15/09/14 AA24 SFO-JFK 767-300 (First)
Scheduled Departure: 0700 (PST)
Actual Departure: 0654 (PST)
Wheels Up: 0710 (PST)
Wheels Down: 1605 (EST)
On Stand: 1612 (EST)
We had a fabulous time out on the west coast, down to Monterey and the Big Sur and then the weekend in San Francisco. It was however a very early start to the airport, we took the BART which was very seamless and there were hardly any queues at SFO check in.
The AAgent at the Premium Check in remarked that she’d never heard of London City airport and I told her a little bit about it, once the baggage was checked we had a little time in the Admirals Club which was very pleasant.
Boarding was prompt and efficient (note why can’t BA follow AA’s example) and we settled into the bulkhead row for our trip East. I have to say I found the 763 seats very comfortable indeed and the two class flight overall exceeded my expectations.
Breakfast was a very pleasant oatmeal and fruit, delicious and certainly hit the spot. The AA crew worked pretty hard preparing all the meals for a full first class cabin. I also enjoyed the milk and cookie and needed it after watching the (very emotional) film Delivery Man!
The Captain came on the PA about forty minutes out of JFK to announce that the weather was very poor on the North East seaboard and we’d be heading into a holding pattern. After holding for about 35 minutes he made another announcement saying we were low on fuel and needed to route to IAD! My brain went into overdrive at this point thinking of how we could possibly reroute home and the fact that it was likely that we would have missed BA002 out of JFK. There was no wifi on the flight which meant I couldn’t even have a look at the flightstats loadings out of IAD to LHR for the night!
However, we were very lucky and the Captain came back on the PA saying we were going for JFK after all – but what a landing, he did well to get the aeroplane down in pretty severe turbulence, we hit the tarmac hard.
15/09/14 BA002 JFK-LCY A318
Scheduled Departure: 1900 (EST)
Actual Departure: 1943 (EST)
Wheels Up: 2013 (PST)
Wheels Down: 0738 (BST)
On Stand: 0741 (BST)
After clearing a fairly calm immigration we made our way to the lounge and were waved into the Flounge. I noticed that an earlier IB departure to Madrid was late due the inbound aircraft being diverted, so lucky we made it in so kudos to the AA pilot on the 763.
Pre-flight dining was delicious, pasta, some salmon and some rib – just what I needed. Mrs Our_Kid found a lovely Single Estate Merlot in the Flounge and I had a glass before heading to the gate.
The experience on the A318 was excellent, the seats were fantastic – what a great hard product. The Captain announced the flight as Speedbird 2 which I thought was pretty cool. In the end he came out of the flight deck to say hello to all (12) passengers as the starboard engine was having some maintenance and our departure would be delayed. He was called Gavin and was very talkative to myself and Mrs Our_Kid – I remarked it was our first time on the Baby Bus and I was looking forward to it.
Foot shot!
Poor conditions at JFK:
It was a great flight, very personal service and I must have had at least six hours sleep. I woke up with about forty minutes to landing and had a small breakfast and juice and then freshened up. It was a good approach into LCY and I managed to take a couple of good photos.
Without question I can understand why this flight is so highly rated, it’s a unique experience and the crew work hard to make it special. I loved it and am looking forward to my next ride on the Baby Bus in August.
Hello London!
Overall Thoughts of the Inbound
The 763 was a really good flight, personally I think the wide bodied aeroplane worked better and managed the turbulence a lot better than the 321T. The 321T seating (at least in the bulkhead) to me seemed a little claustrophobic now and it seemed a long way from the window.
Blankets and pillows were better on AA than BA – that spindly CW blanket is poor compared to the fluffy duvets on AA! The amenity kits were on a par with each other.
CWLCY was fantastic – really really good – I am going to ensure that at least my Eastbound travel takes that service now.
I hope you enjoyed the report and thank you for reading and to everyone on the FT Board who have shared their knowledge! I also agree with
corporate-wage-slave 747 UD and the 318 are the places to be on the TATL!
Our_Kid