Sep 1, 2013, 4:03 am
Last edit by: Prospero
MMB/Expertflyer Aircraft Code: 388
Upper deck
Main deck
Summarizing based on comments thus far:
First
This post shows the seat map and individual seat ratings for First:
First Cabin A380 Seat Ratings
In order of rating:
Club World Upper deck
Club World Main Deck
World Traveller Plus Upper Deck
Photos: courtesy of PETER01
World Traveller Upper Deck
World Traveller Main Deck
Upper deck
Main deck
Summarizing based on comments thus far:
First
This post shows the seat map and individual seat ratings for First:
First Cabin A380 Seat Ratings
In order of rating:
- 2 A/K
- 1 A/K
- 3 A/K
- 2 E/F
- 3 E/F
- 4 E/F
- 4 A/K
Club World Upper deck
- 50AB and 50JK: the B and J seats don’t have anyone climbing over them. There’s nothing else ahead of these seats, so this area should be fairly quiet. However, the A and K seats ... would have to lean forward a long way to look out of the single window serving this row. Good if you like having a very private space and don’t mind stepping over someone to get out. Bad if you like looking out of the window.
- 50J for longest bed is the best. However, you only have a curtain between you and the stairs and right hand side forward loo. Should be okay but might be noisy. Partial barrier around feet.
- 51D and 51F: no half barrier either so very good for tall people and first row of CW cabin so good for food and ease of access to loo without any galley.
- 53AB and 53JK: the window seats have direct aisle access, so in theory these would be a lot like 64A and 64K on the 744. Unfortunately, potentially noisy.
- 56B has a bit of extra length but also a partial barrier.
- 59AB and 59JK: the window seats here also have direct aisle access. However, as others have mentioned, because the CW and WT+ cabins partly overlap at this point, these seats (and particularly the heads of the 59B and 59J passengers) are directly in line with the WT+ centre bulkhead bassinets, so possible noise concerns if baby behind. You can see the close proximity in the photo above for 60 DEF
- Middle seats: since there's only a single middle seat, it's rather nice and isolated and private, at least while the dividers are up. When dividers go down it's face to face with your seatmates to the left and right. Couples who are using a middle seat will probably be better off choosing EF rather than DE, because the extra space to the right hand side of the E seat means the E and F seats are closer together.
Club World Main Deck
- 10J definitely winner for the most length but partial barrier around feet and galley noise may be an issue. However, also first to get food!
- 10A and 10K for window seats only. The rest have absolutely NO view as the wing is massive and all you see is reflecting Silver and a lot of flex!
- There is a reported experience from 13AB of in-flight vibration and resonances which were enough to disturb sleep.
- Avoid 15AB and 15JK due to proximity to the two loos that are right beside and behind this seat. (CW loo behind 15B and 15J, WT loo beside these seats although behind a curtain, near continuous use!)
- General note: due to the curvature of the fuselage, the window seats on the main deck have a greater gap between the seat and cabin wall than the equivalent upper deck seats, thus providing more wiggle room for your legs and toes.
World Traveller Plus Upper Deck
Photos: courtesy of PETER01
- Bulkhead seats: The legroom in the bulkhead rows of 60DEF, 61AB and 61JK is fairly good, but I’m not sure that I would take these for a night flight as you can still get closer to horizontal in the rows behind. If that’s your favoured sleeping position, the absence of leg-rests in those rows won’t matter too much.
- Row 67: The quietness of the aircraft will mean that the toilets at the aft of the WT+ cabin are much more likely to be disturbing in this area (particularly to 67AB, 67DEF, 67JK and 68DEF) than, say, to 15AB on a mid-J 744.
World Traveller Upper Deck
- Centre block bulkheads 70DEFG and 80DEFG have tables in fixed armrests, as one would expect. This noticeably constricts the width of the seat. The armrest between D and E is a conventional lift-up armrest – so if choosing these rows, D and E are better than F and G. Another thing about these bulkhead rows, which are in line with the exits, and the adjacent exit rows (70AB, 70JK, 80AB and 80JK), is that there is a noticeable hissing noise from the slipstream.
- 80D and 80E are the same and could be great for space or for couples that want to lift the armrest during the flight to get closer or sleep.
- Rear cabin: any WT seat in rows 80 to 83 would be very nice indeed as long as: there is not a stag group pissing it up here when you want to sleep! Apparently, they may offer this cabin to groups so need to be a bit careful in selecting this exclusive cabin. Also, there is noticeable galley noise in this rear cabin, and it gets worse the further aft you get.
World Traveller Main Deck
- 25D is the throne seat on the Main Deck in WT. (no seat in front of them).
BA Airbus A380: Which are the best seats? Master discussion thread
Nov 5, 2013, 8:57 pm
#241
Join Date: Jul 2010
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I actually use my own silicone earplugs as they are more effective than those provided - those and eyeshades. Neither proved very effective in this case. It was the louder volumes when talking, glasses and plates clinking that seem to penetrate the earplugs.
Nov 6, 2013, 1:26 am
#242
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,106
Certainly from a health and safety perspective, personal protective equipment (in this instance, earplugs) should always be the last resort as a noise control measure (to reduce noise at the ear).
Elimination or reduction of the problem should always prioritise, although I accept that impact noise from the galley is inevitable.
Constant chattering is I think is where the problem lies.
Nov 6, 2013, 3:55 am
#243
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Welcome ABZjames
Hi, just joined this forum after years of using it as a research tool, thought I'd better contribute. So the wife and I are of to HK tomorrow on the A380. Have selected 12E & F. Read all about upper deck but my issue is that she will always get the window seat and I don't like the aisle seat on night flights. Has anyone heard about row 12?
In your situation, if you were intending to sleep and she wants a window, why not both head for window seats? It's a long flight, so I'd imagine you'd also have pleny of non sleep time, but there are many couples I've seen who happily both go window or both go aisle. You can even instant message each other via the Inflight entertainment thingy!
Nov 6, 2013, 10:02 am
#244
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Best WT+ Seats on a 380
hello all, we have booked to fly to LA in sept 2014 and are travelling in WT+ has any one out there with any thoughts on the best seat in the cabin or experiences of the WT+ seats on the A380. Thanks in advance.
John
John
Nov 6, 2013, 2:35 pm
#245
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There are more nuggets in the remainder of the thread.
Nov 14, 2013, 5:49 am
#247
Join Date: Sep 2011
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Any favourites in First yet? We normally avoid the centre pairs on a 747 as feel too exposed, are they much more private now?
Any ideas which aisle might get more traffic from crew? If we go for window seats not sure if A or K would be better.
Managed to get 3 Avios bookings from LHR to HKG, JNB & LAX - Happy chappy!
Any ideas which aisle might get more traffic from crew? If we go for window seats not sure if A or K would be better.
Managed to get 3 Avios bookings from LHR to HKG, JNB & LAX - Happy chappy!
Nov 14, 2013, 6:00 am
#248
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Basingrad, UK
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Posts: 803
I was sat in 1K earlier this week to HKG, F seat seemed more spacious than others on BA 747/777.
Post takeoff/prior to landing quite a bit of crew traffic in aisle next to seat as they use space under stairs for storage of their bags.
Might have been me but felt a bit if noise/vibration with every flush of the loo. Assume quite high pressure to get it to flow to the tanks?
Plus side of 1a/k, very private as no centre seat next to you.
Post takeoff/prior to landing quite a bit of crew traffic in aisle next to seat as they use space under stairs for storage of their bags.
Might have been me but felt a bit if noise/vibration with every flush of the loo. Assume quite high pressure to get it to flow to the tanks?
Plus side of 1a/k, very private as no centre seat next to you.
Nov 14, 2013, 2:53 pm
#249
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 2
Hi, just joined this forum after years of using it as a research tool, thought I'd better contribute. So the wife and I are of to HK tomorrow on the A380. Have selected 12E & F. Read all about upper deck but my issue is that she will always get the window seat and I don't like the aisle seat on night flights. Has anyone heard about row 12? Reasoning is that it's equidistant from the galley and the toilets but I risk not getting the food I want. May return on the upper deck for a comparison. May also go to LA in March on my own so will try upper deck. Wife is eventually going to try this a/c, and I may get forgiven for putting her on a BA 767 in WT when we moved back from Dubai, I followed a week later in Business on an EK A380.
Wondering also if anyone has tried (as a couple) the middle seats in the lower cabin? Would one feel cramped and pinned in the middle? We travel well together and wouldn't mind being next to each other. Husband is tall (6'3") and usually prefers the aisle, but I'm pretty good at climbing over. I've been reading through comments for best options for us, but haven't seen any comments on those middle seats.
Thanks for input!
Nov 18, 2013, 5:09 pm
#250
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland
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I agree with your observations xenole, having just come back from HKG in 82K.
A point of note, the overhead bins in this small rear WT cabin are actually smaller than the overhead bins in the other cabins, including those from row 79 and lower. My carry-on is just on the BA size limits and it only just fitted if I removed the FlyerTalk tag out of the way.
Cabin crew said it is down to the fuselage tapering towards the rear but I don't recall this issue on QF or SG in more or less the same section of the aircraft and told pax to stow their bigger luggage in the forward WT cabin of the upper deck.
That said, window bins are smaller regardless of where they are on the A380.
I did find the clattering from the gallery to be quite annoying as the crew set about doing whatever needed doing. The chatter wasn't so bad.
A point of note, the overhead bins in this small rear WT cabin are actually smaller than the overhead bins in the other cabins, including those from row 79 and lower. My carry-on is just on the BA size limits and it only just fitted if I removed the FlyerTalk tag out of the way.
Cabin crew said it is down to the fuselage tapering towards the rear but I don't recall this issue on QF or SG in more or less the same section of the aircraft and told pax to stow their bigger luggage in the forward WT cabin of the upper deck.
That said, window bins are smaller regardless of where they are on the A380.
I did find the clattering from the gallery to be quite annoying as the crew set about doing whatever needed doing. The chatter wasn't so bad.
I've just come back from LAx in 82A.
Full flight as I mentioned earlier and surrounded by half of Poland or some other similar country.
Crew in the galley did chat a lot all night/day although not incredibly loud. Few people passing back and forth but with the toilets between the 2 WT cabins, not too much bother there.
Some clattering etc.
82A has technically 2 windows, the first being easier to see out of if reclined. The second one is partly shared by 81A and a good wing view.
Angles of the window panes aren't great so not always easy to see out of them and they are rather reflective in low light.
Side bin wise, pretty much two to myself here and they didn't pop up that much.
Major problem is the fact both IFE boxes are either side of the seat frame so you have to put your feet reasonable close together or have one in the middle and other between an IFE box and the air vents.
The luggage bins on the windw sides are very small. My laptop bag and small backpack had to go sideways rather than say wheels out and they took up well over 2/3rds of the space. Far more space in the middle row bins although still lacking.
The crew did mention they'd had a lot of problems with the AB/JK overhead bins.
Full flight as I mentioned earlier and surrounded by half of Poland or some other similar country.
Crew in the galley did chat a lot all night/day although not incredibly loud. Few people passing back and forth but with the toilets between the 2 WT cabins, not too much bother there.
Some clattering etc.
82A has technically 2 windows, the first being easier to see out of if reclined. The second one is partly shared by 81A and a good wing view.
Angles of the window panes aren't great so not always easy to see out of them and they are rather reflective in low light.
Side bin wise, pretty much two to myself here and they didn't pop up that much.
Major problem is the fact both IFE boxes are either side of the seat frame so you have to put your feet reasonable close together or have one in the middle and other between an IFE box and the air vents.
The luggage bins on the windw sides are very small. My laptop bag and small backpack had to go sideways rather than say wheels out and they took up well over 2/3rds of the space. Far more space in the middle row bins although still lacking.
The crew did mention they'd had a lot of problems with the AB/JK overhead bins.
Nov 19, 2013, 5:55 am
#251
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Here's a few random shots:
Centre CW seat in rear UD cabin:
82A UD Y window seat with IFE boxes:
82A/B - no IFE box for 80B
Window bins - small backpack and my laptop bag that had to go in lengthways
Legroom in 80A
Window for 80A/B (same 80J/K)
WT+ 64J/K - far better IFE box placement
Centre CW seat in rear UD cabin:
82A UD Y window seat with IFE boxes:
82A/B - no IFE box for 80B
Window bins - small backpack and my laptop bag that had to go in lengthways
Legroom in 80A
Window for 80A/B (same 80J/K)
WT+ 64J/K - far better IFE box placement
Last edited by xenole; Nov 24, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Nov 19, 2013, 5:59 am
#252
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Nov 19, 2013, 6:20 am
#253
Join Date: Jul 2009
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There's nothing other than the 2-4-2 set-up that sets it apart from the other cabins to be honest.
Comparing to other planes, it's a standard Y seat with less overhead space and a side bin.
The cabin has the galley behind although they don't start service from the rear.
The toilets are just in front of 80B so easy to get to.
Probably quicker to exit via the top deck as only the WT and WT+ cabins ahead of you rather than the entirely lower deck WT cabin.
Nov 19, 2013, 10:14 am
#254
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland
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As what xenole said above. Certainly wasn't any party atmosphere if that is what you are concerned about. It doesn't feel like a special Y cabin, not to the extent that the traditional 777/744 WT+ cabins are like - probably due to the seating density and the fact you are still sat close to the seat in front.
If the pax in front fully reclines, I found it was more in my face than usual.
The rear galley isn't much of an escape either, it is rather cramped.
I will be trying the lower deck, and probably further away from the galley even though there are no seat-pairs... I still prefer the rear pairs on the 777/744 despite toilet traffic and light pollution.
On other carriers, I normally go out of my way to try and get on an A380 in their Y configurations. Not so much with BA's A380 Y so far - however with the caveat that I only have a sample of one BA A380 Y flight.
If the pax in front fully reclines, I found it was more in my face than usual.
The rear galley isn't much of an escape either, it is rather cramped.
I will be trying the lower deck, and probably further away from the galley even though there are no seat-pairs... I still prefer the rear pairs on the 777/744 despite toilet traffic and light pollution.
On other carriers, I normally go out of my way to try and get on an A380 in their Y configurations. Not so much with BA's A380 Y so far - however with the caveat that I only have a sample of one BA A380 Y flight.