Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 5: AA136

Los Angeles (LAX) - London Heathrow (LHR)

I settled into 3D on this occasion, with Bruce occupying the adjacent centre-of-cabin seat, 3G. We quickly decided that the seats worked reasonably well for two people travelling together, except maybe for a pair of incessant chatterboxes. We could carry on short bursts of conversation without shouting simply by leaning forward, then return to our private spaces by relaxing back against the headrest. The usual boarding-phase cabin service played out much as expected: my jacket was hung, then I was offered a glass of champagne and a newspaper. Boarding was confirmed as complete at 1825 and it seemed that we were sitting pretty for an on-time departure.

Hmmm, it's always a dangerous thought, that one, isn't it? Fifteen minutes after the scheduled departure time, the flight crew finally made a somewhat cryptic announcement that generated more questions than answers: "Folks, we're just sorting out a fuel discrepancy, then we should be able to get underway." Twenty minutes later, the problem remained unresolved, but the captain said he was painfully aware that no fewer than 167 passengers were making connections in London. At 17 minutes past seven the problem was declared solved. No corrective measures were required; the error was in the paperwork. It took just three minutes to push back and a further 19 minutes to get off the ground.

I knew I would only watch one movie on this sector and decided that I would enjoy a re-run of The Fugitive (1993). Hot towels were distributed and I was served some champagne (in an appropriate glass this time!), together with ice water and the customary warmed nuts. The dinner menu was as follows:

DINNER MENU		WINES
Starter		Champagne
Cured Salmon with poached pear and avocado crème		Gosset Brut Excellence
Salad		White wine
Seasonal greens with fresh vegetables, sweet and spicy		Muga Blanco, Rioja
pecans and blue cheese		Sella & Mosca La Cala Vermentino, Sardegna
Entrées		Red wine
Grilled Fillet of Beef accented by shallot butter, vegetable		Infinitus Malbec, Patagonia
risotto with sautéed mushrooms and wilted spinach		DeLoach Vineyards Heritage Reserve Merlot, California
Sautéed Chicken accompanied by ratatouille sauce,		Chase's Choice
bacon mashed potatoes and baby vegetables		Please ask your flight attendant about this wine choice
Pan-seared Halibut with truffled corn salsa, truffled sweet		Dessert wine
potato puree, haricots verts, tomato and red onion		Bodegas Lustau Sherry, Jerez
		Senhora do Convento Vintage Port
Garden Lasagna with zucchini, carrots, broccoli and basil
tomato sauce
Dessert / Cheese
Traditional Ice Cream Sundae - vanilla ice cream with your
choice of hot fudge, butterscotch or seasonal berry
toppings, whipped cream and pecans
Gourmet Cheese Plate - an assortment of fine cheeses
with garnishes

In contrast to the London - LA flight, there were no issues with my pre-order for the main course; in fact the flight attendant brought the subject up on this occasion, saying by way of confirmation that he'd noticed that I had pre-ordered the beef. The starter was a little more substantial on this flight and my main course exceeded expectations: it seemed like a good-quality piece of beef and, perhaps unusually for an in-flight meal, it had not been overcooked. I decided to have ice cream for dessert - you know what they say about cheese at bedtime - and a cup of tea offered the prospect of consuming less caffeine than with coffee.

I enjoyed both the meal and the movie. When both were over, I settled down for the night.

I woke up around half an hour before I reckoned that the crew would turn the lights on, feeling that I'd had a surprisingly good night's sleep. I decided to take advantage and get myself organised before the mad rush for the washrooms got underway. We made UK landfall over Northern Ireland, then overflew the Isle of Man prior to heading towards Chester. I opted to have the cooked breakfast from the two highly contrasting choices: 

BREAKFAST

Entrées

American Breakfast - scrambled eggs served over a buttermilk biscuit with poblano cream sauce, potatoes au gratin and

New Mexico turkey sausage

Continental Breakfast - Kellogg's cereal with yogurt

The captain announced that, in view of the number of connecting passengers and the chaos that would have been caused had we missed our connections, they had made the decision to fly at maximum speed. The results had been impressive: we had made up thirty minutes! Even better, we had just been given a direct approach into LHR with no need to hold. Clearly the aviation gods were smiling on us today. Indeed the situation improved even further and we touched down at 1319 UK time, arriving on-stand a mere seven minutes behind schedule.

Overall, this flight confirmed my positive feelings about American's new 'hard product' in long-haul Business Class. I had, after all, just enjoyed the best sleep ever on a Business Class flight, and as regular readers will know, that's quite a claim!

Date: Sat 30 Nov 2013

Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER

Scheduled dep: 1835

Actual departure: 1920

Scheduled arrival: 1315+1

Actual arrival: 1323+1

Cabin: Business Class

Seat: 3D

Next Flight
 
Previous Flight

Home | Major Trips | Short Trips | About this site | Index