This is my first time writing a trip report, so please do forgive me if it is a little rough around the edges.
Me and my husband recently celebrated our wedding anniversary, and we decided to go to Tel Aviv. We took advantage of our BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher and 100,000 Avios later we were booked.
Having never flown BA First (or any first) before I was really excited, and my inner AV geek was bursting at the seams!
We drove down from Manchester on the day of the flight with plenty of time to enjoy the Concorde room. As this was a night flight, we took full advantage of the food service and enjoyed a delicious 3 course meal (with a few extras just to sample of course). We thought the food was of a high quality and would happily have paid for this in a restaurant.
The Concorde room was very quiet and relaxing, which was perfect seeing as we had arrived early and had five hours to enjoy. They were serving Laurent Perrier Grande Siècle champagne which was very quaffable, and we enjoyed this both in the lounge and on the flight.
After dinner (and many glasses of champagne) we retired to our pre-booked cabana. This was easily reserved via the you first telephone line. This was a pleasant space away from the lounge and offered privacy you otherwise would not get. It was fairly basic, but with comfy seating, a private bathroom with a shower and a tv, it was perfect. There was a button you could press, and a waiter would arrive to take your order (menus were available in the room). We promptly ordered espresso martinis!
After enjoying this splendid lounge, it was time to leave and make our way to the B satellite terminal to catch our flight on this new 787-9 plane. I believe the plane is only a year old and features the new BA First suite.
Priority boarding was strictly enforced and soon we were being welcomed onboard. We were personally shown to our seat and promptly given a glass of the same champagne we had in the lounge. The cabin crew member showed us the features of this new seat and was very warm and welcoming. The overall feel of the cabin was very sumptuous. The traditional BA blue lighting and the finish was very high. The seat was incredibly comfortable, and of course leg room was more than ample.
After take-off dinner service was promptly started. Seeing as this flight was very short, dinner was served with expedience but never felt rushed. After dinner I requested the turn down service and slept for a couple of hours. At this point I must point out how delightful and cheery the cabin crew member was. I know BA get a bit of stick for their cabin crew, but this time was different, and she could not do enough to ensure out flight was comfortable and enjoyable.
In terms of food, everything was very good and tasty. The only exception being the steak, but when is steak ever good on a plane? However, it did the trick on this occasion and was perfectly acceptable. The desert in particular was outstanding.
During the flight, I got talking to the cabin crew member and she happily showed me the crew rest areas and even arranged for a visit to the flight deck once we had landed. We were able to spend a few minutes chatting to the captain and first officer and got a real feel for the amazing cockpit of this new plane.
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Verdict
British Airways
8.4/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering7.5
British Airways Concorde Room - 5A
8.5/10
Comfort8.5
Meal/catering9.5
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Services9.0
London - LHR
9.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
Tel Aviv - TLV
5.9/10
Efficiency6.0
Access6.5
Services5.0
Cleanliness6.0
Conclusion
Overall, this flight was the single best flight I had ever taken. I know the BA First product is not rated as highly as Emirates, Qantas or Singapore, but I think it is a quintessentially British experience and would not hesitate to book it again.
14 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Thanks for sharing this very first experiment ;) This flight seemed to be exceptionnal. I didn't even know that BA had a first in their Dreamliner (Air France doen't) Hope to see the return flight See you soon
Hi NDS, thanks for sharing your first report here with us! A very good first report IMO--well written with good photos!
I've never understood why BA have such a bad reputation when it comes to cabin crew because I've had nothing but wonderful experiences with crew and I fly BA several times a year. Sounds like you had a lovely crew here--it's always a plus when they understand the AvGeekiness :-)
The newish 789 First cabin looks great--it certainly seems sleeker and more spacious that F on other aircraft, notably the 744, which probably has the tightest F seat in the fleet. The 789 F seat looks most First class overall. Yes, BA F is not one of the top F products out there, but it's always priced reasonably in miles or cash (at least from the U.S. IME) and delivers good quality for the price. The lack of caviar is a shame, though.
It's great that BA fly a widebody with an F cabin to TLV when most other European carriers fly narrowbodies with awful Euro-biz cabins on there 5-6 hour flights. 100K Avios for 2 in F is definitely a great deal for F!
Welcome to Flight-Report and looking forward to future reports!
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3 Comments
This flight seemed to be exceptionnal.
I didn't even know that BA had a first in their Dreamliner (Air France doen't)
Hope to see the return flight
See you soon
I've never understood why BA have such a bad reputation when it comes to cabin crew because I've had nothing but wonderful experiences with crew and I fly BA several times a year. Sounds like you had a lovely crew here--it's always a plus when they understand the AvGeekiness :-)
The newish 789 First cabin looks great--it certainly seems sleeker and more spacious that F on other aircraft, notably the 744, which probably has the tightest F seat in the fleet. The 789 F seat looks most First class overall. Yes, BA F is not one of the top F products out there, but it's always priced reasonably in miles or cash (at least from the U.S. IME) and delivers good quality for the price. The lack of caviar is a shame, though.
It's great that BA fly a widebody with an F cabin to TLV when most other European carriers fly narrowbodies with awful Euro-biz cabins on there 5-6 hour flights. 100K Avios for 2 in F is definitely a great deal for F!
Welcome to Flight-Report and looking forward to future reports!
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