Our flight from Doha to London was delayed by a bit, so we only arrived at around 1:45PM, and our connection to Los Angeles was scheduled to depart at 4:15PM. Unfortunately we had to switch terminals, as we were arriving at Terminal 4 and departing from Terminal 5. First we had to walk through the…
Continue reading: Review: British Airways First Class A380 London To Los Angeles
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I'd just like to know if I'm alone in thinking the shower cubicles at the Concorde Room are some of the worst shower facilities ever. The molded plastic is so hospital-like, not to mention the fact that water gets EVERYWHERE. I've never seen anyone specifically call this out, but it is a real low point for the Concord Room that, while overrated - yes - is a perfectly fine place to while away a couple of hours.
But those shower rooms...just awful.
Wow - positive (ish) comments about BA. Who are you and what have you done with Ben?
I was really bummed about the tea on my flight from LRH-LAX over the holidays--it's my favorite part of flying BA! Though I will say that the catering on my flight was surprisingly good. Then again, I don't have as much experience flying first as you!
I flew with Geri back in August on my LHR-LAX flight(also on this fare). She's extremely attentive, friendly, and very 'British'. In fact, all my recent experiences in BA F have been positive
Two thoughts: 1) had to laugh that after being sentenced to fly in BA business @Lucky you've suddenly come to appreciate BA first ,and 2) in the many, many BA flights I've taken over the past couple of years, the cappuccino machine has always been "broken". I'm pretty sure that's one of those unique British phrases that roughly translates to "we're too lazy to make you one."
I would still prefer BA over AA, but the afternoon tea service will be missed.
Oh, and by the way: "cleared to taxi into position on the runway" - it's just called "line up", or in this case "line up and wait".
Just a note about the whole UK deal on the immigration forms.
This is a CBP requirement, other countries accept BRITISH as country of birth / residence. However, for some reason CBP don't, and this can add to delays for those who don't travel often to the USA. It may seem simple to some, but write it wrong on the form and to the back of the line you go!
What is the round nut that has the sweet, spiced glaze on it?
I'd really like to be able to find them on Amazon or somewhere nearby, but so far, I've only ever had them in BA F.
There's an issue with coffee machines on the A380 it's a known issue but no one seems to be making any effort to fix it quickly enough. So many other carriers have no issue with this, I mean it can't be hard to source and install new ones.
The announcements though, the comment re Heathrow sounds like the CSD is being sarcastic lol i never understand why peeps outisde the uk dont get sarcasm. Then re UK comment, people never know whether they should write UK, GB, England / Wales etc. Saves 200 people asking the crew the same question.
@Ole, "line up" is a phrase in the American ATC communications script. While "taxi onto position and hold" is the standard internationally
How does American's say schedule? I'm really confused as I can't work how else you would say it apart from shed-jewel!
Hey Ben
I'm flying BA First on an A380 with my brother next month. It's to DC from Heathrow so a day flight. Any advice re seating? Some say 2A+3A, some say middle seats. Any thoughts?
@Andy:
We say sked-yule or sked-jewel - regionally dictated. More grammatically, we don't pronounce the "sch" in schedule as an unvoiced post-alveolar fricative sibilant. We pronounce it the same way we do in the word "school".
"all UK citizens residing in the UK should put the UK as their country of residency.” doesn't sound any less condescending than "The resort includes full board, meaning you’re given three meals a day. In other words, if you’re staying for two days, you get a total of six meals."
Perhaps Stewie was just helping you prepare for your trip report 😉
On the downside, no afternoon tea. On the plus side, it's an A380, and they are serving both Grand Siecle and Jonnie Walker BLUE. Plus the crew was both pleasant and efficient. So I was just about to say: nothing much to complain about, and I'd definitely take this over AA. Then, oh yeah, I remembered the so called "fuel" surcharges. In which case, I'd take AA, and use the $ I saved on the surcharges to buy my own bottle of JWB.... 🙂
Was it comfortable around the shoulders? On the 777, I found it very confining due to the partition being so close to the seat.
"All UK citizens residing in the UK should put the UK as their country of residency". Some UK citizens do need reminding. They might put down England, Scotland, Wales or Northen Ireland
Ben - BA's First amenity kits don't have Elemis products in (the Club World ones do). The male kit contains products by The Refinery, which is a subset of Aromatherapy Associates. The female kit contains Aromatherapy Associates branded products (as do the First washrooms).
I second the comments above about "UK", too. A lot of us Brits feel very strongly about being "English" / "Scottish". When the crew make that announcement, it's not uncommon to her people tutting under their breath (in a very British way!) to express their displeasure.
There is no county in England called Devonshire. It is plain old Devon.
The worldwide fleet in BA are generally outstanding and represent the classic BA service. Midfleet are very keen but less professional.
I believe BA is opening a dedicated fast track security lane at LHR T5 just for First class passengers (and possibly OWE), but not sure if this will be available for transfers as it will run from the F check in area through to the lounge complex entrance.
I can't believe that I am actually saying this but this is probably one of the most balanced British Airways reviews, that Mr.Schlappig has ever done.
Not bad old chap. Not bad at all.
So wait, is this trip report from October when you left your pants behind? If so, I'm impressed, I can barely remember enough of my trip a week afterwards to put together a trip report.
Glad you had a better time on this BA flight, I really enjoyed my BA IAD-LHR flight on a 747, especially because of the flight crew.
BEN, I'm from England, but have lived in California for over 5 years.
I've flown British airways 4 times in the past month long haul and I can't help think about your BA posts when the captains make an announcement and say we will be arrive on SHED JEWEL !!!
I never picked up on it before, but now it cracks me up every time.
Hmm..maybe BA should just put this all across their premium classes and advertise them as the new biz.... nice report... better than I had expected... except for the actual, which looks like it was bought from Walmart...
"Line up" or "Line up and wait" is the international standard. "Taxi into position and hold" I've never heard at any international airport across the world, ever.
If you don't know, why try to correct someone?? Nevermind.
A few thoughts:
1) I wouldn't mind a nice-looking 18-year-old female flight attendant; it would sure beat having grandma. OK. Maybe 18 is a little young, but certainly not 21.
2) The gray blanket and pillows look kind of cheap for international first-class. I also don't like the fact that the pillows didn't come in a sealed package.
3) Was the Shetland salmon good by salmon standards? I've been by the salmon farms in the Shetland Islands. The farms are actually in ocean coves and so forth. Pretty cool sight, actually.
The meal they now serve in place of the afternoon tea is too much food. I left most of it a few weeks ago (LHR to SFO) which always makes me feel bad. The afternoon tea was perfect for the time of day these flights arrive on the West Coast. I'm curious what feedback they received to indicate the change.
If travelling alone, seat 1A is the best IMHO, just like it is on the 747. You cannot see any other passengers and they cannot see you.
"Line up and wait" is ICAO standard phraseology. In the meantime also used in the US,but some years ago "taxi into position and hold" was used in the states frequently (at least for domestic carriers).
I do not miss the afternoon tea service, as you can still request scones but also get a more substantial meal. I usually load up in scones in the lounge before the flight in the early afternoon. The second meal is a nice improvement for the 10+ hour flights.
Also there's an infamous, massively long FlyerTalk BA thread about jam or cream first that is hilarious.
I've actually had medium to medium rare steak my last three flights on BA. It requires asking nicely at the time you order it and some luck!
And I think the comment about Heathrow being clever was pure snark.
Haha, I think I'm more disappointed that they don't have A380 specific PJs anymore.
I loved the tea service as well. But BA F rocks, we have always had a wonderful experience. Great review as always Lucky!
Lucky,
Your trip reports are completely amazing and are light years better than everyone else's in the industry, in fact I think it's one of the things that separates you from the ever growing pack of people imitating you and trying to make names in the points and miles industry. You are just a tremendous writer and there's nobody better in the game....however the trip reports by your staff, boyfriends, etc. are really bad and feel completely forced, like you are trying to introduce them as the next great thing. They aren't though and they come off as being bastardized copycats of things you have written. If you guys keep ramming them thru, it's going to take away from your site. Nobody cares about Ford's trips back home or what Tiffany thinks about her main course. They are a couple steps worse than TPG's writing, which I didn't think was possible. They are just all really bad writers, you're a Picasso man, please let your canvas stand alone.
@Jax How nice of you to speak for all of us. 🙁
Except, you are actually only speaking for yourself. If you read the comments on Tiffany's posts, you'll see that many of us greatly appreciate them. But if you don't, there is a simple solution. Her name is at the top of her posts, and you can simply skip them. I, on the other hand, make a point of reading them. 🙂
"Taxi into position and hold" was the U.S. standard since anyone working ATC can remember. In the early 2010s, the FAA finally moved to the international ICAO standard of "Line up and wait"
You will still hear the words "traffic holding in position" used in the U.S. to describe an aircraft that has lined up and is waiting, as they only changed the phraseology of the actual control instruction.
This comes from someone who says the words "line up and wait" over a radio at least 200 times every work day.
@Jax,
Actually, I find that posts by Ben's colleagues are more interesting and refreshing. Ben's posts have become too much of the same...
There are a number of ground handlers who we always use to take our clients and ourselves through Heathrow and other large airports - Frankfurt - de Gaulle etc. I can't imagine anyone going through the
bus - terminal change business unless they were destitute. It is only a couple of hundred pounds.
Ben: I share an interest in this question:
I’m flying BA First on an A380 with my brother next month. It’s to DC from Heathrow so a day flight. Any advice re seating? Some say 2A+3A, some say middle seats. Any thoughts?
please advise---my wife and I have an upcoming flight from Heathrow to SFO---we presently have 2A and 3A---have heard row 1 is a bit weird because of the unused stairs to the second level...
also, you've previously said the 777 is better than the 747 but do I understand correctly that you think the A380 is the best of all----
I find it always to be worth clearing customs at LHR T5 when transiting, especially if you have EU passport. Cover your bases...fill out the paperwork as though you want to enter the UK and then if the line is too long when you get the T5 Customs area to transit, take a look whether people are queuing down the escalator from the Transit Security area up on departures in the far corner of the Customs area.
I've generally found it far quicker to clear customs, walk through baggage and elevator back upto L5 Departures and use the normal Fast Tracks as though starting a fresh journey. I may be wrong, but I sense the government metrics for time taken getting through security may not cover transit passengers. I've seen several times the Transit passengers only having 1 or 2 lanes available to them in the main Security area on L5, whilst the normal lanes appear far better managed. I last transited in December, so not sure if the layout has changed since then. The long rumoured First Security line on L5... older than some of the mould in The Concord showers.
Ben:
please advise—my wife and I have an upcoming flight from Heathrow to SFO—we presently have 2A and 3A—have heard row 1 is a bit weird because of the unused stairs to the second level…what are the best 2 F class seats on the BA 380? We both want windows
also, you’ve previously said the 777 is better than the 747 but do I understand correctly that you think the A380 is the best of all—-
many thanks
Lucky: please respond to the above inquiries!!!
How long do you stick w/a thread before you abandon the ones you've started?? Wondering...
Other than pyjamas and the bed turn down service, you've pretty much described Etihad business class.
After a struggle, got to the point about not having afternoon tea available when I decided I'd had enough and got bored.
I am interested in where this county of Devonshire is. Can't seem to find it on my atlas.
I'd rather fly Air New Zealand, partly because I am a kiwi, and partly because of the great food and service. No wifi (Yet).
It looks pretty shitty.
Did you pay for this flight ? There was no statement at the top of the article saying if it was free or not ?
@ Simon -- Yes. If you look at the top of the post there's an index with the entire trip report. The intro has all the trip costs: https://onemileatatime.com/middle-east-trip-report/
Have been flying BA First on LHR-LAX and also LHR-BOM routes for several years. The wine list seems to be just ok. Looks like BA is going to serve the Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle for another 20 years, while there are so many other great champagnes, e.g. Krug, Bollinger, Dom Pérignon, Billecart Salmon rosé. In essence, the wine lacks variety and creativity. Food is quite good, if not outstanding. Service is excellent !
Landed in san diego on 747 in F. This was a real dissapointment. A really young crew without basic training in F. Warm champagne to start with, no planning in serving ppl, approx half of the menu was unavailable, lights couldnt be switched off during 11 hr flight, the galley really badly managed - messy and dirty, light meal on landing was basically not served, filthy toilet /only one operational/ , landing cards were not distributed , no bye bye to F class cabin- instead the crew hid in the galley. Good bye First class ! What a waste of time and money !
I just flew BA (first class) from London to Seattle. The service was disgraceful. The cabin was empty apart from ourselves and one other person. The flight attendants seemed miffed to have to serve at all. No hot towel was offered pre-lunch and my husband was never offered a menu and was told that he would have to get the meal from the business section as they had run out of food in first class (which how can that happen with only 4 people in first class??). He was not offered a choice of wines, nor any courses. I had to ask for water 3 times before I finally walked up and got it myself. Each time I asked, the flight attendant said, "yeh, sure" and then never returned. No turn down service and the bathroom was dirty, with feces in the toilet (after two visits, they were still there) and no amenities in the bathroom. I had to use the business class bathroom when the first was unavailable and the amenities there were much better. The flight attendants never came to check on us and I had to flag one down to get more hot water after an hour of waiting. Basically, the flight attendants did the bare minimum and nothing more. One of the flight attendants even cursed (using the "s" word) when she could not get the tv to its resting position. Not language I want to hear after a long flight. In addition, the TV never worked properly and I had to use my laptop to watch my own saved shows. I will never ever fly BA again for first. My advice is fly other carriers - other airlines business cabins are way better than the service we received on BA. We fly only international business and first and as everyone knows, the asian carriers offer superior service. However, some of the american carriers are really trying to get their business cabins into a good product and in the end, yes it is the seat comfort, etc, but it is also most certainly the service that makes or breaks the experience. In this situation, the attendants, by their utter lack of professionalism made this flight a stressful and poor experience for us. Perhaps it was because we were flying on miles that we are mistreated, but that should not make a difference.
@Lucky I think you have started a saying, http://www.headforpoints.com/2017/06/10/how-does-british-airways-first-class-compare-emirates-etihad/