British Airways DUR-JNB
Boeing 737-400
13:00 - 14:00
Business Class
Seats 2A & 2C
After checking in at the friendly Club Desk, we passed security and went to the SLOW lounge, BA's domestic business class lounge in South Africa. The lounge had no view of the runway, but that was not unexpected (as I mentioned before, SAA gets all the best views). The lounge was comfortable and extremely well catered for, with a large variety of snacks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The bathrooms were clean and stocked with Molton Brown products.
Eventually we made our way down to the gate only to be told that the flight had been delayed for an hour due to a technical issue. After peering through the window I noticed that an oil spill team was busy at work beneath the nosewheel of our plane. Not a good start for BA!
That's the one thing I don't like about BA here in South Africa - the fleet is old. Averaging 24 years, they only fly 734's... unlike SAA's much more modern fleet. Even the budget carriers here have 738's. Boarding eventually commenced, and the captain apologized profusely, saying that there was a hydraulic fluid leak that needed to be repaired.
The Club cabin is arranged in a 2-3 configuration, in three rows. The seats on the left have a small gap in between for valuables, and an extra tray for drinks/books etc. The set-up is comfortable, though the leg room is not as generous as SAA's. The three seats to the right are not optimal, and there is no guarantee that the middle seat will be open on a flight, which I think is rather weak for any business class product. So if you fly BA, always sit in A/C!
Pre-flight drinks... Orange juice/Water/Apple juice. No bubbly unfortunately (though this changed after take-off)
On our way
Speeding along
Gear up!
Views of Durban and Umhlanga
Some greats views of the Drakensberg
Salad Starter
Chicken curry was delicious (four selections : chicken curry/vegetarian/beef fillet/fish)
Desert turned out to be the Lindt Chocolate ball, but I couldn't complain too much... I finished my main during the descent. BA usually provides some great Haagen-Dazs to finish off the meal, but this flight is very short.
Terrain changing as we approach home
Although I was initially irritated by the delay, BA once again showed that they provide a superior product to SAA domestically. Our one-week holiday was finally over, and we had sampled the best of BA and SAA locally, as well as having the privilege of staying at the Oyster Box.
Thanks for reading! Comments are most welcome...