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BA Airbus A380: Which are the best seats? Master discussion thread

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Old Sep 1, 2013, 4:03 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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:
  1. 2 A/K
  2. 1 A/K
  3. 3 A/K
  4. 2 E/F
  5. 3 E/F
  6. 4 E/F
  7. 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).
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BA Airbus A380: Which are the best seats? Master discussion thread

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Old Aug 27, 2013, 4:36 am
  #61  
 
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Planning to reserve a window pair in the small upper deck Y cabin (rows 80-83) for our return flight from LAX in October. Row 80, the exit row, is either taken or currently blocked so that leaves 81, 82 or 83. For anyone who has either flown in this small cabin or just had a look around on the flights to FRA, would there be any preference over 81, 82 or 83? Thanks in advance. MJ
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Old Aug 27, 2013, 5:41 am
  #62  
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Personally, I think I would try to avoid this mini-cabin for galley noise reasons - see above at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21284379-post52.html.

But if you're going to do it, then as far forward as possible for the same reason, not that this is going to make a huge amount of difference.
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Old Aug 27, 2013, 7:08 am
  #63  
 
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having had a tour on Sunday, I would avoid 50B and 50J.

they sort of reach into the stairwell upstairs, feel very exposed / stand-alone and are right in front of the toilet so imagine that that's where people natrually wait if the toilets are in use.

53A - as discussed - looks like a good "new 62A" though the curving ceiling does require a bit of 'head down' bending.
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Old Aug 27, 2013, 7:15 am
  #64  
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Originally Posted by chris1979
53A - as discussed - looks like a good "new 62A" though the curving ceiling does require a bit of 'head down' bending.
The restricted headroom from the descending ceiling affects all CW window seats on the upper deck, pretty much equally, so 53A and 53K are not a special case for this.

But for 53A and 53K, I would reiterate the warning about galley noise, which you can really gauge only when the aircraft is in flight and the galley is in use during a meal service.
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Old Aug 27, 2013, 7:15 am
  #65  
 
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Originally Posted by chris1979
53A - as discussed - looks like a good "new 62A" though the curving ceiling does require a bit of 'head down' bending.
I have 53A booked for an overnight flight next year. I'm 6'0" so will the curved ceiling cause me worrying discomfort for access?

Edit:

Just now seen the comment about galley noise. I use earplugs and have never had a problem with 64A/J on the 744, so I guess will wait for some feedback from those who've tried it on the 388.
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Old Aug 27, 2013, 7:20 am
  #66  
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Originally Posted by Corpt
I'm 6'0" so will the curved ceiling cause me worrying discomfort for access?
It's not discomfort as such. You simply have to avoid banging your head on the ceiling whether you're getting in or getting out. It may be easier to get into the seat by reversing whilst bent forward slightly.
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Old Aug 27, 2013, 9:39 am
  #67  
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Avoid 10J at all costs. It's close to the galley, and there are extremely noisy fridges close by. You can hear the fridges above the engines on the take off role!
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Old Aug 30, 2013, 11:54 am
  #68  
 
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I've got a window seat back in WT in the mini cabin (4 rows of 2-4-2) at the back of the upper deck at present.

Would it be worth paying £113+ to upgrade to WT+ or just stick with it? TPs would be nice but would have hit gold by then and have nearly 300 TPs towards requalification with a year to get the rest / drop to silver.
Flight is A380 LAX-LHR so 8:45pm departure, overnight and a lot of daylight where most people will probably want the blinds shut to sleep (tough luck, mine's staying open a I want to look out the window).
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Old Aug 30, 2013, 12:02 pm
  #69  
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Originally Posted by xenole
Would it be worth paying £113+ to upgrade to WT+ or just stick with it?
IMHO, £113 is worth paying to upgrade to WT+ even if you got no extra miles or TPs!
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Old Aug 30, 2013, 12:14 pm
  #70  
 
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Originally Posted by Globaliser
IMHO, £113 is worth paying to upgrade to WT+ even if you got no extra miles or TPs!
£136 not £113

Anyway, assuming I did upgrade, any of these seats acceptable?

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Old Aug 30, 2013, 3:01 pm
  #71  
 
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Wink LHR to LAX A380 June 2014

Hi, I have paid and booked seat 53K in CW on the upper deck for outbound and inbound flight on A380 LHR to LAX June 2014 so would love to hear feedback regarding peoples experience and the noise from the galley and if its really as bad as people appear to think it might be. At this stage Ive got the pick of the cabin but opted for this seat as I am a solo traveller and don't have to climb over other people to gain aisle access. Previously used 64a on upper deck on the 747 which in my opinion was the best seat and the galley and the toilet were near to this seat and both didn't interfere with sleep or noise.
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Old Aug 30, 2013, 4:28 pm
  #72  
 
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53K

I sat in 53K on a FRA run and commented about the noise from the galley. Remember that the A380 is a very quiet aircraft so the chatter and other noise in the galley appears louder. This is a great seat for privacy and for good views but it is not a quiet seat. I'd probably take it for a daytime flight but not for an overnighter.
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Old Aug 30, 2013, 4:32 pm
  #73  
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Originally Posted by holidayqueen01
... would love to hear feedback regarding peoples experience and the noise from the galley and if its really as bad as people appear to think it might be.
Well, I think it's as bad as I've said I think it is! But you've probably already seen my long post above. In a nutshell, I agree with Jetstreamer.

However, if you've been fine with 64A on the 744 UD, then you may not feel it as badly as I did. I try to avoid 64A because of the light and noise, preferring the similar direct aisle access seats that do not have those issues (62K, 62A and 64K).
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Old Aug 30, 2013, 4:37 pm
  #74  
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Originally Posted by xenole
£136 not £113

Anyway, assuming I did upgrade, any of these seats acceptable?
I'd say the same about £136 as about £113.

If you want a window seat, then as far forward as possible out of this selection, ie 65A or 65K. All three on each side are standard seats with nothing special about them, but the closer you get to the toilet the more noise you'll get from it - and noise is a real issue on this aircraft.

Don't forget that the window seats have the handy side storage bins.

But if you were to go for an aisle seat, then I think I'd be looking for one of the middle block aisles, using the same reasoning as for a 3-3-3 layout: there's a decent chance that the other two seats will be taken by a couple, and the middle seat passenger will therefore tend to disturb their travelling companion rather than you if they want to get out. Go further forward, but not in the row immediately behind the bassinets - ie 62D or 62F or 63D or 63F.
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Old Aug 31, 2013, 1:33 pm
  #75  
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CW better on A380 or B747?

I seem to have a choice for LAX. Either the 380 or 747. Assuming I would be in 64K on the 747, would that be better than any CW seat on the A380? It seems to have the most privacy right?

Note that I've flown on other A380's many times now so there is no special appeal to me on that bird. If the seats are exactly the same as the 747, then I think I will stick with that unless I'm missing something?

And I guess I would have the same question for First. Is 1A on the 747 better than any F seat on the 380?
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