To London for Dinner

I made the long trek back from the Hilton London Heathrow not-even-close-to T4 to the Terminal check-in concourse arriving just before the counters opened at 4:30am. 

Decided to sit rather than wait in line at that hour.

Whoa, now that's a lot of bags to check.

Once I got the head of the line and the check in agent, the La Première service kicked into high gear.  When the agent pulled up my reservation, she perked up and called over an associate who asked if I would like to be escorted to the lounge.  Oui, SVP.  And so begins another amazing day with the best overall First Class product on the planet.   Moments later, my personal Heathrow La Première assistant Louise introduced herself and escorted me to and thru Fast Track security, down an empty T4 concourse to the Sky Team Lounge.  This lounge is huge with two similarly sized large levels.  After Louise introduced me to the Lounge dragon, we headed upstairs to the 2nd level.   Attractive modern lounge with plenty of seating... for the masses.

As a La Première passenger, Louise escorted me to my own private lounge, The V.I.P Room.

My own private bathroom.

Two servers arrived shortly after I arrived, to take my drink order and set up my own fruit plate and pastry tray. 

I decided to check out the rest of the attractive lounge.

Serve yourself food station.  I'm sure that if I had asked, the V.I.P servers would have brought any of this to the V.I.P. Room.

The main level of the lounge offered a similar layout.   The lower level food station is not open for breakfast.

At around T-30, Louise returned to escort me to my Air France A318 at nearby Gate 21.  I was the first to board and we bid adieu as she introduced me to the cabin crew.    Typical Euro Business Class coach seating with an open middle.   And an open aisle today as I had all 3 bulkhead seats to myself.

Not the best legroom but the absence of rowmates made the 50 minute flight easy to take. 

Sky Team partner Alitalia whose days may be numbered.

Once in the air, my continental breakfast.   Tiny sloping tray table made is tough to keep the food tray from sliding off.

With an Alain Ducasse meal only an hour away, I picked at the prosciutto.  But devoured the deliciously warm and fresh croissant. 

Foggy morning on approach to CDG.

At around T-30, my personal La Première assistant stopped by to retrieve me and drive me to our 77W.  There was one other LAX passenger in the lounge today and his PA was escorting him down the elevator at the same time.  Unlike Luthansa, we didn't share our limo as we both had our own private car. 

Up the elevator to the jet bridge, we cut thru the line of boarding passengers to a private La Première jet bridge, which my PA unlocked just for me.

After a warm welcome at the 1L door, I headed for 1A in my favorite First Class cabin in the sky.

I was dead tired at this point and still full from my Alain Ducasse lunch so I opted for water at the gate.

Gorgeous new La Première amenity kit.

With some nice cream and stuff which I tossed in my backpack to take home.

Air France 77W IFE is reasonably nice, although with a somewhat limited selection of movies.  But plenty of French movies to catch up on.

OK, a First Officer with a sense of humour.

After a short by CGD standards taxi, we were on our way.  

I asked for a glass of water and told our FA that I was going to sleep for a few hours.  I declined the offer of bedding as I didn't want to sleep the entire flight.  The closed my full ceiling to floor curtains and window shades and sleep like a baby for nearly 4 hours.

OK now I'm hungry. Today menu...

This guy designed all the La Première glassware and tableware and is a rock star in my book.

And wine list.  Certainly not extravagant like QR or GA, but servicable.  

Showtime!

My Cream of Asparagus soup was delicious.

As was the Foie Gras terrine.

For my main, I went light and the crab stuffed chicken.  It was a little bland on its own, but the accompanying yellow carrot coulis with cumin added a nice touch. 

And the always wonderful Lenotre finish to any La Première meal.

While pleasant, it wasn't a memorable meal.  Service seemed a little off as there was no wine presentation, just the glass from the galley and no dome presentation for my main.   I finished the rest of a cute movie 5 to 7, edited some pics and did a little work.  Although with no Wifi on Air France yet, wasn't as productive as I might have been.

With a little less than 5 hours to go to LAX, I changed into my PJs, closed the curtains and went to sleep in a proper bed.  

I woke up about 75 minutes from LAX. 

We landed about 30 minutes early and headed for our gate.

I bid adieu to the cabin crew and as Door 1L opened was greeted by an excellent LAX La Première Personal Assistant Monica, who escorted me to and thru customs, and then streetside at TBIT.   What an amazing day with La Première solidfying my continuing to rank Air France as the best First Class product in the world.

It's a short but pleasant walk via the T4/TBIT connector to the Qantas First Lounge.   My Gate 41 is conveniently located along the way and arguably the closest gate to the Qantas Lounge.

My 77W at the gate.

Hardly anyone at TBIT Premium security tonight.

The Qantas LAX lounge is lovely and modern.  Add in great staff and wonderful food, and it gets my vote as the Best Lounge in the US. 

After dismal AA food reports and my recent inedible transcon First Class meal, I decided to eat dinner here tonight.

A glass of lovely Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé.

My hamachi crudo was delicious and substantial. 

But the surprise of the day was the Crispy Pork Belly with kimchi, rice and spicy gochujang sauce.  O-M-G.  Simply spectacular. 

And the Apricot, pecan and almond cake to finish.  And another glass of champagne.

At around T-40, I headed out and back to T4 and Gate 41.