At this point in the journey I had just left my Lyft from New York’s LaGuardia airport to New York’s JFK airport. The ride took just over 40 minutes and cost about $35. Although the price wasn’t terrible, American would have covered the cost had I booked this trip as a single itinerary. Instead, since my trip technically ended in New York I had to cover the cost myself.
Checking Into My British Airways Flight
After exiting the Lyft I made my way into Terminal 7 to check-in to my British Airways flight. I tried to check-in via the mobile app before arriving at the airport, but was unsuccessful. Since I couldn’t check-in with the British Airways app I had to visit a British Airways ticketing counter.
All of the lines for British Airways were very long when I arrived at the terminal. Due to construction in the terminal things were a bit of a mess, but after a few moments I noticed signage for First Class and OneWorld Emerald customers.
In New York’s JFK airport there is a separate check-in area and security checkpoint for First Class and OneWorld Emerald customers. In this area of the terminal there were not lines and I retried my boarding card within a few minutes.
Boarding The British Airways 747-400
After retrieving my boarding card I proceeded into the terminal and made my way to Gate 3. I made it to gate 3 approximately 40 minutes before 7PM. Before getting to the airport I expected to have plenty of time to stop in the British Airways Galleries lounge for some food and drink, but when I arrived at the gate the boarding process was already underway.
I decided to skip the lounge and head straight for the gate to board the 747-400 which would be taking me across the Atlantic.
Once onboard I made my way to the very rear of the aircraft to take my seat. For this flight I chose seat 51B which is located in the tail of the plane. 51B might sound like a terrible seat, but it actually is one of the best economy seats on the plane.
That’s because row 51 features just 8 seats rather than the standard 10. Seat 51A is missing which technically makes 51B the window seat. Thanks to the missing seat there is extra storage space along the window and the entire seat feels roomier. Additionally, no one ended up sitting in seat 51C so I had the whole row to myself. Let me tell you, having no one next to you makes any long-haul flight considerably more enjoyable.
I Need Food Now
So, that’s my day so far. Here I am on the British Airways 747-400 buckled in for the 6 hour flight from New York to London. Today has been quite the day, but most notably, it’s been a day without much food or water.
I didn’t have a chance to eat a proper breakfast this morning nor did I have a chance to eat in Charlotte. So at this point all I’ve had to eat today are a few snacks from the American Airlines domestic first class snack basket and a plate of food in the Amex Centurion Lounge at LaGuardia. To drink I’ve only had a cup of coffee, a coke, a glass of water, a glass of sparkling wine, and a cappuccino. When traveling on long-haul flights hydration is important and I’ve been doing a poor job of that thus far. Hopefully that won’t mean I feel terrible when I arrive in London.
And on that note the service carts are coming by and it’s time to eat! I’ll try to check in from the British Airways lounge in Heathrow during my layover before my flight to Munich. However, at that point it will be 1AM CST and I might not have the motivation to write.
An Uneventful Flight On An Old BA 747
The flight from New York to London was fairly uneventful. Our flight time last evening was just 6 hours and five minutes. That’s shorter than many flights from New York to Los Angeles. Given the short flight time the crew served dinner very shortly after takeoff. For our flight we had the option of eating a chicken or pasta dish. I opted for pasta which might have been the wrong choice.
After dinner I began to familiarize myself with the cabin of our very old 747-400. As I looked around the cabin I quickly realized that this plane has not been retrofitted. The economy cabin features the old BA economy seats which feature a very small IFE screen and no in-seat power. Additionally, our flight lacked WiFi services which isn’t the case on refreshed planes.
I didn’t mind not having WiFi as I planned on sleeping as much of the flight as possible. Somehow I managed to get about 3 hours of sleep which was more than I expected. Before I knew it the cabin crew turned on the interior lights and began the snack service. The snack on our flight was just a pretzel bun with some cream cheese on it. A far cry from the full breakfast services offered years ago.
Quick Stop At The British Airways Galleries First Lounge
Our flight from New York arrived in London about 25 minutes early. This meant that I now had just over two hours to kill before my next flight to Munich. It took about 20 minutes to clear security in T5 and another 5 minutes or so to make it to the British Airways Galleries First Lounge.
Once in the lounge I grabbed a light breakfast from the refectory and found an empty seat. It was at this point that I wrote a little more and submitted a few early entries to this live blog. Before long it was time to head to the gate to board my flight to Munich.
How Am I Feeling?
Honestly, at this point, not bad. I only got about three hours of sleep on the flight over, but I’m surprisingly alert and conscious. On the flight I had a cup of coffee on the plane, but have opted to skip coffee at the lounge in hopes of sleeping on my flight to Munich. I have a feeling that I will hit a wall soon, but for the time being it’s full steam ahead.
Why Are You Doing This Again?
Let’s rewind. All of this started because earlier this year (2018) I found a business class fare from Munich to Chicago and back for just $1,500. Yes, that’s a lot of money, but it’s a steal for transatlantic business class on OneWorld carriers.
I booked that flight because I’d earn a lot of miles from it, but also because the return flight puts me in Munich for Oktoberfest. Obviously the only issue with this plan is that I first have to get to Munich to begin my journey. Since I had to go to Munich anyway I’ve decided to turn this into a little mileage run.
At this point I’m not exactly sure how many Elite Qualifying Miles and Elite Qualifying Dollars I’ll earn, but I’ll make sure to include that as trip goes on and the miles post to my AAdvantage account.
By taking this trip (and a few others this year) my goal is to once again earn AAdvantage Executive Platinum status. To attain that goal I must fly 100,000 miles a year with American or other OneWorld carriers. With this trip I’ll knock off about another 10,500 miles which will get me even closer to my goal,
Next Stop Munich
Well, that does it for this installment, I’ll check back in when I get to Munich. I’m not sure what my plans are for Munich yet. I have a long layover in Munich, but I’m not sure it’s enough time to go into the city and explore. Plus, I’m not sure how I’ll be feeling when I get there.
