British Airways First Class 777 – BEN SAYS: Despite great flights by British Airways standards, the airline can’t compete with rivals in first class.
While I have flown British Airways first class many times before, there were a few things that made my flight from London to Boston unique:
British Airways First Class 777
We booked this using British Airways Avios – it cost 100,000 Avios per person, plus $341 in taxes, fees, and carrier-imposed surcharges.
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While British Airways is known for their steepsurcharges, they vary greatly depending on where you originate, and this is among the lowest transatlantic fuel surcharges I have ever seen for travel in British Airways first class.
While 100,000 Avios is a lot, in fact I transferred more Avios from Amex last year with a 40% bonus, so I actually paid 72,000 Amex points per person, which I don’t think is too bad.
Our stopover at Heathrow was supposed to be more than four hours, but due to the delay it ended up being about two hours instead. That’s still a lot of time, and I’m glad we didn’t plan a shorter search.
We arrived and departed from Terminal 5, so the transit process was easy. The security line was not bad, and we were airside once again in about 20 minutes, which is very fast by Heathrow standards.
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We went to the British Airways Concorde Room for an hour. I’ve reviewed this lounge extensively, so I won’t do it again, other than to point out two things that are important to me:
Anyway, boarding was scheduled to start at 6:55 PM at gate B45, so we got there around 6:40 PM. It is necessary to take the train to concourse “B”.
I had “SSSS” on my boarding pass, so I had to undergo additional screening. This is the way it works at Heathrow, they actually let you through the boarding gate, and then you are asked to take a seat. Then once boarding begins they search your belongings. So while I tried to be the first on board to take a picture, I couldn’t do it this time, because I was being searched.
I boarded through the second door on the left, where I was greeted by the customer service manager, and escorted by another flight attendant into the first class cabin. It was my first time flying British Airways’ 777 first class, and I was surprised by how much I liked the cabin.
British Airways 777 First Class Overview
There are 14 first class seats in total – there are four seats on each side along the window, and then three pairs of seats in the middle. The cabin feels spacious and I like how it takes up all the space between doors one and two, so it feels like it has great privacy.
I have given us two middle seats in the second row. This is by no means a sophisticated first class seat, although it is nice to be able to sit with your travel companion and communicate easily. This is especially true after we flew ANA first class a few months ago, where the middle seat was designed in such a way that you basically couldn’t communicate with others.
If you are traveling alone then you will definitely want to choose one of the single seats, facing the window. British Airways has blinds that can be lowered automatically with the push of a button, which is a nice touch. While the seats are not cutting edge, British Airways has done a good job with mood lighting and ambiance.
On my chair is an ottoman, which can double as a buddy chair, if you want to eat with someone face to face. Personal television folded out of the middle, and must be stored for takeoff and landing (meaning you can not watch anything during the flight phase).
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I find the placement of the outlet in the seat a bit annoying, because I can’t access it while sitting down. Rather it’s on the Ottoman side, so you basically have to get on your knees to plug anything in. While taking this picture I also noticed just how bad British Airways cleaning the plane is.
While I appreciated the privacy blinds between the seats, the picture below shows the extent to which these can be retracted. It says you can have full privacy, but there is no way to actually put them all back, so that the space between the seats is open. I’m not sure why they don’t have that.
A glossy tray table folds out from the right side of the chair. It’s massive when fully extended, though you can also fold it in half.
The seat controls are really easy to use, because they are on the right side of the seat. There is a button that you can use to recline your seat or put it back, which I really like (when the light around it is green, then you want to take off and land). You can also control the light from here.
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You can tell just how old school this 777-200 is based on the entertainment controller, located on the right back of the seat. This is also where the USB outlet is.
Lastly, along the outside of the seat is a small closet where you can hang a jacket, or something similar.
While this seat does not have great privacy, I will note that at least the seat is staggered a bit, so you are never seated directly next to someone across the row.
Waiting at my seat when the boarding house had several beds, including two pillows and a blanket for the day. While I wouldn’t call this bedding cutting edge, it’s better than the flat-as-a-pancake pillows that British Airways previously had in every seat during boarding.
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A few minutes after settling in, the flight attendant in charge of me came over to introduce herself. The flight is operated as one of British Airways’ mixed fleet crew, which is a lower paid flight attendant. There is a lot of turnover with these flight attendants, although they are generally enthusiastic and well-intentioned. That is also the case here.
First I was asked if I wanted a drink. I ordered a glass of champagne (British Airways serves Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle, which I really like).
British Airways greatly improved their glasses, cutlery, and food, and I immediately noticed that. I love their new champagne flute, and also like that they now serve warm towels in little trays, instead of handing them directly to you.
Next I was offered pajamas. British Airways changed its pajamas recently. British Airways now has pajamas from British fashion brand Temperley London. I thought the pajamas were pretty good, although frankly I also like the old British Airways’ pajamas.
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Then I was offered a very well filled amenity kit, with products from Elemis. Although Elemis isn’t my favorite brand out there, I think it’s a great kit.
Interestingly slippers seem to only be available if needed (or at least that was the case on this flight). British Airways’ new sandals are also great – durable and comfortable.
At 19:45 it was announced that boarding was over, at which point the first officer came to PA to add a welcome aboard, and inform us of the 6 hour 50 minute flight time to Boston. He told us we would be climbing at 36,000 feet, and should be on time.
A few minutes later the doors were closed (with 13 of the 14 first class seats taken), at which point the customer service manager made a welcome announcement.
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At 19:55 we started the pushback, where the security video was shown. The British Airways safety video is pretty funny the first or second time you watch it, but after that it gets a bit…
As we boarded out I went through British Airways’ entertainment options. This flight has British Airways’ oldest entertainment system. When the option is correct, I find the screen to be of low quality. British Airways has updated the screens on some planes, though not on this one, I think.
British Airways offers Wi-Fi on most long-haul aircraft today, including this one. They have two speed options, and three packages for each.
Then for the “Stream” package (designed for fast web browsing and video streaming), the price is as follows:
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I ended up buying the “Stream” package for the entire flight. While it’s not cheap, the speeds are very good, and it’s nice to have no data caps.
The seat belt sign was turned off just five minutes after takeoff. A few minutes later the customer service manager came through the cabin to welcome every passenger onboard. The service started quite quickly after that. The menu reads as follows:
Just 20 minutes after take off, I was offered my first drink and canapés. I love it when airlines give you your first drink as soon as you take off. British Airways has completely redesigned their first class meal service, and I’m very impressed.
I love the new glasses (as mentioned above), and also love the way the canapés are displayed. I had another glass of champagne, then
