Having caught a cold on my outbound journey to Newark (the first thing I did upon landing was order a cup of boiling water in which to mix myself a Lemsip), I was just starting to recover when the time came to go back home.
I had a Premium Economy ticket for this leg of the journey, which actually cost less than the remaining Economy seats when I booked my trip seven weeks ago (the return journey nevertheless costing just over £1,000).
As I dropped my luggage at the desk two hours ahead of departure, I cunningly switched my seat selection to the last remaining window one that had a vacancy beside it, then made my way to the gate and took the last of only ten seats in the waiting area.
It was 18:00 on New Year’s Eve when we started boarding this transatlantic trans-decade flight. And, as the gate agent scanned my boarding pass, the light flashed red and, after what seemed like minutes but probably only took seconds, he announced I would be flying “business”.
This spiel has actually happened to me on three of the last four flights I’ve flown from Newark, both on United Airlines and British Airways, but previously the upgrades have been from Economy to Premium – this is the first time I’ll be flying all the way up front in Business. What a way to see in 2020.
First impressions
So I’m in seat 3F, twenty rows forward of my original seat assignment. It’s a centre seat rather than the window placement I had selected back in Premium, but I’m willing to overlook that under the circumstances. In fact, it’s not really just a seat, it’s a booth. There’s a television in front of me, above a storage slot and the foldaway tray table.
There’s another table to my left and a small storage cupboard, in which a bottle of water has been placed, along with my headphones. A mirror is attached to the inside of the door. There’s also a built-in storage bucket to my left and a vertical slot occupied by the in-flight magazine and a safety card. Finally, there’s a coat hook to the left of the TV and a retractable reading light to my immediate left.
A blanket, sheet and pillow await in a bag and the amenity kit includes hand cream, face cream, lip balm, toothpaste, an eye mask and socks. Slippers will follow shortly, after a glass of champagne has been served, and there’s also the option to request a mattress cushion.
Dinner service
The menu was distributed before take-off…
- Starters
- Chilled appetiser
- Salad
- Entrées
- Seared beef short rib
- Ginseng chicken bowl
- Seared lemon grass salmon
- Jumbo burrata ravioli
- Desserts
- International cheese assortment
- Signature sundae
- Sweet treats
The first real surprise of my business class experience came when the stewardess laid a tablecloth over my tray table. Then came a choice of wines (three red, three white and two sparkling), served with a small bowl of warm nuts and some inexplicably freezing cold cutlery.
The second surprise was that both starters were served up together, along with a choice of breads (I had thought it was one or the other). The chilled appetiser consisted of slices of smoked duck on a bed of salad, dried cranberries and brined carrots, and it was very tasty indeed.
The third surprise, this one rather less welcome than the previous, was the long delay in bringing out my entrée (confusingly, Americans use this word to describe the main). It only emerged an hour after the starter, after myself and a fellow passenger enquired. We had ordered the Ginseng chicken bowl, whereas the three other entrées were served to those around us in the meantime.
No explanation was offered for the delay and, although the chicken dish was good when it did emerge, I would have picked something else had I known about the wait. And, while I felt inconvenienced, I would have been very annoyed indeed if I had paid full price for the business class experience. Other passengers were done with dessert by the time the chicken was served, with one repeatedly asking for the cabin lights to be dimmed.
No further mention was made of the cheese assortment, but an “ice cream bar” rolled-up to my seat shortly after I had finished my main and I was offered a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream and a choice of toppings – I opted for a fruit coulis. By this point, our destination was already celebrating the New Year and, more pertinently, the credits were rolling for the end of The Biggest Little Farm. I was ready to see how far my seat would recline.
Comfort
Luxurious seating, and the ability to lay flat, are the first things I associate with Business Class. So I was excited to put the seat through its paces. The controls, a dial wheel and three sets of up/down controls, were a little bewildering. The wheel did the trick, both reclining the back rest and raising the foot rest, while also sliding the chair forwards to extend in to the leg space under the television screen.
Although there is no privacy to close oneself off from the aisle, the design of the partition wall reduces the feeling of exposure, once the seat is totally flat and transformed in to a bed. I was ready and needing to get whatever sleep I could, as I will be heading straight to the office from Heathrow upon arrival.
The bed was comfortable (and I did not take the option of a mattress cushion), but I did find that every footstep down the aisle could be felt through a vibration in the seat. Consequently, I’m not sure that I slept any better than I would have done in Premium Economy, despite being horizontal.
The toilets were not dissimilar to those back in Economy, but were stocked with face mist and fabric refresher, on top of the usual hand soap and moisturiser.
Breakfast and landing
Breakfast was served about 90 minutes before landing, at 5:30 GMT (or 0:30 EST back in New York), four hours after the dinner service. After the readorning of my tray table with a tablecloth, a spread was laid out consisting of a fruit salad, a croissant, a yoghurt, a cheese omelette, sausages, potatoes and a fruit juice.
The landing was uneventful and slightly ahead of schedule. Beds had to be transformed back in to seats for this, with cabin crew keen to assist. Had I been a true business-class traveller and member of United Polaris, I would at this point have been able to visit the arrivals lounge at Heathrow for a shower and (another) complimentary breakfast.
United Polaris also offers free baggage delivery to your hotel room if you’re staying at a Marriott place in London, including the Sheraton on Park Lane and St. Pancras Renaissance.
None of that for me though and I was on the Underground by 7:30 and at my desk in Wimbledon before 9:00. I didn’t feel particularly well-rested after my unexpected foray in to business-class travel and I will not be paying full price to repeat the experience anytime soon. However, it was a pleasant surprise to welcome in the New Year, having spent the previous ten days in bed with a bad cold.