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 to join the First Check In agent at counter 9 of The First Wing (TFW). I asked her to check my passport and then look to see whether she could change my seat assignment for my LAX-JFK flight.

She was happy to provide me with a new boarding pass with me in my preferred seat: 06F. Success!

I noticed that the recent refurbishment of TFW had been completed. I asked a number of members of staff and they all said they liked it.

It was a bit old-fashioned for me. It also looked a bit on the cheap side to be honest, and when they finally refurbish the CCR, it might be an excuse to go for a cheap wooden look, rather than trying to compete with the 3ME airlines.

Give me marble and some opulence any day.

TFW Security was empty so took no time at all. The First Lounge didnt feel too busy either.

Into the CCR and I secured my preferred seat in the corner next to the terrace.

I popped out for a quick walk and then enjoyed a burger for lunch. Other than a banana this morning, that was my first meal of the day. Dinner wouldn’t be served until 5pm?

I joked with Vick that my biggest concern was whether I would survive the 10 hour flight to Los Angeles in the old style herringbone Club World seat. I was dreading it, but I guess it was a first world problem.

My flight was due to leave from Gate C55 and boarding was due to commence at 14:10; an hour ahead of scheduled departure. I’ll believe that when I see it.

I walked along the Transit Walkway, which is always nice and quiet and an opportunity to stretch my legs ahead of a long flight to LA.

When I got to the gate, i got the impression that we had some YTS on work experience. There was one Heathrow Assistance guy who appeared to be on speed and a gate agent who should have been at Junior school. They didn’t provide the sort of image I think BA was aiming for.

I was pre-boarded alongside numerous wheelchair passengers and one famous lady who was in First Class. I didn’t recognise her, but for some reason I thought her surname was Williams.

She wore dark glasses and although she didn’t want any attention, she drew it on herself by trying to board before the crew wanted her to. I’m sure the telling off she got would encourage her to book with BA again!

Into seat 53A on the top deck. I can’t remember the last time I actually boarded directly onto the top deck of an A380, rather than needing to climb the stairs at the from of the aircraft.

I was shocked as to how small the screen was in the old Club World. This suite was first introduced in 2006 – 20 years ago. And it’s showing its age. It also emphasises how far all airlines have come with their newer business class seats.

A cabin crew member took my order for post-take off drink and food. No personal welcome; very perfunctuary. What a difference to Qatar Airways.

I was surprised to see that WIFI was available through the old .Air system. I may as well pay for that on the basis that I will almost certainly be able to get my money back from BA due to how poor a service it is likely to be.

We pushed back about 15 mins late and it took an age to get moving. I appreciate the A380 is a big bird!

The cabin crew rushed into action as soon as they could. I ordered a fruity cocktail and some nuts. Good start.

I got onto the WIFI. Just short of £20 that I will temporarily loan to BA.

Dinner service was a bit odd. I put the privacy screen up, which meant that the cabin crew had to reach around the corner of the seat in order to pass me food.

I ordered the soup to start with, which was lovely.

The main course was a Thai red chicken curry, which was nice, but it was a dumbed-down western version of a red curry which I was hoping for.

Not long after successfully connecting to the WIFI, it disconnected me and failed to even verify that I was sat on the aircraft. What a joke BA is.

Interestingly, when I clicked on Service Error in the menu, it offers to give you WIFI for free. That effectively says that BA acknowledge their WIFI doesn’t work and expects to have to provide a refund in the majority of cases.

But rather than come clean and just offer their crappy WIFI system for free, they hope that there will be some sad punters out there that will pay and not complain. That’s plainly unethical.

I ordered the bread and butter pudding for desert, which was tepid, but tasty. Hot would have been better.

I managed to sleep for 2+ hours and found that the WIFI had not improved. I could log in for messaging, then start a session, then it would cycle back to the beginning. BA – your service is simply embarrassing.

I had a chat with the cabin crew who had just done a crew switch over. They were enjoying a fresh pot of tea, so I joined them for a while. It wasted 5 or 10 mins of a very long trip.

Somehow I managed to get through the final 4 hours without watching anything on the minute TV screen. That’s a first for me!

A second meal was served about two hours out from LAX. That started off with a ploughman’s dish as a starter, comprising cheese, pickle, a scotch egg and a bit of quiche. It wasn’t bad at all.

I was going to have a cod dish as a main course, but I decided I had eaten enough. Heading west across time zones encourages me to eat more meals in the day than I really need. Time to say no!

I dozed on final approach and was only awoken as we landed.

We arrived into Gate 148 after a fairly short taxi from the runway, which was perfect location.

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Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026