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This review forms part a trip I took with Joanna to Las Vegas and San Francisco (introduction and full details of the trip are here).
Other posts in this series include:
- Sofitel Heathrow Terminal 5 Review
- Dublin Airport Executive Lounge Review
- British Airways First Class 747 (LHR-LAS) – Part 1
- British Airways First Class 747 (LHR-LAS) – Part 2
- Aria Resort & Casino Las Vegas Review
- The Club at LAS Terminal 3 Review
- Virgin America First Class (LAS-SFO) Review
- Grand Hyatt San Francisco – Executive Suite Review
- Grand Hyatt San Francisco – Grand Club Lounge Review
- Cathay Pacific Lounge San Francisco (SFO) Review
- British Airways First Class Lounge San Francisco (SFO) Review
- British Airways A380 First Class (SFO-LHR) – Part 1
- British Airways A380 First Class (SFO-LHR) – Part 2
In the part one of this review (posted earlier today), I took a look at the first impressions I got of the British Airways First Class cabin on the 747 aircraft as well as a closer look at the seat that was to be my home for 10+ hours. In this second and final part of the review I’ll take a look at the amenities, the food, the entertainment options and the service before I go on to conclude my thoughts of the experience as a whole.
British Airways First Class Amenities
Almost as soon as I sat down the flight attendant in my aisle came up to me, introduced herself, offered me a drink and asked if I’d like a “sleep suit” for the flight. Yes and yes were the answers and moments later I was presented with British Airways pajamas (or pyjamas for those of you reading in English) and an amenity kit.
British Airways First Class Amenity Kit and Pajamas
I’m 6ft tall and of average build (very average unfortunately!) and the medium size pajamas were just right – I suspect that the larger version may be best suited for the slightly more rotund passenger.
The pajamas were very comfortable…although I’ve been warned that they shrink easily so I’ll see about that if/when I get them home.
British Airways offers men’s and ladies’ versions of their First Class amenity kits and this is what they had inside:
Men’s Amenity Kit
British Airways First Class Amenity Kit – Men’s Version
- Brown wash bag
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Razor
- Ear plugs
- Comb/brush
- Eye mask
- Pen
- Socks
- Shave gel
- Moisturizer
- Eye gel
- Lip balm
- Deodorant stick
Ladies’ Amenity Kit
Differences to the men’s amenity kit:
- Toiletries were different scents
- Wash bag was pink
- Shave gel replaced with “Rose Cleanser”
- Cotton pads replaced the razor
- Hand lotion was included
- The hair tool was more a brush than a comb…unlike the mens version.
All in all a full wash bag and a definite improvement on what I’ve seen provided in Club World and in other Business Class cabins (as you’d hope!).
British Airways First Class Dining
There’s an option to pre-select your meal when traveling in British Airways’ premium cabins but,on this occasion, we didn’t avail ourselves of that feature.
Menus were provided shortly after we boarded and meal orders were taken when drinks were brought around after take off.
British Airways First Class Menu
Food options & non-alcoholic beverages (click twice t0 enlarge):
Champagnes & Wines (click twice to enlarge):
The Bar (click to enlarge):
Somewhere around an hour into the flight (I was enjoying Joanna’s reaction to the surprise and experience so I wasn’t really paying attention to the time) the flight attendants came around to set the tables for lunch:
British Airways First Class Dining
British Airways First Class Dining
A very minor point: The water glass (which I quite liked) wasn’t the one that British Airways went out of their way to promote when it announced new glassware for First Class. I wonder what caused them to change their mind?….or is this aircraft still using the older glassware?
Anyway, that’s about as unimportant as it gets!
For my starter I chose the “Severn & Wye smoked salmon cannelloni with lemon puree, cucumber, verjus and marinated beetroot”:
British Airways First Class Dining
British Airways First Class Dining
The starter was very nice indeed – lots of flavor, well chilled and fresh….it went well with the granary bread that was offered from the bread basket.
For my main course I decided to go against my better instincts (which told me to choose one of the beef options) and I chose the “seared Thai-spiced tuna with orange and coriander salad, hot-roasted spiced kernels, Espelette pepper dressing and a gazpacho shot”.
I chose this meal for a couple of reasons: I had no idea what Espelette pepper dressing was (and I wanted to find out) and I really wanted to see how an airline would handle seared tuna.
British Airways First Class Dining
The picture really doesn’t do the meal justice because it was a lot nicer than that looks.
I still have absolutely no idea what Espelette pepper dressing is (perhaps I should google it?) but the salad tasted fresh and zesty while the spices worked nicely with the tuna which, to my surprise, was cooked pretty well:
British Airways First Class Dining
That was a very enjoyable main course.
For dessert I decided to avoid the sweet stuff and I chose the cheese plate (you can see what the individual cheeses were on the menu above).
British Airways First Class Dining
That was pretty good end to a meal that wasn’t bad at all. It wasn’t anything fantastic or particularly memorable but it was good solid fare that I enjoyed.
It’s worth mentioning that I thought the service was particularly good. The flight attendant serving my aisle was very good at judging when to ask if I needed anything and when to leave me alone….and she was very good at keeping the LPGS flowing which probably explained the slight headache I had towards the end of the flight! There was something polished about the service delivery and was very good to see.
The second meal of the flight came around an hour and a half before landing and was a definite weak point in the flight.
To start, I had the “Halloumi and almond kibbe with bulgur wheat salad, lemon and coriander sauce” and I really didn’t think much of it.
British Airways First Class Dining
I’m a very big fan of eastern Mediterranean food so this really should have been a dish that I enjoyed….but it didn’t work on any level. The dressing was overpowering and the halloumi didn’t taste like any halloumi I’ve had before.
For the main course I chose poorly. Very poorly.
I could have has a lamb slider or warm seared tiger prawns in a salad but for some reason (I blame the LPGS) I chose the “rigatoni pasta in a chestnut mushroom and pesto sauce with baby spinach and sun-dried tomatoes”:
British Airways First Class Dining
It was heavier than it should have been (I appreciate that this is a subjective view) , not very tasteful and could have come out of a can.
Where I enjoyed the first meal of the flight I could have done without either of the courses that I chose for the second meal – Joanna did the right thing and just had fruit!
Still, if I’m going to find a positive, it was that the service was still very good.
Entertainment & Connectivity
The TV screen/monitor pops out of the back of the seat in front….
British Airways First Class 747 Entertainment
…and under the screen there’s a USB port (useful) and an audio input (not that useful in my experience):
British Airways First Class 747 Entertainment
The TV is a touchscreen monitor although the seat also comes with a built-in remote control…..
British Airways First Class 747 Entertainment
British Airways First Class 747 Entertainment
….which is almost identical to the remote controls American Airlines has on its antiquated, un-refubished 777-200 aircraft. That dates this First Class cabin quite badly.
British Airways has been installing new entertainment systems on some of its older aircraft but this one hasn’t yet had the upgrade:
British Airways First Class 747 Entertainment
British Airways First Class 747 Entertainment
Some of the content was ok and there were a few reasonably up-to-date movies to watch but the selection was anything but extensive. Most importantly I couldn’t shake the feeling that, as I sat in a First Class seat in the second decade of the 21st century I was looking at a 20th century piece of audio/visual equipment….I almost began a search for the VCR!
British Airways doesn’t offer WiFi on any of its aircraft yet so there’s no connectivity of any sort onboard the 747.
If you want to charge your electronic items there’s the USB socket under the TV screen and there’s a universal power port at floor level – not a very useful place to put it but its pretty much exactly in the same place where the Club World power sockets are:
British Airways First Class 747
Overall, between the old-ish entertainment system, the lack of WiFi and the poor positioning of the power ports, I can’t say that I was too impressed. For a First Class cabin it was way below the standards I expect of a modern Business Class cabin.
Service & Other
As I mentioned when I was discussing the First Class dining, the service I received on this flight was very good – the flight attendant was very polite, diligent and there was a definite step up in attitude, presentation and service compared to what I’ve experienced in British Airways Business Class cabins. This was a lot better.
Other things I liked:
The cool blue mood lighting was pretty funky…..
British Airways First Class 747
…it was nice having newspapers and magazines just across from me (although that only really works if you’re in row 2)…..
British Airways First Class 747
….and I liked the window in the lavatory. That was cool 🙂
British Airways First Class 747
The one other thing I didn’t like was the size of the lavatories – they were no different from most regular cabin lavatories. American has a big lavatory in Business Class on its 777-300s and British Airways has at least two large lavatories in Business Class on its, admittedly much newer, Airbus A380s…so it would have been nice to see something better up in First Class….but that’s not exactly a major issue, just an observation.
Bottom Line On British Airways First Class On The 747
I really liked the service, the presentation and effort that went into the whole dining experience – that felt premium – but there was a lot that really didn’t feel that premium at all.
From the moment a bit of the overhead storage bin fell down I was very aware that this was an ageing aircraft that hasn’t really been maintained (on the inside) to the highest of standards and that was a shame. I genuinely love the 747 aircraft but British Airways has been patching some of theirs up for far too long and nothing in a First Class cabin should ever be patched up – it’s time to let these planes go or refurbish them properly.
The old entertainment system really dates the product and one look at the seat will explain why so many people compare British Airways First Class to other airline’s Business Class. There was nothing at all wrong with the seat that I had but it was at best marginally more spacious than the new Business Class seats we’re seeing on other airlines….and people are being asked to pay First Class prices for this.
The service was definitely above what you’ll receive in Business Class on a lot of carriers (miles ahead of AA and a good distance ahead of what BA will offer in Business Class) but that, the very nice champagne and possibly the exclusive feel of the cabin were probably the only things that made this a “first class” experience.
I have no regrets about booking the British Airways 747 First Class cabin because it served all the purposes I booked it for – I enjoyed the experience, I now know what BA First Class is like on this aircraft and Joanna and I got to fly to Las Vegas in the very front of a 747 – but I won’t be hurrying to buy a First Class seat on a British Airways 747 anytime soon. I’d rather splash out on a very good Business Class cabin, that would be much better value.
