Talk about first world problems! The convenience of the CD is good enough for me, I don't care what type of car shows up as long as it's clean. I haven't noticed EK differentiates much for F and J cars outside of Dubai.

I had CD from LGW two weeks ago and it was admittedly a mercedes but was an ordinary local taxi driver, no water in the car, not clean and I had to ask for the aircon to be turned on as it was blasting hot air. Driver was obviously not used to driving on rural roads and nearly left the road when there was any oncoming traffic. Not a pleasant experience this time I'm afraid.

I had the same driver twice, to and again from LGW recently. Totally unprofessional. No Aircon on in the car, windows open instead. Eating a banana on the way, banging the steering wheel regularly (to stay awake?). I usually tip the driver. Not these times.
Have a pickup from home to LGW on Friday. Hope to get someone different….

It's a first class problem, not a first world problem! You can use this line whenever anyone says anything negative about a first class product but I would suggest it rather misses the mark - for someone to be willing to pay for F over J suggests they probably do care a little bit about this kind of thing generally. As I said in my post, for me it's not so much about the type of car not being right, but the fact that Tristar is generally pitched way below equivalent 'executive' car providers in terms of professionalism and quality. I think EK should choose a better provider for both F and J, especially if they are not going to differentiate.

Exactly. I have used Wheely frequently to LHR as an example and their 'business class' entry level service is pitched far above Tristar in terms of quality. Uber Exec is too.

Anyone know when Bangkok CD on arrival will return? EK website still says they can't offer it "(d)ue to COVID-19 regulations" but I'm not sure that's true now testing on arrival has been scrapped (or is there a truly bizarre piece of Thai regulation?)

SFO : Mercedes’ E class. Luggage for 3 pax ina Chevy suburban. Both vehicles arrived together for pickup
BLR : BMW 540. Luggage ina Toyota innova. BMW was waiting. Had to wait 30 mins for the innova

I have booked through Emirates MMB for a pick up from home to LHR. We are just under 70 miles btw. Should I expect a text or call the day before or is there a email or phone number I can call if there are any issues?

You will get an email from Addison Lee and Tristar about two days before departure to confirm your car booking. It includes a link to confirm the booking plus a contact number,

To answer my own question, CD appears to now be available on arrival in BKK again.

DUB pickup in F: BMW 5 series. Called and confirmed the day before.
SYD dropoff in F: Toyota Camry? Corolla? A sensibly-priced sedan. No call or confirmation.

Yes was up and running a few days ago. BKK arrival getting back to pre covid experience.

SYD CD has been terrible for years. Even the drivers complain about having to do numerous runs for pax on the same flights and they can never meet the pick up timings.

Not the best. No desk or even a temporary podium to head towards. Driver didn't have my name posted at first, and when it finally came up, he told me that I hadn't been on the list for pickups and that they had just added me. I suppose this is possible since I was on a QF ticket operated by EK, but I've had the CD notification in my booking for months.

Not even fully Mercedes CD at LHR now - I had a VW Sharan on Friday. The driver was a nice guy but didn't even know his way out of the airport as this was his first time at Heathrow.

I think Addison Lee are having problems meeting the required CD volumes in London. Last week mrs t's car to LGW was also not Addison Lee but a local Gatwick company. Was nothing wrong with it though. Two weeks earlier my LGW car was AL. The driver mentioned it was very busy.