GTHQ Jaunt Journal – Flight: British Airways 747-400 – First
Route: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – London Heathrow (LHR) – 9H00M
The Good: Meals and seat Normal cost:$10,695 USD Our cost: $490 USD + 62.5K American Airline miles
The Bad: The cabin felt dated
The Ugly: None
I had heard a lot about British Airways 747-400 first class service so I was looking forward to experiencing their service and equipment. We used a total of 82,500 American Airline miles per person (20K going in Economy since they were day flights and 62.5K returning in First – night flights). One thing to keep in mind is that redeeming on BA does have high surcharges and even removing the economy segment would have resulted in the same tax surcharge. Being that we wanted to test out BA’s first, we went for it. When we landed in London we were able to use the Concorde Lounge which is dedicated for first class passengers and includes complimentary massages and a good variety of food but nothing that’s amazing. Back in its glory Concorde days it might have been great 🙂
The Experience
We boarded the flight and we were promptly directed to our seats by the crew. This was immediately followed by them offering us pajamas, slippers and the amenity kits. Overall the crew was courteous, enjoyed joking and was quite generous with the alcohol! When I asked them to prepare the bed I figured it would take a few minutes so I went to change into the pajamas. In the short time it took me (and I change like superman) they were done. Props to them! I wasn’t too impressed by their pajamas (Thai’s are still my favorite since they are smooth and have pockets) but that may be since my expectations were high due to Lucky speaking so highly about them, taking 1000 pictures and probably living/working in them…
Johnnie Walker Blue Label liberally distributed… I was the only one up so the crew was trying to knock me out!
The Interior
The 747-400 was a bit dated but it was well maintained. All 14 suites (but nothing like Etihad’s suites) were filled. Keep in mind that BA stuffs 14 1st class seats in the front of the 747 while other airlines like Lufthansa and Thai have 8 and 9 respectively. We were seated in 4E and 4F which we had selected as there are only 2 sets of middle seats that allow 2 passengers to sit together. Despite a bit of wear it was still a good hard product. There’s also a nice blue glow around the cabin which is quite relaxing.
The seat is over 6 feet (about 2 meters) long and lies at a flat 180 degrees. The seat controls are conveniently placed and contain the normal upright, recline and bed positions but disappointed there wasn’t a massage feature.
The AVOD or IFE system is flat against the inner wall and pops out when in use. It included a good selection of movie and tv channels and series. There are power and usb outlets to charge your electronics and a small compartment to put jackets and coats next to the foot rest.
If you are sitting next to someone, there is a small window blind that can open up so that you can communicate but there is still quite a bit of separation.
The Food and Beverages
The meal was a 4 course affair and was well presented and cooked. Since pictures are worth 1000 words…
However, the service was good but not excellent. Would I recommend this to others? For what we paid and the miles, sure. Would I go out of my way to try it again? No. There are many other 1st class options that surpass BA’s service and product.
