yb90

We have just got comfortable in F and have to say I am dismayed at the damage to the seat. Correct it will not effect my flight per se, however due to the cost of the flight and the fact this is first class, this should have already been picked up on and repaired, I would go as far as too say the seat should have been blocked, it is unacceptable to fall to this standard, maybe it says something about the way BA is heading.

tedcruz

That is shocking indeed!! Looks like it's been there for a while. What aircraft and route are you on?

jday

I’ve had similar, the 789 was only 2 years old. Guess the seats don’t age well.

747_not_777

There was a documentary on British TV a few years ago showing a brand new A380 about to depart on its first service with BA, and there was some top customer service person from BA on board and they filmed her dusting a surface in the FIRST cabin which had a slight smear on it, saying something along the lines of "this just wouldn't do for our FIRST passengers'. It gave the impression that FIRST is always pristine, perfect and must never look worn, tired or dirty. And she was fussing like that on a brand new plane.

Unfortunately that's never the case in reality... I'd be disappointed to be sat in a knackered seat like that when I'd paid good money for not just a premium experience, but supposedly the most premium experience BA can offer.

I've got an F-trip for me, the Mrs and the kids into LAS and out of PHX in a few months and I'll probably end up in that very seat, and it won't have been touched.

Hope you have a good trip!

mikeyfly

You'll be in a seat from 2010-2015 vintage. And it'll most likely actually be in better condition, those F seats on the 744 seem to have fared better than the brand new seats on the 789

gypsyjaney

What route were you on?

NWIFlyer

Unless I'm missing something from the photo, I'd probably think this was a bit naff, I might go so far as to make sure the CSD/CSM recorded it, but I don't think in my wildest dreams I'd expect any airline to take the seat out of service. I also couldn't possibly say how long ago it happened - to me, the lack of flaking around the torn section, and the cleanliness of the fabric underneath, actually suggests it probably wasn't that long ago though.

I'm looking at a small tear in the upholstery and a bit of superficial scratching on the plastic fascia. I'm willing to bet repairing that upholstery is probably not at all straightforward, and the seat needs to taken apart to do it. You're not talking about a quick 30 minutes in the hanger at LHR, that's for sure - it's possibly even a job for CWL.

Given the potential choice between a passenger being downgraded from F to CW if the cabin's full, or using the seat as-is until it goes for scheduled maintenance, I would personally think the right decision for the customer is to keep them in F. YMMV.

cupsandsaucers

I watched that exact same documentary just last night! yes, she was complaining because there was a 1cm long hairline scratch in one of the fittings and saying everything must be perfection in F, our customers notice details like that.
How reality differs!

BAAZ

It's a consequence of poor design. That edge will clearly be bashed periodically and should have been made more resilient. (A bit like designing T5 loos and showers with plain white melamine walls and then wondering why they look so scuffed a few years later.) But I guess that isn't factored in to the procurement process, is it?

armouredant

So, you're saying you'd have happily been bumped from your First seat to a Club World dorm because of this split upholstery?

I have to assume that you're joking.

simons1

Sixth Freedom

Fine materials wear hard, and BA should have considered their upkeep in the business case. Sadly I fear that it is too easy to underestimate requirements or for interior maintenance to be a victim of cost cutting.

dougzz

To those that say the OP is ridiculous for the suggestion that the seat is taken out of service, I think you’re missing the point. BA sell First as an exceptional experience, with the whole attention to detail thing. The whole downgrading someone thing is a diversion. If you sell it, it’s up to the company to have sufficient planes, and sufficient maintenance to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Expecting a seat without damage is surely a very realistic proposition in first class, how they do that, and how complex doing that might be is BA’s problem.

I dont see see how the passenger is creating the problem by expecting what BA are touting on their website. They not asking for a downgrade, they’re asking for BA to provide what they say they do. Too many of the responses are just starting from the point of this will potentially create an issue for BA in capacity of what they’ve sold.

HIDDY

I'd say it was the wrong choice of material to use in the first place.

Globaliser

The starting point is that whatever you make of the earlier promises, the present position is that the seat's been damaged.

What do you expect BA to do about it now?

The OP's suggestion was that the seat should now be taken out of service because of this issue alone. Do you agree with that?