Introduction

To try and make the blog slightly easier to read (and stop and repetitiveness) I am keeping seats under a separate review. This is my review of trip to LA on BA’s A380 in Seat 53A, in BA’s ‘old’ Club World.

I’ll try and make a few updates to these as and when I fly in more seats – however this is the A380’s Top Deck review in Sear 53A.

The Seat

I chose seat 53A because it is by a bulkhead (and by the window) – a little hack I have when I travel on my own, meaning you don’t have to step over someone else’s feet. This seat is upstairs in the A380 – and an excellent choice!

On this trip, I had a lot of work to do, and it was paper-heavy. 53A was the perfect seat – I had SO much room to have my paperwork around me and be able to cross-reference whilst I worked – it was great!

The other really good thing about this seat was the storage, 3 bins next to the seat to put stuff in, as well as the drawer at the bottom! Really good!

The only drawback to 53A it is right next to the galley, and it’s pretty noisy when meals are being prepped, of clattering, etc.

I find these seats really comfortable for long flights – I am only 5’10”, but even if you were a lot taller than me, you’d still be comfortable.

There are a few downsides to this seat in practicality sides:

Firstly, the ‘old’ Club World tables only support from one side. This means if you’re eating, working or using a laptop – you have a VERY bouncy and bendy table.

Secondly, the lighting is built into the seat – about 45cm (18”) above the entertainment remote control – or maybe 2ft above shoulder height. This means when the cabin lights go down after dinner, it’s VERY difficult to read paperwork or books/magazines – as there no overhead lighting and it was dark outside.

Thirdly, about 2” under the entertainment is a USB socket. There is also one by the footstool, and a multi-voltage socket. The issue for me, was that my arm was pressing on it whilst it was plugged in. This got annoying after a while – and my cable was too short to get the other socket. It’s not very comfortable sitting with a USB plug embedded in your arm!

A final point: on this trip was that there was a lady was sat opposite me in 53B. That wasn’t an issue in itself – she seemed a nice lady! But with the screen down (required for Takeoff and Landing), it was far from private and actually quite awkward and intrusive. I always think of the ‘old’ Club World as being a couple’s style of seating.   

Conclusion

All in all, these seats are VERY comfortable, and great for a long trip like this was.

I do in all honesty consider this perfect if you’re a couple going somewhere…..but if you’re a business traveler – it can get pretty awkward with the screen down!

There are some drawbacks which I’ve listed out above – but there are also some advantages over BA’s Club Suite……I THINK Club Suites do have the leading edge – but the lack of storage, and silliness with the power sockets is a bit annoying!