thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Posted (7 months 1 week 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 17521 times:
Reason for trip:
This time I am off to the London Olympics as part of a business related incentive and reward trip. However, part of the arrangement means that although I am booked in F, I have to fly British Airways as this was the chosen airline from BMW Group. I was a little bit skeptical as I would of course rather prefer in my confines of TG, EK, or even MH for this trip as MH has just started using the A380 on their LHR route.
Date: 26 July 2012
Route: Jakarta (CGK) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Flight: Garuda GA876
ETD: 2350
ETA: 0532+1
Seat: 2A (Executive Class)
Aircraft: B737-800
Flight time: 4hrs 34mins
Registration: PK-GMP
1st Flight: 21 July 2010
Getting sleeply by the time I had to leave for the airport. Roads were empty and it took me np more than 25mins to reach the airport. Once I arrived, check in and formalities were quick. In less than 5mins I was already from curbside to airside. Time before boarding was just spent in one of the common use airline business class lounge as GA's international lounge does not have a smoking room. Once boarding was completed I noticed that it was an empty flight indeed with 3 pax in J and about 40 in Y.
Cabin Views
Once after take off I just watched a sitcom on my iPad before going off to bed and waking up 1 he before landing.
Breakfast is served
Arrives to a virtually empty terminal and formalities were completed in an instant.
Date: 28 July 2012
Route: Hong Kong (HKG) - London (LHR)
Flight: British Airways BA26
ETD: 2315
ETA: 0445+1
Seat: 2A (First Class)
Aircraft: B747-400
Flight time: 12hrs 00mins
Registration: G-BYGA
1st Flight: 04 Dec 1998
After a day and a half in HK for work, its now time to head to London for the olympics. This is actually my first time flying BA again after the mid 90's when I used to fly them from Perth to Singapore. After checking out from the W Hong Kong, I took the airport express train to HKIA where check in and all other formalities took no more than 20mins to complete.
Once airside I bought some cigarettes, went to the smoking room, and them just relaxed in the Qantas F lounge which BA uses.
G-BYGA
Korean Air A380 next to us
Boarding was on time and once aboard this refreshed new F product on BA is really good. First impressions are positive. When seated the seat is nice and cosy, however it does feel a little cramped when compared to CX's F suites.
Cabin views
Amenity Kit & Pajamas
Safety card & Seat instructions
Inflight Mags
Menu
Bye bye HKIA
Lavatory
IFE
Crew was polite too and went about their job enthusiastically and efficiently. After take off, supper was served.
After supper, I decided to wash up and go to bed, not too bad considering that I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep. Woke up about 1.5hrs before landing. After freshening up, I had a nice English breakfast.
Getting there
Morning light peering through the windows
Soon enough we were on final descent to London. Overall a pretty satisfying flight with BA in F.
Date: 01 August 2012
Route: London (LHR) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Flight: British Airways BA21
ETD: 1225
ETA: 0718+1
Seat: 2A (First Class)
Aircraft: B777-200ER
Flight time: 11hrs 15mins
Registration: G-YMMH
1st Flight: 27 Sep 2000
After a fun couple of days attending the London Olympics, its now time to head home. Arrived at LHR T5 with about 3 hours to spare.
Overall views of T5
BA First Check In
After check in I decided to head out again for some last cigarettes before boarding
Once security and VAT refunds were sorted out, I explored the duty free area for a while before heading to the Concorde room.
The Concorde lounge is very big indeed but it was nicely spaced out so although it was pretty busy, it still gives one a nice sense of privacy. I sat in the dining room to have my meal. It took pretty long for the food to come out.
Bathroom in the Concorde room
Dining room & Lounge views
Luckily time was on my side for once. By the time I made my way to the satellite C terminal, boarding begun as soon as I got to the gate and once onboard, an enthusiastic crew greeted me.
G-YMMH
Many Spirits of Australia
Was also pleasantly surprised to find out that I was the only pax in F. There’s actually a little more space on board the F cabin suite on the B777-200ER than the B744, mainly in the area where the footrest is.
A visit to the lavatory
Menu
Inflight Mag and Safety Card
More cabin views (Don’t you love it when you are the only one! You can take all the pictures you want without feeling that you are intruding into someone’s privacy)
Runway scenes, including MH’s new A380, although I am not too keen on the new C/S
And rotate!
After take off I had my meal and also managed to watch a movie on the IFE.
Mealtime
And since I am the only passenger, I decided to have a 2nd main course ☺
Love this PIP function on the AVOD
Flying over central Europe
Feeling a little tired by now, I decided its time to get my bed made and try to get some shut eye
When I woke up it was already time for breakfast.
Cabin in the morning light
Hello HKG
Overall my experience with BA First was a positive one and there was nothing to criticize them about. The have a good F product albeit just a tiny bit inferior to CX, SQ and EK offerings, it is still decent and good.
Date: 02 August 2012
Route: Hong Kong (HKG) - Jakarta (CGK)
Flight: Garuda GA863
ETD: 1655
ETA: 2035
Seat: 3A (Executive Class)
Aircraft: A330-200
Flight time:
Registration: PK-PGI
1st Flight: 12 Oct 2009
As I have flown this route so many times before I will just let the pictures do the talking. The only main note is this A332 was still equipped with the 1st generation Full Flat seats.
That’s it for now, thanks for reading guys. I am a few months behind my TR’s as I have been swamped with work, but will try to catch up asap.
817Dreamliiner From Montserrat, joined Jul 2008, 1404 posts, RR: 1 Reply 1, posted (7 months 1 week 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 16906 times:
Great trip report!
I had the oppurtunity to fly a 4 class BA 777 on my recent trip back to the UK and got upgraded to CW. I always wondered what the F product was like and im glad to see someone write about it here. It looks pretty good in my opinion but I guess you have to experience it to know how good it really is.
Great that you got the whole cabin to yourself on the return and your pics are great! Thanks for sharing!
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abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4917 posts, RR: 55 Reply 2, posted (7 months 1 week 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 16775 times:
As is customary, another excellent First Class report from you. In many ways . BA FCL looks really good and I am amazed by the amount of food. Cabin looks private as well. One question (have not done BA F since refurb), are the TV screens really that small for FCL or is it my angle of looking at the pictures?
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Saludos,
A.
PS: I just realized that the GA seats are the same that SA has used for a while.
steve6666 From United Kingdom, joined Sep 2003, 356 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (7 months 1 week 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 16325 times:
Quoting abrelosojos (Reply 2): One question (have not done BA F since refurb), are the TV screens really that small for FCL or is it my angle of looking at the pictures?
They are noticeably larger than the old F class TV screens, but not absolutely huge.
(I have to admit I care less about the size of the screen, than the fact that I so often find absolutely nothing I want to watch/listen to......)
eu nasci ha dez mil anos atras, e nao tem nada nesse mundo que eu nao saiba demais
ClassicLover From Ireland, joined Mar 2004, 4522 posts, RR: 25 Reply 4, posted (7 months 1 week 4 days ago) and read 16034 times:
Haha - thanks for the report! I found the description of the new First as "a little cramped" compared to CX very amusing I'd hazard a guess most of us who don't get to fly First would probably find it very spacious
Otherwise, your "Many Spirits of Australia" picture is actually "A gaggle of Virgins"
Thanks again for the report
I do quite enjoy a spot of flying - more so when it's not in Economy!
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 5, posted (7 months 1 week 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 14630 times:
Very nice report...nice to see what you think of BA after all your flying on TG and CX! Nice that you got to see soe of the Olympics...pretty good wasn't it?
Quoting thaia345 (Thread starter): I am booked in F, I have to fly British Airways as this was the chosen airline from BMW Group. I was a little bit skeptical
I'm sure most people wouldn't mind this hardhsip!
Quoting thaia345 (Thread starter):
Was also pleasantly surprised to find out that I was the only pax in F.
Lucky you! Although it's hardly surprising as this is the new lunchtime ex-LHR...not popular for the business traveller with arrival early morning in HKG.
ardian From Netherlands, joined Oct 2000, 516 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (7 months 1 week 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 13561 times:
Thank you for your tripreport. BA F-class looks amazing: a very stylish product. I absolutely love the cabin design, they did a great job with the attention to all the details. Different wall panels, ceiling, window shutters, light, seats, carpet. The seats may be smaller compared to the other F-class offerings from airlines like EK, SQ, JL, TG, MH etc., but they definitely went beyond in cabin design. Truly emphasises on luxury.
thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Reply 7, posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 12277 times:
Quoting 817Dreamliiner (Reply 1): I always wondered what the F product was like and im glad to see someone write about it here. It looks pretty good in my opinion but I guess you have to experience it to know how good it really is.
Great that you got the whole cabin to yourself on the return and your pics are great! Thanks for sharing!
As I didn't have any high hopes, I was actually pretty happy with the F product, service wise was really good too.
Quoting abrelosojos (Reply 2): One question (have not done BA F since refurb), are the TV screens really that small for FCL or is it my angle of looking at the pictures?
Hi A, it isn't that big. If you are comparing to F offers in CX and SQ, its definitely a lot smaller
Quoting ClassicLover (Reply 4): I found the description of the new First as "a little cramped" compared to CX very amusing I'd hazard a guess most of us who don't get to fly First would probably find it very spacious
Quoting ClassicLover (Reply 4): Otherwise, your "Many Spirits of Australia" picture is actually "A gaggle of Virgins"
Hahahahha, yup, CX really has the best feeling of space in the confines of their F seat. And hey, "many Spirits of AUstralia" well I kinda miss home as I am based in Jakarta for work, but funny thing, when I am in Oz, I actually prefer Virgin to QF ahahhahaha
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 5): Nice that you got to see soe of the Olympics...pretty good wasn't it?
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 5): Although it's hardly surprising as this is the new lunchtime ex-LHR...not popular for the business traveller with arrival early morning in HKG.[/quote
Hi Gab !..... the olympics was really nice, although the work in the olympic area itself was really tough! In Regard to the BA flight out of LHR, it was pretty new indeed as the check in agent wasn't even aware theres a lunchtime flight
[quote=ardian,reply=6]they did a great job with the attention to all the details. Different wall panels, ceiling, window shutters, light, seats, carpe
BA did do a nice job to make the cabin feel really different, and for this, i do give them the 2 thumbs up.
readytotaxi From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2006, 2596 posts, RR: 3 Reply 8, posted (7 months 1 week 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 11856 times:
Hey Thaia345, Happy A.Net sixth birthday today
That was a great report, how on earth did you manage to walk off the planes after eating some much food?
Those First Class meals looked really good, and was that a set of Bose headphones in the pics, a real must have.
From your vast experience, who has the best in flight entertainment system?
Thanks for that.
you don't get a second chance to make a first impression!
Knightsofmalta From Malta, joined Nov 2005, 1415 posts, RR: 17 Reply 10, posted (7 months 5 days 11 hours ago) and read 10358 times:
Hi Thaia345
Thanks for the interesting report. The new BA First Class cabin looks really very classy and from the looks of it offers a high level of privacy. The meal doesn't look so outstanding though and the meals you were given on Garuda in Business Class look far appealing, at least in the pictures.
That was a great report, how on earth did you manage to walk off the planes after eating some much food?
Actually the trick is to try a little of everything and not to over eat
Quoting readytotaxi (Reply 8): and was that a set of Bose headphones in the pics, a real must have.
From your vast experience, who has the best in flight entertainment system?
For me, many airlines have really good IFE's, however, I will base it on the overall ease to use, stability of the system and also choice of programs, and my vote is CX
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 9): BA's new F looks like one of the better ones out there.
There are indeed better that what I originally expected.
Quoting Knightsofmalta (Reply 10): The meal doesn't look so outstanding though and the meals you were given on Garuda in Business Class look far appealing, at least in the pictures.
For F meals, frankly, I have had better, and inflight catering on GA is really touch and go, sometimes you get good ones, sometimes you don't, however, on GA, usually the more un-appetising the food looks, the better it is! But for me the top 2 for inflight catering is SQ and TG
Will try to post my trip to Melbourne from Jakarta in the next couple of days, really got to play catch up with my TR now as I have just been swamped with work.
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From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, 
From Montserrat, joined Jul 2008, 1404 posts, 
From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4917 posts, 
. BA FCL looks really good and I am amazed by the amount of food. Cabin looks private as well. One question (have not done BA F since refurb), are the TV screens really that small for FCL or is it my angle of looking at the pictures?
From United Kingdom, joined Sep 2003, 356 posts, 
From Ireland, joined Mar 2004, 4522 posts, 
I'd hazard a guess most of us who don't get to fly First would probably find it very spacious 
From Netherlands, joined Oct 2000, 516 posts, 
From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, 
From Malta, joined Nov 2005, 1415 posts, 
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