The on line check-in was relatively straight forward, although we had been moved around the cabin 4 times before checking in opened! BA use the AF lounge in Lisbon, which is very poor. There was on working computer.well the internet worked for about an hour, then it stopped working and the staff had no interest in helping to fix in. The other one was broken and there was only wireless internet access if you were the owner of a Portuguese telephone contract. The food was poor and the drinks were all empty and not replaced, despite the staff being asked. I think everything was just too much trouble.
Boarding was to one of the remote stands which meant standing on a bus whilst the last straggles made it to gate.who always seem to have had time to pop into the duty free shop! Anyway having boarded, realised that the crew were uninterested in any of the Club Europe passengers and ignored any requests to hang coats / suits. After take-off, no hot towels and no initial drinks service. Meal service started at the back of the cabin and we were in row 1. Basically by the time they got to us they had one hot meal left and one cold salad option. Not what I expect from a business service. They said they only upload one meal per person, so there is no wastage.great if all you want is a salad. Anyway we ended up sharing the meals, and then waited another 15 minutes for a drink to arrive. Sorry seems to be a word that the crew on the flight were unable to use. The other CC doing the drinks then said, we it cant have been that bad as you have eaten it blood pressure was rising at this point and I politely pointed out that as there was nothing else to eat and I was hungry, what else did I expect. The rest of the flight was unremarkable and service very poor they wanted to chat and read a book at the front. We did ask for a complaints form, which we were given but never asked for it wouldnt have trusted the purser not to through it in the waste. Ages circling over south London waiting to land not BAs fault, but typical when you have had a bad flight. Once the plane stopped, coats were hung in the gallery and NOT returned to passengers. My travelling companion was having difficulty taking his jacket off the hanger, and rather than help was told to hurry up as he was delaying other people getting off the plane!!
All in all a flight that really showed the true colours of BA and its London Heathrow based cabin crew. Shows that an alliance with BA and AF through one world is a good way of keeping bad airlines together!! The complaints form will go off tomorrow and I wonder exactly how they will respond..