Short trip to Las Vegas, New York and Atlanta Flying First Class on Asiana and British Airways
Asiana Airlines First Class, Frankfurt-Seoul
Asiana Airlines First Class, Seoul-Los Angeles
Spending Two Nights in Las Vegas
United Club, Las Vegas (LAS)
United Club, Houston (IAH)
New York, The City That Never Sleeps
US Airways Club (LGA)
US Airways First Class, LaGuardia-Charlotte
US Airways Club (CLT)
US Airways First Class, Charlotte-Atlanta
Country Inn & Suites by Carlson
24 Hours in Atlanta
The Club at ATL (ATL)
British Airways First Class, Atlanta-London
British Airways The Concorde Room
British Airways Business Class, London-Stockholm
Departure time in Atlanta (ATL): 21:30
Arrival time in London (LHR): 10:40 (+1)
Equipment: Boeing 777-200
Date of flight: September 15, 2014
Flight duration: 8h 10m
Seat: 2A
*This is an award travel, First Class flight #23
INTRODUCTION
Flying first class on British Airways on an award ticket is not a very popular choice among travelers because BA is one of few airlines that adds fuel surcharges which is really high. I was originally booked on American Airlines in first class from Los Angeles to London with a stopover in Chicago, when AA was still allowing free stop over on international gateways on their award bookings. Due to change of plans, I decided to visit some friends in Las Vegas and New York, thus starting my US-Europe award trip in New York. I wanted to avoid the surcharge on BA so I decided to book the US Airways flight in business class from LaGuardia connecting via Toronto to Helsinki on Finnair, then onwards to Stockholm. But a few weeks before my flight, I thought I might as well pay for the surcharge and try at least once what it's like flying first class on British Airways. Luckily, I found an availability from Atlanta and booked it at once. This decision proved to be a very good one because not only was I able to explore Atlanta during my transit, I also had one of my most enjoyable flights ever on the flight from Atlanta-London 😍
I arrived at Terminal D3 more than three hours before my scheduled departure and saw that the check-in desks were already open. After waiting for another passenger to be assisted, I was finally checked-in, got my boarding passes and my bags were tagged to my final destination which is Stockholm Arlanda. British Airways uses the Club at ATL as lounge for their premium passengers, a review of which you can find here.
Boarding should have started at 9pm but instead, an announcement was made just about that time that there would be a delay and that boarding will start at 9:30pm instead. The delay was due to the inbound aircraft arriving late.
Cabin
Seat, 2A
From the PA, the captain apologized for the delay and informed us that our flight time would actually be shorter than expected which would make up for the lost time.
Meal Service
Kir Royale
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle
Champagne Palmer & Co Blanc de Millésimé 2007
Champagne Michel Forget Grand Rosé Premier Cru
For my appetizer, I chose the aubergine which was phenomenal followed by the tomato soup which was just as good. The other starters were 12-month aged Serrano ham with roasted tomato timbale and shallot dressing and Fresh Salad leaves with choice of Roquefort cream dressing or red beet vinaigrette.
The other choices were Pan-roasted North Atlantic monkfish pave with celery root, charred garlic and vegetable pistou or Organic herb-roasted chicken and morel with fava beans and pancetta ragout with chicken gravy or Grilled shrimp with baby greens, pickled mango, grilled asparagus and mango vinaigrette.
The other choices for the main course were Leek and Gruyere Frittata with green asparagus, rosti potato and green tomato chutney or Lemon pancake with wild berry compote.
CONCLUSION
This was definitely one of the most enjoyable flights I've had in first class. The food was excellent and the service was impeccable although the thing I liked most was that the flights attendants were very interactive. I have flown on ANA and Asiana in first class before and although their service are among my favorites, I think it is the English language that made this particular flight on British Airways much more enjoyable. I actually had a chance to chat with Di and the other flight attendant and I just felt that communicating with them was a lot easier compared to the flight attendants on ANA and Asiana. Of course, there are a lot of aspects to be considered and that all three airlines are special in their own way.
To all the flight attendants on this flight, thanks very much! Hope to fly with you again soon 😉
Related Posts:
Review: Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 First Class, Hong Kong to Frankfurt
Review: Singapore Airlines A380 Suites, Tokyo to Singapore