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  • Flights – Boston Logan to Heathrow T5 (British Airways)

    My favourite aircraft is the A380 and this was the plane G-XLEG which was delivered to British Airways in 2014. It was a moderately busy flight, although my bulkhead row of ten seats had just one other person on it, although the crew moved another two onto it just before departure. This meant plenty of space for me, rather different to my American Airlines flight of the previous day. Sitting on the lower deck of the A380 it is genuinely difficult to know that this beautiful aircraft has taken off, I never tire of just how much of an engineering triumph this is.

    The initial drinks run took place around 45 minutes after take-off, with the crew member saying she was surprised how little alcohol was being requested. I was content with my orange juice, sparkling water and mini pretzels.

    There was plenty of choice on the in-flight entertainment system, although I had hoped for some episodes of Friday Night Dinner again which unfortunately weren’t there. There were though some episodes of People Just Do Nothing and This Time with Alan Partridge which I hadn’t seen before.

    The meal was served around 20 minutes later, consisting of a salad with dressing, roll, chicken casserole with mashed potatoes and vegetables, caramel dessert and then cracker with cheddar cheese. Several people declined their food tray, but I most certainly didn’t. There was also the option of pasta with cheese, which I think has been an option on nearly every BA long-haul flight that I’ve ever taken.

    The quality was fine, the chicken was tender and had a decent amount of flavour, the vegetables retained some firmness to add some texture and it was all served hot. The dessert was also above average in terms of the richness of the taste. The salad was a little dull, but the dressing helped somewhat.

    I had some problems with my screen during the flight, but the crew member was able to successfully reset it. The moving map didn’t work though even after the reset. The crew were helpful with this and everything else, they were also visible throughout the flight. I thought that the temperature in the cabin was just right, although I suspect that this meant most other people were cold. The pilots and crew members made appropriate announcements throughout the flight and they came across as friendly and professional.

    The breakfast option was a croissant with tomato cream cheese, which tasted better than it looked. Another customer, who had refused his evening meal, didn’t look thrilled and a fair few of these were returned uneaten to the crew. The presentation really does need looking at and perhaps some choice to improve the options somewhat.

    However, overall, I thought that this flight still represented superb value for money. Coming in at under £125 there is pretty much no money in this for British Airways, but I won’t complain about that. The food and drink was served efficiently, the aircraft was clean and the crew were helpful and friendly. Lots of space and British Airways is once again becoming my favourite airline.

    The landing of the A380 was though quite heavy at the end of the flight which led to a crew member saying “we’ve certainly landed, I can guess that’s the First Officer landing that”.

  • Airbus A380 – Spelling

    Hmmmm….

  • Boston – The Club Lounge (Terminal E)

    I didn’t really experience much of this lounge as I was waiting here for just over an hour for the BA lounge to open. For most of that time I was the only person in the lounge, so the atmosphere was certainly quiet. There was just one staff member in the lounge and he seemed helpful and pro-active.

    This was my preferred seating area, large desks and plenty of nearby power outlets. Although, to be fair, there was no shortage of power outlets around the rest of the lounge. There were numerous different types of seating available and several smaller and more private areas.

    More seating. There was free wi-fi in the lounge, but it didn’t work very well and so was the main reason that I left to go to the BA lounge. Everything else seemed to work as expected though and there were toilets and showers within the lounge.

    The food selection at breakfast was average, there were some cereals, fruit, pastries and yoghurts to choose from. I didn’t have anything as I had just eaten, with the exception of a cereal bar which were also available here. The flavoured waters were good, as were the coffees, so that was all good.

    Part of the drinks and food selection on offer.

    All in all, it’s a perfectly reasonable lounge, but nothing exceptional. The unreliable wi-fi was the problem for me, and ironically it’s one of the few places in the airport where wi-fi isn’t available, as there is public wi-fi in the rest of the terminal which didn’t reach into this lounge. There also wasn’t a view from the lounge, so it did feel a little like being in a basement. But it was clean, comfortable and functional, so worth it for those with a lounge access card but perhaps not quite so good for those wanting to pay for access.

  • Boston – Air France Lounge (Terminal E)

    The Air France lounge at Boston Airport, which is a little tucked away in Terminal E, quite a way from the other lounges. I got access to this lounge with Priority Pass, it’s unusual in that it’s an Air France lounge that’s part of that scheme and also that it doesn’t have any restriction on opening hours.

    It wasn’t very busy….. The interior is bright, although there isn’t really a view, unlike the spectacular one from the BA lounge.

    The food selection was extensive, with salad items, chicken fajitas, pastries and baguettes.

    More lounges need to do this and I excitedly prepared myself a chicken noodle, it made me feel that I was back on Amtrak….. Cheap and easy, but hot and convenient. I didn’t really explore the drinks selection in any detail, but there were plenty of spirits and also some wines as would be expected in a French lounge.

    The toilets are in the lounge (as in customers don’t need to go out to visit them, they’re not literally plonked in the middle of the eating area) and there were around ten different French magazines, as well as some English ones. The news was playing quietly on screens around the lounge, but nothing that intruded on the atmosphere.

    This isn’t an overdone lounge, but it’s clean, well presented and functional. The wi-fi was fast, there were plenty of power points and a range of seating areas. There were only a handful of customers in when I visited and a couple of staff members keeping everything topped up and organised.

  • Boston – Green JetBlue

    I was slightly confused (which rarely takes much) to see a JetBlue aircraft at Boston Logan which wasn’t blue…..

    All became clear with a little Googling. It’s a special painted aircraft to honour the Boston Celtics basketball team, with the Lucky the Leprechaun mascot on the tail.

  • Flights – Los Angeles to Boston Logan (American Airlines)

    I’ll start this post by commenting that I’ve written to American Airlines (not that the customer service staff can really do anything with my message), as the crew member said that they appreciate all feedback (which is the sort of mistruth that is often said). It was a frustrating flight, as nearly everything was excellent. The lounge exceeded my expectations, the airport staff and cabin crew were friendly and efficient, the entertainment system was decent, the snacks were fine, the service was quiet as it was a night flight, the aircraft was clean and we arrived on time.

    However, the problem is the recline on the seats, or at least, it’s a problem for me. Once thought of as the preserve of the budget carriers such as easyJet and Ryanair in Europe and Allegiant in the US, decent airlines are now scrapping the damn things, or at least offering customers the choice of rows where seats can’t recline. They cause seemingly endless arguments on flights and with the limited seat pitch and space between seats, they intrude far too heavily into the person behind. British Airways have started to scrap reclining seats in some of their short-haul flights and Delta have started to cut back how far the seats recline.

    The compromise of having several rows which have no recline seems to me to be an excellent one. No system is perfect in meeting the needs of every passenger, but that will mean that the majority of seat recliners get their seat recline, and the majority of those who don’t like seats reclining also get their way. I’m very pleased that at least British Airways has seen sense on this issue.

    The screen, which was bright and had an excellent range of different films and television programmes. One clever innovation is that you can also watch these films and programmes from your phone should you wish, which is probably a pre-cursor to the screens being removed in the future.

    The business class seats that I wasn’t in….

    The coach seats that I was seated in, which were actually otherwise entirely acceptable in their unreclined state.

    The crew came round and offered a free drink, with snacks of pretzels and biscuits. I opted for my usual Dr. Pepper, with the crew serving everyone efficiently. I was surprised that they served with the cabin in darkness, but they didn’t seem to experience any issues.

    Arriving into Boston, the pilot mentioned that those sitting on the right hand side would be a good view of the city, and fortunately, I was sitting on the right hand side by the window.

    So, in short, the flight was excellent, but the airline’s overly generous recline policy means that I won’t likely be flying with them again in short-haul. Which means I’ll be back to Allegiant.

  • Boston – Boston Airport (Stephanie’s)

    Stephanie’s is a restaurant which takes part in the Priority Pass scheme, where those who hold the lounge pass can get a restaurant meal instead of (or as well as) the more traditional lounge set-up. Stephanie’s is the only option at Terminal B for those with the card as there aren’t any other lounges in the scheme.

    When I arrived at the restaurant I checked that my boarding pass would be OK, as I had just landed at Terminal B, but I was departing later that day from Terminal E. They didn’t seem too concerned though and they didn’t ever check my boarding pass anyway.

    The staff member tried to seat the two parties in front of me at the bar, but they both refused and wanted a table. Not to be put off, the staff member offered me the bar area, and she was rewarded with my approval as I had no real preference. A member of bar staff came over promptly to introduce herself and give me a menu and it all seemed efficient.

    The orange juice was freshly squeezed rather than coming from a carton.

    I opted for the Eggs Benedict, which along with the orange juice came to $25. The lounge pass allows for a spend of up to $28, although that doesn’t include the tip and I left that separately in cash. It’s a little expensive for a drink and breakfast, but it is at an airport and not a great deal is cheap at airports….

    The food was fine, although very heavily salted, although fortunately I can willingly tolerate this. The home fries, a concept I very much like, were crisp, flavourful and, as mentioned, salty. The eggs weren’t runny when I cut into them, which I would have preferred, and the Hollandaise sauce didn’t look overly appetising. However, the sauce tasted fine and the thick slice of bacon had a firm texture, rich taste and it was also, as mentioned, salty. The sauce didn’t have a particularly strong taste of anything and the muffin was a little soft and wet for my liking. Overall though, it was an acceptable breakfast, although at the price point charged it was really only just acceptable.

    Overall, I very much like the Priority Pass scheme where restaurants offer this sort of deal. The meal cost me $4 as a tip, so this seemed excellent value for money, and it was clear that some other diners in the restaurant were also using their card. The restaurant wasn’t otherwise that busy, so they also seemed to be benefiting from the extra customers.

    Oh, and I saw this review on TripAdvisor, so don’t go if you’re vegan. Although can anyone really be surprised that the restaurant didn’t let them in?

    “EXTREMELY Vegan un-friendly. OK, so it is not the restaurant’s fault that at 5:30 pm, the last decent meal I had up to that point was breakfast at 8:00 am. It is the restaurant’s fault for not allowing me to have my dinner with my colleagues with food that I bought from another vendor at the airport because the only vegan offering at Stephanie’s is a plain green salad with oil and vinegar (not nearly sufficient). As my colleagues enjoyed their dinner provided by the restaurant, I was left drinking my iced tea with my stomach growling and feeling nauseous.”

    I probably wouldn’t come here with my own money as a first choice, as there are some better value alternatives in the airport, but I’d certainly come again to take advantage of the Priority Pass deal.

  • Amtrak Pacific Surfliner (San Juan Capistrano to Los Angeles)

    Not many photographs of this train journey unfortunately……

    So, the time arrived to leave the delightful Alexis and Jose in San Juan Capistrano to go back to Los Angeles and then back to Boston. The train arrived on time and was a double decker Pacific Surfliner, Dylan would have been very pleased with the size of the train as well as the loud ringing and general noise.

    The train was only moderately busy, so it was easy to get a seat. The staff were their usual very friendly selves and everything was clean and comfortable. The wi-fi didn’t work the other day on my trip here, but fortunately it was functioning well today. I had thought that the train went to northern California, but it actually stopped at Los Angeles, so everyone got off and at the time expected.

    The journey is a simple one, lasting under 90 minutes, with the usual spacious seats and also the option of the cafe bar on the train for those who want it. The on-line tracking of trains on the Amtrak web-site also works well, so I could see the train coming towards San Juan Capistrano.

  • California – Whale Watching Trip (Captain Dave’s Tours)

    I initially thought that whale watching was a good suggestion from Alexis, although I then decided that there was a risk that I’d get seasick…. Fortunately I didn’t, and I got better photos of the whales and dolphins that I had anticipated before the visit. So, Captain Dave’s Whale Watching in Dana Point it was.

    There is no guarantee that whales or dolphins will be seen on any particular trip, although the company do post up on the boards what has been seen recently. The tour is 2.5 to 3 hours long, so there’s plenty of time to see something.

    The boarding ticket. One thing that was reassuring about this company is that they don’t do discounts with Groupon or similar sites. There were some other companies that flog off cheap tickets on Groupon, but to me it’s a huge sign of desperation and so I disregarded all those competitors who did it.

    The staff member suggested buying some Pringles to eat something salty to minimise being seasick. So I did.

    Boarding the boat.

    The mast things.

    I was pleased to discover that I had accidentally selected one of the two seats which let me lie down and recline. I initially thought that this was useful to avoid seasickness, but when I discovered that I didn’t get seasick then I decided that it was just comfortable.

    A view from the back of the boat. There were two crew members on the boat, one was up above looking around for whales and dolphins (and maybe polar bears, although I doubt they see many off California) and the other remained on board with everyone else. He was conversational and engaging, giving us lots of information about the dolphins and whales that we were seeing.

    After around 90 minutes, the crew member suggested that I leave my comfortable lying point to stand at the front of the boat, which I decided was a good idea. This coincided with the others moving back as they thought most of the excitement was over, but it gave me the ideal opportunity to see the dolphins towards the second half of the trip.

    Everything seemed very professional and I noted that the ticket office didn’t sell tickets to a group of three people saying that there were only two spaces left. However, the boat could have taken more, so there was a decision made to ensure that the boat wasn’t too crowded. If it had of been, then the experience wouldn’t have been as positive.

    Overall, this was an excellent experience, the staff were friendly, the boat was comfortable and we got to see a fin whale and hundreds of dolphins. All very lovely.

  • California – Whale Watching Trip (Whale Photos)

    OK, I’m not a wildlife photographer, these aren’t great photos….. These are the whale photos   🙂