oskidunker

WorldLux

I'd take the late flight. More time in SFO and IMO better timing to sleep. YMMV

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I would generally prefer the later flight as by the time you have dinner on board it will be closer to your normal sleeping time and you might have a better chance of getting some sleep. The A380 is also reported to have a better cabin pressure so you might arrive slightly more refreshed than on the 744.

The upper deck on the 744 ( 20 pax max ) does feel unique

Regards

TBS

BingBongBoy

I always preferred the later flight.

Found it easier to reacclimatise to UK time on that than the late. I found the late flight got in too late to all you to alter your sleep pattern enough to sleep again properly the night you get into the UK.

oskidunker

jerub

It really depends on what you think you can achieve with the day before you go to the airport.

If flying out of SJC (last flight of the day), you had better make plans for what to do during the day: I can get a full days work in before going to the airport which allows flying out on a weekday. While the early flight out of SFO (the 747) is awkwardly timed that if I go from brunch to the airport I'll be hungry because I didn't get a proper 2 meals in (and we all know how the lounge is in SFO).

So my advice: Figure out what you want in life, and plan your travel around that.

Soupdragon62

380 is an infinitely better plane to fly in most circumstances and classes - So apart from a sense of nostalgia and the sheer physical allure of the 747 as you look out of the gate window 380 every time for me.

mjack99

A380 any day of the week. Can't bear the 747 any more even on upper deck. Just bearable in F row 1.

flying4workNfun

Be aware that if you do not have lounge access, airside of the international terminal at SFO is a real disappointment: not much eating options, not much shopping, not much seating, not much plane spotting due to the construction...not much of anything

oskidunker

muaddib89

Having flown both BA's A380 and 744 into and out of SFO this year, the A380 was far preferable. Their 744's are noticeably shabby, which isn't terribly surprising given that some of them are about 20 years old. The A380 on the other hand I found to be clean, quiet (almost eerily so, from the upper deck), and just downright pleasant.

mjack99

You are being too kind to call them shabby. Just got one back from Miami...yuk is my review. VOD broken, seat barely working, dirty beyond clean-ability...

cpdc1030

OP did not mention which class of service they will be in, knowing that would help a bit.

I am a bit of a contrarian here. I fly this route about once a month, and I usually go with the earlier flight (BA284). Yes, the A380 is nicer, but I find it's too much of a waste of the day in London arriving in the early afternoon. In J as long as you get the upper deck the 747 is fine, I never found J on the A380 anything special either (though F is nicer). In W it's pretty much a wash. In Y, the A380 seats are a bit better, but BA always seems to put the 86J 747 config on SFO so you will get the new entertainment system regardless.

Flying Westbound, I also prefer the earlier flight (BA285), unless I am not checking a bag. I find that SFO really struggles to deal with all the bags from the A380 and there are many other international arrivals around that time. Sometimes I've waited over 1 hour for my bag on BA287, it's usually faster on BA285. Also you aren't fighting traffic as much at that time.

fripperies

In principle - the later flight. Better for sleeping, I think, and I can see the A380 has some advantages over the 747.

In reality - the choice is often determined by the timing of positioning and onward flights and for that reason the 16.35 works better for me. Which is fine as I still appreciate a 747. I'm in F and can often get row 1 which I prefer over any A380 F seat.

I second the comment re. the waiting rooms (aka lounges). Staff are a delight but the spaces are charmless and not somewhere you'd want to spend long. F is just a separate smaller room with the same furnishings and meagre food offerings. There's a classier lounge you can use (Cathay, Qantas or something, sorry I don't pay enough attention) but due to that airline's later departure time they don't start service in time for pax on BA284.

mwp1