Hello & Welcome to my inaugural trip report! Please feel free to leave any criticism so I can improve. :)
BA2062 - MRU -> LGW (Boeing 777-200ER, G-YMMC)
After a great 7 days in Mauritius, staying at the Shangri - La Le Touessrok (pictures below), it was time to leave for the Airport.



Although our flight left late, we didn't want to risk the Mauritian roads in the dark, as the driving seems to be very reckless there. We therefore took a taxi from the airport at about 1645.

It's a beautiful drive down the eastern coast of Mauritius to the airport:


Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Int'l. Airport is a very beautiful building inside, and surprisingly modern.


As we had arrived at the airport about an hour before Check-In began (it began at 1820), we decided to sit down on some benches. Unfortunately, about 15 mins after we had sat down, a HUGE family sat down next to us and basically hounded us out, leaving us to have to stand around for several minutes before joining the growing queue in the Priority lane.

After breezing through the Premium Passport Control and Security lanes, we headed to the ATOL lounge which was opposite Gate 19 and on the 1st floor. When we entered the lounge, we were given welcome cocktails, which were delicious. Unfortunately, the food selection in the lounge wasn't very expansive.


I took some fishcakes, which were delicious. There was also some chicken available, however it was in a Mauritian / Indian style, which was okay, but not great. The cheese sandwiches, although nice in the middle, had gone hard from being left out for so long. They also had a selection of free, mostly UK, newspapers (although they were a day old), including the Telegraph and the Mail. Having already read that day's Telegraph on my Tablet, I took a Mail to pass the <2hrs we spent in the lounge.

Soon, it was about time to go to the gate, which had been announced as Gate 26.

By this time, the airport had become very busy.

By the time I had made it to the gate, after buying some Mauritian Vanilla, we were about 10 mins from boarding. Soon enough, I joined the priority queue, and we slowly made our way down into the plane.

It was while on the aerobridge we caught our first proper glimpse of the beautiful 777-200ER, G-YMMC.

After settling down in seat 4E, which was a rear-facing middle seat with direct aisle access at the back of the first section of Club World, I was given a choice of water, champagne or orange juice as a welcome drink. Being underage, I chose the orange juice, which was a nice fresh orange juice with bits.

Shortly, while I was settling in to my Club World convertible seat, the menus were handed out (naturally, I wasn't given the wine list)



While perusing the menu, we were given the ELEMIS Club World Amenity Kit, which included British creams, socks & eyeshades made of British cotton, and a dental kit, as well as a voucher, pen and earplugs.


BA CLUB WORLD SEAT
Seat Controls:

IFE (this had to be folded away before takeoff):

Seat in Fully reclined position ( I unfortunately didn't get a picture of the seat completely flat).

**
We taxiied around for about 30 mins, which was inexplicable, as there was an Air Mauritius A340 to Mumbai leaving at the same time as us, but nothing to delay us so much. Anyway, after a smooth takeoff, the seatbelt sign was switched off after about 15 mins, at which point the crew handed out hot, scented towels. Unfortunately, they disappeared for another 15 mins, leaving me with a cold and wet towel on my table, which was resricting movement and freedom.
After the scented towels were handed out, the IFE was switched on.
BA HIGHLIFE ENTERTAINMENT
There was a good selection of movies and TV, however I chose to watch an episode of the Kardashians before dinner.










**
Soon enough, Kenyan cashew nuts with a drink (I chose a Schweppes ginger ale) were handed out: (note that the scented towel is still present)

Again, there was a long wait before the meze starter was handed out: (finally, when the tray was put on the table, the scented towel was removed.)

Also present on the tray was a salad, some British Hotel Chocolat Raspberry Chocolates, Vinaigrette for the salad, and some (very cold) metal cutlery. When we just approaced Madagascar, the main course of the beef was handed out. While the mashed-potato and the 'creamed jus' were delicious, and the vegetables were edible, the beef was as tough as a block of wood, and as chewy as chewing gum.


Because I was tired and a bit fed up of the food, I skipped dessert and went straight to sleep. The bed is comfortable, and the eyeshades are thick enough not to let any light in.
Unfortunately, I woke up desperate for the bathroom, and just as I got up, the seatbelt sign went on.

I was pretty desperate, but there was nothing I could do. I passed the time by playing around with the map, and saw that we had flown directly over my home town, Entebbe.

The 777 was flying around a large thunderstorm, as one could see clearly on the map.

Finally, about an hour later, the sign went off, while we were over the CAR.

After visiting the bathroom, I got a packet of crisps and a Diet Coke from the Club Kitchen, located between the two Club World cabins.

I then went back to sleep.
When I awoke, we were flying over Southern Tunisia, and we got a view of a conurbation below us.


After getting a fanta and some Salt and Vinegar Crisps from the Club Kitchen, there were just over 2hrs left of the flight.


Over the mediterranean, the lights were turned on, and the breakfast tray of Bircher Muesli and some warm bread was served. It was refreshing and delicious.

The cooked breakfast was an omelette, and unfortunately I despise omelettes, so I went for the continental breakfast, which was as good as continental breakfasts go. All the while, the brilliant flight crew were topping me up with some English Twinings Earl Grey Tea.

Eventually, over northern France, the seatbelt sign came on, and we descended into the rain of Crawley.


After landing, we got an okay view of the front of G-YMMC, and a view of a Med-View Airline 747-400, an airline I had never heard of before.





FIN
Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
I enjoyed reading your report. I don't think anything special is missing. Nice first.
You wrote "After breezing through the Premium Passport Control and Security lanes" and yet your score for airport fluidity is only 5 on 10. Was there another detail you didn't write about?
It was just the general feeling of there being a lot of pushing and shoving, especially in the departures hall before check-in, people pushing in front just to weigh their bags, not even needing to check-in, and while walking down the jetbridge, there was also an incident with the attendants not being able to fold up the multiple prams that were there, in the end holding up the queue and requiring the parents and FAs to help as well.
Thanks for the compliments! ;)
Hi There!
Great job on this FR. So great to hear something nice said about the BA business class hard product amid criticism of both BA and VS's J class hard product. How does BA compare with Virgin's "upper class"? Thanks for your thoughts.
Also, FYI: MedView is a Nigerian airline flying out of the city of Port Harcourt. However, it is on the E.U. list of banned carriers, so it is confusing to see it in LGW because -- at least for now -- the UK is still a member of the E.U. Any thoughts on why MedView is allowed to fly to London??????
Looking forward to hearing more from you!
- Max
THanks for the compliments! Never been on Virgin Upper Class, but i have been on a Virgin 747 Premium Economy LHR - SFO & LAS - LGW and it was horrific... the IFE worked on neither flight. About MedView, it leases that 747 from AirAtlanta Icelandic, which is probably how it gets around the ban.