BA781 ARN-LHR 16th May 2009 Club Europe

I haven't actually left yet, but I thought I would vent my feelings about the lounge here in Stockholm before I board the plane.

BA use the Finnair lounge here and it is pretty rubbish. There is a separate area for those who are Gold or above. For the rest of us who have parted with hard cash for a club ticket, there is a basic lounge area. At the weekend the only food offering is some nuts (we don't provide anything else at the weekend, but we do during the week). As for drinks, there are red/white wine on tap (yes on tap) and beer with glasses about a 1/4 of a pint size. There isn't even any diet coke!!

BA have let themselves down here really badly....I just hope that the food offering on the plane is better!!!

Will do the flight bit after I arrive back home!

Sounds really poor - you should send an email to BA. Hope the rest of the trip gets better and you manage to make up for the lack of drink onboard!

Oh yes, completely agree! I was there after New Year and the same experience. You will pounce on BA's onboard offering!

Having survived the lounge experience, it was now time to board the plane. Terminal 2 at Arlanda is very small, and there is passport control before you enter the gate lounge area. Boarding was called early, and the flight departure time was bought forward 10 minutes. The plane had changed from a 767 to a 757.....more about that later!

The purser came up and escorted the first passenger through, which was me! He carried my boarding card down and remembered my name for the whole flight. Boarding was very quick, as the plane load was very light -only 10 in 10 rows of club. Departure was 10 minutes early, and we were told it was a quick flight time of 2 hrs 10. After take-off drinks were served on trays and not the trolley, service with my name for everything. After the lounge experience settled for some champagne and a read of Business Traveller (from the lounge). Food options tonight, surprising were different from my last 3 flights in the last 2 weeks. It was fish and pasta or chicken salad, chocolate mousse and cheese/biscuits. Served with more champagne....the purser passed a bottle to the crew saying 'I am sure Mr XXX would like another bottle!'

After dinner, it was time to settle into my book and a vodka and diet coke. Service was really good and the personal touch made up for the poor lounge and I started to warm to BA again!

Arrived over London, no circuits this time (a first!) and then a quick landing. We Taxied to T5 and then stopped at our gate......apparently T5 is not set up for a 757 and therefore the automated parking system doesn't know the dimensions of a 757 and when to tell the pilot to stop! Typical! So we waited for a marshal to arrive and manually direct us into the spot. And then the air-bridge operator wasn't sure whether he should move the air bridge to L1 or L2 door. He started going to L1, then moved back to L2 and finally decided to go for the L1 door. All rather comical in my opinion. Apparently there had been a similar problem on the way out with baggage handlers not knowing how to load a 757!

Finally the door opened and we were allowed off, for the lifts and transit back to the main terminal (I always depart from the main terminal, and then arrive at T5B - one day it will be different and I'll get to see what it is like.

All in all the flight was really good, and the purser and crew were on the ball and friendly - well done BA.....just sort out the lounge in Stockholm please!

Sounds like a great flight - glad things improved!

Thanks for the great TR![y]

Great read, thanks for the TR.

Dominic

Poor you, not a good start and I understand your frustration. I always get irritated when I have to go to Guernsey with Flybe.
For a 300+ business ticket you get the same seat but use of a small self service room with a coffee machine and if you are lucky a pre-packd muffin. I buy the ticket because it allows me to change flights if meetings over-run but if they don't it's a very expensive muffin!

Glad the flight itself turned out to be much better than the lounge experience - enjoyed the TR.

quote:Originally posted by gingerflyer
All in all the flight was really good, and the purser and crew were on the ball and friendly - well done BA.....just sort out the lounge in Stockholm please!


Thanks for the expanded version - this is just what I found returning from ARL earlier in the year too. And that was a 767 which was packed!

Thanks for the TR sounds like a real stinker at Stockholm lounge make sure you send that letter! glad your flight was ace though.

cheers

alex