ademanuele

Agree, a little over the top. I took one of these buses last year, quite a contrast to the bus that was used to transport me when I arrived on the MAN-LHR flight on Friday...

subject2load

I’m of the same view and consider it a perfectly reasonable expectation.

My most recent flights with EK did not involve remote stands - but whenever they have done, the transfer buses for F pax at their DXB hub were every bit as luxurious (perhaps even more so !) than the QR equivalent shown in BarelyBAGold’s photo.

Given that the two things universally valued by those who choose to shell out on F Class flights are space and comfort, I would say that a luxury transfer bus is no more ‘ostentatious’ than the First class aircraft cabin itself. The gap between economy seating and F & J seating is quite a chasm, so is it in some way wrong / embarrassing / ostentatious to maintain a similar discriminatory gap between buses where they are used ? I personally don’t think so.

If I’m travelling Y or LCC, I expect virtually nothing (status benefits aside for purpose of this discussion) in terms of creature comforts and fripperies ; but in F or J …..different story altogether.

Premium cabin flyers have come to expect - and rightly so - a better quality experience at the airport, whether that be dedicated check-in, faster security, lounge facilities, priority boarding etc. etc. So why should they then suddenly be denied that preferential treatment by being crammed like sardines for what is (admittedly) an often short but nonetheless uncomfortable transfer ……. on buses which, at times, seem more scruffy than anything seen in our local towns & neighbourhoods !

UPDATE / CORRECTION : oops, photo provided by ademanuele, sorry

subject2load

An interesting perspective here on use of buses & remote stands. Much of the content will come as no surprise to FT-ers, but speaking personally I did learn a fair bit from the piece.

As an aside, safe to say that the list of busiest airports by movements would look very different if it were based on international traffic.

https://www.traveller.com.au/why-som...-planes-h29bmw

orbitmic

Absolutely nothing new here, A10 has always been largely used for long haul aircraft’s. That’s why many of us warn those who want to jump straight to the B lounge when flying long haul that they should remember they might need to rush back to A via the tunnel.

The rest has already been answered by others.

Confus

So staff should be expected to lift heavy bags up and down stairs just because you won’t? No, that’s what ambulifts are for, it means the infirm and doddery can be literally lifted - with their bags - up to the aircraft and no one risks a strained back.

BA did experiment with exclusive buses for F/J pax a few years ago, and they weren’t universally popular. They got a fair bit of negative feedback for sending half empty buses across the airfield, delaying boarding for everyone else and belching out diesel fumes unnecessarily. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

CMK10

I got stuck at one of those bus gates last year flying LHR-JFK. We ended up delayed an hour because the buses had to drive seemingly to Surrey before they got to the 77W. Somehow as a bonus they managed to leave 75 bags behind too. Truly a miserable way to return home.

dajdavies

Yes… I nearly walked to B lounge this morning and then I realised that when Flightaware said 10A is meant the bus gates

Tafflyer

I flew CAI-LHR-ATL yesterday and everything about [email protected] was fairly miserable. The crew LHR-ATL in F was spectacular and this did recover the situation somewhat. However, on landing at T5, Gate 22 we waited 15 minutes for guidance to be activated. Then „Mr Guidance“ arrived with his paddles to lead the aircraft to it‘s final parking position. Then it took another 15 minutes for the Airbridge to move to the aircraft. The bridge driver had obviously only been called after „Mr Guidance“ had done his job. The CCR was ok and surprisingly quiet, although the catering and service was very underwhelming. Boarding to ATL on BA227 was from gate A10a and started 45 minutes before departure. Group 1 was called first but we stood in the bus for 20 minutes while Groups 2+ boarded until the bus was literally rammed, including LHR employees literally shouting to passengers to move inside the bus.

Visconti

Good to know because my recent TATL J experience was to put it generously incredibly underwhelming. It's my first and last J BA flight, and I will never take another again. At least, with AA and AF, I know what to expect and even during their worst days, it's still leaps and bounds better than what I had recently experienced.

First, never having experienced before (had always been on F) BA's 380 J configuration, I'm now able to fully appreciate when a poster referred to it as one of the worst J seats. Next, even with a 100+ pound charge to select a seat, though I had selected mine as an OWE several weeks before departure, my BP was flagged ruing boarding and was told my seat was "broken." In actuality, it appears though I checked in with my assign seat, mine was given to a non-rev and companion. While "shena" does occur time to time, to have it happen on a TATL where flyers are asked to pay in excess of 100 pounds to reserve a seat? Unacceptable. Of course, upon boarding, I explained the situation to the first FA I came upon in my section, who followed-up, then moved some pax around, and returned me to the seat I had reserved weeks ago and originally assigned during check in.

My last BA TATL flight was years ago before the pandemic, and the F crew provided some of the finest world class service I had ever experienced on an airplane. After this experience, it seems best to avoid BA, unless one were taking a chance on TATL F, because I'd never fly BA J long haul again, ever. Good grief, had I been put through that miserable bus experience just to have to endure this recent J experience, I'd have to either 1) quit flying, or 2) get some therapy.

Tafflyer

It's mainly the BA crew that keeps my flying BA. The LHR-ATL F crew was really good, as was my CAI-LHR crew. The problem was the hard product CAI-LHR as well as the F ground product, which apart from the dated CCR is simply absent. The CCR food was really nothing special, the service was slow to absent, even though the ambience was nice and relaxing. The LPGS, once it arrived, was as usual the saving grace.

Visconti

It's been many years since I've had the pleasure of gracing the hallowed halls of the CCR, but after my recent experience in the F lounge next to it (I recall, in the past there was a station in front of the escalator where BA staff depending on one's tix & credentials directed one either into the F or CCR lounge), I'd definitely prefer the CCR, with or without the fancier food or beverages. I'm not sure if it's just a recent phenomenon, but I don't ever recall seeing an "F" lounge this full? As I had asked the DL Forum about the Skyclubs, how are all these people getting in there?

It was next to impossible finding a seat and felt more like an Asian J lounge, rather than F. On the bright side, I loved the pies they were serving! I must have feasted on 4 or 5 of them, and was starting to get funny quizzical looks from people around me. We don't often get good pies in the States, unless it's of the apple variety. Assuming there is a next time, I'm going to save my appetite and enjoy even more of them!

binman

This one!!?

Not in the least ostentatious😂







Fabulous, direct boarding to bus from Al Safwa. Ice cold and supremely comfortable. Light years away from BA’s sardine carriers.

blurt91

I can see whole new thread on selecting the best seats on the QR F bus! I have only had the pleasure of the QR business bus in Doha and even that was so much better than being crammed into a Heathrow bus!

TTmex

Well it's not really a F lounge, it's a gold lounge for anyone with OWE. Galleries Gold would be a more apt lounge name and the reason it's full is due to a lot of people getting extensions (fairly) and some usual silver level customers benefitting from double TPs (also fairly). The CCR is the F lounge, but doesn't admit OWE, only those at GGL level.

As for the pies, i agree they are tasty

HFHFFlyer

Why, when the airport is not operating at capacity, is this happening so much? I came in from JFK last week, past a load of empty stands in T5 B and C before being plonked on a bus at a remote stand. I know the bus can be faster than the transit etc but it’s a terrible look for BA and the UK in general.

Maybe this is not BA’s fault but surely, given we have two runways with very clearly denoted slot capacity, we could as a nation build an airport with enough sodding gates and jet bridges.

Just a thought.