newbief1yer From UK - England, joined Dec 2012, 63 posts, RR: 0 Posted (3 months 6 days 8 hours ago) and read 5609 times:
Background on this trip
This was part of our visit the parents trip - middle east and China.
Part 1 of our trip comprised of London Kuwait sector on BA metal, and was part of a surprise the parents trip as our parents were unaware of our arrival and more importantly it was my dads birthday on the 23rd. We had an anxious day before the trip due to heavy snow (apparently) the Kuwait flight was cancelled. With waited breath we left to the airport and it looked as if our flight to Kuwait would be as scheduled on time.
Facts:
LHR - KUW
Flight number. BA 157 -
Boeing 747-436
Seat number. 51J
Reg number. G CIVL
Load was around 60% in y. Not sure about y+, j and f. It was the 70 business class configuration.
Date. 22 01 2013
Take off - 21:40 (22:15)
Landed - 06:40 (06:55)
Route map, thanks to the brilliant gcmap, copyright Karl L Schwartz
Terminal 5 as usual was a pleasure to be in. Arrival to air side in 15 minutes. Okish dinner at wagamama. And then spent some time around the vast shopping area. Great to spend an hour or two. Before you know it our gate was announced. B35
Terminal 5:
Boarding was well organised with first and business class called followed by different zones in economy. Very well greeted at the entrance of the aircraft.
A Beauty - BA157 - B747
We were delayed to embark from our gate and as per what I understood it was due to unavailability of the tug. Come on baa u can do better than that. We were delayed by approximately 30 min.
Drinks were bought out within 30 min of take off and dinner service was followed. Dinner was an Arabian lamb dish and a veggie lasagne. I had the lamb dish. For airline food I would rate it 6/10. Nothing to write home about.
on-board BA157 - safety card, magazine, duty free, head phones, etc.
Surprised not to find a fully loaded flight on top of a cancelled flight the previous day.
Food service was followed by breakfast which consisted of a salmon and ham sandwich. This round could been avoided as the sandwich was revolting. They couldn't have made it worse even if they tried to.
Ife was again nothing to write home about. Small screen with decent selection of movies. No point in comparing it with the other airlines known to have excellent ife. It was what it was. After watching sweeney and an episode of family guy, sleep followed for a couple of hours before landing in KUW.
Landing in Kuwait
Flight landed around 15 min later than expected. Kuwait airport is small but efficient and out of the airport in 40 min since landing.
Checked in online the previous night at exactly 21:40 hours - 24 hours before departure. Got my preference economy seats in a 747. The 2 separate seats towards the rear end of the aircraft. The plane itself felt old and showing its age. But like any other BA bird, it looked like it had been very well taken care off. It did not have individual air vents but the crew did a great job of maintaining a very bearable temperature throughout the flight.
On the whole a very decent way in reaching Kuwait from London. I would definitely use this service to Kuwait and recommend it. Great crew, decent entertainment, good dinner spoiled by poor breakfast, although not a deal breaker
Quokkas From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (3 months 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 5499 times:
HI,
What a nice surprise for your dad's birthday. I can imagine the worry you felt after cancellation of the previous flight . Interesting to note in the photo of the FIDS many of the code-share flights indicate "Contact Airline".
I do like the way some architects manage to combine traditional "Islamic" themes with the modern. In some instances it can be refreshing, avoiding the drab functionalism so common in some other parts of the world.
newbief1yer From UK - England, joined Dec 2012, 63 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (3 months 5 days 15 hours ago) and read 3440 times:
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 3): Another nice report, thanks for sharing!
BA sounds quite OK here and always nice to fly on a special livery!
Thanks Brendan.
This sector was particularly made better by one of the cabin crew. She had a very strong Jordie accent, but it was a first time on the Kuwait sector, nad she was over excited to be on a new route. It showed in her energy and over enthusiasm. Kept helping everyone and always a smile. I did my part and left a very positive feedback, to which she was very happy about . But for sure, one of the better ways to get to KWI.
ba319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8264 posts, RR: 56 Reply 6, posted (3 months 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 3354 times:
Thanks for posting, seems like a pretty solid BA flight.
Shame about the sandwiches, they can be a hit and miss offering, by contrast I had some lovely ones as the pre arrival snack into JFK a few weeks back.
747438 From UK - England, joined Jan 2007, 820 posts, RR: 6 Reply 7, posted (3 months 5 days 10 hours ago) and read 3035 times:
Quoting newbief1yer (Thread starter): We were delayed to embark from our gate and as per what I understood it was due to unavailability of the tug. Come on baa u can do better than that.
Nothing to do with the airport operator, that's down to British Airways themselves.
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. But for sure, one of the better ways to get to KWI.
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