[MartynSinclair]

well, if time really is not an issue, I would go and try one of the middle eastern airlines – not sure who flies to LA from the middle east region, but I am sure that will be an experience, esepcially on one of the newer “hard” offerings – better than the staid European offerings.

I am sometimes as crazy as you – flying from the s.e USA to west before taking an overnight back to London. With 8 hours sleep from teh west coast instead of 4.5 max from the east coast, means I have no jet lag.

Enjoy and fo let us know what you decide.

[NTarrant]

Having been in Air France Business class on the A380 this weekend, I wouldn’t swap Club World for their product.

[BAdboys]

NTarrent…..I disagree with you.
I have travelled on the AF 380 in Business three times recently, because I couldnt trust BA to be reliable. Each flight with AF was vastly superior to BA Club. AF seem to have really pulled their socks up and improved since the last time I flew with them. Something that impressed was the fact that my bag arrived on each flight within the first few.
My only complaint is that the new AF lounge in CDG is not as good as LHR T5.

[cityprofessional]

Air New Zealand has a terrific product on board – I’ve always had good food, fantastic NZ wines, cheerful service, and an excellent AVOD selection (much better than BA)

If you want a flat bed, none of the major European carriers can help you – not even AF, and definitely not Swiss (only SFO has their newest product)

Of course, there’s always UA , but not sure if the flat bed has rolled out to all their 777s on the LA route yet

[PaulJennings]

I would have suggested ANZ as well. Of the European airlines I like Lufthansa for consistency and comfort (though not really luxury in business class). But Lufthansa in first class.using the first class terminal when connecting would be a bit more special.

If you have the time to spare you could, for something different, try an Open Skies flight, plusconnections of course;alternatively how about turning your round trip into a RTW,using a quality Asian carrier, say Singapore Airlines or ANA.

[beany1972]

I would also suggest ANZ excellent service and you can normally get a very reasonable fair.

[VintageKrug]

I travel this route frequently.

It is unfortunate you are experiencing “hit or miss” service with BA, as you suggest my experiences have been mostly (though not always!) “hit” but I would agree that with disruption and strike-related disillusionment on the part of a very small number of cabin crew, it is fair to say that there have been some flights where service has not been up to the usual high standard.

Which is a shame, as one thing I rely on BA for is consistency of service.

That aside, BA’s Club World seat, schedule and lounge offerings to tend to trump most of the competition.

http://www.newclubworld.com

I would steer clear of the Virgin/Air NZ offerings for a day flight; Virgin often run out of Champagne over Iceland and AirNew Zealand has only one flight per day. They would be interesting for a night flight, though, as the bed is great when fully flat (it is annoying as a seat as you can’t recline much). I have no idea whether Air NZ’s fares are fair or not.

I am a big fan of Swiss, though I have never travelled in their Business cabin, their First is superb and possibly worth the stopover in Zurich (at least on the outbound).

However, I am going to be controversial and recommend United Airlines in Business; double check you are going to get one of the new seats before you book, but their direct service and frequent schedule plus their new fully flat Business Class bed is worth trying out.

http://www.suitedreams.united.com/

[NTarrant]

BAdboys, whilst the service I received was fine, I had no bags so could not comment on that, the seat itself does not lie flat and the table top is too low.

I would try it on a long haul on a day flight but not on a night flight where I would want to get some sleep as it is just not comfortable in comparison to Club World.

I would agree that the new CDG lounge is not as good as T5 but it is a nice facility

[cityprofessional]

Errrr, so Vintage Krug, you wouldn’t fly Air New Zealand because it has one flight a day… But you would recommend United Airlines, which has a “frequent schedule” (sic) of one nonstop flight a day on a 777, of which only a tiny proportion (4% according to your web link) have been retrofitted with flat beds. Interesting logic

Anyway, agree that the ANZ seat does not recline much, but you can keep it reclined during take off and landing, and you won’t want/need to recline much, because there are many more hours of AVOD than BA has, and you can use it gate-to-gate

And the Swiss A340 business seat to LAX is a first-generation wedgie – impossible to stop sliding into the footwell. Not worth a stopover in Zurich IMHO

[VintageKrug]

I never said Swiss Business was worth stopping over in Zurich for, I said it was only (possibly) worth the stopover if flying Swiss First.

As you well know, United has a direct flight from nearby San Francisco and multiple other connecting flights to the UK via DC and Chicago, not to mention their internal Domestic US network if connecting from cities near LA.

For those with flexible tickets there would be considerably more value to have the option of the multiple United connections than the single AirNZ flight.

The recline when in seat mode on both AirNZ and Virgin is nothing short of pathetic. While there are indeed more hours of IFE, the AVOD on BA is (to my taste) higher quality with many BBC programmes not found on other airlines. The hours of available programming is soon to become moot, as BA begins the rollout of its new Thales system next month which will be equivalent to that offered by AirNZ and VS.

Plus, on United you have the potential of upgrading or being upgraded to First.

[ANDREWYOUNG1]

I flew Air New Zealand last month to LA and was probably the best business class experience I’ve had recently, fantastic service, great seat and almost first class quality food. Just depends if you mind leaving LHR at 16:30.

On the return I was sadly on United and this in comparison was probably one of the worst business class experiences, 1980s style cradle seats, average food, and the usual over 60s serving you!

[lloydah]

Shouldn’t it be “Bored with Club World” rather than “of”?

[PaulJennings]

The OP is taking 4 flights a month. I think ‘Bored of Club World’ is about right 😉

[BAdboys]

NTarrent….you say that the AF business class bed is not flat. Do you mean flat horizontal?
The BA Club World bed is the same as AF…flat and angled at 10 degrees! It used to be flat and horizontal on the old Club World seats, but next time you fly, check, and you will see that the new one is slyly angled. I prefer it.

[VintageKrug]

The BA Club World bed is fully, completely, 180 degrees FLAT.

If it is not, there is something wrong with it.

Summon the CSD and have her jump on it, which she did to some considerable effect on a recent flight, after which I slept the sleep of the Just.

http://www.newclubworld.com

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