PART 7: MILE 62890 - 70630
By Air: 7740 Miles
Photo Album Reference: BA 285 LHR-SFO
Address:
[email protected]
Password: readme
This flight between London and San Francisco will be my 3000th. Lots of people have flown 3000 times, but how many were aware of it at the time? How many even cared?
People have always quantified the things they care about. How old am I? How long have I been married? How much money do I have? How many times did the Mariners beat the Yankees last season?
I’ve loved air travel for as long as I can remember. I filled out my first flight log when I was in 7th grade. At the time, I’d flown a grand total of sixteen times aboard four different airlines. As the number of flights and airlines flown grew, it became interesting to consider statistics such as how many times I’d flown on 727-200s, how many miles I’d flown on Continental Airlines, how many flights and miles I’d flown aboard Continental 727-200s, etc. As the total number of flights grew larger and larger, the numbers began to take on a life of their own.
I flew my 1000th flight on July 17th, 1982. It was in First Class aboard a Western Airlines DC-10 between San Francisco and Honolulu. I flew my one millionth mile on September 4th, 1985 aboard a United DC-10. I flew my 1000th flight with United Airlines on April 24th, 1997. It was on an Anchorage to San Francisco flight and United made it a memorable occasion. They put on a little party at the departure gate with cake and Starbucks and then the Anchorage station manager and sales rep presented me with a plaque and a nice leather travel bag. Six days later, I flew my one millionth mile with United.
Originally, I’d planned my travels so that this 3000th flight would take place four weeks ago aboard British Airways between London and Singapore. A First Class suite aboard a world class airline on one of their premier routes – I couldn’t have choreographed it any better. Unfortunately, the ear infection that forced me to cancel one of my Seattle to Nashville Mileage Run tickets changed all this and it was only sheer luck that my 3000th flight should now occur on this British Airways flight to San Francisco as opposed to on, say, Air Botnia yesterday between Helsinki and Copenhagen.
I’ve had a great run so far! Three thousand flights on one hundred seven different airlines through forty three countries and 289 different airports. Over 1300 flights and 1.2 million miles of that have been in First Class. Here’s lookin’ forward to the next 3000 flightsl!
** ** **
British Airways has a wonderful First Class check in area at Heathrow’s Terminal 4. It is completely separate from the main check in area and access to it is authorized by an agent at the entrance whose job it is to redirect any idle curiosity seekers, aimless wanderers, Club World scammers and other garden variety riff raff . Today’s guard agent was trim of figure but stern of stance. As I trundled towards her with my big old backpack and recently trimmed beard, I had to stifle a chuckle as she stiffened in anticipation of exercising her authority.
On trips like this, my travel outfit consists of a pair of black Levi 501s, a nice blue button down oxford shirt, my nice tweed jacket with leather elbow patches that I scored on sale in a thrift shop for $10.00, and my tweed cap that I bought in Ireland some years ago. I’ve been told that I look like a deranged English professor in this get up, which may well be true. Even so, it’s comfortable and more presentable I think than some of the attire I see in First Class cabins these days.
After receiving clearance to proceed, I was quickly checked in and given a Fast Track clearance sticker on my boarding pass. This allowed me to bypass the substantial queue at the main security area and go through the much less crowded Fast Track lanes. All carriers that offer an international First Class product should make arrangements with airport security to offer this service at their larger gateways. It’s amazing to me that some still don’t.
An International First Class boarding pass on BA entitles the bearer to enter the refined elegance and sanctuary of the Concorde Room. I’ve detailed this wonderful lounge in previous reports but allow me to reiterate that amongst Heathrow’s numerous First Class lounges, the Concorde room has few, if any peers. Light classical music was playing as I entered. As a former chamber group musician, it was quite nice to settle into a comfy chair and sip champagne to Bach’s Air On A G String.
I had a couple of hours before my 1:25pm departure and decided a bit of a snack would be in order. While most First Class lounges provide a food service area offering a variety of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and finger sandwiches, the Concorde Room offers an entire menu from which you may select everything from a light breakfast to delicious sandwiches and salads. Many people have asked about this menu in response to past Trip Reports, so here it is.
CONCORDE ROOM MENU
BREAKFAST ITEMS
Chilled freshly squeezed orange juice
Freshly prepared smoothies
Natural Greek Yogurt
Topped with cereal, organic honey or strawberries
Selection of Cereals
Cornflakes, Branflakes, Rice Krispies or Alpen
Plain, Cinnamon and raisin or Poppy seed Bagels
Served with garden herb or organic blueberry cream cheese
Hot Toast
Selection of Pastries
Orange marmalade, honey and preserves
Grilled Back Bacon Baguette
Sautéed Mushroom and Tomato Baguette
** ** **
Fresh Soup of The Day
Served with a variety of continental breads
** ** **
SANDWICHES
Traditional Selection
Egg mayonnaise and watercress on white bread
Traditional prawn Marie Rose with mixed leaves on whole meal bread
Pastrami and horseradish on rye bread
Flaked tuna in mayonnaise with cucumber on whole meal bread
Hand Cut
Chicken in Caesar dressing with Parmesan and salad leaves on olive bread
English gammon with plum tomatoes and mustard dressing on white bread
Smoked salmon and soft cheese on whole meal bread
Port-salut, spinach and pine nuts on tomato bread
** ** **
SALADS
Caesar Salad
Cardini’s traditional dressing, curls of Parmigiano Reggiano, croutons and crisp cos lettuce
Chinese Prawn Salad
Fresh prawns on rocket and Chinese leaves with julienne of peppers and dressed with sweet chili sauce
Mediterranean Garden Salad
French beans and red chard with red onion and feta cheese, dressed with olive oil and vintage balsamic vinegar
Dip Platter
Fresh vegetable crudités and tortilla chips, accompanied by a selection of dips
** ** **
Dessert
Seasonal fresh fruits with a piquant raspberry sauce
Cheeseboard
Stilton, Cheddar, Cheshire and Wensleydale with biscuits, celery and grapes
** ** **
AFTERNOON TEA
Your choice from a range of tea sandwiches and traditional English cakes served with a pot of freshly brewed tea
Although it certainly was tempting to order a sandwich or a salad from off this menu, I also wanted to save room for whatever culinary delights awaited me aboard the ten hour flight out to San Francisco. The champagne was Pol Roger, 1986, Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill. This being the occasion of my 3000th flight, I ordered a glass along with a plate of the Chinese Prawn Salad.
Cheers!
At about 12:30pm, an announcement was made that due to a problem with our aircraft’s toilets, our departure would be delayed. At 1:15pm, we were advised that the problem had still not been corrected and might necessitate an aircraft switch. At this time, the siren call of a nice cold Guinness became just too alluring to ignore.
06 May
LHR-SFO British Airways 285 First Class
747-436 G-BYGG Seat 1A
125p-515p Flight time: 9:56
3000th Flight
The call to board finally came at about 2:25pm and as I approached the gate and the aircraft came into view, I recognized the Chinese calligraphy on the tail and the registration number of my old friend, G-BYGG. I flew this aircraft last year between Melbourne and London. Today’s flight would be my third aboard G-BYGG, for a total of 15,860 miles. It is positively uncanny how despite having flown 19 flights with BA totaling 84,430 miles, 59,660 miles of that have been flown on just four different aircraft. BA’s fleet totals well over 300 aircraft.
Today’s First Class cabin crew was certainly a cheerful bunch. Our cabin purser, Caroline, made a point of stopping by each seat to introduce herself and chat for a bit. Upon learning I was from Alaska, she immediately recounted how much she’d enjoyed the long Anchorage layovers from “the good old days”. The FA working my side of the cabin was Linda and she was a real charmer as well. The load was light – only seven of us were making the trip in First Class today - and the mood amongst both passengers and crew was happy and relaxed. I accepted a glass of Krug and a plate of nuts, reclined my seat a bit and perused the movie selections. Hey! Scent Of A Woman with Al Pacino! One of my all time favorite movies! Well, that that would be something to look forward to after lunch.
Our captain welcomed us aboard and explained that the delay was due to a clog in the toilet system. No doubt we’d all agree, he continued, that with a ten hour flight ahead of us, it was imperative that the system be functional. The cause of the problem was a plastic bag that some knucklehead had flushed and getting to the point of the clog had required considerable effort. In any event, we were now ready to go and could look forward to a speedy crossing of the Atlantic as headwinds were so minimal as to be irrelevant. Flight time was projected at ten hours and three minutes, cruising at 35-39000 feet. Plates and glasses were collected and hot towels were dispensed with as we made our way over to Runway 27R. After a take-off roll of just 32 seconds – surprisingly short for a 747 loaded with enough fuel to fly over 5000 miles - we were airborne at 3:05pm.
It was a beautiful afternoon in London – sunny with a few scattered clouds. Perfect flying weather! We climbed out of Heathrow and headed northwest, flying past Manchester and Glasgow before taking a more westerly tack across the North Atlantic towards Iceland and southern Greenland. After crossing over the top of Hudson Bay, we’d adopt a southwesterly course across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, crossing into US airspace just above Malta, Montana. Arrival in San Francisco was planned for 5:10pm and we were informed that the weather was very much like London’s – sunny and about 60 degrees. Just perfect!
Menus were handed out, along with a small plate of canapés. These canapés, though insubstantial in size, are one of my favorite parts of the First Class meal experience. They’re a wonderful teaser for the gastronomic pleasures that await. I munched on them at leisure and perused the menu selections.
London to San Francisco
LUNCHEON
Appetizer
Richard Corrigan’s foie gras terrine with fig compote and toasted brioche slice
Or
Baby peppers filled with roast Mediterranean vegetables, lemon and oregano dressings
Soup
Chilled cherry tomato soup
Salad
Mixed Seasonal Salad served with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette or Caesar dressing
** ** **
MAIN COURSES
Roast Cannon of Lamb
Accented with wild mushroom and mint stuffing, natural jus
Vineet Bhatia’s Crab Coconut Cream Curry
Served with fragrant rice
Grilled Spatchcock Quail
Presented with citrus dressing
Freshly Cooked Pasta
Offered with your choice of tomato and basil or creamy mushroom sauce
Served with freshly grated Grana Padano cheese
Lemon and Herb Chicken Caesar Salad
** ** **
CHEESE, DESSERT & FRUIT
Cheeseboard Selection
Fountains Gold, Stilton, Bougon Chevre, St. Nectaire and Kirkham’s Lancashire
Dessert
White chocolate, dark chocolate and caramel torte with Earl Gray crème Anglaise
Vanilla panna cotta, almond wafer and summer berries
Selection of fresh fruit
Chocolates
** ** **
ALWAYS AVAILABLE
Sandwich Selection
Smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber on whole meal triangle
Gammon ham, spinach and tomato on malted triangle
Sliced mature Cheddar cheese and Branston pickle on croissant triangle
Warm Fruit Scones
Presented with clotted cream and strawberry preserve
The Great All Day English Breakfast
Chicken Tikka Masala
Hot Bacon Roll
** ** **
I love foie gras! The last time I remember having it inflight was in First Class aboard a Continental DC-10 between Sydney and Honolulu. The flight attendants were serving massive slabs of it from the cart and we gorged ourselves like French royalty. BA’s portion was substantially smaller but no less tasty. I also ordered the chilled tomato soup. Linda stopped by to advise me that while the menu said chilled, the soup really was much better heated. I heeded her advice and was quite pleased – as I always am with BA’s soups – to enjoy a soup that was both hot and spicy. Good stuff, that.
For my main course, I chose the Roast Cannon of Lamb. The wild mushroom and mint stuffing sounded too good to pass up. Chef Bhatia’s Crab Coconut Cream Curry sounded quite sublime but after my experience with his Pan Fried Spiced Halibut on the London to Singapore flight, a dish that wasn’t very spicy at all, I decided to go with something that would likely be more flavorful. As it happened, the lamb was not only flavorful but tender and juicy as well. A good choice. Ah, dessert. Jeez, they both looked so good! I went with the torte, which was simply sublime with a cup of BA’s fine black coffee. A glass of port and a small plate of cheese, grapes and celery brought this repast to a delicious conclusion. The SkyMap indicated that we were just south and a tad west of Iceland, cruising along at 38,000 feet. I reclined my seat and savored the fine old port. Now
this is First Class!
By the time the final credits rolled on Scent Of A Woman, we were just passing over the southwest coast of Greenland. Although the cabin was darkened and people were sleeping, I just had to raise my shade for a moment to check out the amazing views of rock, ice and water. The landscape was harsh yet strangely beautiful and I found myself wishing I could someday see those icy fjords from a boat.
Iqaluit, near the northeastern entrance to Hudson Bay, was the half way point of this flight. Although there’s never been a scheduled service between Iqaluit and San Francisco, if there were you’d be looking at a flight of about five and a half hours. Cruisin’ along at 584 mph whilst battling a 4 mph headwind, we’d make the journey in about five hours even.
For an Economy Class passenger, ten hour flights seem much longer. The meal and beverage service is over before you know it and you still have eight and a half more hours to go, squeezed into your little seat surrounded by a sea of people. Movies and books offer some distraction but sleep is probably the best thing you can do to keep from going stir crazy.
Not so in First Class. For starters, the pace of the service is so much nicer. In BA’s First, you choose the pace at which you’d like to dine. While meal trays are being distributed back in Economy, and appetizers in Business, you’re relaxing over a nice glass of wine and munching on canapés. While trays are being cleared and movie selections perused back in Economy, you’ve just finishing your soup or salad and are looking forward to the main course. By the time you’ve finished your meal, you’d be about three hours into the flight. Perhaps some cheese and port with the movie? But of course!
High clouds covered all of the Hudson Bay. In fact, I didn’t see land again until we were over Lake Winnipeg. While flipping through the 18 channels of prerecorded TV shows, documentaries and movies, I settled on a movie called Maid in Manhattan with Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes. Maid in Manhattan is what most guys would call a “Chick Flick” and is not a movie I would normally make an effort to see. I’d never seen a Jennifer Lopez movie before. She has beautiful eyes and a sweet voice. And that butt certainly is prodigious in its proportions. Still, the movie had a nice storyline and I found it surprisingly enjoyable. By the time it was over, we were just over southern Saskatchewan, approaching Montana. It was 10:00pm back in London, 2:00pm in San Francisco. Only three hours to go.
The second meal service began for me about an hour and a half out of San Francisco. BA offers an “Available Anytime” menu, which for this flight included the traditional afternoon offerings of tea sandwiches and scones with jam and clotted cream. However, if there are any leftovers from the main meal service, they too are available. As such, for my second meal I tried out the stuffed baby peppers for an appetizer, followed by a plate of the grilled spatchcock quail. Truth be known, I wanted more of that terrine of foie gras but it was long gone. Linda explained that it was one of the most popular appetizers that BA offered. The baby peppers were OK, though nothing special. Bring on the spatchcock! Alas, I’ve had some bad experiences with inflight meals featuring small game birds, most notably a serving of pheasant on Aerolineas Argentinas that was drier than old shoe leather. Today’s quail was quite good though. What it lacked in presentation, it more than made up for in flavor. Really a delicious entrée. Too bad it appeared to have just been dumped on the plate amidst the vegetables.
Our approach into San Francisco was a little bumpy but we made what felt like a textbook landing and parked at gate A4. I said my good byes and thanks to the crew and headed off the aircraft. I had no more First Class flights with BA to look forward to and despite an enticing itinerary for the upcoming week that included First Class flights back to Alaska followed by a weekend in Florida and a quick visit to the Nevada and Utah, my immediate travel future still felt a bit bleak. BA’s First Class is that nice! If only I could relive the past month!
I’ve got enough miles in my Alaska Mileage Plan account to book another BA First Class Award to anywhere and believe me, I was sorely tempted to get right back in line to take that ride again. Still, Cathay Pacific has joined the Alaska Mileage Plan and I’m looking forward to checking out their vaunted First Class service on a trip to South Africa. And, if I should perhaps win big on a game show, I’d even like to take a ride on the famous Blue Train. Ah well, that will be fun to dream about and plan in the months ahead.
In the meantime, I was exhausted and ready for bed. Thankfully, one awaited me at the Doubletree SFO where I’d gotten a room via Priceline for a bid of $31.00 on what must’ve been a slow night. I slept for almost ten hours!
07 May
SFO-SEA Alaska Airlines 589 First Class
737-4Q8 N779AS Seat 1A
1255p-315p Flight time: 1:43
While Priceline may have been helpful in procuring a great room rate, they were unable to help me out in the hotel restaurant where breakfast prices were in the $10.00-13.00 range. So, I walked across the street to the café next door at the Red Roof Inn and ordered one of the finest Eggs Benedicts that I’ve ever eaten for a mere $7.50. Including coffee.
As I was waiting for breakfast to arrive, it occurred to me that two days ago at this very same time, 9:05am PDT, I was eating dinner aboard a Maersk Air jet between Copenhagen and London. Yesterday at this time, I had just finished lunch somewhere between Iceland and Greenland. Tomorrow at this time, I’d be eating breakfast in the Bush Pilot Grill while awaiting departure of my flight between Fairbanks and Seattle. Two days from now, at 12:05pm EDT I’d probably be eating lunch in Florida. The arrival of my breakfast snapped me back to the present, so I stopped thinking and started eating
*** *** ***
“Excuse me, sir? Excuse me? Can I just have a moment of your time?” begged the starry eyed religious convert from behind her desk.
“Please report any unattended baggage or suspicious activity to the airport police. Unattended vehicles will be impounded at the owner’s expense.” intoned the voice from the airport loudspeakers.
Welcome back to the world of air travel, American style. I don’t recall ever having been approached by Hare Krishnas or other religious types at airports outside of America. As for the airport security announcements, they just seem a bit more insistent here in America. I know it certainly can’t hurt to be a bit more alert and vigilant these days, but I find the insistent, prerecorded reminders a tad annoying.
At the gate for my flight to Seattle this afternoon was my old friend N779AS, the same aircraft upon which I started my South Pacific odyssey last year. This was my seventh flight for a total of 7210 miles on this aircraft. There was one empty seat in First Class and thankfully it was next to me. It was a nice sunny day in the Bay Area and as we followed a United 777 out to the runway, I thought man, those colors sure are gloomy. If and when United gets out of bankruptcy and starts making money again, I would hope that they’d change that horribly drab color scheme into something a little brighter and more promising.
Though I have no idea what runway we took off on, we took an easterly heading as we climbed straight out over San Francisco Bay. As we approached the eastern side of the bay, I watched with interest as a Fed Ex DC-10 climbed out of Oakland International. The aircraft was maybe 3000 feet below us, its markings clearly visible. I also noted the time it took us to reach the shoreline of the east bay after from take off from SFO: 2 minutes and 48 seconds. To date, the shortest flight I have ever been on was aboard an Alaska MD-80 between San Francisco and Oakland. I believe the route is credited at 9 miles, which may well be once ATC Oakland gets through with you. In a straight line however, I think it’s more like 5 miles. Regardless, if Alaska still flew the route you’d receive a minimum of 500 miles to your Mileage Plan account. Applications can be found in –
Right – where was I… Ah, lunch time! Alaska is the only airline offering meals in any class between San Francisco and Seattle. Today’s choices were described as either a Club Salad or a Chicken Sandwich with wild rice. What’s a Club Salad? Well, it was described as a club sandwich without the bread on top of a salad. OK, I’ll take it. Alaska’s sandwiches have always been more bread than filling anyway.
In a word, the Club Salad was excellent. Basically, it was a big bowl of salad topped with generous portions of bacon, turkey and tomatoes accompanied by shaved Parmesan cheese. With the addition of Lite Ranch dressing, it was probably the best salad I have ever had on Alaska Airlines, and I’ve had a few.
Although MacTarnahans Ale was offered, an offer which I accepted by the way, the flight attendant returned with a can of Tecate beer, a poor substitute for the Mac but still superior to the other choices of Miller Lite and Budweiser. No nuts of any kind were offered.
This was a fairly quick flight up to the Emerald City. Cruising at 35000 feet, we were treated to a very nice view of 14,110 foot Mt. Shasta, the southernmost of the Cascade volcanoes. Clouds obscured the rest of the Cascades and we landed nicely in Seattle after a flight of just one hour and 36 minutes. As we taxied to our gate we passed N784AS, the Disneyland promotional plane. This was my first sighting of this aircraft and I must say it certainly brightened up the tarmac!
07 May
SEA-ANC-FAI Alaska Airlines 91 First Class
737-4Q8 N774AS Seat 1D
449p-901p Flight time: 3:18/:44
I was already at the gate when the aircraft operating our flight up to Fairbanks arrived late from Oakland. It was N774AS, the Alaskaair.com aircraft. I flew this plane just last November. Despite the colorful exterior, there is nothing to distinguish the interior from any other Alaska jet. Some of you may remember N308AS, the 727-200 also known as “Seahawk 1”. There were several small plaques denoting the player’s names on the seatbacks. The Seahawks were a good team back then. The current crop of players may wish to remain anonymous.
My seatmate arrived with headphones on beneath a white baseball cap. The headphones stayed on for the entire flight except when he once got up to use the lavatory. Interesting…
Awright, what’s for dinner:
Seattle to Los Angeles
DINNER
Salad
Seasonal mixed greens complimented by carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers. Offered with Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Entrees
Chinese Prawn Stir Fry
Ginger-soy marinated shrimp and vegetables served over noodles
Southern Chicken
A breaded and fried chicken breast topped with a zesty Fiesta Sauce.
Accompanied by a corn and polenta cake with spinach and carrots
** ** **
Dessert
Wedding Cake with Marion Berry Filling
Orders were taken from the front, starting with 1A. All of us in row 1 ordered the chicken. The two people immediately behind me also ordered the chicken. I’m not sure what percentage of this flight’s First Class passengers were MVPs, but I’m tellin’ you informed passengers know to stay away from Alaska’s prawn entrees. They’re just too skimpy! Meanwhile, the aroma of fried chicken wafting through the cabin only served to heighten the anticipation of the meal to come. Indeed, it did not disappoint. The polenta cake was a nice addition and I would rate this chicken dish second only to Alaska’s Breast of Chicken Baked in Puff Pastry with Bordelaise Sauce, which seems to be served only out of Washington Dulles.
The so called wedding cake dessert is also one of my favorites. Light and delicious as opposed to heavy and delicious like the cheesecakes, it made a nice ending to a large meal like tonight’s.
A bit of residual jet lag got the best of me for the remainder of this flight up to Anchorage and on into Fairbanks. I slept off and on until about fifteen minutes out of Fairbanks. I was glad to have awoken because I always enjoy the approach into FAI over the Tanana Flats. Despite the late arrival at 9:50pm, the sun was still an hour away from setting. It was good to be home, if only for ten hours.
[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 06-23-2003).]