Littlegirl

I must be living in an alternative universe to you lot.

No, no one made me post anything but this thread just does not reflect my reality. Carry on moaning as much as you like. I'm off.

Physci

If the bolded bit is aimed at Littlegirl then it is a low blow - AFAIK Littlegirl just speaks from her own experience, as do we all when we post on here. Let's face it, some like the new seats and some don't - that's life!

Personally I don't like the new seats (especially as I'm 6'3") but don't see the need to throw stones at others who may disagree.

pianotraveller

Until this evening, all my BA short haul over the past few months had been operated by a mixture of 319s, 321s and 767, and I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see this new cabin. On almost every flight I've taken since the refit started, I've asked the CC how the new seats are going down and, without exception, have been told they're dealing with complaints all the time. After having flown EUUX back from BCN today, I can understand why.

The flight was about half full, and my seat was 1F. I'm an average 5'10", normal weight with what I imagine to be a fairly standard amount of padding in the backside area. Before we'd even left the ground, I'd lost much of the feeling in the area from my butt to the backs of my knees, and just couldn't find a comfortable position in which to sit. I moved back to an empty row 4 just to try out the leg room which was, for someone of my size, absolutely fine. My knees only touched the seat in front if I slouched to almost half way down the seat cushion. However, what I did notice was that the top of the seat in front was far more in my face than with the previous seats, which made it feel a bit claustrophobic. Also, the gaps between the seats seem wider to me - if I looked to the side, I found myself being far more aware of movement from the people in the row behind.

After reading so many complaints, I have to say that I really wanted to like it - but I just can't. As far as my individual travel choices are concerned this is something of a wake up call, having been a bit of a sucker for brand loyalty when it comes to BA for a while now. I've averaged over 7K TPs for the past few years, a significant chunk of that having been generated from SH, but from now on I'll look for alternatives. I flew U2 twice last week, both times in 1A, and much preferred those experiences to today's CE flight. Even visually speaking, EUUX was already looking a little scratched and grubby this evening, which is a shame.

I just can't see how this isn't a big mistake, but then again, I don't run an airline...

V10

So if CE (which is by definition short haul) is "economy minus" - what does that make ET?

There is some erosion of the hard product here in line with industry trends, but it still isn't ET, and it definitely isn't in LCC territory yet.

GSTBK

+1.

Reading all of these comments, you'd think Air Koryo was better than BA.

layz

Looking at the Daily Mail it does appear that JS wins on legroom

edi-traveller

I'm not a big guy (Fnarr fnarr) - but I found the new seats fine - without slouching there was at least three inches of free space - and I had to slip LOW to press my knees against the seat in front.

I'm 5ft 11in.

Yes the pitch in CE will be much less than the space saver seats version - where it felt huge - but I was pleasantly surprised after all the negatives I'd read.

Most impressive for me was how "posh" the cabin looked compared to any other airline.

ginger50

I am sorry but my understanding of the word "seat" is:
I could not sit on it.... ergo it was not a seat!

10 minutes or 10 hours are the same to me..... If someone tries to sell me a seat and I cannot sit in I will decline the sale.

BigVince76

Not much to add from my first experience the other day, though at 6'2" I would not choose 1F again as I found the lack of leg room there was uncomfortable. I did like the seat though and the normal rows were OK, but at others have said it is the exit rows that are the best.

Does anybody know what the IFE controls are going to be used for? I may have missed it but I did not think BA bothered with IFE on short haul.

layz

That's for band 4 flights (longer ones, e.g. Athens) and is only on certain aircraft (and was also there pre-refurb). On these longer flights they will show some video content on the drop down screens and also a selection of audio channels.

When boarding a band 4 headphones should be provided.

Flip42

Flew in the new cabin in CE a few weeks ago. Was not impressed, to put it politely. This is not worth to be called "business class".

Only thing that made up for this disappointment was the cabin crew which was great.

ET emergency exit seats are now better than CE seats.

If you have status for lounge access, extra luggage etc new CE is not worth paying for exept you need some more TPs really desperately.

clarkeysntfc

Sitting on EUYT. Brand new A320. Nice leather smell of the seats, aircraft is spotless and looks very smart. A definite improvement in aesthetics.

Row right behind club does have the divider so perhaps the feeling of space is slightly reduced by that.

Leg room is about the same as easyJet, maybe a little more.

If I was used to 34" pitch in Club and was paying £300+ for a return ticket then i would be less that impressed so can see why there are unhappy people on this forum. It really doesn't look anything special up there.

headingwest

I do agree with you that describing the new CE as 'economy minus' is a bit harsh. When you look at the product on the whole, it still provides some very beneficial extras, particularly for non status members. The only problem is that is now on an economy seat, which in a way kind of defeats the object!

Now, if we're talking about 'trends', whatever happened to setting the benchmark, making your product different, providing a little extra? I'm no businessman but if I wanted to make my product stand out from the competition I certainly wouldn't have done what BA have done, which really amounts to just penny-pinching. This stragegy just makes the difference between BA and the competitors so much smaller, making it easier for customers to choose another airline. If the company was having financial difficulties then I could understand what they might be trying to do, but as I understand it BA are doing rather well.

paul4040

This was my impression too.

I really don't want to be looking at a completely battered convertible seat (complete with foam spilling out from rips), the God-awful "art" on the bulkheads, or battling with a broken call bell on a Band 4.

Yes, the legroom is reduced. This is an irrefutable fact. It isn't reduced by as much as some posters think though, as the magazine holder is now at chest height and doesn't impede on your knee space.

BA now have a very smart cabin. I might be in the minority on this board but having done a few sectors now I find the ambience and feel of the forward cabin is much more conducive to delivering a CE product than it was before.

I've an upcoming Band 4 to Istanbul in two weeks. I picked the A320 flights over the 767. Flagellate me!

V10

They'd probably argue that they've done exactly that with the aesthetics of the new cabin.