Review: British Airways First Class SFO - LHR
Review: Iberia Airlines Business Class LHR - MAD
Recap: Sights in Spain
Review: American Airlines Business Class MAD - DFW
​

American Airlines (AA) #37
Madrid (MAD) - Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Sunday, January 3rd, 2016
12:20 PM - 4:45 PM, Duration: 10 hrs, 25 mins
Boeing 777-200 Business Class, Seat 5H

Introduction

When we originally booked our flights to Spain for New Year's, we weren't able to find many options for the return flight: no Star Alliance, oneworld, or SkyTeam airline had two award seats available from Europe to the US during the first few days of January, and paid fares were crazy expensive. We were pretty set on going to Spain, so we decided to book an American Airlines "AAnytime" award, which requires many more miles than a "MileSAAver" award but has better availability. In our case it cost us 135,000 miles each for one-way business class, which is a ton (a saver award would have been 50,000 miles). But we were gambling that some last-minute award availability would open up and we'd be able to change our tickets.

Unfortunately nothing better ever opened up, so we were stuck paying the high mileage rate. To make things worse, we weren't all that excited about the flight itself, since the plane type was an unrefurbished 777-200. Jen reviewed this product last year and wasn't impressed: the cabin is dated, the seats aren't lie-flat, and there's no all-aisle access, so it's one of the worst international business class products out there. But hey, at least we had a way to get home, and we didn't have to fly in economy!

Check In

We took the train to Madrid-Barajas airport and got there about two hours before our flight. The economy class check-in line was insanely long, and the business class line wasn't much better, so we went to the automated kiosks. An agent quickly stopped us and told us that none of the machines were working and that we had to wait in the line instead. Later, while we were standing in line, we saw several passengers check in using the machines, so I told Jen to hold our spot while I tried to use the machines again. The agent repeated her earlier statement that all the machines were broken, and refused to explain why a select few passengers were being allowed to check in using them. It was bizarre.

After about 30 minutes in line, we finally made it to a check-in agent. I'm a relatively patient person, but Jen has a short fuse, so by this point in time she was getting pretty snippy and wanted nothing more than to quickly get her boarding pass. The agent had other plans, and decided to play a game with us that I can only describe as "500 questions". She started out by asking Jen a bunch of general questions about our trip, that gradually got more and more specific to the point of being ridiculous:

• "What were you doing in Spain?"
• "We were on vacation."
• "Where in Spain did you visit?"
• "Madrid and Seville."
• "What did you do in Seville?"
• "Sightseeing."
• "Specifically?"
• "We saw the Alcázar and Plaza de España."
• "What else did you do in Seville?"
• "Um, I don't know. Ate some tapas."
• "What were the names of the restaurants that you ate at?"
• "I have absolutely no idea."
• "OK, what else did you do in Seville?"
• "Seriously? We took the f***ing train down to f***ing Seville, walked around, took a bunch of pictures of orange trees, got caught in the rain, saw a bunch of sights, then took the train back to Madrid. I don't know what else to tell you."

At that point the check-in agent turned her attention to me, and asked me some equally specific questions, except mine focused on my job rather than our travels. Toward the end of it I was having a minor existential crisis - she had managed to probe so deep that I'd learned there were many things I couldn't answer about myself. Eventually she decided that we probably weren't terrorists and handed us our boarding passes.

As I walked away from the check-in area, I checked our boarding passes noticed that our seats had changed - we were in row 5 instead of our previously-selected row 10. I suspected there might have been an equipment change, so I looked up our flight on FlightAware.com, and saw that our plane type had changed to a retrofitted 777-200. This was great news, as it meant we'd be getting a brand-new cabin with lie-flat seats, all-aisle access, and large TV screens.

We headed through security, which was relatively quick, then had a train ride and a long walk to get to our gate. On the way there, we briefly stopped in at the Iberia lounge, which was quite nice although very crowded.

Flight

The line for priority boarding was extremely long, probably due to the fact that Dallas/Fort Worth is American Airlines' largest hub and thus has many elite passengers flying to it. We got onboard and settled down in our seats: my seat (5H) was a rear-facing seat in the middle section, whereas Jen's (5K) was a forward-facing window seat. The cabin is in a 1-2-1 configuration, which meant I had someone next to me, but there was a tall partition so I never saw or noticed them for the duration of the flight.

The old 777-200s have 16 first class seats and 37 business class seats, whereas the retrofitted 777-200s only have a business class cabin with 45 seats. I suspect some passengers got bumped down from first to business, but honestly it's not much of a downgrade considering how crappy American's old first class product is.

The cabin felt modern, with new finishes and seats with plenty of privacy. There was more than enough overhead bin space, so I had no trouble stowing my bags. The seats were in a reverse herringbone configuration, with rows alternating between forward-facing and rear-facing seats. At my seat I found a large pillow, a blanket, and an amenity kit waiting. Each seat has two power plugs and two USB ports, and features a touchscreen remote for the TV, along with another touchscreen to control the seat.

Review: British Airways First Class SFO - LHR
Review: Iberia Airlines Business Class LHR - MAD
Recap: Sights in Spain
Review: American Airlines Business Class MAD - DFW
​

Iberia Airlines (IB) #3167
London (LHR) - Madrid (MAD)
Tuesday, December 29th, 2015
6:30 PM - 9:55 PM, Duration: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Airbus 330-300 Business Class, Seat 3G


After spending a couple of hours waiting in the British Airways Concorde Room, it was time to board our flight to Madrid. I had never flown Iberia before, so I was looking forward to experiencing a new airline. As I mentioned, we had booked British Airways First from SFO to LHR plus Iberia Business from LHR to MAD for 62,500 AAdvantage miles and $490 each. It was a rough deal with the fuel surcharges, but I guess this is what you get for booking a last-minute trip to Spain over the holidays.

We boarded quickly and found that the business class cabin was largely empty. It was probably 40% full by the time we took off, which is not something I'm used to seeing these days. The A330 which Iberia flies on this route has a pretty great configuration for such a short flight. Business class is 1-2-1 with alternating seat configurations for each row. The rows were also slightly staggered. Aisle seats would either have a table on the outside of the seat (making them very private) or on the window side of the seat, while the two seats in the middle either had tables on the aisle side of the seats and nothing in the middle or tables in the middle of the seats and nothing on the outside. This made middle seats with no tables in the middle great for couples traveling together (as they were very private), but maybe not so great if you were seated next to a stranger. 

In addition to the nice staggered seating arrangements, the seats were fully lie-flat, which is always amazing on long-haul flights, but seemed kind of silly for a two hour and 20 minute flight (although I wasn't complaining). Each seat had a fairly substantial cubby hole for your feet, which was not too far away - always a plus since my legs are so short! This was great for me, but passengers with longer legs might find these a bit small or hard to fit in. 

During meal service, the table came down from the back of the seat in front of you and the seat controls and entertainment remote could be found next to the table (either on the aisle side or window/middle side of the seat).

As we were settling in to our seats, the flight attendants came around and passed out some fairly nice over-ear headphones to use for the flight. They were Iberia branded and weren't quite Bose headphones, but they were light years better than what we received on British Airways. 

Review: British Airways First Class SFO - LHR
Review: Iberia Airlines Business Class LHR - MAD
Recap: Sights in Spain
Review: American Airlines Business Class MAD - DFW


Introduction

About three weeks before Christmas, we decided that we wanted to take a trip during the week between Christmas and New Years. Things at work are usually slow and it's fairly easy to take time off, so we decided to go for it. Because we waited until the very last minute, we blew A TON of miles on the trip. We had been keeping our eye on award availability for several weeks before we actually booked anything, but not much was available and nothing was opening up as we got closer to our dates, especially not any Saver awards. We were pretty much open to flying to any destination in Europe and Spain ended up being one of our only options to use American miles and fly Business or First.

The flight out was fairly easy to book and although it wasn't quite as much of a gouge mileage-wise as the return, it was on British Airways, which is famous for outrageous fuel surcharges. We ended up booking the following: 

In hindsight, this was an insane amount of money and miles to spend at the last minute on a whim, but once I got the idea of going to Europe over the holidays in my head, I really couldn't get it out.

The Flight

British Airways (BA) #286
London (LHR) - Madrid (MAD)
Monday, December 28th, 2015
8:20 PM - 2:45 PM (+1), Duration: 10 hrs, 25 mins
Boeing 747-400 First Class, Seat 2K

We boarded our flight directly from the British Airways Terraces lounge at SFO about an hour before the flight was due to take off. The first thing you'll notice upon boarding is the excellent lighting scheme throughout the cabin, which makes everything a very cool shade of blue. The First class cabin is on the upper deck of the 747 in the nose, so the seats are configured in a v-shape with a sort of 1-2-1 pattern across the cabin. The nice thing about this somewhat odd layout is that seats 1A, 1K, 2A, 2K all have no space between them for another row of seats, so they're a bit more private. 

While I mentioned that rows 1 and 2 are more private, the seats overall are not very private, which I didn't like. On the edge of your seat, all you'll have is the arm rest, which only goes up so high, so you're wide open to the rest of the passengers while you're sleeping. British Airways seems to enjoy this sort of exposure, since the outer Club World seats are like this also.

Other than the privacy issue, the seats were fine and were comfortable enough for the ride although the seat controls were absolutely not intuitive and the foot rest was so far away, I wasn't able to actually use it for the flight. I did like the small touches like the lamp next to the seat and the windows with actual shades inside them - they definitely gave the cabin a bit of style. There was a small "closet" of sorts, which you could hang a very thin coat in or maybe your clothing once you changed into pajamas. The seat controls and entertainment remote were located to the left of the seat and the television was one that pops out from the wall. This is my least favorite design since you have to stow it for takeoff and landing, which means you can't watch anything for a fairly large chunk of time.

This turned out not to be much of an issue, however, because the in-flight entertainment system had an abysmal selection. First receives the same selection as Club World and we had just flown that about a month before, so there was little entertainment to choose from. Even American offers quite a substantial selection, which is easily 2x what BA offers. 

Back in March 2015, I wrote about how to book partner award flights on Etihad Airways.  We originally booked First Apartments both to Abu Dhabi from London and from Abu Dhabi back to London over the Thanksgiving 2015 holiday, but unfortunately, the airplane for our flight from London was switched from an A380 (which has First Apartments) to an A340 (which has Etihad's standard First Class). The airplane switch was somewhat devastating, but at least we will still experience the Apartments on our way home. We planned a whirlwind luxury long weekend in Dubai around these flights and I'll be covering all the details in upcoming posts. 

Review: British Airways Club World SFO - LHR
Review: LHR Etihad Airways First & Business Class Lounge
Review: Etihad Airways First Class LHR - AUH
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
​Review: Afternoon Tea at At.mosphere Burj Khalifa
​Review: Burj al Arab Part I: One Bedroom Suite
Review: Burj al Arab Part II: Grounds and Amenities
Review: AUH Etihad Airways Premium Lounge 
Review: Etihad Airways First Apartments AUH - LHR


The Flight

Etihad Airways (EY) #11
Abu Dhabi (AUH) - London (LHR)
Sunday, November 29th, 2015
2:35 AM - 6:35 AM, Duration: 8 hrs
Airbus A380-800 First Class Apartment, Seat 4K

After leaving the lounge we headed straight to the gate area since we were eager to be first on board the airplane. The gate was separated into two areas due to an additional security screening that was required prior to boarding. No one had been allowed through the screening yet, but we were able to be the first ones through after showing our First class boarding passes. The Etihad staff checked our carry on bags and asked us to turn on all electronic devices so they could be sure they worked as intended. We made it through and waited for about 25 minutes until it was time to board.

Finally, it was time to see what all the hype was about as they began boarding. I bounded down the jetway and was first on board and I really could not have been more excited. The First Apartments and The Residence are situated on the upper deck of the A380 in the nose of the aircraft, so when we boarded, we did so through the galley between Business and First and turned left. The first thing you'll notice is how gorgeous the cabin is. The single aisle makes a huge impression as does the lighting and thoughtful design features. ​

The Apartments themselves are truly incredible. They were so spacious and tastefully decorated and I loved nearly every single detail. The apartments alternate between passengers facing forward or backward, and some have seats closest to the aisle while others have seats closest to the window. Apartment 4K was ideal for me since it had a window seat, which is more private than sitting next to the aisle when the doors are open, and the seat was facing forward, which is just more traditional.

The Apartments each have a small closet near the aisle, a full vanity with a refrigerator below, then the main seat all along one side, while the other side of the apartment has a full length bench seat, which converts into your bed, with storage space below the seat and a very large television directly in front of the seat. The television can also swing out so you can watch easily while laying in bed. The Apartments also have a divider between each set of seats, so if you are traveling with another person, you can have a bit of a shared space and sleep next to each other. 

Seat controls are thoughtfully laid out throughout the Apartment in all areas you might need them. There is a remote control for the TV both next to the seat and next to the bed, so you can control it from either position. There are also full seat controls on either a panel of buttons or on a touch screen next to the seat, and lighting and divider controls next to the bed. The area next to the seat has two USB ports, an HDMI port, and a magnetic headphone connector. While I appreciated the thought of the headphone connector being magnetic, I didn't like it in practice because my headphones kept disconnecting when I was watching a movie in bed later in the flight (#apartmentproblems).

Review: Qatar Airways Business Class BLR-DOH
Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Review: Qatar Airways Business Class DOH-LAX


Qatar Airways #739
Doha (DOH) - Los Angeles (LAX)
Thursday, February 4th, 2016
7:45 AM - 1:10 PM, 16 hours 25 minutes
777-200LR: Seat 6J (Business Class)

After having an enjoyable time on my 4-hour flight from Bangalore to Doha, I was excited to spend more time in Qatar Airways business class during my much longer onward flight to Los Angeles.

I left the Al Mourjan Business Lounge about 10 minutes before boarding was scheduled to begin and found the gate a short 5-minute walk away. To my disappointment, flights from Doha to the US have to go through a secondary security check at the gate, which is pretty much the same as the initial security check, except they make you take your shoes off. There were quite a few people in line, but thankfully there was a separate checkpoint for business class and elite passengers. Unfortunately I was feeling a bit groggy at 7 AM, and what I thought was the premium line was actually the line for a different gate, where a flight to Boston was about to close. Even though they checked my boarding pass, they let me through, and I was about to step onto the jetbridge when they realized my mistake. I had to make a walk of shame back to my actual gate while the employees giggled at me.

After clearing the security checkpoint, I sat down in the waiting area, and a short while later boarding was announced for business class passengers and those requiring extra time. I joined the boarding line, but it was a madhouse. Instead of an orderly queue, it was just a mass of people pushing from all directions. At one point, I had about a foot of space between me and the person in front of me, and a middle-aged couple came up from behind and squeezed themselves into the gap. I couldn't believe it. I don't support the death penalty, but I'll make an exception for queue-jumpers.

Eventually I made it onboard the plane, and found the 777-200LR cabin to be almost identical to the one on my previous flight on the 777-300ER. I found my seat, 6J, an aisle seat on the right-hand side, and was offered a pre-departure beverage and a choice of a hot or cold towel. Unlike my previous flight, on this flight they did serve champagne on the ground, so I chose that. I also chose a hot towel this time, so that I could compare it with the cold towel I chose on my last flight. They're very similar except one is hot and one is cold.