sarecca

In the continuing saga of my quick west coast to Europe and back quest for my miles, I spent the evening of OCt 30 in Barcelona at the Intercontinental. This is a great hotel for the price. Went to The Olympic Village and had some of the best paella that I have ever had. Manager told me that dinner there really doesn't get busy until after 8 or 9 in the evening. Fabulous bussling city. Nexzt morning made a flight to ORY on Iberia flight. Arrived at Barcelona airport and proceede to the Iberia Business Class Lounge. This was the most beautiful of all the European Business Class lounges that I have sampled. Burgundy red carpeting with comfortable chairs and couches including some fabulous art deco tables and chairs. Very quiet. Typical snacks however, without much food selection. However, they did have a delicious Spanish Chocolate Milk drink I appreciated. On to the gate which in BCN is quite a distance from the IB lounge. Plane is an AIRBUS 320 with 3 rows of C class. Only two people including myself in C class. No menu this time, but a great snack of cold roast beef, smoked salmon, breads, fresh fruit and pastries. Flight was beautiful and on our approach into ORY the Eiffel Tower was seen in all of its glory. Arrived at ORY with a couple of hours to spare until my flight to LHR. Went to the Business Class lounge which was hot, humid, and VERY uncomfortable. So I managed to do a little shopping while waiting for my BA flight to LHR. Arrived at the gate with just 5 minutes to spare as the security at ORY is very tight. This short 45 minute flight was on a 757. C Class was 3 seats on the right and two seats on the left. I had the first row aisle seat which gave me great amounts of leg room. Upon take off with a FULL C class, we were handed a snack of cold grilled salmon, cucmber salad, our choice of champagne or liquors, and a large cherry tart. Incredible food service for such a short flight. Incidentally, champagne was Piper Heidsick. Arrived in LHR where I immediately checked into the London Intercontinental. Another great hotel, ehich I found for only 99 pounds, thanks to the advise from this board, where someone advised to look for weekend specials on the intercontinental home page. THANKS.
After a very expensive japanese dinner at NOBU ( which I have gone to many times in LA ), and a restful sleep, I was on my way to JFK.

I arrived at LHR Terminal 4 a bit early and found out that a flight before mine was available in F class. Therefore I switched from a 747-200 to a 777 on November 1. It seems that BA runs a 777 on Mondays and Saturdays into JFK. Prior to boarding I visited the British First Class lounge which was a total zoo. Terrible snacks and no place to sit down. BA needs to rethink this. However on to the flight. I arrived at the gate and boarded the 777. This was a brand new plane ( 9 days old states the pilot), and the triple seven was gorgeous. I had a single seat 4K which was a sleeper type of seat. This seat had it all over the SQ sleeper suite in my opinion. Very easy to operate, more privacy, and a tremendous amount of storage space. Nuts and cocktails were awaiting us followed by my perusal of one of the most varied amount of entertainment options I have seen up to date. There were over 30 videos to choose from NOT including the large video screen per programmed section. GREAT CHOICES. Menu was Lunch including a lobster salad, lentil, tomato, and coriander soup, caesar salad, seared salmon with lobster mashed potatoes, fresh vegatables, fusilli with basi and tomato sauce, cheese board and poached pears with vanilla ice cream. Afternoon tea consisted of scones, tea sandwiches and cakes. The service on BA was exemplary. I really liked this flight better than the SQ flight. The FA gave me an extra amenity kit for my two girls, and I was very grateful. The FA could not do enough for me. I told my wife that I WILL NEVER travel AA or UA again transatlantic. I hope you van see shy. I will finish the final portion of my trip report later this week.....

Carfield

Thanks for the great report!

I am glad that you enjoy your BA trips. I am amazed by all those inter-European segments operated by BA and IB. The food sounds so good and none of the US airlines can serve a proper meal on those short flights.

The new BA Suite sounds promising. I will be on it for a short trip from HKG to TPE this December. I guess I can ask the F/As for extra menus and amenity kits without being yelled at.

Look forward to finish reading your report!

Carfield

doc

Thanks sarecca. You are starting to sound a bit like me with your attitude (and quite accurate, IMHO, I might ad) toward US carriers. I feel sad, as an American that they don't do a better job. BA has a great product which they always appear to be trying to improve while SQ, my favorite seems to be again resting on their (past) laurels a bit!