I took another BA flight to Sao Paulo in World Traveller Plus – the flight was once again fully-booked – and this time the departure was from Heathrow’s terminal 3 rather than 5. Are BA continuing to struggle with the passenger density on the A350? Read on for my flight report.
Flight Details
Flight No: BA0247
From/To: London (LHR) to Sao Paulo (GRU)
Departure time: 21:15
Ticket Class: Premium Economy
Flight time: 11 hours
Frequent Flyer Points: 9,000
Status Points: 90
Aircraft: G-XWBP
Aircraft type: Airbus A350-1000
Number of classes: 3 (Business, Premium Economy, Economy)
Number of seats in flying class: 56
Seat: 23A
Position: left hand side of the aircraft, 4 rows from the front of the World Traveller Plus cabin
In this review:
Airport Experience
I took this flight from Terminal 5 only 7 weeks earlier and had failed to notice that São Paulo had subsequently been moved to Terminal 3. With a hasty (and very easy) change of airport car park, disaster was easily averted. Paying for official Heathrow parking has its perks.
At Terminal 3, British Airways check-in is found in Zone E, which is the right side of the terminal as you approach. There’s a handy illuminated British Airways sign above door E.
Check-in was deserted. Economy, club and first desks were all available to walk straight up. The agent was friendly and welcoming. She tagged my bag and printed a boarding card while we commented on the Christmas lights appearing in the terminal. We both agreed that mid-November is too soon! Armed with my baggage receipt and boarding pass, I was quickly on the escalator to the first floor departure area.
Premium Economy tickets don’t include access to Fast Track security, although I think it should for some of the most expensive fares. Instead, I used my soon-to-lapse Oneworld Emerald status to enter Fast Track security. The entrance was well-hidden in a dark corner with a temporary sign – it also apologised for the appearance while the carry out improvements. Security was quiet and it was in the main terminal shops within 5 minutes.
I made a b-line for the lounges. Terminal 3 is a Oneworld lounge oasis, where you can spend an entire day bouncing between the American, BA, Cathay Pacific and Qantas lounges. While I didn’t spend the day, I did allow myself a couple of hours to “lounge hop”. Ticket holders with BA Silver or Gold status (or Oneworld equivalent) can enjoy this perk. A regular World Traveller Plus ticket won’t provide lounge access, but there are also paid and Priority Pass lounges in Terminal 3, such as No.1 Lounge.
Boarding & Welcome
It was a 10 minute walk to the gate. I arrived as the flight was apparently “closing”, 30 minutes before departure but there were crowds of people still congregating around the priority group lanes. Interestingly, Flight Radar already indicated a delayed departure. Passing through the boarding pass check, I found a long line of passengers shuffling slowly along the jet bridge and along the aircraft to their seats.
After taking my seat I was offered a glass of sparkling wine, orange juice or water. A menu card was handed out shortly afterwards.
Boarding was completed at 21:04 (11 minutes prior to departure) but the aircraft didn’t push back from the gate until 21:40. There was no acknowledgement or explanation for the 25-minute delay to departure.
Seat
I’ve already reviewed the specification of this A350 Premium Economy seat in our London to Dubai review and also on the A350 São Paulo route.
I managed about 6 hours of broken sleep, which is double what I’d expect in economy. While the recline is more generous, it’s not beyond the hallowed 45 degree, so I was still sitting up more than I was lying down. This is an area of product development that I think BA should explore for its next generation of World Traveller Plus seat.
When the seats in front are reclined, it’s almost impossible to exit from the window seat because of the fixed centre armrest. The gap is so small that I would advise against all but the slimmest of passengers selecting window seats in Premium Economy. Exiting the seat for the rest room would likely require you to disturb the passengers in front to move their seats forward. Again, other design flaw that BA should explore for future versions of this cabin.
What is the best seat on BA to Sao Paulo in World Traveller Plus?
I think the bulkhead seats 20A, B, J and K offer the most privacy and space, although families travelling with babies will be sat on this row so that the cot can be mounted to the wall in front. People passing through from the forward cabin might also become an annoyance. I find the safest bet is row 23, which is mid-cabin, miles from flapping curtains and less prone to cabin traffic and crying infants. Book an aisle seat unless you have a very strong bladder or don’t mind climbing over an armrest to reach the aisle.
See the seating plan on SeatGuru.
Onboard Experience
The cabin became unpleasantly hot during the boarding process. With no way for passengers to control airflow at their seats, the discomfort grew. The cabin temperature cooled as we reached cruising altitude, so I expect the issue was with the ground cooling equipment.
Throughout the flight, I sensed more aircraft noise and vibration in the cabin than I have in on past A350 flights. I’m not sure if this is part of the ageing process or this aircraft needed some maintenance.
Premium Economy passengers used the 4 economy washrooms in the cabin behind. There were 4 further washrooms at the very rear of the aircraft. This was 8 washrooms for 150 passengers.
The economy washrooms were looking a sorry state just a couple of hours after departure and pretty bad just before landing. There were also long lines for the washrooms throughout most of the flight.
Food & Drink
Drinks and pretzels were served from a trolley about 40 minutes after take-off. I ordered a Bloody Mary, which was served with American Eristoff vodka.
The crew used this opportunity to offer wine to accompany the upcoming meal. I was handed a small bottle of Merlot, but on asking what else was available I swapped it for Cabernet Sauvignon. Anything but Merlot!
Dinner was served on a tray from a trolley 2 hours after take-off.
The meal was very familiar. In fact, identical to a recent BA Premium Economy flight I took. This was either bad luck or me discovering a lack of variety on the catering between flights.
The lamb was the same mushy disappointment that it was on the other flight – at least it’s consistent.
Dessert was a panna cotta with passion fruit coulee on top of it.
Cheese was represented in the form of a rubbery cheddar and some lower-quality crackers (last time it was fancy Peter’s Yard).
All-in-all, it looked and tasted like a slightly upgraded economy meal.
After placing the tray, the crew seemed to disappear for 30-40 minutes, presenting no opportunity to ask for some more water.
Breakfast was served from a trolley 2 hours before landing. The choice was full English breakfast or vegetarian omelette. Water, orange juice or apple juice were offered alongside. I had the full English and found it was cooked pretty well; not too mushy and very little water standing in the bottom of the dish. I’ve had English breakfasts on some airlines where it has been swimming in water or the eggs were like grain. My only criticism of the dish was that it was a bit too salty for my taste. A small pot of fresh fruit and a muffin were also on the tray.
No tea or coffee was offered to accompany breakfast, which is bemusing considering this was British Airways. The crew once again disappeared for a long period of time. Everyone sat looking at their finished trays for about 40 minutes. The crew eventually came back and offered tea and coffee 50 minutes after serving the breakfast – I was completely over it by then.
This disjointed service, I later discovered, was because the crew serving the World Traveller Plus cabin then serve the economy cabin behind. This meant they disappeared into the cabin behind for the duration of the meal.
Overall, the food service was above average but the drinks service was poor. The level of rationing and not returning to offer any more came across as cost-cutting. When I then consider that this cabin is one of BA’s most profitable, I think they need to work harder on this point. A thimble full of orange juice is not enough liquid to serve someone who has been in a pressurised, air-conditioned cabin for 8 hours.
In-flight Entertainment
I notice it every time I fly on BA’s A350… the IFE looks nice and is loaded full of content, but has incredibly sluggish software. I don’t know why BA signed off on it when it clearly isn’t as responsive as competing systems. Passengers were complaining and needing their systems to be reset. The lady behind me had repeated issues. Mine was functional throughout and I was able to watch a movie before falling asleep. This time around, while I found one new release to watch, the selection wasn’t particularly new – Elvis was released in June 2022, yet 18 months later is still being pushed in the new releases section. Hopefully a content refresh is on the way as I’ve seen most of it.
A Wi-Fi service was available, but coverage tends to be very patchy on the long route down the Atlantic. I didn’t find it particularly useful.
Delayed Arrival
Given the aircraft was delayed departing Heathrow, I think the crew should’ve made an announcement prior to departure and provided an explanation. They knew the flight was delayed before closing the door, yet they chose to remain silent. In the standard flight deck announcement before descent, the flight crew blamed other international flight arrivals for our delayed arrival into São Paulo Guarulhos Airport. Surely those would’ve been behind us if we’d departed on time?
The bad luck continued as we descended into São Paulo. The aircraft suffered a direct lightening strike as we passed through storm clouds, which prompted a change of runway and an extended hold while the crew did checks. I smelt a slightly smell of burnt plastic in the cabin for the duration of our approach. As a result of this additional drama, our 30 minute delay turned into 50 minutes.
BG1 Verdict
The gap between Premium Economy and regular Economy feels smaller now than ever. At the same time, the price of these BA World Traveller Plus seats to Sao Paulo are at an all-time high. Value for money is the biggest driver for us and we’re struggling to see it in this product at this price. Given the major changes in their business product – soon to be all-suite – this creates a gap for BA to improve the premium economy product. A better cabin layout, storage, bug-free IFE and >45 degree recline would do the trick… or just take 1k off the price! Irrespective, the cabin service felt disjointed, with drink service around mealtimes being especially bad. I’d hope BA quickly find a way to improve the timing and sequencing of service in that cabin.
BG1 Tip
Immigration lines can be very long and slow at Guarulhos airport and there’s no fast track. When you get off the aircraft, run! Run as fast as you can and pray that a couple of big jets haven’t arrived just before you.
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