CHECK-IN

My flight (BA282) to London Heathrow was departing from LA’s Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at 1745. I had my boarding pass on my smartphone (thanks to the British Airways app) and as I didn’t have any luggage to drop off, I was able to go straight to security, which took ten minutes to get through.

THE LOUNGE

Although there has been huge expansion of the TBIT (see page 43 for a full report), the Oneworld lounge is in the older part of the terminal, so it is not new. The business class facility is large and long. A self-service buffet was laid out – the food selection was fairly limited, though there was a choice of both hot and cold dishes such as noodles and salads, and a few drinks and snacks.

At the end of the lounge was a bar and, to the right, toilets and showers. I found a seat near a power socket, logged on to the free wifi and did some work.

BOARDING

By the time I reached the gate at 1700, the flight was boarding. As I was on the upper deck, I had to take an escalator from level four to level five.

THE SEAT

Once in my seat, my jacket was taken and I was offered water, orange juice and champagne. There are two Club World cabins on the upper deck (rows 50-53 and 56-59) configured 2-3-2 (A-B, D-E-F, J-K), and one on the main deck (rows ten to 15) in a 2-4-2 layout (A-B, D-E-F-G, J-K). Business class is BA’s existing forward- and backward-facing fully-flat bed product. I was in the second section on the upper deck in aisle seat 58D.

The first thing I noticed was that I could not fit my laptop into the footlocker as normal. This meant I had to keep it in the one above my head, which wasn’t very convenient. There was, however, in-seat power for EU, US and UK plugs.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE?

Choose a window seat (A or K) for extra side storage or a middle seat (E), which is tucked away from the aisle. Avoid aisle seats (B, D, F and J), which feel a little cramped, and the last row of the second cabin (59), which backs on to the baby bassinets attached to the bulkhead in World Traveller Plus (premium economy). Although there are three washrooms for Club World on the upper deck, the rear cabin only has one, whereas the front cabin has two.

THE FLIGHT

The plane took off at 1810, during which time I listened to music through the new Thales in-flight entertainment system, which has a 12-inch screen. (It’s new in the sense it is on the reconfigured B777-200s, B777-300ERs, B787s and A380s, but not on the older B767s or B777-200s). Once the seat-belt sign was turned off, the Club World amenity bags with Elemis products were passed around.

It took five or ten minutes before the seat power came on, and during that time we could not raise the dividers between the seats. Drinks orders were taken in pairs, which slowed up service – I think it would have made more sense to bring a trolley down.

Orders for food were taken shortly after, at 1905, and meals started being served from the front of the cabin at 1930. The menu included smoked Balmoral salmon terrine with leek and potato confit, lemon and crème fraîche to start, and grilled fillet of Omaha beef with curry herb crust, potato fondant and Bordelaise sauce to follow. There were three champagnes, two whites and two reds on offer. After eating, I reclined my seat and had no trouble sleeping for about five hours.

Waking two hours before landing, I raided the Club Kitchen, which was stocked with fruit, biscuits and chocolate, and the friendly, organised crew made me cups of tea. Breakfast was served 70 minutes before landing and I had fruit juice, a smoothie and a warm bacon roll, which was delicious.

ARRIVAL

We landed on schedule (1200 local time) at Heathrow and caught the shuttle train back to Terminal 5. I didn’t have any luggage so was quickly through immigration.

VERDICT

A very good service. The next time I fly I would like to try the main deck and, if I flew on the upper deck again, would go for the front cabin and either a window or middle seat. The A380 enables a smoother flight and less noise than older aircraft.
FACT FILE

  • DEPARTURE TIME 1810
  • FLIGHT TIME 9 hours, 50 minutes
  • CONFIGURATION 2-3-2/2-4-2
  • SEAT WIDTH 25in/63cm
  • BED LENGTH 72in/183cm
  • SEAT RECLINE 180 degrees
  • PRICE Internet rates for a return business class flight from London to LA in December started from £3,300.
  • CONTACT ba.com

Tom Otley