Just wanted to share some comments/opinions on a few recent flights with BA, not full trip reports however and just intended as quick commentary although I have included a few photos for the benefit of completeness.

The main flights in question were both Club World (CW) flights: LAX-LHR on the A380 and LHR-DFW on the 747 as follows.

BA0268
LAX-LHR
Seats: 53D & E

We booked this flight specifically to try out the A380 product which would be a first for me. Overall I thought the refreshed CW is an enhancement over the existing product. While the product remains largely similar there are a few subtle differences (most of which are widely publicised) including:

- The colour scheme. Now a brown colour which appears more modern and is more appealing (IMO anyway).
- Foot stool. The foot stool mechanism has been redesigned however in doing so the ‘Z’ position has changed slightly. Some people comment that it is less comfortable than before - I didn’t really find this.
- IMO the seats, especially when in lie-flat mode are slightly more comfortable.
- IFE. Improved.
- On the upper deck the seating is in a 2-3-2 configuration.
- Privacy dividers. These are meant to remain down for the duration of takeoff/landing (until power is switched on) however on this flight my wife put the divider up between herself and her other neighbour after the safety briefing and it remained up until we got on stand at LHR.

Where I felt there is a big improvement however is with the aircraft itself.
- The A380 is definitely a quiet airplane. This does have the downside that galley noises are heard and can become distracting (read: annoying) if you are close by, as in our case in row 53 and trying to sleep.
- There are two lavatories towards the front of this CW cabin. These are large and a welcome change compared to usual cramped lavs.
- Improved storage. Upper deck window seats have storage bins similar to the 747 upper deck seats.

Some comments about the flight itself:

Good bits:
- New, clean, comfortable. Nice colour scheme and mood lighting.
- Overall the flight was pleasant. Despite a slight delay out of LAX and stormy weather in the UK we arrived reasonably on time.
- Food was reasonable and (I didn’t have a dessert however) I had a blue cheese salad starter, and a chicken salad for the main which was nice and light. (My wife only had the salad starter before falling asleep.) I had this with a glass of champagne (Taittinger) which was served by hand from the galley (not from a cart). Apart from a cup of tea I skipped breakfast, although it looked to be a good selection of bacon roll and/or fruit.
- 53E. My wife was in the centre seat and commented that the seat would be good for an individual traveler (so long as face-to-face with two strangers for a while is no big deal…) as the seat offers a good level of privacy; ease of access/egress (no need to step over feet to get out). I would argue that an aisle seat, would be just as good for a single traveler.
- Seat was comfortable both in seat/bed positions. Despite not setting out to sleep on this flight I slept for around 4 hours. I did have noise cancelling headphones - a requirement in this row due to galley noise. My wife slept around 5 to 6 hours, although she wanted to sleep.


Not so good bits:
- There were a few minor service issues throughout. The crew appeared young/inexperienced. Food service was slow to start and slow to clear away. Few drinks runs and no bottled water (handed out), and no hot towels.
- There appears to be some confusion by the crew as to who ‘services’ the centre seat. Without fail my wife was asked everything twice, by the crew-member on each aisle.
- IFE. I am including this in the ‘not so good’ as the selection was not great. It suited me (as I like James Bond films of which there were plenty…) however this may not be to everyone's liking and there were minimal ‘new releases’. [I watched The Conjuring and Quantum of Solace].

In conclusion:
- Nice plane and refreshed product marred by a few service issues, that said however, the positives clearly outweigh the minor negatives and this was a good flight and I enjoyed my first A380 experience.

Some photos: