Guy Betsy

A couple of my friends have decided to treat themselves and fly F from BKK to FRA (and hopefully myself later in the month when I fly from BKK to LHR too).

We'd like to know if GF has refurbished the F seats yet on at least the BKK-BAH route. What are the services and amenities like? For my friends.. what sort of champagne they serve? Caviar in F?

It's a first for them should they decide on going First... so I'm being the Devil's Advocate and spoiling them with ideas...

Thanks

BiziBB

This is what I would do:
1. Join the Gulf Air Frequent Flyer program (either before the flight, or onboard, for a few bonus signup miles).
FFers get a few benefits in terms of flexibility with bookings. By the end of the F flight you will have (or mostly have) qualified for Silver elite status.
Miles can be shared to one account (eg 70% of a partner's miles can go into your account, to get you to elite status).
2. Read the menu and Sky Cellar winelist
http://www.gulfairco.com/air/meals_onboard.asp
http://www.gulfairco.com/air/skycellar_first.asp

Champagne: Brut Mosaique Vintage 1998
A wonderful rich yellow colour with golden flecks, this wine has a fine mousse which gives rise to an elegant stream of bubbles.

An aromatic richness on the nose reveals the lightness, delicacy and subtlety of this vintage Champagne. The Chardonnay aromas dominate with praline and roasted hazelnut notes, followed by butter, nougat and caramel. Both mouthfilling yet fine and delicate. Subtle coffee notes, mix with the caramel aromas on the nose to produce a buttery, whipped cream finish, a reminder yet again of the dominance of Chardonnay.

This is a discreet, vintage Champagne, where the nuances of aroma and flavour combine to perfection.

Check the info on the Skychef and if there is a limo service if required. I noticed some specials on hotels too, but can't recall if there was a listing for FRA.

Search this forum for a lot of earlier info, that may include the schedule for seat upgrades for the airbuses that are not flying out of BAH.

E3A300

Not sure if this will help but I flew GF in First last year and it was fantastic! A330's with the old seats but they were very comfortable, well padded, had lots of room and reclined to almost flat. The food was the best I've ever had in the air, prepared to order and very well presented but no caviar, lobster, Dom or Krug. The sky chef introduced himself to each passenger before discussing the menu options and the wine list, with special requests encouraged. You can dine when you want and eat what you want, so it makes sense not to eat too much on the ground. He finished the meal service by touring the cabin with a rather large box of chocolates.

I did a search myslef and it seems the GF owned A340-300's are being refitted with the sleeaper seats and this will be complete late April. The leased A340's are not being refitted and these are designated in timetables as A340, with the GF owned aircraft being A343.

I've also flown with them in business and they were also very good, so I'm just about to book a BKK trip in First for later in the year. Be aware that GF often overbook in Business, so First can often be full of upgrades but not always.

Enjoy your flight!

Guy Betsy

Thanks... I'm taking up on GF's offer currently running around asia. Buy 1 get 1 free in F or J to any GF destination. From BKK, SIN, KUL, HKG etc. The cheapest place being BKK of course. 2 F class tickets to Europe for US$ 2500 or thereabouts.

I'm crediting the miles to my VIRGIN FFP for 300% miles on GF F class.

I did see the gulfair website.. but I thought I'd ask people here if they have any experiences.

Thank you for your comments..

sadiqhassan

Guy Betsy, you have access to Galileo seat maps right?

If your flight has 2 rows of a 2x1x2 layout in F, it is the "newer" A340. The bed is almost flat with a pitch of 74"

If your flight has 2 rows of 2x2x2 layout in F, it is the older A340. Not flat, and 62" pitch.

If your flight has 2 rows of a 1x2x1 layout in F, it is the A330 with the nice new Flat Bed seats which are really nice. Seat pitch is 80"

Cheers

BiziBB

That is a great offer, thank you for mentioning it.
A great incentive to try it, and for those who do not transfer miles to VS, a very rapid way to achieve status.

Guy Betsy, thank you for bringing this up! ^ ^

Cedar Jet

By Far the best F Class of any Arab Carrier. Recent local awards consolidate that. Hopefully by the time you fly the new seats and IFE will have been retrofitted in the 343's :-: :-: . Enjoy.

Guy Betsy

You better act fast. Promo ends 31st March. As long as you have travelled outbound, your ticket is valid for one year. J class available too. It's around US$1500 from BKK to EU.

The biggest problem is getting the 'free' ticket.. you can't waitlist, and seats are going very fast.

And oh yes.. ticket must be paid for by MASTERCARD only.

Savage25

The promo is valid until 14 July 2006 (date of outbound flight from BKK), not 31 March.

Fares ex-BKK in case anyone else is interested:
City First Business
KUL 21,680 14,760
HKG 19,290 16,540
CAI 92,660 71,160
FRA,LON,PAR 97,090 64,740
DUB 111,040 74,550
ATH,IST,LCA 73,290 55,200

oxfordjames

All the A330's are now equipped with the new skybed seats.

See this link for the review

Not sure but don't think they use the A330 on the FRA route, On the London route you should have the A330 especially when the new summer schedules comes in.

Also London has the chauffeur service where's Frankfurt Dos'nt.

Also see this link for a review of the excellent lounge at BAH