Hi, dear flight-report members and readers! In this FR I'd like to present a detailed review of British Airways A350-1000 on the Tel-Aviv (TLV) - London Heathrow (LHR) flight taken on 5 October 2023.
Intro
I lived and worked in Israel from late May 2022 to early October 2023. When I got to know that my job contract will not be prolonged after the end of September 2023, I decided to move to Italy (Rome), where my girlfriend lives. The most obvious flight was direct Wizzair, but as long as I had luggage, the price was very far from attractive compared to the bare-bones fare. A researched a bit more and discovered that very indirect routing - BA via LHR - was quite an attractive option with A350-1000 on the first leg and luggage included. The last available date which had reasonable fares was 5 October and I put the trigger. If I chose Wizzair, it would've been 8 October - the last day of my rent contract. Looking from today (from after 07.10-world) one can tell that it was the Providence who guided my hand.
Airbus A350-1000 operators
A350-1000 is definitely most sleek widebody twinjet ever produced. Moreover, its payload-range capabilities are fantastic, and it's truly a pinnacle of the modern technologies of civil aviation. It's significantly lighter than B777-300ER and has noticeably more range and efficiency. As replacement cycle of B77Ws have already started, A35K, being a perfect replacement for the airlines that don't want to upgauge to B779 (and wait until 2030ish when it gets certified) is gradually gaining popularity. It's remarkable that Qantas choose A35K (in ULR version) for their future "Project Sunrise" direct flights from East Australia to Western Europe and US East Coast.
It would be interesting to list current A35K operators and their layouts. Currently there are only 9 of them, but this number will sharply increase in the foreseeble future, as many airlines have already ordered A35Ks in significant numbers.
1) Air Caraibes Atlantique: 3 units with 3-class layout (C24_W45_Y360, 3-4-3 Y) plus 1 unit with 2-class layout (W40_Y440, 3-4-3 Y).
2) British Airways: 18 units with 3-class layout (C56_W56_Y219, 3-3-3 Y).
3) Cathay Pacific: 18 units with 3-class layout (C46_W32_Y256, 3-3-3 Y).
4) Ethiopian Airlines: 4 units with 2-class layout (C46_Y349, 3-3-3 Y).
5) Etihad Airways: 8 units with 2-class layout (C44_Y327).
6) French Bee: 2 units with 2-class layout (W40_Y440, 3-4-3 Y) - the world's most dense A35Ks.
7) Japan Airlines: 10 units with 4-class layout (F6_C54_W24_Y155, 3-3-3 Y). JL is currently the only operator of 4-class A35Ks.
8) Qatar Airways: 20 units with 2-class layout (C46_Y281, 3-3-3 Y) plus 5 units with high-density 2-class layout (C24_Y371, 3-3-3 Y).
9) Virgin Atlantic: 7 units with 3-class layout (C44_W56_Y235, 3-3-3 Y) plus 5 units with leisure 3-class layout (C16_W56_Y325, 3-3-3 Y).
Worth to note that among current A35K operators with 3-3-3 economy almost all have horrible Recaro CL3710 seats in Y (even JAL, who until recently was kind of benchmark of an "boutique" airline, having unique "Sky Wider" economy in B789s, B788s and B77Ws). The 2 only operators with comfortable Y seats are Ethiopian (Safran Z300) and Cathay Pacific (Haeco Vector). Hopefully, the future A35K operators wil not choose Recaro seats for their economy cabins.
It's interesting that BA doesn't have first class in its A35K, whereas smaller BA B78Xs do have first (these are the world's only 4-class B78Xs). The reason is that B78X are direct replacement for premium-heavy vintage B744s (during pandemic BA shed off all its Jumbos) serving most lucrative routes (like LHR-JFK or LHR-DXB) that don't need range of A35K.
Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)
I said farewell to my home in Haifa, where I lived for 16 months and took the train to TLV, where I spent the night before the flight. Pre-07.10 all full-service airlines operated from T3 and lowcosters operated from distant T1. Now all airlines operate from T3.
T3 is far from being very modern, but it has its own charm and colorite.
The Aircraft
The aircraft of today is 2020-built G-XWBF. It was not possible to make decent photos from the gate in TLV, and I made photos later in LHR. Here I'll show her photo at takeoff from LHR on its next flight to YVR.
The 2L door.
The Business Class Cabin
The business class, having 1-2-1 layout, consists of 2 cabins: the front big cabin of 44 seats between 1L/R and 2L/R doors and the small second cabin of 12 seats after 2L/R doors. The seats are "Club World Suites" based on Collins Vector seats. Honestly speaking, they look very humble compared to the luxurious suites in TK's "Turkoflot" A359s.
The front business cabin (will be shown further in details).
The bulkhead of the second business cabin.
A glance on the second business cabin (will be shown further in details).
The Premium Economy Cabin
After the second business cabin follows large premium economy ("World Traveller Plus") cabin, consisting of 56 Recaro PL3510 in 2-4-2 layout.
The Economy Cabin
The economy class consists of 219 seats in 3-3-3 layout, distributed between 2 cabins: the small front one between the premium economy and 3L/R doors and the large rear one between 3L/R and 4L/R doors.
The front small economy cabin:
The large rear economy cabin. Worth noting that the very last row (58) has duo seat near the window (only on the left side, because of the lavatory on the right side) due to fuselage tapering, but the window is misaligned (the last photo in the gallery).
The Economy Seat
My seat for today is 48K in the rear cabin. The flight was not full and I was lucky to obtain an empty seat near me. It was very important considering that the seat model is Recaro CL3710, which I deeply hate due to it's incredible low level of comfort. It has very little padding and hard as rock. It's one of the world's worst economy seat (only CL3520 in LH B748 is even worse!), but ultrapopular among airlines due to its low weight and low price compared to counterparts. It's sad that most operators of beautiful sleek A35K chose these awful seats for economy cabins, but BA has long been loyal Recaro customer (long before CL3710 appeared on the market), so this move was predictable…
At least the duration of this flight (5 hours) is thankfully more or less tolerable for sitting in CL3710. When flight durations exceeds 5 hrs, my back and ass start to quickly die in these seats…
The seatwidth between armrests is quite humble 17.5". Considering that A350 cabin in 3-3-3 layout can accomodate 18" seatwidth (albeit with narrowish armrests), it seems like a waste of cabin width. Important to notice that the very last rows (at least 58 and 59) have reduced seat width - just 17.0"!
The seat has adjustable headrest, coat hanger, IFE with quite moderate screen size for today's standards, bifold tray table and two seat pockets - hard under the screen and soft under the table. Waiting on the seat are pillow, blanket and simple earphones.
Inside the (soft) seat pocket is only safety card.
The overhead panel has no airvents.
The IFE looks humble by today's standards both in screen size and in content quantity. It was shocking to discover that BA A35Ks don't have camera with outside views, while A350s of other airlines do have!
The Flight
The moodlighting is turned to blue (corresponding to the mood of leaving the country, which was my home for 16 months)
Safety video is played…
… and pushback begins. You can imagine how bustling was pre-07.10 TLV with a load of daily widebody flights from EU, US and even East Asia (several days per week)!
Takeoff from TLV, saying goodbye to Israel…
The moodlighting is turned to orange.
Time to stretch the legs.
A couple of views of the rear economy cabin…
… and of the small front one.
The lavatories are pretty standard.
As we're flying near Cyprus…
… the breakfast is served. Breakfast is always a weak spot in any airline meal service. At least this one is British-like with sausages. The cutlery is wooden (complying with the green agenda). Needless to say that the crew were a bit cold, in contrast to the enthusiactic crew on my BA flight LHR-MEX on an old vintage B744 in November 2016…
Flying over EU was quite uneventful due to a cloudy weather.
Stretching the legs again.
The small front economy cabin…
… and the large rear one.
If you fly into LHR, always choose the right side of the plane and you'll be rewarded with fantastic views of London!
Thames estuary.
O2 arena.
The Tower with its bridge, the Shard and St. Paul Cathedral.
Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the Eye.
Landing in LHR. We arrived to T5C satellite.
The Economy Cabin After The Flight
Views of the rear economy cabin upon disembarkment…
… and the glance on the front small one. Note that its front row 30 has duo seats near windows.
The Premium Economy Cabin After The Flight
The premium economy cabin upon disembarkment in some more details.
The Business Class Cabin After The Flight
Views of the second (small) business cabin in more details.
The crew thankfully allowed me to visit the front large business cabin, and here are its views in details:
And now it's time to say goodbye to G-XWBF and to the crew.
Later during my long layover in LHR I visited both satellites T5B/C and spotted G-XWBF, departing from T5C to Vancouver (YVR).
Less than 2 days later, when I was in Rome, the 07.10 events shocked the world, which since then has became different…
