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First things first, you know what they say: There’s a first for everything. As the title suggests, this is my first-ever first-class flight. I am currently on a trip from London to India, travelling via Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. I started this trip flying out from LHR with British Airways in their old-style first-class seat.
Contrary to the typical perception of ‘first-class ‘as a realm of luxury, my experience was a surprising departure from this notion. However, amidst the unexpected, there were some intriguing aspects of the journey that I am eager to share.
In This Post
Booking:
To book this ticket, I used my 2-4-1 Amex voucher, which was about to expire; this was actually the old-style voucher. I paid 74,000 Avios points plus taxes.
Lounge:
The lounge I used before this flight was the BA first-class dining room lounge, or the Concorde room 2.0 if you will. The full review can be found here.
Check-In:
When I arrived at the check-in desk, four people were just standing there chatting. Even when they saw me, they ignored me and carried on talking. They called me over after waiting for a couple of minutes.
Tucked away in a corner is the first-class check desk. To say that it is underwhelming is an understatement. It’s like BA has given up trying to impress even a little.
Boarding:
Given that I always take my time with almost everything in life, I was nearly late for boarding, as I was among the last people to board the aircraft. We left from gate 24, and then the bus took us for about 2 minutes to a remote stand where we boarded the plane.
One thing to point out here is that I’ve flown many times in business class, where the premium passengers ride in a separate bus. So, on that note, BA can improve a lot, especially if you’re flying first class.
Cabin:
There were 8 seats in the old-style first class, in a 1-2-1 configuration and 48 new club suite business class seats; given that these seats all have doors, business class was definitely the better option in this case. The hard product in first class on this particular aircraft was abysmal.
Seats:
I found quite a lot of space by the seats; it certainly didn’t lack any. As my seat was 2K, I think 1K was blocked off, but I was happy to sit there rather than in front near the gally as I’m not a big fan of all the noise when the cabin crew prepares the dinner.
The annoying thing about the seat, which I hated, was that if you are an avgeek like myself, the number 1 thing you wanna do on an aeroplane is look out of the window. However, because these seats are angled, you do not have a view at all.
Bathroom:
For first-class passengers, there’s a bathroom right in the front of the plane by the cockpit door, but it’s small. This surprised me as bathrooms on other airlines are usually wider than that, but I could be wrong.
Service:
The service on this flight was outstanding. Despite the old aircraft and outdated seats, I was so happy that the service was phenomenal.
After boarding, I was greeted with a hot towel and a drink. I had the orange juice and some nuts while the cabin crew and the manager approached me, introduced themselves, and chatted.
Food:
The food served is a la carte, which was great as I wasn’t really very hungry, but I gave in my order, and I had a lovely dinner.
Coffee:
Now, personally, I’m a huge coffee drinker, so good coffee on a plane is essential for me. I know that there’s been much debate online about whether or not you should drink the coffee because of the water, whether or not it’s boiled, or whether or not the machine gets adequately cleaned. Nevertheless, these things get thoroughly cleaned, and I don’t think anything has ever happened to someone drinking a bit of coffee at 39,000 feet in the sky.
WiFi:
The WiFi seemed excellent and fast, just about what you’d expect from sitting at 39,000 feet up in the sky. Ahhh, how far we’ve come to always be connected—’ a blessing in the skies’… all you have to is sign in to your BAEC account and voila.
Arrival:
The flight time on this journey was relatively quick. We left on time, and the journey took a mere 6 hours. Arriving in Bahrain, I had to walk a lot to the hotel where I stayed, the Bahrain Airport Hotel.
You can read my full review of the hotel here.
Conclusion:
For a first-timer in first class, I would say this: There was no luxury in this cabin, not even one bit. In fact, I was slightly jealous of the people sitting in business class, but the service was definitely top-notch, one of the best I’ve ever seen and had.
4 comments
The seat itself does not have a door, yes, but the space is legions bigger in first class than business class and generally there is little to no foot traffic (which is why the door is necessary in business). regardless, no herringbone style seats have great window views in my opinion because the side table is between you and the window. As someone who has flown several first class cabins, including emirates, i think BA has a lot to improve upon if they want to compete head to head with that quality but for the price (1/3 to 1/2 of emirates cost usually) you are getting a much nicer soft product, including food, and service than business class.
I’d also note that the bus for the business and first passengers leaves the terminal first because they board those passengers first. so, if you were last on the plane it was most likely a mixed bus because you were with the stragglers, unfortunately. I actually don’t mind so much re what bus i am on when going to the plane at a remote stand- the value to me is when landing getting on a bus and going without waiting for 50 economy passengers to be added.
Can you kindly add the main menu, not just the light menu? Or was the light menu the only option? Thank you.
Hey Lara,
regarding your first point about the seats i ABSOLUTELY agree with you.
on the topic of the bus, i actually did’nt know that there’s a separate bus, which makes sense its PROBABLY because i arrived so late at the gate which is why i missed it.
in regards to the menu those were all they gave me.
what would you say was your best first class flight ever?
business class seats are starting to resemble first class seats. with that, airlines either have to make their first class seats over-the-top, accept that the seats between the two cabin are similar, or get rid of first class altogether.
i’m fine with first class seats being today’s business class quality, with the difference being made in food/drink and service.
to say that there was “no luxury” is a stretch. you had made-to-order, restaurant-quality food served on china along with a top-tier drink selection served in crystal. if none of this is worth a premium to you, then yes, business class is the better value.
Definitely agree with you pat, i always say first class is just focused on the dining aspects of things.