FLT 730 – PHL – LGW
Coach – A330

I arrived at the airport about 2.5 hours prior to departure, mostly to enjoy the Envoy lounge. There were two TAs in the Envoy check-in line, one of whom was taking care of two guys having all kinds of problems, so the other was left to handle about a dozen of us in line. I think the coach line was moving faster, but I couldn’t have been waiting for more than 10 minutes. No big deal. Get my boarding pass and up the escalator to security. Another 10 minutes and I’m through. TSA is quiet and orderly.

Up to the Envoy lounge and as previously (and often) reported, it’s pretty darn nice. Now, it’s been 7 years since my last trip to the Envoy lounge (back when it was in the lower level of what is now A-East). The space is much better, but the food much…cheaper (back then it was peel-and-eat shrimp and crab claws…this time it was lunch meat). Free beer and wine on one side of the lounge and a full service bar way on the other side. But the beer was free so I took advantage of putting away a few so I could sleep easier on the flight over.

Frequent announcements were made in the lounge about other European destinations. About a third were on-time boarding announcements, the rest were either cabin cleaning or maintenance delays. The weather was pretty overcast so there were a couple of waiting-for-connecting-flight delays, too. But the announcement for flight 730 occurred pretty much when I expected it and I made my way down to the gate. Zones were boarded in order and the process seemed very orderly.

I’m in coach and have a bulkhead seat which exactly met my expectations. I had previously asked about differences in pitch between the two different halves of the coach (according to seatguru) cabin and it looked like the pitch was the same on this flight. There is someone on the other aisle in my row, but the two middle seats are empty (actually, one of the FAs quietly noted that I should move over because there were other people eyeing the two middle seats…so I did. I moved back over after take off.)

IFE worked just fine. Dinner was a choice of pasta and something else. The pasta was pretty bad, but it was enough. The FAs came by plenty of times for drinks, but weren’t annoying as this was a red-eye. There was also an announcement about duty-free, but I must have slept through them pushing the cart through the cabin.

About an hour prior to landing, we got the arrival donut (which I actually liked) and a UK immigration card (I think that was the form). We must have had the gate furthest from immigration because we walked forever and numerous other flights were piling out of gates in front of us. Immigration took close to 60 minutes!

IFE (10 out of 10…good selection of movies I wanted to see and it worked the whole time)
Food (3 out of 10…pasta was horrible, but the quantity was fine...glad I took advantage of the club)
Service (8 out of 10)
Comfort (7 out of 10…the seats were a little more narrow than I expected, but I used extra blankets and pillows to give some lumbar support...having an empty seat next to me was a big plus.)


FLT 731 – LGW – PHL
Coach – A330

I kept an eye on my seat assignment for a couple of days prior to departure waiting to see if anything awesome would open up (I know better than an op-up, but let’s see what else is out there). Found I’d lost my bulkhead aisle (!) so I spent the next few days bouncing around the cabin seatmap before settling for an empty aisle near the back.

Arrive at LGW about 2.5 hours prior to departure and ask the nice lady in the Envoy line if there is a bulkhead aisle available. Lo-and-behold, I get my original seat back! (I think US wanted this row go out empty.)

Make my way to the LGW club. As this was my first time, I took the not-so-scenic route…down a hallway, up some stairs, down another hallway, through a door, up some more stairs…2 minutes later I’ve made it. There’s got to be a faster route. The guy trying in front of me trying to check in is having trouble, but it turns out he’s *Silver (not *Gold). I thought about guesting him in but he complained that “they downgraded” his status so I decided against it (due to his meaningless complaint). Not sure if I did the right thing but I’m not losing sleep over it. Anyway, this is a pretty nice lounge, too. Not the PHL Envoy lounge, but still nice. And the food was a little better.

I didn’t wait for a boarding announcement in the club so I made my way to the gate (23). Quite a hike. Gate area was very crowded and boarding was a little of a mess; I had to maneuver my way to the front as a Zone 1. The FA greeting the flight onboard was a little snippy about asking my seat (trust me, I know where my seat is). I was a little worried about service on this flight, but soon realized this was unfounded.

IFE worked fine, but I had to prop the plug for my headphones up with a blanket in order to get both ears to work. Same selection of movies as on the way over. Seat was just as comfortable (after propping with pillows and blankets).

FAs were almost constantly up and down the aisles checking on people and offering drinks, but without being annoying or obtrusive. Food selections this time were chicken-and-veggies or a tortellini dish. With some hesitation, I choose the pasta again but realized quickly it was the right choice. A little heavy, but fine.

About an hour prior to landing, mini sandwiches were handed out. Another long walk to CBP. I, of course, picked the slowest line. By the time I got through CBP, my luggage had already been taken off the conveyor belt. A quick walk through immigration and I was on my way home.

IFE (8 out of 10…knocked back a bit due to the plug issue)
Food (7 out of 10…much better this time, quantity was fine...glad I took advantage of the club)
Service (8 out of 10)
Comfort (7 out of 10…the seats were a little more narrow than I expected, but I used extra blankets and pillows to give some lumbar support...again, having an empty seat next to me was a big plus.))


Unfortunately, the 757 is taking over this route in September, so that’s gonna stink. But overall, this wasn’t a bad way to go. I think the opportunity to use the PHL and LGW lounges helped the overall experience.

Photos will be posted later.