Cheapest 1st Class travel

[johnwilliams77]

schmalex said:

For proper First class, you really need to fly on the Middle Eastern airlines. BA First is a very good business class product but it’s a far cry from the OTT First offered by the Middle Easterns.

A cracking alternative is Qatar Q Suites. They are absolutely superb and you can turn the centre seats into a double bed. You still get all the accoutrements such as dine on demand / great AVOD / PJ’s etc, but the price is closer to business class. Although, Emirates will collect you in an S Class if you book F with them (E class for J)

I much prefer the Q suites to First in Emirates B777, although I do always enjoy talking the shower on the Emirates A380

whats J? Business class?

[Baldchap]

I agree with the above. We did first back from Tokyo with BA last year. Unlike Emirates and the like, it was essentially Business+, rather than a noticeably better cabin.

Service was very good, the staff to customer ratio was very high and I guess the menu was subtly better (can't remember), you also got to choose when you ate and could sit together in your 'pods' with a pop out second seat and table.

From a value perspective, Business is definitely the sweet spot for me. I think the airlines have put so much effort into making their BC cabins competitive, that they've almost killed off the reason for FC to exist. The moment you have a flat bed, the rest is largely academic to me.

[Dr Jekyll]

johnwilliams77 said:

schmalex said:

For proper First class, you really need to fly on the Middle Eastern airlines. BA First is a very good business class product but it’s a far cry from the OTT First offered by the Middle Easterns.

A cracking alternative is Qatar Q Suites. They are absolutely superb and you can turn the centre seats into a double bed. You still get all the accoutrements such as dine on demand / great AVOD / PJ’s etc, but the price is closer to business class. Although, Emirates will collect you in an S Class if you book F with them (E class for J)

I much prefer the Q suites to First in Emirates B777, although I do always enjoy talking the shower on the Emirates A380

whats J? Business class?

Technically business class on a flexible ticket, discount fares are usually I. But most people use J to mean business class.
Similarly, at least with BA, F is flexible first and A is discount first, but even BA themselves often refer to any first class travel as F.

[NorthDave]

I've never flown first but I have flown business with emirates on the a380 and that feels special - lie down beds, champagne etc. You can get some decent deals for it too. I am guessing that business on the a380 with emirates would be a better experience than first on a knackered old BA flight to the states but I might be wrong....

[raceboy]

Baldchap said:

From a value perspective, Business is definitely the sweet spot for me. I think the airlines have put so much effort into making their BC cabins competitive, that they've almost killed off the reason for FC to exist. The moment you have a flat bed, the rest is largely academic to me.

Just from reading the BA website this is the conclusion I came to, the only real difference I could work out was a slightly better meal and a dedicated lounge in the airport, the 'pods' look a little different but not enough to warrant the extra cost.
Going to have to look at other airlines but it's most likely going to be a trans Atlantic flight.

[DanL]

raceboy said:

Just from reading the BA website this is the conclusion I came to, the only real difference I could work out was a slightly better meal and a dedicated lounge in the airport, the 'pods' look a little different but not enough to warrant the extra cost.
Going to have to look at other airlines but it's most likely going to be a trans Atlantic flight.

The Concorde room at Heathrow T5 rather nice, and if you arrive early for a meal and a few drinks it’s a good place to be - feels quite exclusive. On board, First with BA is very much like a good business class experience - quite a lot like Emirates A380 business class in terms of space and the seat, service is better on BA (as it should be given the lower number of passengers). It’s nowhere near First on Emirates, but if you’re heading west then you’re unlikely to be on Emirates anyway!

[schmalex]

I would pay for Business with my own money as the difference from Economy to Business is almost justifiable (say a trip to Asia at c.£800 in Economy v £2,400ish in Business). The difference from Business to First for the same route would be about £2,400 v £5,500ish.

There is not £3k of value difference between the two to my mind. Hence why Qatar have, in my opinion, a cracking proposition with the Q Suite

[DanL]

schmalex said:

I would pay for Business with my own money as the difference from Economy to Business is almost justifiable (say a trip to Asia at c.£800 in Economy v £2,400ish in Business). The difference from Business to First for the same route would be about £2,400 v £5,500ish.

There is not £3k of value difference between the two to my mind. Hence why Qatar have, in my opinion, a cracking proposition with the Q Suite

Can’t argue there. I would pay an extra £200 for BA first class in a sale though, as it is a nicer experience than business (particularly if you’re going to west coast US with a long flight time).

[arfur]

raceboy said:

cheddar said:

Personally I'd go LHR to Las Vegas and find a tremendous strip view room to add to your experience.
4 (weekday) nights in Vegas, swanky hire car, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Ballachal buffet, a show and all for less than a well planned £1000.

I wasn't overly keen on Vegas but I'm slowly coming round to the idea, and with a bit of luxury it might be worth a look.

I do LV from time to time from LHR, usually in econ though

If you are thinking about a place to stay, I always use MGM Signature ... You can get a balcony strip view (ask for up high - 38 floors in tower 2 and you need to be 34 or higher) which is a damn fine room (and you can keep costs down as there is a kitchen in all rooms). Was in 36617 over NY and I reckon the balcony had the best view of the fireworks in Vegas

[GCH]

raceboy said:

Just from reading the BA website this is the conclusion I came to, the only real difference I could work out was a slightly better meal and a dedicated lounge in the airport, the 'pods' look a little different but not enough to warrant the extra cost.
Going to have to look at other airlines but it's most likely going to be a trans Atlantic flight.

I'm no BA loyalist anymore (unlike years of old) and truth be told generally the only times I fly BA now is when I am in F as I am of the opinion that the other cabins and the airline generally is on a race to the bottom, but F is something they still do ok.
The hard product isn't a huge step up from club - although it is significantly more private than even the best upper deck J seats - but the service is where the difference is.

CCR & CCR dining (proper food with table service), escorted to your seat, eat when you like on board (with your pre-ordered main if you like), dine with someone in the buddy seat, the slippers and PJs (I still use mine as yoga pants), proper afternoon tea, using the toilet with the window behind door 1L, other pax held back until the F cabin has left....and the seat is still very comfortable, despite more recent innovations by other carriers.
It isn't perfect, but it is still good.
Not gaudy or flashy, still very British

Sitting in 1K/2K on a 744 coming into land where you can see the runway ahead of you - sitting ahead of the pilots - is a nice place to be.

[Nobby Diesel]

I booked BA in the sale just before Christmas.
LHR-SFO in Business was about £1200.
Return leg was £785 in 1st. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Anyway, booked it, paid and got the booking reference number; all done.
This is in summer holiday 2020 period.

[Mr Tidy]

Use the loophole and do Eurotunnel 1st class then.

There isn't a big cost premium for 1st class, but the few times I used it I thought it was great!

[DanL]

Nobby Diesel said:

I booked BA in the sale just before Christmas.
LHR-SFO in Business was about £1200.
Return leg was £785 in 1st. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Anyway, booked it, paid and got the booking reference number; all done.
This is in summer holiday 2020 period.

I did the same trip, but first both ways, in April 2018 thanks to the sale. It’s a good trip, and long enough for first class to make sense. You’ll have a great time.

[GCH]

BA sale launched this morning. Lots of places under 2k rtn in F
J is around 1100/1200.

[schmalex]

£1,100 / £1,200 for business return is something to be snapped up

I think, last year, I did something like 40 odd long haul / ultra long haul returns and never got the ticket price below £2k

Edited by schmalex on Sunday 1st March 08:50

[Barlows]

It's business class but La Compagnie Paris to New York is usually £1k return

[RC1807]

Barlows said:

It's business class but La Compagnie Paris to New York is usually £1k return

Yes, but anything travelling via Paris means you've the likelihood your bags won't join you for a day or so, and it doesn't matter which flight class you're in