Trip report DXB-LHR BA106 June 20th

When I got to the BA lounge, I enquired about my little incident earlier, and was told that indeed the flight had not opened for check-in yet. The agent at the desk asked me to wait about 20 minutes, before heading up to the transfer desk closer to the lounge to get my boarding pass. The lounge was quite nice, and had some drinks, canap�s and sandwiches. The lounge served CX passengers as well, and there were quite a few passengers on the CX flight to Hong Kong in the lounge. I explored the airport a bit, and next to the BA lounge, was a Star Alliance lounge. That lounge did not show which airline operated it, but instead had a huge Star Alliance logo on the outside. I was quite curious and went inside to find that Lufthansa operated it. They had a Business class and First class section inside, and it stated that all Star Alliance Gold members were allowed to use the First class section. Same rules as the LH lounges in Frankfurt. The rest of the airport was quite impressive. There were plasma TVs everywhere, and the whole airport was clean and airy. I wanted to go find that place they advertise in magazines selling lottery tickets to win a car. Like $100 per ticket and you could win a Ferrari. Couldn't find it inside the departure area, so I guess it must be outside somewhere.

After checking out the airport, I went up to the transit desk to get my boarding pass. The agent there spent a while calling around, as he did not know what class I was flying in. I assume that he's new, as he kept on saying he did not know if my A fare was First, Business or Economy. After about 5 minutes, I got my boarding pass and went back to the lounge. Back at the lounge, I sampled some of the food they had. Most of it was quite good, especially the Cajun chicken canap�. It's too bad that their soft drink selection was limited to coke, pepsi and 7-up. They also didn't have any power adapters for me to charge my notebook, but luckily I had about 50% battery life remaining, which would last me about an hour and a half. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 01:10, and the agent announced boarding at 12:40. As I was walking towards the gate, they were already doing a final call.

I was among the last group of passengers to board, all from the lounge, and took my seat in 2A. It was the same plane we came on from LHR earlier, but they had a change of crew. Pre-departure drinks were served, and I was given an amenity kit with a different design, duvet and a sleeper suit. As I settled in, I noticed that the air show was saying the flight was going to be 11 hours. I was quite alarmed by this and asked the FA. She assured me the flight was going to be no more than 7 hours, and something must be wrong with the system. Anyhow, the doors closed at 01:00, 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time, and we started our pushback at 01:10. As we were taxing, the menus were handed out. We took off from DXB at approximately 01:15, and were on our way back to LHR.

After take-off, cocktail orders were taken, followed by dinner selection. The menu for tonight was a-la-carte again, but it did not have as many selections as our incoming flight. The menu consisted of the following:

Wines
Piper-Heidsieck Rare Champagne
Sancerre Cuv�e Edmond, 1998, Alphonse Mellot
Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Les Cortons, 1999, Roux P�re et Fils
Tokay Pinot Gris de Riquewihr, 1997, Dopff au Moulin
Bahans-Haut-Brion, 1997, Pessac-L�ognan
Brunello di Montalino, 1995, Leonardo
Coopers Creek Reserve Pinot Noir, 1998
Beaune Premier Cru Les Epenottes, 1998, Domaine Parent
Opitz Pinot Blanc / Pinot Gris Trockenbeerenauslese, 1998

SUPPER
Appetizers
Smoked and grilled salmon with parsley oil dressing

Fresh pear, baby corn and olive salad

Mixed seasonal salad served with classic vinaigrette or blue cheese dressing

Selection of rolls and Arabic bread

Main Courses
Seared Ch�teaubriand with horseradish gravy

Pan seared tuna with wild mushroom risotto cakes

Lighter Options
Artichoke and pepper pizza

Freshly cooked pasta with your choice of green pesto or tomato and chili sauce served with freshly grated parmesan cheese

Dessert
Lemon meringue tart

Selection of fresh fruit

Cheeseboard Selection
Cheese served with crackers

To Help You Sleep
Hot chocolate, decaffeinated coffee, tea or herbal tea

Nestle Nespresso - regular or decaffeinated espresso and cappuccino

Chocoates

For dinner, I selected the salmon and olive salad for appetizers and the Ch�teaubriand for main course. My food came in about 15 minutes, and both my appetizers were served together. The salmon dish consisted of one piece of smoked salmon, and a one piece of grilled salmon. They were quite tasty, but I wish they had a bit larger potion. The salad was absolutely terrible, and the only good part was the piece of pear in it. My Ch�teaubriand came afterwards, and it looked very appetizer. It was accompanied with potatoes, carrots and string beans. The beef itself wasn't the best quality, but cooked just right, so overall it was still very good. For desert, I had the lemon meringue. The meringue was huge, and I woofed it down within a minute. After my late night supper, I laid the duvet on the seat and went to sleep. It wasn't as comfortable as my setup on the CX flight, but I was quite tired and just fell asleep anyways.

I woke up one hour prior to arrival in London, when the FA came and woke me up for breakfast. We had the following choices for breakfast:

BREAKFAST
Appetizer
Freshly squeezed fruit juice

Fruit energizer drink

Fresh seasonal fruit

Dried fruit and nuts with cr�me fra�che

Natural or fruit yoghurt

Warm breads and breakfast pastries

Hot Choice
Freshly scrambled or boiled eggs with tomatoes, grilled chicken medallions, veal sausages and bubble and squeak

Tomato and mushroom omelette

I asked for the orange juice first, and when she brought it to me, I just drank it. It didn't really taste like orange juice, but I guess it's just 'coz my taste buds weren't function just yet. I also asked for the fresh seasonal fruit, which came as a fruit bowl with a mixture of chopped up fruits. For the main course, I asked for the scramble eggs, as I wanted to compare them with the ones I had one Cathay. It turned out much better, and it was served on top of toast. The sausages were good as well, but I was baffled at the bubble and squeak. Had no idea what it was, but there was a piece of hash brown looking thing on the plate. I presume that was it, so I tried it, but didn't like it. After breakfast was finished, we had already started our descent into London. There was no traffic, and we made a beeline straight towards Heathrow and landed at 05:20. We were nearly half an hour ahead of schedule. We parked at Terminal 4, and door 2 was used for disembarking.
I followed the signs out of immigration and went to the BA Arrivals lounge. It was quite discreet and located next to the Left Luggage. The Arrivals lounge consisted of 2 floors, the lower one with the showers, and the upper floor, which included the spa and dining room. I made my way up to the dining room, and helped myself to some more breakfast. They had the usual breakfast foods there, and also you can have eggs made to order. I asked for some scrambled eggs, and thought that it wasn't as good as the ones on the plane. Strange, no? After my meal, I went back downstairs, took a quick shower, and headed over to Terminal 3. I managed to pick up menus for this flight, and here are the Business and Economy menus:

BUSINESS
Refreshments
Cheese and pickle in onion bread

Roasted salmon salad with new minted mayonnaise potatoes

Amaretti Trifle

Coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea

Chocolates

Breakfast
Chilled orange juice

Fruit energizer drink

Seasonal fresh fruit
or
Cereal with chilled milk

Fruit yoghurt

Scrambled egg with chives, veal sausage, tomato and bubble and squeak

Lemon scented salmon cakes with creamed spinach and seared tomatoes

Fresh citrus fruit with ginger syrup

Selection of warm bread and breakfast pastries

Savoury Danish

Coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea

Wines
Bricout N.V. Champagne Brut
Besserat de Bellefon N.V. Champagne Brut
Omaka Springs Sauvignon Blanc, 2000
Riesling Terrassen Thal Wachau, 2000
Ch�teau Tour de Mirambeau Cuv�e Passion, 1998
Pouilly-Fuiss�, 1999, Georges DuBoeuf
Vila Santa, 1999
Chinon La Baronnie Madeleine, 1997, Couly-Dutheil
Ch�teau La Garde, 1997, Pessac-L�ognan

ECONOMY
Refreshments
Refreshments will be served

Breakfast
Chilled orange juice

Seasonal fresh fruit

Fruit yoghurt

Scrambled egg with chives, bubble and squeak, veal sausage and tomato
or
tomato and mushroom omelette with baked beans and fried potatoes

Fruit Danish

Coffee or tea

Thanks for the report tfung!

Even without pictures, your trip reports are excellent! I just can't wait for the return of the pictures!

Thank you very much for the great trip reports! I have read all of them and find it very interesting!

I actually like the way the BA suites are shaped because it gives you more privacy. However, I miss the width of the CX seats but still have the BA seats more comfortable to sleep on.

Could you share your thoughts on the suites between CX, BA and UA?

Also, were you given the option to check-in for the DXB-LHR flight when you were in LHR?

[This message has been edited by bagold (edited 06-27-2001).]

Actually, I wasn't given the option to check in for my DXB-LHR flight, as the ticket for that flight was on a seperate book. Same itinerary, but somehow my coupon books were seperated and I only gave them the LHR-DXB one. Plus I didn't really feel like getting funny looks from the check-in agents anywayz..

As for seat comfort and utility between CX, BA and UA, here are my thoughts:

UA - The seats are padded just right, and I love the different settings including the massage function. I found that after using it throughout the entire flight really does make you feel a lot more refreshed at the end of the flight. I find the bed position a little cramped at the feet, but it's actually alright when I lower the armrest and stick my knee out to the side. I also find the storage compartment on the side and also in front of you a plus.

CX - Their seats are a little hard in the sitting or recline position, and I'm dissapointed that there aren't that many seat functions. When you change it into a bed, it's great though especially with a duvet on the bottom. I like the fact that my favorite seat, 2A and 2K have plenty of width for my feet. The tables are also really nice, as they're much larger than UA and BA, and I can normally work on my laptop plus have a multiple of other things on it as well. Their entertainment system is also very nice, but I don't like the fact that they reuse the same headphone over and over again. Plus the screen size is overhyped. You're sitting so far from it, it basically feels like the same size as other airlines.

BATheir seat comfort is about the same as CX, but I don't like the coffin shape. It's just not wide enough for my feet. Also, I can't really say for sure, as I was on a 777 with the older suites. But I really disliked the table. It was like a table turned on it's side. It's longer than it's wide, and it's a really strange shape to eat on. I guess it's good if you have a guest, but seriously, I'm sure that doesn't happen very often. The entertainment system on my flights were ancient, and the screen is even smaller than UA's screens.

Overall, I would rate the CX and UA suites similar.. They both have shortcomings and good points, whereas the BA suite is seriously lagging behind. Time for them to do an overhaul and bring out a new F product.

Bubble and Squeak:

http://maindishrecipe.com/az/BbblnSqk.asp

I just had to know --

haven't tried UA.

but i second your comment on cx vs ba.

cx's F screen is too far.
--- great contrast with ba's J screen: too close (get you myopia)

hahaha.. thanks for the post... I was actually wondering what exactly that was as well...

tfung, thanks for the comparison. I never thought about the table shape/size but that is true. BA does have a longer shape and I suppose it is for the visiting passenger. Even though it is a good concept, I doubt many people have used it. I know my parents tried it when it first came out but after that they just ate in their own seats. Since dining with someone else is only allowed if your friend/companion is in first, I doubt many people do it especially since it does take a while to go through the whole meal! I was just as happy taking the middle seats and eating right next to my gf.

For some reason, I like the BA seats better than CX for sleeping. I think the foot area doesn't bother me too much since I am not that tall. I like the width of the CX seats though. Overall, they are all still much better than the old first regular seats. I wonder what the airlines will try next for first class? I saw some old pictures of BA first on the airlines.net web site and cannot believe the improvement they have all made since 10 years ago.