megaloman

Thanks! I asked my partner about having a holiday trip to Costa Rica... but as we couldn't work out when, I decided to book a quick back-2-back for myself only. While I was booking prices started to disappear, so I had to act quickly hence I didn't extend my return - would have done a weekend in Spain later without issues... I've done previously a back-2-back to Dublin after the DUB-PHL-PHX-LAS-PHX-JFK-LHR trip and it wasn't bad

megaloman

Flight MIA ✈ LHR BA206

Aircraft: Boeing 747-400 reg. G-CIVA
Seat: 2A
Departure gate: E8
Departure: scheduled 17:05 ETZ, left gate at 18:22 ETZ, departed 18:30 ETZ
Arrival: scheduled 06:40 BST, landed 7:30 BST, doors opened at 7:40 BST
Flight time: 8:00



After leaving the Centurion Lounge (located near gate D12) we took a sky train go to get to E gates where American Airline's Premium lounge was located. At entry my mobile boarding pass wouldn't scan and had to have it printed and docs checked. There was a poor guy trying to gain access with his Amex Platinum or Citi Black something cards - while agent was trying to explain him, he would need to have a status with the airline, it seemed he didn't really understand what she was telling him. As soon as I got my boarding pass, I joined the conversation and asked if I could guest him in. The agent looked at my boarding pass, scanned it (it worked this time) and voila - I guested a stranger. He was on the same flight as my fellow FlyerTalker, flying Y to Madrid.



Compared to the Centurion there was much more space - I really liked the fact lounge wasn't a big open area, but many smaller areas. Self service drinks (including champagne, but no champagne glasses!) and sandwiches. Nothing exciting to be honest! To me food offering was pretty poor and there was no First dining area (or I didn't find it!). Roughly an hour later I walked with my new friend for his departure to Madrid and then returned back to the premium lounge to have another glass of g&t and check my email etc. My flight was delayed by at least an hour at this point.



Having a few minutes to spare, I also took a couple of photos of aircraft parked nearby. I was lucky to catch one of the retro liveries of American:



And more exotic 737, operated by Cayman Airways:



When boarding got announced I headed to my gate where a number of queues started to form. I really liked how the check-in staff enforced queues for First, Club World and World Traveller pax. The only problem was those queues had no signage - there was just one banner stating "priority boarding for First, Club World and status pax". There was a couple who got pre-boarded (they sat in 1A/1K - probably GGLs), then families with children and those who needed assistance got boarded. Then as First class pax got welcomed to board the plane - check-in station crashed - which caused a little bit of a panic among the staff. There was a lady with "I help to FLY" badge, but she looked as lost and confused as others while she tried to scan my boarding pass Eventually it worked on other station and I was good to go to experience my first First

As soon as I stepped onto the plane, a cabin crew pulled my boarding pass and invited my by name (kudos for reading my surname correctly!) and guided me to my seat. Boarding was through the second door on the left, so we had to walk through the old premium economy cabin.

I must say - the F cabin does look premium compared to the Club World cabin. The seat feels bigger, there's definitely more shoulder space, table is enormous and there's a buddy seat!



Shortly after I settled in my seat, another crew member appeared with pre-departure drinks. I opted for a glass of fizz:



I think, while boarding, I mentioned to the cabin crew that was my first First experience, as some time after boarding cabin service leader (or sth like that) arrived at my seat, introduced himself and said "As it's your first time in our First class cabin, I'll explain you how everything works". That was really nice and I really appreciated it!

Compared to Club World - there's definitely more space. Although I felt a little bit too exposed compared to window seats in Club World. Still it wasn't as exposed as aisle seat in CW. Seats 1A/1K were very close to each other, but 2A/2K not so much - so much better for a solo traveller.




Shortly before departure I spotted another rare 737 through the window - recently resurrected airline Eastern:



Taxi to the runaway was short and soon after we were on the way, here's Miami beach on the departure:



Soon after take off the dinner service started.



I was a bit disappointed that I missed out on amuse bouche - it was removed from the service as a part of July Enhancements So I opted for some G&T:



Wow, the glass was bigger! ;-)

The dinner service

May table got laid down:



Starters

• George's Bank lobster with mango salad and sauce Marie Rose
• Warm wild mushroom tart with chervil cream and pickled mushrooms
• Cream of carrot, ginger and orange soup with citrus herb cream
• Fresh salad leaves with your choice of balsamic vinaigrette or mustard Parmesan dressing

As I started to develop some early symptoms of a sore throat, I decided to go for the soup:



Main courses

• Seared fillet of Midwest beef with rosemary jus, potato horseradish pure and roasted baby beets
• Alaskan halibut with chilli lime risotto and mixed bean fricassée
• Organic breast of free-range chicken with coq au vin sauce, seared polenta cake and seasonal vegetables
• Ravioli of smoked mozzarella and roasted peppers with pomodoro sauce, pesto, fresh rocked and flaked Parmesan
• Grilled vegetable and apricot couscous with Cajun-dusted North Atlantic scallops and herb yoghurt

I chose Alaskan halibut which was confirmed by the crew member as "ah, fish, of course"



Desserts

• Double chocolate and orange torte with hedgerow berry compote
• Cherry crumble with Madagascar vanilla ice cream

I skipped the dessert and went for a cheese plate accompanied by a glass of port:



After the dinner I asked for some tea with lemon as an aid for my now sore throat.



Overall I was quite happy with my meal - it was late for me already as I tried to stick with the UK time zone. I was also getting tired and feeling sleepy. Haven't finished watching my movie, went to change into my pyjamas. While I was away crew set up my bed. At this stage cabin lights were dimmed so I fallen asleep without any issues.

I got woken up a couple of times by a guy from 1K, who was making a lot of noise with his stuff. Not sure what he was doing and why - he was weird. Then got woken up by the noise from the galley when breakfast was served - could hear clearly the cutlery, plates etc. Roughly 30 minutes before landing went to change back into my clothes, asked for a coffee (no picture, sorry) and prepared for landing.

I must admit the noise of front gear going up or down was an unpleasant surprise - it was loud and closed/opened with the bang! Never experienced anything like that - but oh well, it was my first time in the nose of 747

Cabin after landing:



Cabin was quite full - I think 12 seats out of 14 were taken! And there were a couple of OpUps as I heard.

Was it worth to fly First?

I think so - although I think I had a better sleep on upper deck in Club World on 747, First offers a lot more space. I didn't like the bedding as it was too narrow to my liking - I think Club World's duvet is a bit wider from my experience. I could feel aircon air on my back. I would choose First for a day flight any time, for a night flight? on shorter routes I would stick to the seat by the window on upper deck of B747 or A380.

I really enjoyed the service - cabin crew were very friendly and helpful - true professionals! I bet it's part of their job when working in F.

As we arrived roughly 50 minutes late at the Terminal 3 at Heathrow, I had a dilemma - should I transfer to T5 and go to the arrivals lounge there, or should I try out the Premium Plaza in T2? I decided to give a try the Premium Plaza as Arrivals at T5 could have been very busy at this time with TATL arrivals. So I got stuck in the immigration queue for around 25 minutes (longer that the immigration in MIA!) as e-gates were off ("we're testing our e-gates"). It's quite a walk from T3 to T2 to be honest... arrived at Premium Plaza around 8:45 and asked for a shower - luckily one was available!

Shower was tiny - there was no space to put your bag open or comfortably undress, etc. Though it looked way better than pods at Arrivals in T5. Plus everything was provided:



Didn't managed to get a better picture of the shower room as there was no space!

Premium Plaza Arrivals lounge is surprisingly small itself - looks like a small bar in Barcelona But full English breakfast is served plus drinks etc. Plus they don't check the boarding pass so if you have a Priority Pass, you could pop in for breakfast/lunch any time





After a shower and a quick breakfast I headed to the Heathrow Express station and took a train to get back to Central London. It was Monday and had to go to work My weekend away was over!

megaloman

Flight LGW ✈ ALC ✈ LGW

So this is where this trip becomes a little bit bitter.

As I tried to stay in my time zone with my sleeping pattern, I wasn't feeling too bad and was keen to take my finishing back-2-back bit to Alicante. Unfortunatelly, when I arrived at the train station for 17:12 train to Gatwick I got welcomed by cancellations and delays.



I was gutted. I could possibly get in time for my departure, but how I would return home after midnight? My return flight was scheduled to return to Gatwick at 1:00 am.

I decided not to go. I lost 80 tier points and 5000+ avios for not taking two flights in Club Europe.

Lesson learnt for the future - the fare rules allowed a stop over in London in both directions. I should have booked a more comfortable time for this back-2-back on return. Weekend would be better. Combine it with (un)planned trip - would be perfect. I think, when I was booking the trip, I was so excited about the deal, I didn't think it through well. I could have combined it with my trip to Barcelona tomorrow - as I am flying on the redemption booking, I could have cancelled it and finish my SJO trip flying in Club to BCN. Oh well.

Thanks for reading! If you have more questions - please post them here or send me a PM. Will be happy to answer them!

aidy

a great read thanks, i wish i took up that offer

Gomac

Thank you very much for a great Trip Report megaloman, I really enjoyed reading it, especially since I am doing exactly the same itinerary (albeit with a 5 night stop over in CR) in a few weeks time. Given your pics think I will try the beef as well. My cabin is really empty with only a few seats taken so there may be quite a few op-ups as well. I am in 5K and not moving!!

One question, I have the same flights back SJO-MIA-LHR with a 5 hour lay over, do you think this would be enough time to nip into Miami beach for a bite to eat?

offerendum

For me it Looks like pancakes rather than waffles

megaloman

Didi I say waffles? I did! Not sure why though
^ Thanks for flagging it up, updated the post!

megaloman

5K - do you mean the LGW-SJO flights? Mind 5A/5K don't have windows... so if you, like me, like to look out, then consider other seats!

Ocean's drive is around 25 minutes from the airport by taxi - if you arrive early and clear immigration and customs before your scheduled arrival time (like I managed to do), then you should be ok

mikeyfly

The metrorail is supposed to be quite slick / easy and takes away the risk of traffic? Maybe give that a go

xenole

Couldn't you have booked, say the Hampton at LGW, for cash, points, cash/points if you were arriving back at 1am?

megaloman

That was an option - there were still rooms available on a day. I must admit I've booked a trip without putting too much thoughts into how I wanted to go about the last bit - my bad & lesson learnt - next time I'll try to plan it better

flashware

I think you've been lucky - BA definitely doesn't include the tax in their tickets. I'm going with the theory the agents don't know you're on BA stock, see you're on an AA flight (who do include it in their tickets) and therefore are none the wiser. I'm hoping this works for me in a few weeks too..... Doing the exact same route as you ^

http://fly2sanjose.com/en/antes-de-v...tos-de-salida/

BA stock ticket charges:
Government, authority and airport charges Per adult
Departure Charge - Spain EUR 15.03
Aviation Safety and Security Fee - Spain EUR 0.59
Security Tax - Spain EUR 3.71
Air Passenger Duty - United Kingdom EUR 33.94
Passenger Service Charge - United Kingdom EUR 55.52
Security Fee - Costa Rica EUR 2.66
Tourism Arrival Tax - Costa Rica EUR 13.22
Common Area User Charge - Costa Rica EUR 5.02
Customs User Fee - USA EUR 4.85
Animal & Plant Health User Fee (Aphis) - USA EUR 3.49
Immigration User Fee - USA EUR 6.17
Passenger Civil Aviation Security Service Fee - USA EUR 4.94
Total government, authority and airport charges*
> More information
EUR 149.14