Review: British Airways A350 Premium Economy [DEL-LHR]

British Airways is a popular airline. It offers three cabin configurations on long-haul flights. Recently, I flew its premium economy cabin from Delhi to London and then its Economy cabin back to Delhi from London, both on the same aircraft, the A350. My British Airways A350 Premium Economy experience was average.

Basics

• Airline: British Airways
• Aircraft: A350-1000
• Flight Number: BA 256
• Route: Delhi [DEL]-London Heathrow (LON) Terminal 5
• Departure Flight Time: 10:15 AM
• Duration: 9 hr
• Cabin: Premium Economy
• Layout: 2-4-2
• Frequent Flyer Program: Alaska Mileage Plan
• Miles Cost: 40000 Alaska Miles
• Taxes & Fees: ₹ 18700 [$216]
• Ticket Price: ₹ 83K [$956]
• One Mile Value: ₹ 1.61 [1.85 Cents]

How did I Book a British Airways A350 Premium Economy?

British Airways is part of the Oneworld Alliance, and you can book flights with British Airways using multiple Oneworld airlines.

• American Airlines: 32500 AA Miles
• Alaska Airlines: 40000 Alaska Miles
• British Airways: 67500 Avios
• Qantas: 59000 Points

I already had some Alaska miles from recent purchases made during the promotion period, and the rest was transferred from Marriott.

How did I find the Award Availability?

Thanks to Seats.Aero, I was able to find the award availability.

Issues to Sort Out

One of the issues with Alaska is that you cannot use any other program’s frequent flyer number, and I had to use my Qatar Airways Number to receive one World Sapphire benefit. I tried all the old techniques, but none of them worked. I updated my frequent flyer number at check-in and received all the benefits available for OneWorld Sapphire Status.

Check-In

I checked In at the Premium Economy Counter. There were not many travellers that day, and everything went smoothly. However, the support staff isn’t aware of the benefits available to OneWorld Sapphire, so I had to ask him to add a priority tag to the bag. He also rushed to other staff to find out if I was eligible for lounge access, which I was. So, he issued me a Lounge Access pass, which I didn’t use.

Security & Immigration

The International Morning Departures are usually less chaotic, so the security was a breeze. The checking officer and I had discussed my travel plan as a bit of fun banter. Even the Immigration was smooth. Most of my immigration experience at Delhi Airport have been good.

Lounge Access

You don’t get lounge access with Premium Economy. However, you can access the lounge with your OneWorld Sapphire or higher status.

Although I obtained the lounge pass from the check-in counter, I wasn’t interested in visiting the lounge, as I had been there many times before.

British Airways A350 Premium Economy Flight

British Airways A350 on the DEL-LHR route has three class configurations.

• Business Class
• Premium Economy
• Economy Cabin

The Premium Economy Cabin is right after the Business Class.

Boarding

I like how some airlines implement group-wise boarding. And British Airways is no different. They have strict group-wise boarding. Due to my OneWorld Sapphire Status, I was in Group 2 and was able to board early.

Amenity Kit and More

British Airways provides an amenity kit in the premium economy cabin. You get a Blanket, Pillow, and an Amenity kit. The kit also has a pair of socks, a toothbrush, an eye mask, a pen and lip balm. The Blanket is standard and not to my liking.

British Airways A350 Premium Economy Seats

The British Airways Premium Economy seats are just okay. There are 56 Premium Economy seats on British Airways A350-1000 Aircraft. That is a lot of seating.

There is seat control, but you need to push the buttons hard to use them. The seat pitch is 38 standard Inch. Overall, the seats are comfortable, but they don’t have a premium feel like the ones on Cathay Pacific. Additionally, the footrest is somewhat awkward to use, but it functions effectively.

British Airways Premium Economy IFE

The IFE on British Airways’ A350 Premium Economy is good and feels premium. The screens are responsive and a good option to pass the time. The content is also good enough. The only downside is that there are no cameras, which I love on the A350.

You can find the entertainment library online here. There is also a headphone, and it feels premium. You would love watching movies or series on British Airways Premium Economy. I again watched one of my favourites, “Top Gun: Mavericks”.

WiFI

British Airways offers WiFi on A350 aircraft. It is complimentary for First Class passengers, unlike Cathay Pacific, which gives it complimentary only to its Business Class members as well.

As a British Airways Club member, you receive complimentary messaging throughout the flight when WiFi is enabled.

Another option is to buy WiFi onboard:

• Messaging:
  • £1.99 – £2.99 non-members on short-haul flights
  • £2.99 – £4.99 non-members on long-haul flights
• Stream package:
  • £4.99 – £11.99 (short-haul flights)
  • £4.99 – £21.99 (long-haul flights)

Meal

One thing that British Airways offers differently in Premium Economy is a printed menu. That does make the experience a bit of a premium. The Menu features both the food menu and drinks Menu.

Since this was a morning flight, the Menu included a lunch option and a light meal to be served before arrival.

The first Meal was good, with Tikki as the starter, and also had desserts. One of the good things was that you get real cutlery instead of wooden cutlery, so the experience is slightly better. Surprisingly, the Tikki and food were nice. The Gulab Jamun was cold, though; I only had one.

I don’t know what the love of airlines with rice is. The second Meal also included rice, though it was good. However, it is not exceptional.

Cabin Crew

The Cabin Crew of British Airways was good, barring a few exceptions, and overall, a great crew that handled things gracefully.

Baggage

The flight arrived at Terminal 5; however, we had to take the train for Immigration and baggage pickup. So, it takes time. To reach the baggage belt. We waited for over 40 minutes for the baggage to arrive. I was surprised that the baggage did not come early, even with the priority bag tag.

Will I fly British Airways next time?

My overall experience with British Airways is average. But I will not push myself to fly their premium economy. There are better premium economy products in the market. So, I will stick to flying their other cabins rather than their premium economy cabin, unless the price is right.

Bottomline

The British Airways A350 Premium Economy Experience is average, but nothing exceptional. Having travelled in the economy as well, the overall experience isn’t a significant difference. You probably get separate check-in and real cutlery, but it’s not worth the price if you’re eyeing it. Yes, if you get a good deal and it connects further, it can be worth it.