some great memories
Hello all and welcome to this Flight Report that is a bit special as there is an Helicopter bonus
Avios claimed with this flight: 750
Status miles earned: 40
I don't fly anymore that much wth BA nor OneWorld since they started to become too low-cost, and also the fact that I moved to France so I was looking forward to be back on BA business class.
BA was offering a deal in J that was a real bargain, so the feeling was a bit like meeting again an old ex!
The flight is scheduled to be operated with an A320 of 144 seats.
A really bad surprise to see that you need to pay for your seat in business, I mean come on, we already have paid like 4 or 5 times with the Business fare… This is what i meant by BA becoming low-cost, that is so cheap.
The app is really well designed and I had no issues at all to check in and get my boarding pass like in the old days when I was flying regularly with them.
the preflight… flight!
One of my best friends is becoming a helicopter pilot and as I was visiting London, he took me on a memorable helicopter flight
We review together the flight plan, as we are planning to land in Heathrow! Just that!
A lot of helicpters there, including VIP transport machines, emergency helictopters etc
Just to give you an idea of how a VIP helicopter cabin looks like (unless you are used to travel this way!)
Today's bird..
After a short preflight briefing (yes no FMC to fill in!) we start taxiing byt just hovering over the ground before taking off vertically.
Some of these houses in Northamptonshire are very tiny.
On this helicopter there aren't any heading autopilot nor automatic throttle.
We are approaching the London Heathrow radio zone and requesting to land..
"helicopter oscar Siera Echo Mike sqwak 21XX requesting transit Heathrow zone flying towards Southend"
"negative. too many aircrafts awaiting already"
Shame as we were also planninng to fly over the Thames…
Of course the approach is full VFR.
at london - heathrow airport
Despite me living in the city for about 10 years I think this is the first time I come to the terminal 5 by car, I always used to get there with the train.
One thing the UK airport do very well is sign posting - it is a real challenge to get lost at LHR - even perhaps too much according to some of my friends that refer to the UK as a nunny state :p
The Priority checkin lane is at the far right of the checkin counters hall.
The lady at the counter is very professional and check my bag in very quickly.
The fast track lane is almost empty - a very nice surprise.
Just on the right hand side of the fast security lane is the Concorde lounge, where I play dumb and naively ask if this is my lounge?
Nice try but no.
A big view on the terminal 5.
I wasn't sure if the North or South galleries lounges would be better, after a quick chat on the french Flight report whatsapp gold group, I am told the south Galleries are slightly better.
The escalators are just right by Fortnum & Mason, I guess I am on the right way ahah.
Hello giagantic glitter larva!
at the british airways south galleries lounge
The first floor is dedicated to showers and Concorde lounge, the business lounge is the floor above..
I'm passing by some of these old plane modeles, I am not sure there is anyone on the Flight report community that old that have flown on these..
I don't know if anyone had the chance to fly on this B747-100 neither!
But this one definitely!
And this one I have! The A380 model is actually enormous.
The bar on the left hand side is well equipped with a lot of drinks.
Loads of Burgondy wine which I like.
There is a lot of people at the lounge and I guess not that much staff as not all of the tables are clean.
I stay there for a bit to watch the plane show.
There are also a lot of coffee places.
Some vintage posters.
On the other hand of the lounge there is another bar that allows the passenger to do some cocktails with ingredients and instructions - and it is not so easy not to overfill the glass with alcool :p
The actual bar.
There is a TV corner, for the live news channel afficionados.
Generally speaking the lounge offers a good variety of seating area.
Besides the buffet, some chefs are available to cook some hot meals.
You just need to scan a QR code an simply place your order and bob's your uncle!
5 min later the food is brought over by the waiters and fanny is your aunt!
I went downstairs near the Concorde lounge to book a slot to have a shower.
At least the lounge do have a few cabins so there isn't much of a waiting time but the shower definitely need refurbishing.
There are not dirty it is just that are all made of plastic and look like some sort of mobile home showers.
I head to the boarding gate on time.
My boarding pass, for once I am part of boarding group #1 (out of 9 - I think BA has pushed the group thing a bit too far).
onboard the A320
Our A320- sorry for the reflections.
Aircraft: Airbus A320-232
Tail number: G-MEDK
Engines: 2x IAE2527
Age: 16 years old
Layout: Y180
For once I am the first one on the jetway.
The jetway windows are dirty sorry :s
The plane has started serving for BMI and I am very lucky to find these old and yet more comfy former BMI seats.
There is no headrest per say but they do recline quite a bit and are actually very comfy.
Unlike the BA A320Neo cabin, th pitch between seats is more generous on the first rows.
BA offers some anti bacterial wipes to clean your seat if you wish to, a move that has been followed by most of the european legacy carriers.
The plane is equipped with WiFi, the instructions to connect and purchase your wifi pack are displayed on the seat in front (yes a pack has to be purchase, there wasn't any free wifi for at least messaging services)
We push back with only 15 min of delay, which isn't that bad for the last flight of the day of this aircraft.
Safety demonstrations are performed the good old fashion way, shame as BA was extensively using TV screens last a decade ago.
We are about to take off from the 9R runway..
And before this A350-1000.
Curtain is pulled after take off.
The service starts as we are just flying over the English Channel.
I am first asked what I wish to drink - as I don't know what is on the menu, I opt for Champagne which is always a good idea!
The pursuer comes back and tell us the choice for the meals: quinoa salad something or coronation chicken - a dish well known in the UK as it was served for the coronation of her late Majesty the Queen.
The pros
- Porcelain plates and silver cuttlerly (not a paper box)
- Hot bread
- A choice in the meal (unlike some others european carriers)
- A napkin made of fabric
-A stubborn and persistent alcool refill
Cons
- No food menu
- No starters
- Both meal options were served cold
The dessert was nice up until my spoon reached this way too sweet strawberry jam layer.
To be fair with the crew they were nice and always looking to refill our glasses but they did spend most of their time behind the service curtain.
In terms of entertainment the Wifi was functional during the flight.
However the webpage does not offer a live position tracker.
The Buy on board is however well detailled
A short nap later and it was almost time for our final approach.
The famous High Life magazine did survive the covid period but is now only to be found either online as a PDF version or on some shelves at the BA lounges.
The main focus of the month was on original hotels.
Also a lot of ads usually found on low-cost magazines!
Very sadly British Airways removed the fleet section and the network destinations pages.
AT lyon - saint-exupéry airport
We land on the 18L runway
And arrived at terminal 1, as usual.
Passport control is quickly passed.
Our flight radar 24 stat.
Last bonus
Because I love London!
Hello dear Chris and thank you for the sharing. I have curently a lot of delays in reading and comenting reports (the best explanation I have found is that weather is really sunny at home and that I am doing some sport to be fit the rest of the year XD ^^) ! Even if you posted that Report a few days ago, that is a pleasure to discover the British Airways Business product. It is really unbelievable that Business Passengers have to pay extra price for seat selection ! Even in the lowest J class, Air France is offering that choice for free. Despite that strange commercial decision, the product seems to be much better than the economy's one that may justify a price gap between the two classes. The concorde lounge seems comfy and tasty food is served. Onboard, meal's choice is a relly good point and if the catering is tasteful, that is nice ! The crew was perhaps a bit tired by their workday but remained quite proactive. That was a chance to fly on an ex BMI's aircraft in the sens that you've had a more comfortable seat than the original one. Thank you for sharing the bonus too and see you on a next Flight Report !
Répondre
Hi Yann and thanks for your comment!
No worries, reading and commenting every report is nearly impossible, especially in both languages! You are absolutely right, better to enjoy the sun!
I know right, just as if you haven't paid the business ticket enough!
It is much better, but like every European legacy carrier, the seats are equal to that found on economy
Yes there are still a few ex-BMI aircrafts around :)
See you on the next FR too!
Thanks for sharing this FR Chris!
Surprised that they beat UA or LH to implement this^^ Arguably, LX has been doing this for years for the throne seats, but to charge for basic seat selection in J is ridiculous.
Maybe got a deal from Ibis?
Overall decent experience on BA for short haul J. Lucky to have the extra legroom on the older cabin and the catering looks well presented (as expected with DO&CO) despite being only cold options. No cheese on the tray, just dessert?
Hi Michael and thanks for your comment!
AHAH exactly! The race on how to change things from free to payware lol
Exactly there won't really be a war to get that throne, I can't imagine the Lanisters fighting for it.
AHAH or B&Q or Homebase lol!
No cheese tray flying to France, a dangerous move as it could have triggered another Revolution. The dessert was nice but generated a cray-cray sugar rush for me!!
Hah, I have the exact opposite experience. I find the app to be aesthetically pretty, but not user friendly at all. Like if you wanna view a seat map or change seats it takes you out of the app to a BA.com page, which then has a banner at the top telling you to use the app...which then sends you back to BA.com....it's quite maddening....but it works on the BA.com page the app sends you to so whatever....still it drives me nuts how dumb the design is, haha.
Check-in for short-haul flights is pretty straightforward, but it's suuuuuuper buggy for long-haul INTL flight, especially if there's an AA or IB codeshare somewhere on the itinerary. Haha...ok rant over. I still love BA for the most part...just not the app LOL
I know!!!! It's so tacky. And now in the past few months IB have started doing it as well. Luckily with my Emerald status I never have to pay (I believe even Sapphires don't pay), but still, I find it so tacky to scrape for a few more $$$ from Premium pax who have already paid a higher fare for the premium cabin.
I remember being told one time when connecting to short-haul that the showers were only for long-haul passengers when I showed my short-haul BP, but then showed my inbound long-haul BP. Sounds like the attendant was full of crap, haha
Oh man, I thought only some A319s still had the old BMI cabins. Had no idea some A320s still have them. I may be true that the A320s with BMI cabins have better pitch in the front but the A319s don't...I was in Club on one a few weeks ago and it felt more cramped than the standard BA cabins. I also wasn't a fan of the lack of USB ports.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Kevin,
thanks for the comment!
LOL that was weird I didn't have that, maybe for short haul it is easier?
maybe an intern designed it lol
And so mean! like BA is telling you that you didn't pay your business ticket dear enough.
Maybe the same persone who designed the app lol. Cauz I actually had my shower lol
These old BMI seats are great, I don't like much the "new" seats.