BKK-SYD in first -- british or qantas
 

subject says it -- i'm booking first class tickets (ACIR26) for two people (not including me, sadly). the trip includes a segment from Bangkok to Sydney, and both BA9 and QF2 are available. times are identical, so the only factors are onboard service and comfort.

the two people travelling are a couple, and would like to feel "together". they have never flown F on either airline. (nor have i.)

opinions?

edit: actually, another potential factor: they are originating in BKK that day. they are connecting to a QF domestic flight on arrival.

Do the people have status? If they have OW status and are flying in Y, then I would recommend BA for the World Traveller Plus Economy seats... alot more comfortable in the cattle car.

If it is Business/First, I would go with the Red Tail.

If it is Y with no status, equal.

For 1st class , I would definately take BA over QF; I find BA onboard much better than QF

Dave

QF now apparently serve decent bubbly (either Krug or Dom, not certain which!) and caviar in F.

I'd give the slight edge to QF...

I find a subtle difference in mood and attitude from First Class on BA vs QF.

QF FAs remind me a bit more of VS Upper Class FAs (apologies in advance for any offense!): there's a sort of familiar, colloquial kind of endearing informality to their service. As you'd expect from Aussies.

For me, when BA First is at its best, it's the best experience in the air (well, along with SQ... haven't tried CX First). But by the same token, it sometimes makes me feel like I'm an interloper into an exclusive lounge at the House of Lords -- I keep waiting for Lady Penelope to offer me a cucumber sandwich. But that's prolly coz I'm an easygoing aussie in my twenties.

If your travellers are over the age of 30-40ish and they want a really special treat where they'll be waited on hand & foot as if they were at a fancy restaurant, I'd err towards BA. If they're a bit more laid-back and gregarious -- if, when they get bored, they'd be just as happy joking with the stewards as watching a movie and ordering more champagne and souffle -- then I'd err towards QF.

As always this is a HIGHLY subjective interpretation, and YMMV. At the end of the day, both airlines offer a fantastic product: BA is just a fraction more plush mahogany and cigars; QF just a fraction more fresh gourmet sunday brunch and laid-back champagne. If that makes any sense at all... :rolleyes:

very nice post, thanks!

i understand that this is all highly subjective, and i appreciate your analogies. the travellers are 60ish. they're midwestern, and very easygoing, but this trip is about being pampered. they'll be checking out of a four seasons the morning of the flight, and i'm thinking the BA experience sounds like the right continuation of the day.....

Dave,

Have you tried QF F recently? I would have said the exact same thing up until a few months ago, but after a few segments on QF I'm really growing fond of them.

-FlyerBeek

I completely agree. Not that its statistically significant, but I've done 2 BA F BKK-SYD and one BA SYD-BKK and a similar QF set of runs. QF wins hands down. BA crew consistently were not interested in trying to make it "work" for me.

The only area where BA was better was with the brown BAg that is now my favourite for toiletries.

If you do go on BA, the pyjamas are a huge fit - go for a size smaller than what you think is needed.

First, I would like to thank the OP for asking this question as I have been meaning to ask the same but my AONE isn't for another 16 months so I was waiting a bit. I will bookmark this and check again in about 14 months when I prepare to purchase my ticket to see if any changes have occurred.

With that said I wanted to ask opinions from those in this forum with mainly 3 factors in mind. I also woud like to ask the same question about SYD-LHR service. The 3 factors I am primarily interested in are sleep comfort, food quality and service of which a nice perspective was already provided by Zeffer. Oh and please remove alcohol and caviar as factors of consideration in my case as I don't drink and find caviar overrated. I have a lot of friends who both drink and love caviar, but they aren't traveling with me.

Actually in my case I will be traveling both BKK-SYD and SYD-LHR and will choose BA on one segment and QF on the other so I can experience both F products. I will be connecting in both cases, on the BKK-SYD to a QF connection, and on the SYD-LHR to a BA connection. Lounges available, lounge services provided, and ease of making the connection are other factors that need to be taken into account in my choices, so if there are major differences there then please let me know. Other than flying AA to LHR I am unfamiliar with BA or QF transits at LHR. I have never been to SYD so all that is new to me. Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.

Unfortunately I had too recently from HKG-MEL and also on a HKG-MEL sector when travelling to/from Europe since CX's flights on those sectors did not fit in with my schedule need on the way out and on the way back to Oz ,CX doesnt have a daytime service

QF was no better than previously. I find BA far better than QF, though I would take CX over BA

Hopefully with the new F product that QF is going to be bringing in, they may become good again

Dave

In their current configs the BA and QF F seat are in the most part the same seat and you should be able to get some kip on either.

I would personally choose QF over BA after my recent BA & QF F experiences. See the TR in my sig for more information on what QF F is like now (it also has links to other TR's that include a LHR-NRT-LHR in BA F earlier this year at the top.)

I felt the service I received on BA was lacklustre at best but some of the QF crew were just stellar. This I find very mixed on both carriers though.

Flying out of Oz on QF would be my choice as they have the new degustation menu which was great fun to try on QF ex MEL. In general I also preferred the meals on QF. They also have a meet and greet separate entrance to the airports in MEL and SYD for QF F pax (although I am not sure if BA F gets the same treatment).

BA QF use the same lounges in SYD / LHR / SIN - not sure about BKK but suspect this is true for there also.

A tip for ex SYD is to ensure QF (not sure if BA has the same service) have a local contact for you. They will ring the day before and ask if you want to reserve a spa treatment at the lounge and have any special requests.

Other little things! QF PJs don't scream First all over the front of them like BA's do. I quite like the Payot ammenties on QF and find them superior to the Kiels on BA (although this may change when Elemis take over the MB spas later this year)

Thanks for the replies. I went and did a little reading. It has been since last fall that I did any reading on the QF Forum and was surprised about the new lounges and related services. Sounds nice.

Sounds like I should check back for sure come the fall of 2008. I did a search in the QF forum for info on the new F seats that were referenced above and also in the QF threads, but was unable to find any definitive information. Does anyone have additional info on the new seats, timeframe for installation, or links to said info? In AA's case it is going to take them 2 years + or - to upgrade the 767 and 777 J seats so any hope for new F seats on QF by Jan 2009 sounds extremely remote if their timetable is anything close to AA's. Obviously it is difficult to know today what will happen in the next 1.5 years since the info is so sparse (I assume that since I find very little), so checking back in fall of 2008 should paint a clearer picture.

Thanks again for the great insights.

Did you come across this thread:

¤ Qantas - New Fabrics/New Livery/Premium Economy/A380 Product?

There's quite a bit of info about the new product with plenty of link - you may find what you seek there.

Based on my most recent experiences (May, June and July of this year), I would take QF over CX and BA and CX over BA.

QF now has an excellent F product, much better than it was when I first flew QF F in 2002. CX has been slipping over the past two years. It was excellent in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, but last year and this year, I've noticed cutbacks in the menus and an intangible sense that it is just not what it used to be. It is still quite good, but not like it was.