First Class - LHR to SYD - BA or Qantas.

Neil - we're flying BA First LON-SIN on 14JUL also using AA miles.  One thing I have learnt from this site is that there is no limo pickup on London.  Bugger!.  But we're going to enjoy it anyway.  Will let you know how things go.

Regards

QF via dbx. Enjoy the f lounge t3 food good, wine excellent if holding f ticket, separated from all the ff in the lounge. Lounge in dbx excellent enjoy the showers and food. Consider 2a or 3a on the a380 if flying alone. 

Thanks to all for the advice.  I'm going to fly with Qantas as suggested.  Looking at various YouTube videos and their offering does look superior. 

Frank - Thanks for the info, I was wondering about the limo.  The chance seemed slim but the Qantas info page was a little ambiguous.

I flown BA First LHR-SYD and to be honest I think it greatly overrated. Yes, it is far better product than Business, but I would never pay my money for it considering that business is so damn good. Mine was complimentary upgrade and sure enough should opportunity arise I will do such upgrade again and again, but IMHO it does not worth money. Try Arabs or even better Singapore Airlines.

Another alternative is to try Etihad SYD-AUH-LHR. Search using the Etihad website, then book with AA. I've travelled both in FF and I think that Etihas First is simply a notch above QF, esp when you can have a shower on the way! 

I find BA first to be unrelible in qualIty.(http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/shocking-footage-of-british-airways-first-class-seats/story-fn6yjmoc-1227190703551)  Fly Qantas as its a OW reward but Ethiad and Singapore First are the best IMO.

It's a personal preference thing.If stopping over then BA as it gives one the Singapore Stopover then you can continue on same flight a few days later or can go straight through.I have not done the via Dubai thing so can't comment but the airport there is very complicated.

Qantas will give you a limo ride at both ends but you'll get nothing with BA on an award ticket. 

BA's food on board is pretty average in my opinion. The Concorde lounge at Heathrow is nice and calm and the service good but the food there is pretty average too especially for a la carte. Haven't tried the lounges QF uses at LHR T3. 

From the window seats in F on BA it's very tricky to actually see out the window - you either need to lean waaay forward while the seat is trying to tip you back, or you sit on the ottoman. The seat controller in BA is a single dial which you twist with the whole range of seat positions are pre-set - that is, you cannot lift the leg rest independently of the recline function so it can be tricky to get comfortable. From memory the loos are bigger on QF too :) 

I love the F lounge in DXB :)

I think you made the right choice Neil :)