Best Business Class?

[rsellens]

Now we all know, I guess we'll just hafta pack our own jamies... the one's with the big roo on the front would work

Flew QF J to BNE-SIN-FRA 2 years ago. Pyjamas on both legs. Very thin material and the 747 SIN-FRA was freezing. Good thing I had a track suit.
I, like a lot of people tend to stick to QF first and then BA for the points bonuses. I prefer BA J . I have always found the cabin crew much better and their seats are fully lie flat.
When flying SYD-AKL I recommend QF codeshare on LAN. The A340 is much better than those coughpy 737s and the old 767.
I didn't like the old herring bone pattern of CX and found the seats uncomfortable.

Am off in 2 weeks on DONE mostly with QF and BA. Several local CX flights in SEA. Am looking forward to QF A380s on SYD-SIN and LAX -SYD legs. Unfortunately have been unable to get A380 SIN-LHR on required date.

 

[davidjm2389]

I flew Qatar Airways business last month to Spain return and I now realize why they won airline of the year and have been so highly rated.
Long haul to Doha on 777 had wide, comfortable flat beds, great IFE, attentive cabin crew. Even took off on time.

Had 45 minutes to transfer in Doha to 777 - 200 onward to Madrid - did it in a canter. Would not even contemplate it with Qantas. Shorter haul to Madrid had same business configuration aslong haul - very consisently excellent service - slept like a baby.

Also have some great pajamas that I still wear - when I can find them after my 17 yo daughter found out about them.

On return had 4 hours in the Doha Business lounge - amazing place , pity about the no alcohol.

Have flown mainly Qantas and Cathay business before - Cathay very good, better than Qantas - liked the herringbone design and better service - but my vote definitely goes to Qatar.

 

[themaiz]

Did LAX/SYD on DL J about three weeks ago. Herringbone seats, a bit narrow. No PJs, but very practical amenity kit.

I thought I'd been very clever by picking the front window seat, but no... the window was partially blocked. The CA suggested that I should have taken the back seat in the front cabin, and I can see why... it's quieter, and because there's no seat behind you get extra storage room without having to get out of the seat. That's useful, because the seat I was in didn't have enough room for me to juggle the laptop, some food, a drink and anything else at the same time (QF J seats are much better in that respect, for example). It's a pity, because the DL table is the best I've experienced for getting out of the way; it pushes forward and rotates, and you don't have to take everything off to get clear.

Sleeping: the seat lies flat, but felt like I was tipped backwards. Wasn't so comfy. Also the DL blankets are synthetic, and red... and shed. Arrgh. Food: pretty good. Nice sticky with dessert.

BTW, the herringbone pattern has an unexpected drawback: your head is right adjacent to the pullout table of the seat behind. So whenever that pax decides to open the table, it's clunk-bang time right in your ear.

Crew: when I asked for a late snack just before scheduled brekkie, I was admonished for not having accepted the mid-flight tray earlier. Well, hey - I was asleep. But she brought the food anyway. And the crew were generally pleasant.

Summary: not a bad experience, but not wonderful; I'd pick DL ahead of UA, but not in preference to other trans-pacific carriers (if I have a choice).

 

[LAH]

Singapore airlines as a single traveller on A380 - very comfortable. Good Jammies - I loved book the cook!

 

[themaiz]

Flew QF J to BNE-SIN-FRA 2 years ago. Pyjamas on both legs.

And on the arms....?

 

[cbourl]

Well form ME its LX>UA>LH >>>>>>> SQ A380 J where u have to lie on an angle to fit into the seat if ur tall like I am -and lets face it SQ dont really do much of the customer service thing
Frankly UA F is quite good i do i quite often and when i compare it to LX F in 1A on the A330 there is not much room to stow ur laptop etc etc whilst ur eating on the fold out table - at least in UA F there is plently of room - mind u the nice van Laack PJS make up for this - otherwise IMHO they are pretty much on par
I did like the LH biz trial which i was in loast year - wish theyd put these on the A380 (think same as CX product - its been a while since i signed the waiver) - anywya i f u get the exit row on LH A380 C seats are quite comfortable and even good to slelep in - recently did SFO-FRA in LH C exit row - so stop bagging LH - its as much an on ground experience as it is an on board thing - SQ fail drastically here About time they were booted out of the star alliance me thinks ;-))) - coz their economy product beats their C product hands down if the flight ur on is not too full!!

 

[Amberlower]

Nothing beats Singapore A380 Business class I think, but LAN (Chile) is a favourite. Fully flat beds (unlike Qantas anywhere) and staggered rows of seats, giving a spacious feel.

 

[epsc]

Flew CX Syd-LHR a month ago, for a change (read the recent reviews) and the $$! Having been given jimjams on every Qf trip for the past 3 or so years I was shocked when there weren't any! BUT ... Told the crew, they were fantastic, and at HK there wasa set of Shanghai Tang first class pjs waiting for me. Great service, CX - and gratuitous seats, great food. Qflounge in Syd still hard to beat Shen it comes to lounges.

 

[epsc]

'Gratuitous seats' - my dream - free travel!! I meant, of course, great seats ...

 

[rhjames]

Pyjamas on both legs.

Excellent, and I expect on both arms as well?

 

[Memsahib]

We travelled to Singapore from Perth (and back) on Qantas FF and picked up very reasonably priced Qatar BC tickets from there. It was really excellent - very comfortable, flight, service and beds and the Doha BC lounge was incredible even though it was a hangar made up until new airport is finished. They flew us into Paris and out of Munich with very good connections to Singapore. PJs were a bit baggy but certainly better than nothing. Good amenity packs as well. Malaysian BC was also very good in an out of KL to Jo'burg (out of Captown return saved getting back to Jo'burg) but not so good the KL-Perth return legs - but two BC tickets for cost of one deal meant it was only a little more than economy Qantas/SAA Perth- Jo'burg direct!

 

[JetLagged]

Which airlines are doing this?

QAN supplies PJs to J passengers on overnight flights - none SYD-SIn, for instance, but then SIN-LHR they do. Have also had them on SYD-LAN.

 

[JetLagged]

QF is hopeless unless you are on the flying brick, as with most of the fleet they still figure the key to a good nights sleep is to spend the night sliding down the seat to the footwell.

Don't forget, please, that the MK1 Skybeds are to be gradually replaces with the MK11 fully lie flat, ala the A380. Having tried to sleep on the MK1 and most opften failed (while partner sleeps the night through), I can easily sleep on the MK2 and enjoy the experience.

 

[sunbeamrapier]

I abandoned Qantas some years back - fed up with the 11 degree slope on their business class seats and the impossibility of obtaining business class seats on points on the Kangaroo route. The astronomical number of points required for "any seat" and the change to credit card point transfers which forced you to transfer to Qantas or drop out of the program convinced me, and I cancelled all my QF-linked credit cards and switched to Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic.

V-Australia has a great business class product (except the AV selection is mostly American cough) and you can acquire and use Velocity points - useful for travel via the USA.

But if you are flying Sydney-London, Virgin Atlantic offer a superb service. The Lounge in HK is fabulous, and you can eat a meal during the stopover. They dim the lights soon after boarding so you can sleep most of the flight. The Herringbone flat seats are comfy and the food and wine is excellent. The staff are friendly and informal, a bit like QF used to be before QF management began their unrelenting war with their employees... Choose the "do not wake me" for breakfast option to get an extra hour or so of sleep, and then check in to the arrivals lounge at Heathrow, book a massages, have a shower and enjoy a cooked breakfast while London wakes up.

On the way back, check in early and enjoy a 3 course meal in the amazing Virgin Atlantic lounge at Heathrow... No arrivals lounge in Sydney, but hey, you're on your way home...

Getting seats using points on Virgin Atlantic is easier than Qantas, but flying London-Sydney in August-September is difficult. I flew back via the USA instead, using Virgin America across the USA, and V -Australia from LA to Sydney, all booked through V-Australia so my bags were booked through all the way to the Gold Coast (useful if you have lots of luggage because you avoid extra charges on the domestic sector).

 

[QFMEL]

SQ 77W/A380/A345 in that order, QF A380, EK 77W (but only if you're in the forward cabin) and 77L, with the EK A380 rounding it out.

Service more of a variable on EK than the others. Needless to say, QF rolling out the A380 product to other airframes makes them a more attractive option than might otherwise be the case.

 

[turneeri]

What is the best business class airline in terms of quality & price

I know that discussion around business class airfares has probably been done to death but I'm truly interested in what experienced business class flyers look for when comparing like for like. I've flown international business with Malaysia Airlines to LHR and thoroughly enjoyed the experience mainly because it was my first business class flight experience! But what is it that YOU look for - is it price over quality, quality over price, FF programs etc. Which airline would you rate over another & why? I'm looking to book business class to CDG next August/September and have been looking at Malaysia Airlines again mainly because I enjoyed my last experience - but should I be looking at alternatives? Note that price for me will be a main consideration but at just over 6ft comfort comes in a close second priority!

 

[ludoh]

re: What is the best business class airline in terms of quality & price

Have only flown J on a few carriers (Qantas, RJ, Etihad, Lufthansa, Iberia, AA (dom USA), Cathay) and found that Etihad has a good price point and lots of handy connections into Europe from Oz. Less than 8k Aud incl taxes for return J to LHR from Syd for example. Service, food and planes were very good imo as well. (plus free limo transfers which saves me 300 aud in taxi fares alone in Sydney).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

re: What is the best business class airline in terms of quality & price

best business class depends on what you want in terms of sleeping. Can you sleep on an angled bed (a la Malaysia Airlines?). If you can then why not consider Air Asia X and their premium cabin. Same angled lie flats as the major carriers but for a fraction of the cost.

Can't sleep on an angle? Then it's full lie flat bedders only. Here I would choose Garuda Indonesia... horizontal beds, good service and fares as low as AUD3500 including tax to AMS (check bestflights for specials). (and a nice stopover in indonesia... although the full lie flats only operate to jakarta, via DPS its angled lie flats connecting to full lie flats).

have 6-7K to spend? Then SQ or CX (edge to whomever you have status with).

Don't have that much and still don't want Garuda? Then consider a mixed fare, economy to Asia and then Finnair with full flat beds, or with Swiss (again full flat beds). For around $5k.

From 2012... Air China will also be offering full flat beds. Service can be excellent, or can be very average. But their fares might make up for it.

others you might not have thought about? Air mauritius. Angled lie flats and a great stopover!

 

[turneeri]

re: What is the best business class airline in terms of quality & price

thanks for your advice - I should have phrased the title of the thread as "What is the Best business....." - my apologies if I led people astray.

I'm going to keep looking at Bestflights etc over the next couple of weeks as well as make contact with our internal travel guy and see what offers they have access to. It looks as if the Companion class airfares are the better option but these seem to be as rare as hen's teeth. Are there any particular drawbacks with Companion airfares?

 

[markis10]

re: What is the best business class airline in terms of quality & price

MH are offering J to Europe for $5K return at present, to me that is good value, I would never fly Garuda personally having worked in the Aviation industry.