#886576 by Maximus
29 Oct 2014, 13:46
Our trip to Boston on BA was initially planned on the spur of the moment. I wanted to tour New England in "The Fall", a trip that was high up on my bucket list. As I had already booked several holidays for the year ahead, and was "squeezing" this one in as an extra trip, I was under strict orders: economise! This either meant more basic hotels or economy flights. Or both!! Which is fair enough, I do spend a lot on our trips and though I beg to differ (quite frequently), there is more to life than spending all my money on travelling the world ii)

So I decided that as we were taking two day flights, Economy it was. World Traveller on the outbound and World Traveller Plus on the return trip. Oh the indignity of it all ;)

We live in the deep SouthWest so we drove to LHR (via the cats hotel). I had managed to get a great deal at the Heathrow Sofitel via lastminute.com, so after leaving the car with the Purple Parking valet, we checked in. I have an Accor Platinium card (courtesy of Amex) so was delighted to be offered a room upgrade, free internet and access to the Business Lounge, despite having a heavily discounted room purchased via a third party.

As ever the room was excellent. The lounge access gave us free afternoon tea (scones and clotted cream, it was like being back at home in Devon!) and the later canapes and drinks before we had dinner. We decided to eat in Carluccio's in Terminal 5. For an airport restaurant it was very good, and a darn sight cheaper than eating in the Sofitel.

After a great nights sleep we set off for check in. Just a short stroll across the link bridge from the Sofitel and we were there in Departures, checked in immediately- no delays. I have a Cathay Pacific Gold Card (again from Amex) so went through Priority security and then straight to the BA lounge. I had no desire to tour the shops.

Of course BA's lounge has nothing on the VS Clubhouse, but hey, I was travelling economy so this was a whole lot better than sitting downstairs in the main departure area!

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... e75595.jpg

Breakfast was fairly good, though the sandwiches were a bit dry. but I filled up on gorgeous little pastries, OJ and coffee. We sat by the departure end of the runway so got some great views of the departing aircraft.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... d04c05.jpg


Our flight was departing on time. Straight on to the B747.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... 62fe16.jpg

We were seated in the smaller WT cabin. It was full. But this is BA, not Easy Jet. At just 5 foot 7 I find the leg room satisfactory. The seat was not uncomfortable and I was soon settled and ready for the off. We left on time (I think) for the 6 hour TATL.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... 9962c1.jpg

Drinks were soon offered. G&T please (Gordons, not my usual Tanqueray No 10 sadly), but at 11.45 am I was not complaining y).

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... 31a836.jpg

The meal was not bad- I ate it all and actually enjoyed the main meal which tasted much better than it looked!!

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... 9c9d58.jpg

One thing that struck me was how old the CC were. Not one was under 50 I would say and some may have been very near retirement. So definitely scotches the idea that all CC are young dolly birds. Clearly experienced they were happy, efficient and helpful and a credit to BA.

I managed to catch a couple of films (Maleficent and something unmemorable with Tom Cruise) and in no time we were descending into Boston Logan airport.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... cb6e4a.jpg

Unlike JFK we sailed through immigration and customs within 30 minutes and took a Water Taxi across the Harbour to Boston- what a great way to enter a city after a flight- if you get the chance you must try it rather than take a road taxi. And also cheaper!

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh22 ... 30dc84.jpg

So overall an enjoyable trip to Boston. Having the lounge access made economy travel more enjoyable clearly, but for a medium haul flight in the day, this was ideal for us.

New England in the fall was fantastic. We were in Boston itself for 1 1/2 days before heading off to Maine and beyond. We enjoyed Boston but would not want to spend much more time there as in all honesty the rest of New England had more to offer we felt.

Apologies I was not able to post the photos direct so have linked them to my photobucket pages, should you wish to see them.
Last edited by Maximus on 29 Oct 2014, 15:51, edited 2 times in total.
#886577 by mrsw
29 Oct 2014, 14:12
Great TR, and I enjoyed the photos :) It sounds like you had a lovely trip in WT.

I agree with your observation with the age of BA CC - I guess it shows that they've been happy with their employer (I'm assuming of course that BA is not only recruiting above a certain age).

Looking forward to the return TR.
#886592 by Bretty
29 Oct 2014, 15:38
Thanks for a great TR Maximus, WT does indeed look better than I remember it, and glad you had a good flight. Thanks for the photos too, something I forget to do and yet they add so much value to a TR.

Cheers,
John
Virgin Atlantic

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