So it was back on another trip to Accra last month.

This one was a little different as I was travelling not only with a trusted colleague who has been turned into a mileage whore like myself but also with my business partner who has never been interested in travelling in anything but Y.

So due to a bit of an issue with our business in Ghana it was decided on the day before our trip that my business partner was coming along as well. A few minutes later a Miles plus money had him joining us in CW.

Day of departure went to plan, easy trip to LHR, car happily parked in long term car park, check in smooth and a nice interlude in the lounge.

Soon it was time to head to a B gate, and we waited, 30 minutes before scheduled departure we were still all in the gate area, hmmmmmm though I, this is not good.

After a few more minutes we boarded, the 3 of us happily in 10B, D & E.

then we waited........

and waited.......

and we pushed back

and waited.............

after some time the captain came across the PA with a 'Houston we have problem' announcement

He told us that the aircraft had been under maintenance since arrival at LHR and that over ran leading to the initial delay. This was a different problem though and he was talking to engineers to see what he needed to do.

another while passed.............

ok, so we are going back to a stand so engineers can have a look, but of course the stand we were on was now occupied so we were off to a remote stand, once someone was found to turn the guidance system on.......

anyway we arrived and eventually steps were brought to 2L, this meant of course that a crew member had to be at the door the whole time, and in a miserable day in January that is no pleasure. after some time we were told that there was a problem with the RH engine, a valve needed to be changed and that would take an hour or so.

Slight hitch by this point was that Accra airport is under night time runway maintenance and the airfield was due to shut at 11pm. By this time it was nearly 3.30pm with a flight time of 6 hours we were in trouble.

at this point the subject line of this post really swings into action. The crew went into overdrive to look after passengers. The captain and First Officer did many rounds of the cabin, chatting and answering questions, the CSD did the same, in CW the crew offered drinks and were all visible in the cabin for the whole time.

the CSD soon made an announcement as she had been given grief from some passengers about the lack of food, she explained that the main service would take 40 minutes to cook and then serve and was of course not happy to serve this as if and when problem fixed would end up unable to depart if service not complete.

A few minutes later she announced that they were going to serve the second food service to all passengers. Those of us who were lucky enough not to be sat in cattle class were given the delightful CW afternoon tea on the Ghana route consisting of 3 finger sandwiches and a mini cup cake.

so time is ticking on, the Captain tells us that Accra have granted an extension to the closure and we have until midnight to arrive............

at 5.30pm the engine covers are still open and I am losing the will to live. I already accept that we are very unlikely to depart today and of course it will take some considerable time to sort everything and get us off the aircraft and back to land side etc so we are still in for a long wait.

at about 5.50pm the engine cover is closed, the captain tells us that all is well, he is just going t run the engine and is still planning for us to fly that day..........5.55pm, we push back, taxi and take off at 6.10pm

Once airborne the crew swing into action again offering the main service and bar rounds, lunch has turned into dinner and I eat my meal and enjoy a few drinks.

The crew finish the service and take their breaks in rotation as usual, (remember the crew have now been onboard for about 7 hours). The poor crew members on second break keep working and being visible, lots of offers of more drinks and reminders that the Club kitchen is available to us,

we landed at 11.58pm with just 2 minutes before the airfield was due to close. As one member of the cabin crew sais, 'suddenly an Accra has turned into a Sydney'

After all of this I cant praise the crew enough, they dealt with all the demands by passengers in a totally professional manner, the family of 4 who claimed that they had ordered a special meal on the web site for them all as they only ate raw food. (no, I cant find that option on the website either), the number of people who had life changing meetings within seconds of scheduled arrival time in Accra and of course many of the passengers who were going to die if they didn't get fed as due to having travelled by Camel train for months to get to LHR had not eaten or drunk since there was a king on the British Throne.

My business partner did at least accept he was glad he was not sitting in a Y seat for such a long wait and I have sent an email to BA asking them to congratulate the crew.

I did not do this by a 'well done' I asked to CSD for her card and the email address of her boss. I have received a reply to my email saying that he would ensure that the whole flight and cabin crew got recognition for going beyond the call of duty

To Fly to Serve taken to extreme, well done to the crew, you were great