BA Y to Europe - Runs, Floods, War and Wine

[yflyer]

After lunch, I spent a few hours in the afternoon at the Imperial War Museum. There are in fact several IWM's. This is the one in London, a short walk from Lambeth North tube station.

This museum is open 10am-6pm daily, and is located not all that far from Big Ben and the London Eye.



This had been on my to-do list for a while.

This museum closed in 2013 for renovations, and recently reopened in 2014 with a new layout and exhibits.

Huge 15 inch naval guns at the entrance…





A stunning atrium display, with a Spitfire, Harrier and German V1/V2 rockets, and many other war artifacts arrayed before you.



What first struck me was that the Harrier wasn’t much larger than the Spitfire.

Starting from the bottom floors, the exhibits started in chronological order, with a very impressive display of WW1 artifacts and weaponry…





Recreations of those wretched WW1 trenches…





And heading up each level, you moved on to more modern conflicts, including WW2, with a real Lancaster Bomber cockpit (Very cramped!)…



And several artifacts from modern conflicts as well, including a Harrier Jump Jet, which could be viewed up close from the upper floors.



There was also a Holocaust section, a very moving and horrifying exhibit, not recommended for young children, and where photo taking is prohibited.

There is also a book store and gift shop with a very large selection of books and souvenirs. Admission to the main exhibits is free, although there are sometimes paid exhibition sections, and donation boxes for those who wish to leave a small donation.

The museum can probably be covered in 2-3 hours. Definitely worth the time if you are into military history.

To be continued...

[yflyer]

I headed back to Heathrow T5. I already had my LHR-SIN boarding pass issued in CDG, where I started out that morning, so I went straight through fast track immigration into the T5 airside area, and headed to the BA Galleries North Lounge, at the other end of the T5 from the BA Galleries South Lounge where I had breakfast when I first arrived in London a week ago.



This is not as large as the huge BA Galleries South Lounge, but is still very spacious.

Large dining / refreshment area close to the entrance.





…and seating further in.



Kettle Chips arrayed above the display of red and white wines…



Quite a few different new and old world wines offered…an impressively varied selection.







Cold cuts…



Salads…

[yflyer]

Two different soups, although they were both spicy vegetable soups –- not as much contrast between the two as one would expect.



And a very decent selection of satisfying hot mains…including chicken curry, chilli con carne, and other stews, along with rice, baked potatoes and penne pasta.





Elsewhere in the lounge, a self service bar…



…with great runway views…



The day’s SQ318 arriving from Singapore…



Some of the beverages on offer…





I decided on a shower before my flight…

Well equipped showers, and no queue that day, although the stylistic theme in the bathroom was closer to “General Hospital” than “Five Star Hotel”.



That said, the shower was quite impressive, worthy of a high end spa facility.

[yflyer]

I headed to the gate in the C satellite in T5. The gate that day was C64.

Here is an easy travel hack: If you have just come up the escalator from the people mover at the T5 C gates and need to get to gates like C64, don’t follow the signs and make a big loop through the whole satellite terminal to reach your gate. Just cut right across through the shops to the other side. C64 is just steps away. The signs direct you right around the terminal because you obviously don’t want the entire hoard of passengers cutting through the shop to take a shortcut to the gate, but you and I know that there is a shorter way.



BA15 is operated by a 77W.



I passed the BA Club World (Business Class) cabin as I boarded. This is in a fairly dense 2-4-2 layout, with forward/backward lie flat seats.



Aisle seat.



Pair of middle seats, which face backwards.



Premium Y, in 2-4-2.

[yflyer]

Economy cabin, in 3-3-3.

First row of Y…first row is a 2 seater, which means the 2nd row window-side aisle seat has loads of legroom.



Economy class 2nd cabin.



Rear seats. Lots of legroom there. The very last two were used as crew rest during the flight, with curtains draped round.



Recline was ok (Only the seat back moves, not the base.)



Seat pitch was fine, and largely unobstructed legroom, although the IFE boxes were not very elegant looking.



Blanket, small pillow, toothbrush and earbud headphones.



AC Power.



BA doesn’t offer inflight wifi, which I am beginning to get used to on flights. I did miss having WhatsApp or internet on the daytime segments of the flight.



Flight time from London to Singapore was 12 hours 47 minutes (Not 13:47 as shown in the Airshow display).

As this was late spring and approaching summer, daylight hours were long. The sun only began to set close to 10pm…



Decent cabin ambience, as it was a 9-abreast Y layout. Not as open and warm as SQ’s 77W or 77WN economy cabin, though.

[yflyer]

BA has a unique meal feature for economy class. Rather than opt for the complimentary Y meals, which are on the basic side, for certain routes, out of destinations like LHR, you can pre-order an “enhanced” “gourmet” Y meal, for between SGD 20-35. This is available for the 1st meal service only, and offers choices such as “Gourmet” with beef cheek, “Taste of Britain” with pork loin, and “Taste of the Far East” etc.

I pre-ordered one of these, “Taste of Britain” for SGD 26.

My meal was served as part of the special orders stage of meal service, in other words, I was one of the first to receive my meal.



Wow.

Real glassware, ceramic main course casserole and real china coffee cup, cloth napkin and metal cutlery.

This was closer to J than Y, and better than what many airlines offer in Premium Y (Including SQ).



I was impressed. They didn’t offer any beverages to go with the meal at the point they brought the tray, but I asked for a white wine, and was given a bottle.

A beautifully presented smoked salmon starter, which tasted as good as it looked.



The main course was tasty as well. A beautifully presented portion of pork loin with vegetables and mash. The portion was generous and the pork tasted good (The only caveat I had was that there was no pork crackling, but that may be an Asian preference.).



I ate my pork loin while sipping sauvignon blanc from real glassware. A dining experience almost as good as Business Class.



Dessert was good too.

All in all, I was quite bowled over by the quality of this “enhanced” meal, which was quite a contrast to the tasty but fairly basic BA Y catering.

This is a real innovation in Y, for which SQ or almost any other airline I know of has no equivalent in Y. It certainly elevates the Y dining experience to a new level.

I would certainly order this “enhanced” meal again. Note that the meal ordering is done online via the BA portal, and the system doesn’t understand flight schedule changes or ticket reissues too well, so only book and pay for your meal if you are sure you are on that flight, otherwise there is a fairly cumbersome refund process to go through.

[yflyer]

I went to sleep and woke up many hours later over India.

I headed to the rear galley where a snack box filled with chips, chocolate and biscuits were laid out, and helped myself to Walker’s Shortbread. I also asked for a coffee which was served to me in a paper cup (I wish I kept the real china coffee cup from my first meal service!).



90 minutes before landing, breakfast was served.



This was the regular Y breakfast. It is only possible to order one “enhanced” meal offering per flight.

I had the regular Y breakfast (Choice of two egg based dishes.), and opted for the full English.

[yflyer]

Cloudy day over the East Coast of Malaysia as we approached Singapore.





The mouth of the Pahang River, which at 459km is the longest river in the Malaysian peninsula.



Dusk as we flew down the coastline towards Singapore…



…a view of Pulau Ubin before landing on runway 20R…



Over Changi Beach Park, close to Changi Village…





Ultra-smooth landing, in typical 777 fashion…



Parked at T1…



…next to a BA380...a final glimpse of the whale before I headed home...

[yflyer]

Parting thoughts?

- The runs through Rome and Paris were great. I would highly recommend doing so, both for the exercise, and also just to get a feel for the scale of these great cities. You have a much better sense of how a city is laid out if you are going around on foot, compared to taking the subway, for example.

- A day-long transit stop in London can be a lot of fun.

- BA’s enhanced meal pre-order service in Y is a winner – do give it a try.



Thanks for reading!

[banoffi]

Thanks for the TR! Really enjoyed reading the part about Paris, although am not headed there anytime soon...

How would you compare SQ Y to BA Y for a trip to London?

Do you think the SQ or BA PE is worth the splurge for a 12 hour flight?

[yflyer]

Thanks for the TR! Really enjoyed reading the part about Paris, although am not headed there anytime soon...

Thanks, banoffi! I am just glad I went before the football started. Probably busier now!

How would you compare SQ Y to BA Y for a trip to London?

Do you think the SQ or BA PE is worth the splurge for a 12 hour flight?

SQ Y remains the best, but BA Y on this sector is pretty good too. I am quite happy to travel to London or Europe on BA in Y.

On the SIN-LHR sector, BA uses their newest equipment (A380 or 77W) so the Y hard product is very modern.

The main difference is that SQ offers wifi (for a fee) onboard, and BA doesn't.

SQ Y catering is also better. (Unless you pay extra for a gourmet / enhanced meal on BA, available on the LHR-SIN sector).

I think PEY on BA and SQ are pretty much on par. Both are definitely much more comfortable ways to travel than Y.

On BA, I think being in PEY gives you a slightly better chance of being upgraded to J if the flight is full. Definitely a better chance of an op-up in PEY if you are a BA or Oneworld FF. I guess whether or not to fly PEY would depend on the price difference. There are sometimes very good promotions on BA for PEY.

BA also offer paid upgrades to PEY (and J) at check-in, which may also be good value.

For more on the differences between SQ and BA Y, check out these TRs on SQ Y on the SIN-LHR-SIN sector (Here and here) and BA Y on the A380

[Tonitan]

I remembered KLM also offered a gourmet menu for purchase ex-AMS. Was travelling from Amsterdam to Paramaribo and there was a wide section available for pre-flight purchase. Price wise was pretty similar to BA and Flying Blue members have the option to pay for their upgraded meals via miles. Not sure if they still do offer this service as I do not have the opportunity to travel with them since.

[CarbonMan]

Thanks, yflyer, great TR with great pics!

Was in Italy for a couple of weeks in May - a great place to chill and eat.

[icn.sg]

yflyer,

Lovely report again.

Am envious that your coverage is global. Earning status is a much quicker process. I''m limited to APAC, with the occasional long haul back to headquarters... retaining Gold status is near impossible unless I travel every week... which I avoid.

Equally envious that you've learned the art of putting aside work and finding time to slow down, take in the sights, experience the cities you travel to. I've a lot to learn from you. I tend to keep my trips short, pack each day with meetings. Always end up working into the night in my hotel room and feeling exhausted at the end of each trip. Then again, where I travel, it's usually polluted streets, crazy traffic and humid weather. There's less motivation to roam.

How are the loads on BA's SIN-LHR-SIN flights? You've some nice shots of the touch-down in SIN even though you were originally seated in the center block of seats. Were there many empty seats?

[yflyer]

I remembered KLM also offered a gourmet menu for purchase ex-AMS. Was travelling from Amsterdam to Paramaribo and there was a wide section available for pre-flight purchase. Price wise was pretty similar to BA and Flying Blue members have the option to pay for their upgraded meals via miles. Not sure if they still do offer this service as I do not have the opportunity to travel with them since.

Thanks for the info, Tonitan! I didn't know KLM used to offer this as well. Wonder if they still do.

It is a very good idea (Not too different from what budget airlines do for meal pre-orders). I hope SQ introduces something like this.