Ideas wanted: First Class Flight

[coyote25]

Hi everyone,

I'm a world traveller who has visited 52 countries over the past 15 years mostly in Y but one world trip I used a RTW OW award (280K pts thanks to those who helped plan) in J that showed me how the more comfortable people live .

For work I used to fly so much at one point I was a Platinum QF member which got me the occasional upgrade on INT QF flight to Y+ which was very nice.

Domestic travel is always cheapest flight available so you can imagine what it took to get WP and later SG. Alas now LT Silver with about 5-6 years away from LTG.

Anyway I'm thinking of just once booking a First Class one way long haul flight using up to 220K QF points.

Question: what is the best flight to experience first class travel? I'd prefer to end up in Europe but anywhere is fine given how much more of the world there is to explore.

Who is the best airline linked to QF to use if not QF? And what is the best time of the day to travel in 1st?

I know this is a very open ended question but I'm hoping some members here would have useful insights to maximise a once off long haul first experience

 

[juddles]

emirates emirates emirates

 

[RooFlyer]

If there is just one flight, I would want to choose a daytime flight, or one that was predominantly daytime. You can still catch a few winks on the nice bed, but better to have your eyes open and senses active!

As juddles said, you'd probably want to choose EK metal over QF for a "First Class" experience (can't beat having a shower at 40,000 ft!!), and probably want to choose a flight leaving from Dubai, so you can use the EK first lounge there (although QF lounges in SYD and MEL are excellent too!)

You are no doubt aware that it can be hard to snag F Award seats, but if that's your mission, just keep an eye out and hopefully there is flexibility in your schedule.

You can book other OneWorld carriers on QFF points; I've never done it, so can't speak about the logistics, but I would like to fly Cathay F myself, out of Hong Kong to somewhere. BA F is supposed to be nice too. Have a look at the 'Trip Reports' thread - there are a number of threads there with people flying F, with pictures and comments (including BA in F recently).

Caution: Once you've gone F once, J and Y are hard to go back to!

 

[trixydoza]

Who is the best airline linked to QF to use if not QF?

My personal favourite is JAL, but (as with most other airlines apart from American) it costs more points than booking with QF, which isn't the case with Emirates.

One day I'd quite like to do something like the below (other end destinations are of course possible)... lots of relatively short legs so I can enjoy the service and then sleep in between. Anyway, it's always fun playing around with Multi-city and making sure there's less than 24 hours between trips.

192,000 points:



Mar 29: AKL-MEL
Mar 30: MEL-SIN
Mar 31: SIN-DXB
Apr 1: DXB-HND

All on EK F.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Trixydoza, how do you get away from the QF max of 2 bookings in multi city in a day though?
Edit: ah, I see. Got my magnifying glass out.
Ok, so thats how its done, as in the prospective itineary.

 

[trixydoza]

Trixydoza, how do you get away from the QF max of 2 bookings in multi city in a day though?

By travelling on different days.

 

[dalereardon]

Definitely Emirates - have done it myself and hopefully again next year.

They often have single seats available in advance but if you want 2 (I always travel with my wife) then you need to wait until only a few days out.

Melbourne and Adelaide to JFK or Europe have reasonable availability every few days at the moment.

If you want some variety you can go via KUL or SIN to DOH and then Europe or America.

Dale.

 

[RooFlyer]

Definitely Emirates - have done it myself and hopefully again next year.

They often have single seats available in advance but if you want 2 (I always travel with my wife) then you need to wait until only a few days out.

Melbourne and Adelaide to JFK or Europe have reasonable availability every few days at the moment.

If you want some variety you can go via KUL or SIN to DOH and then Europe or America.

Dale.

But you'd always want the A380 wouldn't you? Some of those are 777s I think?

 

[trixydoza]

But you'd always want the A380 wouldn't you? Some of those are 777s I think?

I've slummed it in EK F on the 777 and didn't mind it in the least.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Question: what is the best flight to experience first class travel? I'd prefer to end up in Europe but anywhere is fine given how much more of the world there is to explore.

Who is the best airline linked to QF to use if not QF? And what is the best time of the day to travel in 1st?

I'll agree with others here and suggest Emirates.

All First classes are different... and some are pretty reserved compared to others (think BA, QF, CX).

I think EK will give you the best 'bang' for your buck. On-board bars, glitzy suites, showers, big amenity kits, plenty of crew. You certainly won't feel like you've missed any of the theatrics that First can offer. Stick to A380 services though for the bars and showers!

 

[kpc]

Having sampled both QF and EK F on the A380 in the last month, I would agree with the others above that EF F A380 >> QF F A380 for food, alcohol, service, privacy and yes, the shower!

 

[mmchow]

Emirates to Europe on their A380. Enjoy QF F Lounge in Sydney/ Melb and a massage in the F lounge. On board, you will be spoilt by the many choice of drinks and food. Not forgetting a shower above 35000 feet. That 5 minutes shower and 30 minutes experience (in total) is something to remember for a while. A stopover in Dubai will allow you to spend some time in the F lounge.
Flew EK A380 last year and had a great time! Looking forward to Etihad F apartment!!

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Definitely Emirates - have done it myself and hopefully again next year.

They often have single seats available in advance but if you want 2 (I always travel with my wife) then you need to wait until only a few days out.

Melbourne and Adelaide to JFK or Europe have reasonable availability every few days at the moment.

Excuse my ignorance re all matters QF redpts but are you referring to EK rdpts via QF web site Dale?

 

[dalereardon]

Yes EK redemption using QF points through the QF website.

It was the 777 I did F in and it was amazing. Will try for the A380 next time but I really am happy with either.

Did BA F on the same trip and it was barely up to the business standard. In fact CX J seat was better than BA's F seat. Service on BA was also very ordinary.

Dale.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Yes EK redemption using QF points through the QF website

Oh YES I see what you allude to - thanks a million for that I just never knew.

 

[coyote25]

Having sampled both QF and EK F on the A380 in the last month, I would agree with the others above that EF F A380 >> QF F A380 for food, alcohol, service, privacy and yes, the shower!

Okay so if on Emirates it's the A380 as that has a shower. I'm assuming they still have restrictions on the shower.

It's that the major difference from A380 to 777 on Emirates?

 

[coyote25]

Yes EK redemption using QF points through the QF website.

It was the 777 I did F in and it was amazing. Will try for the A380 next time but I really am happy with either.

Did BA F on the same trip and it was barely up to the business standard. In fact CX J seat was better than BA's F seat. Service on BA was also very ordinary.

Dale.

Okay so BA is off the list.

So an overnight flight or day flight recommendation?

 

[RooFlyer]

Oh YES I see what you allude to - thanks a million for that I just never knew.

Damn. Another competitor for F and J seats.

Okay so if on Emirates it's the A380 as that has a shower. I'm assuming they still have restrictions on the shower.

It's that the major difference from A380 to 777 on Emirates?

Restrictions are a matter of water carried. Wont change I think. I think that's the major difference between the 2 aircraft - but A380 experience much better than 777 in all classes I think.

Okay so BA is off the list.

So an overnight flight or day flight recommendation?

With due respect to dalereardon, I wouldn't write off BA F so quickly. Have a trawl through the trip reports; I recall some very positive reviews. But I think EK will be best, in any case.

I've already given my vote for a day flight, if possible. If you are asleep you are paying (points or $) to look at the inside of your eyelids, and they look the same if you are in whY or F.

 

[kpc]

Re shower on EK F...I was told I could spend 30 minutes in the shower room, with 5 minutes in the shower with water. You can start / stop the shower eg wet yourself, then turn water off while you apply soap / shampoo etc, then turn water back on. 5 minutes is a surprisingly long time, and it seems that most of my showers at home are less than 5 minutes. I found the shower pressure was surprisingly pretty good

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Okay so if on Emirates it's the A380 as that has a shower. I'm assuming they still have restrictions on the shower.

It's that the major difference from A380 to 777 on Emirates?

And, as other posts have pointed out, the bar as well. There is a large stand-up bar at the rear of the A380 for First and business class passengers... which is supposed to be quite fun.