We'd decided to do Hong Kong for Christmas this year and naturally looked at VS but with 2 Club Worlds coming in at less than one Upper Class regretfully the decision to fly BA was a no brainer.
We turned up at the airport in plenty of time - Addison Lee arrived early and for once we were ready! People were in the tents outside Terminal 1 and instructions were being issued to only enter when "your raffle ticket number range is announced". We made our way to Zone R - this premium check in area with its own security is a godsend. Rapidly seen through by friendly chatty security personnel and off to the Terraces Lounge. It's no Clubhouse but then we're going to be in the air for 12 hours and on the ground for only 2 or 3. There was soup, pasta, snacks, cake, mince pies and a good range of drinks. Given the number of delayed European flights the place wasn't too claustrophobic. The screens soon showed "Make your way to Gate 50" but a PA made it clear that the flight had only just arrived so we should stay put until they told us otherwise.
About 20 minutes late we made our way to the gate and straight through properly signed and dedicated premium boarding. As we walked down the airbridge the announcement was made of commencement of general boarding.
We'd selected seats on the upper deck - as with VS BA users see this as the best place to be. Pure CW and two dedicated FAs. (One of whom greeted us in an inflatable Santa costume complete with faux beard and even more faux "manly" "Ho Ho Ho". When she changed later the faux became apparent). We settled in (usual ritual - but this time we'd brought our own PJs - CW not stretching to that!).
Shortly after take off there was a very quick drinks service and minutes later the woman in front of me managed to smash her wine glass all over the place - shards hitting my foot. She didn't notice so I pinged the FA who came with a dust pan and brush.
The menu was simple, we both had Loch Fyne smoked salmon to start and Christmas "Fare" to follow. In honesty this could have been a microwaved meal but the smoked salmon was ace! Within minutes the woman in front of me had spilt another glass of wine - as I noticed when my foot got wet. Again I called the FA who as an aside suggested a plastic glass. This was VERY unusual for BA - the crew reached almost VS levels of informality at times!
The CW seat lent itself to conversation so Mrs D and I chatted awhile - something we tend not to do in the VS suite. We both passed on desserts and eventually tried to sleep. I was awoken by the woman in front trying to climb over me - the big problem with CW seats. I moved my feet and thinking her way was clear she walked straight into the footstool and went A over T. As she sat in the aisle dazed and confused Mrs D suggested to the FA that moving the lady to an aisle seat might be an idea - as a couple were free. This she did.
It was too warm for Mrs D so I mentioned this to the FA who actually did something about it! Fifteen minutes later Mrs D and I swapped seats (the aisle seat benefitted more from the a/c) and I necked a melatonin and settled down for 4 or 5 hours of sleep. (The IFE wasn't AVOD - no "New Club World" either). I awoke three hours before landing and decided to turn over for an hour or so before being awoken again for breakfast. The fruit was good, the full English sounded better than it was. Way too much bacon!
With an hour to go we changed back into civvies and made the seats back to normal. This revealed more glass shards which I collected and delivered to the FA who quipped "Well at least she hasn't spilt her coffee.... yet". See what I mean about VS levels of informality?
We landed slightly early and bade our crew farewell. From hereon in becomes a Mandarin Oriental report so more on that in the hotels section later.
So in summary,
Lounge not as good as clubhouse but pleasant
Boarding better than VS
Layout of seats worse than UC
Food - slightly better than recent VS fare
Wine - slightly less choice than VS but nicer wines
IFE - worse than VS vPort
Crew - on a par with the better VS crew
This was our 3rd CW this year and we now choose between VS and BA more on price than on anything else as BA continue to deliver a consistent service.
We turned up at the airport in plenty of time - Addison Lee arrived early and for once we were ready! People were in the tents outside Terminal 1 and instructions were being issued to only enter when "your raffle ticket number range is announced". We made our way to Zone R - this premium check in area with its own security is a godsend. Rapidly seen through by friendly chatty security personnel and off to the Terraces Lounge. It's no Clubhouse but then we're going to be in the air for 12 hours and on the ground for only 2 or 3. There was soup, pasta, snacks, cake, mince pies and a good range of drinks. Given the number of delayed European flights the place wasn't too claustrophobic. The screens soon showed "Make your way to Gate 50" but a PA made it clear that the flight had only just arrived so we should stay put until they told us otherwise.
About 20 minutes late we made our way to the gate and straight through properly signed and dedicated premium boarding. As we walked down the airbridge the announcement was made of commencement of general boarding.
We'd selected seats on the upper deck - as with VS BA users see this as the best place to be. Pure CW and two dedicated FAs. (One of whom greeted us in an inflatable Santa costume complete with faux beard and even more faux "manly" "Ho Ho Ho". When she changed later the faux became apparent). We settled in (usual ritual - but this time we'd brought our own PJs - CW not stretching to that!).
Shortly after take off there was a very quick drinks service and minutes later the woman in front of me managed to smash her wine glass all over the place - shards hitting my foot. She didn't notice so I pinged the FA who came with a dust pan and brush.
The menu was simple, we both had Loch Fyne smoked salmon to start and Christmas "Fare" to follow. In honesty this could have been a microwaved meal but the smoked salmon was ace! Within minutes the woman in front of me had spilt another glass of wine - as I noticed when my foot got wet. Again I called the FA who as an aside suggested a plastic glass. This was VERY unusual for BA - the crew reached almost VS levels of informality at times!
The CW seat lent itself to conversation so Mrs D and I chatted awhile - something we tend not to do in the VS suite. We both passed on desserts and eventually tried to sleep. I was awoken by the woman in front trying to climb over me - the big problem with CW seats. I moved my feet and thinking her way was clear she walked straight into the footstool and went A over T. As she sat in the aisle dazed and confused Mrs D suggested to the FA that moving the lady to an aisle seat might be an idea - as a couple were free. This she did.
It was too warm for Mrs D so I mentioned this to the FA who actually did something about it! Fifteen minutes later Mrs D and I swapped seats (the aisle seat benefitted more from the a/c) and I necked a melatonin and settled down for 4 or 5 hours of sleep. (The IFE wasn't AVOD - no "New Club World" either). I awoke three hours before landing and decided to turn over for an hour or so before being awoken again for breakfast. The fruit was good, the full English sounded better than it was. Way too much bacon!
With an hour to go we changed back into civvies and made the seats back to normal. This revealed more glass shards which I collected and delivered to the FA who quipped "Well at least she hasn't spilt her coffee.... yet". See what I mean about VS levels of informality?
We landed slightly early and bade our crew farewell. From hereon in becomes a Mandarin Oriental report so more on that in the hotels section later.
So in summary,
Lounge not as good as clubhouse but pleasant
Boarding better than VS
Layout of seats worse than UC
Food - slightly better than recent VS fare
Wine - slightly less choice than VS but nicer wines
IFE - worse than VS vPort
Crew - on a par with the better VS crew
This was our 3rd CW this year and we now choose between VS and BA more on price than on anything else as BA continue to deliver a consistent service.