A Blog for Anglophiles
Here’s a great video summary of the history of British Airways – it’s a little dated but the information is still relevant.
From the description:
A compilation of the history of British Empire Airways & BOAC and their eventual merger as British Airways.
This came through my inbox today and I thought it was worth sharing. Our friends at British Airways have launched a new promotion/sale to drive ticket sales for London. Not only are airfares on sales – but they’re also giving away two nights in a London hotel and two days of a car rental!
Here are the official details:
British Airways today launched its popular ‘London for Free’ sale, offering two nights’ free hotel in London.
‘London for Free’ offers travelers two nights’ free hotel accommodation at select three and four star hotels in central London when purchasing roundtrip airfare between the U.S. and the U.K.
Roundtrip airfares begin at $498 between New York (JFK or Newark) and London. Comparable airfares are available from all 19 British Airways’ U.S. cities.
Prices are available for sale through Thursday midnight (EDT), Aug. 19, 2010. Travel is valid from Oct. 21, 2010, through Dec. 19, 2010.
London hotels participating in ‘London for Free’ include the Royal National, President, Jurys Inn Heathrow, Central Park, Thistle Euston, Fraser Place Queens Gate, Hilton London Docklands and Kensington Close. The two free hotel nights are based on double occupancy; single occupants are offered one free hotel night.
Further information on this promotion and other British Airways offers are available by visiting the airline’s website, www.ba.com/sale
Here are some sample roundtrip airfares to get an idea of how much the tickets will run from various cities in the USA:
Have a look for yourself by going to BA.com and plugging in your travel dates. This is a great sale and a great opportunity to save money on a trip to London this fall – which happens to be my favorite time to travel to England. The weather is beautiful in England in the fall.
You know how we all have these fantasies about what traveling First Class is like?
They’re all true.
As I wrote about previously, British Airways flew us on our most recent trip as guests – first in Business class and the way home was planned to be in First Class. They wanted to provide us an opportunity to experience both classes so that we could write all about it.
Sounded like a good deal to me!
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to leaving England. However I was a little but just so I could get the First Class experience. So, on the day we were to head home, we boarded the Heathrow Express to the airport and quickly arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5 (still one of the most amazing buildings ever).
My only complaint about First Class Check-in is that the Heathrow Express drops you off at the opposite end of Terminal 5 as the special First Class Check-in area so one must do quite a bit of walking.
But you feel rather good about yourself as you pass by all the lines of people waiting to check in the old fashioned way for economy.
The first class experience begins at Check-in, located in a a special check-in area. It was the fastest check-in I ever had. We dropped out bags, got our boarding passes and we’re on our way. The staff we’re very friendly and didn’t treat us like we didn’t belong.
It was quite surreal – especially when you see a seat number of 0 on your boarding pass.
We had no idea what we were in for.
As with business class – you have your own special line for security, which moved suitably fast. And then you head to the lounge.
Also known as Valhalla.
The First Class lounge is separate from Business class lounge. In fact, they check your boarding pass twice, just to make sure you belong. The Concorde Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been.
Rather than wax poetical about all the stuff you get in the first class lounge, here’s a list of the benefits of the first class lounge:
I’m probably forgetting something, but that’s the basics.
When we arrived, Jackie wished to do a bit of shopping so she left me with our stuff while I drank a Sprite on the Terrace area and watched planes take-off and land. I saw the A-380 for the first time (two took off!). It was relaxing and fun just watching the airport. The Lounge is at the very top of Terminal 5, so it’s very quiet, very relaxing. I played on the GoldenTech iPad and read the Sunday British Newspapers. It was awesome.
When Jackie was done shopping, we decided to take advantage of our pre-flight meal. I’m happy to report that there was a hamburger on the menu and it tasted relatively normal. Though they didn’t have chips so I had to settle for crisps. Such a sacrifice. The food was delicious. I made a fool of myself and spilled my drink, thankfully before a celebrity sat down next to us (Piers Morgan, if you’re curious).
The waitstaff in the dining area was very helpful and answered our every whim (though he wouldn’t agree to gladiatorial combat with a colleague).
With plenty of time until our flight, it was nice to eat a tasty meal and relax. After we were suffiently stuffed, we found out our gate number and headed that way. It was such a shame to have to leave the lounge. Our flight was in one of the Terminal 5 satellite buildings, which was a little annoying as you have to go down and take a tram to the other building, then walk quite a ways to the gate. It’s far better than how my departures usually are - queuing up at a gate, then taking a bus to the plane and climbing stairs on the tarmac.
Since we were in First Class, we were at the front of the line. With Jackie being pregnant and the crowd of people behind us, it was quite a blessing.
As soon as you step on the plane and show them your First Class ticket, they take you and show you to your seat personally.
On most transalantic flights, I’ve never even seen the First Class cabin, it was always a place of mystery where presumably celebrities and policiticans travelled anonymously, away from us Proles.
So, it was quite a treat just to see the first class cabin, let alone be given a seat in it.
The free stuff didn’t stop in the lounge. In British Airways first class, you get the following stuff:
The service from the British Airways cabin crew was absolutely wonderful. They were very helpful and attentive. They even knew our names. We had lugged around a map of the London Underground with us and they offered to stow it away because it wouldn’t fit in the overhead compartment (and they were sure to have to hand it to us as we deplaned in Boston).
Jackie was still in the early stages of pregnancy when we flew, so she was not exactly feeling her finest. She was also pretty gutted that she couldn’t have any wine and after the cabin crew kept offering wonderful wines, she had to let them know she was pregnant. Within minutes all the other cabin crew came up to congratulate her and see if she needed anything.
I wasn’t pregnant and it made me feel rather jealous!
We got comfortable and the plane took off on time.
You know how airplane food pretty much always sucks?
First Class is different.
Not only do you have a choice of things to eat – you can have steak. Yes, steak. They will grill you a steak at 30,000 feet. I couldn’t bloody believe it! And it came with chips! And they had ketchup!
Needless to say, it was by far the best airplane meal I’ve ever had. With a dessert to match (ice cream).
I read my selection of British Newspapers and watched some British TV on the iPad. The flight went by very quickly and was very relaxing. It was not a sleeper service so we arrived in Boston just a couple hours after we actually left. Flying back in time is always fun.
The flight arrived on time. We got off the plane first and Customs was a breeze.
Our trip was over but the memories would last a lifetime.
I know I’ve already thanked them a million times before, but I must thank British Airways once again for flying us as guests and giving us such a wonderful flying experience. It truly is the way to fly.
Now, after all that, what’s the verdict on business class vs first class?
Well, if price is no object then obviously fly British Airways First Class.
If your budget is tighter, I would encourage anyone to save some extra money and spring for business class Club World seats. They are excellent value for money. You’re not crammed in Coach, you get access to the lounge and all the benefits of that (including the arrivals lounge). You get a seat that lays flat and a good selection of food. You are able to sleep flat and arrive at your destination refreshed.
Business class is the way to go. Read our review of British Airways Business Class here.
This will be the first in a series of posts about our recent trip to London. It was a whirlwind trip but a lovely trip. Rather than give a day by day, blow by blow account of the trip, I’m going to focus on several key aspects of the trip that are worth writing about. It was mostly a business trip – so there isn’t much touristy stuff to write about.
First up is our experience flying British Airways Club World – also known as business class.
We were leaving for London on July 4th – yes, I do appreciate the irony of leaving for London on July 4th. As usual, we were flying out of Chicago O’Hare – which is a fine enough airport. We had an overnight flight planned – British Airways currently has flights 2 flights out of Chicago every day – one of them is a sleeper service (I’ll get to what that means shortly).
As I wrote about previously, we would be traveling at guests of British Airways and that meant we were flying Club World – which is also known as business class to everyone else. Obviously, we were quite looking forward to the experience as we had never flown Club World before.
The British Airways Club World experience begins right when you arrive at the airport. Club World has it’s own checkin line, a line that is always shorter and moves much faster. When we arrived we waited a short time, our bags were checked and then we were off to security. And now, another perk of Club World, you also share the same security line that you do with First Class. It was the quickest security line I ever went through!
Now, by far one of the best perks of traveling Club World is that you get access to the lounge (it’s the Terrace Lounge at O’Hare). If you’ve never flown business class before – the lounge is a quiet place for you to relax before you travel. Much food and drink is provided, all the British newspapers you could ever ask for are available and there are many big comfy couches to doze off on.
When you get inside the lounge you’re greeted by the friendly BA staff at the desk and then you’re prsesented with many delicious food options. Even though I’m a very picky eater, I still managed to eat very well. Best of all, you can eat as much as you want and I took well advantage of their delicious chocolate chip cookies.
We were flying on a sleeper service – which meant that we needed to eat our dinner in the lounge. After take-off, the lights would be shut off and we would be encouraged to sleep for the flight over (after a final delicious snack). So, we ate. Eating helps you sleep so I was was sure to eat!
After you’ve eaten dinner, it’s time to go rest in the comfy lounge area. The best part of the lounge is that it’s insanely quiet. It’s filled with people checking e-mail on their laptops, watching the silent TV, reading newspapers or taking liberal advantage of the free alcohol. There is ample free wifi and it’s fantastically fast.
My favorite part of the lounge was the wide selection of free British newspapers for every political taste. The staff is very friendly and helpful – keeping us updated on the status of our flight.
I’m used to waiting for ages at the gate until boarding of the flight begins. This time we were entertained in the lounge so well that the time passed very quickly. When the time came to board – Club World and First get their own boarding line so we didn’t have to wait in line with everyone else.
It was literally two minutes from the lounge to our seat on the plane.
The first thing that will amaze you about Club World are the seats. They’re huge! The most innovative feature – and the one I was most looking forward to – was the fact the seats lay flat in a horizontal position, creating a comfy bed.
One of the most unpleasant aspects of flying transatlantic is I usually fly Coach and I can never sleep on the plane. I always arrive in London having been awake for 24 hours. It’s a real shame because most flights to London arrive early in the morning. You’re so jetlagged that the whole first day is wasted because you’re so bloody tired.
Since we were blessed with Club World seats, my goal was to sleep the whole way to London and wake-up refreshed.
We made ourselves comfortable and the plane took off quickly and on time. Once we’d reached cruising altitude, we were given a delicious snack (mine was two warm cookies). And it was not long after that pretty much the whole Club World cabin had fallen asleep.
I stayed awake for a little while, enjoying the comfort, reading a newspaper and watching a little bit of TV on the on demand entertainment system. You have access to the same entertainment that everyone else on the plane has – except the screen is bigger, which is nice.
The cabin crew staff (despite their negative perception right now) were nothing but kind and helpful. I could not have asked for a better flight experience and the cabin crew certainly played their part.
After my snack was well digested and I was suitably tired, I grabbed by complimentary pillow and blanket, moved the seat into the lie flat position and went to sleep.
I woke up in London refreshed and ready to go for our first day. The plane arrived at Heathrow Terminal Five – by far one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. It’s a pleasure to go through every time.
The Club World experience doesn’t end when you land. Since you’re at the front of the plane – you get off the plane first. No waiting for the rest of Coach to get off before you can hustle your way into the arrivals area. Before you land, you’re also given a special invitation to a fast track immigration line. This is quite nice as this line is obviously much shorter than the regular immigration line. Within 10 minutes of landing our passports were stamped and we were welcomed to Britain.
After you’re through immigration and you’ve claimed your bags you have one final stop – the British Airways Arrivals lounge in Terminal Five. I don’t know about you, but after a 7 hours flight, I’m usually starving. The Arrivals lounge solves that problem. It’s literally wall to wall fresh breakfast food. They even have delicious pancakes. The staff are friendly and helpful and of course, there is ample free WiFi.
Once we were suitably stuffed, we headed for the Heathrow Express to venture into Central London for our first day.
I cannot thank them enough – but a huge Thank You goes to British Airways for flying us in Club World as guests. It was an incredible experience.
As an aside – British Airways is currently running a sale on Club World – if you book now until the end of the month – some Club World tickets are half as much as they usually are. Great deals are to be had if you want to spring for Club World. I highly recommend it!
Sadly, No Bookings to Show Off
I wrote about British Airway’s new mobile strategy last weekend – well now the new apps have hit the wild.
As an iPhone user, I immediately downloaded the new iPhone app and I’m very impressed with it so far. I was always rather disppointed with the original BA iPhone app, it didn’t really do anything very useful.
The new British Airways iPhone app changes that. Not only is it useful, it does a bunch of great stuff, such as:
By far the coolest feature of the app is that soon you’ll be able to just carry your boarding pass on your iPhone instead of having to print one out. They’re slowly rolling out the feature across their network and transatlantic flyers should be able to do it early next year.
The only thing really missing from the new app is the ability to book a plane ticket from it. I’m sure that feature will arrive soon. Until then, you could launch Safari and book a ticket that way.
If you’re planning on flying British Airways – then you can download the new British Airways iPhone app here:
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dream of living in the UK a reality.
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