RTW TP Run in Jan 2026: Day 4 – London Heathrow (LHR) to Los Angeles (LAX)

By Nige on January 21, 2026 at 6:35 pm
Type: Post
Story: Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026 Category: Travel
Tags: BA | British Airways | LAX | LHR | London Heathrow | Los Angeles

I was invited over to the First Check-in desk at counter 9 in The First Wing (TFW). I asked the agent to check my passport and then see whether she could change my seat assignment on the LAX–JFK flight, as some more favourable options had opened up.

She was happy to help and issued me with a new boarding pass showing my preferred seat, 06F. Result.

I noticed that the recent refurbishment of TFW had been completed. I asked a few members of staff what they thought, and they all seemed very positive.

Personally, it felt a little old-fashioned to me — and, if I’m honest, slightly on the cheap side. When BA eventually refurbishes the Concorde Room, I hope this doesn’t become an excuse to opt for a budget wooden look rather than attempting to compete with the opulence of the Middle Eastern carriers.

Give me marble and grandeur any day.

TFW security was completely empty, so it took no time at all. The First Lounge didn’t feel particularly busy either.

I headed into the Concorde Room and managed to secure my preferred seat in the corner near the terrace.

I popped out briefly for a walk, then settled in for lunch with a burger. Aside from a banana earlier that morning, this was my first proper meal of the day — dinner, after all, wasn’t scheduled until 5pm.

I joked with Vick that my biggest concern was whether I’d survive the ten-hour flight to Los Angeles in BA’s ageing herringbone Club World seat.

I was dreading it slightly, though I accepted it was very much a first-world problem.

My flight was scheduled to depart from Gate C55, with boarding listed as starting at 14:10 — a full hour ahead of departure. I remained sceptical.

I took the Transit Walkway over to the C gates, which is always pleasantly quiet and a good opportunity to stretch my legs before a long flight to LA.

When I arrived at the gate, I had the distinct impression that some of the staff were on work experience.

One Heathrow Assistance employee seemed to be operating at double speed, while a gate agent looked as though they should still have been at junior school. It didn’t quite project the image BA might have been hoping for.

I was pre-boarded alongside several wheelchair passengers and a VIP travelling in First.

I didn’t recognise her, though for some reason I thought her surname might have been Williams!

Wearing dark glasses and keen to avoid attention, she inadvertently drew it by attempting to board before the crew were ready. The gentle telling-off she received probably didn’t do much to encourage repeat custom.

Once on board, I made my way to seat 53A on the upper deck. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d boarded directly onto the top deck of an A380 rather than climbing the stairs at the front of the aircraft.

I was genuinely shocked by how small the screen was in the old Club World cabin. This seat had first been introduced back in 2006 — almost twenty years earlier — and it showed.

If nothing else, it highlighted just how far airlines have come with modern business class products.

A crew member took my order for a post-take-off drink and meal. There was no personal welcome and the interaction felt rather perfunctory — a stark contrast to my recent Qatar Airways experiences.

I was surprised to see that Wi-Fi was available via BA’s legacy .Air system. I decided to pay for it, reasoning that I would almost certainly be able to reclaim the cost later given how poor the service was likely to be.

We pushed back around fifteen minutes late and then sat for a while before moving off — understandable, perhaps, given the size of the A380.

Once airborne, the cabin crew sprang into action. I ordered a fruity cocktail and some nuts, which felt like a promising start. I logged into the Wi-Fi, handing BA just under £20 as a temporary loan.

Dinner service was a little awkward. I’d raised the privacy screen, which meant the crew had to reach around the seat to pass me dishes. I started with the soup, which was genuinely lovely.

The main course was a Thai red chicken curry. It was pleasant enough, but very much a toned-down, westernised version of the dish I’d been hoping for.

Not long after finally getting connected, the Wi-Fi dropped out completely and then failed even to verify that I was on board the aircraft.

Clicking on Service Error helpfully offered free Wi-Fi instead — an implicit acknowledgement that BA knows the system doesn’t work and expects to refund most users. Rather than being upfront and offering it for free, they appear to rely on some passengers paying and not bothering to complain, which felt distinctly unethical.

For dessert, I went with the bread-and-butter pudding. It was tepid, but tasty — hotter would have been preferable.

I managed to sleep for a little over two hours, though the Wi-Fi situation hadn’t improved when I woke. I could log in, start a session, and then be dumped back to the beginning. Embarrassing really.

After a crew change, I spent five or ten minutes chatting with the new cabin crew, who were enjoying a fresh pot of tea. It helped pass the time on what was proving to be a very long flight.

Somehow, I made it through the final four hours without watching anything on the tiny screen — a first for me.

A second meal was served about two hours before arrival. It began with a ploughman’s-style starter of cheese, pickle, a Scotch egg and a small piece of quiche, which was actually rather good.

I’d planned to follow that with the cod main course, but decided I’d eaten enough. Flying west across time zones always seems to encourage more meals than anyone really needs, and it felt like the right moment to say no.

I dozed on final approach and only woke as we touched down.

We arrived at Gate 148 after a relatively short taxi from the runway — a perfectly placed stand to end the flight.

Next up: My connecting flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK) on Day 4 of my Round The World trip of a lifetime.

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Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026