HIGH FLYER - BRITISH AIRWAYS
High Flyer - British Airways - Luxury Travel Magazine
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High Flyer - British Airways | |||||
| By: Jane Gifford, Issue 45 – Summer 2011 | |||||
| (British Airways, Sydney to London via Bangkok) | |||||
| JANE GIFFORD REVIEWS BRITISH AIRWA YS CLUB WORLD LONG HAUL BUSINESS CLASS FROM SYDNEY TO LONDON VIA BANGKOK. | |||||
| THE CHECK-IN | |||||
| British Airways Club World passengers can check in and select seats 24 hours before the scheduled flying time online at ba.com or from a mobile phone at ba2go.com. I lacked access to a printer when I checked in online, so elected to collect my boarding pass at the airport from options that also included print, email, fax and save to print later. At the airport, no queues for Club World Check-In desks and a friendly and efficient staff member made my boarding pass collection and baggage drop swift and painless. Club World passengers also receive a British Airways Express pass which expedites processing through security and immigration. | |||||
| THE CABIN | |||||
| The airline’s Boeing 747 aircraft servicing this route has two Club World cabins. The upper deck cabin, where I sat, has 20 seats configured as ten sets of two seats, with one facing forward and one facing backwards, on each side of the aisle. This cabin felt private and intimate and far removed from the two hundred or so other passengers on board elsewhere. The Club World cabin downstairs was located between British Airways economy World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins and had 32 seats, and the configuration here was slightly different, also offering pairs of seats facing the same direction in the middle of the centre block. | |||||
| THE SERVICE | |||||
| Friendly flight attendants delivered courteous and unobtrusive service on both sectors and a fresh floral scent wafted through the cabin for most of flight. | |||||
| THE SEATS | |||||
| I loved my seat location, a forward-facing aisle seat midway down the cabin. In the upper deck Club World cabin aisle seats all face forwards and window seats all face backwards, which according to my travelling companion, only felt weird during takeoff and landing, and for the rest of the flight was unnoticeable. The advantage of the window seats is that with the privacy screens up, they become a private room of sorts. My seat was supremely comfortable in the upright, flat bed and many positions between. Preset buttons made the transformation from seat to bed and back to seat simple. Snuggled under a lovely pale blue quilt with my head on a damask pillow, I slept soundly for four hours on the Sydney to Bangkok sector and for eight hours on the Bangkok to London sector. At one semiawake point, I tilted the TV screen and laughed at Tina Fey and Steve Carrell’s antics in Date Night lying down in my cosy bed before drifting off to sleep again. A great design feature of these seats is the push-button privacy screen, which gave me the option of socialising with the person facing me in the adjacent seat or disappearing into my own space, which I did for much of the flight. Other nifty features include a handy laptop/storage drawer, where I stashed my reading glasses, book and assorted bits and pieces, a power outlet, adjustable reading light, a handset that’s also a phone, and a generously-sized table. | |||||
| THE ENTERTAINMENT | |||||
| Interestingly, Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to offer business class passengers individual TVs with the introduction of Sony Video walkmans and a library of films in 1989. These days the V-port entertainment system showcases a slew of movies, TV shows and music on demand and obvious thought has gone into catering for a broad range of tastes. The hand control is user-friendly and the system delivers clear sound without any distortion through comfortable noise cancelling headsets. | |||||
| FOOD & BEVERAGE | |||||
| Avoiding alcohol is a good idea when flying but en-route to Bangkok, I couldn’t say no to a Kir Royale champagne cocktail as an aperitif before dinner. My main course choice, salmon fillet in lemon butter and caper sauce with potato chats, spinach and Roma tomatoes matched, at the recommendation of the flight attendant, with a glass of 2009 Lovialo, a zingy Spanish wine, was delicious. Renowned wine expert Jancis Robinson OBE, advises the airline on the wine list selection. All meal menus offer a choice of dishes, including vegetarian options, and for me, the food was good overall but service could have been a little less rushed. When hunger and thirst strike in between meals, Club World passengers also have access to a Club Kitchen, located downstairs, where all sorts of snacks and drinks can be found. | |||||
| THE EXTRAS | |||||
| A smart navy blue fabric zippered pouch provides an assortment of in-flight travel accessories, including socks, eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush and toothpaste, and nourishing Elemis beauty products. | |||||
| THE LOUNGE/S | |||||
| British Airways Club World passengers on this route have access to the stylish and well-appointed Qantas International Business Class lounges at Sydney and Bangkok airports. I took advantage of the shower facilities (clean and tidy) in the Bangkok lounge and freshened up, then checked my email in the business centre, before boarding the plane, refreshed, for London. There’s an arrivals lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 operated by American Airlines that British Airways Club World passengers can access. And, if a further destination via a Terminal 5 departure is on the itinerary, chic and luxurious British Airways Club Galleries lounges refresh the weariest of travelers. | |||||
| THE GRIPES | |||||
| Really, I have nothing to complain about at all. | |||||
| FLIGHT FREQUENCY ON THIS ROUTE | |||||
| Two flights from Sydney every day, departing late afternoon and arriving in London early in the morning, one via Bangkok the other via Singapore. | |||||
| FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM | |||||
| British Airways has a frequent flyer program called Executive Club, and because the airline is a member of the One World alliance, rewards can also be earned and redeemed for partner airline frequent flyer programs - Qantas in my case. | |||||
| ON-TIME PERFORMANCE | |||||
| My flight took off and arrived on time on both legs of the Sydney to London journey. | |||||
| FARES | |||||
| During the months of January, February and March 2011, a business class fare to London from Sydney via Bangkok is A$8,218. Prices can fluctuate so double check before you travel. www.britishairways.com | |||||
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