As we close this chapter of our travels around the United Kingdom, I look back fondly on the memories we made over our two week holiday. From exploring Manchester’s Gay Village and visiting the English countryside in Bristol to attending Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in London, we reconnected with old friends, made many new connections, and created cherished experiences that have become a true highlight of the year so far! Our adventure wasn’t quite over yet, as Jared had one final surprise up his sleeve for our return home to Houston from London.
Traveling with Jared is always a magical experience, so I always dress up to match the energy and effort he uses to plan these days. My first clue that this would be unlike the other days came when we used a different airport kiosk to check-in. Separated from the other desks, we were escorted to a different line to drop off our checked luggage and were given instructions to walk passed the first class lounge to our intended destination: British Airways Concorde Room at London Heathrow Airport.
Learning that we would be flying home in first class was exciting in itself. I’ve only experienced business class flights thanks to Jared, so this upgrade was that much more extravagant! With his knowledge and expertise of utilizing travel points and miles, we were flying in style and enjoying luxe accommodations. As an aviation enthusiast, Jared loves to see and experience the various offerings each airport lounge has to offer. The Concorde Room is the epitome of British design and craftsmanship, with plush furniture, private dining booths, and welcoming common spaces.
Afterward we sampled their selection of fine Champagnes from around the world on their beautiful open terrace with a view of the sun rising in the distance and travelers in the terminals below. The Luxury Travel Expert published a beautiful set of photos of the entire space, from the entrance and main lounge to the restaurant and bar. I was quite overwhelmed by the beauty and class of the Concorde Room and marveled at the design and architecture while getting my fill of the menu offerings. You don’t have to remind me twice that the food and drink was all-inclusive of our ticket fare!
When we finally began the boarding process and were led to our seats by the flight attendants, I audibly gasped at the size of my private area. I was located in seat 1A on British Airways’ First Class flight, a serendipitous occurrence I won’t soon forget! The additional legroom of my fully-reclining seat was spacious, but I was more impressed by the full divider that could be left open or closed for a more private and cozy flying experience.
The center in first class also included the full dividers on the exterior of the seats which enabled traveling pairs to have a more enclosed shared space. Unfortunately, we learned prior to the flight that my original seat next to Jared was experiencing technical issues and was therefore unavailable. We learned that the main issue was its inability to fully recline, so the crew was recommended to relocate me to a different spot on first class. You can imagine our frustration when another passenger managed to claim my supposedly inoperable seat and was comfortably laying flat on it as the flight continued. It’s difficult to complain given the circumstances- talk about first class problems, so we asked for guidance from the crew on how to report our situation to British Airways, and enjoyed the remainder of our flight home.
Despite the annoyance of sitting separately from one another on our return flight, we had a wonderful experience onboard and the crew went above and beyond to try to remedy our situation. We occasionally visited each other’s seats during the flight and ordered snacks and wine throughout our movie marathon. While it would have been the perfect end to our holiday to sit next to each other on first class, we still had the memories of the past two weeks and this fantastic shared experience to cherish.
