London to NY in J - LCY or LHR?
Jan 14, 2012, 10:00 am
#32
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
Wow, i took the lcy-jfk flight home yesterday afternoon and was really impressed. Usually I fly back to Seattle directly on the 747 but since that leaves kind of early for getting much work done on Friday, I often take the Vancouver flight. For some strange reason the Vancouver flight was fully booked in business class and so I was faced with flying back a day later or going through NY and catching a flight to the west coast the next day. With some work, my TA was able to get LCY-JFK-SEA to price out very reasonably, roughly on par with the LHR-SEA nonstop, so i decided to give it a try.
What a convenience and a blast. The LCY departure is just so easy and relaxed. Onboard, I think there were 12 people on the entire plane, so it was really feeling like a private jet. And as everyone has pointed out, the staff on these flights are brilliant, I wish the business class cabin staff on the 747 SEA/YVR flights could pull it off like this crew. I relaxed and read a book most of the flight, caught a movie on the IPad and was taken care of, refills of beverage without having to go track someone down, etc. But the space is really tranquil, I guess especially so where there are so few passengers! It was a nice way to end a busy week. And the ability to be out at the curb in a few minutes is really unique.
I can't say that connecting in JFK is convenient for me and something I would do as a matter of choice, but I definitely enjoyed this flight far more than the LHR-JFK flight that was my alternate choice on Friday evening (which I have taken several times before). If you are in the NY area, I'd highly recommend this flight.
What a convenience and a blast. The LCY departure is just so easy and relaxed. Onboard, I think there were 12 people on the entire plane, so it was really feeling like a private jet. And as everyone has pointed out, the staff on these flights are brilliant, I wish the business class cabin staff on the 747 SEA/YVR flights could pull it off like this crew. I relaxed and read a book most of the flight, caught a movie on the IPad and was taken care of, refills of beverage without having to go track someone down, etc. But the space is really tranquil, I guess especially so where there are so few passengers! It was a nice way to end a busy week. And the ability to be out at the curb in a few minutes is really unique.
I can't say that connecting in JFK is convenient for me and something I would do as a matter of choice, but I definitely enjoyed this flight far more than the LHR-JFK flight that was my alternate choice on Friday evening (which I have taken several times before). If you are in the NY area, I'd highly recommend this flight.
Jan 15, 2012, 7:48 am
#33
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Northwest NJ
Programs: Starwood Platinum,Marriott Platinum, United Silver
Posts: 2,313
I read somewhere awhile back that there was limited food service on the NY to LCY leg. Does that also hold true for the earlier flight (BA 2)?
We are planning a getaway to Scotland in May/June 2013 and JFK-LCY-EDI seems like a wonderful option. I've loved BA First but also had a good experience with OpenSkies to Paris in the small, Business Class flight and this seems like a great opportunity to try the BA Avios miles - a deal!
Comments? Thanks.
We are planning a getaway to Scotland in May/June 2013 and JFK-LCY-EDI seems like a wonderful option. I've loved BA First but also had a good experience with OpenSkies to Paris in the small, Business Class flight and this seems like a great opportunity to try the BA Avios miles - a deal!
Comments? Thanks.
Jan 15, 2012, 9:16 am
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: From ORK, live LCY
Programs: BA Silver, EI Silver, HH Gold, BW Gold, ABP, Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci
Posts: 14,209
BA2 and BA4 offer dining in the lounge before boarding, with a light snack and nightcap served on board. You can have hot breakfast on board, a takeaway continental breakfast, or take a trip to the Radisson Edwardian New Providence Wharf for breakfast there.
Jan 16, 2012, 1:20 am
#36
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,314
So my current choices for a trip in two weeks time,
- try LCY service as originally planned, connect internally
- F out of LHR and connect internally
How would everyone rate F with LCY? Prices are as near as damnit, F wine is looking good currently and is swaying me from my plan to try LCY....
- try LCY service as originally planned, connect internally
- F out of LHR and connect internally
How would everyone rate F with LCY? Prices are as near as damnit, F wine is looking good currently and is swaying me from my plan to try LCY....
Jan 16, 2012, 1:38 am
#37
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver, EK Silver, ABP ;)
Posts: 1,631
It's Club wine on the LCY route.
The level of CC service is easily comparable with F
No Anya Hindmarch either.
IMHO the quick customs and general lack of other people overrules a few glasses of wine.
The level of CC service is easily comparable with F
No Anya Hindmarch either.
IMHO the quick customs and general lack of other people overrules a few glasses of wine.
Feb 25, 2012, 2:08 pm
#38
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
I just took the JFK-LCY service for the first time, having done the other direction last month. It is so incredibly relaxing, as much as I am a fan of the UD on a 747, the small volume of people on the A318 flight with you, combined with the near instant exit from LCY upon arrival really make this hard to beat.
I needed to be in London first thing in the AM, and the west coast flights don't allow that. So I figured if I had to go through ORD or JFK anyway, I might as well try BA002. I had a bit of a layover from the connecting AA flight (which conveniently had wifi onboard), but used that to eat in the Club lounge and then head over to the F lounge to wait (slightly better gin in the F lounge). As the two widebody flights to LHR are called you see lots of people get up and go to the gate to deal with the crowds. As they called BA002, several of us got up and I realized how relaxing it was to know that there would be a dozen or so of us at Gate 1. Sure enough, 1 pax for every 2 seats. I've never flown on a private jet, I suspect this is the closest I'll get. The way I see it, it's like being on the upper deck, only there is no lower deck to have to deal with!
Although I had already eaten prior to boarding, the service we got was stellar. It's a long taxi at JFK and they actually refilled my drink a couple of times as we rolled around to get ready for takeoff. And then great attention the moment I started to stir in the morning. Contrast this with my return on BA49, where the crew never restocked the Club kitchen- I had to ask for them to pull out more items when I woke up hungry from a nap.
The only downside is having to leave the airport for a shower on arrival. The Radison is convenient for the banking crowd, but my office is near Victoria station and so I realized I might as well just get an early check-in at my hotel as opposed to using this service. I tried it and it was perfectly fine, I probably should have used the train stop across the street instead of the car service they offered, due to traffic at that hour.
I am in the process of planning a trip with my wife from JFK-LHR while we are on the east coast using miles and a 241. We could do F, even book to get new F, but I honestly like the A318 experience so much that I suspect we'll take that and save the miles/taxes.
I needed to be in London first thing in the AM, and the west coast flights don't allow that. So I figured if I had to go through ORD or JFK anyway, I might as well try BA002. I had a bit of a layover from the connecting AA flight (which conveniently had wifi onboard), but used that to eat in the Club lounge and then head over to the F lounge to wait (slightly better gin in the F lounge). As the two widebody flights to LHR are called you see lots of people get up and go to the gate to deal with the crowds. As they called BA002, several of us got up and I realized how relaxing it was to know that there would be a dozen or so of us at Gate 1. Sure enough, 1 pax for every 2 seats. I've never flown on a private jet, I suspect this is the closest I'll get. The way I see it, it's like being on the upper deck, only there is no lower deck to have to deal with!
Although I had already eaten prior to boarding, the service we got was stellar. It's a long taxi at JFK and they actually refilled my drink a couple of times as we rolled around to get ready for takeoff. And then great attention the moment I started to stir in the morning. Contrast this with my return on BA49, where the crew never restocked the Club kitchen- I had to ask for them to pull out more items when I woke up hungry from a nap.
The only downside is having to leave the airport for a shower on arrival. The Radison is convenient for the banking crowd, but my office is near Victoria station and so I realized I might as well just get an early check-in at my hotel as opposed to using this service. I tried it and it was perfectly fine, I probably should have used the train stop across the street instead of the car service they offered, due to traffic at that hour.
I am in the process of planning a trip with my wife from JFK-LHR while we are on the east coast using miles and a 241. We could do F, even book to get new F, but I honestly like the A318 experience so much that I suspect we'll take that and save the miles/taxes.