Review: British Airways First Class Seattle to London

It is always remarked my frequent flyers that British Airways First Class has the finest Business Class product in the sky. I do find that BA First Class is consistently better than BA Business Class which is also a very polished product — especially in the Club Suites. Service in British First is usually exemplary and food options also have been very good. Some of my close friends have had bad seats or broken flight entertainment systems. While this journey was definitely not my most memorable, having some spotty service issues, overall the experience was seriously good

I began my journey to London Heathrow in the newly revamped BA Seattle Lounge.

After a glass of NV Pol Roger Champagne I made my way to seat 2F which has been my favorite First Class seat on a non-A380. First Class was entirely full and I was eager to try their champagne upon board, the 2015 Bollinger ‘La Grande Annee’ which retails for roughly 200 USD. The top champagne really did make this flight.

I think some BA flyers are still disgruntled that Laurent-Perrier ‘Grand Siecle’ Champagne has been removed from the Concorde Room. I am super impressed with the wine list that they have which is arguably the most deep and richest range of sparkling wines on any flight. They had two top champagnes on the menu as well as a great English bubbles from 2014, their Nyetimber.

The First Class seats were updated by BA several years back but still give you a modern feel. They are comfortable and functional. They are also wide enough for nearly all humans and 78 inches in length — which creates comfort for my 6’5’’ frame. With a touch of a button they are adjusted to a lay flat bed that was extremely cozy with the classy bedding selected. The leather arm rests offer good support as does the back of the seat. This is going to be an extremely comfortable seat for someone tall or overweight and the bedding they use with 400 thread count is lush and comfy. I prefer sitting in the second row as the first is closer to the galley.

I was immediately served some snacks and a glass of the incredible 2015 Bollinger ‘La Grande Annee’ Champagne. Each seat has a small compartment for a jacket. There is also a small to medium-sized storage locker behind the seat where small personal belongings could be stowed. The bathrooms could use a refresh but they were cleaned regularly. They have spartan aesthetics but feature their really nice Elemis products from their Ultra Smart pro-collagen range.

Service was initially quite slow. One of the pursers was fantastic and he helped me for about half of the flight. However, the first woman purser was not always having the best attitude. I think she was having a bad day and was also tired admitting that she had flown standby the day before to get to Seattle. I think she could have done a better job with attitude and effort. This was also quite an anomaly from my other BA first flights this year.

The amenity kit by Temperley London is solid. The eye mask in particular is really good. This isn’t an Emirates First amenity kit. . . but what is? New television screens were added to the First Suites in 2023. They are very good and high resolution. I love the interactive map that they have while you are in the air. They have an awesome range of in flight entertainment. Headphone quality is decent but could be better Charging stations were easy to use.

Throughout my flight I had marvelous, attentive service from one of the pursers. The other was definitely not at top of her game and she also slept through a large part of the flight. While a few of my flying friends have noted that British First does not have great service I have found that in my past few years of BA First flights, the attendants really do try to make you have an enjoyable journey. I was given pajamas but not slippers for some reason. Because of the female purser’s attitude I chose not to bother her for slippers.

I happily settled into a second glass of 2015 Bollinger. Food selections were good and I decided to go healthy, ordering a seafood main as well as a salad nicoise. The smoked duck which a neighbor ordered looked fabulous.

Their still wine list is decent but nothing like their sparkling wine and champagne selection. They were unfortunately out of the Bollinger PN19 which I was really hoping to do a side by side with the 2015 Grand Annee. However, when you look at this list I don’t know if there is another airline that offers these two top champagnes together. I didn’t try both but the fact that they have these as well as the top wine by Nyetimer from 2014 makes this one of the best sparkling wine/champagne lists in the skies.

I was massively impressed with my cheese plate which I had after my mains. The Nicoise was a fabulous start and very fresh. It is not easy to serve raw tuna on a flight but this was a really good starter. I really liked the dressing in this dish as well as the bright veggies.

My main was very small. I loved the fresh Dungeness crab and the scallops were also good. They could have done a better job with this entree making it larger and something that was more of a main rather than a starter. I do understand making meals that are healthy and small in portion but I would have liked more options for those who want something heartier and still enjoy eating seafood

However, it was devoured in a mere few bites and I asked the female purser if she had any extra entrees. She immediately responded that she did not. But she later came back and said that she has found some vegetarian pasta, which I ordered to try.

It was far from impressive. The photo looks better than it actually was. Coach pasta would have been more tasty and this was really bland and also the pasta was very hard. It could have been overcooked by the purser, I wasn’t quite sure. But I could only manage a few bites so that made me a bit hungry.

Conversely, we have the cheese plate here. It might not look like much but the cheeses were really high quality and I loved that there were a range of crackers that you could enjoy them with. The fig spread was a wonderful foil. The richness of the cheese went really nicely with the Bordeaux selection.

Cadence was generally good throughout the meal. I opted to try their 2011 Chateau Bouscaut to match the cheese and found it to be excellent despite the obvious challenges of the vintage. This one is right at peak right now. It is not the best Bordeaux I have had on BA First but it was still a solid selection that is drinking nicely.

I then settled into the flight and had my glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label before it was time to hit the sack. My bed was instantly made into a life flat and I snuggled into the comfortable sheets and duvet. It wasn’t long before I was asleep for several hours and arose to a beautiful sunrise over the United Kingdom.

My male purser did a great job with the turndown service. Upon waking I ordered an espresso which was immediately presented to me. We prepared for landing and I was relatively well-rested after several hours of sleep. I eagerly awaited visiting with my friend in the famed Concorde Room at Terminal 5 in London Heathrow.

BOTTOM LINE:

This was not the best First flight that I have had with British Airways. One of the pursers had a fabulous attitude while the other didn’t and usually this is not the case for BA. I have found that their service in First is generally consistently great.

Food quality was generally very good other than the veggie pasta. I really enjoyed my starter and the have an incredible array of sparkling wines and champagnes. They definitely have one of the best sparkling wine/champagne lists in the skies.

Generally speaking the first class attendants are engaging and care about your needs. This is always a beautiful departure to service that I receive from other US airlines where flight attendants usually can’t seem to be bothered. I will always look forward to flying BA First Class.