Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: British Airways

  • British Airways (Gatwick South to Turin)

    This is my first visit to Turin, flying with British Airways from Gatwick South. Initially the flight seemed busy and so I expected it to be a busy service, especially as they had been making announcements and sending texts during the day offering to place hand baggage in the hold for free. This is normally done to free up space in the cabin for what hand baggage there is, so I expected a busy flight. I was seated in Club Europe and it transpired that there was just two of us in the front cabin……

    We were around fifteen minutes late departing because the aircraft broke. Or, to be more precise, there was a problem with an on-board computer and an engineer had to switch something around.

    The crew member serving the Club Europe cabin wasn’t really strained during the flight if I’m being honest, there’s a limit to how much hassle two customers can be. Anyway, I opted for a gin and tonic as my drink, and the other customer opted for a gin and slimline tonic just to mix things up a bit (literally as well).

    The crew member was pro-active and visible for the flight though, as with just two customers it might have been easy for her just to sit on a jump seat and have a little rest. But she didn’t and the service was always attentive and efficient.

    British Airways had loaded the grand total of two meals for this flight, both different to each other, although both were based around salads. For reasons unknown to me the crew member had also heated up around eighteen rolls and scones, of which I had two and the other customer had none.

    The meal was fine and the ham tasted better than the photo suggests. The pork pie had some flavour, the generous amount of pickle added some texture and the Cheddar cheese was excellent. The lettuce leaf was more decorative, and it didn’t really perform that function with any great merit, and the tomato and mozzarella tasted as anyone might expect them to.

    For several years I’ve liked the scones served by British Airways and I take the Cornish approach to these things, jam first and then the clotted cream.

    The Alps.

    The suburbs of Turin.

    Turin as the sun starts to set. The flight landed on time, making up the slightly late departure, and I deliberately let the other customer in Club Europe disembark first so that I could follow him (just to the security area, not to the city centre). All  very efficient.

  • British Airways (Gatwick South to Malta) – Third Time

    Back to an A320 for this British Airways flight from Gatwick South to Malta, the third and final (well, for the foreseeable future) of my trips to the islands. This is aircraft G-GATK which was for ten years part of the Wizzair fleet, and before that it was operated by ACES Colombia.

    Boarding was efficient at Gatwick, with customers being called through by order of priority. There was a problem with the number of bags being taken on board and it was a full flight, so the ground staff did ask passengers if they’d put their luggage in the hold. There was a remarkable variety of reasons why customers refused, such as “my medicines are in here”, “my book is in the bag” and my favourite one of them all, “no, I’m here first, get someone else to put their bag in the hold”. The customer said it with a powerful sense of entitlement if nothing else…. I don’t use the overhead lockers, which makes matters easier for me. Boarding was made harder for the crew by the lack of assistance from customers, but I think they’re more than used to it by now.

    There’s an inevitable Groundhog Day feel to this, it’s of course the same menu as I had on the flight last week.

    I’m not particularly keen on the British Airways Full English breakfast, so I didn’t even try to change my option for the sake of having a different photo….. I was, to my knowledge, the only person who went for the meat platter, other passengers went for the cooked breakfast options. It’s not startlingly exciting, but it’s a reliable and comfortable cold option.

    Service was professional and efficient throughout, with customers served from the front to the back of the cabin and the crew were available with top-ups of drinks. The cabin was clean, one of the airline’s inconsistencies, and the disembarkation was speedy. The only slight delay was that we had landed just after an easyJet service, which meant that there was about a 20-minute delay at border control.

  • 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….

     

  • Flights – British Airways (Luxembourg to Heathrow T3)

    A morning flight back to Heathrow T3 from the beautiful country of Luxembourg.

    A relatively light load across the cabin, which meant sufficient space in the overhead lockers. I had a row to myself, the same as on the way out.

    As for the crew, they were exceptional. The crew member who managed the cabin had a service style which made me wonder if he was a crew trainer, he was faultless. He introduced himself to everyone and he remembered the names of all of the customers, that alone is a very impressive service standard which is rarely ever attained by the crew. For the first time in a long while, I’ve contacted BA to tell them just how good he was.

    There was a choice between warm quiche or the above, which is smoked salmon with cottage cheese. Served with a roll, which appeared after I took the photo, and fruit and dessert. The salmon was sapid and flavoursome, the cottage cheese was unexceptional and the cucumber was, well, cucumber. BA seem to have thing about capers, and I’m certainly not one to complain as they add taste and texture. Overall, it was a perfectly acceptable brunch, as the airline calls it.

    Note my initial choice of drink, which was sparkling water, was served alongside with a champagne I hadn’t even thought of having until the crew member so politely mentioned that it went well with the salmon. As did the glasses of it he followed up with during the flight.

    The flight departed about five minutes early and landed around ten minutes early, not that I was in any particular rush. Heathrow T3 was well staffed, so I was able to leave the airport within twenty minutes of having landed. I’m sure that BA is on an upwards trajectory again after some years of complacency….

  • Flights – London Gatwick South to Malta (British Airways)

    The British Airways aircraft at Malta Airport having just arrived in the morning sun.

    But, back to the start of the flight. The flight boarded early and the new group system was being enforced by the staff member at the desk, she sent someone back to the seating area who was none too pleased at that. But, if you’re going to have a group boarding system, it does need enforcing.

    The flight was around 70% full and everyone had boarded about 15 minutes before the expected take-off. There was then a delay when something went wrong with the aircraft that an engineer checked to examine, but that only took a few minutes extra.

    I was seated in 1A, so this was my view for the flight. As I understand seats 1A and 1C (there isn’t a 1B) have been created from where the wardrobe used to be. And as a reminder of that, a customer asked to put their coat up, a service which can no longer be offered. Seat 1C isn’t a great seat, as it’s exposed when boarded, so anyone sitting there is likely to get their knees banged by customers boarding the aircraft.

    The menu card.

    I’m not usually a tea drinker, but the peppermint tea seemed refreshing given the early morning start.

    The breakfast, which was perfect for my needs and is much better in my view than the cooked full English breakfast option they offer. Although, more people went for the cooked full English than for the plate of cured meats and cheeses, so it still seems a popular option.

    I looked out of the window and thought that the clouds looked like mountains. There was a reason for this, these are mountains poking up through the clouds.

    My first sight of Malta.

    The service on the flight was pro-active, indeed on the higher end of my BA experiences. The meal service was efficient and I got my first choice of food, although that was rather inevitable sitting in Row 1 as unlike long-haul, they just go straight to back in Club Europe.

    All in all, a rather lovely flight.

  • Flights – British Airways (Amsterdam to Heathrow T5)

    After the usual long exercise that is provided by Schiphol Airport to get to the gate, the British Airways Airbus A320 was not an unwelcome sight.

    The boarding process wasn’t particularly well handled, most customers ignored the announcement and then just went up to the boarding desk anyway regardless of what group they were in. I do like the new boarding arrangements, but they’re still not always particularly effective away from Heathrow. But since I don’t have a bag I need to put in the overhead lockers, I’m not too concerned that the order of boarding is sometimes a little muddled.

    There was a friendly welcome from the crew on-board who seemed to be acknowledging every customer, and the pre-departure cabin check was in-depth. The crew member was asking customers with a mobile phone to confirm that they had put it in flight mode, which is a rare level of efficiency. The flight was also around 90% full with the Club Europe cabin divider being set at eight rows.

    There was a choice between sandwiches or Ploughman’s, along with a scone and clotted cream, with a dessert of a cake. I was able to get my first choice of the Ploughman’s, but customers in row eight were just being given the sandwiches as the choice had run out by then.

    As for the meal, the ham looked a little processed but tasted better than it looked, with the accompanying blue cheese having a decent depth of flavour. The coating of the Scotch egg was bland in terms of the taste, but the piccalilli and pickle added texture. At least some effort had also been made with the presentation of the dish, so it looked reasonably appetising. Although the appearance of the ham needs improving……

    Not a complaint but just an observation, but the scone crumbled too much for my liking, although it’s not a bad addition to the afternoon tea. The bread, which sometimes isn’t provided, actually was OK, with the cake being similar to a generously proportioned Mr. Kipling’s Cake.

    I only ordered this gin and tonic to test the rumour that British Airways aren’t supplying full mini bottles and are instead pouring half measures in the galley. I was pretty sure that if this was true it’d be on long-haul flights, but either way, I got the bottle presented to me and not part-poured. I also didn’t want the full G&T, so I still have most of the gin in the bottle I took with me.

    The service was efficient and effective, it can’t be easy trying to get food and drink to eight rows of Club Europe in the time that the cabin crew have on this flight. There was also time for the crew to offer a second drink, and to wander up and down the cabin to check that customers were OK and didn’t need any assistance.

    An interloper from the Euro Traveller cabin came and used the Club Europe toilet, something always exciting for me as I like to see what the crew say. Normally it’s a crew member who has sent the customer to the forward cabin because there’s a buy-on-board trolley in the way in the rear cabin. Anyway, the cabin services director (or whatever they’re called now on short haul) wasn’t impressed and I noted him eyeing up the customer, although he didn’t say anything. However, the customer couldn’t then get back to Euro Traveller for over ten minutes as the crew member had the trolley in the aisle and made no effort to move it as he served drinks to Club Europe customers.

    Overall, the aircraft was clean, the temperature was appropriate for my needs, the crew were polite and the flight landed on time. Ideally the flight wouldn’t arrive at Heathrow T5 B Gates as it means waiting for the internal shuttle train, but I wasn’t in a rush and so the extra time didn’t matter. This flight was an Avois redemption upgraded to Club Europe using a Lloyds upgrade voucher, so the price for this flight was £25 plus 4,000 Avios.

  • 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….

  • 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….

  • Lounges – Heathrow T3 (British Airways)

    Since I was the first person into the BA lounge today, it gave me the opportunity to take photos without including other passengers in the shots. So, since I’ve had no sleep, I amused myself by walking around taking photos whilst drinking coffee to keep me awake. It worked beautifully.

    Usually when at Heathrow T3 I would lounge hop around the other Oneworld lounges, but 5am isn’t an ideal time to do that as some aren’t yet open. That can be the focus of another post though…

    The fruit selection, with the accompanying yoghurts located a little further down, is carefully separated out with the different fruits. None of that mixing it all together and having people pick the bits out they like thing happening here… The kiwi fruit was a bit hard, but the grapes were rather lovely. Although I of course didn’t go overboard with the fruit.

    This is the informal seating area near to the front of the lounge, usually occupied by diners.

    The self-service alcohol selection, which I decided not to sample since it was 5am. Incidentally, and often not known by passengers, it is possible to get champagne by asking one of the staff members in the lounge. It’s also possible to get Marmite, another request only product (it gets stolen otherwise).

    The chilled drinks selections in the fridges.

    There are lots of different seating types in the lounge, which helps make it feel more relaxing and less like some giant school-room.

    This is often the section I end up sitting in, as it’s right at the back of the lounge and hidden away. There are power points in this area, which is something that this lounge isn’t great at providing. When BA modernise a lounge they do add a lot more power points, so it’ll improve one day.

    A little snacks section, with BBQ corn balls, spicy corn snacks and berry surprise. The berry surprise, which seems a little enthusiastically named, is rather addictive.

    Another seating area.

    Cinnamon rolls.

    Bacon rolls and some sort of egg thing.

    Croissants, pastries and soups.

    The business area of the lounge, where there are printers and computers that passengers can use.

    The room for kids. There are endless discussions about how children should behave in lounges, but if they’re being loud, I like it when they’re shoved in here. I’m sure Dylan and Leon would like the room for a while, but then want to explore the rest of the lounge though….

    Beautiful. I mean the crisps in the background, but it’s all rather lovely.

    Very decorative.

    The lounge also has showers and Elemis travel spa facilities free for those who want them. The showers are useful, but the Elemis travel spa facilities are a complete mystery to me, but it’s something to do with pampering. I just go in and eat crisps, that’s my pampering.

    It’s all very functional, but the lounge can get quite busy. As mentioned earlier, I’m a fan of lounge hopping when at T3, which isn’t something possible at T5 as there are only BA lounges there. It’s possible to hop between BA lounges at T5, but that’s not quite the same as hopping between lounges operated by different airlines.