UPGRADED! With miles =): May 2016

FIRST LEG:

APRIL 14, 2016

SFO - SEA

ALASKA AIRLINES

AS 313

APRIL 14, 2016

BRITISH AIRWAYS BA 052
SEA- LHR
DEPART 13:25 pm
ARRIVE 06:45 am (next day)
Seat 17G Business Class (Club World)
BOEING 747-400 (744)
(This is essentially the 10G seat on 777-300ER, the 747-400 has been discontinued)

LAST LEG:
APRIL 15, 2016
LHR-AMS
BRITISH AIRWAYS
BA 430

These flights were booked with AAmerican AAirlines AAdvantage miles on American's website with a combination of Alaska Airlines, British Airways, and American Airlines flights. First class on Alaska and business class on British Airways costed 45,000 AA miles. First class on BA and AA costed 57,500. Both factoring in the 5,000 miles each way promotion by Barclays AVIATOR AWARD REDEMPTION BONUS in early January 2016. It was quite reasonable in terms of miles, but with BA redemption, there's always a hefty tax/fuel charge so I ended up paying $1,000 USD. It's still a bit cheaper than paying for coach tickets for the same itinerary.

AA miles were accumulated by getting the Barclay's Aviator credit card promotional bonus and just using the credit card exclusively for about a year.

The San Francisco to Amsterdam itinerary started with Alaska Airlines first class flight from San Francisco to Seattle. Check in was easy and not crowded. Going through security was relatively painless with TSA Pre.

Alaska's first class wasn't much to brag about. Seats looked like Cathay's premium economy seats. Flight was short, didn't care that much.

Alaska SFO-SEA AS 313 07:00am

Flight attendant kept telling us how much the customers love the granola they serve during breakfast and that they'd pay money for them and bring a pound or two home if possible. I took one bite of it and I decided not to ever try eating granola again. It wasn't tasty for one, and there's this burnt taste, plus some grain/nut in it was extremely hard I almost broke a tooth. Not impressed by Alaska first class at all but it got me to where I had to be.

Breakfast granola - meh

It was quite a hike and required a short ride on the underground train to the international terminal. The lounges were one floor up from the gates. I located the BA one after purchasing some sushi for lunch. Lounge was nice clean and spacious, though it got a bit crowded an hour before departure since there were many who were on first and business classes, a rough estimate of 80 persons. The cold salad bar had very fresh vegetables and a few very well prepared sandwiches - not shrink-wrapped.

BA lounge in Seattle

Before long, it was time to board. It was complete chaos with no lines forming, everyone just crowded in around a couple of ground crew. I stared blankly into space and waited for my turn, out of the way, probably completely zoned out because I woke up at 4am that morning to catch the 7am Alaska flight. Out of the blue, one of the ground crew member tapped me and said me I could board immediately without waiting. He must had seen my boarding pass or recognized me from the lounge? I gladly complied and got on the plane.

The cabin was very clean and understated. I usually like the slightly minimalist design of BA cabins. It's also rare to see a semi-designed light fixture hanging from the ceiling of an airplane, but there it was! Similar effect of the little reading lamp in BA first, it adds a tiny little bit of comfort to the eyes.

As you can see on this BA business class cabin, the passengers were mostly from a specific demographic group.

Club World cabin overview

I quickly settled into my seat 17G. I could not get any window seat online before and during check-in. Apparently, BA makes you pay money to reserve a business class seat in advance. On first class it's free though. Due to the very unique configuration of the business class cabin, I studied very hard to select seats that no-one had to walk over me to get to his/her seat. There were a few of them, you'll get what I mean from the SeatGuru seat map. The seats were alternating facing forward and backwards. You'd be very awkwardly facing a stranger in very close proximity in many of the seats. Luckily, the flight was hardly full and all seats around me were empty, except all the window seats.

Club World cabin overview

BA was able to cramp 8 lie-flat seats in each row. Privacy was compromised but there was a privacy divider during non meal times. I would really need to experience it to see how awkward it can be but I didn't have to find out this time! Yay!

The ottoman doubled up as a magazine rack when in its upright position. When it's time to sleep, one would turn the lever and fold it down to complete the fully lie-flat bed.

Seat 17G

Pre-departure drinks were quickly served and the flight attendants were extremely friendly but professional.

Seat 17G

Meal service commenced shortly after take off. Although the proximity of the seats and the high density of the cabin didn't make it feel especially luxurious, the food made up for it.