Going to Miami in BAgonY - A Tripstamatic Report
May 24, 2011, 10:59 am
#1
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Posts: 22,911
Going to Miami in BAgonY - A Tripstamatic Report
There are worse ways of getting to the USA than Y. No need for business class on these day flights now is there? So I bought some tickets that got me to the USA in Y and back in J. It is a mixture between AA and BA. BA being responsible for all of the Y flights and half of the J ones.
This weekend I chose to go and visit a friend who lives in Miami. She has a rather nice house directly overlooking the harbor. Suffice to say she has done well for herself and she is a gorgeous woman too. Not a bad way to spend a weekend.
The outbound flight was from AMS via LHR to MIA on the BA429 and the BA209. In Y but I believe I mentioned that. To illustrate my report I decided to be extremely trendy and use my iPhone cam combined with the Hipstamatic app. It is all the rage you see. So the pictures are pure experiments. Some successful, some less so.
I left Friday morning after a good breakfast at home. There is no point relying on lounge food at AMS. The lounge is ok, the staff is nice but the offerings are poor. There was no traffic so I arrived at AMS relatively early. I killed an hour in the lounge before proceeding to the gate expecting a long line. Surprisingly enough there wasn’t one, which caused me to fail to notice my gate since I was looking for the line. Not until I saw D6 did I realize I went to far. Back to D4 it was.
Boarding was painless and I met a really nice guy who was next to me in the 2 front seats of the Y cabin. He was a Canadian oil entrepreneur working in Colombia. We swapped some tall tales, exchanged business cards and he went to see Barcelona play Arsenal with some friends and I made my way to flight connections.
Fast track was fast and I made it to the lounge in under 20 minutes from landing. It was nice and quiet so no trouble finding a seat with power. I was too early for bangers and mash so I settled for the bangers. The diet coke situation is still not under control but I managed to score 6 cans which I cherished like a priced possession. I decided on a Caesar Salad to follow the bangers and on bangers and mash to follow the salad… Just in case you wonder how I keep my gorgeous figure.
The app showed my flight as delayed but nothing was mentioned on the boards. I went to the dragons and they told me the flight was on time. I showed them the app saying it was delayed and suggested they might want to report that to someone. They shrugged and went back to ‘work’. Guess that is up to us, the client. Since B34 turned out to be correct I packed my stuff and went to the B gates. I arrived just as boarding started so I was the first on board.
I settled into 29K and I expected the seat next to me to remain empty since I had seen online that 29H was occupied but 29J not. Unfortunately two women had boarding passes for those seats and not the nice lady who was in 29H by mistake.
If I sit in a Y seat my shoulders are about as brought as the seat itself so there is not much wiggle rooms with my arms. You are unlucky if you sit next to me since my arms are on the armrest and there is nowhere for them to go. This did not please the woman to my left.
“Remove you arm please”
“Well, I am rather attached to it and since it is quite attached to me too that will not be possible”
“Listen, I’d rather ask you nicely. Otherwise I will simply start pushing you.”
This was all in an American/Russian accent. Not that ethnicity has any relevance but it sets the tone nicely.
“Where do you suggest I put my arm?”
“I don’t care as long as you move it”
“But I have run out of ideas. You need to help me. I have no idea where to put it…”
“Listen will you remove…”
The rest was drowned out by my Etymotic headphones and the sounds of Diana Krall.
They kept talking agitatedly amongst themselves for a while and they talked to at least 3 cabin crew. She tapped me on the shoulder and said “No worries, I have made sure we will be upgraded!” with a distinct air of victory. I smiled and congratulated her. About a minute later they were escorted to the back where they could have a whole row of 3 between the two of them. I am happy for them. Once again I have no neighbours in 29A/K.
Not me. I am slightly smaller in certain areas.
All this almost prevented me from noticing that we were about 40 minutes late getting off the gate. We are expected to be 30 minutes late in MIA, making this a 9:30 hour flight.
By the way, I did have neighbours behind me. A family of 3. Two women and a small child that finds it hilarious to kick my seat every 5 seconds. The mother – clearly powerless over this 3 year old – apologized but did very little. It took about 5 kind requests for her to make sure the kid now only incidentally kicks my seat.
All this is interrupted by food. Once again the Y food (Cajun chicken and pasta) is better than any J of F food I have eaten recently. Kudos to the chef who is responsible for the Y food. At least he knows what he’s doing. Or she of course.
The wine was not too bad either but to be honest I barely tasted it. I did not drink to enjoy but to forget. It turns out that I am surrounded by Russian families (or it could be just one) who are all very loud and move around a lot during which they yank at seats and stumble into each other and several parts of the aircraft.
Still thankful for my Etymotics I am listening to music. I even manage a short snooze. I decide to start on the trip report. Suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look around and with incredible precision the child behind me pokes her finger in my left eye. Now I must explain that I once had a damaged retina in that eye from a poked finger (my own…) so I showed considerable restraint and simply got up to go to the lavatory to put some gel in my eye that I fortunately still carry for the aforementioned problem.
When I get back the child has transformed into a cat in heat by the sounds of it, although she still looked remarkably human. The mother apologizes and I say it is ok. No point in getting into an argument about licensing childbirth now is there?
The crew on this flight are largely invisible and look like they have just been robbed of all their toys. Bunch of chagrins. I haven’t seen a smile since I boarded. I have gotten a lot of annoyed looks. Mostly when I make a request. I do admit that the requests are a bit out there. ‘Can I have a two cans of coke?’ ‘Is there a snack box?’ Yes I could and no there isn’t by the way. Ridiculous on a 9:30hr flight but my joke about raiding the Club Kitchen is met with contempt and a reprimand. Nice bunch. Maybe they haven’t heard that the dispute is over. Maybe they miss it already.
Having nothing better to do I decide to start working on selecting the pictures of the last photo shoot I did. It takes me about 10 minutes and a couple of strange looks to realize that this may not be a good idea in a public place. Yes, there are titties involved.
No, no titties here. This is me writing my TR on board.
The rest of the flight is pretty restless and annoying. Not a good vibe.
When we finally land there are some desperate cries from the crew asking the passengers to stay in their seat but almost everybody just gets up while we are still taxiing. The crew makes one announcement and then simply gives up. Most people are ready to go when we finally reach the gate. Never seen this before on an aircraft outside of China…
The integrity of the cabin is also not respected. They let the Y passengers claw their way forward through business class and yes we are at door #2 before most of the business and F pax. We have to wait on the ground for at least 20 minutes because our APU is defect and they won’t let us open the door before the final engine can be switched off. When the ground power is finally connected I storm of the plane, sixth in line coming from 29K… Ridiculous.
A good thing I was as impolite as the rest of them since there was already a line at customs. Foolishly enough I picked the line with the beautiful women in it. Given that the TSA officer chatted with each of them at least 5 minutes it took a while. He was done with me in 1 minute….
After those 30 minutes or so I figured I had been lucky. The lines behind me where like 10 times longer now. Poor F pax. However, when I entered the baggage hall I found another long line. I don’t think Miami is my favorite port of entry.
I think this will be one of the last TATLs in Y for me. Nevertheless I had a blast in Miami with a lot of time on the water and in the sun.
I will post about the return trip later. Now I need a beer, a movie and sleep.
This weekend I chose to go and visit a friend who lives in Miami. She has a rather nice house directly overlooking the harbor. Suffice to say she has done well for herself and she is a gorgeous woman too. Not a bad way to spend a weekend.
The outbound flight was from AMS via LHR to MIA on the BA429 and the BA209. In Y but I believe I mentioned that. To illustrate my report I decided to be extremely trendy and use my iPhone cam combined with the Hipstamatic app. It is all the rage you see. So the pictures are pure experiments. Some successful, some less so.
I left Friday morning after a good breakfast at home. There is no point relying on lounge food at AMS. The lounge is ok, the staff is nice but the offerings are poor. There was no traffic so I arrived at AMS relatively early. I killed an hour in the lounge before proceeding to the gate expecting a long line. Surprisingly enough there wasn’t one, which caused me to fail to notice my gate since I was looking for the line. Not until I saw D6 did I realize I went to far. Back to D4 it was.
Boarding was painless and I met a really nice guy who was next to me in the 2 front seats of the Y cabin. He was a Canadian oil entrepreneur working in Colombia. We swapped some tall tales, exchanged business cards and he went to see Barcelona play Arsenal with some friends and I made my way to flight connections.
Fast track was fast and I made it to the lounge in under 20 minutes from landing. It was nice and quiet so no trouble finding a seat with power. I was too early for bangers and mash so I settled for the bangers. The diet coke situation is still not under control but I managed to score 6 cans which I cherished like a priced possession. I decided on a Caesar Salad to follow the bangers and on bangers and mash to follow the salad… Just in case you wonder how I keep my gorgeous figure.
The app showed my flight as delayed but nothing was mentioned on the boards. I went to the dragons and they told me the flight was on time. I showed them the app saying it was delayed and suggested they might want to report that to someone. They shrugged and went back to ‘work’. Guess that is up to us, the client. Since B34 turned out to be correct I packed my stuff and went to the B gates. I arrived just as boarding started so I was the first on board.
I settled into 29K and I expected the seat next to me to remain empty since I had seen online that 29H was occupied but 29J not. Unfortunately two women had boarding passes for those seats and not the nice lady who was in 29H by mistake.
If I sit in a Y seat my shoulders are about as brought as the seat itself so there is not much wiggle rooms with my arms. You are unlucky if you sit next to me since my arms are on the armrest and there is nowhere for them to go. This did not please the woman to my left.
“Remove you arm please”
“Well, I am rather attached to it and since it is quite attached to me too that will not be possible”
“Listen, I’d rather ask you nicely. Otherwise I will simply start pushing you.”
This was all in an American/Russian accent. Not that ethnicity has any relevance but it sets the tone nicely.
“Where do you suggest I put my arm?”
“I don’t care as long as you move it”
“But I have run out of ideas. You need to help me. I have no idea where to put it…”
“Listen will you remove…”
The rest was drowned out by my Etymotic headphones and the sounds of Diana Krall.
They kept talking agitatedly amongst themselves for a while and they talked to at least 3 cabin crew. She tapped me on the shoulder and said “No worries, I have made sure we will be upgraded!” with a distinct air of victory. I smiled and congratulated her. About a minute later they were escorted to the back where they could have a whole row of 3 between the two of them. I am happy for them. Once again I have no neighbours in 29A/K.
Not me. I am slightly smaller in certain areas.
All this almost prevented me from noticing that we were about 40 minutes late getting off the gate. We are expected to be 30 minutes late in MIA, making this a 9:30 hour flight.
By the way, I did have neighbours behind me. A family of 3. Two women and a small child that finds it hilarious to kick my seat every 5 seconds. The mother – clearly powerless over this 3 year old – apologized but did very little. It took about 5 kind requests for her to make sure the kid now only incidentally kicks my seat.
All this is interrupted by food. Once again the Y food (Cajun chicken and pasta) is better than any J of F food I have eaten recently. Kudos to the chef who is responsible for the Y food. At least he knows what he’s doing. Or she of course.
The wine was not too bad either but to be honest I barely tasted it. I did not drink to enjoy but to forget. It turns out that I am surrounded by Russian families (or it could be just one) who are all very loud and move around a lot during which they yank at seats and stumble into each other and several parts of the aircraft.
Still thankful for my Etymotics I am listening to music. I even manage a short snooze. I decide to start on the trip report. Suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look around and with incredible precision the child behind me pokes her finger in my left eye. Now I must explain that I once had a damaged retina in that eye from a poked finger (my own…) so I showed considerable restraint and simply got up to go to the lavatory to put some gel in my eye that I fortunately still carry for the aforementioned problem.
When I get back the child has transformed into a cat in heat by the sounds of it, although she still looked remarkably human. The mother apologizes and I say it is ok. No point in getting into an argument about licensing childbirth now is there?
The crew on this flight are largely invisible and look like they have just been robbed of all their toys. Bunch of chagrins. I haven’t seen a smile since I boarded. I have gotten a lot of annoyed looks. Mostly when I make a request. I do admit that the requests are a bit out there. ‘Can I have a two cans of coke?’ ‘Is there a snack box?’ Yes I could and no there isn’t by the way. Ridiculous on a 9:30hr flight but my joke about raiding the Club Kitchen is met with contempt and a reprimand. Nice bunch. Maybe they haven’t heard that the dispute is over. Maybe they miss it already.
Having nothing better to do I decide to start working on selecting the pictures of the last photo shoot I did. It takes me about 10 minutes and a couple of strange looks to realize that this may not be a good idea in a public place. Yes, there are titties involved.
No, no titties here. This is me writing my TR on board.
The rest of the flight is pretty restless and annoying. Not a good vibe.
When we finally land there are some desperate cries from the crew asking the passengers to stay in their seat but almost everybody just gets up while we are still taxiing. The crew makes one announcement and then simply gives up. Most people are ready to go when we finally reach the gate. Never seen this before on an aircraft outside of China…
The integrity of the cabin is also not respected. They let the Y passengers claw their way forward through business class and yes we are at door #2 before most of the business and F pax. We have to wait on the ground for at least 20 minutes because our APU is defect and they won’t let us open the door before the final engine can be switched off. When the ground power is finally connected I storm of the plane, sixth in line coming from 29K… Ridiculous.
A good thing I was as impolite as the rest of them since there was already a line at customs. Foolishly enough I picked the line with the beautiful women in it. Given that the TSA officer chatted with each of them at least 5 minutes it took a while. He was done with me in 1 minute….
After those 30 minutes or so I figured I had been lucky. The lines behind me where like 10 times longer now. Poor F pax. However, when I entered the baggage hall I found another long line. I don’t think Miami is my favorite port of entry.
I think this will be one of the last TATLs in Y for me. Nevertheless I had a blast in Miami with a lot of time on the water and in the sun.
I will post about the return trip later. Now I need a beer, a movie and sleep.
Last edited by henkybaby; May 24, 2011 at 11:25 am
May 24, 2011, 11:42 am
#4
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Netherlands
Programs: BA | A3 | AFKL | Hertz | SPG | Avis
Posts: 748
Haha, makes me look forward to my BRU-JFK-BRU trip on AA this summer. On the positive side, the ticket cost just 300 euros, so my expectations couldn't possibly be lower 
May 24, 2011, 12:09 pm
#5
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: East Berlin
Posts: 1,533
A child assaulted you? Isn't that karma?!
It sounds as though it was the crew that really let this flight down. You should have waved that shiny card around a bit more or donned those F eye shades when parading up and down the cabin...
A very good report and I enjoyed it. ^
Palmer
It sounds as though it was the crew that really let this flight down. You should have waved that shiny card around a bit more or donned those F eye shades when parading up and down the cabin...
A very good report and I enjoyed it. ^
Palmer
May 24, 2011, 12:41 pm
#6
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
A great trip report, and I feel for you, stuck in the dregs of Y on an old, beaten-up chav transport to Miami. You get to meet some of the members of the shallowest GB gene pool on that flight (although TPA and MCO are worse).
We have a holiday home on the west coast of Florida and do plenty of trips to MIA/FLL/RSW so I am familiar with all routes...some good, some, uh, less so.
The terminal BA uses at MIA is just the pits and the normally friendly and chatty US Border doucheheads are the furthest thing from a 'Hi y'all thanks for coming to America!' welcome that you could imagine.
I actually prefer AC to MIA for this, particularly since they moved to the new terminal. Clear customs in YYZ (easy peasy) and arrive at a beautiful new terminal in the domestic zone.
Edited to say: your friend in MIA is indeed quite hot. I should assume that it makes up for your experience in Y.
We have a holiday home on the west coast of Florida and do plenty of trips to MIA/FLL/RSW so I am familiar with all routes...some good, some, uh, less so.
The terminal BA uses at MIA is just the pits and the normally friendly and chatty US Border doucheheads are the furthest thing from a 'Hi y'all thanks for coming to America!' welcome that you could imagine.
I actually prefer AC to MIA for this, particularly since they moved to the new terminal. Clear customs in YYZ (easy peasy) and arrive at a beautiful new terminal in the domestic zone.
Edited to say: your friend in MIA is indeed quite hot. I should assume that it makes up for your experience in Y.
Last edited by LondonElite; May 24, 2011 at 12:51 pm
May 24, 2011, 12:42 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: The Hague, NL
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Posts: 22,911
Haha, never looked at it like that... Guess you have a point. Now all I have to do is look for a TR where some kid claims to make poking me in the eye look like an accident. 
^
Can't post the pictures of her in a bathing suit but yeah, she more than makes up for it... 
^
Last edited by henkybaby; May 24, 2011 at 1:09 pm
May 24, 2011, 8:09 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2009
Programs: VS Silver, Kris Silver, IC Amb, HH Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 386
Great TR. Always makes me laugh a slight air of elitism about folks flying in Y on these boards. I've met some right nasty vile human beings in J before, and conversely some lovely people in Y and even met some future (now present) business partners.
Oh well, swings and roundabouts I guess...
The point about armrests is one of my pet peeves, I get annoyed when said passenger next to me wont move his/her arm for the entire trip without even muttering a word of 'please may I'. It sounds like you were polite about the whole thing though, and you got a whole row to yourself because of it ^
Oh well, swings and roundabouts I guess...
The point about armrests is one of my pet peeves, I get annoyed when said passenger next to me wont move his/her arm for the entire trip without even muttering a word of 'please may I'. It sounds like you were polite about the whole thing though, and you got a whole row to yourself because of it ^
May 25, 2011, 3:33 am
#10
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Bicester, UK
Programs: MUCCI, BAEC Silver, A-Club Gold
Posts: 1,228
May 25, 2011, 5:01 am
#12
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,143
Nice TR Henkybaby ^
Here I am having an early lunch and reading a FT TR. Life is bliss.
It always seems a bit awkward the armrest thing. There is usually three of us travelling so never have any problems in that sense but Jnr always wants the window seat but TBH I prefer the aisle. Also as you say on the odd occasion it's a lottery with the crew having no SOH. That can happen on any airline though I suppose. I'm in Y with BA to SFO soon and back to reality for a while and where I've not sat for a few years.
As a GCH I wouldn't have thought a few cans of coke and a bite to eat isn't too much to ask for. In fact if I were crew I'd probably make a point of ensuring BA status passengers were well looked after. Service is everything and even if the product isn't 100% the way frontline staff deliver it can make all the difference.
I've only used MIA twice and that was my first F in 2006. Didn't like the airport one bit. The terminal was in a poor state of repair IMO and immigration took a while. Liked the photo style this time but may I say I prefer you're usual ones
Looks fab on the boats/yacht etc.^
Pete
Here I am having an early lunch and reading a FT TR. Life is bliss.
It always seems a bit awkward the armrest thing. There is usually three of us travelling so never have any problems in that sense but Jnr always wants the window seat but TBH I prefer the aisle. Also as you say on the odd occasion it's a lottery with the crew having no SOH. That can happen on any airline though I suppose. I'm in Y with BA to SFO soon and back to reality for a while and where I've not sat for a few years.
As a GCH I wouldn't have thought a few cans of coke and a bite to eat isn't too much to ask for. In fact if I were crew I'd probably make a point of ensuring BA status passengers were well looked after. Service is everything and even if the product isn't 100% the way frontline staff deliver it can make all the difference.
I've only used MIA twice and that was my first F in 2006. Didn't like the airport one bit. The terminal was in a poor state of repair IMO and immigration took a while. Liked the photo style this time but may I say I prefer you're usual ones
Looks fab on the boats/yacht etc.^
Pete