First Class Ground Services Matter

Lucky, I agree w/ you about AF's ground services. It was very good. Moreover, like you, we had a good crew on board who obviously were taught to interact w/ the passengers. However, the hard product was embarrassing. The planned refresh certainly will help. Nonetheless, I'd much prefer doors over curtains.

"There’s only so much airlines can do to differentiate themselves in the air, while having a seamless ground experience can make a huge difference, in my opinion."

Hit the nail on the head there. Honestly, there's at least a dozen carriers I'd be perfectly happy with on board in business class from Cathay to Singapore, ANA, Qatar, Emirates, Swiss, Brussels, etc. But part of traveling still sucks when you fly business class--the part on the ground. And to have it still suck when you're flying first class (BA comes to mind here BIGTIME because they A) provide no ground services whatsoever and B) LHR is the worst airport in the world) ... IMO you may as well not even be flying first class unless it's a truly fantastic product (a la SQ, CX).

The seamless ground experience of flying LH is worth a lot IMO. Last week, I barely saw other pax and had no delays whatsoever between deplaning from CDG-FRA and getting in my car at IAD (assist to Global Entry). When traveling doesn't suck, it allows you to enjoy the on board experience more.

I find it awfully convenient that in the trip report you linked to you have the Thai NEW 747 product, which is way better than the most recent one before that and the one use used "from 1994" in this post to make your point. You are comparing it to BA's newest first product on the A380. Maybe it would be fair to compare the two A380 products, or at least the one you flew in from FRA-BKK?

@ villox -- That part was a joke, hence the smilie.

But yeah, not a fan of Thai's new 747 first class either. It feels incredibly cheap and like it's made of plastic. Thai's A380 first class is in my opinion the second least impressive A380 first class hard product out there.

What you said about the importance of the "ground" experience struck a chord with me and actually applies to flying privately as well. One of the best parts of flying privately is skipping the air terminal entirely and then being driven directly both to and from the plane. The pain of having to deal with an ill-designed airport -- and I've experienced what I think of as CDG's Long March many times -- makes any palliative worth its weight in gold. Maybe someday I'll get to try even one of the services you've had multiple times . . . !

Saying you have a European bias is like saying Gary has a submissive Asian servant fantasy...

I thought a first world problem was me not having enough jelly for my morning toast. No, I think this is a NeNe Leakes-grade "I'm rich, b!tch" problem!! lol

You two are never going to agree. There's no one-size fits all when it comes to any product. It all depends on what someone values the most in their travel experience.

My partner and I are big fans of Thai Airways. They may not have the best hard product (though I think it's solid) but they have phenomenal ground service and awesome flight attendants.

We just spend that past two weeks in Asia for vacation. We are at the United Club lounge in LAX waiting for our flight home to New York after just experiencing Asiana's A380 first class suite from ICN-LAX.

All I can say is...WOW!!! The cabin was only half full so I was able to sleep in one of the suites not occupied. I usually have trouble sleeping in flights even if it the bed is fully flat, but I had no trouble sleeping on this flight. I think being able to close the door for privacy helped. In addition, both the food and the service from the flight attendants were just awesome. The only thing that would've made this experience a home run was the ground service. Asiana's first class check-in at ICN is nothing like the Thai Airways first class check-in at BKK as well as Asiana's first class lounge. It was just okay and, again, nothing like Thai's Royal Orchid First Class lounge and the Royal Orchid Spa.

Anyway, when will you fly Asiana's A380 first class suite? I can't wait for that trip report so I can compare your experience with ours.

On ground services it all depends on where you are coming from to the airport.....ie CDG......as I entered CDG on a recent trip from Normandy I drove into the airport rental car dropoff at CDG and literally walked less than 100 yards to check-in.........I can't imagine that AF or LH is going to send a car 200 miles to start my trip so from that perspective I note that CDG is a GREAT AIRPORT for rental car dropoffs............so the ground experience becomes neutralized by my mode of travel to the airport area........

Thank You! Your ranking makes a lot more sense to me than the others that have been discussed.

I agree that Lufthansa is better than Malaysia Airlines. But Malaysia Airlines First Class is still a lot better than other airlines (except Lufthansa) .

I agree with Lucky about the importance of ground service. I know Gary gets it - see his note on TG. My only data point is a recent trip where I flew F on LH, TG, and CX. Based on that experience, I would rank LH and TG slightly above CX. LH was terrific in both air and ground. TG air service wasn't as polished but I enjoyed the warmth, and their massage - oh the massage. Just Perfect. CX ground service sorely lacked behind the former 2. The Wing was completely, overstuffingly full with disgruntled passengers; I couldn't believe it was a F lounge. The only saving grace was the cabana, which is awesome, but the temperature had me freezing even with a blanket. I found their hard product in the air slightly better than the other 2, but the ground service really drags it down for me.

So Lucky, I assume you took ground service into consideration when you ranked CX and SQ far above LH and TG?

Ben, good retort! Much enjoying this back and forth, and I do see your points.

Let me see if I get this straight, though.

* You value ground service, so you rank Thai down near the bottom.

* Since ground service is really important, British Airways is really great.

And what was that thing about defending American Airlines first class again? 😉

When you write "It’s kind of funny that Gary says I overrate British Airways first class, because he said exactly the opposite in June, "

You had argued it was a business class product. I argued it was a first class product -- just not a very good one.

And that's exactly what I'm saying here. You were knocking BA before, you're giving them plaudits on this list. Not sure I follow...

The assignment 'as-given' was to rate specific products by each airline, the best product they fly or in some cases the carrier is listed twice for different products (SQ A380 and 77W, for instance). That old Thai 747 doesn't count anymore. 😉

I agree that ground service is part of making the whole experience seamless. Lufthansa does a good job on departure in Frankfurt. They do not do a very good job on arrival (unless you're arriving at an apron position).

I would still take Singapore first on their 77W over Lufthansa first, and I would still take Thai first over BA first.

I grant that Lufthansa is good, I just felt that the products I rank higher are better. My experiences simply haven't been as good as yours. I've flown them many times, I even had my worst service experience ever with them.

That your experiences and mine differ touches on another thing I mentioned in my post ... that maybe we both lack enough data points to settle our differences.

And that means we just have to fly first class more!

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/internet-fight

I'd take MH A380 first over the Concorde Room any day. MH has a lounge that's acceptable, and BA has...

God where's an eyeroll emoticon when you need one.

Talk about a First World problems discussion:-) Having said that there is nothing like the rush you get driving up past a bus full of waiting Y and C pax, while you breeze past and up into the plane after exiting the S Series Mercedes that has just literally driven you under the tails of several B747s and A380s on the way to your flight at FRA. Nothing.like.it! Of course then reality hits when you land at the outstation...

Haven't flown American F but even Delta BusinessElite soft product is better than Air China's Long Haul First Class soft product...it's very obvious Gary hasn't flown enough of the carriers he has rated to know what he is talking about.

I think this points out a couple of things...

Making rankings based on one or two experiences seems silly.

Given the variety of different F class products in the fleets of most airlines, which aircraft you get is of supreme importance. For example, TG A346 v A380 v the updated 747.

And of course it also matters what airport you are using when it comes to ground handling.

I think it is a question of taste. I flu two times only first class. One time with Thai, one time with BA (Hong Kong - LHR). My first flight was Thai with the new first class cabin, and backwards with the former first class cabin (Dec 2014/Jan 2015). The former first class cabin is a bad joke; that 2015 is it in the air. The new first class is for my taste very good. Two things are a big different to BA First. What is for you more important is up to you. In the Thai First class you get Caviar, but not in the BA First. The ground service of Thai in BKK is for me the main reason to fly Thai.
Arrival BKK: You get picked up in a "golf cart" and bring through the imigration (fast track). On the other side waiting the next employee from Thai to bring you to your luggage and take your luggage from the luggage belt. He brings your luggage to the exit of your choice.

Depature BKK: You have a separate entrance zone, I showed one my e-flight ticket give behind the door my passport and luggage a woman, which do the complete handling with all. The waiting zone (some old seats) was disapointing, but not the service. Few minutes later I got a privat hand luggage carrier who bring me to the first class lounge of Thai. Phantastic. Separate rooms with computer, wide flat TV and a good service. Further you get a free massage if you want.

That all you do not have with BA. What is a reason to fly BA is a (perhaps) higher seat quality as by Thai. The flat screen is smaller as by Thai, but acceptable. The concorde room in LHR is nice, but the service could be better. I had wait approx. 20 minutes till someone comes to take my order. Ground service? What is that? But also here you could get near the concorde room a free massage (belive is limited to 20 minutes). I do not know that by Thai is there a limitation of time, but you can take a real good Thai massage till one hour.

Conclusion: Thai offer a better service, but BA is not bad. I do not understand the critism about the BA's First.

So long, Stephan