Significantly larger that the AA lounge as you would expect, the BA lounge is incredibly quiet, only a handful of people in the entire lounge. The lounge is divided into many zones, and has an abundance of well spaced apart seating.










There are freestanding drinks stations throughout the lounge as well as a tended bar near the food area













If you have been reading my trip reports then this will come as no surprise, first order of the day, Champagne and coffee.

There a a First Dining section that I believe is reserved for those holding a first class ticket and also those with Gold Guest List status in the BA loyalty programme. Aside from this there�s a buffet that offers almost exactly the same food as in the business lounge and also the ability to order at table via QR code.








The at table menu has a few options not available at the buffet and as I was still peckish I went for the pancakes so that I could compare them against the AA offering.





The result, they were good, in fact they were very good, but not AS good, I�d happily eat both, I did happily eat both, but I�d chose to order AA in preference of BA.

Time to settle down and enjoy my drinks and then I might grab a quick shower as I skipped it this morning having showered last thing last night expecting to be time poor in the morning.

Well that was certainly a surprise. The showers are decidedly grotty! Mould, broken fittings, dribbling shower head, peeling varnish, cramped� the only good thing I can say is they achieved the end result. I honestly expected better having used the Lufthansa business class showers in Munich last week. If you want to see the difference take a look at my Sibiu trip report





As the food team are switching from breakfast to lunch right now I shall hang around a few minutes to take pictures. The salads are done and the breakfast buffet is still in place so lunch is yet to make an appearance� I predict pies, fish cakes, pasta, and curry!

Nailed it! No great surprise to anyone that frequents BA lounges, it�s been that same menu in first and business lounges for quite some time

Next up is everyone�s favourite lounge, the Cathay Pacific first class lounge. In retrospect I should have waited for that shower until I arrived here but lesson learned and experience gained.

The very understated elevator entrance leads up to a small reception then straight across to the First lounge.

I always compare this to a gentleman�s club, leather, dark wood, panelling, understated elegance.

The lounge looks a little untidy as they had just called boarding for the hong kong flight, usually it is very clean.









Buffet food is available in �the pantry� and there is also a table service dining area which I will eat at later






There�s a good selection at the bar, including four various fizzy offerings

And with that it is time to settle in with, you guessed it, a glass of champagne and a little bowl of some of the best spicy olives I�ve ever tasted. I love these olives and always start with a little bowl of them. And I forgot to take a picture so you get to see work in progress

No picture of the dining area again as it is full. Suffice to say that it follows the same theme as the rest of the lounge. There is about a dozen assorted tables available up to groups of four.



Menu

Pulled Pork Bau

Chicken Sambal

Artisanal Cheese


A lovely meal and accompanied by champagne and a nice glass of port with the cheese.

Time to wander back to the main lounge area, time for a coffee and a cognac

Decided to wander into the Cathay Business class lounge as I know they have a good selection of deserts. Bartenders slightly confused by the concept of a single brandy Not taken any picture because I will be coming back for a proper stay during a subsequent trip.

very tasty chocolate ganache and just tidying up the coffee and brandy before heading off to the next stop

With roughly an hour to boarding it�s a short stroll to duty free to see what tastings are on offer today� always a dangerous visit as half the time I end up buying a bottle, or two, and today is no different!







The XOrdinaire Johnny Walker stand was unmanned, however I only recently tried that. The Delamain XO was very nice, the XXO a bit strident for my tastes. He almost had a sale when�.




Camus extra elegance reduced over �220, and Dufry Red reduced that even further. I already have a bottle of this at home, now I have an excuse to empty it

And with the wallet emptying trip to duty free complete it�s time to visit the last lounge of today.

The quantas lounge is billed as a first class/business class lounge and when there are quantas flights scheduled the ground floor is a full service restaurant and gin bar. Today however only the first floor is open and that is a more business experience









The food offering makes me glad, as a carnivore, that I have already eaten elsewhere








Settling in with a glass of Australian fizz and a coffee it is time to while alway the few remaining minutes until boarding

A very small wander over to gate 11 and the group 1-3 lane was empty again. Into the holding pen and a minute later boarding was opened.

Row 1 for the remaining flights of this trip� yay! Legroom!!!





looks to be 9 rows in front of the curtain for this flight so crew will be a little busy but flight is long enough that it shouldn�t ŷbe a struggle.

with over 20 minutes until push back the odds are in our favour for an on time take off.

The music is playing, people are coming onboard at a good rate, and therefore it�s time for me to buckle up and settle down for this short hop to Bucharest

Nice creases in those trousers, Mr JapesUK

I take it the security construction work at NCL is now complete?

Great catch on that cognac.

thank you, I am learning to use appropriate framing to miss the �oops�

Not sure about the security work, the construction next to the mass scanner didn�t look too permanent

In the end we were roughly 20 minute late taking off. It was a very pleasant flight all around. The crew were excellent, addressed myself and my neighbour by name each time, attentive by not overly so, and kept the service flowing.





I have ordered some special meals for most of these flights and this afternoons was the Hindu dinner which was a very tasty chicken tikka. Most of the rest of the flight I catnapped and stared out of the window.




Expected landing was 20:15 and the captain caught everyone by surprise, including the crew, when he announced ten minutes to landing at 19:40. No idea how he made up roughly forty minutes on the trip but no complaints from me!

despite a bus gate it was quick and easy through the airport and now playing �hunt the driver�

�hunt the driver� turned out to be really easy, I hadn�t booked one! Bolt ordered, arrived in 5 minutes and we are on the way to the Hotel.