Review of British Airways flight from London to San Diego in Business

Introduction

Hello and welcome to the second part of this short series of flight reviews taking us back to the U.S.

After a wonderful summer in Europe it was time to head back to the U.S. and back to reality. As oneworld loyalists, as usual, we went through London to catch the British Airways flight home to San Diego. During high season–from late spring to early autumn–British Airways operate two daily flights to San Diego vs one daily the rest of the year. Booking the later flight allowed us to enjoy a bit more time in Europe without having to get up early. For this second leg of the trip, we'll be flying on a 787-8 with a recently refurbished cabin. 

This was actually my second time on a refurbished 787-8 in less than two weeks and the 1-2-1 configuration of Club Suites is such a huge improvement over the old forward-backwards configuration in dense 2-4-2 layout. 

Routing

Flights in this series

Check-in & Lounge

Although we're flying in Business, our British Airways Gold (oneworld Emerald) status allows us access to the First class check-in and security. The First Wing, as it's known, has since been renovated–we'll have the opportunity to check out the changes in a few weeks. 

Going through the First wing at Terminal 5 is such an easy and pleasant experience. There are rarely any queues–at least the times I've been–and you get through security in seconds. 

There is a dedicated security check point in the First Wing, which is generally better and faster than the Fast Track lanes to which Business class passengers are normally entitled. The agents at the First security checkpoint are very friendly and there are often staff on hand to handle your cabin baggage for you so you basically don't have to do anything and just walk through–just fantastic service both times I'd been through within a week's time this summer. 

Once past security, you're led to a corridor which opens directly into the First class lounge, which is very convenient compared to the crazy routing you have to take to get to the lounges from the regular and Fast Track security areas. 

The signature BA horse lamps are there to greet you at this entrance, just like the main entrance on the other side. 

The First class lounge was a bit quieter than average so there were plenty of seating options. 

I wasn't hungry, but there was a decent amount of both hot and cold fresh options as usual. 

As it wasn't too crowded we were able to find seats near the windows with good tarmac views, which isn't always easy to do. 

We were close to one of the self-serve champagne bars 🥂

Being the AvGeek that I am, I followed the tail of the inbound flight on Flightradar24. As UK airports annoyingly don't display gates until less than an hour before departure, following the inbound also gives an idea of which concourse the flight would be leaving from.

After landing, I watched our aircraft taxi right past T5B and T5C to…a remote stand! Ack, not again! Of 8 flights in and out of Heathrow over the summer of 2025, more than half were on remote stands. In fact I'd just flown LHR-IAD the week prior, also on a 787-8 and was on a remote stand (I may or may not get around to posting those flight reviews). 

A short time later, the BA app confirmed boarding from a remote stand as we were assigned the dreaded A10 bus gate…again!

Boarding

While a bus gate isn't ideal, the bright side is that it's much closer than having to take the underground train out to T5B or T5C where widebody flights usually depart.

I'm not a fan of the A10 gates because there's so little space. It's already bad enough when it's a narrowbody, but it's an outright zoo when there's a full widebody's worth of passengers in the tiny space. Groups 1 to 3 were all cramped against the wall. 

As always with bus boarding, being in Group 1 loses any sort of meaning as they cram groups 1 through 3 in the same bus and then it's a free for all once at the aircraft. 

Despite the inconvenience of ground boarding, the AvGeek in me will always appreciate the ability to be out on the tarmac for a few minutes.

💖these views

Despite the chaotic bus boarding, we somehow managed to be among the first in the forward Club World cabin. 

The newly refurbished 787-8s are equipped with 31 Collins Aerospace Vector Suites in Business class, marketed as Club Suites. The seat model is based on the popular Collins Super Diamond seat platform with the addition of privacy doors. The 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout allows for direct access to the aisle for all passengers. 

The Seat

As usual, I selected seats in the last row of the cabin. Club World is split over two cabins, both of which have four rows. A Pillow, bedding, noise cancelling headset, amenity kit, and a water bottle were pre-placed at each seat in the Club cabin. 

Seats are 21" (53 cm) wide as measured between armrests and convert to 79" (2m) long fully-flat beds. The seat becomes wider in bed mode as the aisle-side armrest can slide down to be flush with the seat surface. 

There are several convenient storage spaces.

The top of the side console pops open to reveal another storage space that houses the in-flight entertainment control, as well as a 110v universal power outlet, 2 USB-A ports, and a headphone jack. It's a bit of a shame that in this brand new cabin installed in 2025, that there are no USB-C ports, however. 

Seat controls are located on the side of the console. 

Legroom is very good, as you'd expect in a 1-2-1 long-haul business class layout. At 5'10" (178 cm), the ottoman is quite far to reach when seated upright in the takeoff position. The foot space it quite decent in bed mode. 

Friendly cabin crew welcome us on board and offer a pre-departure beverage, with the usual choice of water, juice, or champagne. 

A short time later, cabin crew distributed menus in the cabin. 

Let's have a look at the menu. As usual, nice options for meals–though nothing too exciting–and a decent wine list. 

The Flight

Boarding wrapped up close to on time, just a few minutes late.

The new-ish safety video–showcasing British landscapes and culture with a comical twist–played as the aircraft taxied to the departure runway. 

There's always a nice variety of aircraft and airlines to see at Heathrow for the AvGeeks

And we're off for the long transatlantic crossing. Flight time from takeoff to touchdown in SAN was showing 10 hours and 19 minutes, a bit quicker than average on this route. 

Typical British weather…a mix of sun, clouds, and rain showers.

Shortly after takeoff the in-flight service began with a hot towel. 

Here's a look at the contents of the White Company branded amenity kit with the usual SPA products. 

A few minutes later the apéritif service began. I went for the English sparkling rosé, which I've always found to be decent. The purser also came by to greet us and take lunch orders.

Let's have a look at the BA Highlife in-flight entertainment as we wait for the meal service. 

There's a ton of content in multiple languages including films, TV programmes, documentaries, music, games, and children's programming. 

Unfortunately, despite the recent cabin makeover, BA have still not installed Wi-Fi on the 787-8 fleet. I would have though they would have finally gotten around to adding Wi-Fi once these aircraft went in for seating reconfiguration, but nope! I don't mind disconnecting for a few hours, but this fleet is deployed on some rather long flights so it's a shame not to have the option of connecting to Wi-Fi for those who want to. 

Just behind our row is a nice looking galley bar between the two Club cabins. It's stocked with snacks and drinks between meal services. 

The White Company SPA product in the lavatories. 

My son's pre-ordered child meal was served first, which is convenient as a parent of a young kid in case he needs help with anything. The first course presentation was nice and it seems generally healthy, though nothing too exciting for kids. 

For my appetiser, I went with the tuna option, which was beautifully presented, fresh, and delicious. 

Starter:

Tuna tonnato
Broccolini, pickled mustard seeds, egg mimosa,
parsley oil

For my son's main course, it was macaroni and cheese with vegetables–definitely a kid-friendly option as most kids love mac n' cheese. Oddly, he'd had the same thing on the previous flight, so I guess BA had an excessive amount of macaroni stocked up, hah. Luckily, my son loves macaroni and cheese so he was happy to have it again. 

For my main, I stayed with fish, which is always a safe bet on BA. I like how BA often feature British cuisine and products. In this case, the salmon was from Scotland. 

Main course:

Grilled Scottish salmon
Grainy mustard mash, grilles vegetables,
Lemon pepper sauce

To finish the meal, I went with the cheese plate with a nice Port wine. 

By the end of the meal service, we were over Greenland–so cool to see snow in the summer!

Once the kid was down for a nap, I did the same! Club Suites are already reasonably spacious in bed mode for adults, but it's downright huge for a child. The ability to have some real sleep on flights is the biggest draw of Business class for us. 

Sure, it's nice to have good meals and drinks in Business class, but frequent long-haul travel can be tiring, so that flat bed just feels so nice when you're worn out. This was my third transatlantic crossing in a week's time so I was exhausted. I slept the whole rest of the flight, skipping the pre-arrival meal, and woke up super refreshed as we started our descent into San Diego.

One of the lovely cabin crew asked if I wanted anything to drink before landing, which was sweet, but I declined. I was offered a hot towel to freshen up, which I appreciated. 

Wow, cloudy in San Diego in August, weird!

It cleared up a bit as we got closer to landing. Still odd weather for that time of year–it even rained later than evening and over the next few days. 

Doing our usual turn over Mount San Miguel right over my house.

While sitting on the left side of the plane gives great views of downtown, sitting on the right side gives nice views of Balboa Park. 

Love the colonial Spanish architecture of Balboa Park–you'd almost think you're flying over Andalusia. 

Little Italy

We landed 15 minutes ahead of scheduled arrival time. 

It was a short taxi, as usual in San Diego with only one runway, so we pulled in to the gate 5 minutes later, 10 minutes ahead of schedule. 

Bags we delivered quickly, which is usually the case on international arrivals in San Diego. With Global Entry we just breezed through customs and immigration, and were among the first out from the flight.