In this post:
New BA Club World menu mini review
Reader John flew back from Boston yesterday morning and had the new Club World menu which features three courses served individually with a choice for all three. Hot towels are also back.
John liked the new club suites and thought they were a great improvement on the old CW seats. The crew were also fantastic on both legs.
Here are his thoughts on the food.
I had the full English which was really excellent (especially the scrambled eggs). My wife had the vegetarian option, which although less appealing, did apparently taste very good.
We both had the steak sandwich for the light pre-landing option, which again, was very tasty.
No idea what the empty bowl was for!
Alan also sent in his menu from Buenos Aires to London via São Paulo.
Flash offer ends Monday – Etihad 25k miles car hire offer
If you have been considering using Etihad then it could be worth looking at their very generous car hire offer, which nets you 25,000 miles. While 25,000 is not going to buy you much, you can top up by transferring from Amex Membership Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy Points. You could also buy points.
Book between 28-31 October 2022 and get 25,000 Etihad Guest Bonus Miles. You’ll also receive up to 15% off on all bookings made during this period with Avis. The miles are on top of what you would earn anyway, which is 3 miles per $1 spent assuming you have no status.
Here are the rules:
- Reservation Period: From 28 October to 31 October 2022
Car Pick-up Period: From 1 November to 23 December 2022 - Destinations: USA (excluding Alaska), Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia
- Eligible Car Groups: Group C and above
- Bonus Miles: Earn 25,000 bonus miles for 3 consecutive rental days or more.
So if you are planning a car rental during the period it’s definitely worth considering.
You can also use the miles to redeem on lots of other airlines including ANA, AA and Air New Zealand.
The best use if you only had a small amount would be to use them to upgrade from economy to business. An upgrade for the UK to Abu Dhabi costs from 29,000 miles and a business class ticket one way is 62,500 miles.
As well as a straightforward upgrade, you can also bid on upgrades with miles. Obviously, this is not guaranteed but worth considering if you were thinking about upgrading to first, for example. You can also use miles to upgrade at the airport. The guide to all the different ways to upgrade is here.
You can find the offer page here.
British Airways’ new lounges at JFK Terminal 8
British Airways will be fully leaving Terminal 7 at New York JFK on the 30 November when the last flight leaves from there (which I will be on). From 1 December, all BA flights will depart Terminal 8 at JFK where they will have a brand new check-in area and lounges in conjunction with American Airlines. I’ll be checking it all out on the 30 November with a behind-the-scenes tour, so watch out for that.
There will be five new widebody gates, four new widebody hardstand parking positions, an enhanced baggage handling system, new customer amenities and expanded premium passenger offerings – including approximately 130,000 square feet of new and renovated terminal space.
As customers arrive at Terminal 8, a co-branded premium check-in area providing personalized, concierge-style service for top-tier guests will replace American’s former Flagship First Check-In space. There will also be an exclusive new check-in space for eligible business customers.
Obviously, with the lounges being shared between AA and BA they can’t use the normal names such as Flagship or Concorde Room.
So BA and AA have come up with names that work with either New York or London which is clever.
- Chelsea – the top tier lounge, for first class (transcon and international) passengers, BA Premiers and AA Concierge Key
- Soho – For oneworld Emerald/BA Gold
- Greenwich – For business class/BA Silver/oneworld Sapphire
So far, there is some ambiguity as to whether existing BA Gold Guest List members will get access to the top-tier lounge as they do currently.
8 comments
Absolutely pathetic that BA hasn’t committed to rewarding its GGL customers with access to Chelsea lounge ahead of its opening. The carrier’s early ambiguity reflects the its increasing disinterest in its key passengers. I now have no reason to fly BA from JFK… so I won’t!
I think BA will find themselves in very hot water very quickly if Gold Guest List members are not admitted to the top lounge at JFK… I cannot believe they would gamble with business on SUCH an important route for the airline…
What happened to the use of apostrophes?
I was in the Flagship Lounge in T8 at JFK one Friday afternoon/early evening in September, and it was mobbed with business and leisure customers travelling to destinations throughout AA’s extensive domestic and intercontinental network.
Terminal 7 could get busy too, so it will be interesting to see how the new facilities and lounges cope with the added BA passengers during that early evening rush. Hopefully your tour, Michele, will allay these concerns.
But where, oh where, is the Baron Otard Cognac on any of their new lists???
Still missing sadly ???? That’s one long supply issue….
Re: BA Lounges at JFK T7 and the change to T8. I can speak from a position of unique insight (ex. BA) and very much part of the T7 lounge refresh as well as looking after the CCR. I have so much info & history but I will keep it concise. The AA/BA relationship was always going to be fraught – synergies found and some enforced. A great tit-for-tat. AA having the monopoly on one side of the Atlantic while BA on the other side. The whole issue of relocating to T8 is understandable (T7 maintenance, crowded, BA responsible for it being a ‘tenant’ of the PA etc. etc. Sadly, the lounges got consumed in it. The CCR was a unique haven where regulars felt ‘at home’ even before returning to Old Blighty. We’d invested heavily in the back of house facilities and also some refresh front of house. Flik (part of the Compass Group – who ran the catering & staffing), did an exemplary job (IMHO) – not sure how many of you saw the ‘Certificate of Excellence’? The Club/F side of things were also improved recently. In comparison, the AA T8 lounge lacked the BA touch – in service & offering. Although AA were (and are) extremely proud of it (and perhaps rightly so as it is better than most AA lounges), but – again IMHO, the Flagship dining etc. still did not come close to the level of offering BA regulars are/were used to. I had very career limiting conversation when expressing reservations internally but of course this was way above my (and also 3 levels above) paygrade! I will not offer too much here now as it will go against my ex brethren at BA. Nov 30th will be a sad day for BA, T7, the boys & girls of Flik as well as for the exclusive BA experience. I can/may offer more info as per comments/questions.
Thanks so much for the insight!
Comments are closed.