Arrived at LHR T1 from GLA at 1105 and made the journey from T1 to T4 in 17 mins then entered the main Terraces lounge. It was quite busy so I had a soft drink, some fruit and contemplated the next few hours as the breakfast items were being cleared in preparation for lunch. I decided to to have a wander to the gate 1 lounge that I had heard about on flyertalk and found this to be a haven of tranquillity by comparison!
My two pals were arriving from EDI at 1305 so I had some sandwiches and nibbles and now that the clock had struck 12 I partook of a rather pleasant Gin & Tonic (or three!). I met up with the guys outside the lounge and our 1435 BA0189 to Newark was departing from gate 1a - ultra convenient I thought - until we were herded into a waiting room and then left for 30 mins before a bus trip to the aircraft.
There was no priority boarding and I must admit I did wonder what a full fare F passenger would think of this! We arrived alongside our Boeing 777 G-VIIL and the three of us us trooped up the stairs marvelling at the diameter of the whopping GE90 engine. I was pre-allocated seat 15k when I checked in online the day before and was glad as it was a bulkhead rear facing seat which avoided me having to climb over anyone. I thought that the NNCW seat was OK but not a patch on the UCS It did feel rather tight and I would certainly not have been happy being in the 4 across section hemmed in.
The BA189 was scheduled to depart at 1435 but we sat on the tarmac for 90 mins waiting on baggage (this was to be ironic) and didnt take off until after 1600 with a 7h 5m flight time. My first impression of the crew was good and this was to be the same throughout the flight. Problems with the IFE meant a manual safety demo but the system worked OK once in the air.
Had a glass of Champagne before takeoff and had a look at the menu. I chose the seasonal salad served with vinaigrette for starter and the fillet steak for main followed by the cheese. Wine was a Chardonnay and was quite creamy in texture. All of the food and drink offerings were very good. I messed around with the seat a bit and wasnt exactly blown away with it but it was comfy enough even though row 15 has the window next to you missing!
Landing at EWR we were about 2 hours late and the evening was quickly slipping away. We were looking forward to getting to the hotel as quickly as possible, getting changed and hitting the town but my hopes of this were sadly dashed by the fact that my luggage had gone missing.
A visit to Baggage services to file a report followed and I was pleasantly susprised to receive a $300 pre paid Visa card which I was told could be used for anything at all (including cash using the supplied PIN!). We then set off to the IC Barclay hotel using a pre-booked Carmel Limo this turned out to be a rather beaten up Lincoln Town Car with a maniac driver who got us there by about 2100.
A rather jolly 3 or 4 hours followed - demolishing BAs $300!!! [:o)]
Regards
John
