Home » Airline Groups » Oneworld (Page 3)
Category Archives: Oneworld
My review of British Airways’s First Class on Boeing 777
My main purpose of booking BA’s first class was to try out the Concorde Room, and I wasn’t really looking forward to the flight that much. I travelled in their first class once in 2016 and didn’t think very highly of it, but maybe there has some improvement since.
My flight has minor delay because of a last-minute aircraft change. There’s an A380 roll-up banner at the boarding gate which got me excited, but it turned out to be Boeing 777 in the end.
First up, a few pictures:
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the pictures above are actually from two cabins. This 777 has already been refurbished, which means they’ve got the new Club Suite configuration in business class (Picture 3 & 4). The seat and finish are just so similar that I could barely tell one from the other. Well, the Club Suite does have a door…
Back to the first class cabin, it has two rows and four seats in total. The seats are angled which is pretty rare for first class.
Jokes aside, you’ve got a lot of the space in here compared to in business class.
相较于商务舱而言头等舱还是更加宽敞，旁边的小桌子上可以放东西，脚凳下的空间也比较大。
Control panel and the small wardrobe:
I’ve got so many pet peeves about the design. To start with I hate folding screens, as you cannot watch the programs during take-off and landing. I also hate push-release tray as it’s just so much trouble taking them out and in, and my finger got jammed!
On a different note, I like the amenity bag and the pyjama set, although I’ve never heard of the brand – Temperley London – before.
I need to work my blog so didn’t spend much time on the IFE, but the Anti-Valentine genre did make me smile 🙂
In-flight wifi is free to First Class passengers (limited to one device), but it’s a nightmare trying to get connected. After a ton of effort I finally managed to connect my laptop, and the internet speed is not great. In addition, the socket under my seat is broken, so I have to charge my phone at the empty seat next to me.
The seat when flattened:
BA is refurbing the first class cabin as well by adding a door to improve privacy.
The menu:
I understand caviar is too expensive for BA’s catering budget, but still I think they should try harder to come up with a decent menu.
The amuse-bouche and soup:
Not impressed by the burger – I think McSpicy is better!
The ice cream is good.
I decided to try the lamb chop before landing, which turns out to be a delight. It is probably the nicest thing I’ve ever had on a BA flight, and I’m happy to pay for it in a restaurant.
The champagne and wine list:
I’m not a champagne drinker, but I know people stay hours in the Concorde Room for the Grand Siecle and then continue the drinking party onboard to make sure they get their money’s worth 😛
The experience is in line with my memory from the last flight, and although there’s nothing to write home about, I don’t think BA’s first class is a bad product either. If you’ve never flown first class, maybe grab a £2k deal when BA has a sale as a starter and save other airlines for the future.
Up to 55% conversion bonus from hotel points to Cathay Pacific miles
Cathay Pacific has launched a conversion bonus promotion for select hotel programs, and you can view the details here.
Until May 15th, you will earn a bonus when converting points from participating hotel programs to Asia Miles, including but not limited to:
- Shangri-la: 30% (1000 : 1300)
- IHG: 25% (10000 : 2500)
- Accor: 15% (4000 : 2300)
- Hilton: 15% (10000 : 1150)
- Hyatt: 15% (5000 : 2300)
If you have never converted any points between April 1, 2022 and April 11, 2023, you will earn an additional 25% bonus when converting Shangri-la and IHG points.
The bottom line is, even after factoring in the bonus the conversion still loses a lot of value in most cases. IHG may be the only outlier here, where you get 3,000 miles for 10,000 points if you meet the qualification criterion.
As you can buy IHG points at 0.5 cent during their sales, you are essentially paying 1.67c per mile under this promotion, which is not great but a lot cheaper than the official rate. If you have a stash of IHG points and need to top up your Asia miles account to redeem a flight, this offer may be useful.
My review of BA’s Concorde Room, LHR T5
One of the main driving causes for my Bahrain trip was to try out BA’s Concorde Room. As it is only open to First Class passengers and Gold Guest List members, I haven’t had a chance to visit yet, and I need to change that.
BA’s First Wing is awesome, but sadly I’m saying goodbye to it as being downgraded to Silver 🙁
Through the First Wing you’ll see the Galleries First Lounge, keep on walking and exit on your left, and you’ll now see the Concorde Room.
I like the logo.
Once inside, well, it doesn’t feel much different to the Galleries First Lounge.
The bar is fine, but not as impressive as the ones at the Clubhouse and United Club. One big selling point though is the free-flowing Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle, so arrive early if you are a fan!
As a proper first class lounge, there is a dining room (restaurant) where you can sit down and enjoy a meal.
I don’t find anything aspiring in the breakfast menu though. I found the lunch menu online as well and it’s a bit boring too.
The food is ok. Service is really slow though (and there aren’t many guests) so it might not work if you are in a hurry.
There is a terrace bar if you fancy more light.
Help yourself to the cheeseboard, charcuterie and drinks.
There are two cabana rooms but by reservation only so I didn’t bother to visit. From the pictures from online reports they look ok.
My first visit to the Concorde Room didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Like BA’s First Class cabin, there’s nothing wrong with it, but there’s nothing outstanding either. As I’m now a lowly Silver I will find myself at one of the Galleries lounge next time, but to be honest I don’t feel missing out.
How to book LATAM flight with Avios
LATAM left Oneworld in 2020, which was a blow to the alliance as it was the only airline they had in South America. In 2018 I few to Peru on a cheap LATAM business class ticket which helped me earn BA Gold status, and I also redeemed Avios for some domestic trip which would otherwise be more expensive.
Fortunately, LATAM maintains its ties with most of its alliance partners except American Airlines. You can still earn Avios when travelling with LATAM if crediting the flight to BA, although you won’t earn tier points and BA elite benefits don’t apply.
More importantly, we didn’t lose the ability to redeem Avios on LATAM flights. You can do it with either BA or Iberia, and they charge the same:
Here are the catches:
- You can redeem LATAM tickets online with Iberia, however they are non-changeable and non refundable
- You cannot redeem LATAM tickets online with BA, and intra-continent economy class tickets don’t come with baggage allowance
If you are very certain about your trip, it’s better to book your trip on Iberia’s website. It’s hassle free and you are guaranteed one-piece baggage allowance when travelling in economy.
However, for the peace of mind I’d say flexibility is very important under most circumstances, so I’d rather book with BA and you can change / cancel for the standard £35 fee. You can check availability on Iberia’s website first and then phone BAEC’s hotline, but be prepared for a long call. Many of the agents aren’t well trained or familiar with the LATAM procedure, and even if they are issuing the ticket can still take quite some time.
Once the ticket is issued, you can manage your booking on LATAM’s website but it requires their own PNR. The quickest way to figure it out, from my experience, is by messaging @Latam_Chile on Twitter with your itinerary details. They are very helpful and prompt.
A final non-Avios-related tip for those who hold an US-issued American Express card: you might want to check the ticket price on Amex Travel too. It turns out LATAM is an Amex Insider Fares partner so you can sometimes get preferential rates:
In my case, the ticket from Buenos Aires to Santiago is more than 50% cheaper on Amex Travel for the Easter holiday period, as long as you have enough Membership Rewards points to pay for it. It also comes with free seat selection and one-piece baggage allowance.
Tips for Avios ticket seat selection as a non-BA Elite
British Airways is notorious when it comes to seat selection fees. It is perhaps the only airline that charges business class passengers if they want to choose a seat, and it could cost north of $100 for a long-haul flight!
Thankfully, the fee is waived if you hold any Oneworld Elite status – at the time of booking for Sapphire and Emerald members, or within 7 days of departure for Ruby members. It applies to status members from other Oneworld airlines too, such as American Airlines, Cathay Pacific or Finnair.
It gets trickier when you redeem Avios though. When you book an Avios ticket on ba.com, the reservation is tied to your BAEC number and it’s not possible to modify it online. Therefore you can’t add your say AA membership number for free seat selection.
A lot of workarounds have been suggested, for example updating the FFP number using Finnair’s website, however they might not always work. A friend @Rike has come up with a brilliant idea, which you may find useful.
In a nutshell, instead of booking the Avios ticket for yourself, book it for “someone else” so that the BAEC number won’t stick. Here are the detailed steps:
1. Add your travel companions and yourself to BA’s Family and Friends list:
2. Don’t fill in the BAEC number when you add them:
3. When booking an Avios ticket, answer “No” to the question “Is the payment card holder travelling on this booking”. Choose your companion or yourself from the Family and Friends list.
4. Go to ba.com, but don’t log in!
5. Go to Manage My Booking and retrieve your booking. You need to pay for seat selection as of now.
6. As your reservation has no FFP number attached yet, you can add it freely here.
7. Once done, you can reserve your seats for free!
Last chance to buy Accor Gold & Oneworld Ruby for only £65!
We wrote about fast track opportunities for Accor a while ago, and one major shortcut was to purchase the ibis Business card, as you are granted Gold status for as long as you have a valid membership. Sadly it is coming to an end soon, and you need to jump onboard before it is too late!
As explained by Accor, the ibis Business program will discontinue on March 22nd and be replaced by a new program called ALL PLUS ibis, which will continue to offer some sort of discount for ibis stays. The new membership doesn’t gift Gold status anymore, but offers ten night credits annually instead.
If you join ibis Business now, you are still gifted Gold and it will be valid throughout your subscription period. So the best strategy would be:
- Buy ibis Business now – reports suggest that the Gold status is valid through 2024
- You will earn additional ten night credits on March 22nd
For the UK, a one-year subscription costs £65 whereas it’s £119 for two years, and it’s usually €90 / €159 for most other countries. I’m not sure if the two-year subscription comes with a longer Gold validity.
Accor Gold isn’t hugely useful outside China where they offer daily breakfast for one, but room upgrade and late check-out are still something. Beware that buying ibis Business will create a new Accor account, so if you have an existing account you might need to merge them.
Qatar Airways has an ongoing promotion with Accor, which allows Accor Gold members to fast track to Qatar Airways Silver after only one flight. Silver status (Oneworld Ruby) offers extra baggage allowance and free seat selection when flying Qatar Airways and its partners (BA, AA, Cathay etc.), plus you can access the dedicated Silver Lounge at Doha.
There will also be a new ALL PLUS Voyageur membership (converted from the old Business Plus program) which offers 20 night credits annually.
My review of Cathay Pacific A350’s business class
Cathay Pacific is probably one of the most renowned airline in the world, and being from China I should have had a lot of chances of flying with them. Strange enough but I haven’t though, and my only experience was with Cathay Dragon, a subsidiary through acquisition that mainly focuses on short-haul routes.
Going back home for the first time since 2020, I finally got the opportunity to fly the “real” Cathay by redeeming my Asiamiles. Cathay Pacific is located at Heathrow’s Terminal 3, like most other Oneworld carriers.
The lane is already very long when check-in starts four hours before departure. Fortunately I can use the priority counter which has no queue.
Fast track is available to premium passengers. If you are a frequent Oneworld flyer from T3, you know it is a lounge paradise – there are Cathay Pacific, Qantas, American Airlines and British Airways to choose from! You can also access the Centurion Lounge if you have the Amex Platinum or Centurion card, but it can be very busy at peak hours.
I am very familiar with the Cathay Pacific Lounge, and it is my favourite out of the four Oneworld lounges. The days of my BA Gold are numbered, after which I won’t be able to come back for a while…
My flight departs from Gate 40, which is farthest in the terminal. I remember being here when I flew Philippine Airlines a few years back (on an error fare).
Cathay’s A350 fleet have both A350-900 and A350-1000 aircrafts. I’m on the latter this time, but I don’t think they differ much in terms of cabin design.
Business class seats are arranged in the herringbone fashion, with a total number of 48. The middle seats:
As you can imagine, window seats are much more private:
There is a small storage cupboard next to the control panel, with a socket inside.
And a much larger storage box below which can fit a pair of shoes.
The amenity bag is nothing to write home about, and the content is minimal. You won’t find earplugs or socks in it.
IFE:
Surprisingly there are two live TV channels – BBC and CCN. It is a world cup night between England and Wales, and US and Iran. Unfortunately the matches are not being broadcasted.
And the menu:
Cathay Delight is one of their signature cocktails. However I was told it’s not available so went with their recommendation instead and got a Lemon Tease.
The cauliflower soup is passable:
Followed by the wonton noodles which was a total disaster. I’m not a big fan of Cantonese cuisine, but you can’t blame me for disliking it – the noodles on top are clearly burnt probably due to overheating, and the soup tastes really weird, worse than what you’d expect from instant noodles.
Remember to pick your breakfast choice before going to sleep. The congee is much better, although somehow my shitake mushrooms became ginger slices.
And the lie-flat bed:
The bed is a tad narrow, but you can lift up a pad on the side to compensate.
Well I don’t know what more to say. It is certainly not a terrible experience, aside from the really bad wonton noodles, but I can’t really say anything positive about the flight either. I had high expectations – it is an Asian carrier after call – which Cathay failed to meet, and I probably need to try their first class some day.
Virgin Australia’s status match: benefits with United, Etihad, Singapore and more!
Virgin Australia launched a status match program last year, which might entitle you to special benefits with them and partner airlines for up to 15 months!
- Elite members from select airlines can apply for a status match
- If granted, you commence a three-month Gold trial
- Fly one qualifying sector and earn 80 tier credits to extend your Gold status for one year
In general, S* Gold, Skyteam Elite Plus and Oneworld Sapphire / Emerald qualify, excluding Virgin Australia’s partners. Some minimum requirements include:
- British Airways Silver
- Lufthansa Senator
- Air France Gold
- Finnair Gold
- Delta Gold
- American Airlines Platinum
- Emirates Gold
The list is very extensive so you have high chances of being eligible. There is no direct link to apply – you need to click Member Support and submit a feedback form to apply.
Even if you don’t fly Virgin Australia, the Gold card is still useful with a bunch of other airlines.
| Priority Check-in | Priority Boarding | Additional Baggage Allowance | Fast Track | Lounge Access | |
| Hainan / Tianjin / Capital / Hong Kong Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Singapore Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| United Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Air Canada | ✓ | ||||
| Virgin Atlantic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Etihad | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Qatar Airways | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| South African Airways | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Details of the lounge access policy is here, but in general you need to be on a flight operated by the partner carrier and can bring one guest.
If you are based in the UK, there’s a good chance that you’ll fly Virgin Atlantic some day, as well as some of the other partners. I value Priority Check-in and Lounge Access the most in terms of the aforementioned elite benefits.
80 tier credits are very easy to accrue, but you can’t possibly accomplish the one qualifying sector unless you travel to / within Australia. According to the program rules, your status will be re-evaluated at the end of the three months, which normally means you’d drop to a non-status member.
However, from the reports we’ve seen so far it seems that everyone has been downgraded to Silver instead post the Gold trial. It comes with two lounge passes for VA’s domestic lounges, and more importantly most of the partner benefits (barring lounge access) still apply for another year!
If you plan to fly Virgin Australia or their partner airline soon, it’s worthwhile signing up for the Gold trial beforehand.