Airways45

Here's a review of First from Runway Girl Network (founded by respected Aviation Journalist Mary Kirby)

It highlights issues which many of us may have experienced including:

- Grubby seats and surrounding areas needing a good clean
- Indifferent / robotic crew
- Poor catering

Link here:

First Class Review

Some comments which, I think, BA lurkers might find interesting too. I vote for better tea bags and headphones too. For instance:

"The warning flag signalled more: the seat was dirty, worn and its surrounds were banged up. If there was a crevice, it was full of grime. If there was a surface, it was dusty. If there was a high-touch area, it was dented, chipped or scratched. Even areas that could hardly be considered high-touch — the casing around the inflight entertainment screen, for example — were chipped."

I hope that New First will address some of this, but, given the existing First will be around for years there's some hints for quick fixes that don't cost the earth.

Thoughts?

ThatT1Feeling

One thing BA could and should fix is the cleaning. My last F trip from JFK, the seat was covered in crumbs, as was the footrest. It was as if someone had eaten a croissant after the seat had been cleaned.

I also think BA is suffering from a lack of experienced cabin crew in F.

Other things like the food and wine? I guess it�s a question of how much we would accept an increase in fare. Standards have dropped, I agree, but prices for F can also be very reasonable.

bafan

Seems a pretty reasonable review. The first menu usually does seem to be the same as Club, just with better adjectives and the food served on better tableware.

seanp7

Strange about no Champagne as a PDB. Is that a Newark thing? I definitely had the good stuff on ground, JFK-LHR in F, in late March.

jwhite9185

The author is forever complaining about BA on Twitter. Yet still flys with them on a regular basis.

Make of that what you will.

Greg66

That is not comfortable reading for BA.

KeaneJohn

To be honest he�s very picky, his article on should we fly to Newcastle then ..... as it�s a bus gate and BA forget to load his sandwich.

Clesrly for people with onward connections from Heathrow it�s not prudent to get the train down when there�s a flight.. Inhad a very meh experience in F from MFK pre Covid enough to make me think actually I�m happy with Business. Fast forward a few years grounded by a serious illness and being cleared again in the sale I got a couple of F bargains and I have F F flights within a month. I�ve seen the reviews here and on Facebook groups and You Tube and it seems to be consistently a lot better. So I�m very much looking forward to my trips. Will I be an F conver? Who knows.

krispy84

I have never found BA cabin crew to be robotic tbh, whatever their other failings.

TabTraveller

The author lost me when he lacked the imagination or wit to come up with a better headline than �subpar business class� in reference to BA F; it isn�t.

It is however a tired and lazy trope to claim that it is. Neither fair nor reasonable reporting.

Airways45

Haven't you found some to be going through the motions? Robotic might not be the right word, but it was trying to convey formulaic and less personal.

Airways45

I'm used to BA First being described as the World's Best Business Class. However, with improvements at other airlines in Business Class, this is a tired and lazy phrase too

Enrique Ponce

Well, it�s all about expectations isn�t it? I think of First as relative instead of absolute.
In other words, we all know BA First isn�t going to get you the most luxurious experience in the skies. But it will generally be better than Club, which is better than WTP, which is better than WT.
If the reviewer wants something genuinely luxurious for his points, we can all list the various options.
I�m not sure this review adds a great deal to what�s already known on the subject�

JapesUK

�a dirty, beat up old seat with low-quality catering, middling soft product, and an experience that in its entirety lacked any first class flair.�

Although the authors experience is diametrically opposite to my one and only first return in recent times, their comments, allowing for dramatic flair, match the documented experience. We all experience bad equipment, bad crews, bad catering, they seem to have hit the trifecta.

mikeyfly

When the author writes “I wanted so much to love British Airways first class” not sure I believe them….

PLeblond

I agree that the author seems to have made up their mind before taking the flight, and I will say that the criticism cleanliness and wear on the hard product seems valid, in my opinion, especially for a sub 10 year old plane. The whole question of doors is 'meh' for me as I don't enjoy cubicles with doors (I'm not talking SQ suites here). For soft product crews are hit and miss on any airline.

What I think this exposes is that as J products are getting better and better the delta between J & F is as small as it has ever been and getting smaller. As much as I really enjoyed my experience on LH-F (747-8) it was last-minute points deal and I don't see the value in paying more for F versus J, even if someone else is paying.