My first long haul since Covid - business class return H’row to Christchurch NZ, with stopovers in Dubai and Sydney. A very mixed experience - a couple of legs were OK in terms of amenities (the bathrooms were kept clean, food service was well-organised and the wifi worked); one leg was good (happy, well-drilled cabin crew team, better food and smooth service); couple of legs were a bit grim (squabbling, snappy, condescending cabin crew, grubby bathrooms, poor food and poor service, and the wifi failed). Best thing overall? They all made a mean cocktail. And the limo service at H’row was v good. And you aren’t suffering 30 hours in economy. The pods are ok - certainly possible to sleep (despite in my case the turbulence and unhappy toddlers). The tech is a bit lumpy and the headphones poor. Dubai and Sydney stopovers - poor comms from crew about the where and when and a lot of trekking about. Queues for the showers and rather miserable catering. It didn’t used to be like this. It’s obviously become a ‘volume’ operation - pack in as many economy refuseniks who are willing to take the wallet hit as you can. And don’t expect the ‘treat’ it used to be - just be grateful that you stand a slightly better chance of being work-ready when you stagger off your return flight. It’s a pity that the few tweaks that would make this feel better value for money probably won’t happen - a complacent company that knows it doesn’t need to try a bit harder.
