[openfly]

Old BA First was/is a delight…just like comfy slippers…no silly gimmicks.

[millionsofmiles]

BA F-Cl in nose of 747: 14 seats
LH C-Cl in nose of 747: 16 seats

That IS cramped, in comparison and absolutely, an old product with new tarnish. And the few (maybe) service differences justiyfy the lack of space? NOT on my opinion.
I’d go for LH or LX or TG anytime rather than BA.

[flyingpenguin]

I agree. Recently I flew out in BA new First to HKG on their 777. It was a truly disappointing affair for me. The seat was narrow, pretty cramped. The wardrobe was a mere space for one coat and certainly no more. The mattress for the bed was wafer thin, completely useless. With 14 seats in the cabin, it feels much more like a glorified Club than true First. Having flown LX and CX in their First, with only 8 to 9 seats, BA’s version is well and truly second class. However as most are non revenue passengers, I can see why BA does it this way, sort of half way between First and Club. Finally the food was awful as usual with BA, though the staff were fine on my flight. The cabana in the Concorde Room (with awful food too) was its only saving grace!

[eirtraveller]

I’m not sure I entirely go along with glowing reports of QF’s First. It’s not a bad product, but the amount it rocked about whenever anyone walked past was a real design flaw. It woke me up several times.

Also not keen on a seat that is required to be in one position for TO and Landing, and another for the rest of the flight. It’s hard to settle in.

Food was good and the (Scottish) crew were excellent.

[RichHI1]

Having been intrigued by “new” first on BA 747 as i love these planes, feedback from friends have not been positive. Au contraire, the AA improvement in First on 773 I felt was minimal in comparison to Business and Coach however through back door I now believe First class experience is an advance. It would be interesting to have a consumer enhancement above marketed expectation. Perhaps a lesson for BA. Assuming all the threads from busy posters about AA being bought by One Plane arways are proved false.

[LeTigre]

If AA are bought by “More Than One Plane Airways” they will go bankrupt for sure!

I really can’t see a hugely indebted and over complicated Delta working…

[IanFromHKG]

Based on the comments above, charlesQ, maybe you should change airline instead?!

On that note, and to the point SwissExpat made in his/her second post, yes – tier points and Avios are what draw customers back, but of course they can get the same benefits by flying other oneworld partners. For me, whether in business or first, on the LHR-HKG route you would have to be mad or have a significant discount in the fare to choose BA over CX, for instance. The only downside to doing so is that you go through T3 rather than T5 (although personally I quite like T3, and at least you can always walk to your gate rather than having to wait until 30 minutes before your flight to sprint to get a train to a satellite terminal), and consequently you have to slum it in a first class lounge rather than the Concorde Room (which, to be fair, I haven’t experienced – but I have seen plenty of negative posts about it so I don’t think I am missing much). And before anyone starts saying that the CX lounge in T3 isn’t a patch on T5 – well, I agree, but if you are a BAEC member you can use the BA lounge in T3 anyway, which to my mind is every bit as good as the one in T5. Also, on the subject of lounges, CX’s arrivals lounge offering in LHR isn’t as good as BA’s (Cathay use the AA arrival lounge) – but conversely, CX have an arrival lounge in HKG and BA don’t have anything at all…

[HongKongLady]

Charles, you will be fine in 1k ( if you are on the 777) you have a bigger wardrobe and a smaller buddy seat than further back but unless you plan on asking someone to dine with you it shouldn’t matter. The bigger wardrobe will give you room for a small lap top bag as well as your jacket and clothes for after you have changed into your PJs.
I haven’t been in New First on the 747 so can’t help if you are on that flight. I am sure you will have a lovely flight.
Having not been on the 747 new first I too am intrigued by the comments of how cramped it is and a little sad to as I love the 747, luckily for me I pay for my own flight so am normally in club rather than First unless I am using miles or get a discounted upgrade.
I have experienced Cathay First once and only short haul via a free upgrade, lovely seats they are without doubt much bigger than BA and with the excellent Cathay service, my only regret is not having a pair of the PJs. Oh the food wasn’t good picked ribs !!! but I really didn’t care 🙂
Ian was interested to hear you say you find Cathay fares cheaper than BA when flying from and to HK…. online ? I am always scouring looking for a good business fare and recently I have found Cathy expensive. As you know I have even resorted to looking at Hong Kong Airlines. Haven’t found a reasonable SQ since the as cloud, when it was very cheap ! and i love their seats.

[IanFromHKG]

Sorry, HongKongLady, but that wasn’t quite what I said – my point was that unless you got a significant discount to fly BA compared to CX, then CX is a better bet. Like you, I have found CX fares very high recently.

Hong Kong Airlines are doing a promotion if you have an AmEx card:

http://www.hongkongairlines.com/cms/b2cIcbcPromotionAction!initAddB2cAEFareOffer.action?country_code=HK&request_locale=en_GB

[HongKongLady]

Thanks Ian I got a little excited at the prospect of knowing where to get good Cathay prices 🙂 Will check out the HK Airlines offer.

[midorosan]

BA really getting a bashing here some I agree with others definitely not. First the price BA ex HKG where i live is substantially cheaper than CX and if like me you are traveling to a european destination as well as LHR then they are miles ahead, that extra destination will do it for me every time.
The food is OK the wine is still acceptable and if you get a good crew then it’s a good flight.

[NNoah16]

My personal opinion:
Best Product Ranking (weighted by tkt price):
1- Emirates FC Suite (A380&777 not A330 its narrower!)
2- SWISS First (A330)
3- BA First (New & Old)
4- Singapore Airlines First Suites
Best First Staff:
1- BA
2- SWISS
3- Singapore Airlines
4- Emirates (depending on the mood & purser)

BA 747 “new” First 1A & 1K are more cramped than “old” First. Adding the personal “wardrobe” has taken some width away from leg rest.

[ThomasCox]

Just returned from JFK and I agree, New First in the 747 does feel more ‘cosy’ than on the 777ER that I tried last month on the way back from Narita. It was interesting trying old and new First back-to-back on the way out and the way back respectively. Old First certainly does look tired but – as was the case on my flight – if the crew are excellent then it makes no material difference if you’re spending the flight working. Crew on the way back were indifferent but the New First seat is good for sleeping. However, if there are the usual selection of rather demanding, difficult, precious individuals sharing the nose cone with you (who insist on sleeping with the blinds open) then I’ll take and empty cabin and Old First every time…

[IanFromHKG]

midorosan, BA are sometimes cheaper than CX, but not always – and as I said, if you can get CX for a simlar price, why on earth wouldn’t you? Bigger seats, better IFE, comparable food… And, of course, the other distinguishing factor which you touched on yourself when you said BA was fine “if you get a good crew” – the fact tht you had to put that statement in highlights one of BA’s main drawbacks in my opinion – you never know if you are going to get a good crew or not. At least with CX you can pretty much guarantee you will get a good crew on every flight…

[nathanBAGOLD]

i agree, BA 747 first if cramped. 14 seats !!! in a small space. I recently flew cathay HKG – SFO and only 9 in the 747 nose, was soo much spacious walking & standing in the cabin, mind you the CX seat is soo much bigger & wider then BA’s. In my opinion, Cathay is the ONLY airline who understood the meaning of First Class. Their seat is the only seat, so wide @ the top that you can sleep on your side with our arm fully extended, without touching the wall. On all other carriers first of biz your arm needs to be folded up or bang against the wall. Thumbs up Cathay !!!! you’re miles above the rest of them.

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