Having disembarked at Terminal 2, I caught the airtrain round to Terminal 1 (you can also walk if you prefer). There was a very big queue at the transfer desk, but eventually managed to find out that as I was flying Club World, I could collect in the lounge. The BA/QF lounges are the other end of Terminal 1 (of course). When I got there, I showed them my ticket and baggage tag from Penang, and they said that they would sort things out and I could just enter the lounge. I asked about upgrading from Club World - not possible with miles but they have a fixed rate of just over £400 oneway. After a bit of consideration, I thought what the heck, it is a 13.5 hour flight and it would be nice to try. I went back to the desk and said I was interested - they took my credit card details and said I could go off to the First lounge whilst they sorted it all out.
First Lounge
This was smaller than the business lounge, but relatively empty when I got there. Most of it is self-service, with some nicer champagne than in the business lounge, some nice wines, nibbles and hot options. During the course of the time I was there, they also bought around some small plates of food in addition, including some very nice beef/chicken satay. Had a shower to freshen up and change for the flight. Whilst in the lounge, my boarding pass bought to me. All in all a nice place to relax, but not that special, particularly as it was all self-service.
The Seat and Amenities
Once called, it was a 10 minute walk to the gate and most people had boarded and so there was no queue to get through the gate screening. Boarding was through 1L. Not greeted by name at the door, just “your seat is on the left” (I had 4A). It was new BA first - much more modern that the old First, although there is less space next to you (I flew to Denver in the old First when they used it as a Club overspill). The seat was much nicer and bigger than a club world seat. Nice wardrobe for hanging up your clothes and space within there for storing items. The light next to you was different and also you have two overheard lights as well. I liked the First PJs that you are given, very comfortable and a good fit (not too tight as some of the VS ones can be). The amenity kit is very classy and contained some very nice stuff, including some very comfortable eye shades without any horrible elastic to keep them on! The table was huge, and very sturdy, so would have been great if I had wanted to do some work on the flight. The TV in the new First seat is the largest I have seen on a plane, and was touch screen and great for watching a movie.
The passengers / crew
I would say that fairly soon, it was apparent that I was not a typical "BA First Passenger" (I am in my late 30s). I got the impression that one of the crew also thought that too . Throughout the flight, I felt that this particular crew member was more interested in serving other passengers, kept me waiting, failed to deliver on service and generally everything was just a little too inconvenient for her. This was the most disappointing part of this flight, and overall the service to me was more WTP than First!
Inflight service - Drinks and Dinner
Pre-take off, I had a glass of the new Lauren-Perrie Grand Siecle Champagne - very nice indeed. After take-off, there was the usual drinks service – I decided that as this was probably going to be my only flight in First, that I would try some of the wines. There was a selection of three red, three white and a dessert wine. I opted for a Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Champ Gain 2007, which was served with some very tasty warmed nuts. Dinner orders were then taken and the menu consisted of:
Starter
Smoked salmon terrine with crab and coriander
Rocket and goats cheese tart with balsamic reduction
Butternut squash soup
Salad
Main
Roast veal fillet with garlic and parsley
Thai prawn curry with jasmine rice
Steak and mushroom pit with peas and mashed potato
Char-grilled chicken salad
Dessert
Tiramisu
Warm peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream
Selection of cheeses
The table was laid up like a proper restaurant table and there was some nice warmed bread served with some gradvalax as a mini-starter. I had the smoked salmon terrine (with a grand vin sec du chateau doisy-daene 2008), the veal (with St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2006), the tiramisu (with a glass of The Noble Mudpie 2010 d’Arenberg, McLaren Vale) and then the cheese. The food was all really good and a high-quality restaurant style food. Much better than on any business class flight that I have travelled on (not quite up to Thai First though!). The selection of wines that I had to accompany my meal were all very good, although my favourite cabin crew member tried to serve me the wrong red as “she picked up the wrong bottle”. I would thoroughly recommended the dessert wine. Overall, the quality of the food was that much better than I have had before, across all of the courses.
Inflight service - Breakfast
This started off with the offering of a mango smoothie or chilled fresh juice (which tasted like properly squeezed fresh juice and had a segment of fresh orange in it too). The table was then laid, offered some cold toast (typical hotel style toast)/ croissant and everyone else was then asked what they wanted off the menu. I was left till last and they only had rice crispies or cornflakes - opted for rice crispies and fruit plate. Asked for some tea.......which took over 15 minutes to arrive, as they were sorting out everyone else’s breakfasts in first! After this I was then asked (well I stopped the crew member in question) and had the cooked breakfast option, which was very well presented and tasty. The only slightly odd thing was that the brown sauce was served in the little sachets!
Arrival
All too soon,we were circling over LHR - we had arrived over the UK too early to land at LHR. Changed and got ready for landing - I liked the toilets as they had automated taps that were much easier to use. We arrived to a very dark and quiet LHR - I think that we might have been the first flight in. A longish taxi to Terminal 3 - odd arriving there on a non-VS flight. Club and other passengers were held back to allow First to get off first, and then it was a short hike to immigration and baggage reclaim (where the bags were already going round). Everything was just "opening" at the time of our arrival, and I was able to get home to East London in my pre-booked taxi before 06:00!
Overall Impression
Value for money, this was a great option to be able to upgrade for such a relatively small extra fee over what the normal price of a First class ticket would be. I didn’t get the extra tier points / miles for the flight, although I wasn’t expecting this for an airport upgrade. The only slight disappointment was the standard of service offered by one of the cabin crew – my message to her would be I was as entitled as anyone else to be in that seat!
