British Airways 787-9 First Class Review

British Airways 787-9 First Class Review: Heathrow to Mexico City with Concorde Lounge Experience

In this travel review, I share my thoughts about flying British Airways’ 787-9 First Class from Heathrow to Mexico City. The experience was made cheaper by using my American Express Companion Voucher and Avios points.

Join me as I take you through the highlights of the flight and a quick glimpse of the exclusive Concorde Lounge at Terminal 5 in Heathrow. 

Airport Experience

I arrived at Heathrow the previous day from Manchester Airport and stayed at the Sofitel Hotel opposite Terminal 5.

The main reason for the stop-over was to experience the First Wing Check-in Experience at Terminal 5 instead of transferring through the terminal from Manchester.

The British Airways First Wing is located at the southern end of terminal 5 at Heathrow and is an exclusive check-in area for customers flying First Class with British Airways. Gold Executive Club and Oneworld Emerald customers can use dedicated check-in and fast-track security.

On arrival, the check-in desks were quiet, and before you knew it, I had my boarding pass and was ready to go.

Another benefit of The First Wing is its dedicated airport security which takes the hassle out of queueing. And once through, you walk directly into the British Airways Galleries South First Lounge.

However, as a First Class passenger, my destination would be the British Airways Concorde Room.

The Concorde Room is an exclusive lounge for British Airways passengers flying First Class, and as I arrived early for my flight, I could relax and enjoy a full English Breakfast and the apron views from the terrace.

I decided to eat breakfast in the dining area for comfort, although tables were available on the terrace. After breakfast, I sat at the bar and had some champagne and a few beers before boarding.

You can read my Concorde Room Heathrow Terminal 5 Review for details about the lounge and my experience.

Boarding

I am not a fan of remote gates; unfortunately, that would be the boarding process on the flight.

Sadly although First and Business Class passengers were asked to board first, there were no separate buses, and in the end, it was just a free for all. However, on a positive note, you see the aircraft before boarding via the steps, as shown in the picture above.

There were no separate steps for First & Business Class passengers; therefore, everyone boarded by the same aircraft door.

When boarding and alighting, First Class passengers must walk through the forward Business Class section before entering the First Class Cabin.

When I finally arrived at seat 2K, I relaxed and put my bag in the overhead bin. I did get a glass of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne and a top-up before take-off, but the service was a little slow.

The flight was delayed by about half an hour, giving the crew time to take my post-take-off drink and food order.

Cabin and Seat

The British Airways Boeing 787-9 is configured with four cabins,  First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.

The First Class cabin has only eight seats compared with 14 on other British Airways aircraft. The seat is an update from previous products. However, it is smaller than you would find on an A380 or the older 777 product.

Although the aircraft was only six years old, the Business Class cabin was still the old design in a 2-3-2 and not a 2-4-2.

Altogether there are 8 First, 42 Club World (Business Class), 39 World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) and 127 World Traveller (Economy) seats on the Boeing 787-9.

The 787-9 First Class cabin has eight seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. I chose 2K as it was a window seat. However, I would have preferred 1A or 2K, but as I’m not a Gold Member of the Executive Club, neither seat was available at the time of booking.

The cabin is in the forward section of the aircraft, and there is one toilet for the First Class passengers.

The seat pitch is approximately 73 inches (just over 6 feet when fully flat) and 23 inches wide, which is smaller than the seats on the British Airways 777 and A380s.

The reduction is noticeable if you have travelled on an older product like me, as you cannot dine with a companion due to the decrease in pitch, the size of the ottoman and the IFE screen being in a fixed position.

I was travelling on a day flight, so I didn’t sleep or have the bed flat, but if you slide through the photographs above, you can see how the seat looks flat and other pictures of seat 2K.

I found the seat comfortable and spacious, but it looked tired and considering it was on the ground at Heathrow the previous evening, it wasn’t 100% clean!

There was plenty of storage space and charging points, and the seat controls were to the right as you sat in the seat. However, as you can see from the picture above, the door with the vanity mirror was missing, and you couldn’t use the storage space. It wasn’t an issue for me, but it didn’t look good, and small matters dragged the overall review score down.

Inflight Entertainment System

The IFE screen on the 787-9 is fixed and doesn’t move as you would find on the A380 and 777.

The upside is a 15-inch touchscreen with an additional handset in the seat for when you don’t want to sit upright or when the seat is flat to flick through the system. The downside, as mentioned before, is that it is now impossible to dine with a companion in the seat.

The system was easy to navigate, and there was plenty of movie content, TV series, music, ebooks and games.

British Airways provides noise-cancelling headphones, which were okay but not the greatest of products, but they did the trick for the time I spent watching the IFE. The headphones are plugged in by the additional ports and sockets available to connect and charge your own devices.

A bonus for First Class passengers is free Wi-Fi on the 787, and it was simple to register by inputting your name and seat number. Although on the outbound flight, I found it difficult to connect to the internet and apps on my mobile phone.

Amenities

When I arrived at my seat, there was a pillow and a small blanket, and once I sat down, the crew came around with pyjamas, slippers, an amenity kit and a menu. I didn’t use the pyjamas as I wasn’t sleeping on the flight, but the slippers and amenity kit came in handy.

Although there are only eight First Class seats in the cabin, one toilet for passengers is pretty poor for a First Class product.

The size of the toilet is also an issue as it is tiny compared to other airlines. However, you get the standard amenities, which are no different from Business Class passengers.

Food & Drink

I was looking forward to the food and drink options on the flight. About thirty minutes after take-off, the crew came around with my drink order of Champagne, and I immediately decided to eat from the A La Carte Menu.

First came the Canapes of Bresaola with melon, smoked salmon with cream cheese and cucumber, and fire-roasted red pepper roulade with goat’s cheese, with a glass of Vavasour, Papa Sauvignon Blanc Awatere Valley 2021.

A starter of Beef Tataki with asparagus and apple ginger dressing followed the canapes. Next, I chose the Duo of Lamb Rack and Braised Lamb with sides of potatoes, roasted peppers, baby carrots and broccolini.

I opted against a dessert and went for the cheese platter to finish the meal. Slide through the pictures below to see my meal.

Service & Crew

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Value For Money?

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