[MarcusUK]

Perhaps you & Vinatge Krug should marry!

One or my colleagues the Professor who is advising the Government on Respiratory Medicine, confirmed at a meeting these were the figures.
These were published on the WHO website, confirmed by the Director of the CEO on BBC news, with NYC having the highest incidence on the figures stated.
These were people exposed to the virus, with 2,743 confirmed cases today in NYC.
The under-reporting or suspected, with mild symptoms is thought to be 3-4 times this figure. Exposure runs at 7% today.

My perceptions are professional ,& based on WHO reporting, but of course that relies on the typical under-reporting of governments, & the lack of reporting in less structured countries. Understandably, a lay perspective isn’t as well informed.

As the WHO indicate, the peak of the current pandemic is increasing, & wil reach its peak with the seasonal changes north of the hemisphere in Sept/Oct, with cases in the southern expected to decline.

As for Vintage etc, well a good friend left BA after working with them for 12 years last year, in a Directorship role.
My insight is gained through him, his experience, his reasons for leaving..sadly to him, & the decline & destruction of the work & of his teams, that he put in place.

He refused to treat staff in the way dictated by Walsh & his senior team, & rightly predicted, the current situation that is publicly known in BA. Its financial situation, appauling record on its treatment of staff, & the often over inflated images of BA, having fallen behind from its former glory days.
Then again, all the events associated with BA in the last 5 yrs, really do speak for themselves do they not?
Not aware of any airline in the world, that has gained such a poor image through its management, or constantly in the news for management gaffs!

[dutchyankee]

You are too funny. Now after previous absurdity, you are making suggestions for my love life. Thanks, Happily married already. Perhaps you should get someone, and you wouldn’t be so constantly pent up and bitter. As for BA, I personally do not have any affiliation to them, nor have ever worked for them. If you feel the need to continually slag them off because of some loyalty to a friend well off you go. From a passenger point of view (me) someone who pays for his own tickets, flies Club and First exclusively, my experience from that point of view is BA is the best in europe, suits my needs, and has been a leader in almost every sense. Do they have opportunities to improve, sure, do things go wrong, sure, but just because your friend says something does not mean it is true. You are welcome to your own perception of course, but if it is only due to the anger of your friend, could it just possibly be a negative bias you have.

As for your ridiculous comment regarding H1N1, you stated, and I quote, ‘The H1N1 occupying 8% of NYC residents at the moment’ and ‘NYC has a population who last week, 8% had the H1N1.’ You basically said 640,000 citizens of New York City were infected, and now you say confirmed case as per WHO, BBC, and of course your other very good friend and collegue the ‘Professor,’ put the figure to 2743, just slightly different from your 8%, can you say off by 637,257!. You have some very impressive friends, all so knowledgeable, you lucky boots you

You say your perceptions are professional, well glad one person thinks so. I doubt too many others do.

I trully could care less who Vintage is, all I know is his info seems accurate, and yours has for the last two forums where I have had the misfortune of reading your tirades (KLM and A318) have been fantasy, false, and just down right wrong.

Carry on defending the biased views of your friend, and let’s not forget the ‘Professor’ but please keep me out of your war with Vintage.

[continentalclub]

Forward bookings on the LCY-JFK route already looking very strong, as evidenced both anecdotally and by availability (or lack thereof) and fares on ba.com.

[MarcusUK]

As reported today, by The US Centre for Disease Control, & reported in The Times, there are officially 1 million In the United States that have contracted the flu virus. The US Governnment provided these figures.

WHO statement-

“The world is moving into the early days of its first influenza pandemic in the 21st century. The (swine flu) virus is now unstoppable,” said Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO chief.

But i am sure you are better qualified n have the REAL figures…!
I suggest you take yr version to the CDC, & WHO.

Nice to see some names on here of real people, rater than hiding behind a hidden identity!

Good news for LCY route, that they wont use T5 & the predictable BA/ BAA partnership that has made LHR infamous. More to come no doubt…

[MarcusUK]

Actually i don’t work for an airline, I am a Clincical Director with the Department of Health!!

My colleagues are the appointed advisors in Respiratory Medicine & Epidemiology, working with the Chief Medical Offficer.

The Minister for Health today, upgraded with immediate effect, & made an announcement in parliament, that the phase here has been moved to “treatment” phase.
there will be 100,000 cases a day by August!
I am sure you will have yr turn to experience it.
Not very informed, intelligent, or level headed responses, from someone who cant even reveal his own identity!

[continentalclub]

I’m lost for words.

[dutchyankee]

I never suggested you work for an airline, or is this another of your famous typos. As for supposedly being a director at the Department of Health, then you should know far better than anyone that fear-mongering, exaggerating the facts, and downright falsifying information is plain wrong. You were using information about H1N1 incorrectly, mis-quoting figures continually, and using it as a tactic/argument in one of your regular diatribes against British Airways and Vintage Krug. Who is the level headed one here? Certainly not you as you keep trying to fight the fight for a friend of yours who lost his job at BA. And by the way, the vast majority of people on this site are anonymous for various reasons, perhaps the fact that you dont feel the need to remain anoymous is most telling of all!.

[VintageKrug]

Seatmaps for this service now available on BA.com:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/seatcwlc/public/en_gb

Note the odd AB JK seat designations.

1 AB JK would be my least favourite recommendations, being opposite the front WCs so people tend to queue up there and rest on your seat cocoon so not a good place to be.

I would reckon rows 2 and 3 to be the best seats being in front of the wing and therefore marginally quieter, but close to the galley for rapid service.

[VintageKrug]

On a recent trip to LCY, saw the new A318 doing rehearsal landings/go-arounds.

Apparently getting the other pilots used to the steep approach. And it is a VERY steep approach for this aircraft, as can be seen from this (poor quality) youtube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FDZQZAGjPU

Looking forward very much to sampling this innovative service very soon!

http://www.ba.com/clubworldlondoncity

[Hess963]

It doesn’t look only steep, but the runway seems short for any possible miscalculations or handlings while landing in LCY. Do they have any more space there? I assume you can’t have any decent landings when bad weather like heavy fog or torrential rains exists

[VintageKrug]

No, straight into the dock if you overshoot!

[VintageKrug]

Another seat pic here:

http://www.seatplans.com/files/Airline-Pix/British-Airways/General/Planes/A318-LCY/The-seat-for-web-344.jpg

[VintageKrug]

And a rather tabloid piece by Calder here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/can-son-of-concorde-succeed-1793140.html

[VintageKrug]

The on board menu looks terrific out to New York. Great choice…fillet of beef, chicken, sea bass, pasta, salad…or offer of ‘ working lunch’ later in the flight.

Wine list looks OK, the Château Bournac looks to be the outstanding choice, a shame the nasty Blue Top still keeps making an appearance, though the (entry level Bollinger) Ayala isn’t half bad.

A bit sparse from NYC back to London, but looking forward to sampling the JFK Terraces Dining Room pre-flight and then getting a good night’s sleep on board:

Here’s the menu for New York to London:

The Sleeper Service

Welcome onboard this Club World London City
Sleeper service to London.

All paper used on the production of menus for British Airways is made
from an environmentally friendly source from sustainable forests.

We hope you enjoyed the pre-flight supper in the
lounge this evening. Tonight’s menu is designed around
helping you maximise your sleep on this short overnight
flight, enabling you to arrive in London well rested and
ready to start your day.

If you wish to settle down and sleep shortly after take
off you may like to have a look at our breakfast options
available to you when you wake up in the morning.

Good night.

NightCap

On tonight’s flight, we have a selection of night cap
options for you to choose from should you wish to eat
something to help you settle down and get some quality
sleep before our arrival into London.

Four cabbage slaw with pequino peppers
topped with smoked duck and caramelised onions
or
Croque-monsieur
or
Bruschetta sandwich with goat’s cheese

Wildflower and honey cheese cake

Please accept our apology if your first choice
is not available.

Club Kitchen
Should you wake up and feel hungry during the
night, we have a selection of tasty treats including
crisps, chocolates and biscuits available in the
galley area for you to choose from.

Please ask our crew for a drink from the bar,
or you may wish to enjoy a hot drink. We have
a choice of tea and freshly ground coffee.
We also offer a selection of herbal teas.

Prior to Arrival

We will be serving you a light breakfast
approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes
before our arrival into London City.

Chilled fruit juice
An energising fruit smoothie
Fresh seasonal fruit

or
Special K with dried berries
Warm bacon roll served with tomato ketchup
Selection of warm breads and breakfast pastries
Your choice of coffee or tea

City Breakfast

If you wish to maximise your sleep during the
night, we won’t wake you up if we see you are
still sleeping soundly. When you do wake up,
we have our City Breakfast option available up
until 20 minutes before landing, which you can
eat on descent or on your journey into the office.

Chilled fruit juice

Fresh fruit

Breakfast pastries

Here’s the wine list:

Wines

Please ask your crew to advise you of the choices
available on today’s service.

Champagne Cocktail
Kir Royale
Crème de Cassis gives this cocktail its distinctive taste
Buck’s Fizz
Crisp, dry Champagne and naturally sweet orange juice

Champagne
Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top
Generous nose, with toasty and buttery aromas
Ayala Brut Majeur NV Champagne
Elegant and lively, with delicate fresh and fruity notes

White
Terra do Gargalo 2007 Monterrei
Intensely flavoured with lemon, lime and apple
Marmesa Vineyards Chardonnay 2006, Edna Valley
Appetising and dry, with an aroma of white peaches
Château de Rully 2007, Rully
Lemony, smoky and taut
Arboleda Coastal Sauvignon Blanc 2008
A super-refreshing dry white

Red
Montes Alpha Syrah 2006
Flavours of spice and blackberries, rounded off
by soft, silky oak tannins
Château Bournac 2005
Pretty and succulent, from an outstanding vintage
La Haute Marone 2007, Gigondas
Essence of spicy Grenache, intense and full-bodied
J. Lohr, Los Osos Merlot 2006, Paso Robles
Scented, rich blend from California’s Central Coast

A selection of traditional and modern drinks
to suit all tastes

There will be a complimentary bar available
serving alcoholic beverages and soft drinks.

And here’s the menu for the London to New York flight:

Welcome aboard this Club World
London City service to New York.

British Airways is proud to be working
in collaboration with Roast to design
and develop your onboard menu today.

Roast is a popular restaurant drawing on
the best of Britain’s seasonal produce and
cooking traditions set in a landmark building
in London’s oldest surviving food market,
Borough Market, just by London Bridge.

We have created a dynamic food development
team combining the years of inflight catering
experience of British Airways with Roast’s
head cook, Lawrence Keogh.

As a British airline passionate about food,
we are delighted to embrace Roast’s food
development philosophy. Using British
ingredients wherever we can, placing
emphasis on the sourcing and provenance
of products, we intend to explore dishes
and recipes that also highlight seasonality.

From succulent spit roasts and deeply
flavoured puddings cooked over days,
to organically grown salad leaves that have
real taste, British cooking can rightly take
its place on the international stage.

We have the great pleasure of taking this
philosophy and bringing it to life for you
to enjoy onboard today.

All paper used for menu production is made
from an environmentally friendly source
from sustainable forests.

London City – Shannon

Shortly after take off, we will be serving
you an appetiser and drink service on
our short journey to Shannon.

Appetiser

Welsh Carmarthen ham with Cox’s
apple potato salad with pea shoot

Shannon – New York

Shortly after take off, whilst we prepare
your lunch order, we will be offering you
a selection of drinks from the bar to
enjoy with your meal.

Lunch

Dedham Vale Farm fillet of beef with
Scottish girolles and Madeira sauce

British corn-fed chicken
cooked in a Somerset cider sauce

Grilled sea bass served with
a roasted fennel and caper dressing

Penne pasta in a courgette
and aubergine tomato sauce
with chestnut mushrooms
and Berkswell cheese

Inverawe smoked salmon and prawns
with new potato and horseradish salad

We apologise if your first choice is not available.
For allergen information, please ask your crew for more details.

Dessert and Liqueurs

We will be pleased to offer you
a liqueur to savour with your chosen
dessert option.

Eton mess

Cornish Yarg and Cropwell Bishop
Stilton with Bath Oliver and Orkney
oat biscuits

Working Lunch

If you prefer to eat later whilst you
finish off some work, we will be
happy to serve you a main meal salad
together with your choice of dessert
from the lunch menu.

Inverawe smoked salmon and prawns
with new potato and horseradish salad

Club Kitchen

After lunch, please help yourself
to a selection of tasty treats including
crisps, chocolates and biscuits
available in the forward galley area
for you to choose from.

Drinks are available throughout
the flight.

Afternoon Tea

We will be serving a traditional
British afternoon tea service
approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes
before our arrival into New York.

Sandwich Selection

Roast beef with horseradish cream
and beetroot chutney

Smoked salmon with cream cheese

Mature English farmhouse Cheddar
with tomato

or

Laverstoke Park Buffalo Mozzarella
with roasted figs and Port reduction

A selection of plain and sultana
scones served warm with English
preserves and Cornish clotted cream

Afternoon Tea cake selection
of coffee éclair and lemon tart

Drinks

Tea, ground coffee
or decaffeinated coffee

Selection of herbal teas
includes green tea with jasmine,
peppermint, blackcurrant
and camomile with honey

[VintageKrug]

Looking forward to lunch.

Check in handled smoothly. Extra friendly security staff and a dedicated channel, which is a nice touch.

Alas slightly delayed as the engines are feeling unwell. They did call me personally and let me know, which I thought was excellent service.

A text might have been more efficient, though.

More soon.

[Author]

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