TRIPREPORT British Airways Club World LGW-MCO-LGW 777-200ER (photo gallery at the bottom of article)

I don`t often fly business class but every time I have it has been with BA (British Airways). Once from Jersey to Gatwick and this time on a round trip from Gatwick to Orlando and back, and I have to say this must be my best flying experience so far!

I arrived at Gatwick a few hours before the required time, the avgeek I am, hoping to get some shots on the runways and apron at Gatwick from the BA lounge. We went swiftly through security with the priority lane that BA offer with their Club Class package (Club as it includes Club Europe, their short Haul business). After this it was about a three or four minute walk to the lounges where the No.1 lounge and BA lounge are located. We then had to walk for about thirty seconds to a lift which took us to the BA lounge desk where they checked out tickets and showed us to the Club lounge. As we were in the short queue and the desk i noticed, on the left, that there was a "BA first" lounge, unusual as there a little or no flights from Gatwick that operate four class 777s. As we entered the lounge, I immediately noticed the large window to the left overlooking the apron and runway as i had hoped! It overlooked the south side of the south terminal with many airlines, including BA, Ellinair, Aer Lingus, Aurigny (tripreport on their ATR 72 and E195 to come soon *wink*), Norwegian and many more. For avid spotters with a 600mm or 800mm lens, you can also see some arrivals and departures for and from the North terminal. BA`s club lounge is two storey, on the bottom floor is a self service buffet station, toilets, a kids area and seating (most with a clear view of the window). The upstairs has extra seating and some toilets.

When it was time to go to our gate, we had to take the lift then walk to the gate (the furthest away gate as always due to my bad luck every flight). At the gate we got priority boarding, as per usual and were greeted with a warm smile by a kind cabin crew and happily taken to our seats (for this flight mine was 3F which, contrary to the seating plans, is the one with the galley just in front). 3F is a centre seat and luckily, for privacy reasons, i was in a group of three so i was sat with someone I knew next to me with limited privacy. The privacy screen between 3E and 3F is just a small, curved pull over screen, not completely ideal if you are sat next to a stranger, but perfect if you are with friends or family. Between, 3F and 3G and 3E and 3D are the usual Club World electric, horizontally moving, telescopic privacy screen. The club world seat includes a footrest ahead of you which must be upright for takeoff landing and taxi, as with everything that changes position, a TV which flips out with a wide range of podcasts, music, movies and TV shows on it (noise-cancelling headphones and a remote are, of course, provided with the option of controlling the TV with a touchscreen), a pull out drawer by your feet (easy to open and close with your foot), seat controls just above your armrest and a table which folds out and slides along. Shortly before push back, were all given complimentary drinks in BA glasses on BA coasters and were assigned a cabin crew member. The crew were very nice and were happy to cater for our every need, even when they had made a mistake (only one in the entire flight may i add). The on-board meal selection was very good. I chose the Thai green curry and rice which was the best meal I have ever had in-flight. The flight crew were happy to let me into the cockpit on stand at Orlando to let me take pictures and ask questions, the captain even visiting me mid-flight! The single downer of the outgoing journey was that some of the BA ground crew had accidentally torn one of our suitcases.

When we returned to MCO 12 days later, we had a wild goose chase to the check in desk as there were no signs and then had yet another wild goose chase to the security. The MCO airport services are awful, we were in the priority lane, which moved slower than the main queue with many from our queue moving to the main queue and getting in before us due to only one member of staff checking passports, then there was an unnecessarily long walk through and empty queue to the metal detectors where service was slow. Once we were through, there was still a packed train journey to the concourse. Once we got off the train we then spent five to ten minutes trying to find the lounge.

The lounge itself had only one window which was lined meaning that no decent photos could be taken through it, it also overlooked some consistently empty gate, some Delta domestic gates and a treeline with had a Southwest concourse behind it. The food selection at the lounge was poor, offering some yoghurt, small bits of bread, a small selection of mini sandwiches and a few other titbits. Luckily, there was some light in the darkness as BA have instructed the lounge to call out their imminently departing flights as this is the only lounge at MCO that BA use.

We were welcomed on board by an even nicer crew, with the head flight attendant assigned to me! Two members of the cabin crew were particularly interested in the GoPro I had set up on the window, wanting to say hello to the camera and seeming disappointed when I told them that it wasn`t recording! For this flight I had seat 2K, the furthest forward window seat on the starboard (right) side of the aircraft. I was not seated with my group so I could get the feeling of flying alone in BA Club World.

The food selection for this flight was different and I had a cod dish which was not as nice as the Thai green curry but that`s because it didn`t take my fancy, not because it was poor quality. 9 hours of Movies, sleep, meals and six episodes of Fawlty towers later, we arrived at Gatwick at 07:30z (7:30AM). Once again the Flight crew were happy to welcome me into the Flightdeck, however the captain wasn`t as enthusiastic towards me as the outbound journey, which was made up for by the female First Officer being doubly enthusiastic, even letting me complete the shutdown checklist with her and testing out my knowledge of the systems of the 777! Services at Gatwick were fast and effecient, MCO could learn a thing or two from us Brits! No further damage was caused to any of our belongings which was very good news for us!

My overall view of Club World on the 777 is excellent. Despite all of the negative comments BA are receiving, they still continue to uphold standards and , quite frankly, I don`t see what everyone is complaining about, it is much better than some other airlines!

Seat 2K (High5 water bottle and camera equipment not included, everything else is, along with a large amenity kit with everything you might need for a long-haul flight and beyond!)

Another view of seat 2K showing two of the four windows and the GoPro that the cabin crew liked so much!

seat 3F with the blanket, headphones and pillow you are given.

View of 3G from 3F