TRAVEL + LEISURE / MARCH 2016
Flying First
Class
IF THE DREAM IS TO TRAVEL far and
wide, you can be sure you will, time
and again, fi nd yourself on a long haul
fl ight. I found myself on one quite
recently, but with added promise of
an uber comfortable journey.
British Airways’ addition to its
fl eet, the Airbus A380, was making
its inaugural voyage to the city of
Miami, and I had scored myself a
Club World seat, on the much talked
about upper deck.
The only commercial aircraft with
two full-length, and rather wide-
bodied decks, BA off ers First, World
Traveller Plus and World Traveller
cabins, apart from Club World, aka,
Business class.
I’m big on keeping to myself,
and I got more than I had hoped for.
The seats on the upper deck come
in a 2:3:2 confi guration, and I had
the middle seat, with access to the
aisle from both sides. The seat faces
the back of the aircraft, with a semi
circular, almost all encompassing
headrest for added privacy. Getting
around was a little tricky, given that
I had to jump over the footrest of
the passenger next to me to make
it to the aisle. Regardless, I have to
say I enjoyed this seat arrangement.
There’s a rather convenient screen
between seats; one that either
passenger can pull up, for maximum
privacy. Needless to say, the middleseat literally off ers the most privacy.
The only time I was forced to face the
world was during food and beverage
service, which was fi ne by me!
The seat comes with a folded
footrest, with a blanket and pillow
tucked inside it. Just pull it down and
put your feet up. Being short, I had
to slide into comfortable television-
watching position to reach the footrest,
but I didn’t mind. There’s an easy to
use panel with diff erent seat settings,
and the seat even slides down to join
the footrest, to make a 6 foot, fl at bed.
The TV pulls out right over the
tray table. I guessed the TV was about
12 inches wide (12.1, as I later read),
but it takes some adjusting to get the COURTESY OF BRITISH AIRWAYSAIR TIMEThe luxurious Club World
of British Airways Airbus
A380. Below: The aircraft
rolls out of the hangar.British Airways is now flying the Airbus A380
between London and Miami. RICHA WADHERA finds out
what’s making the upper deck the most
happening place at 30,000 feet.