Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia - Oneworld 15,000 mile qualifier
Nov 8, 2004, 8:05 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Cardiff, UK
Programs: BA GGL, Concorde Room card, KLM Silver, PC Platinum Ambassador, Marriott Platinum, UA Premier Silver
Posts: 5,278
Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia - Oneworld 15,000 mile qualifier
To qualify for the promotional oneworld offer of 15,000 bonus miles, a member needs to fly on three different Oneworld airlines. Fortunately I had a trip to Dublin planned for mid-October on Aer Lingus in the Premier Cabin, as I fly frequently on BA, I had more than enough flights booked however needed one more Oneworld airline to qualify. Unfortunately, I did not have any AA flights planned within the US (which would have worked out nicely) so I eventually chose to book yet another BA flight, with an Itinerary organised in such a way that I could fly an Iberia sector as the third airline all in one day.
All flights on all three qualifying airlines are outlined below:
Aer Lingus – Heathrow to Dublin – A320
I arrived at Terminal 1 mid-morning for my flight on Aer Lingus. It felt most odd not going to Zone R for a flight on BA or using their self-service check-in for a domestic at the opposite end of the terminal! I soon discovered the Aer Lingus desks were amongst one of the many ‘islands’ in the middle of Terminal 1. The queue for Economy was staggering, snaking right around the Aer Lingus section towards the Bmi desks. Not surprisingly, there was no queue for Premier (The Aer Lingus Business Class product). What I did find surprising was the middle aged woman on the desk was Spanish and did not have a very good command of the English language either. When I asked if I could have a window seat on the right hand side (as thanks to Flyertalk, I realised the seating was the same collapsable type as found on BA), I seemed to decifer that there were no seats left other than aisle. Once the boarding pass had printed I noticed I had in fact been given 2A, a seat I like to always try and get on BA. What the girl at the desk was talking about, I don’t know. Fortunately, I was automatically checked in for the return sector later that evening.
The boarding passes for Premier seem to differ from the ‘standard’ Aer Lingus cards slightly as they clearly have the words ‘Premier’ written on them. A nice touch, which, when I first started flying BA thought they may have for their cabins, as suggested by many promotional material on their website (FIRST boarding cards in Silver, etc). Sadly no, all are navy blue and white.
Flyertalk had also taught me that the Aer Lingus lounge was nothing special, so I proceeded promptly (after getting funny looks from the Aer Lingus Economy passengers, having walked past them minutes earlier in the other direction) to the BA Terraces lounge. I soon settled into one of my favourite window seats watching the activity outside and helped myself to a few sandwiches, crisps (chips for our American readers) and a few packets of the delightful pretzel nuggets and ordered a glass of Champagne.
Curiosities soon overcome me resulting in my departure from the BA lounge 30 minutes early to explore the wonders of the Premier/Gold Circle lounge near the gate. The whole gate area is very tin can metal in appearance. The lounge was surprisingly spacious, with windows (skylights) in the ceiling and a rather odd assortment of chairs ranging from gate style rigid to leather sofas. The girl on the desk wasn’t that bothered about looking at my boarding card either – no BA style swipe through the keyboard here!
The drink selection appeared mainly soft, with some alcohol beverages including, rather obviously, Guinness.
After a quick Guinness to get in the Irish mood, I wandered to the gate. Fortunately, I arrived at the gate as they were calling Women/Children and Business class. Onboard the A320, it was rather odd seeing Green Cloth seats with what appeared to be Irish poetry pattern rather than clean, luxurious leather as found on BA. Apart from the upholstery, the space seemed the same.
Soon boarding was complete. The premier cabin was six rows deep and I soon discovered there would be a crew ratio of 3:1 with most of the cabin being full of Aer Lingus crew on their way back to Dublin. However, I was sat alongside someone who appeared to be a fare paying passenger.
After the usual 15-20 mins of taxiing and queuing for take-off, we were soon on our way to Dublin. The drinks cart was wheeled into the cabin around 20 mins after departure. Knowing that Champagne was not complimentary, I opted for a G&T. Unfortunately, it was served in a plastic cup rather than a glass which I always think is disappointing whenever they make an appearance up front. The offer of lunch quickly followed, which I accepted, however there was not a choice. Lunch appeared to be Chicken nuggets in a mustard sauce with spinach and sliced potatoes, presented together with brown bread (which rather disappointingly was like cardboard) and cheese and biscuits. Overall, the meal tasted better than it looked. It was nice to have a hot entrée. If only the presentation of the hot portion was better (such as being served on a china plate), I would have given the meal 9/10 for taste and overall satisfaction.
The meal kept me busy for most of the flight; we were well into the descent when my tray/drinks were collected. Just before landing, hot towels were distributed.
Upon landing in a rather wet and dreary Dublin, I was in arrivals meeting my girlfriend’s parents (who were taking me for lunch) within 5-10 minutes of disembarking the aircraft.
Aer Lingus - Dublin to Heathrow – A321
After a superb meal in the Westbury Hotel in Dublin, (the passion fruit sorbet was superb), I returned for the evening flight back to Heathrow.
Fortunately, having checked-in back at Heathrow for the return flight, I was able to go straight through to the lounge. The lounge was not that obvious to find. The lift to take you to the ‘Executive Lounges’ at Dublin airport, seemed to be tucked away in a corner almost in a busy pub. In fact waiting for the lift to take me up to the lounge turned out to be a rather daunting task. Lots of drinkers were milling around the area which seemed to be an overspill for the pub and as I waited I could hear some making snide comments as it was clear I was waiting for something, and did look a little out of place. Once upstairs, the lounge was a short walk away. Once inside, holding a Business Class boarding card seemed sufficient to gain access – I didn’t need to show my BA Gold card.
The Premier/Gold Circle lounge at Dublin seemed to have two halves. The whole building appeared to be hexagonal in design and the lounge seemed to occupy 3 sides of the shape.
To my delight, the bar area had a superb mountain (easily three hundred packets) of Pretzel Nuggets aka British Airways style, however they were chive flavour which was not one of my favourites (I adore the Salt and Vinegar ones and I’m also quite partial to the Worcester sauce flavour nuggets). I had just over an hour before my flight back to Heathrow, so I soon settled down to a can (or two) of Guinness and managed to get through 7 packets of the pretzel nuggets!
What I did think was strange was that all the crockery and glass wear was obviously what they serve onboard in the Premier cabin due to the labelling, however I was at a loss as to why I didn’t have the glasses on my outbound flight?
Overall the lounge was very good, really good staff who cleaned efficiently and a good view of the apron.
Fortunately, the gate for my flight was just around the corner from the pub, after a rather “Stars in their Eyes” moment as I appeared out of the lift (“Tonight, flyclub’s going to be…….”) in front of all the rather tanked-up drinkers in the bar.
Boarding was almost immediate as I arrived at the gate, in fact, I was one of the first onboard as Business Class was called first.
The flight back to Heathrow was onboard an A321 which certainly looked newer than the A320 I had flown out on in the morning. Again, there were around six rows of Premier, only one crew member catching a lift back to Heathrow, with everyone else (around five of us) having a complete row to ourselves which was nice.
After a short taxi to the runway, we were on our way back to Heathrow. The A321 is certainly my favourite of the Airbus Short-Haul family, from row 1 and 2, it is certainly much quieter than its smaller brother, the A320, and even smaller brother A319. In fact I would almost say the only other aircraft I have been on to be quieter is sitting in the nose of a 747.
Once again the drinks trolley was wheeled through first (which was destined for the back), however once again the glasses were plastic. I opted for a red wine and a sparkling water. The meal followed shortly afterwards and turned out to be exactly the same as on the outward flight – chicken in mustard/spinach/potatoes.
After a fabulous sunset (on the other side of the aircraft), we were soon descending into Heathrow. After the trays/drinks had been collected, out came the hot towels once again.
We disembarked via door 2, the crew held back the Economy cabin and allowed Premier to disembark first, which was a nice touch and reminded me of recent flights on AA in First Class on their 757’s.
Overall impression
Overall, the product on Aer Lingus could be best described as solid. When I initially flew on this flight, I had only ever flown British Airways Club Europe short haul in Business Class so that was my only other frame of reference. However, having since flown on Iberia as well (see report below) I would certainly put Aer Lingus in second place after BA, above Iberia largely due to the meal being rather good – it was nice to see a hot entrée which actually tasted better than it looked and together with the cheese and biscuits, was quite a fulfilling meal which kept me busy for a good 20 minutes at least.
Although this review is largely redundant for future travellers as they have now discontinued the cabin on all European flights, I certainly think it is a pity as the product was quite good and certainly not a reason on it’s own to terminate the service. Furthermore, I was certainly not on my own on either flights, there did appear to be some fare paying passengers on board!
All flights on all three qualifying airlines are outlined below:
Aer Lingus – Heathrow to Dublin – A320
I arrived at Terminal 1 mid-morning for my flight on Aer Lingus. It felt most odd not going to Zone R for a flight on BA or using their self-service check-in for a domestic at the opposite end of the terminal! I soon discovered the Aer Lingus desks were amongst one of the many ‘islands’ in the middle of Terminal 1. The queue for Economy was staggering, snaking right around the Aer Lingus section towards the Bmi desks. Not surprisingly, there was no queue for Premier (The Aer Lingus Business Class product). What I did find surprising was the middle aged woman on the desk was Spanish and did not have a very good command of the English language either. When I asked if I could have a window seat on the right hand side (as thanks to Flyertalk, I realised the seating was the same collapsable type as found on BA), I seemed to decifer that there were no seats left other than aisle. Once the boarding pass had printed I noticed I had in fact been given 2A, a seat I like to always try and get on BA. What the girl at the desk was talking about, I don’t know. Fortunately, I was automatically checked in for the return sector later that evening.
The boarding passes for Premier seem to differ from the ‘standard’ Aer Lingus cards slightly as they clearly have the words ‘Premier’ written on them. A nice touch, which, when I first started flying BA thought they may have for their cabins, as suggested by many promotional material on their website (FIRST boarding cards in Silver, etc). Sadly no, all are navy blue and white.
Flyertalk had also taught me that the Aer Lingus lounge was nothing special, so I proceeded promptly (after getting funny looks from the Aer Lingus Economy passengers, having walked past them minutes earlier in the other direction) to the BA Terraces lounge. I soon settled into one of my favourite window seats watching the activity outside and helped myself to a few sandwiches, crisps (chips for our American readers) and a few packets of the delightful pretzel nuggets and ordered a glass of Champagne.
Curiosities soon overcome me resulting in my departure from the BA lounge 30 minutes early to explore the wonders of the Premier/Gold Circle lounge near the gate. The whole gate area is very tin can metal in appearance. The lounge was surprisingly spacious, with windows (skylights) in the ceiling and a rather odd assortment of chairs ranging from gate style rigid to leather sofas. The girl on the desk wasn’t that bothered about looking at my boarding card either – no BA style swipe through the keyboard here!
The drink selection appeared mainly soft, with some alcohol beverages including, rather obviously, Guinness.
After a quick Guinness to get in the Irish mood, I wandered to the gate. Fortunately, I arrived at the gate as they were calling Women/Children and Business class. Onboard the A320, it was rather odd seeing Green Cloth seats with what appeared to be Irish poetry pattern rather than clean, luxurious leather as found on BA. Apart from the upholstery, the space seemed the same.
Soon boarding was complete. The premier cabin was six rows deep and I soon discovered there would be a crew ratio of 3:1 with most of the cabin being full of Aer Lingus crew on their way back to Dublin. However, I was sat alongside someone who appeared to be a fare paying passenger.
After the usual 15-20 mins of taxiing and queuing for take-off, we were soon on our way to Dublin. The drinks cart was wheeled into the cabin around 20 mins after departure. Knowing that Champagne was not complimentary, I opted for a G&T. Unfortunately, it was served in a plastic cup rather than a glass which I always think is disappointing whenever they make an appearance up front. The offer of lunch quickly followed, which I accepted, however there was not a choice. Lunch appeared to be Chicken nuggets in a mustard sauce with spinach and sliced potatoes, presented together with brown bread (which rather disappointingly was like cardboard) and cheese and biscuits. Overall, the meal tasted better than it looked. It was nice to have a hot entrée. If only the presentation of the hot portion was better (such as being served on a china plate), I would have given the meal 9/10 for taste and overall satisfaction.
The meal kept me busy for most of the flight; we were well into the descent when my tray/drinks were collected. Just before landing, hot towels were distributed.
Upon landing in a rather wet and dreary Dublin, I was in arrivals meeting my girlfriend’s parents (who were taking me for lunch) within 5-10 minutes of disembarking the aircraft.
Aer Lingus - Dublin to Heathrow – A321
After a superb meal in the Westbury Hotel in Dublin, (the passion fruit sorbet was superb), I returned for the evening flight back to Heathrow.
Fortunately, having checked-in back at Heathrow for the return flight, I was able to go straight through to the lounge. The lounge was not that obvious to find. The lift to take you to the ‘Executive Lounges’ at Dublin airport, seemed to be tucked away in a corner almost in a busy pub. In fact waiting for the lift to take me up to the lounge turned out to be a rather daunting task. Lots of drinkers were milling around the area which seemed to be an overspill for the pub and as I waited I could hear some making snide comments as it was clear I was waiting for something, and did look a little out of place. Once upstairs, the lounge was a short walk away. Once inside, holding a Business Class boarding card seemed sufficient to gain access – I didn’t need to show my BA Gold card.
The Premier/Gold Circle lounge at Dublin seemed to have two halves. The whole building appeared to be hexagonal in design and the lounge seemed to occupy 3 sides of the shape.
To my delight, the bar area had a superb mountain (easily three hundred packets) of Pretzel Nuggets aka British Airways style, however they were chive flavour which was not one of my favourites (I adore the Salt and Vinegar ones and I’m also quite partial to the Worcester sauce flavour nuggets). I had just over an hour before my flight back to Heathrow, so I soon settled down to a can (or two) of Guinness and managed to get through 7 packets of the pretzel nuggets!
What I did think was strange was that all the crockery and glass wear was obviously what they serve onboard in the Premier cabin due to the labelling, however I was at a loss as to why I didn’t have the glasses on my outbound flight?
Overall the lounge was very good, really good staff who cleaned efficiently and a good view of the apron.
Fortunately, the gate for my flight was just around the corner from the pub, after a rather “Stars in their Eyes” moment as I appeared out of the lift (“Tonight, flyclub’s going to be…….”) in front of all the rather tanked-up drinkers in the bar.
Boarding was almost immediate as I arrived at the gate, in fact, I was one of the first onboard as Business Class was called first.
The flight back to Heathrow was onboard an A321 which certainly looked newer than the A320 I had flown out on in the morning. Again, there were around six rows of Premier, only one crew member catching a lift back to Heathrow, with everyone else (around five of us) having a complete row to ourselves which was nice.
After a short taxi to the runway, we were on our way back to Heathrow. The A321 is certainly my favourite of the Airbus Short-Haul family, from row 1 and 2, it is certainly much quieter than its smaller brother, the A320, and even smaller brother A319. In fact I would almost say the only other aircraft I have been on to be quieter is sitting in the nose of a 747.
Once again the drinks trolley was wheeled through first (which was destined for the back), however once again the glasses were plastic. I opted for a red wine and a sparkling water. The meal followed shortly afterwards and turned out to be exactly the same as on the outward flight – chicken in mustard/spinach/potatoes.
After a fabulous sunset (on the other side of the aircraft), we were soon descending into Heathrow. After the trays/drinks had been collected, out came the hot towels once again.
We disembarked via door 2, the crew held back the Economy cabin and allowed Premier to disembark first, which was a nice touch and reminded me of recent flights on AA in First Class on their 757’s.
Overall impression
Overall, the product on Aer Lingus could be best described as solid. When I initially flew on this flight, I had only ever flown British Airways Club Europe short haul in Business Class so that was my only other frame of reference. However, having since flown on Iberia as well (see report below) I would certainly put Aer Lingus in second place after BA, above Iberia largely due to the meal being rather good – it was nice to see a hot entrée which actually tasted better than it looked and together with the cheese and biscuits, was quite a fulfilling meal which kept me busy for a good 20 minutes at least.
Although this review is largely redundant for future travellers as they have now discontinued the cabin on all European flights, I certainly think it is a pity as the product was quite good and certainly not a reason on it’s own to terminate the service. Furthermore, I was certainly not on my own on either flights, there did appear to be some fare paying passengers on board!
Nov 8, 2004, 8:18 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Cardiff, UK
Programs: BA GGL, Concorde Room card, KLM Silver, PC Platinum Ambassador, Marriott Platinum, UA Premier Silver
Posts: 5,278
British Airways – London Gatwick to Alicante – A321
Two weeks later (Sat 6th November) my final day trip to qualify me for my 15,000 points bonus had arrived. I had booked into the Holiday Inn for two nights as it was an early start (07:15 flight to Alicante).
The whole trip today would involve four flights on Iberia (3rd airline to qualify) and British Airways and I had booked the whole itinerary on the American Airlines website as it priced out some £20 cheaper than Expedia and I find the itineraries they send in the post most useful!
However the downside was as the ticket numbers started with 001 (for American Airlines) and not 215 for British Airways, I could not check-in online or use self service at the airport.
Although, as Iberia is also a oneworld carrier, I was hoping that I could collect all four boarding cards from BA at Gatwick so all I had to do was walk from one aircraft to another.
I arrived at a rather quiet Gatwick at 05:45 on Saturday morning and proceeded to the BA check-in area. There was quite a queue at First Class checkin, which I thought was odd, however no-one at Club World/Club Europe. Firstly, the guy on the desk was amazed that I could fly such an itinerary and that I had worked it all out myself!
He was confident that I could be checked-in for all four flights, however, the system wouldn’t let him print the Iberia sectors boarding cards although he had checked me in on the system.
There was no queue at security (I normally fly the Malaga flight around 08:30 and the queues are usually horrendous at that time!) so I was on my way to the FIRST lounge within minutes of checking in.
Apart from being strange turning right at the top of the stairs to go to the FIRST lounge, rather than the terraces to the left, I thought initially the lounge was closed as it was so dark. However, I was soon welcomed in by the charming lady on the desk and I found myself a comfy brown leather sofa near the windows.
The lounge did bring back memories of the Concorde lounge at T4 when I flew in FIRST to Phoenix back in August, however, the rather smart bar area was missing however the menu to order snacks was the same. The staff soon noticed I wanted to order something (a Bacon Baguette with tomato ketchup). In the meantime, I helped myself to a box of Rice Crispies and noticed that they had Red Grapefruit juice (Florida I wonder?) which made my morning as I usually only occasionally find white grapefruit juice in the Terraces next door!
After a swift cappuccino, I discovered the shower spa/toilets were shared with the terraces next door. Once I returned, my flight was boarding down in gate 45J (if I remember correctly) for the infamous bus journey to the aircraft.
Most passengers had passed into the gate area as I could see them printing the passenger list after I had arrived. However, everyone was standing at the wrong door for boarding. I quickly realised what was going on, went to the correct door (opposite side of the area) and was one of the first on the bus after being one of the last in the lounge!
Once the bus was full, we proceeded to the aircraft which seemed to be parked far further away than usual (in comparison to when I go to Malaga) completely the other side of the new terminal (which seems to be progressing nicely). Once onboard, there were only 2 rows of Club Europe on the A321. I soon noticed the new mint green and white headrest covers.
Boarding easily took 20 minutes to complete – it’s easy to forget just how many people can be fitted onboard an A321. Eurotraveller appeared to be full (not that I was counting!)
As the door was shut, there were the grand total of 3 people in Club Europe. A guy in front of me in 1A, and another across the aisle in 2F. People often wonder what the differences are between main-line BA and GB Airways BA. The first difference was obvious. The purser promptly came around with a notepad asking what cocktail or beverage we would like after take-off, she even addressed me my name – a very long haul touch, simple and effective, and also quite a good selling point as I could see those just behind watching in amazement as the orders for drinks were taken down. Definetly something I have not ever seen on mainline BA to somewhere like Nice, Frankfurt or Rome which were my last mainline BA flights. Anyhow, to drink I asked for a Bucks Fizz and a sparkling water with Ice and lemon to accompany it, as it was still only 07:30 in the morning!
However, before we pushed back it was to be ‘Blue rinses all round’ (
)as we were joined by five old aged pensioners from Eurotraveller. Firstly, I thought they may have been ill and been unable to walk very far, however it transpired that one of them was a BA pensioner and the others were all friends ‘calling in a favour’. 
Due to our position on the apron, it was not long until we were lining up for take-off. After we were well into the climb and heading for the south coast, hot towels were distributed.
One of the second differences I have noticed is the offer of more than one hot towel. A simple question, they usually prepare far to many (a tray of around 30 for 2 people!) and I always ask for two – one for each hand!
Once our drinks had been delivered, breakfast was served for those who wanted it. At this point I was interested to see what our upgrades from down the back would be given. Rightly so, they were given the breakfast they would have received in Eurotraveller as it looked quite different to my Club tray. In fact I could see the gentleman alongside me looking at mine then looking at his. The Eurotraveller Hot entrée was totally different, didn’t look as varied as the Club offering, I had the addition of the fabulous china photography mug, a plate of fresh fruit, a cloth napkin and better plastic cutlery.
Hot croissants were passed offered from the basket together with some Pain-au-chocalates I spied within the basket. The purser automatically came around with the Champagne, topped me up then those from Eurotraveller who had wanted a glass.
The flight was uneventful, after the excellent breakfast had been cleared away, I resided to looking at the snow capped pyreenes out the window, the moving map, and a few more glasses of Champagne.
We landed 10 minutes early at Alicante which I was pleased, as flights running on time is an important prerequisite when doing four flights in one day, although I had managed to factor a 2 hour gap between each flight to try and minimise the effects of any delays.
Alicante airport is much smaller than Malaga. We parked on a remote stand which I didn’t mind as it gave me a chance to take in some of the warm sunshine. As the bus pulled around the terminal, the queue to go through immigration was snaking outside alongside where they were loading the bags onto the carousel belts for the passengers!
Once through immigration, I proceeded straight upstairs to collect my Iberia boarding cards for my second flight which would take me to Madrid.
Iberia – Alicante to Madrid – A320
Iberia appeared to have six gates at Alicante, amongst the raft of charter airlines which seemed to occupy most of the check-in hall. The sole Business Class desk was had a small queue of around five people, yet the other only open desk had nobody in line. The guy was quite blunt to say the least as I gave him my American Airlines receipt, ‘No, No’ he said, ‘Ticket, Ticket’. I told him the magic word E-Ticket which seemed to work, he asked me if I had any luggage to check-in, printed my boarding cards and off I went. Not the friendliest of receptions.
I soon joined the tracksuit and string vest brigade which awaited me in the qeues at security (OK, some had some T-shirts on, to be fair ). I really felt quite sorry for the security personnel, countless numbers of people were going through the scanner dripping in Elizabeth Duke gold chains and Diamonte rings only having to then be frisked. 
I soon made my way to ‘Sala VIP’ which was at the other end of the terminal. This time the staff were more keen on seeing my BA Gold card in addition to my Iberia Boarding card. Once inside, the clientele within were interesting, never have I sent people bring trays of Burger King into a Business Class lounge!
However, the lounge was soon to empty once the charters to Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow stared boarding.
The lounge on the whole was a typical Aena Airports affair. Colourful, worn, suede furniture, glass occasional tables, simple savoury snacks and a simple bar. I soon settled into a plate of crisps, a G&T and the Weekend FT which I was impressed to find!
The staff seemed quite easily distracted so I left the lounge slightly early to savour the ambience of the terminal in case they didn't call my flight! However, the array of shops and the layout, seemed more pleasant than Malaga, which has a very shopping mall food court feel to it.
Boarding was from gate 1a. No information for the flight was put up on the screen above the gate until boarding started which was slightly confusing as I thought I may have been at the wrong gate and could be stranded in Alicante!
My fears were quickly dispersed as boarding started, Business Class first. Fortunately, we had a gate to board the aircraft rather than a bus. The friendly crew greeted me at the door (in Spanish, obviously) and showed me the couple of steps to my seat in 1F. The flight was quite empty, only three up front in Business Class, one of which was a member of the crew. It was nice to have the whole row to myself. A member of the crew must have noticed I was English and apologised for not having any English newspapers onboard (how she didn’t know I don’t speak Spanish maybe more luck than judgement!). The seating on Iberia was cloth throughout, however the quality of the fabric was better than of Aer Lingus, and seats themselves were quite comfy with added cushion supports near the sholders, similar to sports seats in some cars.
We soon pushed back. What struck me first about the flight was the way the plane was being flown. I think Iberia’s pilots don’t go to the same flying school as BA’s. Soon we were wizzing down the taxiway at terrific speed, turning the corners like a boy racer! Once we lined up on the runway, I know the A320 climbs well, however I have never been on one which climbed this well, it shot up like a fighter jet! (In fact, the takeoff reminded me of my late night flights, easily five years ago, on the shuttle to Edinburgh on a BA on the 757!) The rest of the flight was far more usual!
Once we had gained some height (rather quickly) the crew came around asking what we would like to drink. I noticed the Business Class cabin was served by whom would be the purser equivalent on BA, another cabin crew member. Not once did either of them go to Economy, however one crew member did come up to business class a few times. Therefore, service for myself and the gentleman in 2A was excellent. I chose to have Cava to drink, which, although not Champagne was OK. This was given to me with a box containing mini-breadsticks, a small potato savoury cake thing, two pieces of what looked like salami (which I avoided) and two pieces of cheese. However it tasted better than it looked. Being a fan of cheese and biscuits, I didn’t mind it too much and as the flight was only 40 minutes, together with Cava, plus all the space I had around me, plus the pleasant crew, it was a pleasant flight.
As usual and a major bonus of Business Class, I was first off the aircraft. This was the first domestic flight I have done in Spain, and the domestic terminal at Madrid-Barajas looked really new, easily no older than a couple of years. The usage of glass and metal reminded me of Amsterdam Schipol in some ways. As I had two hours before my flight to Malaga, the flight didn’t have a gate. I soon discovered the ‘Sala VIP’ lounge which was certainly the best one in terms of design I have been to in Spain. In fact, it’s the only one (together with it’s poorer relation in the International terminal) which has a view of the apron. All the others I have been to have no windows, apart from the one in Barcelona which looks at the check-in hall. My boarding card on this occasion was sufficient to gain entry.
As usual, food was lacking, a simple bar, no Cava on offer. To have a break from the alcohol, I just had a few sparkling waters and some hot tea while watching the aircraft land outside.
Additionally, Toshiba seemed to have some kind of sponsorship for the lounge as they had their laptop’s in cabinets on show, together with models available for passengers to use (no charge) which connected to the wireless network in the terminal which was unencrypted, which is worth remembering for future visits.
The lounge staff were clever enough to know who was on what flight in the lounge and gave a boarding call for my flight to Malaga which was only a few minutes walk away.
Two weeks later (Sat 6th November) my final day trip to qualify me for my 15,000 points bonus had arrived. I had booked into the Holiday Inn for two nights as it was an early start (07:15 flight to Alicante).
The whole trip today would involve four flights on Iberia (3rd airline to qualify) and British Airways and I had booked the whole itinerary on the American Airlines website as it priced out some £20 cheaper than Expedia and I find the itineraries they send in the post most useful!
However the downside was as the ticket numbers started with 001 (for American Airlines) and not 215 for British Airways, I could not check-in online or use self service at the airport.
Although, as Iberia is also a oneworld carrier, I was hoping that I could collect all four boarding cards from BA at Gatwick so all I had to do was walk from one aircraft to another.
I arrived at a rather quiet Gatwick at 05:45 on Saturday morning and proceeded to the BA check-in area. There was quite a queue at First Class checkin, which I thought was odd, however no-one at Club World/Club Europe. Firstly, the guy on the desk was amazed that I could fly such an itinerary and that I had worked it all out myself!
He was confident that I could be checked-in for all four flights, however, the system wouldn’t let him print the Iberia sectors boarding cards although he had checked me in on the system.
There was no queue at security (I normally fly the Malaga flight around 08:30 and the queues are usually horrendous at that time!) so I was on my way to the FIRST lounge within minutes of checking in.
Apart from being strange turning right at the top of the stairs to go to the FIRST lounge, rather than the terraces to the left, I thought initially the lounge was closed as it was so dark. However, I was soon welcomed in by the charming lady on the desk and I found myself a comfy brown leather sofa near the windows.
The lounge did bring back memories of the Concorde lounge at T4 when I flew in FIRST to Phoenix back in August, however, the rather smart bar area was missing however the menu to order snacks was the same. The staff soon noticed I wanted to order something (a Bacon Baguette with tomato ketchup). In the meantime, I helped myself to a box of Rice Crispies and noticed that they had Red Grapefruit juice (Florida I wonder?) which made my morning as I usually only occasionally find white grapefruit juice in the Terraces next door!
After a swift cappuccino, I discovered the shower spa/toilets were shared with the terraces next door. Once I returned, my flight was boarding down in gate 45J (if I remember correctly) for the infamous bus journey to the aircraft.
Most passengers had passed into the gate area as I could see them printing the passenger list after I had arrived. However, everyone was standing at the wrong door for boarding. I quickly realised what was going on, went to the correct door (opposite side of the area) and was one of the first on the bus after being one of the last in the lounge!
Once the bus was full, we proceeded to the aircraft which seemed to be parked far further away than usual (in comparison to when I go to Malaga) completely the other side of the new terminal (which seems to be progressing nicely). Once onboard, there were only 2 rows of Club Europe on the A321. I soon noticed the new mint green and white headrest covers.
Boarding easily took 20 minutes to complete – it’s easy to forget just how many people can be fitted onboard an A321. Eurotraveller appeared to be full (not that I was counting!)
As the door was shut, there were the grand total of 3 people in Club Europe. A guy in front of me in 1A, and another across the aisle in 2F. People often wonder what the differences are between main-line BA and GB Airways BA. The first difference was obvious. The purser promptly came around with a notepad asking what cocktail or beverage we would like after take-off, she even addressed me my name – a very long haul touch, simple and effective, and also quite a good selling point as I could see those just behind watching in amazement as the orders for drinks were taken down. Definetly something I have not ever seen on mainline BA to somewhere like Nice, Frankfurt or Rome which were my last mainline BA flights. Anyhow, to drink I asked for a Bucks Fizz and a sparkling water with Ice and lemon to accompany it, as it was still only 07:30 in the morning!
However, before we pushed back it was to be ‘Blue rinses all round’ (
)as we were joined by five old aged pensioners from Eurotraveller. Firstly, I thought they may have been ill and been unable to walk very far, however it transpired that one of them was a BA pensioner and the others were all friends ‘calling in a favour’. Due to our position on the apron, it was not long until we were lining up for take-off. After we were well into the climb and heading for the south coast, hot towels were distributed.
One of the second differences I have noticed is the offer of more than one hot towel. A simple question, they usually prepare far to many (a tray of around 30 for 2 people!) and I always ask for two – one for each hand!
Once our drinks had been delivered, breakfast was served for those who wanted it. At this point I was interested to see what our upgrades from down the back would be given. Rightly so, they were given the breakfast they would have received in Eurotraveller as it looked quite different to my Club tray. In fact I could see the gentleman alongside me looking at mine then looking at his. The Eurotraveller Hot entrée was totally different, didn’t look as varied as the Club offering, I had the addition of the fabulous china photography mug, a plate of fresh fruit, a cloth napkin and better plastic cutlery.
Hot croissants were passed offered from the basket together with some Pain-au-chocalates I spied within the basket. The purser automatically came around with the Champagne, topped me up then those from Eurotraveller who had wanted a glass.
The flight was uneventful, after the excellent breakfast had been cleared away, I resided to looking at the snow capped pyreenes out the window, the moving map, and a few more glasses of Champagne.
We landed 10 minutes early at Alicante which I was pleased, as flights running on time is an important prerequisite when doing four flights in one day, although I had managed to factor a 2 hour gap between each flight to try and minimise the effects of any delays.
Alicante airport is much smaller than Malaga. We parked on a remote stand which I didn’t mind as it gave me a chance to take in some of the warm sunshine. As the bus pulled around the terminal, the queue to go through immigration was snaking outside alongside where they were loading the bags onto the carousel belts for the passengers!
Once through immigration, I proceeded straight upstairs to collect my Iberia boarding cards for my second flight which would take me to Madrid.
Iberia – Alicante to Madrid – A320
Iberia appeared to have six gates at Alicante, amongst the raft of charter airlines which seemed to occupy most of the check-in hall. The sole Business Class desk was had a small queue of around five people, yet the other only open desk had nobody in line. The guy was quite blunt to say the least as I gave him my American Airlines receipt, ‘No, No’ he said, ‘Ticket, Ticket’. I told him the magic word E-Ticket which seemed to work, he asked me if I had any luggage to check-in, printed my boarding cards and off I went. Not the friendliest of receptions.
I soon joined the tracksuit and string vest brigade which awaited me in the qeues at security (OK, some had some T-shirts on, to be fair
). I really felt quite sorry for the security personnel, countless numbers of people were going through the scanner dripping in Elizabeth Duke gold chains and Diamonte rings only having to then be frisked. I soon made my way to ‘Sala VIP’ which was at the other end of the terminal. This time the staff were more keen on seeing my BA Gold card in addition to my Iberia Boarding card. Once inside, the clientele within were interesting, never have I sent people bring trays of Burger King into a Business Class lounge!
However, the lounge was soon to empty once the charters to Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow stared boarding.
The lounge on the whole was a typical Aena Airports affair. Colourful, worn, suede furniture, glass occasional tables, simple savoury snacks and a simple bar. I soon settled into a plate of crisps, a G&T and the Weekend FT which I was impressed to find!
The staff seemed quite easily distracted so I left the lounge slightly early to savour the ambience of the terminal in case they didn't call my flight! However, the array of shops and the layout, seemed more pleasant than Malaga, which has a very shopping mall food court feel to it.
Boarding was from gate 1a. No information for the flight was put up on the screen above the gate until boarding started which was slightly confusing as I thought I may have been at the wrong gate and could be stranded in Alicante!
My fears were quickly dispersed as boarding started, Business Class first. Fortunately, we had a gate to board the aircraft rather than a bus. The friendly crew greeted me at the door (in Spanish, obviously) and showed me the couple of steps to my seat in 1F. The flight was quite empty, only three up front in Business Class, one of which was a member of the crew. It was nice to have the whole row to myself. A member of the crew must have noticed I was English and apologised for not having any English newspapers onboard (how she didn’t know I don’t speak Spanish maybe more luck than judgement!). The seating on Iberia was cloth throughout, however the quality of the fabric was better than of Aer Lingus, and seats themselves were quite comfy with added cushion supports near the sholders, similar to sports seats in some cars.
We soon pushed back. What struck me first about the flight was the way the plane was being flown. I think Iberia’s pilots don’t go to the same flying school as BA’s. Soon we were wizzing down the taxiway at terrific speed, turning the corners like a boy racer!
Once we lined up on the runway, I know the A320 climbs well, however I have never been on one which climbed this well, it shot up like a fighter jet! (In fact, the takeoff reminded me of my late night flights, easily five years ago, on the shuttle to Edinburgh on a BA on the 757!) The rest of the flight was far more usual!Once we had gained some height (rather quickly) the crew came around asking what we would like to drink. I noticed the Business Class cabin was served by whom would be the purser equivalent on BA, another cabin crew member. Not once did either of them go to Economy, however one crew member did come up to business class a few times. Therefore, service for myself and the gentleman in 2A was excellent. I chose to have Cava to drink, which, although not Champagne was OK. This was given to me with a box containing mini-breadsticks, a small potato savoury cake thing, two pieces of what looked like salami (which I avoided) and two pieces of cheese. However it tasted better than it looked. Being a fan of cheese and biscuits, I didn’t mind it too much and as the flight was only 40 minutes, together with Cava, plus all the space I had around me, plus the pleasant crew, it was a pleasant flight.
As usual and a major bonus of Business Class, I was first off the aircraft. This was the first domestic flight I have done in Spain, and the domestic terminal at Madrid-Barajas looked really new, easily no older than a couple of years. The usage of glass and metal reminded me of Amsterdam Schipol in some ways. As I had two hours before my flight to Malaga, the flight didn’t have a gate. I soon discovered the ‘Sala VIP’ lounge which was certainly the best one in terms of design I have been to in Spain. In fact, it’s the only one (together with it’s poorer relation in the International terminal) which has a view of the apron. All the others I have been to have no windows, apart from the one in Barcelona which looks at the check-in hall. My boarding card on this occasion was sufficient to gain entry.
As usual, food was lacking, a simple bar, no Cava on offer. To have a break from the alcohol, I just had a few sparkling waters and some hot tea while watching the aircraft land outside.
Additionally, Toshiba seemed to have some kind of sponsorship for the lounge as they had their laptop’s in cabinets on show, together with models available for passengers to use (no charge) which connected to the wireless network in the terminal which was unencrypted, which is worth remembering for future visits.
The lounge staff were clever enough to know who was on what flight in the lounge and gave a boarding call for my flight to Malaga which was only a few minutes walk away.
Nov 8, 2004, 8:22 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Cardiff, UK
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Posts: 5,278
Iberia – Madrid to Malaga – Boeing 757
Boarding was well underway as I arrived, via door 2 which meant I needed to turn left. A member of the crew welcomed me aboard and showed me to my seat which was a nice touch. Jazz music was playing away over the PA, which is something I haven’t noticed recently on my flights.
The whole of section between the two doors was Business Class (I forget the exact number of rows) and didn’t appear to have any crew members catching a ride. Once again, I was on my own, although there was a gentleman across the aisle in 1C, I was in 1F once again.
After around 20 minutes, we pushed back and were on our way to Malaga. As on the Alicante flight, safety demo was via a video with the presence of the crew. Once again, we were speeding down the taxiways and this time we turned onto the runway at high speed as I could see the centre line and numbers of the runway wizz past outside the window! However the climb rate, although good, was more usual which probably reflected the good loads on the flight.
As we climbed, I managed to work out from what the crew said in Spanish, that there would be headsets available for purchase for those willing to watch the inflight programme. The flight was scheduled to last 1hr 10minutes – however today it would only take 50 minutes. Consequently, I thought it was interesting that they offered inflight entertainment on such a short service.
The meal on this sector was slightly different, I chose another bottle of Cava (it wasn’t too bad) however the snack was a miniature baguette with a form of Spanish ham within. The bread was reasonably fresh and it was a decent size. Not too bad, at least it was something different from the previous flight for me to try!
The inflight video appeared to be a Spanish version of the MTV show ‘Punk’d’. I didn’t buy a headset (didn’t see the point) however it was nice to watch from time to time in between looking out the window.
As we descended into Malaga, the crew turned the music back on for the landing. This time the Jazz music had a bit of a beat behind it which made the approach into Malaga which I have flown on countless occasions this year, a little different.
After a brief taxi to the stand, we disembarked via door 2 and crew kept the Economy passengers back while Business Class disembarked, which was impressive.
Fortunately, having been checked in for the return flight to Gatwick in the morning, I proceeded to the very familiar lounge.
British Airways – Malaga to London Gatwick – A320
The ‘Sala VIP’ lounge at Malaga is on the ground floor (the shops are directly above accessed via Escalators). I immediately recognised one of the women on the desk who also recognised me (which is always nice). After a quick look at my boarding card I proceeded to the non-smoking side (on the left, smoking is on the right through a separate door). The lounge was relatively quiet as it was still some 2 hours before the Gatwick and slightly later Heathrow service was due to depart.
Fortunately, there were still some copies of the Weekend FT available and a new bottle of Mateus Rose in the fridge. Great! Together with a plate of crisps I managed to read for a good 30 minutes before the lounge started to fill up.
It was quite a different crowd in the lounge, a couple of au pair’s with children (I could overhear the cell phone calls to their parents from the nanny), mainly couples and individual travellers like myself. It was pleasantly a tracksuit free zone!
In fact, while I was topping up on the Mateus at the bar, I noticed some people had their Anya bags from FIRST with them which they were using as a toiletries bag (definitely spotted three from three separate groups of people!)
The Gatwick flight was called before the Heathrow service as it leaves slightly earlier. What was unusual outside, was the terrific queue at immigration to get to the ‘C’ gates where the BA flights depart. However it moved quite quickly.
I comfortably made the flight on time as the gate was only around the corner and Eurotraveller were still boarding. When I boarded, I recognised the purser who also recognised me from one of my previous flights to Malaga. :-:
Once again, the cabin was only two rows of Club. One of the couples sporting the Anya bags back in the lounge, was sat in row 1A and C, I was directly behind in 2A and 2C was unoccupied. In all, there were six of us in the cabin. Nobody was moved up front from Eurotraveller on this occasion.
Shortly after boarding, the door was shut and we pushed back. Again, the Purser came around (as on the outbound) asking what we would like to drink after takeoff – however this time she had remembered my first name!
As this was a night flight, there was little to see outside. After a brief chat with the purser when the drinks came around (I made sure she served everyone else before myself not to keep them waiting), I found out the meal choice was Salmon or Stuffed Peppers. I chose the Salmon. There were two crew serving Club in all who brought around some Pretzel nuggets! Fortunately, I was asked if I wanted anymore than two packets, to which I said yes and ended up with five packets – plus they were my favourite flavour – salt and vinegar!
Apparently, as the Salmon wasn’t that popular, the purser kindly gave me an extra piece on top of the salad. Although the salad itself didn’t come with any dressing, there were so many different types of lettuce, so of which were quite spicy, I’m not sure if it needed any as the tastes of the lettuce were so diverse. On the whole the meal was it’s usual excellent standard, washed down with Champagne and a tea to go with the after dinner mint.
I stayed with the Champagne for the whole flight and I was topped up throughout without having to ask, every need seemed to be anticipated, especially offering a glass of sparkling water half way through the flight! Superb.
The approach into Gatwick was uneventful. There was no queue for immigration at all which I was amazed to find as usually the queues around 21:30 can be horrendous.
Overall
Overall, BA (or should I say GB Airways) had the best product out of all three airlines I flew for this promotional mileage offer. The service from the Iberia crew was fine, they appeared very friendly on the whole however although the food was not up to BA’s standards, the BA flights were far longer to be fair with both Iberia flights being under an 1 hour in each case. For such sectors, the food was fine, it was nice to have a glass of Cava on each flight. I would certainly fly with Iberia in Business on a domestic flight again.
However, BA’s product is far superior if I had to choose between the two to fly from Spain to the UK. BA’s cabin has a more luxurious look, the food is on another level, the Champagne is Excellent and the crew superb.
I am pleased I have compared all three airlines in this way. Yes, it’s a pity Aer Lingus has pulled their Business Class product which was fine overall. However, BA’s Club Europe product in my experience is consistently the best on the whole, so I certainly won’t be having any sleepless nights about what other airlines could possibly offer! Anyhow, looks like it's Club Europe to Dublin from Gatwick from now on....
Boarding was well underway as I arrived, via door 2 which meant I needed to turn left. A member of the crew welcomed me aboard and showed me to my seat which was a nice touch. Jazz music was playing away over the PA, which is something I haven’t noticed recently on my flights.
The whole of section between the two doors was Business Class (I forget the exact number of rows) and didn’t appear to have any crew members catching a ride. Once again, I was on my own, although there was a gentleman across the aisle in 1C, I was in 1F once again.
After around 20 minutes, we pushed back and were on our way to Malaga. As on the Alicante flight, safety demo was via a video with the presence of the crew. Once again, we were speeding down the taxiways and this time we turned onto the runway at high speed as I could see the centre line and numbers of the runway wizz past outside the window! However the climb rate, although good, was more usual which probably reflected the good loads on the flight.
As we climbed, I managed to work out from what the crew said in Spanish, that there would be headsets available for purchase for those willing to watch the inflight programme. The flight was scheduled to last 1hr 10minutes – however today it would only take 50 minutes. Consequently, I thought it was interesting that they offered inflight entertainment on such a short service.
The meal on this sector was slightly different, I chose another bottle of Cava (it wasn’t too bad) however the snack was a miniature baguette with a form of Spanish ham within. The bread was reasonably fresh and it was a decent size. Not too bad, at least it was something different from the previous flight for me to try!
The inflight video appeared to be a Spanish version of the MTV show ‘Punk’d’. I didn’t buy a headset (didn’t see the point) however it was nice to watch from time to time in between looking out the window.
As we descended into Malaga, the crew turned the music back on for the landing. This time the Jazz music had a bit of a beat behind it which made the approach into Malaga which I have flown on countless occasions this year, a little different.
After a brief taxi to the stand, we disembarked via door 2 and crew kept the Economy passengers back while Business Class disembarked, which was impressive.
Fortunately, having been checked in for the return flight to Gatwick in the morning, I proceeded to the very familiar lounge.
British Airways – Malaga to London Gatwick – A320
The ‘Sala VIP’ lounge at Malaga is on the ground floor (the shops are directly above accessed via Escalators). I immediately recognised one of the women on the desk who also recognised me (which is always nice). After a quick look at my boarding card I proceeded to the non-smoking side (on the left, smoking is on the right through a separate door). The lounge was relatively quiet as it was still some 2 hours before the Gatwick and slightly later Heathrow service was due to depart.
Fortunately, there were still some copies of the Weekend FT available and a new bottle of Mateus Rose in the fridge. Great! Together with a plate of crisps I managed to read for a good 30 minutes before the lounge started to fill up.
It was quite a different crowd in the lounge, a couple of au pair’s with children (I could overhear the cell phone calls to their parents from the nanny), mainly couples and individual travellers like myself. It was pleasantly a tracksuit free zone!
In fact, while I was topping up on the Mateus at the bar, I noticed some people had their Anya bags from FIRST with them which they were using as a toiletries bag (definitely spotted three from three separate groups of people!)
The Gatwick flight was called before the Heathrow service as it leaves slightly earlier. What was unusual outside, was the terrific queue at immigration to get to the ‘C’ gates where the BA flights depart. However it moved quite quickly.
I comfortably made the flight on time as the gate was only around the corner and Eurotraveller were still boarding. When I boarded, I recognised the purser who also recognised me from one of my previous flights to Malaga. :-:
Once again, the cabin was only two rows of Club. One of the couples sporting the Anya bags back in the lounge, was sat in row 1A and C, I was directly behind in 2A and 2C was unoccupied. In all, there were six of us in the cabin. Nobody was moved up front from Eurotraveller on this occasion.
Shortly after boarding, the door was shut and we pushed back. Again, the Purser came around (as on the outbound) asking what we would like to drink after takeoff – however this time she had remembered my first name!
As this was a night flight, there was little to see outside. After a brief chat with the purser when the drinks came around (I made sure she served everyone else before myself not to keep them waiting), I found out the meal choice was Salmon or Stuffed Peppers. I chose the Salmon. There were two crew serving Club in all who brought around some Pretzel nuggets! Fortunately, I was asked if I wanted anymore than two packets, to which I said yes and ended up with five packets – plus they were my favourite flavour – salt and vinegar!
Apparently, as the Salmon wasn’t that popular, the purser kindly gave me an extra piece on top of the salad. Although the salad itself didn’t come with any dressing, there were so many different types of lettuce, so of which were quite spicy, I’m not sure if it needed any as the tastes of the lettuce were so diverse. On the whole the meal was it’s usual excellent standard, washed down with Champagne and a tea to go with the after dinner mint.
I stayed with the Champagne for the whole flight and I was topped up throughout without having to ask, every need seemed to be anticipated, especially offering a glass of sparkling water half way through the flight! Superb.
The approach into Gatwick was uneventful. There was no queue for immigration at all which I was amazed to find as usually the queues around 21:30 can be horrendous.
Overall
Overall, BA (or should I say GB Airways) had the best product out of all three airlines I flew for this promotional mileage offer. The service from the Iberia crew was fine, they appeared very friendly on the whole however although the food was not up to BA’s standards, the BA flights were far longer to be fair with both Iberia flights being under an 1 hour in each case. For such sectors, the food was fine, it was nice to have a glass of Cava on each flight. I would certainly fly with Iberia in Business on a domestic flight again.
However, BA’s product is far superior if I had to choose between the two to fly from Spain to the UK. BA’s cabin has a more luxurious look, the food is on another level, the Champagne is Excellent and the crew superb.
I am pleased I have compared all three airlines in this way. Yes, it’s a pity Aer Lingus has pulled their Business Class product which was fine overall. However, BA’s Club Europe product in my experience is consistently the best on the whole, so I certainly won’t be having any sleepless nights about what other airlines could possibly offer! Anyhow, looks like it's Club Europe to Dublin from Gatwick from now on....
