Q – We have arranged our own First Class air for a cruise we are taking from Venice to Athens. In order to get the best price, I have to fly American to London and then change planes in London Heathrow to then fly on to Venice. We have an hour and forty-five minutes for the connection which American assured me is more than enough time. But then there is the problem with my flight to Venice. It is on British Airways and I understand, from what I have researched online, that the seats in First are small and that the food on BA is nothing to write home about. I bought a coach ticket and used miles to upgrade to First within Europe. How do I assure I get a first class experience flying from London to Venice?
A – You could try chartering your own jet. Short of that, you will be flying an Airbus 320 or 321 as your flight time is about two hours and five minutes. For short-haul intra-Europe flights, airlines have one class of about six rows of so-called First Class seats. On the airbus models, the middle seat is normally converted to a tray table and the seats are somewhat larger with additional legroom compared to coach. But it is certainly not as true First Class despite the fact that your ticket reads that way. It is, instead, a combined Business Class/First Class section. In other words, had you paid less for Business Class you would have ended up in the same section with the same seat.
As for the food – yes, largely inedible is what you should expect. We recommend buying sandwiches in the terminal.
The rule is that before you pay for First Class seating, make certain that there is a true, “dedicated” first class section. A good agent would have pointed this out but it sounds as though you placed your trust in an outsourced airline call center. To give you a bit more bad news, we don’t feel that anything less than two or three hours connecting time is recommended at Heathrow. In-transit passengers are required to go through a security checkpoint with frequently long lines. If your carry-on bag is cited for inspection that process can take close to an hour, depending on the number of passengers waiting and the number of security guards on duty. Heathrow is, in our view, a “Three-Hour Connection” Airport. You will likely make it but do be extra-careful in tagging your luggage in a way that clearly identifies where you will be spending your first night in Venice. Hopefully you have a pre-hotel night built into your itinerary.
