op aboard a British Airways 747
as it travels between New York's Kennedy and London's Heathrow.
Executive Editor Donna Tunney offers a behind the scenes report in
this installment of TWcrossroads' Day in the Life series.
4:30 a.m.: BA duty manager Joe Brooks smashes
his alarm clock to bits, er, make that gingerly taps the snooze
button just once, silently promising to make up the extra 10
minutes by foregoing a second cup of coffee before leaving his
suburban home for the trek to Kennedy Airport.
6:15
a.m.: Brooks leads a reporter on a detailed tour of the
still-under-construction terminal and lounge at Kennedy, which is
called Terraces. He explains that Terraces, which is nearly
finished, will have two self-serve bars offering, at this time of
day, coffees, teas and pastries. The lounge furniture sports
brightly colored fabrics, giving the lounge an upbeat atmosphere. A
fountain adds the comforting sound of babbling water to the
ambience, and tall windows offer views of yet another construction
site that eventually will become one of many train stops when the
Kennedy rail link is completed.
BA passengers will be able to exit the train and directly enter
the airline's check-in area.
6:40 a.m.: Brooks' walkie-talkie squeals
loudly, and he answers it to learn that large trash dumpsters have
been abandoned in the baggage carousel area and must be dealt with.
"A lot of what I handle around here is maintenance stuff," he says.
With the luggage carousel area cleared, Brooks returns to Terraces
and takes the reporter into the exclusive Concorde Lounge, which
currently is used by first class subsonic passengers. "We expect to
resume using this lounge for Concorde passengers once the planes
are certified to fly again." The Concorde Lounge is sleek, with
subdued brown and beige fabrics, and a dining area that could pass
for one of the new, chic restaurants at Grand Central Station. The
lounge is staffed by special services employees, who function sort
of like concierges, tending to individual passenger requests.
One mentions that Jordan's Queen Noor used the lounge a few days
earlier, and that Diana, Princess of Wales, was a regular there
before her untimely death.
7:30 a.m.: Brooks arranges for the reporter to
board her flight early, with the crew, to observe cabin
preparations.
8:10 a.m.: Enter Geoffrey Scott, the flight's
cabin services director, who introduces the reporter to Alison
Simpson. Simpson's official title is purser. She had arrived about
30 minutes earlier from the Fitzpatrick Hotel in Manhattan, the
property that hosts the BA flight teams. She is in charge of the
galley, an area about 15 feet by 4 feet, with metal compartments
built into the walls. Some compartments are for heating, some for
storage.
This is where the food and beverages, which already have been
loaded onboard, are prepared for passengers.
Meanwhile, the first call for general boarding is heard over the
onboard PA system.
Just before take-off, Simpson checks contents of overhead bins
and closes them, one by one, in the Club Class cabin. Her
colleagues are collecting glasses from passengers who have finished
drinking their water, juice and champagne.
9:21 a.m.: Finally, all flight attendants are
seated for take-off. The aircraft rumbles down the runway and then
soars above New York.
9:26 a.m.: It's noisy in the cramped galley,
where Simpson and three attendants ready the carts that will soon
deliver more beverages to passengers. Glasses clank against each
other, and the crew makes small talk.
10:20 a.m.: It's breakfast time. Simpson never
stops moving -- bending down and reaching up, going from one galley
compartment to another -- heating food and giving short bursts of
instructions to attendants who crowd the galley, waiting for their
carts to be readied. Simpson keeps smiling.
10:50 a.m.: The first delivery of food is over,
and a major cleanup is under way in the galley. Carts are brought
back to the galley with the remains of meals. A bit of free time
follows the cleanup, and some attendants bring round the duty-free
offerings to passengers.
Noon: Lunch preparation gets started, and
Simpson begins her routine of orchestrating operations in the
galley.
12:30 p.m.: On the flight deck, Capt. John
Maxwell and First Officer Tony Pollock, have just finished
lunch.
"We're just about to begin the crossing," says Capt. Maxwell,
who shows the reporter the aircraft's route on a large map he has
unfolded. The plane is just east of the Newfoundland coast and
heading out over open water.
12:36 p.m.: Capt. Maxwell is interrupted by a
flight attendant, who has entered the cockpit and is relaying a
message from a passenger.
"He has to connect in London, and he forgot to order his Kosher
meal on the connecting flight. Can you pass along the message
please?" she says, handing him a slip of paper. "No problem," the
captain responds.
Switch to London time
7 p.m.: Simpson readies one last snack serving.
Movies are nearly over, and passengers will be expecting another
drink, and probably something to munch on.
Simpson sits down for a few minutes and explains to the reporter
that she works one month on, one month off. She has a small child,
and is eager for this month's assignment to be over. The day after
this flight, she will return to New York, then take a night flight
back to London that same day, finally reaching home for a two-day
break.
8:32 p.m.: Back on flight deck for the landing
at Heathrow, the view over London is spectacular. It's a crystal
clear night, and the crew can see London landmarks as the craft
circles, waiting for the go-ahead for the final approach to
Heathrow. Transmissions from the controllers at Heathrow include
dialogue with the captains of aircraft in various stages of
approach.
8:50 p.m.: The plane is still at 13,000 feet,
and is 10 minutes from landing.
Capt. Maxwell adjusts his seat forward, stretches his legs a
bit, and pulls what looks like a small steering wheel close to him.
The runway at Heathrow comes into view; it's essentially a long
dark road with a bright line down the middle.
8:54 p.m.: 9,000 feet, 5,000 feet...
9 p.m.: 3,000 feet, 1,000 feet. The bright line
gets closer and closer. The runway seems to be rising up to meet
the plane, rather than the plane descending to meet the ground.
9:02 p.m.: It's touchdown and a smooth landing.
Capt. Maxwell turns left off the runway, following a series of
green lights on the ground.
"There we go...there's our spot," says First Officer Pollock,
who is pointing as the captain is steering. "Right next to that big
jumbo there."
9:05 p.m.: The aircraft slides up to the
passenger walkway. It's an on-time landing for this crew.
Membership has its privileges
British Airways' newest Club World seats are designed in forward
and rearward facing pairs and are configured to create a
lounge-style environment.
There are 20 in the upper deck of a B747 and up to 50 in the
main decks of B747s and B777s.
It's essentially a two-piece bed consisting of the main seat and
a footstool, which is adjustable in height and attached to the back
of the passenger seat in front. When not in use, the footstool
folds up and is held in place by a clasp.
The seat is fully electronic,
with integrated lumbar support, and can adopt any recline position
between fully upright and completely flat. It has a fully
adjustable headrest with 'ears' to provide support.
Each set of facing seat pairs has two individual privacy
screens, which can be adjusted
On my flight, I was in a rearward facing seat, so I was flying
with my back to the nose of the aircraft. And my seatmate sought no
interaction with me, keeping her privacy screen up at all
times.
Since I was constantly getting in and out of my seat while
taking notes for the accompanying onboard report, I became adept at
climbing over the footstool of the passenger sitting in front and
diagonal to me. It's a big step over that footstool, and most
passengers would probably undertake the mission only once or twice
during a flight.
The seats are very comfortable and the sense of privacy is
fantastic. The width of the seat, however, might prove something of
a challenge to larger people. But my guess is that the option to
lay flat on a long flight far outweighs the coziness for most
people.
To read other Day in the Life articles, click here.