BA and the 380

[pax britanica]

The mighty 380 has been in BA sevice for a while serving a number of flagship destinations. Does any one know what BA s initial views of the plane are and is it delivering what they hoped it would. Has anyone experienced on board service and what did they think of it

[praa]

I flew BA's 380 to Los Angeles in early November, fortunately in business class. Compared to other planes and business product I've experienced I found it to be a positive experience. The plane is, as many have noted, a quiet ride. The seat is the same as on the rest of BA's long haul fleet (I came back on a 747) but the in flight entertainment screen is more modern and better quality. Service is dependent on the crew; I was happy enough. Frankly, the biggest surprise was the loo (upper deck at the front) which was huge and therefore a quietly relaxing refuge rather than the functional cramped cell that most airplane toilets are. BA's business class is not the best in my opinion but certainly far from the worst. But in combination with this plane, I thought it was a pretty good experience and I wish there were more of them flying.

[gordon2uk]

Flew last November with my partner to Hong Kong on the A380. We flew economy on the upper deck and to secure window seat we paid £140 extra for the privilege!. The good points:- nice clean aircraft, on time, good crew and good food. On the minus side I felt very cramped and once the person in front reclines there seat I was trapped. I was sat near the toilet which were near constantly in use and the noise from the flush made rest more difficult. I know Hong Kong is a long flight but with such cramped conditions I am not looking forward to a long haul flight again unless I pay extra for an upgrade.

[fireblade2000uk]

I'm flying in the BA A380 in March to Hong Kong but in a more comfortable classs and am really looking forward to the experience, especially comparing it to the Emirates A380 which was excellent!

[deep_south]

I travelled on the main deck in economy on one of the BA practise flights to FRA and it was a "standard" Y seat - apart from the large IFE box that consumed half of my foot space... it would make a very cramped long journey...

[grounded27]

I'm flying in the BA A380 in March to Hong Kong but in a more comfortable classs and am really looking forward to the experience, especially comparing it to the Emirates A380 which was excellent!



Who really looks forward to any form of passenger travel? An airbed on a dirty floor of a freighter beats anything this market can provide from my perspective.

[Stampe]

Well said grounded modern air travel in any class is virtual torture especially the airport experience.I remember stretching out for superb rests on a a bed of cargo nets deadheading on Viscount freighters.Come to think about it the whole passenger experience on the Viscount was so much better than todays aircraft.Progress ? Stampe

[ZFT]

Another person in total agreement with grounded27 having just 'enjoyed' a LCC trip today (No choice either as no other service to this destination)

[Mark in CA]

Have not experienced A380 on BA, but have flown it on LH and AF to US West Coast in standard economy all times, usually in a forward cabin. Am 6 feet tall and appropriate weight and had no comfort issues. Found the air (humidity and pressure) to be more comfortable than on other aircraft. Quiet ride, too. Pretty good entertainment system. My current favorite aircraft for long-haul flights. Food/service depend on airline and crew, but was pleased with my flights. Certainly better than most US carriers.

[gdiphil]

Not tried the BA 380 but economy in LH QF & SQ all good. LH was FRA to NRT. QF was LHR to SYD in the old days via Singapore, and SQ was Singapore to LHR. All of them had plenty of room, quiet lower decks, excellent service, good food and drink. My favourite long haul jet these days.

[kaikohe76]

As purely a matter of interset, can anybody say, just which particular places are considered `Flagship` destinations thanks?

[Heathrow Harry]

ones that subsidise the relevant airline to go there

[PAXboy]

The ones where:


The main board directors have a holiday home
Where govt officials often go
Where the marketing people can get interesting photos for the adverts, or they like to go to take the pics (like Cape Town)

[lexoncd]

Flew in first to singapore on the ba a380. Have to say the whole experience wasnt anything like I had expected.. My normal class of travel is business even in theses austere times.

Ba Concorde lounge is excellent. Service in particular
First class seat is comfy with lots of storage
Views from the windows are odd but ok
Inflight entertainment system seems dated and clunky but it works
Service nothing special at all. Crew seemed to want us in sleeper suits and bed after two hours
Meal service and presentation very poor except breakfast which was excellent
Temperature way way too hot
Noise levels very quiet

My return was in club on the 747. Better meals, better service and apart from ba club seats now out of touch with the competition it is the better way to fly.

[Mr Mac]

Have not flown with BA 380 but have flown quite a bit on EK, SQ, LH 380,S and generally find them quieter than Boeing. A colleague recently flew to LA with BA on 380 Business Class and said nothing special, although ICE was better than on other BA A/C he had flown recently. He judged them as poor compared with EK who he flies with on a regular basis down to the gulf from MAN.

[niged]

Flew BA 380 LAX to LON in Jan, Business, and found the cabin very good.
Slept well on the adjustable "bed/seat". Two female cabin crew were lovely
but I found 2 other male cabin crew grumpy and passive aggressive.


I preferred Business on the Emirates 380 when I flew Oct last year.

[torot]

Flew BA Singapore to Heathrow 6 Jan.
General impression of aircraft was good. Quiet, spacious good seat pitch in cattle class and excellent IFE.
Downside was AVOD box occupying about a third of my footspace. Do they really need to put it there? It's not as if it's a tiny aircraft - DUH!
Wrote to BA suggesting that as they charge extra for increased legroom they should have a reduction for decreased legroom. Still awaiting reply.
Another thing was the arm rests which only go about half way up so if the :mad: in the row in front reclines you are imprisoned. Going to get a "Knee Defender" for future flights.

[S.o.S.]

Welcome to the forum, torot.

You may be joking about a 'knee defender' but before using one - do search PPRuNe and the Net in general. There have been some very nasty incidents. The subject has been debated here several times, this was the last occasion:
http://www.pprune.org/passengers-slf-self-loading-freight/546494-knee-defender.html

[torot]

Thanks S.o.S.
I was aware of the, ahem, disagreements which had arisen as a result of their use and I had also pondered the possibility that anyone using these devices was modifying the seat.
However on the way out to HK (Lufthansa 747) I had my hand trapped between the tray and seat back by the nice chap in front who did the usual seat-right-back trick, even when he was eating his meal which he had the stretch forward to reach. This was followed on the return from SIA by having somone in my lap for 10 or more hours, despite my protestations and obvious difficulty getting in and out of the seat.
According to what I have found BA does not ban their use, although they do not encourage either.
Returning to the A380 thread, I was impressed by the speed of boarding and disembarking, but I guess SIA and LHR T5 are well geared up for this aircraft. Also notable was the fact that the toilet floors remained dry. Now this is either good design (sufficient space to do the needful) or passengers with a good aim.

[Mark in CA]

torot, you must have had a bad cabin crew on your LH flight if they didn't make the fellow in front of you straighten up his seat during the meal. I've seen them request this of people, including myself, many times. Otherwise, a simple, polite request to the person in front of you should suffice. If not, hit the call button.

[torot]

All three people in front reclined and kept their seats that way even during the meal despite having to reach forward for every mouthful. I so wanted one of them to choke.
I've had worse though. Kuwait Airways cabin crew not bothering to make people belt up or move seats upright for take-of or landing. Worst airline I ever flew with. I'd rather go overland to India.

[parabellum]

torot - When a seat won't recline the CC will usually try and find an alternative, well, they used to, but now these "knee Defenders" are widely known about it is the first thing the CC will look for if they receive a complaint a seat won't recline. The CC will then instruct you, (politely disguised as a request), to remove it, if you refuse you are disobeying a lawful instruction from the crew and have now stepped over the line. Just be careful. :)

[Heathrow Harry]

Just off a flight on a new BA 320 with the new thin & non-recline seats

very very uncomfortable even on short haul

[torot]

You are absolutely correct parabellum and I would comply fully with the CC "request" after explaining my position and asking for a compromise.
The arm rests on the A380 I was on did not fully retract so getting out of a middle seat with the seat in front reclined was really awkward as I had to haul myself up on the back of the seat in front and consequently make a bouncy trip for the reclining passenger. Add to this the reduced foot space because of the AVOD box and you can see my annoyance. Should I find my self in this uncomfortable position again I would politely wake the person in front everytime I want to get up to carry out the recommended anti-DVT exercise. Should this person fail to comply I would call the CC and get them to intervene on my behalf, just as they had already done for the recliner. I know it doesn't pay to piss off CC, but what's the alternative? The CC may then be less inclined to comply with the wishes of the recliners.

Thinking back again to my SIA-LHR flight the new seats were actually very comfortable and the pivot point for the reclining back appeared to be higher than normal. Combine this with the good pitch and knee space when seated was not an issue. I'm 5'10'' BTW. Well done BA. The puzzler was the partially retracting arm rest which is a real issue when behind a recliner. Not so well done BA.