Flew from LVegas back to LHR last month on PE, tall person in front of me reclined his seat back all the way when the stewardess was handing out hot drinks, thankfully it did not spill on me and he was asked back to recline. As soon as service was over, he reclined it all the way back (three other people as well) which made it very tight when we wanted to go to the bathroom. The lady in front us was getting annoyed at my daughter fidgeting and going to the bathroom, so I whispered to my daughter “keep doing it” if she wants to recline then we can annoy her for the next 9 hours!!!
@amitdashore……can I ask what your experience is with taking the last row in Premium Eco? Does the seat fully recline and did you get disturbed about people going to the toilets? Going on the 13hrs flight soon and it is a night flight and would like to get some sleep.
We like you fly from our closest airport NCL. Actually Teeside is closer as we're in county Durham. We often fly to NY (JFK) with BA. This year we booked premium then at LHR they upgraded us to business at the gate which was lovely. No such luck on the way back although we still had our premium economy tickets. Business is Def well worth it if using points but cash wise it' can be a bit expensive, so would recommend upgrading with points. Premium economy was ok but not sure it's worth the jump in price. Btw, I've only just discovered your channel and you're advice is brilliant, my grey gap year and Matt's planet is great too. I'm literally just starting out on my status climb, So any help is appreciated. Thanks Charles. Keep up the great work. Micky.
Disgust me so much when people complain about reclining... Everyone is in the same boat..You have a beef, take it up with the airline..they're the ones that sole you the seat. I'm just using the seat as it's designed...Sorry..but not sorry...
I truly appreciate this video! This is the exact choice I'm trying to make and I have a bit unusual (it seems) circumstances. We'd be flying as a family of 4, two adults and 2 children (will be 12 and 8 at the time). From Washington DC, to London, to Johannesburg. So obviously a long flight, two overnight legs. We've flown as a family on United premium economy to Ghana, and it was really a step up from economy. But I can have back pain if I'm unable to lie flat for a long time, like overnight to London, a whole daytime layover, and then overnight again to SA. But business class is not really meant for children, and it will be harder to monitor them and they can't even sit together and talk and play their games together. For that reason, like you, I prefer that 'yin yang' layout, as you called it. Oh, I saw there was a little seat where you put your feet, could a person sit there (like a child), to socialize with another person? Any advice here on going premium economy or business? Also, I don't suppose there's a way to, on a single flight, take premium economy for the shorter leg and business for the longer, to mix it up and for any savings? Thank you!
I’m speaking with zero experience of travelling with children, so might need to take my words with a pinch of salt. I’d say if monitoring the kids is important you might be better off going with premium and getting either the 4 seats in the middle or two rows of two by the window. Old style club world would be better than the new club suites, and if you can get that for a price that’s worth it to you it’s still worth considering especially for the sake of your back. But I think if it’s the new club suites it’s not really ideal with younger kids. To answer some of your questions, don’t think the foot rest would really be sturdy enough to support someone sitting there tbh. And I don’t believe you can upgrade only one segment. You can do outbound premium, return business or vice versa. But in each direction the class of travel has to be consistent.
I’m with you on the old club world seat. I recently flew LHR-BWI on a 787 with the old business class setup, and (with a window, bulkhead seat) I think it is just about the best sleeper in the sky. No foot cubby, masses of space, excellent privacy. Just a shame not all seats provide the same experience…
Anyone who prefers the old BA Business Class offering should be on a watchlist! It's bloody awful, no storage, you have to step over the person next to you on window seats, you are pretty much sat in the aisle etc.
Agree on the old club seating plenty of space. Not flown premium yet but thanks for the info on the seat recline, that could be a major issue. Fly a lot of club europe and yes the service is really mixed regardless whether its city flyer, mainline or gatwick. Had the misfortune to fly down the back on a glasgow flight 2 weeks ago 30f, window seat, but no window totally full flight, never been so crammed in, leg room abysmal, im 5ft 10. Could not have stuck it for a longer flight.
Yeah, the old CW seat does have its advantages as you mentioned. But one of the big issues with it on top of the lack of storage and direct aise access for the windows, and privacy for the aisles, if that in the same 'class', you have a wildly different experience depending on the seat you're in. I've flown it a few times, and while having a window seat to sleep in is lovely, a nice little coocoon, sleeping in an aisle seat is awful, it's like you're in the aisle. One of the big plusses of CS is that aside from having a window or not, every seat is the same, so I'm not so worried if I don't get my preferred seat, I'll still have a consistent experience. I don't think old CW is fundamentally flawed design, it's just that BA didn't update it since 2006, had they made some tweaks, like slightly better privacy for the aisle seats, more storage, and a gap between rows to give the windows aisle access it would be fine. Coincidentally JAL have a very similar business product, but which has these improvements, and it's really good. On the separate topic of food, BA policy is that you can have both desert and cheese in CW, you do have to ask as the crew don't tell you this, but per their policy they should give it to you. Imo tho business food doesn't need to be fine dining, just good restaurant quality food, proper fine dining is what First class if for.
Yeah that’s a very good point about the differing experiences depending on the seat in the old club world. Seat selection matters a lot more than it should! Good to know about the desert and cheese too, they’ve always made it seem like an either/or thing
The original concept of fully lie-flat dates from year 2000. BA was the first, closely followed by VS, to go fully flat in J. Their rivals at that time all scorned fully flat in J but one after another they all had to follow over the following years.
Just booked two tickets with the missues to do EZE EDI LON EZE, and WT+ was like 400 extra each, so I think it was a no brainer. But CW was I think 2.5 times the cost of prem economy. I think that's insane, but of course I can't really afford it so it's not for me.
Super helpful information. I'm planning to go Tokyo (from London) for my 40th in 2026. Torn between Premium and Business. I'd obviously prefer Business but I'm worried the service might spoil the trip, given the price. Have you experienced Japan Air? I hear in general they are superior. I'd appreciate your thoughts. TY👊
If the business class price isn’t too much of a stretch it would probably be worth doing for that length of flight. Especially for a big trip like that, it just gets things started off in a good way! Not tried JAL yet but I do have a trip booked with them early next year.
Within the last few days i have travelled Club Europe from LHR, what annoys me is the breakfast offering on board, chances are you have gone for the full english whilst in the lounge and then you get offered another one on board (the alternative was omelette) 2 BA breakfasts within a few hours...not good. Cabin crew are obviously different on long haul but I found the cabin service virtually non existent other than bringing meal tray that was it, considering the cost it wouldn't have been worth the cash but I used avios and got a reasonable deal.
Yeah club Europe service definitely feels a bit more mixed. It’s sometimes excellent, sometimes poor and sometimes non-existent as you say. Service has been much more consistently great for me in club world
Great video thanks. Quick question please : Is the back row too noisy given how close to the curtain and toilers is? If I pay for a service, I will always recline (of course save during meal services ) but no point paying the extra and not making full use. I am debating whether middle or back row. Any thoughts? Many thanks indeed.
I personally prefer being more so in the middle of the cabin. Nothing wrong with the back row as a seat, but it means you’ll usually get the last choice of meal and BA can be pretty bad for not stocking enough of the most popular options. My food is very important to me, so I like to make sure I get my first choice
@@charlesontravels I have chosen in the middle cabin. I don't think anyone can complain for relining the seat, that's what you pay for - hopefully no issues
This can vary massively depending on the route and dates of travel. I’ve seen times where there has been a very small price difference and I’ve seen it be thousands of pounds difference. I’ve even seen multiple occasions where premium economy is actually more expensive than business class. So giving specific price comparison isn’t always too helpful. Just completely depends.
I do agree, although selfishly I quite like having this free seat selection as a status perk as it’s a genuine benefit to be able to select these seats for no additional charge and good seats are often available even when booking quite late since most won’t pay the fee. So I do understand why they do it.
True, there’s a lot that don’t charge, but it is becoming increasingly more common for lots of airlines to charge for this but to offer it for free as a status benefit
I have had issues with people reclining their seats in economy and premium economy !!!! On numerous occasions the person in front of me has reclined their seat minutes into the flight , when drinks / the meal are served it makes it extremely difficult to eat your meal due to the limited space , so upon myself reclining my seat the person behind starts hitting off he has no room to eat his meal , his leg room is limited Upon asking cabin crew as was it ok to recline my seat , they said yes , its standard procedure throughout the cabin to recline your set I had a man 6ft 6 inches tall behind myself in economy and he was complaining bitterly about the lack of space legroom wise etc surely some one that tall should take the leg room into account when booking economy !!!
I've been lucky enough to fly club suites and the older club world seat, and agree that the bulkhead seat is great but almost every other seat is fairly weak. The A380 club world seat (old type) also features a throne seat, which is in between two club world seats and can be even more anxiety inducing during due to two dividers. I've just flown from HND to LHR in premium economy on the BA A350 and found it to be quite comfortable with both meals being quite decent. Definitely a step above economy and worthwhile the price difference (funny enough the premium economy seats were cheaper than economy when we booked). Given the choice, I would choose the club suites over the older club world every time as that product offers so much better consistency.
Yeah I think I sometimes take for granted getting a good seat in the old club world due to status but without that and especially if travelling solo it would not be great being in the middle. That’s brilliant that you managed to get premium for less than economy, I love it when things like that happen!
Flew from LVegas back to LHR last month on PE, tall person in front of me reclined his seat back all the way when the stewardess was handing out hot drinks, thankfully it did not spill on me and he was asked back to recline. As soon as service was over, he reclined it all the way back (three other people as well) which made it very tight when we wanted to go to the bathroom. The lady in front us was getting annoyed at my daughter fidgeting and going to the bathroom, so I whispered to my daughter “keep doing it” if she wants to recline then we can annoy her for the next 9 hours!!!
I always try to get the last row in premium economy to avoid anyone disturbing my sleep when I'm fully reclined
@amitdashore……can I ask what your experience is with taking the last row in Premium Eco? Does the seat fully recline and did you get disturbed about people going to the toilets? Going on the 13hrs flight soon and it is a night flight and would like to get some sleep.
We like you fly from our closest airport NCL. Actually Teeside is closer as we're in county Durham. We often fly to NY (JFK) with BA. This year we booked premium then at LHR they upgraded us to business at the gate which was lovely. No such luck on the way back although we still had our premium economy tickets.
Business is Def well worth it if using points but cash wise it' can be a bit expensive, so would recommend upgrading with points.
Premium economy was ok but not sure it's worth the jump in price.
Btw, I've only just discovered your channel and you're advice is brilliant, my grey gap year and Matt's planet is great too. I'm literally just starting out on my status climb, So any help is appreciated. Thanks Charles. Keep up the great work. Micky.
Thanks Micky! Appreciate it! That’s a great result to get that upgrade on the New York flight!
Great review. New subscriber here. Was that Dhaal I saw in one of the clips?
Thank you! Yes it was, my partner had that on our flight to Delhi last year
Disgust me so much when people complain about reclining... Everyone is in the same boat..You have a beef, take it up with the airline..they're the ones that sole you the seat. I'm just using the seat as it's designed...Sorry..but not sorry...
I truly appreciate this video! This is the exact choice I'm trying to make and I have a bit unusual (it seems) circumstances. We'd be flying as a family of 4, two adults and 2 children (will be 12 and 8 at the time). From Washington DC, to London, to Johannesburg. So obviously a long flight, two overnight legs. We've flown as a family on United premium economy to Ghana, and it was really a step up from economy. But I can have back pain if I'm unable to lie flat for a long time, like overnight to London, a whole daytime layover, and then overnight again to SA. But business class is not really meant for children, and it will be harder to monitor them and they can't even sit together and talk and play their games together. For that reason, like you, I prefer that 'yin yang' layout, as you called it. Oh, I saw there was a little seat where you put your feet, could a person sit there (like a child), to socialize with another person? Any advice here on going premium economy or business? Also, I don't suppose there's a way to, on a single flight, take premium economy for the shorter leg and business for the longer, to mix it up and for any savings? Thank you!
I’m speaking with zero experience of travelling with children, so might need to take my words with a pinch of salt. I’d say if monitoring the kids is important you might be better off going with premium and getting either the 4 seats in the middle or two rows of two by the window. Old style club world would be better than the new club suites, and if you can get that for a price that’s worth it to you it’s still worth considering especially for the sake of your back. But I think if it’s the new club suites it’s not really ideal with younger kids. To answer some of your questions, don’t think the foot rest would really be sturdy enough to support someone sitting there tbh. And I don’t believe you can upgrade only one segment. You can do outbound premium, return business or vice versa. But in each direction the class of travel has to be consistent.
@@charlesontravels thank you for this detailed opinion
I’m with you on the old club world seat. I recently flew LHR-BWI on a 787 with the old business class setup, and (with a window, bulkhead seat) I think it is just about the best sleeper in the sky. No foot cubby, masses of space, excellent privacy. Just a shame not all seats provide the same experience…
Exactly, it’s really great if you have status or are willing to pay for seat selection, but not the same experience in other seats!
Anyone who prefers the old BA Business Class offering should be on a watchlist! It's bloody awful, no storage, you have to step over the person next to you on window seats, you are pretty much sat in the aisle etc.
Agree on the old club seating plenty of space. Not flown premium yet but thanks for the info on the seat recline, that could be a major issue. Fly a lot of club europe and yes the service is really mixed regardless whether its city flyer, mainline or gatwick. Had the misfortune to fly down the back on a glasgow flight 2 weeks ago 30f, window seat, but no window totally full flight, never been so crammed in, leg room abysmal, im 5ft 10. Could not have stuck it for a longer flight.
Yeah, the old CW seat does have its advantages as you mentioned. But one of the big issues with it on top of the lack of storage and direct aise access for the windows, and privacy for the aisles, if that in the same 'class', you have a wildly different experience depending on the seat you're in. I've flown it a few times, and while having a window seat to sleep in is lovely, a nice little coocoon, sleeping in an aisle seat is awful, it's like you're in the aisle. One of the big plusses of CS is that aside from having a window or not, every seat is the same, so I'm not so worried if I don't get my preferred seat, I'll still have a consistent experience.
I don't think old CW is fundamentally flawed design, it's just that BA didn't update it since 2006, had they made some tweaks, like slightly better privacy for the aisle seats, more storage, and a gap between rows to give the windows aisle access it would be fine. Coincidentally JAL have a very similar business product, but which has these improvements, and it's really good.
On the separate topic of food, BA policy is that you can have both desert and cheese in CW, you do have to ask as the crew don't tell you this, but per their policy they should give it to you. Imo tho business food doesn't need to be fine dining, just good restaurant quality food, proper fine dining is what First class if for.
Yeah that’s a very good point about the differing experiences depending on the seat in the old club world. Seat selection matters a lot more than it should! Good to know about the desert and cheese too, they’ve always made it seem like an either/or thing
The original concept of fully lie-flat dates from year 2000. BA was the first, closely followed by VS, to go fully flat in J. Their rivals at that time all scorned fully flat in J but one after another they all had to follow over the following years.
Just booked two tickets with the missues to do EZE EDI LON EZE, and WT+ was like 400 extra each, so I think it was a no brainer. But CW was I think 2.5 times the cost of prem economy. I think that's insane, but of course I can't really afford it so it's not for me.
Completely agree that premium economy seems like a no brainer at those prices!
Super helpful information. I'm planning to go Tokyo (from London) for my 40th in 2026.
Torn between Premium and Business. I'd obviously prefer Business but I'm worried the service might spoil the trip, given the price.
Have you experienced Japan Air? I hear in general they are superior. I'd appreciate your thoughts. TY👊
If the business class price isn’t too much of a stretch it would probably be worth doing for that length of flight. Especially for a big trip like that, it just gets things started off in a good way! Not tried JAL yet but I do have a trip booked with them early next year.
Hi I think the pulse point thing is an anti nausea gadget. I couldn't really see it in the video so not 100% on that.
Within the last few days i have travelled Club Europe from LHR, what annoys me is the breakfast offering on board, chances are you have gone for the full english whilst in the lounge and then you get offered another one on board (the alternative was omelette) 2 BA breakfasts within a few hours...not good.
Cabin crew are obviously different on long haul but I found the cabin service virtually non existent other than bringing meal tray that was it, considering the cost it wouldn't have been worth the cash but I used avios and got a reasonable deal.
Yeah club Europe service definitely feels a bit more mixed. It’s sometimes excellent, sometimes poor and sometimes non-existent as you say. Service has been much more consistently great for me in club world
TBH one cannot compare short- with long-haul business class. It's the same with all airlines worldwide.
Great video thanks. Quick question please : Is the back row too noisy given how close to the curtain and toilers is? If I pay for a service, I will always recline (of course save during meal services ) but no point paying the extra and not making full use. I am debating whether middle or back row. Any thoughts? Many thanks indeed.
I personally prefer being more so in the middle of the cabin. Nothing wrong with the back row as a seat, but it means you’ll usually get the last choice of meal and BA can be pretty bad for not stocking enough of the most popular options. My food is very important to me, so I like to make sure I get my first choice
@@charlesontravels Thanks very much for getting back to me, much appreciated.
@@charlesontravels I have chosen in the middle cabin. I don't think anyone can complain for relining the seat, that's what you pay for - hopefully no issues
I’ve already made my choice, Business Class is another world from P.E. particularly when I fly Air France 😄😄.
What about the price difference?
You didn’t tell us the price of the two flights
This can vary massively depending on the route and dates of travel. I’ve seen times where there has been a very small price difference and I’ve seen it be thousands of pounds difference. I’ve even seen multiple occasions where premium economy is actually more expensive than business class. So giving specific price comparison isn’t always too helpful. Just completely depends.
i hate that BA charge club world passengers to book their seat
Agree. After all it's business class so one wouldn't expect this. When I last checked a top airline like SQ didn't charge.
I do agree, although selfishly I quite like having this free seat selection as a status perk as it’s a genuine benefit to be able to select these seats for no additional charge and good seats are often available even when booking quite late since most won’t pay the fee. So I do understand why they do it.
True, there’s a lot that don’t charge, but it is becoming increasingly more common for lots of airlines to charge for this but to offer it for free as a status benefit
I have had issues with people reclining their seats in economy and premium economy !!!!
On numerous occasions the person in front of me has reclined their seat minutes into the flight , when drinks / the meal are served it makes it extremely difficult to eat your meal due to the limited space , so upon myself reclining my seat the person behind starts hitting off he has no room to eat his meal , his leg room is limited
Upon asking cabin crew as was it ok to recline my seat , they said yes , its standard procedure throughout the cabin to recline your set
I had a man 6ft 6 inches tall behind myself in economy and he was complaining bitterly about the lack of space legroom wise etc surely some one that tall should take the leg room into account when booking economy !!!
On most BA longhaul flights I have been on in Economy, the crew make an announcement to request that no one reclines during the meal service.
Very informative providing invaluable information, However, dude, don't visit a tanning salon prior to making a vlog!
Haha, I have literally never visited a tanning salon in my life!
A Beyond Abysmal carrier with a Beyond Abysmal record for cancellations, delays and the worst IT in the sector, globally.
Best Avoided
I've been lucky enough to fly club suites and the older club world seat, and agree that the bulkhead seat is great but almost every other seat is fairly weak.
The A380 club world seat (old type) also features a throne seat, which is in between two club world seats and can be even more anxiety inducing during due to two dividers.
I've just flown from HND to LHR in premium economy on the BA A350 and found it to be quite comfortable with both meals being quite decent. Definitely a step above economy and worthwhile the price difference (funny enough the premium economy seats were cheaper than economy when we booked).
Given the choice, I would choose the club suites over the older club world every time as that product offers so much better consistency.
Yeah I think I sometimes take for granted getting a good seat in the old club world due to status but without that and especially if travelling solo it would not be great being in the middle. That’s brilliant that you managed to get premium for less than economy, I love it when things like that happen!