Calchas

Well if one is rather short on time and not every BA outstation is outfitted with a Waitrose ...

csdavidson

I just had a weekend in HEL. EDI-LHR and LHR-HEL-LHR were all on the new refurbished seats. Our final leg, LHR-EDI was on the old style sheets.

I don't like the refurbished seats, they are not as comfy and clearly less legroom (I'm 6,2). Our final sector had more legroom than our CE flights!

Apart from more TPs, the difference between CE and ET is becoming less and less

johnspenceruk

Sorry, my comment was sort of "tongue in cheek". But my confusion about the rapidly growing cost/benefit ratio for CE cabins is mostly genuine.

lukew

No.1 for me is most definitely legroom.

TravellerFrequently

Sadly true.

Still, I will usually book for CE for the empty spare seat but my enjoyment of CE is fast reducing.

Beansprout

I flew one of these redone A320s recently and almost felt guilty, being in row 1 and by far the shortest person in CE. I had a quick look behind me and the lady in row 2 didn't have a great deal of legroom, certainly far less than previous CE.

However I did like the seat from a comfort point of view, and the table between the two seats proved useful.

I don't much care about style (ie, it wouldn't make me choose CE/any airline over an alternative) but I did like the look of the cabin.

But, I can't see why anyone would choose CE for anything other than a TP run or connecting business traffic where your European leg is booked into CE - at full price anyway. Perhaps £30 - £60 for POUG from the simple calculation that you're given 1.5 seats' worth of space (2 in a row versus 3).

gordon0808

Reading this thread I am glad most of my SH trips for the rest of this year is on A319s. This new configuration doesn't look appealing to me. I have avoided easyjet because of the tight leg room, but now there seems to be little point in avoiding them anymore.

MrSimonR

Given you occupy another half a seat, the fare should start at 1.5 x the ET rate. Plus drinks, booze, first off the plane etc etc. So double the ET fare is probably what it's worth. And that's probably around what they get.

Kgmm77

You do realise that Easyjet's galley, bulkhead and toilet layout is different, giving them much more floorspace on their A320s than BA. On the only directly comparable bit of the seatplan, behind the exit row on the DEF side, BA has installed exactly the same number of seats as U2.

Are you still bored?

Beansprout

That was my thinking, tempered a little by the POUG pricing range (£60, give or take).

I didn't take into account booze/lounge/food given that many CE fliers will have lounge access via status, and you get booze in ET.

You could even subtract a little for the weight saving of the missing person and their bags / catering

vibguy

The new shorthaul CE is really no longer business class, you are unable to work seen the reduced seat pitch. Why does BA not market the new product under a new name : ET+, pax will then no longer have to reduce their expectations. What a difference with the new AA domestic first class product on their 737's: excellent seats, good seat pitch, 2-2 configuration and large selection of recent movies and TV channels as well as wifi. All this at prices which are below the regular BA CE fares.

Worcester

The Economist ran an article a couple of weeks back pointing out the growing inequality between business and economy class passengers with reference to Das Capital in the Twenty-first Century a mostly fictional book by Thomas Piketty.

I assume that Comrade Willie is trying to buck the trend and bring down the Bourgeoisie in Club Europe. Workers of the World fly BA.

Mattyb44

After a few experiences of the new cabin, I have now, for the first time in 7 years of business travel, booked 2 RT flights with Easyjet...Paid the extra £10 e/w for first row seats, and will buy anything I need either onboard or at the airport. Priority Pass will get me lounge access, and my trip to the airport will actually be shorter. And I still saved approx. £50 on the ticket price compared to BA. If these 2 flights are a success, I think I have a good idea on where to book my future flights.

Jagboi

Juat had one of the newly renovated planes (G-EUUT) from LHR-LIN, I was not impressed. I was in 1A (fortunately!) but I was constantly hit in the back by the knees of Mr 2A. Not his fault, he was tall and there is limited leg room. Mr 2C was definately not impressed he complained bitterly and asked for a comment card. Cabin crew who gave it to him mentioned that there had been a lot of complaints from CE passengers about the new interior.

It was an interesting comparison for me, as I had done Air Canada domestic J YYC-YYZ, then BA YYZ-LHR on the 787 in CW (worst nights sleep I've had on a TATL in a long time) then to LIN in CE where I'm in the lounge writing this.

There is no comparison between the AC domestic J product in the A320 and CE in the A320, AC has 38" pitch, 2x2 seating that is wide and comfortable instead of a narrow economy seat with a tray across the middle one. Even for the short flight to LIN, the thin padding on the CE seat was noticable and got uncomfortable after the 1 hour mark, I wouldn't want to go to ATH in that seat. In contrast the AC seat was comfortable for the 4 hour flight. I won't mention the difference in IFE, since there is none in CE...

Given I paid £330 for a LIN-LHR return flight I'm feeling ripped off at the moment, it really comes down to being a very expensive breakfast in CE, I don't see much of a difference between CE and economy. For the price delta, I would expect a lot more difference, like Air Canada gives. I certainly won't make the mistake of paying for CE again, and it sounds like Mr 2C behind me won't either ( and yes, I overheard him say he was Gold). I suspect this might be a step too far for some CE passengers and a case of BA being penny wise and pound foolish?

A photo of AC's short haul J:http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-C...325ed1426ab184

Looking forward: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-C...3fb40683ca85eb

This is what short haul business class seats should be like!

hugolover

First time on a new 320 the other day in from BRU in row 5. My knees were jammed to the chair in front, not comfortable at all. The lack of the small drinks table is greatly missed.