BA275 LHR-LAS 10 JUL 14 (FIRST)
Posted: 04 Aug 2014, 23:16
I had been to Las Vegas twice before and had no real intention of going back there, but my travel buddy, Chris, whom some of you will have come across in erstwhile trip reports of mine, was celebrating his demi-century and decided it must be celebrated in style with his many friends and the place to be was Las Vegas. “Ooooh, goody!” thought I to myself as I reached for my laptop. Now was a chance for me to go back to one of my favourite places, San Francisco with a short hop to LAS on Virgin America. To be honest with you, my first thought was to try out Aer Lingus’ new offering to SFO but, alas, the price in Business was too high. Not overly disappointed (in fact not disappointed at all) it was back to one of my favourite flights, VS19 and with relish I looked up the fare only to be truly disappointed as the fare was much higher than expected, especially when converted to euros. What about LGW-LAS direct? Marginally better although it would mean an overnight in LGW and a trip to that esteemed airport on that nice Mr O’Leary’s airline. What about MAN-LAS? Also do-able. The ex-AMS trick? Yep, that was working with the usual savings and the added bonus of flights from there into LGW. More out of curiosity than anything else I wandered over to the BA site. I had no intention in the wide earthly world of booking Club World unless the price was a real steal, but it did no harm to look. Indeed it didn’t! Oh, the CW ones were on a par with VS’s offering but an idle glance at the prices in the First column had me, looking a second time, rubbing my eyes and looking a third time. The fares in First were cheaper by far than those in CW and indeed on a par with the ex-AMS fares on VS. Oh, and it had the added advantage of flying to LAS from LHR. My first thought was that if something seems too good to be true it probably is, followed by the second thought heralded frequently on here, if you see a price you are happy with, nab it! So, dear friends, credit card in hand, I did what all good V-Flyers do (even if it’s on BA) and beyond my wildest expectations, I was flying in First!! Yesss!!
Of course, there had to be a glitch - after all this is a honey lamb trip we’re talking about.
No sooner had the confirmation email popped into my Inbox, I realised I had made not one, but two errors! In my haste I had booked the early morning flight from Cork instead of the midday one and also, wanting to be back at home on July19th had booked that as my departure date from LAS. 
Schoolgirl error! Fortunately, BA allows changes to be made within 24 hours free of charge and so ‘twas done and my seat request for the changed flight was honoured. Now what’s the other V-Flyer saying?
Oh yes, once you book it, don’t look back. Well I did. About a week later someone on mentioned that BA were having a sale in the premium cabins and the flights that I had booked were now €500 cheaper! Bummer! However I found out that I could cancel at a price but what was that price? I called BA, got through to a gentleman on the sub-continent, who put me through to someone in another department. After about 20 minutes of listening to Lakmé’s Flower Duet, I gave up. And that was the last night of the sale. A few days later someone else said something along the lines that the sale seemed to be continuing and a few clicks later, I found out that this was so. Moreover I found a link which would calculate the cost of cancelling which showed that I would save money by cancelling and re-booking, which I did! I was able to request the same seats as before but the best bit was that the refund was back on my credit card statement within a very short space of time. None of this faffing around for weeks that you get with VS! For once, looking back worked. OK, that’s the preliminaries over. Let’s get on with the real TR.
If you have read this TR, you will know that I had just arrived in T2 on the second day of Aer Lingus’s operations there and you may also remember that I queried whether I should use Flight Connections or connect landside. Be careful what you ask for…..
I had already decided that I would use Flight Connections and when we had traipsed upstairs and downstairs and along corridors we reached a point where the majority of passengers peeled off to the left to Border Control and I trotted off to the right and downstairs to where the Flight Connections buses were. I was lucky as almost immediately a bus arrived for T5 and I hopped on for a non-stop trip to that terminal. On arrival I followed the signs and reached an area where we would go through security into the terminal proper. It seemed very chaotic but I looked for a Fast Track sign and then noticed that there were transfer desks to the side. Now, I should say, that although my bags were checked through to LAS, I wasn’t entirely convinced that they would end up in the premium bin (such first world problems!
) and so I presented myself at the First desk. I was pleasantly greeted and explained my concerns. “No problem”, said the delightful girl there as she tipped and tapped away at her keyboard. “Yes, it’s there, but can I have the credit card you used for the flight, please?” “Yes, sure”, sez I as I started to rummage in my bag. Item after item was pulled out; purse with dollars in it, hairbrush, earphones, pens, glasses, keys, three lipsticks, iPhone, tissues, Oyster card (well it is useful to have), passport, free travel pass, rosary beads (I’m Irish, it’s mandatory to have them!), ear plugs, kitchen sink - everything except the purse containing euros and my credit and debit cards! 
A wave of horror swamped me. I had used the said purse to buy my G&T on my flight over and no doubt it was still nestling in the recesses of seat 2A. I could stand the loss of the euros and there weren’t that many of them but the credit cards!!! All I could think of was being turned away from various hostelries in the US when I couldn’t produce the required card on check-in. And what about the obligatory shopping? I couldn’t possibly go to Premium Outlet heaven and not purchase even though my shopping gene is rather weak. My life flashed before me while I simultaneously blurted out my dilemma to the dear lady at the desk. Quick as a flash, she asked for my boarding card which I still had. At that stage I could have told her my seat number, the names of the cabin crew, the registration of the plane, the name of the saint on the said plane in both Irish and English, its gate number - anything except where was the d*mn purse!! She however rose to the occasion magnificently and rang over to EI in T2. It took a couple of false starts but suddenly she was talking to the right people. “Hold on, please”, they said and I resisted the temptation to gnaw my fingers down to the bone. Less than two minute later they came back; the purse had been retrieved!! Remembering that I supposed to be entering the hallowed portals of First, I resisted the temptation to go careering round Flight Connections turning cartwheels and pulling my tee-shirt over my face and awaited instructions. I was told that I needed to go back to T2 and really I expected nothing different - after all it was my own stupidity that had created the problem and it was up to me to correct it. 
Following instructions, I took myself back to the Flight Connections bus area and in the fullness of time a bus arrived to take me back to T2 via T1. I had been told that my purse was with the boarding staff and I should stay airside to retrieve it and arriving in T2 once more, I found myself at a point I recognised earlier, where passengers peeled off to the left for Border Control and left for downstairs to the buses for different terminals. I looked to the left and then to the right. If only, if only I had looked upwards and straight ahead! Instead I looked at a member of the LHR staff and explained my dilemma. I needed to go to the Aer Lingus airside desk. Yer man insisted I needed to go through Border Control. I insisted that I was told I was to stay airside but he insisted that the only Aer Lingus desks were beyond security. Eventually I gave in and went through security to find no Aer Lingus desk.
Of course not. I decided that the only Aer Lingus desks landside would be in Departures and made my way there. Eventually I found someone to whom I could plead my cause and eventually managed to get them to understand that I had come from T5 because I had lost my purse on a flight which landed in T2. The purse had been found in T2 but I needed to get back to T5. He made a couple of calls and finally got hold of someone who was in the know. They were in the middle of something and would be down in 20 minutes. So, instead of spending those 20 minutes in the Concorde Room in T5, they were spent sitting in a rather empty check-in area - and the next 20 minutes - and…… 
By this time I was getting rather edgy. I still had to get back to T5 and I was also getting rather peckish as it had been my intention of having lunch as soon as I arrived in the lounge. I approached the guy once more and he made another call. They would be along in five minutes, which became ten minutes which became…. I think, about 12 minutes. All of a sudden, I spotted a guy with my purse in his hand. Relief swept over me as I approached him and he apologised for the delay. He had been waiting in Flight Connections!! Aaaaaaarrrgh!!!!! 
Of course the problem now was, that because I was landside I couldn’t get back to T5 by Flight Connections and had to use the Heathrow Express. However, there was no direct link to it from T2 so I had to go to T1 to connect. I was a bit apprehensive about that but in fact it was easier than I thought it would be. There was a bridge walkway connecting the two terminals and following the signs for the HEX, I arrived somewhere near the entrance to the Underground. After that I was in familiar territory as it was the subway between T1 and T3 which I have used more times than I can remember and I knew exactly where the HEX was. Fortunately the next transfer train was to T5 and was due in less than 5 minutes. Soon I was back in T5, thinking that that was two hours of my life I wouldn’t get back and two hours of Concorde Room time that I had missed. I had been asked to call back to the desk on my return but as I was now landside I decided to go to the First check-in area. Like I say, be careful what you wish for.
I trotted along to the far end of the concourse and presented myself there, only to find that, nice as it was , it wasn’t as special as I thought it would be. (In Singapore, some years ago, I flew on SQ to HKG to connect with the VS flight to Sydney. I had been brought into a room and seated alongside a desk while the agent checked me in and then escorted me to security.) Once there, I waited at the entrance while someone else was escorted to a desk and another staff member chatted to someone waiting for a desk. The Cloak of Invisibility, which had been put away since my last visit to the Clubhouse, surprisingly had made its way to T5. Obviously the word had gone round Heathrow that I was in the building! Eventually, both staff members became free and simply waved me to a vacant desk. Hmmm! 
The check-in lady was OK. When I had explained my situation she checked on her computer which advised that I had gone to T2 to retrieve lost property and which needed to be removed. After that I was free to go but it really wasn’t that special compared with the lady in Flight Connections.From there it was on to Security and for once Fast Track really was Fast Track. OK, it wasn’t the UC private security channel but it was fine and certainly a lot quicker than my last trip through the VS area. After that it was a quick step and there was the Concorde Room waiting for me. Some two and a half hours later than I expected, I was finally there! At this stage I needed two things, the loo and food - and in that order. I headed to the Ladies only to find there was a problem with water there and I couldn’t wash my hands. Good job I didn’t want a shower! I then headed for the bar area and at long last a glass of champagne was in front of me. I had intended to try the fine dining area but at this stage, I felt that time was against me and so I just had a burger which was very tasty.
In the fullness of time - in other words about three quarters of an hour later - I headed out to the B gates. The main concourse there was teeming as I negotiated my way through the crowds but I soon fetched up before the gates where boarding had just commenced. There was a separate entrance for First and Club World but these fed into the same escalator as everyone else down to the jetbridge. At this stage I should say that I was travelling the day after the new security measures had been introduced with regard to laptops, phones, iPads etc. At the main security area no checks were made but when I queried this, I was told they would take place at the gate. Sure enough, tables had been set out at the bottom of the escalator and people were presenting their phones, etc., but it was creating a backlog for people coming down and so by the time I got to the area they were waving people through. Halfway down the jetbridge was the turn-off for First and CW and there was a family in front of me who were directed to turn right. I was greeted pleasantly by the cabin crew and was also about to be directed to CW but the minute she saw First and 4A on my boarding pass, the dear girl visibly straightened up, squared back her shoulders and said, “Welcome aboard, Mrs honey lamb, let me escort you to your seat”. Suppressing a smile, I followed her to my seat rather liking the touch.
The First cabin on this flight was in a 747. Like the VS 747 it had 14 seats in the nose of the cabin, but the difference was that BA had 5 seats on each side of the cabin in A and K and two rows of two in the centre where the IFBT used to be on the VS 747s. They were perfect for couples and had a divider to create privacy for single travellers. As a result it was less spacious than the A zone on VS. The seats themselves in the A/K seats were reverse herringbone; in other words, one’s head was beside the aisle and one’s feet by the window. I didn’t really like this as I like to look out of the window and indeed you couldn’t see anything except when on the ground. Directly in front of you at the entrance to the suite was a mini-wardrobe, with a hanger and a bar to hold a jacket in place and a cubby hole underneath for shoes, etc. On the footstool, which was tucked in the opposite corner of the suite, was a blanket and headphones. Alongside the seat was a small shelf with a rather old-fashioned looking lamp and also a panel containing the controls for the IFE, the seat and the blinds which were raised and lowered by means of a switch. Because of the reverse herringbone design, seats 1A and IK, which in VS would be 6A/K or 12A/K depending on whether it is a LGW or LHR configured plane, face away from each other and where you would be playing footsie on VS, on BA there was a wardrobe. Spoilsports!!
The suites themselves were a tiny bit more roomy than the VS ones and were in pristine condition and all I could think of was that programme on BBC2 where someone was checking the new First suites on the A380 and found a scratch! I couldn’t see one.Once I had reached my suite, the cabin crew who would be looking after me was at my side. OMG, he was gorgeous!!
OK, so I am in the latter years of my life, but just because there’s snow on the roof, it doesn’t mean there isn’t fire below! He was Spanish and with an accent that caressed you and he could caress me any time he liked. Henceforth I shall call him Jose (not his real name) Jose asked me if he could get me anything and (suppressing the desire to say “You”!! 
) I requested and received champagne. I also requested a sleep suit which was duly delivered along with a sleep mask and ear plugs. I was in heaven! I wouldn’t have minded a top-up but although they were offered on the opposite side of the cabin, they didn’t come to our side. Tsk! I deserved, nay needed one after all my trials earlier on! The cabin was full and as far as I could tell, they were all from North America. Behind me was a guy talking at the top of his voice to the couple in the middle seats about skiing! FFS, we were in the middle of a heatwave!
I was shivering just listening to them! I was to shiver to listen to other elements of the conversation. “Have you been to BC?” “No, where is it?” Huh?? “In Europe they have no borders” (Sorry sweetheart, there are. We have them because the UK didn’t sign up to Schengen. We would have but we couldn’t have a border between NI and the Republic again. And there are newer members who haven’t signed up yet) “You can ski into one country from another” “You mean you don’t have to carry passports?” (Depends, darling. Not that you’d be skiing into Ireland!!) Then came the skiing bragathon. “Have you tried St Moritz?” “What about Aspen?” “Upstate New York?” “Lake Tahoe?” At this stage, I was suffering from hypothermia! And what was more I was missing the announcements, especially from the flight deck because they were so loud. At one stage I looked at them with a frosty glare but it melted in the amount of ice in their conversation!Fortunately relief came with the announcement that the doors had closed and the showing of the safety video. Once that was over we were told that we could use tablets and smartphones in airline mode but that laptops must be powered off and stowed for take off.
I really appreciated using my iPad at this time but I really missed being able to recline during take-off as you can in UC. Once airborne, a hot towel and an amenity kit was delivered by one of the cabin crew and Omigod, was it an amenity kit! Aromatherapy Associates, no less! And a full (if rather bland bag) containing cotton pads, cleanser, moisturiser, eye serum, hand lotion, lip balm and deodorant. Included was a good quality toothbrush and a reasonably sized tube of toothpaste and a very elegant pen inscribed with the word First.but…..
…… with lemon not lime!!!!! *faints dead away*
Well I recovered enough to request another one and this time to ask for lime but it was not on board! Not on board? Not on board!! What kind of an airline doesn’t serve lime in a G&T? The bubble of happiness started to deflate like a leaky balloon. The warmed nuts served with it alleviated my distress a tad, but really!
During the drinks service, meal orders were taken and the CSM came around the First cabin. She had an iPad with her which she consulted as she approached each passenger and as she reached each one of us, shook hands and welcomed us aboard. She had a little chat with each of us and invited us to consult her if there were any concerns about the flight or if we needed any assistance. Part of me thought it was a tad OTT but also it was very nice. I wanted to ask for a lime for my G&T but as we were somewhere over Scotland at the time, I really couldn’t see them diverting to GLA for her to nip out to the local supermarket for one.
Once she had left the cabin the meal service began. It must be said that I was asked if I wanted to dine straight away or wait and, given that it wasn’t that long since I had eaten in the Concorde Room, I should have said later. However, it never really occurs to me to do that but in the future I shall think on, as they say, if I ever fly in First again.
The menu:
STARTERS
Sea trout timbale
Meze plate of chick-pea, cumin and lentil salad, labneh cheese with beetroot, baba ghanoush, falafel and za’atar cheese croissant
A light cream soup of carrot and orange infused with star anise
Fresh seasonal salad with your choice of balsamic dressing with golden rapeseed oil or creamy grain mustard dressing
MAIN
British fillet of beef with herb crust, summer vegetables,
char-grilled fondant potatoes and a horseradish, dill and chive sauce
Lemon Cornish sole with saffron and pine nut sauce, vegetable tajin and couscous*
Breast of corn-fed chicken with English summer truffle
and tarragon sauce, samphire, wild mushrooms and baby carrots
Salad of seared tiger prawns in parsley and garlic butter with Mediterranean vegetables
BISTRO SELECTION
Thai vegetable curry with steamed Asian rice
Premium British beef burger with Monterey Jack cheese, gherkin, tomato and chunky chips
A selection of biscuits
A selection of cheese and fruit
DESSERT
Summer pudding with mascarpone cream
Warm lemon sponge with poached citrus fruit and vanilla custard
Ice cream sundae
Custom made to your preference of ice cream, sauces and toppings. Please ask your cabin crew for today’s choices.
CHEESE PLATE
REBLOCHON
Soft, unpasteurised, nutty-tasting cheese made from cow’s milk.
BLACKSTICKS BLUE
A soft, blue veined cheese with an outstanding creamy, smooth yet tangy flavour.
QUICKES FARMHOUSE CHEDDAR
A spicy, caramel-flavoured cheese with a buttery texture. This is a classic unpasteurised cheese.
MELUSINE
A French goat’s cheese with a distinct tart flavour.
Fresh fruit
Chocolates
AFTERNOON TEA
SNACKS
An individual selection of sandwiches featuring Loch Fyne smoked salmon with cream cheese, British free-range egg mayonnaise with baby rocket, Norfolk turkey with onion and plum chutney
Red onion and goat’s cheese savoury Danish pastry
PÂTISSERIE
Plain or fruit scones served warm with clotted cream and strawberry preserves
Victoria sponge, salted caramel and chocolate cadeaux and pecan blondie
For starters I chose the sea trout and , trying to get away from my habit of choosing the beef (and the fact I had had a burger), I chose the prawns. Jose placed a dish in front of me which was delightful but, if it were sea trout then the said fish must have either never left the sea or else has swum away as not one morsel of trout was to be tasted. However in the fulness of time, Jose placed another dish in front of me and I realised that what I had tasted was an amuse bouche. The sea trout timbale was delicious - lovely and light and with it I had a lovely sauvignon blanc.
While this was happening I had fired up the auld IFE. The controls were not that dissimilar to some of the VS systems but were a tad more responsive. I have to say though, that the screen was stowed at an angle which made it hard to remove from its casing and I had to get the estimable Jose to do it for me ( well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!!) I looked at the film choices and in fairness, VS have a far more eclectic choice. What didn’t help was that the films were under headings like Classics, Recent Films and Children’s (or something like that) and it took me ages to find something to watch. I chose The Stag which is an Irish film (and one of the actors is Amy Huberman, married to the rugby player Brian O’Driscoll and Ireland’s answer to Posh and Becks, although both have a considerably more brain cells than P&B and BOD doesn’t have a squeaky voice). It was hilarious - a real laugh-out-loud film and I had to pause it otherwise I would have sprayed the screen - and indeed the whole suite - with my dinner. Once the meal was over, I resumed watching it trying all the time not to scream out with laughter when I realised that the guy sitting in one of the centre seats was highly amused at my contortions. I winked over at him and he winked back (such shenanigans, but my heart belonged to Jose!)
When that was over, I decided that 40 winks were in order. After all I had been up since 5am and at this stage it was probably midnight UK (and Irish) time. So without further ado I pressed the buttons that flattened the seat into a bed, paid one last visit to the loo (which was and remained both spotless and dry throughout the journey) and curled up under the rather skimpy blanket that had been on the footstool. I did manage to sleep but not for very long as when I awoke we were still over the Hudson Bay which is unusual as usually I awake somewhere over the prairie provinces (and that’s with flights that are some time earlier than this flight which was the latest one I had ever taken to the west coast of America) Not only that I was freezing!! To the extent that my teeth were chattering!! And, truth to tell, I had never really felt warm once I had snuggled down. I decided to visit the loo (not that that was had wakened me) and as I went through the cabin, I noticed that everyone was snuggled under duvets as well as the skimpy blanket. Tsk! If only I had not been so self sufficient and waited for Jose to tuck me up! Incidentally, Jose was nowhere to be seen in the galley. Obviously he had gone for a well-earned rest. I hope he was warmer than I was!
Once back in my seat, I retrieved a cardie I had in my carry-on for such emergencies and tried to warm up as best I could. How I missed the overheating of the VS cabins. However the fact that the sleep suits were made of cotton rather than a polyester mix made sure that they were comfortable to wear, especially with an elasticated waist. I watched a couple of TV programmes and then reverted to my iPad. The crew never came next or near me to see if I wanted anything and as the flight progressed I was beginning to think a cup of tea would be welcome. OK, so I know that I could have used the call button but to be honest I wasn’t that desperate and in any case I thought that the second meal service would be due soon. Eventually and much later than expected, Jose arrived to set up the table and I chose the sandwiches and the scone. I’d say they were no different than the offering on VS and had probably come from the same caterers but what I did like was that we were served individual pots of freshly brewed tea. They were lovely but alas there was no way I could sneak one inside my carry-on! The sandwiches were OK; not stale and a tad cold from having been chilled (or else it was the cabin temperature ).
The scone was fine too - nothing special but at that stage I was more tired than hungry. After all it was getting on for 2am UK time.
Eventually we began our descent into LAS. The cabin was secured, IFE turned off although, unlike VS they didn’t take back the headphones. We could still use our iPads and I was engrossed in something when the CSM fetched up beside me. She thanked me for flying BA, hoped I had had a good flight then shook hands with me and wished me a pleasant stay in LAS (having previously ascertained it was my destination) - a very nice and unexpected touch.
Soon we touched down into a fairly quiet LAS and had a long taxi to the gate next to which English Rose was waiting to take people back to Manchester on what was a severely delayed flight. Passengers in First were left off ahead of the rest and a lady from the K side of the cabin (who I’m not even sure was in First) managed to barge her way to the front. I really could think why as all fourteen of us were going to be let off before anyone else. The walk to Immigration was a long enough one but one guy insisted on sprinting ahead even though he had been one of the fourteen! The hall, when we reached it was deserted and there were three desks open for non-USA passengers. I was fourth into the hall and after playing a quick game of Eeny-meeny-miny-mo went into the middle one, behind the middle-aged lady who had barged forward. “Ah, well” thought I, “She won’t be too long” On my right there was a couple from First who seemed to be getting the third degree and on my left and gentleman who seemed to be in difficulties. It got to the point where the lady was having her fingerprints taken and I began to square up, realising she was coming to the end of her interview, when all of a sudden she straightened up and waved to someone and from the back of the queue, a young man arrived, her son. I was a tad annoyed but on both sides of me no-one was moving so I wasn’t too pushed at that stage. However to my right the line started moving quite quickly but on my left, the computer of the gentleman who was first there seemed to have crashed and he was sent to my line ahead of me. Cue rumblings from behind me and I turned and threw up my eyes to heaven and those standing there did likewise. Fortunately just before the young man was processed the computer on the left decided to behave anand the man was called back and as the young man in front of me seemed to be finished, I picked up my bags ready to go. Hmm! Wishful thinking! Instead of moving on the lady craned her neck once more, scanning the crowds while we waited and waited and the crowds on either side were moving reasonably quickly. Finally she waved frantically and not one but SIX family members arrived to the head of the line to join her. To say I was like an anti-Christ is the understatement of the year. I was fuming! No wonder she had barged her way to the head of line to leave the aircraft but I thought it was highly inconsiderate and extremely bad manners on her part - and a lot more other things beside. Others obviously felt the same judging by the howls of protest but we were powerless to do anything about it. Eventually they were processed and I approached the desk to the nicest Immigration Officer I have ever had in all my times visiting the US. He was young and friendly and if anyone can remember CHiPS on television, he looked like the darker of the two guys. He welcomed me by name, having glanced at my passport obviously, asked me if I enjoyed my flight and how was I doing. I replied I was fine until the six members of the family had crashed the line and kept us all waiting. He acknowledged that they had held things up but said they were members of the same family. I however said that they were all adults and could easily have gone through on their own and this was blatant queue-jumping. However there was little more that I could say or do since he had allowed it to happen. Having said that, he was extremely friendly and pleasant, chatting to me the whole time he was efficiently processing me and at no time did he make me feel uncomfortable as some of them do, about my reasons for entering the country. Some of them seem to think that being on holiday is a code for subverting the US government! Finally, finally I was allowed through and was also greeted pleasantly by Customs. If I had seen that lady in the baggage hall I would have given her a piece of my mind but to be honest, I didn’t look too hard and in any case the bags were coming through. Mine came out pretty quickly and soon I was out into the sweltering heat of a Las Vegas night and to the long trek from International Arrivals in T3 to the taxi rank. I thought at one stage I was going to end up on the Strip! However, I was quickly whisked away to the hotel, where as a reward for my troubles I was upgraded to a room overlooking the Bellagio and its fountains - and bloody noisy they are too when they have their big WHOOSH! in the air! Miserable so-and-so, aren’t I?
So what did I think of BA First? Well I wasn’t blown away with it like Concorde was in his TR. I must say, I did like the suite eventually once I got over not being able to look out of the window - otherwise it was good, roomy - and spotless. As were the loos. The food was good but not as special as I thought it would be. The amenity kit was super and the sleep suits a lot more comfortable than the VS ones. It was a good flight, a very good flight but I have to say in all honesty, I have had many flights just as good, if not better in Upper on VS. Basically, it comes down to the crew and although Jose was excellent I can think of crew on VS who would have surpassed him. The CSM visiting each passenger was a very nice touch on one level but on another a bit formulaic, especially as they were the only times we saw her. Would I fly BA First again? Yes, I would if the price was right and that was the driving factor on this flight.
not any orange mind you a Spanish navel orange!