OW first class routes thread
 

As requested.

With the continual reduction in routes offering first class, it may be helpful to have a listing of routes which still have it. This may help some decide between business or first for awards, rtws, etc; as well as assist in route planning.

Intercontinental and Transcontinental

Watch out for codeshares and some routes have multiple aircraft types operating (with and without first class).


Names used for First Class
First Class - AA, BA, CX, JL, KA, MH, QF, QR


American Airlines
Aircraft type
All mainline aircraft type, but 757, A300 & MD-80 first class are of poor standard. Note within North & Central America 2-class aircraft are sold as First for USA and Business for Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Only 3-class flights (777-200 and 777-300ER aircraft) are listed below.
Warning - 777-200 retrofit configuration does not have first class.

Routes
Between Chicago O'Hare and
Beijing
London Heathrow
Shanghai
Tokyo Narita

Between Dallas Fort Worth and
Buenos Aires (some flights)
Frankfurt (some flights)
Hong Kong
London Heathrow (some flights)
Madrid (seasonal northern summer)
Santiago
Sao Paulo
Seoul Incheon
Shanghai
Tokyo Narita

Between Los Angeles and
Buenos Aires
London Heathrow
Sao Paulo
Shanghai Pudong
Sydney
Tokyo Narita

Between Miami and
Buenos Aires
London Heathrow
Los Angeles (some flights)
Madrid
Santiago (seasonal northern winter)
Sao Paulo (some flights)

Between New York JFK and
Buenos Aires
London Heathrow
Los Angeles
San Francisco (some flights)
Sao Paulo

Between Raleigh-Durham and
London Heathrow (some flights, seasonal)


British Airways
Aircraft type
Only 747, 777 (some) and A380.

Routes
Between London Heathrow and
Abu Dhabi
Abuja
Austin
Bahrain
Bangalore
Bangkok
Beijing
Boston
Cairo
Capetown (some flights)
Chicago
Dallas
Delhi (some flights)
Doha
Dubai
Hong Kong
Houston
Johannesburg
Kuala Lumpur
Kuwait
Lagos
Los Angeles
Luanda
Mexico City
Miami
Moscow DME
Mumbai
Muscat
New York JFK
Newark (some flights)
Philadelphia (some flights)
Phoenix
Rio de Janiero
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose SJC
Sao Paulo
Seattle
Seoul
Shanghai
Singapore
Sydney
Tel Aviv (some flights)
Tokyo NRT
Toronto (some flights)
Vancouver
Washington IAD (some flights)

Between London Gatwick and
Atlanta (some flights)
Bermuda
Bridgetown
Grenada
Port of Spain
St Lucia
San Jose SJO
Tobago

Between Abu Dhabi and
Muscat

Between Bahrain and
Doha

Between Bridgetown and
Port of Spain
Tobago

Between St Lucia and
Grenada

Between Singapore and
Sydney


Cathay Pacific
Aircraft type
All 747 variants, 777-300ER (some a/c and not non-ER).

Routes
Between Hong Kong and
Bangkok (some flights)
Boston
Chicago
Dusseldorf
Frankfurt (some flights)
London Heathrow (some flights)
Los Angeles
Manila (some flights)
Milan
New York JFK
Osaka KIX (some flights)
Paris CDG
San Francisco
Seoul Incheon (some flights, northern summer only)
Taipei (some flights)
Tokyo HND (some flights)
Vancouver
Zurich

Between Bangkok and
Delhi (some flights, irregular)
Singapore

Between Taipei and
Tokyo NRT

Between Vancouver and
New York JFK


Dragonair
Aircraft type
Only A330.

Routes
Between Hong Kong and
Beijing
Kaohsiung
Shanghai
Taipei


Japan Airlines
Aircraft type
772 domestic, 773 (not 777)

Routes
Between Tokyo Haneda and
Chitose
Fukuoka
Okinawa
Osaka ITM
San Francisco

Between Tokyo Narita and
Chicago
Frankfurt
Jakarta (limited flights)
London Heathrow
Los Angeles
New York JFK
Paris CDG
Sydney (seasonal?)


LAN
Aircraft type
None.


Malaysia Airlines
Aircraft type
All A380.

Routes
Between Kuala Lumpur and
London Heathrow
Paris CDG


Qantas
Aircraft type
All A380 (but note some flights sold without first e.g. occasional SYD-HKG).

Routes
Between Sydney and
Dallas
Dubai
London Heathrow (via Dubai)
Los Angeles

Between Melbourne and
Dubai
London Heathrow (via Dubai)
Los Angeles

Between Dubai and
London Heathrow


Qatar
Aircraft type
A380 and ???

Routes
Between Doha and
Bangkok (some flights)
London LHR (some flights)
Paris CDG
some intra-Middle East routes have 2-class F


TAM
none


Current as at ?. Updated to post #208.

Please advise any errors or omissions. Thanks to all those who have contributed.

Any help in completing this listing, in particular for AA and CX, is greatly appreciated.

CX- between HKG and:
SFO
LAX
YVR
NRT (some)
TPE (some)
CDG
LHR
BKK
ADL (some)
MNL (some)
MEL
FCO
DXB
JNB
FRA
YYZ
BOM
KIX (I think)
SYD (some)

between YVR and:
JFK

Between BKK and:
SIN

Between ADL and:
MEL

Thanks - keep them coming.

Thanks for the thread. Which CX flight has F between SYD-HKG?

I think F is also available between SYD and Buenos Aires on QF (when the route starts in Nov).

Aircraft with First Class are:

744 - F12/J47/Y324
74A - F9/J46/Y324 *new seats
74J - F12/J65/Y268

77A - F6/J57/Y238 *new seats

346 - F8/J60/Y220

34C - F8/J30/Y206

333 - F8/J32/Y211

NB. All 744s and 74Js will undergo 74A conversion. All 346s will leave CX by October 2008. 34C/34D/333 will undergo conversion to new seats but will be two-class only. i.e. 33B and 34B

In the BA list these flights should be removed:

Calgary
Chennai
Denver
Dhaka
Islamabad
Kolkata
Montreal

and

Delhi (some flights)

should be altered

Looking at the LGW flights the only routes with F are;

Atlanta (selected days IIRC)
Bermuda
Barbados

all others are 3 Class with Club, WT+ and WT cabins.

LGW-JFK will have F when it stars.

Only 1 flight a day for Taipei-Narita, and it always has 1st class.

IMHO, for AA the list should only include "all 777 flights" and "all 767-200 flights" (the only planes in the fleet with 3 classes of service) as opposed to "all mainline flights".

I don't think anyone looking at this post is looking to see that a ORD-LGA MD-80 flight has a front cabin sold as F/A (since even those in DONEx products get to book A), as much as true F service offered in 3 class flights.

A rough list of those 3 class flights:

767-200
JFK-BDA
JFK-LAX
JFK-MIA (one flight)
JFK-SFO (some flights)

777-200
BOS-LHR
BOS-MIA (seasonal--may not come back)
BOS-SDQ (Sat. only, seasonal)
DFW-FRA
DFW-LHR (one flight 767-300 this summer)
DFW-MIA (seasonal--may not come back)
DFW-ORD
JFK-GRU
JFK-LHR
JFK-NRT
LAX-LHR
LAX-NRT
MIA-DFW (seasonal--may not come back)
MIA-GRU (some flights)
MIA-LAX (one flight, seasonal)
MIA-LHR
MIA-EZE
ORD-DEL
ORD-DFW (one flight)
ORD-DME
ORD-LHR
ORD-NRT
ORD-PEK (2009)
ORD-PVG
RDU-LHR

You missed DFW-NRT for AA 777-200 First Class service.

I believe CX also has First on one flight from SIN-HKG (flight 716) which is operated using a 747

Dragonair offers 3-class service with F on flights using their 11 Airbus 330s.
http://www.dragonair.com/da/en_INTL/...nterior/a330_1

The time table includes available classes but includes CX flights as well.
http://downloads.dragonair.com/ka/ti...xtimetable.pdf

At quick glance I found flights from HKG to PEK, KHH, PVG, TPE.

It looks as if the one JL NRT-SIN (& v/v) in First on a 747 is being dropped from the summer season for 2009 (i.e. from March 29, 2009). Replacement is a 2-class 777.

This will mess up quite a few AONEx plans. :td:

Looking at flights in July and August, CX seems to have F to KIX on some flights.

CX has first class HKG-ICN a couple of times a week.

CX:

Add Auckland (seasonal, NH winter 08-09)

Amend Johannesburg: JNB now has year-round F service, with the 346 in NH summer and back to the 744 in NH winter (unsure what will happen in NH summer 09 when the 346's are returned)

Add rider to Rome FCO: Operates with a mix of 34C and 34D depending on day of the week - only 34C has First Class. FCO is 343 service year round now.

Add rider to Frankfurt: Extra daily flights (not CX288/9, the other one, I think CX282/5?) operate with two-class 34D's.

Thanks, OP updated.

Including mine! :( That particular flight is one of the few in Asia that is >2000 miles which makes it very desirable for earning BA tier points.

And as I start to plan the last part of my AONE5 I also find that some of CX's flights - HKG-SIN-HKG and BKK-SIN - are also becoming 2-class affairs next year.

HKG-CGK has First on certain days but only on one of the two flights (CX777)

CX now has F to BOM on a 74A.

This is a great thread. Could we perhaps make it a sticky one day?

It is already linked:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=801530

Some new routes with F this winter:

CX

HKG-AMS

AA

DFW-EZE
MIA-SCL
JFK-GIG (not new, but not listed yet)

You really mean the JFK-GRU-GIG flight 951 right? I'm just checking because I heard TAM is supposed to start a nonstop, and I'm wondering if AA will respond.

For some odd reason though Thursday flights are still operated by 343 or 747 flights on which they are selling F seats. I have checked a few dates over the winter and it seems quite consistent.

BOS-LHR to lose F
 

According to AA.com & EF, neither BOS-LHR flight will offer F as of Jan 3 '09.

BA:

BA no longer operate Rio de Janeiro <> Sao Paulo.

fffffffffffffff

You're right. So on the main post, for BA there is no longer any First on LHR-GIG and the line relating to GIG-GRU needs to be dropped as well, although GRU <> EZE stays.

no more ba first between lhr and nairobi
 

i am booked on ba between lhr and nairobi in first next september on the final leg of my aone6and mindpearl in cape town sent me an email yesterday that the flight has now been downgraded to two class service (apparently on a 767) and now only offers biz class.

The timetables and GDS systems are still saying it's a 777, but that could clearly change. The first class service appears to be dropped from August 14th. onwards.

CX flights to Oz
 

AFAICS, CX First flights between HKG & MEL are only currently "some flights". These will cease at the end of January but restart end October.

There no longer appears to be any First on CX between HKG & SYD.

Edited to add:

You don't seem to be able to purchase First on CX just between MEL & ADL, but CX105/104 provides First between HKG & ADL (via MEL) in the Northern winter (i.e. not between end-Jan & end-Oct 2009.)

Great info Kiwi Flyer. Some amendments:

• JL offers F NRT-DEL
• LA now only offers F on its SCL-MAD/FRA route, so SYD/AKL-SCL should be removed from the current list

For AA, add: DFW-GRU and MIA-MAD

It looks as though F has gone from SCL-MAD now that LA has completed, or is close to completing, the refurb of the A340s.
It's getting harder and harder to justify AONEx over DONEx.

Happy Travels.

Yeah, seems like in the not-too-distant future it will only make sense with an all-hub itinerary like LHR-MIA-EZE-SYD-NRT-HKG-LHR.

The upside is that the J products are getting better and better over time across OW, no? Hope so because I'm planning an RTW OW130C for 2010.

Amendment to the Amendment: JNB has year-round F service sort of. Currently served by 343s every day, with F only on the Tuesday outbound from HKG and the Wednesday return from JNB (same aircraft, obviously). NH winter 2008-2009 saw 744 service 3-4 times/week (I can't remember exactly), with no F service on the remaining (343) days.