DorsetKnob

My wife & myself have just completed a trip to Australia in which we went out BA 1st via Singapore, went to Cairns with Qantas business, then back via Hong Kong, using Cathay to Hong Kong & BA home in business. She doesn't fly much (still has a Silver card) so thought it would be interesting to post here views.

So firstly she felt her overall flying experience was great. Loved the ease & hassle free nature of it. I don't think we queued anywhere, not at any check in, security, passport desk, I don't think we queued at boarding either, just walked straight on. Some of this was eased by using fast track of course. Baggage delivery in Sydney & LHR was quick. We used the Qantas lounge in Singapore & The Wing at Hong Kong again no waiting for showers. She loved the CCR in LHR. So overall on the ground it was 5* all the way.

In the air it was interesting how she saw the service. From the crew perspective it was Cathay 1st, Qantas 2nd, BA 3rd. She felt the BA crew were not attentive enough for her liking & seemed to disappear for long periods, whereas Cathay & Qantas were constantly available. I think she ended up being bribed by the Qantas crew as she walked off of one flight with a bottle of wine.

Foodwise it seemed to be 1st : BA 1st, 2nd : Qantas, 3rd : BA Club, 4th : Cathay. I would have to agree with this ranking as BA 1st was head & shoulders above the others as it should be. She was also biased in that she felt one of her meals in 1st was a bit small & asked for a 2nd which promptly appeared despite a full cabin.

One little adder from me is I wish the crew would stop with the "special" greeting & visit from the cabin service managers for GCHs. It does seem like they are reading from a standard script as I think I had the same words uttered to me each time & this included from Cathay!

QF Lad

It sounds like a great trip, and would have been a real treat for your wife.

It take it you went SYD-CNS on Qantas business.

So you are comparing BA First with Qantas domestic business.

Interesting that the service was better on Qantas, but not surprising a domestic service on Qantas dom business would not have food and beverage to match BA First.

DorsetKnob

Yes. I think its a case of the service being different & how different people perceive good service. For me it was a case of the BA crew being very professional, very proper, whereas the Qantas crew were very personable. My wife & the No.1 seemed to spend ages chatting about shoes!
I do have to say though that the food on Qantas domestic business was better than BA club!!

I guess the other context to put into this is that my wife was cabin crew with a number of airlines & can be very critical of crews.

nth_utsera_sth_utsera

Susprised you rank the food on BA above the others listed. All a matter of personal taste, I guess. Glad you had a good trip.

LTN Phobia

I was going to say "WHAT!?" until I realised that you were in J on QF and CX.

I think the rating may have been different had it been CX F and QF F.

Dicksbits

I'd agree that BA CC do seem to vanish as soon as they can get service over with. Different story on Iberia Business where there is always a CC on hand, patrolling up and down to help people. On CE flights to LPA and IST (in the last 12mths) it was noticeable that they crew just weren't around at all. Same in CW to LAX in Nov. I at least expected them to come down the aisles now and then to check on the pax, bring water etc

TravellerFrequently

I think there is a balance to be struck here and I am sure that the visibility or lack thereof will ever appeal to all.

I agree that the crew should be visible and certainly on daylight flights it is good that they walk around, pick up glasses etc, offer drinks etc, especially in the premium cabins.

On night flights, the crew probably do not want to disturb people and I do find the floor vibrations from people walking on the UD are noticeable when trying to sleep.

There is a call bell and passengers can stretch their legs and go to the galley to ask for a drink.