matthandy

My First First! - BA First Class, Sydney to UK Return (Paris, Bangkok and a wedding!)


The Concorde Room - Heathrow Terminal 5

Welcome!

Welcome to my latest trip report. This one is special, my first ever First, and I had huge expectations!
Let me talk you through my experience as I make my way back to the UK and then over to Ireland for a wedding, via Bangkok and Paris along the way.

This report was written and produced entirely on an iPad using Office HD for the words and formatting, Photogene for photo preparation and re-touching and FTPOnTheGoPro for uploading photos to my FTP site.

This report features the following:

- The Qantas First Class Lounge at Sydney
- British Airways First Class (Old First) - BA10 - Sydney to Bangkok
- Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
- The joint British Airways/Qantas First Class Lounge at Bangkok Airport
- British Airways First Class (Old First) - BA10 - Bangkok to London Heathrow
- British Airways Arrivals Lounge - Terminal 5 - London Heathrow
- British Airways Concorde Room - Terminal 5 - London Heathrow
- British Airways Euro Traveller - London Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle
- American Airlines Admirals Club - Paris Charles de Gaulle
- British Airways Euro Traveller - Paris Charles de Gaulle to London Heathrow Terminal 5
- A few days in the UK, Sussex and London
- Aer Lingus Economy - London Gatwick to Cork, Ireland
- The Europe Hotel, Killarney, Ireland
- Aer Lingus Economy - Cork to London Heathrow Terminal 1
- A couple of days in Kent
- British Airways Galleries First Lounge - London Heathrow Terminal 3
- British Airways First Class (New First) - BA9 - London Heathrow to Bangkok
- Marriott Bangkok Resort and Spa
- A few days in Bangkok
- The joint British Airways/Qantas Business Class Lounge Bangkok
- British Airways Club World - BA9 - Bangkok to Sydney

Background

Last September I moved myself and almost everything that I own to Sydney, Australia to pursue an ambition of mine to live and work in Australia. It was a difficult journey and I still miss all of my friends and family back home in the UK. It was only a matter of time when an event such as a wedding would require me to take the long journey back home for a short few weeks. And so in February, a very good friend of mine announced that she was getting married in Ireland in June. I knew that I had to be there, so I started looking at my options.

Booking

This was not straight forward by any means.
After spending far too long traveling in economy back and forth between Australia and the UK I vowed that I would not do so again. However, a ticket from Australia to the UK costs about £5.5k which was more than I was willing to pay. I also had to take into account the fact that I was going to lose my BA Silver card this year unless I was able to rack up enough tier points and the required four qualifying flights (that is difficult to do when you live in Australia!). To get my qualifying flights I knew that I would need to travel on BA which ruled out the fantastic Qantas A380, which was a shame, for me there is no better aircraft flying today.

So, BA it was. To get four flights I would have to stop over in each direction as BA counts SYD to LHR direct as a single flight (with reduced tier points). I looked at booking WTP on the shorter Sydney segments and Club World on the long segments to and from London. I had accumulated quite a few miles which I have few opportunities to spend in Australia, so I looked at upgrade options too. I phoned the Executive Club in the UK to see if it was possible to make a mixed class booking with stop overs en-route. It isn't. The fare restricted me as such that I would have to travel Club all the way, so that option was discounted. I worked out that I could make the booking if I did it as separate itineraries. So I booked SYD-BKK in WTP initially. I had also looked at MFU options out of BKK as I found that availability was much better than ex. Singapore. As it happens, First was available. Hmm, it took me a few minutes to think about it, but I decided to go for it, splurging 80,000 miles and quite a few £'s on an MFU to First ex. Bangkok.

I'd spent quite a lot at this point, certainly more than I had expected, but as I had the chance to try First for 'free' I considered it good value. A few days later I then, out of curiosity, looked at upgrading to CW on the Sydney segments, with cash. I don't recall the exact cost, but it was reasonable, so I went for it. Curiosity got the better of me again, and I almost instantly looked at upgrading to F on my outbound, this would allow me to visit the famous Qantas First Class lounge in Sydney as well as experience a First flight with a bit of daylight. $800 later and I'd booked my first First, again.

In addition, I've always wanted to visit the Concorde Room in Terminal 5. As it is reserved exclusively for passengers arriving or departing in First Class, the only chance I would have to pay a visit would be somewhere in the distant future, perhaps when I return to the UK from Australia in a couple of years time. Arriving in First from Bangkok and having access for a connecting flight was something that I could not turn down. So I looked at booking a flight to Europe for the day. Paris was the easiest and I decided to treat my sister too, so a few clicks later and another hit on my wallet and I had two tickets booked to Paris, returning the same day.

Oh, I then had to sort out a flight to Ireland, where to stay for every night of my trip and various other logistics, arranging to meet friends and family etc. It was a bit of a nightmare. Frequent flyer madness? Perhaps.

On with the report.

Sydney to Bangkok - British Airways First Class - BA10

I woke up early. It was a beautiful day in Sydney, not a cloud in the sky. A friend of mine had just purchased a yacht and we had spent the last 4 weekends looking at various boats for sale and then eventually selecting one for a test sail. Today was the day that we would pick her up and take her out for the first time.

It took a little while to get everything in order, as we are both very novice sailers, so many arguments followed about which rope did what. Eventually we were sailing in the harbour and making our way to her new mooring. I didn't have time to go out for a proper sail so I was dropped off near my apartment (Lavender Bay) and then went home. My two friends then took her out for the whole afternoon. Absolutely fantastic.

I'd arranged for a Mercedes to pick me up and take me to the airport. After all, traveling in First I could hardly take the train could I?

Right on the dot, a black S-Class arrived and the driver took my bag and ushered me into the back. Despite being quite friendly the driver was not very chatty, so I just sat in silence, playing with my phone as we headed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, around Circular Quay and the out towards the airport.


Heading over the Bridge

For my first First I had really hoped for New First. However, it's appearance on the BKK route happens to be so few and far between that it has one of the lowest percentages on the flight tracker at ftdashboard.net. I'd actually already found out that it would be old First, the day before, since I was able to track the aircraft that left Heathrow and was making it's way to Sydney, before turning around and heading back to London (with me and a load of new passengers on board). With the help of potakas who kindly telephoned YouFirst for me, it was 100% confirmed as Old First for my flight. A bit disappointing but not unexpected.

I'd already checked in online, but had been checking my seat allocation for the last few days to see how the cabin was filling up. Only 4 seats taken and 1A was free so I decided to go for it, despite kind advice from Moomba and Genius1 that row 2 was better. Still, I couldn't miss out on the chance to experience 1A in First class in the nose of the 747, so I stuck with it.

As we made our way to the airport and the International terminal, we actually drove past the two BA birds that would be operating BA10 (747 SYD-BKK-LHR) and BA15 (777 SYD-SIN-LHR).

We arrived at the drop off area outside the terminal in only 25 minutes, much quicker than I had planned for. I feared that check in would not be open since BA have a rule that check in only opens 3 hours before departure (still 15 minutes to go if they wanted to play by the rules).


Drop Off Area

I made my way to Zone G where the British Airways desks were located and to my surprise, check in was already well underway. There were two First desks and both were busy. As I entered the queue a lady sitting behind one of the Club World desks beckoned me over. So, my first First and I don't even get to check in and the proper check in desks. Bloody Gold card holders filling up the queue .


A Poor Shot of Check In (sorry)

Well, the Club World lady was nice, very friendly, addressed me by name throughout, checking to see if I knew where the lounge was.
My bag was tagged and marked with a priority sticker, and with the prized '1A' boarding pass in hand, I made my way to immigration and security.

The former was quick, but god help me if I ever have to travel in and out of Australia regularly, too much form filling!

I made my way to security and noticed that there was a fast track. However, I was stopped at the entrance by a man who asked for my card. I didn't have one, the check in lady didn't give me a pass. I said that I was traveling in First, he looked at my boarding pass and said sorry, but I can't let you in without a card. Bloody idiot. Not that it mattered, security was quick and soon I was out the Duty Free maze. I'm sure that they have made it more taxing since January when I was last at T1.

Turning left, I made my way towards the escalators that take passengers up to the Qantas lounge complex. There are two lounges, one for Business Class passengers and the other for First Class. I'd already visited the business lounge several times before and really didn't think that it was up to much, compared with other Qantas lounges in the network. The First lounge though was something special. It generally gets a mention whenever people start talking about 'the best lounges in the world' and it has gained many positive reviews on flyertalk and airliners.net. I'd only ever seen photos.

The entrance to the lounge is via a long corridor which is adorned with plants on one side, the so called, 'Living Wall'. It's very nice actually. My boarding pass was checked as I made my way towards the further set of escalators that would take me to the lounge itself.


The Living Wall - Entrance to the Lounge

I made my way up to the main lounge entrance and was greeted by a friendly staff member at the desks. I was welcomed by name and invited to enjoy the lounge.

First impressions, well, it has a distinct air of class about it with the huge wooden arches and leather seats. The decor is inspired by 1960's styling but it felt very modern at the same time. I was very impressed, this is what I had expected!


Escalator's up to the Lounge


Looking into the lounge from the entrance


One of the seating areas


Looking towards the work area

The lounge itself is curved in shape, and thin. It wraps around the building offering amazing views of the apron and the runway. Each area is divided up by a wooden arch, creating distinct sections for dining, relaxing and working. This meant that whilst the lounge was busy, it was possible to find a quiet section and not feel crowded. Each main section had a waiter station, shown in glossy red in the photo, where staff would place drinks and food orders for you and then fetch and present these to you. This is a full service lounge and the staff were plentiful and extremely friendly, welcoming and professional.

Videos

Pan from Seating Area
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7-Vs9HdChU

View from the Spa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwAqM4RQ1FM

It was coming up to 2pm at this point and I hadn't had any lunch. I sat down at the rather busy dining area which was located in the middle of the lounge. It took a little while for one of the waiters (in white serving jackets) to come over and present me with the menu. Wow, it was extensive! This was a full service offering, with easily 6 courses available (if you count soup, cheese and coffee separately).

Here it is:

You can see, there is almost too much choice and for some reason I felt under pressure to choose, so, having looked at the menu again now, I probably wouldn't have gone for the soup and the steak, but would have chosen something more adventurous. Whilst browsing the menu, I actually missed the drinks part and just asked the waiter for champagne, not realising that there was a choice.

As I waited for my soup to arrive, a family of four children (teenagers really) and two parents showed up. The kids sat at one table, and the parents and the table next to mine. I was expecting some noise, but actually, they were extremely well behaved, the father even calling over one of the boys to tell him off for winding up his sister, then calling over the older boy to tell him off for not handling his brother better!


[I]Place Setting/I]

My soup soon arrived and my god it was amazing! Probably the best soup I've ever had (and I've had a lot). It was light but rich in flavour and almost tangy, seriously good.


Tomato, bacon and orange soup

Whilst the soup was stunning, the service could have been better. At this point I hadn't been served any drinks yet, including water which you'd think would be served as soon as you sit down. In addition to this, I was not offered bread to go with my soup, even though a side plate was laid out.
One of the waiters came over with a rather small glass of champagne, I actually thought about sending it back. After reading the menu again I learned that there were three champagnes to choose from but when it was bought out, he didn't tell me which one it was, which I feel he should of.

An interesting observation from a first timer, people do not dress up when traveling first class it would seem! There were some very scruffy characters that looked quite out of place in the smart confines of the first class lounge. In contrast to the family, who were incredibly posh and seemed to take everything in their stride like it was normal.

After musing on this, my steak arrived, with a different waiter serving me this time. He seemed more friendly and attentive, asking if I would like more water and another glass of champagne, I went for the Tattinger,


My steak

I suppose that the presentation could have been better but the steak was fantastically well cooked, with the cafe de Paris butter adding that extra dimension that is missing from most plain steak dishes.

I decided to skip dessert, as I didn't want to be too stuffed as I would be eating on-board too.

I made my way out of the dining area, thanking the attentive waiter and then headed towards the right side of the lounge (South) to find a quiet spot to settle down. I found a quiet area and pulled out my bits and pieces. As I've aleady mentioned, the lounge has the best views of the airport that you can possibly get inside the terminal building. To my right was a 747 which would be heading to Bangkok and to my left, an A380 which would be heading to Singapore. In addition, views over the runway meant that I was able to catch many of the heavyweights heading off to Asia and Europe at this time of the day.


VH-OJN - Qantas 747-400


Qantas A380


Singapore Airlines A380

matthandy

I opened up my iPad and connected to the wifi which is provided by Telstra. It was actually quite slow but I was able to get onto FlyerTalk and send a couple of PM's to let everyone know where I was.

I got a message from Moomba asking what champagne was being served, so I thought that I should really make the effort and went to the bar to order a glass of the Veuve Cliquot whilst I tapped away on my iPad. I also gave my Mum, in Perth, a quick call as she was very interested with what it is like to travel first class (she's never done so).


Bar/Kitchen


For Moomba - A Glass of the Veuve Cliquot

I took a bit of a wander around the lounge as there was still a good 40 minutes or so before boarding. The lounge is much bigger than you might first think. I particularly liked the way that the work area, with computers is separated at the end of the lounge, however, strangely, the library, which should be a quiet area was also adjacent. I felt a bit sorry for the library area, it is a great feature, with probably a 100 or more interesting volumes relating to travel, history, art and the like, but I bet that most people don't wander down far enough to find it and if they do, don't use it.


The Library


Work Area

From the library area I was able to see the two BA aircraft being prepared and then watch as the 777 operating BA16 headed off to Singapore.


Speedbirds - 777-200 and 747-400


Off to Singapore

At 15.55 the 'clack-clack' departure boards indicated that passengers should make their way to the gate area, so that's exactly what I, almost getting knocked over by a kid that was running out of the bathroom.

I made my way down the escalator and past the living wall again, down the escalators and into the terminal building. Despite it being a sunny day, it was pretty dingy. Despite the improvements to the departure area, the gates are still very tired, and also tiny, so there was a long queue at gate 32 when I arrived.


Departure Area


Departure Area


Gate 32

There was a fast track queue laid out the right so I walked past everybody and down the side. Boarding had started, but only for kids and families so I had to wait. A BA lady came over to check my boarding pass, she noted that I was in First and I got the impression that I had just skipped the entire Fast Track queue by going down the side, oops. Well, I am traveling in First, so can't I be first on board too?

After about 5 minutes of standing around and watching people stare at me, the gate agent invited me to board. My boarding pass was scanned, no beeps so that meant that I had kept 1A. I made my way down the air bridge that was attached to door 1, to find that the kids and families were still boarding, grr.

Verdict

The ground experience at Sydney was great, check in was good, with a friendly agent, the immigration process is always a pain but that occurs for all passengers, regardless of airline, so it's not BA's fault. The Qantas First lounge was divine, classy and special. The food was good, the staff were excellent and the overall atmosphere and decor was first class. A real gem.

Moomba

I was told the arches were supposed to represent the struts in an aircraft wing with the window side being the leading edge of the wing.

And it didn't cost 100 quid

Excellent start Matt. I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of this trip.

FlyinDutchman

Thanks for this great tripreport! Nice reading!

cornishsimon

Hi matthandy

Great trip report, cant wait to read the rest of it !

Just for your information, its been confirmed by Nicci on here,(baexecutiveclub) that the 4 BA flight rule for moving up tiers/re-qualifying doesnt have to be BA metal.

As long as the flight you are booked on is booked under the BA flight number you will be fine, so in future if your making this trip you can mix and match BA & QF as much as you like, as long as you book via ba.com and book onto the BA flight numbers.

cheers
cs

cornishsimon

Thinking about it another way to of done this and managed the 4 BA sectors would of been to book on BA.com SYD-LHR-DUB-LHR-SYD with the Irish sectors booking EI but on the BA codeshare with BA bag allowance.

cs

andrewsco

Looking good, and great photo's so far...!

Genius1

A great start, as always matthandy ^

I'm genuinely pleased that you enjoyed the QF First lounge, and hope you enjoyed the flight as much too! I remember my first First to JFK in 2008 very well indeed - it was a special experience, and flying in J is just never the same again - it feels like a distinct downgrade

Very much looking forward to the next part - hurry up!

TPJ

Amazing report!

I was always wondering why Australian Government wants Australian nationals to fill out these forms (I can understand the inbound form as it is combined with the Quarantine questionnaire, but the outbound form)...

frankxinyu

Great stuff!

potakas

Just came back from DXB, I had the Old First on the way back.

My verdict is that OF is better, NF just looks better.

As always your reports are excellent, keep going Matt. ^

Padmeister

I love your TR's matthandy your writing style is excellent and your pictures are really good! looking forward to the rest of it ^

matthandy

That makes senses, it certainly looks that way. Great design actually.
Thanks for the comments, the champagne did taste very good, especially as it was free.

Thanks very much! Stick around, there is more to come.

You are absolutely right, and after I had booked it, I read a thread on FT stating that. This is great news as when I come back to the UK in May I will be able to book business on the A380.

Thanks for your comments, more to come!

You may well be right, I'll find out soon as my last leg is in CW

Me too, although I am not an Australian national, the forms and quarantine are a total pain.

Thanks!

Thanks for your help, looks like it should be NF for me tonight, so I'll be able to see for myself.

UA_Flyer

How fitting it is for me to see you started this TR just as I landed in LHR. Saw the first a few posts of this already excellent TR on the Heathrow Express.

I will eagerly waiting for the rest of the write-ups and photos.

Travel K

Looking great so far!! I can't wait to read the rest!