A few obs on bmi Transatlantic

[BALIX]

Encountered bmi's transatlantic service last week on a trip from MAN to IAD and back. Overall, I was very impressed with the level of service provided, the sheer volume of inflight entertainment and the quality of the food which was excellent, despite being in steerage class both ways (really must try and blag an upgrade next time to see how it compares ;) ) Oh, and the cameras in the nose and belly that relayed live pictures to the PTVs were cool!

Slightly less impressed with the seats, some of which has metal boxes underneath that restricted the legroom of the person behind (ie, me on the outbound leg). Not sure what is contained in those boxes but perhaps it could be contained somewhere else... This was my first time on an A330 so perhaps they are all like that.

Onto the cabin crew - they were smart, attentive and polite but, I have to say, not overly friendly. The only real thing I had a problem with, however, was on the way back after the meal had been served and cleared up. Faced with three hours of nothing to do, a number of them congregated at the back of the aircraft and had a right good gossip, their voices carrying a long way and making the difficult job of getting some kip even harder. Also, whilst it was no skin off my nose (ooer), having an overtly gay steward prattling on about how much he fancied Colin Farrell was not, I suspect, something many people wanted to hear.

The flight seemed full on the way out but I would guess that less than a hundred were onboard on Thursday's return flight. This gave us a bit of room to spread out and made things much more comfy even though we were bounced around for a good hour over Newfoundland at FL410.

I would definitely recommend bmi as a transatlantic carrier. Flew Delta earlier this year who weren't bad but not in the same league. Hope they will expand their services a bit. Hey guys, how about one out of Glasgow so I don't have to bother with that tedious tranfer at Manchester business :ok:

[Globaliser]

The metal boxes ... all full of the stuff that drives the in-flight entertainment.

If they can't compress the box of tricks into a size that doesn't take up all the foot (and baggage) room under the seat in front, I would love it if airlines would have an entertainment-free zone for those of us who never watch the stuff and would rather have the extra space.

[BALIX]

Thanks for that Globaliser - I wondered if it had something to do with that. I've encountered metal boxes in the past but never seen them under each bank of seats before. Would have thought they could have put it beneath the floor but I guess that would take up valuable freight space.

bmi do have extra space AND entertainment - but you have to pay extra for it in premium economy.

[knobbygb]

So was the IFE that 'on demand' stuff than you can select, pause, rewind etc. at your will? I think it's called 'Passport' or something like that. I only ask because US Airways have this on their A330's and they also have the metal boxes in the foot-space under the seats. I've not experienced these boxes on other 330's/340's which have lesser entertainment systems so perhaps that explains it.

[Bob Upndown]

The under-seat box belongs to (what is probably) the Matsu****a IFE.

The reason they can't be installed underfloor/overhead is, as I understand it, due to cooling requirements.

Agree wholeheartedly about the legroom issue, it really is a problem as these new systems are rolled out. The system allows for movies on demand and loads of other whizzy bits, but it appears to have been missed that pax would rather have legroom given the choice (or both, if the design of the hardware was properly thought through).

[Busta Level]

BALIX,

Glad you enjoyed the flight. We do try our best :D

The cabin crew do all have cards reminding them that the curtains around the galley areas do not mask sound, but that crew obviously forgot! In thier defence, the rear galley of the 330 gets very cold on the night flights (known as the 'ice palace' :\ ), so they need to keep active to prevent frostbite ;)

The boxes under some of the seats are indeed parts of the Matsu****a IFE system which give you the sheer volume of inflight entertainment . They have to be under the seats because there is nowhere else for the processors to go (not because of cooling). Underfloor space is all taken up :eek:

Unfortunately I think that a GLA-ORD/IAD route is VERY unlikely :{

Thanks for the nice comments, and fly us again. :ok: