First special occasion

[LoopyLoo123]

Newbie here so hope this is posted in the right place! My husband and I have booked a flight to NYC next week using points for a milestone birthday. Does anyone know if BA offer anything special in first for occasions like this and how to request if so?

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

No they don’t

On any given day there are hundreds of people celebrating milestones / significant events and BA simply can’t do anything ‘special’

The most I ever got when flying on my birthday was a ‘happy birthday’ from the guy at the boarding gate checking passports / scanning BPs!

[JDB]

The special occasion will be getting you there and back on schedule. In F they will at least provide you with decent enough food and good wines.

[alig4th]

We’d had a signed card from the pilots and crew and a bottle of LPGS on our second anniversary, but this was after a chat with the crew on boarding, not anything we asked for beforehand

[Thegasman]

If the opportunity presents to drop it into conversation with the crew they may try & do something small. My mum got a bottle of LPGS & a card when travelling in First on her 70th birthday, we got a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte & cards in both directions travelling CE with our 5 week old last year. BA centrally will not arrange or sanction any special treatment though & you certainly shouldn’t advertise any gestures you receive in a way that could be linked to specific crew.

[Mouse]

If you get one of the older crews then drop it into conversation and I’m sure they will manage to do something for you

[Stuart_f]

Same situation, I took a small cake in my hand luggage. Got pulled aside at the Gold Wing security for secondary screening. I explained what it was and the screener put it in the fancy sniffing machine and I was sent on my way with a smile.

Onboard, I asked the crew if they could serve a slice with the after dinner coffee and they were delighted to do so.

Basically provide your own bits and the crew are normally happy to play along.

[meta]

I called YouFirst before when my partner and I had b-days and they arranged a card. We were also given extra bottle of LPGS. They also said that if we wanted to bring a cake, they will let the crew know and they’ll bring extra plates for us.

This was pre-pandemic though and given all the penny-pinching this might not be the case anymore. I tend to avoid BA for long-haul as well, so no recent experience.

[WaynedP]

Not BA, but I received a significant upgrade from the standard C Group manual Toyota Corolla that I booked and paid for with Avis ZA for a long weekend, to the prestige class Audi Q3 when I collected the car at CPT on my (non milestone) birthday earlier this year.

[Ihar]

A small cake’s a good idea (with some left over for the crew!). We were give a full bottle of LPGS to drink last time – I usually take a £30-£40 of expensive chocolates for the cabin crew as a thank you (not sure if the two were linked). Not necessary in First (often a crew ratio of 1:4 compared to 1:10 in Club), but always much appreciated.

I’d sit at the bar in the CCR – you’ll get some good attention and even better cocktails 😉

[Roberto]

It’s like the newlyweds flying to the Maldives and expecting an upgrade as its their honeymoon. Of course its important to them like it is to the other 30 or 40 honeymooners onboard – but BA can’t upgrade everybody.

You’re gonna be one of prehaps a few with a birthday on that flight , it’s the same every day on every flight – the staff may go the extra mile but don’t expect anything unfortunately .

However, happy birthday in advance from me, I hope you both have an amazing flight and trip to the big apple.

[Ihar]

Well you’re not going to get upgraded from First! But they will look after you, and make you feel even more special than the rest of F. I imagine if you’re not used to it, it will all be magical. Depending on the aircraft, always good to take a walk around and notice the differences.