FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - A380 First Class Marathon... 48 hours of Qatar, Emirates and Etihad

Aug 24, 2017, 10:26 pm

#51

SFO777

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Nov 2007

Location: Denver • DEN-APA

Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist

Posts: 21,623

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKYEG

SFO777 the legend!!!

Thank you SKYEG.

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Originally Posted by offerendum

United could have been worse I would say

I would agree. A lot worse.

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Originally Posted by nequine

Nice handy cubby holes for the blanket/pillow during take off. I wish all airlines served ice-cream for dessert as yours looks rather nice!

Thanks nequine.

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Originally Posted by JohnRain

Aahhh, nothing like ME3 porn... ^
Curious to hear about your F ranking, SFO777.

LOL. Thanks very much JohnRain. Good question about the ranking. It's going to be close because the entire 48 hour experience was amazing. Each excelled in certain areas so my ranking would be based on overall F experience including hard product, soft product, food, wine as well as the ground experience.
Of the ME3, I'd rank them 1. Qatar, 2. Emirates, 3. Etihad. Globally, I haven't flown every F product, but here is how I'd currently rank the ones I flown with previous ranking from last fall.

1. Air France (1)
2. Garuda Indonesia (2)
3. Qatar (4)
4. Emirates (5)
5. Etihad (3)
6. Lufthansa (6)
7. Cathay Pacific (7)
8. Singapore (8)
9. Swiss (9)
10. ANA (10)
11. JAL (14)
12. Qantas (11)
13. Korean (12)
14. Malaysia (13)
15. Asiana (--)
16. Thai (15)
17. American (20)
18. British (16)
19. Air China (17)
20. United (19)

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Originally Posted by JALlover

Another great report! Looking forward to the verdict which of the ME3 is the best for F class!

Thanks very much JALlover. I'll ranking them by element at the end but overall... QR, EK, EY.

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Originally Posted by thibderoc

SFO777, once again great start of the TR.On your website, the image you're using as header for this TR shows an Etihad 777 First Class. Apparently, the picture comes from one of our previous TR. So I hope you really were able to enjoy First Class Apartments and did not undergo an equipment change. Can't wait to know !!

Thanks so much thibderoc. That pic was a temporary one and indeed was a 777 pic. I've updated it with a much better one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VH-RMD

Looking forward to your impression of the ME3 F products and see if they accord with mine!

Thank you VH-RMD.

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Originally Posted by rosensfole

Great TR so far SFO777 though I'm surprised you didn't go with AF in business from SFO though, on reflection, I guess it would have been a nightmare knowing what was going on in the forward cabin

I have bad history with United - quote "what do you expect in coach" when I asked what the slop they served us was, the answer should have been "it's linguine sir" even though it looked more like workhouse gruel - so even their Polaris product doesn't turn me on.

Thanks rosensfole. AF A380 Business Class is angle lie flat so that was a non-starter.
Plus the transfer from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 would have been a lot more difficult.

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Originally Posted by Billiken

Great report and pictures, as always. Flew UA J in Polaris MUC-ORD in early December 2016 (right after the product launch).
My first impression of the glass sundae bowls was, "Wow, these sure are heavy...especially for use in an airplane." Maybe UA found a good excuse for getting something lighter....

Thank you Billiken. Interesting about the heavy glass bowls.

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Originally Posted by Bretteee

I am confused by Ethihad's first class. If I am correct they have 2 First Class's.
1. The Residence which is the fanciest one; I noticed $23,000 one way between JFK and Abu Dhabi and;
2. The poor man's F at only $15,000 one way?
Do you know if one can get awards to the fancier F or is it only on the less fancy F? Thanks.

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Originally Posted by injian

Less fancy F

The Apartments is First Class. The Residence is a suite at the front left of the F cabin, with private sitting area, bedroom and lav/shower. Also, personal butler. At AUH, there is a special private Residence Lounge with butler. Your ticket also includes a suite at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi and double chauffeur drive service, one are for you, the other for your luggage.

You can book award Residence travel on EY.com but the cost is 1,000,000+ miles one way.

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Originally Posted by offerendum

You can book the Residence (always 2 seats) with points.

Lots of points.

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Originally Posted by CHSDOC

Good question. Is there Residence and a separate First on the same plane (A380)? Or is booking "first" on the A380 give you residence?

Yoshi212 has the correct scoop.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi212

The Residence and First Class Apartments are two different classes on EY's A380. The Residence includes a bedroom, shower, bathroom & lounge area. There is only 1 Residence per aircraft and is only on the A380.
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Et...irbus_A380.php They don't give it away either with high price tags and 2.4 million miles for a redemption.

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Originally Posted by HawaiiTrvlr

SFO777, $28 for wifi for the flight? I thought it was free for premium passengers? Great report as always.

Thanks HawaiiTrvlr.

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Originally Posted by PilgrimsProgress

great tr, was also miffed at dl's stupid psa in the inflight mag about the open skies agreement, etc., glad it wasn't just me.

Thank you PilgrimsProgress. Totally agree.

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Originally Posted by Crubber

Looking forward to The Residences

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Originally Posted by ft101

You might have a long wait.

Next year.

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Originally Posted by NoY

Another classic SFO77 report ^^^

Thanks so much NoY.

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Originally Posted by CHOPCHOP767

Inspiring report, SFO777!
Regarding the Centurion Lounges (CLs), IME these have gotten so overcrowded that the superior catering of the CL when compared to the domestic AC/SC/UCs' really doesn't make for a decent experience anymore. On our last flight home over the week-end from LAS, there weren't even any seats and kiddos running around made it seem like an upscale Chuck-E-Cheese, so we used the United Club which was sparsely populated and had a nice view. Is your experience with the CL similar? It sucks maintaining lounge members with the big three, but that's what I've continued to do given the mediocre experiences at the CLs.

Thank you CHOPCHOP767. Agree on the CLs. OMG, a Sunday at LAS. Can it get any worse. I thought that the SFO CL was pretty tame on Sunday.

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Originally Posted by apodo77

United didn't look bad at all to this easy to please traveler. Looking forward to the rest and hope you enjoyed the trip.

Thanks apodo77. UA exceeded my expectations, but it helps when they weren't very high going in.

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Originally Posted by m3red

I'm a big fan of the sfo777 trip reports - looks like a fun one, I like the comment re flying to no where - I think my wife would get on with yours

Looking forward to the EK leg - hope it was an enjoyable one - if not then the wine list more than makes up for it!

Thanks very much m3red. The EK flight was outstanding and very enjoyable.
We stayed up all night with a lot of time at the bar... and did some serious damage to the Paradis.

Last edited by SFO777; Aug 24, 2017 at 10:32 pm

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