My first First - LHR ORD
 

This thread is probably more of interest to those who have their first First flight coming up or who are just interested in my experience in F for the first time.

It is Monday morning and after weeks of wondering whether my flight would be cancelled because of the strike the day has arrived and it looks like it is going to fly!

Currently in the hotel. The plan is to have a leisurely trip to LHR T5 and check in at the First Wing. A spot of breakfast and may be my first glass of bubbly. We have a cabana booked for 11am so chill out in there and in the CCR until flight call probably around 3ish I would imagine. We also have a spa treatment booked for this afternoon.

When I checked in online I noticed that seat 1K had opened up and so we are in seats 1K /2K. This is perfect for us as I am a pilot myself and will spend a lot of my time looking out of the window day-dreaming but my better half will probably sleep most of the way.

I will next check in here after breakfast from the lounge... needless to say... I am very excited!

Nice. Sounds like you are well organised to enjoy the benefits.

You can also have lunch in the CCR.They make very nice expresso martinis at the bar for after lunch.

BA's choice of the word 'cabana' I think implies something they are not, so prepare yourself for that as you may find you prefer to spend the time in the actual CCR.

Otherwise, enjoy your first F! I recommend the BA175, it's a superb cocktail :)

I only get to fly first two or three times a year and I still get that feeling. Enjoy every minute of your day.

The BA175 is a good cocktail. I prefer it to the espresso martini but palates differ.

There are no flight calls in the CCR.

Have a great flight. 1K is in front of the pilot.

Yes ditto to the enjoy remarks. I have my first First on Sat SVG-LHR-SIN-SYD and am actually a little excited about the trip; more so than my next QR J out of OSL in Oct.
Not normally a cocktail man but shall try very hard to sample the 2 recommendations!

OF

In the cabana now after a delicious breakfast and... yes... my first champange!

Checked in through the First Wing and all I can say is WOW! So easy... so friendly, so quick. Arriving on Hoppa Bus from hotel to sitting in CCR... 15 mins! Everyone is friendly and helpful.

I like the CCR. It isn't too busy and a very relaxed and pleasent way to spend time before the flight. The cabana is a nice add-on. OK, just a room with a shower but how special to wait for the flight in private with TV and food and drink of tap. Love it! I have discovered the "secret door" out to the concourse.

So, a spot of lunch and another champers perhaps followed by a cocktail (BA175 looks nice.)

Next report before boarding if I can... if not then when I get to the other side of the pond :)

What a day!

Thats got you hooked then^:D

Funds permitting yes but I don't travel for business so I don't suppose it will be that often

On plane. All fantastic. Full crew in F. Crew look superb. More when we arrive.

Great.I'm sure you will enjoy the flight.

I am writing this at 38,000ft over Canada!

As I said before, I like the CCR but the food choices are limited. For lunch we decided to skip the CCR for the Galleries First for a buffet lunch and it was pretty good. I had a facial from the Elemis Spa which was relaxing and revitalising. The boarding procedure at gate B47 was pretty good with First and Gold passengers boarding first. I was greeted by the CSM and shown to my seat. The crew on this flight in F were superb. Nothing was too much trouble and it was a special experience. Having said that, yes it is special and yes it is a pretty good service, but is it worth the kind of money that it costs to fly First? I am sure that some will disagree but for me I really don't feel that it is so much above the CW experience to make it worth the kind of money that BA charge. For me the CW product is the sweet spot.

So, overall, my first First experience was a huge success and as I had a pretty good POUG it really didn't cost me a lot more than CW but good as it is I really am not inclined to spend much more than the price of a CW ticket and so I suspect that I will only travel First when I can get a good price. Of course... if I had the cash then it is better than CW and I would fly First whenever I could.

I now have a 3 week holiday to look forward to then another First flight back to Blighty... assuming it flies and is not cancelled by the strike!