Martin J

So we are off on the 9th of Aug!! Got the house all tied up (Kate @ Moving-to-Melbourne has been a saviour) and now we need to concentrate on the one way flights!

Who offers the best in terms of overall comfort, price etc? We flew with BA last year, Premium Economy, and we werent very impressed. The food was average and the seats were no way near worth an extra £1000!!!

I have almost 70,000 air miles on my card so i was thinking of upgrading our flights to BA Business (seeing as thats the only place i can spend them) but do Quantas or Singapore offer really good deals?

The web sites are offering economy for just under a grand! Seems par for the course.

RCoight

I'd always recommend Emirates...but if you can get a business class upgrade I'm sure even BA Business class would be better than Emirates economy.

Martin J

Yeah, BA Business would be the way to go. The only caveat is you need to buy the 4 premier economy seats then use the miles to upgrade. But i think thats better than wasting the miles as they run out in Sept!!

I just remember being so jealous of those flat beds when we walked through the business class to get to our seats last year

How sad is that!!

leigh-c

i do fly Etihad airways anytime i head that direction, i find them to have more room and are more comfy than others, it be worth a look anyway.

rocket01

BA do, as my wife use to work for them, then got epilepsy and pensioned off and now get 3 flights a year for us all at 90% off and unlimted flight at 55% off
Happy Days
Last trip club class cost us intotal just over £600

Centurion

Actually BA and Qantas Business Class is worth the effort. Flat bed seats, decent food and facilities at terminals. Far removed from the Economy product on either.

Emirates is about the worst business class in the sky at the moment I reckon in terms of seating with tired old 30 degree recline and 42" seat pitches. With the single exception of the A500 with the upgraded cabin that I think only is on the Melbourne route at the moment on the Dubai leg.

Singapore and Malaysian offer the best premium cabin experience to my mind with the best seating, service and so on. But really there is not that much difference between them and BA/Qantas. All have a flat bed seat and so on.

bcworld

BA miles expire after only 36months of no activity at all on your account - there are so many ways to get a few miles without actually flying so I wouldn't be too worried about them running out.

How many of you are travelling? You may have problems getting reward seats in Club for this close to departure + I think they cost of buying World Traveller Plus one-way to upgrade is going to be steep.

bcworld

Emirates has plenty of 777s with lie-flat business seats. Melbourne & Sydney both get the A340 and 777s, Brisbane gets a 777 with lie-flat business seats. It is a bit of a lottery though, if there is an aircraft substitution you could end up in 'old business'.

Of all the other airlines mentioned above, only BA and the Singapore A380 (and very few 777s) are offering truly flat beds. The others have angled seats which some people don't like.

Vanessa

As BA don't fly to Melbourne anymore and you are using Points they usually make you fly to Sydney and then get a connection to Melbourne with Qantas. Probably worth doing if your points are going to run out but otherwise you can find some good offers around flying BC. I usually use Trailfinders and they will match (if not better) other offers you find.

If you chose Singapore you are not guaranteed a flat bed on the flight to and from Melbourne. You will need to ask before you book if it is flat bed.

jollyswagman

We flew etihad at xmas and were really pleased with our choice, plenty of leg room, great food and excellent entertainment!

Red_V_Roger

For cattle class, Emirates has to be the way to go. Their B777 has enough room for a big guy like me, but the A340 is a little bit small. However, they do go Dubai to Sydney direct without stopping using the A340 (if you get the right flight)..which is a bonus.

Also, I think Emirates Entertainment System is the best.

Rosscarbery

I would always recommend Singapore Airlines in economy - comfortable, good personal entertainment systems, friendly helpful staff etc. If you can do business class on BA I guess it would be worth it, but I have had awful experiences with both BA and Qantas and will never fly with either again.

Red_V_Roger

Again I would agree for their B777. However, some of their older B747's are very uncomfortable and cramped.

bcworld

Funny you should think that about the 777, Emirates 777 is just about the narrowest seat in the sky. I think you'll struggle to find another airline with 10 seats in each row in a 777, all the others only have 9. They do have better legroom than most though.

Red_V_Roger

Yes - I guess its leg room that makes the difference - I always get isle seat so tend to be able to hang out!