themapelligroup

I'm really enjoying this trip report, pictures and writing are indeed of superb quality.
My experience in the CCR is on par with yours, I find it perfectly adequate to spend some time before a flight in First. It has not a wow factor (excluding the Horselamp), but I really like the atmosphere inside. I don't know if you checked the business centre, they use the original Concorde seats and this is a fantastic heritage move by BA IMO.

oneworld82

Thanks for your kind words. The Concorde Room might now have the wow factor of the FCT in Frankfurt, but it certainly is a very good lounge. I hope I will get to try their lunch offerings soon, and I hope I will be able to take advantage of their extensive bar as well

oneworld82

As it turns out, I've found some more pictures of the Concorde Room. Here they are!











http://airwaysandtravels.files.wordp...pg?w=595&h=446

oneworld82

Flight BA293, LHR-LAX First Class,
B744, Seat 4E
Jan 1st, 2014, 10:25a – 1:35p

If there’s something that British Airways can improve upon, that’s its ground service for premium passengers. The problem is that Terminal 5 at Heathrow is huge. Getting to the two satellite terminals (where most of long-haul flights depart from) is certainly tedious. However, I find Heathrow T5 to be a great terminal and I do not find the walk to the plane nearly as bad as described by oh-so-many bloggers/reviewers online that dread taking the train with “cattle class” (…) passengers when they fly First Class (often on miles, i.e. without paying much for it).

I mean, certainly it would be nice to have an escort all the way from the Concorde Room to my plane… but it is something I could certainly live without. Furthermore, I consider BA business class product above most other European carriers; BA knows that the vast majority of people fly (and pay) for J and not F, and – accordingly – it provides a great product to its J customers. But I digress.

Once at gate, we only had to wait about 5 minutes before being invited to board. Priority was given to people with disabilities and families with children. After the short walk through the jetway we were greeted by a smiling flight attendant who escorted us to our seats in the first class cabin.







We were flying a B744 configured with the new first class today (the A380 flight – albeit available for miles redemption – was getting into LAX too late for us). My first impression of the cabin? Sleek. The dark, semi-violet lights are definitely a stylish note in British Airways First Class cabin. It is an intimate, luxurious cabin. It is crowded (14 seats are way too many; 10 would probably be ideal), but the suites feel private.

The hard product – overall – it’s very good. Perhaps Lufthansa new First Class (to compare European carrier vs European carrier) has something that this cabin is missing (larger chair, nice lighting, red roses…), but this product is definitely superior to North American carriers’ (I would say on par with AA new First Class). The seat is certainly narrower than other first class seats I have flown before, but adequate and comfortable. The seat looked a bit worn out by excessive use; it could surely use a refurbishing already (or a deep cleaning, as upholstery was perfectly fine).







The details of the suite were nice, and I particularly liked the lamp next to the seat that made the space really look like a little bedroom. Little touches that matter.





The divider between seats was easy to pull – no need to use it here though as I was seating next to Keiko. I agree with many reviewers on the fact that storage room is somewhat limited (you can’t even fit a small carry-on under the leg-rest) and the improvements in this direction made on the A380 are probably welcome. The (small) closet was sufficient to fit my clothes and – somehow – even my shoes.



Before take off, the flight attendant came by offering us amenity kits, pajamas, slippers, menus, and pre-departure drinks. The kit was very nice and featured Refinery products – their lip balm works wonders; it was personalized by gender – always a nice touch.









As pre-departure drink I opted some some champagne (it was New Year Day after all!!). After take-off the flight attendants started getting ready for lunch. A first round of drinks was offered, together with some mixed nuts, which I didn’t particularly like (AA’s are definitely better).



The menu – distributed before take off – was particularly interesting. Here it is:

LUNCH

STARTERS

Timbale of Devon crab and avocado with mango and cucumber salsa

Warm artichoke, wild mushroom and truffle frittata

A light cream soup of butternut squash, sweet potatoes and ginger

Fresh seasonal salad with your choice of British rapeseed apple balsamic dressing or honey mustard dressing

MAIN

Seared fillet of Aberdeen Angus with Madeira and fines herbes sauce, baby spinach, carrots, pasnips and Parisienne potatoes

Pan-fried halibut with warm tartar sauce, creamy mashed potatoes and glazed vegetables

Chicken tikka masala with basmati tice and dhal makhani

Warm seared scallops in garlic butter with Greek salad

BISTRO SELECTION

Fusili pasta in a creamy tomato, shallot, piquillo pepper and herb sauce

Grilled chicken sandwich with mayonnaise on Manoucher bread and vegetables crisps

A selection of biscuits

A selection of cheese and fruit

DESSERT

Rhubarb and raspberry dome with rhubarb compote

English apple and chestnut pastry tart with custard

CHEESE PLATE

Chaource (A creamy unpasteurised traditional French cheese with a rich, fruity and creamy flavor)

Le Saint Mont (A Gruyere-style cheese made with thermised cow’s milk. The flavour is sweet but slightly salty; varying greatly with age)

Saint-Nectare (This French cheese features a soft, suooke texture and earthy, fruity flavour)

Beauvale (A soft, blue veined cheese with a creamy texture and mellow flavour)

Fresh fruit

Chocolates by Highland Chocolatier

AFTERNOON TEA

SNACKS

An individual selection of sandwiches featuring layered crayfish with baby rocket and orange mayonnaise, butternut squash with cream cheese and baby watercress, British roast beef with piquillo peppers and grain mustard and Loch Fyne hot-smoke salmon with horseradish, tomato and dill

Mozzarella and sun-dried tomato savoury pastry

PATISSERIE

Buttermilk or fruit scones served warm with clotted cream and strawberry preserves

Batternberg cake, chocolate eclair and strawberry delice

BEVERAGES

Teas – English Breakfast, decaffeinated English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Mint Humbug, Honeycomb Camomille, Red Berry Fool and Jasmine Pearls

Coffee – Freshly roasted and ground, decaffeinated, espresso or cappuccino

After about 15 minutes, the appetizers came by. The pumpkin soup was particularly good – it tasted fresh, creamy to the point, flavorful. The bread selection to accompany the soup was decent, and the bread tasted rather good.







Trying to test the dining on demand concept a bit, I had ordered a second appetizer as well. The frittata I chose was, again, very good and well prepared; when I say that it kind of reminded me of the one my grandma used to make I am making a big compliment to British Airways’ catering!



About 10 minutes later – perfect timing! – my beef fillet was delivered. It wasn’t the best beef I have had on a plane – the one I tried on Etihad last August and on AA to Santiago de Chile last winter were more memorable; it was a decent piece of meat, but it was cooked medium-to-medium well, while I like my meat cooked medium-rare. I ate it all and enjoyed it with a nice glass of red wine (BA in-flight cellar is excellent, btw), so I suppose it wasn’t bad.









Keiko got the chicken tikka masala – that dish was very good instead (creamy to the point, with tasty rice).



After my main I got some cheese (nice selection, especially when coupled with a good glass of tawny Port wine);



dessert followed – we chose two different desserts, both of which were very good (especially when accompanied by a nice cappuccino!).





Overall, I was satisfied with the meal; the food was perhaps a tad below Lufthansa’s, but it was certainly “first class” on most levels. After my meal (and after a nice glass of Otard XO).



I asked to have my bed made (I changed into my pj before take-off). The seat in bed mode was very comfortable, and allowed me to catch 2-3 hours of sleep; the cabin wasn’t too warm, so overall it was an enjoyable rest. After that, I browsed the TV offerings a bit (decent selection overall) and ended up watching “The Rush” – an interesting albeit sad moving indeed.









About two hours out of LAX, we were offered BA famous afternoon tea. Having tried it on Club World on my way back from Dubai a year earlier I was greatly anticipating this meal. The selection of sandwiches, the scones, the clotted cream… everything tasted great! The chocolate eclair featured on the menu, though, was nowhere to be seen.











British Airways has a real winner with this light meal – a great way to leverage a true British tradition and export it worldwide. Well done, BA!

About 40 minutes before landing I went to the restrooms (nothing special, I must say, compared to other First Class lavatories) and changed back.









We landed perfectly on time in LAX, and after a short taxing we reached our gate. Immigration was a breeze and within 30 minutes we were on our way to the Aadmirals Club ready for the last leg of this adventure.

Overall, while British Airways’ First Class product might not be on par with the likes of Lufthansa or ANA, I think that this product did the job rather well and consistently. Sure enough, BA could improve some aspects of its ground service and could put less seats on a cramped first class cabin, but the service was outstanding overall, the food good, and the hard product very good.

Would I hesitate to fly BA First Class again? Probably not. I liked the product and while the YQ (fuel surcharges) on BA are steep, they are nothing compared to the value you get. I was a bit afraid of this flight after readign some bad reviews online; overall, it turned out to be quite a pleasurable flight. While Lufthansa wins in First Class, British Airways wins in Business Class and – likely – in economy. Overall, these are two great legacy carriers with two great products.

Digital01

Excellent report. Glad to see you had a more enjoyable experience than others on BA as of recent! What champagne were the serving on your flight, the Grand Siecle still? Definitely looks like a good ending to the trip!

oneworld82

Thanks, Digital01!
Yes, Grand Siecle still is!

oneworld82

After going through immigration, we quickly walked to the American Airlines terminal. Going through security was relatively painless – not many people travel on Jan 1st. This was my 3rd time at the AAdmirals Club here, but the first time that I was admitted to the Flagship Lounge. To be honest, I did not know there was a First Class section here – I should have been admitted when landing from my QF First Class flight last year…! But nevertheless, I was happy to try this section of the lounge.

To get there, you need to present an invitation that the front desk agent gives you while you enter the lounge from the ground floor. You take the elevator up to the second floor, and then another front desk agent will happily admit you to the First Class section of the Club.







I must say: I liked it. It was not a great first class lounge per se, but it would have made for a very good business class lounge on any top international carrier. Which is a lot to say!

There weren’t many people, so we had room for ourselves. We first proceeded to the shower area to freshen up. The shower room was spacious, with nice Dermalogica amenities. Like usual, AA’s restrooms are nice and effective.





The quality of the lounge food was rather good (by US standards), with hot items including some good marinated chicken; we spent an enjoyable two hours there. Drinks weren't exactly top shelf, but they still were alright.







We then proceeded to our remote gate for our flight to OKC. We left on time, and we were really tired. The plane was an American Eagle CR7 – I find the first class on regional jets quite comfortable given the size of the plane! We slept most of the plane, but we did not skip our dinner.

Keiko got a nice salmon salad (the fish was a tad dry though); I got an Arabic sampler… literally, that is what it was! Grilled chicken, hummus, pita, tabbouleh… a great meal that I was not expecting.













We landed in OKC on time and we proceeded to get our bags and to catch our shuttle to the Hyatt Place nearby.

Here’s the end of our European trip… It was a blast that we much enjoyed! Next stops? Las Vegas, Cancun, Colorado, and Banff National Park. Stay tuned!!

Seat 2A

In waiting for these incremental reports to be posted in their entirety, it seems I'm often amongst the last to comment. This report was well worth the wait, however. Thanks, oneworld82 and here's wishing you and Keiko many happy contrails together! ^^

putongo

+1

oneworld82

You are too kind, Seat2A

oneworld82

Next one from Central Asia. Coming up soon