European Holiday: First Time in First: America Airlines London to New York (JFK)

Introduction 
DCA - JFK
Radisson Martinique on Broadway 

JFK - Milan Maplensa 

Lake Como and Dinner in Milan

Park Hyatt Zurich

Zurich (Uetilberg Look Out and Lake Zurich Cruise)

Intercontinental Geneva 
Is it a Queen or a Double Bed? The DoubleTree Westminster  
The Hyatt Regency - The Churchill


After a great New Year's Eve in the Hyatt Regency - The Churchill we headed out around 6:30 a.m. to Heathrow for our 10:00 a.m. flight on American Airlines in First Class (The first time for both of us). We left the hotel and took a quick bus ride over to Paddington Station where we caught the Heathrow Express train which takes about15-minutes from London to the airport.

From there we headed to the Flagship check-in area which is located outside of the main departures check in area. When you reach the end of the terminal you head outside and to the left to a smaller more intimate check in area where someone pre screens your passport and checks your luggage. We were two of three people in the check in area so it went very fast!

Entrance to Flagship Check In

It was a short walk from there to the security area where we used a "fast pass" given to us at check in to reach what was supposed to be a faster security line. Instead we got behind a family of at least 20 travelers (half of them kids under 10) who must have stormed in right in front of us so we were slowed down for at least 20 minutes.

When we were finally through we headed to the airline lounge area which is located off of the main terminal area and down a side hallway. Just follow the signs to area "H" which contains the American Airlines Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge.

Flagship Lounge

I wish I could give you a great review of the Flagship Lounge and all of its added amenities....but when we checked in the agent behind the desk didn't even look at our tickets and directed us to the Admirals Club section of the lounge. We didn't realize it until we were on our way out to catch our flight and saw first class passengers being directed into the Flagship Lounge which is right by the entrance to the lounge. I was so disappointed, but there was nothing we could do about it by then!

The Admirals Club section of the lounge was still very nice. It had a great selection of coffee, juices, soft drinks, wines and liquor (even at 9:00 am). They also had a selection of breakfast items including cereal, yoghurt and pastries including possibly the most delicious bacon, egg and cheese sandwich I have ever had.

Needed the Coffee That Day

Snacks

AMAZING Bacon Sandwich

Wine and Liquor Stations

Seating Area

After having our fill in the lounge we headed to the gate area, which at Heathrow meant a long 15 to 20 minute walk. Once at the gate we had our passport and tickets checked at least 3 times and some people were pulled aside for additional screening. When boarding was called we were the first two on board and we were warmly welcomed by the crew and directed to our seats, 2J and 3J along the right side of the plane. The cabin of this Boeing 777 is laid out in a 1-2-1 cabin in First Class. Each seat along the wall had a view out of three different windows, which was awesome! The Flight Services Manager came over and introduced himself and upon seeing how excited we were and seeing us snapping pictures, asked if we wanted a picture together. He was so kind and continued to check in on us for all of the flight. After our picture he showed us how the seat could pivot into three different positions, first was the takeoff and landing straight ahead, second was a diagonal alignment that connected you to the ottoman that would make a full lie-flat bed when put in to that position and finally you could turn the seat completely to the window where there is a small desk that you can use while you enjoy the view. 

The ottoman had a pillow, duvet and blanket for relaxing and we were each offered a pair of AA's pajamas (which I had secretly been very excited about for the whole trip). They were bundled in an awesome draw string bag with the AA logo on them that will make them great to travel with in the future.

Seat 2J

Ottoman, Duvet and Pillow

We were then offered a welcome drink of champagne and any newspapers we wanted. By this point boarding was almost complete and while we thought we would be the only people in the cabin (as we were for the first 30 min) we were soon joined by a large crush of people who were moved up from business class and a few who had lagged from the lounge so First turned in full by the end. There were even two kids who got the bump up from business class and they treated it like it was old hat, I would have been bouncing off the walls as a kid! That's the other thing I noticed...everyone who moved up to first or came in from the lounge treated it as if they were just bored with first class. Many even refused a welcome drink, pajamas, amenity kit and a welcome from the crew saying they had been in this product many times. I think if I ever got to that point I would just not fly in First anymore. I get so excited every time I get on a plane, especially when not in coach, so maybe it was just because it was my first time in First Class...but come on...it's pretty cool!

Welcome Drink

Pajamas!!!!

Center Seat

After our welcome drink we pushed back and took a long taxi to the runway and about 20 minutes later we were off and heading toward the coast. We were offered a set of noise canceling headphones and I quickly plugged mine in, turned on some classical music, swung my chair to the window and enjoyed the view for the first hour of the flight.

Almost to the English Coast

View from the Seat Point to the Desk

After a bit the menus for lunch were offered and I moved back to Kelsey's Ottoman which has a seat belt on it so that those traveling together can have a face to face dinner or lunch together. It was one of the coolest "lunch dates" we have ever been on.

American has really been pushing their wine program heavily and on this flight we were not just given the choice of one wine...but instead offered a flight of ALL of the wines that they had on offer. We of course said yes and loosened the belt buckles for the lunch.

Front Menu Cover

Wine Program Description

Main Meal Menu

For lunch I went with a starter of grilled eggplant and goat cheese with a warm tomato relish and balsamic. After that was a sweet corn and butternut squash soup and a seasonal greens salad with balsamic pears, beets, almonds and blue cheese. For the main I went with the coriander lime chicken. 

Light Meal Offerings Before Landing

Champagne and White Wine

Reds

After we made our selections I had to snap a photo of the craziest place I have ever had lunch and the view of the Irish Coast.

Lunch With A View

The lunch started with a selection of mixed nuts which was followed by an amuse bouche...which I sadly don't remember (sorry!).

It was then followed by the wine flight which was served on a metal tray with the wine name and logo beneath each of them. It was so cool to do an actual wine tasting in the sky and to try all of the wines before settling on one for lunch, we both settled on the champagne in the end. 

After that came the eggplant and goat cheese starter which has to be my absolute favorite thing I have eaten on a plane (and maybe on the ground) ever. The eggplant was lightly grilled and had loads of flavor that was only enhanced with the salty and creamy goat cheese which was some of the best I have ever had. Seriously...they could have given me this for every course and I would have been in heaven.

This makes my mouth water just looking at it

After that was the soup which was sweet but had a little bit of a bite to it.

Finally the coriander lime chicken came and it was also very good. The chicken was very moist and cooked very well. The seasoning was delicious and the rice and veggies helped to bring the dish together, I was very impressed.

Then came time for the dessert....

I love love love United and Ameircan for both having an ice cream dish on the menu. It's so cool to have some ice cream with amazing toppings.

After that I laid the seat back and took a quick nap and watched some movies until our light meal of pizza, salad and a cookie that was served about an hour before landing.

A bumpy landing into JFK and we made the long taxi to the gate area and we were going to have more than enough time to make our connection until the captain overshot the gate and we had to wait 30 minutes for someone to come out and push us back past the gate so we could pull in again. By this time we were about an hour until our flight so we ran off the plane where we were given a "transfer" sheet which would get us into a fast pass type line at Customs. We got into that line and we were one of the first so we thought we would be through in no time. Boy were we wrong...There was only one agent working the fast pass lane and the oneworld agent that was supposed to help move the fast pass customers through the line was busy chatting him up! I kid you not...she sat there for at least 10-15 minutes talking to the Customs guy and wondered why everyone in the line trying to make a connection was pissed off at her when she finally realized she should stop talking. After no question from Customs, picking up our bags and rechecking them we headed upstairs to go through security once again. By the time we made it through security there was only 30 minutes or so until our flight so we hurried over to the gate where they were already boarding and we took our seats for the short flight back to Washington National and after a long week...we were home.



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Delta Interested in Singapore's 49 Percent Stake in Virgin Atlantic?

In this morning's Wall Street Journal is an interesting report that Delta is currently in talks with Singapore Airlines to buy their 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic. Singapore first purchased their stake in Virgin Atlantic in 1999 and the investment has failed to pan out for their bottom line, so it's not really a surprise that they are trying to get rid of it.

What is surprising is that Delta is the other airline that is interested in purchasing the stake. Analysts believe that the  reason Delta is angling to invest in Virgin Atlantic is to increase their gate options at London Heathrow so they can offer more flights to LHR and use Virgin Atlantic gates as a parking spot.

UPDATE: A more in-depth article is over at Marketplace that explains why Delta can only buy 49 percent, but European based Air France-KLM could take a controlling stake.

UPDATE 2 Tuesday Dec. 4: In this mornings WSJ was a great article on how more slots for Delta at Heathrow would fill a hole for the airline. 

London/Amsterdam Trip Report: Dulles Lounges and United IAD-LHR

Dulles Lounges and United Washington Dulles - London Heathrow
London Day One
London Day Two
London Day Three
London Day Four
Overnight Ferry London - Amsterdam
Amsterdam Day One
Amsterdam Day Two
Lufthansa Amsterdam-Frankfurt/Senator's Lounge Frankfurt/Lufthansa Frankfurt - Dulles


It was finally here!!! The trip that Kelsey and I have been waiting for since we booked the trip in April. You may remember that the trip was booked with a combination of the sign up bonuses from the United Mileage Explorer Visa Card and the Chase Sapphire Card.

The plan for our trip, as you may remember, was to spend four days in London and then take the train from London to Harwich, England where we would get on an overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland and then take a train to Amsterdam for two days before returning back to DC.

We started off our trip by heading from work out to Dulles for our 6:00 pm flight. I was really excited to get going so I made Kelsey leave extra early because I wanted to try out both the United Lounge in Terminal D where our flight was taking off from as well as the Lufthansa Senator's lounge in Terminal A. Remember that generally when traveling on a Star Alliance ticket internationally and in a premium class that you will have access to other Star Alliance lounges at the airport. Star Alliance has a great chart that shows you what lounges you have access to on your trip.

We left our apartment in Virginia and took the Metro to the West Falls Church station and boarded the Washington Flyer coach service which has direct service to Dulles in about 20 minutes. The transportation costs $10 each way or $18 round-trip. It arrives at each location about every 30 min or so.

After the short trip we pulled up to Dulles and headed to the United check-in desk. We were the only people in the BusinessFirst check-in line and headed directly to the kiosk to check our bags. Both of us were able to pack into a carry-on roller board bags, but we figured why drag it through the airport if we don't have to. The bags were checked and we headed down the stairs to the security area.

The line for the regular screening line was running at about a 5-10 min wait so we figured the shorter premium line would get us out in now time. Boy were we wrong. We hit two packed premium lines that crawwwlllleeddddd. About 20 min later we had cleared security and we were on our way to Terminal A.

After walking under the tarmac from the main terminal to Terminal A we turned right and came right up to the Lufthansa Senator Lounge/Business Lounge.

Outside the Lufthansa Senator Lounge/Business Lounge Dulles 

 We waited to be checked-in and handed our United tickets to the agent who directed us into the Senator's Lounge. The lounge is very nice looking with huge overstuffed armchairs and a set of barstools by the food section. This was our first experience in the lounge of a non-US based carrier so we were very very happy to see actual food on offer!

There was a few veggie plates, a set of bite sized sandwiches and my favorite.... bratwurst and sauerkraut. There was also a soda fountain and a few alcohol options. The alcohol was served by attendants who gladly took your drink to the seating area. I ordered an Octoberfest beer and Kelsey tried one of their white wines.

Lufthansa A330At the Gate

Food on Offer

Mmmmmm Bratwurst

 After getting our fill and enjoying the lounge for a bit we headed over to Terminal D to the United Lounge until our flight. We quickly realized that we should have stayed in the Lufthansa lounge a bit longer. The United lounge was huge....but it was packed with people waiting for their evening flights. Almost all of the three large seating areas were full and people were standing trying to find a seat.

The food offerings were much less exciting with the usual carrots, dressing, cheese and crackers on offer. Though Kelsey was happy to find her favorite trail mix with chocolate covered rasins in it. She always eats all the candy parts and leaves me the nuts and healthy items.

Finally the lounge started to clear as the evening flights started to be called and we were able to get a seat next to a tv and an outlet to give our phones one last charge.

When we got a seat we noticed that our flight, which was scheduled for 6:00 pm, was delayed until 6:30 because of "airport conditions" since it was clear and sunny outside we were a little confused so we went to ask the desk in the lounge. Luckily this was a good delay....the jet stream was so favorable over the Atlantic Ocean that if we left on time we would be really early and would not be able to land because Heathrow has a 6:00 am curfew and no planes can land before it. So, we used that as an excuse to get a few more snacks and have a drink before heading to the gate.

United Lounge Bar Area

One of the seating areas in the United Lounge

 The boarding area was relatively empty around 5:45 when we were called to board. I looked on the United app on my phone (Which you should get it you don't have it!) and noticed that while First and BusinessFirst were booked full there were almost 40 seats open in Economy and EconomyPlus.

First and BusinessFirst were called and we were the second group to board the airplane. We entered through door 2L and turned left to our seats 6J and 6K on United's Boeing 777-200 with the International lie flat configuration.

A pillow, duvet and headphones were waiting for us on our seats. We got settled in and took a few pictures (Hey, it was our first international business trip, we had to!) and were greeted by the BusinessFirst flight attendants who asked if we would like a beverage. We ordered champaign and it was delivered along with a a selection of British magazines. I grabbed the Times of London to catch up on the news. :)

BusinessFirst Seats 6J and 6K

My seat 

View of the In-Flight Entertainment from the seat

Seat Controls 

Pre-Flight Champaign

The plan was boarded quickly but that pesky Atlantic Ocean jet stream delayed our leaving by another 20 minutes, but we sure didn't mind. I have never been so excited to sit at the gate with a departure delay. After pushback we headed to the far runway at Dulles and took off right before the British Airways 747-400 also headed for Heathrow.

Flying in BusinessFirst was just like flying while lying down on the couch, I have never been quite that comfortable! We had a long climb through the intermittent clouds but the crew was up quickly to pass out menus and set our tables for dinner. With a 6 hour flight it was clear that they wanted to get us through dinner and sleeping.

BusinessFirst Menu

 We started with warmed nuts and a glass of the Burgans Albarino from Spain which was highly recommended by the flight attendant. He was brilliantly right, it was refreshing with a hint of green apple and just the right amount of dry flavor to match the sweet start. I got a new glass of it every chance I could. :)

Burgans Albarino and Nuts 

 The chilled appetizer was a pair of jumbo shrimp with a chili lime cocktail sauce. The salad was fresh and the mozzarella balls fresh and delicious.

Appetizer and Salad

For the main course I choose tenderloin of beef with asparagus and gnocci. The presentation was better than I have seen in most restaurants and the flavor from the beef was just as fresh as a steak house. You could have closed your eyes and it pictured yourself in an upscale steak house and seen the same meal. I was really surprised after so many rubber meals on an airplane.

But the best part was really the bread basket...I mean who could turn down warm pretzel bread!!

Main Course 

 Even though we were stuffed I knew that I needed to power through and try the cheese plate and sunday bar. (I did it for you guys....it's a hard job I know). The cheese course featured brie, a sharp cheddar and a goat cheese. The brie was soft and rich and matched brilliantly with the sharp cheddar which had a firm texture and a great flavor. The goat cheese was crumbly and had a nice kind of blue cheese flavor with just a hint of grass flavor. (I know...that appeals to some and turns others off haha).

Cheese Plate 

Finally the ice cream sunday cart came around and I selected some vanilla ice cream with some caramel and a cup of tea to go with it.  By this point we were two hours into the 6 hour flight and I knew I needed to get some sleep.

Ice Cream Sunday

I laid my bed down into the full lie flat position and managed to sleep for about two hours (I always struggle to fall asleep on planes). For the last few hours I watched a few episodes of tv and School of Rock on the entertainment system. I was really impressed with the selection, there were about 20 movies and 10 tv shows to choose from.

Kelsey on the other hand was passed out until about an hour before landing. At that time a light breakfast of pastries and yoghurt was served.

Heathrow is always packed with arrivals in the morning so we had to circle three or four times before we finally landed just past 6:00 am and taxied to the gate. Our adventure was finally off and running!