Couldn't agree with you more. I'd add LX and KA to the list of those I'd be prepared to pay for though.

Maybe I'm biased, and only having flown 3 sectors on CX in F (just to see what all the hype is about), I would say the following -if it is cheaper than BA, then it is worth doing. If it is the same as BA, I would, in your place, take the BA flight every time. Yes, I moan about BA, but I found the IFE on 2 out of the 3 sectors on CX broken, the food was a plus, as was the IFE when it worked. I found the seat comfortable, but not more so than on BA in my view, I also prefer the in flight service from BA ccrew.

CX serves tasty Chinese cuisine though, I'd go for CX.

Interesting posts...and can't resist adding my tuppence on the subject. As a regular flier of both BA and CX, I would, on LON-HKG return, without question take CX. A few points:

-Crew really look after you on CX;
-food & wine infinitely better - grand cru, the best of the best;
-seat much more spacious than BA; and
-AVOD which has worked on 5 recent CX flights, sadly only exists on a few BA a/c
-Krug/Caviar service a wonderful touch of luxury on CX, reminds one that you are travelling in First Class;
-inflight service is quite elegant without being intrusive;
-The Shanghai Tang PJs are very comfortable and stylish;
-the lavs are always immaculate and well stocked with products.

I find that CX First passengers are treated with kid gloves...replete with easy check-in at both ends, the occasional escort to the aircraft, priority boarding that works (unlike BA, CX still use colour boarding passes so ground staff can spot you a mile away and ensure you never wait in a queue to board!), priority disembarkation, and First Class baggage that really does come off First (on a recent Dec flight, I had four bags and they were literally 1,2,3 & 4 on the carousel). The Wing and/or The Pier in HKG are superb lounges, with great dining options in either, divine shower rooms/relaxation spas, world-wide newspapers and magazines and lots of computer / work stations.

Sadly, many of these are missing from BA, with more cluttered seating, hit-or-miss service, food & wine that really needs a re-think (I know some F pax that are heading back to the Club Kitchen for snacks!), in-flight entertainment poor in comparison, service lacklustre and aircraft that are tired.

For Ł2800, go with CX...you'll love it!

When was this?

I believe that BA F pax ex-HKG have access to the F side of the Wing/Pier:

http://www.oneworld.com/ow/ffp/loung...lass-of-travel

Well, for my $.02, and having flown long haul in F on both BA (JNB-LHR) and CX (LHR-HKG) within the last 72 hours,....

I think that we should separate ground from in-air service. For in-air, I find them about equal. Yes, CX seats are a bit wider, but BA does have that nice pad for covering the seats. CX does have the Krug/caviar/salmon, but also sometimes difficulty understanding cabin crew. Honestly, I've never had a disappointment from either in F.

On the ground, however, CX has it all over BA. CX seems to be extremely attentive to detail, right from first contact at the airport. BA R zone check-in seems to be mostly an advantage due to shorter or non-existent lines. Staff doesn't really seem that different to me. CX's treatment on the ground, however, really leaves me feeling that I matter to them. Nothing is too much trouble, and no one has ever quoted a rule to me as a reason why something couldn't be done as I requested. And, on CX, "Priority Baggage" means exactly that. Literally the first ones to appear on the belt.

Of course, for LHR lounges, BA has it all over CX. All in all, when I do LHR-HKG again in a few months, I'll probably opt for BA. There have been sufficient posts about spotty in-flight service on CX 747s ex-LHR (although I, myself, have never experienced that). Also, I don't care for the Airbus series. The 747 F cabin has that small room feel to it because no one ever walks through to get to the front galley/lavatory/cockpit area. Much quieter, in my opinion.

Note that Seat Guru identifies row 1 on BA 747 as a problem due to the closet in the middle. I've never seen anyone access it once the lights went out. I was in row 1 JNB-LHR and slept fine wtihout any disturbance. Likewise, Seat Guru identifies right hand row 1 seat on CX Airbus as a problem due to its being right behind lavatory. Again, I just had this particular seat (LHR-HKG) and heard nothing, slept great.

No matter how one slices it, these are two really good carriers....

However CX prob will not put dead people next to you in F Class comapre to BA!

Funny no one compares them to QF much !

But with CX launching their new reconfigured F on select flights to/from HKG, make sure you get the chance to try them in the future. The new aircraft is 74A as it shows up on the airlines res system. The F cabin will be smaller with just 9 seats. BA will still have their 14?

Really? I suspect that in the same circumstances CX would probably do the same thing. And personally I would applaud them for doing so - it's far better to have a body in a separate seat in F than it is to have it probably literally touching one or two adjacent passengers in a seat in Economy. Everyone is equal in the end.

Agreed. I nearly always do the long haul flying on AONEx tix, so I'll always be on CX HKG-LAX. Hopefully, 74As will be on those routes, too, soon. Also, wasn't there something going around about a BA F upgrade at some point?

The bed pads are the "BA F upgrade". How the mighty have fallen. From your comments it sounds like you don't fly F on BA/CX/QF very often; BA introduced its F upgrade a month or so ago and it was rather anti-climactic. BA is focusing on its J service these days and pretty much ignoring F (probably because BA is no longer able to sell many full-F tickets these days, it is all negotiated corporate fares, mostly free upgrades to F, or discounted F). At this point both QF and CX have a markedly better F service than BA, and it is only on its flagship routes (like JNB/CPT and JFK) that BA does well in F.

No thats not correct. The new BA F hard product (code name Project PRIME) rolls out during 2008 once the new J hard product has been fitted across the longhaul fleet. The various changes to the soft product are simply interim measures.

B4 anyone asks, there are no photos/images etc of PRIME and staff that have had a glimpse of the current plan (not finalised yet) are again sworn to secrecy!!!!!!!!

BA F does well or OK on most routes where there is an F cabin. What they dont do is fill the cabin with upgrades. Also they ration reward seats such that it is very hard indeed to get any award availability in F to places like SIN/BKK/SYD/NRT.

Today LH has a better F product than BA on many routes -- and I never thought that I would live to say that!!!!! BA won't survive if this is their plan -- run F into the ground except for a few prime routes, and don't improve it for 2 more years ... after being 2 years late already with the hard product improvements! This puts BA 1 cycle or about 5 years behind the competition! I wouldn't mind that so much, if the soft product had been kept up to standard, but it has deteriorated badly in the past 2 years. I have shifted most of my TATL business away from BA because of all the problems; that is about 40 F tickets that BA won't be sellilng. And they have cut the fares in half (at least what I am offered, but I think most people can get similar deals).

My biggest concern: BA sees the problems, and does nothing to fix them. This contrasts sharply to CX which is quite good at incremental improvements and making small fixes in the product every day. If I have a bad flight with CX -- and there are some -- I know that the next one will be better. While if I have a bad flight with BA, I know the next one will be worse. And so far both CX and BA haven't proven me wrong.

I think that's all down to the competitive dynamics of each route. Each time I've flown BA LHR-HKG, I've seen J to F UGs being handed out like candy.