BA 767 AIRCRAFT – AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!
Back to Forum- This topic has 79 replies, 37 voices, and was last updated 11 Jul 2013
at 20:49 by Hermes1964.
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Ah,Mr.BondParticipantHaving recently flown BA Club Europe to Larnaca on their 767 service (Their longest European route at 5 hours by the way) I was appalled at the seating they offer on this aircraft.
This is NOT the normal Club Europe seat, but standard economy. The economy layout is 2-3-2, with Club Europe 2-2-2. Yes, the 3 in the middle are reduced from 3 to 2 as like CE in the airbus, but the 2 by the window, where I sat, were identical to economy in every sense. I even had to share my armrest with the adjacent passenger, this housed my tray table as I was sat in the bulkhead row and this was incredibly inconvenient, cramped and unacceptable.. especially as they charge a lead in fare of near £500 for this. There is also a tiny TV on the wall in front of you , which never works (as confirmed by the crew) and due to the positioning of the first rows you cannot see the overhead screens.
Fantastic!…. I wrote to BA about my cramped, sub-standard, 5 hour ‘club europe’ experience, I also gave them handy comments on what they could do to rectify the problem. The reply I received indicated they really could not have cared less. Not the service one would expect towards one of their Silver Clients.
29 Jun 2012
at 09:22
JohnHarperParticipantThe 767 to Larnaca has been highlighted many times as a joke, they are dropping to bits with probably more duct tape than the whole A320 fleet has on each aircraft. The C seats on the 767 are no better than Y seats unless you sit in the middle block. Food is as ever pretty dire and they often run out of drinks. The crew are generally pretty cheerful as they generally get a night stop there.
If you want to fly in reasonable comfort to LCA with excellent service, give A3 a try.
As long as BA can fill the 767 to LCA they won’t change things any time soon although of course refurbishment is planned but I’ll bet LCA will be the last route to see it.
29 Jun 2012
at 09:40
LuganoPirateParticipantI can sympathise ahmrbond. Was this a replacement aircraft for the route or the regular one? This highlights the importance of looking at sites such as Seatplans before booking and especially if paying top dollar for the flight.
It’s a fact of life BA (nor many other airlines for that matter) will do nothing about it so not even worth complaining. Sad really that we live and travel in a world of such corporate arrogance!
29 Jun 2012
at 09:45
Ah,Mr.BondParticipantNo LuganoPirate, this was not an equipment change and is their normal operation for European flights. I always check seat guru which mentions nothing about the issue of the window and adjacent Aisle seats being the same as economy class. Think somone should change this soonest!!
29 Jun 2012
at 10:01
BA744fanParticipantThe refurbishment of the short haul 767 fleet has started, not before time as they are in dire need of a refit. I have flown on 4 of them recently to and from IST. Luckily I got the exit seats on all 4 flights but the condition of the seats and IFE was terrible.
Best advice for anyone planning to fly in CE is don’t bother. The fare increase does not justify what is essentially a Euro Traveller seat and service.
29 Jun 2012
at 10:05
Ah,Mr.BondParticipantJohnHarper – I haven’t really had any issue with the food and drink and general service on CE flights, although agree with some coments re wine offerings, but yes, this seat was a complete and utter total joke.
29 Jun 2012
at 10:05
Ah,Mr.BondParticipantBA744fan – don’t get me wrong, I am not talking about the longhaul 767 service with full Club World and WTP seating, Infact this is my layout of choice 2-2-2 in both Club and Premium is by fare the best layout of all their fleet.
29 Jun 2012
at 10:13
esselleParticipantI was on the board of a Cypriot company between 2001 and 2003, and used to travel to Nicosia every other month for meetings.
The BA767s on the route the were awful, shoddy, broken, and yes, the CE product then was exactly as you describe it ahmrbond. Shocking to see nothing has changed.
Cyprus Airways introduced A330s on the route, with a pretty decent C product, so they got my business. Added advantage was that you could easily have a quick ciggie with the crew in the rear galley as well!
29 Jun 2012
at 10:27
Ah,Mr.BondParticipantJust found this article this morning about the refit of these old 767s….. They should be getting rid of these old planes like they did with their 757s, not fluffing them up with new cushions…. All shorthaul 767 routes can be taken care of by a A321 which has far better CE seat configuration…
“British Airways has introduced the first of its refurbished Boeing 767s as part of a multi-million pound programme to enhance customers’ experience.
This lead aircraft, and the six to follow, have been transformed with upgraded interiors. The scheme includes refurbished sidewalls, bulkheads and toilets, fresh carpets and curtains, as well as recessed ceilings with larger overhead lockers allowing extra luggage space and new lighting throughout.
All Club Europe seats have been given new cushioning and dark blue leather seat covers, to increase their comfort.
Short haul Boeing 767s will also feature new sleek new overhead 15-inch flat screen TVs, replacing the bulky originals, which took up a lot of space.”
16 Jul 2012
at 11:41
rfergusonParticipantUrghhhh the 767…..Just as unpleasant to work on as to fly on a passenger! Actually, I take that back. I think on a longhaul config the aircraft is quite nice from a passenger perspective, mainly down to the seating configuration. 2 X 2 X 2 in J vs 2X4X2 on a 747 or 777. Likewise WTP….2X2X2 vs 2X4X2 on 747/777. And 2X3X2 in Y. I must say the ‘refreshed’ 767’s are looking really good.
I last flew on a shorthaul 767 about ten years ago. And the cabins were embarassingly outdated back then. So I can imagine the passenger perspective of the aircraft now.
The problem with BA and the 767 is that it has been like a cat with nine lives. If BA’s plans of ten years ago remained in place the 767’s would have all been retired a year ago and would have been a rare sight for the past five years. Hence, there was never a reason acceptable from the board to spend money on aircraft that were on their way out, especially back a few years ago when times were tough. Delays to the 787 plus the fact that the aircraft remains relatively economical on ‘thin’ longhaul routes has seen its lifespan extended numerous times. Last year it was announced that they would remain in service until 2016. A Captain on my flight I was working a couple weeks ago said the plan was now for the aircraft to stay in the fleet until 2020!
Hence the aircraft being re-freshed. Half of the longhaul fleet and the entire shorthaul fleet.
The shorthaul configured 767’s have been fitted with the same J/Y seats fitted on the new shorthaul airbus aircraft.
And to be honest, I don’t think it will be too long they will be serving on current shorthaul routes anyway. Our CEO Keith Williams was recently quoted in an interview as saying that BA’s plans were to grow the longhaul fleet in the short term by reconfiguring the shorthaul 767’s into longhaul configuration as they now have plenty of ex BMI airbus aircraft to fill the gap on shorthaul.
16 Jul 2012
at 11:52
BusinessTravellerKeymasterHi ahmarbond – we published a review of the refurbished seating in April, along with an explanation from BA as to the extension of the life of these aircraft, and the reasoning for not refitting with BA’s full Club World seating. This can be seen here:
16 Jul 2012
at 11:54
sparkyflierParticipantI second that rfurguson, your knowledge, insight are really useful on these pages, and at the same time you are a good ambassador for BA.
Not been on a shorthaul 767 in a while, but for the reasons given, the longhaul 767 is I think the most comfortable and enjoyable BA plane to fly on.
Great also for starting up new routes, which I did think BA was going to be doing. . .
16 Jul 2012
at 12:47
Ah,Mr.BondParticipantThanks BusinessTraveller – The article I found was in todays http://www.btnews.co.uk , It’s obvious then that the other 767s will remain as is with the minor ‘refresh’ if you can call it that as is. My view on this aircraft as configured remain unchanged – use for domestic use only – there is plenty of demand for the higher capacity since the BMI withdrew out of GLA a while back. This thing simply is not suitable for Club Europe use.
16 Jul 2012
at 13:43 -
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