Originally Posted by
pollycat
Took my first BA First flight in an A380 from HKG - LHR in seat 2K yesterday. I was interested to compare it to my previous experiences with Club World. Here are some of my takeaways:
* For me, the very best part of the whole experience was the seat / bed. I'm a tall guy (6'2") and it was pure pleasure to be able to stretch out fully in the seat and then the bed, sleep on my side with room to spare, etc. I also found the bed to be just the right firmness for my taste. Quilt, pillows, "mattress" all made it very cosy. The pyjamas fit me perfectly and were very comfortable to wear too. Loved having the small closet to put hand luggage in and to hang clothes in - much easier to access than putting stuff in overhead bins.
I agree the seat is very good (I normally fly on a 744 and haven't done the A380
Originally Posted by
pollycat
* I think the IFE has a bigger screen in First than in CW but not by much and is essentially similar, I think they both use the same headphones too?
It may well be slightly bigger but the ones on my recent flights have been the Panasonic versions and lacking the RCA socket. This allowed you to watch your own content on the IFE screen which actually I haven't needed due to there being things I've wanted to watch on the IFE.
Originally Posted by
pollycat
* The food was, in my view, not so very different from the offerings in Club World.
Get a VLML and it's the exactly same for various courses of the meals. There used to be the amuse bouche too which has sadly Cruzed off the menu.
Originally Posted by
pollycat
And there is little difference between a table with a tablecloth on it and a tray with a cloth on it. I'm not a big drinker, so it's possible the biggest difference is in quality of alcoholic beverages, but I can't comment on this.
The F table doesn't lean like the CW one does. You don't get JW Blue in CW and yes that's a reasonably big step up.
Originally Posted by
pollycat
* The cabin crew were older folks, not a "young one" in sight. The woman who served me was absolutely correct, efficient, capable and polite but no warmth, friendliness, engagement, excitement to be doing her job, it seemed to be "just a job" to her, nothing special. There seemed to be no desire to go above and beyond the call of duty or provide a special memory to those whom she was serving. She just didn't seem happy to be there. "Jaded" is the word that came to my mind. I wasn't shown to my seat on arrival at the plane, nor addressed by name once.
Think you hit a duff crew or them on a bad day, my last two flights were excellent and BA welldones will be going out shortly.
Originally Posted by
pollycat
* It was great to be in a less-crowded cabin of only 14 people, it was very quiet, and never a queue for the loos. Even though in 2K, quite far from the galley, you could hear constant activity from the galley all the time quite clearly, not people talking, just busy-ness.
Get 1or 2 or 3 A/K on the 744 and you won't hear them as there isn't a galley at the front.
Originally Posted by
pollycat
* The toilets have nothing special at all about them, standard loos you would find in economy class, just cleaner due to less traffic, but the massive CW toilets on the A380 win hands down.
Does the A380 not have the magic window in the F toilet? When you close the door on the 744 toilet the window unfrosts and allows you to look out. When you unbolt the door the window frosts up again. It is now lacking the flower in the toilet of course.
Originally Posted by
pollycat
* I actually found the seats to be less private than in the window or middle seats in Club World as, in CW, once the dividers are up, you really can be out of sight and out of mind of those around you. In First, your seat is always somewhat open to others and exposed a little. This is not a big deal, though.
Overall, I found the First experience to be a very comfortable and pleasant way to get from A to B, certainly better than being in the back of the plane. But it definitely had zero "wow" factor on this flight, and I can't say it is so dramatically better than Club World that it should command such a dramatically higher price.
Thoughts? (Particularly from those who've travelled a lot in First and would have more "data" to comment from than I.)
Again my preference is for the 744 because there are less people who will walk past you the further forward you are. You do get to use the CCR at LHR/JFK. You also need to book during a sale as the price differential can be as low as £200 each way for some routes.