[excessbaggage]

Also i believe rodders point was that BA would be the first airline to have *both* the B787 and A380 in their fleet, which i think is correct isn’t it?

[BeckyBoop]

QF, EK, SQ etc have been running A380’s for years. To the non-geek plane fan this sort of thing would go straight over you (no pun intended ..lol ;o) ) . Also ANA have had their 787 for some time as well. From my recollection each of the airlines released new products on to these aircraft. Actually If BA put some 787 on mid haul routes then they will get the new MCW product. Also I didn’t say anything was particularly wrong with the products as such. So what do you believe the new innovations are in the new aircraft cabins?

[VintageKrug]

BA will be the first airline to fly the new MTOW A380 variant.

BA will be the first airline to run both the A380 and 787 in its fleet.

BA will not be fitting the new midhaul cabin into its 787s – these seats were only used as they had been ordered by bmi for its A321s and were sitting unused in a warehouse, so it made sense to dust them off and get some value out of them.

The A380 started commercial service in late 2007, but deliveries were VERY slow to start with, and 77 of them have been delivered so far; BA prefers not to be delivery customer for airliners as experience has proven that can be problematic, as you pick up all the in service snagging issues, hence the delay in placing the A380 orders, as well as concerns that the original variant wouldn’t satisfy BA’s cargo needs.

The 787 hasn’t even been in service for a full year.

BA was meant to receive both aircraft about three years ago, but supplier problems meant this didn’t happen, and so its new F, WT and WT+ cabins were put onto the 777-3000ER fleet order instead, launching in 2010.

[dutchyankee]

I am with VK on this one in so far as the current BA offering while not the bling of the Likes of Emirates and Singapore amongst others, is elegant, non claustrophobic, and efficient.

When I compare BA to others I am more interested in the quality of service/product on the ground (BA T5, LX ZRH, and LH FRA tops in this), in the air (CX, SQ, QR, LX, AF IMHO tops here) and in problem resolution (AA so far has been the best for me in this). I am also very happy BA have waited (due to Airbus and Boeing Delays) for the new aircraft as we are seeing a number of kinks still need to be worked out.

ANA have only had the 787 a few months now, and have encountered engine problems. We are all familiar with the A380 Wing issues, so let BA receive their planes later, and better than being the first.

BA has often been an innovator with the first flat beds in Club and First (not counting PAL and LH use of Beds in the upper deck for some First passenegers), amongst other firsts, but they do not always need to be changing a winning product!

[BeckyBoop]

VK, fair comment! But BA haven’t exactly scored too favourably in the recent Skytrax awards in terms of their onboard products with the execption of F which was in the top 10.

http://www.worldairlineawards.com/index.htm

[Senator]

I am keen to see if BA can improve perhaps the worst part of their on-board F product on the B747-400; the claustrophobic feeling of the F-cabin with all those seats in such a confined space. With my very limited experience in BA F (sample size 2) I felt this was the single biggest weakness of the on-board product.

I will be on a B777 (unsure of NF or old F) to IAD in two weeks, perhaps this will prove to be a better experience.

Along with a few issues around F&B and CCR I still find the LH/LX a much better experience in all. I recently spoke to chap who sampled the whole AF experience, and he raved on how great it was. I had a dismal experience back in 2006, and have not ventured back. However, it perhaps time give it a go.

It is however, impressive to see the new additions to the BA fleet coming online in the next couple of years even with the newer B777-300ERs that have been delivered.

[dutchyankee]

Hi Becky, I am sure you realise and respect that every survey will have different ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ and the varacity of Skytrax has been debated for a long time. They say they are completely free of bias and yet it has been suggested in the past that advertising dollars spent in Skytrax have an impact.

This is of course hear-say, but as with all surveys, I take them with a grain of salt. BA does extremely well in similar surveys in CN Traveller, here in Business Traveller and numerous other travel journals, blogs, websites etc. So which one is more accurate? I think the best survey of all is the one you perform yourself every time you board a flight, and then make an eductaed decision for yourself. That is what I rely on most as most people will always have a bias to one thing or another, as I no doubt do.

[VintageKrug]

I think you’ll find BA’s NF in the 777 works better than in the 747.

Skytrax is being investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority – their credibility is more bust than Gordon Brown’s:

http://www.ttgdigital.com/news/asa-to-investigate-skytrax-over-airline-reviews/4684293.article

[BeckyBoop]

DutchYankee, I understand where you are coming from. However most people are swayed by the outcome of the awards by Skytrax. As they believe they are the only authorised/official source of giving out airline awards a bit like the oscars but for airline travel.

[Shanwick1249]

There are airlines who have used the A380 as a new opportunity to deliver a stand-out product to their passengers – Emirates shines here – and airlines who have not. Too many in fact.

It is a shame that BA has opted to join the ranks of ‘the others’ (like Lufthansa and Qantas) whose A380s are just another aeroplane (at least as far as the Business cabin is concerned).

I choose to fly EK A380s whenever and wherever I can because the experience is so good. I won’t be doing that on the BA aircraft, and that’s a shame.

Likewise, it looks like I will be spending a lot of time in QR 787s. BA’s 2-3-2 layout in this cabin size is insane.

[Str8Talking]

I don’t disagree with a lot of what people are saying, but let’s compare all these other airlines’ pre-A380 product to BA’s pre-A380 product (i.e. current product)! The majority (if not all) of the current A380 operators mentioned, did not even have flat beds in Business Class prior to the arrival of their A380s, and were in desperate need of a hard product upgrade in order to remain competitive as a whole. Plus, I second the comment that had BA received the A380 and 787 as originally planned, they would have coincided with NF and in fact would not have been that much after NCW was first introduced, back in 2007. Had BA delayed the new products to coincide with new aircraft deliveries, they would have been crucified either way.

[dutchyankee]

@Str8Talking, perfectly said!

[Bucksnet]

Shanwick1249, you say that BA’s 2-3-2 layout in business on the 787 is insane but the 787 is wider than the top deck of an A380, where EK have 2-4-2 in business with only 18.5 inch seat width.

[transtraxman]

Perhaps Shanwick1249 would let us know precisely what is lacking on BA´s physical products (not the service element).
Maybe anybody could explain what they would like to see incorporated into the metals either where it exists on other carriers or does not exist on any at all.

e.g.legroom, seat pitch, seat width, might be different between F, CW and WT, but would you consider a minimum on each? or a layout as has already been suggested?
Maybe you might want the short haul products upgraded?

[Shanwick1249]

Bucksnet

Au Contraire! The top deck layout on an EK A380 is 1-2-1 in a brilliantly conceived layout that gives anyone sitting by the windows virtually their own cabin and excellent privacy throughout. I don’t think there is a better business-class seat than a window on an EK 380.

[Author]

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