London Heathrow

I walked to the transit centre and approached the fast track and elite channel on the far-left side. There was no wait and my boarding pass was scanned and my ID checked. A beep and the agent informed that a seat change was due and handed me a new boarding mentioning that my seat was now in Club World. The gate was now also known, it was B 36, which was not unexpected as long haul flights or wide bodies rarely depart from Terminal 5A. The operational upgrade was of course a nice surprise and I took the escalator up to the security checkpoint. As usual there were long lines and it took me close to 25 minutes before I was finally on my way to the lounge. It was not so much the waiting time, but my liquids needed to be checked manually. This check took only 30 seconds but I had to wait ten minutes before it was finally done. Again, not the best experience at Heathrow.

I took the elevator down to level -4 and walked over to terminal 5, where I took the elevator up to +2 and walked to the escalator which led to the lounge entrance of the British Airways Galleries Lounge. My boarding pass was checked and I was granted access to the sanctuary of this lounge. As I have written in a couple of reports I prefer this lounge over the more crowded lounges at Terminal 5 A. And this visit was no exception. The lounge was not very busy and I had no difficulties to find a seat with enough space to spread out. I grabbed a cheese-omelette sandwich from the buffet with some fresh fruit and a glass of water for breakfast. I read the papers, checked my e-Mail, and did some activities in the social media accounts I maintain. I wanted to stretch my legs before boarding the plane and left the lounge early and walked along different gates. There were few flights departing from terminal 5B at this time of the day but a number of wide bodies, mostly 777 with some 747-400 were parked there.

I had noticed our plane already parked at the gate as I headed to the lounge.

Waiting at the gate was G-BNLN, a Boeing 747-436 which was delivered to British Airways as brand new plane 25 years ago, on July 17, 1990. It was powered by four Rolls Royce RB211-524G engines which have a thrust of 58,000 lbf each and a weight of 4.39 tons. The RB211 engine was not very successful regarding planes from Boeing in the beginning, but with some adjustments and re-configuration could generate greater thrust and was more efficient than the PW JT9D which Boeing had originally chosen as standard engine for the 747. British Airways was the first customer who chose a RB211-524 for the 747 and decided also on the later variant of that engine type for their 747-436.

British Airways uses different configurations of the 747. The difference is the location of Premium Economy Class and the number of seats in Club World. Our 747 had 14 seats in First Class, which are in the front section of the lower deck. The 52 seats in Business Class or Club World as BA calls it are in the upper deck or between the second door and the Economy Class. There are 36 seats in Premium Economy Class or World Traveller Plus and those seats are located on the lower deck between first and second door. All 235 seats in Economy Class or World Traveller are located after Business Class on the lower deck. It is worth to highlight that prior to October 2015, the flight was equipped with 70 seats in Club World and 30 in Premium Economy and 177 seats in Economy Class.

First Class on those planes were the 2010 First Class which offers a simple yet qualitative good product with a seat which goes fully flat and offers a 2-metre-long and 0,8-metre-wide bed. The blinds are operated electronically and there is ambient and mod lighting. First Class has a Thales entertainment system, which might be different from those of the other cabins. Noise-cancelling headphones are also offered. An international socket (UK/US/EU) is available as well.

The Club World seats on this Boeing 747-400 were the 2006 Club World seats, which have the patented yin-yang fully flat bed in a 2 – 4 – 2 layout. The seats are also close to 2-metre-long but have only a width of 0,63 metres, which is not that much. There is a separate footrest which adds to the bed if the seat is put in a horizontal position. Our plane had the older but upgrades TES entertainment system, which also means there are only US sockets, while the Thales system comes with the same UK/US/EU sockets as First Class.

World Traveller Plus is configured in 4 (left and middle seats) / 6 (right seats) rows in a 2 – 4 – 2 layout with a seat pitch of 38 inch and seat width of 18,5 inch. On our plane, those seats had the same entertainment system than Club World but only offered an EmPower outlet.

World Traveller comes in a 3 – 4 – 3 layout with a seat pitch of 31 inch and a seat width of 17,5 inch. The entertainment system is the same as in Club World and World Traveller Plus. Power outlets are not available for passengers in this cabin.

Boarding started at 09:37 for our 10:15 departure with passengers travelling in First Class, Club World and oneworld elites.

27 October 2015
LHR – DFW
[London Heathrow – Dallas Forth Worth]
BA193 (British Airways); Boeing 747-400 (G-BNLN)
Gate B 36
10:15 – 15:46 [effective 10:24 – 15:27]
Club World (upgrade from World Traveller Plus
Seat 17 F

We had to wait in the jet way because a passenger in a wheelchair needed some more time. I was greeted at the plane and given directions how to reach my seat. My seat was in the middle section and a seat I would rather not have chosen as single traveller if I would have bought a club world ticket. But as this was an operational upgrade, even this seat was better than my seat in the World Traveller Plus Cabin.

Pre departure drink

Champagne Taittinger Brut Réserve NV

Blanket and pillow as well as headphones were already stored on the seat. A flight attendant approached me and offered a choice of pre-departure drinks. Among the offer beverages were water, orange juice, apple juice and champagne. No less than a glass of champagne was my choice to celebrate the operation upgrade into Club World. The plane filled with passengers and I would say the load was quite high as there was not open seat in Club World and I assume also not in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus as otherwise I would not have received an operational upgrade to Club World.

As boarding was finished the crew offered the printed menus for our flight to DFW and soon later the captain came over the intercom and welcomed us on board. He informed us about our flight, which should be a smooth ride and expected to arrive in DFW around 20 minutes ahead of schedule if no traffic related delays would occur during our flight. He would give us an update later in the flight and announced the safety video, which would be shown by the crew shortly. The crew made sure that the screens were flipped out of the take-off position. While the video was running, we were pushed back at 10:24 and taxied for the runway.

As far as I could notice from my middle seat without direct view, there was no plane or at least not many ahead of us, as there was no wait for take-off from runway 09 R at 10:45, which was round about 20 minutes later than scheduled and soon we climbed into the sky above London. Five minutes later the crew left their stations and closed the curtain between the different cabins. The fasten seat belt signs were not switched off at this time.

One of the first duties of the crew was to distribute the amenity kit soon followed by a hot towel. While the crew began to prepare the first beverage service, the purser asked us what we had chosen for the lunch service.

Time to look at the menu (click on icon, opens new window) and the wine list.

I decided to go with the salmon as starter and the guinea bowl. In the meantime, another flight attendant arrived with the beverage cart. I was offered a packet of assorted nuts and asked what I like to drink. I decided to go with the Champagne Rose and a sparkling water. While sipping at my glass of Champagne, I had started my laptop to continue the work I had started earlier in the lounge. A second beverage round followed but as my glass of Champagne was still half full, I only asked to top up my glass of sparkling water.

Aperitif

Assorted nuts
Champagne de Castelnau Brut Rosé NV

Starter

Severn and Wye cured Scottish smoked salmon
with capers, lemon and baby watercress
Fresh Seasonal salad served with vinaigrette
Cambria Chardonnay 2012 Katherine's Vineyard Santa Maria Valley California

Main Course

Roasted guinea fowl with braisd red cabbage,
green beans, roasted potato and a mustard and chive jus

Dessert

Spiced pear and custard tart

Round about an hour after we left London the meal service started. The first course and the salad were served on the tray along with napkin, butter, cutlery and salt / pepper. Bread was also offered and I went with some garlic bread. I was asked if I would like to have my glass of Champagne topped up but asked for a glass of the Chardonnay instead. The salmon was fresh and tasted okay but nothing outstanding and the presentation was a bit uninspired.

It took a while before the used plates were cleared and the second course was served. This course was served individually by the crew and not on from the cart. The second course was also only average, the guinea bowl very dry and did not taste very good. The red cabbage was of better quality and taste as were the potatoes. During the meal service, the crew asked for refills of wine and bread was also available.

Again it took some time before the plates were cleared and the dessert served along with a beverage service.

Round about 2 hours in flight the meal service was finished, the trays cleared by the crew and soon later dimmed the cabin lights.

The flight attendants passed the aisle several times offering water, orange, apple, and cranberry juice. In addition, small packets of chips and cookies were available in the galley and on request also Häagen Dasz ice cream. To stay awake I asked a couple of times for coffee and the flight attendant asked if I would like to have another mug of coffee as she cleared the empty one. They were quite good in remembering what the preferred drink was and do not need to ask.

The flight time passed quite fast, I continued to update this report and finished the one on the flight from Düsseldorf to London, read some articles in a magazine, which I had downloaded earlier and update a few other reports and articles I had in the pipeline. I also watched one episode of Top Gear, but otherwise found the music and video selection not very appealing. The only CD which caught my attention was the recoding of all nine Beethoven symphonies by Simon Rattle, which I selected. But on the other had the plane is not the right place to compare it with other recording in terms of how Simon Rattle interpreted the symphonies compared to other conductors and the headphones are of low quality. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my noise cancelling headphones at home and had only my in-ear headphones with me.

We passed the Atlantic cruising at 34000 and 35000 feet and entered US airspace over Newfoundland at 15:25 London time and passed the northern end of Lake Michigan.


Round about two hours before our expected arrival time at DFW, the cabin lights were switched on. I expected a hot towel service, but this was not done.

Instead, 30 minutes later the second meal service started, which was either a salad or afternoon tea with sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Time for another look in the menu (click on icon, opens new window)

Afternoon Tea

selection of sandwiches
Scones (no on picture)
coffee

Coffee and Tea were also offered, but no alcoholic beverage was available. I am sure, I could have requested a glass of Champagne, but I decided to have coffee. The sandwiches were served on a tray along with some pastries. The sandwiches were packed in plastic, which had the advantage that they were not dry and in so far, I could live with that. Although one could argue, that the crew could have unwrapped the sandwiches prior to serving, but I assume this would have been too time consuming. But these are the minor details, one notices and remembers.

The scones were offered a couple of minutes later and the basket with the scones came around several times. Refills of coffee and tea were also offered.

An hour prior to landing the first officer came over the microphone and gave us an update about our flight progress. He expected an arrival in DFW at 15:25 local time, as expected and announced prior to leaving LHR. The remaining flight time could become a bit bumpy, as we had already noticed during the service, when the fasten seat belt signs were switched on.

In the remaining flight time, the crew collected the left items from the meal service and after this was done the purser came over the intercom and told us that in 20 minutes the fasten seat belt signs were turned on and the lavatories could no longer be used. We were also told that at this time, the aisle must be cleared and everything securely stored in the overhead compartment.

We approached DFW from the North but made a few turns before we finally touched down at 15:22 on runway 18 R and taxied to our gate at terminal D of Dallas Fort Worth, where we arrived only five minutes after we touched down in DFW.

It took a couple of minutes before we finally could disembark through door 1, which was the only one used.

I proceed to immigration and used the machines, which speed things up significantly before heading down to the luggage belt but without checked luggage I could leave the area after a quick stop at customs and walked over the pick-up stop of the hotel shuttles.

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