The A380 is disappearing, long live the A380. My trip report from London to Dallas with British Airways (video)
This is a review of a trip from London to Dallas aboard Club World, British Airways' old business class on the A380
British Airways
Oneworld
LHR
United States of America
Those who frequent this site will be tired of reading how much I like the A380, but it is a fact and I will never tire of repeating it.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- A380
- Class:
- Club World
- Treat:
- LHR - DFW
- Price:
- 82k avios + 220€
- Book
My goal for 2023 is to. Flying on as many A380s as possible, and in any class of travel. At the moment I was able to fly in First Class with Singapore Airlines and in economy with Emirates.
Today it is the turn of the British Airways' old business class while the next installment will be Qatar's A380.
Summer hours have not even started yet, and my hunt continues and I'm ready to empty my piggy banks of points and miles trying to peel off a ticket aboard Etihad, Qantas, Korean and Lufthansa, in that order of course.
The ticket
I booked this ticket using avios points., I was able to pull off a ticket from Linate to Dallas, via London, at 82000 avios and 220€ in taxes.
Objectively so many points for a flight of just under 10 hours, especially when compared to the 116k avios used to detach a Qsuite ticket from Paris to Doha and First Class on the A380 also of Qatar from Doha to Bangkok.
At the airport in London
I landed at T5, the home of British Airways, and headed for the buses that allow people to move from terminal to terminal. The reason was that Qatar had just opened a new lounge at T4 and I wanted to try it out.
Too bad that when I got to the security checkpoint at T4 I was bounced, No longer allowed to move between terminals except to catch the plane, I, on the other hand, just wanted to go to the lounge then I would take the bus back to T5.
The reason is that London Heathrow still has staffing problems, and the problems of last summer are already returning, so it's better to avoid having people stretching lines for pleasure rather than necessity.
With my tail between my legs, I then returned to T5 and, having passed through security, headed to First Galleries the BA lounge reserved for passengers who have the Gold status in the executive club or Emerald in OneWorld.
At the gate
My flight departed from Pier C in Terminal 5.. I took the people mover and headed well in advance to the gate, not only to be among the first to board, but to be able to take a few shots of the many A380s parked and ready for takeoff.
Today BA is the world's second largest operator of A380s after Emirates and before Singapore Airlines. British brought its double-decker planes back into the air as early as last summer and blesses the decision not to have scrapped them already of so many other carriers given the chaos in its London hub.
Having these giants allows more passengers to travel with fewer takeoffs.
BA's A380s
British Airways has brought all 12 A380s in its possession back into operation; these planes are used on popular routes such as New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
The configuration of these aircraft is 4-class. 14 first class seats, 97 club world seats, 55 wolrd traveller seats and 303 economy seats. The cabin layout of club world, BA's business class, is 2-3-2 upstairs and 2-4-2 downstairs. PE is only upstairs and is set up 2-3-2. Finally, economy upstairs is 2-4-2 and downstairs is 3-4-3
BA's choice was also original in terms of seating arrangements on board, as the first class is on the main floor, business class is divided on both floors.
Premium economy is on the top floor and finally there are economy cabins on both the main and upper floors. BA is one of the few operators to have installed economy in the upper deck of the A380.
Which seat to choose on British Airways' A380
Except for the first class, my advice is to opt for the upper floor for several reasons:
- Fewer passengers
- More personal space
- Generally more selective than the main plan
If you then travel in one of the club world cabins, there are 3 on board, my advice is to opt for one of the seats close to the partitions to thus have direct access to the corridor in the upper floor.
On board
Feline sprint that you'd miss Bolt at the London Olympics, and I'm in the front row to get on, too bad the catering went long and the attendant sent me to the wrong side of the plane.
Not too bad so I was able to take a look at the other cabins as well, particularly the premium economy.
As with the 747, the A380's upper deck is more spacious for the passenger than the main deck. The curvature of the fuselage takes away seats to the benefit of those who choose to travel here.
L's crew, cabin aside, consists of 22 employees a small army ready to care for the 469 passengers on board.
Ground operations were slow and this impacted the entire first part of the service as well as a delayed start of more than 20 minutes.
The chair
I had already detailed this Club World, in that case, however, I was flying from Singapore aboard BA's 777/300, an aircraft that probably today installed the new Club World Suite.
BA's A380s, on the other hand, will not be renewed and will come to the end of their lives with these booths, unless British changes its mind and decides to extend their lives.
The upstairs configuration has 7 passengers per row, at the main difference is that there are only 3 seats in the middle area and not the usual 4.
I had obviously done my homework and chosen the best possible chair, which was the 53k.
The peculiarity of this cabin is that window-side passengers do not have direct access to the aisle, but must step over the feet of the passenger traveling facing the opposite direction, all except those sitting in the rows near the bulkheads dividing the cabin. Those who sit near the window also have a fair amount of privacy, which all other passengers do not.
The chair does not become a real bed because there is no built-in leg support, if you want to sleep you have to pull down the leg stool and stretch out the rest of the seat, a configuration this has adopted only BA in the early 2000s and which today shows many more years than it has and that pales in comparison to the new Club World Suite that BA has on the new aircraft and is installing aboard its 777s.
Dividing the passengers is a bulkhead that raises and lowers electrically. There is also a button at the top and that is what the crew uses during service to pass the dishes. The bulkhead can be raised immediately after the end of the safety demonstration.
On the upper floor, passengers near the windows are provided with the wells in which to stow one's personal belongings, sure on Lufthansa's 747/8 they are even larger to hold a backpack, but in any case the space to store all my junk was more than enough.
The chair is narrow, old and generally uncomfortable, but at least choosing the upstairs makes the trip less sacrificial than the main floor as seen above.
If, on the other hand, you are traveling in the main deck, or anywhere not near the windows, the only storage space is a drawer placed under the neighbor's seat, only large enough to hold a pair of shoes and little more.
The seat is operated from the hand control inserted into the structure of the chair. The buttons are the ones that manage tilt and position. As well as the button that allows you to raise/lower the bulkhead that divides the two passengers.
Fortunately, I did not have a neighbor with whom to share the honors and burdens of this trip.
The only disadvantage of the chair is that it is very close to the galley, which is the area where the crew prepares dishes, and organizes operations. It is therefore a very noisy area.
Bathrooms
The differences with eastern airlines' A380s are many, here is no room for showers, and the bathrooms are not studios, however, they are still larger than average. Business class passengers on the upper deck have the option of using the two bathrooms located in the nose of the plane, above the cockpit.
Emirates and Singapore have also placed them in the same spot, but theirs are larger and more elegant partly because they are the ones designed for first-class passengers.
Food & Beverage
The first glass of Champagne took a long time to arrive, it took almost 20 minutes before the welcome drink was distributed!!! The delay in bringing catering on board was also probably to blame.
The menu was distributed right away, and shortly before takeoff, lunch orders were taken. The choice today was between three appetizers and three main courses, plus the classic cheese plate and a couple of dessert choices.
Immediately after takeoffs, a cocktail with peanuts was served while waiting for lunch to begin.
British has returned to full board service, although it remains inferior compared to many other companies. Certain things probably only noticeable to those who travel a lot and can compare how one company performs from the other.
The table is not set, but the appetizer is served on a tray, a tray that is covered with a napkin that serves as a tablecloth. On the first tray were the entree, bread and appetizer. I was served last, with the assistant coming to apologize because the dish had to be prepared downstairs. Too bad that when I was served the appetizer was not what I had ordered and the bread was now cold.
At certain levels, and at certain prices, details make all the difference in the world. If I order wine and you don't bring it to me, if I get the wrong dish and you serve it to me on a tray and not as in a restaurant you're giving me significantly less service than the competition, U.S./UK routes are the ones where airlines war to grab the best customers And these things get noticed.
The quality of the proposal is fair, after all, English cuisine is not the most renowned in the world. I had a sweet potato salad, beef cheeks with potato pie and cheddar as my main course and then jumped straight to dessert without wasting time with the cheeses.
I am a person who eats quite fast, especially on the plane where I then have a thousand other things to do. In this case I must say fortunately.
Luck because I was able to choose the dessert I wanted and not what was left over as happened to other passengers who instead took longer to taste their dishes. This is also something that is intolerable in business class, rather like Air France does, British should give passengers the opportunity to pre-order what they like, that way waste is avoided and everyone's requests are met instead of saying, "Sorry there is no more hot chocolate cake."
About 90 minutes after landing, plus or minus 7 hours after lunch, a small snack was served. Between the two choices of afternoon tea, and since again I was served last I had to make do with what was left over, which was not what I had chosen.
IFE
The onboard entertainment system is outdated, the screen small, the touch works haphazardly, the resolution far from the standards of more modern economy cabins.
The much touted partnership with Paramount+ is also half a disappointment, given the meager amount of content on board.
Fortunately, the wi-fi works and works well. I spent 20 euros for the unlimited package for the whole flight, BA gives the connection to first class passengers and nothing to everyone else. From texting to surfing you have to buy a pass that costs
There is a power strip and two USB sockets available. One near the socket and a more convenient one near the IFE controller.
Even the virtual flight map was not at all exciting, and I usually travel the 70% of time with this function on my screen.9
Service
No special greeting although I have a very high status in BA's loyalty program, a very strange thing because these small attentions are usually taken care of.
Very bad crew behavior in the galley, yes the curtains were closed, but the noise they made was continuous. Zero attention and lots of opening/closing, slamming, breaking, etc.
The cabin was manned at all times, my usual bell challenge was completed in less than a minute. Not the fastest operation but this A380 is huge so it also takes technical time to get to the site.
In conclusion
Award tickets with British Airways are never cheap, but despite this Avios points are in my opinion the best around for Italian users Along with Flying Blue points. If there were also offers like with Air France and KLM, it would be really perfect.
BA's A380 won't be flying much longer and that's a shame, if only it decided to install the new CLub World Suite cabins it would become one of the best machines to fly around the world. Compared to my other experiences aboard the British flag carrier, I must say that I was less comfortable. The difference with the air aboard Virgin Atlantic is something else entirely.
Pro
- THE A380
Against
- Service
- Armchair
- Catering