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British Airways Flight 233
London Heathrow to Moscow Domodedovo
Boeing 747-400
April 29, 2014
Scheduled: 08:55-15:35
Actual: 09:19-15:27
Seat: 1A (First Class)
Load: 4/14

Today, we were using door 2L only - because Concourse C doesn't have a second airbridge at all of its gates (from what I can see.), yet the terminal is relatively new. Why is that?


2014-04-29 08.10.45 by jurastudent, on Flickr

When boarding was called, there was a security person who very carefully scrutinized visas after the gate agent had scanned boarding passes. This was the 5th check of Russian visa that I counted from the time of my check-in at Melbourne. Down the escalator, through the bridge - I was directed to turn left.

I selected Seat 1A at T-24 on OLCI when it was made available. At the time, there was someone seated in 1K, but sitting at the tip of the nose is really something special.


2014-04-29 08.20.33 by jurastudent, on Flickr

It looks cramped, especially when compared to the seat on QF, CX, SQ, NH, LH (even the OZ F 747 seat was wider and more open.)


2014-04-29 08.20.27 by jurastudent, on Flickr

I guess that's what happens when you cram in 14 seats into the nose of a 747.


2014-04-29 08.20.22 by jurastudent, on Flickr


2014-04-29 08.23.57 by jurastudent, on Flickr

I do like the colour scheme of the cabin though. The window shades are also pretty cool, with the dark neon-like blue shading which remind me of a hip, upscale club.


2014-04-29 08.23.54 by jurastudent, on Flickr

The lamp at the seat was also very nice. But what's up with the seat controls? I found the seat adjustments were very inflexible, and all you could do was turn the knob and I never found a lounging position I was comfortable with. Was I missing something?

2014-04-29 08.24.11 by jurastudent, on Flickr

One of the attendants came by and asked if I wanted anything, recommending a glass of champagne. I was delighted to accept a glass of my favourite Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle. She also asked if I wanted an amenity kit, pyjamas, a pillow or if I liked, to have turndown service during the flight - something I didn't expect to be available for a 3 hour flight. Impressive that BA does make their longhaul services available for the DME flights. ^


2014-04-29 08.22.43 by jurastudent, on Flickr

All I took was the amenity kit. The bag was nothing special, but the amenities were decent. Above all, this was the only amenity kit I've ever seen to include a pen - something of much more utility than "facial emulsions" or whatever the heck they call it these days.


2014-04-29 11.25.35 by jurastudent, on Flickr

After a while, 1K showed up to his seat with another passenger. He gave me a dirty look, summoned the attendant and basically said "what the **** is this **** doing in 1A?"

The attendant was rather polite and civil, and said that it was indeed my seat that I had reserved. The guy then threw a hissy fit about being Gold, etc. etc. etc. He then said to me "hope you enjoy my seat" in a very nasty way, and stormed off to 3K with his friend all while mumbling how I stole his seat, what a stupid (racial epithet) I was, etc. etc. etc.

A true DYKWIA.

Good riddance to you, Mr. 1K. Despite that, I could hear Mr. 1K obnoxiously talking loudly to his companion and bossing the attendants around during the flight.


2014-04-29 08.36.18 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Aside from that, everything sounds good so far, right?

Something I couldn't quite capture in the pictures was the wear and tear in the cabin. For a "New" product, it definitely looked "Old" to me. The seat cushion lacked any support and felt "empty", there was dust and crumbs everywhere in the nooks and crannies, and I could even see pieces of food stuck in all around. The knob for adjusting the chair had some black coloured filth trapped all around the grooves, and the paint was coming apart on many surface and corners of the suite. Gross.

The seat was also definitely cramped. The seat was adequate for a person my size, but wider people might find it a bit tight. Also, I didn't quite care for the footrest, which had weird adjusting positions. Yes, there is more space than the Cirrus J seat (which I tried 2 weeks later on EVA), but substantially less space than almost every other F product I've tried so far.


2014-04-29 08.22.50 by jurastudent, on Flickr

But it's a 3 hour flight after all. I'll live. I'm still in the phase where I'm thankful and happy to be seated in anything but coach. Seat 1A in a 747 is also clearly a very coveted seat.

There were going to be some delays in departing LHR today, with a huge amount of traffic at this time in the morning, but the flight time was going to be just about 3 hours, putting us on-time into DME.

On the takeoff, we passed by T3, where I spotted 5 A380s all parked closely to each other, 1 from EK, 2 from SQ and 2 from QF. Amazing that these airlines can fill these jets on a daily basis.

Takeoff at LHR

After takeoff, I was offered a top-up of champagne, but I just opted for a glass of water. I checked out the breakfast menu as follows. I wasn't too hungry, but for the sake of this TR, I decided to take on the full breakfast service, hoping it would be better than the CCR. I initially ordered the mackerel fillet with Oscietra caviar and mixed grill with earl grey tea to wash it all down, but was later told that the mackerel fillet was out.


2014-04-29 09.39.23 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Tablecloths were set out (the attendant apologized for it being so wrinkly, haha.) The table setup was pretty nice and attention was paid to the little details (unlike LH where the cutlery and napkin were just left in a roll on my table.)


2014-04-29 09.51.22 by jurastudent, on Flickr

First, an amuse bouche of smoked salmon. It was alright.


2014-04-29 09.51.24 by jurastudent, on Flickr

A hot croissant and bun. They were good enough.


2014-04-29 09.53.10 by jurastudent, on Flickr

The attendant came by and told me that my mixed grill was still being heated up. But in the interim, she told me someone had cancelled the mackerel fillet and that I could have it if I wanted, so I gladly obliged.

So that's why whoever ordered it declined it. It was missing the caviar on top. It was dry and tasteless.


2014-04-29 09.52.39 by jurastudent, on Flickr

The mixed grill. Typically I don't like eating huge slabs of meat, so this was probably a poor choice (I ordered it because I remember hearing of a similar meal on the Concorde.) The eggs were actually half decent, but most of the meat was dry and leathery (with the exception of the lamb croquette which was too salty), and the rest of the vegetable were soggy.

2014-04-29 09.58.02 by jurastudent, on Flickr

And a fruit plate to finish. Better than the one in the CCR, but it was absolutely tasteless.


2014-04-29 10.10.53 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Service throughout was very efficient and courteous, which was the only good part of the whole experience. I took the rest of the time catching up on some work, as the IFE was disappointing (the screen was incredibly pixelated) and soon enough, we arrived in Moscow.


2014-04-29 15.34.29 by jurastudent, on Flickr

At DME, we were only using door 2L again. Well, Mr. 1K kicked up another fit about Club World and economy passengers being allowed to disembark with us and before us as Door 1L was being used. Keeping in mind, most of Club World was empty (the entire lower deck was empty and there were less than a dozen passengers from the upper deck.) Boy, Mr. 1K was on a massive roll today compensating for something empty in his life.

Summary:

If I subtract Mr. 1K from the equation, the BA F experience was still sub-par (I realize my view is biased after having flown CX, SQ and QF within short succession.) The seats in the 747 are just too cramped and uncomfortable compared to the competition, and the condition of the cabins were disgusting. The redeeming element was the courteous and friendly service, but the food was also subpar. Combine that with very average ground service (i.e. a average lounge and nothing else), BA's First product was disappointing. It would be a excellent business class product, but definitely no match for the likes of CX, SQ, NH, LH or even QF.

I was thankful to have added this segment onto my MEL-LHR itinerary for no additional miles and just the airport taxes plus some $40 of YQ, so I was grateful to have gotten the experience for very little. But moving forward, I would not consider using my miles on BA F, and settle for J instead, or fly other better airlines.