danrts

hi, I'm considering travelling first class, between Brisbane or Sydney and Dubai (then onto Venice), firstly which aircraft offers the better 1st class, the A380 or the 77W, and secondly, if we have a 6 month old, do they have provision for infant in first class?

also considering Qantas QF1 to london (then onto Venice), is that first class rated better than Emirates?

thanks

Firemansam

i would take the Emirates option just to Avoid Heathrow.

ft101

It's also one stop less if you choce a direct flight from Aus. to Dubai, and a couple of hours less in the air.

danrts

Thanks.

Another question, if I book international flights independently with different carriers, for example:

Cairns to Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific

then

Hong Kong to Venice via Emirates

when I arrive at Hong Kong, do I have to collect my bags, exit via customs, and then go to the Emirates check in desk, and back through customs again or is there a more streamlined process?

Gandhi

I would go with A380 without doubt. Newer, quieter plane, 1st class suites + shower on-board

Gandhi

AFAIK, Cathay and EK dont have any arrangement for inter-lining of luggage so you will have to go through Passport control, which is tedious and requires a longer transit time. With a 6-month old, I would choose direct flights, especially if you are flying First class

Dave Noble

I would take the 777 in 1st ; it may not have the showers but the cabin is smaller and I find that the service can be a bit better; the suites are as close to being the same on 380 vs 777 as to make no difference

On SYD-DXB , I have also found that the evening 380 flight can be close to full whilst the non stop daytime flight only has a few 1st passengers

The shower is a nice feature of the 380, but for me the 777 is the better option

ung1

EK has interline agreements with most major carriers, I really doubt CX would be excluded. Someone had posted a list once, perhaps try searching for it.

ft101

Here's one I saved from somewhere, and CX is included:

ELECTRONIC INTERLINE CARRIER AGREEMENTS-EK
INTERLINE CARRIER CODES
AA - AB - AC - AF - AH - AI - AP - AS - AT - AV
AY - AZ - A3 - A9 - BA - BD - BE - BI - BP - BR
BT - B6 - CA - CI - CM - CO - CX - CY - CZ - DJ
DL - DN - D3 - EI - ET - EY - FB - FI - FJ - FM
FV - FZ - F9 - GA - GF - G3 - HG - HM - HR - IB
IE - IG - IR - IT - IY - I5 - JJ - JL - JO - JP
JQ - JU - J2 - KA - KC - KE - KK - KL - KM - KQ
KU - LA - LG - LH - LO - LP - LT - LX - MA - ME
MH - MI - MK - MP - MS - MU - NH - NU - NW - NZ
OA - OK - OS - OU - OV - OZ - PG - PR - PS - PU
PW - PX - PZ - QF - QR - RJ - RO - SA - SB - SK
SQ - SU - SV - SW - S7 - TG - TK - TM - TN - TP
TU - T3 - UA - UL - US - U6 - U7 - VA - VK - VN
VR - VS - VV - VX - V7 - WF - WS - WY - W3 - XL
YM - Z5 - 0O - 4M - 4Q - 8M - 9B - 9W

Gandhi

Thanks for correcting me folks

danrts

thanks for the help.

Yes I was considering booking my own tickets Cathay Cairns to HK then either Emirates or Qatar on to Venice, since flights out of HK are much cheaper than direct out of Australia.

Having said that, I might just go Qantas/BA A380 or 747 via London to Venice as their business/first class specials are significantly cheaper than every other airline right now

Down_the_back

I have flown CHC-SYD on EK then SYD - HKG on CX Bags were checked in all the way.... They did question the different allowances though. Flying J on both carriers, I have gold card with EK and Platinum with AA they soon found it and did not charge....

TGflyergirl

I'm a fan of the 77W suites. To my untrained eye, they're wider, the walls are taller and service seems to be that much better when you have 8 in the cabin vs 14 like you do on the A380.

The showers and bar are novelties I've used once, got out of my system and haven't used since I first flew the A380 in F way back when. Wifi is the one product i DO miss on the 77W though.

in J, that's another story altogether

jackiedada

On the contrary, I'm actually a big fan of the A380 in all 3 classes F, J, and Y. I think showers are a great thing to have an an ULH flight. But what really tilts the balance in favor of the A380 is the oodles of space that there is on the plane to amble around and stretch yourself. On a 13+ hour flight, there is just no beating the freedom to walk and just sit and relax next to the big seats surrounding the bar. On the 777, it gets too claustrophobic for me 9-10 hours into the flight and I just want to get off the plane.

chinatraderjmr

Easy answer. I fly monthly between DXB & either JFK or LAX (always in F). I avoid the LAX non stop just because the 380 is such a fantastic plane. (I'd rather make a stop in JFK to stay w the 380). Nothing wrong w the 77W. The suites are the same but the lounge in the back as well as shower spas really do make a difference on flights over 10 hours. For shorter flights I would just take whatever's schedule is better but as someone who likes to walk around, stretch, has the attention span of a six year old, the 380 was made for me

As far as QF. I have only flown them twice in the last few years. The 380 is nice & they do a good job in F but it's no Emirates