Continued....


I made my way through the large tinted glass doors into the noticeably air-conditioned departure lounge. The immigration and security formalities were quick and painless and I made my way straight through the small shopping arcade to the lounge. I decided to try the lift this time around. At the entrance to the lift I turned to my left and waved to my relative who stood less than 2 feet away on the other side of an intervening wall of thick ceiling height glass panes – so near but yet so far. I made my way into the rather rickety lift which took an absolute age to traverse the single floor. After a few heart stopping moments where it lurched to a stop and I was sure it had stuck between the floors, it finally creeped the last few feet to its destination. I made a rather hasty exit and presented my pass to lounge receptionists (certainly too nice to be called dragons) who waved me through.

I headed into the spacious, airy interior and made my way immediately to the far corner which affords a great view of the apron. I was somewhat disappointed to see that the best seats in the house had already been nabbed by a couple who later turned out to be my sole companions in First I grabbed a seat nearby and spent a few moments admiring the BA 777 aircraft in the process of being prepped for my upcoming flight to London Gatwick.




I headed over to the sideboard and poured myself one of my favourite alcoholic drinks - a large Barbadian rum punch, also grabbing a ginger ale and a small container of fruit salad. I then set about the finicky process of getting my Netbook to work with the Wifi. Unfortunately the signal was very weak and I'd just about given up in frustration when I got a weak connection. I was able to connect to Flyertalk and hence I can include the obligatory Flyertalk screenshots below




Time flew quickly as I checked up on 2 weeks worth of accumulated emails and Flyertalk threads. I helped myself to a second rum punch as afternoon merged into early evening and the interplay of light and shadow changed subtly on the portrait of the apron with ocean backdrop, viewed through the lounge windows.

Shortly afterwards I noticed signs of activity with the aircraft, and realised that preliminary boarding had commenced. Almost immediately an announcement was made to the effect that lounge occupants should proceed to the gate. I gathered my things and then paused by the lounge window, spending a few final few moments in quiet reflection, gazing across at the aircraft bathed in the early evening light. I bid goodbye to the lounge receptionists and made my way downstairs via the stairs this time and waved a final goodbye to my relative who had faithfully hung around at the viewing area. I felt a slight twinge of sadness on leaving the island this time around and so I joined the queue and waited patiently rather than avail myself of the “fast track” option.

The gate attendant wished me a pleasant flight and reminded me to take the first set of stairs for boarding. I stepped out into the cool balmy evening breeze and slowly took the short walk to the imposing structure of the waiting 777 aircraft. I regret the somewhat maudlin prose here, but the song “Leaving on a jet plane” by Peter, Paul and Mary was going through my mind at the time.

I felt somewhat self conscious as the first set of stairs were like a ghost town with no traffic save for the couple I'd seen earlier in the lounge – the ones who had pinched the best seats



I paused at the base of the stairs, turned and gave a quick wave in the direction of the terminal building, where I knew that my relative could see me even though I could not see her. I quickly made my way up the stairs and presented my boarding pass to the door attendant who escorted me to my seat. After a few moments I decided I liked seat 4A better and asked an FA whether I could switch. She indicated that there were only 3 passengers in F and that I was free to move around as I wished.

I settled into seat 4A and had a quick look around the cabin. As with my outbound trip the cabin's lighting was soft and mellow, somewhat enhanced by the evening sunshine.



My fellow occupants were originally in 1E and 1F but also tried their hand at the musical chairs game, separating to 1A and 1K for takeoff and returning to 1E and 1F later in the flight. The cockpit door was left open for quite a while and I had a nice view of part of the cockpit instrumentation and also the airport outbuildings through the front windscreens of the aircraft.

Unlike my outbound flight, a pair of pyjamas and a pair of slippers were stacked on my seat's ottoman.



I did chuckle at the slippers as they were approximately size 10 (and I’m being generous here!) and my shoe size is uncomfortably close to 15 So sadly came the realisation that I wouldn't be strolling through the cabin in BA F slippers

Once I'd settled in an FA inquired as to my choice of pre-flight drink. I opted for champagne and a glass of Pol-Roger 1999 was supplied, along with a dish of Macadamia nuts.



The CSD appeared and spent a long time chatting to the couple in 1E and 1F then eventually came over. He introduced himself and apologised for the delay in coming over and invited me to contact him if he could be of assistance in any way during the flight.

An FA appeared shortly afterwards and furnished an amenity kit and menus. She offered a refill of champagne which I certainly could not refuse. The menu included a selection sheet for DVD movies, though curiously this sheet was not collected at any point during the flight and no portable DVD players were offered Though it was ultimately irrelevant in my case as I don't use the IFE, I remain somewhat puzzled. This mysterious and ultimately pointless movie selection sheet was not present on my outbound flight.

During the time the aircraft was on the ground I noticed there was an intermittent stream of cabin and ground crew traffic though the cabin to/from the flight deck. After a while this became a tad annoying and this is definitely one area where the 747 F cabin is superior to that of the 777.

As the evening progressed I noticed that the scheduled takeoff time had passed yet the aircraft was still on terra firma. No announcement was made with regard to the delay, but seat 4A afforded an excellent ringside view of the large fuel bowser parked under the wing with the fuel hoses attached and the driver standing nonchalantly beside. It was somewhat obvious that we wouldn't be going anywhere for a while! The first officer strode though the cabin and seemed somewhat peeved at the delay. As I was sitting in First sipping my second glass of fine champagne I was strangely oblivious - “Don't worry be happy” and all that...

About 15 minutes later the tanker driver leisurely detached the fuel hoses, collected his deployed cones and drove off into the sunset The aircraft was pushed back almost immediately afterwards and began its taxi. The takeoff was short and powerful with the huge GE90 engines lofting the aircraft airborne before it reached level with the terminal buildings. The takeoff was uncomplicated with the aircraft taking off towards the East, turning to a North East bearing before commencing its Atlantic crossing.