Wozza2404

So, I recently took a rather circuitous RTW as a result of needing to fuse two work trips into one for the purposes of brevity.

My itinerary looked something like this:

LHR-AUH (EY Y). DXB-MCT (LX J). MCT-DXB (FZ Y). DXB-CCU (EK J). CCU-BOM (9W Y). BOM-CMB (UL J). CMB-DXB (EK F). DXB-LHR (EK F). LHR-ORD (BA F). ORD-TUL (AA Y). TUL-DFW (AA F). DFW-PIT (AA F). ORD-JFK (AA F). JKF-LHR (BA CW).

This was done in 16 days.

The reason for the thread is that when you experience so many different cabins in such a short space of time, it kind of offers a little perspective and certainly made me appreciate premium cabins again (I'd perhaps become a little too jaded as a result of always flying J or F).

The reason for the placement in this forum is to offer a little comparison between BA F (it was my first time in BA F) and EK F (it was my first time in EK F on an A380).

First, however, I'll offer a little background into the trip.

I set off from LHR on EY in Y. This was because there was no availability up front, and I'd only just squeezed on as a result of my Silver status with EY. They got me a nice seat right behind the J cabin, but it's been a long time since I flew out of Europe in Y and it was certainly an experience. Being in such close proximity to a stranger was not pleasant for 7 hours, and it gave me a strange respect for those families who endure 8/10 hours on flights to the USA every year. I realise that sounds a little pretentious, but I don't mean it as such; I genuinely had forgotten the trials of flying Y and it was interesting to be presented with them again.
Ultimately EY Y was not a pleasant experience. Mostly down the crew being utterly indifferent. Considering I'm used to the crew in J/F who have been nothing short of stellar every time I've flown with them, this was a shock. I flew EK Y a few years ago and don't remember the gulf in service being so vast, though perhaps I've blocked it out. Either way, I'm in no hurry to fly in the back again any time soon.

From AUH I drove to DXB, and took a flight to MCT on LX. I chose LX simply because a return ticket in J came in at well under Ł200. Compare this to a Ł100 Y ticket, and even on such a short flight it seemed worth it to me.
I was quite impressed with the LX cabin, and the service was friendly and efficient. The lie flat seats are an improvement on EK's offering, though I still prefer the EY set up.

Back from MCT, I finished meetings early and realised I'd be waiting at the airport for hours, so I checked Skyscanner and found a FZ flight (I'd never even heard of them until this point) departing in 90 minutes. I booked it, and was on my way back to DXB for a price of around Ł40 inc baggage. OK so I gave up my J seat on LX, but it was worth it to arrive back in DXB at a sensible hour.

From DXB (where I had plenty of fun thanks to Hilton Dubai Creek upgrading me to one of their wraparound executive suites as a Gold member) I flew to CCU on EK J. I had a bit of trouble at DXB immigration thanks to coming and going so often within a couple of days, but after a chat in a small room with a burly Arab who took some convincing that it was legal to have two UK passports (and I didn't even have the second one with me, he could just see it on his screen), I was allowed to proceed to the T1 J lounge.

From CCU I was booked onto a 9W flight to BOM in Y. The reason for this was that their Y price was around Ł90, and their J price was over Ł300. I don't like being fleeced just because I'm a business traveller, so I opted for Y and enquired about an upgrade at the airport where I was quoted Ł48.
Not a terrible product; think domestic F on AA without the leather. Glad it was only a short flight, though.

From BOM I jumped onto a UL flight to CMB. The lounge at BOM was a room with a surly looking woman putting limp sandwiches onto a buffet table. Imagine Rab C Nesbitt's wedding reception.
Worth mentioning that the boarding announcements were brief. I'm talking quicker than the time it takes Royal Mail to tickle my front door with a hummingbird feather and shove a "Sorry we missed you" card through the door, which meant I almost missed my flight. If it wasn't a harassed looking UL girl coming looking for me I surely would have still been sat there now.
Regardless, I took the flight and the recliners on UL in J were perfectly fine. I even slept for an hour.
I had to meet a director in CMB who was on holiday there, and it provided me with an opportunity to take advantage of the CMB fare; which brings us to the F cabins.

Firstly I was on EK F in a 777. This was one of the newer planes, with the suites on board.
All in all I was quite impressed. I'm not generally a big fan of the opulent decor that EK chooses to adorn its cabins with, but that comes with flying any Arab airline. The service was great, and they had no problem with making me a steak sandwich despite the fact it wasn't on the menu (I wasn't in the mood for particularly indulgent food). I was left to myself unless I requested service, which I also like when in F. Fussy cabin crew can seriously detract from the F experience, IMHO.

From there it was into the T3 F Lounge at DXB, which was blissfully quiet; unlike the J lounge next door which resembled feeding time at the watering hole.

As I boarded the A380, it was a novel experience to turn left into F rather than right in J as usual.
The suites are not vastly different to the ones on the 777 I flew on earlier, but the bathrooms are in a league of their own. Having a shower on a plane was one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had, and as someone who flies quite a lot, it takes something truly special to impress me on a plane these days.
The service was unobtrusive and courteous, although the lack of amenity kits on day flights annoys me; I find the bits and pieces genuinely useful on longer flights and having to go to the bathroom to get things like moisturiser is something I don't like in F.
I headed down to the bar at the back of J, and a bottle of Hennesy Paradis duly followed me down, which made me pretty popular down there. I sat there for a couple of hours and then grabbed a couple of hours sleep, and arrived at LHR feeling pretty good. The food, service and general ambience was nothing better on the A380 than on the 777, but those showers really made an impression on me.

That brings us to BA. As some of you may know I'm fairly new to BA, only really starting to use them a few months ago after the LTSBPDA mega give-away on Avios. I've made it to Silver pretty quickly as a result of a couple of TATL CW flights (see link in my sig for TR), this F flight and a handful of domestic F AA flights. My impressions of CW have been somewhat lacking in comparison to EY, so I was hoping that F would give BA the chance to claw some points back from the GCC carriers.

Things didn't start well. The chap manning the desk actually jumped out in front of me as I approached the 'First' check in section at T5 and said "Hello, what class of travel are you looking for?". Now, I don't travel in a suit, but even taking that into account and the state of my battered suitcase as a result of some particularly heavy handed throwers in BOM, I don't think I looked particularly un-F. He managed to do a passable impression of hiding his shock when I raised my eyes to the massive 'First' sign and said, "erm... First". Even so, BA deserve a rap on the knuckles for that one; don't judge a book by its cover, or a man by his shorts.

Got myself checked in and made my way to the CCR. The lounge dragon at the CCR (the entrance just after the FastTrack security) at least had the decency to look me up and down before I'd got all the way to her, and she let me in with a half smile.
Breakfast was OK, although service was a little slow and the whole place felt a bit dark with those booths in the dining area. I had an hour or so to relax before heading to the gate. We were on a remote terminal, so it was onto the bus to head to the plane.

Once on the plane the CC were very friendly, although I would expect the same person who takes my BP at the door to show me to my seat, and I was passed to 3 different people instead. Regardless, I was presented with my window seat and I settled in.

My first impressions were good. The subtle refined nature of the NF cabin was a welcome relief from the gaudy baubles of EK, and the window blind set-up looked great. I was also impressed with the seat controls. The CSM came down and introduced himself and welcomed me to F, which was nice, and then he chatted for a couple of minutes about the NF cabin and the extra features on board. He was clearly proud of the cabin, and that was nice to see.

My biggest concern was how open it felt in the F cabin. With having no doors on the seats, it meant that you couldn't help making eye contact with people as they went to/from the bathroom. That's the biggest thing, IMHO, that EK has over BA. I can live without the showers (although they are an awesome touch), but doors on the seat just adds a level of privacy that I think is needed in F.

The food was fine. Afternoon tea, in particular, was excellent and I was please that the CC didn't flinch when I requested it to be served quite a lot earlier than the other pax. For drinks, I thought the selection was fairly decent, although the champagne isn't one of my favourites (though that's personal taste, I know it's regarded as a very good drop). There was a desert wine which was particularly good, although the name escapes me.

We arrived in ORD on time, although due to a lack of priority immigration for F and J pax at the airport I'd pretty much turned to dust by the time I got to collecting my baggage; not that that's anything BA can do anything about.

I then flew around the US with AA in F (with the exception of one flight on American Eagle which doesn't have a premium cabin), and I therefore had Priority AAccess, etc. because of the cabin. When I checked in for the American Eagle flight, however, I was surprised to see that my lowly Bronze status got me Priority boarding on AA. ^ for that, BA, as I'm pretty sure you need a much higher status on AA to get any kind of reciprocal benefit from BA? My MP gold card got me into the lounges, so no drama there.

I flew home in CW, and once again the UD was akin to sitting on Mercury, in summer, working in a lead furnace. I don't know what it is about the UD, but I've been up there 3 or 4 times now, and not once has the temperature been acceptable. On my outbound flight in F, the cabin was nice and cool for the duration of the trip; why is so hard to manage it on the UD?

Ultimately my conclusion is that EK has a bit of an unfair advantage with their flashy A380 and their showers. Take that away, however, and BA still seems to fall a little short. The F lounge at DXB is better than the CCR (IMHO); if for no other reason than there's more to do and more room to spread out. The cabin is certainly nicer on BA (the understated decor appeals to me as Brit), but without a door on the seat the lack of privacy seriously lets it down. I'd be interested to see how BA compares once they roll out their A380s, but until then I have to say EK takes the prize. In F, EK and EY are ahead of BA. In J, BA trumps EK, but still falls short of EY.

That said, I'm much more confident about using my massive pile of Avios now I know that the F product is a considerable step above CW. For a day flight (maybe some Xmas shopping next year in NYC), I can see the benefit of flying BA in F. At night, however, the privacy of EK makes them the only option; well, that and the showers, obviously. What other time can you get naked on a plane without getting arrested?

isaifan

Great reviews. Seems like you had quiet the trip.

1010101

I think, unfortunately, that this is a very British thing rather than anything that can be levelled at BA exclusively. So many times i have been ignored when dressed down, be it car shopping, watch shopping or anything where there's a slightly elevated price tag. The usual response from most i know is to take the business elsewhere, so BA should be quick to stamp it out ^

NA-Flyer

+1 ^

Wozza2404

I've had it a few times, but on the whole it doesn't happen to me that often. I get more annoyed when it happens to my wife, purely because she happens to look young.

She reckons she was almost shown out of the Audi dealership last week, and it was only the manager spotting her and recognising her as my wife (I've put a lot of business through the place in the last few years) that stopped the salesman basically shooing her away.

Honestly, you'd think these people had never seen Pretty Woman.

1010101

Funny you mention Audi. A (rather scruffy) friend of the family wanted to order a handful of RS6 company cars for the directors at his firm and no-one at the local dealership would give him the time of day. He went and bought M5s instead.

Wozza2404

I've never had a problem with Audi before, but this recent turn of events coupled with the never-ending problems I'm having with my A7 may well mean that I take a short forecourt migration next year as well.

m0hamed

This happens to me 100% of the time flying BA out of T5. Regardless of my age, and the fact that I'm dressed casually (designer jeans and a Fred Perry polo generally on BA), I think it occurs so that differentiate between F pax, and those using F check in based on status.

It has happened when flying with my parents, and my husband, so I think it's standard procedure.

Perhaps what is inappropriate is that BA think it acceptable for F check in agents to possess old Nokia phones that ring them when they have to take breaks. While checking in the last thing I want is the phone to continuously ring until the agent acknowledges it by confirming they are breaking, or snoozing the alarm (so it continues every few minutes).

EuropeanPete

I'm sure we all sympathise with your plight!