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
Jan 12, 2015, 2:41 am
#601
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: UK - the nearest airport is named after a motorway !
Posts: 4,231
Have a 380 flight next week, flying WT. Have done this before and try to get a side pair on the UD, snagging the exits at OLCI if possible.
Looking on MMB just now, and the map no longer shows row 80 as an exit row, and indeed allows me to select seats there without paying (silver).
I can't believe that they have changed the physical layout of the plane since I last looked at MMB (only booked the tickets last week) - anyone know what's going on?
EDIT to add: this is for the return - for the outbound, this weekend, the map is still showing 80 as an exit row...
Looking on MMB just now, and the map no longer shows row 80 as an exit row, and indeed allows me to select seats there without paying (silver).
I can't believe that they have changed the physical layout of the plane since I last looked at MMB (only booked the tickets last week) - anyone know what's going on?
EDIT to add: this is for the return - for the outbound, this weekend, the map is still showing 80 as an exit row...
Jan 18, 2015, 12:29 pm
#602
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: LHR
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 281
Hello, having read "most" of the posts I want to ask about row 53. Early on it got bad reviews due to the quiet plane and the galley noise. There now seem to be some favourable posts for this row.
Have the crew had feedback about the noise or is it more luck coupled with good ear plugs?
We are on the HKG flight so would expect a decent amount of sleep.
Have the crew had feedback about the noise or is it more luck coupled with good ear plugs?
We are on the HKG flight so would expect a decent amount of sleep.
Jan 18, 2015, 2:57 pm
#604
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad Plat
Posts: 5,352
I flew in 10A recently and consider it my preference on the A380 in CW as you have privacy, have some windows and can actually see something out them, get served first for that cabin, plenty of overhead storage and get off quickly enough (just behind F pax). No noticeable noise from the galley I noted.
Jan 18, 2015, 7:18 pm
#605
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 90
BA Airbus A380. Which are the best seats? Master discussion thread
I'm traveling WT and have 25D reserved. It's my first 380 flight and my main concern will be getting some sleep on the short overnight flight from IAD.
Is sitting upstairs significantly quieter than where I am located currently? I will make the attempt for an exit row window upstairs during OLCI if it is indeed much quieter. Or am I over thinking it and should just be happy with my current seat.
thanks
Is sitting upstairs significantly quieter than where I am located currently? I will make the attempt for an exit row window upstairs during OLCI if it is indeed much quieter. Or am I over thinking it and should just be happy with my current seat.
thanks
Jan 19, 2015, 1:18 am
#607
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 110
I was in WTP on the UD last week and the A380 is really not that quiet - though far more so than a 747. I'd say you still want earplugs wherever you are sitting and will still notice a lot of noise, not least because things like overhead lockers, leaking headphones easily fill the gap.
Jan 19, 2015, 4:29 am
#608
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: UK - the nearest airport is named after a motorway !
Posts: 4,231
Although I'm not sure that I'd bother trying, if I had 25D, not least for the novelty value!
Jan 19, 2015, 5:33 am
#609
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, HHonours, SPG, AVIS
Posts: 526
BA Airbus A380. Which are the best seats? Master discussion thread
Row 53 to JNB was noisy so we move to row 59 for the return, a lot, lot quieter but there was a scramble in the morning to use the only loo in that cabin, there really should be 2.There were queues at the front as well.
Jan 19, 2015, 6:15 am
#610
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Perth WA/ UK
Programs: BA Gold, Priority Club Gold, Accor Silver, Virgin Australia Gold
Posts: 1,750
I also found Row 51 not very quiet. When on the flat bed and with Bose headphones on I felt the vibration from the engines and it was quite annoying.
Nivsy
Nivsy
Jan 20, 2015, 9:51 am
#612
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PARADISE
Programs: LOTS
Posts: 133
Jan 20, 2015, 12:23 pm
#613
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 41
I found it incredibly difficult to sleep on a single aisle seat. You couldn't lean on anything! Outbound we had rows 49 and 51 on B747 so all five of us sat without strangers, leaning on each other and slept like babies. But when we returned on A380 UD, we had two twin seat pairs plus one aisle seat from the middle row. My son sat alone there first and almost fell on the floor while sleeping his head between knees and I switched, and stayed awake. B747 headrests have adjustable "flaps" that you can use to support your head but the new seats are really poor in that sense. Couldn't figure out how to prevent from leaning to the neighbour or falling down to the aisle. Some duck tape to keep the head against the seat perhaps? If travelling alone, I'd choose a window seat on A380.
EDIT: We are both only 165cm, for a taller person the headrest support might be slightly better.
EDIT: We are both only 165cm, for a taller person the headrest support might be slightly better.
Last edited by FinnishGal; Jan 20, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Feb 4, 2015, 12:59 pm
#614
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 5
BA biz class seats near toilets: No stepping over someone?
Looking for input on my seat choice: I chose seats 15A and 15B for me and my husband on a July flight from LHR to Los Angeles on a BA Airbus 380. These seats are cited in this thread as less-than-ideal seats for several reasons.
1. They're next to the bathroom. HOWEVER, that comes with an advantage: The window seat here is accessible without stepping over another person. (If we had 14A and 14B, for example, one of us would have to step over the feet of the stranger in 15B to get to the aisle from the window seat.) And I think I'd prefer having more people walking by to having to step over a stranger every time I get up (which is a lot).
2. Upper deck is said to be better. However, in every seat map I've seen, including the one at the beginning of this thread, upper deck appears to have just as many seats crammed in a narrower space. So wouldn't it feel more cramped? (I'm not eager to pay more to be on upper deck, but might consider it.)
Am I wrong on these two points?
SEPARATE QUESTION: How many times can I change seats on the Manage My Booking on the BA site after having paid for initial seat selection? When I went to change seats today, BA said I could do so for free. And I did. But when I went to look at my seats again, it said that if I wanted to change it would be an additional 90 euro per seat. Is this because I had just made a change 20 minutes prior and the computers weren't through doing whatever processing they do? Or is it that my rather hefty seat selection fee allowed for just one change of heart?
Thanks.
1. They're next to the bathroom. HOWEVER, that comes with an advantage: The window seat here is accessible without stepping over another person. (If we had 14A and 14B, for example, one of us would have to step over the feet of the stranger in 15B to get to the aisle from the window seat.) And I think I'd prefer having more people walking by to having to step over a stranger every time I get up (which is a lot).
2. Upper deck is said to be better. However, in every seat map I've seen, including the one at the beginning of this thread, upper deck appears to have just as many seats crammed in a narrower space. So wouldn't it feel more cramped? (I'm not eager to pay more to be on upper deck, but might consider it.)
Am I wrong on these two points?
SEPARATE QUESTION: How many times can I change seats on the Manage My Booking on the BA site after having paid for initial seat selection? When I went to change seats today, BA said I could do so for free. And I did. But when I went to look at my seats again, it said that if I wanted to change it would be an additional 90 euro per seat. Is this because I had just made a change 20 minutes prior and the computers weren't through doing whatever processing they do? Or is it that my rather hefty seat selection fee allowed for just one change of heart?
Thanks.
Feb 4, 2015, 1:04 pm
#615
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