Round The World and other travels

Flight Log: BA5

London Heathrow (LHR) - Tokyo Narita (NRT)

Our time prior to the flight was spent in the Concorde Room, the designated lounge for ticketed first-class passengers departing from Heathrow's Terminal 5. For passengers beginning their journeys in London, it is now accessed via the bizarrely misnamed First Lounge, which is actually for British Airways 'Golds' and One World 'Emeralds'. I arrived first, with Bruce joining me as quickly as his journey from Bristol would allow. As we toasted our latest trip and enjoyed a pre-flight bite to eat, we both agreed that the latest incarnation of the Concorde Room was a marked improvement on the original, but it still didn't compare with Lufthansa's First Class Terminal in Frankfurt.

In due course it was time to make our way to the gate to catch our flight. Although not planned as such, this was to be my first experience of the longer 'Dash 9' version of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Rolls Royce-engined variant of which had been proving problematic for all its customers. (These very issues had led to an equipment change on what had been intended as my first 787-9 flight, with Virgin Atlantic in December 2017.) Engines aside, I was keen to see the differences of detail between this small, 8-seat 'F' cabin and British Airways' other versions of First Class.

On arrival at Door 2L, I was shown to seat 1A, while Bruce got settled into 2A behind me. The first thing I noticed was a significantly bigger and clearer in-flight entertainment screen, after which I spotted the presence of more 'cubby holes' for personal storage. I also felt that, compared with the Boeing 777, but not necessarily the 747, there was more flat surface area available for laying out various useful things during the flight. Finally, I thought that the seat featured more privacy; I couldn't actually see any of the other passengers. I accepted the offer of a pre-departure glass of champagne, and was later pleased to see it being topped up when I thought it might be in danger of being cleared away. A sleeper suit and amenity kit were also delivered.

We pushed back from the gate well behind schedule, at 1559, following which arrival documentation was issued to those requiring it. Although the taxi was short in terms of distance, it included lots of waiting. We finally left runway 09R at 1622 UK time. Our initial course involved a partial left turn towards Cambridge, then we veered right towards Ipswich, leaving the English coast behind just south of Lowestoft.

Cabin service got underway with the customary round of hot towels. Drinks orders were taken and I opted for my standard combo of a glass of champagne and a glass of ice water. Having pre-ordered the beef online, I asked for the bean soup and a salad as starters. My pre-dinner drinks soon arrived, together with some mixed nuts. By now were skirting the coast of the Netherlands, just off the West Frisian Islands. Heading next for the North Frisian Islands, we soon crossed the west coast of Jutland well to the south of Esbjerg, not far from the Danish-German border. After crossing the western edge of the Danish island of Fyn we headed across the Kattegat for Gothenburg in Sweden.

Following that little interlude of gazing out of the window and plotting our course, it was time for my table to be set and for my attention to be refocused on events inside the plane. My amuse-bouche was served aong with some garlic bread; I recognised the former immediately from our London-Denver flight just a few weeks previously. I had a glass of Sancerre, which apparently was being carried as a substitute for the listed Sauvignon Blanc. Now following our progress on my IFE screen, I noted the succession of place names: Jönköping, Linköping, Norrköping, Nyköping - were we in some kind of rut, I wondered? 

My bean soup was served as we passed Stockholm, and I enjoyed it enormously. It was visually attractive, featured contrasting textures and tasted good; what more could you ask? The small salad that followed was okay, but nothing special. My pre-ordered beef main course, paired with the Pinot Noir, was served as we crossed into Finland. It occurred to me that this outbound routing tended to suggest that my homeward journey via Helsinki was definitely not going to be out of the way. The main course was disappointing. It's almost a given that beef served on a plane will be overcooked to some extent, but this was a relatively severe case. Underneath all that gloopy sauce, the meat was dried out. The vegetables left a lot to be desired as well. For me, much of the attraction of daikon lies in its lightly crunchy texture. After putting this offering in my mouth, I was able to reduce it to mush just using my tongue!

I then had ice cream for dessert and finished the meal with a ginger infusion, as the names on the map became more Russian-looking and we headed towards the White Sea. I realised that I was finishing the meal at 7:30pm UK time, which equated to 3:30am in Japan. Time to settle down, perhaps? I couldn't help noticing that the quality of cabin service dropped more dramatically than usual towards the end of the main meal, as the crew made a very noticeable retreat into the galley. I changed into my sleeper suit top and then stupidly allowed myself to fall asleep without having my bed made up and with my seat only semi-reclined. I think I must have forgotten that I was travelling in First!

*  *  *  *  *

I woke up at 7:30am Japanese time, after only 3.5hrs of sleep - yikes! Ideally I would have had another couple of hours, but I realised that it simply wasn't going to happen. Interestingly, Bruce was exactly the same - except, of course, that he had actually gone to bed! I was offered a snack basket and had a packet of Kettle Chips washed down with some apple juice.

Breakfast was served at 9:30 Japanese time. I had some Fruit & Fibre cereal, a squashed croissant and a 'full English', which turned out to be a very substantial plate of food. This was washed down with some apple juice and an Earl Grey tea.

Our Scottish Cabin Service Director came round to say goodbye and a round of hot towels marked the end of cabin service. We flew down the east coast of Honshu, past the airport, and executed a wide turn to land towards the northwest on Runway 34R at 1118 local time.

Speaking about the flight afterwards, Bruce and I agreed that while the 787-9 was an impressive aircraft, we had actually preferred our 747-400 experience a few weeks earlier. Of course in my case, I spectacularly shot myself in the foot on the current flight by forgetting to have my bed made up.   Then again, my apparent ability to forget that I was travelling in First Class perhaps says it all.

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