[Anonymous]

[joeadvisory]

I was reading tried and tested review of A380 1st and also the comments below (by the way have flown on Emirates and Thai and Qantas and their A380 product appears to be superior to the BA380 1st – based on the review – which is a shame).

Last week I had the misfortune to fly on BA to Miami and the 747 had old 1st. The cabin was very dirty and the panel on the back of the shell of the seat in front of me kept falling off exposing all the wiring etc etc. besides the health and safety issue of potentially falling over the panel, the panel had to be forced back into place each time it fell off (passenger in front of me was irritated) although eventually the crew taped it up.

On a positive note the crew were all young and very pleasant and very service orientated which was a real improvement of what one found 1 -2 yrs ago on BA and which at the time made we stop using BA on long haul.

Lately I have been flying to MIA every few weeks (on other airlines) and have thought about switching back to BA/AA (frequency benefits) but given that old 1st is still being used on this route wonder whether that is wise.

Does anyone know whether BA intends to use old 1st to MIA on a daily basis and if so which BA flight will this likely be so I can avoid the same discomfort?

many thnx

[Gold-2K]

Luck of the draw still though chances will reduce as the old relics are retired from 747 fleet. This shows the frequency to date on MIA route:-

http://ftdashboard.net/dest/mia.htm

[FormerlyDoS]

joeadvisory

My opinion is why should you take the risk of encountering this type of dross? It is just completely unacceptable to encounter this type of dirty cabin, although the hygiene level is probably consistent with the lounges!

If you wish to stay on oneworld, you could consider the AA direct flight on a 777.

[superchris]

good point – plus do AA not use their new 777 yet on this route? Even AA’s old First is IMHO better than what you have experienced here. I took my first BA First flight in many a year a few weeks back and luckily got NF both ways. Had I not I would have been especially disappointing, especially given they launched it 4 years ago. Most other airlines would be bringing their next cabin out by now!

[SimonS1]

How many years has “new” first been going? All you need is to be able to connect of one of those 747s onto one of BA’s Gatwick 737s and you can shout bingo.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

MIA is a repeat offender for OLD, OLD F, even NEW F is now OLD.
At least BA now putting on a 777 service starting end of October to MIA – get yourself on this, failing this, book CW which is far better than this shabby excuse of a cabin.

[Swissdiver]

Have flown several times the beautiful B747 to MIA and loved it. But I guess this is a matter of perspectives…

[PegasusAir]

I know aircraft changes happen but assuming BA have about 50 747s flying is there any real reason why they couldn’t create a sub fleet of the 10 or so with unconverted First cabins and fly them on the leisure orientated routes at a discounted first fare. Then if they put a NF 747 on it’s a bonus and most routes would be entirely NF. Any substitution the other way which would not be common on the fleet mix would lead to say a voucher or Avios but at least most expectations would be achieved although I would expect BA to have thought of this? For my part I now go CW Upper Deck if its a 747 and only in F if its a 777 – I find the UD quite nice and spacious.

[SergeantMajor]

It’s good to hear BA’s new crew is doing well on this route; I’ve found Mixed Fleet hugely enthusiastic and gave away my golden ticket coming back from MIA last month.

Mixed fleet really is a breath of fresh air, and I believe its introduction, together with the investment in new aircraft, will drive continued improvements across the airline.

MIA is usually “mid-J” configuration 747. These are less lucrative (fewer Business seats on board) and were not planned to be converted with the newer F cabin. The delay is entirely due to delayed delivery of A380 and 787 machines.

So you’ve always been more likely to have the previous version of F on this route. My last flight from MIA was the latest version of F.

All 777s have been converted to the latest cabin, and there are only 14 747s with the older version in service, some of which are kept as reserve aircraft so passengers are less likley to experience them.

The retirement dates for these remaining “unPrimed” 747 aircraft have been brought forward recently, so they’ll be gone (and we’ll all be lamenting the loss of the Upper Deck!).

The delivery of 787s, 777-300ER and A380s will be ramping up and with a 777 going onto on rotation on this route shortly then that would be the flight to take (though I still prefer the Upper Deck 747 if flying Club World).

You’d certainly want to steer clear of American if you’re in Business Class on this route, as they still have their ill-conceived wedgy bed, which I wouldn’t wish on anyone:

http://www.jaunted.com/files/22421/2009_03_08_Jaunted___American_Flagship_crop.jpg

BA certainly doesn’t brand First as “new”, but the usual grasping at straws mentality continues to criticise wherever it can.

BA remains a better option on this route exLondon as T3 is not a pleasant experience (though may improve once T2 opens), and in F you’d lose out on the Concorde Room. Once AA’s new cabins arrive, I’ll certainly be giving them a go on this route, but they are not planned as yet on the MIA run.

Worth trying Virgin, though, as their private channel gets over the T3 hellhole and exLON the lounge is superb.

As Pegasus suggests, I did hear some informed rumours about using the 747s on three class routes and not selling the F cabin, but instead increasing capacity using the F seats to upgrade full fare J payers and elites on some routes, but offering J food and service just as Qantas did on some of its routes a while ago, but I haven’t heard anything more on this.

Everything is being done to reduce the time these unconverted aircraft are in the fleet, but new aircraft don’t grow on trees!

[superchris]

Whilst I like the simplicity of pegasus suggestion of creating a sub fleet, I think Seargant Krugs response (if you ignore the BA advert) is correct. the old F corresponds to the Mid J product, hence less J seats.

Whilst it is simple to say that Miami is a peak route and should have High J hence New First, in reality some days it is some days it isnt. BA’s yield management team will be tracking intricate booking data both forward bookings and past years when deciding which aircraft to assign to maximise revenue. BA are the best in the business here.

The real issue is the delay in getting new aircraft on board, hence having to fly these old beasts around longer than necessary.

[SergeantMajor]

PS if you haven’t yet tried it, I’d recommend the CWLCY A318 service to JFK, and connecting down to Florida on AA.

The early flight’s preclearance is a huge boon:

http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/travel-classes/business/club-world-london-city

[joeadvisory]

thank you all for your comments. I agree the AA business class is to be avoided unless you like being uncomfortable. I suppose we will stick to Delta/Virgin for now. another way to avoid MIA immigration queues is global entry which is being extended or to fly swiss or Lufthansa and arrive at the other terminal which is much quicker and isn’t overcrowded with south americans.

[esselle]

It is correct to say BA does not brand its First as “New”. It is now simply referred to as “most recent”.

[joeadvisory]

by the way I have been a few times on the new AA (JFK to LHR) and sat in 1st but to be honest other than seat size there doesn’t appear to me to be a good reason for flying 1st (as opposed to biz) and in fact they ran out of food which they brought from biz and even worse the 1st seat has zero privacy and this is for example where the Asian and mid east carriers and Qantas have far superior product. in a small cabin who wants to be continually confronted by other passengers roving eyes? I also wonder why BA don’t take this into account in their 1st product?

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