The Dream Ticket - LHR to CPT 241 In First
Jan 26, 2019, 8:23 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, HHonours, SPG, AVIS
Posts: 526
The Dream Ticket - LHR to CPT 241 In First
When BA offered the 241 in First to Cape Town, we had no hesitation booking it, as this made the price equivalent to a QR Business flight, and had the benefit of a shorter direct journey and nearly as many TPs.
As GCH we took the option for 1AK which was a first for us
We have flown F several times in the past, mainly using the 241 AMEX redemption, or as an OpUp. With the various flights we have had different experiences ranging from poor to exceptional.
When the day came, the outlaws were taking us to Heathrow, but arrived a couple of hours earlier than expected, so after a couple of cups of tea, Mrs E2S decided lets go to T3 and have a lounge crawl.
Traffic was light, and we arrived at 14:00 for our 18:15 BA43 flight. We headed to zone D, and while certainly not the First Wing, the First Check-in was clearly obvious
Bags dropped, then up the escalator to Fast Track Security, a small queue, but the checks were thorough, all belts, shoes off, pockets emptied, and a full scan followed by a quick body search.
We headed straight to the Cathay First lounge for a bite to eat. The first lounge was fairly empty, and we had drink of water while we browsed the menus. Entering the restaurant we were immediately seated
We both chose the duck starter, which was very pleasant, Mrs E2S went for the ravioli, and I went for the Chicken Curry. Mrs E2S decided my choice was better, and insisted on helping herself and finishing hers
While champagne doesn’t normally go with curry, as 3 were on offer, we decided to try all 3.
We both preferred the Laurent Perrier, the pink didn’t seemed chilled enough so that had an impact on the taste
After relaxing a while, we made our way to the BA First Lounge, as we had booked treatments, me first, then Mrs E2S as scheduled by You First. I found the massage chair fine, but Mrs E2S thought it was a bit of a torture chamber
While waiting for Mrs E2S, I took as small sample of the Champagnes on offer
The food menu in the lounge seemed OK, but does not well compare to Cathay
As we had a long flight ahead, Mrs E2S wanted to walk around the duty free shops, and I carried her hand luggage so that she could browse freely. She did buy something from Boots using my Boots Advantage Points, and then we paid some cash for some eye make-up in World Duty Free. Mrs E2S afterwards didn’t think it was any cheaper than the high street if she hadn’t used the Heathow Reward Points
With shopping complete, it was now time for the Qantas Lounge where Mrs E2S could enjoy a gin cocktail. The lounge was very quiet, with only 1-other person at the Gin Bar but 16-gins to choose from
The bar staff promptly made Mrs E2S a Gin Cocktail, and poured me a Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon, which frankly was a bit disappointing
The restaurant wasn’t open until 6, but the food menu was limited. While chatting to the only other person, enroute from Zurich to Queenstown, all in economy, said it was so poor, than a burger maybe preferable in the BA lounge
After finishing our drinks, it was time to take the walk to the gate 35 for boarding. As we approached the gate, our boarding passes were checked, and we were allowed to move forward towards the gate. However, this did not prevent others joining the queue from other areas. Assisted boarding and parents with young children were called forward around 17:50, so no chance of a 18:15 departure. Several parents with what appeared to be teenage children were allowed to pre-board. At 18:00 we were eventually called forward to board, but the jetty was still full of pre-boarders.
Our plane, G-CIVM was looking clean on the outside.
Eventually we made it to the door, and were guided to our seats and within minutes all 3 members of the First CC had introduced themselves, the LPGS was promptly brought along with the PJs, menu and wash bag. Looking around, the plane did look clean, which we both took as a positive.
As there was a delay to departure, the LPGS was topped up, and the bottle of the water was brought around.
After a delay of around 40-minutes we pushed back, and a manual safety demonstration was done. On the plus side this meant that we would be spared the awful Comic Relief video, but it was an indication of issues later.
Being right at the pointy end, we both enjoyed the take off by looking out of the windows.
When the seat belts went off, we changed into our PJs. On return to our seats, a glass of LPGS was already there. A few moments later our orders we were placing our orders for dinner
The main interruptions out of the way, time to watch the IFE. As CIVM has the old the IFE system, we were not expecting the best quality. After selecting our movies, the screen flashed green, then nothing, before returning to the menu. We called the CC, and they re-booted both our IFE, and exactly the same thing happened. A few more seemed to have the same issue, so the whole of First had their IFE re-started, and still no luck.
The CSM came over an apologised, and mentioned that this had been an issue on the previous flight, but the engineers had thought they had fixed it prior to take off. She said she would try and push the films of our choice to the screens, as that would normally work, but unfortunately that failed. By this time, the whole of First had no IFE, and it seemed that the IFE in other cabins was failing as well. The CSM offered us both either 20K Avois or £100 voucher.
As there was no IFE, I got out my book, and read for a while. Mrs E2S got out her magazines to browse those.
When the starters were served, the CSM advised us that the whole of First, Club & WT+ had no IFE and they were going to try a series of re-boots as advised by engineers at LHR. All this seemed to do, was cause more failures in WT
Having drank champagne for most of the afternoon, For the main, I switched to the 2008 Bordeaux, and Mrs E2S to the Chablis.
We both chose the linguine, which was OK, but nothing spectacular, but made a change from the Meze we would normally choose on QR.
I’d chosen the Wild Boar, which again was a little disappointing, the pasta was too alla denta, and the accompanying sauce was nondescript
Mrs E2S chose the steak, which she thought was rather good, more medium than the medium rare she’d requested
Having had a 2-course late lunch and a 2-course dinner, I couldn’t squeeze in a desert or cheese and biscuits, so settled back, and read for a while to allow my dinner to settle.
After a while, the alcohol was making me sleepy, so I asked for my bed made up and the CC checked whether I wanted a wakeup call for breakfast. I then settled down for sleep. I was woken a couple of times, due to some short but severe turbulence, but easily managed to get back to sleep.
Waking early to watch a sunrise over Africa
After a refreshing selection of fruit, and a couple of black coffees, it was time to tuck into a full English breakfast, which was probably my best choice of meal on the flight
The CSM came and apologized for the lack of IFE, but due to so many passengers being affected BA HQ had instructed that all passengers had to complete the forms, and that her iPad entry would not be progressed
Unfortunately the weather in Cape Town was overcast, and there we no views of Table Mountain, however there was a brief glimpse of Hout Bay (I think)
Relatively smooth landing only 40-minutes late, and then we were on the gate. The CC tried to get the WT+ to remain seated to allow the F & CW passengers off with limited success, but they did at least try.
The Lufthansa flight had virtually cleared immigration when we joined the queue. Fortunately, we were directed to an official without the finger print scan, which seemed to be taking ages for the passengers to get cleared.
Our baggage was off relatively quickly, and while waiting I was chatting to a Canadian who had flown in from Vancouver on the same plane, and he commented that the IFE wasn’t working on that flight either.
The lack of IFE was irritating, but as it is the CC who makes a good BA experience, we were fortunate to have a very good crew and an excellent CSM
Over a week after our flight, the promised contact by Customer Services has failed to materialise.
As GCH we took the option for 1AK which was a first for us
We have flown F several times in the past, mainly using the 241 AMEX redemption, or as an OpUp. With the various flights we have had different experiences ranging from poor to exceptional.
When the day came, the outlaws were taking us to Heathrow, but arrived a couple of hours earlier than expected, so after a couple of cups of tea, Mrs E2S decided lets go to T3 and have a lounge crawl.
Traffic was light, and we arrived at 14:00 for our 18:15 BA43 flight. We headed to zone D, and while certainly not the First Wing, the First Check-in was clearly obvious
Bags dropped, then up the escalator to Fast Track Security, a small queue, but the checks were thorough, all belts, shoes off, pockets emptied, and a full scan followed by a quick body search.
We headed straight to the Cathay First lounge for a bite to eat. The first lounge was fairly empty, and we had drink of water while we browsed the menus. Entering the restaurant we were immediately seated
We both chose the duck starter, which was very pleasant, Mrs E2S went for the ravioli, and I went for the Chicken Curry. Mrs E2S decided my choice was better, and insisted on helping herself and finishing hers
While champagne doesn’t normally go with curry, as 3 were on offer, we decided to try all 3.
We both preferred the Laurent Perrier, the pink didn’t seemed chilled enough so that had an impact on the taste
After relaxing a while, we made our way to the BA First Lounge, as we had booked treatments, me first, then Mrs E2S as scheduled by You First. I found the massage chair fine, but Mrs E2S thought it was a bit of a torture chamber
While waiting for Mrs E2S, I took as small sample of the Champagnes on offer
The food menu in the lounge seemed OK, but does not well compare to Cathay
As we had a long flight ahead, Mrs E2S wanted to walk around the duty free shops, and I carried her hand luggage so that she could browse freely. She did buy something from Boots using my Boots Advantage Points, and then we paid some cash for some eye make-up in World Duty Free. Mrs E2S afterwards didn’t think it was any cheaper than the high street if she hadn’t used the Heathow Reward Points
With shopping complete, it was now time for the Qantas Lounge where Mrs E2S could enjoy a gin cocktail. The lounge was very quiet, with only 1-other person at the Gin Bar but 16-gins to choose from
The bar staff promptly made Mrs E2S a Gin Cocktail, and poured me a Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon, which frankly was a bit disappointing
The restaurant wasn’t open until 6, but the food menu was limited. While chatting to the only other person, enroute from Zurich to Queenstown, all in economy, said it was so poor, than a burger maybe preferable in the BA lounge
After finishing our drinks, it was time to take the walk to the gate 35 for boarding. As we approached the gate, our boarding passes were checked, and we were allowed to move forward towards the gate. However, this did not prevent others joining the queue from other areas. Assisted boarding and parents with young children were called forward around 17:50, so no chance of a 18:15 departure. Several parents with what appeared to be teenage children were allowed to pre-board. At 18:00 we were eventually called forward to board, but the jetty was still full of pre-boarders.
Our plane, G-CIVM was looking clean on the outside.
Eventually we made it to the door, and were guided to our seats and within minutes all 3 members of the First CC had introduced themselves, the LPGS was promptly brought along with the PJs, menu and wash bag. Looking around, the plane did look clean, which we both took as a positive.
As there was a delay to departure, the LPGS was topped up, and the bottle of the water was brought around.
After a delay of around 40-minutes we pushed back, and a manual safety demonstration was done. On the plus side this meant that we would be spared the awful Comic Relief video, but it was an indication of issues later.
Being right at the pointy end, we both enjoyed the take off by looking out of the windows.
When the seat belts went off, we changed into our PJs. On return to our seats, a glass of LPGS was already there. A few moments later our orders we were placing our orders for dinner
The main interruptions out of the way, time to watch the IFE. As CIVM has the old the IFE system, we were not expecting the best quality. After selecting our movies, the screen flashed green, then nothing, before returning to the menu. We called the CC, and they re-booted both our IFE, and exactly the same thing happened. A few more seemed to have the same issue, so the whole of First had their IFE re-started, and still no luck.
The CSM came over an apologised, and mentioned that this had been an issue on the previous flight, but the engineers had thought they had fixed it prior to take off. She said she would try and push the films of our choice to the screens, as that would normally work, but unfortunately that failed. By this time, the whole of First had no IFE, and it seemed that the IFE in other cabins was failing as well. The CSM offered us both either 20K Avois or £100 voucher.
As there was no IFE, I got out my book, and read for a while. Mrs E2S got out her magazines to browse those.
When the starters were served, the CSM advised us that the whole of First, Club & WT+ had no IFE and they were going to try a series of re-boots as advised by engineers at LHR. All this seemed to do, was cause more failures in WT
Having drank champagne for most of the afternoon, For the main, I switched to the 2008 Bordeaux, and Mrs E2S to the Chablis.
We both chose the linguine, which was OK, but nothing spectacular, but made a change from the Meze we would normally choose on QR.
I’d chosen the Wild Boar, which again was a little disappointing, the pasta was too alla denta, and the accompanying sauce was nondescript
Mrs E2S chose the steak, which she thought was rather good, more medium than the medium rare she’d requested
Having had a 2-course late lunch and a 2-course dinner, I couldn’t squeeze in a desert or cheese and biscuits, so settled back, and read for a while to allow my dinner to settle.
After a while, the alcohol was making me sleepy, so I asked for my bed made up and the CC checked whether I wanted a wakeup call for breakfast. I then settled down for sleep. I was woken a couple of times, due to some short but severe turbulence, but easily managed to get back to sleep.
Waking early to watch a sunrise over Africa
After a refreshing selection of fruit, and a couple of black coffees, it was time to tuck into a full English breakfast, which was probably my best choice of meal on the flight
The CSM came and apologized for the lack of IFE, but due to so many passengers being affected BA HQ had instructed that all passengers had to complete the forms, and that her iPad entry would not be progressed
Unfortunately the weather in Cape Town was overcast, and there we no views of Table Mountain, however there was a brief glimpse of Hout Bay (I think)
Relatively smooth landing only 40-minutes late, and then we were on the gate. The CC tried to get the WT+ to remain seated to allow the F & CW passengers off with limited success, but they did at least try.
The Lufthansa flight had virtually cleared immigration when we joined the queue. Fortunately, we were directed to an official without the finger print scan, which seemed to be taking ages for the passengers to get cleared.
Our baggage was off relatively quickly, and while waiting I was chatting to a Canadian who had flown in from Vancouver on the same plane, and he commented that the IFE wasn’t working on that flight either.
The lack of IFE was irritating, but as it is the CC who makes a good BA experience, we were fortunate to have a very good crew and an excellent CSM
Over a week after our flight, the promised contact by Customer Services has failed to materialise.
Last edited by escape2sun; Jan 26, 2019 at 8:25 am Reason: Spelling
Jan 26, 2019, 8:45 am
#2
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oxon, UK
Programs: Mucci des canapes, Skywards Gold, BAEC, IC Plat Amb, LH FTV
Posts: 1,952
Thanks for the report - the eperience seems to have been mixed but overall positive (sort of like many of my recent BA experiences). I wonder if the instruction that all pax have to fill in forms to get compensation for the non-existent IFE is a rather cynical move to minimise liability as not everyone will bother?
Jan 26, 2019, 9:09 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, HHonours, SPG, AVIS
Posts: 526
I think CIVM was the first Mid-J 747's to get the refresh in WT/WT+, and it would have been good to have the new IFE installed given that she has 3-4 years left before retirement. One of the crew mentioned that the IFE has been just as problematic on other flights they have done
The crew did collect the forms for those people who had filled them in, but I'm sure some might not have realised that they could get something back for no IFE
The crew did collect the forms for those people who had filled them in, but I'm sure some might not have realised that they could get something back for no IFE
Jan 26, 2019, 9:25 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: London
Programs: BAEC bouncing from Blue to Gold to Blue VSFC Red CXGreen Club Accor Platinum Hilton Silver.
Posts: 914
Thanks for the TR having no IFE is not so bad on an overnight flight but if it's advertised it should work and having to fill in forms is so 19th century. I hope you get you choice of compensation.
John
John
Jan 26, 2019, 10:52 am
#6
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 159
Thanks for posting - IFE issues aside I’d say my limited First experiences so far have been similar with good crew, good drinks but not great food.
Have you done the return yet? Wondering what the First experience is like departing CPT.
And on a related topic - any good sale fares (whether BA or anyone else) from London to Cape Town later this year? Best I can get is about £1900 in CW with the outbound via Durban but would rather fly both legs direct if possible.
Have you done the return yet? Wondering what the First experience is like departing CPT.
And on a related topic - any good sale fares (whether BA or anyone else) from London to Cape Town later this year? Best I can get is about £1900 in CW with the outbound via Durban but would rather fly both legs direct if possible.
Jan 26, 2019, 11:42 am
#7
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
Until recently, CPT ex-AMS was widely available with BA at £1100 (I needed to get myself down to SA in Sept anyway, so booked with BA at that fare rather than taking a much pricier EK flight, as originally planned) but now seems to have risen to around £1250 at best, and mostly £1700 or more ..... so perhaps not much saving versus a direct departure from LHR.
Jan 26, 2019, 1:22 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,145
Slightly shocked to see a mention of Matua Sauv Blanc in the Qantas Lounge ... very mid-market. We glug that in the US at around $10 a bottle!
However, a nice flight and a great destination. Even cheaper in J ex-LGW, on a 2-4-1, of course!
However, a nice flight and a great destination. Even cheaper in J ex-LGW, on a 2-4-1, of course!
Jan 26, 2019, 6:04 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: York, UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, Hilton Diamond, Marriott GOLD, Accor Club Gold
Posts: 709
Exactly the same on-board menu as today's flight to ORD. I tried the Nettle Soup - which really was not very pleasant. The crew happily swapped it for the terrine, which was much nicer. And I rather liked the wild boar pasta!