Planning & Booking
British Airways 747-400 First Class Denver to London
British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
Andaz Amsterdam
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Frankfurt to JFK
This was going to be our first longhaul trip from our home airport (DEN) which was pretty exciting. Given the departure time (8:50PM) we had the entire day to relax and pack for our week in Europe. And we needed it because I was feeling under the weather until the early afternoon. Once packing was complete, we had a couple of snacks and cocktails at our favorite neighborhood restaurant. We grabbed an Uber Select (no X's available) for $62 flat rate to the airport.
We arrived around 6:30 PM and checked in. No pre-check for this flight. We spent an hour or so in the Terminal A Admirals Club which is fine. We were able to get a seat at the bar and relax for a bit.
Prior to boarding, we snapped a few pics of the beast that would take us to London.
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| BA 747-400 |
Boarding was easy and we were settling in to our seats in row 1 in no time. The cabin is packed with 14 seats in the nose (vs. 8-12 on other carriers) but the design of the cabin was really different in a good way. Black leather on the seats, purple lighting accents, the in-seat lamp, and the window "blinds" made the seat feel more like a plush hotel bar than an airplane.
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| Seat 2A |
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| Left side of the First Class cabin |
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| Seat 1A looking forward |
Goodies (amenity kit, pajamas, slippers) were distributed and we kicked things off right with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle. Boarding completed and the door was shut with 9/14 seats occupied.
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| Let's get this party started |
One of the knocks against row 1 is the shared closet between the seats. No one used the closet besides us so there wasn't any foot traffic up to our seats. This might be different in the winter when every person has a coat to hang. We were both glad we selected row 1 as the view out the nose (forward) was really pretty cool. We were close enough to talk easily.
Prior to push back, Emily went to the restroom and one of the flight attendants working the cabin came to refill her Champagne. Unfortunately, he managed to dump the entire glass of Champagne all over her seat. He quickly grabbed a towel and went to work drying it off. He grabbed an extra mattress pad and laid it down on the seat even before Emily returned. While he was gracious and super apologetic, he didn't offer another seat while 1A dried off a bit. Not a huge deal at all - but certainly one of the differences between the service level on BA vs. the Asian or Middle East carriers.
Given the late departure, the lights were dimmed for the dinner service and none of our pictures turned out. But I was able to snag a menu.
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| Cocktails |
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| Champs & Rose |
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| Dinner |
We both had the poached lobster to start which was excellent. I had the salad which was basically a bowl of weeds with too much dressing - not great. I had the king prawns for dinner which were also excellent. Anything with shrimp, bacon, and croutons can only be so bad. I finished with the chocolate and salt caramel fondant which was one of the best desserts I've had a on plane. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the food on BA.
After dinner, I asked for turndown and a glass of Johnnie Walker Blue. Pretty much the best way to drift off to sleep on a plane. I don't really have any complains about the bedding other than I could have used another pillow which is typical. I tried to watch Interstellar but honestly didn't get it so went to sleep instead. After nearly 5 hours of sleep, I woke up an hour out from Heathrow. I changed out of my pajamas and had a wonderfully prepared Cappuccino before landing.
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| Great views of London on approach to LHR |
We landed about 15 minutes early but our gate was occupied so we sat on the tarmac for a bit. Once we made it to the gate, we were among the first people off and headed straight to the Concorde Room.
While there are more stylish ways to get to Europe, you can't beat a direct flight from your home airport. We will definitely be on this flight again.
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