New BA Club Seat
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New BA Club Seat
Have now had six sectors in the new BA Club World: are others as unimpressed as I am?
- Have not seen the entertainment system work yet
- Have been moved once (pre-boarding) because the seat was defective
- Have had two defective seats
- Seat bobs around like a dinghy in a gale as other passengers move / walk down the aisle
- Video screen fell to bits in mild turbulence
- Seat light is too small to read by, no overhead light
- Nowhere to put your glasses
- Nowhere to put your drink
- Table is not rigid, cannot write at it
- Sound seems to carry more in the cabin (hard surfaces?)
OK , it is slightly wider: but everything else about it is cheap and nasty. Discussed this with a friendly cc (they do exist) and she said the company feedback was all positive but most passengers she talked to were very unenthusiastic. What do others think?
- Have not seen the entertainment system work yet
- Have been moved once (pre-boarding) because the seat was defective
- Have had two defective seats
- Seat bobs around like a dinghy in a gale as other passengers move / walk down the aisle
- Video screen fell to bits in mild turbulence
- Seat light is too small to read by, no overhead light
- Nowhere to put your glasses
- Nowhere to put your drink
- Table is not rigid, cannot write at it
- Sound seems to carry more in the cabin (hard surfaces?)
OK , it is slightly wider: but everything else about it is cheap and nasty. Discussed this with a friendly cc (they do exist) and she said the company feedback was all positive but most passengers she talked to were very unenthusiastic. What do others think?
Join Date: Mar 2007
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Pretty much the same as yourself. Good concept, heart in the right place but they seem to have missed the mark with this one. Apparently it IS being addressed before rolled out onto the rest of the fleet - so I'm told.
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Same experience here - also unimpressed by the new SIA Business seating on the A380 but for different reasons, it does at least seem to be well built and makes a great bed, but just doesn't seem to work as a seat.
Join Date: Sep 2005
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Well the 747 conversion is complete and the 777 conversion is on indefinite hold so don't expect any changes to come along soon.
The seat is far from perfect and was definitly built to a production budget, if not a design or operational one. That said it does really rather knock the spots off the competition, particularly wrt sleeping where it really does excel and where the vast majority of its popularity derives from.
The seat is far from perfect and was definitly built to a production budget, if not a design or operational one. That said it does really rather knock the spots off the competition, particularly wrt sleeping where it really does excel and where the vast majority of its popularity derives from.
Join Date: Jun 2004
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The problem with the new seat is that in order to keep weight down they did not construct the seats with a firm base like in the old club world seat (if you fly in an old club world cabin soon note the slight step, only about up from the aisle that marks the base) and as such, is now fixed directly to the floor. It is what makes it all rather flimsy.
I think it looks good but as for the rest!!!!
I think it looks good but as for the rest!!!!
Join Date: Oct 2007
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A crew members perspective.
As BA crew, I sadly have to agree wholeheartedly with the posts.
I do spend considerable time talking to customers, & it has been very difficult to defend this product. If I was spending my own money flying in this seat, chances are, I would not be happy. LHR delays & baggage problems certainly make it even worse!
From a crew point of view, it is certainly no fun having to constantly reset the video system, & being bawled at by customers, especially when I happen to agree with them!
Looking for the silver lining, well the AVOD video system is being looked at at the very highest level of BA engineering & Rockwell Collins, who designed the heap of sh1t. Reliability is getting better, & will continue to do so, but there is a way to go yet.
The seat has had approx 60 modifications to it (proof that it was an initially poor design, I guess), but wobbly film screens, broken foot-stools etc are largely sorted out. Still some way to go to get it 100%, but hopefully we'll get there soon.
Oh, & a new duty-free "till" system is also in the near future, so buying duty frees on board should also soon become quicker & easier.
Matt.
I do spend considerable time talking to customers, & it has been very difficult to defend this product. If I was spending my own money flying in this seat, chances are, I would not be happy. LHR delays & baggage problems certainly make it even worse!
From a crew point of view, it is certainly no fun having to constantly reset the video system, & being bawled at by customers, especially when I happen to agree with them!
Looking for the silver lining, well the AVOD video system is being looked at at the very highest level of BA engineering & Rockwell Collins, who designed the heap of sh1t. Reliability is getting better, & will continue to do so, but there is a way to go yet.
The seat has had approx 60 modifications to it (proof that it was an initially poor design, I guess), but wobbly film screens, broken foot-stools etc are largely sorted out. Still some way to go to get it 100%, but hopefully we'll get there soon.
Oh, & a new duty-free "till" system is also in the near future, so buying duty frees on board should also soon become quicker & easier.
Matt.
