Brilliant, informative vid with excellent British humour. I particularly liked the expression on your face when showing how attractive the "sleep suit" was!
I'm glad you brought up, and can confirm (around 13:40) that the new Club Suite product compares favorably to this older gen First. I've not had the pleasure of flying first, but have poked my head in the front cabin for a look: it appears to be identical in layout and seat functionality between Club and First now, with a different material choice on the seats. I'm a bit disappointed its not more 'special' but the club suite is fantastic to start with *much better than the previous gen still in service on many routes* so I'm struggling to make the case to fly First, when CS is available.
Cheers Martin. BA did spruce up the F seat on planes with the new club suites, although that amounted to adding a door to the seat and not a lot else... Flying the Club Suite in November and I'm keen to be able to directly compare the F and new C seats after that...
Great video Matt, really had a laugh with the cemetery called Heathrow. Totally agree with you about how special First really is. To me (and I admit being a very loyal BA customer), BA is “wonderfully adequate every time”.
Was in CCR on Friday and received an afternoon tea within 10 minutes of arrival. You don't need to be specifically seated in the sectioned off area to order from the full menu. If in a hurry the high seats outside the sectioned off seating are the best option for rapid service given its location next to the entrance of the dining area and between that and the bar. Means you can get someone's attention very quickly and easily. Achieved GGL in May due to the tier points reduction on until December. Only took 4 admittedly complex long hauls (up to 8 flights) and several European business class flights. Already have my flights booked for the renewal in the 4 months I have from tier point year end until end of year. 2250 for the renewal is very doable.
Cheers - I have to say the staff were not very accommodating.... It's probably 12 years since I was last in the CCR so was a little rusty as to the best way to maximise the experience and the staff did very, very little to help reacquaint me with the place... I have thought about shooting for GGL but even with the qualification reductions its a lot of travelling and I am now trying to mix up the airline experiences to make a wider range of videos for the channel... Thanks for the comment and happy trails!
@@MattsPlanet Makes sense I look forward to the future content. Do you have ridiculously large Avíos balance or will you be having to save up again after this and Qatar?
Enjoyed watching this, having flown from LHR to EWR in F last Saturday, enjoyed the same food onboard, though with some more time in the lounge pre-flight and some fantastic crew (= lots of LPGS) also ended up sleeping more than planned. The fantastic on board service really made it for me. Definitely the best flight I’ve had.
Thanks Ed. Seems a shame to sleep on an F flight but I just couldn't help it!! That was a hefty glass of rum too.... Good to see BA recovering some form!
Great video! I had a very similar experience flying BA 1st from LHR-JFK in June this year. The concord lounge was extremely busy and we struggled to find seating, which was a disappointment. The flight was great and allowed me to tick off something from the bucket list too. Our route started in Helsinki (thanks for the tip!), so we saved a fortune versus kicking off in London. I’m glad we did it, but unlikely to do it again based on more luxurious cabins on other carriers. Keep up the great content!
Thanks Graeme. Certainly something to experience at least once but also a bit disappointing if you compare it to others... Would love to do the La Premiere on Air France but my points haul needs some work before its realistic!
Thanks for this excellent insight, Matt. We're treating ourselves to a one-off 1st class bucket list this September (Heathrow to Atlanta on BA, visiting relatives). There was a sale on a month ago, though the airport tax etc doubled the 'advertised' fare. We've never been above economy before. We fly from Glasgow to Heathrow then onto Atlanta. There's a 2hr 10min stop over at Heathrow (land at T5, Atlanta plane at T3). Fortunately, our cases will have been booked in and loaded in Glasgow, so only hand luggage to carry at Heathrow. Not knowing the layout of Heathrow, can you recomment the best use of the 2hr 10min stop over time here (the Atlanta plane boarding over at T3 "starts 60min before departure"). Enough time for meal in Concorde room? better to get over to T3 first and use the Galeries rooms? I don't know what kind, how fast, and how frequent the T5 to T3 airport transport option/s are.
Sadly the Concorde Room won't be an option as you'll not be airside in T5. Sorry if that's a disappointment but there is a mini-concorde area tucked away at the back of the BA First Lounge in T3 that's some compensation. There's two options.... The first is to use flight connections on arrival into T5 which will take you around to T3... That can be a pain and can take a while so as you're arriving domestically I'd recommend exiting as if you're heading into London then take the Elizabeth line across to T3. Or the tube, but the Lizzie line is probably quicker - both are free for intra-airport trips. Then go through security as normal - the fast track isn't usually that bad and they have the new scanners so you don't need to take stuff out of your bag... Then head for the lounges - check out my T3 lounge crawl video as I visited the 7 you'll have access to as a F passenger.
@@MattsPlanet Huge thanks for the advice here. I didn't realise that the lounges in T3 and T5 are restricted to departing at these terminals only. I've just checked your excellent lounge crawl video, which helps greatly with some nice options. Big thanks for the inter terminal travel tips. Cheers.
As a new subscriber I love the content, I've never flown first class with any airline so do enjoy looking at other people's views and opinions. It seems from many videos I've seen that the ba seat surrounding are getting very much overtaken by much of the competition. Great report 👏
Thanks Stephen. BA is certainly facing some challenges! This was the oldest version of the first class seat, although the updated versions haven't exactly been giant leaps forward...
You are more than welcome. I enjoyed it - and I think most people would too, unless they read "First Class" and expect a Singapore Airlines experience....
Well done Matt, you are now pushing the boat out now with your up a class move to first, lucky you on getting this with Avios have tried a few times but no luck so will just have to sit one back . Good to see BA doing a really good job of the service you got on the flight, after all the bad press they have been getting lately this gives the traveller some hope on there flights in the future.
Thanks Peter. JFK and BOS seem to have decent F availability so it wasn't too tricky to find a seat - looking for just 1 seat helped! BA has a lot of issues still, but quite a lot of what is going wrong right now comes from the airports rather than from BA. And the experience on the plane was really quite good....
Flying out of SFO back to LHR/MAN a couple times a year I use Abios to book CW and pay $600-$900 at the gate for an upgrade to F. I check availability on the app and have only missed once.
The best way to eat very strong or blue cheeses is with a good quality honey. It really makes a massive difference. My Italian friends taught me this, it’s not something I learned in hotel school unfortunately.
I'm not a big fan of food that needs to be covered with another food to make it edible... Another example being brussels sprouts which need to be wrapped in bacon to make them edible...
Hi Matt, New to your channel, looking forward to seeing your other reviews. As for BA and their service, they have a long, long way to go before I step on board again. Kind regards DS
We're flying 1st class on BA from Mexico City to LHR in August. I can't wait! We won't get to go to the Concorde Room unfortunately but still excited! From your video it doesn't look much different than Business class though.
Thanks Tiffany. MEX - LHR is long enough for a decent feed and a decent sleep so it should be a good flight! It is definitely a step up from BA's business class on that route at least!
BA should make their seats a little bit more modular, allowing them to replace the TV, or adding modern charging ports, halfway through the lifespan of the seat. Having modularity, allows them to do small cabin refreshes, without having to rip everything out.
I'd love to know how long they expect a new seat to be in place for when it launches... Prepared to wager that they end up being in place for a lot longer than they plan...
@@MattsPlanet I believe it's 7-10 years. However, some aircraft that have been listed for retirement will not get any cabin refreshes. BA was using old 767s for years, and I think the Club seats were the cradles or the first gen fully flat beds, despite BA being on their second or third gen Club World seat, as they were planning to retire the 767s.
We are booked BA First on Aug 31, were leaving in March but since Putin decided start a war , we rescheduled. It's A380 which is new to us having only flown on their 747 400s I did notice your seat looked exactly like the ones on the retro BOAC 747 we flew on in 2019. Very much enjoyed your video. Cheers
Thanks Michelle. This was the oldest iteration of the F seat from 2010 - I gather you can tell them apart by the location of the lamp - if it's on the central panel its the 2015 version and if the seat has a door its the 2020 version. The A380 has the same older configuration as the seat I flew. Still quite good though!
@@MattsPlanet Although the seat is very similar, the personal space on the A380 in F is significantly more, particularly at the feet end. Having said that, the loos on the A380 in F are little more than portaloos perched in the cabin almost as a afterthought, and are not spacious at all, making changing into jammies a challenge for some. Sneaking upstairs to the Club loos affords much more space for changing, but those loos are disappointingly sparse and utilitarian: a missed opportunity IMHO. I will miss the 747 1A/1K seats, although if you thought the 777 ottoman seat was tight, you'd come out shaped like a Toblerone on a 747.
i have to go to england. my mom lived there for 19 years and then moved to zimbabwe (my home country) i know we wouldnt have survived there but it would have been amazing.
great review Matt, gives me confidence for my LHR-SIN 1st redemption in October, will be arriving on the train from Paddington so should max my lounge time, wonder how early i could check in ? Good to see the menu and wine list .. can never resist a JWBL : )
Thanks Charlie. F to SIN is a good redemption - well done!!! BA will check you in whenever you get there - its the home airport so there's none of this nonsense about opening desks 2 hours before departure. Getting there at 9am for a 10pm flight might be excessive, but don't worry too much about getting there 4 hours early. Or 5... Or 6!!!
@@MattsPlanet I was surprised to snag it, phoned up to book as had a Covid ‘voucher’ to redeem. Have done the Concorde room a couple of times, I like the bar and balcony areas not keen on the dining area, bit claustrophobic and dingy imo. I think I could cope with a leisurely 4 hour check in … haha Maximise sleep on the flight, Champagne breakfast of course.
(Wrote this before watching the whole vid) I am wrong in saying that the seat isn’t much better than business on Qatar/JAL/Lufthansa/AirAstana but just with some nicer food? BTW, if you ever have a chance, fly Air Astana - partially British owned/run airline and my favourite A320 business cabin - new aircraft, excellent service, they do status matching. Much cheaper if booked via Turkish or Lufthansa.
The lack of a foot cubby differentiates First from Business in my eyes, so this is definitely a First class seat!!! And I did a domestic economy leg on Air Astana about 10 years ago and it was quite good - I try not to fly airlines which aren't in Alliances but might make an exception there!
That certainly looked like a very nice flight with excellent food and certainly not stingy with the booze! There must be some explanation why turbulence always starts when the food arrives. 🤔
Thanks Les - I enjoyed it! Nice to make a positive video about BA for once... The turbulence / eating coalignment seems to affect other TH-camrs too so I'm sure its a thing!
Recently I connected through Heathrow Terminal 5 from a UK domestic flight to a European flight and simply went right into the building. No checks, no security, onto the next flight. Could have literally connected in 4 minutes from getting off the plane. What is their criteria for who needs to go through security?
A domestic arrival is much easier - all the airports trust everyone else's scanners. They don't trust overseas security so you have to do it again on arrival
Loved the intro 👌 😍 ❤️ 👏 I have empathy regarding Concord lounge. That sucked. I still get excited for the Concord seats in the conference room. Our 3xflights all canceled. Now gave up. Hope to visit London for Christmas. Should we 🙏 🤔 💭 🤔
Ah - understand... What your seeing in the media is the minority of flights and most trips go ahead without disruption and with minimal delay, but that minority is larger right now than it is usually... You'll not be the only ones deciding to hold off... I don't usually travel during school holidays myself but I'm even less inclined to this year.
Thank you for such a great report. The comment about BA's First being the world's best Business has always resonated with me. Their offering is obviously way behind the usual Middle and Far East suspects and, as you say, BA don't even appear to try to compete with them. A far closer comparison would be with Qatar's and Singapore's Business - it would be a touch choice between them, although BA's cost may not help their cause
Awesome review and bravo on the Ex-EU routing savings 👍🏻 btw have you ever considered using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for BA metal awards? From what I've seen Asia Miles can cut down on the surcharges quite significantly compared to Avios points...
Thanks MattNav. Cracking name, by the way... A little jealous of it, tbh... The Cathay tip is an interesting one although I usually accumulate my avios straight into BA so diverting them into an Asia Miles account would be quite tricky... I'll have covered just about all BA classes soon so will probably spend my avios on OneWorld redemptions outside the UK where the taxes and fees are much more reasonable.
@@MattsPlanet the idea isn't so much as diverting your BA crediting strategy but rather that Asia Miles are a transfer partner of AMEX UK membership rewards points if you catch my drift
@@MattNav Absolutely but my Amex is the one linked to BA for the twofer so you don't get a choice of where to point your rewards points... I was tempted to drop the card but now the twofer can be used by a solo traveller I'm inclined to stick with it for another year...
@@MattsPlanet why not have both a BA AMEX and say the AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold? First year annual fee is waived and it is really key to also have a card that earns a flexible points currency that can be transferred to multiple different airline and hotel programs so that you aren't locked into BA's program. Just a friendly suggestion 🙂
@@MattNav Absolutely but I really don't spend that much money to be honest! I'm chasing a £10k spend for the Amex twofer, I'm also chasing down a Virgin upgrade coupon and I'm eyeing the Barclays Avios card bonus too.... Another Amex may bankrupt me!!!
I really do wonder about LHR cancelling flights. Are they short staffed? What happened for them to jump to the conclusion that they needed to have flights into the airport cancelled in order for them to cope? I just heard about it but I did not pay it very much mind. On the bright side, looks like British has finally made their more expensive cabins more worth the money one pays for them.
Cheers BP. It is a bit odd - 30 flights cancelled but I reckon the airport would still have handled 90% of the passengers as they'd all get crammed onto the flights that were still operating. So a reduction in aircraft movements but not necessarily a reduction in passengers doesn't make a lot of sense... I'll talk about it in the video about the inbound flight but we also had to wait 40 minutes for a gate to open up, which is ridiculous at any time but even more so as LHR cut aircraft movements to ensure they could handle the volumes! But well done to BA for a good experience once I made it onto the plane.
I’m transiting through Heathrow airport next week while travelling business class with BA and I need your advice. Im going Glasgow -> Heathrow -> New York. Should I: A) Transit normally. B) Leave the airport and enter back through normal security using my priority security. Also, what Galleries lounge is the best - North or South? Thank you for your help.
Cheers Daniel. Most times for a domestic arrival its advisable to exit and go back through "normal" security... Its a really long walk from the domestic arrival gates all the way back round to the transit security... But these aren't normal times... If you can, I'd check social media on the morning of travel to see if any horrors are being reported at Heathrow's security. You have to clear security either way so it will always be a gamble but I would go landside and come back in if I were making that trip... As for a lounge - my answer is neither. Head for the Galleries lounge at T5's B gates - much quieter and thus more pleasant with the same offering. 99% of the time you'll depart from B or C to New York so its a great option. Cheers!
@@MattsPlanet this is absolutely wrong. For a domestic arrival and connecting on to another T5 flight if you follow the connections route you just have a boarding pass check and no security. You would be badly advised to go landside since you have to then have a security check to get back airside which you could have avoided.
Well saute my giblets, Alexis is right. And I've learned something... If you've already passed UK security you won't be rescreened at LHR - provided you're transferring within the same terminal. I flew in from Dublin (which is not the UK) so had to go through security again, but you won't from GLA. T5B is still the place to head though!!!
@@AlexisKarfopoulos Thanks Alexis - you are quite correct. Never done a UK - Int connection within the same terminal before... Always good to learn something new everyday and I've learned something nice and early today!
I connected in from Dublin to London and will show that experience in a few weeks - a few odd things happened that I need to chase up before that video will make much sense... Is that what you meant? I flew from London to Dublin a day earlier on Ryanair...
@@LotsofJohnsStuff I had planned to go out and back on the same day but as things started to get cancelled I took advantage of a rebooking and stayed in Dublin overnight. Couple of Guinnesses in Temple Bar went down pretty well actually!
Great video Matt - although I thought I'd made a "grave" mistake and clicked on the wrong video to begin with when I saw the location of your intro! It's such a shame that you were denied any meaningful time in the CCR at Heathrow on the way out - 25 minutes simply isn't enough, and while it wasn't entirely BA's fault in this instance (with Heathrow demanding a reduction in the number of flights that day), I always view the lounge (when it's one I wouldn't normally have access to) as part of the enjoyment of the overall experience. Have you contacted BA for any sort of service recovery for this, or just chalking it up to experience? Nice to see the service and food onboard was up to scratch (other than not being woken for the second meal) - this echos my own recent experience in April with BA First coming back from JFK - the best flight i've had in my life (so far, at least). I liked the seat, but I wasnt a fan of the lack of adjustability. You commented on the inability to separately adjust the footrest, and I think that's a real shortcoming in the design - Its the one feature I tend to use most when flying long-haul. I also kept catching the controls with my arm (albeit i was on the 777 and they seemed to be a bit closer for me), but overall a good a confortable seat to spend a few hours in. Looking forward to your Qsuites video when that comes out!
Cheers mate. The connecting inbound flight had some issues which throttled the time in the CCR - not helped by having to wait 35 mins for the special Dublin gate to open up so I will be in touch with BA. Actually quite annoyed they haven't proactively contacted me as I asked them to.... I think the Q Suite video will be the next one though...
Hi Matt--------BA First has never really 'graabed ' me--------14 Seats[although now being reduced to 8 which i think is about right] poor ground service compared with most other carriers---------and i absolutely agree with the person who said that it is " just a good Business class"----------BA First Class was great on Tridents FOURTY years ago!!! but not now. I think if we were given the choice of 3 classes on european flights it would work------- i know that there IS a market for First in Europe.
Odd crossing out! I read on one of the online forums that a GGL heavyweight met with a senior BA rep who explained that their First isn't even trying to compete with other airlines' First products... We can see it doesn't, but having BA admit it is fascinating!
Just flew BA business to Dalaman return and had some screaming 2 Yr old on the seat in front both ways. I promised myself I will never fly BA business again.(short haul) I flew Qatar business in 2019 and it was amazing, much like your 1st class BA experience if I'm honest.
A one liner comes to mind about placating the kid with the yorkie bar you inevitably carry in your shirt pocket, but I'll leave that one alone.... One advantage of my "moderate to severe" hearing loss is I can just take my hearing aids out in situations like that!!! Qatar review coming up next week...
I think I would never fly on first if I had the money. Club World yes but not first. A friend of mine flew on business 1st class and Business class with Lufthansa and Star Alliance membrs. For me there's no big difference between 1st class and Business class.
I think Lufty does make more of an effort in F with their service, although their seats are a little dated... New seats coming in a year or two though....
By H4P's "quick" valuation at 1000 Avios = £10, you were £185 better off (avios/taxes) by flying from Dublin. However, I must ask, how much was it for you to transit from dublin / stay in Dublin etc? Just curious!
No worries! I paid about £30 for a Ryanair flight to position across, then around £90 for a hotel for the night. So I was still a little bit better off, but I also got a night in Dublin which is always fun! I could probably have scheduled things to arrive in Dublin that morning but its an approach that's not without risk!
@@GG-hi5if Yes... Probably 5% of my avios comes from actually flying so I don't expect it to make a huge difference... If they changed TPs to a cash basis that would be a game changer... I'd need to study it more closely but I don't think this is a devaluation - its more of a throttling of the earning rates. H4P had a brilliant analysis of why this is a stupid thing for IAG to do, but IAG do stupid things quite regularly so I doubt reason and solid analysis is going to make them change their minds...
@@MattsPlanet if BA go like Air Canada, where you need minimum spend for status; that would be the end of my membership in BAEC. This is just moderately frustrating.
@@GG-hi5if 100%. No suggestion that they're tinkering with redemptions or status earning, but they would be the next aspect to attack once these earning changes have gone through...
Does the price of BA First reflect the uncompetitive quality versus their rivals? BA are solid and reliable, but their premium product is poor against most of their competitors.
That's an excellent question! There's certainly a premium price, and many would argue that even if the f&b isn't competitive, the style and attitude of the service is very British so is unmatched by others if that's your sort of thing... But I've rarely fly in F as it is so expensive, and would never pay the full rate for an F ticket so don't really track the pricing... Had a quick look at F to Dubai on a random date in February and BA was around half the cost of Emirates, so I think you can conclude from that small sample that BA recognises it is offering a different F experience so isn't competing... Swiss was c. 10% cheaper than BA albeit with an intermediate stop... Quite interesting - thanks!
Another great video review Matt. Even though you saved a chunk of taxes by going from Dublin, I guess in this instance based on your DUB-LHR flight experience you probably regretted it! Did you risk flying out to Dublin on the same day or did you stay there the night before also? And did you also have to return to Dublin at the end of the trip also?
Thanks Tony. I'd originally planned on going in and out of Dublin the same day but the first cancellation inspired me to have a night in Dublin... A few pints in Temple Bar worked out quite well.... This trip was a series of one-ways so I didn't need to return. I actually flew LGW - DUB on Ryanair to kick this off although I didn't film the experience... Then my Doha to London flight brought me back to LGW.
I enjoy watching your videos, especially your positive attitude despite the below average BA product . I’m wondering is it worth the hassle to go on the tier run to get that Silver or Gold Executive Club Membership? There are other airlines offering much better products and experience.. but I guess for us Brits, that’s the only thing on offer 🤷🏻♂️
Cheers V C. Everyone will have a different view on whether status is worthwhile. If you travel regularly in economy, then having status can really pay off. If you enjoy the travel required to achieve the status, then its win-win...
@@MattsPlanet its just a wonder to me how often they get bad food reviews even after that. Because Turkish has NEVER failed me foodwise. Do&Co is literally saving us from having to eat the dogfood in the style of Lufthansa's offerings. I literally just recorded a trip with them where I joke that i was still scar'd for life, from a flight back in 2009, where the food was on a whole other level of inedible. So joke was that I would now buy food from a proper cafe in the airport and bring it with me, because I bet nothing had changed for 13 years... same route 13 years apart, FRA-MEX... and nothing had changed. My dog wouldve passed on that. If only ever LH could pick D&C. Miracles do happen!
@@madaboutsnooker147 Do and Co will only cater ex-LHR - worth noting whether the food complaint is ex-LHR or ex an outstation... The catering on my flight back from Miami was very poor...
Thanks Andy. It is what it is - there is a new version of F now the Club Suites is nipping at its heels which I gather is a little better but it's a long way behind Middle Eastern and Asia F products.
Even BA's First has to deal with their IT systems, cost cut systems and absence of functional customer facing ground services... #BestAvoided as competitors deliver superior reliability and match BA's few areas of excellence for far less
Excellent point which I now realise I didn't mention. A 777-300 - not the version with the new Club Suites behind, which I believe led to a slight upgrade in the First cabin.
I actually used Verifly and the USA did need proof of vaccination, but as it was done through the app I didn't need to physically show anything. Then the USA relies on the airlines having done their job.
@@MattsPlanet oh right I never heard of verifly I’ll have to check that out. What if you didn’t have verifly who is checking airline staff or USA border entry? Confusing
@@IWTBF Its the airline's responsibility to make sure passengers have the right documents for the destination country. If they don't, they'll be sent straight back and the airline has to pay the cost of repatriation so they usually can be relied on to get it right! Verif;y is an app that connects to BA to prove documents - not such a big deal these days as there's no testing for the US any more but it was quite a time saver when restrictions were tighter.
Maybe you’ll agree and I hope I’m wrong but this experience may become more rare if inflation and higher fossil fuel costs turn out to be structural . Almost universal in their bean counting talent cost cutting may be on the horizon .
BA has already whacked up the fees on flights - this is the revenue BA takes that they hide in "taxes and fees" even when you make a redemption. So cost increases are already showing up, and history will tell you that BA tends not to reduce these fees when costs fall so they may well end up being structurally baked in...
Cheers - its the same intro but I noticed it sounded a bit odd - it may be that the volume of the commentary leading up to it was higher than usual which made it sound odd??? Thanks for commenting!
I often laugh at people who take the time to tell a creator they are unsubbing from a channel for whatever reason. However, today I find myself in this position, having just witnessed one of the most abhorrent things I’ve seen on your (or any) channel - failing to finish that blue cheese was criminal. Unsubbing!!!11!! 😉🤣
The on-board experience was really quite good - not the world's best first experience but decent enough for BA! I've given BA some kickings in the past though....
Great video as always, Matt. Compares broadly with my experience in May LHR-JFK in BA F with the exception I remember being specifically asked if I wanted to be woken for the second service. I also buddy dined with my travel companion and find that at 5ft10 I still into the buddy seat fairly well. One question: how did you film in border control at Boston without being shouted at? 😀
Cheers. 4 foot 8 as a maximum height may have been a wee exaggeration but I'm 6' 4" and couldn't feel my legs after squeezing into the buddy seat when I flew with my Mum! I attach my camera to the shoulder strap of my bag so its black on black and is rarely noticed, especially from a distance. No-ore reads the comment so I'll share that I don't usually film borders as I don't like being shouted at, but I forgot to turn it off and I needed some footage to cover the commentary so decided to use it. But even then it wasn't enough, hence the squirrel footage... First Class for Free eh???
Love your videos, Matt. Wishing you are well and looking forward to future videos.
Thanks for watching! Lots more videos coming...
Brilliant, informative vid with excellent British humour. I particularly liked the expression on your face when showing how attractive the "sleep suit" was!
Thanks for watching!
I just love you reports Matt. Informative, chatty and very good dry humour. Bravo!
Thanks Charles!
@@MattsPlanet We did Qsuite to Adelaide and back in 2020. Enjoy !
I'm glad you brought up, and can confirm (around 13:40) that the new Club Suite product compares favorably to this older gen First. I've not had the pleasure of flying first, but have poked my head in the front cabin for a look: it appears to be identical in layout and seat functionality between Club and First now, with a different material choice on the seats. I'm a bit disappointed its not more 'special' but the club suite is fantastic to start with *much better than the previous gen still in service on many routes* so I'm struggling to make the case to fly First, when CS is available.
Cheers Martin. BA did spruce up the F seat on planes with the new club suites, although that amounted to adding a door to the seat and not a lot else... Flying the Club Suite in November and I'm keen to be able to directly compare the F and new C seats after that...
Great video Matt, really had a laugh with the cemetery called Heathrow. Totally agree with you about how special First really is. To me (and I admit being a very loyal BA customer), BA is “wonderfully adequate every time”.
Thanks Marco - nail on the head with that phrasing I think!
New subscriber.
Love your videos, Matt. Very informative and interesting.
Thanks and welcome!
Good video and I really enjoy your witty narrative. Never underestimate the importance of a good Cracker to Cheese Ratio!
The C2C ratio is often overlooked!!! Nothing worse than orphaned cheese at the end of a good platter...
Was in CCR on Friday and received an afternoon tea within 10 minutes of arrival. You don't need to be specifically seated in the sectioned off area to order from the full menu. If in a hurry the high seats outside the sectioned off seating are the best option for rapid service given its location next to the entrance of the dining area and between that and the bar. Means you can get someone's attention very quickly and easily.
Achieved GGL in May due to the tier points reduction on until December. Only took 4 admittedly complex long hauls (up to 8 flights) and several European business class flights.
Already have my flights booked for the renewal in the 4 months I have from tier point year end until end of year. 2250 for the renewal is very doable.
Cheers - I have to say the staff were not very accommodating.... It's probably 12 years since I was last in the CCR so was a little rusty as to the best way to maximise the experience and the staff did very, very little to help reacquaint me with the place... I have thought about shooting for GGL but even with the qualification reductions its a lot of travelling and I am now trying to mix up the airline experiences to make a wider range of videos for the channel... Thanks for the comment and happy trails!
@@MattsPlanet Makes sense I look forward to the future content. Do you have ridiculously large Avíos balance or will you be having to save up again after this and Qatar?
@@AcidJiles I had close to 500k which I've now largely burned through... A few left but horizons will be lowered until I can rebuild them!!!
Love the British humor in these reviews. I’m officially subscribed!
Thanks Sammy
Enjoyed watching this, having flown from LHR to EWR in F last Saturday, enjoyed the same food onboard, though with some more time in the lounge pre-flight and some fantastic crew (= lots of LPGS) also ended up sleeping more than planned. The fantastic on board service really made it for me. Definitely the best flight I’ve had.
Thanks Ed. Seems a shame to sleep on an F flight but I just couldn't help it!! That was a hefty glass of rum too.... Good to see BA recovering some form!
You got such a good voice, you should be doing audio books, love your stuff
Thanks! I am available if any agents are watching!!!
Great video!
I had a very similar experience flying BA 1st from LHR-JFK in June this year. The concord lounge was extremely busy and we struggled to find seating, which was a disappointment. The flight was great and allowed me to tick off something from the bucket list too. Our route started in Helsinki (thanks for the tip!), so we saved a fortune versus kicking off in London. I’m glad we did it, but unlikely to do it again based on more luxurious cabins on other carriers.
Keep up the great content!
Thanks Graeme. Certainly something to experience at least once but also a bit disappointing if you compare it to others... Would love to do the La Premiere on Air France but my points haul needs some work before its realistic!
@@MattsPlanet La Premiere is fantastic but if you dont speak French then the crew can be less than fully welcoming
This guy is awesome. He does a great job and taking you through the journey
Thanks! My mum agrees....
Thanks for this excellent insight, Matt.
We're treating ourselves to a one-off 1st class bucket list this September (Heathrow to Atlanta on BA, visiting relatives). There was a sale on a month ago, though the airport tax etc doubled the 'advertised' fare. We've never been above economy before. We fly from Glasgow to Heathrow then onto Atlanta. There's a 2hr 10min stop over at Heathrow (land at T5, Atlanta plane at T3). Fortunately, our cases will have been booked in and loaded in Glasgow, so only hand luggage to carry at Heathrow.
Not knowing the layout of Heathrow, can you recomment the best use of the 2hr 10min stop over time here (the Atlanta plane boarding over at T3 "starts 60min before departure"). Enough time for meal in Concorde room? better to get over to T3 first and use the Galeries rooms? I don't know what kind, how fast, and how frequent the T5 to T3 airport transport option/s are.
Sadly the Concorde Room won't be an option as you'll not be airside in T5. Sorry if that's a disappointment but there is a mini-concorde area tucked away at the back of the BA First Lounge in T3 that's some compensation. There's two options.... The first is to use flight connections on arrival into T5 which will take you around to T3... That can be a pain and can take a while so as you're arriving domestically I'd recommend exiting as if you're heading into London then take the Elizabeth line across to T3. Or the tube, but the Lizzie line is probably quicker - both are free for intra-airport trips. Then go through security as normal - the fast track isn't usually that bad and they have the new scanners so you don't need to take stuff out of your bag... Then head for the lounges - check out my T3 lounge crawl video as I visited the 7 you'll have access to as a F passenger.
@@MattsPlanet Huge thanks for the advice here. I didn't realise that the lounges in T3 and T5 are restricted to departing at these terminals only. I've just checked your excellent lounge crawl video, which helps greatly with some nice options. Big thanks for the inter terminal travel tips. Cheers.
As a new subscriber I love the content, I've never flown first class with any airline so do enjoy looking at other people's views and opinions. It seems from many videos I've seen that the ba seat surrounding are getting very much overtaken by much of the competition. Great report 👏
Thanks Stephen. BA is certainly facing some challenges! This was the oldest version of the first class seat, although the updated versions haven't exactly been giant leaps forward...
Thank you for sharing you trip on British Airways.
Yes, I would try the First Class on BA..
You are more than welcome. I enjoyed it - and I think most people would too, unless they read "First Class" and expect a Singapore Airlines experience....
@@MattsPlanet I am glad you enjoyed. And yes some champagne being served is always nice to drink! Hahaha!
enjoyable video.will look out for your Q Suite video and how redemption compares as well
Thanks Ali. The Q Suite video will be out next Sunday...
You're right, 1A is the best seat on the 747. Flew in 1A in 2017. Smoothest flight I've ever been on.
1A in a 747... Happy memories!
Hi Matt , another great review with plenty of humour and information.
Regards from the land down under 😎
Thanks Jason - should make it down there next year!
Well done Matt, you are now pushing the boat out now with your up a class move to first, lucky you on getting this with Avios have tried a few times but no luck so will just have to sit one back .
Good to see BA doing a really good job of the service you got on the flight, after all the bad press they have been getting lately this gives the traveller some hope on there flights in the future.
Thanks Peter. JFK and BOS seem to have decent F availability so it wasn't too tricky to find a seat - looking for just 1 seat helped! BA has a lot of issues still, but quite a lot of what is going wrong right now comes from the airports rather than from BA. And the experience on the plane was really quite good....
Flying out of SFO back to LHR/MAN a couple times a year I use Abios to book CW and pay $600-$900 at the gate for an upgrade to F. I check availability on the app and have only missed once.
How dare you fall asleep after 12am! Lol but seriously. I love the content. I had to subscribe
Sleeping is one of my favourite hobbies! Right up there with eating!!
That table looks very nice indeed
Sturdy!
The best way to eat very strong or blue cheeses is with a good quality honey. It really makes a massive difference. My Italian friends taught me this, it’s not something I learned in hotel school unfortunately.
I'm not a big fan of food that needs to be covered with another food to make it edible... Another example being brussels sprouts which need to be wrapped in bacon to make them edible...
Hi Matt,
New to your channel, looking forward to seeing your other reviews. As for BA and their service, they have a long, long way to go before I step on board again.
Kind regards
DS
Thanks Dave (Daveu???) Hope you find some other interesting stuff on the channel... Your opinion on BA is shared by many!!
We're flying 1st class on BA from Mexico City to LHR in August. I can't wait! We won't get to go to the Concorde Room unfortunately but still excited! From your video it doesn't look much different than Business class though.
Thanks Tiffany. MEX - LHR is long enough for a decent feed and a decent sleep so it should be a good flight! It is definitely a step up from BA's business class on that route at least!
That F flight looks good! Hoping to incorporate this on a tier point run at some point
Its an experience for sure... No caviar, unlike most F flights these days, but still a cut above.
True but I don’t care that much about caviar. As long as you don’t serve me a Greggs sandwich 3)
BA should make their seats a little bit more modular, allowing them to replace the TV, or adding modern charging ports, halfway through the lifespan of the seat.
Having modularity, allows them to do small cabin refreshes, without having to rip everything out.
I'd love to know how long they expect a new seat to be in place for when it launches... Prepared to wager that they end up being in place for a lot longer than they plan...
@@MattsPlanet I believe it's 7-10 years. However, some aircraft that have been listed for retirement will not get any cabin refreshes. BA was using old 767s for years, and I think the Club seats were the cradles or the first gen fully flat beds, despite BA being on their second or third gen Club World seat, as they were planning to retire the 767s.
We are booked BA First on Aug 31, were leaving in March but since Putin decided start a war , we rescheduled. It's A380 which is new to us having only flown on their 747 400s I did notice your seat looked exactly like the ones on the retro BOAC 747 we flew on in 2019. Very much enjoyed your video. Cheers
Thanks Michelle. This was the oldest iteration of the F seat from 2010 - I gather you can tell them apart by the location of the lamp - if it's on the central panel its the 2015 version and if the seat has a door its the 2020 version. The A380 has the same older configuration as the seat I flew. Still quite good though!
@@MattsPlanet Although the seat is very similar, the personal space on the A380 in F is significantly more, particularly at the feet end.
Having said that, the loos on the A380 in F are little more than portaloos perched in the cabin almost as a afterthought, and are not spacious at all, making changing into jammies a challenge for some. Sneaking upstairs to the Club loos affords much more space for changing, but those loos are disappointingly sparse and utilitarian: a missed opportunity IMHO.
I will miss the 747 1A/1K seats, although if you thought the 777 ottoman seat was tight, you'd come out shaped like a Toblerone on a 747.
i have to go to england. my mom lived there for 19 years and then moved to zimbabwe (my home country) i know we wouldnt have survived there but it would have been amazing.
You'd be more than welcome!
So pleased you enjoyed your f/c meal with BA 👍👍👍
It was pretty good!!! Shame I missed the second one!
Flew BA lots, Emirates business is fantastic, even in cattle class is excellent, flew with these for 5 years
Thanks - Emirates is definitely on the list to review, but its just annoying they're not in any alliance...
great review Matt, gives me confidence for my LHR-SIN 1st redemption in October, will be arriving on the train from Paddington so should max my lounge time, wonder how early i could check in ?
Good to see the menu and wine list .. can never resist a JWBL : )
Thanks Charlie. F to SIN is a good redemption - well done!!! BA will check you in whenever you get there - its the home airport so there's none of this nonsense about opening desks 2 hours before departure. Getting there at 9am for a 10pm flight might be excessive, but don't worry too much about getting there 4 hours early. Or 5... Or 6!!!
@@MattsPlanet I was surprised to snag it, phoned up to book as had a Covid ‘voucher’ to redeem.
Have done the Concorde room a couple of times, I like the bar and balcony areas not keen on the dining area, bit claustrophobic and dingy imo. I think I could cope with a leisurely 4 hour check in … haha
Maximise sleep on the flight, Champagne breakfast of course.
@@Charlie-vw9ur You know it makes sense!!!
(Wrote this before watching the whole vid) I am wrong in saying that the seat isn’t much better than business on Qatar/JAL/Lufthansa/AirAstana but just with some nicer food?
BTW, if you ever have a chance, fly Air Astana - partially British owned/run airline and my favourite A320 business cabin - new aircraft, excellent service, they do status matching. Much cheaper if booked via Turkish or Lufthansa.
The lack of a foot cubby differentiates First from Business in my eyes, so this is definitely a First class seat!!! And I did a domestic economy leg on Air Astana about 10 years ago and it was quite good - I try not to fly airlines which aren't in Alliances but might make an exception there!
That certainly looked like a very nice flight with excellent food and certainly not stingy with the booze! There must be some explanation why turbulence always starts when the food arrives. 🤔
Thanks Les - I enjoyed it! Nice to make a positive video about BA for once... The turbulence / eating coalignment seems to affect other TH-camrs too so I'm sure its a thing!
Recently I connected through Heathrow Terminal 5 from a UK domestic flight to a European flight and simply went right into the building. No checks, no security, onto the next flight. Could have literally connected in 4 minutes from getting off the plane. What is their criteria for who needs to go through security?
A domestic arrival is much easier - all the airports trust everyone else's scanners. They don't trust overseas security so you have to do it again on arrival
I thought BA normally you can fill out a form that says what you want to do about food when asleep or in the morning
They may in Club - not a very First Class experience...
Loved the intro 👌 😍 ❤️ 👏 I have empathy regarding Concord lounge. That sucked. I still get excited for the Concord seats in the conference room. Our 3xflights all canceled. Now gave up. Hope to visit London for Christmas. Should we 🙏 🤔 💭 🤔
Thanks. Sorry about the cancellations - nothing offered that would work instead?
@@MattsPlanet we took vouchers. With all the media v strikes v cancelations etc. So frustrating
Ah - understand... What your seeing in the media is the minority of flights and most trips go ahead without disruption and with minimal delay, but that minority is larger right now than it is usually... You'll not be the only ones deciding to hold off... I don't usually travel during school holidays myself but I'm even less inclined to this year.
What a CLASSIC opening!!! Hilarious…………….
Thanks! Not planned actually - was wandering through Boston, spotted the old graveyard and the idea just came to me...
Thank you for such a great report. The comment about BA's First being the world's best Business has always resonated with me. Their offering is obviously way behind the usual Middle and Far East suspects and, as you say, BA don't even appear to try to compete with them. A far closer comparison would be with Qatar's and Singapore's Business - it would be a touch choice between them, although BA's cost may not help their cause
Spot on! I think BA have even admitted publicly that they've waved the white flag against the ME3 when it comes to First!
Awesome review and bravo on the Ex-EU routing savings 👍🏻 btw have you ever considered using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for BA metal awards? From what I've seen Asia Miles can cut down on the surcharges quite significantly compared to Avios points...
Thanks MattNav. Cracking name, by the way... A little jealous of it, tbh... The Cathay tip is an interesting one although I usually accumulate my avios straight into BA so diverting them into an Asia Miles account would be quite tricky... I'll have covered just about all BA classes soon so will probably spend my avios on OneWorld redemptions outside the UK where the taxes and fees are much more reasonable.
@@MattsPlanet the idea isn't so much as diverting your BA crediting strategy but rather that Asia Miles are a transfer partner of AMEX UK membership rewards points if you catch my drift
@@MattNav Absolutely but my Amex is the one linked to BA for the twofer so you don't get a choice of where to point your rewards points... I was tempted to drop the card but now the twofer can be used by a solo traveller I'm inclined to stick with it for another year...
@@MattsPlanet why not have both a BA AMEX and say the AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold? First year annual fee is waived and it is really key to also have a card that earns a flexible points currency that can be transferred to multiple different airline and hotel programs so that you aren't locked into BA's program. Just a friendly suggestion 🙂
@@MattNav Absolutely but I really don't spend that much money to be honest! I'm chasing a £10k spend for the Amex twofer, I'm also chasing down a Virgin upgrade coupon and I'm eyeing the Barclays Avios card bonus too.... Another Amex may bankrupt me!!!
I really do wonder about LHR cancelling flights. Are they short staffed? What happened for them to jump to the conclusion that they needed to have flights into the airport cancelled in order for them to cope? I just heard about it but I did not pay it very much mind. On the bright side, looks like British has finally made their more expensive cabins more worth the money one pays for them.
Cheers BP. It is a bit odd - 30 flights cancelled but I reckon the airport would still have handled 90% of the passengers as they'd all get crammed onto the flights that were still operating. So a reduction in aircraft movements but not necessarily a reduction in passengers doesn't make a lot of sense... I'll talk about it in the video about the inbound flight but we also had to wait 40 minutes for a gate to open up, which is ridiculous at any time but even more so as LHR cut aircraft movements to ensure they could handle the volumes! But well done to BA for a good experience once I made it onto the plane.
I’m transiting through Heathrow airport next week while travelling business class with BA and I need your advice. Im going Glasgow -> Heathrow -> New York. Should I:
A) Transit normally.
B) Leave the airport and enter back through normal security using my priority security.
Also, what Galleries lounge is the best - North or South?
Thank you for your help.
Cheers Daniel. Most times for a domestic arrival its advisable to exit and go back through "normal" security... Its a really long walk from the domestic arrival gates all the way back round to the transit security... But these aren't normal times... If you can, I'd check social media on the morning of travel to see if any horrors are being reported at Heathrow's security. You have to clear security either way so it will always be a gamble but I would go landside and come back in if I were making that trip... As for a lounge - my answer is neither. Head for the Galleries lounge at T5's B gates - much quieter and thus more pleasant with the same offering. 99% of the time you'll depart from B or C to New York so its a great option. Cheers!
@@MattsPlanet this is absolutely wrong. For a domestic arrival and connecting on to another T5 flight if you follow the connections route you just have a boarding pass check and no security. You would be badly advised to go landside since you have to then have a security check to get back airside which you could have avoided.
Well saute my giblets, Alexis is right. And I've learned something... If you've already passed UK security you won't be rescreened at LHR - provided you're transferring within the same terminal. I flew in from Dublin (which is not the UK) so had to go through security again, but you won't from GLA. T5B is still the place to head though!!!
@@AlexisKarfopoulos Thanks Alexis - you are quite correct. Never done a UK - Int connection within the same terminal before... Always good to learn something new everyday and I've learned something nice and early today!
Hi Matt can you share the booking from London to Dublin?
I connected in from Dublin to London and will show that experience in a few weeks - a few odd things happened that I need to chase up before that video will make much sense... Is that what you meant? I flew from London to Dublin a day earlier on Ryanair...
@@MattsPlanet partly yes but was interested in the cost and if you stayed overnight or just flew straight back
@@LotsofJohnsStuff I had planned to go out and back on the same day but as things started to get cancelled I took advantage of a rebooking and stayed in Dublin overnight. Couple of Guinnesses in Temple Bar went down pretty well actually!
I thought your criticisms were very fair, and light hearted.
You also sound like Tony Robinson!
Thanks - I'll take the Tony Robinson comparison as a compliment!
@@MattsPlanet Absolutely! He presents and narrates very well, like you!
One of the best pyjama scenes if filmic history
Trying to keep my videos family friendly and I think I managed that...
Great video Matt - although I thought I'd made a "grave" mistake and clicked on the wrong video to begin with when I saw the location of your intro! It's such a shame that you were denied any meaningful time in the CCR at Heathrow on the way out - 25 minutes simply isn't enough, and while it wasn't entirely BA's fault in this instance (with Heathrow demanding a reduction in the number of flights that day), I always view the lounge (when it's one I wouldn't normally have access to) as part of the enjoyment of the overall experience. Have you contacted BA for any sort of service recovery for this, or just chalking it up to experience? Nice to see the service and food onboard was up to scratch (other than not being woken for the second meal) - this echos my own recent experience in April with BA First coming back from JFK - the best flight i've had in my life (so far, at least). I liked the seat, but I wasnt a fan of the lack of adjustability. You commented on the inability to separately adjust the footrest, and I think that's a real shortcoming in the design - Its the one feature I tend to use most when flying long-haul. I also kept catching the controls with my arm (albeit i was on the 777 and they seemed to be a bit closer for me), but overall a good a confortable seat to spend a few hours in. Looking forward to your Qsuites video when that comes out!
Cheers mate. The connecting inbound flight had some issues which throttled the time in the CCR - not helped by having to wait 35 mins for the special Dublin gate to open up so I will be in touch with BA. Actually quite annoyed they haven't proactively contacted me as I asked them to.... I think the Q Suite video will be the next one though...
@@MattsPlanet also looking forward to your JetBlue experience when it comes out - see how it compared to my own
Yes Matt, I did like
Good work Olly
Another great honest review Matt. Looking forward to your Qatar review against BA First, and suffice Qatar Q suites take some beating.
Thanks - Qatar's Qsuites were pretty good... We had a medical diversion too so I got a bonus 5 hours in the seat! Video next week...
Hi Matt--------BA First has never really 'graabed ' me--------14 Seats[although now being reduced to 8 which i think is about right] poor ground service compared with most other carriers---------and i absolutely agree with the person who said that it is " just a good Business class"----------BA First Class was great on Tridents FOURTY years ago!!! but not now. I think if we were given the choice of 3 classes on european flights it would work------- i know that there IS a market for First in Europe.
Dont know how that crossing out happened!!
Odd crossing out! I read on one of the online forums that a GGL heavyweight met with a senior BA rep who explained that their First isn't even trying to compete with other airlines' First products... We can see it doesn't, but having BA admit it is fascinating!
Just flew BA business to Dalaman return and had some screaming 2 Yr old on the seat in front both ways. I promised myself I will never fly BA business again.(short haul)
I flew Qatar business in 2019 and it was amazing, much like your 1st class BA experience if I'm honest.
A one liner comes to mind about placating the kid with the yorkie bar you inevitably carry in your shirt pocket, but I'll leave that one alone.... One advantage of my "moderate to severe" hearing loss is I can just take my hearing aids out in situations like that!!! Qatar review coming up next week...
RCA input? Hook up a PlayStation 2
I never leave home without my PS2....
Welcome to Boston
Thanks Bobby - odd to be a Brit in Boston just before Independence Day, but I kept a low profile and had a great time! Lovely city...
@@MattsPlanet you’ll find quite a few of the names of cities, towns and other localities were taken from your country. This is New England.
I think I would never fly on first if I had the money. Club World yes but not first.
A friend of mine flew on business 1st class and Business class with Lufthansa and Star Alliance membrs.
For me there's no big difference between 1st class and Business class.
I think Lufty does make more of an effort in F with their service, although their seats are a little dated... New seats coming in a year or two though....
I don't think you mentioned what type the aircraft was?
I didn't! 777-300 - one of the older ones with the oldest F cabin.
@@MattsPlanet I flew on one of their 777-200's a couple of years ago, it was not in good condition.
By H4P's "quick" valuation at 1000 Avios = £10, you were £185 better off (avios/taxes) by flying from Dublin. However, I must ask, how much was it for you to transit from dublin / stay in Dublin etc? Just curious!
No worries! I paid about £30 for a Ryanair flight to position across, then around £90 for a hotel for the night. So I was still a little bit better off, but I also got a night in Dublin which is always fun! I could probably have scheduled things to arrive in Dublin that morning but its an approach that's not without risk!
@@MattsPlanet also, note to h4p’s dramatic news on iberias earning avios devaluation, with ba set to follow in 2023
@@GG-hi5if Yes... Probably 5% of my avios comes from actually flying so I don't expect it to make a huge difference... If they changed TPs to a cash basis that would be a game changer... I'd need to study it more closely but I don't think this is a devaluation - its more of a throttling of the earning rates. H4P had a brilliant analysis of why this is a stupid thing for IAG to do, but IAG do stupid things quite regularly so I doubt reason and solid analysis is going to make them change their minds...
@@MattsPlanet if BA go like Air Canada, where you need minimum spend for status; that would be the end of my membership in BAEC.
This is just moderately frustrating.
@@GG-hi5if 100%. No suggestion that they're tinkering with redemptions or status earning, but they would be the next aspect to attack once these earning changes have gone through...
Does the price of BA First reflect the uncompetitive quality versus their rivals? BA are solid and reliable, but their premium product is poor against most of their competitors.
That's an excellent question! There's certainly a premium price, and many would argue that even if the f&b isn't competitive, the style and attitude of the service is very British so is unmatched by others if that's your sort of thing... But I've rarely fly in F as it is so expensive, and would never pay the full rate for an F ticket so don't really track the pricing... Had a quick look at F to Dubai on a random date in February and BA was around half the cost of Emirates, so I think you can conclude from that small sample that BA recognises it is offering a different F experience so isn't competing... Swiss was c. 10% cheaper than BA albeit with an intermediate stop... Quite interesting - thanks!
Another great video review Matt.
Even though you saved a chunk of taxes by going from Dublin, I guess in this instance based on your DUB-LHR flight experience you probably regretted it!
Did you risk flying out to Dublin on the same day or did you stay there the night before also?
And did you also have to return to Dublin at the end of the trip also?
Thanks Tony. I'd originally planned on going in and out of Dublin the same day but the first cancellation inspired me to have a night in Dublin... A few pints in Temple Bar worked out quite well.... This trip was a series of one-ways so I didn't need to return. I actually flew LGW - DUB on Ryanair to kick this off although I didn't film the experience... Then my Doha to London flight brought me back to LGW.
Did they not check your v status at LHR or Boston?
Verifly - they actually checked it in Dublin before I connected in.
I enjoy watching your videos, especially your positive attitude despite the below average BA product . I’m wondering is it worth the hassle to go on the tier run to get that Silver or Gold Executive Club Membership? There are other airlines offering much better products and experience.. but I guess for us Brits, that’s the only thing on offer 🤷🏻♂️
Cheers V C. Everyone will have a different view on whether status is worthwhile. If you travel regularly in economy, then having status can really pay off. If you enjoy the travel required to achieve the status, then its win-win...
Cool. New Upload 😎
3pm every Sunday...
@@MattsPlanet another honest review. Glad you enjoyed the food
BA started with Do&Co now ? or an older thing for them? not new ?
They switched in late 2018 I believe... One of Alex Cruz's better decisions!
@@MattsPlanet its just a wonder to me how often they get bad food reviews even after that. Because Turkish has NEVER failed me foodwise. Do&Co is literally saving us from having to eat the dogfood in the style of Lufthansa's offerings. I literally just recorded a trip with them where I joke that i was still scar'd for life, from a flight back in 2009, where the food was on a whole other level of inedible. So joke was that I would now buy food from a proper cafe in the airport and bring it with me, because I bet nothing had changed for 13 years... same route 13 years apart, FRA-MEX... and nothing had changed. My dog wouldve passed on that. If only ever LH could pick D&C. Miracles do happen!
@@madaboutsnooker147 Do and Co will only cater ex-LHR - worth noting whether the food complaint is ex-LHR or ex an outstation... The catering on my flight back from Miami was very poor...
@@MattsPlanet I think it was earlier, my flight back from JFK with BA in 2017 was catered by Do & Co.
@@SJF15 They trialled Do & Co to JFK in 2017 then rolled out network wide in 2018.
Great video, not sure BA First is really first, tv bad.
Thanks Andy. It is what it is - there is a new version of F now the Club Suites is nipping at its heels which I gather is a little better but it's a long way behind Middle Eastern and Asia F products.
Having flown many airlines international FC and BA still comes up short the flight crews are always nice but the hard product is it’s downfall.
BA's First doesn't enjoy being compared to SIngapore's F!
@@MattsPlanet or LH or JL or A couple of others😊
@@tonyferdaise5292 or AF: however BA does surpass AA.
Even BA's First has to deal with their IT systems, cost cut systems and absence of functional customer facing ground services... #BestAvoided as competitors deliver superior reliability and match BA's few areas of excellence for far less
Many would agree!
When are you visiting Africa
January - very exciting
Air France's Le Premier would beat BA's offering, hands down.
Several times over!
Excellent 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Thanks! I need a bigger chest for those medals...
Is this A380 ??
777-300. I should have said in the video!!! The oldest iteration of the First seat...
Which BA aircraft is this?
Excellent point which I now realise I didn't mention. A 777-300 - not the version with the new Club Suites behind, which I believe led to a slight upgrade in the First cabin.
@@MattsPlanet I went Gatwick to Tampa on the 777. I preferred the retired 747 from Miami to Heathrow.
@@IWTBF The Gatwick 777 fleet has denser seating up the back than the Heathrow planes, and no First Class either... The 747 was fab...
Did they check your vaccine status at Heathrow or in Boston?
I actually used Verifly and the USA did need proof of vaccination, but as it was done through the app I didn't need to physically show anything. Then the USA relies on the airlines having done their job.
@@MattsPlanet oh right I never heard of verifly I’ll have to check that out. What if you didn’t have verifly who is checking airline staff or USA border entry? Confusing
@@IWTBF Its the airline's responsibility to make sure passengers have the right documents for the destination country. If they don't, they'll be sent straight back and the airline has to pay the cost of repatriation so they usually can be relied on to get it right! Verif;y is an app that connects to BA to prove documents - not such a big deal these days as there's no testing for the US any more but it was quite a time saver when restrictions were tighter.
I like how you =TALK TRUTH= hate wishy washy = how wonderful a flight is == LUV YOUR VIDEOS ==elizabeth NZ xox
Thanks Elizabeth - I try to be honest and to the point!
And the prize for best TH-cam Av intro goes to............................................
I'd like to thank my agent, my publicist and of course my parents without whom....
Maybe you’ll agree and I hope I’m wrong but this experience may become more rare if inflation and higher fossil fuel costs turn out to be structural . Almost universal in their bean counting talent cost cutting may be on the horizon .
BA has already whacked up the fees on flights - this is the revenue BA takes that they hide in "taxes and fees" even when you make a redemption. So cost increases are already showing up, and history will tell you that BA tends not to reduce these fees when costs fall so they may well end up being structurally baked in...
New intro? The tone seems not the same. Anyway, great video! Have a nice day!
Cheers - its the same intro but I noticed it sounded a bit odd - it may be that the volume of the commentary leading up to it was higher than usual which made it sound odd??? Thanks for commenting!
I often laugh at people who take the time to tell a creator they are unsubbing from a channel for whatever reason. However, today I find myself in this position, having just witnessed one of the most abhorrent things I’ve seen on your (or any) channel - failing to finish that blue cheese was criminal.
Unsubbing!!!11!! 😉🤣
My deepest apologies for this heinous crime against cheese... Thanks for the laugh though! Epic comment...
That screen and touch pad is very dated even more so for business class.
Nice and retro to play the PS2 on...
Translation , this doesn’t compare with Emirates but more expensive
Thanks but no thanks
Emirates is pretty expensive - and redemptions are far more accessible on BA
Beware filming in US immigration areas, you may find yourself in a spot of bother…….
Not just in the US!
Far too gracious.
The on-board experience was really quite good - not the world's best first experience but decent enough for BA! I've given BA some kickings in the past though....
Looks dead
Me or the squirrel???
Great video as always, Matt. Compares broadly with my experience in May LHR-JFK in BA F with the exception I remember being specifically asked if I wanted to be woken for the second service. I also buddy dined with my travel companion and find that at 5ft10 I still into the buddy seat fairly well. One question: how did you film in border control at Boston without being shouted at? 😀
Cheers. 4 foot 8 as a maximum height may have been a wee exaggeration but I'm 6' 4" and couldn't feel my legs after squeezing into the buddy seat when I flew with my Mum! I attach my camera to the shoulder strap of my bag so its black on black and is rarely noticed, especially from a distance. No-ore reads the comment so I'll share that I don't usually film borders as I don't like being shouted at, but I forgot to turn it off and I needed some footage to cover the commentary so decided to use it. But even then it wasn't enough, hence the squirrel footage... First Class for Free eh???