British Airways Premium Economy 747-400
British Airways - Premium Economy - Checking In
My flight to London departed from Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 5 and check-in was extraordinarily long and disorganized. There were no electronic check-in options, and all passengers waited in line to speak with an agent. I was pretty dissatisfied with the checkin process until I got to the front of the line and realized I had been upgraded to British Airways Premium Economy.
There were three lines, but only one of them was for passengers without frequent flyer status. I waited in line for 90 minutes as we had just had two agents working the line of over 100 people.
When it was my turn to check-in, I was given a pleasant surprise. British Airways had automatically upgraded me from economy to British Airways Premium Economy. It sounds like this was due to a family needing my seat to complete a row of 4. My new seat was a huge upgrade from the aisle seat on the second to last row of the plane to an aisle seat in premium economy.
I cleared security within a few minutes. An interesting side note is that there was no TSA Pre-Check inside International Terminal 5 at O’Hare Airport.
British Airways - Premium Economy - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow - Table of Contents
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At the Gate/Boarding - British Airways - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow
I was lucky that I arrived over 3 hours early. Check-in took over 90 minutes and by the time I got to the gate they were about to start pre-boarding. My upgraded British Airways Premium Economy seat came Group 3 Boarding (One World Ruby), and I was on the plane about 45 minutes before departure.
Boeing 747-400 - Seat 36G - British Airways - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow
British Airways Premium Economy comes with a few added perks. The seat is similar to a domestic first class seat and has further recline, a footrest, and a larger TV screen. I was assigned seat 36G which was in a 2-4-2 configuration. A few days earlier I had flown in on American Airlines’ domestic first class. This seat was maybe slightly more comfortable but not by much.
The premium economy cabin is a little bit isolated. Once the curtains were closed our entire section only consisted of 4 rows in a 2-4-2 configuration. After a while, I actually began to feel a little claustrophobic.
My only complaint was that the tray table was in the armrest and being 6’5, 270 pounds made it difficult to use. About 30 minutes after takeoff the crew served drinks. I received two tiny cans of Diet Coke with Ice. This drink service was not much different than what I remember from regular economy.
Dinner in Premium Economy - British Airways - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow
The options for dinner in the Premium Economy Section were the traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner or Chicken Pasta. I chose to go with the traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner. It was served with mashed sweet potatoes, a salad, and a British Pastry desert.
The meal was excellent when compared to other airline food. I am not sure if this was a Premium Economy perk or if this was the meal everyone received. Regardless, it was excellent and filling.
Wifi - British Airways - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow
I purchased the Wifi on this flight and was disappointed. The Wifi access that I bought was the streaming quality as I thought it would provide faster speeds for working on my website. It cost £18, and despite paying for the premium Wifi, I still had many disconnects and slow loads. About 3 hours before landing, the Wifi disconnected and never came back on. A few weeks later British Airways refunded my Wifi payment.
A Snack Before Landing - British Airways - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow
Just before landing, we were given a croissant with tomato and herb cream cheese. The flight attendants began serving it within 45 minutes of landing. After a brief cabin cleanup, we arrived at London-Heathrow.
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