Poor compared to other airlines
I have never flown with BA outside of Europe.
We planned to spend several weeks in South Africa, (our first time) and decided to be all patriotic and book our flight to Johannesburg with our national carrier.
£7,500 later me and my wife have club world (business class) tickets to Johannesburg, returning to LHR a few weeks later. It stung a bit when I attempted to choose our seats and was informed that was not included in the fare and I would have to fork out a further £450 to select our seats both ways.
we arrived at Heathrow to check in 3 hours before our departure time and the process was reasonably efficient as was the security fast track.
Their lounge was ok, not particularly comfortable, they have a lot to learn from the Middle Eastern airlines.
When we got to the gate there was no first or business class option to board first, everyone boarded together which meant lengthy queues!
Once on the Aircraft, the staff waved us in the general direction of our seats which I have to say are the worst configuration I have ever seen!
Arranged in three rows of 2 across allowed for a little privacy for the window seats but if the occupant wanted to leave their seat they literally had to climb over the feet of the passenger in the next row!! The same was the case for the 2 seats in the middle row.
I am amazed that when the A380 seat configuration was being designed that somebody somehow thought this was a great idea!
The plastic amenity pouch provided from The White Company was very basic.
BA say they have high speed WiFi on board but frustratingly this was not working.
There was something to be applauded, the food was very good and we enjoyed our dinner & breakfast onboard.
In conclusion I have to say that BA have a long way to go compared to other National carriers.
It’s a shame but it is unlikely that we will be flying with BA in the future.
October 14, 2025
Unprompted review