First, Club Suite and the rest: Flying the British Airways 777 in all 4 cabins
With many multicabin reviews under our belts at TPG, this time we go back to our roots and revisit our first viral hit: reviewing four classes on the same British Airways flight.
The original video was published May 16, 2019, and has amassed 184 million impressions and 7.7 million views. It also kick-started our journey to almost 400,000 subscribers and 71 million views on The Points Guy UK YouTube channel.
We boarded a British Airways Boeing 777 once again, but this time it was a refurbished 777-200 with the newest British Airways business-class product, the Club Suite. This is a significant upgrade to the product we featured in our last video. We flew this aircraft from Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London to Dulles International Airport (IAD) outside Washington, D.C.
Watch the full video below:
Here’s a breakdown of our individual experiences on BA's 777-200:
First class — Ben Smithson
Seat: 1K.
We paid: 68,000 Avios plus $499.
I found this to be an upgraded experience compared to British Airways business class. It was overall much better than I expected. The food — presentation, variety and taste — was genuine fine dining. I would be happy to be served this in a five-star hotel in London.
The terrace of the Concorde Room lounge was an airy, light-filled space ideal to enjoy a glass of vintage Champagne while escaping the crowds in the terminal below.
The seat, however, needs a sliding door to provide the privacy it lacks. Some BA first-class seats now feature a door and business class on this flight has doors. The inflight entertainment screen was old, clunky and fairly low-resolution. Also, back on the ground, although the terrace is lovely, the indoor dining booths in the Concorde Room are quite dark and gloomy.
Club Suite — Liam Spencer
Seat: 15K.
We paid: 50,000 Avios plus $499.
This was one of the most spacious business-class seats I’ve flown. The fully closing door allowed for total privacy and was the real star of the product.
From the starter and main course to afternoon tea, all of the food was delicious. I opted for the chicken tikka masala for lunch after a recommendation from the cabin crew and it proved to be the best curry I’ve ever eaten on a plane.
The Club Suite cabin felt incredibly fresh, modern and clean. The product is a few years old but it hasn’t shown any signs of aging.
However, some improvements could be made. The Club Suite bed could have been comfier and wider. The bedding itself was perfectly fine but the footwell was quite narrow.
Also, my business-class ticket granted me access to the British Airways business-class lounges at Heathrow T5. These aren’t a bad place to relax before your flight, but are way behind other business lounges at Heathrow in terms of comfort, design and dining options.
World Traveller Plus — Nicky Kelvin
Seat: 23A.
We paid: 26,000 Avios plus $357.
Terminal 5 has a separate check-in queue for premium economy, which is relatively rare among airlines that fly a premium economy product and the queue was very short.
On board, the seat was very spacious and comfortable, and the smaller cabin gave an extra sense of privacy. The food and amenities were also true upgrades from economy and closer to what is provided in business class. Food was served on real crockery and was very tasty. The large meal was enough to satisfy any appetite.
Unfortunately, there is no lounge access and the ground experience is the same as for economy — other than the separate check-in line. While the seat was very comfortable for a day flight and had a decent recline, I would still find it difficult to sleep in this seat on an overnight flight.
World Traveller — Maren Gimnes
Seat: 37A.
We paid: 13,000 Avios plus $265.55.
I really enjoyed the friendly crew, and quick and efficient service. I found there to be a good amount of legroom and I liked the colors and the design of the seat.
The comfy blanket was a lot bigger than what I’m used to on long-haul economy flights and I was surprised by how many snacks we got between the meals. It was also great to get my own bottle of wine rather than just a glass.
It wasn’t all perfect though. There was a lot of space between the seat and the fuselage, which made it uncomfortable to rest against the window, although this is a problem suffered by all the pairs of two seats in the final few rows of this aircraft. The main dish had tasty vegetables, but the meat was very dry. Finally, the headphones were poor quality and you would be better off bringing your own to watch the inflight entertainment.
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