I recently flew long-haul business class with British Airways between London Heathrow and India on a Boeing 787. I have previously flown similar routes with Emirates and Qatar Airways, but due to the current Middle East situation, routing through the Gulf was not practical this time.
A few things stood out to me across both the outbound and return journeys:
Departure from Heathrow involved a remote stand and bus transfer instead of a jet bridge.
The newer herringbone seat layout looks modern, but storage space around the seat is surprisingly limited.
Meal service felt underwhelming for long-haul business class. Food was served on a plastic tray rather than through a more refined multi-course setup.
Breakfast options were extremely limited. I requested the omelette instead of another full English breakfast, only to be told there were just three loaded for the entire cabin.
After meal service, cabin crew were mostly absent for long stretches of the flight, with very few walkthroughs or proactive service checks.
On the return flight, I skipped breakfast to sleep longer and later visited the self-service snack area, which looked completely depleted and messy.
I eventually had to ask crew members directly for coffee and biscuits, and even then they later ran out of biscuits entirely.
What makes this harder to justify is the pricing. The fare was significantly more expensive than comparable itineraries on Emirates or Qatar Airways, despite offering a noticeably weaker premium experience overall.
I still consider business class a privilege, but for the price British Airways charges, the onboard service and consistency felt surprisingly disappointing compared to its Middle Eastern competitors.
0