Tier Point Run to Hawaii in Dec 2022: Day 2 – London (LHR) to New York (JFK)

No can-do on the eGates front, but no material delay in getting landside. The First Wing (TFW) was empty and there was no real queue for TFW security either with both scanners in action (for a change).

Back into the CCR and I dumped my stuff in my normal seat. Then I headed straight out to Starbucks. I considered getting breakfast but unusually for me I decided I really didn’t need the extra calories. However, I really needed my caffeine fix!

There was minimal queuing required at Starbucks. I had to hold my tongue when two American ladies were umming and ahing as to which queue to join. They chose the wrong one, which was obvious based on the number of colleagues that were serving on each side. There were 3 on the left-hand side and only 1 on the right-hand side. Easy for me to point this sort of thing out, but I am sure I have been in their position in the past!

My flight to JFK was due to leave from Gate B48 so I headed down to the B Gates lounge via the Transit Walkway, so that I could ask Customer Assistance (located in that lounge) to check my AA sectors for me. In fact they did better than that – they checked me in and printed out both of my AA boarding passes. Result.

Gate B48 was fairly busy when I got there but I wangled my way to the front of the Group 1 unofficial boarding queue. We started boarding about 10 mins later.

On into seat 03E, which is one of the middle seats. It was old first, which is a bit pants to be honest, but I guess that was a first world problem! However, that wasn’t going to be much of a problem for too much longer. Read on for an explanation!

Got my first glass of LPGS some nuts and a washbag. What more does a man want? A window seat perchance? Well, after it was announced that boarding was complete with only 5 out of 8 seats in First Class occupied, I was invited to move to 02K. Another result!

A cold wet towel was provided at my new seat. I’m sure they are supposed to be hot? However, it was refreshing. I was also provided with a menu and advised that the Indian chicken dish has been replaced by a turkey dinner with all the trimmings! Christmas dinner number 2! The great results keep on flowing!

Although we were all boarded ahead of schedule, the captain announced that loading of bags/cargo would take an extra 15 mins. So much for me thinking we would get away on time for a change. I joked with the attendant assigned to my side of the cabin how much we have both been hoping that one day one of our BA flights actually gets away on time!

We pushed back about 45 mins late and it took what seemed to be an eternity to reach the runway. However, it was good to get up into the air on my way to New York. The delay wasn’t going to cause me too many problems, since I had a good 3 hours at JFK.

I started watching Firestarter on the very old IFE, but the IFE just hung for some reason – it clearly needed to be rebooted. After a bit of messing, the cabin crew sorted the issue out and about 10 mins later I was watching my movie.

Next there was a problem with WIFI. I could connect to the BA on-board hub, but it would not connect to the satellite. That took at least 30 mins before that allowed me to connect to the Internet. Again, the cabin crew got it sorted in the end.

We finally got to the lunch service – I was pretty hungry by this point. The amuse bouche was served during all of the technical issues, so I didn’t really pay that much attention to them. The three small items were varied and tasty. Don’t ask me what they were; I have no idea!

Next up was my cold beef wellington which came with a tangy chutney. The combination was a delight.

My turkey dinner was pretty good as well. Especially since it came with all the trimmings. To be honest, the turkey looked a bit like a Bernard Matthews turkey roll, in terms of the shape. Shock, horror! However, the stuffing was nice; the roasties OK (but not a patch on Vick’s); the carrots nice and tender and I can never say a bad word about sprouts! At the same time, the LPGS was kept topped up along the way by very attentive cabin crew.

I didn’t manage to watch all of Firestarter all the way through. There were too many interruptions, but the impression I got was that it wasn’t much to write home about. Later I decided to watch The Duke with Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, which was an excellent, feel-good movie.

The bread and butter pudding that I ordered wasn’t a classic B&B pudding bit it was really nice. Nowhere near enough of the custard but there you go. I think chefs believe less is more. But we all know that is complete codswallop!

Apparently, they load 6 or 7 bottles of LPGS on each trip to JFK and it needs to cover the return flight as well. For proper holiday destinations like Bermuda and Dubai, apparently they try and close the bar as early as they can (on the outbound sector) to protect the supplies for the return trip. That’s due to holidaymakers being more likely to be drinking heavily compared to executive-types that fly on business routes. Interesting facts gleaned from the cabin crew!

I managed to get 90 mins in bed which I think was a decent effort. I think I woke due to being a tad too warm. I had to ask for a bottle of water since none had been handed out. I needed some water to offset against all of the LPGS I had been drinking.

I also noticed the socket power wasn’t providing any power even though the green light was on. The USB sockets were also giving out minimal power. Such that it would take my phone 8 hours to charge to full from 40%. That can’t be right.

So lots of issues on this flight, but the cabin crew did their best to keep things moving along.

This was the first time for me arriving with BA into T8, with them having recently joined forces with AA and closing down their own hub in T7. I was planning to try out the new Chelsea lounge and possibly the Soho lounge as well, whilst I wait for my next flight to LAX.

I turned down the opportunity of the second meal on the flight on the basis I would see what was available in the Chelsea lounge at T8. Interestingly, the options for the second meal onboard were the same as back in Nov, when I chose the Caesar salad, followed by the katsu burger. They were tasty!

I did, however, order a pot of tea and some biscuits, just to keep the wolf from the door.

Final approach into JFK was over the Atlantic as normal. Landing was pretty bumpy, followed by just over 10 mins taxiing before arriving into Gate 18 at T8. My phone took forever to connect to an American mobile network for some unknown reason and in the end I had to reboot my phone to kick it into action. Managed to have a quick chat with the Vickster before she turned off the light to go to sleep.

We deplaned from Door 2L as is usual. About the normal delay in getting the airbridge attached. But I was soon walking along the corridors of T8 heading towards landside USA.

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