[Anonymous]

[germantraveller]

My wife and I are status members of BA Executive club and LH Star alliance since many years. Having been on a number of LH first class flights out of Frankfurt, early this year we had our first first class flight out of Heathrow 5 with BA and were astonished by the differences of the pre flight organization between BA and LH:

Arriving with car:

Heathrow: Looking for a space in any car park of the terminal and schlep the luggage some hundred meters to the first class check in.

Frankfurt: Drive in to the first class check in, porters will bring your luggage to the check in and are valet parking your car.

Check in and entering the lounge:

Heathrow: Going about 100 yards to the boarding pass control and queuing at the fast track for security check, than going some meters to the Concord lounge

Frankfurt: Directly at the check in you pass the passport-control and the security check without any queuing and you are inside the lounge already.

In the lounge:

Heathrow: The Concord restaurant is divided in small bunks with two meters high walls and only two or three seats each. All in dark brown without table linen. Not ideal for claustrophobic people. Menu is the same as in gold lounge: Very poor choice of mains: Hamburger, Sandwich, Noodles- traditional English dishes, nothing international. No self service for additional food. Very limited selections of European and overseas newspapers and international magazines.

Frankfurt: Large elegant restaurant with white linnen. The menu is offering a wide range of international food in a star class quality (Different meats and seafood , also varying European gastronomic specialties and so on) beside a very large self service buffet with German and international specialties of hot and cold food and pastries. Large selection of European and overseas newspapers and magazines and German and English travel magazines.

The way to the plane:

Heathrow: Nobody is telling you face to face when you should board your plane. You just proceed on your own accord the shorter or longer distance to your departure gate.

Frankfurt: A hostess is collecting you and takes you to a Mercedes or Porsche car for direct approach to the plane.

By the way: Can anyone tell me the privilege of BA Concorde room in comparison to the gold lounge, except the shorter distance from security check?

[Binman62]

The Concorde room is limited to First Class Ticket Holders…though upgrades increasingly get access…..This is due to e tickets and inability of staff to read tickets.

In T4 days the ticket was checked and upgrades did not get in they went down stairs.

The First lounge accepts anyone with F tickets and Gold card holders plus guests and those with emerald status on one world. You are right that the food is the same but the Concorde room feels a little more exclusive.

Like you I dislike the table and high walls.

The issues you highlight are real for BA who really need to up their game in the pointy end.

The problem is they have no real competition on the transatlantic routes and consequently what they offer; whilst poor in relation to LH, EK, QR, SQ etc; is light years ahead of anything ex LHR.

[ScottWilson]

Indeed, LH on the ground at FRA beats BA at T5, but in the air I’d argue LH in First, except the A380 product, is dated certainly compared with New First.

However, Binman is right. BA bears all others Trans-Atlantic in 1st as it only has AA and UA to compete with, and is vastly superior to both, even if the hard product on UA has had a spruce up – the soft product and certainly the terminal experience is akin to a good business on an Asian carrier.

Serious competition in First today comes from ET, QR, EK (although product varies wildly per route), SQ, CX, KE, NH and JL.

[FlyingChinaman]

Germantraveller: I regard Luthansa FIRST CLASS terminal the real top First Class travel experience in the world.

I do not fly with any of the Gulf airlines between Europe to HKG and therefore not able to comment these rising stars no mater how good they are. No desire to bump down and change plane in the middle of my sleep!

[Binman62]

I am now in the First Lounge at T5 enjoying a drink and waiting for some food. The service is friendly but hardly stylish or slick. The soup was not what i ordered but rather than ask me it was simply delived and without the warm bread promised.

The food choice is also poor but entirely satisfactory for me tonight. If I did this week in, week out, the burger,curry and salad choice would become very dull. This is no Qantas first class lounge.
What I notice here compared to the Concorde room is the noise, the sound of trolleys washing up and general kitchen chatter is really annoying where I am seated

[BeckyBoop]

You must be more than satisfied with BA or you would be flying on other airlines, but you dont. xx

[NTarrant]

Well said Becky.

[MartynSinclair]

The First Lounge in T5 is large enough for somewhere quiet to be found.

If you are sitting by the food or drink, its bound to be busy. Go to the far end or towards the computer area.

Unfortunately for you, other passengers are allowed in!!

Have a great flight Binman and perhaps enjoy one or two more bevvies and then you may not hear too much noise!!!

[Bucksnet]

“Very poor choice of mains: Hamburger, Sandwich, Noodles- traditional English dishes, nothing international”

germantraveller, I don’t think noodles are an English invention and Hamburgers were invented in er.. Hamburg!

[FlyingChinaman]

Martyn is right as there are lots of different areas to sit in and I found some areas rather too quiet for my liking!!!

Bucksnet: I have yet to find any Asia noodles in T5 First lounge and BTW Hamburgers were invented in the USA!!!!

[Bucksnet]

FC,

“the term hamburger originally derives from Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city, from where many people emigrated to the United States” – according to Wikipedia.

Agree that the US is the country most associated with the Hamburger, but they’re not from England are they

[FlyingChinaman]

Bucksnet: I had a German lover once from Hamburg and knows the city very well.

Wikipedia might have been right as to the term through early German immigrants to the USA (same thing with Chop Suey) but in modern day food fare it is synonymous with the not so desirable US food eating habit.

The Brits have fully adopted the Indian curry in their diet and long replaced the Sunday Roast!

Let’s not distract the other poster with our different views!

[Bucksnet]

FC, The point was that the Concorde Room did have international food – neither hamburgers or noodles are English.

I like a curry, but it has not replaced the Sunday roast.

[LPPSKrisflyer]

IMO the LH F ground experience in FRA is unmatched. It is so smooth and stress free it’s amazing. The F terminal is well designed and thought through and the little things like security as you arrive, the choice of food, drinks and the seating areas are so well thought through. Being collected personally and escorted downstairs where the border police already have your documents and your driver is waiting just add to the experience along with being introduced to the cabin crew on boarding just make the experience like no other.

The new F cabin is also great, I’ve been lucky enough to try the 744 a couple of times and the A380 three times, I believe the same seat is on the A330 and A340 and it’s an absolute leader.

For me there is no comparison with BA at any stage of the process, LH win hands down.

[Author]

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