IN SHORT: BMI's "the business" is absolutely amazing. I can't say enough good things about it. In fact, every international UA flight attendant should take a flight on this airline to see how things should be done properly! Every step of the way, the customer is made to feel welcomed and cared for. It is an excellent product.

Read the full trip report by clicking the link below...

Washington Dulles to Manchester
British Midland BD702, Airbus A330-200
Cabin: C - "the business"
Departed: 6:15PM, Arrived: 5:30AM

We weren't supposed to be on bmi. But the gods of airline travel had other plans! I had booked us on United months earlier into Paris and upgraded to business using some March-expiring SWUs. When we arrived at the airport, it was pretty clear that the flight was going to be oversold. The gate was a madhouse, and the agents were sweating from the stress. As soon as I walked up and offered our seats, I was greeted with a "Oh my gosh, yes, thank you!" and the supervisor shouting, "Give them whatever they want!" And, so it was... $400 in VDB vouchers and a re-route through Manchester on BMI in C with continuing service on Air France to CDG.

My business class experience up to this point had centered primarily on United's international service. So many of the comments and contrasts I make here may be in reference to that.

BOARDING
Grade: A+

As soon as we boarded the bmi plane, I knew this would not be just any flight. Everything was so clean and "smart." From the uniform of the FA who greeted us at the door to the warm colours of the cabin. The process was clearly thoughtful and done with excellence. My bags were taken and stowed for me and I was offered a glass of champagne, newspapers, menu, amenity kit, and a headset. Then, I settled into the fantastic chairs. The purser was going around to each person in the cabin, shaking their hand, introducing herself, welcoming them aboard, and making mild small talk. What a fantastic idea! Actually making your passengers feeling welcomed and comfortable! I played around with a few of the features, perused the menu and dug through the amenity kit. So far, so good.

SEATS & CABIN
Grade: A-

The seats are well-designed, colorful, and supportive in all the right spots when upright. My favorite feature: the electronic controls! No poor pulling and contorting your body to move your chair, just push a buttom and whiiiizzzzzz... up comes the footrest and back goes the seatback. The bmi site brags of 60-inch legroom and 160-inch pitch. Overall, I found the seats comfortable but quite firm. Fully-reclined, I had a hard time feeling cozy and didn't get much sleep. Others in the cabin, judging by the snores, didn't agree with me.

Like other airlines, the in-flight entertainment system was a pop-up screen. The difference? It was large: probably about 10" and boasted 11 movie channels, 9 television stations, 16 radio channels, and some 30+ video games. There were also two channels to watching landing and take-off from birds-eye and pilot cameras. Everything was controlled from a small, corded remote that popped out from the armrest and a colourful on-screen menu. My system was a little buggy, though. Unlike my neighbor's display, my interactive menu listed different movies than were actually loaded in the system, so it took a little while to figure out that I had to flip through the channel system according to the in-flight magazine, not the interactive menu. Frustrating. The movie selection was decently fresh and allowed me to catch up on a few flicks I had missed in the theaters, such as Matrix Revolution.

In addition to the purser and chef who doubled as an FA (see below), the business cabin had two dedicated FAs, one for each aisle. During the flight, they regularly strolled the aisles looking for ways to make you more comfortable. After my neighbor had fallen asleep, an FA came by and gently laid a blanket over him and refilled his water glass.

FOOD & WINE
Grade: A

As soon as the onboard chef passed out the menus (yes... an onboard chef!), I knew this was going to be a great trip! Even though airplane meals are generally subpar, I have always looked forwarded to eating opportunities in the sky. I'm always intrigued by what they'll concoct and how they'll serve it at 39,000 feet. And, in this instance, I was not disappointed. Already, there was a chef, and it was clear that bmi had given him what was needed in the kitchen to make the meals a success. There was even a full-on espresso machine and real toaster in there! Here's the menu from the flight:

the business

dinner

warm lobster salad with avocado and green bean salad
green and yellow courgette tart with roasted vegetable relish
celeriac and smoked bacon soup
winter leaf salad

rosemary and red wine beef fillet, wilted spinach and roasted new potatoes
grilled peppered tuna steak with creamy mashed potatoes, asparagus and red pepper hollandaise sauce
crisy duck with oriental noodles
potato ravioli stuffed with mushrooms and stilton in a Chablis sauce

a selection of sauces and dressings are available to compliment your meal
personal bakery selection

dessert

warm mini Dundee cake with Grand Marnier creme fraiche
refreshing fruit-loaded raspberry jelly with cream

freshly ground coffee
Twinings tea selection
hot cholocolate
Horlicks
After Eight chocolates

express meal option

In order to allow you to maximize your personal time - to sleep, work or relax - we are plaesed to offer an express meal option on this flight, in place of the a la carte menu.

- personal bakery selection
- winter leaf salad
- with your choice of one other appetiser

Please let a member of the crew know if you wish to opt for an express meal today.

any time

warm bacon butty
chunky chips and mayo dip
fresh fruit plate
cappuccino
espresso
Irish coffee
Twinings tea selection
hot chocolate
Horlicks

breakfast

freshly squeezed orange juice (dang, this was good!)
cranberry juice
rasberry, strawberry and melon health drink

fruit yoghurt
choice of cereal with full cream or reduced fat milk
fresh seasonal fruit
freshly made warm banana and honey bread

individual bakery selection with preserves and Marmite

choice of fresh eggs from the skillet - fried, scrambled or omlette
boiled eggs, bread and butter

Twinings tea selection
freshly ground coffee

For dinner, I began with the lobster salad which was good, but the portions were already small. I selected the grilled tuna as the main course and it was delightful, if not somewhat dried through. The red pepper hollandaise sauce really brought the flavours of the tuna out and compensated for the dryness. The 2000 Traminer Aromatico the stewardess recommended was a good compliment for the fish. I finished with the "fruit-loaded raspberry jelly" which was just a fancy way of saying fruit-filled jello. Nothing special, really.

Here are the wines from the flight:

the business

wine list

champagnes

Champagne Pol Roger n/v
Epernay France

Champagne Laurent Perrier 1993/95
Tours sur Marne, France

white wines

Chardonnay 1998
McGuigan, The Black Label
Pokolbin, Hunter Valley, Australia

Traminer Aromatico 2000
Castelvecchio
Sagrado, Italy

red wines

Rosso di Montefalco 1998
Castello MonteVibiano Vecchio
Marsciano Umbria, Italy

Allozo Tempranillo 1995
Crianza La Mancha
Tomelloso, Spain

Cru Bourgeois, Haut Medoc 1997
Chateau Hanteillan
Cissac, France

Sandeman 20 year old Tawny port
Glenlivet 18 years
Courvoisier XO
Chivas Regal

a selection of aperitifs, spirits and beers are available from the bar

treat yourself to a hot Irishman superior Irish coffee

Breakfast came quickly since the flight was a relative short one. The fresh orange juice was amazingly delicious and provided the right "oomph" to begin the day! After a plate of fruit, I devoured my scrambled eggs (cooked to perfection), toast (toasted to perfection), and Earl Grey (brewed to perfection). What a way to wake up!

ARRIVAL
Grade: B-

I had asked the purser during the flight about arrival lounge options at Manchester. Apparently, there was no lounge but rather a contracted facility at the attached SAS-Radisson hotel. She promised to get me invitation passes and have someone meet us at the flight to direct us. The landing and taxi was quick, and before long we were walking through the Manchester airport, invitations in-hand for the arrivals center. Immigration was empty and we breezed through -- the longest line was the "British nationals" line. It seems we were some of the few internationals on the flight that day.

When we arrived at the Radisson, we discovered that the facilities would not be available until 7AM. Understandble given how early our flight had arrived, but strange considering that 1 of Manchesters 2 international flights arrives at 5:30AM! To bide our time, we decided to cash in the breakfast vouchers. Oh wait... this was not for a breakfast, just a cup of coffee. And we weren't even allowed to sit the cafe, but were banished to the hotel lobby where the coffees were brought to us.

Given that Manchester is a significant hub for BMI, I had higher expectations for an arrivals lounge service at the airport. Nonetheless, the lack of such a service did not diminish the fact that the in-flight experience was one of the best!

Manchester to Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Air France AF1669, Airbus A319
Cabin: C - Classe Affaires
Departed: 9:10AM, Arrived: 11:35AM

Check-in was efficient and we were handed invitations to the Air France lounge along with our boarding passes. My traveling companion was forced to check her roll-aboard because it didn't conform to the typically-over-anal European standards for carry-on luggage. Business class or not, we got the full lecture about how her carry-on luggage would not fit in the bin, bla bla bla. (We get to the plane -- an A320 -- and it has the same bin size as the U.S. planes.) What a bunch of crock... Having been traveling for quite a handful of hours now, none of us were in any mood to argue the point. Off we went.

The security at Manchester was surprisingly lax. There were a lot of families traveling that day, and that slowed the process down a little bit. But generally, the screeners seemed to care little for what was in the bags or what beeped when you walked through the metal detector.

The AF lounge was a decent size for an airport like MAN, and cozy. It offered free internet access through two terminals. I checked some UA e-mails and quickly scrambled to sign-up for a Delta SkyMiles account so I could earn miles for the AF flight.

Within 45 minutes, our flight was announced and we schleped down to the gate. The flight was not full and boarding was done in under 10 minutes.

Now the bad part... the cabin was horrible! The seats were not comfortable AT ALL, and there was extremely poor legroom. (Extremely is probably an understatement.) Coming from the world of EconomyPlus, I was shocked that an airline could pass this off as business class. Don't get me wrong -- I already had low expectations for European business class, but it really did surprise me how bad it actually was! Meals were passed out during the flight and consisted of a dry pain aux raisins, yoghurt, cheese, crackers and an icky fruit dish. Everything was still shrink-wrapped and compartementalized. No effort was made on the meal presentation either. Tell me... are there people who actually pay extra for this?!?

Needless to say, we were happy to get off the flight, claim her bag, and get on our way to the Park Hyatt. Finally in Paris!!