[Binman62]

AOTG…….a very good point …..it is a chore on BA, I had not thought of it those terms but from making a booking to collecting baggage it is indeed all to often a chore with nothing to make the experience a delight or even simply interesting.

[SwissExPat]

Agree with AotG….. EK is vastly superior in F..

Ba’s advantage is that it flies direct to a huge number of destinations ex UK southeast.

EK is only heading east from the UK so is only an option in a limited way. Heading west, BA is quite strong.

[MartynSinclair]

Finally got to sample NF on my rescheduled trip to BKK on Friday.

The biggest suprise was that it was indeed NF over OF. Either the whole fleet has now been coverted or we were just lucky.

I always feel priviledged entering a First cabin and this flight was no different. However, when I realised it was NF, I thought the experience was going to provide the wow factor, something new.

The cabin still felt cramped and dark, a bit like the inside of a cinema before the show with the bright blue window lights.

The inner covering of the 2 windows per seat, comes further inside the cabin thereby giving the windows the same feeling as when flying in Concorde, small….

The wardrobe was very useful the seat controls very easy to use and I slept for 6 hours, but that could have been down to the endless supply of blue label whisky – decided to change from Port!

I found the cabin fixtures and fittings cheap and blingy looking, scratches in part. Plenty of grills showing underneath the seat.

The IFE looked great switched off, really expecting a good picture, alas same hazy picture. Pity the picture quality had not been upgraded.

Food was very tasty but the bloke behind me (I got 1k) was moaning to everyone he could about the beef. My choice was the salmon and had a butternut squash soup to start.

Ticket was a last minute (day before) avios First – (OK, VK, it worked) – as I was already holding a return ticket for BKK – LHR. wonder if that will be NF or OF??!!

BA missed an opportunity to catch up with their rivals, seat was comfy but rest appeared to be a short term fix to an old product.

Still pleased to enjoy NF, but this was certainly not a wow factor I was expecting.

[SwissExPat]

I flew back to LHR from BKK last month in J (upstairs on 744)

I enquired at chek in about J to F upgrades and was offered seats in F at from memory THB 36,000 hence excess stg£700 per seat. I declined.

Had a quick look on entering the plane and saw it was OLD First… Lucky I didn’t upgrade!

[MartynSinclair]

Came back last night and it was OF. On the positive side, I had a great crew, good food and 7 and half hours sleep (flight was 12 hours 30)

Negative side, the IFE quality was appalling, the cabin looked very shabby and the cabin was full of upgrades.

[GordyUK]

Hi Martyn… how does one tell if a cabin is full of upgrades?

is it a finely honed skill or was it just obvious “oooh look at the seat going up and down”.. lol

[MartynSinclair]

Its made obvious………….

1. Check in staff told me F was empty, only 4 seats sold, that was 3 hours before flight closed. I confirmed my seats on line 6 hours before departure and there were only 3 other seats taken

2. When a family gets on board you can tell those smiley looks of gratitude to certain members of cabin crew

3. When you see the passenger load list, pinned up in the galley, it gives most of the secrets away..

Still slept 7 and half hours and the crew were A*

[BeckyBoop]

For those of you not to fond of BA’s First cabin. The guy who was responsible for designing it is Martin Darbyshire and is also responsible for Club World and the Ying-Yang layout

http://behindthedesign.ba.com/

edited

You can upgrade to First, one way, when you book an eligible, semi-flexible, published Club World return flight in C, D or R class between 7 January and 29 January 2013 for travel between 7 January and 22 March 2013.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/upgrade-to-first/public/en_gb?DM1_Mkt=UK&DM1_Channel=DIS&DM1_Campaign=UpgradeToFirstQ1&DM1_Site=Panecea&utm_source=ZO&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Leisure&cookiesAccepted=newvispop

[FivestarFred]

Had my first ever BA First Class experience (LHR-HKG) on New Year’s Day followed immediately by a connecting Qantas flight to Sydney (744 old first class but have tried the A380 before).

As an aside, the check-in area was disappointing. The walk-up promised something luxurious but behind the screen it was pretty average.

I had been looking forward to the Concorde Room but again was slightly underwhelmed. The shower in the Elemis Spa was falling apart and there was only one waiter in the dining area so had to wait a while and the beef was overdone. There are definitely nice touches to the lounge but I popped into the Galleries First lounge and that was almost as nice!

I was on a 777 and this aircraft had 12 seats only with a section blocked off for the pilot’s rest area (which really looked awful in a first class cabin. Seat 3A was broken but used instead by the first officer for a rest for the first few hours of the flight.

I had eaten already so just had the prawn salad and a fruit salad. Presentation was drab. The IFE was very clunky…poor picture and navigation.

There were some good points though! The crew were exellent. The seat looks good and was comfortable and a good length (though equivalent to CX new biz).

There really wasn’t a wow factor in the whole experience unfortunately.

The contrast to the Qantas flight couldn’t have been more marked…even though it was an old 747. The cabin crew service and the quality of the food on Qantas were excellent. 7 course tasting menu with matching wines as well as the normal menu. The bed was made with a much more luxurious mattress and duvet than BA. Even the IFE, though smaller and older worked better than the BA NF one! Qantas has its issues but certainly I can’t fault the F product. The A380 F suite was a fantastic experience. I still haven’t sampled the much talked about SYD or MEL QF F lounges but that will be something to anticipate…

So…New First looks good…seat and window shades but the flight experience itself is lacking and if you compare to leading players and sometimes even the business class product of some Middle East carriers, BA is distinctly lacking.

[AnthonyDunn]

Mindful of the BT house rules about not pursuing people’s real identities (although I have no problems with being who I say I am…) I must confess that I would dearly love to know just which are the companies/organisations that employ the various posters here who proceed (time and again in some cases), to dig out BA and its products. It would be highly revealing to then compare the critiques dished up about BA with their own company’s performance….

It does rather remind me of the aphorism “Don’t do as I do, just do as I say!”

[thebigseats]

BA NF is OK. Certainly not stellar or class leading in any way tho!

As many have said, much depends upon the crew. This is not just a BA issue but IS still a big BA problem when combined with the average seat, lack of personal space, mediocre food & average IFE. My prime reason for using BA is their FFP programme. It works for me. BA F is a nice step up from CW (I find CW seat fine but the “frills” are basic). Cheers. thebigseats.

[BeckyBoop]

Does anyone know why BA or even western airlines for that matter don’t offer the same type of seats as the Arab or Asian airlines? I don’t believe they are that delusional that they are unaware of what the competition offers. I am guessing that as BA’s biggest market is the US there not as much demand for it and the BA first seat is better than most of the US rivals possibly with the exception of AA’s new first… any thoughts?

[GordyUK]

good point Becky. I’d love to know too.

Having flown EK A380 suites and finally BA N/F, its clear that EK has got it so right. Perhaps my view is in the minority. Its been said on here that closed door suites and showers are “gimmics”.. i couldn’t disagree more and i think BA’s A380 will be so much the worse for the lack of them.. and this is coming from someone who is so entrenched in the BAEC that i rarely fly anyone else.

ho hum 🙁

[thebigseats]

Oh, that’s an easy one to answer – m-o-n-e-y! And even more, government money (certainly in the Middle East!)! Simple.

[lloydah]

There’s also the “feel” of the cabin. Like one or two other posters here I don’t like the feel of the closed door suites on some Middle Eastern Airlines. Admittedly I have only experienced it once but that was enough. Being in that metal tube is bad enough but being more enclosed isn’t for me.

[Author]

Posts