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(No pictures I'm afraid!)
Having flown ZRH-MAN-ZRH last year in both SQ J and SQ F and with SQ's recent PPS changes driving away leisure travellers like myself, I found myself yesterday (Saturday) afternoon in BAH about to take my first Traitor Air flight in a premium cabin (J).
I'd taken the overnight BA flight LHR-DXB (about 6 hours) the evening before. I'd arrived at LHR slightly late (a result of only realising during the afternoon at work that whilst my BA flights were e-tickets, the other ones were paper and were sitting at home!
) and I found a long line of people at the LHR T4 FIRST check-in (which I could use as a BA gold). The wait must have been about twenty minutes (is it normally like this on Friday evening ?!?) and the BA staff were combing the line looking for real FIRST passengers rather than interlopers like myself. After that and clearing immigration (Fast Track was reasonably fast), I went to the lounge pavilion only to find out that the wait for a shower was 30-35 minutes so I had no time. (I don't know whether I should have tried the T4 gate 1 lounge as I've never noticed but I assume there are also showers there ?)
It was my first time in Club World and I have the comments which people usually make about the constricted width of the bed (where the arm rests don't drop down), the unspectacular food and the lack of storage space (a 777 so no upper deck with its window storage bins) but, compared to SQ's Spacebed, positives include the fully flat bed (no sliding down during the night and (unlike SQ old or new F) no height restriction on kicking my feet up and down all night
) and an amenity kit even in J. This was the menu:
On arrival at DXB, I found it was indeed (as described by SQFAN later on) a pasar malam (a bazaar in Malay) with crowds of people, lots of shops (enough to make even BAA proud) and people lying everywhere on the floor sleeping! Luckily, getting the boarding pass for my next flight GF DXB-BAH was easy and there was no queue at the security for transit passengers so I was able to quickly settle into the GF lounge to wait for my flight.
The GF lounge (also used by VS) was pleasant but nothing particularly special - spacious, not crowded, a nice selection of food and drink available (with attendants standing around to assist), one computer with Internet access and the boarding calls made by the lounge dragon walking around to all the passengers. (No shower - I understand from SQFAN that you can pay for the shower facilities at the DXB airport hotel.)
The GF flight was a short 45-minute hop on a 2-class A320-200. J was configured as four rows of 2-2 seating with comfortable seats with 40+ inches of pitch. The crew was from all over the world, e.g. Bahrain (obviously!), Greece, the Philippines etc. Like the seat, GF's service and meal on such a short flight put BA's Club Europe service (the duration being something like BA CE LHR-CDG with a cold salad) to shame - as well as a pre-departure drink, newspapers and a choice of hot or cold towel (a proper towel rather than the flimsy toilet cloths which BA use), I had the following menu:
Arrival into Bahrain was easy - no queue whatsoever at immigration (where I got stung by the exchange rate offered by the immigration officer for a visa fee paid with Sterling but what could I do ? 
) and I was first off the plane. A quick 10-minute taxi ride into town (with the opportunity to get slightly fleeced by a Bahraini taxi driver whose meter was on the blink 
but for the sake of the amount involved I wasn't about to jump out of the taxi ) and I met up for lunch with SQFAN who just happened to be in Bahrain and flying to Qatar every night for his own special reasons.
It was straight back to the airport after lunch (another opportunity to enrich another taxi driver) and I was initially confused when I found the check-in desks for CX746 BAH-DXB but I could only see those for Y. After queueuing for a little while, I spotted an airport staff member and after asking me several times whether I was travelling in J (e.g. "are you in business ? is your ticket in business ?"), he led me off to another part of the terminal signposted "first class check-in". I had seen that earlier but thought it was for GF only. The check-in process was very civilised with no queues, a large room with desks as check-in counters and a chair in front of each and security just for J/F passengers. (I've never experienced SQ F check-in in SIN and assume it's similar to this ?)
I'd read reports from others who (like SQFAN) seem to like Bahrain with nightly trips to Qatar and understood that even as OW sapphire or emerald on a BA flight, they were sent away from the CX BAH lounge and told to use the independently operated Dilmun lounge instead. No such problem for me booked on a CX flight so I went into the lounge (which had no F side - if it had, I wonder if my BA gold card together with a CX J ticket would have been sufficient!) ... to wonder what all the fuss is about ? Apart from the food selection with some hot dimsum and a few computers, the lounge was quite small (although it had a nice view), full of passengers and unremarkable.
I asked the lounge dragon whether the lounge had a toilet and was told to go down the corridor into the Dilmun lounge, present my BA gold card and use the toilet in there!
I entered the Dilmun lounge and asked about the toilet but didn't show my BA gold card and was sent packing by the lounge dragon who seemed annoyed that CX had sent a passenger over rather than downstairs to the toilet inside the terminal. When I left, she was phoning the CX lounge and complaining. After shuttling between the two lounges again, I slowly realised that I really did need to show my BA gold card and after the lounge dragon took down my details (will BA or CX get charged for my use of the Dilmun lounge toilet I wonder ?), I was finally admitted into the Dilmun lounge (which is also a Priority Pass lounge) ... to find that it seems much much better than the CX lounge. I didn't look around the food and drink selection but the lounge was many times bigger, looked to be decorated quite nicely and only had a few passengers inside ... plus it had its own toilets!
The CX 45-minute flight BAH-DXB (where it then continues on to HKG) was operated by a 2-class 777-200 (with 6-7 rows of a 2-3-2 configuration in J). Whilst I appreciate that this was obviously one of the older planes in CX's fleet and the short flight presumably isn't representative of a typical CX flight:
The IFS went round to all the passengers, addressing me by name and handing each of us a menu depending on whether we were only going as far as DXB or all the way to HKG. The food was similar to the SQ ZRH-MAN-ZRH offerings (perhaps not even up to that standard) rather than the excellent food on offer from GF for the same flight:
As an example of the crew's disorganisation, I never got a hot towel nor the pralines although I did see them getting handed out to some of the passengers!
Having flown ZRH-MAN-ZRH last year in both SQ J and SQ F and with SQ's recent PPS changes driving away leisure travellers like myself, I found myself yesterday (Saturday) afternoon in BAH about to take my first Traitor Air flight in a premium cabin (J).
I'd taken the overnight BA flight LHR-DXB (about 6 hours) the evening before. I'd arrived at LHR slightly late (a result of only realising during the afternoon at work that whilst my BA flights were e-tickets, the other ones were paper and were sitting at home!
) and I found a long line of people at the LHR T4 FIRST check-in (which I could use as a BA gold). The wait must have been about twenty minutes (is it normally like this on Friday evening ?!?) and the BA staff were combing the line looking for real FIRST passengers rather than interlopers like myself. After that and clearing immigration (Fast Track was reasonably fast), I went to the lounge pavilion only to find out that the wait for a shower was 30-35 minutes so I had no time. (I don't know whether I should have tried the T4 gate 1 lounge as I've never noticed but I assume there are also showers there ?)It was my first time in Club World and I have the comments which people usually make about the constricted width of the bed (where the arm rests don't drop down), the unspectacular food and the lack of storage space (a 777 so no upper deck with its window storage bins) but, compared to SQ's Spacebed, positives include the fully flat bed (no sliding down during the night and (unlike SQ old or new F) no height restriction on kicking my feet up and down all night
) and an amenity kit even in J. This was the menu:
DINNER
Starters
Loch Fyne smoked salmon with mustard dressing
-or-
Meze plate
Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette
Main
Grilled fillet of beef with asparagus, carrots and blue cheese gnocchi
Shaun Hill's smoked haddock and prawn fish pie
Vegetable and date tajin with minted Moroccan couscous
Main course salad of Cajun chicken with peppered pineapple and spicy tomato dressing
Dessert
Strawberries and cream
Cropwell Bishop Stilton and French Brie cheese
A selection of fruit
Chocolates
CLUB KITCHEN
Between meals, please help yourself to a drink or a tasty snack. Please visit the Club Kitchen and help yourself to the selection on display.
Snack salads, sandwcihes, filled rolls and wraps
Fresh fruit slaads and fruit smoothies or juice
Choice of luxury cakes
Crisps and chocoalte (including organic chocolate)
BREAKFAST
Starters
Chilled fruit juice
An energising fruit smoothie of milk, strawberry, banana and vanilla
Fresh fruit appetiser
-or-
Greek yoghurt with honey
Bakery
Selection of warm breads and breakfast pastries
Starters
Loch Fyne smoked salmon with mustard dressing
-or-
Meze plate
Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette
Main
Grilled fillet of beef with asparagus, carrots and blue cheese gnocchi
Shaun Hill's smoked haddock and prawn fish pie
Vegetable and date tajin with minted Moroccan couscous
Main course salad of Cajun chicken with peppered pineapple and spicy tomato dressing
Dessert
Strawberries and cream
Cropwell Bishop Stilton and French Brie cheese
A selection of fruit
Chocolates
CLUB KITCHEN
Between meals, please help yourself to a drink or a tasty snack. Please visit the Club Kitchen and help yourself to the selection on display.
Snack salads, sandwcihes, filled rolls and wraps
Fresh fruit slaads and fruit smoothies or juice
Choice of luxury cakes
Crisps and chocoalte (including organic chocolate)
BREAKFAST
Starters
Chilled fruit juice
An energising fruit smoothie of milk, strawberry, banana and vanilla
Fresh fruit appetiser
-or-
Greek yoghurt with honey
Bakery
Selection of warm breads and breakfast pastries
The GF lounge (also used by VS) was pleasant but nothing particularly special - spacious, not crowded, a nice selection of food and drink available (with attendants standing around to assist), one computer with Internet access and the boarding calls made by the lounge dragon walking around to all the passengers. (No shower - I understand from SQFAN that you can pay for the shower facilities at the DXB airport hotel.)
The GF flight was a short 45-minute hop on a 2-class A320-200. J was configured as four rows of 2-2 seating with comfortable seats with 40+ inches of pitch. The crew was from all over the world, e.g. Bahrain (obviously!), Greece, the Philippines etc. Like the seat, GF's service and meal on such a short flight put BA's Club Europe service (the duration being something like BA CE LHR-CDG with a cold salad) to shame - as well as a pre-departure drink, newspapers and a choice of hot or cold towel (a proper towel rather than the flimsy toilet cloths which BA use), I had the following menu:
GULF REGION
To start
Seasonal fruit juices - apple, orange, mango and tomato
Main course
Grilled lamb koftas - aromatic spiced minced lamb offered with saffron rice and Roma tomato sauce
Light option
Tempting assortment of cold appetisers offering Mediterranean flavours
From the bakery
Choice of Arabic bread
To finish
Assorted teas - camomile, English breakfast, Moroccan mint, Earl Grey, Ceylon black tea
Freshley brewed or decaffeinated coffee
Served with a selection of biscuits
To start
Seasonal fruit juices - apple, orange, mango and tomato
Main course
Grilled lamb koftas - aromatic spiced minced lamb offered with saffron rice and Roma tomato sauce
Light option
Tempting assortment of cold appetisers offering Mediterranean flavours
From the bakery
Choice of Arabic bread
To finish
Assorted teas - camomile, English breakfast, Moroccan mint, Earl Grey, Ceylon black tea
Freshley brewed or decaffeinated coffee
Served with a selection of biscuits
) and I was first off the plane. A quick 10-minute taxi ride into town (with the opportunity to get slightly fleeced by a Bahraini taxi driver whose meter was on the blink but for the sake of the amount involved I wasn't about to jump out of the taxi ) and I met up for lunch with SQFAN who just happened to be in Bahrain and flying to Qatar every night for his own special reasons. It was straight back to the airport after lunch (another opportunity to enrich another taxi driver) and I was initially confused when I found the check-in desks for CX746 BAH-DXB but I could only see those for Y. After queueuing for a little while, I spotted an airport staff member and after asking me several times whether I was travelling in J (e.g. "are you in business ? is your ticket in business ?"), he led me off to another part of the terminal signposted "first class check-in". I had seen that earlier but thought it was for GF only. The check-in process was very civilised with no queues, a large room with desks as check-in counters and a chair in front of each and security just for J/F passengers. (I've never experienced SQ F check-in in SIN and assume it's similar to this ?)
I'd read reports from others who (like SQFAN) seem to like Bahrain with nightly trips to Qatar
and understood that even as OW sapphire or emerald on a BA flight, they were sent away from the CX BAH lounge and told to use the independently operated Dilmun lounge instead. No such problem for me booked on a CX flight so I went into the lounge (which had no F side - if it had, I wonder if my BA gold card together with a CX J ticket would have been sufficient!) ... to wonder what all the fuss is about ? Apart from the food selection with some hot dimsum and a few computers, the lounge was quite small (although it had a nice view), full of passengers and unremarkable.I asked the lounge dragon whether the lounge had a toilet and was told to go down the corridor into the Dilmun lounge, present my BA gold card and use the toilet in there!
I entered the Dilmun lounge and asked about the toilet but didn't show my BA gold card and was sent packing by the lounge dragon who seemed annoyed that CX had sent a passenger over rather than downstairs to the toilet inside the terminal. When I left, she was phoning the CX lounge and complaining. After shuttling between the two lounges again, I slowly realised that I really did need to show my BA gold card and after the lounge dragon took down my details (will BA or CX get charged for my use of the Dilmun lounge toilet I wonder ?), I was finally admitted into the Dilmun lounge (which is also a Priority Pass lounge) ... to find that it seems much much better than the CX lounge. I didn't look around the food and drink selection but the lounge was many times bigger, looked to be decorated quite nicely and only had a few passengers inside ... plus it had its own toilets! The CX 45-minute flight BAH-DXB (where it then continues on to HKG) was operated by a 2-class 777-200 (with 6-7 rows of a 2-3-2 configuration in J). Whilst I appreciate that this was obviously one of the older planes in CX's fleet and the short flight presumably isn't representative of a typical CX flight:
- My seat was wobbly and seemed slightly broken, e.g. I could push the seat backwards or forwards.
- The interior looked old and dirty, e.g. panels which seemed loose and dirt around the light fittings.
- I was sat in J and there was no individual seat IFE - only a projected screen at the front of the cabin - fine for my short hop but I wouldn't have wanted to be booked for DXB-HKG!
- Whilst there seemed to be plenty of crew in the J and the cabin was not half full, the crew seemed to be disorganised and rushing around without any apparent method I could discern (although perhaps it was catering to CX status passengers first ?!?), e.g. the captain made the announcement for the crew to take their seats for take-off but they had only just started to collect the pre-departure drink glasses. No typical SQ efficiency here!
The IFS went round to all the passengers, addressing me by name and handing each of us a menu depending on whether we were only going as far as DXB or all the way to HKG. The food was similar to the SQ ZRH-MAN-ZRH offerings (perhaps not even up to that standard) rather than the excellent food on offer from GF for the same flight:
Refreshment
Selected sandwiches - smoked salmon and smoked chicken with fruit kebab
Tea and coffee
Pralines
Selected sandwiches - smoked salmon and smoked chicken with fruit kebab
Tea and coffee
Pralines
, it was straight to the arrivals lounge for a very welcome shower (to feel human again!), a quick hello to SQFAN who'd arrived from BAH and was off to his flight back up to ABZ and a full English breakfast. I decided not to go for another freebie Molton Brown treatment (even though it's much easier to get one in arrivals than departure) because my last one consisted of a 10-minute back rub fully clothed (unlike the special services available in the BA Molton Brown Spa in JFK 
Mine was from LHR and it uses adhesive as the sealing mechanism. In the end, I could not be bothered to argue as I got a new bag anyway.
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