It’s not often that “gorgeous” and “British Airways” go in the same sentence, but I’ll make an exception here.
British Airways takes delivery of first A350-1000
This weekend British Airways has taken delivery of their first ever Airbus A350-1000. They have a total of 18 of these planes on order.
There are a couple of reasons to be excited about this plane:
- The A350 in general is a joy to fly; it has a comfortable cabin, is quiet, and is fuel efficient
- The A350 is the first plane to feature British Airways’ new Club Suites, which are their new business class seats with doors (update: read my review of BA Club Suites here)
Anyway, British Airways’ first A350-1000 has finally touched down at Heathrow, though it’s a bit late. The plane was supposed to fly to Heathrow on Friday, but due to weather that flight had to be postponed.
The plane looks gorgeous in British Airways’ livery, in my opinion. I love how even the wingtips are painted.
Pictures of British Airways’ new A350-1000
British Airways has shared some pictures of their very first A350-1000 cabin, which looks equally beautiful. Here are some pictures of the new Club Suites:
Is it just me, or is the seat already stained in that last picture?
Then here are some pictures of the premium economy cabin:
Also, here’s a video about the making of the plane:
Also, here’s a fact sheet:
British Airways’ first A350-1000 routes
So, on what routes should you expect British Airways’ new A350-1000? The airplane will be making its long haul debut in September, as they have four long haul routes planned:
- The A350 will fly to Dubai as of September 2, 2019
- The A350 will fly to Toronto as of October 1, 2019
- The A350 will fly to Tel Aviv as of December 1, 2019
- The A350 will fly to Bangalore as of January 1, 2020
In the meantime, we can expect that the airline will soon begin flying the A350 between London and Madrid, in order to familiarize crews and work out any kinks. Oddly they haven’t yet published the schedule for those flights, but we do have some clues.
Bottom line
Congrats to British Airways for taking delivery of their first A350, and I can’t wait for it to enter service. I skipped the media flight that they have since I’d rather experience the product on a ticket I paid for. As soon as they publish the schedule between London and Madrid, you can bet I’ll book my ticket right away.
Anyone excited to try British Airways’ new A350?
Fantastic business product by BA, Fantastic Do&Co catering coming all routes by 2020, fantastic crew as well. BA looking great! @journeyjohn
I get your point but at the same time those really aren’t substantial extra costs, the ACTUAL and SIGNIFICANT extra costs of all the investments they made? Bespoke club suites? White company bedding and amenities, Do&Co catering? These are literally industry leading products and ALL COST EXTRA. A lot of you are quick to...
Fantastic business product by BA, Fantastic Do&Co catering coming all routes by 2020, fantastic crew as well. BA looking great! @journeyjohn
I get your point but at the same time those really aren’t substantial extra costs, the ACTUAL and SIGNIFICANT extra costs of all the investments they made? Bespoke club suites? White company bedding and amenities, Do&Co catering? These are literally industry leading products and ALL COST EXTRA. A lot of you are quick to judge BA but I think for once give credit when it’s due
Those worried about stained seating, don't... As BA don't bother with effective cleaning on their fleet (it would cost too much), the entire cabin will have a "mottled" within a month of entering service. ,
Also take note, pretty much any option that costs eg. external cameras, passenger air vents, the third Galley, adequate restrooms wasn't purchased by BA. Given the issues presented by the similarly "configured" (densified and cut to the minimum they...
Those worried about stained seating, don't... As BA don't bother with effective cleaning on their fleet (it would cost too much), the entire cabin will have a "mottled" within a month of entering service. ,
Also take note, pretty much any option that costs eg. external cameras, passenger air vents, the third Galley, adequate restrooms wasn't purchased by BA. Given the issues presented by the similarly "configured" (densified and cut to the minimum they can get away with) a321's I predict service issues beyond the BA norm once these are flying longhaul… BA regularly skimp on loading adequate catering anyway...
@ben.
It looks like the other picture has also a stain on the seat side so I think it's only the camera.
Also you can't see the stain on the seat of the second picture.
@Seattle Eric - I also cracked up after reading that on the bumf....reaching far they are to find something to say
Anyways, looks fine but nothing to be excited for.
"Inspired by birds" (from the fact sheet) - LOL. I think every other plane ever created beat the A350 to the punch on that one.
@Kyall
the red of the Thai flag and the red of the Union Jack, of which part is displayed on the tails of BA, are infact a different colour, if you know you're
BA and Brexit go hand and hand. Avoid both.
@Marty - Just my two cents: situations that legacy airlines face are typically more complicated. They serve more destinations and more types of passengers, which create a huge mix of demands that requires different plane models to provide solutions. In contrast, LCCs usually only focus on niche markets where their simple strategy can make a profit. As much as I appreciate LCC‘s offering of competitive pricing enabled by their simplicity, it is the complexity of...
@Marty - Just my two cents: situations that legacy airlines face are typically more complicated. They serve more destinations and more types of passengers, which create a huge mix of demands that requires different plane models to provide solutions. In contrast, LCCs usually only focus on niche markets where their simple strategy can make a profit. As much as I appreciate LCC‘s offering of competitive pricing enabled by their simplicity, it is the complexity of legacy carriers that makes air travel more convenient for the public.
I just don't understand why bigger airlines don't stick to the same aircraft model. This contributes largely to the success of Southwest and Ryanair. Can anyone explain it? Thanks in advance.
I hope there's more room in the washrooms for the premium cabins than the miserable ones they have in 1st on the 777 and A380 which are the same as economy class.
Yes I am definitely looking forward to experiencing the Club Suites, having already flown on the A350 several times with other airlines.
G-XWBA is a cool registration. Since the A350 is XWB, I would imagine this is the meaning of the Reg.
Am I excited to fly on it?
HELL NO.
It's got ONLY TWO galleys for Pete's sake. One at the front, one at the back. Customers on the first row in WTP will have their food coming from 35 rows further back because BA is to cheap to install a mid-fuselage galley as EVERY OTHER AIRLINE has. (there's just a paltry stowage section for the "Club kitchen" mid-cabin in Club. And even the two galleys...
Am I excited to fly on it?
HELL NO.
It's got ONLY TWO galleys for Pete's sake. One at the front, one at the back. Customers on the first row in WTP will have their food coming from 35 rows further back because BA is to cheap to install a mid-fuselage galley as EVERY OTHER AIRLINE has. (there's just a paltry stowage section for the "Club kitchen" mid-cabin in Club. And even the two galleys they've gone for are incredibly small, see the back one for instance.
BA has been utterly cheap in designing the plane as a tool to be worked on by its crew, all for the sake of cramming in more seats. And the same goes for the toilets. Only 7 onboard, 3 for 56 J passengers. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Whoever authorised it should be forced to work on it. Do twelve hours getting 10kg canisters stacked 3 deep and then let me know.
Stained seats? Maybe someone got a bit "excited" to be sitting in the new Club Suites...
It wasn’t just the weather that delayed it.
BA didn’t want the bad press it would have got for flying in an empty plane for a press jolly when numerous passenger flights were being cancelled for weather and ATC issues that reduced the number of take off and landing slots at LHR.
Hence it flew in on the quiet on Saturday with the press jolly today.
Those business class suites look absolutely sublime. I can't even fathom that it's actually British Airways that will have those seats available on their planes. That's a small step for mankind but a giant leap for BA. Kudos to them to finally come around. Maybe, I can now consider flying BA for international trips. Hopefully, they can match the customer service on these planes as well and not be the Debbie Downer they are known...
Those business class suites look absolutely sublime. I can't even fathom that it's actually British Airways that will have those seats available on their planes. That's a small step for mankind but a giant leap for BA. Kudos to them to finally come around. Maybe, I can now consider flying BA for international trips. Hopefully, they can match the customer service on these planes as well and not be the Debbie Downer they are known to have been over the years which is why I've avoided them like the black plague for so long.
British Airway's tail livery have always confused the hell out of me due to similarity to the Thai flag, I used to fly in and out of BKK every 2 weeks via PER and everytime Iwould land at BKK and be plane spotting I would always assume it was Bangkok Airways or some Thai airline for some reason continually always forgot its actually BA.
@Rob
The tail design mimmics the British flag, thus, these faded parts are added to give the sense of a flag waiving in the air (as well as some shaded parts, if youlook closely)
This design first debuted on the Concorde, in the late 1990s, and they didn't have the faded and shaded parts, i my opinion, it wouldn't look quite as good in modern airplane's large tailfins, and that's why they included those details to the design
I have always wondered why their livery has the tail (and now I see the wingtips) have that faded white stipple on the red and blue sections of the flag running vertically.
Does anyone know?
Obviously, since this is a brand new plane, it was designed on purpose. I always thought the planes were stained from wear.
@R. Elaborate
Eww!! already stained?