London to Boston– one of the shortest transatlantic flights

After the brief hiatus due to changing jobs, I managed to get a few trips in.  Since planes are now a bit more full (especially in the pointy end), I haven’t been able to find flights that are quite as exciting as earlier this year (at a reasonable price point).  This trip to the US was originally intended to be exclusively a vacation, but I’m also now going to go to Cleveland for a healthcare conference.  I picked out the flights I wanted to take, and my new company reimbursed me for my flight to/from the US (and to/from Cleveland).  This trip is going to be a pretty standard Michael trip.  I’m flying from London to Boston on BA in World Traveller (economy), then Boston to Miami on JetBlue, then Miami to Los Angeles on American in Flagship Business (on the 777), then Los Angeles to Washington on United’s ‘High-J’ 767, then Richmond to Cleveland via Charlotte on American in (domestic) First Class, then Cleveland to Richmond via Newark on United, and finally Richmond to London via Philadelphia on American/BA.  As is my standard practice, domestic legs in economy won’t get their own post, unless there is something of note to share.  All flights on this trip were purchased using cash, rather than miles.

I had wanted to book the 8 pm flight from London on Friday night that would get me into Boston after 10 pm, but unfortunately the flight was cancelled, and so I rebooked onto the 11:15 am flight that got me into Boston just after lunch.  I had initially considered booking a premium economy ticket and upgrading to business class, but the British Airways system did not seem quite able to book me the flights I wanted, so I ended up just booking this flight in the back of the plane, in the hopes of an empty row to myself. 

I took the TfL rail service from Ealing to Heathrow terminal 5, a journey of about 25 minutes.  The journey takes noticeably longer than to terminal 2.  Upon arrival, I made my way to British Airways’ First Wing.  Despite flying at the back of the plane, I have access thanks to my BA Gold (Oneworld Emerald) status.  The First Wing has a dedicated security line that lets you go directly from check-in to the lounge, which is great.

Upon arrival in the lounge, I sat down and ordered a build-your-own English breakfast, a fruit bowl, and a mimosa.  The lounge wasn’t too busy, but the food took a bit longer than previous times to arrive.

I wasn’t in a hurry, so it wasn’t really a problem.  But it wasn’t the service I’d come to expect.

My flight left from the B gates satellite terminal, so I decided to pack up and head out a few minutes before boarding began. 

At the gate, they were collecting signed hard copies of the CDC attestation form, which was strange.  So I had to fill out the form again.  I boarded relatively late in the process, like I usually do. 

I succeeded in getting the empty row, which was great!

Lunch was served on a single tray with the wrapping still on.  The cold appetizer of vegetables and hummus went great with the main dish.  I opted for the chicken, which was served with barley and vegetables and a side of carrots.  The chicken and barley were spiced well, but the chicken was a bit dry.  The carrots were pretty bland, but were a welcome addition, nonetheless.  The real star was the chocolate and salted caramel pot.  That was probably the best of the tiny BA puddings I’ve had yet. 

The portion was what you’d expect for an international flight in economy, which is to say that it was a bit small.  After eating, I purchased the Wi-Fi so I could work for a few hours on the plane.  BA charged £14.99 for the entire flight, which I thought was a pretty good price for what was a decent connection. 

I also caught up on some movies with the seatback entertainment.  The BA screens have privacy plastic over them, so you can’t see what the people around you are watching, but you can see what the people diagonally ahead of you are watching.  BA definitely doesn’t have quite as good of a movie selection as the US carriers do, however.

About an hour or so before landing, they came around with the arrival snack service, which was served in a brown paper bag.  Snack is a strong word for half a sad sandwich as a kitkat bar.  The sandwich was simple (hummus and tomato), but surprisingly good.  Just very small.

In summary, this 6.5-hour flight was a perfectly fine way to cross the Atlantic during the day, especially because I had the row to myself.  The BA lounge was the same as always, but service was a bit slow (3/5).  The plane’s seat was a typical economy seat, but the legroom was a bit tight (3/5).  I wish BA offered extra legroom seats (aside from the exit row).  The main meal was fine, but the pre-arrival snack was a bit sad (3/5); I’m glad I ate a bit in the lounge.  The in-flight service was equally fine (4/5).  The inflight entertainment was good, and the WiFi was a good deal (4/5). Overall, I give this economy flight an average score of 17/25.

I booked this ticket on an American Airlines ticket, which didn’t affect anything because of the joint venture.  When flying to smaller airports (or anytime you’re connecting in the US), the American website gives you way more options to pick than the BA website.  I tend to only use the BA website when booking direct flights.  I credited the flight to British Airways, so I earn points based on the distance flow.  For this discounted economy ticket, I earned 35 tier points and 1 630 (base) + 3 260 (BA Gold bonus) = 4 890 Avios.  I paid for this flight with my American Express Green Card, which earns 3x points on travel.