Heading Home.
After a week we are ‘well chill’ and rather reluctant to leave. The Travel Gods smiled upon us at OLCI time, as the hotel’s Internet Server decided to work for a while (Internet was extremely unreliable, and the hotel’s WiFi didn’t reach our Cottage). Having previously selected 12A/B for the return, we were not surprised to find that BA had changed the aircraft
again [this time to a 777-200ER, 40J, G-VIIP], moving our seats in the process. Aaargggh! Fortunately we were able to move ourselves during OLCI to 4J/K, the rear bulkhead in the forward J cabin, thus ensuring aisle access for My Lady.
Our ground transfer is already arranged, with the pick-up 3 hours before our scheduled flight departure. We enjoyed the benefit of a late check-out: with the transfer at 1600, that was ‘no problem’, so we packed and enjoyed a last leisurely lunch having asked Reception to convey our cases to wherever they needed to be. With fond farewells to several of the staff, we made our way down to the ‘bus shelter’ by the car park, where sure enough our minibus was waiting. And off we go, on the slow journey back to the airport. As I noted earlier, Antigua doesn’t do roads terribly well. Often narrow, with numerous potholes, and even the ‘good bits’ are very bumpy. Basically, regardless of speed limits, 20-30mph is about the best you can do. Anyway, we made it safely to the shiny Terminal, and proceeded to Bag Drop (BA was Desks 6-12, IIRC). As we waited for service in the ‘priority’ line, another Agent opened a desk and waved us over. What a charming lady! We were bag-tagged and issued with our boarding passes through to JER, and given our Lounge access tickets, and headed upstairs to Immigration [where we were attended to by a surly and silent woman with a featureless expression] and on to an almost empty Security. There I had my disposable cigarette lighter confiscated … this seems endemic in the Caribbean, for some reason.
Departures, as seen from the upper level by Documents Check, Immigration and Security ...
Reaching air-side, we headed for Duty Free [to the right] where we were delighted to discover they had our favourite cigarette brand on sale [yay!] at just USD 20 for 200 [about 15% of the price we pay at home].
And then we headed for the Lounge. At this point I was about to take a photo for this TR to show the way, only for the viewfinder to be filled by a policeman waving his arms frantically. It seems photos are NOT allowed (too late, Officer, I've already taken some!). OK, turn left after Security, and the Lounge door is at the far end on the right
http://www.vcbia.com/relax/the-executive-lounge
Comfortable enough seating, but hardly any power points at all [I found just 2]. The outside deck is very nice too [although sadly non-smoking!], although I wonder how the furnishings will cope with the weather. The food offering was minimal in the extreme. We did not bother to use the serviced bar, as we only had a short time to wait before our BA PDB
Wed 21 Jun 17
BA2256, B777-200, 1850 ANU-LGW 0745, CW seats 4J/K
The Lounge staff announced that boarding was starting, so we set off for Gate 3 to find proceedings were already proceeding for CW and priority pax. With no perceptible delay, we were off down the airbridge and seated in 4J/K with a refreshing glass of bubbly. Seat 4G, across the aisle from me, remained empty so I acquired a certain sense of space and privacy, especially once the occupant of 3F put his screen up..
As the CC bustled around getting ready for departure, it was clear that on this occasion we had drawn a really good crew. Charming, cheerful, efficient and really nice! Whether that was partly due to the influence of the CSD [SCCM, or whatever] I don’t know, but he was charm and efficiency personified as well. Cheers, Christopher!
Food. No Trip Report is complete without the photos of the in-flight food, so here we go:
Tasty Prosciutto with pickled Bosc pear …
Perfectly reasonable Chicken (similar to the outbound, but with a different sauce!) …
Tasty little dessert …
After which, following a glass of Port, I grabbed a couple of hours sleep
We declined Breakfast, having no great enthusiasm for the BA Bacon Roll, and in any case food will be available in the Lounge at LGW. So, inevitably, it was
“Bonjour Gatwique” at some unearthly hour (0730?) … with a completely painless Border experience [and another set of e-Passport gates ready to come on-line], we hopped ‘kerb-side’ for a <cough x 2> before re-entering the Terminal. “Premium Gatwick” was as quick and convenient as ever, and we made our way to the BA FLounge [with both lifts working this time].
A bite of English Breakfast in the FLounge [yay, Black Pudding!], and watch the pretty aeroplanes and baggage carts … and look! Here comes some Weather! I was too idle/tired to take a photo of the West end of LGW being deluged with water, while our [East] end was still dry … memories of Singapore, and highly localised downpours. Anyway, there were some serious lightning ground strikes as the storm cell made its way across the airport, and operations seemed to come to a halt. Several aircraft were holding near the 28 threshold, another bunch taxying in and holding on the secondary runway having nowhere to go … the stands were presumably blocked with “No, I’m not pushing back yet, in these conditions.” I suspect ATC was having a torrid time.
The delays ticked on, but eventually …
Thu 22 Jun 17
BA2772, A319, 1210 LGW-JER 1315, CE seats 2D/F
… it was later than that [after rolling delays, nearer 1300], as we eventually made our way to the announced Gate 20… which was rammed with pax for a RyanAir flight to Alicante [where else?]. We explored the Terminal spine to the end, and eventually found a BA Gate Agent who made a couple of calls and explained, “Yes, once they are out of the way, you will use that gate and be bussed to your aircraft, which is on a remote stand.” And so it was, albeit somewhat chaotically. Back at Gate 20 we joined the back of the new BA queue, were processed, and eventually boarded the Gatwick Tour Bus Company. From under Gate 20, we returned to the heart of LGW(S), went round a roundabout, and travelled back under Gate 20 and into the distance … where the driver found our aircraft, almost alone and certainly forlorn, parked behind the main Fire Station as it had nowhere to go during the storm. A suitable place to hide that scruffy “Dove”, G-DBCD.
Whichever, we boarded, seated, taxied and received the Safety Brief … with the CSD up front being about as disinterested in the chorus as I’ve ever seen. Not good, Ma’am.
And up and away [I’m sure I can find the exact times somewhere] for the quick hop home to JER. Were we fed in CE? Yes, and there was a choice!! Salmon Salad [that's a surprise] or … oh,
Le Croque Monsieur! Not come across that one before, and it wasn’t too bad either! We saved the chocolate pots for when we got home!
By now I/we just wanted to get home and rescue The Cat from her temporary prison cell. Happily JER Arrivals/Reclaim was a breeze, and amazingly [about the first time ever at JER!] our bags were amongst the first on the belt … so outside, TAXI!, and home. A quick ciggie, rescue The Cat, and … collapse. That was quite a long day, from getting up at COCOS to getting home. Still, it remains a privilege to be able to do this sort of thing in CE/CW, thanks to BA Holidays and, of course, all the advice gleaned from Flyertalk. Thanks, folks ^
………
Reflections.
Hotel. It was a booking on a whim, with the temptation of a nice little spell of sunshine at a decent price thanks to BA Holidays. Having made the booking, we did spend some more time researching, and decided that we would set our expectations fairly low [just in case]. As it transpired, we were well pleased with the destination and had very few negative feelings. We would probably do it again, if the price was right.
ba.com. As ever, it was a pain. The initial booking was easy, but the bug with the seat map in MMB was extremely frustrating and almost negated our ability to choose seats. However, our 360 Tier Points posted promptly, and the trip earned in various ways 49,765 Avios
BA. OK, we’re not fans of BA’s 777-200ER in CW for various well-discussed reasons elsewhere on FT. But if you’re flying BA to the Caribbean, you have no choice. And then it’s the LGW airframe lottery, with the options of: 4-class with 48J, 3-class with 48J or 3-class with 40J. Whilst the 4-class ‘tend’ to be route specific, any of the 3 options can be allocated to your route if BA’s circumstances dictate. As noted earlier, we had a 4-class outbound, with F being used as J for some lucky people, and the return was initially a 3-class 48J which apparently changed to a 40J. We were lucky to be able to get ‘rear-bulkhead’ seats, with aisle access from the window seat, on both legs.
Cabin Crew. The usual mix of characters, some good and some less good. However, in this case, I would rate the long-haul crews as ‘Good’ outbound and ‘Very Good’ inbound.
In-Flight Catering. Nothing to complain about, really, which makes a change! It’s airline food, when all’s said and done, and on this occasion slightly better than recent BA experiences.
Baggage. Undamaged, and promptly delivered at both ANU and JER. A rather good experience on this occasion!
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Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.
Next trip is OGG, starting in 44 days' time