Tier Point Run to San Francisco in Jan 2022: Day 2 – London LHR to New York JFK

T5 was nice and quiet at 5:15am and I was pleased to find The First Wing (TFW) open, so my progress through security was easy.  Although I noted that my liquids bag got picked up again.  I asked why that might be, but no real explanation was offered.

I got a warm welcome at the CCR and I was asked whether I wanted a drink almost immediately.  First thing I did was head out Millionaire’s Door and wandered up and down the terminal to see what was going on.  The answer was a resounding « not a lot at this time in the morning ».  Restaurants were opening up and starting to take in diners.  Shops were getting ready for the duty-free shoppers.  Starbucks was open but not very busy.  Pret (just next door) was mad busy.

Back into the CCR and I went in for breakfast – another top notch full English breakfast was enjoyed with a cappuccino to keep me happy ahead of picking up my Starbucks on the way down for my flight.  I assume it will probably leave from the B gates, so I look forward to a leisurely walk along the Transit Walkway.

From looking at the seat map on ExpertFlyer, I could see 2 seats free in First (out of 8) and only the small front cabin of Club World appeared to be in use.  No seats taken in the rear, larger CW cabin.  Looks like it might be a quiet flight – little chance of an upgrade into First!

Flight: BA0117 Equip: 777-200
Sched Depart: 08:25 Actual: 08:27
Sched Arrival: 11:25 Actual: 11:14
Takeoff: 08:43 Landing: 11:05

I left the CCR to head to Gate B37 via Starbucks at about an hour before departure.  Starbucks only had one queue open but it moved fairly briskly.  I was walking towards the lift about 5 mins later.  It was amazingly quiet in T5 today!

When I arrived at Gate B37, there were very few people waiting.  I asked at the gate as to whether I could switch seats, giving them the opportunity to upgrade me to First!  Unfortunately, they didn’t take that opportunity, but they did select me for pre-board security screening, which ultimately held me up getting on board.

On into seat 8K and I was ready to sit down and relax – it had been a long day already.  I was offered a glass of champagne and a vanity bag. All the basics were ticked off fairly quickly.

We pushed back on time and within 15 mins or so, we were on the runway. I chose banana pancakes for breakfast as a change.  Pretty tasty for a BA breakfast!

I had a nap for about 45 mins – that’s all I could manage.  It was pretty cold on the aircraft and the blankets were thin.  It wasn’t terribly conducive for sleep.

I watched 4 episodes of Bosch Season 6 which took me to the conclusion of that season.  Just series 7 to go. Will pick that up at a later date!

As a snack, I ordered the pasty which was the ultimate disappointment.  It was cool (neither hot nor cold) with hard pastry and very little filling.  It was a decent colour, but that’s about as much as you could say about it.

We arrived into Gate 9 at JFK T7 and luckily the jet bridge was parked at door 2L, which meant that I was off first.  Unfortunately, the Global Entry kiosk didn’t work again.  I suspect there might be a problem with my passport, since this is becoming a common theme at both UK and the US border control.

A lovely young lady (actually she must have been 60+) called out my name and confirmed that I was having problems with Global Entry and asked me to follow her.  There was no one at border control, so I was seen fairly quickly by a border control agent, who processed me quickly enough.

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