Tier Point Run to San Jose in Nov 2023: Day 2 – London Heathrow LHR to New York JFK

By Nige on Thu 09 Nov 2023 at 18:39
Type: Post
Story: Tier Point Run to San Jose in Nov 2023
Tags: British Airways | JFK | LHR | London | New York | USA

I was greeted at TFW with a huge queue to get into security. BA were only allowing paper boarding cards, so there was obviously an IT problem somewhere.

Apparently it was an airport security system issue rather than a BA IT issue.

There was a double passport and boarding card check required to get into the security area.

About 25 mins from deboarding the Dublin flight to getting into the CCR. Nice to be safely back, ready for my flight to JFK.

Unsurprisingly, the CCR was a little busier than earlier today. However, I was still able to find a seat.

My second celeb spot of the day! I saw the Duchess of York, looking slightly older than I remember her, together with two ladies-that-lunch types. They were heading out onto the terrace for (I guess) a spot of lunch!

My flight to JFK was due to leave from Gate C64. There was a warning earlier that it may gave been a bus gate, but thankfully, that horror wasn’t realised.

Flight: BA0177 Equip: 777-200
Sched Depart: 12:55 Actual: 13:10
Sched Arrival: 16:10 Actual: 16:19
Takeoff: 13:34 Landing: 16:01

I ambled down to the C gates via the transit walkway. Some of the travelators were out of action but its always nice to stretch ones legs.

I arrived at Gate C64 just as they announced boarding for groups 0 and 1. Why would they do that? It fundamentally disrespects those passengers that have qualified to be in Group 0 (including me)!

We were allowed downstairs, where we waited patiently to board. A few of us stepped into the security check zone and were told off.

Once we were allowed onto the jet bridge, there were three doors. One was open but was quickly closed when I approached. I was then advised that door B would be available to first-class passengers! Fab!

Finally, onboard and into seat 01A. I was provided with a glass of LPGS, a wash bag, and some water.

With it being one of the 777-200 aircraft, it comprised the old first class suite with the new Club World suite. The comparison between the two is stark.

I got a call from the Vickster who was in some pain from her back. She got some relief from the trolley she was leaning on in Sainsburys. Poor girl.

As I was munching through my bowl of nuts, we got the classic announcement about there being a passenger on board suffering from a nut allergy, and it would be appreciated if noone ate any nuts! You just can’t write a script any better than this!

The amuse bouche was the standard affair. It was nice (as always) and it did exactly what it was supposed to do – I was looking forward to the next course!

I ordered the soufflé as my starter. This was beautiful – it was as light as a feather. One of the best BA starters I think I have ever had.

Lamb was the obvious choice as a main course. I’d had the lamb on our last flight to Boston. It was ok, but nothing special.

The lamb chops were well cooked and the lamb ‘mess’ was fairly tasty too.

The potatoes and veg were well cooked. So overall, it was a half-decent main course.

I ordered the crepe suzette as my desert, which was very nice. It was beautifully sweet, tart with oranges with the lovely texture of the pancakes.

I uncovered a problem with wifi – I lost connection after about an hour and I couldn’t re-establish a new connection. The system insisted that I needed to pay. I sent an email requesting a refund.

After that, the wifi was fine. So not sure what was going on initially.

I spent the initial phase of the flight watching Zodiac again. If it’s the only film you fancy in a limited catalogue, what am I supposed to do?

During the flight, I must have spent almost two hours exchanging messages with Vick about our new ensuite and the positioning of sinks, lights and doors.

In the end we agreed a clear set of discussion point for Vick to raise with Mark in the morning.

Then it was time for afternoon tea!

We were heading towards sunset as we landed, so it created some lovely opportunities for photos in the dimming sunlight, with sky lit up with beautiful colours.

We arrived into T8 Gate 18. We had the normal delay for the jet bridge to be “driven” to the right position for attaching to the aircraft.

Global Entry worked flawlessly as normal. The kiosks just identify you based on “facial rec” as we continually hear on FBI.

A few mins later and I was in the First Class check in area, asking for an AA boarding pass for my flight to Los Angeles.

Follow the whole story here: Tier Point Run to San Jose in Nov 2023