I know, not something many people have said before!

Recently, Mrs Ryanfozzie & I flew to Dubai for our anniversary. We were very lucky to secure Avios tickets booked T-72hrs with a 2 for 1 (Amex Issued) outbound in First, and inbound in Club. Outbound flight really wasn't great - a cabin that was well past it's prime (Think damaged fittings, very dirty carpets, lamp shades caked in dust, life jacket compartment not closing etc) and clearly not up to par with First. Now I know the refurbs were delayed due to COVID etc, but there is no excuse for poor maintenance and cleaning. This was on top of an issue with one of the ovens for First which meant it took approx 4 hours to finish the meal service, sides were hot, mains were cold etc and due to the length this took, we skipped the second meal (mainly because that was starting as our deserts were cleared)!

Upon returning home, I filled a complaint in via YouFirst and after 2 weeks, customer relations got back to me (via email) with a bit of copy and paste and a bit of 'we are aware how old some of our 777 unrefurbished aircrafts are'. For the record, we are both newly 'minted' gold members and was surprised for them to give 50,000 Avios each. I've had issues in the past where you'll sit on a seat stained in vomit and get a £50 voucher for the inconvenience (I was blue and this was economy).

I actually feel a little guilty and that they might have been too generous here! I was expecting half of that! Not sure what the 'point' of this thread is being honest, but safe to say I'm surprised at the excellent service recovery. Onto the next question, search high and low for First class seats using Avios, or treat ourselves to £800 of fuel from Sainsburys (via Nectar). I guess that's about the same amount of 'surcharges' I paid British Airways on our Avios tickets!