Mini RTW trip report
Oct 12, 2012, 10:20 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold GL
Posts: 154
Mini RTW trip report
Just completed a quick RTW trip for work in J
LHR - SFO (BA)
SFO - LAX (AA)
LAX - SIN via HKG (CX)
SIN - LHR (BA)
Most of the trip was uneventful - had hand luggage so not lost bag issues - but I thought I would share some of the points I thought might be of interest
LHR CCR
Busy, but got seated immediately in the dining area and great breakfast. Service was swift and professional.
LHR - SFO (BA)
Upper Deck - Flight was great, crew were good and service spot on. However, the Emirates flight into SFO arrives just before the BA one. I was first off the plane (jetty arrived at door 2) and it took around 70 mins to get through immigration. It seems to happen all the time now at SFO with this flight.
SFO - LAX (AA)
Departing from Terminal 2. No one at the F check in, small queue through security. The AA lounge is great, given 2 drink vouchers and free wifi. Short walk to the gate and AA seem to get boarding done really well. F passengers first and then everyone else via group numbers. Seems to work. Pushed back on time and into LAX slightly early
LAX - SIN via HKG (CX)
01:30 flight...
Check in was fully manned. I was waiting in the F queue and one of the check in staff walked down from the economy desks and took me to their desk to check me in.
OW F lounge... I do think they could do something with the food offering here. The lounge is great, but the food just doesn't seem to be right. Maybe it's the limited range and small quantities.
Boarding: We boarded from the new gate (134) they have opened in the new part of the terminal. When TBIT is finished in 2014 this will improve the whole boarding process. It is light, bright and a good standard of finish. We were asked to stand behind boards (which were being held by the gate staff) that said "First" or "Business". I'm not sure why - as the monitors above the doors said the same thing!
On Board: It was the new CX seat on the 777-300 which I have to say is a lot better than the BA Club World seat. Direct access to the aisle, plenty of room, very wide, big TV screen. Great blanket (more of a duvet) but the pillow was a bit of a let down...!
Dinner was good - but actually for the main meal, I think BA just has the edge. The CX side salad was very small - few lettuce leaves and a couple of tomatoes in a small bowl. The main was good and I passed on the desert as it had nuts in (allergic here) but also didn't seem appetizing when they offered it to me.
IFE - Good screen and a great selection. I am a huge fan of Family Guy and they had the whole of season 10, so watched a lot of it! They had a lot of full seasons - instead of the odd one or two episodes that BA put on. The only thing I didn't like was the fact you have to use the CX headphones, which were hanging up in the cupboard - and the adapter meant I couldn't use my own Bose headphones.
Slept for 8 hours out of the 14 hour flight
Breakfast - much better than BA - great selection, good portions etc. Couldn't be faulted.
Arrival into HKG. This was going to be a tight connection. Landed on time at 07:15 and departure was at 08:05. Flight arrived at gate 3 - the departure flight was at gate 60....
Straight off the plane and was meant by a CX representative. She gathered the 5 of us who were connecting onto the SIN flight and sped us through security and onto the train down to gate 60. We got there with 10 mins to spare. No fuss and she was in constant touch with the gate.
HKG - SIN (CX)
Again the new CX seat on a 777-300 - which I was surprised about as I thought it would be a different layout as it was only a 3 hour flight.
I passed on breakfast (although it looked great) and watched some more on the IFE. Slightly different interface than the other flight - but the same content.
SIN - LHR (BA)
Check in at SIN - in the premium check in area. I'm not sure of the point of this, with seats etc. All seems a bit of a faff - but they were all very friendly of course.
The lounge - ok so what was the F lounge is now the Business Lounge and what was the Business Lounge is now the F lounge. I didn't know if this had been refurbished or not - having not been here before. It was huge and very busy. Didn't really stay here for long and didn't try the food/drink.
Headed to the gate, boarding was fast. Great crew and while I didn't eat the dinner, the breakfast was good - although I was wishing for the CX breakfast for the choice and quantity - particularly the dim sum!
On stand at LHR at 05:00, no queues at immigration - although I did use Iris (and both were working) and into a car by 05:15.
It was nice to see something other than BA for a change and I have to say CX really impressed with the seat, service and IFE. I would have no hesitation flying with them again and actually a great alternative to Oz via HKG.
LHR - SFO (BA)
SFO - LAX (AA)
LAX - SIN via HKG (CX)
SIN - LHR (BA)
Most of the trip was uneventful - had hand luggage so not lost bag issues - but I thought I would share some of the points I thought might be of interest
LHR CCR
Busy, but got seated immediately in the dining area and great breakfast. Service was swift and professional.
LHR - SFO (BA)
Upper Deck - Flight was great, crew were good and service spot on. However, the Emirates flight into SFO arrives just before the BA one. I was first off the plane (jetty arrived at door 2) and it took around 70 mins to get through immigration. It seems to happen all the time now at SFO with this flight.
SFO - LAX (AA)
Departing from Terminal 2. No one at the F check in, small queue through security. The AA lounge is great, given 2 drink vouchers and free wifi. Short walk to the gate and AA seem to get boarding done really well. F passengers first and then everyone else via group numbers. Seems to work. Pushed back on time and into LAX slightly early
LAX - SIN via HKG (CX)
01:30 flight...
Check in was fully manned. I was waiting in the F queue and one of the check in staff walked down from the economy desks and took me to their desk to check me in.
OW F lounge... I do think they could do something with the food offering here. The lounge is great, but the food just doesn't seem to be right. Maybe it's the limited range and small quantities.
Boarding: We boarded from the new gate (134) they have opened in the new part of the terminal. When TBIT is finished in 2014 this will improve the whole boarding process. It is light, bright and a good standard of finish. We were asked to stand behind boards (which were being held by the gate staff) that said "First" or "Business". I'm not sure why - as the monitors above the doors said the same thing!
On Board: It was the new CX seat on the 777-300 which I have to say is a lot better than the BA Club World seat. Direct access to the aisle, plenty of room, very wide, big TV screen. Great blanket (more of a duvet) but the pillow was a bit of a let down...!
Dinner was good - but actually for the main meal, I think BA just has the edge. The CX side salad was very small - few lettuce leaves and a couple of tomatoes in a small bowl. The main was good and I passed on the desert as it had nuts in (allergic here) but also didn't seem appetizing when they offered it to me.
IFE - Good screen and a great selection. I am a huge fan of Family Guy and they had the whole of season 10, so watched a lot of it! They had a lot of full seasons - instead of the odd one or two episodes that BA put on. The only thing I didn't like was the fact you have to use the CX headphones, which were hanging up in the cupboard - and the adapter meant I couldn't use my own Bose headphones.
Slept for 8 hours out of the 14 hour flight
Breakfast - much better than BA - great selection, good portions etc. Couldn't be faulted.
Arrival into HKG. This was going to be a tight connection. Landed on time at 07:15 and departure was at 08:05. Flight arrived at gate 3 - the departure flight was at gate 60....
Straight off the plane and was meant by a CX representative. She gathered the 5 of us who were connecting onto the SIN flight and sped us through security and onto the train down to gate 60. We got there with 10 mins to spare. No fuss and she was in constant touch with the gate.
HKG - SIN (CX)
Again the new CX seat on a 777-300 - which I was surprised about as I thought it would be a different layout as it was only a 3 hour flight.
I passed on breakfast (although it looked great) and watched some more on the IFE. Slightly different interface than the other flight - but the same content.
SIN - LHR (BA)
Check in at SIN - in the premium check in area. I'm not sure of the point of this, with seats etc. All seems a bit of a faff - but they were all very friendly of course.
The lounge - ok so what was the F lounge is now the Business Lounge and what was the Business Lounge is now the F lounge. I didn't know if this had been refurbished or not - having not been here before. It was huge and very busy. Didn't really stay here for long and didn't try the food/drink.
Headed to the gate, boarding was fast. Great crew and while I didn't eat the dinner, the breakfast was good - although I was wishing for the CX breakfast for the choice and quantity - particularly the dim sum!
On stand at LHR at 05:00, no queues at immigration - although I did use Iris (and both were working) and into a car by 05:15.
It was nice to see something other than BA for a change and I have to say CX really impressed with the seat, service and IFE. I would have no hesitation flying with them again and actually a great alternative to Oz via HKG.
