We flew on two occasions to Crete with BA in the same seats same leg room as economy. We got a drink before the meal, a drink with the meal and that was that, the staff disappeared behind a curtain not seen again till half an hour before landing. We now are back with Jet 2 were we can relax with a few drinks on the flight.
Your menu comment really did make me lol. On the subject of menus, this is another BA service inconsistence: I flew back from Tenerife this week and apparently there were no menus to be handed out. Had them before on this flight but apparently not available this time. Given the crews somewhat "laid back" service suspect they might have been hiding in a locked someone onboard.
just returned from Amman with Austrian and I understand how you felt. But the Austrian flight is only 3:00 Hours from Vienna. In Miles&More you get intercontinental tier points (200) for Europa to Jordan. And starting from London via Vienna you got this ticket for 500 pounds (return).
I had the pleasure of flying this route a couple of years ago in the current club Europe version and of course we had a delayed takeoff so got to sit in those seats an extra hour! I also had the genuine pleasure of flying to Cairo in the club world config in my first ever business class points redemption a good few years back where I was super excited to spend as much time as possible in the seat, but of course that one arrived early after making up a load of time in the air!
The return is direct TLV-LHR, and at some point the stop in LCA will be dropped entirely. The stop is only so the BA crew don't have to stay in Israel while there's a high chance of attacks/airport closing at short notice. And since flying LHR-TLV-LHR would exceed the limits for how long the crew can be on duty, they swap them over in LCA (as well as refuelling for the whole journey back to LHR) and then the new crew can do LCA-TLV-LHR. They used to do the same on widebodies during times of trouble in Israel, but now it's a painful narrowbody flight, which makes far less sense than AMM, CAI etc, as TLV is a much more business and Frequent flyer heavy route, and so BA will likely lose a lot of premium business to LY and VS when they restart their services.
Am worried the BA A320 is staying on the route, they are selling the business class seats at only 20% less avios then when it used to be long hall, if they get away with this there is no chance they are going back, this is 1 of the reasons i took stopped having all my eggs in the ba basket, now also have with virgin
Thanks so much. Problem not yet solved, but it's being closely monitored and it's not getting any worse! Carrying on as normal for the indefinite future
Just got back from Jordan myself on a Star Alliance tier point run (holiday really) LH class Amman as intercontinental in their 'new' frequent flyer program. I deliberately chose multiple connections and picked up 600pts.
Really good timing with this video as I am planning on doing a reward flight to Cairo in business. I would still probably take it but ensure I had a neck pillow or something like that to aid with sleep. I am surprised they didn't offer a snack of some description later on in the flight, however I am guessing this is due to it being a night flight.
I don't think it's a long enough flight for a second service... And at the end of the flight you're in Cairo!!! I can put up with a lot to get there....
I regularly fly BA to various destinations around Europe, many about 2 to 3 hours from Heathrow. What you had is precisely what I get on those flights, aside from the pillow and the throw. I have flown about the same distance (about 5 hours as I recall) in an A320, with Lufthansa from Azerbaijan to Germany. The pilots had turned down the heating so much that the cabin was ice cold, and no throws were offered, even thought I was in business class. As it was warm and in the summer, I didn't have anything to cover myself with. That was possibly the worst flight I've been on.
I can't believe they class this seat as 'Business class' - it feels like this should probably be a better aircraft with a more defined 'business cabin' on this sort of route!
Fun video! I'd definitely been curious about this flight since I saw that it was an 80 TP narrow-body route. You made an interesting point about carriers not really having a plane equipped for medium-haul routes. I feel like American's A321Ts are the closest offered by a US/European carrier
The US Transcons service similar distances but are much better... BA had a few routes of this length and really could do better... Even if the experience was OK for me this time!
@@MattsPlanet I had a BA widebody from Madrid, why are there coach seating in Business, in a widebody aircraft? This bullshit would not fly in America!
I have definitely flown on a 744 to CAI within living memory, but that may be 12 or 13 years ago now. And yes, RJ are really quite good. Hope you're keeping well Matt.
Great video Matt, hope you're doing well. Don't think I could brave it myself, when I went to Jordan a couple of years ago I opted for Turkish instead, once I'd seen the 5 hours on an A320 BA were offering...
Thanks - doing good! A one stopper to AMM is certainly an option but it does drag out the whole experience .. get a Turkish widebody though and all is forgiven!
@@MattsPlanet glad to hear you’re doing well Matt. It does drag it out a bit longer, but the 2 hour layover in IST was worth it for 2 A330’s back to MAN!
What's even worse about this is that they almost always use the NEOs on these long, formerly wide body, routes (as was the case for you), which does make sense as the better fuel efficiency makes more difference on a long route. But the NEOs a)lack the nice table in CE and b) the seats in the rear half of the plane (behind the overwing exits, and the limit of the business cabin) are slimline seats like you'd find on (qu)easyjet or ryan(sc)air, so are incredibly uncomfortable on a 2 hour flight, let alone 5. At least BA's newest (and future) 321NEOs have proper padded seats throughout, as well as the return of the tables in CE, but still, there's only one of those currently, and 11 more on order iirc, so for now at least many of the ET passengers will be suffering in unpadded slimline seats, where really they should be on a WT seat, which is a massive downgrade (sorry, "enhancement")
Matt I think I would rather fly RJ on that route, at least you get a better seat. I first sampled DO&CO catering in 1997 on flights from LGW to VIE, VIE-SIN & SIN - SYD on Lauda Air. In those days, Do&Co were just starting out in airline catering and their main business was a Viennese restaurant. The catering was fantastic. I hope you are keeping as well and keep up the good work.
Ive always commented that for the longer european routes, and those middle east routes - e.g. Athens, Cairo, Amann, Tel Aviv - they should use the 'regional business class' model that the far east airlines use - i.e. 2+2 cradle recliners... on the basis that there's normally a min of 4 biz class row - they could easily configure a small number of the planes for such routings, without massively impacting on overall seat numbers. But then again - I dont have access to their spreadsheets! How does Royal Jordanian compare price-wise? I would even consider 'dry' Egypt air for Cairo - and stock up in the lounge before hand!
Thanks Mike - I know Egyptair is cheaper than many other carriers but I don't think RJ is far out of line with BA pricing... It would seem to be simple enough to have a mid-haul fleet, but none of the Euro airlines do.... I believe Egyptair is ok with you taking a snifter or two aboard their planes even though their service is dry....
As I have travelled the old long haul configuration on BA across 3 classes between TLV and LHR, I was looking forward to trying out the new product. Or was I after Matt's review? In economy this time and the experience was very disappointing. An hour at the gate with doors closed because of air congestion over Europe (?). The hard product for this A321 neo was very basic. No in-flight entertainment for a 5.5 hour flight no WiFi, no streaming, nada. The chair was OK with little recline. The power sockets did not work. The soft product was not much better. The staff were very good. The meal on this evening flight was a box with a miniature chicken wrap and some processed items like crackers and olives. I am flying in what they call club Europe on my return flight . My expectations are low
I’ve had the same experience flying BA Club Europe to Athens, Malta and Cairo. For me, around 3 hours is the maximum I can endure on those aircraft before it gets annoying, but like many I’m always pushing the tier points to keep my BA gold status! 😂
BA's boarding game is like roulette. I've seen over 50 pax in Group1 on a business heavy Euro route like AMS before. On long haul I've seen gate agents open up the Group 1-3 tensa at the same time as Group 4-9 which negates the benefits of boarding status completely. I'm currently on 5 night BA holiday in Madeira. Flying from my local airport, NCL, via LHR gives me and the Mrs 480 TPs each :-)
You should never have to sit sideways in a business class cabin. The food looked good, but then again probably costs BA about £1.50, so the regular fare for this product could never be justified. Great video!
I think BA have a mind of their own when it comes to boarding. In Malta at the moment don’t know if I could manage a five hour flight in BA business, three hours another is enough. Went to an interesting lounge in Gatwick airport got in with my priority pass, has a balcony and was like a Benidorm Experience, still have not got my head around the avios point thing yet, but I enjoy the travel.
Flew BA to doha luckily i was supposed to redeem with qatar airways but there is not seat left but decided to give BA club world try. And indeed their 777 is absolutely amazing it didn’t feel torn out. Registration was G-YMMU also service is impressive , catering was so good and cabin crew were fabulous
Gosh - the shortest distance between A and B is.... Via Berlin!!!! Take a good book and some patience!!! And do your ankle exercises every hour.... Otherwise, have fun!
@@MattsPlanetThat said, RJ command a hefty premium for that comfort, especially in J. For those wanting to do this at cheapest - the avios redemption rates for this route have now been permanently reduced (like with Israel now its been reduced to short haul).
I think the only airlines that can realistically break out into midhaul offerings (a321 xlrs) are transatlantic ones - jetblue, aer lingus, air canada, air transit etc.
Great vid, thanks. Like Ryanair, BA likes pushing the boundaries to see how much crap it's customers are prepared to take, for some reason their customers don't mind
Matt, Totally agree with your comments. Like you I am over 6' and as you say not a great deal of legroom. Also flying for over 5 hours like that forget it!!! Not really sure when BA are going to "wake up and smell the coffee" as all they seem to do is continue cost cutting. Boarding process, agree 100% unbelievable. You pay good money to basically sit in an economy seat. Not sure what I am going to do going forward, as I am sick and fed up of their inferior offering these days.
Interesting review, and not all bad. That said, it seems that unless you're a BA Status holder AND you need to get to Jordan in a big hurry, it would just make more sense to travel on Qatar via Doha. I guess that's part of the value proposition of those mid east carriers: Put up with a layover and we'll treat you better than your home airline.
Hi Matt, This is what I do not understand about this video, HEADLINE: BA worst flight, yet you conclude, amazing value at the end of the video!! So are you saying that you approve of BA sticking you on a short haul plane with no frills whatsoever, as long as they give you the opportunity to get it at a favourable rate? As a frequent J passenger that does not fit with me...I would take Rj 787 or TK via IST anyday, pay a premium, and get the experience that I desire, whilst spending the money that experience warrants? By no means this is a negative towards you, your person. Your content is of such high quality, that it provokes actual reflection, thinking on the subject. I for one could not book an awfull flight for a favourable rate. I am in a position to book what I desire as an experience! As always, all the respect to you, stay well Thomas.
Cheers Thomas - I went in with zero expectations and BA exceeded them! Helped enormously by having noone in the aisle seat.... So it should be awful and expect it to be, but if the dice land as double 6 it may actually be ok!
Glad it wasn't a painful flight for you Matt. Unfortunately I and im sure many others have spent 7hours on an A320 or 737 many times, mainly due to budget airlines boarding flights on time before telling you there's limited airspace so we need to wait x hours for our takeoff slot. Most recently I endured 8 hours on a Qatar a320 flying from DOH > SOF due to closed Iraq/ Iran airspace and further restrictions on takeoff slots. To make matters worse im gold card with Qatar, not far from platinum status and some random people were promoted to business class not me. The horror! This was the old knackered product with red seats so i didn't feel i missed out on much but i can't say i enjoyed seat 25 A a great deal.
Video idea. Head to Luton airport and pick almost any flight with Wizz in the middle of summer and see how things work for you :) You might need to get to the airport 4 hours early as at least half of the holiday passengers will forget to remove their sun lotion at security.
Love the menu comment, 4.5hrs in Club Europe can be garbage, except as an Avios sale redemption when it can become a good deal. Amman is very underrated. Jordan and the Jordanians in general are great.
What does BA consider a long haul flight? That "business class" seat wasn't even up to economy standards on some ULC Asian airlines I've flown, let alone economy seating on the full service carriers for an international 4-5 hour long flight. I guess I've lucked out on always getting wide-bodied aircraft on those type of routes.
And the 321XLRs will stretch the capability of the narrow body further. Unfortunately narrow body economics has ruined the medium haul experience, and all the widebodies are being optimised for much longer missions.
Did they have a smaller menu? 😅. I remember flying back with BA from Brussles almost 30 years ago and being in a middle seat in business class on the RHS of the plane 😡
That was the smallest they had! BA will still go 3 abreast in business if there's been disruption and they need to get people home... Which is probably fair enough...
flew this route return from Luton (gotta mention the extra couple of miles and minutes 😉) with Wizz Air. even less pitch and no service lol but considering i paid about £45 return (plus another 30 for bags), i dealt with it. As for the boarding group situation, I flew to Madrid today and after Group 0 and 1, they went straight to 0-6 …………..
Being in a seat with 1" less legroom or a seat partner would make it a crippling experience... I also wonder whether the BBQ chicken would still have been available in the 6th row of CE?
We went on a 4 and a half hour flight with BA in business class a few weeks ago. 11 rows of "business class". They ran out of champagne after 45 minutes, ran out of 2 of the 3 main meals after the third row (I was watching what people ordered as we've experienced this before). They moved a couple back to the 10th row as a woman had paid before the flight to get the first row seats (they were fuming to say the least as they booked the front row seats as his partner had a stroke recently). As you said, leg room is appalling! I spoke with the stewardess and she said that complaints are coming thick and fast "all day, every day". She was super sweet and how she copes, I don't know. I avoid booking BA under any circumstances now as they are just terrible, a real shameful airline for the UK.
Thanks - hopefully they didn't run out of tea! I rarely criticise the crew in my videos as they're doing the best they can with what their airline has given them, which is often well out of synch with expectations.... I fear BA sees they've sold 11 rows of business and think "brilliant, our customers love our offering..."
dear viewer lolololol ........another great video hope your health is ok ... question for you please we are soon to be flying ba club to miami on a a380 what seat would you choose please and what lounge could we use many thanks
Upper deck window seats are the best - lots of extra storage. Some at the rear of the mini cabins allow you access without climbing over anyone... Lounges? T5B is the best as you'll almost certainly fly from a B or C gate
I am a BA fan, might be the only one. Just flown in economy with BA from LHR to Doha then onto KL with Qatar. The food and service by BA was far superior than on the Qatar flight.
There should be a worldwide campaign to include WiFi on business and 1st flights. They give you wine worth hundreds in some cases and then charge you for the wifi! You'd think that if they can't give you a decent plane and a decent menu for a 5 hour flight, they could at least give you wifi? Still I suppose they have to make some money somewhere after changing long-haul business class from 2-4-2 to 1-2-1. Does make them seem bad value, though.
Getting to that point with newer satellites, but not the case with much of existing aircraft equipment... You need the paywall to ensure reasonable speeds. Qantas in Australia now offers domestic WiFi for Free to everyone, but doesn't have much internationally (waiting on ViaSat 3 constellation)
Could you not have flown with Royal Jordanian who have a proper business class, and who are One World partner too and redeemed you BA Avios with them? I've flown Luton to Amman with Wizz Air and it really wasn't that, had the seat next to me empty in both directions and is operated by an A321neo. It was only around £80 return. The crew on the Wizz Air really do work hard, and operated both sectors there and back, with no stopover! BA staff are very lucky!
I wanted to fly this route to make this video! I'd planned to connect on on RJ but they cancelled the flight and didn't have another one for 3 days... Next time!
A narrow body for this long a duration is never much fun, for vacation it's almost tolerable but working it's just miserable. BA's Club Europe product is laughable for the money.
i have flown on the ex-BMI planes and they are lie flat they are the same as JetBlue's 1st generation mint seats without the doors. it was only LHR to DUB and i got a throne seat
It’s not economics, it’s due to delayed aircraft deliveries due to the pandemic still as it takes years for new aircrafts to be delivered! I find it funny people complain about flying BA and still come back 😂😂😂. EasyJet, Ryan Air and Wizzair are still in business you all
At least you can now look people in the Third World in the eye etc. It’s odd that BA classify routes of this length like this and force you to sit cramped for five hours. I think Royal Jordanian is a better option based upon my limited experience.
AMS to AMM is shorter but earns 140 tps... Usually a narrow body though... I wanted to connect on to RJ but they cancelled the flight I booked and had no other options for 3 days... Next time!
The worst part is a ridiculous price of a ticket. How can BA justify it is beyond me… Jordan is high on my list for a visit and I won’t be BA for sure, for the reason you described in your great video. Also not on Qatar as their pricing even more ridiculous. So if no other other OW airlines offers good fairly priced options, will choose SA on which I also have a status, flying through Istanbul or Athens.
Jordan is well worth a visit - an amazing country. And it's serviced by some of the low cost carriers now so if getting there is the priority there are some much cheaper options now
Thanks. I don't usually fly low costers. There are reasonably priced full service airline options like Turkish, which provide medium haul service in business, even if a stopover might be required.
When I missed, accidently or otherwise, my 'wide-bodied' to Moscow I would try the ex BMI. it was not FAB, but it was FAB compared to a Club Europe of 5hrs. Points flight? Assume it was for our education as Avios via Royal Jordanian would have been more appropriate. Me: I just won't go to the near East with BA!! 😊
I wanted to experience this flight and had planned to connect on with RJ, although they cancelled the onward flight and didn't have another one for 3 days...
Just don't do it to yourself Matt... well ok maybe if in row 1!! But I would go RJ ... Tho BA's 787-8 are horrible in y... which I would suggest is BAs worst flights... tho the awful neo y seats are dreadful behind the exit ..
Amman was never a BA “long haul” route…it was a from British Mediterranean route which was taken over by bmi and then in turn taken over by BA again after the merger…It went from having large reclining seats to the bmi lie flat product but BA finally got rid of these planes during the pandemic…
The Euro 'biz class' on narrow body is a joke. I flew Dallas to Newark the other week in UA biz class. 2 + 2 huge seats. B737 Max. Real meal & drink already mixed in Glass. BTW. even UA economy has free text messaging.
I'll make a video about us Vs euro short to mid haul business one day... Might add Asia too although it will be a walkover if I let those airlines compete!!
Ref- Inconsistency in boarding protocol/ soft product- In a nutshell a mix of minimum wage/ disdainful at customer attire/perceived social class etc. we live ina bizarre world where those who dreamed to fly the nations airline end up being overworked, undervalued and complacent . BA isn’t much different to Pan Am. It’s their political friends and old grandfather rights that keep them up there but having said that is any other well publicised airline any different . Love your videos.
Having moved stateside and changing allegiance from BA/AA to United, one thing I don’t miss is BAs inconsistent boarding process. United don’t get it perfect but it’s far better managed than any BA experience I’ve ever had.
I do wonder if this offering is so bad because their competition is a fellow OneWorld member in Royal Jordanian. Thanks for doing this trip so we don't have to 😂
I’m a group 0 and honestly I’ve only seen it administered once overseas and that was at HK recently… I regularly just get called up between 0-3 in shorter hall services like the a320.. but rarely do I get any recognition being gold guest list.. what is the point? I may move over to Qatar and actually get some service for once 😂 #FirstWorldProblemsIndeed
Royal Jordanian operate a 787 Dreamliner between Heathrow and Amman. For BA to use A320s is shocking. BA cannot possibly begin to even compete with Arabian or Asian carriers as it is way behind. The meal tray shown here in Club Europe ( Jordan is not even in Europe but hey) is roughly the same size as what Turkish Airlines offer in longhaul Economy. Shame on BA.
I have no inside info but BA retired 20+ 747s through the you-know-what then were surprised when demand kicked back up so quickly.... So as wide-bodies were constrained, the options were to run a narrow body to AMM and CAI or to cancel the service...
BA has dumped the TLV route too! it's down to the a320 neo's for the moment. However it is supposed to be returning later in the year if the route gets busy enough. For me I'm seriously miffed by this, but at least they have honoured the tier points from the original bookings. We have 1a and 1c for our flights, so decent room. I'd like to see you visit Israel on ElAL and see how they compare to BA, They have a very mixed reputation, some love them and others hate them. I'm thinking of swapping my BA flights to ELAL but they have now doubled the Business class fare from LHR and after our trip in September it will mean we retain Silver and need one or 2 more trips before april to get gold ( as our previous 2 trips have been cancelled because of the terrorist attach on October7th). So, do we suffer and get status or not is the question?
I too have seen some mixed reporting on ElAl but I would like to fly them - not least as it would mean a trip to Israel! Status is a handy thing to have if you travel much on other airlines....
@@MattsPlanet You get a plane with defensive missiles in a pod beneath the fuselage. Not many flights have these ! It would be good if you could fire them for fun from the IFE at your seat, but they won't let you.
@@MattsPlanet Thanks for your reply. Very much appreciate it. You could have popped over on Royal Jordanian, its something like 40 minutes gate to gate.
Could it be that they are just short of long haul aircraft having early retired the 747s, Dreamliner deliveries being behind schedule and the 777x continually disappearing over the horizon. A long way of saying Boeing is a mess!
Still to do it but I'd aim for RJ in business by Avios. The euro-biz service on mid haul routes like AMM and CAI is outrageous. I'd say BA ought to at least make pitch 34 inches and while still being flex in cabin use, no harm in letting lucky economy passengers experience the better Club Europe rows, either as economy service in the more spacious unused rows or as CE as a status triggered upgrade. For all they'd lose in overall capacity on the aircraft - and after all, is it running at 100% anyway ; I bet not. KLM and Air France have / or had better pitch than BA in their euro-biz offerings. With so many CE seats going empty I am guessing it would be a net benefit to BA if they made pitch 34 again. edit : And maybe then fattys like me might get their tray table down so as to eat straight on and not have to twist to the tray of the blocked middle seat !
This is so not true BA Operated 767's then a BA Franchise operator called Bmed operated it using A320 & A321 with dedicated Buisness class with the cradle seat all food was supplied by the concorde kitchens at gate gourmet the service was fantastic then Bmed were taken over by BMI and the service went downhill BMI were taken over by BA the crews were taken off the Bmed routes Amman Damascus Khartoum Beirut etc then the original aircraft used were taken out of service by BA when covid hit and since flying returned BA have been using their euro fleet aircraft and the service has suffered ever since the service now is nothing like it was when operated by BMED on BA's behalf so I suggest you fly Royal Jordanian
30” seat pitch in business is brutal. Thanks for doing the flight.
Thanks for watching!
Love the dry sense of humour, "I asked for a smaller menu but this was the smallest menu available" 😂😂😂
You have to ask!
I’ve never liked BA personally, so found this video a good laugh, thanks
A service I perform!!!
We flew on two occasions to Crete with BA in the same seats same leg room as economy. We got a drink before the meal, a drink with the meal and that was that, the staff disappeared behind a curtain not seen again till half an hour before landing.
We now are back with Jet 2 were we can relax with a few drinks on the flight.
And quite a few extra quid in the pocket too? I like Jet2!
‘Things I do for you dear viewer’😊. Your continual sacrifice is appreciated! Hope you’re keeping well Matt.
I do it for you! Thanks for watching!
Your menu comment really did make me lol. On the subject of menus, this is another BA service inconsistence: I flew back from Tenerife this week and apparently there were no menus to be handed out. Had them before on this flight but apparently not available this time. Given the crews somewhat "laid back" service suspect they might have been hiding in a locked someone onboard.
You never can be sure, can you! BA really needs to be consistent here
It’s a shame the ex BMI mid haul config was scrapped, perfect for the customer on this route.
Old planes, poor economics... The you-know-what was the perfect excuse to can them....
Love your dry British humour - had a big laugh when you mentioned “asked for a smaller menu” … brilliant 😂😂😂
Thanks - I try to make it entertaining to watch!
Interesting video Matt, good to see it was a pleasant surprise in some aspects. Maybe I'll bump into you again one day! Anything is possible.
Cheers mike! I hope we do bump into each other again and I'm not making a lounge video so can stick around in the CCR!
Thanks for the info + video!
You are very welcome as always!
just returned from Amman with Austrian and I understand how you felt. But the Austrian flight is only 3:00 Hours from Vienna. In Miles&More you get intercontinental tier points (200) for Europa to Jordan. And starting from London via Vienna you got this ticket for 500 pounds (return).
A few votes for one-stoppers through central Europe because of how the flight is rated... Certainly something to look at
I had the pleasure of flying this route a couple of years ago in the current club Europe version and of course we had a delayed takeoff so got to sit in those seats an extra hour! I also had the genuine pleasure of flying to Cairo in the club world config in my first ever business class points redemption a good few years back where I was super excited to spend as much time as possible in the seat, but of course that one arrived early after making up a load of time in the air!
That's always the way! Both are great destinations too! Love your content by the way....
Indeed TLV is now on a 320 via LCA.
The return is direct TLV-LHR, and at some point the stop in LCA will be dropped entirely. The stop is only so the BA crew don't have to stay in Israel while there's a high chance of attacks/airport closing at short notice. And since flying LHR-TLV-LHR would exceed the limits for how long the crew can be on duty, they swap them over in LCA (as well as refuelling for the whole journey back to LHR) and then the new crew can do LCA-TLV-LHR.
They used to do the same on widebodies during times of trouble in Israel, but now it's a painful narrowbody flight, which makes far less sense than AMM, CAI etc, as TLV is a much more business and Frequent flyer heavy route, and so BA will likely lose a lot of premium business to LY and VS when they restart their services.
Hopefully this is a short term move...
Am worried the BA A320 is staying on the route, they are selling the business class seats at only 20% less avios then when it used to be long hall, if they get away with this there is no chance they are going back, this is 1 of the reasons i took stopped having all my eggs in the ba basket, now also have with virgin
We do appreciate what you do for us hope you're well and have you been solving the problem you encountered
Thanks so much. Problem not yet solved, but it's being closely monitored and it's not getting any worse! Carrying on as normal for the indefinite future
Just got back from Jordan myself on a Star Alliance tier point run (holiday really)
LH class Amman as intercontinental in their 'new' frequent flyer program.
I deliberately chose multiple connections and picked up 600pts.
Other airlines recognise Jordan as not being in Europe!
Really good timing with this video as I am planning on doing a reward flight to Cairo in business. I would still probably take it but ensure I had a neck pillow or something like that to aid with sleep.
I am surprised they didn't offer a snack of some description later on in the flight, however I am guessing this is due to it being a night flight.
I don't think it's a long enough flight for a second service... And at the end of the flight you're in Cairo!!! I can put up with a lot to get there....
I regularly fly BA to various destinations around Europe, many about 2 to 3 hours from Heathrow. What you had is precisely what I get on those flights, aside from the pillow and the throw. I have flown about the same distance (about 5 hours as I recall) in an A320, with Lufthansa from Azerbaijan to Germany. The pilots had turned down the heating so much that the cabin was ice cold, and no throws were offered, even thought I was in business class. As it was warm and in the summer, I didn't have anything to cover myself with. That was possibly the worst flight I've been on.
Someone really needs to shake up Euro business...
I can't believe they class this seat as 'Business class' - it feels like this should probably be a better aircraft with a more defined 'business cabin' on this sort of route!
I agree! BA obviously doesn't!!
Let’s face it, it’s not just BA here that class this as business class all other European airlines copy the format.
Fun video! I'd definitely been curious about this flight since I saw that it was an 80 TP narrow-body route. You made an interesting point about carriers not really having a plane equipped for medium-haul routes. I feel like American's A321Ts are the closest offered by a US/European carrier
The US Transcons service similar distances but are much better... BA had a few routes of this length and really could do better... Even if the experience was OK for me this time!
@@MattsPlanet I had a BA widebody from Madrid, why are there coach seating in Business, in a widebody aircraft? This bullshit would not fly in America!
I have definitely flown on a 744 to CAI within living memory, but that may be 12 or 13 years ago now. And yes, RJ are really quite good. Hope you're keeping well Matt.
I'm good thanks - a 744 to CAI does feel like overkill but it would have been a wonderful experience!!!
Great video Matt, hope you're doing well. Don't think I could brave it myself, when I went to Jordan a couple of years ago I opted for Turkish instead, once I'd seen the 5 hours on an A320 BA were offering...
Thanks - doing good! A one stopper to AMM is certainly an option but it does drag out the whole experience .. get a Turkish widebody though and all is forgiven!
@@MattsPlanet glad to hear you’re doing well Matt. It does drag it out a bit longer, but the 2 hour layover in IST was worth it for 2 A330’s back to MAN!
Always enjoy your videos Matt 👍🏻
I always enjoy you watching them!
Same thing on Lufthansa (who didn't even have a cabin divider on our flight out to Amman last year). Even the crew were embarrassed!
Euro carriers are racing to the bottom....
What's even worse about this is that they almost always use the NEOs on these long, formerly wide body, routes (as was the case for you), which does make sense as the better fuel efficiency makes more difference on a long route. But the NEOs a)lack the nice table in CE and b) the seats in the rear half of the plane (behind the overwing exits, and the limit of the business cabin) are slimline seats like you'd find on (qu)easyjet or ryan(sc)air, so are incredibly uncomfortable on a 2 hour flight, let alone 5.
At least BA's newest (and future) 321NEOs have proper padded seats throughout, as well as the return of the tables in CE, but still, there's only one of those currently, and 11 more on order iirc, so for now at least many of the ET passengers will be suffering in unpadded slimline seats, where really they should be on a WT seat, which is a massive downgrade (sorry, "enhancement")
Indeed, but the CEOs with the table in CE mean that it is uncomfortable to stretch over multiple seats in the case that your block of 3 is empty.
Ah! The ironic use of "enhancement"! Well played...
Matt I think I would rather fly RJ on that route, at least you get a better seat. I first sampled DO&CO catering in 1997 on flights from LGW to VIE, VIE-SIN & SIN - SYD on Lauda Air. In those days, Do&Co were just starting out in airline catering and their main business was a Viennese restaurant. The catering was fantastic. I hope you are keeping as well and keep up the good work.
Thanks - RJ next time!!! Doing well and going strong thanks!!
Ive always commented that for the longer european routes, and those middle east routes - e.g. Athens, Cairo, Amann, Tel Aviv - they should use the 'regional business class' model that the far east airlines use - i.e. 2+2 cradle recliners... on the basis that there's normally a min of 4 biz class row - they could easily configure a small number of the planes for such routings, without massively impacting on overall seat numbers. But then again - I dont have access to their spreadsheets! How does Royal Jordanian compare price-wise? I would even consider 'dry' Egypt air for Cairo - and stock up in the lounge before hand!
Thanks Mike - I know Egyptair is cheaper than many other carriers but I don't think RJ is far out of line with BA pricing... It would seem to be simple enough to have a mid-haul fleet, but none of the Euro airlines do.... I believe Egyptair is ok with you taking a snifter or two aboard their planes even though their service is dry....
“I asked for a smaller menu but they didn’t have one” 🤣🤣🤣
True story!!!!
New viewer here :-) I really enjoyed that, Matt. I guess I'll be back for more! Paul in Oz
G'day Paul! Plenty in the back catalogue if you liked that one....
@@MattsPlanet I will be looking ... Paul in Oz
As I have travelled the old long haul configuration on BA across 3 classes between TLV and LHR, I was looking forward to trying out the new product. Or was I after Matt's review? In economy this time and the experience was very disappointing. An hour at the gate with doors closed because of air congestion over Europe (?). The hard product for this A321 neo was very basic. No in-flight entertainment for a 5.5 hour flight no WiFi, no streaming, nada. The chair was OK with little recline. The power sockets did not work. The soft product was not much better. The staff were very good. The meal on this evening flight was a box with a miniature chicken wrap and some processed items like crackers and olives.
I am flying in what they call club Europe on my return flight . My expectations are low
It's really not great for a flight that long!
I've done London Gatwick //Lanzarote in Club europe, that's around 4.5 hours, and again, the cabin is dismal for that length of a journey.
They think they can get away with more on a holiday route like Lanzarote....
I’ve had the same experience flying BA Club Europe to Athens, Malta and Cairo. For me, around 3 hours is the maximum I can endure on those aircraft before it gets annoying, but like many I’m always pushing the tier points to keep my BA gold status! 😂
The things we do!!! And I'm not convinced the competition to some of those places is much better
BA's boarding game is like roulette. I've seen over 50 pax in Group1 on a business heavy Euro route like AMS before.
On long haul I've seen gate agents open up the Group 1-3 tensa at the same time as Group 4-9 which negates the benefits of boarding status completely.
I'm currently on 5 night BA holiday in Madeira. Flying from my local airport, NCL, via LHR gives me and the Mrs 480 TPs each :-)
Good work on the BAH! Boarding roulette should be so easy to avoid, yet it seems so hard....
You should never have to sit sideways in a business class cabin. The food looked good, but then again probably costs BA about £1.50, so the regular fare for this product could never be justified. Great video!
Cheers Steve. Not the best flight I've ever had... But they did get better as the trip progressed!
I think BA have a mind of their own when it comes to boarding. In Malta at the moment don’t know if I could manage a five hour flight in BA business, three hours another is enough. Went to an interesting lounge in Gatwick airport got in with my priority pass, has a balcony and was like a Benidorm Experience, still have not got my head around the avios point thing yet, but I enjoy the travel.
Thanks - BA does not make things easy!
Flew BA to doha luckily i was supposed to redeem with qatar airways but there is not seat left but decided to give BA club world try. And indeed their 777 is absolutely amazing it didn’t feel torn out. Registration was G-YMMU also service is impressive , catering was so good and cabin crew were fabulous
A positive report on BA is a rare thing in these comments! When they're good, they're really really good!!
Appreciate all you do 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks!!!
Im doing a travel day from Birmingham to Madeira via Berlin with easyJet in December, any advice?
Gosh - the shortest distance between A and B is.... Via Berlin!!!! Take a good book and some patience!!! And do your ankle exercises every hour.... Otherwise, have fun!
I do wonder if it would be better to choose RJ over BA on this route as they're both oneworld partners?
A widebody RJ flight over this on BA? Easy choice for me!
@@MattsPlanetThat said, RJ command a hefty premium for that comfort, especially in J.
For those wanting to do this at cheapest - the avios redemption rates for this route have now been permanently reduced (like with Israel now its been reduced to short haul).
I think the only airlines that can realistically break out into midhaul offerings (a321 xlrs) are transatlantic ones - jetblue, aer lingus, air canada, air transit etc.
With dedicated equipment designed for that sort of route - you may be right. SAS and TAP too
Great vid, thanks. Like Ryanair, BA likes pushing the boundaries to see how much crap it's customers are prepared to take, for some reason their customers don't mind
Yet noone steps up and offers a service that competes???
@@MattsPlanet virgin started a good service to tlv.
If its 5 hours, it should be "medium haul". In their short haul there is no entertainment screens either, which is a disgrace.
Medium haul is so hard to define and harder to design a plane to operate...
Matt,
Totally agree with your comments. Like you I am over 6' and as you say not a great deal of legroom. Also flying for over 5 hours like that forget it!!!
Not really sure when BA are going to "wake up and smell the coffee" as all they seem to do is continue cost cutting.
Boarding process, agree 100% unbelievable. You pay good money to basically sit in an economy seat.
Not sure what I am going to do going forward, as I am sick and fed up of their inferior offering these days.
Sadly there's too little credible competition to give BA the jolt it needs....
Interesting review, and not all bad. That said, it seems that unless you're a BA Status holder AND you need to get to Jordan in a big hurry, it would just make more sense to travel on Qatar via Doha. I guess that's part of the value proposition of those mid east carriers: Put up with a layover and we'll treat you better than your home airline.
It's quite a big double back to go via Doha but in essence, you are right. And putting up with a Doha layover is usually no ordeal!!
5:14 shocking for 5.5 hrs. Good that middle seat is blocked tho
If you're wider than you are tall, its perfect!
Hi Matt,
This is what I do not understand about this video,
HEADLINE: BA worst flight, yet you conclude, amazing value at the end of the video!! So are you saying that you approve of BA sticking you on a short haul plane with no frills whatsoever, as long as they give you the opportunity to get it at a favourable rate?
As a frequent J passenger that does not fit with me...I would take Rj 787 or TK via IST anyday, pay a premium, and get the experience that I desire, whilst spending the money that experience warrants? By no means this is a negative towards you, your person. Your content is of such high quality, that it provokes actual reflection, thinking on the subject.
I for one could not book an awfull flight for a favourable rate. I am in a position to book what I desire as an experience!
As always, all the respect to you, stay well
Thomas.
Cheers Thomas - I went in with zero expectations and BA exceeded them! Helped enormously by having noone in the aisle seat.... So it should be awful and expect it to be, but if the dice land as double 6 it may actually be ok!
Glad it wasn't a painful flight for you Matt. Unfortunately I and im sure many others have spent 7hours on an A320 or 737 many times, mainly due to budget airlines boarding flights on time before telling you there's limited airspace so we need to wait x hours for our takeoff slot.
Most recently I endured 8 hours on a Qatar a320 flying from DOH > SOF due to closed Iraq/ Iran airspace and further restrictions on takeoff slots. To make matters worse im gold card with Qatar, not far from platinum status and some random people were promoted to business class not me. The horror! This was the old knackered product with red seats so i didn't feel i missed out on much but i can't say i enjoyed seat 25 A a great deal.
Ouch - ground delays really pile on the agony as it's so hard to get up and move around then you're hoping to move at any second
Video idea. Head to Luton airport and pick almost any flight with Wizz in the middle of summer and see how things work for you :)
You might need to get to the airport 4 hours early as at least half of the holiday passengers will forget to remove their sun lotion at security.
Love the menu comment, 4.5hrs in Club Europe can be garbage, except as an Avios sale redemption when it can become a good deal. Amman is very underrated. Jordan and the Jordanians in general are great.
I have spent time in Jordan before and it is a lovely place ... Just passing through this time!
What does BA consider a long haul flight? That "business class" seat wasn't even up to economy standards on some ULC Asian airlines I've flown, let alone economy seating on the full service carriers for an international 4-5 hour long flight. I guess I've lucked out on always getting wide-bodied aircraft on those type of routes.
Long haul generally means over 7 hours so this is really medium haul .. but then flights back from the US east coast are often
And the 321XLRs will stretch the capability of the narrow body further.
Unfortunately narrow body economics has ruined the medium haul experience, and all the widebodies are being optimised for much longer missions.
Back in the day it was BMED that operated this route.
That was a few days ago! Different times
Sort of medium haul those kind of distances.
No man's land for BA! Neither one thing nor the other!
Did they have a smaller menu? 😅. I remember flying back with BA from Brussles almost 30 years ago and being in a middle seat in business class on the RHS of the plane 😡
That was the smallest they had! BA will still go 3 abreast in business if there's been disruption and they need to get people home... Which is probably fair enough...
Im going to Spain in the summer
Have a great time!
flew this route return from Luton (gotta mention the extra couple of miles and minutes 😉) with Wizz Air. even less pitch and no service lol but considering i paid about £45 return (plus another 30 for bags), i dealt with it.
As for the boarding group situation, I flew to Madrid today and after Group 0 and 1, they went straight to 0-6 …………..
Wizz in the exit rows would not be a bad option even though it is further from Luton!
Being in a seat with 1" less legroom or a seat partner would make it a crippling experience... I also wonder whether the BBQ chicken would still have been available in the 6th row of CE?
Indeed - am excellent reason to sit as far forward as possible although I think some people behind me did have their orders taken before me...
@@MattsPlanet Different from my experience with consistent underprovisioning resulting in an even smaller menu!
1:26 the ex BMI A321LRs were introduced much earlier than 2018, I flew the Amman route in economy in around 2013?
Thanks - I'm told my history is a little off in some of the comments - thanks for doing so politely!!!
5:49 LOL not big enough for a mouse
I had my reading glasses with me....
We went on a 4 and a half hour flight with BA in business class a few weeks ago. 11 rows of "business class". They ran out of champagne after 45 minutes, ran out of 2 of the 3 main meals after the third row (I was watching what people ordered as we've experienced this before).
They moved a couple back to the 10th row as a woman had paid before the flight to get the first row seats (they were fuming to say the least as they booked the front row seats as his partner had a stroke recently).
As you said, leg room is appalling! I spoke with the stewardess and she said that complaints are coming thick and fast "all day, every day". She was super sweet and how she copes, I don't know.
I avoid booking BA under any circumstances now as they are just terrible, a real shameful airline for the UK.
Thanks - hopefully they didn't run out of tea! I rarely criticise the crew in my videos as they're doing the best they can with what their airline has given them, which is often well out of synch with expectations.... I fear BA sees they've sold 11 rows of business and think "brilliant, our customers love our offering..."
You can't pay for front row seats on a BA Club Europe flight unles it's for bassinet use. They are blocked up to T -72 hours for BA Golds.
@@aletrailvid True! Have not thought about that. But that's what the flight attendants told the couple who have been moved from the front seats.
But BA fly to the Canaries on a similar flight time and that has always been short haul...?
It's all very vague... I think when BA rerates a route that's when people take notice!
dear viewer lolololol ........another great video hope your health is ok ... question for you please we are soon to be flying ba club to miami on a a380 what seat would you choose please and what lounge could we use many thanks
Upper deck window seats are the best - lots of extra storage. Some at the rear of the mini cabins allow you access without climbing over anyone... Lounges? T5B is the best as you'll almost certainly fly from a B or C gate
@@MattsPlanet THANKS MATT
Thank You ✈️
Thanks for watching!
I am a BA fan, might be the only one. Just flown in economy with BA from LHR to Doha then onto KL with Qatar. The food and service by BA was far superior than on the Qatar flight.
This is a safe space for that sort of opinion!!! BA can be great but the inconsistency is what galls people
Not the only one David. I'm a fan too. Loyal to BA as much as possible.
Thanks !
Thanks for watching!
There should be a worldwide campaign to include WiFi on business and 1st flights. They give you wine worth hundreds in some cases and then charge you for the wifi! You'd think that if they can't give you a decent plane and a decent menu for a 5 hour flight, they could at least give you wifi? Still I suppose they have to make some money somewhere after changing long-haul business class from 2-4-2 to 1-2-1. Does make them seem bad value, though.
BA has introduced messaging for exec club members which may be a first step down that road...
Getting to that point with newer satellites, but not the case with much of existing aircraft equipment... You need the paywall to ensure reasonable speeds.
Qantas in Australia now offers domestic WiFi for Free to everyone, but doesn't have much internationally (waiting on ViaSat 3 constellation)
Could you not have flown with Royal Jordanian who have a proper business class, and who are One World partner too and redeemed you BA Avios with them?
I've flown Luton to Amman with Wizz Air and it really wasn't that, had the seat next to me empty in both directions and is operated by an A321neo. It was only around £80 return.
The crew on the Wizz Air really do work hard, and operated both sectors there and back, with no stopover!
BA staff are very lucky!
I wanted to fly this route to make this video! I'd planned to connect on on RJ but they cancelled the flight and didn't have another one for 3 days... Next time!
A narrow body for this long a duration is never much fun, for vacation it's almost tolerable but working it's just miserable. BA's Club Europe product is laughable for the money.
Oh good luck trying to open a laptop in that seat, especially if the person in front reclines...
i have flown on the ex-BMI planes and they are lie flat they are the same as JetBlue's 1st generation mint seats without the doors. it was only LHR to DUB and i got a throne seat
Sadly retired during the you-know-what... I flew JetBlue and it was a decent experience
Just ridiculous that BA do not put a longhaul aircraft on this route.
It's all down to economics I fear...
It’s not economics, it’s due to delayed aircraft deliveries due to the pandemic still as it takes years for new aircrafts to be delivered!
I find it funny people complain about flying BA and still come back 😂😂😂. EasyJet, Ryan Air and Wizzair are still in business you all
5 hours is not longhaul
Yes Matti was BMED Crew
I'm sure you can tell some stories... Fascinating destinations too....
@@MattsPlanet yes matt the Bmed route system included Almaty Bishkek Tashkent Tbilisi Ekaterinberg Baku Yeravan Beirut Amman Damascus Allepo Addis etc
I did ask for a smaller menu 😂😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I did!!!!
At least you can now look people in the Third World in the eye etc.
It’s odd that BA classify routes of this length like this and force you to sit cramped for five hours. I think Royal Jordanian is a better option based upon my limited experience.
I'm keen to do that route again on RJ to see how it should be done!!
Surely flying with RJ would score a nicer aircraft, and I believe MAN-AMM is 2000mi?
AMS to AMM is shorter but earns 140 tps... Usually a narrow body though... I wanted to connect on to RJ but they cancelled the flight I booked and had no other options for 3 days... Next time!
The worst part is a ridiculous price of a ticket. How can BA justify it is beyond me… Jordan is high on my list for a visit and I won’t be BA for sure, for the reason you described in your great video. Also not on Qatar as their pricing even more ridiculous. So if no other other OW airlines offers good fairly priced options, will choose SA on which I also have a status, flying through Istanbul or Athens.
Jordan is well worth a visit - an amazing country. And it's serviced by some of the low cost carriers now so if getting there is the priority there are some much cheaper options now
Thanks. I don't usually fly low costers. There are reasonably priced full service airline options like Turkish, which provide medium haul service in business, even if a stopover might be required.
When I missed, accidently or otherwise, my 'wide-bodied' to Moscow I would try the ex BMI. it was not FAB, but it was FAB compared to a Club Europe of 5hrs.
Points flight? Assume it was for our education as Avios via Royal Jordanian would have been more appropriate.
Me: I just won't go to the near East with BA!! 😊
I wanted to experience this flight and had planned to connect on with RJ, although they cancelled the onward flight and didn't have another one for 3 days...
Just don't do it to yourself Matt... well ok maybe if in row 1!! But I would go RJ ... Tho BA's 787-8 are horrible in y... which I would suggest is BAs worst flights... tho the awful neo y seats are dreadful behind the exit ..
I'll accept that business class on these planes is not the very worst case option on the BA network!
Amman was never a BA “long haul” route…it was a from British Mediterranean route which was taken over by bmi and then in turn taken over by BA again after the merger…It went from having large reclining seats to the bmi lie flat product but BA finally got rid of these planes during the pandemic…
Long haul is theoretically over 7 hours so even the flights back from the US east coast don't qualify!
They should give you the whole row and a mattress on this flight
That would be nice!!!
The Euro 'biz class' on narrow body is a joke. I flew Dallas to Newark the other week in UA biz class. 2 + 2 huge seats. B737 Max. Real meal & drink already mixed in Glass. BTW. even UA economy has free text messaging.
I'll make a video about us Vs euro short to mid haul business one day... Might add Asia too although it will be a walkover if I let those airlines compete!!
Sorry yes Matt I was Bmed crew at the time
As I said elsewhere, magic memories I'm sure!
sorry but you want to try the a320 etiad from abu dabbi to maldives a terrible flight worse then Ryan air 😂
"Etihad's worst flight" - at least its quite nice when you get there!
Ref- Inconsistency in boarding protocol/ soft product- In a nutshell a mix of minimum wage/ disdainful at customer attire/perceived social class etc. we live ina bizarre world where those who dreamed to fly the nations airline end up being overworked, undervalued and complacent . BA isn’t much different to Pan Am. It’s their political friends and old grandfather rights that keep them up there but having said that is any other well publicised airline any different . Love your videos.
Hard to argue with any of that! Well put!
I remember they days of Pork Chop on flights
Cultural sensitivity means those days are long gone!!
Having moved stateside and changing allegiance from BA/AA to United, one thing I don’t miss is BAs inconsistent boarding process.
United don’t get it perfect but it’s far better managed than any BA experience I’ve ever had.
I always remember that comedy sketch about US airline boarding where group 1 ends up being the 35th group called forwards...
Five hours on an A320? That were luxury! Try six hours down to The Gambia on a 737 with Tui!😂
You make an excellent point! Food was better than a handful of cold gravel too!
Personal air vents?
I asked for a smaller menu?
😂
I try to entertain....
The downgrading of the Athens flights has been similarly grim.
4 hours or so? I think one is "overnight" too which is just awful!
I do wonder if this offering is so bad because their competition is a fellow OneWorld member in Royal Jordanian. Thanks for doing this trip so we don't have to 😂
I wanted to fly RJ onwards to compare but they cancelled my flight...
I would pay roughly 10 pounds extra for that 'business class' experience.
Probably about right!!! Perhaps £20 more to the the exit rows in economy with much more legroom!
I’m a group 0 and honestly I’ve only seen it administered once overseas and that was at HK recently… I regularly just get called up between 0-3 in shorter hall services like the a320.. but rarely do I get any recognition being gold guest list.. what is the point? I may move over to Qatar and actually get some service for once 😂 #FirstWorldProblemsIndeed
I've done a few flights since group 0 was rolled out and it's been well observed so far... But that's been mostly in UK ports!
Shame BA A320, 5 hours economy only with a small bottle of water and a small pack of pretzel...
It is a lot tougher up the back... But a lot cheaper too!
I can't believe they are using an A320 on a route like that. Club europe is only what euro traveller was in the 1980's.
Indeed - BA is really struggling for long haul planes right now which may partly explain it....
Royal Jordanian operate a 787 Dreamliner between Heathrow and Amman. For BA to use A320s is shocking. BA cannot possibly begin to even compete with Arabian or Asian carriers as it is way behind. The meal tray shown here in Club Europe ( Jordan is not even in Europe but hey) is roughly the same size as what Turkish Airlines offer in longhaul Economy. Shame on BA.
I have no inside info but BA retired 20+ 747s through the you-know-what then were surprised when demand kicked back up so quickly.... So as wide-bodies were constrained, the options were to run a narrow body to AMM and CAI or to cancel the service...
BA has dumped the TLV route too! it's down to the a320 neo's for the moment. However it is supposed to be returning later in the year if the route gets busy enough. For me I'm seriously miffed by this, but at least they have honoured the tier points from the original bookings. We have 1a and 1c for our flights, so decent room. I'd like to see you visit Israel on ElAL and see how they compare to BA, They have a very mixed reputation, some love them and others hate them. I'm thinking of swapping my BA flights to ELAL but they have now doubled the Business class fare from LHR and after our trip in September it will mean we retain Silver and need one or 2 more trips before april to get gold ( as our previous 2 trips have been cancelled because of the terrorist attach on October7th). So, do we suffer and get status or not is the question?
I too have seen some mixed reporting on ElAl but I would like to fly them - not least as it would mean a trip to Israel! Status is a handy thing to have if you travel much on other airlines....
@@MattsPlanet You get a plane with defensive missiles in a pod beneath the fuselage. Not many flights have these ! It would be good if you could fire them for fun from the IFE at your seat, but they won't let you.
@@MattsPlanet Thanks for your reply. Very much appreciate it. You could have popped over on Royal Jordanian, its something like 40 minutes gate to gate.
How come no infotainment? It’s long enough flight to warrant it surely!
You would think so!!
Could it be that they are just short of long haul aircraft having early retired the 747s, Dreamliner deliveries being behind schedule and the 777x continually disappearing over the horizon. A long way of saying Boeing is a mess!
I think BA realised they would make more money on those routes with short haul aircraft - if they had widebodies available I doubt they'd use them....
You’re probably right. In a way it’s surprising they still do Amman at all given that RJ is the competition, a fellow One World airline using a 788.
you were determined to be critical from outset
Did you listen to my conclusions at the end?
Still to do it but I'd aim for RJ in business by Avios.
The euro-biz service on mid haul routes like AMM and CAI is outrageous.
I'd say BA ought to at least make pitch 34 inches and while still being flex in cabin use, no harm in letting lucky economy passengers experience the better Club Europe rows, either as economy service in the more spacious unused rows or as CE as a status triggered upgrade. For all they'd lose in overall capacity on the aircraft - and after all, is it running at 100% anyway ; I bet not. KLM and Air France have / or had better pitch than BA in their euro-biz offerings.
With so many CE seats going empty I am guessing it would be a net benefit to BA if they made pitch 34 again.
edit : And maybe then fattys like me might get their tray table down so as to eat straight on and not have to twist to the tray of the blocked middle seat !
There's a lot of logic there - plus BA could charge a premium for those larger seats...
@@MattsPlanet well, same seats but longer pitch, if they are to keep their flex cabin
Do & Co are the absolute pits of a catering company
They are highly rated though - I think they've been pretty good!
Turkish airlines via Istanbul is so much better and even cheaper! And 2 hot meals even in economy on the 2 flights
No disagreement here! Good chance of a widebody plane too
This is so not true BA Operated 767's then a BA Franchise operator called Bmed operated it using A320 & A321 with dedicated Buisness class with the cradle seat all food was supplied by the concorde kitchens at gate gourmet the service was fantastic then Bmed were taken over by BMI and the service went downhill BMI were taken over by BA the crews were taken off the Bmed routes Amman Damascus Khartoum Beirut etc then the original aircraft used were taken out of service by BA when covid hit and since flying returned BA have been using their euro fleet aircraft and the service has suffered ever since the service now is nothing like it was when operated by BMED on BA's behalf so I suggest you fly Royal Jordanian
Thanks - comprehensive! A long time since you've been able to fly to Khartoum....
BA sponsored content Im thinking. 😮
No and never!