Round The World and other travels

Flight Log: BA233

London Heathrow (LHR) - Moscow Domodedovo (DME)

Following a pleasant early-morning visit to the Galleries First lounge at the south end of Heathrow's Terminal 5, we transferred to the 'B' gates, situated in the nearer of T5's two satellite buildings. Boarding of the Boeing 747-400 was via door 2L, so that we were able to go directly upstairs. It was to be Bruce's first experience of Club World on the upper deck and, perhaps more surprisingly, my own first such experience following a gap of four and half years!

This flight was special in other ways as well. London-Moscow is the only route in BA's short-haul network to be operated (since March 2012) with long-haul equipment, and this was the only one of three daily rotations to use the 747, with its exclusive top deck that seats a mere 20 passengers when full and therefore feels a little like a private jet. What's more, since Moscow is in Europe, BA's Reward Flight Saver (RFS) deal is available on Avios redemption flights, whereby the airline picks up most of the usual taxes and charges and replaces them with the requirement to pay a modest flat charge. In this instance, the journey cost 10,000 Avios plus GBP105 per person, representing a real 'sweet spot' in the Executive Club redemption tables. (Normally my domestic connection could have been added to the booking for zero additional cost, making the deal sweeter still, but on this occasion no suitable connecting flights were available.)

The two cabin crew members assigned to the upper deck were attentive from outset and were on the scene immediately to collect jackets for hanging in the wardrobe. I selected champagne from the usual selection of pre-departure drinks - a glass of fizz goes down a treat at any time of day!   Our amenity kits and menu booklets arrived in short order and hot towels were distributed while still at the gate.

Then something quite unexpected happened: I attempted to fasten my seatbelt, only to discover that one end of it was firmly jammed down the side of my seat. No amount of pulling, it seemed, could persuade it to come loose. The cabin crew quickly became involved, including the Cabin Service Director who had been summoned from the main deck, but to no avail. The crew suggested that I move to forward-facing 64B for take-off, situated directly behind Bruce. Pushback came a minute ahead of schedule according to my watch. It was a relatively short taxi to runway 09R, during which Bruce somehow or other managed to free my seat belt. We were approaching the runway hold point, but as we had not actually reached it yet, I made a quick dash back to my original seat, fastened the belt and gave a good tug on the loose end just as the warning chimes signalled our imminent entry onto the runway. With almost exhilarating acceleration indicating how light the aircraft was compared to usual, we left Heathrow behind just before 0910 local time. It was strange to think that it was already past midday at our not-so-distant destination.

BREAKFAST MENU
Please enjoy a glass of chilled champagne with your breakfast.
STARTERS		MAIN
Chilled fruit juice		Scrambled eggs with fillet of beef, lamb croquette,
		mushrooms, tomato and bubble and squeak
An energising fruit smoothie of strawberry and banana
		Scrambled eggs with cheese on a toasted English muffin
Fresh fruit
or		Pancakes with mixed berry compote
Severn and Wye smoked salmon with horseradish cream
cheese, blini and Oscietra caviar		Continental breakfast featuring Wiltshire ham, ventricina,
		pancetta, Emmenthal and Double Gloucester cheese
Bircher muesli
BAKERY
Selection of warm breads and breakfast pastries
including Russian rye bread

The breakfast service got underway fairly quickly and I started off with the muesli and the smoked salmon dish, the latter featuring a small helping of caviar. I couldn't recall ever seeing caviar in BA First before, let alone Club World! I decided to accept the invitation printed in the menu booklet and enjoy a (further) glass of champagne. The hot course, while perfectly edible, was the least interesting part of the meal.

The cabin crew did a good job of keeping the champagne top-ups going until I eventually admitted defeat and asked them to stop. On such a relatively short sector, I couldn't get particularly interested in the in-flight entertainment options and simply confined myself to keeping an eye on the 'moving map'.

Time passed very quickly. We touched down at 1527 local time, but a long taxi meant that we were just a few minutes behind schedule when we finally made it to our allocated gate.

Overall, an unusually comfortable and enjoyable intra-Europe flight, and a most attractive deal from British Airways Executive Club!

Date: Sun 18 May 2014

Aircraft: Boeing 747-400

Scheduled dep: 0855

Actual departure: 0854

Scheduled arrival: 1535

Actual arrival: 1538

Cabin: Club World (Business Class)

Seat: 63A

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