An Autumn Escape (part 8: back to Europe)

After my overnight stay in New York (and watching the election), I got an Uber to New York’s JFK airport to finish up my trip, with two flights from JFK to London Heathrow to Helsinki.  This is the second half of my initial ticket from Stockholm to San Francisco, so it was booked in business class through the Oneworld transatlantic joint venture.  By the end of this trip, I will have flown two legs on British Airways, two legs on American Airlines, and a single leg on Finnair.  When I had originally booked this flight, it was three legs on Finnair and two on American Airlines, but you know; things changed.  Krister joined me on the London to Helsinki.  This final flight was typical of Finnair’s intra-Europe business class (and I slept through most of it), so I’ll skip the review of it.

I was dropped off at JFK Terminal 8, which is where all the AA flights leave from.  My flight was AA106 on a beautiful 777-300ER (N733AR) and was the last flight of the evening, and the seatmap was showing as exceptionally empty.  I checked in at the priority line and actually had the same check-in agent as for my flight to San Francisco a couple weeks prior. Out of interest, I asked how much an upgrade to Flagship First class would be for the flight, and the cheapest option was a same-day upgrade for $500.  Given the lack of Flagship First dining or a proper first-class soft product, this seemed a bit steep.  To assist with check-in, Krister had provided me with a letter of invitation and a scan of his passport as proof of our relationship, and this was accepted without issue.  Security was empty, just like last time, and so I went to the same Admirals Club to wait for my flight.  Everything was the same as before, except it was slightly less busy, since there was only one flight left (instead of maybe 3 the last time).  I overheard someone mention that there were only about 30 people total on the flight: 11 in business and 20 in economy.  American’s 777-300ERs have 304 seats on them, so the flight was barely 10% full, which is to say it was about as empty as the BA flight to JFK.  Back in the lounge, normally flights aren’t announced in the lounge, but since there was only one flight, they announced when it was time to board. 

The aircraft was parked a several minute walk away.  I’m kind of confused why all the flights leave from gates that are so far away from the lounge, even though the terminal is so empty.  I guess it saves a bit of fuel for taxiing.  By the time I arrived at the gate, they were on boarding group 9, and I heard the gate agents mention that the business class passengers should be arriving momentarily from the lounge (which of course was accurate).  The 777 is a very beautiful aircraft, and those engines are so massive; I can’t wait to see the 777X planes’ engines.

I had left the lounge just before the announcement was made because I received a text from AA saying boarding had begun.  I opted to sit in the much larger main business cabin because I checked the seat map, and everyone was sitting very far forward and close together.  I really don’t understand why; I had selected 3A back in May when I booked it, but I switched to row 10J when I saw this seat map.

Boarding the plane was a bit eerie with how empty it was.  The gray tones gave a very calming feeling, and the wood highlights looked quite nice. 

About 15 minutes after I boarded, a couple with a baby came on-board (and weirdly, the seat map was still showing their seats as empty).  They spent the rest of boarding arguing and nearly screaming about how they should only ever fly first class (specifically so they could have had a bassinet for their adorable baby).  After a while of this, several flight attendants took turns trying to get them to sit down so that we could push back and begin the flight.  It almost got to the point where they’d need to get the pilot to come have them sit down.  Luckily once the engines turned on and my headphones were on, I couldn’t hear them anymore.

A flight attendant came by to check if I needed anything in the seat explained, and she took my dinner and breakfast order.  She was extremely friendly, and I didn’t really think about it at first, but given how empty the flight was, I think she was in charge of maybe 3 or 4 of us, haha.  The menu was a full (and sturdy) card, but the inside was quite empty, haha.  I guess they’d normally have a couple more appetizer or dessert options and more breakfast options. 

Once the couple settled down, we were able to push back.  The Casper bedding that AA supplies is quite comfortable, and I especially liked the big pillow.  I discovered that AA puts the bedding on every seat in the cabin but doesn’t put headphones or amenity kits at any of the empty seats.  I took the pillow from the seat across from me for extra comfort.  Given how empty JFK was, we taxied and took off very promptly.  Shortly after takeoff, the meal service began.  The flight attendant was extremely prompt with dinner; I had ordered the bourbon glazed salmon.  As expected, the meal was served on one single tray, instead of in courses, with the wrapping still on it.  Apparently, the picture with the coverings removed corrupted; my apologies. 

The meal was on par with the meals served on Finnair in their intra-European Business class. The starter and dessert were served cold, as was the bread side. I’m not really a fan of the bread usually served on planes; it’s always a bit too cold and dry for me. The sundried tomato tartar was flavorful and well presented. The bourbon-glazed salmon dish was similarly flavorful, thanks to the sauce. It was well-cooked and went well with the slightly sweet orzo pasta. The blueberry crumble dessert was very similar to what I’ve had on Finnair many times, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, except that I’d expect intercontinental business class to be slightly better or more substantial.

Immediately after dinner, I tried to sleep. I slept about 3.5 hours in total, which isn’t bad against a just under 6 hour flight. Just under an hour before landing, breakfast was served. Breakfast is usually the weakest meal served on aircraft, but since this flight was so short, a light breakfast was welcome. There was only one breakfast choice. I had a mimosa as the drink; the flight attendant commented she was a bit jealous, haha. Breakfast also came with the wrapping still on. It kind of weirds me out when fruit is peeled and then covered in plastic. The fruit was standard fare for a US-based flight, as was the Chobani yogurt. The croissant was well-made and not too flaky, but since it was pre-packaged, I opted to save it for the next flight.

After I finished breakfast, the headphones were collected. Since there were so few people on the flight, she “only” collected them 30 minutes before landing. We had a very interesting view of London as we came in for a landing. As one would expect, the city was covered in clouds, but the skyscrapers in the City of London broke up the clouds in a very unique manner. One of the fun parts about the alignment of the Heathrow runways is that often the planes end up flying over the entire city. The flight attendant even came by to make sure I looked out the window and didn’t miss the view, which was quite nice of her.

Upon arrival at Heathrow, I had to take a bus to terminal 2 before I could connect to my Finnair flight. I don’t understand why Finnair didn’t move to terminal 5, since it would make connections with BA/AA/Qatar easier and Finnair could just use the BA lounge. They were supposed to have moved in July, but it just didn’t end up happening it seems. Because of the UK-wide month-long lockdown, all the lounges in the airport were closed. Since the last time Krister and I had visited, Finnair had gotten a contract lounge in terminal 2… except that it was closed the morning that I arrived.

In summary, this Flagship Business flight on the 777-300ER (AA’s “best” business product) met my expectations.  The check-in, security, and lounge experience were unremarkable because of how empty the terminal was.  I really hope the flagship lounges come back soon (3/5).  I definitely prefer the United Polaris seats and the BA Club Suites; mainly because if I’m lying on my side I’m not looking directly into/across the aisle.  That being said, the reverse herringbone design is great because it means that the seats are all the same (4/5).  The meals were unremarkable but were made and presented well under the circumstances (3/5).  The flight attendant taking care of me was extremely friendly and appropriately attentive for this type of short transatlantic flight (5/5). The in-flight entertainment was good, but I’ve now watched all the movies on offer, haha.  The collecting the headphones thing is always annoying, however (4/5).  Overall, the flight gets a 19/25, which is to say, it was a great flight, given the on-going pandemic.

From a points perspective, this flight netted me 140 tier points on BA (which is the same for amount that any flight from 2000 – 6000 miles will earn you).  In addition, I earned 3 452 base Avios (the mileage of the flight) plus a ‘tier bonus’ of 1 726 Avios (50% because I’m now BA silver).  Since I booked this as part of an American Airlines ticket (AA6936), I earned a ‘cabin bonus’ of 863 Avios (25%).  Had I booked this on a BA ticket, I think I would have earned additional ‘cabin bonus’ Avios, but I’m not sure.