155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164

155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164
Photo taken by: Howard Long
Route: London Gatwick (LGW) to Raleigh-Durham (RDU), 13 Dec 2003
Ticket price: £2,800 (return)
Flight duration: 8.5 hours
Aircraft type & class: 777, First
Business or leisure trip: Business
Meal type: Lunch
Contents of the meal:
Warm roasted nuts & fresh vegetables in a cucumber dill dressing;
Bread selection including Uno's focaccia bread;
Smoked salmon with capers, red onion and sour cream, lemon, toast;
Seasonal greens with fresh vegetales, parmesan crusted chicken, and olive oil & balsamic vinegar;
Rosemary roasted double lamb chops with merlot sauce, parmesan potato and green beans;
Fruit & cheese including Port-salut and Chevre with dried cherries, candies walnuts & crackers;
Grand Marnier fruit salad and Ben & Jerry's mango-lime sorbet.

Drink:
Diet Coke
Gin & Tonic (Tanqueray no 10)
Champagne (Pommery 1995)
White wine (Kenwood Sonoma County Savignon Blanc 2001)
Red wine (Chateau Batailley 1999)
Dessert wine (Chateau d'Yquem 1990) (provided by pax)

Comments:
Warm nut selection was better than I'm used to - there were some pitachios and smoked nuts in there making it more interesting and tasty than the usual selection. The raw carrot/celery in a yummy sauce was simple but tasty.

The smoked salmon with sour cream, chopped onions and capers was very tasty indeed, the best part of the meal. Champagne was a little too warm. The focaccia bread was excellent too - warm and fresh, not dry.

The greens/salad with olive oil & balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and
Parmesan chicken was rather boring and tasteless. The Sauvignon Blanc was OK.

The lamb chops didn't arrive. Instead I was given some lamb medallions. I asked if this was right, and was told 'yes'. Then about a minute later another FA turned up and apologised most profusely, explaining that they'd raided the BC section for the lamb medallions as they'd inadvertently run out of chops. Tasted OK, but I really was looking forward to those marinated chops. Meat was cooked to airline standards - in other words, very overcooked. The Bordeaux red was OK but very young.

The cheese selection was disappointingly small with a mild Port-salut and a Chevre goats cheese (goats cheese will often wake up a flat or warm champagne - try it!). No blue cheese for my Chateau d'Yquem.

The fruit salad with mango-lime sorbet was good, especially with the 1990 Chateau d'Yquem I'd brought on board. I spoke to the FA who chilled it for me and served it. Yummy-tastic. AA have no sweet white dessert wine on board. (They did have a sherry and a port).

The FA kept filling the tiny wine glasses right to the top - I'd have hoped they taught 'em something at AA!

The tell tale signs of cost cutting are there for all to see. Only the very
basic bathroom facilities, small wine selection, only methode champenoise before take-off, lounge facilities awfully tired and lacking in food offerings.

Somewhere, sometime, weren't there premium chocolates on offer in
intercontinental first class? Caviar? Seems like miles away from those days now. Still, the ticket price was excellent. Good value, but I'd feel ripped off if I'd paid full fare.

Despite this, service was very good and friendly. Two FA's, twelve passengers.

Rating 1-10 (worst-best): 7 for food, 8 for service

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154

143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154
Photo taken by: Howard Long
Route: Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to London Gatwick (LGW), 14 Dec 2003
Ticket price: £2,800 (return)
Flight duration: 7 hours
Aircraft type & class: 777, First
Business or leisure trip: Business
Meal type: Dinner
Contents of the meal:
Warm roasted nuts & fresh vegetables in a pesto ranch dressing;
Bread selection including Uno's focaccia bread;
Smoked salmon with capers, red onion and sour cream, lemon, toast;
Seasonal salad with lobster tail and claw, garlic dill dressing;
Stew of braised chateaubriand with wild mushrooms in a red wine sauce topped with spinach and gnocchi;
Fruit and cheese including caciotta, cheddar and a sharp blue, with grapes and dried apricots;
Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge & butterscotch sauces, whipped cream and chopped pecans.
Drink:
Methode Champenoise Californian spakling wine
Gin & Tonic (Tanqueray no 10)
Champagne (Pommery 1995)
White wine (Bouchard Aine Mersault 2001)
Red wine (Chateau Pichon Longueville 1997) (provided by pax)
Graham's Vintage Port

Comments: The same crew I had on the inbound flight landing the previous day were taking me home. The FAs immediately recognised me and said "Welcome back, Mr Long". You can't beat an impressive dose of brown-nosing like that! Delta couldn't do that on a similar neck breaking transatlantic return flight I had six weeks earlier with the same crew out and back, although they did recognise me.

The warm nut selection and raw carrot/celery with its yummy sauce were as good as the outbound journey.

The smoked salmon again very good, but I guess maybe maye a change to this course from the outbound journey might have been nice too. Still, it's a very tasty dish and I wasn't going to turn it down. Champagne was good. The focaccia bread I took from the selection was again very fresh, not dry at all.

The salad with garlic and dill dressing plus the lobster tail looked great
and tasted OK. The Mersault was pretty good.

The stew was rather disappointing. OK but nothing great. The problem was that I was trying to make something work with the Pichon Longueville I'd brought on board. Still the wine was pretty good at least, especially as the crew had uncorked it for me a couple of hours earlier to let it open up.

The cheese selection was a little better this time with a very sharp blue.
Sadly I had brought no Chateau d'Yquem on board for it on this occasion. I took their port instead.

Ice cream was not bad.

With only six out of the eighteen seats taken helped make for 4.5 hours sleep out of 7 total flying hours. There was no noisy breakfast service, because no-one took any: all that was offered for breakfast was a continental style uncooked selection (yoghurt, cereals etc), so I really wasn't going to wake up for that, not even for AirlineMeals.net.

Service was excellent, but please get some bigger glasses and stop filling my wine to the top of the glass (0.5 points deducted on the service)!

141-142

141-142
Photo taken by: Bruce
Route: JFK-LHR, 21 Nov 2003
Ticket price: $427
Flight duration: 6h55m
Aircraft type & class: 777 - coach (but a good bulkhead seat!)
Business or leisure trip: Leisure
Meal type: Dinner + continental breakfast
Contents of the meal: Your very basic chicken and rice
Drink: Bland red wine (AA now charges for drinks, even international flights!)
Comments: FAs were friendly, upbeat and helpful. The plane was clean and comfortable. The food was bland, uninspiring and pretty meager.