so having booked a while ago I couldn't choose a seat until T-24 (unless I wanted to pay an extra $98!!) In any event I chose 7a with some 20 pax showing (turned out to be a load of 25). I ended up sitting alone ...config is 8 rows of 2/aisle/2.
on the A318 baby bus all seats face forward.
just because of its location I booked a car for 7am , the journey eventually taking nearly 90 minutes . I had two large bags (full of football kit) that I was taking back so didn't want a last minute panic.
Arriving at LCY I grabbed a (free) trolley and headed for the exclusive LCY desk. No queue and check in all completed with a run down of the service but no real 'happy' interaction. a sticker on my hand luggage supposedly opened up express security for me, but I never found it (no need really)-signage was poor and so I just followed the crowd through the regular lines. It still only took a few minutes and I wandered to gate 24 where a private room overlooking the runway serves as a 'lounge'.....not a great one in the true sense but as most people spend so little time there it was adequate. a wide range of teas,coffee,juices was on offer with cereals,pastries and cold meats/cheeses on view..all looked fairly nice but having graciously allowed my mum to make me a cooked brekkie I settled for a cappuccino.
take off scheduled for 9.45 ,at around 9.30 we got a 'would you like to wander onto the plane' call and all 25 very leisurely walked across the tarmac and up the stairs which felt quite special (not so if its peeing hard though)
once on board the plane feels spacious enough. I'm not sure how much smaller than a 320 the 318 is but with only the 32 seats it doesn't feel cramped. CC were friendly (there are 3 of the LGW staff who get selected based on seniority -so I was told) and they seem to enjoy it. The female FSM was a bit starchy but the two guys were very friendly and chatty.
A quick greeting from the flight deck (the two pilots only go as far as Shannon) and at 9.45 we pushed back , taxi'd to the runway and with a thunder were off. Now if you have never used LCY its a short take off which means an exhilarating burst and quickly up at a sharp angle. Nervous fliers may find it 'daunting'
good views over East London as we headed North then west to Ireland.
On the first one hour sector a drinks run followed by a starter is all there is time for.
Choices were 2 champagnes 2 white and 2 reds but as it was early I decided to pace myself and chose an OJ.
the starter was either fruit plate or cold meat/cheese
As I heard the FSM tell the row in front of me the fruit had already gone (so no more than 14 loaded) so the meat/cheese it was...and pretty pathetic too. 4 or 5 small slices of salami/prosciutto 2 lumps of chees (which I don't eat) a grotty slice of tomato and something else so memorable that I have forgotten it ! Not a great start.
the ride to Shannon was bumpy enough that you had to wonder if choosing a small plane across the Atlantic was a wise move (it was ).
spot on the hour mark we touched down in Shannon and instruction issued for the US immigration.
basically you de-plane and then enter the main departure area (I had thought there was a private BA area but not so). then you are split into 2 groups -with or without checked bags.
without goes straight through, with has to wait about 5 minutes. you are then told to enter the US pre-clearance hall, hand luggage scanned again and its line up for immigration. this took roughly 10 minutes (there were 2 other delayed flights going through at the same time - CC said its normally much quicker ) and then back onto the plane.
as soon as the last person is back its off again, this is so informal I was still standing in the galley chatting to the CC as we pushed back !!
once back up above 10000 feet another feature of the flight -the wifi -chimes on. Unfortunately its not for laptops just phones and as verizons iphone 4s aren't compatible I couldn't post a 'greetings from 40000 feet'
a drinks run was quickly underway , a good choice as mentioned before, now I am no wine connoisseur but I know my reds (as my wife says I drink enough of it so I should
) and there was a Californian Pinot (recommended by the CC) but I opted for the Croze-hermitage and very nice too.this was followed by the IFE - individual ipads which worked really well, the only missing bit was the map, but quality etc very good
next up was a salad, much improved offering fresh green leaves, mixed peppers, celery and a small bottle of balsamic dressing . main was a choice of 5 dishes, 2 beef,sea bass, chicken and a veggie thing. I got my first choice of seared Devon fillet of beef and it was very good. desert was toffee cheesecake -again excellent, frequent (and I mean frequent) top ups of wine.......and offers of after dinner teas, coffees, liqueurs etc. all in all a very good meal.
after dinner I settled down in a comfy recline position, the seat is superb. Comfortable and with various options to raise/lower the seat back, the foot rest, go to a full recline, go to a flat bed, come up for a food position and come up for a landing position. I can say without doubt the best airplane seat I have ever sat in. the bed position allowed a couple of hours sleep and soon it was time for tea...
but I digress, during the food lull, you can also have a delayed 'business mans meal of salad and one of the beef dishes or visit the galley for snacks drinks and some very nice chocolate (well the 2 bars I had were
)afternoon tea is served less than an hour out, 3 small sarnies, a scone (more on request) cakes, drinks....and was ok but not stunning......by this time the cabin was livening up for landing, ipads collected, a reminder that you enter the US as a domestic pax and then a stunning entry into NYc down from the north with the whole city on view on the port side (conveniently where I was located) out across the water an back in JFK landing at 2.07pm local time just 7 minutes behind schedule.
unfortunately JFK decided we had to turn off the engines and wait for a tow to the gate which delayed us further (normally I wouldn't have worried but I had a Jet Blue connection at 3.38 (check in with bags 3.08 !!) we deplaned at 2.26 with a mention from the CC that bags were supposed to take 7 minutes max to the belt...................
20 minutes later we are still standing there like lemons , joined by the entire flight crew and when the Captain was informed by my matey CC I had the connection looming with a quick ' Ok I will go and see whats happening and sort it' off he went ...........superb service.
bags finally showed at 2.48 leaving me just 20 minutes to get to T5 and the JB area.................and that's in the next TR.........
so to summarise - excellent trip, the pre clearance is a major plus (even though I now have a green card) for the normal traveller, ...so is it worth it ??/ honestly I don't know and to be fair my next job is to do a side by side comparison of CW v UC...which I will do in a day or so.
lastly I have to share this, while chatting at Shannon to the CC and discussing alcohol and problem pax, he told me a week or so before he had an Italian guy who knocked back 3 full bottles of red on his own !!!!!!!!! and walked off the plane like he was stone cold sober...................must be a v-flyer !!!!!!!!!!!!
