I'm not feeling the narrative that would compel me to pen two TR's, so instead here's a random set of thoughts on my BA experience in Y. Bear in mind that some of my opinions are based on the difference between the very low bar set by Jet the last time I did this trip.
1. On arriving at T5 I was happy to see that BA are experimenting with abandoning the "3 hours and not a minute before" for checking hold luggage. I found that having to irritating on previous trips where my natural caution and conservatism about the trip time to LHR lead to me having to sit around with my luggage.
2. The public areas of T5 seem quite tired and in need of refurbishment, with a lot of power points not working.
3. This time I managed to get into Aspire lounge for a decent bacon roll. It's quite small (way too small for T5) and an odd, thin, L Shape. Good views of the tarmac though.
4. The tiredness of T5 is reflected in the hard product 777 that was used both ways. Very poor IFE with the stupid design of the controls on the armrest (the clue is in the name - a rest for your arm) which leads to you switching lights, call bells and the IFE on and off with your elbow. Seats battered and grubby. I was quite surprised how small the Y section seemed to be.
5. Service in both directions was very good. Very active crew members, generous with the drinks, checking the loos every half hour.
6. Food was fine, as long as your are happy with veg curry (which I was)
7. Taking the day flight in both directions felt more relaxing than the overnight, as I didn't feel the need to force myself to sleep. The return did feel very boring later in the flight, once I'd finished watching "Baby Driver" and "Scarface".
8. What wasn't relaxing was immigration at Mumbai on the way in. Very close to two hours to get through at just after midnight local time. Quite fun watching the queues though as various people worked scams to move up the queue. I still haven't worked out how the two women that were a dozen groups behind me at the start finished up a dozen groups ahead.
9. After 8 days working without a break and seeing only the insides of the airport hotel, Suzuki Swifts and our office I was ready to head home. After negotiating the slippery slope of no status ("Is sir flying First ? Business? Gold card?) I was directed to the only check in agent with no queue, where I was offered a deal-of-a-lifetime to upgrade to WT+ for £250 or Club for £750. Despite this likely being my last long haul for work before retiring, and having had domestic sanction to splurge on an upgrade I remembered what the respective cabins felt like (four in the centre in WT+?) and thought I'd save my money and given my outbound would probably feel quite comfortable in Y. I then sloped off to find the Loyalty Lounge, complete some tasks and have a pre-flight snifter. Much, much quieter than the last time I used it.
10. Boarding was called early, and as we passed through the aircraft Club and WT+ proved to be full. Ho hum I thought, hope I have pleasant seat companions. When "boarding complete" was announced the Y cabin turned out to be sparsely populated (perhaps the sales spiel at check in had worked on others less hard hearted than myself) and everyone either had a row to themselves (as I did) or could leave the middle seat free in each set of 3. And so passed a very comfortable, if slightly boring at some points, trip home. Over northern Europe and then London I took to the window seat to gaze out at the lights.
So all in all, not as uncomfortable an experience as I had feared. Back to easyJet next week.
1. On arriving at T5 I was happy to see that BA are experimenting with abandoning the "3 hours and not a minute before" for checking hold luggage. I found that having to irritating on previous trips where my natural caution and conservatism about the trip time to LHR lead to me having to sit around with my luggage.
2. The public areas of T5 seem quite tired and in need of refurbishment, with a lot of power points not working.
3. This time I managed to get into Aspire lounge for a decent bacon roll. It's quite small (way too small for T5) and an odd, thin, L Shape. Good views of the tarmac though.
4. The tiredness of T5 is reflected in the hard product 777 that was used both ways. Very poor IFE with the stupid design of the controls on the armrest (the clue is in the name - a rest for your arm) which leads to you switching lights, call bells and the IFE on and off with your elbow. Seats battered and grubby. I was quite surprised how small the Y section seemed to be.
5. Service in both directions was very good. Very active crew members, generous with the drinks, checking the loos every half hour.
6. Food was fine, as long as your are happy with veg curry (which I was)
7. Taking the day flight in both directions felt more relaxing than the overnight, as I didn't feel the need to force myself to sleep. The return did feel very boring later in the flight, once I'd finished watching "Baby Driver" and "Scarface".
8. What wasn't relaxing was immigration at Mumbai on the way in. Very close to two hours to get through at just after midnight local time. Quite fun watching the queues though as various people worked scams to move up the queue. I still haven't worked out how the two women that were a dozen groups behind me at the start finished up a dozen groups ahead.
9. After 8 days working without a break and seeing only the insides of the airport hotel, Suzuki Swifts and our office I was ready to head home. After negotiating the slippery slope of no status ("Is sir flying First ? Business? Gold card?) I was directed to the only check in agent with no queue, where I was offered a deal-of-a-lifetime to upgrade to WT+ for £250 or Club for £750. Despite this likely being my last long haul for work before retiring, and having had domestic sanction to splurge on an upgrade I remembered what the respective cabins felt like (four in the centre in WT+?) and thought I'd save my money and given my outbound would probably feel quite comfortable in Y. I then sloped off to find the Loyalty Lounge, complete some tasks and have a pre-flight snifter. Much, much quieter than the last time I used it.
10. Boarding was called early, and as we passed through the aircraft Club and WT+ proved to be full. Ho hum I thought, hope I have pleasant seat companions. When "boarding complete" was announced the Y cabin turned out to be sparsely populated (perhaps the sales spiel at check in had worked on others less hard hearted than myself) and everyone either had a row to themselves (as I did) or could leave the middle seat free in each set of 3. And so passed a very comfortable, if slightly boring at some points, trip home. Over northern Europe and then London I took to the window seat to gaze out at the lights.
So all in all, not as uncomfortable an experience as I had feared. Back to easyJet next week.
We can get better, because we're not dead yet