BA85 Four Class 744 First

Couldn’t use Seatplans.com on my iPhone 5S so had to insert here.

This was part of a mad ten day round the world trip with lots of flights. In terms of airports passed through my trip is SYD HKG DXB CDG BOD BCN MAD FRA LHR YVR PHX LAX NRT SYD! By the time I get home in a couple of days I feel I’ll have had enough of planes for a while…regardless of flying in premium cabins for most long haul sectors!

This particular flight was taken on Sun 28 Sep. I had stayed overnight at the Hilton adjacent to Terminal 4 and had to get a train first to T123 and then another train to T5. It’s always a thrill walking up to the first class check-in area but beyond the entrance is a slight let-down. Short wait to be checked in but was served by an delightful agent who spoke nine languages! 1A and 1K were free so I opted for the latter. No queue at security and I was in the Concorde Room within a few minutes.

I had about 90mins before boarding so proceeded to the dining room. Had a glass of the Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle and selected the carrot soup starter and the sea bass main. I later had a glass of the Taittinger Rosé and also a pot of herbal tea and a cappuccino on the terrace. The service was warm and pleasant. The food came out very quickly…almost too quickly.

Departure was from satellite C so had a slight mad dash when I realised it was boarding time. Huge main boarding queue but nobody in the premium lane. Bottleneck beyond that as only one door being used for all cabins.

Warm welcome at the door and escorted to my seat. Twelve seats occupied in first on this flight. Business (mid J aircraft) only three quarters full but WT+ and WT completely full. I was offered pyjamas etc. and a welcome drink. The two ladies looking after first class were excellent. Very professional and pleasant. This flight was operated by the legacy fleet crew (not mixed fleet).

Take-off on time and the flight time was a brisk 9hrs. Lunch was served starting off with a fig amuse bouche. I had the seared prawns starter and also the pumpkin, sweet potato and ginger soup, followed by the roasted guinea fowl which was excellent, accompanied by a glass of Sancerre Sur le Fort 2012. Skipped the dessert and cheese and chocolates.

Watched all three episodes of the BA documentary ‘A Very British Airline’ which got a few comments from the cabin crew and made for a nice chat with the CSD who’d been with BA for 30 years.

My bed was made and I had a bit of a rest though I didn’t sleep given it was an afternoon flight with an evening arrival into Vancouver. There was only one working washroom in the first cabin but the crew were brilliant and whilst waiting once, one of them went out to seek an available washroom and I could use one in club world.

Afternoon tea of sandwiches, scones and cakes was served 75mins prior to landing. I picked at it but wasn’t hungry. I asked for a fruit plate and this was the one disappointing item…BA just doesn’t seem to get a fruit plate right…huge chunks of pineapple that were tart to the teeth and huge chunks of rockmelon with the skin on plus some dour looking grapes. Washed it down with a glass of Chateau Haut-Bergey 2004 Bordeaux.

We landed on schedule into a pleasant 14C evening.

In summary, a surprisingly delightful experience.