Score8

In reality, the Concorde room's key differentiation is the quality of the champagne. If you don't drink, the only benefit is that it is much less crowded than the F lounge.

david55

Plus the occasional celebrity sighting.

Danwriter

Yes, catch a ride on that one before it goes away, too.

jcatman

The fact that you are asking the question indicates you are curious and should just do it. I like to fly AA for the trip from the United States to LHR, and then British Airways for the return.

Arriving at LHR for your return trip and using BA First Class security; walking into the LHR lounge; and then heading into the quiet Concorde Room (with the Terrace) is a great experience. Give yourself 2-3 hours and enjoy it. Few passengers ever get to do it.

ryan182

Having flown every one of those in your top 20 except Air China, Korean, and Air France (which I very much am looking for a reason/opportunity to try because it does look amazing) I cannot disagree with that ordering. It also reminds me that I am sad that Guardia doesn't really have a long haul F route anymore, I purposefully flew LAX-LHR-CGK-SOQ (aka the very very long way to get to Indo) to experience their F product from LHR and it was a treat and totally worth the extra time!

LOL same - and yes it is for the best .
Beyond Champagne and less crowding I also find the CCR is not quite as hot as the BA FLounge which tends to be a sweat box. There is also the CCR dining which sometimes is good but other times I find they try too hard to be fancy and fail at it but that's obviously subjective and my opinion. Lastly if one is not OWE then BA F would allow them BA F Wing access at LHR which is my favorite OW checkin/security by a country mile (though OP is EXP so this doesn't apply). Lounge-wise frankly I find the CX F lounge, which the OP would have access if they took the AA J option as an EXP, almost on-par with CCR. Yes their champs are not LPGS but still very decent and the dining is IMO as good as CCR in quality with great service plus awesome views from the leather chairs with ottomans overlooking the apron

anc305

Just my two cents worth. I have flown BA F on the 747 quite a few times. Is it great ? No. Is it worth it to do it one time ? Yes. The best way to lower the fuel surcharges is to originate a one way redemption in Europe. Examples. ARN-LHR-DFW $250 , LHR-DFW $555 , DFW-LHR-ARN $795 , DFW-LHR $782. You may want to book it with an overnight layover at LHR ( less than 24 hours ) You will also get the CCR at LHR as others have mentioned.

ijgordon

I haven't flown BA F in about 10 years, and I imagine there has been some reconfiguration at T5 since then, but I wonder how you would compare the BA F check-in to AA's Flagship Checkin at JFK or LAX? Neither are separate security lanes, but the check-in areas are relatively small and quiet (e.g., "exclusive") and an agent will escort you directly to the front of the security line.

And maybe for that matter, how does it compare to the VS Upper Class Wing at LHR, which I think is fantastic (especially for a J product), not just the drive-through checkin, but the whole channel and separate security.

ludocdoc

You ask about flying in a 747 because you've never done it. I think the special think about the 747 is the stairs and the upper deck, which means business class, not F. Problem is, the J product is hit or miss. The aisle seats are aweful. The worst I've seen - no flat surface to put your eyeglasses or water bottle on. no boundary between you and the aisle - you're more exposed than it feels in coach. Awful. however, if you can get the window seat aft - 64 a or K, its nice. And the redemption taxes are death. I did the flight in paid C US-LHR-DXB and back for the same reason - just to do the grand 747 upstairs. now that its done, I seek other aircraft.

ryan182

The F Wing is far better than the AA Flagship Checkin IMO, not only does is it have 2 dedicated security lanes, which I've never had more than a few people at, once you pass security you are in the FLounge, no need to walk through the terminal. Ascetically the F Wing looks much nicer. I've not flown VS at all so cannot comment on their checkin.

Reetmafreen

ijgordon

I would disagree. The UD isn’t that special, it’s more or less like any other narrowbody. To me, it’s the nose section that’s most special about the 747. (That said, the BA J UD window seats are pretty nice, as you allude to, because of the storage bins along the sidewalls that *do* give you somewhere to put your glasses. It doesn’t even need to be 62A/K, though the direct aisle access is a plus obviously.

ikwia

A timely thread -- last night I flew BA 747 in row 1 specifically because I "wanted to do it". I am glad I did it, because it was an experience. The crew, like my other BA F experiences, was great, and I do enjoy the extensive meal service (don't be afraid to order multiple starters), nice champagne, very good wines (the sauvignon blanc dessert wine was really nice), decent scotch, etc.

With that said, the space on the outer seats is marginal. There is a surface on the outside of your seat, but that's about it for storage, and that's also where the tray table comes out from, so you need to move your stuff every time you open the tray. The inside seats basically have no surfaces to put things on. I can't imagine being in one of those seats...I didn't even see room to place drinks. The BA A380 F seat is much better in this regard. The seat itself on the 747 was quite comfortable, perhaps slightly less than the A380.

Now that I've tried the 747 and gotten it out of my system, I'd pick the A380 every time.

For the seat itself, I'd rather be in any type of AA J seat than BA 747 F. I love the cocooning AA J seats that have some surfaces on both sides of the seat. I never feel that i have to juggle my items and shift things around much to open tray table, etc. For soft product, it depends what you're into, but I'd say BA F is far superior here overall. But so much of this is personal preference.

tl; dr; -- try the BA 747 F seat for the experience, but realize it will be inferior in every way to BA A380 F and perhaps AA J, depending on your preferences

ckendall

I have enjoyed a couple of recent BA 747 F flights (1A and 2A); it is pretty cool to sit in the front of the plane and the service was always great (though the BA forum indicates that I might have been lucky). Food is fine but I have never eaten a great meal on an airplane and the wines/champagne are quite good. Getting in and out of the seat is always a bit complex as the storage is not great.

Upstairs on BA is sort of fun (though schlepping my weighty carry-on up the stairs is not a thrill) and the ancient video screens (on some 747s) are pretty lame.

Flying from DC (IAD) to Europe I do not get much of a choice as it's mostly 747 or 787 which is not that great.

And as noted above, there is a lovely moment when you are allowed first off the plane and then the sad realization that you are hiking to a subway car.

Score8

I agree that the F security at LHR is far more civilized than other options. The fact that it dumps out directly into the club is a well thought out perk. I was always envious of the VAtlantic folks that had that option years ago.

HofstraJet

Thanks for the input, everyone. I'm going to do it!

Finding a leg with saver availability to/from MIA isn't easy - have to go through JFK, but it will only put me through JFK westbound if my destination isn't MIA - will do it for CLT, but not MIA. I can get a cheap one way home.

/ranton I hate this married segment nonsense - it is such BS and does nothing but frustrate us (yes, I am well aware of the thread on it). If I try to use JFK or MIA as my destination, it routes me through BOS. But if I go to CLT, I can go through JFK. Just sheer stupidity. /rantover