Not all bad...perhaps a real enhancement for Club World?
Jul 24, 2016, 1:53 am
#61
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^ Pillow ... and about time too. I enjoyed a good night's TATL sleep on AA on Friday night, thanks in part to a decent sized pillow. Not bothered about the topper one way or the other.
Hand Served ... only experienced that on A380, LHR/LAX. Appallingly slow and inefficient.
Hand Served ... only experienced that on A380, LHR/LAX. Appallingly slow and inefficient.
Jul 24, 2016, 5:56 am
#62
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
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Jul 24, 2016, 7:04 am
#63
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: UK. BAEC AAdvantage
Programs: Mucci Des Oeufs Brouilles et des Canards
Posts: 3,671
It will be interesting to see how BA handles this and how the mattress topper work on BA's seats.
I flew with Qantas a few months ago and they use a mattress topper. It's on your seat wrapped in plastic when you arrive. The crew I had didn't like you leaving it in the foot well for takeoff and landing, so the best place was the overhead bins (or holding it as I did the first time - very tired!)
Some who wanted to maximise sleep (and avoid the, IMHO, declining food standards in QF J) were assisted by passing crew in a fitting their toppers. It's like a fitted sheet with elasticated ends. When I wanted to put it on, it was after the meal service and the crew were busy clearing up. so I just did it myself. Easy enough on the aisle seat. Not so sure on a window or centre seat.
Comfort wise I think it was only marginal. It took away a bit of the hardness of the seat and made it a tad more comfortable. I did raise the bed a few times on a 14 hour sector and it stayed in place but I'm not convinced it made that much of difference to my sleep, but I can sleep upright in Y these days - and even on the tube (probably due to the lack of fresh air down there!!)
Moral of the tale here, don't get too excited until you see the full offering BA is going to make. It would be great if they offered experienced travellers and novices the opportunity to review a sample of toppers before they introduce a final choice.
I flew with Qantas a few months ago and they use a mattress topper. It's on your seat wrapped in plastic when you arrive. The crew I had didn't like you leaving it in the foot well for takeoff and landing, so the best place was the overhead bins (or holding it as I did the first time - very tired!)
Some who wanted to maximise sleep (and avoid the, IMHO, declining food standards in QF J) were assisted by passing crew in a fitting their toppers. It's like a fitted sheet with elasticated ends. When I wanted to put it on, it was after the meal service and the crew were busy clearing up. so I just did it myself. Easy enough on the aisle seat. Not so sure on a window or centre seat.
Comfort wise I think it was only marginal. It took away a bit of the hardness of the seat and made it a tad more comfortable. I did raise the bed a few times on a 14 hour sector and it stayed in place but I'm not convinced it made that much of difference to my sleep, but I can sleep upright in Y these days - and even on the tube (probably due to the lack of fresh air down there!!)
Moral of the tale here, don't get too excited until you see the full offering BA is going to make. It would be great if they offered experienced travellers and novices the opportunity to review a sample of toppers before they introduce a final choice.
Jul 24, 2016, 4:22 pm
#64
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: EBD, BAEC GGL/CCR, Alitalia AlataPlus, Club Carlson Gold, SPG Plat100, HHD
Posts: 654
I am used to hand service from a few companies (and actually had it on a JFK-LHR flight last week - probably due to the low number of people eating). It can be really great (Think JL), or really painful and slow. All depends on crew skills...
In a day flight I don't mind it being 'slow' in the sense I don't need my food ASAP. However I don't want to have a starter that I finish and then get the main 20 mins later. But I don't care if row 11 are on their dessert when I get my main in row 20.
On a short night flight (think east coast US) it really just needs to be very fast. How crew do it - by hand or tray from trolley I don't care!
Beddings sound very positive!
In a day flight I don't mind it being 'slow' in the sense I don't need my food ASAP. However I don't want to have a starter that I finish and then get the main 20 mins later. But I don't care if row 11 are on their dessert when I get my main in row 20.
On a short night flight (think east coast US) it really just needs to be very fast. How crew do it - by hand or tray from trolley I don't care!
Beddings sound very positive!
Jul 25, 2016, 1:03 am
#65
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 772
Also, the company seems to be measuring the success of this trial based on the effect it has on the customer voice scores.
Jul 25, 2016, 4:45 am
#66
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,348
The AA pillows are really comfy - if BA could just source those for CW (and First) it would be a huge improvement. A thick topper to help alleviate some of the lumps and bumps would be good, but the current First one isn't much more than a sheet and is pretty pointless in my view
Jul 25, 2016, 5:02 am
#67
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Ipswich
Posts: 7,543
The AA pillows are really comfy - if BA could just source those for CW (and First) it would be a huge improvement. A thick topper to help alleviate some of the lumps and bumps would be good, but the current First one isn't much more than a sheet and is pretty pointless in my view
The AA pillows are great.
I have never understood the love on here for the F mattress topper. It sounds fabulous but I can't tell the different at all when it's in place. A proper topper (such as the trimmed yoga mat mentioned above) would be great. I even bought one to trim but I've never managed to figure out the CW seat dimensions so I could trim it accordingly.
Jul 25, 2016, 5:07 am
#69
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If the WW fleet were involved in the trial it wouldn't be just the SCCMs feeding back but all ranks and they would hold back.
Jul 25, 2016, 5:10 am
#70
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Jul 25, 2016, 5:21 am
#71
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 995
The mattress topper in BA F is not great and is very poor quality. The duvet is not particularly great either. Hopefully, they will move the cheap quality F toppers and duvets into CW and provide F with something much better. By way of comparison, QF F provide a much better mattress topper and duvet.
Jul 25, 2016, 6:13 am
#75
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