​Here is my first trip report. I hope it’s posted in the correct place and I hope you enjoy it.

Online Check in
24 hours pre-departure I received an alert to let me know online check in was available. This was extremely quick via the BA app. I had a message to say I was eligible for quick check in. Whilst I like the electronic boarding pass, I still prefer to also have a paper ticket. So I will pick that up at the airport.


Getting to the airport
Left my apartment at 8am and it’s only a 5 min walk to the metro. The Dubai Metro red line serves Terminal 1 and 3 and is a very efficient way of getting to the airport. The roads around DXB international can get very busy during weekdays (Sun to Fri). There is Gold class and Silver class. You need a gold class ticket to ride in this part of the train and they do frequent ticket checks. It’s a little bit more expensive but is usually a lot quieter and you can get a seat. It’s worth the extra!


Check in
Check in was very quick. BA desk were located in Zone 2 which is at the opposite end of the terminal from the entrance to immigration and security, but T1 is not the largest of terminals. By 8.15am I was heading to security. It was very quiet and I was straight through. Note, there is no fast track or priority lane for premium passengers and this area can get very busy.

8.25am I was on the train that completes the short journey to D Gates. As far as I know, this is the only way to reach this part of the terminal. The journey only takes about 2 mins but there can sometimes be a bit of a wait for the train to arrive and have a security check before passengers are allowed to embark.

The Lounge
I arrived at the lounge at around 8.30am. BA has a Concorde Room situated through the rear of its Galleries Lounge. It’s nice that there is a separate lounge, but it’s quite boxey and a little bit sterile in my opinion. I’ve been to the Virgin Upper-Class lounge across the corridor and it is really nice and is way better than BAs first class option. Would I make an effort to arrive early to experience the lounge? No. Is it a nice space to spend some time before the flight? Yes, well, it’s ok. Is it anything like LHR CCR? No.

As it was breakfast time I had some scrambled eggs on toast, fresh orange and a glass of Henriot champagne. Not sure what the evening service is like but it’s a self serve buffet in the morning.

The CCR appeared to serve exactly the same food as Galleries Lounge next door.

The flight was called at 9.35am

Boarding
The area was very crowded with no seating left. There is a priority lane for passport and ticket check but then everyone is held in the same area. Some additional security checks were being conducted. There was a section for Group 1 and Group 2 boarding, but it was all congested with people standing. Announcements were made at 9.45am and boarding was by group number and it was being enforced. Nevertheless, it was not at all a premium experience.

Was greeted at the door by the cabin manager who pointed in the direction of my seat. On previous First flights the service has been a bit more personal ie shown to my seat. Also, the airbridge for all business and first class passengers was attached to the front door of the aircraft which meant that everyone in Club passed through the cabin on the way to their seat. Again, not a very premium feeling.

Glass of champagne or water offered by very personable member of the cabin crew.

I was given an amenity kit, the wash bag is by Liberty and has a nice design and I was offered a sleeper suit.

Arabic coffee and dates were served, boarding was completed by 10.05, pushback was at 10.10 and take off was at 10.35am. Not too bad for Dubai.

The seat and the space
The seat and seat area were all clean and no problems experienced as has been reported recently by some FTrs and the cabin was full. The toilets smelled bad even before take off. The toilets on BA first seem no larger than economy toilets. A single rose, aromatherapy amenities, a fancy lamp shade and a full length mirror appear to be the only differences. Once again, BA falls way behind its competition here in the space for first class loos.

For the duration of the flight, the cabin was on the cooler side which, for me, was perfect. I wish it had been like this in my outbound journey. On that overnight journey it was so warm that it was impossible to sleep.

Service
A hot towel about the size of a tea-bag that was so threadbare you could actually see through, was handed out just after takeoff. The CSD came round and offered a very warm welcome. He introduced himself and knew my name without iPad or paper print-out prompt. It was as a simple gesture that was absent on my previous flight, but it does make you feel welcome.
One of the things I do like about BA is that it is a different menu in First from the menu offered in Club. Unlike Emirates, which has maybe one or two additions but is effectively the same menu in both cabins.
Drink orders were taken at 10.50am and lunch menus were handed out. A nice glass of LPG for me! This arrived with a small bowl of nuts at 11.10am. I’d wouldn’t describe the drinks service as proactive during the flight. I had to request every top-up via the call bell, but the crew were really responsive and I never waited long for for any request.

Meals
I always like the soup on BA first and I fancied two of the starters. So I asked for them both and it was no problem at all. The crew said they’d ask “the chef” to keep a potato and leek soup for me as well as the taleggio and baked tomato tart. The soup and tart were both really tasty. I had a glass of Chateau Tanunda Parishes Shiraz 2012 from South Australia with my main of beef short ribs. The meal was excellent and truly first class quality. But then a slight hiccup with dessert. No ice cream “because it had all melted” and no cheese either because “other passengers ordered it first.” But, the crew got some cheese from business. A small point, but good service recovery. Nevertheless, it did highlight some of the limitations of meal loading for First. Lesson identified, get your order in first, when in First. All in all, however, a delicious meal from start to finish.
Afternoon tea with a selection of sandwiches and cakes were served about an hour before landing


Disembarkation
Landed slightly ahead of schedule at 2pm and by 2.30pm I was on the Piccadilly line heading into central London.

General thoughts
​​​​​​​Whilst BA lacks some of the premium elements of “premium airline” and there are annoying inconsistencies (I only need to reflect on my own experiences of the last two flights), this flight was very enjoyable and the crew were superb. The areas where they lack relate mainly to some aspects of the hard product ( e.g. the loos!), the end to end premium experience (e.g. the gate experience prior to boarding) and the inconsistency of service (e.g. ice cream melting, no cheese, cabin sometimes being cool and some times being boiling). I saw the average and the good in my two BA First flights. When they are good - they are really good and when they are not - well you really do notice it.

How many restaurants do you know 6 miles up, flying at 500 mph, with storage space no larger than the average family wardrobe, one ‘chef’ and 14 people who may eat at different times and all choose the same thing...

It’s an almost impossible task sometimes, and I feel for the crew..

Lots of us do. And not only the tube: the metro, u-bahn, subway, subte, tram, bus, rickshaw. After all, the plane is public transport too

Hmm. Why would they ?

Well, perhaps because airlines such as BA themselves do precisely that (when happily accepting our substantial F class fare money) ?

But even so, let’s be generous, and set expectations much, much lower than those which might apply for a top restaurant. Some of the shortcomings highlighted by the OP - and which he refers to in his report as indicative of “inconsistency of service” - are clearly about as basic as it gets : notably, the inability to provide either ice cream or cheese, as offered by the menu. I hardly think this is in any way akin to an expectation of “being spoiled with the best food & drinks ....”

If you truly believe that long-haul passengers in general attach little value or importance to the quality of inflight food and drink, then you must be totally bemused by the current thread “New CW catering & bedding service”.

In the space of just 6 months, the thread has had in excess of 153K views, and almost 1000 posts. It all comes on the back of perhaps the most detailed, photo-heavy, flight reports (by c-w-s) I’ve seen here on FT. And it is peppered with queries from FT-ers anxious to know whether the new catering is likely to be available on their next BA flight.

Not for a moment would I subscribe to the theory that food & drink is not a key part of the travel experience for many, many flyers. Moreover, when we talk about crews being efficient /warm / helpful, I would assert that this is most often a reference to the standard of service they provide where catering is concerned. It’s certainly not about how well they respond to questions about the estimated landing time.