DUB-SIN in CE/CW - good outward journey, bad return!
Nov 27, 2015, 7:12 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 73
DUB-SIN in CE/CW - good outward journey, bad return!
Hello all,
Just back from my most recent adventure to Singapore, whole journey was in Club Europe / Club World for the first time, with mixed emotions on both. In the past I’ve only upgraded parts of the journey to CW, so this was a new experience for me flying totally in Club.
Started off in the DAA executive lounge, which being honest was a bit disappointing – only food available was some crackers and cheese. Plenty of booze, but it was early afternoon so I resisted the urge. I had expected more from DUB lounge, being a larger airport than say my usual departure point BHD - which always has a great selection of sandwiches and nibbles. Anyway, decided just to hold off eating until I got to LHR to eat in either Galleries lounge, which was a bit of an improvement but only just enough to stave off the hunger.
Only had to wait a couple of hours until the boarding gate opened and there was the usual stampede to be the first on the aircraft - why? The metal for the outward trip was a 744, which I was directed towards the priority queue which moved fairly promptly and I was soon guided up the aircraft stairs to my seat – 63B. I was happy to be experiencing the UD of the 744 for the first time and didn’t care if it was in an aisle or window. The service was excellent - food and drink were amazing, and a good selection of movies to watch. Only concern I had was I’d heard 63B suffered from vibrations when people moved past it, however this wasn’t an issue and I had a great nights sleep. A great full English breakfast followed, which set me up well for a great 1.5 weeks in Singapore and 3 days in Kuala Lumpur.
Return leg was probably the worst 14 hours flying I have experienced to date, spoiled mainly by a hyperactive child, which I’ll get into in a minute. Was looking forward to a change of aircraft - having flown the 744 on the outward leg, return metal was the 388. I changed seating a day or so before from 59A to 53K for two reasons – 1) I flew 59A LHR-HKG previously and found it is affected by noise from the WT+ cabin, and 2) I prefer to sit slightly forward of the engines just to hear the amazing sound – love those massive Trents! I had a small amount of food and beer in the SIN lounge (which was very nice and well looked after). After boarding and takeoff there was a small meal served (very good) to maximise sleep time on a midnight departure.
After dinner the cabin lights were dimmed and I prepared for bed – and this was when the “fun” began. After about 10 minutes of shut eye the kid in 53J started kicking the dividing wall between us, making sleep impossible. I thought this would eventually stop, it didn’t. After this went on for another half hour I assumed his dad would step in in some way. He didn’t (pretty sure I saw the father overserve himself at the free bar in SIN lounge, which might explain why he was passed out). So the kicking went on for what must have been a further half hour, so I took it upon myself and asked the child nicely to ‘please stop kicking the wall as there were people trying to sleep’, to which he shouted/screamed “NOOOOOOO!” So that was me told, and he then proceeded to flick on and off the reading light for the remaining 10 hours of the flight, which again rendered sleep impossible. In desperation I asked the cabin crew if there was a chance to be moved ANYWHERE, but they said it was a full flight so no chance. So all attempts at sleep were abandoned, essentially eliminating the point of purchasing a CW seat in the first place! Needless to say, I landed in LHR in foul form and had to take another 1 hour flight to DUB, followed by a 2 hour bus to Belfast and straight back into the office. I was almost entirely useless in work and as a result my boss was very unimpressed. But then again I suppose these things are beyond BA’s control, so I don’t hold it against them at all. You will probably all hate me for saying this, but after that flight I came to the conclusion of there might just be an argument for not having kids in the upper cabins (you wouldn’t bring a child to a local pub or bar late at night, would you?), especially when there are people needing sleep for work! Maybe the father should have been a bit more attentive, or maybe I’m over reacting – how do you guys feel?
Sorry for the length of post, had to get this off my chest! Overall a great trip spoiled only by the return journey which I am almost recovered from, and slightly less p****d off! No bad feelings against BA, situation was obviously beyond their (and my) control.
Thanks,
R.
Just back from my most recent adventure to Singapore, whole journey was in Club Europe / Club World for the first time, with mixed emotions on both. In the past I’ve only upgraded parts of the journey to CW, so this was a new experience for me flying totally in Club.
Started off in the DAA executive lounge, which being honest was a bit disappointing – only food available was some crackers and cheese. Plenty of booze, but it was early afternoon so I resisted the urge. I had expected more from DUB lounge, being a larger airport than say my usual departure point BHD - which always has a great selection of sandwiches and nibbles. Anyway, decided just to hold off eating until I got to LHR to eat in either Galleries lounge, which was a bit of an improvement but only just enough to stave off the hunger.
Only had to wait a couple of hours until the boarding gate opened and there was the usual stampede to be the first on the aircraft - why? The metal for the outward trip was a 744, which I was directed towards the priority queue which moved fairly promptly and I was soon guided up the aircraft stairs to my seat – 63B. I was happy to be experiencing the UD of the 744 for the first time and didn’t care if it was in an aisle or window. The service was excellent - food and drink were amazing, and a good selection of movies to watch. Only concern I had was I’d heard 63B suffered from vibrations when people moved past it, however this wasn’t an issue and I had a great nights sleep. A great full English breakfast followed, which set me up well for a great 1.5 weeks in Singapore and 3 days in Kuala Lumpur.
Return leg was probably the worst 14 hours flying I have experienced to date, spoiled mainly by a hyperactive child, which I’ll get into in a minute. Was looking forward to a change of aircraft - having flown the 744 on the outward leg, return metal was the 388. I changed seating a day or so before from 59A to 53K for two reasons – 1) I flew 59A LHR-HKG previously and found it is affected by noise from the WT+ cabin, and 2) I prefer to sit slightly forward of the engines just to hear the amazing sound – love those massive Trents! I had a small amount of food and beer in the SIN lounge (which was very nice and well looked after). After boarding and takeoff there was a small meal served (very good) to maximise sleep time on a midnight departure.
After dinner the cabin lights were dimmed and I prepared for bed – and this was when the “fun” began. After about 10 minutes of shut eye the kid in 53J started kicking the dividing wall between us, making sleep impossible. I thought this would eventually stop, it didn’t. After this went on for another half hour I assumed his dad would step in in some way. He didn’t (pretty sure I saw the father overserve himself at the free bar in SIN lounge, which might explain why he was passed out). So the kicking went on for what must have been a further half hour, so I took it upon myself and asked the child nicely to ‘please stop kicking the wall as there were people trying to sleep’, to which he shouted/screamed “NOOOOOOO!” So that was me told, and he then proceeded to flick on and off the reading light for the remaining 10 hours of the flight, which again rendered sleep impossible. In desperation I asked the cabin crew if there was a chance to be moved ANYWHERE, but they said it was a full flight so no chance. So all attempts at sleep were abandoned, essentially eliminating the point of purchasing a CW seat in the first place! Needless to say, I landed in LHR in foul form and had to take another 1 hour flight to DUB, followed by a 2 hour bus to Belfast and straight back into the office. I was almost entirely useless in work and as a result my boss was very unimpressed. But then again I suppose these things are beyond BA’s control, so I don’t hold it against them at all. You will probably all hate me for saying this, but after that flight I came to the conclusion of there might just be an argument for not having kids in the upper cabins (you wouldn’t bring a child to a local pub or bar late at night, would you?), especially when there are people needing sleep for work! Maybe the father should have been a bit more attentive, or maybe I’m over reacting – how do you guys feel?
Sorry for the length of post, had to get this off my chest! Overall a great trip spoiled only by the return journey which I am almost recovered from, and slightly less p****d off! No bad feelings against BA, situation was obviously beyond their (and my) control.
Thanks,
R.
Nov 27, 2015, 7:22 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 73
Thanks,
R
Nov 27, 2015, 7:31 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 241
I took my 9-month old son to SYD and back in First recently and he was very well behaved, but we were massively on top of it to ensure this was the case. I don't think it's fair to ban kids from premium cabins - I suspect the majority are well behaved. It's down to the parents at the end of the day, though.
Nov 27, 2015, 8:39 am
#8
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BA Exec Club Bronze, Hilton Diamond, Virgin Flying Club Red
Posts: 1,257
I took my 9-month old son to SYD and back in First recently and he was very well behaved, but we were massively on top of it to ensure this was the case. I don't think it's fair to ban kids from premium cabins - I suspect the majority are well behaved. It's down to the parents at the end of the day, though.
Nov 27, 2015, 9:07 am
#9
Community Director
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Norwich, UK
Programs: A3*G, BA Gold, BD Gold (in memoriam), IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 8,476
The last time I had a child (actually an infant) across the aisle from me on the upper deck of an A380, I would have to say both the parents and child were an absolute delight in every sense - so much so that the child had the cabin crew and most of the other passengers eating out of her hand. I actually complimented the parents as I got up to leave.
What's the difference? Admittedly what sounds like a somewhat older child is harder to control, but in my case the parents were clearly on top of everything, made sure the child was quiet and played with her at the right times to keep her amused. Abandoning a child to do what they like is irresponsible and actually downright discourteous to the rest of the passengers - so absolutely the CC should have woken the parent and made him take control of his child. On that basis, I'd actually be rather more annoyed with BA that you are, and certainly a note to CS might be in order here.
What's the difference? Admittedly what sounds like a somewhat older child is harder to control, but in my case the parents were clearly on top of everything, made sure the child was quiet and played with her at the right times to keep her amused. Abandoning a child to do what they like is irresponsible and actually downright discourteous to the rest of the passengers - so absolutely the CC should have woken the parent and made him take control of his child. On that basis, I'd actually be rather more annoyed with BA that you are, and certainly a note to CS might be in order here.
Nov 27, 2015, 10:35 am
#10
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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At least the kid wasn't as poorly behaved as this one.
(and I don't entirely fault the child, in that case, for their behaviour. I do, however, blame the parents far more for failing to control said child!)
(and I don't entirely fault the child, in that case, for their behaviour. I do, however, blame the parents far more for failing to control said child!)
Nov 27, 2015, 1:18 pm
#11
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Battleaxe Alliance
Posts: 22,127
I'm really sorry to hear of your bad experience. Unfortunately SIN and SYD are the route on which I frequently have a bad experience with children on BA.
I too feel that it would be beneficial to have one cabin or one cabin section free of children under the age of perhaps 8 or so, after having had far too many absolutely awful flights. I had gone without sleep for well over 36 hours as many of my trips involve 4 flights, often involving a long transit time. This is in F... for which I pay to improve my chance of getting decent sleep. (At the same time, I feel it would be unfair to penalise lots of parents with well-behaved children or those who make an effort - they are disturbed by unruly kids as much as everyone else - they want to enjoy a quiet environment too. I know I hated noisy children when I was a kid myself, and those who are quiet have as much right as anyone else to be protected from unruly ones even if they are children themselves.)
All instances involved parents who did nothing to quieten down their children and even though the crew made some effort, it simply did not work. I squarely blame the parents, not the children or crew members. Many parents were so drunk they couldn't care less.
I do not believe that parents with children but cannot (or do not want to) exercise reasonable control over them should have the right to ruin the sleeping opportunity for everyone else in the cabin.
I too asked to be downgraded to anywhere, without success due to high load. I no longer risk flying on this route around Christmas because of having had too many bad experiences with children on board that time of the year. A bit of noise is one thing and I am quite happy to put up with it, but being screamed at at the top of their voice for the long flights and even being physically bashed by unruly, unsupervised children is well past a joke. It's the parents to blame.
I too feel that it would be beneficial to have one cabin or one cabin section free of children under the age of perhaps 8 or so, after having had far too many absolutely awful flights. I had gone without sleep for well over 36 hours as many of my trips involve 4 flights, often involving a long transit time. This is in F... for which I pay to improve my chance of getting decent sleep. (At the same time, I feel it would be unfair to penalise lots of parents with well-behaved children or those who make an effort - they are disturbed by unruly kids as much as everyone else - they want to enjoy a quiet environment too. I know I hated noisy children when I was a kid myself, and those who are quiet have as much right as anyone else to be protected from unruly ones even if they are children themselves.)
All instances involved parents who did nothing to quieten down their children and even though the crew made some effort, it simply did not work. I squarely blame the parents, not the children or crew members. Many parents were so drunk they couldn't care less.
I do not believe that parents with children but cannot (or do not want to) exercise reasonable control over them should have the right to ruin the sleeping opportunity for everyone else in the cabin.
I too asked to be downgraded to anywhere, without success due to high load. I no longer risk flying on this route around Christmas because of having had too many bad experiences with children on board that time of the year. A bit of noise is one thing and I am quite happy to put up with it, but being screamed at at the top of their voice for the long flights and even being physically bashed by unruly, unsupervised children is well past a joke. It's the parents to blame.