[MarkivJ]

… was last week! BA CW SFO-LHR. After having flown the dreamliner, I was not that impressed considering so many seem to love it. So I had very low expectations of A380 as I did not want to be disappointed again.

But boy! It was brilliant. Quiet, spacious, and over all very comfortable.

The BA crew was very friendly, helpful, and made sure my champagne glass never went dry!

My only 3 disappointments were: 1. Chaotic boarding at San Francisco. They need to get trained on more seamless A380 boarding procedures
2. Classical music playing at a very loud volume when we boarded. It did not help that the quality was bad (poor acoustics)
3. Cabin crew took forever to serve dinner.

But overall, very nice. Well done BA!

And a tip for those flying CW out of SFO: please please please use the Cathay Pacific Lounge as BA’s erm “terraces” lounge is more overcrowded mosh pit dungeon.

[MarkivJ]

Also, I must add the loos at the upper deck (front of the aeroplane) are spacious and really nice done (with the wooden laminated floor, etc.).

[LuganoPirate]

Have to agree with you Markiv, the 380 is a superb aircraft. I’ve never flown BA’s but I have Lufthansa’s and Emirates. Second only to the 747-800 in my opinion.

[MartynSinclair]

@MarkivJ – presume you were upstairs, forward cabin in club.. I agree, it is spacious, quiet ( I always worry if the landing gear is down, as you cant hear it going down) and to a degree airy, especially if you are by the window. Note it is 7 across..

Club downstairs has a different kind of feel, 8 across, and not so spacious ….

[MarkivJ]

Thanks for all your comments.

LP – funny you mention the 748 as I haven’t flown on that yet. But I may need to fly to Bengaluru in a few months (again), so I plan on LH SF > FRA > BLR so I get to try both their A380 and 748!

Martyn – I was on the upper deck which is also the 2-4-2 config. In my earlier post, I intentionally didn’t mention the usual CW issues across all aircraft (the 2-4-2 crammed feeling, the stepping over the neighbour’s legs when needing to get to the aisle, the awful unstable fold-able meal trays, etc.) but chose to focus on the A380 experience.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=850802]Also, I must add the loos at the upper deck (front of the aeroplane) are spacious and really nice done (with the wooden laminated floor, etc.).
[/quote]

That’s because the upper deck of the A380 is where Airbus expected the F class to be, so the washroom space is scaled up i.e. that’s the space where EK has the showers.

[Inquisitive]

I am taking A380 regularly SQ only. The 3 issues that was indicated is never a problem with SQ.
I believe SQ has the best boarding arrangement outside USA where after first and business class boarding, the economy is boarded back to front and very efficient. In USA of course the Zone system boarding is very good that favour status holders.

Although B747 cannot be beaten on the grace and shilloute, comfort wise A380 is the best aircraft IMHO.

[MarkivJ]

Very interesting FDOS, that makes sense now, because I remember going – wow, this IS a big washroom.

Martyn, you’re probably right. It probably was 7 across and not 8. I’ll check on my way back.

Inquisitive, I’d really blame the ground crew for this. I don’t know if it’s only BA A380 boarding that’s this chaotic or all A380 flights out of SF (EK, SQ, LH, etc.).

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

7 upstairs, 8 downstairs. The laughable irony is – there is more seats in a row in Business class than in Premium economy!!

[Derek1948]

I took an A380 in F with BA last month to Jo’berg. With only 14 seats it seemed spacious and there was a very attentive crew. It is a remarkably quiet plane and makes for a great flying experience. Had a wander around the plane when it was airborne and was impressed at the size of it. The F toilets are smaller than the first floor Club ones presumably because of the earlier comment. Boarding at LHR was good despite hoards of other passengers hanging around the gate well before their letters were called. Own walkway to F cabin as well. The fresh flower was in the toilets and there was a pre-appetiser served before the starter for dinner. All in all a very good trip and looking forward to my next trip on an A380.

[Sanran]

Hi Inquisitive,

I usually fly in F to ZRH and that flight leaves at 1.30AM approx, but I have to disagree on your comment on boarding the SQ A380 in Changi.
Dedicated check-in area is very comfortable, the Club is a perfect place to wait (food is very good, ambiance quiet, a lot of space for the amount of people, at least at that time). But then you have to board: you have to reach the gate alone (this in itself is not a problem) and, since in SIN you have to go through security check at the gate too, you start to queue, no matter your class, as you are not escorted. I don’t want to be too complicated or elitist, but if you are tired, come out of a super quiet lounge, you really don’t want to be queuing with x hundreds people from the other classes with childrens, bags, jackets all over the place in the relatively small waiting area. I know it can sound arrogant, but just buy an F ticket and board like that at that time of the night. This has to be rethought in my humble opinion.

[Inquisitive]

Hi Sanran,
At Changi, Security check is at gate and that is not in Airline’s control. Changi is Super efficient so no separate queue for business class. However I never had to wait more than 5 minutes ever (I travel at least twice a month, mostly long haul).
After security the boarding process is standard for SQ.

I had taken both A380 and nonstop A350 from SFO. Although managed by agents, but boarding process is SQ standard.

[nibbler]

Singapore and Hong Kong have the same issue; its better if you are in economy but WAY worse if you aren’t.

There is nothing premium about queuing 30 mins+ for immigration in Singapore after getting off 13 hours in Suites. Same for 20 mins plus to get into the holding pen for the return flight … My ticket cost $$$

[CathayLoyalist2]

For quite a few years now CX at Changi have a separate channel for Business Class and Marco Polo Club members so that eases the hassle of the long queue.

At CLK in HKG CX has a dedicated channel for First Class and Diamond Club members so it can be done.

[Flightlevel]

[quote quote=851234]Singapore and Hong Kong have the same issue; its better if you are in economy but WAY worse if you aren’t.
There is nothing premium about queuing 30 mins+ for immigration in Singapore after getting off 13 hours in Suites. Same for 20 mins plus to get into the holding pen for the return flight … My ticket cost $$$
[/quote]
Never understood the logic of the SIN immigration pen (floor) it probably worked when it wasn’t a busy airport, now its a very poor standard.
HKG has a frequent visitor pass (sticker on passport) that means virtually no queues -maybe three people maximum – if you get one its magic at immigration and departure.

[Author]

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