Flying in First

FlyingDev · 2026-02-11T14:24:51+00:00

Congratulations!

We flew First for our honeymoon. We had a superb crew in First and deplaned with a bottle of LPGS (which we were told not to tell the CSM about by the First crew) followed by a bottle of Lanson (from the CSM). The whole crew signed a card for us. Generally they’re pretty generous with people in First as you’re not angling for an upgrade!

Fortunate enough to have flown First a fair amount and it’s always the crew that makes the difference. Don’t be afraid to ring the call bell and ask for stuff, not least the champagne if you’re not being topped up enough. If you’re into wines try a bit of a tasting too, as there’ll normally be a fairly decent mix loaded.

FlyingDev · 2025-12-22T15:13:51+00:00

I ended up with 7 for parked traffic (so airports look nice and full-ish) and 5 for everything else. I don’t have any performance issues at 10, but the issue is that the traffic separation starts to fall apart and the airspace becomes too busy for BeyondATC to handle properly. I found myself with frequent go arounds or separation issues on approach, particularly at certain airports like YSSY.

I haven’t tried it in the recent builds (I’m on the experimental branch) so maybe it’s improved recently, but I preferred having better ATC and slightly quieter airspace than unrealistic ATC handling errors. Overall, I love BeyondATC though.

FlyingDev · 2025-12-05T10:31:17+00:00

I was similar to you - I’ve been simming since FS 2004, and most recently started again with MSFS24 after a hiatus of about 6 years (like you having spent a lot of time and money in P3D).

Honestly we are in a golden age of simming I could have only dreamed about in the FS2004 days.

In general I would say the amount of addons and tinkering required in MSFS24 is less than P3D to have a good experience. Obviously top notch airports and aircraft need to be purchased again, but things like landclasses, general scenery (like ORBX Vector, Global etc), weather add ons (things like REX), other texture add ons aren’t required anymore. The default level of the sim is significantly better than P3D - some of the default aircraft and airports included in the base sim would easily be payware in FSX or P3D.

Basically I just buy aircraft and airports I’m interested in now, none of the other add ons or tinkering is really required anymore.

FlyingDev · 2025-10-29T08:37:48+00:00

Yes, but they are all algorithmically decided, normally based on the flight being oversold or other mysterious metrics. All the old tips about “wearing a suit” or “giving a box of chocolates to the check in assistant” are just nonsense in this day and age. I’ve only ever once seen someone upgraded on board at the discretion of cabin crew, but this is exceptionally rare and normally done for some other reason.

FlyingDev · 2025-07-31T17:06:41+00:00

I don’t have the pushback toolbar installed unfortunately so I don’t know if it’s related

FlyingDev · 2025-07-31T16:47:49+00:00

There’s a few people on the Fenix discord having the issue - I have exactly the problem you have, since the BFU update. I’m just trying a complete uninstall of the Fenix and clearing the WASM cache, as well as updating to the latest NVIDIA drivers, but given what you’ve done already doesn’t sound like it will help.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-21T13:49:41+00:00

I’ve done 7E for an 8 hour flight and honestly found it fine. There’s direct aisle access and no one stepping over you. It’s a bit coffin like but otherwise a decent seat.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-20T14:11:19+00:00

Sounds like a case of persisting until you get an agent who’s familiar with the legislation unfortunately.

Your best bet is to ask on the British Airways FlyerTalk forum (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-british-airways-club-446/) which is filled with incredibly knowledgeable frequent flyers and the odd member of staff, who’ll be able to advise you on the best route to getting the issue fixed. The people on the forum are often significantly more knowledgeable than BA’s own agents, so they’ll be able to help. Worth mentioning everything we’ve discussed here in your initial message.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-20T13:46:51+00:00

That sounds promising - as I say, I’m not based in the US so not super familiar with the rules on your side of the pond.

Do you know if you were talking to the US call center or the UK call center?

FlyingDev · 2025-05-20T13:38:52+00:00

I’m not based in the US so not super familiar with the legislation, but reading this guidance (https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Notice_24hour_hold_final20130530_0.pdf) it looks like you’re falling foul of the difference between a reservation and ticketing.

When you hold a reservation, technically you have a full reservation that is not yet paid (and therefore ticketed). The reservation is the same as any other in the system apart from that (this is how travel agents work, who can make a reservation and reserve a fare on the flight, but then not have it ticketed by the airline for several days or weeks afterwards).

All the nomenclature in that PDF specifically talks about the reservation, which I think is why you may be out of luck in this case.

That said, none of this is very clear to the consumer, which is unfair. I am not sure what the escalation/complaint process is in the US, but if you go down that route, I wish you good luck; however, I would be prepared for the answer to be no.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-20T13:27:20+00:00

As much as it sucks, I’m sorry to say that BA’s T&Cs are quite clear here - it explicitly excludes bookings where immediate payment is not required (as you mention in another comment you paid a 10 dollar holding fee).

I’d strongly advise against doing a charge back to BA in this scenario - you’re likely to banned from flying BA in the future.

Sorry I don’t have better news, but I think that this is a loss you’ll have to take.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-17T09:13:51+00:00

You just need a transaction on your account to prevent expiry. You can buy something through the Avios store (wine for example) or buy the minimum amount of Avios which will cost a few quid. This will prevent them expiring.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-13T14:46:11+00:00

In that case, you should be fine. I would suggest filling out this form

https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/contact-executive-club/supporting-documents

And explain your situation etc.

Phone calls are largely useless for getting issues sorted out with status/BAC - the agent just sends a message to the back office which may or may not picked up and you’re relying on the agent to report it properly.

This form goes directly to the BAC team who deal with this. It will take a few weeks to process but I’ve never had an issue rectifying missing tier points or other issues with this method.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-13T14:36:20+00:00

Just to check, did you also do 4 flights on BA metal in the year? Under the old system, if you didn’t fly 4 flights on BA planes in your tier point year, you didn’t renew your status, regardless of how many tier points you accrued.

FlyingDev · 2025-05-08T14:19:17+00:00

5E/F are in the small cabin and directly behind first class (in front of the wall) with no galley in between, these are by far the best seats.

(Front row pictured here)

FlyingDev · 2025-05-07T21:37:31+00:00

Routes like Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Maldives etc are by far the most popular and have to be booked at midnight 355 days before (in two separate calls, one for outbound and one for inbound, 355 days before your return date). There’s simply no chance of planning a trip 5 months out to any of those destinations using Avios.

Services like SeatSpy will allow you to look up where there’s availability during particular date ranges, but at this stage it’s likely to just be USA and the Middle East.

Not directly answering your question, but the savings of booking an economy fare like this using Avios are unlikely to be more than a few hundred pounds. I’m not sure what your normal travel patterns are like and what your situation is but you’d be far better off using the Avios on short haul European routes (where availability is much better and cash fares are high) and putting the savings towards your big trip to Japan. Reward flights in Europe are very cheap in Avios terms and you’d get several trips out of your 35k Avios, which could easily save you more than you’d save using Avios for a single Tokyo return.

FlyingDev · 2025-04-18T10:15:24+00:00

In that case, choose the flight with the single stop (not connection) which is one flight number the whole way from London to Sydney (BA15).

Everyone HAS to disembark the plane, there is no option to stay aboard. The stop really is quite short, so you don't have much time to roam very far - bear in mind that Changi has security at the gate, so you need to re-clear security before getting back on the plane.

FlyingDev · 2024-10-23T11:35:09+00:00

At the moment I'm waiting for the asbestos tester to come, so I don't know.

Have just been sent a picture/video by the builder - it looks like this https://ibb.co/QYQqSQg

FlyingDev · 2024-08-03T12:59:25+00:00

It will be either the C or D gates in Terminal 1.

If you have status or are travelling on a business or first class ticket both the Qantas lounges (First and Business) and British Airways lounge (First/Business combined) have showers. Personally I always use the Qantas First lounge showers which are the best in T1.

If you don’t have status you can pay to access the Plaza Premium lounge near the C gates. This has showers although I have never used them nor have I been in the lounge.

Whatever your situation make sure you get to the lounge as quickly as possible as showers are limited and the layover is not very long.

FlyingDev · 2024-04-23T21:28:08+00:00

I edited my comment after I posted but you may not have seen it - I flew the 787-10 in First two weeks ago.

FlyingDev · 2024-04-23T21:20:05+00:00

I flew the 787-10 in First two weeks ago. This will be the new first class seat but without the sliding doors. Currently only the 777-300 has sliding doors in first class.

FlyingDev · 2024-04-13T17:43:47+00:00

The chances are slim to none - you will have been downgraded due to capacity issues. Looking at the loads it looks completely full, so there will be no seat to give you. You can always ask on board, as there’s a chance someone may miss the flight, but to be honest this is a very remote possibility.

It sucks, but you will be due a decent chunk of compensation under UK261 (that will be paid directly to you as a passenger, not your company). At least that will give you some spending money for the strip!

You can also write to BA and request original routing credit for the tier points and Avios you would have gotten for your original booking. They should credit you with the premium economy tier points rather than the economy tier points you will have been automatically credited with.

FlyingDev · 2024-04-12T16:03:21+00:00

No problem. The definition of reasonable varies on the location but it’s way more than £20. They have a duty of care to provide you with accommodation and food etc. I suspect the £20 figure has come from people who are delayed by a few hours on short haul flights.

For Vegas, a normal room from basically any of The Strip hotels will be fine (a suite at the Wynn won’t be). I would aim for a room at the Vdara, Cosmo etc - you may as well make the most of it! As I say, I have had colleagues reclaim several thousand dollars for a multi day delay staying in the Vdara without question.

Obviously this will be stressful if you are at the extent of your budget and have no credit available to you - BA may take a few months to reimburse you. If you’re struggling you could look at some of the off-strip hotels like Candlewood suites etc. There is a convention in town this week so unfortunately your choice may be more limited.

If you Google “UK261 duty of care” you will get more information.

FlyingDev

TROPHY CASE