Airbus

Back in the sixties three nations got together and agreed to design a passenger aircraft that would challenge the American dominance of the market. Several other countries would join France, Germany and Britain in the enterprise and Airbus Industries was born. The aircraft was a twin engined wide bodied high capacity airliner designed for short to medium range flights. The concept was already being developed in the USA by McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed but both those manufacturers opted for tri-jets with their DC-10 and Tristar aircraft respectively. So too did the airlines. By the mid 70s Airbus had only sold a handful of their A300s, to airlines owned by the same governments who had a stake in Airbus Industries. It turned out that the high capacity short haul business never really took off. Airlines preferred to run multiple flights a day with smaller aircraft on busy routes allowing passengers greater choice in their travel plans and the same aircraft could be used less frequently on thinner routes. In some markets the model worked. In Japan the A300 competed with Tristars and even a special short range version of the Boeing 747 on the domestic sector, but the most important market is the USA and here no one was really convinced. By the early eighties Lockheed was winding down the Tristar production, McDonnell Douglas had developed the DC-10 into a long range aircraft and the original Airbus concept was on its last legs. The company introduced the A310, a smaller version with a longer range. The problem was that twin engined aircraft were not allowed to operate across the oceans. The rules, called ETOPs, limited how far aircraft could fly from a suitable diversion airfield in the event of an engine shutdown. As engine reliability improved, those restrictions were relaxed and more of the world opened up to twin engined aircraft. The A310 and Boeing’s new twin engined 767 could now fly Transatlantic and with that the world changed. Fewer engines means lower costs and long haul travel, once the reserve of the well off, became affordable for many.

Today wide body twin engined airliners dominate long haul travel. Even the four engined double decker A380 (don’t EVER call it a Super Jumbo) couldn’t challenge the twin’s dominance. The economics of the two engines over four can’t be ignored and whilst there are several different types an airline’s management can choose from, they’ve all got just two engines slung beneath the wings. With the announcement earlier this year that Airbus is to cease production of the A380, for the first time since the De Havilland Comet launched the world’s first jet airliner service in 1952 you can’t go out and buy a new four engined jet airliner no matter how much money you find down the back of the settee.* The short-haul sector, for which the A300, DC-10 and Tristar were all originally developed, is dominated by narrow bodied types such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, the latter being the aircraft that saved Airbus and launched it into the huge producer of aircraft that it is today. So why the history lesson? Well you know me, I’m a bit of an avgeek, and I had a chance to do something a little unusual recently – fly a couple of short-haul services on long-haul aircraft. Along with that I’d be flying on two types of aircraft I’d not flown on before, one new, the other old, and I’d get to do it in Business Class. That sounds like a day out to me, even if it did take place over two days.

Both aircraft were Airbus products. The first was their latest model, the A350 XWB. The type entered service in 2015 but this was to be my first trip on one. British Airways had taken delivery of their first example just a couple of weeks earlier and were employing it on the short-haul route to Madrid throughout August for crew familiarisation reasons. It was due to take the place of the normal A320 on the BA464/465 schedule according to that font of all knowledge, the internet. I could have come back on it too but I noticed that Iberia operated one of their daily flights from Madrid to London with an A340. A bit more history – the A340 was launched in the mid-80s as a four-engined long haul wide body aircraft along with it’s twin engined sibling, the A330. Production ended in 2011 with 380 airframes built, the type ultimately falling foul of the inferior economics of four engined aircraft over twins. Iberia operate seventeen examples of the stretched -600 version. That Iberia utilised one on the London route was thanks to its cargo carrying potential. BA operate a daily Boeing 777 on the route for the same reason. Having never been in an A340 despite it being around for over 25 years, I had to try it out. The chance might never arise again as airlines divest themselves of the type in favour of more efficient twin engined types. I used Avios to book the flights as buying a Glasgow-London-Madrid-London-Glasgow Business Class ticket would have been rather expensive. On the appointed day (last Monday) I pitched up at Glasgow and caught the flight to Heathrow. I kept my fingers crossed that the internet was correct and the A350 would indeed be operating the Madrid flight and as I sat in the BA Lounge I caught a glimpse of it being towed to the the B Gates of Terminal 5. That looked promising. Once the gate was disclosed I headed to it and sure enough, BA’s first A350-1000, G-XWBA, was sat there. The flight was called and I wasted no time in boarding. BA had chosen the introduction of the A350 to its fleet to inaugurate its new Club World (Business Class) seat. It was about time they did as the old seat has been around for quite a few years now and has been bettered by just about every other airline going. The new seat, or suite as they like to put it, is much better. Every seat is set at an angle in what is called reverse herring bone configuration and has direct access to the aisle so there is no need to clamber over your sleeping neighbour if you need to go for a wee during the flight. A shoulder harness is included along with the regular lapstrap for use on take off and landing. The lap strap on its own suffices for all other phases of flight. Both the old and the new seat fold down into a flat bed but I have to say I never found the old one particularly comfortable when flat. The new one appeared to be much better when I briefly tried it out. There’s several cubby holes to store your bits and pieces, the table slides down from beneath the larger entertainment screen and most noteworthy of all it has a little door. Well, not really a door but a screen you can slide shut for extra privacy. This may seem a bit of a gimmick but I suspect it will be a welcome feature when trying to sleep on an overnight flight as it forms a barrier between you and the inevitable to-ing and fro-ing of the cabin crew and other passengers in the aisle. Aesthetically it is a little austere but I’d rather that than ostentatious and overall I was impressed. There are maybe airlines out there that have better Business Class seats but British Airways is back in the mix in my opinion.

The flight came with Club Europe service where food and drink are provided. Long haul passengers will get bigger meals, more drinks and will have access to a self-serve galley full of snacks and drinks. It was empty for the trip to Madrid unfortunately as I’d every intention of snaffling a few Mars Bars. Just less than two hours after taking off, we landed in Madrid and I had another aircraft type in the logbook. That’s not true, I don’t have a logbook. I do, however, log all my flights on a website called Flight Memory because I’m a bit of a saddo. For some reason knowing that this had been my 35th flight this year was important. With the return flight booked for 16:00 the following day, I had booked a hotel in the centre of Madrid which meant I could have the following morning to look round the place. I did. It seemed nice enough but not overly inspiring. I’m not sure I did it justice.

Back at the airport I had time for a spot of lunch in the Iberia lounge at Terminal 4S. One of the big advantages about Business Class travel is access to airline lounges. These vary in quality but are nearly always a more relaxing place to spend time before your flight than the main concourse. Food and drink is complimentary because let’s face it, it might be all of a couple of hours before you get another dinner on the flight. For me, the best lounges are the ones where you can sit and watch the planes. Simple pleasures and all that. As the A340 is a big plane, boarding started early. Another advantage of the Business Class ticket is you get to board via the priority line and as a result of that I was in my seat a good twenty minutes before the scheduled pushback. Add to that the half hour delay as they loaded all the air freight in the aircraft’s cavernous hold and I was more than well acquainted with Iberia’s Business Class seat before we’d moved an inch. Being a much older seat than the one I’d flown out on, there were a few signs of wear and tear but in general it was in good condition. The window seat I was in afforded a bit more privacy than the others and if anything there was a bit more personal space than on the BA seat. There was a large entertainment screen which was annoyingly unresponsive and a few storage options for your knick knacks. Once airborne I gave the flat bed a quick try. I don’t know why but it was not at all comfortable to lie on. I felt as though my feet were higher than my head which was a bit off putting but I guess we may have still been in the climb. As a seat though it was perfectly acceptable and sure as hell beat a normal short haul Business Class seat which are just economy seats separated from the rest of the plane by a curtain. The service was akin to that on BA coming out, a decent meal and drinks. Overall I preferred the flight with BA but there wasn’t really much in it.

The delay meant I nearly missed the connecting flight to Glasgow as I hadn’t made it past the transfer security check by the appropriate time. A phone call from the BA agent was required and I hot footed it to the gate where the flight was boarding. Boarding a bus to a remote stand that is. The flight was in one of BA’s new A320 NEO aircraft. New it might have been but the Club Europe seat was still no different to the economy seats behind the curtain. I got another decent dinner but short haul business class is really not worth the extra money, unless someone else is paying of course. I’d go as far as to say it isn’t really worth the extra Avios either. On this occasion, however, the chance to sample the long haul seats of two different carriers made it a very good deal, especially for an avgeek.

Footnote: You can still buy a new four engined jet airliner as Boeing’s 747-8 is still in production. Very few passenger examples have been produced, however.