Hello Flight-Reporters and #AvGeeks, welcome to a new series of flights!
With Delta and United having officially retired their 747 fleets at the end of 2017, U.S. carriers no longer operate the iconic "Queen of the Skies".
Luckily, several airlines around the world still fly the 747 and, as a oneworld flyer in the D.C. area, I still have the British Airway 747 flying to one of my home airports. In mid 2017, British Airways swapped the daily A380 on the Washington-London route for a 747-400. Some days, both daily BA IAD-LHR flights are operated by a 744. This was the case on our date of departure.
We decided to take a trip to Greece over Thanksgiving week as I'm a history nerd, in addition to being an aviation geek, and there were some decent Business class fares on BA. Business class from the U.S. tends to be discounted over holidays and the summer, when there is less business travel.
British Airways operate Boeing 747-400s in the "Super High-J" configuration to Washington-Dulles. These 744s have a whopping 86 Business class seats with the Club World cabin taking up the upper deck and stretching almost all the way to door 4 on the main deck (see seatmap below).
With such a premium-heavy configuration, there are many seats to chose from; however, the most highly prized seats are on the upper deck, of course!
Luckily, I was able to score seats in the first row of the upper deck when booking about two months out. As I prefer window seats, I would have ideally preferred seats in the exit row 62 or the last row 64, as these window seats have direct aisle-access. All window seats in Club World are rear-facing except for the 767-300ER (Intl version), which is currently only operated by BA's premium French subsidiary OpenSkies. See my recent reviews of the soon-to-disappear airline here and here
As you can see, even two months out, there were not many seats available on the upper deck.
Although I had flown on a BA 744 earlier in the year (See Report Here), It had been years since I'd been on the upper deck so I was really looking forward to this flight. Unfortunately, the experience started with a bit of stress when I received this e-mail from BA a little before 1:00PM on the day of departure:
Yikes, the almost 3-hour delay meant that I would miss my connection to Athens in London. I immediately called British Airways and proceeded to spend over an hour on the phone with an incredibly incompetent agent. I was basically having to look up re-routing options myself and then make suggestions to the agent as he didn't want to look up anything that didn't automatically pop up in the reservation system as between IAD and ATH–you have to be creative in these situations! The agent kept pushing for the easy option (for him) to re-book me on the next available flight from LHR to ATH–the problem with that was that it departed 12 hours after my original flight! That was totally unacceptable to me as I would lose my first day in Greece arriving at 1:00AM Sunday instead of 1:00PM Saturday.
After looking up a slew of routing combinations on BA, and other oneworld carriers, through several East Coast gateways, and even some out-of-alliance options, there just wasn't anything available that would get us to Athens earlier. Oddly, for a holiday week, Business class was sold out on almost every Transatlantic flight I looked up. I could find just one seat here and there, which didn't work for me since there were two of us. I just gave up and accepted to be booked onto the next LHR-ATH flight; at least I had verified for myself that there really were no other options.
Eh, it is what it is… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Check-in & Lounges
Despite the delay, we got to the airport around 5:00PM to check if there were any new re-routing options. Unsurprisingly, there weren't. I asked the agent at the Club World check-in if it would be possible to provide us with a hotel at Heathrow since we were going to be stuck there for 12 hours due to the delay. Again, unsurprisingly, the answer was no. The agent suggested that we check in London…of course, why make this any easier on us? Then the check-in agent tried to sell us cash upgrades to First–I love how offering paid upgrades seems to be BA's answer to service failures lately. How is suggesting that we give them more money any kind of compensation?!?! ?
The same scenario had played out on a previous flight with OpenSkies
The airport was surprisingly empty considering the upcoming Holiday week.
Beautiful sunset colours on the way to security.
An empty check-in area meant short lines at security. Since BA do not participate in the Known Traveller programme, I don't get TSA pre-check when flying with BA.
My traditional post-train glider shot
The British Airways Galleries lounge is located just across from the escalators that come up from the trains. I won't cover the lounge in too much detail as I've written about it in several other reports.
With 14 seats in First and 86 seats in Club World, and I'm sure a plethora of passengers in Premium Economy and Economy holding oneworld status, the lounge was packed. It got progressively worse throughout the evening as passengers from the 2nd BA flight (also a 744) began arriving.
Luckily, the Club World dining room, which is tucked away in the back of the lounge, was not crowded so we decided to settle in there. Access to the dining room is reserved for Club World passengers, with an attendant checking boarding passes at the entrance. There is a separate First class dining area in the "Concorde Bar"
We found a nice quiet corner to set up camp.
Here you can see that access is roped off with an attendant at the podium by the entrance.
Tarmac views from the dining room. R.I.P Virgin America
The dining room isn't terribly large, but it was a nice escape from the crowded main part of the lounge.
For Club World, it is a self-serve hot buffet, though there are attendants who serve drinks in the dining room.
There was an attendant at the buffet making Asian stir-fry to order. It looked good so I started with that. It was tasty with the right level of spice.
Next, I tried a bit of everything: Lasagna, salmon in cream sauce, green beans, and mashed potatoes.
The mashed potatoes were delicious, so I had more, but with turkey this time ?
Dessert was ok. The mini-pumpkin pie, along with the turkey earlier, were a nod to traditional U.S. Thanksgiving fare, but the pumpkin pie was dry and bland.
After a while the dining room began to fill up, so we decided to head over to the Turkish Airlines lounge for a bit before boarding. The new-ish TK lounge is actually right across from the gate, whereas the BA Galleries lounge is a few gates down. We had access to this lounge through Priority Pass.
I've covered this lounge in the past as well. It's a nice space, though a bit on the small side so it can get crowded. I've been turned away in the past trying to get in with Priority Pass during peak hours. Luckily, that was not the case this evening, and the lounge wasn't overcrowded.
There is a nice food spread in the TK lounge, but as I'd stuffed my face in the BA lounge, I only had a scotch as a digestif
Turkish A330-300 from the lounge
Boarding
We went across the hall to gate B42/B44 right before boarding was due to begin.
There were just a few people ahead of us already standing in the Club World/Fast Track queue.
Right before boarding began. A gate agent came through the queue to check boarding passes and politely kick out anyone who didn't have access to Fast track.
Time to board the Queen! The B42 jetbridge was connected to door 1L for First class boarding and B44 was connected to 2L for everyone else.
The stairs to the upper deck are located right as you enter through door 2L.
The recently refurbished cabin looks sharp with the blue mood lighting.
All aircraft with this premium-heavy "Super High-J" configuration were refurbished in 2016. The seats are the latest generation Club World. Though not much different in design from previous versions, the seats have upgraded power with USB ports and feature the newer Panasonic ex3 In-flight Entertainment system.
With only 20 Business class seats on the upper deck, the cabin has an intimate, almost private jet feel.
Looking towards the rear of the cabin.
My seat in the first row, 60K
We sat just a few feet behind the cockpit
View of the cabin from my seat
Window seats offer a lot of privacy in Club World (when the partition is up, anyway). Due to the unusual configuration with pairs of adjacent seats having a forwards and a backwards facing seat, if you are seated next to a stranger, it can be very awkward during taxi, takeoff, and landing, when the partition must be down. However, if you are travelling as a couple, these seats are great as you can have a face-to-face conversation.
One of the best features found on the 747 (and A380) upper deck is the large storage bins along the outer wall. These are really nice to have, especially as the overhead bins are quite small on the 747's upper deck.
Window seats on 747 and A380 upper decks with these bins have more shoulder room, and are therefore more spacious than on other aircraft in the BA fleet. The window seats on other aircraft can feel a bit claustrophobic.
Although BA Business class is often criticized for its high-density configuration, one nice thing about Club World is that the seats have a massive amount of legroom and the legs and feet are not restricted by a small foot-well often found on other types of full-flat Business class seats.
Just a few minutes after settling in, a lovely flight attendant offers to take coats and comes back shortly thereafter with pre-departure champagne.
Amenity kits are distributed a few minutes later. The contents are basic with the usual tootbrush/toothpaste combo, eye shades, socks, and Elemis hand creme. I'm not a big fan of these shoe bags, though; I much prefer the more common toiletry kit-style bags.
The 22:00 flight to LHR at the gate next door.
Let's have a look at the menu.
The Flight
Based on the number of people I had seen at the gate at boarding time, it seems the flight was not full and boarding went quickly.
IFE screens out for the safety video
It seems that the e-mail I'd received earlier that day was pretty accurate as we pushed back from the gate right at 21:00
During taxi, the new BA safety video plays. The new video, created in collaboration with U.K. charity Comic Relief , features a number of British celebrities. It is well done and quite funny–a nice change from the previous video.
Asim Chaudhry, playing a clueless wannabe director, does screen tests with the cast, who all play themselves.
British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor starts it off
Then we have mega-celebrity TV chef Gordon Ramsey
Sir Ian McKellen and Warwick Davis show us the operation of the oxygen masks
The video also features Gillian Anderson (in her natural English accent), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), Thandie Newton, Jim Broadbent, and Rob Brydon
At this late hour, the taxi time was short with no wait to takeoff,
The BA HIghlife Entertainment system in these newer cabins has a good amount of film, TV, and music content.
The Airshow is beautiful and modern.
Our route today
The apéritif is served shortly after takeoff, somewhere between Philly and NYC
The table in Club World is nice and large.
Castelnau Rosé Brut champagne before dinner with the usual packet of cashews. The champagne is good, but the bag of nuts is not nearly as high-end as the proper amuse-bouches I recently had on sister airline Aer Lingus
On these short Eastbound overnight flights, the catering is less substantial than on day flights. For example, the starter is only a salad, rather than a salad and a proper appetizer course. The dessert is pre-placed on the tray to speed up service.
For the main, I had the roasted chicken breast–it was fine, but a bit bland.
A look at the braised short rib option, which would have probably been a better option.
Cabin crew offered a cheese course after the main, but I stayed with dessert.
A Cognac digestif before bed
To relax before sleeping, I put the seat in bed mode and put on the Baywatch movie. Being a silly and not particularly interesting movie, I fell right to sleep!
I slept a good 4 hours or so and woke up as we were passing Northern Ireland, about 45 minutes out from Heathrow.
Since I decided to sleep until it was time for the cabin to be prepared for landing, I skipped breakfast.
Our short route over the Atlantic today. As we were arriving after the normal arrival rush due to the 3 hour delay, there wasn't much circling prior to landing.
It was a typical cloudy late autumn day over London.
Some nice autumn colours on landing
The taxi to Terminal 5 was short and we parked amid sister Queens.
We pulled in to the gate at 9:20AM, just under 3 hours after scheduled time, so we did not make up any time in flight.
Last views of the upper deck cabin on deplaning.
Another beautiful BA 747 on the way to the train to the main terminal.
As we got to the train, I suddenly had a feeling like I was missing something. I had my rollaboard and backpack…what could it be? Out of nowhere, one of the two cabin crew who'd worked the upper deck arrived out of breath with my bag of duty free. Doh! That's what I had forgotten!
Wow, I couldn't believe she had run all the way to the train to find me. I was super embarrassed but very thankful. She really saved the day for me–talk about going above and beyond! I got her name and made sure to write in a compliment letter to BA Customer Relations praising her.
Now here comes the looooong wait until the next flight to Athens. Oh joy!
See more
Verdict
British Airways
8.4/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering6.5
British Airways Galleries Lounge
8.0/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services8.0
Washington - IAD
7.9/10
Efficiency8.0
Access6.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5
London - LHR
8.3/10
Efficiency7.5
Access8.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
Although I wasn't happy about the 3 hour delay, which would ultimately delay us 12 hours to our destination, I did not let it ruin my experience. Having a seat on the upper deck and such a wonderful cabin crew helped to ease my frustrations, at least while on-board, and truly enjoy the flight.
Cabin - We all know that BA Club World isn't the best Business class product out there, but the seats are fully flat and comfortable. The unrestricted legroom is a big plus compared to other seats with tiny foot-wells. The upper deck window seat experience is markedly better than the main deck as the seats are much more spacious and have storage bins along the side wall. Also, the cabin is quieter being further away from the engines. I actually like the forwards-backwards configuration when travelling as a couple. My main criticism of this seat would be the lack of direct aisle access.
Cabin crew - Very professional and attentive crew. This was not a typical crew who hide in the galley between meal services; they were constantly in the cabin checking on passengers. Also, the fact that there are two flight attendants for only 20 passengers makes for a nicer experience with more personalised attention. And, of course, I'm super thankful for the flight attendant who chased me down all the way to the train to return my forgotten item.
IFE - Brand new and modern with a large library of content and great airshow.
Catering - It was fine, but nothing special. I understand the need for a reduced service on short night flights, but the lack of a real appetizer seems more like cost-cutting.
Overall a very nice flight on the Queen of the Skies!
22 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
I have to admit, the upper deck on this 747 looks pretty nice. BA gets such a bad rap but you've certainly found some good with your Openskies (too bad that's ending) and this report.
Sorry you got delayed, but at least they told you in advance so you could choose to arrive at the airport later if desired. Most US domestic won't do that.
On these short Eastbound overnight flights, the catering is less substantial than on day flights. For example, the starter is only a salad, rather than a salad and a proper appetizer course.
-Granted you were delayed, but to me it makes more sense on the late evening Europe departures to serve something small that reflects their local culture (for example on BA maybe a native meatpie, or on LH maybe some meat and cheese) as opposed to a full meal, then offer a really nice breakfast before arrival. I know they are starting to offer "express" meals on departure if you want to get to sleep fast, but seems that should be the norm. My 2 cents!
Thanks for the report, You might check out the bottom photos as they aren't showing up when I read you report.
"BA gets such a bad rap but you've certainly found some good with your Openskies (too bad that's ending) and this report." - They really do, and to a certain degree, much of the criticism is well deserved; however, I've had some great in-flight experiences with BA (less so on the ground or on the phone). For much of my travel, BA just works for me and, since I pay cash for most of my flights, the price is usually decent ex-US.
"Granted you were delayed, but to me it makes more sense on the late evening Europe departures to serve something small that reflects their local culture (for example on BA maybe a native meatpie, or on LH maybe some meat and cheese) as opposed to a full meal, then offer a really nice breakfast before arrival." - That's an interesting thought. I agree to a certain degree, but as I've said in other reports, I think there should be a choice: A full and coursed meal for those who wish to stay up and enjoy a meal, and an express option with a nice breakfast for those who wish to sleep. Personally, I almost always skip breakfast on the short eastbound redeyes, so I prefer to have the option of a full meal on departures between 1700-2100.
Thanks for letting me know about the picture issue--looks like I was missing a bracket on one of my pics, which cut off the rest of the report.
Nice report, great pictures. BA cost cutting evident in the menu, although the items offered seem ok. Good point on the ample legroom! Note: the bottom photos are indeed missing, and it seems the rest of the report is cut off.
" BA cost cutting evident in the menu," - Cost-cutting seems evident everywhere at BA these days. BA will be introducing more high-end catering throughout the system this year, in all classes, so we'll see if they succeed in bringing the level back up.
Thanks for the report. I'm wondering how the FAs manage the meal service with this seating configuration: do they have to open the divider to give the dishes to the window-side passenger?
"I'm wondering how the FAs manage the meal service with this seating configuration: do they have to open the divider to give the dishes to the window-side passenger?" - Meal services are a bit awkward, but yes, they often have to lower the privacy divider to pass items through or walk past the passenger behind as long as they don't have their footrest down. I've seen it done both ways. Either way, it is difficult for crew to serve passengers in the windows.
Great report, Kevin and I'm really looking forward to your trip reports here. Sorry to hear about the delay, but glad it did not impact your overall experience too much.
I haven't flown BA in a long, long time, but should try them again sometime. Thank you for sharing!
"Sorry to hear about the delay, but glad it did not impact your overall experience too much." - Yes, I didn't let it get to me, though the looong wait at LHR was rough, but I'll get into that in the next report.
Thanks for this FR. Wow again, BA ground customer service sucks! I don't know if other airlines would have provided an accomodation for such a long layover but as you say offering an upgrade to F is not the way to compensate passengers. I'm really surprised there were no seats available on A3, LH or AF once you were in LHR. Basic J service on that short flight. Again the final impression is that BA J is only worth it when discounted...
"Wow again, BA ground customer service sucks!" - Yup! There seems to be more and more contrast between service on the ground and in the air.
"I don't know if other airlines would have provided an accomodation for such a long layover but as you say offering an upgrade to F is not the way to compensate passengers." - Considering I was stuck in LHR for 12 hours because of their delay, I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask for accommodations.I think many carriers, taking class of service and elite status into account would provide it. If you think about it, it's an involuntary reroute, so it's the carrier's responsibility to accommodate pax. I'll have more details on that in the next report.
"I'm really surprised there were no seats available on A3, LH or AF once you were in LHR." - Again, I'll get into that in the next report, but no seats on A3, and connecting on LH, AF, IB etc would have meant another connection for a minimal time savings
"Again the final impression is that BA J is only worth it when discounted..." - Yes, I think BA are aware of their product shortcomings and you often find BA J prices are better than competitors. When the fare is decent, it's a good value. Like I said, onboard is fine and cabin crew are often great...it's how they handle IRROPS and customer service on the ground that sucks the most.
“both daily BA IAD-LHR flights are operated by a 744.” ==> This has been happening at LAX too, the A380s are regularly downgraded to B747s.
The BA Lounge catering looks good and nice that they actually had made-to-order food and not just buffet items. When I traveled last Thanksgiving, the *A Lounge at LAX also had a Thanksgiving dinner theme with turkey and mashed potatoes, good to see the Brits didn’t save the turkey for Christmas instead ;)
Maybe it’s a visual illusion, but the aisle seems wider upper deck than I feel like I’ve seen on other carriers. See, I would have thought 60K was bad a bad option given the proximity to the lavatory and crew rest. Whenever I have been in this position on other carriers, the amount of traffic to the lavatory and crew noise was super distracting. Also, was that light right over your head turned off during the flight?
Crazy how much less refined the catering is compared to EI, although the short rib option did look quite good. Not going to even comment on that white looking thing next to the pie. Was the fruit available as well?
At least you got a good night's sleep, the one advantage of a flight delay (not considering the fall-out).
"This has been happening at LAX too, the A380s are regularly downgraded to B747s." - Didn't know LAX was getting downgraded on a regular basis. Seems like European carriers don't really know what to do with their A380s. Hopefully the A380 comes back to IAD next summer.
"good to see the Brits didn’t save the turkey for Christmas instead ;)" - No, just the figgy pudding lol
"Maybe it’s a visual illusion, but the aisle seems wider upper deck than I feel like I’ve seen on other carriers." - It's not an illusion, it really is wider. BA's seats are pretty narrow--that's how they can squeeze in 2-4-2 on the main deck, granted it's not a true 2-4-2 because of the Ying-Yang configuration.
"See, I would have thought 60K was bad a bad option given the proximity to the lavatory and crew rest." - In the window seat you're so isolated when the partition is up, you wouldn't notice.
"Whenever I have been in this position on other carriers, the amount of traffic to the lavatory and crew noise was super distracting." - The galley is at the rear of the upper deck, so crew noise isn't an issue and traffic to the lav is minimal since there are 2 lavs on the upper deck (one in front and one in back) for only 20 seats.
"Crazy how much less refined the catering is compared to EI" - I know right! And here I thought Brits were fancy :-P
"Was the fruit available as well?" - Probably, I didn't ask
"At least you got a good night's sleep, the one advantage of a flight delay (not considering the fall-out)." - Exactly. Had the flight left on-time at 6:30, I probably wouldn't have slept much. I normally prefer the later flights, but in this case, the earlier flight was the only one that connected to ATH....well, that was supposed to connect to ATH
“You wouldn’t notice” ==> Not even for the double flushes after the meal service?^^ DL and UA crews have been super chatty outside of the crew rest on previous flights I’ve done, so annoying...
Hah! Nope, I couldn't hear the double flushes, LOL. With the headphones on, I was fast asleep after dinners. The fact that 60K faces away probably also helps with the noise factor.
Thanks for sharing this report, it was a great read!!
It's kind of a bummer to see BA cutting down on the a380 service to Dulles, I guess now you'll only see those from Emirates and Air France. On the bright side, its more chances to fly on one now that most airlines are cutting their 747's from the fleet.
I am pretty upset at all the cost cutting measures that BA has been implementing in the last few years, and now I hear they are removing reclining seats in their shorthaul fleet. While I can imagine the on board catering has probably been impacted, I generally find the catering out of IAD to be garbage- other than that, I have seen BA food is usually not terrible.
"It's kind of a bummer to see BA cutting down on the a380 service to Dulles" - It is! I love the 744, but not if it means losing the A380 forever. Hopefully they'll bring back the A380 next summer.
"I am pretty upset at all the cost cutting measures that BA has been implementing in the last few years" - It's getting pretty bad. I think we've hit rock bottom considering BA's recent announcement regarding service improvements in J. Hopefully things get better going forward.
"and now I hear they are removing reclining seats in their shorthaul fleet" - Yep, it's true. Although reclining on a flight with only 30" of seat pitch causes on-board fights, this is just another example of BA turning the short-haul operation into an LCC. At least they're not touching the front rows of the cabin, so the Club Europe seats will still recline.
"I generally find the catering out of IAD to be garbage- other than that, I have seen BA food is usually not terrible" - Catering ex-US in general is pretty bad. lol
“I immediately called British Airways and proceeded to spend over an hour on the phone with an incredibly incompetent agent.” - BA customer service in a nutshell. Eternally grateful I needn’t fly them on my frequent trips to everywhere (insert clasped hands emoji).
“Let's have a look at the menu.” - I must admit. That looks marginally better than what I had expected from standard BA J offerings.
12 hours in London. What could be better? The sunny weather, the warm climate.. oh wait, I was describing Portugal. Oops. Shouldn’t a 12-hour travel delay mean you’re entitled to EU261?
"BA customer service in a nutshell." - Basically! It's like they don't even want to make the effort to pretend to care anymore.
"I must admit. That looks marginally better than what I had expected from standard BA J offerings." - We'll see what the improved catering and meal service that is currently being rolled out brings.
"12 hours in London. What could be better? The sunny weather, the warm climate.. oh wait" - Yep! Especially in the winter...paradise!
"Shouldn’t a 12-hour travel delay mean you’re entitled to EU261?" - Indeed it does, and I'll get into that in the next report. I'll say that BA wouldn't lift a finger, except when mandated by EU law to do so.
I am late to comment but thanks Kevin for sharing this flight report! Sorry to hear that you vacation were affected by the delay. The check-in agent is so shameful to help BA robbing passengers' $$$! BTW beautiful sunset view of Dulles (not Dallas the stupid mistake made by CX lol)! "the lounge was packed." - I imagined it would be more crowded once CX commenced its flight to IAD later this year. The J seats on the upper deck looks so spacious. IMO the IFE on this retrofitted Queen looks better than those on A380/777. "the catering is less substantial than on day flights" - Hope it would be improved once the refreshed club world dining implemented this year
"The check-in agent is so shameful to help BA robbing passengers' $$$! " - It's like their drug dealers, pushing their paid upgrades with no shame
"I imagined it would be more crowded once CX commenced its flight to IAD later this year." - Yes, it could be a problem! CX flight is scheduled to depart at 0100 with the last BA flight at 2230, so hopefully there is enough of a gap between the flights to keep the lounge from getting overly crowded. However, with a late night departure time like 1AM, I bet a lot of passengers will show up early, as they've checked out of their hotels a long time ago and crowd the lounge.
"Hope it would be improved once the refreshed club world dining implemented this year" - Me too! Looking forward to see the improvements for myself.
Sorry to hear about the delay and its consequences this occasion.
“Then the check-in agent tried to sell us cash upgrades to First” Seriously??
“Beautiful sunset colours on the way to security.” Stunning indeed.
“The Airshow is beautiful and modern.” Did it switch between modes automatically or were you able to select between modes manually?
Nice aerial shots while approaching LHR.
Since the experience was perhaps not the best on the phone and at check/in in IAD, it was nice to hear some more positive details regarding service on the flight and at the end :).
"Sorry to hear about the delay and its consequences this occasion." - Thanks. It's really a product of how seasonal of a destination Greece is. It's surprising how few flights there are to Athens in the off season.
"Seriously??" - Yep...I find that so tacky. Especially since it's not the first time it's happened to me with BA.
"Did it switch between modes automatically or were you able to select between modes manually?" - It switched automatically. I don't like having to switch modes manually like on some systems.
"Since the experience was perhaps not the best on the phone and at check/in in IAD, it was nice to hear some more positive details regarding service on the flight and at the end :)." - Indeed! The awesome crew really made up for it.
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968 reviews
22 Comments
I have to admit, the upper deck on this 747 looks pretty nice. BA gets such a bad rap but you've certainly found some good with your Openskies (too bad that's ending) and this report.
Sorry you got delayed, but at least they told you in advance so you could choose to arrive at the airport later if desired. Most US domestic won't do that.
-Granted you were delayed, but to me it makes more sense on the late evening Europe departures to serve something small that reflects their local culture (for example on BA maybe a native meatpie, or on LH maybe some meat and cheese) as opposed to a full meal, then offer a really nice breakfast before arrival. I know they are starting to offer "express" meals on departure if you want to get to sleep fast, but seems that should be the norm. My 2 cents!
Thanks for the report, You might check out the bottom photos as they aren't showing up when I read you report.
"BA gets such a bad rap but you've certainly found some good with your Openskies (too bad that's ending) and this report."
- They really do, and to a certain degree, much of the criticism is well deserved; however, I've had some great in-flight experiences with BA (less so on the ground or on the phone). For much of my travel, BA just works for me and, since I pay cash for most of my flights, the price is usually decent ex-US.
"Granted you were delayed, but to me it makes more sense on the late evening Europe departures to serve something small that reflects their local culture (for example on BA maybe a native meatpie, or on LH maybe some meat and cheese) as opposed to a full meal, then offer a really nice breakfast before arrival."
- That's an interesting thought. I agree to a certain degree, but as I've said in other reports, I think there should be a choice: A full and coursed meal for those who wish to stay up and enjoy a meal, and an express option with a nice breakfast for those who wish to sleep. Personally, I almost always skip breakfast on the short eastbound redeyes, so I prefer to have the option of a full meal on departures between 1700-2100.
Thanks for letting me know about the picture issue--looks like I was missing a bracket on one of my pics, which cut off the rest of the report.
Thanks for stopping by!
" BA cost cutting evident in the menu,"
- Cost-cutting seems evident everywhere at BA these days. BA will be introducing more high-end catering throughout the system this year, in all classes, so we'll see if they succeed in bringing the level back up.
Thanks again, and the report is fixed
"I'm wondering how the FAs manage the meal service with this seating configuration: do they have to open the divider to give the dishes to the window-side passenger?"
- Meal services are a bit awkward, but yes, they often have to lower the privacy divider to pass items through or walk past the passenger behind as long as they don't have their footrest down. I've seen it done both ways. Either way, it is difficult for crew to serve passengers in the windows.
Thanks for stopping by!
I haven't flown BA in a long, long time, but should try them again sometime. Thank you for sharing!
Matthew
"Sorry to hear about the delay, but glad it did not impact your overall experience too much."
- Yes, I didn't let it get to me, though the looong wait at LHR was rough, but I'll get into that in the next report.
Thanks!
Wow again, BA ground customer service sucks!
I don't know if other airlines would have provided an accomodation for such a long layover but as you say offering an upgrade to F is not the way to compensate passengers.
I'm really surprised there were no seats available on A3, LH or AF once you were in LHR.
Basic J service on that short flight.
Again the final impression is that BA J is only worth it when discounted...
- Yup! There seems to be more and more contrast between service on the ground and in the air.
"I don't know if other airlines would have provided an accomodation for such a long layover but as you say offering an upgrade to F is not the way to compensate passengers."
- Considering I was stuck in LHR for 12 hours because of their delay, I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask for accommodations.I think many carriers, taking class of service and elite status into account would provide it. If you think about it, it's an involuntary reroute, so it's the carrier's responsibility to accommodate pax. I'll have more details on that in the next report.
"I'm really surprised there were no seats available on A3, LH or AF once you were in LHR."
- Again, I'll get into that in the next report, but no seats on A3, and connecting on LH, AF, IB etc would have meant another connection for a minimal time savings
"Again the final impression is that BA J is only worth it when discounted..."
- Yes, I think BA are aware of their product shortcomings and you often find BA J prices are better than competitors. When the fare is decent, it's a good value. Like I said, onboard is fine and cabin crew are often great...it's how they handle IRROPS and customer service on the ground that sucks the most.
“both daily BA IAD-LHR flights are operated by a 744.” ==> This has been happening at LAX too, the A380s are regularly downgraded to B747s.
The BA Lounge catering looks good and nice that they actually had made-to-order food and not just buffet items. When I traveled last Thanksgiving, the *A Lounge at LAX also had a Thanksgiving dinner theme with turkey and mashed potatoes, good to see the Brits didn’t save the turkey for Christmas instead ;)
Maybe it’s a visual illusion, but the aisle seems wider upper deck than I feel like I’ve seen on other carriers. See, I would have thought 60K was bad a bad option given the proximity to the lavatory and crew rest. Whenever I have been in this position on other carriers, the amount of traffic to the lavatory and crew noise was super distracting. Also, was that light right over your head turned off during the flight?
Crazy how much less refined the catering is compared to EI, although the short rib option did look quite good. Not going to even comment on that white looking thing next to the pie. Was the fruit available as well?
At least you got a good night's sleep, the one advantage of a flight delay (not considering the fall-out).
"This has been happening at LAX too, the A380s are regularly downgraded to B747s."
- Didn't know LAX was getting downgraded on a regular basis. Seems like European carriers don't really know what to do with their A380s. Hopefully the A380 comes back to IAD next summer.
"good to see the Brits didn’t save the turkey for Christmas instead ;)"
- No, just the figgy pudding lol
"Maybe it’s a visual illusion, but the aisle seems wider upper deck than I feel like I’ve seen on other carriers."
- It's not an illusion, it really is wider. BA's seats are pretty narrow--that's how they can squeeze in 2-4-2 on the main deck, granted it's not a true 2-4-2 because of the Ying-Yang configuration.
"See, I would have thought 60K was bad a bad option given the proximity to the lavatory and crew rest."
- In the window seat you're so isolated when the partition is up, you wouldn't notice.
"Whenever I have been in this position on other carriers, the amount of traffic to the lavatory and crew noise was super distracting."
- The galley is at the rear of the upper deck, so crew noise isn't an issue and traffic to the lav is minimal since there are 2 lavs on the upper deck (one in front and one in back) for only 20 seats.
"Crazy how much less refined the catering is compared to EI"
- I know right! And here I thought Brits were fancy :-P
"Was the fruit available as well?"
- Probably, I didn't ask
"At least you got a good night's sleep, the one advantage of a flight delay (not considering the fall-out)."
- Exactly. Had the flight left on-time at 6:30, I probably wouldn't have slept much. I normally prefer the later flights, but in this case, the earlier flight was the only one that connected to ATH....well, that was supposed to connect to ATH
Thanks for stopping by!
It's kind of a bummer to see BA cutting down on the a380 service to Dulles, I guess now you'll only see those from Emirates and Air France. On the bright side, its more chances to fly on one now that most airlines are cutting their 747's from the fleet.
I am pretty upset at all the cost cutting measures that BA has been implementing in the last few years, and now I hear they are removing reclining seats in their shorthaul fleet. While I can imagine the on board catering has probably been impacted, I generally find the catering out of IAD to be garbage- other than that, I have seen BA food is usually not terrible.
"It's kind of a bummer to see BA cutting down on the a380 service to Dulles"
- It is! I love the 744, but not if it means losing the A380 forever. Hopefully they'll bring back the A380 next summer.
"I am pretty upset at all the cost cutting measures that BA has been implementing in the last few years"
- It's getting pretty bad. I think we've hit rock bottom considering BA's recent announcement regarding service improvements in J. Hopefully things get better going forward.
"and now I hear they are removing reclining seats in their shorthaul fleet"
- Yep, it's true. Although reclining on a flight with only 30" of seat pitch causes on-board fights, this is just another example of BA turning the short-haul operation into an LCC. At least they're not touching the front rows of the cabin, so the Club Europe seats will still recline.
"I generally find the catering out of IAD to be garbage- other than that, I have seen BA food is usually not terrible"
- Catering ex-US in general is pretty bad. lol
Thanks for stopping by!
“I immediately called British Airways and proceeded to spend over an hour on the phone with an incredibly incompetent agent.”
- BA customer service in a nutshell. Eternally grateful I needn’t fly them on my frequent trips to everywhere (insert clasped hands emoji).
“Let's have a look at the menu.”
- I must admit. That looks marginally better than what I had expected from standard BA J offerings.
12 hours in London. What could be better? The sunny weather, the warm climate.. oh wait, I was describing Portugal. Oops. Shouldn’t a 12-hour travel delay mean you’re entitled to EU261?
Thanks again for this FR. Cheers!
"BA customer service in a nutshell."
- Basically! It's like they don't even want to make the effort to pretend to care anymore.
"I must admit. That looks marginally better than what I had expected from standard BA J offerings."
- We'll see what the improved catering and meal service that is currently being rolled out brings.
"12 hours in London. What could be better? The sunny weather, the warm climate.. oh wait"
- Yep! Especially in the winter...paradise!
"Shouldn’t a 12-hour travel delay mean you’re entitled to EU261?"
- Indeed it does, and I'll get into that in the next report. I'll say that BA wouldn't lift a finger, except when mandated by EU law to do so.
Thanks so much for your feedback!
Sorry to hear that you vacation were affected by the delay. The check-in agent is so shameful to help BA robbing passengers' $$$! BTW beautiful sunset view of Dulles (not Dallas the stupid mistake made by CX lol)!
"the lounge was packed." - I imagined it would be more crowded once CX commenced its flight to IAD later this year.
The J seats on the upper deck looks so spacious. IMO the IFE on this retrofitted Queen looks better than those on A380/777.
"the catering is less substantial than on day flights" - Hope it would be improved once the refreshed club world dining implemented this year
"The check-in agent is so shameful to help BA robbing passengers' $$$! "
- It's like their drug dealers, pushing their paid upgrades with no shame
"I imagined it would be more crowded once CX commenced its flight to IAD later this year."
- Yes, it could be a problem! CX flight is scheduled to depart at 0100 with the last BA flight at 2230, so hopefully there is enough of a gap between the flights to keep the lounge from getting overly crowded. However, with a late night departure time like 1AM, I bet a lot of passengers will show up early, as they've checked out of their hotels a long time ago and crowd the lounge.
"Hope it would be improved once the refreshed club world dining implemented this year"
- Me too! Looking forward to see the improvements for myself.
Thanks again!
Sorry to hear about the delay and its consequences this occasion.
“Then the check-in agent tried to sell us cash upgrades to First”
Seriously??
“Beautiful sunset colours on the way to security.”
Stunning indeed.
“The Airshow is beautiful and modern.”
Did it switch between modes automatically or were you able to select between modes manually?
Nice aerial shots while approaching LHR.
Since the experience was perhaps not the best on the phone and at check/in in IAD, it was nice to hear some more positive details regarding service on the flight and at the end :).
Have a good one, see you.
"Sorry to hear about the delay and its consequences this occasion."
- Thanks. It's really a product of how seasonal of a destination Greece is. It's surprising how few flights there are to Athens in the off season.
"Seriously??"
- Yep...I find that so tacky. Especially since it's not the first time it's happened to me with BA.
"Did it switch between modes automatically or were you able to select between modes manually?"
- It switched automatically. I don't like having to switch modes manually like on some systems.
"Since the experience was perhaps not the best on the phone and at check/in in IAD, it was nice to hear some more positive details regarding service on the flight and at the end :)."
- Indeed! The awesome crew really made up for it.
Thank you for stopping by!
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