British Airways Boeing 787 LHR-HYD

Imagine my excitement when I discovered the British Airways London-Hyderabad route is served by a 787!  I was excited about the flight on my business trip to India before I even got to the airport (rare these days!)!  A great friend of ours flies these beauties and I have been wanting a ride for as long as they’ve been safely in the air!  Last year I tested out the A380 service between Heathrow and Washington as well as another OneWorld carrier to Miami – in American Airlines new business class, but this is the new plane I really wanted a seat on.

As anyone who follows me on Instagram will know… I took a lot of pictures of the wing!  That wing is stunning (as pieces of carbon go)!  I’m told on good account that between being sat on the ground and cruising speed it flexes 4 metres to form its pretty curved shape.  I always go for the window seat and I am especially glad I had it on this flight (I didn’t find the wing view on an A319 quite as alluring on all my flights in the last 7 days…)

Trigger happy with my iPhone

Anyhow – back on the ground first.  The flight was actually delayed formally in advance by an hour which meant an extra hour of my weekend at home – good!  In the sunshine in our garden – enjoying the warmth of 18 degrees, I was flustered by the fact the weather in India was over twice as warm!  The plane was running late because it was in the hanger… Why the captain chose to tell us this I am not sure!

T5 has just opened a new and entirely separate fast track lane through security for business and fast track passengers – genius, the experience was only a momentary delay for once! The terminal is however not a fun place to be in during a weekend in the Easter holidays, so after walking past the almost open Hermes store (to confirm it wasn’t open) I took a punt and headed to the B gates lounge which is always quieter with my fingers crossed that the old rules of A gates being for small planes only continued to be the case!  Thankfully they were and thankfully the lounge was empty – maybe 20 business travellers hiding away from the mania!

I might be flying for work, but it was a Saturday so it was time to indulge in some fizz

On the plane – lovely and clean and still looking new.  A slight shame that BA have kept their trusty layout as it is looking a little old-fashioned, but I like it and it is my first choice of long-haul.  BA is in fact the only direct flight from London to Hyderabad so it was a given I’d be flying with them.  Business class is 2-3-2 and the front business cabin is just 3 rows deep (with a further 2 behind the galley and in front of economy plus).  I like this layout – the business class cabins are often busy and noisy but this smaller cabin in much more sedate and quiet.  Proper UK plug sockets (unlike on the older planes that need a US adapter) made for a good improvement.

The familiar BA Club World layout

The flight was very smooth – it is noticeable when looking down to the ground from cruising altitude that this plane is faster than a 777 and the ride was definitely less judder, even through turbulence.  The cabin isn’t quite as quiet as the A380 but it is certainly far less noisy than the older planes.  I didn’t drink as much water as a should, and probably had one more glass of fizz before bedtime than needed – and I certainly didn’t suffer!  I enjoy my time long haul – I did a little bit of work to help my preparation for a course I was running on Monday and caught up on some films – Paddington had me chuckling and relaxed me nicely ready for sleep!

Paddington and some fizz – go on then!

No problems with the food – never exciting on the low lactose menu but at least no mistakes!  The fight lands at about midnight UK time (early morning in India) – so being served breakfast at 11pm UK time is definitely an acquired taste…  Sadly I didn’t realise en route to India that the ‘Club Kitchen’ is now partnered with Waitrose and is full of little boxes of fresh fruit… Had I known I would have stocked up – 3 days in India without fresh fruit was a challenge (but better than risking being poorly).

New favourite thing on a plane – window buttons – no need for the old-fashioned shades on this plane! I am not sure how the window dimmer switch actually works but it is very clever – the shots below are taken in short succession as the window dimmed.  The dimmer was particularly useful on the daytime flight back to the UK as it was bright outside but I could dim the window enough to remove the glare, but keep the view.

5 button settings that dim the window from light to dark – very clever, I pressed this button more than necessary!

After I got bored of pressing the dimmer button, I focussed on looking out of the window instead!  The wing has a lovely curve to it!  On the ground the point upwards at the end is very modern looking, but in the air the sweep of the wing is really quite spectacular.  I am sure all wings flex in flight, but on the 787 is is particularly noticeable.  The far left and then the middle picture below show this flex most clearly.

Very pretty to stare out of the window at

Passage through Hyderabad airport was very swift – with my business visa in hand there were no questions asked.  Before long I was being swept off to the hotel by the Westin driver that had met me (in fact there must have been 10 Westin collections travelling in convoy between airport and hotel).  The flight lands frustratingly around 6am which means that the hotel trade does very well out of it – I had my room booked from the night before as there is no guarantee of an early check in!

We certainly flew over some interesting places – a different route in both directions, but taking in some stunning views of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, Iran…  Incredible scenery in Pakistan and Afghanistan particularly – when I wasn’t working or sleeping or catching up on films, I was peering out the window at the vast areas of empty space.

Flew over all the places I didn’t think we would – perhaps why cruising altitude was higher than normal?

On the homebound leg I was particularly impressed by the BA service at Hyderabad airport.  At the entrance door to the terminal every passenger must show a printed itinerary to gain access.  BA then meet all their business class passengers at the door and escort them to check in (everyone has to check in, get a paper boarding card and have all hand luggage tagged) and then over to security and passport control.  In what could I am sure be a very hectic airport, this is a very thoughtful service.  The lounge and airport shopping aren’t anything to write home about – perhaps this will develop over time.

Fresh fruit and a tasty curry for breakfast

On the flight home I did find the Waitrose fruit and tucked in happily! I also had some of the best dairy free food that BA have ever served me – curry for breakfast and curry for lunch – really rather good I must say (my curry tally was up to 8 in 3 days….).  I booked what has always been my favourite seat in business – hidden away at the back of the front half of the club cabin by the window.  Service is slower (1A is best for daytime flights if you want top ups of fizz regularly) however this seat is the most private and also it is easy to be first off the plane by getting straight into the galley with your bags before anyone else. No need to clamber over anyone’s legs either!  It feels much more like a cabin than the other seats where you are much more surrounded.

The back of the Club World cabin is always the best! Service is slower but a real cocoon and no climbing over other peoples legs either! #dreamliner windows dimmed to perfection!! #avgeek #paxex

Very sad to get off the plane but I suspect I will be back on this particular route before I know it…