Hello!
You now get the reason why I was heading to Frankfurt! Since the beginning of August and for a limited time only, British Airways decided to send their new Airbus A380-800 on selected LHR-FRA-LHR flights, this aircraft is of course intended for long haul journey: Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Johannesburg are the first destinations who will get to see this aircraft.
- Paris CDG - Frankfurt (Lufthansa, A320) CLICK-HERE
- Frankfurt - London LHR (British Airways, A380-800) [YOU ARE HERE]
- London LHR - Stockholm ARN (British Airways, B787-8) CLICK-HERE
- Stockholm ARN - Paris CDG (Air France, A320) CLICK-HERE
I have only been once in FRA and I struggled to find the train linking the terminals.
British Airways is using Terminal 2, check-in area E.
I received my BP but unfortunately no more windows available, it’s gonna be an aisle seat then.
The terminal is modern with a sleek and efficient design
B787-8 ANA
Press available
Boarding is called by priority and by rows
Here is the beast G-XLEA, the one and only A380 in BA’s fleet.
Even if it’s a dedicated A380 gates with 3 jetways, only one was in use and for a good reason, First (Lower deck) and Upper deck are not receiving paid passengers on these special training flights.
Club World (Lower deck) is in a 2-4-2 configuration, seat design has been slightly updated, most noticeably with the use of brown instead of dark blue.
World Traveler (Lower deck) is in a 3-4-3 configuration where all the Economy passengers get to seat.
IFE is provided by Thales
Adjustable headrest
Mood lighting
Economy cabin is quite packed
Unfortunately, PTV will not be in use even for the safety briefing, they performed a manual one.
Safety card
The partial view I can get from my seat
World Traveller (Lower deck)
After chatting a bit with one of the crew member, I am invited to get upstair!
And it’s EMPTY, I am on my own in a flying A380!
World Traveller (Upper deck), 2-4-2 configuration
World Traveller Plus (Upper deck), 2-3-2 configuration
Fully reclined seat
Club World on the upper is divided in two cabins, the second cabin were filled with BA crews so I did not take picture of it. 19 cabin crews were on board, but only half of them were working! I feel like I was on a ferry flight and it was quite weird.
Club World (Upper deck), 2-3-2 configuration (1st cabin)
Full flat
And this is the view you gonna get!
2 spacious toilets are located on each sides of the staircase (like on AF or MH)
Staircase
But what is that?
New First of course, in a 1-2-1 configuration
It feels A LOT more spacious than on the 744 even if the seat design is similar, I think they just make it bigger to fit the A380 width.
And we round-up with Club World (lower deck) occupied by Club Europe paying passengers on this flight.
Service is the regular Euro Traveller one, Gin Tonic and crips for me
We were lucky as ATC didn’t put us in a holding pattern but still, we had to wait 5/10 minutes before disembarking as a passenger had to be escorted by the Police.
Partial view of our whalejet, gated at Terminal 5C
Vidéo:
That's awesome that you got to tour the empty upper deck? What did you tell the crew that they let you up there? You should've asked to stay up there. There's no lounge area where AF has the museum? What does BA do with that space? Like most new A380s, there is no big revolution in products--it's pretty much the same thing as before only slightly updated. You would think the A380 would be a good opportunity to introduce a new and innovative product (like EK did with theirs).
True, BA did not advertise that they are running A380s on short hall flights, but that is probably a good thing. AF promoted the flights to LHR, but every time the plane went tech and there was a cancellation or delay, it was a HUGE mess because now 500+ seats needed to be found to reprotect pax. Not to mention that there were a lot of disappointed and pissed off pax who purposely took the flights to ride on the A380. IMHO BA was smart about this by not selling the whole plane and avoiding those types of situations.
Thanks Kevin for your comprehensive comment,
I told the crew who I was and what was my employer, and that the only reason I was onboard was to take their A380.
No lounge of any kind, If I recall maybe small bars like they have on 744.
Indeed no revolution, bit of a shame for an airline who was the first to introduce full flat bed in J back in the 90's.
Thanks for this premiere. It was time for a CW upgrade....especially the IFE ! But I'm no way going for the 2-3-2 layout !
The dream journey is not over... : I actually thought it would start from FRA ;)
It's not premiere it's eco XD
True if you are a duo you would probably prefer to be seated downstair in the middle seats.
Thanks for this great report in this new BA A388. Really nice to have the opportunity to visit the whole aircraft alone.
As Kevin said no revolution in the cabin that is a bit disappointing.
THX
Thanks for your message
Awesome flight report :D
I can't believe you almost upgraded yourself haha!! I can easily imagine you having the clearance to get upstairs and never come back ^^. Anyway it's great that you took time to use the seats of every classes and took many pictures of them, it's very valuable for FR. But that flight must have gone quick :o
My only regret is that the aircraft type is not shown on the thumbnails (on the homepage), so if one doesn't click on it, he won't know that a 380 is hiding behind this banal FRA-LHR with BA...
Thank for that FR !
Lol, I had indeed plenty of time to try out the seats on the upper deck, but I was mostly interested by the CW cabin of course lol, I also had a nice chat with BA crews about their network and partnership strategy and so on.
We decided to put the class of service instead of the aircraft type on thumbnail as we think it's a more important information, still if you are seeing a 3-4-3 on a FRA-LHR it's a hint that this flight was not operated by an A319 lol.
That will be great if you can make this report in french too !!
Unfortunately I have no plan to double post my FRs, depending on the targeted audience I will either write in French or English.
Thanks for this very unusual and great Flight Report. I envy you ! ;-) The tour on the empty upper deck must have been quite an experience. The cabin looks crisp and I did found the world traveller plus and First cabins very sharp and nice. The business Cabin is ok but , as in the other planes, altough oerhaps a little less appears a little bit cluttered and I do not like the back facing seats. Altogether a very nice product but it seems to miss a bar or a special place to meet like on EK , QF etc . I love the pics of the flue engines outside the window and I see that you are too a Gin& Tonic amateur , what else anyway on BA ? ;-)
Thanks,
You are right CW layout is a bit weird with some of the seats facing bacward, however they do offer great privacy.
Yes a lounge is a must on A380 unfortunaly beside KE and EK nobody did it.
Of course a G&T lol, it's my favorite drink when travelling in Economy in Europe, but I prefer Bombay Sapphire Gin used by AF over Gordons.
How lucky you are ! It looks like you had the time of your life :-) Thank you for this great FR. I like the world traveller plus cabin. But I am surprised that BA did not take this unique opportunity to have brand new business and first classes. I agree with Skyteammateo. It is a missed opportunity in this competitive business. Fantastic pics. Cheers !
Thanks, yes kind of a missed opportunity by BA, but I guess they wanted to play it safe.
Thank you for this long expected FR.
You were really lucky to be able to go to the upper deck, I've read a couple of reports of BA A380 LHR-FRA flights where no one was allowed upstairs.
The WT, WTP and CW cabins are nice, but the 1st class doesn't look that different to the business one, just a wider seat, the tones are the same.
I just love the view of the RR engines from the lower deck.
Thank you.
Yes regular passengers are prevented to go upstair, but you may be persuasive lol.
I can ensure you that First is clearly different from business in a 1-2-1 configuration vs 2-4-2. Used tones are similar though.
View on the RR engines from the lower deck is taken from seat 3L, so you know which seat to book next time XD.
I was on this exact same flight!
I did a day round trip on the 15th of August flying BA902 in Economy and straight back on BA903 in Club (seat 10A).
It's a pity not having been able to meet.
Hope you enjoyed the experience as much as I did. Cabin crew in Club was fantastic.
Were in in the JAL lounge before the flight? If not, well, let's say you haven't missed anything!
Yes I remember him. He was my neighbour and sat in 10B. A lovely chap. He is retired and travels across Europe to spot planes.
We swapped seats during landing for him to have a better view through the window.
There is a page on Flyertalk where people flying with the A380 or the 787 can report which flight/day they are flying, which class and if they can guest people in the lounges.
I did that and could meet 2 other guys from FT flying Club on that flight too.
Maybe you can do that next time.
I will not make a Flight Report as I do not have enough pics. However, I advertised the Flight Report website to the Flyertalkers I met that day. Glad to see now that FR is in English to accommodate a wider audience!
Oh, such a shame, during boarding I talked with someone (around 45/50 i guess) who was taking a lot of pictures, and he was seated in CW too. But beside him I haven't seen other geeks.
Do you plan on making a Flight-Report on your flights? I hope you do!
Yes I have seen this page on FT, it was very helpful to know when and where are your best chances to get the A380.
Thanks
Sadly this plan is used only for a limited time. In Asia a short flight with such plan is usual.
If i remember correctly, Petitom explained BA used 1-2-1 configuration not a 2-4-2 in J.
First class don't look compact with 14 seats ?
Don't used a lounge ? Your not BA silver or gold ?
I think you are missing some E on PlanE lol
Yes it's a staggered layout in a 1x-x2x-x1 or x1-1xx1-1x configuration downstair
First class may not be as spacious as on MH A388 but still, it's better than on 744.
I am no more BA silver :(
How can you grumble against airline staff being liberally upgraded on AF flights when BA officially reserves the entire upper deck of all A380s in its fleet to crew, staff and friends ?
Great pictures as always; thanks for this unusual report. The contest for the shortest A380 flight is on!
Thanks François lol, regarding the shortest A380 hop CDG-LHR is probably the winner when AF operated this route back in summer 2009.
Thank you for this great report !
Next step : BA's Dreamliner ? :P
I prefer the new Club World seats' color, but First Class cabin looks way to big, even though it seems comfy ^^
Thank you,
First class is never too big :)
Thanks for sharing with us this first FR on the BA A380.
You're amazing : time for a whole tour of this big bird and then a gin tonic on a such short flight :-)
Dream or nightmare journey :-)
You see I am fully dedicated to my task :)
That we know !
One comment as I did this trip too - in both economy and club:
I sat in 24A in economy for the outbound leg and I have noticed that the IFE box (located under the row A seats) is quite big taking a lot of leg room.
So not sure if I would choose row A, shall i fly on regular BA A380 service in economy.
Fabulous report Sir. The pictures are extremly well composed.May I ask what camera you are using?
The A380 as always impresses with its sheer size and space, I think I lost count of how many cabins this one has!
One thing I noticed is that there is one seat on the aisle, left side of the middle section with no IFE screen, what is up with that?
It's probably because there is no seat behind it. Often because there is either a trap door behind it giving access to the belly or because the cabin curves in towards the rear so has less seats abreast
It is the former, ie: behind this seat, there is an emergency evacuation trap of a crew rest area that is on the basement level.
Cannot remember where I read that, sorry.
lol I am so blind, of course there's no seat behind it how could I miss that! Thanks for the explanation guys :)
No need for sir lol.
I am using a Canon SX1 IS, which is clearly getting old now and I am considering changing it.
One the lower deck you have 4 cabins (1 First, 1CW and 2 WT) and on the upper deck you have 5 cabins (2CW, 1WT+ and 2WT).
Regarding the missing seat KévinDC and Bastien003 are right but I think the crew rest area is located at bins level (and not on the basement level, but I may be wrong.
WOW thank you for this FR ! It feels you have done long haul flight ;-) The A380' cabin of BA is, for me, the most beautiful one ! Thanks again :D
Thank you :)
fabulous report, thanks for sharing ;)
The upper deck almost just for you, better than the first class, i'm so jealous !
BA crew was really friendly on this flight, thanks a lot.
Thank you for this FR. Looks weird to travel on such a big plane for a short distance !
The 2-3-2 configuration on Upper deck Club World is unusual. The central seat looks _very_ isolated.
Thanks a lot for this great FR :D !
Great visit of this pretty cabin !
It's wird to fly in a empty cabin ^^
thank you flavien nice report, and nice cabin in eco for your flight!!! it's amazing to see in flight the empty business class and first!! beautiful tourism! hahahahaha
Oh my god !!! This is amazing !!
How lucky you are
=thanks for the first report for BA-A380
Awesome trip, I wish offerings were as interesting on this side of the world, you did a very complete and cool report on the type, I personally didn't like it much...way too...gray.
Saludos!
I take this aircraft for to go to LAX next month !