Flight: British Airways BA245

Departure airport: Heathrow (LHR)

Arrival airport: Buenos Aires (EZE)

Aircraft: B777-200ER

Date: 21st September 2016

ETD: 2225hr

Check-In: I arrived 2 hours early for my 2225hr flight from Heathrow Terminal 5, headed straight to First Class zone (I am a BA Gold Executive member) at the far end where British Airways premium passengers can check in. For some reason, the queue was too long but the lady at the front desk managed to check me in without having me to join the queue. I have a small luggage, after checking my passport, she tagged my luggage & took it straight to the check in counter with me still at the front desk! What a service. Took me less than five minutes to check in! She checked me in straight to Santiago via Buenos Aires.  I joined the fast track queue which took me about 3 minutes to get through. I was on the airside within 10 minutes of arriving at the airport. Now, that was a rarity! 🙂

I went straight to the BA First Lounge and spent about an hour there, had some complimentary champagne before I headed to the gate at B34 via the airtrain.

Boarding: Boarding was according to class. Since this flight only has 3 classes (Club World, Premium Economy and Economy), I was boarded first. I was greeted by my name which is always nice, “Welcome back Dr Mahadi”. Some people might think this is nothing, but I like that. Its all about the little things you see. I was shown to my seat (2A) by the stewardess and she offered me a glass of bubbly.  The plane pushed back on time.

The Seat: Club World in this BA 777-200ER has 7 rows with the last 2 rows separated by a galley. Each row has 6 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration (here). It was a lie flat seat and to some extent can be  quite comfortable but it was not exactly my favourite to be honest. I like the reverse Herringbone 1-2-1 configurations e.g. Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways etc. British Airways pioneered the lie flat seat in long haul business class. Now, they have competitions from all over the world especially the Middle Eastern 3 (Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad) with better prices and better offerings.

My seat was an aisle, forward facing seat at the front with extra legroom. I like this seat because there is no interruption from the passenger accessing the window seat, so no stranger climbing over my feet! I have an extra small area for my belongings at the front left (behind 1A), due to the fact that my seat was facing the wall.

The Flight: After take-off, the orders were taken for dinner. I chose the smoked salmon with horseradish cream to start with, followed by seared fillet of beef. Both courses were tasty and I really enjoyed my beef- medium to well. There were a selection of wines and champagnes but i decided to have water (I know!) to keep me hydrated throughout the 13.5hrs flight to Buenos Aires. After watching a movie, I decided to sleep. I woke up just before breakfast was served. I had fruit and nut granola, followed by smoked salmon with asparagus, scrambled egg muffin & Hollandaise sauce. I did not finish my breakfast as I was still full from dinner. Clean-up was done about 45mins before landing.

Arrival: I arrived 7mins earlier than expected and I made my way to the departure lounge for my next leg to Santiago de Chile.

Verdict: The 13.5 hours trip was pleasant enough and I really enjoy the journey. The timing of departure and arrival were perfect and I arrived in Buenos Aires just after breakfast and I had plenty of time for my next flight to Santiago. There was nothing to shout about regarding the seats apart from they served the purpose. You can get better offerings from other airlines with better configurations and competitive ticket prices. All in all, as expected from BA, to serve and to fly.