zebrametalevel

Perhaps unfairly I always feel it's a bit hit and miss on US carriers. Delta Business Elite was a great seat last time I flew, but departing LON I know that no amount of equipment changes, misbookings, whatever is going to lead to me having an 80's style seat if I choose to fly VS, much like I know I need to get pretty unlucky to get a bad QR J seat.

msm2000uk

I flew into BKK earlier today from CDG. The price was about half of what it would have been from LHR, and the short hop and terminal change wasnt difficult.

I take note that FTers have commented on my comparison to BA F. I do not disagree with those comments, but I would add that I mentioned it, as it is the only way to travel East, in a true F cabin.

Furthermore, and to add to my praise of the QR product, I had two magnificent flights in F today. On both, the CC were brilliant, and happy to converse freely (including one of the CCs talking to me for 25mins about the ruling family and their journeys on QR). Additionally, when I landed at DOH, the A380 was on C concourse. This meant, for some reason, that I had to go back through security.

However, upon disembarking the aircraft, I was met by a member of QR ground staff and her golf-buggy+driver. They took me to security, took me to the front of the queue, and arranged for a room in the Quiet Zone in the Al Mourjan (impressive as the Quiet Zone concierge was turning people away as they were full). This benefit is for F only, and was very worthwhile as even the Premium Class line at security was lengthy.

So, the gap between J and F has just got widened further for me. QR J is a very good product; but QR F is even better and, on this occassion, it was cheaper than J.

shonamac

Service on CX / JL F is over-rated IMO, though the seats are good. For instance, CX serves the same Italian caviar that QR does (and about which an Iranian passenger commented earlier in the thread) and JL serves no caviar at all. For that matter, QF also serves no caviar. And the F product of US carriers? Fuhgettaboutit.

soonyeap

Im sure the review between J and F is going to be bias if one who pay the ticket from his own pocket compare to those corporate traveller. It is really about the expectation of the return from the money you spent. Higher the expectation and there will be greater chance of disappointment.

zebrametalevel

Or those who use miles to go from J to F. I'm starting to even wonder if the F experience is worth the extra miles. Suspect treating my wife to the occasional business class flight is going to be a better return on investment... Curious to try the Al-Safwa lounge, but after that, hard to see the benefit, especially if you're on the A380.

iluvdoco

QR F needs to be placed on longer haul flights; the DOH-BKK, DOH-LHR and DOH-CDG routes are all pretty short, on the order of 6-7 hours. They need an A380F DOH-SYD route like Etihad.

thierry

I just flew DOH-CDG in F a couple of days ago on the A380 for the first time. I was very impressed by the hard product, and to me well worth the difference in price. The elegance, tasteful fittings and superior comfort are way better than in J, and better than on many QR competitors.
The bathrooms are extremely spacious and comfortable, always available since there are two for only 8 pax.

The only disappointment was the meal, except for the wines. But not too many airlines have exceptional meals in F, except for Air France, which has top quality and refined haute cuisine served both in the F lounge and on board.

The experience was very positive and provided one flies on the A380, worth the value for money. On the A340 definitely not on the other hand.

1010101

I couldn't care less what caviar is served though ^. F for me is about the seat and the quality of the crew. I'd rather they absolutely nailed a cheeseburger than faffed around with haute cuisine that will never fully work at 35,000ft.

peterfox

I think you are positively right, from my point of view, we are seeing J-class fares practically anywhere in Africa, ME, South-East Asia in line with expensive monkey-fares with SK (Scandinavian), however, they have not yet let us use DOH/DXB as hubs for the US-market. I know it is a .ell of a detour flying OSL-DXB-DFW, but as a geek to this system (depending on connection time etc.) I would consider it.

Guava

um...what?









It doesn't look like you have actually flown JL in First because if you did, you wouldn't be making such false statement. All the pictures above are taken in 2015, with the exception of the 1st picture, which is just a plain caviar, photos #2 to #4 are all prepared and created by either a Michelin 3 Stars or 2 Stars chef. All of the above always come with Salon 2002 Champagne limited to some 60,000 bottles worldwide in its vintage, which is about $500 USD / bottle vs. the $150 USD / bottle Krug that QR serves.

Sorry, you just can't possibly compare QR to JL in terms of catering, it's not in the same league at all. But they don't have much of a overlap in terms of route so they are not really competitors.

Here are some additional pics of various Michelin 3 Stars and 2 Stars cuisine served on board JL:

soonyeap

AF haute cuisine ? Seriously in F ? They are nowhere near Far East products honestly

thierry

Have you experienced it? If you had you would know better.
The only F meals close to AF quality would be JL and NH. I have flown SQ, CX, QF, EY, QR, EK, TG, MH in F just to mention Asian airlines, and none of them come even close.

brunos

I respectfully disagree with you regarding AF F.

Their onboard food/wine is quite disappointing in F.

soonyeap

I wont have written that comment if i dont, would i? Maybe i have fat tongue ...

TravellerFrequently

The F cabin on the A380 looked really nice: classy and spacious. Would like to try if there was a F sale.

However, J is very good, especially for the price in J promotions.