Just back yesterday from KUL and thanks to this and other threads I knew what to expect!

It was a first First so I got to use First Wing and CCR on the outbound flight. The First Wing is lovely and I understand now why it is praised so much. I had a lovely agent, who when I told her that this was my first First, she took the time to explain my Lounge options. I had a quick look around the F Lounge which seems to have changed a lot since my BMI Gold year. It seemed more opened up somehow and I only recognised the dining area from all those years ago. I must say it wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped for.

Anyway off to the CCR room which was very pleasant in an old-fashioned way. I had a late lunch of ribeye and chips (temperature perfect...) and the steak was medium/well just as I had ordered. I had a very nice red can’t remember which one.

Given the reverence that LGPS is given on this forum I had already decided that I would wait until I was on the terrace (my favourite place in the CCR) before I ordered one. It arrived and I sipped it as if I was taking the Sacrament to my comfort but, alas, there was no spiritual experience, in fact I was quite underwhelmed.

It’s perfectly nice and obviously better quality than the Castelnau but my first thought was “is this what all the fuss is about?” I much preferred the espresso martinis of which I had several (!) before my back and neck massage.

The outbound flight to KUL was great. I loved the seat and the privacy it afforded. The food was very good I had pre-ordered the chicken satay. I rarely sleep well on planes but I got a good five hours decent sleep and just had the fruit plate for breakfast. The CSM came and spoke to me at the end and apologised for not doing so earlier.

I was less impressed coming back to LHR. My first interaction with the cc was my being asked “How would you like to spend your flight with us this evening?” I assumed he meant do you want dinner or go to sleep, but why not just say that? I opted for dinner which seemed much slower than on the outbound. There was no hot towel, no wash bag offered, nor pyjamas nor slippers. I waited to see if they would be but ended up having to ask for a wash bag just before I went to bed. I was then offered pyjamas on my way to the WC which was really too late and I was wearing my own anyway.

The food again was was very good. As I suspected, the Vietnamese summer roll was to be served cold, so I went for chicken satay skewers. The crew member subsequently came back to apologise to say that the chef’s chat said the chicken satay should be served cold but eventually came back with the chicken heated up because a crew member said it was better that way...

I had the beef for my main course but wasn’t asked how I would like it. It came medium well which was just perfect.

Once again, I slept very well and woke up somewhere over South East Europe. When I moved my mattress to put the seat in the upright position I noticed that the cabin crew member had put the plastic bag containing the mattress underneath it on my seat instead of taking it away. This didn’t affect my sleep but it did strike me as being just a little bit lazy.

Breakfast was served about 80 minutes before landing I asked for a banana smoothie but was given strawberry despite the crew member coming back later to check. I didn’t notice at first and it tasted good so didn’t send it back.

The hot towel did come just as we were landing. It would have been better just after waking up and after getting on the flight.

All in all, a good, rather than a great, experience. Would I travel First again? Maybe if there was a good price in the sale, but certainly not at normal fare.

I now certainly understand better the inconsistency in First that others have spoken about.

This flight has however brought me to Gold as confirmed this morning by the App. I will wait for it to change colour over the next few days...