scottish minnie

After some doubt and a bit of upheaval on the family front, hubby and I are due to fly on our1st, and likely only, First class flight late next week. It’s a mid afternoon LHR to ORD with a connection from Glasgow early morning.

I would appreciate any tips on do’s and don’t s to avoid us looking like complete country hicks. We’re used to Club so any real differences would be helpful.

I had been hoping we could use the CCR as we have a decent layover (3 1/2 hours I think) however I appreciate that’s very much capacity dependent. Our friends were turned away over the Easter period but I’m hoping mid September might be less crowded.

As we will be checking in initially at Glasgow and will have boarding passes issued there does that preclude us from using the First Wing at LHR? I’m thinking particularly of the First security - or should we just head to the normal Fast Track?

I do have a perhaps very random question- I believe we may receive a set of pajamas/lounge wear each if they are available. Are they one size? Just wondering if I may be met with a “we don’t have anything in THAT size” response

just joking - I’m sure BA crew are more discreet than a local boutique who were aghast at a request for a size 14!

We weren’t able to sit in front/behind each other on the flight and we both like window seats so we’ve opted for opposite sides of the aircraft so I’m trying to make sure we look like we know what we are doing and don’t make any obvious gaffes.

thanks

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Coming from Glasgow there is no need to use the first wing as there is no security T 5 for a T5 DOM to T5 INTL flight

CCR access is a given for F , not sure why your friends were denied at Easter ( were they in F?)

pyjamas come in various sizes ( they have large , not sure about XL, ask the crew on board)

Regards

TBS

corporate-wage-slave

You can use the First Wing, but there's no point: just go through T5 connections (not other connections, it is clearly signed but people still get it wrong). If you go through T5 connections from a domestic arrival, there is just a boarding pass scan, no security, whereas if you go landside and then First Wing you are giving yourself both an extra long walk and extra security.

CCR should be ok for guesting. It's pretty rare that CCR declines guests, bank holidays would be an example. Mid week is usually ok, as are afternoons. The peak is 09:00 to about 13:00 hrs, particularly Mondays and Fridays.

LimitingFactor

I wouldn�t worry about it! Be yourselves. I surprised my wife with a trip in first a while back and she kept arguing with me that we were in the wrong place. No one cared.

btw, if you fly down from Glasgow you�ll go through T5 flight connections and no need for the stuff which you�d do when checking in from London and other than scanning your BP it�s pretty much straight to CCR!

Misco60

I've never flown First - a flat bed is all I need when I'm travelling long-haul - but I can't imagine that I'd behave any differently in First than I do in Club or Eurotraveller. Just do what you would normally do when you fly.

enemigo

To put your mind at ease- The only people in First who look out of place are the DYKWIA lot. Any frequent F flyer becomes a bit jaded, so it�s always genuinely nice to see people enjoying it.

PJs come in a size up to L, but L is quite big (they shrink a lot if you wash them). If you have the older F then you can dine together too, so sitting apart isn�t too bad!

Karen Jackson

Thanks for posting this - we've got our first first coming up next weekend so I know what you mean x

scottish minnie

thanks - yes, our friends were in F although BA silver rather than any higher. They were advised CCR was full and directed to Galleries F.

Our last 2 trips via LHR have meant a trip back through security . As it is always the case when connecting at Gatwick from Glasgow too I didn�t question it so will be interesting to see if it works as it should this time!

HIDDY

Relax and enjoy.

jerry a. laska

Just take it easy and relax; don't think you have to do or experience anything or everything just do what you think is appropriate in company with others. Also see these other first first threads for advice and ideas:
Our First First! BA189 16 November LHR-EWR
Managed to snag our first First on Avios!
First first - question about boarding
Newbie first class
First First: Concorde Room - How early should I arrive?
My First First

becks1

I�m not that small of a person and they�ve been great about the PJ sizes every time I�ve flown.

One time, they didn�t have the larger size women�s PJs and the crew gave me both women�s and men�s sets - I used the women�s top and men�s bottoms, fit great and you can�t tell the difference.

Hope you enjoy your flights!

Howard Long

I'm not sure that there are any do's or don'ts.

You'd be pretty darned unlucky to be denied access to the CCR if travelling F.

3.5 hours should be fine if all goes well: the problem of having too much time to kill in the CCR is the very real possibility of premature inebriation, not that I've ever had any direct experience of that myself of course.

The F wing is certainly an experience if you want to try it, as it is an example of how check in and security can work (usually), but as others have said it's unnecessary in your case, as you've gone through security in Glasgow and both you & your bags are checked through anyway, assuming your segments are on the same ticket.

ISTBC, but I believe the A380 is the only aircraft on the LHR-ORD route with F at the present time. That being the case, when traveling with someone else, I quite enjoy dining tete-a-tete with the buddy seating arrangement, a feature that's still available on the A380 in F.

Regarding seating, personally I prefer sitting in a window seat either in front of or behind my travelling companion, although others prefer sitting next to each other in the middle seat pairs. Certainly when I took my sister on her first First earlier this year, we did a middle seat pair on the way out, then rode tandem on the way back, and I used her buddy seat for dining.

For PJs, I ask for "the bigger the better" which is always L: there is no XL in my experience. I can get into the Ls, but I carry my own set of Emirates PJs anyway which I always know work, avoiding any potential wardrobe malfunctions: half a dozen Emirates PJ sets have lasted me through the pandemic & they're still going strong. I'm no expert, but a size 14 is possibly more medium than L. Personally I put on the PJs as soon as I board prior to take off: it's certainly not unusual, but I'm probably in a minority.

I still enjoy flying F despite the beef it gets on here, and have managed 8 BA F segments in the last 6 months. Sometimes there are minor disappointments, like running out of LPGS before you've even taken off: that happens occasionally, although I've only encountered that situation once this year and that was from an outstation.

If you dine on demand, make sure you make an effort to order in advance, as it's not at all unusual for meals assumed to be leftovers to be sequestrated by crew after standard meal service times have elapsed.

At least the A380 has two bathrooms, resulting in minimal if any wait to use them. The single bathroom on newer F cabins is shared between 8 seats and the flight crew, and sometimes the odd chancer from J which really boils my p1$s. Logistically, that's far less likely to happen on the A380, and I have been known to return the favour by patronising the enormous J bathrooms immediately upstairs from F on the A380.

You're likely to have to travel to either the B or C gates, and I've noticed recently when I've travelled that there often only seems to be one of the two shuttle trains running between them, so it would take you 15 to 20 minutes to get from the CCR to your gate. I aim to get to the gate at around T-45 or T-40m, and most of the time this is the sweet spot to get a seat near the Group 1 boarding, and have Group 1 announced barely a moment later after preboarding. Some people like to leave it later, sauntering to the gate at T-20, but I suffer time anxiety not dissimilar to John Cleese in the film Clockwise.

Most importantly, relax, certainly don't be concerned with what other people might be thinking, and enjoy your flight!

Thrifty Scotsman

How long ago are we talking?

layz

First of all - don't bother with the First Wing when arriving off a domestic. However good this security channel is it's still a security channel and it has the old scanners so it's liquids out, etc. Being able to enter T5 from a domestic without any security is a much nicer experience. You might want to experience the First Wing on the way back though as international to domestic requires a passport check and security anyway so it's often quicker going out and back in through the F wing.

On board you don't want to look too experienced if it's your first first, mention it to the crew and they may try and make the trip extra special.

JayeJ

Yes, board early, jump into the PJs and enjoy a relaxing glass or two of bubbles while everyone else drags in!