The_Bouncer

Live (ish) update.

After a couple of cappuccinos (cappuccini?) at the MAN lounge, I am now in the CCR.

The flight down in CE was decent. I was served a light breakfast of a small fruit platter, with warm ham and cheese croissants - the friendly FA kindly gave me an extra one.

An early arrival at LHR meant I got into the CCR in time for the breakfast menu and a more than decent eggs Benedict:



I'm more used to an English muffin with this dish, but the sourdough toast worked nicely.

After brunch, I took advantage of the self landing facility to be escorted to arrivals for some "fresh air" (read: 3 Marlboro reds). This was quite a mission and took 45 minutes from start to finish. Even as a dedicated nicotine addict, I don't think it's a process I would bother repeating.

Following that, I relaxed back in the CCR for a while with my book. Feeling myself getting a little too relaxed, I started on these:



CCR aficianados will of course recognise this, but for those who don't, it's an espresso martini. It is the perfect mid-afternoon kick start and I love it.

My worst fears are being realised. I could get used to this!

T8191

No wonder you’re a regular in the Smoking Forum! The only time we ever deliberately go land-side for a cigarette or two is in the USA doing Domestics, with the convenience of TSA Pre to get back in! Otherwise we suffer in silence!

The_Bouncer

Third espresso martini on the way. Boarding in about 30 minutes.

The_Bouncer

Let battle commence!

T8191

Walk to the Gate in a slow and dignified manner, as if this is your accustomed and entitled way of travelling! Do NOT rush! You are now First Class!

The_Bouncer

1545 departure from B45. I shall saunter stately over shortly.
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T8191

Via Public Train? Or will you take the Private Tunnel?

The_Bouncer

Private tunnel?

T8191

One can walk to the B-Gates. Take the lift to Level -4 and follow the signs. Walkways are available.

There’s a thread in the Dashboard ... I shall seek it, thus ...

LHR Terminal 5 passageways - a pictorial guide for departing passengers

xenole

Well, I fly Y on my own dime more than F. Suffices most of the time.
Prefer to fly F for the occasional treat rather than by default as it adds a little something rather than being mundane or routine.

F on AA is only really for the TP. Not a lover of their transcon / transatlantic seats, and with Y generally at a 1/5th of the price for approx. 5hrs, I'll survive.
Just had a LHR-LAX flight in Y, and although it dragged a bit, lounge access beforehand, and a nice enough MCE seat for £380 was fine.
For the return flight from JFK, I put myself in a PE seat and ended up with both seats to myself. Not quite a flat bed, but for 6h+, better value than anything from £1500-£11k for CW/F/equivalents. For £250-£400 in Y, I'll live and have a lot more cash in my pocket at the end of the day.

F is wasted overnight for me (unless the difference between CW and F is minimal cash wise, or if I have an upgrade voucher that has to be used). 25k Avios for an upgrade could easily be put to far better use with maybe 3 x RFS returns to Europe etc (before Tesco gutted their CC scheme, Avios were easier to come by and therefore blowing 25k wouldn't have impacted my balance quite as much as it does now where I have to fly a couple more times a year).

The_Bouncer

Wagons roll!

T8191

yesssss

Did you walk, or join the rest of humanity on the train?

Cap'n Benj

The_Bouncer

Well, I just arrived at my overnight hotel in Chicago.

The flight itself was enjoyable and the service was excellent. The two FAs who looked after me were wonderful. The food (lobster thermidor) was not bad, although I couldn't call it haute cuisine:






After lunch I managed a few hours of sleep and woke up around 45 minutes from landing for a quick afternoon tea.

All in all, this was a good experience. The Concorde Room is impressive and very comfortable, and the flight itself seemed to pass reasonably quickly - no way would I have been able to actually sleep in Y. But I have to say, as pleasant as it was, I was still ready to get off at the end of the flight.

I'm still looking forward to trying out the night flight back from Miami and assessing whether I arrive in much better shape than I do after a red-eye in Y.

To address the question in my thread title - this flight came at quite a premium. My ticket was around 2,300GBP for the return flight, working out at an additional cost of around £1,800 (£900 each way) over Y.

My financial resources are reasonable, but not limitless. I can do a lot with £1,800 during my winter travelling season.

Today's flight was an appreciably better flight experience than economy and I feel privileged to have had the chance to try it out.

Was it worth it? To have the experience once, absolutely, and I'm sure I'll enjoy the chance to get some decent sleep on the way back.

But I can't justify that level of expense for every flight, so in December I will walk to the back of the plane to CPT with a light heart, looking forward to the trip ahead.

But before that, I have 4 weeks to enjoy Wisconsin, Washington DC and the drive to Miami. Because it's the destination that really matters.

corporate-wage-slave

Absolutely right, and thanks for reporting back. We get plenty of "is [cabin] worth it" questions and perhaps rather fewer worked through examples. Your First deal was actually a comparative bargain over the conventional First fares to ORD, there will have been plenty of people in CW who would have paid perhaps twice what you paid for First. In the absence of that, it's probably a better use of Avios or GUFs, and more often than not all First passengers in a given cabin will have got there via those routes. Not that I do that myself, I just take the upgrades!