I am BA Gold and got upgraded from eco to eco+ including my partner...depending on how many people on your booking...you never know!


Wish you a pleasant trip :)

Umm... I would not say that any blow is softened by having a child next to you but... hope you enjoyed your flight.

As long as I have an exit row or a bulkhead, longhaul Y isn't that bad.

I remember longhaul Y LHR >> LAX repeatedly in the 70s and 80s. Let's not forget how far we've come since those days...

You should be getting the WTP catering.

She's my child, and she was an absolute delight for the whole flight as always! She gave me all the elbow room I needed too, which is why the blow was softened, even in WTP.


And we did. The CC were great when I discreetly pointed out the upgrade. They tracked the child's meal down and delivered it promptly.

I note others promote alcohol as the route to economy-class nirvana.

But I'm with you on this. Confused and emotional or hungover are not the best ways to greet Auckland on a pre-dawn arrival.

Most of my flying is in economy and while I manage, I wouldn't say I come off a long haul flight smiling.

My last was a friday overnight SIN - LHR and I was tired before I began as I had arrived Sunday and worked Mon - Fri with jetlag.

I can't sleep properly unless I lie flat so will doze but not sleep. I had booked a bulkhead seat on the outside but the sound on my IFE was faulty so got moved. Luckily to another bulkhead but mid row.

I had eaten before getting to the airport so food was adequate but drinks were less forthcoming. The crew walked down a couple of times with trays of water/juice but I wasn't able to get their attention. My neighbours were soundly sleeping with legs stretched out and belongings everywhere so that getting out wasn't as easy as it should be. It was possible but that extra difficulty meant I didn't get up to get a drink (yes partly my fault) and so landed feeling dehydrated, nauseaou and completely shattered. I ended up having to have a sit down at heathrow and some drinks/coffee before I could face the final bit of the journey.

It's a necessity of work and don't work with clients who are prepared to pay for business but it can be a bit of an endurance.

Not just a BA thing, I had a terrible flight with MAH where I didn't have a bulkhead/exit row and the pitch was so tight I couldn't fit my legs without slanting them sideways and had to ask the person in front not to recline as there wasn't physically room for my legs if he did.

I'm the same, never slept any in Y.

I haven't had to to it long haul for a while now (and short haul I don't care - if I fall asleep naturally great, not that bothered if not).

But when last I did on a regular basis I found a method that worked for me;

1) Optimal amount of food and drink. Definitely a couple of glasses of red, but try and avoid too much more than that.
2) Optimal clothing. Light layers and nothing too difficult to add / remove so that the amount you wake yourself if you need to tweak it mid flight is minimised
3) Use the blanket or a hooded sweatshirt to completely cover the head. If a hoody, use the drawstring too.
4) Inside this little cocoon I have my ipod, with in ear buds (in lieu of ear plugs) and a selected quiet playlist. I find this better than no sound.

I didn't always get fully asleep that way, but I did find that it allowed my mind to disengage and at least get to that half sleeping state pretty consistently.

But it's a totally personal approach.

My $0.02

After failing to achieve this long haul flight in Economy in 2017 I will ale most certainly get the pleasure tomorrow.

Should I survive the experience I’ll feed back on how my first long haul economy flight in almost 20 years went!!

Just a shame you're a Gold as you won't get to enjoy the full Y longhaul experience. Especially on the ground. :)

To really enjoy the experience you should avoid First and Business class check in, request a middle seat down the back, don't visit any lounge and board with group 5... just a thought :D

Seems like that happens even if you are First/Gold.