Welcome to this trip report of my British Airways flight from Los Angeles to London in December 2022!
This is my second trip with BA in Club World on the same route in a span of 4 weeks.
Unlike the previous trip, in the Club Suite onboard the 773, this trip was much more enjoyable. I will comment on the differences between the old and new seats as well as the soft product. In brief, I was pleasantly surprised by the legroom offered in the lie-flat position compared to the cramped footwell in the Club Suite, and the crew could not have been nicer. As a nice bonus, I was able to briefly visit the Concorde Room before my onward short-haul connection.
My overall score is 6.86/10 - see below for specific reasons and suggestions!
Any comments and questions are welcome.
Background
Over the past 15+ years of flying with BA , I have been lucky to fly in Club World several times (though my default is World Traveller Plus). I have flown in the old-style BA Club World seat several times before and recently tried the new Club Suite. That trip was surprisingly bad - while the new seat was nice visually and had a great IFE, the crew could not have been more rude (at least one of the FAs really tried her best to find a problem in every single thing even before boarding) and the seat was less comfortable in the lie-flat position at night.
So, I was less disappointed when a last-minute reservation resulted in getting a seat on the A380 where Club World is still in the old, zig-zag style. While the seats are indeed quite narrow and the situation is awkward when facing a stranger during take-off and landing, the window seat enjoys a good level of privacy and is quite good for sleeping. Plus, I was next to a nice person and the brief small talk did not feel forced or uncomfortable.
After checking in at the Tom Bradley Int'l Terminal (with a great member from the Concorde Team, formerly known as the Special Services), I was recommended to use the oneworld lounge at TBIT. However, after a previous experience - with the lounge being hopelessly crowded and food not as exciting, I used the AA Flagship lounge in T4 thanks to the airside corridor connecting the two terminals. It was worth the 8-minute walk.
Lovely food options at the AA Flagship lounge at T4 (with delicious Napa Valley wine - sadly, I did not scan the label!)
I only used the oneworld lounge on the way to the gate - for about 20 minutes while waiting for the boarding time to be confirmed. Boarding began as expected given the arrival plane's delay, but announcements at gate were relatively confusing, with people jumping groups and making priority boarding less organized than ideal. Everyone was onboard about 60 minutes after scheduled departure, and we were off on our way soon after.
BA 268: LAX - LHR
Club World
a/c G-XLEE (9.2 years old)
Configuration F14 C97 W55 Y303
Load Factor: about 65%
Distance Actual: 5,609 mi (Direct: 5,449 mi)
10h 25m total travel time
View of the seat after boarding
I was surprised to see the business class was rather empty - with just about two thirds of the seats occupied. I also asked at check-in - the price of cash upgrades at the airport was a whopping $929 - about twice as much as I remember it before the pandemic. I wonder who is in charge of pricing at BA and is letting so many seats go empty on such a busy route. But, given the benefits it had for other passengers (faster service, less noise, an extra pillow per request), I could not complain.
After finding my way to the seat, orange juice and champagne were offered.
The juice was not that great (cheap from concentrate) - better one was served for breakfast. The champagne seemed ok but a little cheap, it felt (not sure what was offered).
Departing night-time Los Angeles
Views of Santa Monica shortly after departure
Wine and champagne menu (part 1)
I was planning on getting the best possible sleep so skipped any champagne and only sampled some of the red wines.
Wine and champagne menu (part 2)
Wines offered on this flight seemed below-average, I did not like either of the reds I tried.
After the flight, I found out the Montes Pinot Noir retails for about $38.99 but only has a rating of 3.6 on vivino and the Washington Cabernet Sauvignon retails for $17.99 and has a rating of 3.8 on vivino. I think BA should really rethink what it offers in its premium cabin - this was the biggest disappointment of the whole flight. If anything, wines that consistently rank at least 4.0/5.0 should be selected, I think.
Drinks Menu
I tried the fizzberry - while ok, it was not very special, and refills were not offered.
Main Menu
Appetizer - broccoli cream - was quite good
Main Course
I have to admit, the wasabi mousseline tasted as strange as it looked. I liked the beef - not overcooked, just right - but pretty much all the sides were without taste/overcooked.
Seat in lie-flat configuration (and an extra pillow from an empty seat) - really comfy and easy to get in/out of even with the table out
View of the legroom when in lie-flat configuration
I went to bed about 2 hours after departure (with 7.5 hours of the flight to go) and managed to get almost 6 hours of sleep, with relatively few interruptions of a nearby baby. Luckily, I have good noise-cancelling headphones, which did the trick for the most part. I also enjoyed getting a second pillow from an empty seat and thought it was relatively warm in the cabin - blanket was a little too warm for it but I found the right balance after a few minutes.
I woke up with the noise of breakfast being served to other passengers - slightly panicked, afraid I have missed it! I wish the crew would have asked if one wanted to be woken up for breakfast.
Breakfast menu was simple. I chose the full English breakfast but was offered a second main course after finishing - with the cabin not very full, they probably had many extra
Breakfast began with fresh fruit and croissant.
Although listed in the menu, the fresh orange juice was not brought at first. When I asked, it was delivered with no apology/clarification. It was a little disappointing - were they trying to save? A refill was provided upon request, however.
Full English breakfast option - nothing very exciting but was filling enough
French toast breakfast option
The strawberry did not feel very fresh, but I appreciated the second main course.
Breakfast was good and the second main course a nice bonus. However, I thought both meals were relatively flavorless and the lack of good-quality coffee (similar to an espresso I loved on Finnair) made for a less unique experience.
Tea served per request after breakfast
A brief glimpse of the sun - landing just after sunset, we did not enjoy much (with windows shut for most of the flight)
Landing in snowy England - many crew were observing how seeing snow is not common for them
Arrival at LHR and Concorde Room
We arrived at the gate just a few minutes after touching down, but the bridge took another 30 minutes to start moving. With just one bridge connected, the whole lower cabin was instructed to walk upstairs and disembark from there. It was a mess - even with Club World relatively empty, many older people took longer to go up and we spent a good 10 minutes just getting to the terminal once the queue started moving slowly.
After disembarking at T5, I had to clear security before my connecting short-haul flight, also from T5. Even with the new scanner at T5, it still took about 20 minutes of waiting in line, and I was finally able to take a quick shower at the LHR BA South Lounges - the shower facilities are truly some of the oldest and least comfortable at the airports I usually travel through for my long-haul flights in Europe (LHR, FRA, HEL, MUC). But it's hard to complain about a hot shower after a long trip.
Thanks to some luck, I was able to use the Concorde Room as a guest and took advantage of a quick meal in the restaurant area. It was really good and service was really excellent.
Private dining
Food menu - some great options to choose from!
Cocktails menu - I went with the non-alcoholic mojito
My food was brought all at once - two appetizers and the main course
Smoked chicken and herb terrine
Turkey pie with parsnip
Delicious dessert
Great espresso
Great table details
Views of the Concorde Room
The Concord Cone and terminal views from the Concorde Room
Conclusions and Evaluation
Rating
Check-in and departure lounge: 9/10 (check-in was 10/10 but the oneworld lounge at LAX is rather mediocre)
Boarding and pre-departure service: 5/10 (disorganized boarding and cheap pre-departure drinks)
Seat and amenities: 7/10 (seat was narrow and awkward with a stranger, but rather good for sleeping. Amenity bag nothing to rave about but did the trick)
Food onboard: 5/10 (I am not a picky eater but noticed the quality was quite low and presentation rather average)
Drinks onboard: 5/10 (red wines were below-average for business class, coffee is exactly the same taste as in economy class - cheap and not good at all)
Soft service/Crew: 9/10 (I really thought they were the right balance of polite and not overly formal, but wish they would be more proactive about clearing the tray/offering refills, making drink suggestions etc. I liked that they were very efficient and meal service was finished about 90 minutes after departure - my record).
After-arrival shower/lounge: 8/10 (shower area is very, very dated and ugly but Concorde Room made up for it)
OVERALL: 6.86 / 10
On this BA flight, I was quite pleased, even though the hard product is rather outdated (both onboard and at the showers in T5) and the food and drinks on offer were below-average. I was probably lucky with a good crew (relative to a flight just a few weeks earlier) and being able to visit the Concorde Room.
The sleeping comfort was actually better than the Club Suite with more space for the feet but slightly shorter than the Club Suite - with bedding identical and the other aspects of the service not tied to the old/new business class concept, it's hard to give a precise verdict on which one is better. If I have another opportunity, I will probably still give Club Suite another chance, but would not feel disappointed if there is a technical swap or another reason I have to fly in the old configuration.
Crew onboard was really nice but I thought could have been a little more proactive (e.g. to offer different drink options and refills, to ask about morning wake-up preferences, or simply to check-in once a while, especially with those behind the privacy wall who cannot make eye contact easily).
A few things that I would like BA to consider improving: make the boarding process more organized/cordial, avoid cheap products for onboard food/drinks, serve food that is not overcooked/flavorless, add an espresso drink option to onboard service; revamp the showers at LHR, coordinate with LHR to avoid a slow and disorganized disembarking process. I was not offered a hot towel before/after breakfast - maybe because I was asleep but wish they had come to offer it when I got my breakfast.
Overall, BA is still not my Transatlantic first choice after two truly excellent flights with Finnair (recent trip reports here for Economy and here for Business). But, as this trip shows, one can still have a relatively good experience, despite the aging hard product onboard and on the ground.
Thanks for reading!
