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A preview of the new World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins, to be fitted on the new Boeing 777-300 aircraft is now on ba.com
https://www.britishairways.com/travel/new-world-traveller/public/en_gb
https://www.britishairways.com/travel/new-world-traveller-plus/public/en_gb
Looks pretty slick.
I'm not a fan of the headrests though. I like the current WT and WTP style that can either be folded down (WT) or folded towards the head (WTP), which gives one something to rest ones head against, sooner than waking up with a stiff neck because your head has been at a funny angle for a few hours.
Colour scheme looks great and is a nice continuation of the new F and current CW product.
I'm booked up for a WT run to Dubai in Jan, so here's hoping!
I agree, I look forward to trying out the new seats in the new year. I hope it is matched with improved catering on WT+. I would have thought a little more publicity could be generated for this, but I guess it is a slow roll-out given it starts on the 777-300s Good Luck BA.
This is what i call premium economy
http://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/premium-economy-spaceseat
I am certain the advent of mixed fleet will help improve customer service, without BASSA's controlling interference.
These new seats are great, very comfy and I especially like the USB connectivity and power points at every seat.
The WT+ screens are exactly the same size as Club World, and the cabin looks very contemporary and spacious indeed.
The two new cabins certainly seem in keeping with new club and first giving a very 'connected' feel to all of the cabins.
VintageKrug....when the mixed fleet arrive i would expect them to get young, tired, in experienced people who will be "looking after" your safety and comfort while trying to survive on a low wage with little sleep and no care for the customer.
As a BA crew member i find your comment very blinkered....but then you usually are.
Mixed fleet will re-invigorate BA's crew ranks.
It is certainly not recruiting "inexperienced" people. From my reading of the criteria, all recruits would have to already have some sort of professional experience; most of the early recruits will already have Cabin Crew experience:
http://www.beoutstanding.co.uk/
You keep stating that these will be low paid roles but they are still market rate. Better than market rate salaries in many cases. Somewhere between £14k-£18k per annum.
The base pay plus partially tax free flying payments are not abnormally low for a first jobber, and with all the benefits of travelling the world and working with like minded colleagues, it doesn't seem a bad offer to me - and the oversubscribed applications bear this out.
Indeed some of the Cabin Manager positions are apparently offering £25k base pay salaries (excluding flight pay) which is hardly low paid. And before you rubbish that number, here is the evidence for that salary:
I don't see any connection between offering good service and the wage you are paid. Proper training and proper performance management (never properly permitted under the BASSAmentalist regime) will weed out exactly those bad apples who think in that outdated way.
And proper performance related incentives may well be possible [without interference from BASSA who refused their members the option of being awarded shares in the company or performance related pay and actually proposed a temporary, repayable pay CUT for their members when negotiations with BA began] which could in due course add to base pay.
I fail also to see the connection between "young" crew and "tired" crew. Which is it?
I for one am looking forward to flying Mixed Fleet routes after November, though as yet these seem to be confined mostly to shorthaul initially, with those longer haul routes coming online once more on the job experience is gained:
Prague, St Petersburg, Pisa, Denver, Budapest, Nairobi.
Looking forward to more of these WT+ and WT cabins on the new 777-300ERs as they are delivered:
www.britishairways.com/travel/new-world-traveller-plus/public/en_gb
In the meantime BA will have old WT/WT+ on most aircraft including all 747's. The experience is going to be a bag of liquorish all sorts with some peoples expectations met and some rather disappointed.
As for VK banging on about mixed fleet..... this thread is about the new PRODUCT being introduced. It has NO bearing on the customer service one can expect from the crew be it current fleets or not. Why is it you have to spoil a discussion by brining up BASSA at all times. Your replies are becoming tiresome to read and to be fair I skip most of them. Incidentally, how do you know the seats are comfortable? Have you tested them? I for one would like to know how as they have not been rolled out yet and the new 777 is due in service this week.
You may be a proud and dedicated mouth piece for Willie Walsh, but lets keep to the subject matter shall we?
Although VintageKrug is more than capable of fighting his/her own battles, it is worth noting that (I am 99.9% sure) mixed fleet was first mentioned by another poster earlier in the thread (the post before VintageKrug's mention of it)...although this has now dissapeared.
Indeed, it was not me who brought up mixed fleet; there was a post (now deleted) which mentioned concerns about the service/soft product not being up to scratch.
Nope.
I am not nor ever have been in any way connected with British Airways or the travel industry more generally except as a shareholder and Gold Card holder (as well as top tier with Star and Skyteam (the latter comped)).
So you went to Cardiff to check out the new seats? You are truly a dedicated BA customer I must say. I am surprised you are not rewarded with a prem card.
Kudos to your determined dedication to an airline which you only have share's in and a gold card.
The new cabins look very stylish, particularly WT+. I'll await photos of the cabin in BT's upcoming trip report(s) before making a final judgement although I do believe BA could come close to owning the best looking economy product in the sky.
Nevertheless I hope we see an overhaul of other service elements. I believe further differentiation between the WT & WT+ meal service would enhance the appeal of premium economy. An upgrade to WT catering would also be welcomed. For now, I like what I see!
well you do seem to know so much vintagekrug....or maybe not.
back to the seats....have sat in the wt plus seats and i can say they are a great improvment on what we/BA have and yes i believe a different meal service is in order in that cabin but with things as they are its gonna be a long way of...or fly the new mixed fleet...the girls have hats dont you know!!
Having seen more photos the new cabins do look good and it will be good to have a consistent style running through all four cabins. Though premium economy remains firmly WT+, not CW-.
I agree the meal service needs improvement. As does the IFE, which needs richer content. It would be a great pity if the new products were let down by other problems that are very easy to fix
My understanding is that these new B777-300ER aircraft, fitted with the THALES In-Flight Entertainment system offer increased programming as well as larger screens, improved Graphical User Interface and, of course, the ability to connect a media player to use the provided screen to display your own content.
It'll be interesting to see how the whole IFE story plays-out in coming years though; the proliferation of iPods, iPads and Laptops and our increasing expectations of choice and personalisation could very well render this expensive, heavy, sensitive and heat-generating equipment completely obsolete in a relatively short space of time.
Already, it's notably obvious that on overnight Eastbound Transatlantics in Business and First Class cabins, whole swathes of passengers never turn it on as they prefer to sleep.
I'm looking forward to trying out the BA product in-flight, and comparing it to my upcoming Cathay Economy flight which I think is the only truly innovative Y product at the moment - though one which seems to garner many less than favourable comments. We'll see.
"Already, it's notably obvious that on overnight Eastbound Transatlantics in Business and First Class cabins, whole swathes of passengers never turn it on as they prefer to sleep."
Not just the US flights, I fly to the middle east regularly and the same thing is obvious.
Personally, I can't remember the last time I used the IFE on BA, although I do remember watching a movie on Jet just over a year ago - normally I am too tired to sit up or too busy.
Your comments about obselecence are interesting, as I already carry a 4.5" screen MP4 player with me, loaded with about 40 movies; it has a battery life of just over two movies and weighs 120 grams.
I'm far more likely to use this on a flight, as I can prop it next to me when laying flat and rest properly whilst watching (and probably drift off to sleep, too.)
I'm going to JNB on Saturday and will no doubt watch at least one movie.
It is good to have a USB connection to charge it, but even on a 10 hour flight, I'm unlikely to watch more than 2 movies :-)
Kellner:
In a reply to VK, you said: "So you went to Cardiff to check out the new seats? You are truly a dedicated BA customer I must say."
I don't understand this. If you are a frequent flier, perhaps even enjoy flying, it makes perfect sense to attend such an event if you get an invitation.
I am myself an EB and EC Gold card holder, and if I got such an invitation from one of the airlines I regularly use, I would definitely attend, be it BA or SK.
This is about learning what is happening to a place you spend a lot of time.
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