Welcome to my BA First Class review, in November 2016 I travelled from London’s Heathrow Airport to Mumbai using some of the Avios air miles that I have collected over the years on work and personal trips.
Flight Number: BA 199
Plane: Boeing 777-200 (Four Class)
Class Flown: First Class
Miles Flown: 4487 Miles
Date Flown: 1st November 2016
Departure Time: 9.46pm GMT (scheduled 9pm) from LHR T5
Arrival Time: 11:22am IST scheduled (11:15am) to BOM T2 (INT)
BA First Class Review
Check-In
My original plan was to skip airport check-in given that Airportr (review link below) had picked up my bag and that I had checked-in online, unfortunately I forgot about the strict checks the Indian government require, therefore was required to physically check-in to show validity of an Indian visa (or OCI in my case). The check-in process, as expected was speedy, chatty and no need for waiting in line!
Security
BA has a dedicated security area for BA First and Business class passengers, the process here was quite quick as expected and as per usual as I have an Asian name alongside a beard I was privileged with extra security checks! Just after the security section there is a door to the right that leads directly into the BA Concorde room which is exclusively for BA First customers. It also means you can bypass the duty free area and get to the lounge a lot quicker.
The Lounge
Upon arrival at the Concord room I quickly had a chat with the onsite concierge from Quintessentially about some restaurant options in Mumbai, and headed to the cloak room to store my hand-luggage and jacket for a bit more freedom whilst moving around in the lounge. After a glass of champagne, I headed over to the Elemis Spa for a complimentary back and shoulder massage. If you are travelling in First, you are allowed to book a time-slot 28 days in advance.
On exploring the lounge there are private cabana’s available for a quick nap/shower, a terrace area overlooking the main airport terminal, a large bar with ample seating and a restaurant area with plenty of booth’s.
As I had skipped lunch due to a packed work day, I opted to head to the restaurant where I enjoyed a 3 course meal of wild mushroom on toasted sourdough, lemon sole stuffed with brown shrimp mousse and a cheese board alongside a few more glasses of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle. I then retreated to the bar area where I caught up on a few work e-mails, whilst working my way through the extensive cocktail menu. Overall it really is a nice lounge, but I feel some fixtures and fittings are looking a tad bit worn and do require some attention. The staff were fantastic and engaging as always.
Boarding
Boarding the plane was quite quick, and I was able to settle down in my seat quite quickly, the steward bought over a glass of champagne and proceeded to give me a quick explanation of the seating, all the various buttons and storage areas in the First suite. He also took my orders for dinner and breakfast for the following morning, as well as a drink order for post take-off.
First Class Pod
The seat had ample leg room as expected, width of the seat was comfortable too as was the comfort of it. The seat also converts into a fully flat bed at 6 foot 6 inches. I’m someone that tends not to sleep on planes but after a long day at the office I was keen on trying out the flat-bed to arrive in Mumbai refreshed. BA First Class Review.
The pod also had ample storage for my various gadgets such as my laptop, phone, go-pro and my note book. There were two USB ports as well as a plug port for my laptop charger.
Entertainment
The pod also had a 15-inch touch-screen available alongside noise cancellation headphones, a USB port and a RCA jack. There were several films available on offer that interested me as well as some TV episodes, I didn’t have to dig into my laptop to watch a few episodes of Entourage or Soprano’s just yet. One annoyance is as the screen is a moving part it must be stowed for take-off and landing. BA First Class Review
Dining
The on board dining was excellent, the food was presented well and I had no issues with the taste, I have in recent months seen complaints from people on twitter about the quality of food in Club World and First but no issues from me. Snacks were also available at all times during the flight should you require them but the large portion during dinner it was not needed at all.
Drink Options
The First Class cabins drink option’s I felt were lacking a little they had 3 excellent choices of champagne and I stuck to the Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle and JW Blue Label but felt that the wine selection was average at best. Something they may need to work on – I felt there were better options on Qantas in economy during my Australia trip in 2015. BA First Class Review
Conclusion
Overall I felt that the flight had met all the high expectations that I had beforehand, the team on board were excellent, attentive at all times and met my every need including a quick hop into the cockpit before the flight. The seat was comfortable, and I even managed to get some sleep on the fully-flat bed – not bad for someone who suffers from insomnia! The one area I felt that BA fell short on this flight was lack of Wi-Fi, which would have made for a more productive flight – it’s something they currently have on a few planes only, and I feel by now the whole fleet should have it. Especially given that a few of the domestic carriers in India have it available. I hope you enjoyed reading my BA First class review, be sure to check out my other flight reviews and trip reports.
My flight was paid for using avios miles I have accumulated over the years with British Airways, I paid for the taxes out of my own pocket. All pictures and text remain a trademark of TheTwoRoads.com
Interesting look on board – after a sub-par long haul experience in Economy with KLM, we are thinking about maybe treating ourselves to First/Business on a future long haul flight. But… my goodness, the prices are eye wateringly high!
Author
Hi Connie,
It was actually pretty impressive, on my return I flew in Club World with Seetal’s husband and we were both less than impressed. The only way I can justify these flights is using mileage I’ve accumulated over the years.