{"id":26074,"date":"2025-12-26T14:25:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T14:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/?p=26074"},"modified":"2025-12-26T14:25:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T14:25:02","slug":"flight-review-british-airways-77w-first-flub-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/2025\/12\/26\/flight-review-british-airways-77w-first-flub-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight Review: British Airways 77W First (FLUB) Class"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(This is a guest post from our reader @\u53e3\u6069\u53e3\u4ea8, documenting his recent journey on BA169 to Shanghai.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story itself isn\u2019t complicated, but it\u2019s very hard to replicate. A seemingly ordinary award ticket, thanks to a last-minute aircraft swap close to departure, unexpectedly turned what was supposed to be a straightforward \u201cbusiness class flight\u201d into an experience in BA First.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t a conventional first-class review. It\u2019s more like a record of an experience that was pushed forward by sheer luck. Everything below is told in the author\u2019s own first-person voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I hadn\u2019t gone back later to review this trip, I probably wouldn\u2019t have realised that it was actually the result of a chain of coincidences stacking up one after another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This flight was originally just a Christmas holiday trip back home to visit family. I booked a round-trip ticket from London using Avios. I wasn\u2019t deliberately chasing a specific aircraft type, nor did I have any extra expectations about the cabin. Right up until I actually boarded the plane, it never crossed my mind that I\u2019d have anything to do with BA\u2019s first class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The Background: An \u201cAs Long As It Works\u201d Award Ticket<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, my trips back home have usually been in December. Because of the way BA releases award seats, I have to grab tickets every January. Last year, however, PKX was cancelled, and one of the two HKG flights was cut as well. That left only BA169 (PVG) and BA31 (HKG) as options. During the Christmas peak, these tickets are extremely hard to secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t manage to get anything in January. On top of that, because of my travel plans in the first half of the year, my 2-for-1 voucher had already been used elsewhere. As a result, this year\u2019s trip home was left hanging in uncertainty for quite a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to this summer. Over the past six months, BA has been continuously adjusting its booking system, and award availability has been all over the place, leaving very few seats across many routes. On July 22, I suddenly received multiple alerts for BA award availability over the next year. I immediately sensed that the system was probably bugging out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, I was in a car returning from Amboseli to Nairobi, Kenya\u2019s capital. In a rush, I managed to book an open-jaw itinerary: BA169 outbound and BA32 inbound. In hindsight, it seems that award inventory across almost all routes had glitched and a large number of award seats were released at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mindset at the time was simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If I could get a ticket during the holiday period, that alone was a success. Everything else was just a bonus.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For a long time afterward, I felt nothing but lucky to have secured this trip home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The Original Plan: A Perfectly \u201cNormal\u201d 777-200ER<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to the original schedule, starting from the NW25 season, BA169 was to be operated by a 777-200ER, replacing the 787-9 that had flown the route for many years. Over the past two years, BA\u2019s 772 fleet has gradually completed cabin refurbishments, with all aircraft upgraded to Club Suite. This also marked the end of the route\u2019s long-standing four-class configuration, switching instead to a three-class layout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least on paper, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable adjustment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had already selected seats 1A and 2A. Based on my observations, the flight registrations had consistently shown aircraft from the G-YMM? series, with no unusual signs at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recent BA169 scheduling, from Flightradar24; screenshot taken while writing this article, not checked in advance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Five Days Before Departure: Unease Triggered by an Aircraft Change Alert<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The real change came five days before departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That day, I received an aircraft change notification from the travel app \u822a\u65c5\u7eb5\u6a2a, showing the operating aircraft as G-STBI. At first glance, this registration looked unfamiliar and didn\u2019t match any of the 772s I had been tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of habit, I immediately logged into BA\u2019s website to double-check, only to discover that the aircraft type had quietly changed to a 777-300ER (77W).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of BA\u2019s 77Ws currently feature the upgraded four-class configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that moment, it felt like suddenly realizing that something was \u201ca bit off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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BA 772 seat map, source: Aerolopa.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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BA 77W seat map, source: Aerolopa.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The system had already automatically reassigned our seats to 7A and 8A. But on the seat map, the spacing in the first and second rows was clearly much larger – and those seats were still open for selection. I barely hesitated before switching back to the front row, 1A and 2A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Editor\u2019s note: the old First seats and the new business class seats look very similar, and if you\u2019re not paying attention, it\u2019s genuinely hard to tell. I\u2019ve run into this myself before<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Later, I also asked a BA friend to help check from the backend. This was indeed a last-minute aircraft swap. The system still listed the service class as Club World, which meant I would be sitting in a First Class seat, but receiving business class catering, drinks, and service procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Editor\u2019s note: this situation isn\u2019t uncommon with British Airways and has been anecdotally<\/em> referred to as FLUB.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Departure Day: The Pre-Holiday First Wing<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

On the day of departure, London and Heathrow were fully in Christmas mode.<\/p>\n\n\n

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First Wing under intense backlight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Entering the terminal via the First Wing in Zone A with Emerald status, the check-in and security queues weren\u2019t any shorter than in Zone B, stretching all the way to the entrance. The lounge had already switched to festive decorations. The lighting and setup were very seasonal, but not overdone.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In some ways, BA gradually becoming more \u201cVS-like\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After breakfast, I found a small table to sit at. On the table was a QR code for ordering food and drinks. Orders were placed through a webpage, and the lounge screens continuously scrolled order numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/a>A menu featuring special Christmas drinks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The gate was A10b, a remote stand requiring a bus transfer. The chaotic boarding process, completely ignoring group order, isn\u2019t worth elaborating on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The First Cabin: Space Is the Biggest Difference<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
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Once onboard and stepping into the cabin, the first impression was immediate and unmistakable: the sense of space was on a completely different level.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This First cabin on the refurbished 77W, introduced starting in 2020, still has plenty of presence even today. The huge screen, wider seat, more generous storage space, and double privacy doors together put it clearly one tier above Club Suite in terms of hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The seat controls are relatively traditional: you first select a function, then fine-tune it with a dial. Multiple lighting zones can also be controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n

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That said, the issues were obvious too. This aircraft had received its new seats only in June 2024, yet during climb, the storage compartments and side tables were already noticeably loose.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The onboard amenities were, as usual, the Club World version from The White Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Wi-Fi, I initially held out some hope. BA offers free Wi-Fi in First, and promotional banner for this service was visible during take-off and landing. However, once at cruising altitude, it became clear that because this flight was only operating with Club World service, the free First Wi-Fi had been hidden. Only free RCS messaging for members was available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For roughly the first third of the flight, the connection was excellent, enough for streaming live video without any issues. In the latter half, though, the network quality deteriorated noticeably.<\/p>\n\n\n

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That said, according to BA\u2019s latest announcements, Starlink will be gradually installed across the fleet starting next year, with free Wi-Fi provided.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Turndown service by the cabin crew, and the double doors fully closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Dining: Incomplete, but with Highlights<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The route that day was London to Shanghai. Since service standards followed business class, the menu leaned heavily toward Chinese dishes, with quite a few Western elements mixed in. Personally, I didn\u2019t find it particularly appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n

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However, the burrata was unexpectedly excellent, one of the few items from the entire meal that really stuck in my memory.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The total flight time was about 12 hours. Because this wasn\u2019t full First service, there were no extra snacks offered in the front cabin. If you got hungry mid-flight, the only option was to head to the self-service snack area in the middle of the Club Suite cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandwiches, salads, snacks and drinks were all available, although they were not something you\u2019d call enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Conclusion: A Stack of Unrepeatable Luck<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, this trip feels more like the outcome of a series of coincidences piling up.<\/p>\n\n\n

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If you judge the seat alone, this First seat can still be considered \u201cone of the best business class seats currently available\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when service, catering, and overall product completeness are factored in together, if I were paying cash, I personally wouldn\u2019t prioritise BA\u2019s First Class.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A small gift from the crew, attached to my flight log<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This experience felt more like an Easter egg in the world of frequent travellers: rare, unpredictable, but absolutely worth documenting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(This is a guest post from our reader @\u53e3\u6069\u53e3\u4ea8, documenting his recent journey on BA169 to Shanghai.) The story itself isn\u2019t complicated, but it\u2019s very hard...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[136],"class_list":["post-26074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british-airways","tag-flight-review"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26074"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26076,"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26074\/revisions\/26076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.verylvke.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}