darthlemsip

I had a bit of a moan on a survey about the lounge, following a recent flight back (food was genuinely awful). I got a call from BA to say that ORD is next once the JFK lounges are done

BAwjh93

I'll definitely report back with my findings next month for the benefit of everyone, hopefully with some pictures as well ^

BAwjh93

The food in the F lounge itself or the food in the F dining room? Glad to hear that there are at least some plans to improve matters but I guess we'll have to wait and see if / when these actually materialise, we all know things at BA don't tend to ever move very fast...

MADPhil

The F lounge is pretty small and only has soup and sandwiches, but better booze. The food is in the CW buffet or the FC dining room. The main virtue of the F lounge is the back door to M12.

2358

1st Dining very pleasant, though nothing on the menu really took my fancy. Felt bad as the servers were keen to bring me something I liked. It was quite busy, but room for everyone. I ended up eating on the plane as was hungry having not eaten. Last couple of times I just skipped the dining.

Lights remain on in 1st for at least first 2 hours of the flight, so you won't really disturb anyone if you do eat on board.

What has always surprised me about the 1st lounge is how busy it gets. Every time I've been there seems every seat taken by the time boarding starts - that must be 28-30 pax for 14 in 1st on a 747.

Agree its a nice treat to board straight from the lounge!

BAwjh93

How regularly do they tend to change the options on the menu? Monthly?

I suppose the high occupancy of the F lounge stems from golds and OW emeralds using the facility, as well as those travelling in F on other OW airlines. I had heard that it does get very busy in the rather small F lounge which is why I was looking to spend more time in the First Dining Room.

nologic

I have always like the meals in the F Lounges...but I am very disappointed that BA serves such inferior done and spirits than are available on board or in the CCRs!

This is a place reserved for actual F only pax, but they get a CW- beverage experience for their main meal experience?

We know BA "gets" the difference, because they serve quite different stuff on board and the CCRs are stocked so differently.

I would feel differently if this was for OW Emeralds flying on OW in any class...but these places are for true BA F pax.

​​​​​

BAwjh93

I think that this is just consistent with the marked decline in quality and the standard of drinks now served across the vast majority of the lounges worldwide, even in the CCRs. Especially the wine and champagne quality.

SFO777 has the most detailed review of this dining facility to date, albeit from 2012 and he specifically refers to the high quality of wines available in the dining room at ORD during his visit. Evidently, it has gone downhill since then, based upon what everyone is saying on this thread.

nologic

BOS was serving LP Brut ($45) and the two best 2 reds were a $22 Oberon Napa Cab and a $22 Argentina Malbec. The rest were $10-15 .
Of course, no JW Blue or XO cognac .

cunardqueen

I upgraded from Club to First, and as a lowly blue member this was my first time flying First, so naturally l was expecting to be wowed ,There was some fun interaction between the two ladies on the Business lounge desk, which l think set the tone .relaxed and informal, and quite different from that of my experience in Heathrow.
Thanks to a super upgrade offer on checkin, from ORD to LHR l made use of the private dining prior to the flight. It seats about 12 people in a windowless room. I was told to go take a seat in the Business class lounge, while the server would fetch me,l sat and had a soft drink, the server never came so l returned to the desk to be told oh he couldn't find you. He was a nice young guy. the room had two napkins on the floor, left l assume from the previous diners. we spoke about the flight the lounge and the menu. l had asked about the menu on tonights flight but he didnt have a clue what it would be. Given that l had paid $490 for the upgrade l was determined to get my value for money..

Another passenger entered the room and after a short while we began speaking, l asked him as a First First timer any advice, Sit back and enjoy it, but he did say the service land side was different from that onboard, and smiled . we did laugh and joke about different things. we both spoke to each other during the meal, he was going to sleep as soon as he could onboard . He was a regular user of the service..
The server l fear was pretty new i ordered the Cauliflower soup with Vadouvan oil and charred golden raisens. It as delicious, not as hot as l would have liked, in fact it was warm if truth be told. .No call back to ask if it everything was ok, and no napkin business either. . Had to ask for a bread roll, no big deal, But it was very slow service ,The door to the kitchen was open and you could hear all the kitchen noise, from the staff and machine, then l had the Seared Fillet Mignon with Gruyere Potato puree , Pea Puree, Peas & Chasseur sauce.Very nice and tasty.

All in all a lovely meal, it would have been nice to know what meal was being served onboard, but no one seemed to know. no offer of an after dinner coffee or drink , not that l would have wanted one but the chance to say no is always nice. The Lounge hosts asked how l enjoyed it, we spoke and jested and l shared my casual comments, adding that l did enjoy it and thanked them very much. the older of the ladies was great fun and said when l go into the First Lounge l would meet Ivana Trump and pretend that l think its Ms Trump .

Sure enough opening the First door there she was, at her desk and the image of Ms Trump, l played upto it exclaiming my delight at meeting her and how her Ex is doing a good job ! she smiled and laughed and said l had been speeking to her collegues from over there .she checked the boarding pass and explained all about the lounge and it was self service for the snacks and drinks, we spoke for a period about BA and life in general, she did seem interested. The food on display was some sandwiches which looked as though they had seen better days.Self service for everything and the hour or so i was in there only saw a server twice doing the rounds clearing glasses or dispensing drinks. The lounge that night only had five people in it. As it happens the CSM was saying on the flight it was showing as only Two passengers earlier in the day but as the day went on it increased to Five in First Class

The service onboard the flight was quiet something else, the crew in First very attentative. Shown to my seat 2K .Speaking to the CSM who introduced himself and the crew , it was clear we were all family and set the very relaxed tone for the flight. It was nice to be able to stow the cabin bag and carry bag with ease in your your own bin, beside your bedding. The menu was presented, l had no idea what to expect and was quite surprised at how plain it was. But my mind was made up Mushroom soup and Chicken/Bacon pie. The Cabin crew came round to ask when l would like to dine, l said on im not fussed, just whenever, he asked again Did l have a time in mind, l said "No i didnt just whenever" he smiled and said That given its quick flight tonight and l would want probably want to sleep and then have breakfast . l said oh for what l'm paying lm not sleeping tonight ! .He lwas amused and made the comment being Scottish you want your moneys worth. l laughed and said yes. he said what would be best is after take off l would be settled in they will come round with Champagne and warm nuts and take my order which l was happy with , intruth l wasnt hungry but l did want to enjoy A First Class meal.
Sure enough after take off the champagne and warm nuts arrived. l mentioned that l was surprised how plain the menu was, he described the food as Homely and to order as much or as little as my heart desired .
The inflight amenity bag was presented , with an extra one for my Neice who is cabin crew for Scotlands Airline , and been so for six months, I had shown them some pics earlier and a bag for Mum. then came round the PJs a set for me and he asked how tall my neice was as there would be a set for her. He then went to lay out the table offered a pre dinner drink and did the napkin business, its a small touch but you rarely see it these days, it took me back to the days of QE2. Choice of bread rolls with the soup, which was delicious, l mentioned how nice it was, right away he asked if ld like some more, l declined, then after a suitable pause out came the chicken pie, lovely presentation, granted it wasnt a big pie, again I said it was delicious , again he asked would l care for another. I would have loved to but it would have been mad. then dessert arrived. Then the offer of Tea, l said id been on holiday in the USA for 5 weeks and this would be my first cuppa in that time, he assured me it would be the best cup ever. he took great care to set it out with everything at twenty past four , now l do enjoy my tea, and without prompting when the pot was empty he appeared with a fresh pot, which was consumed as quickly, he did offer another pot but l declined , He did say that whever l desire a pot, please just ask. l thanked him again. He asked if ld like a drink, as l work in a bar l asked for the JWB with coke (some might say thats a waste of good coke) but it was delivered with a smile. and enjoyed, another was offered.

During the flight l did vist the Galley and enjoyed the interaction with the crew and the CSM, Its fair to say l think we all enjoyed the banter. and we shared some of our travel experiences.before l returned to my seat .l must have nodded of at some point as l awoke with a blanket over me,That was a lovely gesture l thought. Breakfast was ordered l had asked for Tea before hand which was delivered then the Orange juice , l was offered Champagne with it, Then pastries and toast (the toast was cold ) and a lovely English breakfast with more tea . it really wasnt long after that before we were landing, and having flown CW a few times, l was aware it seemed much later than when breakfast was served in CW . A small gift was delivered and very warmly welcomed,

Landed early at T5 , l was in no hurry to disembark and spend a few mintues with the crew before joing those in CW as they disembarked.
Through security with the ABZ pass in hand and my First Boarding pass l showed it to the lady at the desk and enquired as l had paid the upgrade to First Last night and had a lovely flight over am l entitled to use the First lounge here ? Expecting to be told No as it was only the ORD LHR flight that was first, but she smiled and allowed me in. Found one of those loud sofas and sat back to bask in the glory of it all, had a coke , ordered the BA Burger `, priobably the worst burger ever l wast impressed , it was on the cool side and simply no "Flipping Amazing Burger Sauce" which made the the whole thing pretty dry, But nice presentation.
It was nice just to sit and watch the aircraft , went into the main part and spoke to one of the Customer servic staff to chance my hand in asking as l was group 4 boarding for the Domestic flight might l be able to use Group one since l flew over , well no harm in asking, she went to try to print a new boarding pass but she said there was a glitch in the system, she did say just ask at the gate , but it would be ok.

Ordered a final pot of tea from one of the servers, a guy from Yorkshire, he really couldnt do enough and was happy to chat ,mentioned it was my first time in here, and any chance of a menu from Concorde dining as a souvenir. He said sure, but if l have time why not pop in for a dessert, I would have loved to but the gate was showing for the flight to Aberdeen. Made my way down to the gate and to the desk to ask about the boarding position, there was an older guy there , very much full of his own importance and an Aisian member of staff .The older British guy eventually came over and l started to explain what the lounge host had said,
l was abruptly interruped and told No whats on your boarding pass is your position, l even threw in Oh l had flown over First Class and showed the boarding stub, he simpy wasnt interested and said Again NO your boarding pass tells you the group number. Before l left l caught hold of the Asian chap and he shrugged his shoulders with as much to say "Sorry " So l joined Group 4 boarding. just prior to going own the steps the older white gentleman was having a very heated discussion with a lady passenger who was in tears, His voice said it all, Repack the bags or you dont fly., it seemed thats all he could shout ,I really didnt care for his attitude or his manner and neither did some of the passengers as they passed by.

But as we know a good BA crew are simply outstanding, but its the odd one thats lets the whole team down.
Sorry for a long winded reply, But thats my experience of ORD and BA First, I loved and enjoyed every minute of it
.

BAwjh93

It sounds like your experience was mostly positive cunardqueen, so that's really good to hear! I hope you feel that you got your money's worth, it certainly sounds like you did

The crew certainly seemed to go out of their way to give you a really special first F experience.

It does sound like the waiter look after you in the F dining room was somewhat inexperienced as he did appear to miss some of the basics of providing decent service. I work in the hospitality industry and in my view, a check-back is a vital component of any dining experience that has restaurant pretences. I do appreciate however, that we all have to learn and these shortcomings can be forgiven if the attitude and manner of whoever is providing the service is polite and pleasant. I personally have no qualms with asking for things myself and I don't expect to always be prompted should I want something more. I'm glad to hear that the quality of the food in the dining room seemed to be of a good standard.

Out of interest, when was this flight?

SuperstarDJ

Pleasure. I'm flying through ORD on Sunday, so if Judy (I think that's her name - real character who is often running the F lounge and will tell you stories about her time on tour with Engelbert Humperdinck if encouraged...) offers me an upgrade from CW to F again I'll let you know what's on the menu!

BAwjh93

TheAAdmiral

We were in the ORD BA F lounge flying on CX to HKG last year. Got there very early ~12 and the lounge was rather full. They were turning away BA passengers at 2 due to being full, so be advised that you may be denied entrance if the CX flight is running late if you are on the 294.

BAwjh93

Would they really turn down passengers travelling in F on BA metal though? I feel it would be a slightly bizarre situation if the F lounge is full of CX status passengers and they refused admittance to passengers travelling in their own F cabin. Our flight from RDU lands at 12:50 so we'll arrive at the lounge when we arrive I guess. I don't want to be featured on the DYKWIA thread but if that scenario unfolds, I could well be...