MrDplus

matthandy, thank you for the great report. Flying on EK's A380 is also on my TO FLY list, as well as BA F on the 747.

rodjune

Wonderful TR! Like you, I took a "sampler" FC EK flight on the A380 between HKG-BKK-HKG last July 2011. Your wonderful pictures have reminded me of my own experiences in the suites, and if I find the time to figure out how to post pictures with my text, I'll submit my own TR. When I account for the several hours of EK lounge time at both HKG and BKK, along with the shower on-board, I found the FC pricing to be a very good value. What I really thought was special was that EK allowed me to hold my Dom Perignon during take off out of BKK. Got to love them dancing bubbles rolling around the tongue during takeoff!

BA5E

Thanks for a great as usual TR. I was trying to look at the layout of the F seat, and could not work out if dual dining could be done.
Somehow I did not like the F seating, and although the doors of the suites could be left open, it did appear that there was not much space. EK obviously on the A380 have the advantage of showers, which i imagine are well used on a longhaul flight, and the gimmicky use of the bar would appeal to a lot of people, but i still think i will stick with the QF A380 F.
Agree that even though the flight was not that long, EK should have certainly had a different menu for F pax, that is the whole idea of going F to be completely different to any other cabin with regards to the intake of food. Apart from that and you had a very attentive crew member which of course helps things along, glad you enjoyed the privelege of showering 41,000 ft that i think is a very novel thing to do.

kered

Oh, I don't know if I'd have the courage to try the showers onboard

It took me quite a while to get used to using the showers in the arrivals/revivals lounges at LHR ! It just felt wrong taking my clothes off in an airport & took me a few times to get comfortable with the concept. So I think doing so onboard an aircraft would be a step to far for me

Kudos to you Matt, for doing so though ^

All I can say is.......

angeloedades

Hi Matthandy

as promised you delivered a great Trip Report! After my EK J class flight next week I will definitely be back for a return on EK F class!

How was the speed of the service regarding the meal? Did you have ample time to sip champagne on the J bar?

/AE

lsed

Love the view when flying out of AKL, especially on the left side.

Now a question I have... how does one reset the timer for hot water? haha
I mean, if theres an empty F cabin, and there is spare water, isn't it waste to transport it for no reason?

amolkold

Then what happens to the used water? Do they just spray it out of the airplane?

AndyFlyer

Thanks for a super trip report with excellent photos.

I, too, have just done a quick A380 EK flight (BKK-HKG return) and agree entirely with your comments. The crew certainly don't offer much - you had to ask for everything other than a welcome drink upon boarding. They did come up with a bottle of DP 2002 and pour it, which was a nice touch. The call button was not answered, and upon going to the galley to ask for a coffee, I realised why - the crew (on a 2 hr 07 min flight) were busy eating! Seems a bit strange they were compelled to gulp a meal down on such a short sector, when they then spend four hours in HKG Airport doing nothing much.

The food was dire from start to finish - not good quality, and poorly presented. The tray concept is certainly not First Class at all. With five guests on my first segment, and four on the return, one would have thought the crew would have done a more high-brow service. I actually removed my cutlery / bread plate, etc. from the tray and handed it back to the crew, just to make my point. The main course was served on a bread plate, and it looked worse than some of the "slop and drop" presentations in European business class on other carriers. The crew tried to rush the meal service through to completion in an hour. They literally cleared one plate the chucked the next one down. And two shiraz wines on the wine list - which is rather uninventive, in my opinion. Given the amazing choice of wines in the market, why have two very similar reds? Overall, it was very poor.

The worst part of my trip was boarding in BKK. I found a dirty glass in my mini-bar (still with lipstick on it and liquid in the glass), no headphones, no goody basket, and a cell-phone charging. I pointed this out to the crew, who said they had piled all their roll-aboards into the seat when they boarded as they didn't think anyone would be sitting there, and perhaps the cleaners hadn't touched the seat during the BKK stopover. I mentioned that I'd had the seat reserved for over a month, and they just shrugged their shoulders. Not the nicest welcome to a First Class cabin.

Overall, I found the service standards to be poor, the cabin tacky and gimmicky, the food poor and about the only fun/different part of the flight was the shower. Would I fly them again? Certainly not.

matthandy

Thanks Moomba! Yes, absolutely. The list goes something like this, although there isn't any particular order:

- CX F
- CX New J
- SQ J (big seats)
- SQ Suites
- VS J inc. LHR Clubhouse (sorry, but I just have to try it once!)
- QF F on the A380 (I've sat in the seat and had a play around but not 'flown' it)
- LH New F on both the A380 and the 747

And then some optional ones:

- EY New F and lounges (after your trip report)
- Oman J (again, you can take the blame for this)
- BA JFK CCR
- NZ New Premium Econ and New J
- KE J on the A380 (to use the bar)
- BA Club Europe (just to see what it's like)

So lots to do, and not enough money!


Padmeister, thanks for your continued support!


Thanks Drile, glad to hear that you enjoyed it.


Always good to have a list MrDplus! Hopefully you'll be able to tick a few things off soon. The problem with having a list though is that is can encourage you to spend some money!


That is good! Hopefully you'll be able to put together a TR rodjune. I've suggested putting a 'how-to' guide together, I just need to agree it with the mods.


Thanks BA5E. Dual dining is not possible, however, if in the middle seats you can certainly lower the partition and dine together, however, not on the same table.

The doors don't have to be closed at all, which is good. There is a good amount of space, especially around the feet, but not much width. It is not as spacious as the QF F seat on the A380, but more spacious than BA's seat.

Definitely. It suggests to me that EK don't treat these short sectors as 'proper' flights, but that's not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

Haha, even more so if you use the pressing service, since you can hear them open up the hatch whilst you are in the shower! Glad that I've done it though.

Thanks angeloedades. The service was pretty quick on the way out, but as mentioned, I didn't take advantage of the entire menu. On the way back I'd finished dinner by the time that some people were only just eating their main course in the J cabin.


Good question! It's probably hidden behind a panel somewhere. Not sure about the spare water. Perhaps they load less with such a short flight.


Another good question. If the A380 is anything like the 747 then it probably has a waste water vapouriser, maybe that's where it goes.


AndyFlyer it sounds like you had a rather poor flight. Did you write to customer services? I wouldn't give up on EK just yet as these short flights aren't a true measure of the full First Class experience. I'd certainly fly them again, but if all things were equal, they wouldn't be my first choice.

Beard Papa

If you ever get the chance, try NH F. Like you, I've flown all of the above, and NH F is as good as any, particularly their soft product, if that's your preference. Nice TR, BTW -- thanks for reminding me where I've been.

matthandy

Actually, I've flown none of the above!

The list is what is outstanding unfortunately.

I've never flown with a Japanese carrier and I've never been to Japan, but I hope to soon, one day.

Beard Papa

Well, at least you have good taste and a lot to look forward to. I hope you get the chance to try them all. If you do, however, try NH last. Trust me, it'll spoil you.

kered

No need to say sorry about that. Never mind the naysayers on a certain forum we both frequent & their opinions of VS. I love flying with VS, I consider the LHR Clubhouse to be second none when it comes to airport lounges & I include the “revered” Concorde room in that ^

Yes it’s a different experience, both on the ground & in the air, to BA’s CW or F, but one I think you might just very well enjoy, more than you might be led to believe.

A more difficult one for you to try, but one would I think might just surprise the heck out of you, would be a TA trip with Aer Lingus up front in J. To my mind at least, they could show many other airlines a thing or two about how service on board should be done, BA (CW& F) & VS (UC) included

But I dare not say that too loudly in “certain sections” of FT, lest I be torn to strips

econometrics

Awesome TR! Great pictures detailing the whole experience and product! Thanks for sharing! ^

snowymt

great report! Can't wait to hear more about AKL--considering a trip soon!