By: Marcia Abramson
I was delighted to find curbside check in at JFK and the departure "New Terraces " concept lounge with a full dinner buffet. There was a wide choice of salads, a main course of lamb chops in rosemary sauce and excellent vegetables. This was the preamble to the dessert of assorted imported cheese and the Wimbledon favorite of strawberries and cream.
After that satisfying repast, I headed for my seat that converts to a flat six-foot bed. The seats are designed in forward and rearward facing pairs. They are designed to create the ideal lounge mode environment with just 20 in the upper deck of a B747 and up to 50 in the main deck of B747s and B777s. At the touch of a button, each armchair fashioned seat, complete with footstool converts to a six-foot fully flat bed. I was also impressed by the sense of privacy created by individual fan-like privacy screens, which can be opened or closed, dependent on whether passengers are traveling alone. I preferred this arrangement since I was traveling alone on this part of my trip. This seemed much better to me than the traditional side by side seating.
I found that the unique footstool provided me with more than adequate legroom and the ability to really stretch out my legs and relax. No swollen ankles on this flight, which I attribute to that footstool, that is fully adjustable in height and on a pivot, which was ideal for my stature. It was also easy to adjust the stool to enable me to have easy access to and from my seat.
The armchair seat was ergonomically designed to provide the ultimate support and comfort and it was ideal in any position from reclining to upright electronic controls. Needless to say, my seat also had an adjustable headrest with 'ears' for additional support.
My only regret on this flight was that I could not take full advantage of the freshly prepared galley meals since I chose to eat before taking to the skies to maximize sleep time in-flight. I also had the option to partake of a Goodnight service, an express service of a light snack or to raid the larder service for some delightful treats.
I learned from my fellow travel writers that they consider British Air's Business Class far superior to First Class on the other foreign and domestic airlines British Airlines is the only international airline to offer the seat that converts to a flat six-foot bed for business class travelers.
According to British Air, more than $323 million US Dollars is being spent to create this "lounge in the sky" for business passengers to allow them to sleep, work or relax at 35,000 feet. This new service has been developed following extensive customer research and sleep studies with ergonomic experts. They found that customers asked for
real sleep, comfort, space, privacy, flexibility and the ability to maximize their time.
Unfortunately, I did not have enough time between my connecting flight to Copenhagen and my Silversea Cruise to enjoy the relaxing Arrival British Air Lounge at London's Heathrow Airport. The lounge has private shower suites, suit pressing service, a mini gym, health and beauty services, breakfast buffets and business facilities. You can rest assured that I will allow for more time at BA's Heathrow Lounge on future flights.
My next column will focus on my adventures in fabulous Copenhagen before embarking for Helsinki, Finland; St.Petersburg, Russia; Tallim, Estonia: and Stockholm,Sweden on the wonderful Whisper ship Of Silversea Cruises.
Copyright by Marcia Abramson
E-mail: mascribe@aol.com
