My initial impression walking into the cabin was damn , it s gorgeous . The seats aren t as private

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I ve only ever departed terminal 5 from bus gates. But that took me past the Starbucks, and it was going to be an (admittedly short of a Westbound transatlantic) long flight and I really didn t want to sleep much, I wanted to arrive in DC tired and fall straight to sleep, adjusting back to my own time right away. Which isn t to say I wouldn t allow myself a nap I was happy to for a couple of hours but I felt like I could conk right out.
Here s an interesting thing about those bus gates. You pick up a Starbucks, but if you don t hide the drink while showing your boarding pass before boarding the bus, you ll get told you have to dispose of your coffee. It s not a security liquids it s for safety on the bus. Ummmkay .
About halfway through scottish golf travel package the bus tour of Heathrow I began wondering if this was actually the plane and we d be on it all the way to DC, but we finally pulled up alongside our 777. The flight had been delayed half an hour, apparently late being brought back from maintenance.
Me, I was just a little bit giddy. Because it was going to be the new British Airways first class, which I hadn t flown yet. Now, Lucky recently did a report and I did review it before my own flight. I was curious how my take would differ. His view was that BA first class offers a really nice business class product, maybe the best in the world.
My initial impression walking into the cabin was damn , it s gorgeous . The seats aren t as private as the latest suites. They aren t as spacious as my beloved Cathay seat by any means. But the cabin just look goooood scottish golf travel package . Although photos don t do it justice.
The one thing I do have to say about the seat though is that there s no storage space. Or almost none. There s a closet. But the closet it narrow , it really is good just for hanging your clothes when you change into pajamas. I couldn scottish golf travel package t even fit my laptop bag into the closet, it was too wide. So my laptop bag went under the ottoman and my rollaboard went up into the overhead.
BA didn t remove the overheads from the cabin, and with the lack of storage space in the cabin that s crucial. But the cabin does feel a little bit cramped given 14 first class seats in the front of the 777, it s just a lot. Still, I found it a very comfortable seat if not as wide as I d like.
The center seats are especially good for couples traveling together, since even though there s a divider between the seats it can be pulled back and it s possible to have a conversation in the seats unlike many first class products. scottish golf travel package On the other hand, the dividers are good enough that you can also have privacy in those seats if the person on the other side isn t a traveling companion. So the seats in the center I thought were really well designed.
There was also a snack menu, albeit not an especially extensive one (though that s fine for a sub-8 hour flight. scottish golf travel package Although since there s no scheduled second service and I was going to want not to be hungry when I arrived home so I could go straight to sleep, I was going to be interested in what they were offering.
scottish golf travel package I decided to wait a bit on dessert, and after the meal I changed into my pajamas and the crew offered to make my bed. They also drew down the shades of the unoccupied seats (the cabin was full to 7/14). Another just gorgeous feature of the cabin, those shades.
scottish golf travel package Once thoroughly tucked in, I decided to watch some television on my laptop and accompany it with that dessert I had skipped. What s better than ice cream in bed? And a few bits of anything described as chocolate and orange I just cannot resist.
I let myself nap for a couple of hours, and soon enough we were about two hours outside DC. I remembered that I wanted to have eaten something before getting home, so that I wouldn t be hungry and would go straight to sleep. So I asked to try the snacks.
I got up and changed scottish golf travel package back into my street scottish golf travel package clothes, and we were quickly scottish golf travel package on- the ground at Dulles. I was thoroughly pleased with the flight and with my redemption (using Avios). We were first out of the aircraft scottish golf travel package and quickly through immigration, and on my way home at the very end of New Year s Day.
This is not a business class product. Contra Ben I do like the seat better than Cathay s business seat, although I can see if you re comparing most first class products to Cathay s new business class on the 777 especially if you have the mini-cabin behind first class.
There s no caviar or Krug but the food is good. It s a better first class than United s and American s for sure, better than the old Lufthansa first (albeit Lufthansa has better ground service at their German hubs). It s at least on par with and probably better than the first class that Qantas is flying around with still in their 747s. It s a better seat than Asiana s 2008 2011 generation first class although without the level of food and service. So to me this is squarely scottish golf travel package a first class product. And saying that Cathay Pacific has a business class that measures up to it doesn t make it a business class product.
In my view, the reason I try to avoid New First, and get flights that will likely have the old is that there is too much privacy. When I travel with a companion, I find it difficult to have a good conversation as there is more plastic wall between seats even when you open up the divider. As well I find the increased plastic shell takes up more space and even in the 747 the New First feels more cramped then the old.
@Greg indeed, since I compare it primarily to things like Cathay first I find BA first has less privacy but can see where you re coming from. Thanks for the compliment on the photos, I just use a Canon powershot s95. In automatic mode.
In your picture where you are sipping your drink in the PJs looks like a very happy person who is trying F for the first time, even though you have flown probably hundreds of thousand miles in F. I am glad you had a great flight, nothing beats that kind of high !
BTW, how much did BA chew out of your wallet for taxes and fuel surcharge? As I can redeem AS miles for BA F, I am going to wait until we can redeem one way awards on partners before even considering BA F. I really want to do LA J, EK F, QF F on A380 (if I can find r/t space), and CX F again to JNB Been building an Mt. Everest of miles but only redeemed twice
@golfingboy .. I m actually not in my PJs in that photo, just a black shirt sipping scottish golf travel package my predeparture beverage. scottish golf travel package I have indeed flown hundreds of thousands of miles in international first class. But I was getting to try a new product!!
Ive flown the product on both 777 and 747 and recently just got off a Cathay new business service on a 330. I squarely agree with you. the BA cabin and service are definitely differrentiated vs the Cathay business product. I think the cathay first hard product could be polished but also agree that it s more of a complete scottish golf travel package suite, and I prefer that. Service wise, BA was definitely better in f than cathay was in c. Definitely a first product, though not my favorite use of miles given the fees
Also, IFE had a very weird red tinge to it (this was New First) and poor picture quality. Given the cost in APD and fuel surcharges from the west coast, it was a disappoinment, especially vs. Cathay F
I also believe I have high standards but I think your standards are higher than my standards. Sometimes the things you identify as negatives or things that you think potentially deserve compensation would not register on my radar as a significant shortcoming. This gives me comfort because if I can live the negatives you identify I am assured of a great flight or hotel stay.
Interesting that no scones scottish golf travel package were on the menu for the second meal. Presumably due to the late arrival time, but the rest of the offerings look identical to the afternoon tea service, so no real differentiation other than one less option.
Once thoroughly tucked in, I decided to watch some television on my laptop and accompany it with that dessert I had skipped. What's scottish golf travel package better than ice cream in bed? And a few bits of anything described as chocolate and orange I just cannot resist .
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