EY Apartments vs. LH First Class

[boomy]

I haven't had any (international) F flights where wifi was actually available on the plane - I just assumed if it was F pax would be given it free!

You would have good reason to think so. It is disappointing all three airlines covered in this TR charge for that (btw all with T-mobile).

Charging F pax for wifi feels like penny pinching to me so if I end up paying I always make sure to have an extra glass of champagne to cover the cost

 

[boomy]

I was tossing between the Japanese and Western meals knowing from previous flights can't go wrong with any option. Then two magic words caught my attention: Japanese Beef. Anyone who loves beef should know what I'm talking about
That's it, Western it is!

Amuse Bouche



With JL it's not only about the quality but also presentation, they just know how to do it right.

Hors d'Oeuvre



Caviar serve a bit smaller than I got on LH

Main Dish (with a glass of fine Bordeaux)





The photo doesn't do justice to the dish. It was the best beef stew I've had in a long time, cooked to perfection!

I must say JL serve not only good food but also some of the best wines to match.

 

[boomy]

Cheese plate



Dessert



Coffee set



By far the best coffee in the air.

All in all fabulous meal, can't fault it.

 

[boomy]

Managed to have about 5 hours sleep on the very comfortable bed.
Didn't feel like having breakfast so just had ramen from a la carte menu.



Three glasses of Bollinger (Salon finished long time ago), two cups of coffee and we are almost home.



Another enjoyable journey came to an end.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I must say JL serve not only good food but also some of the best wines to match.

Foreigner asked in another thread why wouldn't you drink top class Champagne - quality reds is the reason why!

Japanese beef? >40yrs now the Japenese have imported the very best beef Australia / USA / EU can produce - both grass and grain fed - only the very very top Australian steak restaurants serve beef as good as this. What is exported to Japan? Mature aged bullocks / no females / must have 6 or 8 permanent teeth (3 or 4yo) - predominantly British breeds (Angus / Hereford etc and their crosses - some with box indicus blood like Santa / Braham etc - but usually only 1/4 blood - also some European infused blood like Charolais / Simmental etc) - fat score 5 only - nothing less.

This class of beef would never sell on Australian supermarket shelves - way too fatty and cuts way too big - but taste in and it knocks your socks off - but I digress.

 

[boomy]

Conclusion

EY have the best hard product to date. The lounge in AUH offers enough treatments for F pax to have nice layover but otherwise nothing special there. Their service can vary from friendly to indifferent (similar to QF and BA). Luckily for EY their stunning apartments are more than enough to compensate for some minor hiccups here and there.
At 100K AA miles apartments are currently the best value for long haul travel.

LH don't have the most impressive hard product but they do have the best ground services and most impressive lounge in FRA. This is enough for me to want to fly them again.
The problem with booking LH when flying to AUS is cost vs value.
There are few options flying F from Europe to Australia:
EY F will cost 100K AA via AUH.
JL F will cost 80K AA via NRT.
TG F will cost 102K LM via BKK.
Combination of LH + JL F like the one I did will cost 115K LM plus 60K AA.
As per above examples, this is not good value. It's ok to do it once for the experience but for repeat travel there are better options.
Now if ANA will ever start flying F to AUS then the FRA-HND-SYD route at just 115K LM will become the new best value (especially after the coming AA devaluation in March).

JL is a personal favourite. Nothing flashy about them (apart from the wine list maybe) but there is something very comfortable about the overall product. They won't always be my first choice but I'll be happy to fly them any day.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The problem with booking LH when flying to AUS is cost vs value.

For revenue tickets however LH offers some excellent value, particularly if you book in advance to take advantage of their 'basic' F class fares (sort of similar to QF 'savers').

On a sample date (18Apr-2May) LH is offering F MEL-FRA for $11316. This uses SQ F to SIN and back, with 90 mins connection in SIN on the outbound, and a bit longer on the return. Compares to QF F at $13700 for the same dates, via LHR or DXB.

 

[boomy]

For revenue tickets however LH offers some excellent value, particularly if you book in advance to take advantage of their 'basic' F class fares (sort of similar to QF 'savers').

On a sample date (18Apr-2May) LH is offering F MEL-FRA for $11316. This uses SQ F to SIN and back, with 90 mins connection in SIN on the outbound, and a bit longer on the return. Compares to QF F at $13700 for the same dates, via LHR or DXB.

Good point.

In my case, unless someone else pays or if I'll ever decide to chase HON circle then I'll consider paying that much for F.
Meanwhile I'll keep using my cash to buy points and fish for awards

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks again for all the detail. You mentioned that the JL bed was very comfortable - what made it that? Like you IIRC I found the EY bed disappointingly hard (bizarre when its a dedicated padded bench, not needed to fold up as a seat). I think the JL bed was the only one of the three to be a converted seat - did it beat any of the other two dedicated beds?

 

[boomy]

Thanks again for all the detail. You mentioned that the JL bed was very comfortable - what made it that? Like you IIRC I found the EY bed disappointingly hard (bizarre when its a dedicated padded bench, not needed to fold up as a seat). I think the JL bed was the only one of the three to be a converted seat - did it beat any of the other two dedicated beds?

Thanks RooFlyer. Not nearly as detailed as your TRs but I'm trying my best

Actually the bed on LH was converted seat as well (LH used to have separate beds on B744s but discontinued that product since).
I think the reason EY bed felt a bit hard because the bench is not as soft as the seats to and they don't use proper mattress.
On LH the FA put double mattress for extra comfort and the mattress on JL is quite thick plus the seat is soft.

 

[LadyC]

Thanks very much for posting. Great TR - very jealous!

 

[snabbu]

Absolutely! great write up and an awesome experience boomy, very jealous.

 

[JessicaTam]

Thanks for the TR, boomy.

 

[jojen]

Excellent report boomy. Mr Jojen was amazed at the photos of the trip. Now added more to the list of things to do.

 

[exceladdict]

Very much enjoyed your report! Thanks for posting.

 

[Kangol]

During boarding I noticed three Japanese guys traveling together, all in F. Two of them sat in 1D/G and another in 2A. I was in 1A and offered the guy in 2A to swap seats which he kindly accepted.

Excellent report, how did you get 1A on an award ticket? Selected at T-80/T-24 or other?

 

[Moindardt]

Awesome report boomy! I agree about the bed on Etihad apartments, I found most J beds more comfortable, but still managed 8 hours of sleep . Its a shame your food wasn't the greatest. It was only the 2nd A380 flight for our chef and he was just spectacular. Had the option recently to pick up a JL F flight but was a little apprehensive as to how good it would be. Will make sure I pick it next time.

Thanks mate.

 

[BAM1748]

excellent reporting

Matt

 

[boomy]

Excellent report, how did you get 1A on an award ticket? Selected at T-80/T-24 or other?

Asked for it at check in. Was originally in 2D.

 

[Kangarucci]

Thank you so much for the great trip report. Very informative. Saving like hell now to get the frequent flyer points so that I may perhaps experience first.