Review of British Airways flight from London to San Diego in Business

Introduction

After a wonderful and busy Holiday season spent visiting family and friends in Washington, DC, the UK, Spain, and France, it was time to go home to San Diego. 

Routing

Flights in this series:

Check-in & Lounge

As we would end up losing oneworld Emerald status due to changes to Tier Points earning in the British Airways Club (Just barely missed re-qualifying!!), this would be our last time in a while going through the First Wing at Heathrow Terminal 5. 

The Christmas decorations that were up the last time we went through just a few weeks earlier had already been taken down.

Here's what it looked like a few days before Christmas.

The First Wing is always so convenient as the private security lanes are a breeze with modern machines allowing all approved liquids and electronics to stay inside cabin baggage. And of course, the First Wing security lanes led straight to the British Airways First lounge.

I shall miss you First Wing 👋

What a difference 2 weeks make. Barely a week into January and poof….no more Holiday decorations. 

The First Lounge was relatively quiet that day for a nice change. I've covered this lounge many many times over the years so I won't get into any detail. We didn't stay very long anyway as we were a bit short on time and had to make it out to the B Concourse. 

As usual at Heathrow, the gate for our flight was only shown around an hour before departure. 

Boarding

About 10 minutes before the scheduled boarding time, we left the lounge and headed down 2 levels to hop on the underground train to the B gates. 

Here's our aircraft, G-YMMG, a 25-year-old 777-200ER. The San Diego route has historically been operated by an A350-1000 outside of the summer season, but we've switched to a mix of 777-200ERs and 777-300ERs, and the occasional 787

As we were standing in the queue for Group 1 boarding, a gate agent brought us over for pre-boarding as we were travelling with a child. This often happens to us at Heathrow and we appreciate it, though we don't expect it since our son is 6-years-old. 

Thanks to the pre-boarding, we were among the first passengers to board in the Club cabin. 

Our aircraft, like all BA 777s, was equipped with Club Suites, save a handful of Gatwick-based frames on leisure destinations. It was nice to be back in a Club Suites cabin after the old Club World seats on the outbound flight a few weeks earlier. 

Club Suites are laid out in a spacious 1-2-1 configuration allowing direct access to the aisle for all passengers. 

As usual, I'd selected seats in the last row of the Club cabin for additional privacy–the trade off being slower service and often a lesser choice of meals. 

There's a small 5 row World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) cabin just behind our cabin. 

This particular 777-200ER configuration has 3 cabins: Business, Premium Economy, and Economy
Some 772ER configurations have a small First class cabin, but First is rarely sold on the San Diego route.

Club Suites are laid out in a reverse herringbone pattern–meaning they face away from the aisles–and feature closing privacy doors, though they're not very high, so I don't find them particularly useful or necessary when not in bed mode. They are nice when the seat in in full flat bed mode. 

Pre-place on each seat in Club were a large pillow, bedding, and noise-cancelling headphones. 

The amenity kit and a water bottle can be found in a storage compartment to the side–the door has a small mirror on the inside. 

Legroom is very good as one would expect in long-haul Business. In bed mode, seats create a fully flat sleeping surface 2m (6'7") in length. 

There's another storage compartment in the side console where you'll find the in-flight entertainment controller, a Universal 110v power outlet, 2 USB-A ports, and a headphone jack. Unfortunately, no USB-C despite the cabins being relatively new. 

We were warmly welcomed on board by the cabin manager shortly after settling in. A few minutes later, another member of the cabin crew offered welcome drinks–a choice of water, juice, or champagne. 

A short time later, menus were distributed.

Checking out the in-flight entertainment, there's a tonne of content in multiple language–films, TV series, documentaries, music, podcasts, games, and children's programming. 

The Flight

Boarding wrapped up about on time and we pushed back from the gate shortly thereafter. 

Just under 11 hours of flying time. 

The entertaining safety video played as the aircraft taxied out. 

The taxi time was relatively short by LHR standards. 

The Wi-Fi was available a few minutes after takeoff once the aircraft was above 10,000ft.

Although BA announced in 2025 that they would be installing free Starlink Wi-Fi throughout the fleet, so far there are only a handful of aircraft outfitted. In the meantime, Wi-Fi is a paid service in all cabins except for First class.

There is free messaging for all members of the British Airways Club programme. 

Access for streaming-capable Wi-Fi for the full flight costs £19.99

The in-flight service began about 15 minutes after takeoff with hot towels. 

An apéritif service followed shortly after. 

Barely a half hour into the flight we were already approaching Ireland. 

Service was efficient despite a completely full Club cabin. 

The starter course was well-presented as usual. There's almost always a salmon appetiser option and it's generally tasty. 

Starter:
Loch Fyne smoked salmon and avocado
Lemon pepper sauce, olive tapenade

Main course:

Thai red curry crispy chicken
Sesame jasmine rice

As we fly BA so often, I've often said that I get bored of the usual beef/chicken/fish/pasta meal options and would like to see more creative proteins like lamb, duck, prawns, etc.; however, I will say that this was a creative take on chicken. A nice Thai curry sauce with just the right amount of spice. 

I found the first two courses to be quite filling so chose the smaller dessert option, which I enjoyed with a Port wine. 

Dessert:

Crispy chocolate and hazelnut praline bar
Salted caramel

After the meal service wrapped up, there were still about 8.5 hours left in the flight. I like these longer flights to and from the West Coast as you can enjoy proper leisurely meals and still have plenty of time to rest. 

For those feeling a bit peckish between meal services, there are plenty of self-serve food and drink options set up in the galley between the two Business class cabins. 

Time for some rest!

I've always like BA's comfortable bedding in Club World; however, I will say that the mattress pad is a bit small compared to other carriers that offer them.

Club Suites in full-flat bed mode create a spacious 2m/6'7" sleeping surface

We were over Greenland by the time I was ready for a nap. Got lucky with clear skies for once!

Cabin lights were dimmed a bit, but never fully dark, which is fine as it was a day flight—that's what the eye masks in the amenity kit are for!

I always like having the moving map on the remote control screen while playing music on the main screen to go to sleep.

Screen off and bed time!

My little nap turned into over 6 hours of solid sleep as I didn't wake up until we were starting our descent into San Diego! 

Sorry, no photos of the pre-arrival meal as I totally missed it!

Cabin ready for arrival with all Suite doors locked in the open position

While sitting on the left side of the aircraft offers impressive and close views of the downtown skyline, I also enjoy the view from the right side passing over Balboa Park and the beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture of the buildings along the Prado district. 

I've said it before but it almost looks like Andalucia 

Woosh…right over the rooftops of Little Italy. 

We arrived at the gate ahead of schedule, which is always nice!