Hmmmm….
Category: Airlines
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British Airways (Newcastle to Heathrow T5)
It’s the first time that I’ve flown from Newcastle and also, I think, the first time that I’ve taken a flight starting and ending in England. It was aircraft G-EUXL, a British Airways Airbus A321.
The boarding process was one of the smoothest I’ve had with British Airways and the lines were clearly divided between boarding groups 1-3 and boarding groups 4-5. It was also one of those times where I managed to walk through the boarding pass scan just as boarding started, so I didn’t have to wait at all.
I assume he was de-icing the plane……
Reading material.
Seat 24F, an exit row seat which has the advantage of not having a seat in front of it. So, lots of space, especially as there was no-one sitting next to me. The flight was around 75% full with, I think, four rows in Club Europe up at the front of the aircraft.
The crew did their M&S buy on board trolley run and managed to sell very little. The flight only lasts for 45 minutes, but the service seemed efficient and well managed. The crew member was excellent, she was merrily making conversation and was personable, it’s these little things that British Airways can do really well. She said that she was then about to fly to Geneva and back, which now makes me realise that I should go back to Geneva at some point….
Anyway, the flight arrived on time and at Heathrow T5 A Gates, making it easy to transfer to my next flight.
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Flights – Malta to London Gatwick South (British Airways) (Second Time)
This is the second time I’ve done this flight this month, around a three hour flight from Malta to Gatwick South. Here’s the aircraft, ready and waiting. Some of the highlights that were visible outside during the flight included seeing Malta from the air and also Mount Etna.
The flight seemed quite light initially, but there was a sudden burst of passengers who filled up most of the front cabin. I’m not sure whether they all came from the lounge at the same time or whether there was a delay at passport control, but it was busier than the flight out the previous Sunday.
The aircraft hadn’t been very well cleaned though, the cleaners hadn’t taken extraneous items out of seat pockets and there was some litter on the floor. Malta is served by airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet and others, and if British Airways wants to be seen as a better option it does need to sort out this constant cleanliness issue.
I’ve reused this image from the last flight, since it’s the same menu.
For some variety I went for the main course of Parmesan, rocket, penne pasta and lemon peppered chicken. The pasta was well seasoned and the mustard seeds added texture and flavour, with the chicken being tender and the peppered lemon coating was surprisingly quite strong. All very pleasant, with the chocolate and cherry torte being rich and luxurious… The Coastal Cheddar was excellent, whilst the Somerset Brie seemed unexceptional, although I prefer harder cheeses.
The crew were helpful and efficient throughout, not particularly pro-active in offering additional items, but it was easy enough to ask for anything else. The service was though always professional and there was a relaxed feel to proceedings.
The flight landed just a few minutes later than expected due to heavy headwinds, and the pilot made a few updates during the flight giving information about what could be seen out of the window.
So another efficient and well managed flight….
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Flights – London Heathrow T5 to Geneva (British Airways)
I took this flight from London Heathrow T5 (as can be seen above) to Geneva in March 2016 in an A319. It’s memorable to me only because I remember the rather impressive views of the mountains near to Geneva, the rest of the experience has now become lost to the mists of time….
My flight was in Club Europe and although BA have now changed how they band their flights, this was in the old Band 2 sector. That meant that a pretty decent salad was served, in this case a prawn salad with the obligatory BA seeded roll.
I’m told that this isn’t the best champagne, but I have no clue about such things, it tasted fine to me. Again, since I took this flight, BA have changed which champagne they provide in the cabin though.
The photos above are of the mountain views that I had, which the pilot said were in the Mont Blanc region. Whether or not it is actually Mont Blanc I have no idea, so I’ll have to visit it one day to find out. It looks a bit hilly though to me, rather higher than Beeston Bump in Sheringham….
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Flights – Los Angeles to London Heathrow T5 (British Airways)
After I’d spent a very enjoyable five weeks in the United States, it was time to return to London Heathrow, this time using British Airways. I had got to LAX nice and early, ensuring that I had sufficient time to go to KFC.
It was an evening flight and the boarding process seemed particularly efficient, although it transpired that there was a reason for this….
I had selected an aisle seat and I took my seat next to another gentleman (I say another as if I’m a gentleman….) ready for the red-eye flight. A crew member came up to tell me that the cabin had less than 15% occupancy, so he suggested that I take an entire row of seats to myself.
This was the row of seats that I selected for myself, which was rather nice. Unfortunately the new iteration of BA seats means that the arm rests don’t fully lift up, so I wasn’t able to make up a Club World bed arrangement. The quiet cabin certainly made the journey a lot more comfortable and the crew member told me that the other cabins were equally light of passengers.
Liam would have been pleased with the in-flight entertainment option of Alan Partridge…..
The pre-meal snack of pretzels, which I have become rather fond of over my years on BA. They were removed for a while, but they’re now back! The white wine was perfectly acceptable as well.
I’ve always thought that BA meals in economy are of a good quality, although they’re rarely well presented. This is a chicken tikka, along with a salad, roll and crackers. There was also a Lily O’Brien dessert, which I always appreciate.
This was the second meal, which was some form of fruit dumped in a bowl (I would have preferred crisps) and a burrito, which was served hot.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable flight because of the amount of space that I had in the cabin. It was like being in premium economy and the number of passengers also meant that there were never queues for the washrooms and it was easy to get additional drinks from the crew.
I asked the crew member why the flight was so low on passengers and whether this was usual for the time of year (I flew in early February 2018). He said that he said it was rare to be that quiet, and he thought that the real reason might have been Norwegian Airlines and their cost-cutting. I’m surprised that this would have had a sufficient effect, but anything which forces down prices is good to me.
The cabin was unusually clean when I boarded, something BA are sometimes rather hopeless at. The crew were all pleasant and helpful, and this was perhaps my best trans-atlantic flight in economy that I’ve had with BA. Whether or not I can be lucky enough to get such an empty cabin in future is perhaps rather less likely….
