Sounds like your were luckier than me, but, that you also had a tight connection. The escort through security was followed by an escort to the lounge, so, you missed the lounge (?) which I thought was great in BKK. In Sydney no escort was offered. That came out wrong! ;)

I am going to give a vote to CO business/first. I picked up on what someone said about maybe 50/60 seats in C, that may be if you are on a 777, but something that CO do very well is their business first on the 757 and 16 seats makes it quite personal. It may be a little tight but you cannot fault the service the twice I have used them and am just about to book again.

My only other experience of C is with Aer Lingus. Its o....k!

If using DC Miles which are 66%+ Extra for F Class it's not IMHO worth it, especially if Flying on an Airline with Solo Business Class Seats or Long Haul equipment Regionally i.e Upper Deck on a TG 747 or an OZ A330.

If using say UA MilagePlus flying Long Haul which are often as low as 16% Difference between Business and First and you can snag a Highly Rated Airline such as SQ. AN or OZ then its worth the Difference.

I'll be travelling with my wife so 1st class sounds more personal but less cosy if that makes sense. I'll have to think about it before booking anything.

Thanks

Nope we had a leisurely 5 or so hours, so plenty of time to enjoy the both the lounge and spa :D

my way to define the difference
imagine the morning commute
economy-the bus
business-a taxi
first-chaffeur driven limo

Nice analogy Edinburghgirl.....

IMHO, assuming you have suffiecent miles, if you're travelling alone, C is fine. The F experience is best shared. You'll carry memories of a good F trip (LH and the FCT, TK and the red ladies, an LX F cabin all to yourselves) and a shockingly bad one too (UA and their carpet monster) long after you've forgotton about C.

The only F redemption I've done was with LH, flying FRA-PVG (pre-2.5x days) but agree 100% with the above. Wonderful experience from entering FCT to waking up after a long and comfortable sleep, and they staggered our breakfasts so we could take care of Little Miss Sofasurfer (then only 18 months) which meant I was eating bacon as we started our final descent - never had that outside of F ;)

Having now done a few C redemptions (long-haul: AC, LH, OS, TP, JJ, SK) I think if you've never flown in a premium cabin, and sharing the experience with a significant other... if it's a choice between two long-haul trips in C and one in F, I'd suggest two more comfortable journeys will be more enjoyable and conducive to a better start to your trips.

But, as others have pointed out, if you're sitting on a stack of miles you'd prefer to use given the current situation, the F experience is certainly something to experience at least once in your lifetime!

So that's what I've been missing travelling by myself in F. :o

Most of my longhaul flights are between Europe and Asia on LH but the biggest difference between F and C I've noticed is that most people in F seem to want to sleep as long as possible whether it's an overnight or a long day flight.

I'm feeling nostalgic for the Manchester T1 (before the move to T3) BMI A330escort from the servisair lounge service. We moved through the duty free shops like a crocodile (BMI lady wearing her hat leading the way and pushing the Monarch and Jet2 folk out of the way :D ), reaching the gates and seeing the hoards of people 'part' as we push our way through to the front :D Happy days. ^

You'd miss most of the duty free shops if you are to walk from the Servisair lounge to your gate in T1 today. :p

Not been for ages. Is it a dump? :D Thinking further - was it Servisair or globeground we used at Manchester T1? Something like Bollin Lounge? I recall they had an Emirates A330 model on show for a while... great view of the airport from the lounge even if you did have to plod up the stairs to get to it

For my tuppence worth:

US Air business MAN-PHL was nice daytime flight. US Air (domestic) first PHL-SJU was a big comfy seat, poor drinks and food.

United F IAD-BRU was comfortabel lie-flat bed and nice meal. BMI lounge at BRU was pathetic (shortbread and whisky for breakfast!)

Thai 777 F CDG-BKK in the suites was fabulous. Never want to fly another way! Then OK F in standard seat to Sidney. Miracle was that after all that flying, was refreshed and ready to go. Spent the morning sightseeing and then took another flight to Cairns.

Thai 747 in standard F seat that makes a bed was freezing cold, not enough blankets and the maze of heathrow. Never again.

Next flights are BFS -EWR -STT in CO biz. Lie-flat seats. Easy connections, no F available and not worth the detaouyr/miles to upgrade.

So, depends on airline/route/aircraft.

But use TG suites at least once.

Am thinking of Japan to see cherry blossom (ANA) or Dar-es-salaam (LX) just to get a long flight in a suite.

I've flown MAN-ORD and MAN-IAD on BD many years ago (in Y) before I had any *A status or lounge access. T1 is now a retail emporium with departure gates attached at the end of dreary walkways (which are at least operational once again). You have to snake your way between duty free shops before you go up the stairs to one of the Servisair lounges if you don't get lost on the way!