Well, what can we say about our First Class experience with British Airways?
Firstly, the Concorde Lounge at Heathrow is superb. Its for passengers flying first class on a scheduled BA flight or those who've achieved 5000 BA Tier Points in one year and been awarded a Concorde pass.
We hadn't bothered booking ourselves in for the Elemis Spa - has to be done weeks in advance and we weren't particularly interested in any of the 15 minute free treatments on offer - lots of massages and skin treatments which are probably more appreciated after a few hours travelling, rather than at the start.. We didn't need a private cabana either (small rooms with day beds, tvs and showers) so we headed for the food and drink.
Unlimited Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne (at a mere £120+ per bottle)! Or cocktails with olives at the bar .....
There's no buffet food in this Lounge - its a la carte with waiter service at tables in private booths.
Knowing we were going to have a lovely meal on the plane but not having eaten all day we decided to have a light meal in the lounge - well one of us did anyway!
We enjoyed champagne and lovely wine then it was time to board our plane.
Once on board there was yet more bl**dy champagne - tough life! We asked to have our meal at 8.45pm and I invited David to join me in my cubicle. Opposite each seat is another padded/bench seat which forms the bottom end of the bed when in fully reclined mode. It enables 2 people to sit at the table to dine together which is a nice feature.
We were wearing our BA pyjamas - very comfortable they are too …. mens have round necked tops and ladies have satin edged v necked tops.
and we also received goody bags with an assortment of toiletries, eye masks, combs and pens.... oh and the ladies bags also had a cute little handbag mirror - very useful.
After our dinner and all the vino we crashed out and enjoyed a wonderful sleep for 5 hours. Neither of us fancied breakfast so we just had water and juice and then it was time to disembark.
We left Heathrow at 1850 hours yesterday (Thursday) and landed at Delhi at 0850 local time today. Delhi is 5½ hours ahead of GMT so our body clocks were still registering the middle of the night.
We allowed ourselves a few hours at Delhi airport in case of delays on the BA flight or getting from international to the domestic section. Indian beaurocracy should never be underestimated! Our connecting flight to Amritsar departs at 1340 hours arriving at 1450 hours.
We upgraded to Business Class on this internal flight with Vistara Airlines in the hope of having access to a decent lounge area to wait in at Delhi airport. It isn't a patch on the Concorde lounge but at least we have comfortable seating and can charge the phones and laptop computer and I can write this post. There is food available but its buffet style and doesn't look very appetising
I left it to the last minute to tell David that Vistara don't serve alcohol in their Lounge or on their internal flights (shock horror) - they provide soft drinks and 'mocktails' although the bar is currently unattended so we're sticking to soft drinks from the 'help yourself fridge' I think we'd had more than enough wine/champagne on the British Airways flight anyway.
We've yet to find out whether our hotel in Amritsar serves wine/beer - in many 'religious' regions the restaurants are 'dry' so we'll need to locate a wine or beer shop (usually to be found in the back streets and selling wine at around £4-5 per bottle rather than the £25 charged by hotels/restaurants as the tax is so high).
Firstly, the Concorde Lounge at Heathrow is superb. Its for passengers flying first class on a scheduled BA flight or those who've achieved 5000 BA Tier Points in one year and been awarded a Concorde pass.
We hadn't bothered booking ourselves in for the Elemis Spa - has to be done weeks in advance and we weren't particularly interested in any of the 15 minute free treatments on offer - lots of massages and skin treatments which are probably more appreciated after a few hours travelling, rather than at the start.. We didn't need a private cabana either (small rooms with day beds, tvs and showers) so we headed for the food and drink.
Unlimited Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne (at a mere £120+ per bottle)! Or cocktails with olives at the bar .....
There's no buffet food in this Lounge - its a la carte with waiter service at tables in private booths.
Knowing we were going to have a lovely meal on the plane but not having eaten all day we decided to have a light meal in the lounge - well one of us did anyway!
We both opted for Capreolus Smoked mutton for starters (thin slices of smoked mutton on rocket leaves with pomegranate and candied walnuts) David then had mackerel fillet on a warm salad and I had Moroccan carrot salad with roasted chantenay carrots, chickpeas and an orange yogurt dressing (much nicer than it sounds).
I finished there but David went on to have a Chocolate Jaffa Dome and then a cheeseboard with a nice glass of port! No willpower that one.
We enjoyed champagne and lovely wine then it was time to board our plane.
Once on board there was yet more bl**dy champagne - tough life! We asked to have our meal at 8.45pm and I invited David to join me in my cubicle. Opposite each seat is another padded/bench seat which forms the bottom end of the bed when in fully reclined mode. It enables 2 people to sit at the table to dine together which is a nice feature.
We were wearing our BA pyjamas - very comfortable they are too …. mens have round necked tops and ladies have satin edged v necked tops.
and we also received goody bags with an assortment of toiletries, eye masks, combs and pens.... oh and the ladies bags also had a cute little handbag mirror - very useful.
After our dinner and all the vino we crashed out and enjoyed a wonderful sleep for 5 hours. Neither of us fancied breakfast so we just had water and juice and then it was time to disembark.
We left Heathrow at 1850 hours yesterday (Thursday) and landed at Delhi at 0850 local time today. Delhi is 5½ hours ahead of GMT so our body clocks were still registering the middle of the night.
We allowed ourselves a few hours at Delhi airport in case of delays on the BA flight or getting from international to the domestic section. Indian beaurocracy should never be underestimated! Our connecting flight to Amritsar departs at 1340 hours arriving at 1450 hours.
We upgraded to Business Class on this internal flight with Vistara Airlines in the hope of having access to a decent lounge area to wait in at Delhi airport. It isn't a patch on the Concorde lounge but at least we have comfortable seating and can charge the phones and laptop computer and I can write this post. There is food available but its buffet style and doesn't look very appetising
I left it to the last minute to tell David that Vistara don't serve alcohol in their Lounge or on their internal flights (shock horror) - they provide soft drinks and 'mocktails' although the bar is currently unattended so we're sticking to soft drinks from the 'help yourself fridge' I think we'd had more than enough wine/champagne on the British Airways flight anyway.
We've yet to find out whether our hotel in Amritsar serves wine/beer - in many 'religious' regions the restaurants are 'dry' so we'll need to locate a wine or beer shop (usually to be found in the back streets and selling wine at around £4-5 per bottle rather than the £25 charged by hotels/restaurants as the tax is so high).
So pleased you had a lovely experience - the PJs look lovely x
ReplyDeleteThey're nicer than Qatar's Jenni! So far, so good and we have nothing but high praise for the Concorde Lounge. x
ReplyDeleteVery upper class Sue xx
ReplyDeleteYep. I was born to it!
ReplyDelete