British Airways B747-400 Club World

Originally published on www.businesstraveller.asia 31/05/2009 - Filed under: Tried & Tested » Airlines » Tried & Tested » Tried & Tested » Airlines » British Airways »

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British Airways Club World (Hongkong-London)

BACKGROUND:
British Airways’ (BA) re-engineered Club World seats were launched in the summer of 2007 on this busy route.

I was eager to experience this latest major tweak, not having flown BA’s Business Class for a number of years, and only remembering the first generation of flat beds with their quaint fan-seat divider. The seating is available on BA’s 57-strong fleet of Boeing B747s and 44 B777s.

CHECK IN:
I had checked in online and printed out my boarding pass in the afternoon, so I was not overly stressed about rushing to the airport for flight BA26 at 11.05pm. I arrived at Terminal 1 before 9.30pm. After using the Fast Bag Drop service, I headed straight for Gate 17.

THE LOUNGE:
BA offers its premium customers at Hongkong airport a lounge on level seven, which is shared with passengers of Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Northwest and Qantas. It was full house, but I managed to snag a seat. However, I didn’t stay very long as I had to shop for books which I was going to give away as presents during my business trip in Berlin.

BOARDING:
I was waved right through to a cabin that was packed. There seemed to be several families with young children headed for the UK that night.

THE SEAT:
BA’s B747-400s come in two configurations, mid-J and high-J, depending on the number of Business Class seats onboard (52 or 70). Flight BA26 was a mid-J, which meant the lower deck Club World ran in 2-4-2 layout (AB-DEFG-JK), and the upper deck is 2-2 (AB-JK).

As all the window seats had already been taken up by the time I checked in online, I went for 17D, an aisle seat in the first-row four-seat cluster. The rear-facing seats on my right were occupied by a couple. As we settled our belongings, the lady sitting next to me and I smiled briefly at each other, after which she promptly drew up the milky white opaque screen obviously wanting instant privacy, which I did myself.

The seat controls are very user friendly, and there is a navigation guide. I studied this carefully, discovering the wonderful laptop locker at the bottom. It was my misfortune that the power socket wasn’t working, so I had to forego any plans of catching up on office backlog. The entertainment menu was extensive.

I had a problem with this particular shell-seat design as I found the “wings” that come up to about the head area creating some claustrophobia. But that could just have been a personal bugbear.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE?
Usually, I don’t mind sitting along the aisle, except with the layout of this Club World cabin, 17D has no seat in front of it and leaves the occupant exposed to the comings and goings to the washroom and galley. To serve the person sitting in the centre section, the flight attendant always entered what I considered “my space” to hand the tray over the privacy screen to the passenger. I know she had a lot on her hands, but a simple “excuse me”, even just once, would have been greatly appreciated.

The best seats for cocooning are still those by the windows, which are all rear-facing.

THE FLIGHT:
Dinner’s spring onion and tomato terrine appetiser and the pear and macadamia nut crumble with vanilla sauce were yummy, making me want seconds. Be sure to have the tart fruit smoothie in the morning.

ARRIVAL:
Thirty minutes behind schedule but it wasn’t a big deal.

VERDICT:
Overall, an outstanding product with great conveniences that were easy to figure out.

PRICE:
Various promotions on offer.

CONTACT:
www.ba.com

British Airways Club World (London-Hongkong)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Heathrow’s new Norman Foster-designed Terminal 5, which I didn’t manage to experience a few days earlier arriving from Hongkong, features a futuristic design that makes you feel you’re in another millennium and not the present one. (Beam me up, Scotty!)

CHECK IN:
My Lufthansa flight from Dusseldorf arrived at T3, and from there, I took the train to T5. Using the new and lighter trolleys, it wasn’t as tortuous a walk than if they had kept the old models, which are still in use in the other terminals. Can airport management please do the world a favour and improve this service? I used one of the many check-in kiosks and moved on to security check, where despite a long queue did not take as long as I feared.

THE LOUNGE:
The Galleries in Terminal 5B is for the use of First, Club World or Club Europe and Silver and Gold Executive Club customers. At 5.30pm, when I entered, I didn’t find too much of a crowd but that would build up a bit later.

One large room, sectioned into different activity areas, I wandered into the centre and plonked down my belongings on one of several divans. The two female staff, stationed by the food counter, were not particularly helpful when I went to pick up some snacks, so I did my own thing. (Were they, perhaps, stationed there to stop overloaders, I wondered.)

With time to spare before boarding for flight BA31 at 8.25pm, I took a shower and surfed the net at the W and E (Work and Entertainment) corner. Warned that announcements wouldn’t be made, I left about 30 minutes before the boarding time of 8.05pm, even picking up some attractive Jo Malone toiletries along the way.

BOARDING:
Again no queues for Club World.

THE SEAT:
As I had not checked in online, I made do with what I was given: seat 61B, another aisle seat in the upper deck. However, I moved to 61J, allowing a male passenger to sit beside his partner who was in 61A.

This time, there was power in the socket enabling me to finish some outstanding tasks, as well as watch two films, the hilarious Burn After Reading and the poignant I’ve Loved You for So Long.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE?
There was relatively not much activity in this section as there was on the lower deck. However, the sound of the attendants’ shoes on the floor was a bit distracting, especially when lights were out and things in the cabin were still. I encountered the same problem the first time I was assigned a seat here. The earplugs I always bring with me helped a lot.

THE FLIGHT:
I didn’t expect the Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry mains to be spicy but I polished it off along with the tangy Lemon and Lavender Tart.

ARRIVAL:
Uneventful.

VERDICT:
Another great ride.

Margie T Logarta