I had been thinking about a trip to Oz for a while, so when the BA 1/2 price reward sale came around last year I booked myself a return flight in WT+ LHR to SYD via SIN, paying 'just' the tax & surcharge came in at about 440 & 75,000 miles.
Six distinctly depressing months later departure day finally rolls around & its time to go. Drop the car at Purple parking (Best rate booked via the VS flying club link) & swiftly bussed over to T4. Seems to be some construction @ T4 at the moment, although looking back its difficult to remember when it wasn't being modified in some way. Checkin was swift & painless, security was quick which was nice.
Time for a couple of pints of Guinness @ the Weatherspoons then a quick walk around the terminal to get the blood moving before the long sit down.
Plane is a 777, its also a Qantas code share flight so its pretty full; Im in WT+ 22k window one row back from the bulkhead. Looks a little tired in First / WT but not CW, which is distinctly newer than last time I was on one of these BA flights.
Settle in with my book, no pre-flight drinkies for us in WT+ - when did that stop ? crew are polite & efficient & we leave pretty much on time.
The BA IFE is worth a mention - movies on demand & driven by the touch screen ; very swish. I rather sadistically leave mine on the map for the duration of the flight but other people appear to be happily engrossed.
We get a round of drinkies before 'dinner' (Heineken please) & then its chicken or beef time. Beef lasagna was just OK but I kinda wished I hadn't bothered - good to see that the food on BA is on a level with the food on VS ; still, I did get another Heineken which was sitting quite nicely on top of the earlier guinnesses.
Everything gets cleared away & we get about 1/2 an hour before the lights go out - and that's how it stays for the next 8 or 9 hours ; I do try putting the reading light on for a bit but its an old WW2 spotlight & its not possible to use without annoying the people around me. I must either learn to stop considering anyone other than myself or invest in a small LED light to take on these flights so I can read without fear of dismemberment by the chap next to me.
Finally we get close to SIN, lights come on & we are offered a breakfast sandwich (no thanks). We all gather our stuff & deplane after being warned to be back 40 mins before the flight leaves for SYD, which is in about 2 hours.
First time for me at Singapore airport, it certainly puts Heathrow to shame. Time for a trip to Burger King & a walk around before we go back thru security at the gate where they confiscate the small bottle of water that I've saved from my 'dinner' earlier. Grrr.
The next leg of the trip SIN to SYD is exactly the same as the earlier one & mostly spent in the dark, but being only 7 hours its nothing in comparison so passes comparatively quickly. I pass on the chicken or the beef this time & spend the time dozing & playing GTA: Chinatown wars on my Nintendo.
We arrive at Sydney around 5.20am, breeze thru immigration & customs then grab a cab & off to my hotel where they kindly let me check in despite it being 6am in the morning.
So - Final thoughts for anyone whos still awake:
- As far as I can see, the only difference between WT and WT+ on these 777 flights is that you get slightly more space & a slightly better seat with power available; there didn't appear to be any difference in the menu or the general level of service. I get quite badly claustrophobic when stuck in cattle when its full & I'm on my own so for me its worth a little extra but if I was traveling with a friend I would struggle to justify the extra cost.
- Service from the crew was good I thought, and they seemed quite cheerful which was a distinct improvement on the last few times I flew BA (2006).
- SIN is a nice clean airport - BAA take note!
- I'm too old for games on the DSi, my reflexes are shot.
