London and Toronto on BA's 77W and 787 Dreamliner

[yflyer]

The cabin crew came round to take orders for lunch...













Once again, the wine list was not long, but the wines I had were truly excellent selections. I would call out the Hahn Winery Pinot Noir (California, USA) for special mention. It was a truly remarkable wine, a lot more full bodied than your typical Pinot Noir, and one that tasted superb at cruising altitude.

[yflyer]

I started with a glass of the Chateau Guiraud...



And opted for the Scottish Smoked Salmon main course...



...which was served on a tray covered with a tablecloth, passed over the lowered privacy partition. I mention this because this is the only quirk of the BA layout that I think slightly detracts from the otherwise good meal service: Whenever someone in the middle seat is served, the fellow in the aisle seat will have a tray / plate / cup passed in front of him, over his tray table. Not to mention the frequent raising and lowering of the privacy partition.

The salad and salmon were both delicious.





My next wine was the Hahn Winery Pinot Noir. A uniquely dark and full-bodied pinot noir that reminded me more of a Shiraz or Merlot than a Pinot. One of the best wines I have had inflight.



As previously mentioned, I always feel compelled to order the beef course just to see how well an airline can do an inflight steak.







This was a pre-plated main on a smallish casserole. Although not as pretty looking as the individually plated SQ mains, this was quite tasty.

But I do appreciate individually plated mains, and this is where SQ's J meal service is far ahead. Everything on the BA casserole was of course heated to the same temperature, with the carrots cooked too soft. The flavour of the beef fillet was fine though, as long as you didn't mind your meat well done.

I had the lemon and raspberry tart for dessert, which was also very good.



Cheese on BA is better than SQ.



There was also ice cream in a choice of two flavours.

[yflyer]

We ended with chocolate...



And coffee, which was served in homely, large, mugs.



And if you were still hungry, there was a snack bar in the galley for you to help yourself to snacks.

[yflyer]

After lunch, most of the pax began to dim the window shades as it was very sunny outside.

[yflyer]

Here is a view of the seat in lie-flat mode...

[yflyer]

I took some time to explore the programmes offered on the IFE.





Apart from hollywood hits, and new movies/music/television, what I liked about BA was the fact that they also presented many older movies and educational/historical features, including a large selection of BA features and archival footage.

There was a particularly good James Bond selection on this flight, starring all of the actors who played this role, Connery, Moore, Lazenby (!), Brosnan and of course Daniel Craig.

[yflyer]

There were quite a few videos produced by BA, both current product features, for example, on their approach to catering...



As well as videos showcasing the rich heritage and history of BA, including Concord, VC10 and an earlier age of travel.



The picture below of the Concord Flight Engineer's panel just shows how far we have come in terms of technology, even if the style of headphones used then is now back in fashion...

[yflyer]

No comments necessary for the next 3 pictures, except maybe "that's a nice flower...".







The famous auto-shut toilet seat cover. Interestingly, on both the JAL and BA Dreamliners, the auto-shut did not work 100% of the time. Sometimes it needed a little nudge for encouragement...

[yflyer]

Before afternoon tea was served, I took a stroll back to the rear of the plane to stretch my legs.

This was a full flight, but everyone seemed very comfortable. The cabin crew were chatty and in top form in all cabins, obviously very proud of the fact that they were on one of BA's newest and most high-profile aircraft.





To be continued...

[yflyer]

It was time for afternoon tea.

This comprised a selection of sandwiches and a scone. The sandwiches came wrapped in plastic, which I unwrapped for the picture.



By then we were flying over Canada. The Flight Information Display / Moving Map on the BA 787 (and 77W) showed a lot of geographical detail. The modeling of the aircraft graphic was also quite accurate.





The pilot announced: "20 minutes to arrival", and that was when the cabin crew prepared the cabin for landing. I am quite impressed that BA has fine-tuned the art of prepping the cabin for arrival into something that can be accomplished in 20 minutes, not the more typical 30-45 minutes that SQ need to 'close shop'.

It was a clear afternoon as we descended, and we were treated to wonderful views of Toronto as we approached Toronto Pearson airport to land.



The picture above gives an idea of how spread-out YYZ is. We had to walk this far after deplaning, (the BA 787 is the furthest plane in the picture) and we were still not at immigration.

[yflyer]

I love flying on the 787.

The Dreamliner has had a difficult entry into service, with many highly publicised, even over-sensationalised, incidents including a long grounding. No smoking batteries, crimped wires, missing engine oil filters this time, though. A post of yflyer coming down an emergency slide will have to wait...perhaps a future TR

If the 787 teething problems can be overcome I am sure that this plane will become a favourite with passengers. And it appears that great progress is being made on that front. Certainly BA seem to be having a smooth introduction of the type, and my flight was near-flawless from an operational perspective.

This was my second flight on a Dreamliner. My first was with JAL in economy, and I felt that set the standard for economy longhaul comfort. For more on the earlier flight, check out JAL 787 Dreamliner TR

For BA Club World on the 787, I found the seat and overall cabin ambience to be excellent, better than the 77W and 747. Service was warm and efficient, All they need to do is raise the quality/presentation of their main course (Larger portions, perhaps individually plated) during meal service and they would get full marks from me in that department as well.

I think the BA Club World hard product has evolved into something quite outstanding on the 787.

I don't get many opportunities to travel to Toronto, but if I do, I would love to do it on BA's Dreamliner again.

Thanks for reading!

[CarbonMan]

Great TR and pics yflyer! Many thanks!

[yflyer]

Great TR and pics yflyer! Many thanks!

You are welcome and thanks for reading!

[Handiman]

Dear Yflyer, its a very very awesome TR and Thanks for that stunning view of the wing and horizon

[yflyer]

As an epilogue to this TR, I thought I would also share some impressions of Toronto. I was there for work, but did spend a little time to enjoy this beautiful city, and the outdoors.

The weather was mild when I was there, so between meetings I spent a little time jogging around the city, and along the shore of Lake Ontario.

I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, close to the CN Tower, Rogers Stadium, and Lake Ontario.





I also had my first encounter with Major League Baseball while there. I had a dinner appointment with a colleague in Toronto, but when he heard that there was a baseball game that evening, the New York Yankees versus the Toronto Blue Jays, he suggested we go there instead, and I happily accepted.



At the stadium, it was easy to figure out which fans supported which team. Almost all supporters of the home team, the Blue Jays, wore blue. Their opponents that evening were the legendary team, the New York Yankees.

The atmosphere in Rogers Stadium was festive and high spirited.



I learnt that baseball games last around 3 hours (sometimes less, sometimes more). A lot longer than a soccer game, but time passed quickly. I also learnt that, as a spectator, you had to be very alert, as balls were hit into the stands with alarming frequency, and spectators could catch the balls and keep them as souvenirs (the guy sitting in front of me actually had a baseball mitt!) or you could be caught unawares and get hit by the ball, and believe me, it hits with some force!

I also made the connection between baseball and hot dogs (and beer!).



They were doing roaring business in F&B that evening. And the hot dogs were delicious!



That evening, the New York Yankees won 4-3, after trailing 0-3 until the 8th inning, where they turned the tables with 4 runs.



A highly enjoyable evening, and one of the cheapest business dinners I have ever had, at $11 dollars a hot dog.