Jet Set Go!

Always looking to downsize the kit I travel with, I recently deconstructed the ingredients of my ‘Hand Luggage Only’ armoury. Here they are:

Click through to Flickr and rollover for more details.

Airline Lounges : In Pictures

Virgin Clubhouse : SFO

American Airlines Flagship Lounge : JFK

Cathay Pacific Lounge : LHR

Cathay Pacific Wing Lounge : HKG

Thai Royal First Lounge : BKK

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse : JNB

British Airways First Lounge : LHR

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse : LHR

If you frequently travel through Heathrow and want to beat the Immigration queues when you arrive then sign up for IRIS on your next outbound.  It’s an eye-scanning technology that effectively replaces the Immigration officer and passport check, by scanning your iris and checking the data stored on their database.  It only takes 5 minutes to sign up, and once you’re in the system you’ll clear immigration in no time on your return leg, you don’t even need to rummage through your bag for your passport.  It’s all a bit ‘Minority Report’, but if you can get past the THX1138ness of it all it’ll radically transform your arrival, as you skip past the queues and collect your bags in a matter of minutes.

One of my favourite, but slightly weird, travel tips is to buy new aftershave or perfume at the airport before you go on holiday, and using it exclusively whilst you are away.  Smell is the most memorable of all the senses and, when revisited, can be a powerful reminder of your vacation. Here’s a more scientific view. Go on, try it next time you’re away.

Dopplr is a simple web application that helps you keep track of friends and colleagues, wherever they are in the world. I travel to San Francisco about 10 times a year, and Dopplr lets me know who’s going to be in town when I’m there: listing all my friends who live there, as well as people who are visiting at that time - useful, eh. Not only that, but it also allows your connections to share their tips for the city - cool coffee shop, best place for free wifi etc, making it super-useful for checking out the places that you won’t find in guidebooks.

Check it out and add me as a friend.

Since Virgin Atlantic’s launch in 1984 there has been a (not so) silent war between Britain’s (and previously the World’s) Favourite airline, and Richard Brandson’s young upstart. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Business Class cabin, where both airlines fight for lucrative business travellers: who provide the much needed seat margins, lacking in the knock-down economy cabins.

What’s interesting is how both airlines have approached the needs of the customer, both opting for radically different design and service solutions - which can be seen clearly in the lounge, cabin layout, seat design, food and service. I’ve recently flown both (using my regular pay coach, fly business principle) and have some thoughts on how they differ that I thought I’d share.

Lounge

BA’s lacklustre Business Class lounges at Heathrow is set to be radically transformed by their move to T5 soon, for now though it’s a typical, busy euro-style lounge. If you’re smart you’ll track down the one Terraces Lounge that does a hot buffet, sure beats the cold-sandwich treatment.

Virgin’s Heathrow Clubhouse is a 25,000ft private member’s club, which you can access in less than 10 minutes with Virgin’s new Upper Class Wing, including private check-in and security. I’ve already blogged it previously. For my money, the best Business Class lounge there is.

Verdict: Virgin Wins (until we see what BA deliver withT5)

Cabin

BA’s new Club World cabin features both forward and rear-facing seats, each of which have aisle access. Lots of things have been upgraded here, since the last refresh of Club World, but what’s most apparent is the high level of privacy afforded to window seats. BA recently introduced a snack bar, called the Club Kitchen, located in the galley, where you can help yourself to drinks and snacks during the flight, a nice touch but something of an afterthought it seems.

Virgin’s cabin is laid out in their patented herringbone formation, with seats angled at 45°. The low-slung, curved partitions make for what feels like a roomy, open cabin - adding to the sense of space it seems Virgin were engineering with the Upper Class product. Virgin pioneered mood lighting, which many have now replicated, that makes relaxing or navigating the cabin in low-light, a much more pleasurable experience. The best feature, however, is he Bar - now standard on all VS flights. Essentially an open galley, designed for up to 8 passengers to congregate, drink and chat, the bar is an excellent innovation, well suited for folks who like to socialise on a long flight. If you’re feeling super-rockstar about the whole thing, ask if you can have dinner at the bar, it’s a gas.

Verdict: Virgin Wins, hands down.

Seat

BA have obviously spent some time re-engineering their flat-bed seat, since they introduced the first, some years ago. The result is an excellent, private (the window seat only), experience, that suffers only from it’s lack of length (only 6′3”). Unlike Virgin, the seat reclines back fully into the bed position, making it easy to go from reclining and watching a movie to being fully flat and snoozing away, my personal favourite combo.

Virgin’s seat is as ingenious as it is long - a fabulous 6′7″ on the Upper Deck. When it’s time for bed the flight attendant will come and turn down your bed, flipping over the seat, to reveal a soft mattress on the underside of the seat. Soft pillows and a down duvet follow, making for the best Business Class sleep I’ve ever had. Beware though, widths and lengths vary between upper and lower decks on the 747 and again on the A340, so check Seat Guru for details before you travel.

Verdict: If you’re tall Virgin Wins, if you’re looking for privacy go for a window seat on BA

Food

BA really comes into its own with the food. Excellent muli-course menus and delicious wines combine to make for an excellent all-round dining experience. Top marks.

Virgin’s food is simply terrible. The above meal was the single exception to the rule, but every other meal I’ve eaten in Upper Class has been below par. Poorly conceived menus and stingy portions are the norm, which is remarkable for an airline that gets so much else right.

Verdict: No contest, BA’s food wins by a country mile.

Service

This is a tricky one, as both airlines tend to focus on very different priorities.

Virgin carry the member’s club theme on from the Clubhouse, opting for younger (typically female) cabin crew. This is great if you’re off on holiday, as the style is more chatty and indulgent - ‘another glass of Scotch Mr Moross?’ But lacks in genuine, attentive service: requests are often forgotten and the overall attitude is more blasé.

BA have opted for super-professional, older crew. Always attentive and happy to entertain most requests, they’re extremely competent and considerably more experienced than their VS counterparts. But overall the BA crew miss the trick of making the experience special in any way.

Verdict: A draw.

Every airline wants to do something special in the air, but few seem to care about the customer experience on the ground.

Thai is certainly the exception to the rule.

I recently travelled HKG-BKK-HKG. Economy was coming in at around $400, Business was $600 and First just $100 more. Having heard about how good Thai is supposed to be at Suvarnabhumi, I opted for First - resolute that I would enjoy my $300 dollar’s worth of extras to the fullest extent possible.

It’s only a 3 hr flight, but Thai operates a full international grade 747-400 on at least one of the daily scheduled flights, which offers a three class service, identical what you’d experience on long-haul. You can view the plane types when you book to ensure you’ll get the full three-class service. If you want to experience (proper) First Class, this is one of the cheapest ways to do it - at only $300 more than economy.

The Thai First cabin is very roomy, with just 10 flat-bed seats. It’s not very private, but the upside is a very calm and relaxed space, with plenty of room to walk around and socialise - excellent for those travelling in a group.

I chose seat 1A, probably the most private (along with 1K), as it faces forward in a 1-1 configuration, with only the closet in front of you. It’s an excellent First seat, which reclines to a full 180° and a generous 78″ of pitch.

The service and catering for such a short-haul flight were outstanding. I must have had a whole bottle of Dom Perignon and a delicious 4 course lunch followed by cheese and port.

As excellent as the experience had been in the air, nothing prepared me for what I was about to encounter on the ground.

Suvarnabhumi is Bangkok’s new airport and Thai have obviously set out to make the on-ground experience something to be remembered. As I left the plane, I was greeted by a young man in a suit, holding a white board with my name on it. He ushered me, and two other First passengers, into an electric cart and sped off through the airport.

Beeping and swerving past unsuspecting travellers, we drove beyond the huge queues at immigration into a private zone, reserved for First Class passengers. Two desks were opened for us and we cleared immigration in less than a minute.

Once beyond immigration I was greeted by my own personal porter, who guided me to the baggage carousel. The First passenger’s bags were (for once) first off and my porter whipped it onto the trolly and escorted me through immigration and into a taxi. Amazing.

Needless to say, I was quite excited about my return leg. 6 days later I again returned to Suvarnabhumi for my flight back to Hong Kong.

The First Class check in is a private area, sectioned off from the rest of the departure hall. I was encouraged to take a seat in a leather armchair as they pulled up the flight details and checked my luggage. Once checked in I was again invited into the good old electric cart and driven at high speed to the Royal Orchid Lounge. It took less than 5 minutes between arriving at the airport and entering the lounge (which, however, is not airside).

Unlike any lounge I’ve been in before, the Thai’s First Class offering has private rooms, where you can relax, watch TV or socialise in relative privacy - a real novelty.

Again, as seems to be standard for Thai, the service was excellent - I enjoyed several glasses of champagne and some Pad Thai, which was made fresh for me and delivered to my little private cabana.

The rest of the lounge is rather understated but nevertheless very comfortable and relaxed. When my flight was called, I hopped, yet again, into our trusty little cart and was wizzed through security and onto the plane.

Having been extremely impressed with both Virgin Atlantic and Cathay’s lounge and check-in experiences Thai certainly had to deliver something exceptional to stand out. Virgin’s Heathrow ‘Clubhouse’ - essentially an amazing private member’s club is a great place to hang out, whilst Cathay’s ‘Wing’ and ‘Pier’ lounges are minimalist luxury personified (both designed by John Pawson), but neither can reach the celeb-status-inducing buzz of Thai’s amazing service. From chauffeur-driven carts, to personal immigration queues - every touch reinforces your imaginary rockstar status, which is what First Class should be all about. Well done Thai.

Routing

LHR-HKG

On The Ground

Check In

BA has a dedicated First check in area at Heathrow Terminal 1, which shares a private security channel with Club World passengers. Check in was quick and smooth, taking less than 5 minutes. Clearing security only took another 5, so I was in the lounge in 15 minutes all in, which is pretty impressive.

Lounge

The First lounge at Terminal 1 is the better of the two that BA operate at Heathrow (the other is at T4) but it’s still far behind even some of the newer Business Class lounges available, such as the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. The spaces aren’t particularly inspiring, apart from the Champagen Bar (pictured), and there was a general lack of space: almost every seat was taken when I arrived. All this is set to change, however, with BA’s move to Termial 5 in March 2008 and the introduction of their new Galleries FIRST product.

In The Air

Cabin

BA cramms 14 seats into it’s First Class section, which is situated at the front of the plane (just wondering as I write if anyone has designed a First section on the upper deck?). The configuration is 1 and 1, with 2 rows of 1-2-1, the middle two of which are better suited to travelling companions.

Seat

I nabbed 2K, which is supposed to be the best in the house, offering relatively the most privacy for a solo traveller. The BA First product has been around for a few years now, and despite a few nice touches it’s beginning to lag behind some of its competitors, particularly on Asian routes. The seat is comfortable enough, but nowhere near as private as other First products, or even BA’s new Club World, which includes window seats that are extremely private, being almost completely enclosed.

The seat converts into a fully flat bed, and during ‘turn down’ a thin mattress is added to make things a little more comfortable. However, for someone who’s 6′5”, it’s simply not long enough: the faux-Walnut enclosure tapering into an uncomfortably narrow foot space. At least in Club World exit rows and other configurations afford additional legroom from the standard 6′3″ up to an additional foot in length.

Amenities

The super-comfortable sleep suit and Anya Hindmarch washbag, filled with Keihls products do add a touch of glamour, which is mirrored in the beautiful menu design and paraphernailia.

Food

The in-flight meal is an area in which BA genuinely excels beyond its domestic and Transatlantic competition, easily surpassing Virgin, United and American’s offerings, from the Business Class cabin forwards. As good as it was, this was my second First Class meal, which, to my surprise featured nearly the identical menu to my first, on the same route, 6 months before.

I was served a selection of canapes, and a glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label, followed by a delicious Goat’s cheese tart and then Roasted Lamb - which was washed down with a glass of ‘99 Puillac. I followed up with Cheese and Port. All were excellent.

In Flight Entertainment

If I had felt a sense of deja-vu with the food this was compounded by the IFE. Despite having recently upgraded their systems BA’s IFE rarely works and when it does it simply screens a limited range of old movies (already out on DVD) which I’ve already seen or terrible new ones that no one would watch. No matter how luxurious the surroundings, no matter how comfortable the seat, or how delicious the food - on a 12 hour flight 6 or 7 will be sleep, the rest of the time we want entertaining! BA need to address this.

Service

BA tend to employ older, more experienced crew for their forward cabins (also a more balanced male/female mix), when compared to Virgin. The result is great, if a little snooty, service.

However, for the money, the First experience just doesn’t feel quite special enough. In comparison, in Cathay Pacific’s new First Class there are only 9 seats, vs BA’s 14, and the feeling of personal attention is simply remarkable: you’re treated like a celebrity, not just a regular traveller.

Summary

Miles ahead of the US carriers, but some way behind Asian frontronners like Cathay and Singapore Airlines. The First cabin need refreshing, fewer seats and more privacy. And the crew need to make passengers feel like it’s Christmas every time they fly.

The only thing more pleasurable than flying Business Class is paying Economy and flying Business Class. Here’s a neat little trick to get you from A to B (via C) in Business Class for nearly half the price.

Let’s say you live in London and you want to travel from London to Hong Kong, an Economy fare is around $1,200, Premium would be around $2,000 and Business, $5,000. However, if you think outside the box, more specifically, outside the country, you can save a small fortune. Instead of typing in your departure city airport (LHR), try somewhere reasonably close, say Milan (MXP or LIN).

Here’s the quote on Expedia on BA from Heathrow to Honk Kong International. £2,611.50, over $5,200.

However, if you depart from Milan, connecting on the very same BA flight from London, on the same day, it will cost you more than $2,000 dollars less.

The down-side is that you have 2 extra short-haul stops per long-haul leg, but, if you want Business on the long haul, this is the cheapest way to do it.

In the beginning air travel was the luxurious preserve of the few.

You needed serious money and your fingers crossed (to prevent from a fiery death) to fly. Now things are different, you can fly pretty much anywhere in the world for a dollar plus tax; the airlines are basically giving it away, upselling the add-ons, food and other services. Because of this, air travel has become a horrid, commoditised experience - everything is the lowest common denominator, with all the original luxuries stripped away so that you can travel around the world for the price of a crappuccino.

To keep business passengers sweet, and away from the great unwashed that now clog our congested terminals, airlines invented the ‘lounge’. These exclusive branded hang-outs offer free drinks & food, and are pitched as quiet (zen-like) spaces, designed to help premium passengers escape airport madness and start enjoying their trip before they’ve even left.

Unfortunately most of them *suck*.

You’ve just shelled out $6,000 for a business class ticket and all you get is some pretzels, a free beer and a view of the runway. Hmm. Most airlines have lounges, but only one has remembered that the journey is part of the holiday, and that an airline lounge should be much more than just a glorified waiting room.

Say hello to Virgin Atlantic’s Heathrow Clubhouse. It’s so good you really won’t want to leave. I’ve just spent the whole day here, connecting in from San Francisco to Cape Town (on a 22,000 mile, 7 day bonanza) and it’s been an absolute joy.

Everything here has been designed to be radically different from the usual airline lounge: typically an unexceptional, joyless and cramped space. The Clubhouse is simply huge, offering several different distinct areas across 25,000 square feet, in which you can eat, drink, play or relax - all free and all delivered with the typical Virgin panache and attention to detail.

The design is super-glamourous: it’s filled with classic Eames, Aarnio, and Columbo furniture, Arco lights and sweeping spaces that set them off beautifully. What’s present here, and absent in many of Virgin’s competitors is a sense of fun and style. There’s a free hair salon, a spa, garden, even a pool. It’s much more like a private member’s club than a waiting room, more Soho House than Holiday Inn.

My day in the lounge.

I arrived at the lounge around midday, having just flown in from SFO - I used the Arrivals Lounge to shower and change before checking in and using Virgin’s new dedicated security channel at Heathrow’s Terminal 3, which, apart from check in itself, is exceptional.

I had lunch in the restaurant and then repaired to the ‘Office’, a dedicated work area, to get on with my day job. Several thousand emails later I Twittered my friends to see if anyone was at the airport that day and fancied a drink. Adrian Sevitz, an ‘internet friend’ answered the call and joined me for a brace of excellent Manhattans before his flight to JFK. One of the great things about the Clubhouse, and most other lounges, is that you can invite guests to join you (as long as they’re on the same airline) - it’s always more fun to enjoy them with friends.

After Adrian left I repaired to the bar, tag-teaming glasses of champagne and the final emails of the day. At 7.30 they called my flight, VS 603 to Cape Town. I reluctantly packed up and took the short(ish) walk to the departure gate, waving goodbye to the excellent waiters, bar staff and other folk who’d looked after me so well during my stay.