Thanksgiving 2023 EuroTrip: Part 8-2 London to San Francisco (The End)

After exiting the Galleries First lounge, it was time to return to the United States finally. At this point, I had flown just over 14 000 of the total nearly 20 000 miles of the trip, and so I was ready for my final flight. And this flight was actually simple unlike the previous ones: just a straight London to San Francisco flight.

I wasn’t a fan of our 2 hour delay. I low key had hoped it would become a 3 hour delay so I could get some EU261 compensation, but that was not in the cards.

I showed up to the gate shortly before boarding began, and since there is no lounge at the C gates, I boarded as soon as I could, with Group 1.

I boarded through the upper deck ramped jetbridge:

And then turned left for my seat: 53A, which along with 53K, are the best Club World seats on the A380, and the best old-style Club World seats in the BA fleet.

I was particularly looking forward to this flight because this would be my first opportunity to fly the new and the old Club World cabins close enough together to actually compare them side-by-side.

The seat space is relatively narrow as far as modern business class seats go, but the A380 upper deck’s window cabinets provide substantial additional space at your shoulders. The main criticism of this seat is that you face the person in the aisle seat, and if you’re at (just about) any other window seat, you don’t have direct aisle access. A big perk of the seat is that you do get at least two big windows:

Normally, with this seat, storage is minimal, with only a small drawer that mostly seems intended for your shoes, but the window cabinets on the A380 fix this problem. The drawer is just below the power plug:

The menu’s format was updated compared to the standard Club World menu, and the menu for the flight was as follows:

I went for the sweet potato soup, the chicken, and the cheese board.

I was as fan of the new formatting because it meant that it was easier to find the drink list (instead of it being in the middle on the back). And the text was bigger.

After take off, I settled in with a Fizzberry mocktail, which was served with a (super cheap feeling) nut mix.

And immediately I got crumbs on myself:

Soon thereafter, I was served some white wine:

And then the meal service began, with some soup:

The soup came with a small salad and BA’s classic triple bread. The soup was actually seasoned pretty well and was served with enough bread and coutond. The salad was a bit dry but balanced well with everything.

I then ordered the specialty Brew Dog Speed Bird OG beer. Speed Bird is the call sign for British Airways, and I assume OG is so that it creates “Bir-dog”.

Next came the chicken dish:

This dish tasted like something you’d get at a British pub, which I think is extremely appropriate for a Club World flight. It had as much gravy, skin, and roasted vegetables as you’d expect from a pub. I’d’ve been perfectly fine having this at a pub on the ground (not that I every really did when I lived in England). Finally came the cheese board:

I hadn’t had the cheese board on a BA flight in a long time, so I was looking forward to trying out their cheese selection. I always avoid the cheese boards on US carriers because it’s always so boring. This British cheese board, however, was far more interesting. Though I do wish they gave more crackers. I specifically kept around some bread for this course because I knew they’d skimp on the crackers.

I then worked on my laptop for a bit and watched a movie. The IFE on these old seats is much worse than on the new seats. It wasn’t just that the screen was lower definition and less responsive (which is true), the selection was also noticeably smaller, which I assume is the result of the older technology.

A couple hours before landing, they served the second meal. I started with the smoked chicken, which was served with another mocktail and a glass of Baileys.

The smoked chicken and cheese dish tasted like it had just come out the fridge, which it, of course, had. But it was refreshing. It was a bit odd that the bread and dessert were served together with the first course, but I guess it would be weird to serve that plate with only the bread and leave the other spot empty.

Next came the chicken pot pie:

I’m not the biggest fan of British cuisine all things considered, but I think it is extremely fitting that British Airways gives the classic British options on this flight. And they were executed very well considering what they were, so no complaints here.

My favorite part about flying on this seat is actually that it faces backward, so I can get some great views out the window and of the engines.

Finally, it was time to come in for a landing, and we got some good views of San Francisco before touchdown.

In summary, BA’s A380 continues to be one of my favorite ways to cross the Atlantic. The Gold Wing is the only airport security that I’ve been to in the UK that isn’t horrendous, and the Galleries First Lounge is always consistent, if sometimes a bit busy. Though the delay was unfortunate, it was communicated successfully, which is all I can ask for, but concourse C really needs to have a lounge (4/5). I have finally had a chance to take the Club Suite and the A380 old-style seat on close together flights to do a more direct comparison. The Club Suite definitely wins over nearly every old-style seat, but I wasn’t sure about the comparison with the rear-facing, upper deck, direct aisle access seats on the A380. In this case, I do give the Club Suite the edge still (4/5). The service on this flight was pleasant but unremarkable; no complaints here (4/5). The food on this flight was up to British Airways’ Club standards and was definitely better than any AA flight I’d been on recently. Though the dishes were not my standard fare, I think it’s great that British Airways is trying to offer more British cuisine (5/5). The IFE on this flight was much worse than on the refurbished 777; there were a lot fewer options, and the screen wasn’t great. The Wi-Fi worked decently though (3/5). Overall, this flight gets a 20/25, which is a good score for a good flight.

I booked this flight as the return portion of a flight I took to London in June, which was also the previous time I’d flown on BA’s A380. I was originally going to book World Traveller Plus for about $1 000 and then upgrade using 25 000 Avios. However, they also wanted $500 in taxes and fees for the upgrade, for an equivalent total cost of about $800. Well, just straight up buying a Club World ticket was $800 more, which was at the very upper range of my upgrade price bracket. Given that paying cash would mean I’d earn an additional more Avios and TP, I just paid the full $800. I was also arriving Monday afternoon and would need to be working all week.

That means that I earned 140 Tier Points and 13 420 Avios, instead of the 90 Tier Points and 10 736 Avios I would’ve earned otherwise.  The extra Avios are worth around $35, which also does reduce the net cost of the upgrade marginally.