[SimonS1]

Should be fun when the 380s depart from Satellite C. All the lounge lovers making a last minute surge from the main terminal or Satellite B.

[JohnHarper]

Great planning isn’t it. All A380 gates at 5C and no lounge and seemingly no plans to put one there.

The seat plan is different, all those C seats on the main deck look overcrowded, no doubt the upper deck will be more popular.

Does anyone know how the cabin width on the A380 upper deck compares to the 787?

[sparkyflier]

I can see the reasoning for 3 cabins – to avoid the dormitory feel as described by posters, but 2-4-2 in business is just not attractive, and to be frank 2-3-2 on the 787 in business and 3-3-3 on economy are hugely disappointing. The later is as bad as the 777 10 abreast.

In Business Class, not having direct aisle access is so last century.

BA had an opportunity to show some leadership and reposition themselves. Looking at this, they are almost becoming an also ran.

[KSHaggag]

I am not AT ALL surprised they did this !!!..I felt there would be NOTHING ATTRACTIVE really but i still had hopes inside me that BA would come up with something revolutionary in F and J ………dommage !!!!…………….BA is still too cramped compared to AF,KL,LH,LX,AZ ,etc……..the A380 and B787 were their last chance to show supremacy ….

[GordyUK]

i also just noticed.. nice to see the utter waste of space on the upper deck, giving CW two oversized toilets whilst First below has 3 small ones.. what a bit of genius that was!.. I mean it was obvious they wouldn’t go for something luxurious like EK’s shower spas but this is nothing more than a head shaker

[Henkel.Trocken]

Oh well, two game changing planes and old seats inside them, I’m not surprised. It’s as bad as LH offering their last generation C on the A380.

[Binman62]

This is so disappointing.

There is an article in the month’s business life with a quote from the Lord King or Colin Marshall back in 1987 when the airlines senior team had a vision to make it the world preeminent airline. Someone else may be able to repeat it but it is not on the online version and I did not take my copy home. It was all about being the world’s best airline and delivering world class products that others could only imagine.

The confirmed 787 and A380 seats maps, with their cramped First cabin and dated ying yang layout with no direct aisle access , demonstrates the poverty of ambition of that exits in today’s BA.

A huge opportunity has been missed and it is so very sad to see.

[Henkel.Trocken]

Ah, now, the days when Lord King and Colin Marshall were in charge were the days when I was very proud to fly BA and they excelled on almost all fronts. With the exception of Swiss and PanAm, I don’t think anyone else came near them.

(Cue an apologist pointing out that Swiss and PanAm are no longer in business).

So, how did they lose the plot so badly and end up as an also ran rather than the leader of the field?

(Cue an apologist pointing out that it’s all the fault of the trades unions)

At the end of the day, managers are in overall control and IMO, BA has been poorly managed for a very long time and it doesn’t seem to be getting much better.

[lloydah]

Sorry, but if there’s even half a chance of being in one of the middle C seats of three I’m simply using another carrier. And this is from someone who generally uses BA as default.

[DontTurnRight]

Another pain with the new seat plans, is that if you are in J class, you still have to put up with large numbers of economy passengers passing through the cabin on boarding, bashing the sides of your seat and arms with their over-sized hand luggage. Perhaps the middle seat does have an advantage after all!!!

[LuganoPirate]

Sorry to be pedantic Henkel, but I can’t see my favorite carrier consigned to history! It was “Swissair” that went bust, “Swiss” is still very much alive, flying and profitable.

Otherwise I agree with what you have to say. WW has tried to build a two tier airline, kowtowing to the Economy brigade but trying to go upmarket with C & F and failing compared to the likes of QR, LH et al. If I was based in the UK, I’d be booking the incredible business seats of QR in their 787 every time!

King and Marshall had a certain class about them, WW sadly does not!

[Henkel.Trocken]

LP: Indeed – while I was typing I was thinking Swissair and at the same time I was thinking that although the demise of Swissair was tragic, they have been very well succeeded by Swiss. I’m delighted by that as Swiss are one of my favourites and with the heritage of Swissair and Crossair they were always destined for great things.

[sparkyflier]

I recall seeing the famed Landor livery, and a level of anticipation and expectation that was very rarely not delivered upon.

I too saw the Business Life article and thought the same as Binman.

Nowadays a real poverty of ambition. They are not bad, and very good, but they could be even better. As Lloydah said, if there is a risk of a middle seat this is a turn-off.

It is a pity they do not seem to remember the British Caledonian caption ” We never forget you have a choice”.

[Shamsh1]

The new 380 layout: simply unbelievable!
Hasn’t any of the BA Seniors flown the 380 of EK or QF? None of them are splitting C on both decks, but both have excellent F suites. Not the tiny, old fashioned type of BA-seats. There is no second chance for a first impression, so do it right BA, or you will keep loosing even more passengers.

[BeckyBoop]

Shamsh1, the BA seat plan has the same number of seats as a EK A380 whats there to say that these seats may not be bigger than the ones you get on an 747 If you have ever flown on BA 777-300 the seats definatley feel bigger. The BA A380 will have some new innovations.

[Author]

Posts