All good things must come to an end and so it is with a little sadness that I post the last of my updates to my RTW adventure.

It was another tumultuous week for travel ex the UK with fog delays day after day wreaking havoc with BA flights out of LHR. I kept an eye on the departure time of my flight the couple of days prior to my flight to get a feel for what I might be up against. On the Wednesday prior to my departure BA.com reported push back 10 minutes late. Thursday it was up to 1 hour late.

Friday was a half day at work given it was the final work day prior to Christmas. This worked out perfectly for me as my flight was due out at 16:20

I was able to take my gear to work and then leave from there to go to LHR.
I caught the tube to Paddington and then the Heathrow Express to LHR T4. I felt a sense of déjà vu at Paddington as the HEX was running on half hour slots again because of some problem on the line. If you recall I had a similar experience in April on the HEX.

I walked out of the elevator at T4 expecting to find a zoo and although it was very crowded in the check-in area it was passable. I expect this is because BAA and BA were keeping some pax outside until there flight was available for check-in.

I walked over to the First check-in area and there was a queue of around 10 people. All desks were manned and my wait was not too long. As I handed over my passport and was digging out my last ticket coupon I realised I didn’t have it validated with the date at the ticket desk and it still said open dated on it. I mentioned this to the check-in agent and she said not to worry about it. I said thanks as I didn’t fancy attempting to get to the ticket desk with all the cancellations and flight chaos that was in its third day now.

After I thanked the agent I walked away with BP in hand and headed for security. The Fast Track lane was being fiercely monitored by two BAA staffers. I showed the guy my tacky black and white BP that BA seem to be issuing these days and the he waived me on through. The queue was long but not the longest I had seen at Fast Track. I think I was done and dusted in around 10 minutes or so and then I proceeded to the BA lounge pavilion. I showed my BP to the dragon master who allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the Concorde Room. This room is only available to BA Premier card holders and passengers travelling in First class.
The lounge was not too crowded at this time, which was around 14:15. I found a seat by the window and dropped my jacket and bag. I then went to the bar to get a glass of bubbly. Unfortunately the CR at LHR seems to be lacking in serving staff that actually serve you and it is necessary to go fetch for yourself whatever it is you need. I asked for my champagne and out came the dreaded Monopole muck that BA are currently serving in their Club World (business class) cabin. Oh dear it seems standards at BA just keep dropping. Such a shame as I hear it used to be a world class airline. I peered out into the murk that had enveloped Heathrow for a while whilst sipping my champagne.

I decided to grab a bite to eat and wandered into the restaurant portion of the lounge. I ordered some freshly made risotto. Other options included soup, pasta and sandwiches.
My risotto was very tasty although not that visually appealing.
After my repast I headed out of the lounge to go for a walk and do some window shopping.

On arrival back at the lounge it was a lot busier with a lot of people with children having descended on the place. I headed to a quiet (i.e. no children) part of the lounge and grabbed myself a glass of JW Blue. At least BA haven’t downgraded that yet. I had been keeping an eye on my flight on the monitors and it finally showed the go to gate message at exactly one hour after the flight was due to leave. A half hour or so later the flight was called and I headed down the long walk to the gate which was in the Victor stand at T4.
When I arrived BA were being their usual efficient selves and were not offering a dedicated line for Business and First passenger so I joined the end of one of the queues. The guy in front of me got an op-up to Business. It always seems to be the guy in front of me and never me. Well this time I didn’t need the op-up as I was already in possession of a BP with 1A printed on it.

Flight BA155 LHR-CAI Seat 1A
Departure time: 16:20
Date: December 22, 2006
Aircraft: 747-400

I was greeted at the door by the CSD who told me to turn left and one of his colleagues would be with me shortly. I made my way to seat 1A

My jacket was taken; Champagne and macadamia nuts were placed at my seat and the amenity kits and menus were handed out.
None of the crew introduced themselves to me and I don’t think I saw the CSD for the rest of the flight. How different this flight was compared to my first in this trip on the reverse route.

The menu was as follows:

DINNER

STARTERS

Lobster, mango and pink grapefruit salad with honey and coriander dressing

Meze plate

White bean and oregano soup with truffle oil and fresh herb croutons

Fresh salad leaves with your choice of Roquefort cheese and pine nut dressing or spiced lemon and soy dressing

MAIN

Grilled fillet of beef with grilled marinated courgettes, foie gras crouton and Anna potatoes

Catch of the Day – Please ask your crew for details of today’s fresh fish selection served with your choice of watercress sauce or red pepper citrus coulis, seasonal vegetables and parsley potatoes

Vineet Bhatia’s chicken in green masala, green pea and cumin rice with stir-fried asparagus and enoki mushrooms

Main course Greek salad with herb dressing

DESSERT

Michel Roux’s blancmange with roast pineapple

Warm treacle tart with vanilla ice cream

CHEESE PLATE

Coastal Cheddar
Cashel Blue
Tornegus

A basket of fresh fruit

SNACKS

Warm chicken sandwich with mushrooms and Swiss cheese

Penne pasta with your choice of char-grilled red pepper sauce or porcini mushroom and Parmesan cheese sauce served with garlic herb croûte

Duchy of Cornwall biscuits

A selection of cheese and fruit


WINE LIST

CHAMPAGNE

Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires 1995

WHITE WINE

Meursault Le Limozin 2004, Vincent Girardin

Pouilly-Fumé Cuvée Marjoram 2000, Michel Redde et Fils

Radford Dale Chardonnay 2004, Stellenbosch

RED WINE

Chateau Léoville-Poyferré 1995, Grand Cru Classé Saint-Julien

Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir 2005, Santa Lucia Highlands

Simsong Tiara 2000, Stellenbosch


DESSERT WINE

Clos Labère 1999, Sauternes

Warre’s 1988 Colheita Port


As we were settling in the captain came on the horn and informed us that there would be a one and half hour delay from our original departure time to our take off slot coming around.
At this point I heard the noise most dreaded; baby on board in F. I turned around and noticed a family in row 5 with a toddler and a baby. The F cabin was full, as was the entire plane as the check-in agent had informed me that they were oversold on this flight. The FA came to take my order and I asked what the catch of the day was. She replied that she didn't know as the caterer had run off before she had a chance to ask and it was not lablelled. Well done BA nice new treat for us in First but poorly executed. Hmm sounds familiar.

The CSD put the BBC news on the entertainment system to “keep us amused during the wait”. A few glasses of champagne and a little more informed on world events the captain informed us we had been given clearance to push back. There was slight hitch though (pun intended) in that we had no tug to push us back. Thank you BAA for yet again stuffing up my travel experience. Around 20 minutes later, exactly two hours late, we start to push back and head out to the runway. There was no further delay and we were soon pushing back the clouds that lingered across the runway.

After takeoff more bubbles and some appetisers were delivered and devoured by yours truly. I had a glance at the First selection of movies but nothing really stood out. I then noticed that The Queen was playing on the normal IFE and decided that might be worth a watch.
Our flight time was only 4 hours and 35 minutes so only one movie could be viewed during this relatively short flight.
As I was settling into the movie my Meze plate arrived which had been recommended by someone in an earlier post in this thread. The bread basket also did the rounds at this time. I did enjoy the meze very much as I continued to wash it down with bubbly.
Next up on my chosen menu was the soup which was very delicious indeed. I am rather partial to soups of all types and they seem to travel well. Perhaps I enjoyed this one a little too much? I switched over to the Pouilly-Fumé during the soup course which was quite lovely indeed.
Next up was the chicken in green masala which was quite nice but nothing to rave about.
I finished up with the Warm Treacle tart which somehow managed to escape without having it’s picture taken. Last on the list I devoured a praline and a cup of cappuccino.

As we approached Cairo the captain came on again and told us we would over fly the pyramids on our way in. Unfortunately they were not lit up at this hour of night and I just caught a glimpse of the side of one of the beauties in the moonlight.

We landed two hours late at 01:05 on the 23rd. I quickly disembarked and was met by my hotel representative who escorted me through the visa purchasing and passport control procedures. He then left me in the hands of a driver who was to take me into downtown Cairo.

So there you have it 66472 miles, the majority of which was seated in First. I am now spoilt for life and already craving my next first experience. Who knows when that will be or from where it will start. But you can be sure it will happen as it is under my skin like a disease I can’t shake.

I thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip as I can assure you I thoroughly enjoyed being the central character in this tome.

Happy and safe flying to you all.