UKC

I'm travelling to Hong Kong later this year and have noticed that first class flights are only 10% more than business with BA. Has anyone here had the good fortune to fly first class with BA? How much better is it? 

I see from BA's website the seats are a different material, slightly wider and that's about it. 

I've been in BA's first class lounge in Heathrow and it's not much better than the business lounge.

So apart from flicking business class passengers a superior look are there any benefits of first compared to business? 

I've never flown BA 1st class.  For a yokel like me business class is already pretty fancy.  One reason for the upgrade would be for the likely additional avios points and tier points.  Can you check what the points situation is for the 1st v business flights?  It would be awesome if your business trips resulted in enough points for a nice winter sun climbing holiday.

Good point, not thought about the extra Avios. My holiday in the sun last year was indeed paid for by Avios. 

I have, a couple of times and in my opinion it is absolutely not worth the extra money

Also note that not all business class is the same on BA. A window seat is much better than aisle (though you have to pay to reserve it unless you are lucky and get one 24 hours before you fly), also upstairs on the A380 is better than the 777

I am so sheltered and unprivileged that I thought Business Class > 1st Class! So I have learned something from this, thanks

Go Korean air if you can, far better servivce than BA

I have been lucky enough to fly First Class once (not BA) - and the only difference between that and business class was I got served my drinks first.

I can vouch for Korean Air business class. Excellent on both their 777-300 and 747-8 (the latter being particularly good). Not flown BA business so can't directly compare, but Korean Air came in at much cheaper and I was very satisfied! 

I've never flown first on BA but was in Mexico City a couple of years back with colleagues who had flown in from Atlanta, London and Budapest (I came from Lyon but via Lufthansa) doing the inevitable discussing our journey/airlines over beers -  and my UK colleague had flown BA first as like you the cost was pretty much the same.

He said that compared to normal business/club the only real benefit was it was much quieter as there were only about 4 other pods compared to club.

Is work paying? If your policy allows it you may as well go for it and get the points. Our company travel policy is that we can only book first if flat beds aren't available in business. If its out of your own pocket then 'only 10%' is still going to be hundreds of pounds so probably not worth it (considering you'll hopefully be asleep for most of the flight).

I got a free upgrade once from Business to First. The differences were:

- You could have your meals whenever you wanted them, not when "serving time" came round. Good for me as I got some work done before eating.

- The food was very slightly better than I had previously in business class

- I got a tacky set of "sleep clothes" to change into (didn't bother)

- Got LOADs more Avios  (and more Tier Points) than I would have in Business.

That's about it.

Decades ago when en route to the Himalayas our expedition was flying Economy Class with BA to Delhi via Kuwait. The majority of the passengers disembarked at Kuwait and we carried on in an almost empty plane. The flight attendants invited us to move forward to First Class. It was quite an experience, although from memory I wouldn't have said that much better than today's business class. A lot more room, but there's easily enough in today's business class, so what are you going to do with even more room? Similarly the food and wine was great, but not really any different to today's business class. Proper bone china plates, chrystal glasses, and silver plate cutlery.

Certainly an experience, but I'm not certain I'd pay any extra for it.

Going East from the UK I use Emirates Business and I think hard to beat for quality / price, last time I checked something like half of BA price.  Of course always via Dubai so a short stopover.  To HK A380 all the way so the top deck and the bar at the back.  Pods are spacious and food pretty good.  I've upgraded to first several times with points and good for a sleeping flight as you have a small cabin and what is almost a proper bed with mattress, duvet, pyjamas etc.  Also access to a shower if you want.

I'd avoid. BA has been long outstripped by other carriers in most travel-critical functions (price/service/comfort/reliability). Air miles or Avios are something of a nonsense too - you are pretty much dictated to regarding when you can spend them - OK if you have total flexibility and can plan many months in advance.

Someone mentioned Korean - excellent service, sharp pricing for a Business Fare; or Cathay (tho' more expensive). Downside of Korean (and most other carriers apart from Cathay and BA) is that you can't go direct. However, I've travelled to HK using Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar and Singapore with a stop - better by far, even with a stop)

But it is the only one on the drop down menu on the website which asks for your correct Title---Sir, the Rt Hon, MP for etc etc.

Now that is class and worth paying for!

Lol

This^^^

Flown out to HK and Singapore many times this way. Absolutely the best way to go, not always impressed with BA Business. Have been bumped up to first on both, and again Emirates is head and shoulders better.

Lat time I looked the overall flying time was alot more using Emirates or Qatar.

Personally I want to be in the air and at the airport for as short a time as possible and so the price difference can be worth paying.

Does it get you there quicker? Is it safer? Standard class is perfectly fine. Anything else is poncy bollocks and a waste of money. 

Ah, but someone else's money...

Yes but I'd just rather have a higher salary or whatever! 

I flew 1st to Venice once, because it was only marginally more expensive than economy (probably in error).

Short flight on an A320 so nothing remarkable.  You will no doubt have a different experience.

Main advantages I can see are loading up on more baggage, the cabin crew refer to you by name, and you have access to metal cutlery in case you want to commandeer the aircraft.

Edit: oops, just realised it was probably only business class.  Such a pleb.

I had an upgrade from business to 1st once. As a coincidence it was on my 30th birthday and they unexpectedly presented me with a free bottle of champers.  This was BA. It was Chicago to Heathrow and was much better than business and was an incredible experience.

I used to fly BA a lot and was upgraded from Business to First a few times.  Apart from the one time I slept ‘next’ to Sienna Miller, I usually thought “nice but I wouldn’t paid for this”! Another flight shared with Ainsley Harriet was less of a highlight....

The differences are mostly the frills and extras. The difference from WTP to Business is much greater. Wider bed, more personal service, much nicer lounge where you can get a massage. On a practical note, the check in at LHR is about as swift as can be and you get a huge luggage allowance. As others say, Emirates, Singapore, Etihad, Qatar etc, are making BA look old hat. 

It does get you there quicker. First out of the aircraft = first through security and customs. Usually.

No, it's more dangerous. The rear of the aircraft is the safest place in a crash but my no1 priority when booking a flight is not crash survival, it's comfort and not having a numb arse for 16 hours while sitting on a tissue thin seat with a 4 inch tv screen 2 inches from my face and elbow wrestling the guy fat guy in the next seat.

However, economy class is perfectly fine. 30 years ago I flew to Perth, Australia. My ticket cost me £700 return. 30 years later, it's still £700. Economy flying is a bargain. It's the chicken Kievs of the travel world.

BA's window seats are good if you are travelling on your own. 3 windows and loads of privacy. The isle seats are ok though. Easier for loo access after all the free wine and whisky.

I find BA (and indeed other carriers too) business class useless for sleep because I have very broad shoulders and cannot get comfortable. Hence I usually go for WTP - which is actually very good value: how business class was 25 years ago.

If someone else is paying,  I'd say the upgrade to first would be worth the wider seat. You might actually sleep, and the 10% differential would usually be bigger.

I hate the Middle East carriers. Nothing worse than sitting in a business lounge at Dubai or Doha at 2am.

It's coming out of my own pocket. Hence the reason for asking. It's only a couple of hundred quid each way, but multiply that by 2 people and a return flight and it mounts up. I don't mind paying  the extra if it's going to be an experience to remember, but if it's a bit of a let down I'd rather spend the money on a better hotel/b&b or fancy food on holiday.

As good as Emirates are the stop over is a bigger negative. Flying from Glasgow always means a midnight stop for a few hours which is a huge pain in the arse. I also try to split the return flight with a stop in London so BA works really well for me. 

How often have you flown Business or First Class?

I understand you, I really do. But I think that what you said is like saying "Anything but the cheapest hotel/ cheapest meal is a waste of money" because the cheapest hotel room has 4 walls and a roof and the cheapest meal fills you up and has the same amount of calories. I am not getting at you Pedro you have a point

It just depends on how rich you are. I might somewhat reluctantly pay for a pub meal occasionally rather than a takeway or more reluctantly pay for a bunkhouse rather than dossing in my car, but I simply cannot imagine paying ever for the extravavgance of a business or first class flight when the extra cost would pay for another good climbing trip. You only pay for luxuries when the extra cost is not really going to be noticeable in the medium to long term and that depends entirely on your wealth.

If your business class is the flat (nearly!) beds then little difference.

If your business class is on an old plane (if they still have them) then it's worth it.

Cheerio

I prefer flying through Abu Dhabi. I stay awake on the first flight then have a sleep on the second. I don't sleep well anyway and find the 1.5 hour stopover a chance to stretch my legs and do a few emails.

To the op. You'll be travelling at night so a lot of the time you'll probably be asleep. Unless you try my tactic of not bothering to sleep at all and then crashing out about 10 seconds after getting into the hotel bedroom.

I actually thought that "Flying BA first class" was a University Qualification.

Have you ever flown long haul business class? It's a lot more comfortable than standard class. Which means you're in a better state to do business.

A lot better.. I think well worth it.

Agreed. It's pretty simple - if someone wants to pay for me to be on the other side of the world for a meeting, then there's little point them paying for me to be there and unconscious. On the other hand, if I have slept in a bed, had a shower and a shave and am ready to go then I can actually do what they wanted me there to do. While 10 hours of sleep on a 767 is not the same as 10 hours in my own bed, it's a hell of a lot better than in and out of consciousness in economy for a few hours, until someone needs to climb over you to get to the toilet....

I tend to avoid BA but have flown mostly AirNZ, Singapore, Air Canada and United in business, and that's absolutely the order of preference. Long haul AirNZ are at the top of the tree with Singapore and a couple of others. Neither United nor Canada have proper lie flat products (including on the Dreamliners) and how anyone justifies a business class product without direct aisle access is beyond me. Air NZ premium economy isn't bad - more space and better ratios - but certainly not easy to sleep.

I went economy LHR>SIN>CHC straight through last week, the A380 is quieter but I had a broken seat (wouldn't lock back or forward, just flapped about) for the first 14 hours and a dead screen for the second 11 hours. Although SIN is far nicer to transit than LAX it was, overall, a very poor experience.

Short haul, the best experience is hand luggage only on the cheapest tickets available. Quick off the plane and out. I'm not sure business fares are ever worthwhile for short haul, but if someone else picks up the tab I'm sure I would cope.

b

My usual argument if a client is resisting paying for business class is that it’s not just getting there better rested and ready for whatever they want to throw at you but also the feeling of dread that the prospect of a long haul flight in economy has on you both before you travel and during the trip itself.  Business class travel is (almost) a pleasure, with some airlines a limo to and from the airport, priority check in, priority security, lounge access, priority boarding, big flat seats, good food and drinks, sometimes free wifi and a degree of pampering.  Also a few hours of peace and comfort to do whatever you want, read, watch a movie, sleep or even work.  In all a feel-good experience that puts you in a positive mood when you arrive and perhaps more importantly when you get home.  I’ve flown around 20 long haul flights a year over the last 20-odd years all in business class, enjoyed most of them and have no regrets at all about the additional cost.    

Only did it once, never ever again. Since then refused to fly via Dubai or Doha.

I struggle to sleep on planes- irrespective of the class. But flying business/first is one hell better than economy or premium economy.

Its my own business and my clients do not pick up the tab, comes straight off my bottom line.But I have a rule anything more than 5/6 hours I always buy up unless it is ridiculously expensive ( which tends to be flights to the USA).

I use to buy upgrades at the airport at upto £800 a time ( but these are just not available over the last few years).

Long haul economy flying on business was done in my early years of getting the business going.

My father gets bumped up a lot and used to get flown 1st class with his boss, he rang up once while in uk to check on his return flight and the guy said " we're so glad you called sir, we weren't sure where to send the limo.  I think some first class has a lot of extras beyond the flight.

Cheers

Toby