Ridiculous BA A380 economy seats
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Ridiculous BA A380 economy seats
Just came SIN-LHR and specifically picked the BA A380.
Travelling as a family of three and looking forward to some decent shut-eye, I was highly unamused to find the arm rests on the seats don't go up properly - they only go about 45%, so an uncomfortable night with a toddler.
Why on earth would they do this? I've never encountered it on any other config in my life (I fly a lot) and I'm struggling to understand any benefit gained from it. It's a shame - I love BA.
Will never fly it again - back to the 747 on our return leg, which will allow a sleep albeit in an older style cabin.
If anyone in BA reads this, please take this type of feedback into consideration - I've since read a bunch of other people complaining about it online, it's really family / couple unfriendly.
Travelling as a family of three and looking forward to some decent shut-eye, I was highly unamused to find the arm rests on the seats don't go up properly - they only go about 45%, so an uncomfortable night with a toddler.
Why on earth would they do this? I've never encountered it on any other config in my life (I fly a lot) and I'm struggling to understand any benefit gained from it. It's a shame - I love BA.
Will never fly it again - back to the 747 on our return leg, which will allow a sleep albeit in an older style cabin.
If anyone in BA reads this, please take this type of feedback into consideration - I've since read a bunch of other people complaining about it online, it's really family / couple unfriendly.
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Not at all. All armrests need to be down for landing and emergency landings too. If they're jammed half way up and could impede exit then those seats would be u/s however there's no requirement for armrests to be fully vertical and flush with the seat backs.
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Hi nebpor,
I work for the airline and actually asked the same question when I was lucky enough to have 2 seats to myself and wanted to put the armrests up to make a sort of bed.
The reply I got was that the backs of the seats are wider to improve passenger comfort. This has had the effect of reducing the gap between the seats to less than the armrest width so the decision was taken to prioritise having a slightly wider seat over the armrest going fully up. It also reduced wear and tear on the IFE cables present in the armrest.
The 777 also has seats where the fuselage tapers in that have non-moveable armrests. This is because the armrests are padded in order to comply with the 16G protection that the interior on-board has to be certified to.
Hope that helps.
I work for the airline and actually asked the same question when I was lucky enough to have 2 seats to myself and wanted to put the armrests up to make a sort of bed.
The reply I got was that the backs of the seats are wider to improve passenger comfort. This has had the effect of reducing the gap between the seats to less than the armrest width so the decision was taken to prioritise having a slightly wider seat over the armrest going fully up. It also reduced wear and tear on the IFE cables present in the armrest.
The 777 also has seats where the fuselage tapers in that have non-moveable armrests. This is because the armrests are padded in order to comply with the 16G protection that the interior on-board has to be certified to.
Hope that helps.
he 777 also has seats where the fuselage tapers in that have non-moveable armrests. This is because the armrests are padded in order to comply with the 16G protection that the interior on-board has to be certified to.
might as well sleep on the floor.
I remember an Air New Zealand briefing several years back that included "Sleeping on the floor is never allowed on Air New Zealand flights."
With Air New Zealand the use of the economy SkyCouch is amazing for couples/those with toddlers. Again, those at BA who make these decisions are completely out of touch,.... why of course I want to sit upright in one position for 14 hours! Fine if flying alone but not for a large portion of passengers. I'll be avoiding BA because of it.
I avoid BA at all times, as somebody said Emirates all the way.
I work for the airline and actually asked the same question when I was lucky enough to have 2 seats to myself and wanted to put the armrests up to make a sort of bed.
The reply I got was that the backs of the seats are wider to improve passenger comfort. This has had the effect of reducing the gap between the seats to less than the armrest width so the decision was taken to prioritise having a slightly wider seat over the armrest going fully up.
The reply I got was that the backs of the seats are wider to improve passenger comfort. This has had the effect of reducing the gap between the seats to less than the armrest width so the decision was taken to prioritise having a slightly wider seat over the armrest going fully up.
Send the seat designers down to a railway museum to see how to do it.
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Champair, thanks for your response - at least I now know why even if I don't agree with it, it's a shame as I certainly didn't notice the extra seat width!
And sorry, but i don't fly Emirates anymore if I can help it - I always found the cabin service indifferent, plus have had too many missed connections and awful DBX experiences with them, plus Dubai is no place to transit with a kid - I'm far happier having a couple of days in Singapore and a lot less stress.
And sorry, but i don't fly Emirates anymore if I can help it - I always found the cabin service indifferent, plus have had too many missed connections and awful DBX experiences with them, plus Dubai is no place to transit with a kid - I'm far happier having a couple of days in Singapore and a lot less stress.
Paxing All Over The World
I'd hazard a [cynical] guess that the extra seat width is only there to look good on paper. Increasingly, there are comparison sites for seats and someone might think that a vital enough extra width. I don't and certainly if it comes at the price of arm rests not fully lifting up.
I've just booked first trips on a 380 but not with BA.
I've just booked first trips on a 380 but not with BA.
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Slightly off topic, I know, but, continuing Paxboy's comment about comparison sites: it's curious that, thanks to the miracle of the Internet, we now have the means to find and make comments about pretty much every aspect of airline service, but at the same time it seems that we are facing ever-decreasing standards with many of the legacy carriers. At least you would think so from reading many of those comparison sites.
The point is that all the comparison sites in the world aren't encouraging increasing standards everywhere, and the difference in standards between the western and Asian carriers seems to be turning into a yawning chasm.
The point is that all the comparison sites in the world aren't encouraging increasing standards everywhere, and the difference in standards between the western and Asian carriers seems to be turning into a yawning chasm.
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Slightly off topic again but can anyone offer reasonable explanation, and I've only flown on AF/KL B777's, why their -200 series are 9 across in economy but their -300 series 10 across in economy?
I did a night CDG/SIN in a 10 across AF -300 and it was a most uncomfortable ride, I returned MNL/AMS in a 9 across -200 and despite it being a 14 hour journey without a cigarette it was OK.
I did a night CDG/SIN in a 10 across AF -300 and it was a most uncomfortable ride, I returned MNL/AMS in a 9 across -200 and despite it being a 14 hour journey without a cigarette it was OK.
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Mr Angry,
Let it not be forgotten that I travelled TPA/BGR/LGW with my seat, during two landings, two take-offs, and plenty of turbulence, being a rear toilet on a DC10 ... Fortunately I had a good 'friend' working the flight who had used my toilet to stow vodka and tonic in.
Back at LGW in time to catch the midday LGW/LAX only to have a difficult passenger who, in front of some 300 passengers, a steward and I (and an American cop passenger) had a wrestling match with
Let it not be forgotten that I travelled TPA/BGR/LGW with my seat, during two landings, two take-offs, and plenty of turbulence, being a rear toilet on a DC10 ... Fortunately I had a good 'friend' working the flight who had used my toilet to stow vodka and tonic in.
Back at LGW in time to catch the midday LGW/LAX only to have a difficult passenger who, in front of some 300 passengers, a steward and I (and an American cop passenger) had a wrestling match with