About three weeks ago, I detailed my excursion using United Airline’s Polaris product. I’ve typically found that non-U.S. based airlines provide a more elevated offering across their seat classes than their stateside brethren. But, I was generally comfortable during my UA journey and impressed by the lounge at O’Hare. Shall we see how their competitor (and its partner) fared on the way home?
My trip back from Zurich was booked via American Airlines using miles. Most of the economy seats were at least 100K miles, with business class coming in at about 400K. When I began my search, I didn’t see any planes even featuring a 1st class section, but after more digging… behold the hidden treasure – 85,000 miles to go first class. Granted, there would be an extra stop and more travel time – British Airways from ZRH to LHR (Heathrow) and LHR to PHL (Philly), switching to American (in economy) for the last leg – but a ‘cheap’ ticket going British First transatlantic… it seemed worth it! Was it?
The flight from Zurich to London left at 7:15 a.m. which meant a painful 4 a.m. alarm clock buzzer. On board, breakfast was either a full English breakfast (too early and too hearty) or an omelet, which was actually a frittata – a little full-circle as my United flight out of Phoenix a few weeks back also served this specific egg dish. Turned out that my belly just wasn’t awake enough yet, so I was pretty happy with the blueberry granola bar that accompanied the hot dish.
The layover at Heathrow was about 5 hours which meant plenty of time to browse the shops and grab some ‘real’ Cadburys (don’t judge the fact that my suitcase was already stuffed with Swiss treats…Cadburys in the States are made by Hershey’s and are not as good. Don’t believe me? Check out this article).
Next was a visit to the Concorde Room lounge in Terminal 5. I’d remembered being there years ago and sitting in the restaurant section but it seemed they’ve since expanded their service so one could basically dine wherever they plopped down, be it on the couches, at the elegant bar, near the fireplace… the club felt very comfortable and quiet.
Unable to face anything else breakfast-related, I decided to hold off on eating, passing the time by watching an episode of Jack Ryan on my laptop (very into that show right now) and also intermittently dozing, (doing that weird head-bobbing thing where you sort of falling asleep but jerk awake quickly). I also wandered into the slightly-above-peasantry lounge (business class), which was hopping. It had much brighter lighting, busy buffets and cute teeny tiny soda cans (of which I grabbed a couple… and later got into trouble in Philly because I forget they were in my backpack…oops!).
Lunchtime rolled around so I headed into the Concorde’s restaurant area, ordering the burger and “chunky chips”. The waiter cautioned that my American palette might not be into how well-done they cook the meat, but I figured such a nice club would provide tasty fare. Polaris wins the ‘meal-at-the-lounge’ contest because the food in Chicago was delicious across the board. As warned, this beef patty was hockey-puck-ish. The chubby taters were good though. A brother/sister duo across the way commented on my oversized spuds. We continued talking and they invited me to join them after I finished carb-loading – friendships borne out of fries.
I headed to my U.S.-bound flight. Similar to United’s layout, it was a 1-2-1 configuration, but felt much more spacious. I was on the right side next to the window. There were only two rows, thus 8 suites in this section. The seats were much larger than United’s. The amenity kit also beat United’s version (which came in a space-hogging hard-cover case that ended up getting tossed). British’s kit was tailored for gender and smelled amazing. Dan, the flight attendant, came by to introduce himself and ask if I wanted pajamas. I wasn’t sure airlines provided jammies anymore, a happy surprise!
Dan’s counterpart, Natalie, came by to enquire about my desired meal. Those tubby tubers were now a potato-shaped rock in my stomach but I had to try the cuisine. While the lighter option (a fish dish) caught my eye, it was already fully claimed so… mushroom ravioli. I’d eaten Italian 3 different nights on my trip already. Oh well! The ravioli, and the prawn appetizer, were pretty amazing. Shockingly, the ice cream sundae was not good. So, United won the who-makes-the-best sundae award, while British got the top ranking for amenities, the seat/suite and the main entree.
Mid-flight I felt a bit peckish (how is this possible!). When Dan came by to check in, I requested a couple of the snack choices – popcorn and Lindt truffles (because I did not get enough Lindt on my vacation) – both were delightful (obviously).
Although there were tons of viewing options, I didn’t find much enticing to watch (which is commentary directed to Hollywood rather than the airline), so instead did that weird head-bob-sleep thing for a bit. There were sandwiches available as we got closer to the States, but no stomach space.
Getting through customs in Philly was strangely easy. While I have the known-traveler status, I still expected a question or two, but they’re a trusting bunch in the City of Brotherly Love.
I’d found out a couple days prior to leaving Zurich that I was automatically upgraded on my 3rd leg, so I sat in the front on the flight to Phoenix (even more of a bonus for my 85,000 miles!). After boarding, we were on a rain delay thus back to the head bobbing – I was beyond exhausted at this point. For dinner (yes that makes the 4th big feast of the day), I’d pre-ordered a grain bowl with chicken, but they’d forgotten everything but the poultry, so the delightful flight attendant suggested another selection – it’s a good thing I really like Italian – lasagna.
From waking up at 4 a.m. Zurich time (thus 7 p.m. in Arizona the day before) to arriving at my home just before midnight – my body felt the extra stop and extra travel time. However, the day itself was an adventure with little and big luxuries along the way – some that keep on giving (I just paused to slather on some of my mango-seed-butter hand balm from the amenity kit). So, the tiredness aside, I would rate this a fantastic experience!
Would you extend your transit time if it meant some indulgences along the way or are you a ‘get me where I need to be even if I don’t receive snacks while relaxing on a lie-flat bed in a suite’? Share your preference below!