Originally Posted by
Action Man
The real benefits I could see, which may well be worth it to many people, were the peace and quiet up front without having trollies and cabin crew moving past you throughout the flight, not having to queue for the heads, and getting off the plane first. BA has in the past worked miracles with it's rebranding of Club World so hopefully they will do the same soon with First.
It's certainly worth it to me and I still enjoy the odd F flight over CW any day. Remember that the UD is becoming gradually scarcer too...
You make very reasonable points however. I too hope that this re-brand is successful and that BA's version of F is strengthened rather than eventually abandoned or made so minimally available on few routes (as it is on AF) that is becomes inconsequential.
I have made this point before, but even if BA F were not pulling its weight financially in direct ticket sales, I would still consider its value as a cabin to upgrade to either operationally, or for miles, or a reasonable premium over CW (as in £300-500 each way etc). That's a HUGE plus for me over an airline that doesn't offer F and keeps me loyal to BA.
I get the impression the vast majority of F travellers on this board are paying with BA miles most of the time, or the grateful receivers of op-ups from CW. That's certainly the case with me. I only buy A or F class tickets perhaps 3 times a year, and if I end up in F on average once a month, it's thanks to the other two ways 'in' to that cabin ^