SFO777

Thank you antebellum. Good idea on the A350 flights. I did look into it but the timing just didn't work for me on this trip. This is not the first time I've seen a line like that. Agree that It's crazy that they still accept PP.

They felt as bad as they looked.

Grazie mille terminalfive. Agree on a potential solution with Delta. AZ Business is not a bad product now that they've updated IFE and added Wifi. The FCO Lounge is very good.

Thanks so much Duck1981. Yeah, it's a product I'd actively look to avoid.

Thank you very much DanielW.

Thanks sl00001. The only gloves they wear now are the sanitary gloves used to pick up trash... but that probably doesn't count.

Thank you pmarssouth. Interesting. Sounds like the same catering company?

pmarrsouth

Madone59

SFO777 you're publishing so many TR's this summer, I am losing track of if I have read all of your TR's You're spoiling us - thank you!

offerendum

The line at the lounge looks terrible....

UAL250

Another great TR SFO777. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the rest.

I do have to agree with others that those BA seats on the 321 are actually literally appalling. I would refuse to fly on that if the flight was longer than 90-120 minutes. Not sure I could physically take any more. At that point, why not just fly Easyjet and save some cash? Yikes. The European airlines are engaging in an even uglier race to the bottom than the US airlines.

On the plus side, the AMS BA lounge looks excellent. Was it as empty as it looked in your photos? A nice modern lounge that's not crowded, with great tarmac views... not sure it gets better than that!

SFO777

LOL. Thank you Madone59. That's probably the last one for a while since I've been grounded and we don't have another vacation planned until November.

And it's a terrible lounge anyway,

Thanks very much UAL250. The AMS lounge was indeed empty when I got there at around 8:15am. A half hour later, it was pretty full with lots of AA pax.

SFO777

The YotelAir Hotel Amsterdam Schiphol

We pulled into Gate D26, a long, long way to the main terminal and the Lounge 2 shopping area.







Seven minutes later, the escalator to the mezzanie level and my hotel for the night, the YotelAir hotel. I was looking for something convenient and in terminal, and without the need to go thru additional security and/or passport control.







Definitely not a Mrs. SFO777 hotel. LOL.



A double "suite" at nearly 180 sq. ft.





And my room 23.



At a spacious 120 sq ft. LOL. OMG, this is hilarious. More like a capsule. Think train compartments.











But actually pretty comfy despite the lack of any semblance of luxury.

SFO777

I checked out just after 8am, some two hours before my flight back to London. The BA Lounge is located at the opposite end of the mezzanine level of Lounge 2.





OK, now this is really cool. The giant clock appears to have man painting the time in real time. The clock was designed by a Dutch artist and apparently is 12 hour long recording.



At the far end of the mezzanine, up the elevator or stairs is the BA Lounge.



Very attractive with wonderful tarmac views.























At T-50, I headed for the long, long trek back to D27.









Amsterdam AMS to London LHR
British Airways BA 444
A321
10:05a-10:40a
August 14, 2019
Club Euro 1A

I got to the gate at T-40 and found that boarding had already begun, sort of. Boarding passes were scanned and we all waited 10 minutes as a few wheel chair passengers were boarded.







Row 1, the only good Euro-fraud "Business Class" seats on the plane.







Something to drink, sir? A Bloody Mary sounds great, thank you.



The cabin and seats may be crap, but at least BA serves a full meal on a 50 minute flight. Today's quiche which was leek and something that I've forgetten. Service was wonderful as two crew members took care of a dozen or so of us up front.



This was really good.



A short 40 minutes after take-off, we descending towards Heathrow.













Fortunately, today arrived at the A gates. And the usual walk to T5 connections and Fast Track security... just like yesterday.











And back to Galleries First Lounge where I headed back to the beach.



... and my home for the next 2+ hours.



OK, this looks too good to pass up.



Nice views but I'd stick to the original Bailey's.



Improvising for power as outlets and few and far between on the terrace.

nequine

It didn't look like a MrSFO777 hotel either! LOL

Nice view of Twickenham as you came into land at LHR

offerendum

Does it look like anyones hotel

stevie

I must have been in GF lounge same day as you and sat out in the terrace. Reminded me of sitting in a mall with the amount of advertising going on. Given how busy the lounges were it is a joke BA sell this space off.

sriegert

couldn't wait, read ahead on your website. looks like AA is handing out same weak amenity kit in F that it does in J, perhaps this has been noted elsewhere. Also it looks like you had generally good food experiences on this trip, which is surprising given my opinions about AZ and BA catering.

757

Excited to see another report from you so quickly, SFO777! I have never flown internationally from LAX, but good to know about the TBIT/T4 security checkpoint should this ever change. Alitalia J looks nice, but as you said, a dated looking cabin. BA Y on the 321 looks incredibly uncomfortable, and a shame that BA has configured their aircraft that way. They seem to have a full service and LCC mind set - with good looking service on international flights, but poor on short European hops.

Looking forward to your next trip!

Matthew

SFO777

Yeah, that "hotel" is definitely not for everyone.

Thanks stevie. I asked one of the terrace staff (blue hair female with lots of facial metal... probably not a BA employee... LOL) and she said the beach is here until the end of September. I sure hope BA is getting a lot of money for this fiasco.

Thank you sreigert. Yeah, BA has definitely improved catering since teaming up with DO & CO.

Thanks so much Matthew. I'm going to be more careful about choosing BA flights going forward.

SFO777

My 1:10pm BA departure suffered the same dishonest creeping delay that is typical at AA. My departure changed from 1:10pm to 1:30pm, then 1:40pm, then 1:50pm, then 2:00pm and finally 2:10pm as I saw my JFK First Dining date evaporate. At 1:20pm, I headed out for the train to the B gates.





For years, Emirates bought this space to rub it in the BA. Apparently BA .....ed and complained so that now no one advertises here.



Last year... LOL.





At least the plane is here.





London LHR to New York JFK
British Airways BA 177
747-400
1:10pm-4:00pm (sked)
2:30pm-5:35pm (actual)
August 14, 2019
Club World Busines Class Seat 64K

Boarding was painfully slow with a bunch of SSSS and handicapped passengers pre-boarding. And the all encompassing Group 1 which included One World Emeralds and First Class.



This tells you all you need to know about what BA thinks of its miserable First Class product. Ignore them at boarding and let them board with the masses thru 2L.



The jet bridge to 1L and First Class, apparently not in use today.



The upper deck Business Class cabin.









My seat, the coveted 64K... last row, rear facing window.



Tons of storage space.



The view from 64K. Fortunately, no one in 64J to stare at today.



Very private...



... and very comfortable.









And today's BA tease of the day. Wi-Fi on board? In my dreams.



Today's menu.









Blah, blah, blah. Late tow from engineering and then the plane needs to be cleaned. LOL.



Finally.



Ancient IFE.





Service on today's flight was excellent. My usual G&T to start.



Followed by a glass of Burgundy, unfortunately at only slightly cooler than room temp.



Showtime, BA Club World style...



For my starter, I went with the Spice-roasted cauliflower with beluga lentils, lime cream and fresh mint. Delicious.





This is the best BA can do??



My main, the Braised breasts of corn-fed chicken, braised pearl barley risotto, wild garlic. This was very good.





For dessert, the Warm stickey toffee pudding...



... was fabulous.



The cheese plate was really good.





No point in watching a movie since IFE was crap and the movie selection very limited. But I slept solidly for nearly 4 hours. Our 5pm ETA slipped away as we took the scenic route to JFK.











A passing storm at JFK slowed our arrival even further as the ground crew took a lightning break. We finally pulled into the gate at 5:28pm, just 62 minutes before my JFK-LAX flight.