British Airways First Class 777-300ER Review: London to Atlanta

If you’re looking to experience the best that British Airways has to offer, you’ll want to depart from London’s Terminal 5 where you’ll enjoy all the bells and whistles of British Airways First Class. There is a dedicated first class wing that will expedite your check-in, security check, and whisk you straight into the lounge without even setting foot into the main terminal. But…don’t stop there, as we highlight in our review, the best first class lounge isn’t the eponymously named one, but is one of the most exclusive in the world: The Concorde Room. Only ticketed departing first class customers and British Airways Gold Guest List can access it. I’ve flown British Airways First Class many times in the past, but this is the first time out of London and getting the full experience.

On my latest flight aboard the 777-300er first class, I we departed from terminal 3 where we made use of the Qantas Lounge. The

Sadly, we weren’t able to get on one of the new 787-10, refitted 777s featuring a brand new first class, or even a 787-900. As a result, while we had a great service, we ended up on a tired 777 that, long story short, is quite inferior to even its latest business class. There are still a lot of these planes in the sky, and this will give you a good idea of what to expect. Here’s what it’s like flying British Airways First Class from London to Atlanta aboard the 777-300ER

Flight Details:

• When: Jan 2024
• Route: LHR to ATL
• Flight: BA 227
• Flight Time: 9 hours
• Seat: 4E
• Price: 82.5k Alaska Airlines miles + $750

Booking

I booked the flights a few days prior to departure and booked our tickets separately. For my ticket, I used Alaska Miles as I was curious to see how it would credit now that Alaska gives elite miles on award bookings. It’s been two weeks since I’ve flown and have yet to receive credit so I may have to chase the elite miles ( it can take up to 14 working days for the miles to appear ).

While you could book with any One World program – these are the most common redemption options:

• Alaska = 82.5k miles
• Iberia/BA = 85k Avios
• AA = 85k miles
• Asia Miles = 87k miles

Two different 777-300ER cabins

You should know that there are currently two different iterations of British Airways First Class on the 777-300ER. One features 14 seats and the other features just 8. If you want the most current and best First Class, you’ll want to choose the cabins that feature 8; however, that cabin is currently on very few routes.

Here’s a look at the new British Airways First Class Suite featuring doors that close

We didn’t have that cabin however and had this instead

Check-In – the following is if you’re out of terminal 5

Make sure to tell your uber or cab driver to drop you off at the far end of Terminal 5 where First Class has their own dedicated wing.

You’ll not only have a far quicker experience, but you’ll have a private, expedited security lane that leads you directly into the First Class Lounge. Don’t stop there though, if you’re flying First Class out of London, make sure you visit the uber exclusive Concorde Room which is just down the hallway from the first class lounge after you exit.

Lounge

You have access to one of the most exclusive and hard to get into lounges in the world. In fact, I’ve flown British Airways First Class multiple times and have never visited the Concorde Room because you need to be departing in First Class in order to access it.

Make sure you budget enough time to have a sit down meal and a crisp glass of Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle.

Terminal 3 Qantas Lounge

I’ll cut to the chase…the BA lounge in terminal 3 isn’t very good. I’ve been to it many times, and we wanted to visit the Qantas lougne instead. So happy we did. The lounge is fresh, feels more luxurious that the BA First Lounge in Terminal 5 and was a brand new experience for my wife and I.

Boarding

Our flight was pretty full, but the seat across from me was empty. This is a shot of the cabin from my wife’s side

We were politely greeted and escorted directly to our seats. We had absolutely lovely service and once we were a bit more settled we had a fresh, crisp glass of champagne. BA recently changed their champagne – this was Charles Heidsick ( it used to be Laurent Perrier Grand Sicle ). Don’t forget that your seat is equipped with a small closet as well.

Seat

The cabin has 14 seats, all with aisle access, and I chose seats 4E/F primarily because I prefer to be at the back of cabins when traveling as a couple. You have fewer people walking past you, and it allows me to take cabin photos easier once we’re airborne. Don’t get me wrong, I also really enjoy flying in seats 1A/F, but my wife really prefers us to sit next to each other and if the rear of the cabin is avail…I choose it. There was moderate noise from the galley, but very mild.

Here you can see the 4E/K a window seat that I would choose if flying on my own.

This is basically the same exact seat that was featured on the now retired 747 and the oldest in the BA first class fleet. It’s a glorified business class seat at best, and personally, albeit offering more room than business class, I would choose to fly the British Airways business class club world suites if given the choice between the two.

Seating controls and IFE

Everything feels quite dated, but functioned fine. One thing to note…the seating controls don’t allow you to just move the leg rest out independent of lowering the seat. Maybe that seems like a small thing, and didn’t really matter much to me since my legs could reach the footstool, but for my wife, whose legs couldn’t reach the stool, it was far more noticeable.

Storage

There is literally not a single viable cubby to put a wallet or valuable item in.

Compare that to the new Club World Suites.

Zach…what about the closet? Well, if you’re sitting in the middle seats the closet you’re given opens to the aisle vs opening inward to the seat as found on the window seats. This means that if you’re sleeping someone could easily pop into closet and steal your stuff. And yes…this happens in premium cabins. Also, the closet really isn’t deep enough to store things, and the configuration of the foot stool is such that you can’t stow your backpack/personal item under it during take off and landing.

I’ve flown BA First on the A380 and the seat is a newer iteration that solves the stowage problem somewhat with a large bucket style storage compartment and deeper closet.

 

The retrofitted 777s offer a new First Class Suite with doors, more storage, and what appears to be a much better seat. It’s also found on the 787-10s. I had been hoping to fly that cabin on this route, but currently it only flies on Mondays. Hopefully this changes and I’ll get to try it out later this year.There is also a brand new first class suite currently scheduled for 2026

The bed

The White Company has been used for a few years now and it’s very comfortable. You’ll get two pillows, a seat topper, blanket, and a plush comforter. The seat is wide enough that my shoulders don’t hit on either side which is fantastic. This was a day flight, but I did take a brief nap and was very comfy.

Amenity Kit:

Temperley his/her. BA hits a home run on these kits – they are cool, filled with plush Elemis products, and I love the eye mask. Even though they dim the cabin to nearly complete darkness and many people sleep, since it’s not an overnight, pajamas aren’t provided.

Pajamas

Dining

A few years ago British Airways upgraded much of their soft product including dining with Do&Co catering.Everything I had was very good ( Lobster, pasta, smoked salmon, and mushroom pie ).

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Was it the best first class food? No, but it was quite good, served on nice china with real glass. Compare this to the likes of United, Delta, American and its laughable what they try and pass as premium catering.

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Wifi – free for first

Fast enough for me to watch YouTube, TikTok, Instagram.

Overall

This was a very pleasant flight, but is flying BA first worth the premium over business? I’d say it depends.

Are you upgrading a paid British Airways business class ticket with Avios? If so… then yeah I’d go for it. The cost to upgrade is the difference in Avios between a business and first class flight.

But if you’re booking with points for the entire ticket…it really comes down to how you’re booking. For most redemptions to the states you’ll find business class pricing starting at 57.5k vs 85k for first class. I’d say if your plane is equipped with one of the best business classes in the sky, Club World Suites, I don’t think I’d spend the difference to fly first class.

That being said, I still haven’t flown the latest First Class Suite so maybe there is a case to be made, but Club Suites are really good.

However…if you’re sitting on a heap of Alaska miles and looking to use those – the differential is far less and first class is just 82.5k miles vs 60k for business class and you’d be earning elite miles. In that situation, if you’re willing to swallow the fees, and you want to experience the best BA has to offer flying out of London, I’d go for it.