[AMcWhirter]

Indeed AndrewinHK. Lufthansa is not known as a leader. It tends to follow the competition.

But that landside terminal is really something special. Lufthansa found space for the terminal by taking over an office car park.

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AndrewinHK

[AndrewinHK]

FDOS’s indeed a good point, I just play the odds, only 12 aircraft in the fleet, and I often see them delayed. When the 380 was operating to YVR it was late almost everyday, before I book I always take a quick look for the on time history, and with the 380 fleets of QF/BA being so small, it is relatively quick and easy to check flight radar and see they are often caught up in delays.

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FDOS

[AMcWhirter]

This piece has just been posted in The Independent. Refers to A380 delays.

Click on ‘Try Later’ if you wish to avoid the paywall.

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-airways-johannesburg-flights-london-heathrow-b2390020.html

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Bullfrog, AndrewinHK

[AlanOrton1]

MIA is a regular route for me to / from LHR and I’m struggling to recall the last time an A380 flight left on time from either airport. (MIA-LHR can at least make up some time with the favourable winds).
Flew BA A380 LAX-LHR earlier this year and delayed about 2 hours too.
I’ve also had delays pre-covid LHR-SIN, so in my experience they definitely appear to have more than their fair share of ‘issues’.
Back in the day when I flew EK a bit more I don’t recall any delays with their A380 flights I took.

Back to the OP and other comments, I remain content with BA due to their schedule of trans Atlantic flights (alongside AA) and their route network to Europe and beyond.
They fly everywhere I fly to and working full time and with family commitments, getting to and from where I’m travelling to as quickly as possible is important to me.

VS does fly to many of the long haul destinations I travel to, however, HKG has now gone, plus they don’t offer the breadth of non stop European destinations (even with their alliance partners).

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AndrewinHK

[FDOS]

AndrewinHK

Actually, I wasn’t making a point, just sharing what I found an interesting fact. I would not consider BA a substantial A380 operator, either, so what do I know? 😉

[SwissExPat]

Another observations with LX in J is that within the cabin, there is quite a difference of the quality of seat as evidenced by that fact that unless you are a Senator/Hon circle member, you will be invited to pay an extra CHF 189 for a “throne” seat.

[Rferguson2]

The A380 is definitely problematic. As others have mentioned it seems to cause issues for other airlines also operating similar numbers of A380’s.

Fortunately I have not been caught up in any BA A380 disruption. However, Australia is a regular commute for me and I often use Qantas via Singapore. The reliability on that route is absolutely shocking. I guess each airline has their own way of dealing with disruption but whereas BA tends to canx outright QF seldom does. But they delay. And when I say delay I am talking often in the region of 12/24 hours. To be honest, I am not sure which is better.

On a recent flight to SIN and SYD on QF I was advised before departure that the meal service had been ‘modified’ due to the aircraft having no refrigeration at all. So the chilled food loaded by caterers @ LHR was fine to serve after take off but only non perishable food would be served pre landing (croissants and bread in J class) along with preserved fruit. On chatting with the crew it was not a question of having time on the ground to rectify the problem (the aircraft sits at LHR for over twelve hours per day) but instead difficulty getting spare parts.

I am not sure why A380’s are causing airlines such grief but from an airplane 101 POV I guess it’s the bigger the plane, the more parts, the more that can go wrong. Although as others have mentioned EK does not seem to suffer the same issues.

[BackOfThePlane]

At a slight tangent to this thread, but taking into account the various comments about problems with the A380, you have to worry for Global Airlines and their hoped-for ‘fleet’ of ageing A380s. With significantly less resources than the likes of BA, LH & QF to deal with any such problems, matters might get very messy very quickly.

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AndrewinHK

[CheerUp]

Alternatively, because they have only the one type of aircraft in the fleet, and only a small number of departing airports to deal with, they should have (or you’d hope so!) the resources readily avaiable and specialised to deal with any potential issues for the A380.

I remain glass half full for Global, I hope for and wish them great success.

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AndrewinHK, Johnnyg, BackOfThePlane

[AndrewinHK]

I had the same thoughts RE: Global. It all comes down to route planning, I think BA tying up two a380’s on the ground in Johannesburg for 12 hours each day, means any disruption on the other 380 destinations is exacerbated because you have only 8 operating the other routes. The lack of 380 gates also at some airports might further cause delays if flights are late, and you have other airlines using the gates. BA doesn’t seem to be an outlier in having issues, EK the sheer volume of 380 aircraft it has, and operating various sector lengths gives them flexibility in operations, though EK also has delays, likely just not as frequently reported here, as they tend to operate a tight ship on LHR flights because of the slot constraints. I know from colleagues and a quick flight radar check, EK 205 from DXB-MXP-JFK is often delayed.

[YorkshireTraveller]

Flew with LH and LX earlier in the year. LH is a dated product but the food and service was fantastic. LX the “throne” seats are hard to beat, especially in the mini-cabin of just 2 rows at the front of the 777, but service was robotic and lacked any care which would put me off a bit. Zurich and Munich are some of the best hubs to transfer through however.

[FDOS]

The J class KLM seats on the 787 and the newer AF J class seats on the 777 are the best I have experienced.

I agree with RFerguson that the cuisine is meh, however the seat is way more important to me. YMMV.

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YorkshireTraveller

[MarkCymru]

I’m not a massive Virgin fan, but it is integrated fully into Sky Team so you get all Sky Priority One perks. In my experience, they’re the most consistent alliance at delivering top-tier benefits. Delta is, as our US cousins say, a country mile better than American

My experience of BA is disgusting food (I’m vegan, but not a picky eater) and very variable service levels in the air. The lounges are good but, otherwise, on the groud, they’re consistently dreadful: after a delayed inbound from JNB, I had to threaten them to get put on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin rather than waiting six hours for the next available BA flight. I have Gold for life; imagine how they treat others.

You’ve forgotten Aer Lingus. That change in Dublin or Shannon gives you pre-clearance so you arrive in the US as a domestic flight. Even with Global Entry, that’s a big bonus. The cabin and lounge staff are consistently lovely (other ground serice is much more patchy) and the food’s fine (albeit delivered at a painfully slow speed). Several of the LHR-DUB flights now have long-haul business class too

[FormerBA]

Agree with you reference AA.

My only gripe with them is the horrible shortfall aircraft they use LAX HNL and the islands. I much prefer the more comfortable DFW route even it it means a night stop on the way out.

[EasternPedlar]

If I may add a comment about Lufthansa, I flew their new A350 via Munich last month, and the hard product is excellent with the 1-2-1 seating in Business. In addition, I found the service to be superb. I was trying hard to stay awake on a long day flight and needed quite a few cups of coffee to keep me going as I went through some extremely boring documentation. The crew were wonderful – prompt, ungrudging and graceful, and even came up to me a couple of times to ask if I needed a refill. I didn’t expect that!

I like the BA Club Suite, as well as a lot of the food they serve, but their service is usually the opposite of what I experienced on Lufthansa. Prior to the launch of the Club Suite, I preferred AA metal and flew them via the BA code share option. The AA crew are generally more helpful and pleasant in my experience.

Swiss have great service, but their A-340s need to be retired.

Since I fly a lot to India, I use Air India often. There is a major improvement in service and amenities since the Tatas took over, but the 787 interiors are worn out and need a refurb. I don’t think we’ll see any major improvements there until the new A350s come into service later this year, and I look forward to that. They’ve brought in some ex- Delta & Etihad 777s with better cabins but those aren’t operating on the LHR sector yet. Their lounges in India are still avoidable, but one gets to use the SQ lounge in London and I’m always happy to get a fix of laksa.

The two major alliances, Star & OW, have me firmly in their grip and I rarely fly on other carriers.

[Author]

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