I made a recent trip (September 2023) on BA from London to Mexico City in First. Overall I was happy with the product and the service. The crew were fine. Efficient but not overly-effusive. I am more familiar with LX and LH First. On LX in particular, the crew appear to be genuinely excited about the offer, and they want you to have the best possible experience, and to sample everything that is available. On BA you can have whatever you want, but you have to ask for it and there is not a lot of enthusiasm about the soft product. There is no real spirit of hospitality and generosity, but that is perhaps a cultural thing.

I hadn't passed through the Concorde Room at Heathrow for a while. Despite recent comments on the BA Forum, on this Tuesday afternoon I found the service to be attentive but the Rentokil boxes were a bit of a turn off.... We tried some of the dining options in the lounge.

Welcome to the Concorde lounge...




Concorde Lounge Dining



Smoked salmon and cucumber salad- very good all round



Hubby's chicken tikka



Strawberries and cream



Squeezing onto a packed bus via a bus gate was distinctly an un-First Class experience.

Once onboard things started to look up.

BA243 LHR-MEX



Pre-flight canapês





Menu:
I opted for the Beef Tataki followed by the Tikka Masala and both were very good. My only gripe was that the service took forever to begin. We didn't even get an aperitif until we were well over the Atlantic and Ireland was about 100 miles behind us. I was eating my main course as we passed the southern tip of Greenland.





























Beef Tataki- it was excellent, but shame about the bread roll...







Chicken Tikka. I love spicy food, so I wasn't expecting much, but it was superb and really packed a punch.







Dessert: Passion Fruit and Hazelnut Tart- again, excellent.



Coffee- always a weak point on BA. At least get a Nespresso machine, for heaven's sake... Also BA's idea of suitable chocolates to accompany coffee are Lindor balls, that I can buy in any supermarket. This is where penny pinching shows and leaves a bad impression.


Wines: after a few glasses of LPGS I decided to try the Hattingley English sparkling. It was ok, but comparing it to LPGS is probably an unfair comparison. Ordering the Chateau Bouscaut with my main course, I was surprised to be given a glass of white. Do any BA crew have any clue about wines?


2nd Meal Service

I opted for the burger. The burger itself was very tasty, but the bun and garnishes, including the cheese, onions and tomato were all fridge-cold. which made for an odd experience. I could have sent it back but just put it down to first world (and first class) problems. The burger itself was good, however.



Chocolate Mousse and Strawberries- that were actually raspberries, but still very good.



My verdict- all in all a good flight, and much better than some of my other experiences in BA First. The food offering was consistently good, except for a hitch with the burger, but BA need to invest in some areas of the product to bring it up to scratch. The crew were friendly and efficient enough, but there is no comparison with the warm and all encompassing service to be found in First on Swiss and even Lufthansa. Having said that, I don't have a lot to complain about regarding this flight.