ausffm

I recently flew First Class on the A380 (LHR-SYD-LHR) and was not overly impressed. While the hard product is overall good; the service and standards are in my opinion definitiely not First Class. Here are a few bullet points with the few positve and many negative issues:

Negative:

- Very young UK-based crew – they were very friendly and polite, but one had the feeling that they did not have enough experience with first class service and they did not always seem confident

- Very unfriendly Australian crew from Singapore; was informed by First Class Host in SYD that the First Class crew were too junior and inexperienced on the A380 services and were employed “cheaper” than the more experienced crews who serve on the 747’s

- Toilets only marginally larger than economy and the black flooring showed every water mark; the toilet seat (leather cover) was already looking worn

- Travellers in Business Class could simply walk down the stairs into the first class section without any control or barrier and could use the toilets

- The menu was not very logically presented; even the cabin crew agreed to this

- Food was overall tasty but nothing exceptional and presentation was basic; no pepper on the table and no individual bread basket (not to mention the revolting scratched-looking grey plastic knives - is an AUS Government decision)

- The whole suite ensemble moved every time a member of crew walked past – which was quite annoying after a while

- Awkward take-off and landing position of the seat: - what is the point of the cumbersome swivel movement? Why can’t the seat be fixed at an angle to the window? Other airlines have a herringbone configuration that is not facing forward for take-off and landing. New CX first class for example.

- An unattractive grey box-type amenity pack for men – quite basic really; the pyjama sack resembled something that one would take on a camping trip

- Dirty serviettes trapped behind seat on two segments - cleaners obviously can not access these areas properly

Positive:

- A lot of personal space and privacy

- Very comfortable seat and bed in most positions (except take-off and landing)

- Comfortable mattress with fitted sheet

- Perfect size television with good definition, however, it had to be rebooted several times

- Aircraft very quiet


Would be interested to hear from other travellers who have taken this route in First Class.

number_6

I've flown LAX-MEL on A380 with similar experience to yours, except the aircraft was only a month or 2 old so no wear and tear yet -- but things like the leather toilet seat cover did seem to be a dubious choice.

QF has gone with QCCA staffing for A380 for all cabins, and this does make for problematic F service until the staff get some experience and training; few QF staff have taken transfers to QCCA for obvious reasons (having pay cut in half isn't the most attractive of offers, even with a promotion).

Transpacific is a longer sector which helps with the weaker points and makes the A380 more pleasant. Also the J pax were better behaved on my flights and didn't venture down into the F cabin; I suppose that can be expected for ex-UK flights.

eoinnz

QF staff that transfer to the A380 do not take half a pay cut. Also QF staff make up a bigger portion of crew in the A380 pool than you may think

VH-OQA (Nancy) has a red leather rope at the top of the stairs - it is still to be installed on the other aircraft. (As the original barrier never made it into service, for whatever reason)

AnonymousCoward

I flew SYD-SIN in F on the A380 and found it quite nice.

I actually like the men's amenity kit, and the RWT was lovely. Service was fine IMHO (though I'll agree that service can be very hit-n-miss on QF flights)

moa999

I thought the bar was for both Business and First customers - hence why the stairs are not blocked.

Just flew VH-OQC (Paul) and had a couple of First Class customers come up and join us in the bar so they could have a chat whilst most of the cabin was sleeping.

Understand that there is a big barrier on the back stairs

aurigakb

Oh dear.... does not sound the best.

Guess I am not missing too much then!

workflyer

This is the most dissappointing point you have made about your experience. Perhaps this First Host needs to look at their level of professionalism before commenting on their colleagues salaries or levels of experience/experience they are creating. Discussing salaries and comparing conditions of employment with a customer is unacceptable and is hardly going to enhance your experience.

number_6

Perhaps QF management need to reassess their strategy of staffing A380 flights with a crew cost that is less than half of their historical crew cost. It's a great plan if properly executed -- but it hasn't been. The crew do their best with the resources that they are given; it is QF management that is limiting the available resources in various ways, and it has impacted the F service level. The collapse of F loads is perhaps unavoidable, but QF cutting service level while claiming to improve the service is probably not helping with the F loads.

All of the service issues on the A380 are easily solved -- yet it is now almost a year later, and getting worse rather than better. Maybe QF thinks there is no problem to solve ...

Meanwhile DL is running at 100% full in J on their LAX-SYD service (DL does not offer F). Sure it is just one flight, but finally there is credible competition on this route.

eoinnz

Sorry number_6 but what exactly do have against QCCA crew ? Every chance you get you always seem to be the first person to mention that they are cheap crew that provide service that reflects their cheap pay. While I understand that yes in part not all crew are the same it's a pretty big assumption given 22 crew on every flight. Perhaps I take offense more being QCCA myself.

Reality is that in the last year the A380 has had constantly high customer satisfaction from all passengers in all classes - I have personally seen the results. Among both 747 and A380 the satisfaction in F was at 99% in recent results.

Lonely Flyer

I think he could be one of those radical democrats from the North West

number_6

I guess you don't read all of my posts as I have also praised QCCA crew on at least 2 separate flights ... my comments reflect my actual experience, good or bad, plus ruminations upon the cause as I look for systemic causes and improvement. QF has spent a lot of money on some things, and saved a lot of money on other things -- with mixed results. Some of the spending was effective and some was completely wasted. Similarly some of the savings were well done and some were ... misguided. The staffing rollout for A380 in terms of training was poorly done -- lots of room for improvement. I don't blame the QCCA crew for this, they are the victims. I do blame QF management for it. Similarly the terms for QF mainline staff to transfer to QCCA was poorly done (and ironically it could have been done better at less cost, so this is more a management competence than cost issue).

My point is that F pax have taken the brunt of this policy. QF thinks they don't have a choice and have a lock on the market, for various reasons. I have chosen to fly CX SFO-HKG-SYD more than once in preference over QF and haven't been the only one. Those who are left might be 99% satisfied, but those who have walked are probably considerably less satisfied

The A380 is able to provide tangible competitive advantage for QF. Management seems intent to avoid having competitive advantage. SQ is now my choice on the kangaroo route once again (if only they were in Skyteam).

Oh, and those QF satisfaction surveys; what a farce! I have watched how carefully the crew selects which pax fill in the survey ... they somehow pick only those that look happy. BA crews do the same, so hardly a surprise. I doubt a single statistically valid sample has ever been done in a QF on-board satisfaction survey. Can't blame the crew for this, but don't use it as fact.

duffer

Have to agree with number_6; I flew QF in F on A380 back in May to SYD. The crew from LHR were enthusiastic but amateurish in their approach. Much prefered style and warmth of service on SIN-SYD sector.

Traveloguy

Whilst I have usually had a fantastic experience with ex-LHR staff (on 747), my recent A380 flight in F ex LHR was a bit of a disappointment. Staff were friendly-ish but poorly trained and seemed not only to take orders from the menu poorly but also forgot things.

My ex-SIN segment was significantly better with the crew doing everything possible to make the flight a memorable experience. Also the loo was kept spotless which always makes a difference especially when you get some passengers who don't seemed to be properly toilet trained.

The crews I spoke to on the Aussie segments did mention that they were doing a rotation in LHR to try and help lift the service levels so hopefully that will help to alleviate some of the service issues experienced by both the OP as well as other passengers like myself.

Personally I found the toilet good, but I still have to say I prefer the 747 loos. SQ A380 wins hands down in this respect (although I prefer the QF A380 seat and service wise). In respect to the amenity kit, I actually quite like them but perhaps that is a matter of personal taste.

AndDee

The A380 has "higher customer satisfaction" more than likely due to the hard product (seat/IFE) and not the crew

As for F on the 747/A380 having 99% satisfaction.

The A380 scores highly due to the hard product again
The 747 scores highly due to the excellent crew

As with everything, you get what you pay for!

eoinnz

Those surveys hold a little more weight than you may think. As traveloguy mentioned there are currently Sydney crew temporarily working out of London and vv. for the roster (and last) due to feedback on the London based sectors (from those always perfect surveys).

Now with some changes to the way they operate their flights, and both bases learning from each other, the service is now more consistent on both sectors and the survey results are up again on the LHR-SIN-LHR sectors.