BA is affordable in Business Class to Bangkok. Being in Marseille, it's easy and I don't have to fly to another country to fly…
Here are the reasons why I picked BA:
• 1700€ ticket, while it's not cheap I can fly from Marseille.
• Much more miles than flying QR, the other side of the coin, I have less TP. However I managed to book it via KL and Singapore, 80 TP more and to fly MH and CX.
• When you fly as much as I did in 2017 with QR, you are getting used to a certain level of comfort and service.
• While some airlines are experiencing cost-cutting, it would give me an opportunity to see if I can fit with BA or it's time to remove my business from them (only in Business or First, I will keep flying the minimum 4 legs to renew my Emerald card but I won't pay more to fly BA which is often the case).
Godsavethepoint started a "catch me if you can" challenge, it was inspiring. Thanks by the way.
In my modest contribution, I offered some members to exchange my seats and giving them a First Class lounge access where is was available or my seat in business. (some took advantage).
For the full review, you can check the report:
http://www.youtripreport.com/report/fli ... sh-airways
The first leg, Patricia, A french teacher (the husband is an aviation geek) sent me a mail to check if we were flying on the same flight, which we were.
As a result, I won't be reporting the flight, Patricia took care of it, for those interested the report is in French and can be found on youtripreport.
From someone who doesn't fly a lot, I was struck by her report and how accurate it was in regards to BA. The catering is nowhere good at it used to be (more on that later…)
Upon arrival, she made her way to the immigration while I took the bus to T5….
I used the Fast Track which is hard to really find it fast. Crowded and despite that, you can still see some security lines closed. It does not matter to me since I have a veryyyyy loooooong connection. Still, it does not feel premium.
After 30 minutes I was finally done and made my way to the GF Lounge.
Again I won't be commenting a lot since I reviewed the lounge countless times. The buffet is more or less the same. As a veggies addict, I took a large amount of "green" Without any dressing nor salt&pepper, it was bland. I fixed that on my own.
Very good:
I wanted to order the Burger but I wanted to remain “light”..
BA really ? It's been here for such a long time and yet nothing is done to fix it.
After that I made my way to the "business center" to print few things and work on some reports.
Then came a guy…. And well it's the kind of guy taking things for granted and did not care about others. He picked up a phone and the conversation was so loud that I could hear everything even with my headset… I always try to remain discrete when getting calls and I put my phone in silent because I don't want to disturb passengers. After the conversation he played with his phone and got so many text (apple sound can be annoying) to the point I told the F-Guy to put his phone into silent so I won't have to stand all the noises.
Anyway, I decided to leave quickly after to do some duty free for my wife.
At 7pm the gate showed up and I was off to the B gates where I could enjoy the view.
My bird for the next 13h.
At 7;30 pm I was the First to board. Warmly welcomed by the Purser I was on the way to my seat. With no one is sight I could take some pics.
The flight is full in F and J.
The 6k is the best seat in the house to enjoy the wing.
The seat is narrow. BA managed to scram 8 seats per row in Business, no wonder why you have that impression. It's really time for BA to change the cabin. While BA used to be the industry leader more than 15 years ago, it's no longer the case.
After a smooth climb, menus were handed. Should I go for the beef ? Let's try.
But before I report on the meal. I need to report on the crew. I have seen 3 categories on my flight:
• The purser, Fantastic guy. The kind of man you expect to find.
• The willing to please FA but a bit awkward. It happens to all. Still she was fun.
• The Ice/cold FA, robotic, unpleasant, unhappy and never give you a smile. She did the bare minimum. It might be the first time I see that kind of attitude on a long haul BA flight. She needs to learn with QR/SQ/CX. She served me without a talk or smile.
Back of on menu tonight:
I ordered a sparkling water, it's served with cold nuts. It should not be hard to deliver the nuts a la QR…
Then came the "tray" with already the cheese and dessert. It was by far the worst meal I've eaten with BA for years. Bad luck ?
The salmon: no taste. The bread underneath was soggy. Salt and paper should be in the right container, even some airlines in coach do that…
I had few bites and left the meal. Only thing edible was the bead….
Then came my beef:
I know it's always well done with BA but even with that in mind, it was so hard to cut it…. The ratte potatoes served mashed was not good either. The other veggies were waaaaaaaaaaaaay overcooked.
Cheese and dessert terrible.
I watched F8. I made my bed and I was ready for a smooth flight and I could enjoy its length. 7h straight. Fast and Furious could have been the tittle of my meal...
The bed, not the best one if you’re like me sleeping in Z.
For breakfast I didn't enjoy the meal as well. Fine I'm heading to MH FC lounge…
I let you enjoy the view….
Bottom line :
Before I get hammered by BA lovers which I respect, the flight back from SIN was much more pleasant (food and crew) !
On the one hand, I did not have high expectations given that it’s BA, on the other hand, the direct service to KL helped me to sleep 8 hours straight. Something that can’t be done with QR. It’s the main advantage. The one and only….
For a 13 hours flight, you have the right to expect a real meal service and not meals served by a tray where you put everything.
It would be ok for a short flight like JFk-LHR or a flight leaving at 1am. But it was not the case.
If you eager to get a real service, go with Qatar Airways.
Coming up next QF review in Singapore + BA To LHR in Club.
To be honest, I'd be terrified of an awkward encounter on the flight later on!