Final comments about the business class products
The purpose of the itinerary was not to maximise point earnings or re-qualify for status (for a change, although I did coincidentally re-qualify during the trip
) but rather to get an interesting routing and try a few new business class products.
Over the past years almost all flights I have taken have been on Star Alliance (a few carriers in particular) and honestly it does get a bit boring after a while so it felt nice to try something else for a change, there are still so many nice airlines out there I have not yet tried.
Out of six airlines included in the itinerary, four were completely new to me, one was new for longhaul business class, and only one reasonably familiar to me.
Here are a few last comments about the six business class products reviewed during the trip:
Air New Zealand
The only airline on this trip that was not new to me in any aspect.
One of my absolute favourite airlines with an above average inflight service with excellent high quality food and drinks, even on shorter flights.
Surprisingly nice inflight entertainment system with one of the nicest flight maps I have ever seen.
Pretty much all Air NZ staff I have encountered, both on the ground and in the air, have been polite and courteous but still relaxed and friendly. They have an amazing ability to find just the right mix of these by providing a friendly but still courteous and respectful kind of service to the passengers
Really nice lounges as well, especially the one in Sydney which is one of my favourites in the world.
Air Pacific
A delightful carrier with easily one of the most exotic airline hubs I have ever visited.
Really friendly crew and excellent inflight service, would really like to try Air Pacific on an evening flight to experience a proper dinner service as the feeling I have is that it would be quite a memorable experience.
Surprisingly nice and well-appointed lounge in Nadi for such a small airline.
Also well maintained aircrafts with a nice interior, relaxed atmosphere and spacious and comfortable business class seats.
Asiana
One of the few Star Alliance carriers I had still not tried and was very much looking forward to try after having read many positive comments.
Flying Asiana was a pure delight, Skytrax had given Asiana five stars and I think that is well deserved.
Check-in experiences were very good with friendly and helpful agents. The lounge in Seoul was nice with very friendly staff although the interior was a bit dark with no natural light.
The service onboard was simply fantastic, one of the most attentive and personalised levels of service I have ever experienced in business class. Food was good although some choices were possibly a bit basic for business class.
I found the seats comfortable although the lack of AVOD on the flight was a disadvantage.
Still the amazing service well made up for any drawbacks, would absolutely not hesitate to fly Asiana again.
Emirates
Another new airline for me. I have always been slightly suspicious of Emirates because of their extravagant style which is usually not my main preference.
Flying on the Airbus A380 was a fantastic experience though and the business class seat on the A380 was extremely impressive with more space, storage and features than on any other airline I have flown in business class. A personal minibar and a wireless seat control are rather unusual features at a business class seat.
The lounge in Auckland was a delight with a fantastic selection of food, premium wines, champagne and spirits. I could have spent a few more hours in there.
Food and drinks onboard were also good and the service generally friendly and attentive but in some cases it was obvious the crew were new and inexperienced with the A380. The onboard bar and lounge area was also superb!
Emirates definitely exceeded my expectations for the flight.
Korean Air
Interestingly both Korean carriers ended up being included in the itinerary.
Good and friendly check-in experience in Seoul and a surprisingly nice lounge with a fantastic apron view and nice food and drinks. I noticed nearly 10 attendants in the lounge keeping the self-service buffet tidy and clearing tables. The lounge was not what I had expected, in a very positive way.
However both the seat and inflight entertainment system were old and out of date on the A330, the seat had very limited recline making it quite hard to sleep onboard.
Food was OK although slightly basic and unremarkable, quite nice drinks though.
The inflight service was OK but with both some pros and cons, on the whole I experienced a better service level on Asiana, the second Korean airline.
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines is one of the newest members in the Star Alliance and TK is really working hard to market themselves as a premium quality airline and erase the old image of being an unreliable carrier with questionable service and bad punctuality.
They have indeed come a long way but they also need to make sure their service level is consistent and in some areas they still lack the finesse of a five-star airline.
The lounge in Istanbul is very nice with a nice and airy interior and a good food selection although the quality of the drinks had declined since last visit. Lack of free wifi for international travellers is also a drawback
Aircraft interiors were in very good condition and the longhaul seat and inflight entertainment system were both excellent.
Very positively surprised to find proper business class seats also on the B738 used for intra-Europe flights. Still very rare in Europe!
Delightful food onboard with plenty of interesting meal choices, a pure culinary highlight! Very extensive drinks selection as well although some of the wines were just average.
The service was mostly good with a very few exceptions.
Nice to find both fast track/priotity security control, passport control (on departure) and immigration (on arrival) in Istanbul for business class passengers. The priority tag also worked very well.
That’s all for this time…
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the report.
