Trip report DXB-LHR BA106 June 20th

When I got to the BA lounge, I enquired about my little incident earlier, and was told that indeed the flight had not opened for check-in yet. The agent at the desk asked me to wait about 20 minutes, before heading up to the transfer desk closer to the lounge to get my boarding pass. The lounge was quite nice, and had some drinks, canapés and sandwiches. The lounge served CX passengers as well, and there were quite a few passengers on the CX flight to Hong Kong in the lounge. I explored the airport a bit, and next to the BA lounge, was a Star Alliance lounge. That lounge did not show which airline operated it, but instead had a huge Star Alliance logo on the outside. I was quite curious and went inside to find that Lufthansa operated it. They had a Business class and First class section inside, and it stated that all Star Alliance Gold members were allowed to use the First class section. Same rules as the LH lounges in Frankfurt. The rest of the airport was quite impressive. There were plasma TVs everywhere, and the whole airport was clean and airy. I wanted to go find that place they advertise in magazines selling lottery tickets to win a car. Like $100 per ticket and you could win a Ferrari. Couldn't find it inside the departure area, so I guess it must be outside somewhere.

After checking out the airport, I went up to the transit desk to get my boarding pass. The agent there spent a while calling around, as he did not know what class I was flying in. I assume that he's new, as he kept on saying he did not know if my A fare was First, Business or Economy. After about 5 minutes, I got my boarding pass and went back to the lounge. Back at the lounge, I sampled some of the food they had. Most of it was quite good, especially the Cajun chicken canapé. It's too bad that their soft drink selection was limited to coke, pepsi and 7-up. They also didn't have any power adapters for me to charge my notebook, but luckily I had about 50% battery life remaining, which would last me about an hour and a half. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 01:10, and the agent announced boarding at 12:40. As I was walking towards the gate, they were already doing a final call.

I was among the last group of passengers to board, all from the lounge, and took my seat in 2A. It was the same plane we came on from LHR earlier, but they had a change of crew. Pre-departure drinks were served, and I was given an amenity kit with a different design, duvet and a sleeper suit. As I settled in, I noticed that the air show was saying the flight was going to be 11 hours. I was quite alarmed by this and asked the FA. She assured me the flight was going to be no more than 7 hours, and something must be wrong with the system. Anyhow, the doors closed at 01:00, 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time, and we started our pushback at 01:10. As we were taxing, the menus were handed out. We took off from DXB at approximately 01:15, and were on our way back to LHR.

After take-off, cocktail orders were taken, followed by dinner selection. The menu for tonight was a-la-carte again, but it did not have as many selections as our incoming flight. The menu consisted of the following:

Wines
Piper-Heidsieck Rare Champagne
Sancerre Cuvée Edmond, 1998, Alphonse Mellot
Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Les Cortons, 1999, Roux Père et Fils
Tokay Pinot Gris de Riquewihr, 1997, Dopff au Moulin
Bahans-Haut-Brion, 1997, Pessac-Léognan
Brunello di Montalino, 1995, Leonardo
Coopers Creek Reserve Pinot Noir, 1998
Beaune Premier Cru Les Epenottes, 1998, Domaine Parent
Opitz Pinot Blanc / Pinot Gris Trockenbeerenauslese, 1998

SUPPER
Appetizers
Smoked and grilled salmon with parsley oil dressing

Fresh pear, baby corn and olive salad

Mixed seasonal salad served with classic vinaigrette or blue cheese dressing

Selection of rolls and Arabic bread

Main Courses
Seared Châteaubriand with horseradish gravy

Pan seared tuna with wild mushroom risotto cakes

Lighter Options
Artichoke and pepper pizza

Freshly cooked pasta with your choice of green pesto or tomato and chili sauce served with freshly grated parmesan cheese

Dessert
Lemon meringue tart

Selection of fresh fruit

Cheeseboard Selection
Cheese served with crackers

To Help You Sleep
Hot chocolate, decaffeinated coffee, tea or herbal tea

Nestle Nespresso - regular or decaffeinated espresso and cappuccino

Chocoates

For dinner, I selected the salmon and olive salad for appetizers and the Châteaubriand for main course. My food came in about 15 minutes, and both my appetizers were served together. The salmon dish consisted of one piece of smoked salmon, and a one piece of grilled salmon. They were quite tasty, but I wish they had a bit larger potion. The salad was absolutely terrible, and the only good part was the piece of pear in it. My Châteaubriand came afterwards, and it looked very appetizer. It was accompanied with potatoes, carrots and string beans. The beef itself wasn't the best quality, but cooked just right, so overall it was still very good. For desert, I had the lemon meringue. The meringue was huge, and I woofed it down within a minute. After my late night supper, I laid the duvet on the seat and went to sleep. It wasn't as comfortable as my setup on the CX flight, but I was quite tired and just fell asleep anyways.

I woke up one hour prior to arrival in London, when the FA came and woke me up for breakfast. We had the following choices for breakfast:

BREAKFAST
Appetizer
Freshly squeezed fruit juice

Fruit energizer drink

Fresh seasonal fruit

Dried fruit and nuts with crème fraîche

Natural or fruit yoghurt

Warm breads and breakfast pastries

Hot Choice
Freshly scrambled or boiled eggs with tomatoes, grilled chicken medallions, veal sausages and bubble and squeak

Tomato and mushroom omelette

I asked for the orange juice first, and when she brought it to me, I just drank it. It didn't really taste like orange juice, but I guess it's just 'coz my taste buds weren't function just yet. I also asked for the fresh seasonal fruit, which came as a fruit bowl with a mixture of chopped up fruits. For the main course, I asked for the scramble eggs, as I wanted to compare them with the ones I had one Cathay. It turned out much better, and it was served on top of toast. The sausages were good as well, but I was baffled at the bubble and squeak. Had no idea what it was, but there was a piece of hash brown looking thing on the plate. I presume that was it, so I tried it, but didn't like it. After breakfast was finished, we had already started our descent into London. There was no traffic, and we made a beeline straight towards Heathrow and landed at 05:20. We were nearly half an hour ahead of schedule. We parked at Terminal 4, and door 2 was used for disembarking.
I followed the signs out of immigration and went to the BA Arrivals lounge. It was quite discreet and located next to the Left Luggage. The Arrivals lounge consisted of 2 floors, the lower one with the showers, and the upper floor, which included the spa and dining room. I made my way up to the dining room, and helped myself to some more breakfast. They had the usual breakfast foods there, and also you can have eggs made to order. I asked for some scrambled eggs, and thought that it wasn't as good as the ones on the plane. Strange, no? After my meal, I went back downstairs, took a quick shower, and headed over to Terminal 3. I managed to pick up menus for this flight, and here are the Business and Economy menus:

BUSINESS
Refreshments
Cheese and pickle in onion bread

Roasted salmon salad with new minted mayonnaise potatoes

Amaretti Trifle

Coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea

Chocolates

Breakfast
Chilled orange juice

Fruit energizer drink

Seasonal fresh fruit
or
Cereal with chilled milk

Fruit yoghurt

Scrambled egg with chives, veal sausage, tomato and bubble and squeak

Lemon scented salmon cakes with creamed spinach and seared tomatoes

Fresh citrus fruit with ginger syrup

Selection of warm bread and breakfast pastries

Savoury Danish

Coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea

Wines
Bricout N.V. Champagne Brut
Besserat de Bellefon N.V. Champagne Brut
Omaka Springs Sauvignon Blanc, 2000
Riesling Terrassen Thal Wachau, 2000
Château Tour de Mirambeau Cuvée Passion, 1998
Pouilly-Fuissé, 1999, Georges DuBoeuf
Vila Santa, 1999
Chinon La Baronnie Madeleine, 1997, Couly-Dutheil
Château La Garde, 1997, Pessac-Léognan

ECONOMY
Refreshments
Refreshments will be served

Breakfast
Chilled orange juice

Seasonal fresh fruit

Fruit yoghurt

Scrambled egg with chives, bubble and squeak, veal sausage and tomato
or
tomato and mushroom omelette with baked beans and fried potatoes

Fruit Danish

Coffee or tea