Live TR: Go Hawks! From London to Seattle, via NYC (BA/AS F), for Seahawks v Rams
Jan 6, 2023, 8:03 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 4,029
Live TR: Go Hawks! From London to Seattle, via NYC (BA/AS F), for Seahawks v Rams
Hello there dear readers! After what feels like an eternity, I’m back with a trip report. I think my last one was a live report while I was doing a ridiculous routing to Tokyo (LHR-DOH-SIN-KUL-NRT in one hit) for the Rugby World Cup Final in 2019.
That’s not to say I haven’t been travelling, once the world opened up again I was straight back on a plane – just most of it has been mundane work trips. Nobody wants to see reports of flights to and from JFK and working in Stamford.
So, for my return, I thought I would do another semi live report, based on a silly routing, to go and achieve a bucket list item.
You see, I’m a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and I have been determined to see them play an NFL game for a very, very long time. “How is it that, you, a guy from London, support the team geographically furthest away from you?” I hear none of you ask? Many moons ago, I worked in Plano, Texas and my colleagues took me to a pre-season NFL game. I had it on good authority that supporting the Dallas Cowboys is a bit like supporting Manchester United in the UK – ergo, I was not doing that. Seattle were the opposing team, and given my love of all things Pearl Jam, I nailed my colours to that mast and have had a very up and down time since. They’ve played in London twice since, both times I was away, and I missed out on tickets for this years game in Munich. Mrs Lem and I did a West Coast road trip in October last year, taking in three cities on a game day that had a NFL team (Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle). Every team was away. I was beginning to think I was never going to see an actual game in the US.
Then I hit 10 years at work and they gave me an extra 5 days holiday as a one-off. A seed planted itself in my mind. I checked with The Committee if she minded me jetting off on my own for a few days to catch a game – The Committee passed my motion and so I set about finding flights, hotels and match tickets.
The last part was very easy, the last game of the season is always ‘For the fans’ and there were tickets for $75. So obviously I bought a Club level seat at over four times that cost. The Committee doesn’t need to know that.
Flights were a bit more tricky. I wanted to use Avios and maintain my, now eleven years running, policy of only flying long haul in something that gave me a flat bed. While I could get home directly from Seattle (Club Suites on a new 787-10), there was nothing available out to the West Coast at all. The furthest west I could get was Atlanta, and that’s not very west at all. I set some alerts up on Reward Flight Finder for anything west of Denver and left it for a while. Well, about 20 minutes – by which time I’d started nervously sweating. I’d committed a lot of money to the game ticket, and so far only knew I could get home – and we all know how quickly reward flight can disappear. I also didn’t know whether the game itself would be on Saturday or Sunday – so had to plan to be in Seattle by the Saturday morning. After a few more minutes of furious searching, I had a plan – I used Avios to book Heathrow to Newark in First, and Seattle back to Heathrow in Club. I then splurged some actual cash to book Newark to Seattle on Alaska Airlines in First (I justified it by knowing I’d get 140TP) at the unholy hour of a 7am departure, some Hilton points to book the Newark Hilton for a nap, and some more cash to book the Pan Pacific Seattle at a remarkably good price (and having GHA Titanium I know I could check-in from 11am and will likely get a double room upgrade). A reward Flight Finder alert a few days later told me that a seat in First had opened up on the return flight, so one quick phone call snagged that.
In the last week, those alerts have informed me of seats being available everywhere from Denver through to Portland, Phoenix and San Francisco – but all in Business, and with the new changes to redemption prices, I think it would have actually cost me more Avios to change and fly in a lower class. So I remained with my current booking.
Then all I had to do was wait, and hope that the game was on the Sunday as I didn’t really want to go straight from the airport. Prayers were answered after week 17’s fixtures, and we are set for a 1:25pm kick off this coming Sunday.
The Committee dropped me at Woolwich station this morning, and despite the RMT strikes meaning the Elizabeth line wasn’t running directly through to Heathrow, so it ultimately took me 3 trains to get to T5, I am now safely ensconced in the Concorde Room with an excellent Rum Old Fashioned, with boarding starting in about 30 minutes.
Oh, and I had to pack myself. So who knows if I have everything I need - guess we’ll find out when I get there. At least I have my passport and my credit card
Next up, Heathrow to Newark in BA’s First
That’s not to say I haven’t been travelling, once the world opened up again I was straight back on a plane – just most of it has been mundane work trips. Nobody wants to see reports of flights to and from JFK and working in Stamford.
So, for my return, I thought I would do another semi live report, based on a silly routing, to go and achieve a bucket list item.
You see, I’m a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and I have been determined to see them play an NFL game for a very, very long time. “How is it that, you, a guy from London, support the team geographically furthest away from you?” I hear none of you ask? Many moons ago, I worked in Plano, Texas and my colleagues took me to a pre-season NFL game. I had it on good authority that supporting the Dallas Cowboys is a bit like supporting Manchester United in the UK – ergo, I was not doing that. Seattle were the opposing team, and given my love of all things Pearl Jam, I nailed my colours to that mast and have had a very up and down time since. They’ve played in London twice since, both times I was away, and I missed out on tickets for this years game in Munich. Mrs Lem and I did a West Coast road trip in October last year, taking in three cities on a game day that had a NFL team (Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle). Every team was away. I was beginning to think I was never going to see an actual game in the US.
Then I hit 10 years at work and they gave me an extra 5 days holiday as a one-off. A seed planted itself in my mind. I checked with The Committee if she minded me jetting off on my own for a few days to catch a game – The Committee passed my motion and so I set about finding flights, hotels and match tickets.
The last part was very easy, the last game of the season is always ‘For the fans’ and there were tickets for $75. So obviously I bought a Club level seat at over four times that cost. The Committee doesn’t need to know that.
Flights were a bit more tricky. I wanted to use Avios and maintain my, now eleven years running, policy of only flying long haul in something that gave me a flat bed. While I could get home directly from Seattle (Club Suites on a new 787-10), there was nothing available out to the West Coast at all. The furthest west I could get was Atlanta, and that’s not very west at all. I set some alerts up on Reward Flight Finder for anything west of Denver and left it for a while. Well, about 20 minutes – by which time I’d started nervously sweating. I’d committed a lot of money to the game ticket, and so far only knew I could get home – and we all know how quickly reward flight can disappear. I also didn’t know whether the game itself would be on Saturday or Sunday – so had to plan to be in Seattle by the Saturday morning. After a few more minutes of furious searching, I had a plan – I used Avios to book Heathrow to Newark in First, and Seattle back to Heathrow in Club. I then splurged some actual cash to book Newark to Seattle on Alaska Airlines in First (I justified it by knowing I’d get 140TP) at the unholy hour of a 7am departure, some Hilton points to book the Newark Hilton for a nap, and some more cash to book the Pan Pacific Seattle at a remarkably good price (and having GHA Titanium I know I could check-in from 11am and will likely get a double room upgrade). A reward Flight Finder alert a few days later told me that a seat in First had opened up on the return flight, so one quick phone call snagged that.
In the last week, those alerts have informed me of seats being available everywhere from Denver through to Portland, Phoenix and San Francisco – but all in Business, and with the new changes to redemption prices, I think it would have actually cost me more Avios to change and fly in a lower class. So I remained with my current booking.
Then all I had to do was wait, and hope that the game was on the Sunday as I didn’t really want to go straight from the airport. Prayers were answered after week 17’s fixtures, and we are set for a 1:25pm kick off this coming Sunday.
The Committee dropped me at Woolwich station this morning, and despite the RMT strikes meaning the Elizabeth line wasn’t running directly through to Heathrow, so it ultimately took me 3 trains to get to T5, I am now safely ensconced in the Concorde Room with an excellent Rum Old Fashioned, with boarding starting in about 30 minutes.
Oh, and I had to pack myself. So who knows if I have everything I need - guess we’ll find out when I get there. At least I have my passport and my credit card
Next up, Heathrow to Newark in BA’s First
Last edited by darthlemsip; Jan 9, 2023 at 3:44 pm Reason: Tidying up
Jan 6, 2023, 9:21 am
#3
Moderator, OneWorld
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: SEA
Programs: RAA RIP; AA ExEXP
Posts: 11,803
The forecast is for possible wet-ish conditions. Take the streetcar from the Pan Pacific to Westlake, then the light rail to the Stadium station. Alternatively, get off the light rail at the International District station and walk a block to (wonderful) Uwajimaya, Seattle's iconic pan-Asian grocery and department store. Maybe fortify yourself with some loco moco from Aloha Plates in the food court, and/or buy some weird Japanese snacks for the hotel or return flight. The stadium is around a 10 min. walk from Uwajimaya. Welcome to the Pacific rim and the land of the 12s. As for the Hawks, maybe next year.
Jan 6, 2023, 6:27 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 4,029
Jan 7, 2023, 11:01 am
#6
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SFO
Programs: AY Plat, LH FTL
Posts: 7,375
Looking forward to this report.
Just leaving SEA after our first visit. I second the recommended Uwajimaya visit. Coincidentally, our son had the loco moco yesterday at Aloha Plates and declared it the best he's had. Good roast duck at the hot food bar.
Just leaving SEA after our first visit. I second the recommended Uwajimaya visit. Coincidentally, our son had the loco moco yesterday at Aloha Plates and declared it the best he's had. Good roast duck at the hot food bar.
Last edited by work2fly; Jan 7, 2023 at 11:16 am
Jan 7, 2023, 8:54 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: SJC
Programs: BAEC Bronze, AS MVP Gold 75K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 488
You are back! I used to love your TRs back in the day.
Super interested on the Seattle TR- SEA is my most visited US city but yet always for work so my visits are pretty limited.
Super interested on the Seattle TR- SEA is my most visited US city but yet always for work so my visits are pretty limited.
Jan 9, 2023, 3:20 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 4,029
So, where was I when I left you last? Oh yeah, in the CCR with a great Rum Old Fashioned, having breezed through the First Wing.
Alas, that was about as good as the Heathrow experience got. As mentioned above, boarding was announced at gate A10 - a dreaded bus gate. My last two long hauls into Heathrow have been bus gates, so it figured I was going to get an outbound at some point - but figured it would more likely be a shorthaul. At least on the arrivals there was a separate bus for First and Club, this time I was dumped on a boiling hot bus with what must have been half the flight. So after the distinctly non-premium drive around the airport and wait on said bus as the plane still wasn’t ready, I finally ascended the steps and boarded - to find that 1A was broken, with various bits hanging off that wouldn’t re-attach etc. The crew were excellent and moved me to 1K (although it turned out that all the window seats were empty, so could have just moved back to 2A), but it’s really disappointing to see seats in this condition - BA spent a lot of money upgrading these planes with Club Suites, including a reduction of the First cabin, so the F seats should have been looked at then. But that was the end of the disappointment with this flight.
As I noted above, the crew really were excellent - warm, engaging and genuinely very funny. When you get a good crew, it really can make a difference.
One thing that BA have finally done recently, is invest more in the onboard service and bring it back to, or even improve upon, pre-pandemic levels. Having eaten in the lounge (the bacon chop really was rather good), I held off on food for a while and set about exploring the wine list
One I really looked forward to was the Hattingley Valley. I’d had the 2015 vintage a number of times having had it when it was included in a BA restaurant kit, and a period where it was included in the Galleries First lounge, and loved it so much I’d bought it direct from HV a few times. I’d noticed on their site there was a new release coming - and this was my first chance to try it out. It really did not disappoint.
A couple of hours in I decided to eat, having the prawn cocktail (with a glass of the Pouilly-Fume) and the Chicken Murgh (where I actually had the Pinot Noir - don’t judge me), before the spotted dick pudding with the Sauternes. All of the food and wine was excellent, with the slight exception of the spotted dick which was only lukewarm.
As the cabin was only 5/8, one of the crew were looking after the group of four sat in the middle seats and one seemed to solely look after me. He was great, kept me regularly topped up, we had a conversation on whether Top Gun Maverick is the greatest sequel of all time (it is) and whether Maverick was in purgatory or not (jury still out on that one) etc.
About 90 mins out the lighter meal was served, where I had a chicken katsu burger - again this was great - and before too long we were descending into Newark.
All in all, other than the broken initial seat (complaint duly raised - I don’t like complaining really, but if nobody complained then nothing would ever get fixed), this was an excellent flight. Crew, food, drinks - everything was superb.
I was first off the plane, Global Entry once again an absolute star and I was at the airtrain station exactly 8 minutes after walking off the plane. The Hilton shuttle turned up 10 mins later, and after a short delay caused by a queue at check-in (once again the digital key did not work for me), and I was in my room 50 mins after doors open. The only time I can beat that is getting an Uber home from London City airport when there’s no traffic.
So, the first leg was over - and after a quick drink at the bar to use up my $15 credit, I headed to bed knowing I had a 4:30am wake up for leg two.
Obviously I woke up at 3am. I’m still me after all.
Nest up, a new airline and a new type of plane for me, as well as day one in Seattle
Alas, that was about as good as the Heathrow experience got. As mentioned above, boarding was announced at gate A10 - a dreaded bus gate. My last two long hauls into Heathrow have been bus gates, so it figured I was going to get an outbound at some point - but figured it would more likely be a shorthaul. At least on the arrivals there was a separate bus for First and Club, this time I was dumped on a boiling hot bus with what must have been half the flight. So after the distinctly non-premium drive around the airport and wait on said bus as the plane still wasn’t ready, I finally ascended the steps and boarded - to find that 1A was broken, with various bits hanging off that wouldn’t re-attach etc. The crew were excellent and moved me to 1K (although it turned out that all the window seats were empty, so could have just moved back to 2A), but it’s really disappointing to see seats in this condition - BA spent a lot of money upgrading these planes with Club Suites, including a reduction of the First cabin, so the F seats should have been looked at then. But that was the end of the disappointment with this flight.
As I noted above, the crew really were excellent - warm, engaging and genuinely very funny. When you get a good crew, it really can make a difference.
One thing that BA have finally done recently, is invest more in the onboard service and bring it back to, or even improve upon, pre-pandemic levels. Having eaten in the lounge (the bacon chop really was rather good), I held off on food for a while and set about exploring the wine list
One I really looked forward to was the Hattingley Valley. I’d had the 2015 vintage a number of times having had it when it was included in a BA restaurant kit, and a period where it was included in the Galleries First lounge, and loved it so much I’d bought it direct from HV a few times. I’d noticed on their site there was a new release coming - and this was my first chance to try it out. It really did not disappoint.
A couple of hours in I decided to eat, having the prawn cocktail (with a glass of the Pouilly-Fume) and the Chicken Murgh (where I actually had the Pinot Noir - don’t judge me), before the spotted dick pudding with the Sauternes. All of the food and wine was excellent, with the slight exception of the spotted dick which was only lukewarm.
As the cabin was only 5/8, one of the crew were looking after the group of four sat in the middle seats and one seemed to solely look after me. He was great, kept me regularly topped up, we had a conversation on whether Top Gun Maverick is the greatest sequel of all time (it is) and whether Maverick was in purgatory or not (jury still out on that one) etc.
About 90 mins out the lighter meal was served, where I had a chicken katsu burger - again this was great - and before too long we were descending into Newark.
All in all, other than the broken initial seat (complaint duly raised - I don’t like complaining really, but if nobody complained then nothing would ever get fixed), this was an excellent flight. Crew, food, drinks - everything was superb.
I was first off the plane, Global Entry once again an absolute star and I was at the airtrain station exactly 8 minutes after walking off the plane. The Hilton shuttle turned up 10 mins later, and after a short delay caused by a queue at check-in (once again the digital key did not work for me), and I was in my room 50 mins after doors open. The only time I can beat that is getting an Uber home from London City airport when there’s no traffic.
So, the first leg was over - and after a quick drink at the bar to use up my $15 credit, I headed to bed knowing I had a 4:30am wake up for leg two.
Obviously I woke up at 3am. I’m still me after all.
Nest up, a new airline and a new type of plane for me, as well as day one in Seattle
Last edited by darthlemsip; Jan 9, 2023 at 3:47 pm
Jan 10, 2023, 7:31 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 4,029
Interestingly, I’m on BA’s newest plane home - a 787-10 whose first commercial flight was the one out here. Everything is so, so shiny!
Anyway, further updates to come from the previous days - I did say it was semi-live…
Anyway, further updates to come from the previous days - I did say it was semi-live…