First Class Oneworld RTW Award - your experience? was it worth it?

[knightfall88]

Hi guys,

I am thinking of doing a RTW Oneworld in First Class rather than Business Class. I am keen to hear if this has been worth it to any members who have done it before? And if so what were the highlights? Which lounges, which airlines were fantastic in First on Oneworld?

 

[serfty]

It is not that easy to get "full" First service on a AONEx or an AGLOBnn as there are many routes where Business class is the highest available cabin.

 

[knightfall88]

It is not that easy to get "full" First service on a AONEx or an AGLOBnn as there are many routes where Business class is the highest available cabin.

ahh okay but surely I can expect full first service between major cities? Sydney, Hong Kong, Japan, NYC etc.

 

[Fergo747]

ahh okay but surely I can expect full first service between major cities? Sydney, Hong Kong, Japan, NYC etc.

It purely comes down to what cities you want to travel to - even to major cities you may not be able to get first. E.g. No first from SYD to HKG but could get F to SIN.

 

[knightfall88]

It purely comes down to what cities you want to travel to - even to major cities you may not be able to get first. E.g. No first from SYD to HKG but could get F to SIN.

Thanks fergo, didn't know it would be alot more difficult than business class. I am flexible though so I guess I look at the routes and see what is available, seems there won't be too many.

 

[Himeno]

Hi guys,

I am thinking of doing a RTW Oneworld in First Class rather than Business Class. I am keen to hear if this has been worth it to any members who have done it before? And if so what were the highlights? Which lounges, which airlines were fantastic in First on Oneworld?

An AONEx isn't worth much more then a DONEx. There just aren't enough routes with First class to make it worth while.
OW first class routes thread - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[HockeyMonkey]

I assume QF F codeshares on Emirates cannot be used here. That would certainly open up a lot of F possibilities.

 

[Matt_01]

I assume QF F codeshares on Emirates cannot be used here. That would certainly open up a lot of F possibilities.

You assume correctly.

 

[HockeyMonkey]

You assume correctly.

So in that case an actual QF RTW would be in order? What are the pro’s/con’s of each option.

 

[Matt_01]

@HockeyMonkey OW has rules on these types of bookings be it in Y, J or F, these include no. of sectors, no. direction of travel etc. EK is not a OW carrier they are just a QF alliance partner.

I believe the question asked is around using points for a F trip/ redemption is worth it. I agree with most post in this thread in that getting a complete AU to AU RTW with OW is near on impossible. I have and still would go the J option.

 

[mviy]

Flying on F classic reward seats is a cost-effective way to get into FLounges compared with maintaining OWE status if you don't do a lot of work travel.

If you decide to do simply a return trip rather than a RTW my friends tell me that it's well worth trying Emirates F. If you do Emirates F on the A380 you can have a shower onboard. That's something you can't do in QF F.

As I'm chasing LifeTime status atm I'm not that keen to fly on points at this point.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I have done quite a few F round the world trips over the years - it would be getting harder with not that much F out of Aus anymore, e.g did one in 2012 that went Qantas to JNB and then BA to London - shortly after that Qantas abandoned F on that route. The last one we did had quite a few J legs, as esp within Europe that is what you have to fly. The long leg were all in F though.

I enjoyed doing them - probably wouldn’t do another one as they are quite tiring - we are getting older, so don’t want to do that much flying in one trip anymore. we paid rather than doing awards, so you wanted to do as many sectors as possible within the rules to get your money’s worth Also I am not sure the one world airlines are all that good in F. Qantas and BA are more J+. American is OK for tripping round the States. Qatar I have heard is good. The better F experiences are not one world airlines.

the Sydney F lounge is nice if crowded, I like the Concorde room in London - particularly sitting out on the terrace. Dubai of course is good, but that option is gone. Can’t think of any others we went to on our RTW trips I would go out of my way for

EDIT - Cathay’s F lounge in Hong Kong is terrific if you can work it in. That’s another route where Qantas discontinued F just after we had used it again

 

[JohnM]

I did an AONE4 or 5 in the last year of the 20-sector paper ticket xONEx fares. That’s a while ago now, pre-dating the A380 and probably QR. It was good, but not overwhelming. But it did earn a bundle of SCs and points. I was underwhelmed by the Concorde Room.

But are you talking about a maxxed F Award? - which, unlike an xONEx, does not need to be RTW.

 

[Hawkeye]

I've done about a dozen AONE'4s over the last 10 years, and still feel you can gain a lot of value over and above a DONE4. An example of a "barebones" itinerary I use is:

BNE-SYD-LHR-JFK-LAX-HKG-SIN-SYD-BNE

That gets you a very good sample of Oneworld F experience:

• SYD-LHR in QF F, inc SYD F lounge
• LHR-JFK in BA F (albeit not BA A380 I don't think at the moment), including time in Concorde Room at LHR. AA F is an option, but won't get Concorde Room access as departs T3.
• JFK-LAX in AA transcontinental F, inc Flagship dining at JFK
• LAX-HKG in CX F, inc LAX F lounge
• SIN-SYD back in QF F (or BA F)

If you want to include BA A380 experience (working on memory of A380 routes), you could do LHR-LAX, make your way back to JFK, then do JFK-HKG in CX. The AA transcontinental F is the least impressive experience, but still nice enough to sample.

 

[kermatu]

.

Also I am not sure the one world airlines are all that good in F. Qantas and BA are more J+. American is OK for tripping round the States. Qatar I have heard is good. The better F experiences are not one world airlines.

Not that I'm all that seasoned in F travel, but I'd agree with this. Except the JAL F experience (food, beverages, service) would be right up there, in my view.

 

[Flying mermaid]

.


Not that I'm all that seasoned in F travel, but I'd agree with this. Except the JAL F experience (food, beverages, service) would be right up there, in my view.

Thats interesting - haven’t tried them, so will add them to the list.

 

[kermatu]

Sadly no F services to Australia any more (as far as I'm aware).

 

[Flying mermaid]

Sadly no F services to Australia any more (as far as I'm aware).

damn! Getting really hard.....

 

[knightfall88]

Is there any sample itineraries for the oneworld RTW (420k points)? I am exploring the possibility given 420k isn't a whole lot more than 280k and I am flexible on destinations and would like to have first class experience removed from my bucket list.

 

[kermatu]

I've done about a dozen AONE'4s over the last 10 years, and still feel you can gain a lot of value over and above a DONE4. An example of a "barebones" itinerary I use is:

BNE-SYD-LHR-JFK-LAX-HKG-SIN-SYD-BNE

That gets you a very good sample of Oneworld F experience:

• SYD-LHR in QF F, inc SYD F lounge
• LHR-JFK in BA F (albeit not BA A380 I don't think at the moment), including time in Concorde Room at LHR. AA F is an option, but won't get Concorde Room access as departs T3.
• JFK-LAX in AA transcontinental F, inc Flagship dining at JFK
• LAX-HKG in CX F, inc LAX F lounge
• SIN-SYD back in QF F (or BA F)

If you want to include BA A380 experience (working on memory of A380 routes), you could do LHR-LAX, make your way back to JFK, then do JFK-HKG in CX. The AA transcontinental F is the least impressive experience, but still nice enough to sample.

Sorry for a rookie question - but I'm assuming a stopover in Asia isn't possible on both the way out and the way back - eg HKG on the way out (no F but could get a QF A380) and Tokyo on the way back (from the US, to get JAL)?