Mini TR [Roughing it at the back BA & AA]
May 5, 2015, 11:44 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: London
Programs: BA Executive Club
Posts: 999
Mini TR [Roughing it at the back BA & AA]
I have just been on a flying visit to NYC to propose to the girlfriend, who is now my fiancée. 
My original itinerary was BA179 out on Saturday 2nd May and AA106 return 4th May both in economy as I was spending enough on a ring.
I later got offered an upgrade to WTP for £189 which I took as it seemed OK value.
After shopping for a travel adaptor (I leant mine to the g/f before she left, I couldn’t say no as it would have ruined the surprise). I took the transit walkway to the B gates, total time 8mins despite one of the travelators being out of service. I spent the last hour in the B lounges eating cake and drinking tiger beer. I didn’t eat any sandwiches, the looked lonely and withered.
The flight out was in a B747, low J, so we were sandwiched between club and first, I was in the front row 11J. It was the first time I have travelled in WTP and I was pleasantly surprised.
The crew were proactive, offering pre-take off (non-alcoholic) beverages and
the same again shortly after take-off and regularly during the flight.
Food was served to the left hand seats A/B/D/E first after an hour and the other half of the cabin served approximately 20mins later. There was a choice of chicken or beef, I chose the beef. Having read reports on this forum I was expecting a leather shoe. While it wasn’t medium / medium rare like I would normally eat it, it was an edible well done and the potatoes, carrots and butternut squash were tasty and went very well with it.
I had forgotten how pathetic the IFE screens were in BA economy and I am surprised they still lag behind other airlines with their technology. There was a plug socket in my chair but it wasn’t anything I recognised or could plug a US / UK plug in to. Despite this I managed to watch a couple of things on the ipad and on the IFE before landing.
The seat its self was good, I did not use the recline functions as I had no interest in sleeping but the foot rest is a nice addition and the extra leg room very welcome.
We landed on time and we were the second group off the plane, I was through immigration in less than 2mins and waiting for my taxi to arrive. I was at the hotel 50mins after arrival at the terminal.
On the Saturday night, I stayed at the Raddison Matinique on 49 West 32nd Street. Due to my status through AMEX platinum they upgraded me to a room on the penthouse floor. The upgraded room included nice sized sitting area and a bedroom with a normal sized bathroom. There wasn’t really time to enjoy it as the big day was on Sunday, I grabbed a bite to eat and retired.
Big day was on Sunday, all went to plan and she said yes. I proposed in the roof top bar 230 Fifth, it was a perfect day, nice and sunny, scorching hot.
That evening I booked what I thought was small suite at the Waldorf Astoria where my new fiancée was staying with her friends as I wanted somewhere to have a couple of drinks that evening and a nice room for us both. At check-in the agent was even trying to sell me an upgrade to the penthouse suite claiming the one I had booked would be too small.
The suite was bigger than our London flat, it had a massive living area with a book case, 60” TV and Ming Vases, a small kitchen, massive bedroom with walk in wardrobe an joining dressing room with chase long and a huge bathroom with his and hers facilities. Suffice to say, I did not need an upgrade.
We didn’t use the suite for evening drinks either, we went to see ‘Sleep no more’ one of these immersive theatre and dance experiences from Punch Drunk in the meat district and went out for a couple of drinks there instead.
It wasn’t as good as the London punch drunk experience, “Drowned Man” but still worth a visit, they have extended it a couple of weeks due to the popularity.
Monday, day of the flight, we were allowed to use the premium business and first check in at Terminal 8 due to my sapphire status. There was myself, girlfriend (I mean fiancée), she is Ruby and three of her friends all non-status / blue. We were on two different PNRs but that didn’t seem to matter.
They also let us all through premium security which was a nice touch, I am not sure what the “pre-TSA” queue is for but it was rammed. The standard security queue was average size, maybe a wait of 10mins.
We couldn’t all visit the Admirals Club lounge, so I just went with my fiancée. I cannot say I was too impressed, we had one free drink between us (guests don’t get one apparently
), I did manage to talk the bar tender in to giving me a Brooklyn lager at no extra cost though. Food was slim pickings at best and made the dry / withered sandwiches in T5B look like luxury.
I was in 42D right at the back of the aircraft, a 777-300. The group of 4 friends were in 42AB and 43AB pairs. The seat was ok, not too cramped. I was on the aisle seat of a row of 4 and surrounded by a group of loud travellers who liked to watch comedy and laugh as loud as they could, not very considerate on a night flight. The person in front of me also reclined her seat during the meal service just as an added nice little touch. I didn’t eat the food as I ate at the terminal, the choice was described as “Chicken or Pasta”, and looking at other people’s food I don’t think I was missing much.
Breakfast was served about 1hour before landing, it was a blueberry yogurt, blueberry flat muffin cake and granola. I don’t do blueberries so passed on it. Nice gesture, it’s the thought that counts. I tried to explain I hadn’t touched it but it got consigned to the bin bag nonetheless.
The plane was clean and modern and the IFE screens as decent size, even with the seat in front reclined the leg room was adequate for the 7 hour flight but not conducive to sleeping. I refuse to recline my seat even if the person in front does, I am in the camp of banning it completely.
The crew were quite pleasant and all seemed very experienced and efficient, a welcome change from the sometimes young, inexperienced or indifferent crew you get with BA.
All in all, had a great trip. I don’t regret spending the extra money I would have spent if I had gone J on a ring and good hotel room instead. I would also consider WTP as nice alternative to business if travelling on a day time flight as the food and service is not too much different (unless you like more alcohol and free champers
).
It has been a while since I experienced a non BA airline. It was refreshing in a way and found the experience with AA to be largely positive (the lounge was a bit of a let-down though) and there is no reason why I wouldn’t choose them again for an economy flight at least.
My girlfriend (now fiancée) was surprised and a little overwhelmed by my turning up on her girl’s holiday. But it was great as she said yes; I was a nervous wreck just before. And, she got her dream ring from Tiffany and Co and the opportunity to sit in the 5th Ave store to have it measured and resized.
My original itinerary was BA179 out on Saturday 2nd May and AA106 return 4th May both in economy as I was spending enough on a ring.
I later got offered an upgrade to WTP for £189 which I took as it seemed OK value.
After shopping for a travel adaptor (I leant mine to the g/f before she left, I couldn’t say no as it would have ruined the surprise). I took the transit walkway to the B gates, total time 8mins despite one of the travelators being out of service. I spent the last hour in the B lounges eating cake and drinking tiger beer. I didn’t eat any sandwiches, the looked lonely and withered.
The flight out was in a B747, low J, so we were sandwiched between club and first, I was in the front row 11J. It was the first time I have travelled in WTP and I was pleasantly surprised.
The crew were proactive, offering pre-take off (non-alcoholic) beverages and
the same again shortly after take-off and regularly during the flight.
Food was served to the left hand seats A/B/D/E first after an hour and the other half of the cabin served approximately 20mins later. There was a choice of chicken or beef, I chose the beef. Having read reports on this forum I was expecting a leather shoe. While it wasn’t medium / medium rare like I would normally eat it, it was an edible well done and the potatoes, carrots and butternut squash were tasty and went very well with it.
I had forgotten how pathetic the IFE screens were in BA economy and I am surprised they still lag behind other airlines with their technology. There was a plug socket in my chair but it wasn’t anything I recognised or could plug a US / UK plug in to. Despite this I managed to watch a couple of things on the ipad and on the IFE before landing.
The seat its self was good, I did not use the recline functions as I had no interest in sleeping but the foot rest is a nice addition and the extra leg room very welcome.
We landed on time and we were the second group off the plane, I was through immigration in less than 2mins and waiting for my taxi to arrive. I was at the hotel 50mins after arrival at the terminal.
On the Saturday night, I stayed at the Raddison Matinique on 49 West 32nd Street. Due to my status through AMEX platinum they upgraded me to a room on the penthouse floor. The upgraded room included nice sized sitting area and a bedroom with a normal sized bathroom. There wasn’t really time to enjoy it as the big day was on Sunday, I grabbed a bite to eat and retired.
Big day was on Sunday, all went to plan and she said yes. I proposed in the roof top bar 230 Fifth, it was a perfect day, nice and sunny, scorching hot.
That evening I booked what I thought was small suite at the Waldorf Astoria where my new fiancée was staying with her friends as I wanted somewhere to have a couple of drinks that evening and a nice room for us both. At check-in the agent was even trying to sell me an upgrade to the penthouse suite claiming the one I had booked would be too small.
The suite was bigger than our London flat, it had a massive living area with a book case, 60” TV and Ming Vases, a small kitchen, massive bedroom with walk in wardrobe an joining dressing room with chase long and a huge bathroom with his and hers facilities. Suffice to say, I did not need an upgrade.
We didn’t use the suite for evening drinks either, we went to see ‘Sleep no more’ one of these immersive theatre and dance experiences from Punch Drunk in the meat district and went out for a couple of drinks there instead.
It wasn’t as good as the London punch drunk experience, “Drowned Man” but still worth a visit, they have extended it a couple of weeks due to the popularity.
Monday, day of the flight, we were allowed to use the premium business and first check in at Terminal 8 due to my sapphire status. There was myself, girlfriend (I mean fiancée), she is Ruby and three of her friends all non-status / blue. We were on two different PNRs but that didn’t seem to matter.
They also let us all through premium security which was a nice touch, I am not sure what the “pre-TSA” queue is for but it was rammed. The standard security queue was average size, maybe a wait of 10mins.
We couldn’t all visit the Admirals Club lounge, so I just went with my fiancée. I cannot say I was too impressed, we had one free drink between us (guests don’t get one apparently
), I did manage to talk the bar tender in to giving me a Brooklyn lager at no extra cost though. Food was slim pickings at best and made the dry / withered sandwiches in T5B look like luxury.I was in 42D right at the back of the aircraft, a 777-300. The group of 4 friends were in 42AB and 43AB pairs. The seat was ok, not too cramped. I was on the aisle seat of a row of 4 and surrounded by a group of loud travellers who liked to watch comedy and laugh as loud as they could, not very considerate on a night flight. The person in front of me also reclined her seat during the meal service just as an added nice little touch. I didn’t eat the food as I ate at the terminal, the choice was described as “Chicken or Pasta”, and looking at other people’s food I don’t think I was missing much.
Breakfast was served about 1hour before landing, it was a blueberry yogurt, blueberry flat muffin cake and granola. I don’t do blueberries so passed on it. Nice gesture, it’s the thought that counts. I tried to explain I hadn’t touched it but it got consigned to the bin bag nonetheless.
The plane was clean and modern and the IFE screens as decent size, even with the seat in front reclined the leg room was adequate for the 7 hour flight but not conducive to sleeping. I refuse to recline my seat even if the person in front does, I am in the camp of banning it completely.
The crew were quite pleasant and all seemed very experienced and efficient, a welcome change from the sometimes young, inexperienced or indifferent crew you get with BA.
All in all, had a great trip. I don’t regret spending the extra money I would have spent if I had gone J on a ring and good hotel room instead. I would also consider WTP as nice alternative to business if travelling on a day time flight as the food and service is not too much different (unless you like more alcohol and free champers
).It has been a while since I experienced a non BA airline. It was refreshing in a way and found the experience with AA to be largely positive (the lounge was a bit of a let-down though) and there is no reason why I wouldn’t choose them again for an economy flight at least.
My girlfriend (now fiancée) was surprised and a little overwhelmed by my turning up on her girl’s holiday. But it was great as she said yes; I was a nervous wreck just before. And, she got her dream ring from Tiffany and Co and the opportunity to sit in the 5th Ave store to have it measured and resized.
May 5, 2015, 12:14 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 561
What a nice story, and congratulations!
I wasn't hugely impressed with WTP coming back from LAS in December, but some planes have been fitted with the new cabin which I understand is much better, IFE especially.
I do love getting through US immigration in under 10 minutes, it feels like you've won something. The auto scanners have helped a lot with that, nothing worse than coming off a long flight and having to stand around for 40 mins waiting to get into the country.
I wasn't hugely impressed with WTP coming back from LAS in December, but some planes have been fitted with the new cabin which I understand is much better, IFE especially.
I do love getting through US immigration in under 10 minutes, it feels like you've won something. The auto scanners have helped a lot with that, nothing worse than coming off a long flight and having to stand around for 40 mins waiting to get into the country.
May 5, 2015, 1:08 pm
#3
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: LHR, SAN
Programs: BA GGL, AA PLT, VS-curious
Posts: 1,487
Congratulations, Mr Clooney!
(You are the guy I called George Clooney at the Xmas do, correct?)
I'm also also impressed by the footrest in WTP, especially in the bulkhead seats. I think It was on EY where I first had one and wondered why everyone hadn't added them.
As far as your experience sitting in the 40s, I'm unsurprised. It's a bit like the back seats of the bus, it's where the naughty kids sit.
Glad you enjoyed your trip, and enjoy your new engaged status!
(You are the guy I called George Clooney at the Xmas do, correct?)
I'm also also impressed by the footrest in WTP, especially in the bulkhead seats. I think It was on EY where I first had one and wondered why everyone hadn't added them.
As far as your experience sitting in the 40s, I'm unsurprised. It's a bit like the back seats of the bus, it's where the naughty kids sit.
Glad you enjoyed your trip, and enjoy your new engaged status!
Thank you so much for sharing^
May 5, 2015, 7:21 pm
#5
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: JFK > LGA >> EWR
Programs: AA EXP 1.2mm, Kimpton IC, Starwood Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,180
We didn’t use the suite for evening drinks either, we went to see ‘Sleep no more’ one of these immersive theatre and dance experiences from Punch Drunk in the meat district and went out for a couple of drinks there instead.
It wasn’t as good as the London punch drunk experience, “Drowned Man” but still worth a visit, they have extended it a couple of weeks due to the popularity.
It wasn’t as good as the London punch drunk experience, “Drowned Man” but still worth a visit, they have extended it a couple of weeks due to the popularity.
Congrats!
May 6, 2015, 12:07 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: London
Programs: BA Executive Club
Posts: 999
That's interesting. I didn't enjoy it as much as the London one. The set was a lot smaller, far fewer characters, far more people, which made it difficult to follow the characters and story.
No worries though, you called always buy a program for $19 after, which we didn't.
No worries though, you called always buy a program for $19 after, which we didn't.
May 6, 2015, 12:15 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: London
Programs: BA Executive Club
Posts: 999
Congratulations, Mr Clooney!
(You are the guy I called George Clooney at the Xmas do, correct?)
I'm also also impressed by the footrest in WTP, especially in the bulkhead seats. I think It was on EY where I first had one and wondered why everyone hadn't added them.
As far as your experience sitting in the 40s, I'm unsurprised. It's a bit like the back seats of the bus, it's where the naughty kids sit.
Glad you enjoyed your trip, and enjoy your new engaged status!
(You are the guy I called George Clooney at the Xmas do, correct?)
I'm also also impressed by the footrest in WTP, especially in the bulkhead seats. I think It was on EY where I first had one and wondered why everyone hadn't added them.
As far as your experience sitting in the 40s, I'm unsurprised. It's a bit like the back seats of the bus, it's where the naughty kids sit.
Glad you enjoyed your trip, and enjoy your new engaged status!