BA113
LHR-JFK
March 2025

After being escorted to 1A (the first time an escort to seat has happened for me on BA since before the pandemic), I was welcomed by name and offered my choice of drink and the now-usual snack trio of nuts, olives and cheese bites. PJs, slippers and amenity kits followed, along with menus, hot towels and the taking of lunch orders.





















After takeoff, the Inflight Lead came to welcome each passenger by name - he was coincidentally the same Inflight Lead as on a previous flight on this route seven months earlier.

With a glass of the South African red having already been served, my table was laid for lunch and, having chosen to skip the amuse bouche as goat’s cheese is not to my liking, my chosen starter of Cornish crab and avocado roll was served; this was innovatively presented. The warm bread offered from a basket and served alongside butter and olive oil was unfortunately of quite weak quality.



The Herefordshire beef was perhaps a bold choice for BA catering, and was unsurprisingly on the tough side. The accompanying creamy peppercorn sauce was therefore needed, and once applied ensured decent flavour. The crispy potato was indeed crispy, and the selection of sides were all very good. The 787’s small tables were all too apparent at this stage; it would’ve been impossible to keep the bread plate on the table had I still needed it.





I sampled both ‘proper’ desserts; the apple tarte tatin looked terrible but tasted great, whilst the more attractive crispy chocolate and hazelnut bar had a more predictable taste. The latter was served with a glass of cointreau and followed by a mint tea.





Between meal services, drinks top-ups were not overly proactive and I had to request water several times. I asked for a latte mid-way through the flight, but as so often seems to be the case on BA, one element of the ‘barista’ coffee experience wasn’t working - this time, the milk frother. So my latte came with cold milk. The wifi wasn’t working, so I passed the time watching a film and a couple of TV episodes.

The light meal service had an unusually attractive menu, starting with the creative vegetarian coronation Scotch egg.



The oxtail ragoût was very good.



To conclude, I really enjoyed the crema Catalana which was the perfect balance of sweetness and light, accompanied by an English breakfast tea.



A solid flight - on what was the fastest LHR-JFK sector our Captain had ever flown - with solid catering, only really let down by the tough beef.

BA176
JFK-LHR
March 2025

Another escort from the door to my seat, this time to 1K on a 77W. I was almost immediately offered a drink, which arrived with the trio of snacks, an unusual cold towel, PJs and amenity kit (I had requested a female version for my wife). I had to ask for slippers as they weren’t proactively offered.





The Inflight Lead welcomed all First passengers (but not by name) whilst still on the ground due to a problem with the satellite system that connected the aircraft to ATC communications. The system couldn’t be fixed, and so the Captain secured extra fuel and permission to fly at a lower-than-usual altitude which meant the satellite system wouldn’t have to be used. Menus were also handed out before we finally took off. Incidentally, the different designs of ex-LHR and ex-outstation menus has always irritated me.

















I’m always torn about whether to eat or not on short overnight flights, but on this occasion I’m glad I did, as dinner this evening was one of the best BA inflight meals I’ve had. Service started with water bottles being handed out, but oddly without drinks orders being taken; I had to ask for a glass of the South African white. The amuse bouche of golden beetroot and goat’s cheese ravioli was served before I could decline it.



My table - slightly larger I think than that on the 787 - was then laid, and whilst the offered bread was higher quality than on the outbound sector, the bread knife was forgotten. Given the short flight time I opted to skip the starter and jump straight to the main course - pan seared Atlantic salmon, served with all three sides. A superb restaurant-quality dish, neatly presented.





The raspberry yuzu cheesecake was beautifully presented, accompanied by a mint tea.



At the conclusion of dinner, my bed was made whilst I was changing into PJs in the washroom. I had not flown First on the refurbished 77W before, and so this was my first experience of the slightly upgraded washroom BA have chosen to fit; an unusual embellishment for an airline known for its penny pinching. I liked the textured splashback behind the sink, although the yellowing sealant around the tap left a little to be desired.



4 hours of sleep later, it was time for breakfast. My bed wasn’t proactively cleared when I woke up, which was a little disappointing, but that was soon forgotten with the arrival of an energising smoothie, green apple buckwheat muesli and a selection of breakfast pastries, served with coffee.



The inelegantly titled ‘full breakfast’ came next (minus the scrambled eggs at my request), with fresh seasonal fruit and a pot of English breakfast tea concluding the final meal of this flight.







A very comfortable flight with excellent catering.