[canucklad]

As someone who has only had the opportunity to fly 1st class…..once….way back in the 70’s with an airline known for its excellent , no, a better word is — outstanding customer service, I’ve got to say that most business class travel I’ve flown in recent times, including the excellent AC Executive class was far superior to my 1st experience .
Why… Not the staff, nobody could beat the CP crew for service, nor the food. it’s the evolution of the hard product. The seat, the IFE has now become the USP’s, the food and personalised service is now lagging behind.
I’m not having a pop at the pampered few, who have the opportunity to luxuriate in the 1st class experience, rather pointing out that airlines now struggle to meet the expectations of their 1st class clientele …… A simple case of understanding the psychology of Hygiene factors!
To me, people who pay over the odds to fly, want either anonymity of exclusivity or ironically the exact opposite.

[LuganoPirate]

In my case Canucklad, I’m looking for more comfort, not just the seat but the overall experience, from being escorted through immigration/emigration and security avoiding long queues. The better lounges – at least with Swiss and Lufthansa, being collected when they are ready for us to board again saving having to queue or be stuck in the long tunnel leading to the plane.

Then there’s the level of service in the cabin, with just two FA’s for 8 passengers, the much bigger seat and more comfortable bed. All this is what makes the difference for me, plus a nice touch with Swiss last night, the Captain coming to the cabin to introduce himself personally and tell us about our route, the weather and so on.

I pay my own tickets so I do look for the best deals and I usually book one way in F and then the other in business and upgrade with my miles.

[LuganoPirate]

To add. I’m not overly bothered about the food onboard as I rarely eat it. I acknowledge it can never be as good as restaurant on land and is pre-prepared, usually bill in the bag with an instruction as to how it should be served and the plate laid out. Ugh.

[Ahmad]

I endorse LP in his reasons for flying First. For all the reasons he mentioned, on airlines that offer such levels of service (few and far between now), I always go first if I can manage to tailor my schedule to their flight times.

LP, have you tried the inflight chef service by EY and GF (not now but when GF had a genuine First product)? In my experience they always prepared the dishes on board. In the past, on a few occasions, I also found SQ and EK food in First to be reasonably edible and freshly cooked, from a partially cooked state I am sure, but still freshly finished.

[LuganoPirate]

I’ve never flown EY or GF Ahmad, well not for over 20 years anyway. My problem with the food on board is two fold. Depending on flight times and route, I find it is often served very late which means going to sleep on a full stomach which I do not like to do. When it is a reasonable time, such as my flight from JNB departing at 1930, then I’ll have a light snack, which means some dried meats, cheese, a glass of port or Sauternes, tea, chocolate and then sleep.

My main objection to the pre-prepared food is what you describe. Partially cooked, then reheated. In the whole process too much can go wrong so I prefer to go without and make up for it with a good meal in a local restaurant after I arrive.

[Swissdiver]

Well, looking at the details of the ranking (https://flightfox.com/tradecraft/best-first-class), it shows among the criteria “ROCKSTAR FACTOR” and “HACKABILITY” with no explanation of what these factors mean. I rest my case!

[Author]

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