BA 1st Class

[jadeqld1123]

my wife & i are are flying from sydney to bangkok then bangkok to london in 1st class . then 1st london-bangkok-sydney. can anyone give us a rating please
regards

jadeqld
gold coast oz

 

[david870mdg]

If you get a 777 with "old" first: 4.5/10
Very outdated and ordinary hard product.
Maybe "new first" could increase this.

Service is a mixed bag +/- depending on crew.

i'd take another carrier especially through asia..

 

[jadeqld1123]

thank you for your reply. but i not sure what it means.

" get a 777 with "old" first: 4.5/10
Very outdated and ordinary hard product.
Maybe "new first" could increase this"

 

[samh004]

thank you for your reply. but i not sure what it means.

" get a 777 with "old" first: 4.5/10
Very outdated and ordinary hard product.
Maybe "new first" could increase this"

They’re suggesting that if you received a Boeing 777 with the "old" F class product onboard, the rating they would give it would be 4.5 out of 10… e.g. not good at all.

 

[NYCguy]

They’re suggesting that if you received a Boeing 777 with the "old" F class product onboard, the rating they would give it would be 4.5 out of 10… e.g. not good at all.

An article in a recent Australian Aviation suggested that "new" First won't be coming to Australia for a couple of years.

Anyhoo, BA fly 747 equipment from SYD to BKK and beyond. AFAIK, the 777s only fly SYD-SIN-LHR and return.

 

[anat0l]

I don't have a lot of experience flying First class myself, but I have had one experience with BA. I flew BA SYD-BKK last November in First. Aircraft was 747-400, load in the pointy end was only 4 people, including me.

First cabin isn't as good as a good deal of other First cabins out there, sporting a fairly dated product. For some it does the trick, especially when coupled with good service, which is what I got (very pleasant crew and a delight to talk to). Other people report inconsistencies with the cabin service.

Food is alright, but IMHO lacks innovation compared to QF's menus. Although I believe plastic knives must be used on flights to/from Australia, when I flew with BA in F they proffered a totally plastic utensil set. You've got to be kidding me.

Nice Anya Hindmarch amenity kits and soft pyjamas.

Here's a short snap report on my experience in BA F from last year (posts #8 - #13; menu is in post #15):

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....in-aff-mitglied-reist-f-21693.html#post299342

Upon arrival in LHR you will be able to use the Arrivals Lounge in T5 (and the Concorde Room Area of that lounge) if London is your final destination. If you are transiting to another international flight leaving from T5, you are entitled to use the Concorde Room lounge.

 

[Andyzx]

If your flying via BKK then you should be in a 747.
Lounges - access to QFF first in Syd and BKK - nice. Bkk is not as big but comfortable. there is an arrivals lounge in T3 but i havent used it.
If you go to T5 the BA arrivals lounge in LHR, which is nice as you arrive early. good for a shower, spa treatment and food if you need it. You will also get fast track through customs etc but that lane wasn't open at 6am when I arrived in July.
Seats standard BA current, not new version that they have on their website. Look at seatgru.com for a good seat for you and your wife, suggest rows 4 or 5. 5A and K have good room on the side.
Food - indifferent, its good but there is better in First. I thought that it looked a little basic but had great flaour which is the thing in UK these days.
Service - very variable. Last flight from HK was fantastic and friendly in Business and similar comments from a person in First. Have had complete waste of time from BKK to Sydney - ran out of water in 1st and didnt offer any options.
Generally turning left at the door is very nice and you should enjoy it

Hope it helps
Andy:arrow:

 

[taswegian77]

my wife & i are are flying from sydney to bangkok then bangkok to london in 1st class . then 1st london-bangkok-sydney. can anyone give us a rating please
regards

jadeqld
gold coast oz

I have flown BA on that route many times in business class and never had an issue so I would expect First class to be of equal or better service. If I remember I saw First in a angled seating configuration, not sure how good that is to having a chat etc. I am sure you will both have a great flight and please use the lounges in Sydney and London they are awesome and makes the start of the trip so much easier.

 

[samh004]

Anyhoo, BA fly 747 equipment from SYD to BKK and beyond. AFAIK, the 777s only fly SYD-SIN-LHR and return.

I didn’t suggest it was a 777, that was another posted, I sort of wondered about that too.

 

[jadeqld1123]

I have flown BA on that route many times in business class and never had an issue so I would expect First class to be of equal or better service. If I remember I saw First in a angled seating configuration, not sure how good that is to having a chat etc. I am sure you will both have a great flight and please use the lounges in Sydney and London they are awesome and makes the start of the trip so much easier.

thank you very much for your info. we will look forward to the trip

jadeqld

 

[simongr]

Do BA have any aircraft with the new F product?

 

[jamesatfish]

Do BA have any aircraft with the new F product?

BA have a small number of 747s configured with new F - I flew one JFK-LHR in June this year. Very nice upgrade given that they haven't changed too much of the cabin layout - just some subtle tweaks and visual improvements but it makes a big difference to the cabin experience - especially juxtaposed with an old QF 747 First cabin which was my next leg LHR-BKK-SYD.

Speaking with a BA rep at a recent travel event I believe the 777s they are rolling out with new F aren't the long range aircraft, so we won't be seeing them on the Australian routes. The first 777ER to be suitably equipped to fly to Australia will apparently have registration ending in 'GST' (through coincidence no doubt) and might be seen on Australian routes from mid 2011.

 

[JetLagged]

Having flwon BA F from LHR to JFK, I certainly agree with those who commented on the tired, worn and 'old-fashioned' styling - probably supposed to represent 'traditional English design', though about 20 years out of date... Roughly just below par with the old F-line Qantas offering in terms of seating. Still, much better than their J offering!

 

[ButFli]

Warnie says that BA 1st is not good enough for him. If you are a certain type of Australian you probably think BA 1st isn't good enough for you, either.

 

[JetLagged]

Warnie says that BA 1st is not good enough for him. If you are a certain type of Australian you probably think BA 1st isn't good enough for you, either.

And what type of Australian is that, pray tell?

 

[Shane76]

Nice choice. I flew BA to SYD-SIN-LHR on my last trip in F. The product is quite dated, but the service is fantastic. I have yet to try the new F on BA, as I don't believe it has been rolled out on their Long Haul 747 fleet as yet, but I don't need brand spanking all shiney and new. Its the service that makes or breaks it for me, and BA F crew exceed all expectations. For me, it was like being served by the queens personal butler, the way they walk, talk, and anticipating inadvance my every whim....love it....on my last trip, I couldn't decide what to have for my meals, so they gave me "everything" as a degaustation experience.....you will most likely land at T3, so you can use the AA arrivals lounge on level 2 to freshen up and shower before leaving the airport - the lounge supplies everything........enjoy and have fun....

 

[sr81]

BA 1st is very much the same hardware that QF uses in its 747. Is previous generation but still very comfortable and plenty of space.

Only one BA aircraft has new F - their new 777-300ER. Got this info the A-nutters.com so can't vouch for its total accuracy.

 

[jamesatfish]

Only one BA aircraft has new F - their new 777-300ER. Got this info the A-nutters.com so can't vouch for its total accuracy.

I can confirm the new F is fitted to some 747 aircraft also - as mentioned above I flew one a few months ago.

I wasn't smart enough to take decent photos but did get a couple of blurry shots. As you can see the 747's 1-2-1 config remains with 5 rows of A & K window seats and 2 rows of EF couple seats, as opposed to the 777's 4 rows of A, E, F, K.

 

[anat0l]

Here are some useful FT threads with reviews, rollout details and pictures of the new BA F. Sorry, don't have enough time to handpick through the multitude of pages, but the first posts of each topic are OK.

BA First Suite Inaugural Review - FlyerTalk Forums

New First seat: First Review - FlyerTalk Forums

Tracking NF [New First] - FlyerTalk Forums

And this SMH article has a picture gallery with new F as well:

British Airways unveils new $176 million first class

As said, however, probably little chance that the 744s let alone the 777s serving the Kangaroo routes will have new F on them. At least, not yet, and I take it the OP is travelling soon.

Looks very much refreshed but many are still bitter because there are a number of things that BA hasn't capitalised on for the new F, such as privacy dividers / fully enclosed suites, more bling (a la EK / SQ), improved menus, bars / better bathrooms etc. etc.. Such is the simplicity of BA F. Personally, I'll sing all praises for BA F if Rachel Weisz hops into the new fully flat bed with me :mrgreen:

 

[peterk]

BA First product is very old tired and disappointing