BA First = an amazing Business Class product?

I’ve been lucky enough to fly British Airways First Class a few times now, mostly because I find pretty good award availability from US cities to London when you get inside that 5-7 days before departure zone. What I appreciate about BA is that there is a very clear distinction between First and Business, and it’s one of the more attractive cabins you’ll sit in — I tend to prefer dark color schemes over light or shiny ones (I’m talking about you, EK!) because it feels more conducive to sleep and relaxation. So why am I calling it an “amazing business class product,” you ask? 

Probably the main issue here is cabin density, which incidentally is also why BA Business feels like the world’s best Premium Economy product (kind if like UA 777/747). It’s not as bad as the nose of BA’s 747, but it’s no A380 or 787-9. I also note that while the seat is comfortable and I can sleep well on it, it feels like a business class seat, and indeed resembles many reverse-herringbone cabins you see out there (Cathay, Delta, Qatar, American, Finnair, KLM, new AF, and so on….). Also, the Concorde room is great, but it, too, is somewhat condensed and often feels a bit crowded (review coming next month). But, I’m being a cabin snob no doubt, and everything else about the BA experience feels First Class, so I’m never disappointed when I spend points on a BA flight, and you won’t be, either.

The Gallery

Each seat comes with a similar pair of windows

Postdeparture wine and nuts

View of a middle seat and partition

The British Airways first class bed

IFE controller

Salad

Cable for the IFE controller comes out of that slot

The IFE screen – fair but could really be improved

View forward at the seat

Middle seats

Blanket and headphones

Turndown service is always a nice touch

Champagne PDB and pajamas (which I really liked)

The amenity kit, which I give an A- as far as first class kits go

the IFE screen in stowed position

The awkwardly placed power/USB ports

Looking forward down the aisle while boarding

Appetizer – the good was good but didn’t blow me away

Cheese plate for dessert

Dinner is served

The generously sized traytable

Sandwich for main course

Seat controller

The seat itself

Getting ready for dinner

Getting BA First Class on Points:

American Express just devalued its Membership Rewards transfers to British Airways Avios, so my recommendation if you want to score an award on BA with CC points would be to stick to Citi or Chase. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is my  go-to from Chase and seems to get a lot of press in the points blogger world, but lately I’ve been liking the Citi cards. The Citi Prestige card is great if you don’t mind the yearly fee (I find I get that fee back pretty quickly!), but if you don’t need/want the Admirals Club access etc., then the Citi ThankYou Preferred card is a good option and as of this posting no yearly fee.

The Bottom Line:

The late-booking bird gets the worm here, so if you can be flexible you’ll find good BA First award availability on late notice. And when you do that, you ultimately will not be disappointed with your First Class flight experience, especially if you can enjoy some of your ground time in the Concorde Room. If you want to impress your significant other with a crazy First Class experience, though, you might want to consider hopping on Lufthansa, Swiss, and if you’re a lucky FlyingBlue elite, Air France’s slick new First Class Cabin (review coming in August 😉

What else?

Have you flown British Airways First Class before? Did it blow you a way or did you feel like it was missing something like I did? Let me know in your comments below.

The verdict

Reviewed by

Seatlink

Date

2016-05-06

Airline/cabin

British Airways First Class 777

Rating

4