#914943 by Maximus
28 Dec 2015, 17:21
So the day soon came around when we had to return home after a week in Las Vegas and the surrounding areas. Returning home in BA First certainly tok the sting out of the tail though :-)

We were lucky as our package at the Mandarin Oriental included the possibility of a late check-out which they were able to facilitate so we did not have to leave our room until 4 pm, allowing time to freshen up after a days shopping and sightseeing. We left our cases with the bell hop and went out for a last meal (Gordon Ramsey's BurGR @ Planet Hollywood- great burgers, awful chips).

We ordered a Uber car to take us to the airport for our 8.40 pm flight (delayed by 45 minutes).
Check-in was great and the lady who dealt with us was wonderful, friendly and helpful, a real assett to BA. Security was also fantastic, fast and efficient and super-friendly. Top marks all round.

The Club lounge is an average and very typical business lounge you find in the States. The staff were really friendly. We spent less than an hour there before boarding- via a sepearte gangway for First passengers only.

We were escourted to our seats, drinks offered (champagne of course) and pajamas, slippers, amenity bags provided. This was a night flight and so I intended to sleep. I changed into pajamas after take-off.

I was not really hungry and am sorry to report I did not take full advantage of the catering. For me it was soup, salad, cheese and then I bedded down. I slept like a log for 5 hours- a Maximus record for sleep on a flight.

The cabin was incredibly hot and I would have slept long had I not woken for water.

I made up for the light supper by having a feast of a cooked breakfast. it was very good and no baked beans (I am not a fan of baked beans on a breakfast plate!).

Service was good, but not perfect as on the outbound trip. For some reason we did not have table cloths provided at dinner or breakfast.

We made up time for the delayed take-off and landed more or less on time at LHR. Bags were priority delivered on the carousel and exiting the arrivals hall was quick. Our car was waiting and ready to go- Purple Parking do offer a great service.

Here are just a few shots from Vegas and the flight home. I apologise for some pictures posting twice but I can not delete them for some reason.

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Mandarin Oriental 1
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Mandarin Oriental 2
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Mandarin Oriental 3
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Last edited by Maximus on 28 Dec 2015, 17:34, edited 1 time in total.
#914944 by Maximus
28 Dec 2015, 17:25
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Room View
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Amuse bouche
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Room View
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Attachments
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Soup
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#914945 by Maximus
28 Dec 2015, 17:30
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Breakfast
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Breakfast
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Breakfast 2
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#914946 by hiljil
28 Dec 2015, 17:41
So glad you enjoyed your flight home - even if you slept for a good part of it. Thank you for the TR.

Thanks also for the photos. I must say , the breakfast does actually look appetising .

Did First live up to expectations ?
#914955 by Maximus
28 Dec 2015, 19:05
hiljil wrote:Did First live up to expectations ?


Overall yes. And I loved it. But I am realistic, it is still a chair, in a metal tube hurtling through the atmosphere at 500 mph. It is not some Nirvana in the air. But compared to Economy it is heaven. Compared to Club it has some nice advantages. For me the privacy is much appreciated, the better bedding and the more individualised service were great. Food and drink options are clearly far more extensive, though a bit OTT at times for me. Few people can or wish to eat all that is available. Some of my fellow passenegers ate little to nothing at all and just slept from take-off to landing more or less.

Overall it is a wonderful experience and a steal for what I paid for it. But I have simple tastes (most of the time!) and am certainly content with Club/ Business seats. If I were paying myself for a revenue ticket I would not pay for First over Club, unless it was a real bargain. Our seats were £3800 each on the day I secured the Avios rewards! :-O . Do I consider the experience good value at that price? No! I can cope very well in a Club seat with a more limited choice of catering and less wine. I would prefer to spend the money on other things. But Economy travellers could say the same abot business ticket fares to me of course. But the step-up from Economy to Business is much steeper than Business to First IMO.

The other factor is that, for me, it was a thrill, it was a new experience, my first First. I was going on holiday and I was on a Champagne high after hours in the lounge :-P . For some of the other First passengers the flight was just a flight. They may fly First frequently and it was clear the experience seemed as mundane to them as most other daily activities. Some were probably on business, they did not have the holiday vibe like us :cool:

So whilst Avios are avaialble and there are First seats to be had, I will continue to try and secure them :) But when I return to business (my next flights are in UC) I shall cope quite well I think :D

I have no doubt hilgil that your upcoming First flights will be absolutely wonderful.
#914957 by mallin
28 Dec 2015, 19:19
Thanks again Maximus for posting, the food actually looks alright I tend never to eat on planes as the food is almost always inedible. Saying that however I have had the worst and best meals with BA. Hubby however will eat and drink whatever they bring to him (I am the fussy one ).

This is another experience to check off the list of firsts, and glad you enjoyed Las Vegas and surrounding area. You will have to try Death Valley if you have never been. Its as good if not better than the Grand Canyon in its own way.

We are doing the south end of the Rockies next year then we will have done, middle and North. Where to go next?
#914987 by marshy11
28 Dec 2015, 23:58
Thanks again and I agree that breakfast looks delicious!

We flew CW two years ago and they ran on of champagne in the CW cabin, the crew went to First and came back with a couple of vintage bottles (can't recall what it was now) in order we could carry on the fizz. A recent UC flight we were on ran out of fizz before it left the tarmac......I know it happens but it's nice to have another cabin to poach from, even nicer to be in there.

We don't even have our voucher yet but your TRs have put me in the zone already!
#915011 by pjh
29 Dec 2015, 12:40
Thanks for both the TRs. I like your observations about the nature of premium class flying, the choice made and how for some it is simply a mean to an end (to get from A to B sleeping) whereas most of us see it as an end in itself.

I shall need to look into whether my Amex points could be deployed to Avios to experience a First experience somewhere...
#915032 by Bretty
29 Dec 2015, 22:40
Great photos Maximus, especially of the room at the Mandarin, thanks for posting. I too found your observations about the premium cabins interesting. I'm keen to try first, but like you, probably wouldn't pay the high price for it, but am happy to pay for business if reward seats aren't available. However, giving it some thought, I'm pretty certain I'd find it difficult to go to the back of the bus now on a long haul flight! It's been about 5 years since I last did and I sought out the premium cabins (initially PE but then upgraded, never actually flown PE!), because I was tired of feeling like being in a sardine tin in coach. And then I started collecting miles and points, and oh boy, the rest, as they say, is history. :cool:
#915035 by Hamster
30 Dec 2015, 00:41
Thanks for the TR's

We loved the MOLAS when we stayed, the Taipan Suite was massive! Staff were very friendly and never forgot your name.

Glad you enjoyed your BA First experience, strange there was no linen on the return, must of been a loading issue i guess, did the crew say?
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