chimambu

Long article but a different perspective on Alex Cruz's plan for having both premium and low cost service on same BA plane. Writer feels travelling BA premium is better than flying in a private jet (if you are not the owner of the private jet). The back of BA worse than low cost airlines

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article...te-jet-service

kingcole974

A good read. The man clearly values his gold status!

I'm not sure how the premium cabin comparison would stack up if flying short haul up front or if on a £5k J ticket and are having to connect with your chin on your knees.

SoggyDollar

"I sleep better on my BA long haul flights to Asia than I do in most luxury hotels."

Seriously?

stewaran

He dosent take sleeping pills when in the hotels maybe?

to be fair, I always get a good nights sleep in CW

danboy767

The writer obviously hasn’t been flying with BA long enough to see the reduced service up
front as well as down the back. He could also do with taking a trip on a number of other long haul airlines. The majority of which will all be better than BA unfortunately 🙁

LondonCanuck

Lol.. he is clearly angling for an invite to the Christmas party as he clearly states in the end. Think the article is overly partial to BA, but I agree with the fundamental thoughts of the article. Having seen the prices of the recent “payday sale”, they are clearly trying to take a swipe at EZY and FR. Are they able to compete with other carriers in the pointy end of the plane ? That I have yet to see, but, again to give him some credit, the First Wing is quite an improvement!

ahmetdouas

deleted

ajeleonard

I'd agree with his sentiment that a premium cabin on a commercial flight is better than someone else's jet. I have done it as well a few times and it's always a pain. It's not really specific to BA, although he uses the example of the First wing as premium facilities which help improve the commercial ground experience

Sixth Freedom

I can identify with this. I am familiar with the CW environment and sleep well. In a hotel which I have never visited before I do not sleep well.

Smid

It does sound completely sensible about Private Jet travel, though I always assumed that lie flat seats were part of the deal with those, otherwise it isn't very premium...

But it does sound that his complaint is about its not really being a Private Jet. What you have there is piggybacking on someone else's travel (potentially at short notice, which would cost an absolute FORTUNE to buy a business flight) as part of your job. A job is a job.

If I ever became rich enough for a private jet, however, this article at least has pointed out that the lack of lie flat seats mean its really a private economy jet... So I'd not use one.

T8191

I agree on some of the PJ aspects, from my very limited experience. The ground experience tends to be sub-optimal, ground transportation can be a PITA, on-board is 'nice' but not wonderful ... and you are indeed subject to the whims of the principal pax!

Sixth Freedom

I am sure many of us remember the scene from Casino when Ace causes Nobu's character's private jet to go tech just after the last commercial flights to Japan have left. Nobu goes back to the Tangiers and loses all his winnings plus a million of his own cash. Ace says "the secret is to keep them playing ... in the end, we get it all".

There is one case where I would love to fly private regularly though - if I can find a way of marrying a woman who goes on to become the President of the United States I would get to hang out at the front on Air Force One, hopefully for the full eight years.

rockflyertalk

I imagine the main reason for a private jet, is for a very high profile/very famous person to travel without being disturbed or overheard but possibly the most critical factor would be there own safety, again away from the general public. Otherwise PJ is pretty basic in terms of comfort on the smaller majority of craft, from what I've seen, unless its a BBJ or converted 747 like Air Force One or the Middle East Royal families have.

But I agree in some of the article that BA is possibly becoming the worst of the LCC's, since it started to aggressively compete in the back. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but should you minus the lounge access and free middle seat, I feel CE seems to have become economy as it was no more than 10 yrs ago!

ukgooner

Yes, also minus the food, the crockery and glassware, the priority boarding, the extra luggage, the dedicated cabin crew to serve the smaller cabin, complementary champagne, hot towels etc. - just like Economy 10 years ago.

subject2load

I found it quite a good read ; though I do feel it comes across as somewhat polarized - by which I mean it paints a somewhat extreme picture on both aspects : a little OTT re BA's premium cabins but also overly-critical of their s/h product in Y (what exactly was he expecting from it, given BA cost-cutting .....?)

Worth remembering that the writer's perspective on private jet travel was very much that of an invitee rather than owner, or at least the one picking up the tab - when things would naturally take on a rather different complexion.

In the end it's all about context and personal circumstances. Many PJ regulars will mix & match to suit themselves by also making use of commercial flights. So, Roger Federer, by way of example, does a lot of his l/h travel with (ATP sponsor) Emirates, but also has very close links with NetJets. I'm pretty sure that, having instructed 'his people' to sort a NetJets flight at short notice, and to suit his precise personal timetable (perhaps following early exit from a tournament, or simply for a quick leisure trip) he doesn't sit there thinking 'Oh, I wish I had gone commercial'

On the specific issue of comfort levels onboard private jets ...... well, there are of course private jets ...... and then there are private jets ! As small or as large as the owner's budget allows - and kitted out accordingly.