We boarded from the lounge into the First Class cabin through door 1L. This was my first time flying British Airways.
Date: Friday February 28
Flight: 284
Aircraft: 747-400
Origin: SFO
Destination: LHR
Seat: 4K
Scheduled Push Back: 4:10 PM
Actual Push Back: 4:13 PM
The seating is in a 1-2-1 arrangement on the lower deck in the nose of the aircraft. The crew was very professional and addressed me by name. The seat was comfortable and spacious. On the seat was two pillows.
Date: Tuesday October 24
Flight: 949
Aircraft: 777-200
Origin: LHR
Destination: SFO
Seat: 1K Polaris First
Scheduled Push Back: 12:15 PM
Actual Push Back: 12:10 PM
Originally, I was scheduled to fly Turkish Airlines from Manchester to San Francisco via an overnight in Istanbul. I had my Turkish Visa before Turkey stopped issuing tourist visas for US citizens and was all set. However, due to some last minute plans, I needed to be home on Tuesday rather than Wednesday afternoon. There were no options out of Manchester so I looked at options from London. United had saver space in business and first on their non-stop flights. Saver space between the US and Europe is always challenging to find. Finding space between the US west coast and Europe is almost non-existent. United charges 57.5K one way between Europe and the US in business and 80K in first. Unfortunately, this aircraft had the dreaded 2-4-2 business class configuration and only middle seats were available. I already paid 70K for the original Turkish flights and decided to spring the extra 10K for first. The first class seat provided more space, direct aisle access, and access to the United Global First lounge in London.
After being at the fantastic United Global First Lounge for a few hours, I decided to try out the other Star Alliance first class lounge. The Singapore Airlines lounge is a short walk from the United Club and next to the Air Canada lounge.
Wow. Just wow. This is one of the most visually stunning lounges I’ve been too. I can’t believe United even has a product like this. I read reviews that this lounge is the best Star Alliance option in Heathrow and that’s saying a lot since other contenders are Lufthansa, Air Canada, and Singapore Airlines.