Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Round The World 2006-07
Flight Log 30 : BA178
New York Kennedy (JFK) - London Heathrow (LHR)
Once again, I managed to be the first to arrive in the upper deck cabin. The other passengers seemed to arrive very quickly, no doubt thanks to the Fast Track at the gate. I settled down and had a pre-departure orange juice - it seemed appropriate for the time of day. I counted a total of 15 passengers, and the good news was that both 63J and 64J were empty. I overheard a cabin crew member saying that in fact the flight had been fully booked, so presumably there were a substantial number of no-shows. We were given a hot towels service prior to departure and menus and washbags were distributed. The expected flight time was announced as 5 hrs 55 mins. We managed an early push-back at 0907, but with the lengthy queues for the runway, 30 minutes were to pass before we took off.
As we headed first towards
Hartford, CT and subsequently Boston, I had a glass of Champagne. No
dodgy Monopole Blue Top this time; instead it was some very
acceptable Piper Heidsieck
The meal service got underway very quickly, orders having been taken
on the ground shortly after the menus were handed out.
| BRUNCH |
|
WINES |
| Starter | Champagne Cocktails | |
| Chilled orange juice and ruby grapefruit juice | Kir Royale | |
| An energising fruit smoothie | Buck's Fizz | |
| Fresh fruit plate | Champagne | |
| Smoked salmon with cream cheese | Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve | |
| Bakery | White Wines | |
| A selection of warm breads and breakfast pastries | Hahn Estates Monterey Chardonnay 2004 | |
| Main | Chablis 1er Cru Rive Droite 2004, Lamblin et Fils | |
| Full English brunch of scrambled eggs, grilled fillet steak, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and hash-brown potatoes | Red Wines | |
| Tomato omelette | Raymond Estates California Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 | |
| Portobello mushroom tortellini with a creamy mushroom sauce and grated Parmesan cheese | Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2004, Domaine du Pere Pape | |
| Poached salmon salad with new potatoes and fresh salad leaves | ||
| Dessert | ||
| New York cheesecake | SNACK | |
| Aged Cheddar and Brie cheese | Sandwiches of cream cheese with grilled vegetables and shaved ham | |
| Chocolates | or | |
| Tea / Coffee | Sandwiches of smoked salmon and Cheddar cheese with chutney | |
| Ground coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea | Apple and cranberry pie | |
| Selection of herbal teas : peppermint, blackcurrant, apple or camomile and honey | ||
| RAID THE LARDER | ||
| Variety of crisps and dips | ||
| Choice of sweet biscuits / cookies | ||
| Assortment of chocolate bars | ||
| Selection of whole fruit |
I had the smoked salmon starter, the Full English main course and the cheese plate, rounding the meal off with some coffee.
I spent most of the flight listening to my own choice of music, while bringing this diary up-to-date on my laptop. The crew were very attentive and pro-active, offering a selection of pre-poured juices or any other drinks at regular intervals. I noticed from the map display that we were taking an exceptionally southerly track, missing both Iceland (by miles!) and Ireland altogether. As we passed to the south of Ireland, we had tea and sandwiches; I opted for a non-standard blackcurrant tea. I had a final glass of the Piper as we passed over Newquay and there was a second distribution of hot towels somewhere over Devon. Darkness was now falling fast.
We tracked into LHR via Bournemouth, Southampton and Windsor, landing on 09L at 2029, which seemed fine and early. However this was LHR and an early arrival usually means that your allocated gate is still occupied. So it was yet again on this occasion. We parked up just short of the other runway, crossing it only when our gate had been freed up on the other side. By the time all this had happened, our early arrival had melted away before our eyes and we made it onto our stand at exactly the scheduled time.
I came to the conclusion about half way through the flight that this was probably my best experience of Club World to date, due to a combination of the extra space in the cabin, and particularly the friendly and attentive approach of the crew. Coming hard on the heels of my best ever flight, this was good news indeed, confirming again that flying in BA Club World, on the upper deck of a 747, is an exceptionally civilised way to travel.
Date: Sat 09 Sep 2006
Aircraft : Boeing 747-400
Scheduled dep : 0915
Actual departure : 0907
Scheduled arrival : 2100
Actual arrival : 2100
Cabin : Club World (Business Class)
Seat : 63K
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