[BusinessClass]

I love it and think it is very stylish.

Do I want a door? No.

Do I want EK bling? No.

I just wish BA would hurry up and get the whole longhaul fleet completed.

[dutchyankee]

@Binman, 100% spot on! Especially agree with the need to have some kind of control on companies selling something before it is actually available. It should not be a crap shoot every time you book First as to which seat you will get! Start the hype when the product is readily and widely available!
@BusinessClass, perfectly put!

[VintageKrug]

Well, you can continue to delude yourselves. If:

1. a CAA recertification

2. a patent application

3. a completely different User Interface

4. a completely different movement and seat/bed action

…can’t convince you, then nothing will.

But you’re wrong in your assertion that the new BA First seat is a “re-hash” of the old seat. It just isn’t, and no amount of contrarian assertion on your part will make it so.

[BeckyBoop]

Biman are being serious about the queen and BA ripping out the whole of the first cabin and changing it? x

BA do have a caveat on their website which routes First are available “Experience new First on the following routes, subject to operational availability, and look out for the new service as it rolls out across the fleet:

Between London Heathrow and: Lagos, New York JFK, Shanghai, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo”

Its also not a small airline so i cant think how upgrading all this stuff over knight is possbible… can someone lend ba a fairy god mother or genie of the lamp?

Spot the difference 😉

Old First

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_AIrways_First_CLass.JPG

http://blog.kaluinteriors.com/2009/10/leaving-on-a-jetplane/

New First

http://www.airliners.net/photo/British-Airways/Boeing-777-236-ER/2012294/&sid=9fd7f699da6d647b81cde6bde9fc3b0d

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2011/08/02/british-airways-first-class-review/

[AdrianHenryAsia]

They don’t rip out First seats for the queen, the remove seats from economy!!

[Henkel.Trocken]

As a regular F traveller on EK I now find it helpful to differentiate between airlines that offer F and those who have some seats at the front they call F but which really fall far short of expectation.

Reading Ardmarnoch’s critical appraisal of BA was refreshing, the improvements listed are in the main negated by the problems so in reality BA have as others have said delivered something which is below standard with their new cabin. Add in as commented upon that 60% of the crew don’t want to be there and you really have to wonder what you are paying for. I think it is what BA call first class but to those of us who fly with a range of airlines it’s not really recognisable as such and as suggested recently here, it’s more of a premium business class offering where at least all the seats face forwards.

IME the airlines which offer F which meet my expectations of F are EK, EY, SQ, QR, LH, LX, CX and QF on the A380 only. Many offer added value in the way of a limo, all offer exceptional lounges at their home base, the food and beverage offering exceeds expectations and the crew work hard, consistently and provide excellent service.

There are some second division F options which are still very good which include TG, MH, OY and NH where you wouldn’t walk away disappointed but the service doesn’t quite have all the bells and whistles of full F service.

You then get the also rans who include AF, OZ, LY etc.

After that there are the carriers who call something F but really it isn’t. BA are top of my list here. They have an F cabin which has 40% more seats in it than TG have in theirs of the same size. LH have only three more seats in the same space and call it C. As a comparison on the 738 FR only fit in 11% more seats than QF so BA really are having a laugh with the density of their F seating. Add that to the sullen crew Ardmarnoch and many more experience and you can see why it’s not really first class but more of a business class offering which is mis-sold.

[VintageKrug]

Thankfully, others don’t feel like that and premium revenues are increasing, off the back of consistently improved passenger assessments of their F experience as a consequence of the new cabin.

http://www.ba.com/first

[Henkel.Trocken]

VintageKrug might I ask as you continue to be such a strong advocate of BA F when you last flew F with another carrier, perhaps EK, EY, SQ, LH, LX so that we know what you are comparing BA to or are you just supporting BA because you always do?

[Binman62]

VK. You are of course correct but they are in the main travellers across the Atlantic where competition is not exactly rampant. BAs product in relation to the others plying the pond is light years ahead of the others.

The issue is that the main economic drivers are East that is where BA product and reach is frankly well below par. As pointed out in the same space CX have just 9 seats and service that is exceptional and consistent.

BA is good but it is really not worth the £ 38,238.92 they want for 2 adults and 2 kids to SFO throughout December. They really need a reality check on that.

[BeckyBoop]

Binman £38k for you and your family is not cheap i agree, but then again how much stuff in the UK is cheap?? You are flying during school holiday time and also a prime time, you should of either booked well in advance or during the sales to minimise the imapact on cost. If it is too expensive look else where Catahy perhaps? You have to remember yours will be a direct service and not going via HKG. xxx

I just had a look at EK, EY, SQ, QR, LH, LX, CX and QF offers on there websites and some youtube vids. Apart from Singapore and Ethihad all the other for me look outdated and in the case of EK very tacky or a bit too bland. I have flown Cathay First but didnt think it was anything special except the extra space you get. I spoke to my boss and he says the reason why all the above can provide all extras such as cars is because they have cheap operating costs that BA cant compete with and UK airports dont have the space to run FIrst pax from the aircraft to the terminal like you get with Qater.

If you ask me only time will tell if NF is a hit or not. I suspect it will not. Its a mainstream product at a fair price and doesnt go too OTT. The lounges are great, the onboard products fantastic esp New First and modern fresh!!! and like i have already said its good enough for royalty!!

xxx

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

“You have to remember yours will be a direct service and not going via HKG. xxx”

HKG is not the intuitive route to SFO, from London 😉

ANyway, I’ve got my first F segment since 2007 next month – with SV between JED and CAI.

I am confidently expecting it to be a pretty bad seat, as it is on one of the old 743 aircraft (they must have got them back from the Hajj!)

It will be perfectly nice for a 2 hour hop) and the price on a 2 hour flight is about half the price of a 2 hour CE flight :-), who also don’t serve nice dates on sticks and arabic coffee. I might have to drink my aftershave if I get desperate.

I booked business one way, but first was all that was left the other.

[RichHI1]

Reading these threads I realize that we all have different need states and expectations. Some like lots of bling and fawning flu kiss making a fuss of them, some like the subservient. Butler approach , others look for ultimate ease and convenience. Being not in my first springs youth and having flown many many million miles in my life, I look on a flight as a way to get somewhere that I need or want to be. If I want fine food and wine I go to le bernardin or the fat duck, if I want the finest accommodation I similarly choose a top hotel. So for me good first gets you there on time, without being uncomfortable (short beds no leg room no good) without stress, swapping seats as mine broken or can little jimmy sit by the window and not too hungry ( sorry they did not load the catch of the day, we have meat meat and meat, would you like a big salad?) the rest passes me by as I sleep and bring my own blu rays.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

“So for me good first gets you there on time, without being uncomfortable”

Agreed, but with the proviso of suffering from duck’s disease, most business seats are okay for me, which has saved me a bit over the years.

The BA first seat is rather more comfortable than CW for taller people, I imagine.

[RichHI1]

Yep for me to fly CW overnight I would have to check my legs. It is interesting that many of the airlines trumpeted as good first actually have short uncomfortable seats. They wow people with Top Champagne and caviar instead. Other point is aircrat type, I think the front of 747 is very tranquil area- 777 and others not so much. Yet to fly 380, seems some carriiers there do better than others. Interesting reading other thread that Qantas have got the BA disease and board first with coach on 380, that would fail test for me.

[Infidel]

I would have to agree with Henkel.Trocken. Is everyone on this forum beginning to “tire” from the hyperbole spouted day in & day out from VK.?Surely someone with his/her amount of time to be continuously posting threads about the virtues of BA must either be retired, or plainly so bored with his/her life, that Business Traveller is the only outlet to vent his/her frustration with his or her’s pedestrian existence. As a current one world emerald card holder with 4 one world carriers, I would have to say that BA First would always be my “least worst choice”. As pointed out by other contributor’s – sub standard catering, disinterested crew, variable product, inconsistent service flow – BA First is sadly an inferior product that pales in comparison to CX and QF’s A380 product. BA is trading on past glory and goodwill that is fast eroding and the New First is another example of British industry failing to wake up to itself, recognising that following, rather that being innovative is now the norm. Being “left behind” must be an internal mantra of BA senior management.

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