Hopping the pond for EXP: BA 747/320/777 in J + 10 Euro Hostel in Lisbon
Dec 24, 2015, 8:20 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: New York
Programs: AA Exp / Marriott Titanium / Hilton Gold / Hyatt Globalist / United Silver
Posts: 958
Hopping the pond for EXP: BA 747/320/777 in J + 10 Euro Hostel in Lisbon
As 2015 was coming to an end, I was in a desperate search to get myself to EXP level on AA.
While I was less than 13k short on EQP basis, I was too far away on an EQM basis to do a traditional Y cabin run. I needed something that could give me 1.5x or 2x on the EQP side. Hence my search for reasonable J cabin fare began.
With the year-end slowing of J cabin bookings, most of J tickets to Europe were being sold for under $2k this month. I found that out of all the cities, ticket to Lisbon was the cheapest (as far as OW tickets go), and was able to book it with AARP discount
Itinerary:
JFK-LHR on 747
LHR-LIS on A320
LIS-LHR on A320
LHR-JFK on 777
JFK Terminal 7 Galleries Lounge
Given the number of FTers that fly this route, I didn't think much about taking pictures, but I actually regret that decision as it had pretty cool Christmas decorations.
BUT - foodwise, it was actually rather disappointing compared to Clubhouse on the VS side. Meals were rather blend, and the buffet style really couldn't compare with Clubhouse's 3 course selection (which is offered even to DL & VS elites traveling on Y cabin while the BA had sign saying that it was reserved for CW passengers)
This beagle will be my companion for this trip
But hey - they actually have actual beer, which cannot be said for our American counterparts.
Flight #1
BA 182
B747
Seat 61K
Scheduled Departure 11:10PM
Actual Departure 11:43PM
Scheduled Arrival: 10:30AM
Actual Arrival 10:42AM
I picked a window seat because I am one of those who always has their nose stuck to the window looking outside - even on a redeye flight where I won't see anything outside.
Personally, BA's CW seat configuration made me somewhat too close with my potential stranger seatmate. I wasn't sure if I would be obligated to engage in a small talk given that we were going to face each other. But thankfully, the flight was rather empty, and the aisle seat next to me stayed empty.
The IFE screen rather reminded of flying in the late 2000s.
...and it kept malfunctioning throughout the flight. Oh well, I was going to sleep anyways.
But when I raised the screen next to my seat, I was in my own space.... sort of semi-suite I guess.
After barely four hours of sleep (should not have taken that Benedryl!!) I was waken up by a flight attendant... On this flight, I didn't have the dinner (as I wanted to sleep) so I can't comment on that, but the breakfast was rather dull and lacking compared to its other cross-atlantic counterparts (DL, VS, even UX had better brekky I thought!)
But I actually appreciated the formalities of British Airways - where they address you in sir or madam to each passenger (or maybe I am old fashioned
) compared to our friendly DL/AA flight attendants whose preference (for me) seem to be "sweetie" or "sweetheart." Not that I mind...
Oh hello London! Nice to see you!
Flight #2
BA 502
A320
3F
Scheduled Departure 3:35PM
Actual Departure 4:16PM
Scheduled Arrival 6:10PM
Actual Arrival 6:18PM
The gate area was fairly crowded due to holiday travel.
As I was taking this picture, little girl ran over and said "SNOOPY!!!" and added "I HAVE THAT TOO!" (well all in Portuguese. Her mother translated it for me in our subsequent conversation)
A typical European business configuration - legroom was non-existent.
My travel companion wanted to take off ASAP, but we were delayed due to weather.
As we were moving out to the taxiway - a storm was coming.... come on, let's go let's go let's go.
I just love looking out the window... and seeing the sunset! Did I already say that my nose spends awful lot of time with the windows?
I actually really loved the BA's offering of afternoon tea set. Sandwiches were delicious, and this was my first experience with "clotted cream" OH god that was heavenly. I was really craving sweets during the trip, and this had really hit the spot
To be continued...
While I was less than 13k short on EQP basis, I was too far away on an EQM basis to do a traditional Y cabin run. I needed something that could give me 1.5x or 2x on the EQP side. Hence my search for reasonable J cabin fare began.
With the year-end slowing of J cabin bookings, most of J tickets to Europe were being sold for under $2k this month. I found that out of all the cities, ticket to Lisbon was the cheapest (as far as OW tickets go), and was able to book it with AARP discount
Itinerary:
JFK-LHR on 747
LHR-LIS on A320
LIS-LHR on A320
LHR-JFK on 777
JFK Terminal 7 Galleries Lounge
Given the number of FTers that fly this route, I didn't think much about taking pictures, but I actually regret that decision as it had pretty cool Christmas decorations.
BUT - foodwise, it was actually rather disappointing compared to Clubhouse on the VS side. Meals were rather blend, and the buffet style really couldn't compare with Clubhouse's 3 course selection (which is offered even to DL & VS elites traveling on Y cabin while the BA had sign saying that it was reserved for CW passengers)
This beagle will be my companion for this trip
But hey - they actually have actual beer, which cannot be said for our American counterparts.
Flight #1
BA 182
B747
Seat 61K
Scheduled Departure 11:10PM
Actual Departure 11:43PM
Scheduled Arrival: 10:30AM
Actual Arrival 10:42AM
I picked a window seat because I am one of those who always has their nose stuck to the window looking outside - even on a redeye flight where I won't see anything outside.
Personally, BA's CW seat configuration made me somewhat too close with my potential stranger seatmate. I wasn't sure if I would be obligated to engage in a small talk given that we were going to face each other. But thankfully, the flight was rather empty, and the aisle seat next to me stayed empty.
The IFE screen rather reminded of flying in the late 2000s.
...and it kept malfunctioning throughout the flight. Oh well, I was going to sleep anyways.
But when I raised the screen next to my seat, I was in my own space.... sort of semi-suite I guess.
After barely four hours of sleep (should not have taken that Benedryl!!) I was waken up by a flight attendant... On this flight, I didn't have the dinner (as I wanted to sleep) so I can't comment on that, but the breakfast was rather dull and lacking compared to its other cross-atlantic counterparts (DL, VS, even UX had better brekky I thought!)
But I actually appreciated the formalities of British Airways - where they address you in sir or madam to each passenger (or maybe I am old fashioned
) compared to our friendly DL/AA flight attendants whose preference (for me) seem to be "sweetie" or "sweetheart." Not that I mind...Oh hello London! Nice to see you!
Flight #2
BA 502
A320
3F
Scheduled Departure 3:35PM
Actual Departure 4:16PM
Scheduled Arrival 6:10PM
Actual Arrival 6:18PM
The gate area was fairly crowded due to holiday travel.
As I was taking this picture, little girl ran over and said "SNOOPY!!!" and added "I HAVE THAT TOO!" (well all in Portuguese. Her mother translated it for me in our subsequent conversation)
A typical European business configuration - legroom was non-existent.
My travel companion wanted to take off ASAP, but we were delayed due to weather.
As we were moving out to the taxiway - a storm was coming.... come on, let's go let's go let's go.
I just love looking out the window... and seeing the sunset! Did I already say that my nose spends awful lot of time with the windows?
I actually really loved the BA's offering of afternoon tea set. Sandwiches were delicious, and this was my first experience with "clotted cream" OH god that was heavenly. I was really craving sweets during the trip, and this had really hit the spot
To be continued...
Last edited by samwise6222; Dec 29, 2015 at 9:16 am
Dec 24, 2015, 8:25 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: New York
Programs: AA Exp / Marriott Titanium / Hilton Gold / Hyatt Globalist / United Silver
Posts: 958
Lisbon!
Lisbon
Coming from New York, I definitely appreciated Lisbon metro system's (1) simplicity and (2) the fact that it goes to the airport!!!!
Actually - let's scratch that. Any airport that gets subway system to the terminal gets five star in my review. (Ahem looking at you... JFK/LGA/EWR)
Ticket from the airport was quite cheap - .5 euro for the ticket itself (like $1 MTA charges for the metrocard) and 1.4 euro for the fare. Put Lisbon under one of the "cheapest airport transfer to the city" category. (I am looking at you NRT)
My 40 minute ride to the central Lisbon was pretty uneventful - save for this art student who wanted to buy me a cup of coffee and offered to show me around. Portugal hospitality? Organ trafficker? That, I will never get to figure out as I said "thanks but no thanks."
Yes! Lisbon Hostel
Not just for saving $ (sorry I meant €) but I like staying at hostels when I am traveling alone as it's a great way to meet people in a new place.
With rooms starting at 10 Euros a night - I didn't have much expectation.
I opted for a bit more "luxury" option that came with en-suite bathroom (shared among six people) rather than shared bathroom for the whole floor...
This "luxury" came with 1 extra Euro per day... easily worth it!
The property also offered "home cooked Portuguese dinner" for 10 Euros. It came with three course dinner along with bottomless beer and wine.
After dinner, they offer free shot of the day at 11:30. Everyone that stays in the hostel gets a free shot... After that, they do a bar hopping (or pub crawl) every night that goes until the sunrise. Let's say it was fun - but a bit too intense for my age (fragile 28!)
The hostel comes with a free walking tour that takes everyday except Sunday... man how much can you cram in on a 10 Euro per night room?
Coming from New York, I definitely appreciated Lisbon metro system's (1) simplicity and (2) the fact that it goes to the airport!!!!
Actually - let's scratch that. Any airport that gets subway system to the terminal gets five star in my review. (Ahem looking at you... JFK/LGA/EWR)
Ticket from the airport was quite cheap - .5 euro for the ticket itself (like $1 MTA charges for the metrocard) and 1.4 euro for the fare. Put Lisbon under one of the "cheapest airport transfer to the city" category. (I am looking at you NRT)
My 40 minute ride to the central Lisbon was pretty uneventful - save for this art student who wanted to buy me a cup of coffee and offered to show me around. Portugal hospitality? Organ trafficker? That, I will never get to figure out as I said "thanks but no thanks."
Yes! Lisbon Hostel
Not just for saving $ (sorry I meant €) but I like staying at hostels when I am traveling alone as it's a great way to meet people in a new place.
With rooms starting at 10 Euros a night - I didn't have much expectation.
I opted for a bit more "luxury" option that came with en-suite bathroom (shared among six people) rather than shared bathroom for the whole floor...
This "luxury" came with 1 extra Euro per day... easily worth it!
The property also offered "home cooked Portuguese dinner" for 10 Euros. It came with three course dinner along with bottomless beer and wine.
After dinner, they offer free shot of the day at 11:30. Everyone that stays in the hostel gets a free shot... After that, they do a bar hopping (or pub crawl) every night that goes until the sunrise. Let's say it was fun - but a bit too intense for my age (fragile 28!)
The hostel comes with a free walking tour that takes everyday except Sunday... man how much can you cram in on a 10 Euro per night room?
Last edited by samwise6222; Dec 25, 2015 at 10:01 am
Dec 24, 2015, 8:25 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: New York
Programs: AA Exp / Marriott Titanium / Hilton Gold / Hyatt Globalist / United Silver
Posts: 958
Going home
Coming home
Like many other European airports - you will find amenities in the non-Schengen area quite lacking. No lounge, no restaurants, etc.
At check-in, British Air agent told me that while as a J customer I was entitled to use the lounge facility, she didn't recommend it as (1) the lounge was not a oneworld lounge, and the offering was so-so and (2) it would take 20 minutes to get to my gate.
Well that's assuring, right?
Lisbon Airport wifi system assumes that you either a man or a married woman. I just thought it was funny.
I did have an issue with the airport - but instead of me ranting here once more, I will just let my facebook rant do the talk
Flight #3
BA 501
A320
Seat 3A
Scheduled Departure 10:20AM
Actual Departure 11:07AM
Scheduled Arrival: 1:15PM
Actual Arrival 1:37PM
Unfortunately, BA did not seem to have an actual gate at this airport. Both arrival into/ and departure from Lisbon involved riding a bus.
And as you know - when you ride the bus "priority boarding" becomes meaningless.
While we were being delayed due to fog, I saw these three brave gentlemen chatting about daily lives in front of the engine.... Sure the engine was turned off (I think), but I'd be pretty scared to stand directly in front of it....
World War I Flying Ace takes off!
Lunch option...which I thought was much better than what I had in KLM last year.
Due to condition in Heathrow, we had to go a bit far out into the ocean rather than taking a direct route.
But the approach gave us a nice view of LHR
...and LCY
Heathrow was quite busy with the holiday travel, but by the time I got to terminal 5C (a satellite building) it was pretty empty.
HOWEVER, as 5C didn't have a lounge facility, I had to spend a good chunk of time in the gate area
Although - in the end, it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the location of the terminal 5C made it a perfect spot to just watch planes take off.
American
Air India
Air Canada... and so on.
Flight #4
BA 115
B777
Seat 13K
Scheduled Departure 4:10PM
Actual Departure 4:41PM
Scheduled Arrival: 7:20PM
Actual Arrival 6:58PM
777's J seats had the similar seat configuration as the 747s...
As I am an avid window seat lover, I, of course, took the rear facing seat
When I first started this trip, I was actually quite worried about getting plane-sick, as I get car sick ALL the time whenever I take the NYC Taxis. But I turned out to be ok.
One of the big negatives about the window seat on BA is that if the person on the aisle seat goes to sleep, you are sort of stuck there...
(Again, it may be awkward to face your seatmate if you are not traveling together...)
Flight attendants on this flight were especially jolly. By this point, I think I had about four drinks of mimosa... yummmm....
Lunch app...six drinks and counting
Lunch main... Tandori chicken was excellent!
...and lastly the afternoon tea!
Like many other European airports - you will find amenities in the non-Schengen area quite lacking. No lounge, no restaurants, etc.
At check-in, British Air agent told me that while as a J customer I was entitled to use the lounge facility, she didn't recommend it as (1) the lounge was not a oneworld lounge, and the offering was so-so and (2) it would take 20 minutes to get to my gate.
Well that's assuring, right?
Lisbon Airport wifi system assumes that you either a man or a married woman. I just thought it was funny.
I did have an issue with the airport - but instead of me ranting here once more, I will just let my facebook rant do the talk
Flight #3
BA 501
A320
Seat 3A
Scheduled Departure 10:20AM
Actual Departure 11:07AM
Scheduled Arrival: 1:15PM
Actual Arrival 1:37PM
Unfortunately, BA did not seem to have an actual gate at this airport. Both arrival into/ and departure from Lisbon involved riding a bus.
And as you know - when you ride the bus "priority boarding" becomes meaningless.
While we were being delayed due to fog, I saw these three brave gentlemen chatting about daily lives in front of the engine.... Sure the engine was turned off (I think), but I'd be pretty scared to stand directly in front of it....
Lunch option...which I thought was much better than what I had in KLM last year.
Due to condition in Heathrow, we had to go a bit far out into the ocean rather than taking a direct route.
But the approach gave us a nice view of LHR
...and LCY
Heathrow was quite busy with the holiday travel, but by the time I got to terminal 5C (a satellite building) it was pretty empty.
HOWEVER, as 5C didn't have a lounge facility, I had to spend a good chunk of time in the gate area
Although - in the end, it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the location of the terminal 5C made it a perfect spot to just watch planes take off.
American
Air India
Air Canada... and so on.
Flight #4
BA 115
B777
Seat 13K
Scheduled Departure 4:10PM
Actual Departure 4:41PM
Scheduled Arrival: 7:20PM
Actual Arrival 6:58PM
777's J seats had the similar seat configuration as the 747s...
As I am an avid window seat lover, I, of course, took the rear facing seat
When I first started this trip, I was actually quite worried about getting plane-sick, as I get car sick ALL the time whenever I take the NYC Taxis. But I turned out to be ok.
One of the big negatives about the window seat on BA is that if the person on the aisle seat goes to sleep, you are sort of stuck there...
(Again, it may be awkward to face your seatmate if you are not traveling together...)
Flight attendants on this flight were especially jolly. By this point, I think I had about four drinks of mimosa... yummmm....
Lunch app...six drinks and counting
Lunch main... Tandori chicken was excellent!
...and lastly the afternoon tea!
Last edited by samwise6222; Dec 26, 2015 at 7:25 pm
Dec 25, 2015, 9:38 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: New York
Programs: AA Exp / Marriott Titanium / Hilton Gold / Hyatt Globalist / United Silver
Posts: 958
Dec 25, 2015, 2:55 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: NYC, WAS, MAD
Programs: Marriott Gold
Posts: 25
Lisbon metro looks really nice. And pretty cheap compared to the MTA lol
However the cheapest airport terminal to city center subway is still Mexico City at 5 pesos per ride (no need to buy a reloadable Metrocard there), which is like $.35-$.50 depending on the exchange!
However the cheapest airport terminal to city center subway is still Mexico City at 5 pesos per ride (no need to buy a reloadable Metrocard there), which is like $.35-$.50 depending on the exchange!
Dec 26, 2015, 6:35 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: JNB
Programs: Flying Blue, Miles and Smiles, Hhonors, ICHotels
Posts: 1,307
Looking forward to the rest of this TR. 10 Euro for a three course dinner including beer and wine ^^^^^
Like a place I stayed at in Tbilisi some years ago where the beer and wine were complimentary, and the scary part was, the wine was actually good.
Like a place I stayed at in Tbilisi some years ago where the beer and wine were complimentary, and the scary part was, the wine was actually good.
Dec 26, 2015, 10:59 am
#11
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 posting samwise6222, I like your writing style!
I'm off in Lisbon next week, so I'm following closely
I'm off in Lisbon next week, so I'm following closely
Dec 26, 2015, 6:49 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: New York
Programs: AA Exp / Marriott Titanium / Hilton Gold / Hyatt Globalist / United Silver
Posts: 958
Lisbon metro looks really nice. And pretty cheap compared to the MTA lol
However the cheapest airport terminal to city center subway is still Mexico City at 5 pesos per ride (no need to buy a reloadable Metrocard there), which is like $.35-$.50 depending on the exchange!
However the cheapest airport terminal to city center subway is still Mexico City at 5 pesos per ride (no need to buy a reloadable Metrocard there), which is like $.35-$.50 depending on the exchange!
