London Heathrow to Dubai in British Airways First Class. The trip got off to a good start with the Concorde lounge at Terminal 5. Very comfortable and private, however showing signs of wear and tear. Needs a bit of a refurb. Boarding was announced and we promptly left, however only just made it to the gate. (Very odd, but I am no fan of the trains to the strange satellite terminals for boarding.) The plane was a very old refurbished Boeing 747-400. Quite why BA hangs on to these gas guzzlers is a mystery. I estimate the plane, over its life so far, has done about 90 million miles (enough to get to the moon). Much criticism has been said about cramming so many First suites into the nose of the plane, and I can say that is fully justified. It was a day flight so not worried about sleeping, but if it were a night flight as a tall (but not overweight) man I would struggle to get comfortable. It’s like a coffin and storage space for personal effects not worth a light. A cabin crew told me they will hang on to the newer Boeing 747-400s for another 5-10 years. If so, this is truly unbelievable. Given the Emirates competition on this route, their fantastic suites and they always serve caviar, one does wonder if the sales and marketing people at British Airways have a clue how to entice customers to the overall experience. There is so much criticism of British Airways on this site, one wonders why they don’t listen. It can only be perceived as arrogance. Food was fine. Very nice mezza, nice soup and spicy Middle Eastern style chicken; not bad at all. Champagne very basic and Krug has long vanished from British Airways routes. Cabin crew were terrific – faultless. Travelling a Boeing 777 on the way back. Hopefully a better seat.
Boeing 747-400 |
Business |
First Class |
London to Dubai |
August 2015 |
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Wifi & Connectivity |
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