Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: British Airways

  • British Airways (Warsaw to Heathrow T5)

    British Airways (Warsaw to Heathrow T5)

    This was the British Airways aircraft in Warsaw, G-NEOY, one of the new Airbus A321-Neo aircraft and this was only delivered to BA on 15 June 2020. It wasn’t the aircraft that they expected to use, but the UK Government announced an end to the travel corridor from Poland and this was one of the last flights back to the UK that avoided this issue. So, the aircraft was entirely full.

    The gate was busy and the announcements were hard to hear as the tannoy wasn’t very loud. There was boarding via seat row and this seemed sufficiently well managed.

    The free snacks provided en route, although three customers near to me tried to order food and drink from the Buy on Board service which has been suspended for some months. The crew explained that it was unsafe to serve customers food at the moment, and one customer asked why they were serving food then. It isn’t an unreasonable question (and the crew member couldn’t answer it), although I’m happy with the current set-up.

    This was one of the tensest flights that I’ve been on with British Airways and it’s clear that some passengers were on edge throughout. A passenger opposite me who reclined his seated immediately and then hugged the seat in front of him was one of the more selfish I’ve seen, but I was pleased he wasn’t near to me. This same customer also irritated a member of cabin crew who ordered him over the tannoy to sit down after we had landed otherwise he’d suspend the disembarkation process. It was the same customer who talked over the safety announcements and ignored the crew throughout, then seemed confused why he was being called out for standing up whilst taxiing to the gate. I quite liked the drama to be fair.

    Overall, this wasn’t an expensive flight as I booked early, although the last few seats were costing hundreds of pounds each for those who needed to return home before 4am on Saturday when the travel corridor option was slammed shut. The problem with this new aircraft is that it’s not very comfortable when it’s at this capacity. There’s not enough space and things such as the at-seat power didn’t work, which it really should have done given how new the aircraft was.

    But, having written that, I was just pleased to get back out of Poland given the travel corridor issue, and British Airways didn’t let me down there. The flight was around thirty minutes late in departing due to a delayed outbound flight to Warsaw, but our aircraft arrived just one minute later than timetabled as they were able to make the time up. It was a slight shame that the aircraft landed at C-gates, as that’s a bit of a trek back, but the airport wasn’t particularly busy. So, all sufficiently pleasant, but not my best flight with BA.

  • British Airways (Heathrow T5 to Warsaw)

    British Airways (Heathrow T5 to Warsaw)

    This is BA A320 G-EUYR after arriving into Warsaw Chopin Airport, an aircraft which has been in the BA fleet since 2013 and one I’ve not been on before. The boarding process at Heathrow T5 C Gates was well managed and customers were boarded from the rear seats to the front, which was efficient and has replaced the previous priority boarding system.

    The aircraft, which was probably around 40% occupied.

    I had a row of emergency exit row seats to myself and the overhead lockers were only lightly filled, so there was no problem in finding a space.

    Power was available in the form of plug sockets and USB sockets.

    When boarding, every customer received a hand gel and disinfecting wipe in a larger plastic bag, which the crew collected later on during the flight. The aircraft was as clean as I’ve seen BA manage before, so I’m confident that their new cleaning regime is working for them.

    The Buy on Board (BOB) system, which I always hated, has been scrapped for the moment and customers were given this bag free of charge. It contains a packet of crisps, a packet of shortbread and a bottled water. The crew members were visible throughout the flight, giving clear announcements about what customers could do. This was important as I was unsure of the process, so customers had to wear masks throughout and could only go to the washrooms when the green light was on. Anyone who wasn’t going to wear a mask had to explain this situation to the staff at the gate and the crew reminded a few customers to put their mask up over their nose during the flight.

    High Life Magazine is no longer offered in the seat backs, but it can be read on-line. There’s wi-fi which costs £2.99 for a flight, but I wasn’t that desperate to check e-mails during the journey.

    This flight was reasonably priced at £30.52 for a single journey, which I consider to be excellent value bearing in mind BA also supplied me with lunch and drinks in the lounge, as well as on-board snacks. All told, I remain very impressed that British Airways have managed to deliver such a positive experience given the ridiculous limitations that they’re operating within. And, this is why I don’t feel the need to switch to another airline.

  • Heathrow T5 (BA Galleries South Lounge)

    Heathrow T5 (BA Galleries South Lounge)

    Although I’ve been to this lounge many times before, I usually go straight to the B Gates lounge as it’s quieter. I wasn’t sure if that one was open at the moment, as Galleries North is closed, so I went to the large Galleries South complex. The lounge was spotless, there’s a real effort to ensure that there are sufficient staff available and everything looked ordered and well managed. I didn’t meander around the lounge this time, but it was quiet and easy to socially distance.

    The usual food and drink counters have been shut down, meaning that table service is offered. This has made the lounge a rather more upmarket affair, more akin to the First Class lounge on the floor below. There are a number of breakfast options available until 12:00 and I went for the club breakfast.

    The beer options, which are Heineken for those who don’t like beer, as well as two more interesting choices, namely Brewdog Speedbird and St Austell Tribute. I’m a huge fan of the Brewdog beer and it’s good to have it again after several months of not flying.

    The club breakfast of a bacon roll and potato rosti. OK, it’s not spectacular in its appearance, but the bacon wasn’t too fatty so it didn’t take me long to remove that fat. The roll is soft and it’s all perfectly adequate.

    Here’s the beer….. The food and drink was brought over within a few minutes each time and is ordered via a QR code. There were a couple of customers struggling with the concept, but the staff members were pro-active in helping them. There is a range of different seating types in the lounge, but I went with my preferred high seating and was able to plug my devices in.

    At 12:00 the menu switches to lunch and these are the hot options. There are also salads and cake options available for those who want that. As usual with British Airways, everything is free of charge, nothing is surcharged or limited.

    And here’s the Thai green chicken curry, which I think is way above what someone could expect in an airport lounge. Tender chicken and a richness to the sauce, it’s a perfectly acceptable dish.

    I was very controlled in the lounge, limiting myself to just ordering the breakfast and lunch options, as well as two Speedbirds. I haven’t seen the lounge in this good a state before, perhaps it’s just because it’s quieter. British Airways have done a quite marvellous job here in what are clearly trying times.

  • British Airways – Future of Gatwick

    British Airways – Future of Gatwick

    It’s not looking great for London Gatwick Airport, my flight from there to Faro in March 2021 with British Airways has been switched to London Heathrow. Although this is quite handy as BA have let me switch to a better timed return for no extra charge, it’s a little sad to think that there are no plans for the South Terminal to re-open in the near future. Seems a long time ago since I was in the South Terminal ready to fly to Malta, but it was only March 2020.

  • British Airways – G-CIVD and the Retirement of the 747-400s

    British Airways – G-CIVD and the Retirement of the 747-400s

    The photo above is from the press office of British Airways and is of G-CIVD today, on its last flight from London Heathrow. It’s the first of the 747-400 fleet that British Airways are retiring early due to the current aviation crisis. G-CIVD was delivered to British Airways on 14 December 1994 and the airline think that it has flown for 115,276.8 hours on 13,364 flights.

    It’s a shame that I don’t know anyone with a sufficiently big garden, otherwise I’d like the idea of buying one and parking it up …..

  • British Airways – Seat Changes

    British Airways – Seat Changes

    This is progress….. In the past, if BA changed seats for operational reasons they had a habit of never telling anyone. Well, they told some people, but not the customer. This was relatively common for those in emergency exit row seats when they switched to a different aircraft, thereby either leaving the customer in a non-emergency exit row seat or shoved somewhere random near to the back of the aircraft.

    I received the above e-mail about my flight to Poland in September, and BA had switched my seat number, but they moved the seat to where the emergency exit row now was. I accept this is of limited excitement, but it’s a better system than they used to have.

  • British Airways – Aircraft at Norwich Airport

    British Airways – Aircraft at Norwich Airport

    These British Airways aircraft have been parked at Norwich Airport for some time, but today is the first time that I’ve seen them. I’d very much like BA to fly from Norwich, but this isn’t how I envisaged seeing them there. I’m fairly sure that this is the fleet from London City Airport, stored in Norwich and in Southend.

    One of the last aircraft that I took was from Florence back to London City airport, at the end of February 2020 when the current health crisis started to unfold in Italy. That was G-LCAA, which is one of the aircraft now parked at Norwich Airport.

    Speedbird will be back soon enough…..

  • British Airways – Retirement of the 747-400

    British Airways – Retirement of the 747-400

    I’m not that much of an aircraft spotter, but I’m slightly saddened that British Airways has announced it is permanently retiring its entire 747-400 fleet, four years earlier than expected. That’s not entirely surprising given current events, but it’s an unfortunate end to what is perhaps one of the most beautiful aircraft that there has been.

    I’ve flown on many of BA’s 747-400 aircraft, but this flight from London Heathrow T5 to Boston in May 2019 will be my last on-board one of their fleet. It’s aircraft G-CIVE and for this aircraft, its last passenger journey was 24 March 2020 when it returned to London from Vancouver.

    There are 31 of these aircraft that are now being scrapped, although there are hopes that BA might be able to save one from being entirely destroyed, perhaps sending it to an aircraft hanger or museum.

    This is G-BYGC that I saw last year at Heathrow T5, painted in an old BOAC livery.

    And this is what Alex Cruz said about the decision:

    “This is not how we wanted or expected to have to say goodbye to our incredible fleet of 747 aircraft. It is a heart-breaking decision to have to make. So many people, including many thousands of our colleagues past and present, have spent countless hours on and with these wonderful planes – they have been at the centre of so many memories, including my very first long-haul flight. They will always hold a special place in our hearts at British Airways.”

  • British Airways – Selling Off Art

    British Airways – Selling Off Art

    British Airways said they’d be flogging off a few pieces from their art collection, which is pretty substantial. This is Cool Edge by Bridget Riley, which BA seem to have had in their collection for some time.

    The estimate is £800,000 to £1,200,000 which makes it just a little bit outside of my price range. And taste range to be honest. But, if anyone wants to buy it, it’s up for sale at Sotheby’s (https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/evening-sale-london/bridget-riley-cool-edge)…..

  • British Airways – First 787-10 Arrives

    British Airways – First 787-10 Arrives

    There’s not much exciting news in aviation at the moment, although the arrival of G-ZBLA into London Heathrow from Boeing’s base at Charleston is newsworthy. These aren’t good times for Boeing, and I’m not entirely convinced by their recent aircraft, but this is the belated arrival of BA’s first 787-10. This was meant to be a glorious new aircraft for BA, fitted with their new Club Suites and deliberately with four-cabin service at a time when First is being removed from some destinations, but the whole health situation at the moment means that this is tricky timing.

    There will be twelve of these aircraft to add to BA’s existing 787 fleet, with this first one expected to fly to Atlanta next week as its inaugural passenger flight. There are 256 seats on the aircraft, with 8 in First, 48 in Club World, 35 in World Traveller Plus and 165 in World Traveller. I suspect this configuration might prove to be a little too business heavy given current events, but there might be a sweet spot in terms of pricing for Club World seats to the benefit of passengers (I’ll be happy in economy though, I have cheap tastes).