Review of British Airways flight Toronto London in Economy

Airline British Airways
Flight BA98
Class Economy
Seat 35A
Aircraft Boeing 787-9
Flight time 07:49
Take-off 14 Jun 19, 21:55
Arrival at 15 Jun 19, 10:45
BA   #63 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 976 reviews
JAZ350
By 4124
Published on 26th July 2019

INTRODUCTION


The West African Tour 

These upcoming reports map my summer 2019 trip to and from the African continent.  As this year is the 'Year of Return', Ghana is welcoming all persons of African descent back to the shores of the nation. It is a year long event marking 400 years since the first slave ship left Africa for the Americas. Ghana has been on my list for ages and I could not have chosen a better time to go.  


Routing

  • YYZ-LHR You are here
  • LHR-ACC Coming soon
  • ACC-ABJ Coming soon
  • ABJ-ACC Coming soon
  • ACC-LHR Coming soon
  • LHR-JFK Coming soon
  • EWR-YUL Coming soon
  • YUL-YTZ Coming soon

I arrived at Terminal 3 about 9 hours prior to departure and hotel checkout about about noon. To my surprise there was already a line for BA checkin. LUCKILY at 3pm BA opened their desks and the process began and it was time to relax in the departure area.


photo img_0037

terminal Lounge & spotting


Some spotting was done before heading to the gate area and lounge. G-VIIX had just arrived from LGW. This was an a/c that frequents the Caribbean routes. Due to 787 issues I believe, BA leased an Air Belgium A343 for the summer. Pictured is OO-ABE operating as BA92 to LHR. 


photo img_0038photo img_0040photo img_0039

To pass some time, I made my way to the Plaza lounge and grab a snack and rewind before the long voyage to the motherland. 


photo img_0064

The lounge was pretty quiet for about 30 minutes and filled to capacity as time progressed. The lounge was pretty average compared to the other neighboring ones. 


photo img_0045photo img_0044photo 75e9bbd7-306b-4d71-8c77-bb8989c89592

Compared to other lounges, it was average and the food options are limited. Despite that, the noodle soup was actually pretty good. The choice of alcohol was adequate as well. 


photo img_0046

TSA333 to YUL , DE763 to FRA & AF772 to CDG


photo img_0042photo img_0050photo img_0043

The evening arrivals came right after the other, PAL & FI were 10 minutes apart and CX soon followed. Check out my CX business class review from CGK to JFK via HKG & YVR. An AC333 was being pushed back for departure to YUL.


photo img_0053photo img_0060photo img_0055

Our aircraft arrived almost an hour late from LHR. Boarding was delayed as well as departure. As a result I hung around the gate, got some sushi and waited for my boarding zone to be called. The gate crew managed to get everyone on the aircraft in 20 minutes, the fastest I have seen yet. 


photo img_0070photo img_0069photo 0f9a0692-ce64-423d-a8b7-4a57dead40c8

INFLIGHT


Aircraft : Boeing 787-9
Registration: G-ZBKM
Age: 3.0 Years


Parked next to Alitalia, our 787-9 prepared for departure. 


photo img_0066

Snapped this wing view before boarding.


photo img_0072photo img_0074

Pushback was also delayed some bit however the crew made a quick taxi to the active.


photo img_0075photo img_0076photo img_0077

The lights of mississauga on departure. Our climb out was low and slow, assuming their was some sort of traffic separation going on.


photo img_0078

An hour in, the crew came about with the meal service. Although I'm well aware that I'm in economy, the Toronto catering was possibly the worst I have had on British Airways. The Tikka Masala has the same flavor as salt water. The dessert was AMAZING, however. 


photo img_0080photo img_0081photo img_0082

About 3.5 hours in the cabin lights were still on which disrupted my sleep. We cruised toward LHR, our a/c flew along the Quebec coastline for some bit. 


photo img_0084

For the first time ever, I missed sunrise. I was slightly upset because I wanted to grab some photos but the crew had dimmed the windows from their controls.


photo img_0088photo img_0089photo img_0090

2 Hours from LHR


photo img_0085

Prior to 'breakfast' the windows were undimmed allowing natural light to flow throughout the cabin. 


photo e6143f9e-d476-4fde-9001-24de4937f5c3

DESCENT & ARRIVAL


The Irish coastline


photo img_0110

Crossing the coastline of Wales


photo img_0111photo img_0112photo 58375ba4-a8cb-4290-a06e-a1c72aa710e8

A pastry was handed out as breakfast and i opted for a water.



The economy cabin of BA's 789


photo img_0109

Descent came 35 minutes out and the urban expanse of London could be seen between the clouds. Our descent was very choppy actually!


photo img_0119photo img_0118photo img_0121

The Thames on approach. 


photo img_0123

Finals on 27 R.  VS 789s at maintenance, maybe for engine changes?



Taxi to T5 took some bit. The all white Air Belgium A343 can be seen parked behind the fully painted one in the second picture. 


photo img_0131photo img_0133photo img_0135

G-VIIK had arrived from GCM-NAS and was loading catering for ATL. 


photo img_0136

As we arrived late, our connecting flight was only 1:30 minutes from departure and it was time to commute to T3 from T5A. 


photo img_0140
See more

Verdict

British Airways

5.9/10
Cabin7.5
Cabin crew4.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering3.5

Toronto - YYZ

6.5/10
Efficiency5.5
Access6.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness7.5

London - LHR

7.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access5.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

BA's 789 was a smooth and nice ride for the short flight. I'm not sure how it would have been on anything longer. However, the reward booking was a bargain for two persons having booked 5 months ahead. In respect to the inflight service BA has lost a lot of its touch. As I've flown them numerous times on the BGI-LGW route there was obvious contrast in some of the attitudes of certain cabin crew. It was once seen as the prestigious airline but Virgin has taken that spotlight with little struggle. Nonetheless, my aim at that point was to reach Accra and enjoy my holiday.

One would think that connecting through Heathrow would be a hassle but it was quite easy to be honest. One drawback would be the lack of train service throughout all the terminals as I had to catch a bus for part of the connection.

Information on the route Toronto (YYZ) London (LHR)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 13 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Toronto (YYZ) → London (LHR).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Air Canada avec 7.5/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 6 heures et 58 minutes.

  More information

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 513256 by
    KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments
    Thanks for this FR.
    Indeed the Avios amount requested is a bargain for such a long trip.
    The crew on BA seem really hit or miss, you didn't get lucky that day.
    Catering always looks the same on BA but clearly doesn't taste the same depending on the location ^^

Login to post a comment.