South London Bon Viveur

I liked both WTP and CW on the 787, albeit I have only limited experience, namely Newark and Toronto, which are relatively short sectors. Much of my recent long haul has been on other OW carriers, but I have a Rio coming up (in WTP), so it will be interesting to see how I feel about the product now. I haven't braved it in Y, but a recent Y trip on AC (LHR-Calgary) was not too bad, but certainly not something that I would want to do too often.

PUCCI GALORE

Catering wasn’t great, with a classic piece of dry BA beef. It was always going to be a little more of a lottery on the return journey from MEX, but I’ve had medium rare steaks on QF in J, so I’m not sure why BA insist on grey beef? The secret with BA beef is to only order it if you see the word “braised”, in my experience.


I agree. What is more - this is not F anymore. It's really upmarket J. In my old, never to be improved mind all the standards have gone west. With the rules on serving meat where you are running around taking the temperature, the meat is overcooked and dry. Horrid! In F, you take the joint out on a trolley and carve it for the passengers. It is stylish and it means that you have a chance of pink or red meat. Any cook will tell you, the bigger the joint, the better the roast. Who in their right mind oven cooks steak have? Of course not, so you are doomed to failure, particularly if the caterers sear them too long.


The sooner that they stop this travesy that they F the better - or make it exclusive to those who have paid for it and bring it back up to where it ought to be.

Taggsflyer

The mis-named Dreamliner is a terrible passenger experience, so it's interesting to read that the crew also don't like it! I've flown business on Virgin and BA 787s and WTP on BA's 787. I find:

• it's noisy compared to the Airbus wide-bodies;
• and that extra few centimetres of Airbus fuselage width really helps with seat-width;
• the 787 windows don't darken completely and let through a lot of light if trying to sleep on a daylight flight;
• the design of the lavatories is atrocious, so that the loo flushes at any sign of motion from your hand (whether or not you're sitting down!)
• and the BA WTP seat is also atrocious - it's real chutzpah to call this a "premium economy" cabin.

Sadly, I've never made it to first...

Brisbane Road

chrisboote

Just back from a LHR-SCL-EZE-LHR trip

The 787 (J class) on the way out was vile

Cramped, smaller pitch, weird 'alleyways' between the bulk head and the front row of seats, noisy, smelly (definite hint of something petrol based) too hot, hard-to-open overheads, and zero space for club kitchen
The evening meal was very good though - served almost as soon as the seatbelt sign went off
Breakfast was, well, stodge, but tolerable
Crew did their best, but the aisles are so small that even in J you get elbows and knees whacked by the trolley
The ever-flushing loos was a problem in all four cubicles, the crew just said it happens all the time

Wasn't looking forwards to my return flight from EZE - but! Aircraft switch! we ended up on an (old) 747 - and I scored J upstairs

What a difference!
I know upper deck is better anyway, but space, quiet, temperature, everything was better
Crew were happier not being on a 787, so even better service
Food was as good, even breakfast had more variety and was much better quality

So I agree, the 'dream' in Dreamliner is a misnomer
But I suspect that Nightmair, while more appropriate, would sell fewer planes

Ldnn1

Jagboi

It's awful. I nicely fit a size 40 suit jacket and my shoulders are wider than the seatback. If my neighbour is the same size as me, our shoulders are touching.

Telecasterman

themax

I wholeheartedly agree with you Pucci (and I have much first hand experience and memories of the old BA First when I travelled with my parents as a child and young adult); the joints of meat (covered in pineapples and cherries) and the tins of Benson & Hedges are sorely missed.However, what the OP and many of us have experienced on other carriers in the present day IS a nicely cooked steak at 36,000 feet. I fly IB regularly between MAD and MIA, and they always ask you how you would like your steak cooked, and mine is always served a nice medium rare (and this is in J as they did away with F about 10 years ago now). Last week I flew MIA to LAS on AA domestic F and my steak was served medium rare (albeit on a bed of overcooked quinoa!). Iberia is part of IAG and their inflight "cooking" capabilities are no different then BA....so why can so many other carriers serve a decent steak and BA can't?

PUCCI GALORE

I can only give you my opnions, Honey, but here they are. I often blame the caterers. I cannot comment here on the people hired by the caterer, but unfortunatley if you have a lot of people who do not "get" rare meat for whatever reason then you are dead in the water. You also have to recall that the general UK taste is for well-done meat.

Secondly, one wonders from where these steaks are sourced and if they are any good in the first place. Sow's ears and silk purses come to mind. Please be aware that this may not be what BA pay for, if you get my drift.

Lastly, Health and Safety have dictated the temperature that the meat must attain before it is served which then renders anything else impossible. Once you set minimum temperatures in a small piece of meat you are going to have trouble. It is entirely possible that Iberia and AA have very different criteria.

Please accept that these are my opinions and that I am not agreeing with this state of affairs, but that, sadly, is how matters stand.

Phil the Flyer

SuperstarDJ

Nicoolio

I noticed on one flight in CW that there really is a need for more than one lav in F. At least two or three times one of the FAs took an FA pax to cut them to the front of the CW lav lines. I'm not sure if the F lav was inoperable or there was just a line. In one case, a mother and her child - maybe under five were waiting - and she was unhappy to have an F pax routed in front of her. I suppose the FA was providing good service to the F pax, but...

walkingtall

After 7A these are a decent choice , never had a problem with being next to PE cabin

allturnleft

I agree very much with the OP
I really like the 787 as a plane but am not sure about BAs interpretation if it

I have flown business in LAN and air india where they use conventional forward facing seats and then you get the feeling of a dreamliner with its mood lighting and aesthetics

BA first feels very cramped and the cabin service just cant be of the traditional BA style . The max of 8 in F means catering choices are VERY limited;. I think only one of the second choice hot breakfasts was loaded on our flight . Club has a really cramped feel; I was in the first mini cabin

My real bug bear with the 787 is those centrally controlled window shades which all airlines I've used abuse!

what do Norwegian do?!

Strangely enough the 787 without F felt better on BA