Airport Number Three

Sunday, April 09, 2017
London, England, United Kingdom
Our flight to London was scheduled for just under eight hours but was actually less: just under seven hours, putting us on the ground at London Heathrow at around 6:43 in the morning on Sunday, April 9. There was dinner and breakfast. The menu was billed as "Height Cuisine," “packed with flavour at altitude.” We were also told that if we are puckish between meals the Club Kitchen is always open for us “to tuck into a range of healthy snacks or naughty treats.” There one finds artisan biscuits, healthy snacks, Cadbury chocolates and premium crisps.

The white wine was either La Picossa Garnacha Blanca 2016 from Catalunya, Spain or Seifried Chardonnay 2014 from Nelson, New Zealand. The red was a choice of Barbera d'Asti Superiore 2014 from Piemonte, Italy or Grant Burge “5th Generation” Shiraz 2014 from Barossa, South Australia. Of course, there was champagne: Champagne Henriot Brut Souverain NV or Champagne de Castelnau Brut Reserve NV or Champagne de Castelnau Brut Rose NV.

Dinner was a starter of salad of beetroot, Montrachet goat’s cheese and sea lettuce with mirin and onion seed dressing. We don’t know what mirin is. The “Main” was either pan-fried fillet of salmon with creamed spinach, roasted fingerling potatoes and horseradish cream, or, Fillet of beef with gnocchi, café de Paris sauce and haricot verts, or, Ricotta tortellini with truffle cream sauce and prosciutto. B4 opted for salmon as did I. After a scare, “Sorry, we’re out of salmon; but wait, let me check,” followed by, “my mistake; we have two remaining” we got the two.

Dessert? Of course. Either flourless baked chocolate espresso pudding, or, New England Cave Aged Cheddar and Gorgonzola cheese with quince paste, or, a selection of whole fresh fruit, or, chocolate, or, hot chocolate with milk chocolate and pistachio cookies.

We slept a bit.

Breakfast was juice, a strawberry and elderflower smoothie, fresh seasonal fruit or honey and lime marinated fresh bananas topped with Greek yoghurt and homemade granola. From the bakery, the offering is a warm panini with Cheddar cheese, scrambled egg and grilled bacon alongside a selection of assorted breakfast pastries.

The food billing was better than the food itself.

As business class passengers, we were given a “Wash Kit.” It is a cloth bag containing a toothbrush and Colgate toothpaste, a sleep mask, ear plugs, socks, lip balm, hand and body lotion and .2 ounces of “pro-collagen marine cream ultra rich” from Elemis. It is noted that upon arrival a Heathrow, we should report to the Elemis Travel Spa in the British Airways lounge for a “complimentary treatment.” On our flight alone, fourty-eight of the 250 passengers aboard got one of these; the spa must be overbooked.

As transit passengers—people not staying in the country—we don’t have to deal with Heathrow customs or immigration but we do have to do security. B4 bluffs the liquids rule and is busted, losing a bit of this and that and five minutes of her life. There is a train and escalators and crowds and many languages. We find the BA lounge for a quick two-and-a-half hour layover until our flight onward to Milan, Italy, Linate Airport.

BA flight 576 from London Heathrow to Milan Linate airport leaves at 9:20am and arrives at 12:20pm. It’s an Airbus 319 and we have business class seats.


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