I flew from Chicago to London in March, 2003 on British Airways. First of all, I was surprised that when we checked in at the airport, the attendants were apologetic for us having to wait in such a long line. I looked at my friend quizzically because I am so used to standing in line forever at the airport in Denver. My jaw hit the floor when they bumped us up to business class to further apologize for the long line. Hey, no complaints here!
The seats were cramped, but the fact that they had footrests that resembled a Lazyboy recliner made up for it. Each seat had a television monitor that doubled as a computer screen. Each seat also had a remote control. We had an option of several fun and some not so fun games to choose from. I enjoyed the trivia for a good hour. We also had about 16 movies to choose from. I believe 8 of the movies were recent and the other 8 were a few years older. The screen also allowed passengers to chart our flight progress with mileage and hours and minutes remaining.
Upon boarding we were each given packets with headphones, toothbrushes, sock slippers for our feet, and sleep masks to cover our eyes.
Food service and quality was great. We were given a choice of chicken or beef. Wine was included with the meal, although if you are a wine snob like me, it wasn’t drinkable <laugh>...but many experts say you shouldn’t drink alcohol on long flights any how. Desserts were great. I ate several. I believe we had cheesecake with an Oreo crumb crust. Later we were served a breakfast of muffins, an egg and sausage casserole, fruit, juice, and tea or coffee. I was still full from the desserts but my friend said the breakfast was great.
The stewards weren’t friendly, but they weren’t mean. They did their job.
Flying back to Chicago we were bumped up to business class again although this time it was well deserved as we waited in line at Heathrow for three hours! Again, food was tasty and service was the same. We were served several meals and also given tea and little sandwiches.
One thing I like about this airline versus other airlines was that there seemed to be more room to get up and walk around and socialize. I met quite a few passengers just by hanging out by the bathrooms and stretching my feet and the stewards never asked me to return to my seat unlike on other flights.