[Anonymous]

[Bullfrog]

Check in at T3 & security were easy. The lounge was mediocre, and the buffet lunch was ok, I ate lightly.

Boarding from a very distant gate 42 was easy, as I arrived at the moment boarding was announced.

Crew were professional, but service was slow. Lunch not served until nearly 4pm, 90 minutes after take off.

I opted for the fish as a main course, and I was told that the 3 that had been loaded were already ordered. My second choice was the chicken .. So dry, that it was inedible.

Seat was as expected ..

It was my first time on the A380 .. I found the ventilation disappointing.

BA First is first by name, but far from First compared to many of its competitors.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

Sounds more like BA LAST…..in more ways than one.

[superchris]

so this was a route you can pre-order your meal then? If the net result is that a First Class pax has zero choice unless they pre-order, I would say this is absolutely a cost saving measure rather than any kind of service improvement. Pathetic really.

[RichardG]

I am flying to MIA on the A380 next month. I’m travelling in J and wasn’t thrilled that it has been switched to T3 as there is no Elemis spa and the lounges are not as good as T5. I had been thinking of upgrading to F using miles but with no Concorde Room/Spa it’s just not worth it. BA should be discounting F from T3.

[PegasusAir]

I have just done 2 trips in F to MIA – one on a 747 from T5 pre change and one on A380 from T3. My transfer from T5 to T3 was shambolic and I complained to the BA Lounge staff and the CSD – the latter had received other complaints about this issue. Long queue for buses and no Airport or BA staff in attendance. Took me 4 buses before I got on one. It is not as though BA don’t know how many transfer passengers they will have particularly with all the flights they have transferred. I accept the bus operation is an Airport one but to have no staff and a escalator dropping into a queuing area was very dangerous. Not rocket science!
Access into T3 now better than before, longer walk, bigger security area but the walk leads directly to the corridor on which the Lounges are located so cutting out the shops.
I agree the lounge is poor. There is a dining area that is in effect unstaffed – certainly at 1200. When I asked about a light meal a staff member in the general lounge suggested going to the buffet in the main lounge and taking it to the Dining area! At least there is a view from this area. Next time I will try the CX lounge as AA can be busy at this time (12-1300).
The seat is OK and as I had been on a 380 in F before it was as expected. Slightly lass claustrophobic than Rows 3 & 4 on the 747 but reasonable room around the seat. Nothing special though, just adequate.
I had pre-ordered my meal so that was OK. If one doesn’t pre-order I assume you just get the menu choice subject to availability.
Overall it is better than the CW 2-3-2 (Upper 380) but does not justify the price differential over CW particularly if you can go UD on the 747.
Returned AA Business on a 77W and frankly that is so much better than BA CW and apart from the ‘mattress’ is almost the same as BA F. Even small things such a warm nuts in a dish with an offer of a refill (declined!) compared to that little bag on BA is indicative of how BA is cutting costs presumably until they actually see the revenue loss – it’s happening but maybe they don’t see it, or choose not to. It is always easier to calculate a cost saving than a revenue loss.
Incidentally, as I have to connect anyway to most points east I now use EK and QR so they have lost all my easterly travel now.
The BA CW product is completely uncompetitive now and their F even on the 380 is very average. My advice is to book AA Business on the 77W. AA F is virtually the same except for a swivelling seat.

[sparkyflier]

I will add to this. I flew BA F on a 77W from Tokyo a few weeks ago, for the first time. The service was very good and the seat comfy, but frankly J flight on SQ and Qatar recently FELT more First Class.

Small things matter. In BA F, the slippers offered were far too small, for average size feet. On SQ J class, they offered different sizes of slippers..,.and suspect their average passenger has smaller feet that a BA flyer..

And my pet-hate cut back by BA – no teaspoons in the lounge, so you cannot even make a decent cup of tea. They give you those pathetic plastic sticks that are hopeless at squeezing the bag or stirring the sugar in.

If there is one thing BA needs to get right from a service element it is being able to have decent cup of tea in the lounge, but no, BA accountants have made sure you cannot..

I have just become Gold with BA but my eyes are lurking at other products..

[ViajeroUK]

Have re-read the account of transfer at LHR by PegasusAir above, and cannot believe that BA treat their F pax this way. Queueing for a bus for a terminal transfer! in F!! No way!

I usually travel in J, but few months ago flew in F on Air France A380 from Shanghai to UK via Paris. On arrival at CDG was met at the aircraft door (as were other F pax) and personally escorted to a BMW limo for transfer from one part of T2E to another, escorted from car the few steps thru F security/immigration and up into the La Premiere lounge to await my onward flight.

My escort returned when the flight was boarding, another BMW transfer direct to the aircraft, and escorted up the steps to the jetway where my passport was checked (leaving Schengen for non Schengen), no need to enter the terminal at all. Finally I was escorted onto the aircraft and introduced to the purser. It couldn’t have been better, made me feel like a really valued customer

[PegasusAir]

Absolutely ViajeroUK.
Yes, I have enjoyed this experience at CDG also.
BA take their F passengers for granted. They have a big local market that will pay over the odds for a direct flight with mediocre service. When they will notice how much they are losing to other carriers I don’t know.
The only reason I have been hesitant to use AF recently, and currently LH, is their preponderance to go on strike.
Interestingly BA have twice sent an email to my wife for her views but she only travels either with me or on Avios. BA clearly don’t want my opinion!

[MartynSinclair]

Just about to board a BA 380 to HKG

Was offered a cheap upgrade to F but declined…. upstairs on the 380 there is plenty of room with a window seat… intend to drink… then sleep… F is a complete waste of money… even for £500…

[esselle]

Currently sitting in the Concorde Room in T5 about to take my first flight in BA F for many months. Actually the staff are very pleasant and the wines quite interesting, but the food menu has gone all gastropub. No idea if the onboard experience will be good, bad or indifferent, but at least on this occasion I have my wife with me to share the experience.

[MartynSinclair]

Enjoy eselle……. . .you are indeed the fortunate one today… not to be travelling alone..

Enjoy

[esselle]

A bit of a shocker. Full F cabin and crew resembled characters from Hi De Hi. CSD only spoke to my wife once, to say ” enjoy, darling” as she handed her a glass of champagne. One big happy party…….but nothing resembling what used to be F from BA.

[wastedlife]

I like BA F class as well, but frankly don’t see a huge difference between that and new AA J class.

The reason there’s frequent BA bashing is the current board has a maniacal obsession with cutting costs and doesn’t seem to appreciate the service quality implications – or that they are blindingly obvious to people who are frequent users.

I’ll give you an example – went to Oslo in the back of the bus last month, and on both legs the Mixed Fleet CSM came to talk to each GC Holder, even down the back and, actually spent quite a lot of time having an interest chat. A week later and I go to LAX in J to try the A380 with a friend of mine who has never flown business before. His view – “nothing special” – which then reminded me that I’d not met the Worldwide fleet (supposedly “better” than Mixed) CSD at all, and overall had to agree with that assessment.

I read the transcripts of analyst calls and the investor presentation and wonder whether the analysts have actually used BA. If I were a shareholder I’d be desperately worried about brand erosion, and yet Walsh et al repeatedly try to convince the analysts that the densified short haul seating has been well received and that the brand perception is actually rising.

I’m in my tenth year of having a Gold Card, which is already renewed to end August 2017 and where possible I’m using other OW airlines. Even where it means a connection in the USA. Read into that what you want.

[Bullfrog]

BA First has its benefits but serving ‘dry inedible chicken’ is unacceptable. This was my second option, as only 3 dishes of my first choice were allegedly supplied.

I’m not fussed about amenity kits. Lounges don’t both me that much, unless a flight is seriously delayed.

Security, safety, seat comfort & privacy are my main requirements.

[Author]

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