Background
Southdowns and I tend to use our BA Miles for our winter skiing holiday each year. This trip was booked the best part of a year ago: Club World to Denver, costing 100,000 miles with an Amex 2-for-1 voucher, plus taxes and charges. We’d decided on Vail as our resort, and booked our accommodation several months later.
The day before the flight
I’d been working night shifts, so arrived home at about 9.30am. We could check in online from 12.35, so logged in right on time. We’d been checking the seating plan for weeks, and had been watching the Club World cabins slowly fill up. Not wanting to pay £60 each for the privilege of booking a seat, we just had to take our chance on the day. There were no window pairs available, and even pairs across the aisle were gone. So we rather reluctantly selected a middle pair, 4EF, which at mean it’s easy to get out – no-one to climb over.
Having checked which aircraft had operated this flight over the past few months, I’d been surprised at how frequently a four-class 777 was used. Whether this is because Club is oversold and they need the seats, or whether it’s random, I don’t know. We were just relieved that we’d have one of the three-class aircraft, as many of the four-class ones don’t have Avod.
After lunch, we headed off to Novotel at Heathrow, booked as we didn’t want to chance the M25 on a Monday morning. The room was basic but OK, but the big surprise was the food. We ate in the hotel restaurant, and the food was surprisingly good (and a voucher from A-Club points meant it didn’t cost us much either).
The day of the flight
Breakfast in the Novotel was included in the rate, and was also surprisingly good. We left the hotel at around 9am, and drove the short distance to the Business Parking for T5. A bus came along within a few minutes, and we got on board. As the bus made its way along the car park, we saw a BA 777 land. Sadly, we knew that the previous day’s Denver flight was operated by G-YMMD – and that was the plane we’d just seen land!
The bus dropped us off at Terminal 5. It was nearer the north end of the terminal than the south, so as queues were short at the bag drops nearby we used them rather than walking right down to the Club check-ins. Priority tags were carefully put on our two suitcases and our two ski boot bags. We then used the north security, where the fast track was much quicker than the other lines.
Once through security, we made our way to the North Galleries lounge, mostly because I hadn’t been there before. It was very busy, but we found a couple of seats near the windows, and
Southdowns went to the showers reception to see if they could phone the spa at the south lounges, to book a treatment. They could, did, and he booked a massage for 11am.
I decided I didn’t like the north lounge as much as the south one, so we decided to go down to the other end of the terminal, and into the Galleries Club. We found seats next to the windows, where we could watch the planes taking off. Among them were several 747s with New First, easily spotted because of the window blanks.
Southdowns went off for his massage, and I had a walk round the lounge. From the other end, there’s a great view down over security and much of the terminal building.
Eventually, our gate came up on the departure board, and it was the dreaded A10 bussing gate. We waited until it changed to boarding, and made our way down to the gate. There was a priority line, but it means very little when you end up on the same bus as everyone else. The bus was quite full by the time we were ready to leave, but then there was another delay as a member of ground staff came on to ask whether the occupant of seat 31K was on board. A man waved and got off. We set off, turned round, then stopped so the staff member could get back on board to ask again for Mr 31K. A chorus of people told him the person in question had already got off the bus – to which he said that had been the wrong person. It was a long drive round to the nearly-finished T5C, where our plane was waiting. I was pleased to see it was G-YMMU, one of the newest 777-200s.
Members of the cabin crew were waiting at the top of the stairs, the women wearing hats, the outward confirmation of a Mixed Fleet crew. We took our seats, and there’s certainly plenty of space in the centre pair. However, I still wasn’t convinced about facing backwards, and really prefer being on the aisle. Still, a glass of champagne made things seem better. Once the doors were closed, it was clear that there were plenty of spare seats, including 4D, so I moved into that seat, and Southdowns moved into 4E. Quite a few other people moved around the cabin too.
Not long into the flight, the menus were handed out, and the drinks run began. The menu was one I was familiar with, having seen it posted on FlyerTalk. Orders were taken by the CSM, Laura (who appeared to be the youngest member of the crew):
British Airways Classics :-: Many of our best dishes are greatly loved and have become firm favourites with you. We are delighted to offer some of these for your enjoyment today. Our ingredients are locally sourced wherever possible.
Lunch
Starters
* :-: Scottish Salmon gravlax with capers
or
Leek quiche with sharp vinaigrette (V)
Salad
* Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette
Main
:-: Wiltshire ham and leek pie with braised pork
Halibut with red wine sauce and boulangere potatoes
Dill and beetroot risotto with roasted golden beetroot (V)
* Chilled main course salad of smoked paprika and garlic chicken with roast butternut squash
Dessert
Creme caramel with soaked sultanas
Cropwell Bishop Stilton and St Paulin cheese served with biscuits
A selection of fruit
Chocolates (sic)
* ''Well Being in the Air'' selection - please refer to High Life for details.
Afternoon Tea
Snacks
An individual selection of sandwiches featuring coronation chicken and egg with watercress
Sweets
:-: Plain or fruit scones served warm with clotted cream and strawberry preserves
Drinks
Tea, ground coffee or decaffinated coffee
Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant and camomile with honey
And the wine list: (Bold indicates what was available)
Champagne:
Lanson Black Label Brut NV
Ayala Brut Majeur NV
White:
Chablis 2008, Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard, Burgundy, France
or
Esporao Reserva 2008, Alentejo, Portugal
Old Well House Grenache Blanc/Chenin Blanc 2009, Western Cape, South Africa
or
Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough, New Zealand
Red:
Chateau Pey de Pont 2004, Medoc, Bordeaux, France
or
Crozes-Hermitage 2008, Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet, Rhone, France
Villa San-Juliette Merlot 2007, Paso Robles, California, USA
or
Chono Reserva Syrah 2008, Elqui Valley, Chile
Both the champagnes were available, it appeared just to depend on which member of crew served you. I started with the Lanson, but later asked to try the Ayala. I preferred the Lanson. With lunch, I enjoyed the Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc.
For lunch, I started with the salmon, while Southdowns had the quiche. Both were quite good.
We both had the pie for the main course. It’s had some mixed reviews here on FlyerTalk, but we liked it. The braised pork with it was particularly tender.
For dessert, Southdowns had the crème caramel, and I had the cheese. The stilton was particularly good.
While eating, I watched Made in Dagenham on the Avod. The main thing I noticed about the Avod was that the moving map has been updated. There’s a great sequence showing a 3D-style plane, but lots of the information, like ground speed, wind speed, and estimated time of arrival, is no longer shown.
After lunch, I had a bit of sleep. It didn’t seem that long before afternoon tea was being served. The sandwiches weren’t up to much, but the cream tea always goes down well.
Before long, we were coming in to land at Denver, where it was snowing quite heavily. Once on the ground, there was an incredibly long taxi of at least fifteen minutes. Finally at the stand, I was chatting to one of the crew waiting at door 2 for the airbridge. He’d previously flown with ExCel until they went bust, and then EasyJet for a year before joining the Mixed Fleet. It was the third time in January he’d been to Denver. In the event, we exited through door 1, and made the long walk to immigration. The queues were short, and we were quickly through, although Southdowns had a bit of a delay as the officer’s computer decided to shut down, and he was sent to another queue.
The luggage took ages to start arriving, and of course the first bags out were not the priority baggage. In fact, my ski boots were the next-to-last item onto the belt. It makes you wonder why they bother with priority tags at all, if so little notice is taken of them.
Over all, though, it was a thoroughly enjoyable flight. The crew were excellent – friendly and attentive without being over the top, and the food was pretty good.