World Traveller Plus - BA

[phabric]

Has anybody had a World Traveller Plus seat on BA. Is there a difference between the normal seat and the Plus seats. We will be travelling from Toronto, Canada to Heathrow in July.

[dusababy]

I've flown World Traveler Plus on BA several times and if I'm going through LHR would not fly any other way (except the few times I've popped for Business - and couple of times FIRST - back in the old days).

There is more leg room - service is more personalized - cabin is separate, only about 30 seats as I recall (you can check the seating on BA's web site) and I've actually disembarked first.

Seating is 2 X 4 X 2 -- so on the class of ticket I buy cannot get seat assignment until 24 hours prior to departure -- I check in on-line exactly 23.59 before departure and usually have my pick of seats -- always get one of the 2 seats forward --

Seats are not as comfortable as business (you pay thousands less) but perfectly adequate with very good leg room and foot rests.

Pay the little extra and you'll be glad you did -- it's a long way across the pond.

from California

P.S. My trips are LAX/LHR then connect to Europe --

[phabric]

Thanks for the information. I guess I made the right decision.

[keltic]

The worst thing about it, is not being able to choose your seats from the time of booking. Paying an extra, that´s essential for me.

[Globaliser]

Has anybody had a World Traveller Plus seat on BA. Is there a difference between the normal seat and the Plus seats.

dusababy has described most of the product. On a back-of-the-envelope calculation, I reckon that it gives you about 50% more personal space than normal economy seats. One of the best features about the cabin (it's my cabin of choice now) is that because it's small, it has a very quiet and more sophisticated atmosphere than the anxious nervous tension that often pervades economy. That is worth paying money for, even if it isn't something that it's easy for the airline to market as a specific benefit.

 

There are some other extras. There are now proper headphones. There's PC power. The amenity kit is better than the economy class amenity kit. The pillow is bigger and fabric covered. And on at least one configuration of aircraft, half of WT+ gets off the aircraft first, even before First. (It's a feature of the cabin layout.)

The worst thing about it, is not being able to choose your seats from the time of booking. Paying an extra, that´s essential for me.

But you would tend to get a worse choice of seats than if you're able to check-in online at 24 hours before check-in. As dusababy says, at -24 hours you can reliably get excellent seats in the cabin - that is also my experience checking-in family and friends.

 

I recently booked a trip on Qantas, most of it in their premium economy. Although it was three months before the trip, there's one sector on which they can't allocate me a seat at all, because all the good seats have already been allocated to others. That is what the BA system avoids - almost everyone has the same fair crack of the whip when check-in opens.

 

However, I know that there are those who can't tolerate the small amount of uncertainty in that, for whom the BA system is not much good.

[rpinphx1]

Yes, the seat is 7 " wider, more privacy, same food as economy, just in general a much more comfortable ride. We go 10 hrs. Phx Arizona to LHR this way. More $ but worth it.

[phabric]

Thanks for the information. My DH is 6"2" so the extra space will help.

[fbgd]

Yes, the seat is 7 " wider, more privacy, same food as economy, just in general a much more comfortable ride. We go 10 hrs. Phx Arizona to LHR this way. More $ but worth it.

 

It isn't 7" wider. There are seven itches more pitch which roughly translates into a lot more legroom.

 

The seats are 1" wider that economy according to seatexpert.com. However due to the design of the seat (wider armrests and such) the cabin is not nearly as congested. 2-4-2 instead of 3-4-3 in economy on the 747 for example.

[kenish]

A big advantage of 2-4-2 is being 1 seat max from the aisle. Passengers in aisle seats need to get up to let someone out 50% less often. The aisles are slightly wider so people and carts are less of a disturbance especially when trying to sleep. Last thing, there are fewer passengers sharing the same amount of overhead bin space as regular Economy.

[Globaliser]

Last thing, there are fewer passengers sharing the same amount of overhead bin space as regular Economy.

Though there is very seldom any problem with overhead bin space even in economy on BA.