Route: Washington Dulles - London Heathrow Terminal 4
Airline: British Airways
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Seat: 62K (Club World/Business Class)
Duration: 6hrs 40mins
Date: Sunday 3rd April 2005
As per the routine for all my BA flights I checked in the night before, this time from my hotel in Annapolis, the walk back made somewhat treacherous by the relentless storms of that night although I did make it back in time for the 24hr deadline and managed to once again reserve 62K before heading back into town.
I made a prompt arrival at the airport approximately 90 minutes before the 9.55pm scheduled departure giving me time to quickly change my clothing. The small queuing line for World Traveller was swamped with people while the domain of red and blue carpet was nicely empty and I felt like a bit of a prat standing alone while about 200 people fought over floorspace no bigger than a postage stamp. Within about 30seconds the agent at the First desk became free and checked my bag although was asked if I could take it to the gentleman standing about 30feet away from me. I didn't realise part of the Club World experience was doing my own baggage handling but I complied with her request. Sadly the foil sticker on my tag probably meant it was destined to be opened away from my sight / destroyed / sent to Kalamazoo or some other fate worse than death. Fortunately the agent asked if it was locked and promptly scanned the bag before I saw it wheeled off, I thought never to be seen again. I presume bags with 'suspicious' contents are opened in presence of the owner.
I took my place in the extremely long security line, somewhat reluctantly having been spoiled in the UK with a usual landside to airside transition of no more than a couple of minutes, and having had the same easy passage previously at Dulles on United. Having flown out of Dulles some months back at a similar time on a Sunday I was surprised how many people were flying alongside me that evening and it took perhaps fifteen minutes to pass through security and see the (relatively) new installation of infrastructure to support the tunnel to Concourse B. However, flying out of Concourse D I would experience the utter joy of riding the mobile lounge. Whenever I board one of these things I utter to myself how stupid the person was whose idea to have these as an integral part of the airport! After waiting onboard for several minutes we pulled away about three feet before having to yield to a small crowd of aircraft As soon as the lounge pulled up I stepped off although was caught behind a melee of dawdling passengers with huge rollaboards that traversed the entire walkway One of my pet hates! I soon left the corridor and installed myself in the British Airways lounge, warmly welcomed by the lounge attendant I was directed to the First Class area along with the other Club World passengers. At this moment BA are refurbishing the Dulles lounge in order to allow pre-flight dining for Club World Sleeper Service although as I was informed by Amanda from Special Services this means only 50 people can get into the lounge! As a result only those ticketed in First and Club World would be admitted entry with others being sent to the United Red Carpet Club (erk!) or the Admirals Club (never been).
The lounge itself was well appointed and nicely furnished, much akin to other First lounges I have visited although as you can see from my pictures definitely not fit for 50 people!
British Airways First lounge at Dulles
Gourmet sandwiches were on offer along with salads and the usual lashings of alcohol. I settled for a couple of Amstel lights and an attendant was on hand making passes round the lounge clearing away the clutter. Unfortunately the relatively small confines of the lounge meant everyone elses conversation could be heard, this usually means I get to hear the latest from the 'Sloanes' on Henrietta's marvellous new daughter and some American making a pointless call 'FROM THE BA VIP LOUNGE' (in his case Very Irritating Prick). Sadly despite this being only the third day of the month the numbers of the latest edition of Business Traveller magazine totalled a magnificent one and this was tea stained, bent and all stuck together although I fought my way through it with the philosophy tea stained, bent and stuck together was better than Tatler or the Daily Mail!
A boarding annoucement was made in the lounge at approximately 9.20pm and we were informed that a Fast Track boarding line would be made for us. I was one of the first few out of the lounge as others stayed to knock back the paintstripper wine although I preferred to knock back paintstripper onboard! There was a BA employee close to one of the check in desks who recognised the flocks leaving the lounge and told us to follow him round behind some desks and to the front of the boarding line. A small child fell victim to my prioritised boarding although the agent had no qualms about this! As I boarded the aircraft I was directed to upstairs to my seat and welcomed by the upper deck purser and FA.
People began to board as I got my pre-take off essentials out, some newbies by the looks of them as they couldn't figure out where they were sitting and then made a right hash of getting into the window seat! As I checked whether this seat was also broken (see my outbound flight) I found some loose upholstery on the cushion which would cause a headache while leaning back to watch movies and the like. A little bit of fiddling managed to sort it though and before long Gary was serving the pre-flight champagne. The menus and washbags were passed round the cabin and we commenced pushed back a little behind schedule although with a fair few empty seats upstairs. The taxi seemed to last an absolute age and the dark combined with alcohol made me rather disorientated so had no clue which way I was going! Hopefully London bound!
A first proper drinks round was made and pre-flight paintstripper champers in Club Europe glass was replaced with a healthy, higher capacity glass of Kir Royale The orders for the evening meal were taken and despite having a three course dinner before arriving at the airport a healthy dose of alcohol had relighted my appetite.
_______________________
STARTER
Mozzarella cheese, sun-blushed tomatoes and grilled artichokes dressed with peppered olive oil
MAIN
Grilled fillet steak with Madeira sauce, green beans, baby carrots and potatoes au gratin
Asparagus tortelli tossed in alfredo sauce topped with grated Parmesan cheese
Seared citrus salmon on fire-roasted pepper sauce, sauteed spinach and saffron rice
GOODNIGHT EXPRESS
Warm olive oil bread filled with shaved beef and caramelised onions
DESSERT
Key lime pie
Westcombe Cheddar and Danish Blue cheese
_______________________
With the news of the Pope's death I was quite keen to see some of the news for once having spent Saturday afternoon and evening on a pub crawl around Annapolis playing Keno Although the day BA introduce AVOD will make my flights enjoyable not having to wait for all the Well Being nonsense to end, sadly on this flight the skymap wasn't functioning You don't realise how much you use that until it is unavailable! Ideally on night flights I'd like to watch a film right from the off and have dinner towards the end of the movie allowing me to get some shuteye as opposed to get three hours into an already short flight before doing so! Anyways I digress....
The movies were just getting going or about 15mins in when the first course was brought around (I can't remember was too drunk... don't do it kids ) I was offered a fresh glass to accompany my meal and opted for the Pouilly-Fuisse I'd had on the way out. Even came with a reply of 'the educated person's wine, Mr Davidson'...whatever that means!?!? I was slightly bemused to see my dessert already sitting alongside my starter although just chowed down making sure not to dive into it a course or two early!
Mozzarella cheese, sun-blushed tomatoes and grilled artichokes dressed with peppered olive oil
Grilled fillet steak with Madeira sauce, green beans, baby carrots and potatoes au gratin
The salad and starter once again were superb, I just love that dressing for some reason and am a real sucker for Mozzarella cheese and sun-blushed/dried/bleached/(insert uber cool cooking process here) tomatoes so that was a winner. Sadly none of the mains really set my heart on fire so I opted for the best of a bad bunch, steak, this time without wilted spinach and potatoes fondantes (Hello Flyertalkers ). The steak itself was a little small and surrounded by masses of green beans although alcohol had really begun to set in so I ate the lot! Key lime pie would have been good too had it not been for the fact my girlfriend makes a spectacular key lime pie that we eat throughout the week so it didn't compare!
I sat back with my food and watched Oceans Twelve, the new months movies not getting me too excited although I didn't feel tired enough to go to bed. Fuelling myself with more and more alcohol didn't seem to help either! Although the movie was great I am sure my fourth and fifth glass of Pouilly-Fuisse just made it confusing towards the end!
As the credits rolled I took a walk down to the back of the aircraft although turbulence interrupted my tour and as I stood up to put my bed down and lay a blanket on top I got a minor ear bending from the purser for not getting in and buckling up. I seemed to nod off pretty easily and woke up startled some hours later when I heard the words 'an American 777 close off to the starboard side'. I lifted the shade off the coast of Southern Ireland to see a gleaming American 777 in the sun very close by.
The privacy of seat 62K. The only person who can just glance at you (and with difficulty is the person in 63A
________________________
***BREAKFAST***
STARTERS
Chilled orange juice and ruby grapefruit juice
An energising fruit smoothie
Fresh seasonal fruit
or
Cereals with chilled milk
BAKERY
Warm bacon roll with tomato ketchup
Selection of warm breads and breakfast pastries
DRINKS
Ground coffee, decaffeinated ground coffee or tea
Selection of herbal teas - peppermint, blackcurrant, apple or camomile and honey
_______________________
I chose to skip the breakfast as I feared for my teeth on the rock-hard bacon roll although did pop quickly to the galley and ask for the rather good energizing smoothie. Although I appeared to have startled to the attendant who promptly threw the contents of the bar on the floor of the galley!
Energizing smoothie. Note the nice amount of shelf space. There is also a cupboard underneath this
I took a walk down to the back of the aircraft and went to the bathroom to freshen up and prepare myself for landing. I headed back to my seat for what seemed like a never ending descent through thick cloud.
Seats 62A and 62B showing the facing configuration that the seats in BA Club World all have
I hoped for bright sunshine which we had seen over Ireland although as we popped through the clouds over West London the trademarks streaks of rain over the windows that welcome you to the UK distorted my view. Fortunately we landed on the southern runway and were only a short taxi to Terminal 4 and a stand was ready for us! The immigration point was a short walk from the gate and lines so short that Fast Track option wasn't required, although when you have checked luggage it doesn't matter how fast you go through the terminal you still have to wait eons for your cases.....as I found out....again! I took this time to organise my travel arrangements home, although I could have translated the Bible into Esperanto and still had time left to go to the bathroom. About 30mins later my bag arrives as I curse the fact I can't travel light! Then I remember I am grateful my bag made it to London at all after seeing it being wheeled into the depths of Dulles on the back of a trolley some 8hours previous, and it was unmolested!
With some time on my hands I proceeded to the BA Arrivals Lounge, a blessing for business folks arriving at 5am from HKG and cheapskate students like me who can never turn down a cooked breakfast....or a massage...or a shower! I went for my massage in the chair, very relaxing and effective before taking a shower and getting a cooked breakfast. The lounge was empty as this time and meant I could take a couple of photos without embarassing myself!
Arrivals Lounge in Terminal 4
I took another 15mins or so to check my email, unattended for a weekend and more before a call was made for me. My lift had arrived and left only another 45 of 3800 miles to go.
Once again, like the outbound a really solid flight, with the exception of the wait for checked luggage and the refurbished lounge although BA provide adequate facilities.