Czeching In and Jetting Out - LH F/J, FR Y, and BA F
Jan 18, 2019, 3:37 pm
#31
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: United Silver, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 988
The next morning, we opted to get ripped off rather than taking a more sensible form of transportation, so we hopped in a cab to Heathrow. Part of me didn't want to deal with lugging bags, baby, and stroller up and down platforms as I've done so many times in the past year, so in some ways it was a relief. Not to say the cost was worth the service, but it was nice being able to get in, and hop out exactly where we needed to be
Arriving at LHR T5
Walking over to the dedicated First check-in area
Check-in counters
It was rather enjoyable having a dedicated security screening area for F passengers. It made the experience much less rushed. A huffy gentlemen got worked up though, claiming he would miss his flight due to the slow pace of screening. I wonder if he ran into unfortunate circumstances or if he had a propensity for cutting things close. Anyhow, we were through and arrived at the entrance of the Concorde Room in no time
We opted to hang out in the terrace where there was more open room for our son to walk around, as well as higher ambient noise in case he were to be a distraction to other guests
A lovely view
I didn't get a picture of the breakfast menu, but the wife ordered a sandwich with sausage, egg, and hash browns while I had my massage
The bar menu
We were also able to order from the dining room menu, which has a few additional choices
Cheese plate to start
British beef was decent
Mac n cheese was different, but not bad
Sponge pudding for dessert
Wild berry charlotte for the wife
From there, it was about time to head off for our gate, so we bid goodbye to the very friendly wait staff and went on our merry way
A little bit of plane spotting
We were invited onboard by a very friendly, enthusiastic, and honestly very good looking crew of young men and women. I know that the running joke is that BA F is the best business class in the world, but our experience was very pleasant
The seat
IFE controls were slightly behind
A knob controlled seat position
Menu
Champagne, amenity kit, and PJs prior to takeoff
Once in the air, we opted to dine together. Starting with the tasty pre-appetizer
Followed by a salad
And wild mushrooms on sourdough was very good as well
Grilled turbot wasn't anything special
The beef wasn't much better
And finally dessert...the ice cream wasn't anything special but the shortbread terrine blew my mind
Some chocolates to end it all
Since the cabin only had 4 seats occupied out of 12, we had lots of freedom to move around. The biggest upside was not having as much stress since we didn't have to worry about as many people potentially being disturbed. We set up on the port side of the plane since the other passengers were on the opposing side to give some more distance and privacy. The FAs were proactive and asked if we wanted the bed made as it was time for baby ChongL's nap
Fast asleep and buckled in while I watched Ocean's 8 and the wife slept. Future occupant of seat 1A? Time will tell
About 3 hours prior to landing, the wife motioned that she wanted to do the afternoon tea...why of course she would. Her reaction made me wonder if afternoon tea in the sky was even more satisfying than a shower on EY or EK F
Getting set up in 2A
Some small sandwiches and English breakfast for me, with some scones following a bit later
Milk for the son
Finishing with some cakes
Approaching Houston
Strong headwinds, but we didn't mind too much
All in all, BA F was a pretty terrific experience. We had an empty cabin, a very good crew, and decent food. The hard product is a bit dated and could use some work, but it was a very comfortable flight with such a light load in F. As the flight ended, the Mrs. and I discussed how it ranked among the other experiences we've had, and we both felt like there was something we couldn't quite point to that made it feel not as special. Were we pre-conditioned to think so due to the running best business class joke? I'm not entirely sure, but I've yet to figure out what was lacking.
With that said, we landed, collected our luggage, and spent the night in Houston to give us a chance to rest. It seems to make traveling for the little one a bit easier at the tail end of trips since he has a little more time to rest before another flight. Unfortunately, as we were rushing to get cleaned up and into bed, I decided to head to the restaurant at the airport Marriott for some food. Can't go wrong with a burger right? WRONG...I woke up in the middle of the night and puked twice. Luckily, that was the brunt of it and I didn't have any further issues other than a loss of appetite for the next day
That's it, that's all!
Arriving at LHR T5
Walking over to the dedicated First check-in area
Check-in counters
It was rather enjoyable having a dedicated security screening area for F passengers. It made the experience much less rushed. A huffy gentlemen got worked up though, claiming he would miss his flight due to the slow pace of screening. I wonder if he ran into unfortunate circumstances or if he had a propensity for cutting things close. Anyhow, we were through and arrived at the entrance of the Concorde Room in no time
We opted to hang out in the terrace where there was more open room for our son to walk around, as well as higher ambient noise in case he were to be a distraction to other guests
A lovely view
I didn't get a picture of the breakfast menu, but the wife ordered a sandwich with sausage, egg, and hash browns while I had my massage
The bar menu
We were also able to order from the dining room menu, which has a few additional choices
Cheese plate to start
British beef was decent
Mac n cheese was different, but not bad
Sponge pudding for dessert
Wild berry charlotte for the wife
From there, it was about time to head off for our gate, so we bid goodbye to the very friendly wait staff and went on our merry way
A little bit of plane spotting
We were invited onboard by a very friendly, enthusiastic, and honestly very good looking crew of young men and women. I know that the running joke is that BA F is the best business class in the world, but our experience was very pleasant
The seat
IFE controls were slightly behind
A knob controlled seat position
Menu
Champagne, amenity kit, and PJs prior to takeoff
Once in the air, we opted to dine together. Starting with the tasty pre-appetizer
Followed by a salad
And wild mushrooms on sourdough was very good as well
Grilled turbot wasn't anything special
The beef wasn't much better
And finally dessert...the ice cream wasn't anything special but the shortbread terrine blew my mind
Some chocolates to end it all
Since the cabin only had 4 seats occupied out of 12, we had lots of freedom to move around. The biggest upside was not having as much stress since we didn't have to worry about as many people potentially being disturbed. We set up on the port side of the plane since the other passengers were on the opposing side to give some more distance and privacy. The FAs were proactive and asked if we wanted the bed made as it was time for baby ChongL's nap
Fast asleep and buckled in while I watched Ocean's 8 and the wife slept. Future occupant of seat 1A? Time will tell
About 3 hours prior to landing, the wife motioned that she wanted to do the afternoon tea...why of course she would. Her reaction made me wonder if afternoon tea in the sky was even more satisfying than a shower on EY or EK F
Getting set up in 2A
Some small sandwiches and English breakfast for me, with some scones following a bit later
Milk for the son
Finishing with some cakes
Approaching Houston
Strong headwinds, but we didn't mind too much
All in all, BA F was a pretty terrific experience. We had an empty cabin, a very good crew, and decent food. The hard product is a bit dated and could use some work, but it was a very comfortable flight with such a light load in F. As the flight ended, the Mrs. and I discussed how it ranked among the other experiences we've had, and we both felt like there was something we couldn't quite point to that made it feel not as special. Were we pre-conditioned to think so due to the running best business class joke? I'm not entirely sure, but I've yet to figure out what was lacking.
With that said, we landed, collected our luggage, and spent the night in Houston to give us a chance to rest. It seems to make traveling for the little one a bit easier at the tail end of trips since he has a little more time to rest before another flight. Unfortunately, as we were rushing to get cleaned up and into bed, I decided to head to the restaurant at the airport Marriott for some food. Can't go wrong with a burger right? WRONG...I woke up in the middle of the night and puked twice. Luckily, that was the brunt of it and I didn't have any further issues other than a loss of appetite for the next day
That's it, that's all!
Jan 19, 2019, 12:16 am
#32
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,677
Not just behind the seat, a bit behind the times. It found it quite unresponsive, but that might be the age of the 747 I was on.
What did you think of the screen? I remember mine not being high resolution which is almost inexcusable in First these days.
I thought these chocolates were delicious
Jan 19, 2019, 2:01 pm
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: United Silver, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 988
Interesting you should say that. I don't think some people would think about it like that.
Not just behind the seat, a bit behind the times. It found it quite unresponsive, but that might be the age of the 747 I was on.
What did you think of the screen? I remember mine not being high resolution which is almost inexcusable in First these days.
I thought these chocolates were delicious
Not just behind the seat, a bit behind the times. It found it quite unresponsive, but that might be the age of the 747 I was on.
What did you think of the screen? I remember mine not being high resolution which is almost inexcusable in First these days.
I thought these chocolates were delicious
The chocolates were delicious indeed. The FA left them at our seat and told us to have as many as we wanted. I stopped myself after 2 though
Jan 19, 2019, 10:15 pm
#34
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,677
Jan 24, 2019, 9:54 am
#37
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: United Silver, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 988
Thank you Andriyko
Jul 31, 2021, 11:30 am
#38
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: In between IAD and DCA
Programs: UA Plat 1.1MM , Marriott Gold Elite, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,262
Just seeing this now thanks to the links from your excellent ongoing Seychelles TR. Wonderful TR, stunning photos, and looks like a great time in Europe for Christmas! And the food, mostly, looks excellent. Thank you very much for sharing these TRs, they are very good.
PS That's disgusting you got food poisoning from a Marriott burger. Quite unacceptable IMO.
PS That's disgusting you got food poisoning from a Marriott burger. Quite unacceptable IMO.