No prizes to regular readers for guessing correctly that the blandishments of BA FIRST were too great a pull and the prospect of a 10 hour flight in the narrow coffins (too uncomfortable even for dead people, if you ask me) of Club World was enough to have the Cat delving into his wallet for the readies. Yes, I know its an extravagance when paid with ones own money, but in my warped little world it kind of made sense. I did manage to feel guilty about my two guys for precisely 0.000001 seconds, but then again there have to be some perks to being a Director.
The BA2193 leaves at 10:35 from (shudder) Gatwick so after using the online check in the night before and printing out my boarding card (err well, A4 sheet of paper, to be precise) I fired up the V8 and left Chiswick at 6:30am to try and miss the traffic. However, even this early in the morning the M25 was getting clogged and, if not actually at a standstill, was pulsing with the usual traffic jams. Still, the sun was bright, the music loud and the roof down. I hit fog just outside Gatwick which did remind me of those Dan-Air flights 15 years ago when I was a regular commuter to Paris. Dan-Air was renowned for having a great breakfast but no instruments for landing in fog, hence every trip during Autumn or Spring got to be something of an adventure. These days fog has less of an effect, but of course both Dan-Air and decent breakfasts on short haul planes are a thing of the past.
The NCP valet parking at the North Terminal is well worth using, particularly for this trip as the timing of my flight back in three days time required me to grab a quick shower and then hurtle round the M25 to Farnborough: with good timing the valet parking ought to come into its own. Anyway, the formalities were completed soon enough and I headed into the terminal area dragging my suitcase and laptop bag. The night before I had made a valiant attempt to get my packing down to a carry on but it was not to be: maybe its just poor packing on my part but with four shirts, a suit, a pair of trousers and some smart shoes there was no way that I was taking everything aboard. The FIRST check in was fast enough, and the Fast Track security was also moving pretty quickly, so I was airside by 7:30am.
After a brief stop at Boots to stock up on Nurofen Plus (to try and counter the unpleasant effects of a trapped nerve in my left shoulder) and admire the Aston Martin Vantage (gorgeous, but just not fast enough in my opinion) I trotted up to the lounge pavilion and the 4th floor where the FIRST lounge was already filling up. I had naively thought that the FIRST lounge was only for long haul but clearly there were plenty of BA Gold card holders taking advantage of the facilities as the only long haul flights with a proper first class this morning were to Houston and Dallas. Even with the crowds it was serenity itself in comparison with the usual Gatwick m_l_e downstairs, so I sat back, sucked down a tomato juice or two, and stuffed my face with a bacon roll. It wasnt too long before I was heading back out into the concourse to find my colleagues and look for some duty free cologne, my stock of Bvlgari BLV (a relic of SQ First Class flights) being fully depleted by now. Of course, this being Gatwick, Id about as much chance of finding Bvlgari as I had hens teeth, the duty free story being replete with Burberry and Lacoste but nary a blue bottle in sight.
I caught up with my two guys in the main departures area and quickly enough I was leading them down to gate 54 and our 777. As with my previous travels from the North Terminal, the gate area is reached through a security and boarding pass check, and after a 10 minute wait the throng was encouraged down the ramp onto the jetway. An appropriate announcement was made for first class but I elected to stay back with my colleagues in WTP for a few minutes extra natter (and maybe my guilt playing out) before I turned left and they turned right.
As with my last trip in BA FIRST Id elected for 2K, oft quoted as the best FIRST seat on a 777. On boarding (with apologies that there was no one to show me to my seat) it was pretty apparent that the cabin was only going to be half full. In fact, as the doors closed I counted only 6 people including myself, with the A seats all taken but just two of us on the K side (we were joined by one of the First Officers after a while, since FIRST is clearly comfier than the crew rest area).
There was a short delay before takeoff as one of the runway lights had broken and caused some damage, but as there was still plenty of runway length left the captain elected for a more truncated take off roll than usual. Incidentally, full marks here for a full explanation of what was happening, which must have allayed the fears of any nervous fliers.
Having flown in the same seat a month previously the service was much the same, although the Alfred Gratien champagne has been replaced by the Pommery Cuve_e Louise, and the Willi Opitz sticky by some inferior Sauternes. Still, the menu looked interesting enough: pea and mint soup beckoned as a starter but the lobster looked too good to ignore, and the rack of lamb was a close winner over the beef Stroganoff. Only the desserts didnt appeal, so the cheeses (Lancashire, Gorgonzola and Peyrigoux) looked destined for the Cats palate instead. On the wine front the Viognier from my last flight was still on offer, supplemented by a Californian Chardonnay and a Chassagne Montrachet. Reds included the old standby of Chateau Talbot, together with a Cabernet/Merlot/Syrah Californian blend and a red Burgundy.
Clearly a cabin with only six paying passengers was not going to tax the service flows much, and the cabin service director introducing himself for a quick conversation was a nice touch. I did have to ask to get the in-seat power supply turned on in advance of the in-flight entertainment but my request for this, and a killer Bloody Mary to take away the taste of the champagne (not my favourite), was met with admirable dispatch.
The main meal was reasonably good, with the lobster dressing (some sort of fruit concoction) the star of the show. The lamb didnt look too appetising but the centre was a nicely done pink and it tasted fine. I washed both courses and then the cheese down with a few glasses of red: the Chateau Talbot winning out as my preferred tipple.
Then time for a snooze. I had been offered a sleep suit on boarding, but this always seems a little over the top for forty winks, so I settled down into an almost flat position with a decent book and my water bottle close to hand. The attentive crew shut the window shades and made sure that the cabin was an ocean of calm as we tracked across the Atlantic.
Tea was served about 90 minutes away from Dallas. The flight is so long that it was almost 7 hours since I had eaten, so sandwiches seemed like just the thing. In first class this means a huge plate of salmon, beef, chicken and cheese sarnies, and of course a proper pot of tea that I could leave brewing until the spoon begged for mercy.
Despite the minor delay at LGW, arrival was 15 minutes early into the huge Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Terminal D is relatively new, and even though Id waited for my colleagues to emerge from WTP, we only had a 5 minute wait at immigration. Maybe it was my usual slovenly appearance, or the fact that my passport has around 50 US stamps in it, but the grilling (while polite) was more extensive than usual. By the time I had extricated myself I was pleased to find my bag already on the carousel and a stomp past customs (do these guys ever stop anyone?) brought us out to the arrivals concourse.
Ill leave you with one final tip: if you are ever in Dallas on business and your client suggests you stay in the same hotel near the airport as them, be very, very careful. DFW is surrounded by an endless vista of low rise offices and business hotels which have little in the way of amenities. We ended up in one such establishment, and even the managers cocktail party (Bud Light or an unpleasant sweet Zinfandel) failed to convince me that some place in the centre of Dallas wouldnt have been a better bet.
Still, a pleasant flight, if not quite up to the standards of my previous trip in BA FIRST last month to Houston. The change in champagne and dessert wine is disappointing, and is now another area where BA fails to compete with the Asian carriers. Im back on the BA2192 tomorrow (which looks like another fairly empty flight) so well see how things do on the overnight sector.
BC
