef stew as opposed to the chicken pasta (although my seat mate in 1F had the chicken and it looked perfectly acceptable). Bread offered, a nice chocolate torte and small cheese plate for dessert (all on the same tray) and dinner was complete.

An after dinner G&T was served, and I reclined the seat to doze the remaining 3 hours into LHR. The seat behind me was one of 2 empty in the front cabin which was all Club, so quite a full flight up front. I didn’t do the “walk of shame” to the back of the bus, so I’m not sure how full it was. The crew never stopped working it seemed, hurrying up and down the aisles with drinks trays. Again, I couldn’t fault them a bit. We arrived at T5B right on schedule, and it only took the jetty operator about 7 minutes to figure out how to drive it forward and then open the door

Down the escalators, onto the train, off again, up the escalators to immigration which was mercifully quick, and back down the escalators (I think, as by this point I was quite disoriented with all the ups and downs) to baggage claim. The bags came off fairly soon after I arrived, and it was out to the bus station to hop on the shuttle to the Hilton. I am trying hard to remember which exact stop it was, but it has been a while. I know it was quite a walk from baggage claim, all the way past the BA staff bus stops, and luckily I had a luggage trolley. The shuttle departs every 30 minutes on the hour and the half and takes about ten minutes to circle around the perimeter road to T4, dropping passengers right at the door of the hotel.

<Hilton Hotel, LHR T4>

I chose the Hilton to overnight because I didn’t feel like dealing with the Hotel Hoppas and I am glad I stumped up the extra cash to do so, as the convenience, especially for my morning flight out of T4, was greatly appreciated.

Check in was quick and efficient, and I was ensconced (if that is the word) in my room by 8:45pm. Having landed at close to 8 o’clock I thought this was pretty good. The room was pretty small but comfortably equipped, and surprisingly quiet. Not much else to report on this, except to say Hilton Hhonors Silver gets you absolutely nothing at this hotel- not even a free bottle of water from the overpriced mini bar

The next morning, it was a leisurely departure at around 9am through the tunnel to T4 check-in for my 12:55pm flight to Chicago. This was my first ever time as a non-connecting passenger at T4 (and probably my last, since the T5 move will be complete before my next trip home at Christmas), so I was interested to see how well it worked. Dedicated club desks right beside the exit from the Hilton tunnel were all manned and I was checked in within seconds. Bags were priority tagged, and I was informed that the Gate 1 lounge was the only one available to me today. Through a correctly policed fast track lane in security within another couple of minutes, and I headed off to the Elemis Spa at Gate 10 to see if I could score an appointment. Result! 11:40 was available, and with over an hour to wait I trekked back over to the Gate 1 lounge to have some breakfast.

The lounge was a zoo. People were sitting everywhere; even the old smoking room was jammed with passengers looking quite gloomy at the overcrowded surroundings. I managed to snag a seat facing the windows along the kitchen wall, and grabbed a couple of bacon rolls and a coffee. The chef’s theatre is great and one of the best “enhancements” BA has offered in its lounges in years. Even if the fruit medley was still frozen

11:30 rolled around and I trotted off to the spa for my facial appointment. Another first and last for me; I’ve never bothered with the spa treatments before, but since my foray at JFK the prior week I was hooked. This would be my only time in the T4 spa, although I look forward to trying the facilities at T5 in due course. The treatment room was tiny compared with those at JFK, and I again elected to leave the massage chair off for the sake of my spine. The room was loud- I could hear the lounge receptionist’s phone conversation with friend/lover/relative quite clearly through the door, and the effect was not particularly relaxing.
The treatment was a little different (a lot rougher on the old face actually) and seemed a lot quicker than my last one, but I wasn’t about to complain since it was a free service. When it was over, I popped back over to the Gate 1 lounge to wait out the rest of the time until my flight. Since the flight ended up leaving from Gate 12 I walked up and down T4 more than my fair share that morning!

LHR - ORD
Flight: BA 297
Carrier: British Airways
Departs: 12:55pm (BST)
Arrives: 3:15pm (CST)

I tried up until 15 minutes before boarding to secure a seat on the upper deck, but was thwarted every time. Since I had been unable to OLCI at T-24 I assume those with internet access as well as those with shinier wallet adornments were the lucky 20 who got to sit upstairs. So for the first time ever, I was to experience Club downstairs on a 747. I was fortunate to be able to grab 12J in the front smaller cabin on the 70J version, and as it turned out, the experience was not too awful at all…

Push back was about 15 minutes late (which I don’t really consider late at LHR) and it was a long taxi to the take off runway. The take off roll lasted quite a while before the beast eventually heaved itself off the ground and turned gracefully westwards. The crew were mostly all male again in the Club cabin, with a purser being present for the majority of the service. He was an asset to BA, utterly charming and professional (although no camp comments this time) and heavy handed with the Heidseck which meant by the time our late lunch was served I was quite tipsy. That is the only thing I can imagine that led me to make the awful lunch choice that I did…

Here is the menu transcript (with my choices in bold):

British Classics: Many of the best British dishes are greatly loved and have become firm favourites with our passengers. We are delighted to offer some of these for your enjoyment today. Our ingredients are locally sourced wherever possible.

Starters:

British Classic: Shetland cold-smoked rainbow trout with seared scallop and king prawn served with a light lemon mayonnaise
Or

Shaun Hill’s blanched tender tips of asparagus with creamy Parmesan cheese and mustard dressing

Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette

Main:

Liam Tomlin’s roast crown of chicken with bread sauce and gravy, roast potatoes, carrots and parsnips

British Classic: Rich Beef and onion Guinness casserole with horseradish dumplings and mashed neeps

Four cheese ravioli with creamy pesto and wilted spinach

British Classic: Poached salmon salad with new potatoes and asparagus

Dessert:

Chocolate and date torte with bitter Seville orange compote

Coastal Cheddar and Camembert

A Selection of Fruits

Chocolates

Wine List:

White:

Marmesa Vineyards Chardonnay 2005, Edna Valley

Chablis 1er Cru Vau de Vey 2006

Chateau Thieuley Francis Courselle 2006

Red:

Wattle Creek Shiraz 2003, Alexander Valley

Corona de Castilla Prestige 2006, Ribera del Duero

The starter was excellent, and I was pleased to see the spicy lemon pepper vinaigrette remains a staple part of the Club World lunch salad experience. The main course was quite disappointing, and I wish I had gone with the ravioli, as I have had good luck with pasta on BA in general. The dumplings were incredibly heavy (doughy) and the beef stewed to within an inch of its life. Ho hum, better luck next time. The Shiraz did an admirable job of washing it all down, and the cheese was a nice light way to round off the meal. I noticed the napkins were plain white as opposed to the lovely pale blue Osborne and Little ones from the outbound flight.

Then it was down to the serious business of planning my viewing schedule. Again it was working flawlessly and I spent a few happy hours watching episodes of the Simpsons, Frasier, Will and Grace, the movie “The Untouchables” and listening to some of the CD collections. I love it. No more worrying about missing part of the movie if you have to go to the lav half way- you simply pause it! No more waiting through the eternity of Everybody Loves Raymond for the episode of Friends you actually want to watch- you jump right to it in the menu! I was like a kid with a new toy, and pleased that I saw none of the issues others have raised with the system.

Speaking of issues, although my seat was in slightly better condition than on the outbound flight, it was clearly suffering with symptoms of “WARS” (Wobbly Arm Rest Syndrome) and unfortunately had quite an advanced case. I mentioned it to the Purser who said he would write it up in the maintenance log.

About an hour and a half out of ORD the rattle of cups indicated afternoon tea would commence shortly. I was not at all hungry due to snacking from the Club Kitchen (crisps and a chocolate bar only, since the sandwiches were egg mayo or cheese and tomato- hardly inspired choices) throughout the afternoon, and so I just had a cup of peppermint tea to try and stave off the headache caused by earlier overindulgences… For those who are interested, here is a transcript of the menu:

Afternoon Tea

Snacks:

Sandwich selection of smoked salmon with horseradish, crème fraiche and cream cheese with roast Mediterranean vegetables

Or

Salad of roast vegetables with vinaigrette

Sweets:

Orange tart

Classic British: Plain or fruit scones served with clotted cream and strawberry preserve

Although the sandwiches and salad did not appeal, I really wish I had left enough room for a scone and cream to accompany my tea, as the smell wafting through the cabin was delicious. It was now just 20 minutes to land, and after freshening up with the various bits of Elemis stuff in the amenity kit I gathered my stuff together for landing. Quite a lot of circling and some high winds at O’Hare meant we landed about 25 minutes later than scheduled and had a slooooow taxi to T5 where we pulled up at one of BA’s usual gates, M11. Door 1 was used meaning I was one of the first off behind the six passengers from First.
I love the fact that BA uses the two gates that are closest to immigration at O’Hare, although the lines today meant it was little benefit to us. I stood for about 40 minutes before being called up to “Chatty Mark” who practically wanted my life story while scrutinizing my passport, caring little about the fact that I had a connecting flight to make in less than 90 minutes from Terminal 3. I noted that the procedure had changed (again!) since my last travel, and now all 10 finger prints are required rather than just the index fingers.

Due to the long wait at immigration, my bags were waiting on the belt and it was a quick run across the airport via a packed Airtrain to Terminal 3 for my Continental Express flight to Cleveland, and the last leg of what was starting to feel like an epic journey…

ORD - CLE
Flight: CO5826
Carrier: Chautauqua Airlines dba Continental Express
Departs: 5:40pm (BST)
Arrives: 7:54pm (CST)

Although the check in kiosk said the flight was on time, the charming First Class check in agent told me “Never trust it. They lie all the time!” I was in luck. Although the wind had caused some traffic build up and delays, my flight was running just 20 minutes behind schedule.
I was happy to see that there was an elite security line for Continental and NWA elite passengers although the normal lines did not look too bad either. The concourse was packed with displaced travelers, and there were lots of cancellations and delays of hours on the departure boards. I made my way along to E14 to fight for a seat at the Continental gate and wait it out for my flight. The (very) delayed 2pm service to Cleveland was just boarding at 5pm and as soon as their flight pulled away from the gate, our inbound RJ from Cleveland pulled up. The turn around was one of the fastest I have seen, with elites pre-boarding practically as soon as the last inbound pax stepped off the jetway.

I am not a fan of the Regional Jet, but for the short hop from ORD to CLE it is jus about bearable. I was a little worried today that we would have a long wait on the tarmac before takeoff, but in fact as we taxied out to the runway, we were informed that we were number one for take off! I haven’t had that happen out of a major airport in years!

Flight time was an extremely quick 42 minutes (we must have had serious tail winds) and we ended up landing in CLE about 3 minutes behind schedule. Service was pretty poor from the single flight attendant who said that the flight was so short there would be no beverage service, but that beverages were available on request, just press your call button. Over half the plane did, and she was running backwards and forwards to the galley so much she may as well have just got the cart out and gone on with the service as normal.

Priority tags are something that Continental does extremely well, and my bags were among the first off the belt at Cleveland, and there was not much of a wait since we had to trek all the way from the far end of the D concourse to baggage claim. After a long day like this one, it felt interminable.

And so it ends. This wonderful trip re-ignited my off-again-on-again love affair with the World’s Favourite, after previously vowing “Never Again” and “That’s the last $ they’ll see from me!” etc etc...
When it all goes according to plan, they truly are world class. A good in-flight product, decent food (for the most part), good entertainment system and fantastic crews, I couldn’t have asked for more. So much so, that I am already planning the trip home at Christmas and figuring out if I can reasonably hit Silver in time to take advantage of pre-selecting my upper deck seat…

Thanks for reading…

CarlTheWebmaster

Nice report, thanks for posting!

I have only flown CW a few times but I do like the flat bed. Much better than UA's (not yet updated) C seat.