I’m not sure why the downgrades happened as the ground staff simply kept repeating the “due to operational reasons” standard line and mentioned the very limited capacity of the 787-8. In true Japanese style, they were extremely polite and apologetic. In true British comedy sketch style, the cabin crew member working on my side was just happy to be direct and repeatedly say “I don’t know” when asked by passengers what the meal choices were or how to fix the stuck IFE screens before then disappearing.

The lack of wifi is not a huge issue for me personally but I wanted to highlight it as I know some passengers did want to work onboard. On the way out to Tokyo in WTP, I was sat near someone who worked on their laptop for most of the flight so it is an important consideration for some.

The onboard service was very poor considering the exceptionally long flight and the announcement about there being faulty screens across the aircraft suggested another tired 787 in the air. Passengers pay a lot for BA to Japan and considering what other carriers offer, particularly in premium economy, sharing this is about informing fellow travellers what BA offer.

I am a fan of BA generally but would never book BA to Japan again given that other airlines offer a customer focused experience. I have learnt my lesson so future bookings have to either be with JAL as part of the OneWorld or I am going to pay to use ANA’s premium economy which actually includes lounge access for those of us without their frequent flyer status. I would welcome any BA manager or crew comments on why the service on this ultra long flight is so poor compared to their competition or even code share partners.