-
I’ve currently got a 2-4-1 booking from LHR/JFK in CW and EWR/LHR in F.
I’ve just seen availability open up for LHR/JFK in F and then we’d return in CW likely from JFK again.
Is it worth the £70 fee to amend the booking to change the dates to benefit going out in F and returning in CW?
The Concorde Room has good quality drinks but the food is quite poor, although breakfast is OK. It’s much quieter and more civilised than other LHR T5 lounges and has a fair amount of natural light. I wouldn’t base your journey around the lounge but if you have enough Avios to do F both ways, it isn’t a lot extra and the difference on board is huge even if you have Club Suite.
I think the F experience is hugely superior to J. CCR is a different world from the Galleries lounges (though at least going to NYC you could use the B lounge which is much nicer), you can pick your seats from the time of booking (if you don’t have the requisite status) and you have the convenience of being able to use You First in the event of any issues with your booking.
The food in the CCR isn’t exactly gourmet, but it’s not bad at all and the restaurant-style dining is very pleasant – when we were there in March we ate in that section for the first time and our waitress seemed to appear magically each time our champagne needed topping up!Concorde Room is nothing to write home about but the difference on board between F and CW is considerable, even in Club Suite and I would say it’s definitely worth the additional cost – I avoid CW as much as possible as the quality of food, drink and service is not to my required standard.
J was dire on our last (12 hour) flight. CS was nice but the novelty wore off when the catering consisted of a chicken pie and tiny afternoon tea! `At the moment BA J seems to be the opposite of a sweet spot – my next 3 trips are a mix of F and PE!
At the end of the day, the CCR is an airport lounge, there’s nothing in there that will amaze you.
That being said, BA J and F are world’s apart, BA F is what their J product should be, that to me would be what’s worth the change fee. If you have the points, go F both ways now that option is available to you.
If that £70 is the only extra you’d pay then I’d go for it.
If it’s that plus more avios / BA surcharges etc then it would depend on how much extra it would be.
I’ve been in the CCR at LHR a couple of times and liked it. It’s far quieter than the club and first lounges and I thought the food waas great and they are more amenable to adjusting dishes to take into account preferences.
And of course you’d have the flight in F as well with it’s more relaxed meal service when they’ll serve you when you want and not like the other cabins when you get it when it comes.
I enjoy CCR, especially for breakfast. It’s a pleasant bonus, but not work First on its own.
However I do love travelling in First. Three out of my four trips so far have been outstanding; one was perfectly nice but not amazing. Crew is much more attentive, and one thing I really appreciate is being able to pick exactly what and when I eat. They’re happy to mix and match to create a great meal.Its pleasant for a bit of celeb spotting, Hugh Grant held the door open for my better half a while ago and Sir Alex Ferguson passed on his way out to somewhere tropical on my first First visit.
You’re probably more likely to see a Gov minister tucking into freebies prior to a jolly.
Mick Fleetwood was playing the piano on our first visit! He looked to be heading to SFO, no doubt on his way home to Maui, lol.
At the moment BA J seems to be the opposite of a sweet spot
A “bitter end”?
If you can only go one way in F, do it from London to NYC. Westbound is a longer flight than Eastbound so more time to enjoy the F service.
I really enjoyed the food in the CCR.
If you are traveling back overnight, I wouldn’t bother with F. No time to appreciate it. You just want to sleep, and the CS need does the job.
If you are on the morning flight then the main meal is breakfast and it’s too early for champagne, so again I would settle for J.
Too early for champagne?! I don’t think that’s a thing.
It’s definitely not a thing. The ONLY way to wash down smoked salmon and scrambled eggs (or a bacon roll if you’re slumming it in Galleries).
***But don’t forget it may now not be worth returning in CW as BA will now charge you more avios than for F on a redemption!
Update! We’ve managed to bag F upgrades from J on our outgoing flight.
We were flying to JFK in J and returning F from EWR, now flying to EWR in F. Cost us £70 + 18k points – not bad all told! (Note this is after the RFS changes, but the original booking was made before RFS changes).
10:45 departure, with a 22:30 return scheduled – can’t flippin’ wait!
Nice! Let us now how it is.
How did you find the upgrade? Checking online and phoning to make the switch? It’s a great upgrade deal, I’m surprised the tax increase from J to F is not more than £70 they charged.
The £70 is the £35pp change fee, it does seem quite a bargain!
Whilst the service in F is certainly better than CW, I’m not with everyone else here in seeing great value over CW. Try it once, sure, but it’s not a go to IMHO.
Food on a airplane will always be inferior to a restaurant. Yes first is better, but CW is perfectly acceptable. Both are lie flat and both come with a reasonable level of service (ok, you might need to press the button in CW whereas in F attendants will be in your face all flight).
I for one don’t get the hype and other than a one time experience, I don’t spend the additional 18k points for a nicer brand of champagne.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
