Quick flight review: Old F as CW
Oct 31, 2014, 5:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
Quick flight review: Old F as CW
Yesterday I flew on BA0289, LHR-PHX, on one of the routes where they've eliminted First class service, but offer the seats for CW passengers. I'll write up a more complete trip report when time permits, but wanted to share some quick notes as I know people are curious about this service. I chose seat 1A as all of the better upper deck seats were taken by the time I made my booking.
I chose seat 1A as all of the better upper deck seats were taken by the time I made my booking.
* Old First
* All 14 seats were full
* Meal and drink service was done by tray (as predicted since the carts don't fit)
* Club kitchen is located by door 2, on a mid-J, this means passing through WTP
* The toilet is stocked as a First class flight (cloth towels, Aromatherapy Associates soap/lotion)
* The club kitchen was stocked with organic yoghurt, the first time I've seen an organic product on BA (besides the Highland Springs water which is "drawn from organic land")
I don't know what it is about this flight and my luck recently, but for the second straight time, they had air conditioning problems. The flight was delayed about an hour (30 minutes of standing in fast track before they stopped boarding, and 30 more minutes while we were on the ground), and the plane was >30C for the first hour before we got going. I really don't understand the logic in boarding a plane full of people with extreme heat before a ten hour flight.
Anyway, old F gives you a good amount of additional personal space, and the bed is a bit more comfortable than CW. I would most likely choose OF over upper deck CW.
I chose seat 1A as all of the better upper deck seats were taken by the time I made my booking.
* Old First
* All 14 seats were full
* Meal and drink service was done by tray (as predicted since the carts don't fit)
* Club kitchen is located by door 2, on a mid-J, this means passing through WTP
* The toilet is stocked as a First class flight (cloth towels, Aromatherapy Associates soap/lotion)
* The club kitchen was stocked with organic yoghurt, the first time I've seen an organic product on BA (besides the Highland Springs water which is "drawn from organic land")
I don't know what it is about this flight and my luck recently, but for the second straight time, they had air conditioning problems. The flight was delayed about an hour (30 minutes of standing in fast track before they stopped boarding, and 30 more minutes while we were on the ground), and the plane was >30C for the first hour before we got going. I really don't understand the logic in boarding a plane full of people with extreme heat before a ten hour flight.
Anyway, old F gives you a good amount of additional personal space, and the bed is a bit more comfortable than CW. I would most likely choose OF over upper deck CW.
Oct 31, 2014, 6:24 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
Oct 31, 2014, 7:16 am
#4
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: GLA
Programs: Silver, JJC (circa 1980)
Posts: 328
I just asked about this on here yesterday!
Sounds pretty good then - although raiding the Club Kitchen might be awkward. Brings to mind our first CW (on the UD). Mr Z headed downstairs looking for a snack and a London Pride. He was perusing the options when he was stopped by one of the crew and asked if they could get him anything. Not fancying anything from the Kitchen, he simply asked for the beer. Crew member poured it into a plastic glass. When Mr Z turned to go back upstairs, said crew member was embarrassingly apologetic, as he had assumed Mr Z was an interloper from WT+. Cue hurried transfer of beer to a proper glass.
LOL. Mr Z would probably have drunk it straight from the can and was slightly nonplussed at the different attitude when it was realised that he was a CW passenger!
As for the aircon issue, I can sympathise. We were stuck on the ground on a packed 321 for over three hours earlier this month with a busted APU, so no aircon for us either. Very unpleasant
Sounds pretty good then - although raiding the Club Kitchen might be awkward. Brings to mind our first CW (on the UD). Mr Z headed downstairs looking for a snack and a London Pride. He was perusing the options when he was stopped by one of the crew and asked if they could get him anything. Not fancying anything from the Kitchen, he simply asked for the beer. Crew member poured it into a plastic glass. When Mr Z turned to go back upstairs, said crew member was embarrassingly apologetic, as he had assumed Mr Z was an interloper from WT+. Cue hurried transfer of beer to a proper glass.
LOL. Mr Z would probably have drunk it straight from the can and was slightly nonplussed at the different attitude when it was realised that he was a CW passenger!
As for the aircon issue, I can sympathise. We were stuck on the ground on a packed 321 for over three hours earlier this month with a busted APU, so no aircon for us either. Very unpleasant
Last edited by zafiragirl; Oct 31, 2014 at 7:21 am
Nov 2, 2014, 2:40 am
#13
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LHR
Programs: BA GGL/GfL, A3 Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 320
Quick flight review: Old F as CW
Thanks for the report! I'm on BA84 next week in 2A, and have just seen that the load in the front cabin is currently 10/14, upper deck 8/20, and main deck 1/32. I'm guessing most people with status will have gone for the OF cabin, but if the main deck stays relatively empty I'd probably move back there for a quiet night.
Nov 2, 2014, 11:50 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
Thanks for the report! I'm on BA84 next week in 2A, and have just seen that the load in the front cabin is currently 10/14, upper deck 8/20, and main deck 1/32. I'm guessing most people with status will have gone for the OF cabin, but if the main deck stays relatively empty I'd probably move back there for a quiet night.
Nov 4, 2014, 11:07 am
#15
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: London
Programs: BA silver, Flying Blue gold, Marriott titanium
Posts: 71
Apologies if this is covered elsewhere, but dylanks can you tell me how the IFE is for OF? On a long day flight (YVR) when the bed is not so important and IFE is, is the IFE worse in OF than CW (if that is possible)?
