Springtime Transatlantic Adventures
British Airways BA295 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare (World Traveller Plus/Premium Economy)
Time to get into the meat of this trip report, with the first long-haul segment. Was it worth the £314 to upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy, or should I had kept my money in my wallet and flown to Dublin return instead?
In this Adventure
- So, 80 more Tier Points. Always demanding more, British Airways…
- To the joy of Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 with FlixBus
- British Airways Galleries South Lounge and T5B Lounge
- British Airways BA295 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare in World Traveller Plus
- Into the USA and the avid Hotel, Des Plaines
- Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Airplane Art Extra from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Midwestern Dining at its Finest – Chilli’s
- Deep Dish Pizza Special at Pequods
- A Monday Adventure
- Back to O’Hare, AA Lounge
- AA90 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow in Main Cabin Extra
- Luggage Trolley Drifting – Rushing to the bus
- Was it worth it?
I headed aboard the waiting Boeing 787-10 and joined the ever-growing queue to board the aircraft.
Down we go.
Only one adventure to choose
Queues. Delightful.
I was welcomed aboard the aircraft and directed down the cabin, with me on the A side of the plane – in some ways not ideal, as you have sunlight as your friend for most of the flight during a westbound flight.
Club World (Collins Aerospace Vector)
Heck, it was still a window seat – I would take it.
Seat 20A – World Traveller Plus/Premium Economy (first row)
This Boeing 787-10 is configured in a four-class layout, with First, Club Suites, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.
I didn’t have far to go as Row 20 is the first row of World Traveller Plus. Given that someone was sitting in the B seat, I threw my items into the overhead compartment and plonked myself down.
The IFE screen was already extended out to welcome me, ready for the safety video.
Although the screen could have done with a clean…
The seat is a Recaro PL3510 – a good enough seat for a long-haul leg, finished in fabric and a six-way headrest. Given the lack of sleep I have had recently, I was hoping to get a few hours over the pond.
Bulkhead.
Hint. It was more like two hours of sleep in the end.
The seat featured an IFE control pad built into the seat side, with controls for reclining and leg rest being manual. I like this seat for the 7-8 hour legs – they tend to be comfortable enough, whilst not too thinly padded.
Although its placement means that accidents can happen.
There’s power at the seat – in the form of an Empower 110-volt output and a USB-A socket (which seemed to charge a little faster than the low-power USB-A outlets you can find.
Looking up, I was reminded that I should have brought a USB-powered fan with me, as there are no air gaspers installed (as is seemingly traditional with European airlines on their wide-body fleets).
Yes, it does annoy the whatsits out of me, mainly because I get hot in the run-up of getting on an aircraft, and a cool breeze can make a big difference when settling in.
However, when looking up, I can see British Airways is not taking care of its aircraft. Why? Let’s examine.
Yuck.
How much effort would it be to take a wipe or a cloth and remove this dust? The worst part is that this aircraft was barely four months old when I flew it.
Ultimately, this is so this is just disappointing. I’ve noted in the past that British Airways lets itself down on the details while executing the main things right. This is a perfect case in point.
A pre-departure beverage was offered, with sparkling wine, orange juice and water offered.
No surprise here, to be honest. Sparking things intrigues me.
The menu was also distributed for the flight.
Loaded for this flight…
Bar menu
As well as an advert for this year’s Comic Relief/Flying Start Appeal.
Boarding took time, not helped that we had baggage to be offloaded and delays. By the time we pushed back, we were 40 minutes late. Not the start I needed for this trip to Chicago.
At pushback, the current safety video played – May we have one’s attention (A tribute to Austin-era costume dramas).
It’s an entertaining enough video, with the core messages getting through without too much pain.
Safety Card
With the video ending, our aircraft began taxiing around the Heathrow complex, with a short taxi over to the south runway, as we would be departing towards London.
Another 787 parked next door.
Pushing back
Into the maelstrom
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, Here I am, Stuck in the middle with you…
KM Malta Airlines Airbus A320neo
Qatar Airways Airbus A380 making itself welcome at Heathrow.
. 
British Airways Boeing 777 lining up for takeoff
American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER trying to sneak past.
Line up and wait. That means you.
With a roar, the Trent engines powered up to take-off power and propelled the Boeing 787-10 into the sky.
Up we go, passing Terminal 2
Bye bye Heathrow
Climbing out and leaving London behind us
As service began, a hotel towel service made its way through World Traveller Plus.
Hot towel, sir?
With the aircraft settling into the climb, it was time to look at the IFE system and see what was installed.
For mapping software, British Airways had chosen to go with Panasonic ARC Maps. Seeing this when it was unveiled, with its constant data update cadence (chatting to Panasonic, every six months a new release is passed through), it’s good to see such an interactive map used.
As for the rest of the content, it seems that whilst there has been some movement in the mix, they are still working through their partnership with Paramount. This means,there is Star Trek on the IFE system, with Discovery, Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks.
Do do doooo…
The original USS Voyager – NCC-746656. The first formal sighting of it in Star Trek since Star Trek Voyager’s finale, “Endgame“. It marks a lineage of starships started with this ship and its journey through the Delta Quadrant, going through to the 32nd century. The original Voyager was last spotted at Athan Prime at the fleet museum, whilst Voyager-A took flight in Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2. Even the Voyager-B has been spotted too.
Seriously. Look at the current batch of Star Trek, beyond Discovery and Picard, to Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Strange New Worlds. There are some amazing stories there.
Sadly, the content is limited to three episodes of each. Whilst I understand this is meant to draw people into subscribing for Paramount Plus, it doesn’t take too much to load a full series of content (given that the seasons of the shows loaded were a good 2 years old and beyond.
I also tried to use the in-flight connectivity. I was almost tempted to sign up for £15 for 4 hours, £17 for a full flight or £15 for four hours (given that British Airways uses IntelSat’s 2ku antennas and connectivity). The free messaging tier was also present, although I had great trouble trying to connect to it (to the point I gave up…. at this point, being disconnected might have been a good idea).
The aperitif service began. I went for a Gin Fizz to keep myself hydrated, yet with gin. This was served with the soft side of the drink as one part, and the gin (Gordon’s) served in a mini bottle. I’ve got no problem with that.
Fizzy. Allegedly.
This was served with Penn State Pretzels in a miniature bag. Ahhh. World Traveller, with a little plus I see.
Larger bags in Supermarkets and Costco. Good luck finding these in the USA though…
The main meal followed. Given the choices, I went with the Beef Cheek – laying bets it was similar to the meal served on my outward leg to Romania.
Foil on…
The tray revealed.
Marinated beetroot tartare, whipped goat’s curd, charred goat’s cheese
Slow-braised British beef cheek, celeriac mousseline, broccolini, heritage carrots, charred corn, fire-roasted pepper
Guess what. The main was near enough an exact match. That’s no bad thing, as this is a well-done meal – if anything, larger than the one served in Club Europe.
As to the rest of the meal, the beetroot tartare was.. meh. The pre-packaged cheese was… cheese. And the roll, you could use as a high-density projectile.
The desert was a highlight, as it was also showing off British Airways’s partnership with Flying Start and Comic Relief.
Raspberry Cheesecake.
With the meal service complete and the sun causing glare, I tuned down the electro-blind and tried to doze off after a bad few days of sleep. I think I managed around 2 hours of sleep – not great, but I was dozing on and off.
I needed a movie in time to help, and thankfully, 2001: A Space Odyssey was loaded. Gotta stick to the classics.
Time to hum the Blue Danube Waltz.
I woke up in time for the drink services, which were fine, but I must have slept through the second service on the aircraft. A little annoying – but that’s life. Again, it’s why I try to dine before I fly in case things like this happen.
With the electro-blind turned off, the cloud layers were not disappearing at all. We were advised we Wisconsin is taking the long way into Chicago, flying over Milwaukee and Wisconin, with very poor weather reported, with rain and thunderstorms.
Seatbelts and dirty air vents, ready for landing.
With the sun visible…
That was the good part – there was a tornado warning south of Chicago later that day.
As such, the seatbelt signs were activated early, and the cabin was secured.
With a rather bumpy descent, our Boeing 787-10 continued its descent, with the ground only visible around 20 seconds before landing.
Into the murk
Even in the dicey conditions, the aircraft landed safely.
It seemed the ground control was controlling flow around the terminal areas, with our aircraft taxing around the O’Hare complex a fair bit, before being allowed to head to the International Terminal (Terminal 5) to allow its passengers to disembark.
Terminal 1 in the distance
Runways and taxiways as far as the eye can see, as well as very dark skies.
Turning back towards Terminal 1
All Nippon Airways Boeing 777-300ER taxing.
Skywest CRJ-200
American Eagle Embraer ERJ-145. I’m one of those odd people who like the ERJ-145.
More CRJ Action as we head towards Terminal 3
Aer Lingus Airbus A330 parked at Terminal 3
It was wet.. trust me.
American Airlines Boeing 787-9
Closing in on Terminal 5 – a lone Delta Boeing 717 awaits.
Eventually, our aircraft passed Terminal 3 and finally toward Terminal 5, where the engines finally powered down.
Coming up to the gate.
With the seat belt signs released, a mass of people ran forward to try to get off the plane first, with our delays, connections were bound to be missed. Sadly, with the conditions outside, I would have suspected there were a lot more delays in the future.
8 hours plus later.
I got my bags together and headed off, thanking the crew as I exited the jetway.
Overall.
Distinctly Average. And that’s the nicest way I can describe the experience.
Whilst you’re paying for a better seat (and that Recaro seat is a good option for a daytime flight) and slightly better food, the service, compared to an American Airlines Main Cabin flight (things like mid-flight ice cream and a few more drinks rounds) would have been welcome.
The crew were business-friendly, which was “fine”, but lacked the warmth I’ve found with some crews in recent trips. I suspect an hour on the ground extra before departure didn’t help.
But, I’m going down to details now. And its just that whilst the aircraft was clean, it wasn’t cleaned. For a six-month old aircraft (G-ZBLK), I’d expect to be in a lot cleaner state. Those air vents are nothing short of… really? Is this the best you can do?
Sigh…
As I asked in the beginning: Was it worth it for the £314 uplift? For the space and seat, yes. But I’ve had return flights from the USA where I flet I got a lot more out of World Traveller Plus.
Next:
Into the USA and the avid hotel, Des Plaines
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