[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=774620]I think the wine mentioned was Mersault , which is correctly spelt as Meursault and pronounced mur soh , or meur soh .

[/quote]

Or was it ‘merolest’?

[Andrew66]

That sounds more like trying to say Meursault and Merlot at the same time !!
I’ll just stick to my shah blee dah ling , I guess a Grand Cru is out of the question ? But a crew that doesn’t say Chabb liss would be grand .
I’m actually flying this Friday to DXB in First , will be interesting to see how I find the CCR and the flight .

[esselle]

Icenspice

Double standards? Good grief!!

The odd errant “U” doesn’t get you to merolest, however hard you try. It suggests to me that the Walsh/Cruz dream team don’t even think it’s important that crew in F have the faintest clue about the wine they are serving. Merolest?

My last trip to Meursault was as a guest at Comtes Lafon. After a weekend of exceptional hospitality, I could hardly speak, let alone spell.

[Andrew66]

A quick update , as I believe the opening post was about a F flight to DXB which I did the same yesterday .
Checkin , no wait , as you would expect , friendly enough and a little chit chat etc and booked in quickly . The usual wait at slow track but not too painful , I see the new security area has yet to be opened , but had a friendly chat with the staff at the main desk at F checkin who said they couldn’t wait for it to open to be able to give a decent service to F and Golds .
Anyway into the CCR , all seem calm and not too busy either , took a seat on the outside terrace , and served straightaway with a very good cappuccino , went for sit down breakfast after , no wait and I had the eggs benedict which was nice but not the best I’ve ever had ! Had a nice calm quiet time after with drinks served quickly , overall a pleasant experience .
Over to the the B gates where boarding had already started , as we entered the aircraft the crew member at the door asked for someone to escort my wife to 1A and then he saw my 1K card and beckoned over another member of crew who excitedly escorted me to my seat , I thought I had won the lottery bagging these seats as a lowly silver on a reward flight , but by her welcome I think she had won the crew sweepstake by getting 1K !!
There we were both welcomed by Kay who was excellent throughout the flight , warm , responsive and made sure we felt relaxed , yet provided a service you would expect in a premium cabin . She was helped by Luca who wasn’t as experienced as her , but they worked together to provide a fantastic flight .
We had the pre flight champagne , and then she took an order for our first drinks before we were airborne , after take off and reaching safe height Luca brought round very hot ( and white ) towels , and the drinks and warmed nuts arrived , the menus were handed out and food and wine selected .
We both had the parsnip soup and salad course , before I had the beef and my wife the lamb main courses , we both finished with cheese plates . The meal was really nice , extremely well served and the timing was great too which always makes a dining experience that much better . I enjoyed the main , beef , which was good , my wife thought the lamb was ok .
We both watched films on and off and generally rested , we arrived on time and both felt that we had a really good flight , I certainly think that the crew made the flight and I think they were even enjoying it too ! Even the CSD popped round early on to have a chat with us , in fact they always have on our flights even when flying in CW .

Also following on from the opening flight and the ” merolest ” saga , I did see on the wine list the infamous Meursault , which I didn’t sample ( perhaps that would have been the ultimate test for the fantastic Kay ? ) I went for the Shiraz based on my food selections , and we all know how to say that ? Anyway I see it’s listed as Meursault Les Clous ( 2014 ) so perhaps the crew member was pronouncing mur soh lay clu ? And perhaps the les clous were pronounced incorrectly ? Not sure if this might be part of the answer to merolest !!
Anyway I’m not so naive to believe that BA are the bestest , but on the occasions I’ve flown with them , I guess a lot less than many of you on here , they have always been very good and sometimes excellent mainly down to crew and personalities , and they get me once a year to DXB in F for £500 each , thanks to Amex and Tesco and I haven’t found anyone else who can do that ! 4 years on the trot now too , I just hope Mr Cruz doesn’t spoil my plans , the flower in the lav and amuse bouche are a step far enough , leave it at that.

[esselle]

Well, Andrew66, I’m delighted to learn you had a good flight out. In part, our contrasting experiences of a flight to DXB in F crystalise the problems BA have, in part they show how getting it right is not so difficult.

I look forward to hearing about your return trip.

Enjoy Dubai.

[handbag]

Agree with all of fergusons comments.

I always choose to work in WT and if the WT+ cabin is behind Club, then I would be looking directly after that as well. I can honestly say, that I have never missed hot towels in WT+, so am appalled that they are not being done in First. If the WT+ is forward of Club, then I wouldn’t see if they had been done.

[FDOS_UK]

handbag

I would imagine that RF and you are totally professional, follow service standards and walk the extra mile, too. Many of your colleagues on WW and EF do, too.

The problem with a lot of the MF crew I’ve encountered is not attitude, but simply lack of training/experience in premium cabins, which is largely not their fault, but still impacts on the customer experience. They are fine in the cabins with less complex service requirements and in the old days, would have spent a suitable amount of time in Y to build experience/confidence, before being trained to work in J and F.

The problem is that some of your colleagues are indifferent (and let it show) and even frequent travellers sample only a small % of flights, so clustering bias kicks in an we assume that our experience is typical, even when it may not be.

Having watched the Cruz interview on TPG, I don’t think he displayed any understanding of what running a premium brand entails (which is different to saying he doesnt have this) and I fear for the future of BA, as life in the middle of the pack, with a high cost base, is asking for trouble, especially with a post Brexit world where the UK/London is unlikely to be the business/financial centre it has been for the past 20 years.

[icenspice]

Hello esselle & Andrew66

I have never been to the CCR at T5, so it is news to me that it has an outside terrace.

Maybe one reason to give BA First another try?

Are ashtrays supplied?

[Andrew66]

Hi , no it’s not an outdoor terrace ( for smoking etc ) it’s like a terrace overlooking the terminal area after security , it’s still indoors , as far as I know neither LHR or LGW have smoking areas after security .

[icenspice]

In that case, Andrew, I’ll give it a miss!

Nice review. Do sample the Moreso on your return ?

[Andrew66]

They do have a ” sin bin ” in DXB just across from the BA lounge , and this time I get to go into the ” exclusive ” Concorde Bar opened last year in DXB , perhaps I will try to go through the wine list and make sure everyone’s French is up to scratch , on the food side I’m guessing that the chateaubriand has been replaced with a burger or burguer as part of the cost cutting ?

[esselle]

The Concorde Room in DXB is nothing to get excited about I’m afraid. Self service, average, more mediocre than merolest.

Have a good flight home.

[Andrew66]

Thanks , it gave me the impression of smoking glass and mirrors ( forgive the pun ) when I peered through the door last time I was in the main lounge , still it has to be an upgrade from the previous lounge !!
A good return flight back would be a great way to end our holiday ,it’s the 3pm flight ( 104 ) so a nice time of the day to travel for leisure , and we have an airport hotel bookec for overnight so no onward travel that day and a chance to sample the Merolest ? It’s the least I can do !!

[handbag]

I would like to think I and professional and do things as they should be done. I feel if we follow the standards, then it generally works better, as people like consistency.

I totally agree with your comments about WW and Mix Fleet. When I joined there was always a good mix of all ages and experience, crew we could look up to and follow their way.

Although Mix Fleet has been running for several years, there are still flights running all the time where here are a lot of inexperienced crew. Must say this is not always. The plus point is enthusiasm, which as you say is not always evident on WW.

How good could BA be if the 2 fleets were joined.

[Author]

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