After flying with BA long haul for the first time on one of their newer A380s, the flight back to LHR was with their B747-400 which is my favourite aircraft along with the A340-400. Ground service at SFO was efficient. Purchased extra luggage and was still 2kg over my limit on each bag of which the check in agent was considerate enough to let me off. My guess was that the flight was not full as there was virtually no one at the check in counters. I was wrong, the gate was packed. Considering I had 3 pieces of carry on luggage, I wasn't asked to put one of them on the hold. The flight was delayed by approximately 1 hour. Boarding was smooth and efficient. Upon boarding, passengers were having trouble storing their carry on resulting in me storing mine some 4-5 rows behind. The seat is no surprise, their older product with the outdated IFE. Cabin temperature was boiling. Passengers were requesting FAs to turn it down a little which they have mid way through the flight when everyone was asleep. The seat pitch on the Boeing 747-400 is 31 inches pitch in economy class. Compared to their A380 product, the cabin felt cramped. Although the seat was comfortable itself to sit on, it just felt cramped. I had the most uncomfortable long haul flights in my entire life., the flight became more and more unbearable and wasn't able to get any sleep at all. I was constantly trying to find a comfortable position for me to have nap but it was impossible and worse when the person in front of you reclines. To make things worse, the IFE was very unreliable compared to the A380. I fly with BA frequently on European routes where their economy cabin product is negligible due to the flight times but I would try and not fly with BA's product on their B747s. Inflight meals were rather disappointing. Service was rushed and FA's showed no enthusiasm. First meal was bland roast chicken. Landing meal was an English breakfast considering we were arriving at lunch time. Overall, I would fly with BA again but I would avoid the long haul product offered on their B747-400s.
Boeing 747-400 |
Solo Leisure |
Economy Class |
SFO to LHR |
September 2015 |
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Food & Beverages |
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