Mini-TR: First trip as GGL
Mar 12, 2016, 2:19 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
Mini-TR: First trip as GGL
With all of my excitement and enthusiasm in reaching BA GGL list status ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ers-guide.html and http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ontest-do.html ), I thought I'd create a quick trip report summary about my first experiences with BA after crossing the 5000 tier point threshold. Mostly I was curious if I would notice any differences with the newly minted status, though I was warned to keep my expectations reasonable!
Two weeks prior to the next BA flight
I crossed 5000 tier points on an uneventful AA flight from PHX-LAS. Points posted to my account two days later, and the next day the app showed my new status. Per my account, GGL and CCR cards were dispatched two days later, though they've not yet been received.
I've called the GGL twice, and both times received the same friendly agent. The first time, I asked about the Hilton status match, which is being processed, and I was proactively given a rundown of the benefits. She's been so exceptionally friendly that it's almost difficult to get off the phone, like chatting with an old friend. She mentioned one benefit that I've not seen yet, which is a way to place bookings on hold and pay for them later. I don't see this as a published benefit and I don't have it in the guide yet. I'm not sure if this just means you can ask them to make a booking for you, or if there's some further benefit, but I'll explore at some point. I was also encouraged to use one or both jokers(gold list redemption) prior to April 8th, as my two will expire and be replaced by two new ones.
Nominating a member for gold and silver status was very easy, simply use the web-based form and their status is upgraded immediately.
Boarding passes
At 24 hours prior to my flight, I checked in via the app, and there was a glitch and no status was showing. I tried the website and the same issue occurred, even though my executive club number was clearly in the booking. A quick call to the GGL line confirmed that there had been a glitch the past few days, so to just show the status with the app if there were any issues.
I checked in for another booking today, and it now shows Gold for the app boarding pass.
Airport arrival
As noted in my countdown contest thread, I was in 64K, but the flight was showing F1 A0 J3 C0 W2 Y3 B1 M0 G0, though only 4 seats in F were assigned at T-24. I speculated that maybe I'll get my first ever BA opup after nearly ten years. While tempted to ask about an AUP, I decided to leave my seat to chance.
When I checked my bag at PHX (no HBO for me on this trip), I was greeted by a friendly agent who efficiently printed boarding passes and tagged the bags. I noticed that one of the boarding passes said 1A, and exclaimed that it looked like I had been upgraded for the first time ever in flying BA. He replied that it was a completely full flight, and they had already processed an initial round of opups, and as a GGL, I received the coveted 1A.
Lounge
I was greeted by the usual Ceil who has worked at this lounge for at least 8 years. She remarked that I was in First tonight, and showed me to the Flounge which has been rearranged slightly to give a bit more space. I overhead one person mention on the phone that he'd paid for an upgrade from CW to F. I enjoyed my time in the lounge, and the soups on offer seemed like an improvement from previous visits. Half of the guests in the lounge were fighting off the same upper respiratory cold/flu that I was, so it was an interesting cough fest, reduced by copious amounts of herbal tea.
The departure was delayed about 30 minutes due to strong headwinds from the inbound flight. The lounge had fully cleared out even before boarding was called, so I enjoyed the last 10-15 minutes alone before boarding. Overall, roughly the same lounge experience as normal, but the opup didn't hurt.
Boarding
Boarding was somewhat chaotic, but I made my way through the crowds to find the priority queues where First, CW, Gold/Silver/Bronze had already been called to board. I heard the announcement to start boarding by row number as I had my boarding pass scanned by the same agent who had checked me in downstairs. He had also made a cameo appearance in the lounge, so we joked that he would also be flying the aircraft this evening.
Upon reaching the aircraft door, I was directed towards 1A. As there was only one agent at the door, I was not escorted to my seat, but that is fine as I know the way.
The cabin was already mostly full, and all 14 seats would be full tonight.
On-board experience
This crew was very proactive, fun, and hard working, pretty much BA at its finest. I settled in with water, orange juice, a wash bag, pajamas, and the menu. I talked with four members of the crew while we waited for the aircraft to board. The seatmate next to me was on his first First (also an opup), so he was trying to figure out the layout, and I gave him a few suggestions.
While we were expecting to depart 40 minutes late and actually arrive on schedule, we hit traffic at PHX and were then delayed another 30 minutes. Meal orders were taken and I had a humorous exchange to guarantee that the beef fillet would not be well done (it ended up medium and was decent).
I met the CSD just after takeoff, she gave me a warm welcome and handshake, encouraged me to have an enjoyable flight and some rest, to let her know if I needed anything, and that she would check in on me before the flight was over. Nothing over the top, just very professional and polished.
The duck amuse bouche had a flair of peking duck, the mushroom vol-au-vent was tasty, and the fillet steak was solid, though not as nice as the fillets I have on my last two F flights. For dessert I enjoyed the mango and chocolate slice, though I should have had the sticky toffee pudding which I had last trip, and which was the best dessert I've had on BA. I also enjoyed a few pots of herbal tea which helped keep the cough somewhat in check.
I managed almost 3 hours of sleep, which is quite a bit for me on these flights. I was helped by the second movie I started to watch (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) really not being something that kept my attention. The cabin was slightly warmer than I would normally like, but given the number of people coughing, I did not make my usual request to chill the cabin, as I figured that would make it worse for those feeling under the weather.
Breakfast was served at what should have been 60-75 minutes before landing, but ended up being quite a bit earlier due to more LHR fog. I enjoyed the fruit plate, croissant, more tea, omelette, and orange juice. Catering out of PHX uses Florida's Natural not from concentrate, in case anyone is wondering. They spruce it up a bit by adding a fresh orange slice.
The cabin was then prepared for landing, but our 15 minute early landing turned into an arrival that was 45 minutes late, making my two hour connection time from T3 to T5 tighter than I would like at just over an hour.
Overall, a fantastic crew and an excellent flight.
Transfer experience
BA is not known for their first class transfer experience, so I had minimal expectations. I found my way to flight connections and was handed an orange express connections ticket which put me on one bus earlier than without it.
The bus kept finding its way behind very slow moving luggage carts, and I arrived at T5 just 36 minutes prior to my flight to DUB.
With no fast track for domestic and UK connections, I waited approximately ten minutes before my boarding pass was scanned. At this point I was expecting to fail conformance like the person in front of me, but instead I was told to take the far left lane and hurry.
I made it through immigration and the photo capture within two minutes, and then made it through security about 10 minutes later, with roughly 13 minutes until my scheduled departure. Fast track looked slow, so the suggested lanes 8-9 all the way at the end. Luckily my bags were not selected for secondary screening.
At this point I heard my name being called, to proceed immediately to gate A11. I heard this announcement 2-3 more times in the two minutes it took me to get past the masses of people. As I arrived at the gate, it was closed, and a few people in front of me were trying to get un-offloaded so they could board.
This is where the GGL experience seemed to come through. The agent looked and me and asked me name. I showed her my boarding pass, she opened up the barrier and took me around a few confused individuals, and I was quickly on my way to the gate. I heard a remark along the lines of "Ok, he made it, we can close the flight now". They did add the other 4-5 people waiting on to the flight as well, and then the door closed. I can only imagine they were asked why I was allowed on after they had been told they were not going to be, so I'm glad those passengers also made their connection. The crew welcomed me aboard, said that about 30 people had not made the connection, so it was much emptier than expected, and congratulated me on just making my connection.
I would have been fine with a few hours in the CCR and a shower, but this was a better option. I napped for another 45 minutes while we waited to takeoff, then had a scone and cake from the afternoon tea service, and we arrived at DUB only a few minutes late. Baggage was on the belt just a couple of minutes after quickly clearing immigration from the 200 gates, and I was out of the airport by 17:20 on a flight scheduled to arrive at 16:50.
So, while BA did not drive me between aircraft in a luxury car at LHR, within the constraints of the ground service that BA does offer, they did seem to take extra efforts to make sure I made my connection, which is not something I've seen them do for me previously, and which I appreciated (and apparently a few other passengers as well that benefited from them holding the flight open a few extra minutes for me).
Conclusions
A much better than expected first trip as GGL:
* First free opup in my ten years of flying BA
* Friendly and helpful service on the entire journey
* Giving me some assistance in making a very tight connection. I'm still not sure why I was allowed through at conformance (maybe it's actually 25 minutes for a domestic or Ireland connection?), and if this would have happened if I was not GGL. I didn't expect it and would have been fine being put on the next flight and sent to the CCR, and I don't expect it as part of GGL. Today it worked very well. Thanks BA!
Two weeks prior to the next BA flight
I crossed 5000 tier points on an uneventful AA flight from PHX-LAS. Points posted to my account two days later, and the next day the app showed my new status. Per my account, GGL and CCR cards were dispatched two days later, though they've not yet been received.
I've called the GGL twice, and both times received the same friendly agent. The first time, I asked about the Hilton status match, which is being processed, and I was proactively given a rundown of the benefits. She's been so exceptionally friendly that it's almost difficult to get off the phone, like chatting with an old friend. She mentioned one benefit that I've not seen yet, which is a way to place bookings on hold and pay for them later. I don't see this as a published benefit and I don't have it in the guide yet. I'm not sure if this just means you can ask them to make a booking for you, or if there's some further benefit, but I'll explore at some point. I was also encouraged to use one or both jokers(gold list redemption) prior to April 8th, as my two will expire and be replaced by two new ones.
Nominating a member for gold and silver status was very easy, simply use the web-based form and their status is upgraded immediately.
Boarding passes
At 24 hours prior to my flight, I checked in via the app, and there was a glitch and no status was showing. I tried the website and the same issue occurred, even though my executive club number was clearly in the booking. A quick call to the GGL line confirmed that there had been a glitch the past few days, so to just show the status with the app if there were any issues.
I checked in for another booking today, and it now shows Gold for the app boarding pass.
Airport arrival
As noted in my countdown contest thread, I was in 64K, but the flight was showing F1 A0 J3 C0 W2 Y3 B1 M0 G0, though only 4 seats in F were assigned at T-24. I speculated that maybe I'll get my first ever BA opup after nearly ten years. While tempted to ask about an AUP, I decided to leave my seat to chance.
When I checked my bag at PHX (no HBO for me on this trip), I was greeted by a friendly agent who efficiently printed boarding passes and tagged the bags. I noticed that one of the boarding passes said 1A, and exclaimed that it looked like I had been upgraded for the first time ever in flying BA. He replied that it was a completely full flight, and they had already processed an initial round of opups, and as a GGL, I received the coveted 1A.
Lounge
I was greeted by the usual Ceil who has worked at this lounge for at least 8 years. She remarked that I was in First tonight, and showed me to the Flounge which has been rearranged slightly to give a bit more space. I overhead one person mention on the phone that he'd paid for an upgrade from CW to F. I enjoyed my time in the lounge, and the soups on offer seemed like an improvement from previous visits. Half of the guests in the lounge were fighting off the same upper respiratory cold/flu that I was, so it was an interesting cough fest, reduced by copious amounts of herbal tea.
The departure was delayed about 30 minutes due to strong headwinds from the inbound flight. The lounge had fully cleared out even before boarding was called, so I enjoyed the last 10-15 minutes alone before boarding. Overall, roughly the same lounge experience as normal, but the opup didn't hurt.
Boarding
Boarding was somewhat chaotic, but I made my way through the crowds to find the priority queues where First, CW, Gold/Silver/Bronze had already been called to board. I heard the announcement to start boarding by row number as I had my boarding pass scanned by the same agent who had checked me in downstairs. He had also made a cameo appearance in the lounge, so we joked that he would also be flying the aircraft this evening.
Upon reaching the aircraft door, I was directed towards 1A. As there was only one agent at the door, I was not escorted to my seat, but that is fine as I know the way.
The cabin was already mostly full, and all 14 seats would be full tonight.
On-board experience
This crew was very proactive, fun, and hard working, pretty much BA at its finest. I settled in with water, orange juice, a wash bag, pajamas, and the menu. I talked with four members of the crew while we waited for the aircraft to board. The seatmate next to me was on his first First (also an opup), so he was trying to figure out the layout, and I gave him a few suggestions.
While we were expecting to depart 40 minutes late and actually arrive on schedule, we hit traffic at PHX and were then delayed another 30 minutes. Meal orders were taken and I had a humorous exchange to guarantee that the beef fillet would not be well done (it ended up medium and was decent).
I met the CSD just after takeoff, she gave me a warm welcome and handshake, encouraged me to have an enjoyable flight and some rest, to let her know if I needed anything, and that she would check in on me before the flight was over. Nothing over the top, just very professional and polished.
The duck amuse bouche had a flair of peking duck, the mushroom vol-au-vent was tasty, and the fillet steak was solid, though not as nice as the fillets I have on my last two F flights. For dessert I enjoyed the mango and chocolate slice, though I should have had the sticky toffee pudding which I had last trip, and which was the best dessert I've had on BA. I also enjoyed a few pots of herbal tea which helped keep the cough somewhat in check.
I managed almost 3 hours of sleep, which is quite a bit for me on these flights. I was helped by the second movie I started to watch (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) really not being something that kept my attention. The cabin was slightly warmer than I would normally like, but given the number of people coughing, I did not make my usual request to chill the cabin, as I figured that would make it worse for those feeling under the weather.
Breakfast was served at what should have been 60-75 minutes before landing, but ended up being quite a bit earlier due to more LHR fog. I enjoyed the fruit plate, croissant, more tea, omelette, and orange juice. Catering out of PHX uses Florida's Natural not from concentrate, in case anyone is wondering. They spruce it up a bit by adding a fresh orange slice.
The cabin was then prepared for landing, but our 15 minute early landing turned into an arrival that was 45 minutes late, making my two hour connection time from T3 to T5 tighter than I would like at just over an hour.
Overall, a fantastic crew and an excellent flight.
Transfer experience
BA is not known for their first class transfer experience, so I had minimal expectations. I found my way to flight connections and was handed an orange express connections ticket which put me on one bus earlier than without it.
The bus kept finding its way behind very slow moving luggage carts, and I arrived at T5 just 36 minutes prior to my flight to DUB.
With no fast track for domestic and UK connections, I waited approximately ten minutes before my boarding pass was scanned. At this point I was expecting to fail conformance like the person in front of me, but instead I was told to take the far left lane and hurry.
I made it through immigration and the photo capture within two minutes, and then made it through security about 10 minutes later, with roughly 13 minutes until my scheduled departure. Fast track looked slow, so the suggested lanes 8-9 all the way at the end. Luckily my bags were not selected for secondary screening.
At this point I heard my name being called, to proceed immediately to gate A11. I heard this announcement 2-3 more times in the two minutes it took me to get past the masses of people. As I arrived at the gate, it was closed, and a few people in front of me were trying to get un-offloaded so they could board.
This is where the GGL experience seemed to come through. The agent looked and me and asked me name. I showed her my boarding pass, she opened up the barrier and took me around a few confused individuals, and I was quickly on my way to the gate. I heard a remark along the lines of "Ok, he made it, we can close the flight now". They did add the other 4-5 people waiting on to the flight as well, and then the door closed. I can only imagine they were asked why I was allowed on after they had been told they were not going to be, so I'm glad those passengers also made their connection. The crew welcomed me aboard, said that about 30 people had not made the connection, so it was much emptier than expected, and congratulated me on just making my connection.
I would have been fine with a few hours in the CCR and a shower, but this was a better option. I napped for another 45 minutes while we waited to takeoff, then had a scone and cake from the afternoon tea service, and we arrived at DUB only a few minutes late. Baggage was on the belt just a couple of minutes after quickly clearing immigration from the 200 gates, and I was out of the airport by 17:20 on a flight scheduled to arrive at 16:50.
So, while BA did not drive me between aircraft in a luxury car at LHR, within the constraints of the ground service that BA does offer, they did seem to take extra efforts to make sure I made my connection, which is not something I've seen them do for me previously, and which I appreciated (and apparently a few other passengers as well that benefited from them holding the flight open a few extra minutes for me).
Conclusions
A much better than expected first trip as GGL:
* First free opup in my ten years of flying BA
* Friendly and helpful service on the entire journey
* Giving me some assistance in making a very tight connection. I'm still not sure why I was allowed through at conformance (maybe it's actually 25 minutes for a domestic or Ireland connection?), and if this would have happened if I was not GGL. I didn't expect it and would have been fine being put on the next flight and sent to the CCR, and I don't expect it as part of GGL. Today it worked very well. Thanks BA!
Mar 12, 2016, 2:37 pm
#3
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,736
Thanks for the post, it's interesting to see things from a different and indeed new perspective.
I know others say that they don't get upgrades as GGL or Gold, but I really doubt you'll have to wait another 10 years for your next one. PHX isn't status rich as a route, with a fully sold CW - which isn't that common there either - there really wasn't much choice. And that's the key - routes and service that will be full. If you start going to Chengdu it's not likely to happen, whereas if you SIN at the weekend, that's another matter.
There is indeed a 72 hour ticket hold facility for GGL. It's free, so you don't need to pay the Ł5+ fee, the downside is that unlike the online version you have to call again to make final payment. The upside is that you can change currency which you can't do with the online version. I think you can put in the guide, I believe GGLers can even get it rigged up via the email link, or at least used to be able to do so.
Conformation for UK and Ireland is shorter than other places (even though it actually takes longer to do, with passports and photo id). It depends on the gate, if you had been A4 you would not have got through even if Prem. From the way described this would have happened to anyone, having the shiny card wouldn't help. There is another stage, which is if you failed conformance. Being high status and HBO is the sort of thing that persuades the agent to pick up the telephone, first to the gate, then to Control. The latter is always engaged so they're not going to do this to a large family with checked baggage, status or no status; but for a single person with full mobility they might.
A11 is one of the better gates, the high As have an earlier cut off, probably 30 minutes, I don't actually know. As for not offloading you (and benefiting those also at the gate), well, let's say that doesn't surprise me.
I know others say that they don't get upgrades as GGL or Gold, but I really doubt you'll have to wait another 10 years for your next one. PHX isn't status rich as a route, with a fully sold CW - which isn't that common there either - there really wasn't much choice. And that's the key - routes and service that will be full. If you start going to Chengdu it's not likely to happen, whereas if you SIN at the weekend, that's another matter.
There is indeed a 72 hour ticket hold facility for GGL. It's free, so you don't need to pay the Ł5+ fee, the downside is that unlike the online version you have to call again to make final payment. The upside is that you can change currency which you can't do with the online version. I think you can put in the guide, I believe GGLers can even get it rigged up via the email link, or at least used to be able to do so.
Conformation for UK and Ireland is shorter than other places (even though it actually takes longer to do, with passports and photo id). It depends on the gate, if you had been A4 you would not have got through even if Prem. From the way described this would have happened to anyone, having the shiny card wouldn't help. There is another stage, which is if you failed conformance. Being high status and HBO is the sort of thing that persuades the agent to pick up the telephone, first to the gate, then to Control. The latter is always engaged so they're not going to do this to a large family with checked baggage, status or no status; but for a single person with full mobility they might.
A11 is one of the better gates, the high As have an earlier cut off, probably 30 minutes, I don't actually know. As for not offloading you (and benefiting those also at the gate), well, let's say that doesn't surprise me.
Mar 12, 2016, 2:49 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BA GGL, BA Amex Prem, Amex Plat, Hilton Diamond, Sir Crazy8534 de l'ordres des aides de Pucci
Posts: 4,436
What a great report- the enthusiasm really comes across and the possible sprinkling of magic GGL pixie dust gives a nice ring to the outcome in terms of op-up and not being offloaded.
Mar 12, 2016, 3:16 pm
#5
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Ireland
Programs: VS Silver, EK Gold, BA GGL/CCR
Posts: 487
Interesting read and glad you had a good "first" trip!
I find the GGL team to be consistently good - I've never been told "that's not our department" - whatever the request or issue they take ownership and chase it up internally for you. Probably only second to jokers for me in terms of the GGL benefits.
I tend to find the trip I want in ITA and then forward the GGL team the ITA email and ask them to email be back confirming the price and PNR. You then get about 72 hours to confirm and pay (assuming no advance purchase restrictions kick in).
Definitely a great benefit of being GGL - it's like having a very good yet free of charge travel agent (GUF's aside
)
I find the GGL team to be consistently good - I've never been told "that's not our department" - whatever the request or issue they take ownership and chase it up internally for you. Probably only second to jokers for me in terms of the GGL benefits.
I tend to find the trip I want in ITA and then forward the GGL team the ITA email and ask them to email be back confirming the price and PNR. You then get about 72 hours to confirm and pay (assuming no advance purchase restrictions kick in).
Definitely a great benefit of being GGL - it's like having a very good yet free of charge travel agent (GUF's aside
)
Mar 12, 2016, 3:26 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Wedged somewhere between BTS and VIE ✈
Programs: Star Alliance Gold (A3 Gold), Oneworld Emerald (BA Gold), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,338
Thanks for the write up dylanks and congratulations on your new status!
Those buses that transfer passengers T3-T5 seem to take forever. I know that it's not really that long, but they always get stuck behind something or other. I wish LHR had a proper transit system.
Great to hear that you finally got that upgrade...and what better than First!
Those buses that transfer passengers T3-T5 seem to take forever. I know that it's not really that long, but they always get stuck behind something or other. I wish LHR had a proper transit system.
Great to hear that you finally got that upgrade...and what better than First!
Mar 12, 2016, 8:00 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: South Florida
Programs: All the best ones.
Posts: 1,415
Wishing you and everyone here, happy travels and continued good luck.
As a GGL you deserve all the upgrades and any rule bending possible, for suffering the frequent T5-T3-T5 connections and same old crappy movies every flight. I wish the movies would update faster. I reached rock bottom after watching "Carryon Camping from 1969."
I try not to sleep, incase fellow travelers hear me muttering about "making conformance."
As a GGL you deserve all the upgrades and any rule bending possible, for suffering the frequent T5-T3-T5 connections and same old crappy movies every flight. I wish the movies would update faster. I reached rock bottom after watching "Carryon Camping from 1969."
I try not to sleep, incase fellow travelers hear me muttering about "making conformance."
Mar 12, 2016, 10:10 pm
#11
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 765
As mentioned by others before me - I've had fewer upgrades as a GGL than ever - haven't had an upgrade for a few years. But, also as mentioned previously, it's down to how busy the flight is.
I really felt the GGL feeling last week with a cancelled flight from BOS-LHR. On the plane, as we began to understand that we were going to be de-planed - the crew moved me into Club (was in WT+) so that I could be one of the first off and be dealt with/rebooked quickly.
In the end, this didn't help, but the thought was nice.
What did help was the GGL line who managed to rebook me for the following morning (my original flight didn't depart until the following evening). They tried to speak to special services and get me out that night with no luck.
It definitely felt like a great asset on your side when things go wrong!
I really felt the GGL feeling last week with a cancelled flight from BOS-LHR. On the plane, as we began to understand that we were going to be de-planed - the crew moved me into Club (was in WT+) so that I could be one of the first off and be dealt with/rebooked quickly.
In the end, this didn't help, but the thought was nice.
What did help was the GGL line who managed to rebook me for the following morning (my original flight didn't depart until the following evening). They tried to speak to special services and get me out that night with no luck.
It definitely felt like a great asset on your side when things go wrong!
Mar 22, 2016, 3:43 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
Given that I missed the CCR with my short initial connection, I figured I'd add a quick segment from my visit to the CCR (where I'm at for another couple of hours).
Entry
Without a CCR card, I decided to show the BA app which shows GGL status and tier points. She commented that it's unfortunate that the app has no way to show a CCR card, and quickly invited me into the CCR.
Service
The service in the CCR this morning was very attentive and friendly. Within 5 minutes of sitting down I was asked what I would like for breakfast and to drink.
Later I made the mistake of spilling my glass of water, and had some fun banter with the staff (oh no, what have you done, I'm cut off on water unless I get a sippy cup, or else maybe I'll have my Concorde Room privileges revoked, etc.
).
Food
I had the breakfast sandwich with bacon. It is fairly uninspired and bland, but the quality was fine. It was served about 10 minutes after ordering.
Ambience and amenities
I made the mistake of sitting near the TV just next to the bar. I say mistake because, with the Brussels bombings this morning, it's become a popular point for people to stop and watch BBC. The CCR is reasonably crowded this morning, but not full. Overall the lounge is serving the purpose of giving me a place to spend a few hours and work, as I wanted to avoid rush hour on the tube/hex train this morning. The wifi is reasonably fast. If FlyerTalk is still blocked, it's not impacting me as I'm connected via a VPN.
Entry
Without a CCR card, I decided to show the BA app which shows GGL status and tier points. She commented that it's unfortunate that the app has no way to show a CCR card, and quickly invited me into the CCR.
Service
The service in the CCR this morning was very attentive and friendly. Within 5 minutes of sitting down I was asked what I would like for breakfast and to drink.
Later I made the mistake of spilling my glass of water, and had some fun banter with the staff (oh no, what have you done, I'm cut off on water unless I get a sippy cup, or else maybe I'll have my Concorde Room privileges revoked, etc.
).Food
I had the breakfast sandwich with bacon. It is fairly uninspired and bland, but the quality was fine. It was served about 10 minutes after ordering.
Ambience and amenities
I made the mistake of sitting near the TV just next to the bar. I say mistake because, with the Brussels bombings this morning, it's become a popular point for people to stop and watch BBC. The CCR is reasonably crowded this morning, but not full. Overall the lounge is serving the purpose of giving me a place to spend a few hours and work, as I wanted to avoid rush hour on the tube/hex train this morning. The wifi is reasonably fast. If FlyerTalk is still blocked, it's not impacting me as I'm connected via a VPN.
Mar 23, 2016, 6:04 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,140
As I will never be GGL, it's interesting to see what I will be missing. I think my fairly simple life doesn't carry the same requirements as you really frequent fliers.
Mar 26, 2016, 5:16 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
After reflecting on it a bit, I think GGL is of greatest value for people who travel a fair amount for work, or have a very restrictive work schedule. Perhaps this is obvious, but it's because of the GGL redemptions, making it easier to use your avios. I think it's also a stronger benefit for those based in London and New York for the CCR. I'll add a few more notes about the rest of my trip in the next post.