[Anonymous]

[FlyingQuant]

Hi all,

I just picked up some last minute redemption availability and decided to cash in a good chunk of Avios points for 2 First seats to Hong Kong.

I’m flying LHR to HKG next week in First with my wife, but not sure which seats to choose. By default we’ve been allocated to window seats: 4A and 4K going out, and 2K and 3K coming back.

On the outbound flight all other seats are taken apart from 4 middle seats: 1 E / F and 2 E / F.

Is it worth sitting separately for a window seat, or is the experience in the middle seats where we’ll be able to talk to each other just as good?

Both ways are on B777 aircraft.

Sorry if a slightly inane question!

[MartynSinclair]

I guess it all boils down to whether you wish to talk to your wife during the flight.

You should enjoy the service from whichever seat.

Look forward to reading your trip report and well done for getting the redemption booking at short notice.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Flying Quant

BA first seats also have ‘buddy’ seats, where you can dine face to face or just sit and chat, so that may influence your thinking.

If you are not bothered by looking out of the windows, then the middle pair are nice.

[LuganoPirate]

I always take the window seat and leave Mrs. LP to sit either across the aisle or in front of me. She anyway watches the movies and I sleep! It’s actually nice to give my ears a rest sometimes!

[MartynSinclair]

“It’s actually nice to give my ears a rest sometimes!”

I prefer to think of it as giving Mrs S’s mouth a rest, until of course…..(ahem)!!!

[Saffjoyfox3]

FlyingQuant, hope you’ll both have a great trip and that you enjoy the flights. You’ll almost certainly be getting the New First product on that route.

As to seat choices, when I do First flights with my better half we always go for the E and F seats. As always, seat choices are a personal preference. Those seats in rows 1 or 2 enable you to enjoy the service and the First experience together, chat, and then do your own thing when you want to.

We have been in 1E and 1F on the 777 on outbound night flights from LHR and have had no issue with it being the first row with curtains in front galley area to the left and right of E and F. That has not caused any inconvenience. If you want to avoid that, go for 2E and F which are also nice seats.

[FlyingQuant]

Thanks for all the advice.

I’ve changed the outbound booking to 2 E and F, and will keep the return on 2K and 3K. We can always decide later if we want to switch the return flight to EF seats as well.

[PaulEllwood]

Having recently flown the Sydney / Heathrow route on the new BA 777 First configuration as a couple in 2A / 3A we did notice that the centre pairing actually had more space ( particularly bench space adjoining the seats ). It’s because rows A and K are angled in towards the window.We enjoyed the window but would probably choose 2E /F next time.

[FlyingQuant]

Trip Report: LHR – HKG Return in BA First

It’s been 4 years since my last “First”, and sinking into seat 2E and sipping my welcome drink on the outbound flight I couldn’t help thinking: it’s good to be back. Below is a quick summary of my recent return trip to HK in First on British Airways – enjoy.

Background

My wife and I needed to get away for Christmas, but had been incredibly disorganised and hadn’t booked anything. Fortunately we had a lot of Avios points and companion tickets galore. Unusually this coincided with actual flight availability (perhaps because we booked last minute) and we managed to secure two return tickets to Hong Kong in First using 180k Avios points, a companion ticket and just under £1k in fees and taxes. The timing worked well with the Christmas break as well as the fact that a friend was getting married in Hong Kong. So we decided to head out to HK, attend the wedding and then spend Christmas in Bali before returning to Hong Kong and then London.

I’d been in First three times before, but always as upgrades from Club back in the days when I used to do a lot of long haul flying and was Gold tier. But it had been four years since my last First. My wife had never been in First, so this was going to be a real treat.

Outbound: BA 27 LHR to HKG, departing 21:00, First

We were leaving on Wednesday, and due to a last minute business trip I ended up flying into London on the Wednesday morning. So I had the dubious pleasure of arriving at Heathrow T3 at about 10:00 on the morning of the departure, taking a cab home to help my wife pack for the trip, doing a host of conference calls from home, and then taking a cab back to Heathrow T5 for the flight to HKG. By the time we arrived at the airport it had already been quite a long day, but I thought at least I’d be able to get some sleep on the flight.

We checked in at the dedicated First area, having already reserved our seats on line. We had selected 2 E / F for the outbound and 2K / 3K for the return in order to try out both the aisle and the centre seat configurations. There were two greeters guarding the First check-in area, and as we approached asked if I was a Gold card holder or actually traveling in First (I guess I look like a business flyer rather than genuine money!), but they seemed very happy when we said we were flying First and escorted us to the check-in desk. We just had two suitcases, and the man checking us in told us we were not getting our money’s worth, our bags weighed about 35kg in total, however between the two of us the total First allowance was 192kg (3 x 32kg pieces per person)! There were clearly some people taking advantage of this, there was a family with two huge trolleys loaded up with shopping.

Security was a breeze, and we then turned a sharp right to walk straight into the illustrious Concorde lounge, where they inspected our tickets and then warmly welcomed us. This is the second time we had been to the Concorde lounge. The last time was actually shortly after T5 opened and we were flying to Greece (Economy class) for a holiday, and they let us in by virtue of my Gold status (which I’ve since lost). However I understand things are now more exclusive and you can only get in with First tickets. We went straight to the dining area, and ate well from the short menu. My wife had already called ahead to book a spa treatment, so I responded to some final work emails while she disappeared for this treatment. We had arrived quite late, so we didn’t really spend much time in the lounge, and before we knew it we were taking the train towards our boarding gate in area C.

Boarding was uneventful, and when the boarding crew inspected out tickets we got a “Welcome to First” message, a big smile and escorts to our seats. We were fortunate to have the new First. It had been 4 years since I’d last sat in First on a long-haul flight, and let me tell you: it was good to be back. Sinking into seat 2E and sipping my welcome drink, a sudden sense of relaxation washed over me. A two week holiday was just what we needed, and this was the best way to kick it off. My wife, sitting next to me in 2F, was getting fussed over as the cabin crew helped put her hand luggage in the overhead bins for the second time and helped her organise her things.

The flight itself was great, the service was very personal, always addressed by name and the food (especially the soup) was excellent. Mostly though, I just slept. Unlike the Club World seats, which are frustratingly a few CMs to short when fully reclined the First seats are perfect. They also benefit from a supportive layer of bedding and a proper duvet that the Cabin crew set up for you when they make up your bed. I hear that are some superior First products in the market, but quite frankly this flight was excellent and I’m not sure what else you would need.

Return: BA 28 HKG to LHR, departing 23:45, First

After an eventful few weeks in HK and Bali (we flew CX to Bali), we arrived at HKG for our return flight to London. We arrived a little early, and made our way to the Qantas / BA first lounge. The lounge was very empty people wise, and tastefully laid out, but other than comfortable chairs, drinks and a few snacks it didn’t have anything particularly special about it. Certainly it wasn’t comparable to the Concorde lounge. My wife disappeared to look at the shops, while I proceeded to read through the various HK, Chinese, American and Australian newspapers on offer.

We arrived at the gate when boarding was mostly completed and again received a great welcome into the First cabin. This time we had 2K and 3K (Aisle rather than centre seats). Having sampled both the centre and aisle seats now, I would have to say that the Aisle seats (A / K) are preferable as you get much more space courtesy of an additional ledge next to the windows that doesn’t exist on the middle seats. You can still dine together as your partner can join you and sit in the companion seat, so you don’t lose that time together on the flight, although it is obviously much harder to talk continuously during the flight (not necessarily a bad thing!).

For the return flight the service was somehow even better than the outbound. We were looked after very well, nothing was too much trouble, and needs somehow seemed to be anticipated before they were even formulated in my own mind. The food on the outbound flight was slightly better, but it was still good quality on this flight and very well presented. Overall another great flight.

Overall conclusion

Two great flights in First: this is the way to travel long-haul. I was very happy with both the hard and soft product, and actually I think it’s the soft product (service) that really makes it stand out.

Obviously we paid for this out of accumulated BA miles / Avios points. Would I pay cash for First tickets? No: at £5 – 6k per return ticket to HK it’s a waste of money, and certainly I’m not rich enough that £12k couldn’t be better spent on something else (e.g. you could finance a new 40ft sailing yacht for a year for that amount). However paid for by miles either outright or via an upgrade I would certainly do it again: it is definitely useful encouragement to be more disciplined in miles collection and stop taking all those non-OneWorld flights for work!

[LuganoPirate]

Great report, thanks very much. Glad you had a great trip and enjoyed yourself in F.

[MartynSinclair]

28/12/2011 19:50 GMT

Great report. One question, was the return NF or old F? If old F how would you compare the 2 experiences in terms of the hard product?

[FlyingQuant]

Both flights were in New First. Its been years since I flew old first, so I don’t think I could really do a fair comparison. Clearly the IFE is better and the decor is more modern, but in terms of comfort I don’t remember a clear distinction.

[Cwyfan]

I have followed this thread with great interest as I too am about to fly First, for the first time, to Boston in February using Avios and a companion ticket, and with my wife.

I have chosen window seats based on this review, and also learnt a lot from another post from VK as to how to get the best out of travelling first, so will try to relay our experience upon return too.

[TDGlen4]

My wife and I fly twice a year BA , LHR to MIA in First always with miles. The 1st few times we sat next to each other in the middle , but my wife threated to raise the the privacy screen if I did not stop talking.
We now always go for 2a and 2k but sit together to eat.Unfortunatly we have never got NF but we fly again in March so fingers crossed.
We once had 1a 1k but the wardrobes put an end to that.

[Author]

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