To London for Dinner

The short walk back to Gate 41.

Wow, T-35 and we're already on Group 9.  When I booked this flight some six months ago, I had Mrs. SFO777 in 1A and I was in 2A.  Fast forward to yesterday and I'm now in 1D with 2A assigned to someone else.   No idea whether this was a FAM thing or what.  When Mrs. SFO777 decided that she was not going to come along, I cancelled her ticket and moved over to 1A.  Lo and behold I board and the doufuss in 2A is sitting in 1A.  Huh?  When the FA intervened and we found out that his boarding pass said 2A, I told him to stay there and I took 2A.  Definitely not a FAM type so no idea what that was all about.

Pleasant cabin with 1-2-1 staggered configuration. 

Seat was comfy but not very private as you're pretty much exposed to the rest of the cabin, and vice versa.

Lots of pillows, duvets and blankets clogging up the seat.

Service tonight was excellent.  Friendly, professional and impressive. 

But then there was Mr. Detroit Piston in 2D, yapping on the phone the entire time prior to push telling his friends that he was in First Class.  He was no doubt also trying to impress the world with his sense of fashion.  

Tonight's menu...

OK, this is encouraging.  But how does it translate to the real world at 35,000 feet.

Yep, still going strong in 2D.

Like the Energizer Bunny.

The AA amenity kit.

Different packaging and colors from last week's JFK-LAX flight, but the same basically useless stuff.

And we're off.

What a gorgeous night for flying.

One cool feature the AA continued with the new International First Class seat is its swivel capabilty which let's you turn your space into an office, especially with Wifi, $19 for the entire flight.

Showtime, AA style.   And the same old tiny hot towel.

Jeez, they try so hard and then cheap out on a dopey salt and pepper shaker. 

Despite having had dinner 2 hours ago, I decided to sample the menu. Apparently working backwards on the menu, the Tomato and Lentil soup with Grilled Cheese Crouton was first.  This was delicious with just enough kick to make the dish really memorable.

The Lump Crab salad seemed to be missing the crab.  Nevertheless, it was nice and very fresh.

The Lobster Salad Deviled Eggs were different but very tasty.

For my main, the Slow-Braised Lamb Osso Buco was spectacular. 

 Melt in your mouth and extraordinary flavor with lots of spices that was simply a knockout.

But wait, it gets even better.  The Warm Louisiana Praline Bread Pudding was to die for.  OMG.

Our FA proactively asked whether I wanted the bed made and she made it as I changed in the lav.

I slept like a baby for 5 hours.

The snack counter in the First Class galley.   No I did not have anything more to eat.  LOL.

Presumably this is the Business Class snack bar but for the life of me, I cannot remember taking the pic.   Memo to self:  too much alcohol not good. 

And Lily O'Brien's chocolates handed out on our descent.

The forward Business Class mini cabin as we exited thru 2L.

The long trek from our gate to customs and passport control.

Fast track worked great and I was officially in the UK a few minutes later.

Other than the sorry excuse for a temporary First Class Lounge, this was one very impressive day with American.  Excellent service, great food and wines.  But is this the kind of service anyone can consistently and reliably expect on American?  I lucked out tonight with a great crew, but others report a much different experience.  Unfortunately, there are far too many senior AA flight attendants just mailing it in.  If AA can weed out those bad apples and continue with this kind of catering, there may be hope.  On this flight alone, AA cracks the Top 20 International First Class products and certainly ahead of BA.

The Heathrow Express Connector elevator takes you right to the airline check-in counters for Terminal 3. 

And a mere thirty feet from the elevator is the Hilton, or a door that purports to be the Hilton.

It is covered non climate controlled walkway, that goes on and on and on.

A couple minutes of quick walking and another turn in the walkway, I get to another turn and a sign saying "You are just 4 minutes from Hilton London Heathrow".   Really?

Don't give up, you are almost in there, or in Wales whichever is closer.

OMG, finally.

It is a rather pleasant and attractive contemporary hotel.

I'm typically very impatient but tonight I patiently waited to be checked in.  No worries, take all the time you want.

All in all a comfy room to spend the evening although I didn't get much sleep as I had to contend with a mini-business crisis in the evening east coast US time.    Forgot to take a pic before I messed  up the room.  My bad. 

On arrival in Paris, a La Première rep was waiting in the jet bridge as the door opened.  She escorted me down the jet bridge elevator to the tarmac level. 

To my ride today, a nice new Jaguar.

About 3 minutes later, we arrived at the lower level of the lounge, where I was waived thru security and then headed up the elevator the one of my favorite lounges anywhere.  It was reasonably crowded this morning with passengers waiting to board the mid-morning US departures including the A380 to LAX.  I did a some work and then took pics after pretty much everyone had left. 

The gorgeous replica of the old Plaza Athenée bar.

OK, now I'm getting hungry.   

Since it was mid morning, both Breakfast and Regular menus were available.

The wonderful rest of the day Alain Ducasse menu. 

I gave my order to one of the wait staff, picked up Le Figaro and headed for my private dining room.

Showtime, La Première Lounge style.

I started with delicious shrimp caesar salad and a glass of William Fèvre 1er cru Chablis.

Followed by one of my favorites dished on the planet, Alain Ducasse's signature Coquillettes jambon/truffe noir, the amazing mac and cheese pasta with comté, ham and black truffles. 

O.M.G.  To die for.  With a 2nd and 3rd glass of the Chablis and I'm in heaven.

In a noble gesture, I declined dessert.  And then changed my mind.  Decisions, decisions.

A little more work while I finished my Chablis.  The spa and rest area of the lounge.

Four and a half hours passed quickly as it was the perfect amount of time to spend in this wonderful oasis.