This is my second trip report! On February 21th 2014, I flew business class in a Boeing 747-400 of British Airways (BA) from London (LHR) to Phoenix (PHX):
-Trip: LHR-PHX
-Airline: British Airways
-Aircraft: 747-400
-Flight Number: 288
-On time departure: yes (3.05 pm)
-On time arrival: yes (6:40 pm)
-Miles: 5,271
-Flight time: 10:15
-Seat: 62K (upper deck)
-Class: business (D)
IMHO, BA’s business class ('Club World') is outclassed by many of its competitors, while it did raise the bar for business class worldwide a decade ago with the introduction of the flat seat. Nevertheless, the overall experience was good and very British, albeit it was a culinary disaster in my opinion.
I have to confess that I like BA a lot (despite their horrible food), especially the crew. While being a frequent flyer (One World Emerald status and Star Alliance Gold), I am still uneasy and anxious when flying. What really helps is that BA not only has an inflight video to ease nervous flyers like me, but also that their professional and friendly crew always uses the exact same routine for passenger communications. For example, the flight crew always talks over the intercom to the passengers before take-off and 40 minutes before arrival (no matter how short the duration of the flight is), and the cabin crew always addresses the passengers after that. Somehow, this predictable routine (often lacking with other airlines) makes me feel a lot more comfortable.
I took a lot of photos during the flight (maybe too many?). You can find them here:
http://theluxurytravelexpert.com/201...om-lhr-to-phx/
1. THE BUSINESS CLASS SEAT
British Airways has a unique seating plan: window and middle seats face backwards, while aisle seats face forwards. Because of this unique concept, you may have to jump over other passenger’s feet to reach the aisle when seated in a backward facing seat. On the lower deck of the 747, the seats have a classic 2-4-2 layout (similar to what is found on BA’s 777 fleet). On the upper deck, there are only 20 seats with a 2-2 layout, so there is more space for less passengers and it will feel like flying in your own private cabin. In addition, the upper deck window seats all have additional storage space between the seat and the windows, making them the best seat choice. The single best seats are 62A and 62K, since these are the only window seats in the 747 where you will not have to jump over the feet of other passengers.
Regardless of the seat plan, all Club World seats offer the same degree of comfort, with a seat pitch of 73 inches (193 cm) and a seat cushion width of 20 inches (50 cm). The angle of maximum seat recline is 180 degrees, and the overall length of seat when fully reclined (and when tilting the separate foot rest) is a 6ft (183cm) flat bed. Next to the seat, you can find the seat controls, the entertainment controls, a reading light and a power port.
The private screen is rather small (9 inches or 22 cm) and swings out from the side of the private cabin suite. It also tilts up and down, so watching the screen from the near or fully flat-bed position is perfectly possible.
2. AMENITIES
Each seat comes with a rather dull blanket, a small and not-so-comfortable pillow, and an upgraded amenity kit. The latter comes as a drawstring bag that is designed to double up as a shoe or lingerie and included: Skin Soothe Shave Gel (7ml), a Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (5ml) and an Ultra-conditioning Lip Balm made from Beeswax (4g), along with a Razor, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste and a pen.
3. DRINKS & MEALS
Just under 30 minutes into the flight, I was served a sprite (with ice and lemon) and a small bag containing an assortment of cold nuts.
Soon thereafter, lunch was offered, all served on a single tray. British Airways business class food can be a hit and a miss, and this time it was by all standards an embarrassing miss (or I simply had bad luck). As a starter, I choose the meze plate of aubergine, pepper and tomato salad, labneh with mint, harissa and chili humus. May sound impressive, but presentation was less than memorable and so was the taste. As an entrée, I had the chicken tikka masala with dal makhani and jeera pulao rice. I tasted aweful. Come on, British Airways, you can do so much better than that! For desert, I had the lemon and mascarpone tart with raspberry compote. It tasted very good (and somehow compensated for the bad starter and entrée). I was also offered a bar of chocolate.
90 minutes prior to landing, we were served a afternoon tea, snacks (a selection of sandwiches featuring spiced pastrami with mustard, prawn mayonnaise, and eggs with spinach) and sweets (buttermilk or fruit scones with clotted cream, chocolate éclair, lemon cupcake and raspberry cream sponge). I am not a big fan of British Airways afternoon tea and snacks concept (especially not of the sandwiches served in a plastic container), and it was not different on this flight.
4. OTHER INFLIGHT EXPERIENCES
# CREW: I love the crew of British Airways crew, and this time, the 2 stewardesses on the upper deck were brilliant (and the best I ever encountered). They were so friendly and competent. If you read this, British Airways, send them my warm greetings.
# BAR: British Airways 747 has a a walk-up “Club Kitchen” onboard, where fliers can graze between meals. You have the option of sandwiches, fine artisan pastries, yoghurts, ice cream, fresh fruit, and/or a chocolate selection.
# LAVATORY: lavatories were kept clean during the flight but small and not luxurious at all as compared to other airlines.
# WiFi: WiFi is not offered by BA at the moment. Currently, they are testing it on one of their planes (or so I heard).
# ENTERTAINMENT: Not only is the touch screen rather small, but the selection of movies and TV shows on order is also rather limited.
5. MY VERDICT
-Seat : 8/10 (there are more comfortable seats out there, but I still like them, -especially in the upper cabin)
-Food: 4/10
-Inflight entertainment : 6/10
-Cabin crew: 9/10
-Overall experience: good: 7/10
In 3 weeks, I fly Qatar Airways business class (with stopover in Doha), on their B787, B777 and A330. I will write a report about these flights as well.