BA World Traveller Plus Austin to London Review

Whilst this site is focused more on the luxury end of travel. Luxury is a relative term.

For some, flying Premium Economy may be as “luxury” as they are willing or able to go. Around 15-20% of my international flights in any given year does tend to be in Premium Economy – which British Airways markets as World Traveller Plus. These are with all the usual suspects in the game. So I will occasionally review them going forward.

What can you expect from World Traveller Plus?

• A separate, smaller cabin between Club World and World Traveller
• Wider seats ( 18.5″  to usual 16.5 – 17.5″ ) with more legroom ( pitch of 38″ compared to 32-33″ in Economy ) as well as slightly more recline.
• Bigger IFE system with noise-cancelling headphones
• An amenity kit with flight essentials
• Access to in-seat power
• More free baggage allowance ( 2 X 23KG – double the Economy allowance )
• Higher Priority boarding

With that out of the way, lets dive into the review!

Flight Details

Route: Austin – London Heathrow
Flight No: BA190
Date: 01.05.2024
Departure Time: 18:15
Flight Duration: 9 hours 25 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A350-1000
Seat: 22K

Check-In & Lounge

I arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of departure time and check-in zone was almost empty..

British Airways has dedicated check-in desks for WTP in London, however in outstations they tend not to. I was able to use the Club World – Business Class desks due to my status.

While some like Japan Airlines offer lounge access, British Airways does not. With status, I was able eligible for lounge access.

The issue here was not only does British Airways not have it’s own lounge in this airport, it’s American partner does not have a hub in Austin so has only an Admirals Club

It was so small and crowded, I could not even take a picture of the main seating area. And as far as “food” goes, this was essentially it..

They did however have a small bar, which offered some complimentary drinks and a choice of 2 hot dishes specifically for British Airways passengers..

I made a dash for my gates after 40 minutes or so. It is amongst the worst lounges I’ve ever been in!

Boarding British Airways A350 From Austin

Our aircraft arrived early and getting ready for us in the warn Texas sun..

Our flight was almost completely full and thus boarding took a while. I walked around to stretch my legs and when I came back most premium economy cabin had already boarded.

British Airways Premium Economy Seats & Cabin A350

During boarding for this flight it was tricker to take full cabin pictures. Here are some from an earlier flight instead..

British Airways A350’s consists of 56 World Travel Plus seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

There is a good amount of leg room between the seats. They are also deeply cushioned with good adjustable headrests. The seats provide slightly bigger fixed hand rests in-between..

The IFE Screen was crisp and responsive with the usual good range of entertainment offering from High Life that is common to all classes.

While we settled into our seats, the crew passed through offering either glasses of water or orange juice..

Right in front of each seat you will find a convenient water bottle holder for easy access during the flight..

The IFE remote and seat controls are on the side panel..

Already placed on the seats were a nice big blanket, amenity kit and noise-cancelling headphones…

The amenity kit contained the basics: eye masks, flights socks, dental kit and a lip balm.

BA World Traveller Plus Austin to London Service

We had a smooth take-off out of AUSTIN-BERGSTROM, reaching cruising altitude in the glorious sunset hours over Texas.

The crew offered another drinks service, at which point I was able to get a full view of the cabin, which was entirely FULL !

A menu was handed out for the flight, with the main meal after take-off and a light meal prior to landing..

I opted for the Dal Makhani, Paneer Korma.

Dinner was served about 1 hour 15 minutes post take-off..

All the courses were served in one tray, together with your choice of drink. The main differentiator here is the use of proper cutlery and China but I have to say, the dish was great for an Economy meal !

My seatmate chose the Braised Beef Brisket, which also looked very good ( and re-confirmed by how well he cleaned up the plates! ). Both the meals did seem like a step up from regular economy fare.

For reference here was The Bar menu..

All told, I thought the beverage selection was quite generous.

Can You Sleep Better In BA Premium Economy?

I admit I’m not the best of sleepers on an aircraft or any moving transport for that matter.

Theoretically speaking have a bigger seat and pitch as well as a little more recline should enable a slightly better level of rest/ability to sleep.

There is alot of talk about leg rest and calve rests etc but I honestly don’t think that it itself made any difference to me on BA, personally I found they can make things worse in some settings.

All that said, I managed about 3 and half hours of sleep. which was actually quite good for my expectations. Especially given that sometimes I don’t always get that on a overnight in the flat bed in Business, for example barely managing 2 hours proper sleep in a recent 12 Hour Singapore Airlines overnighter in Business Class, thanks Singapore !

BA World Traveller Not So Plus: A Poor Show for “Breakfast”

Despite being up, I tried to get as much shut eye as possible so I did not move around too much. Nor was I hungry for snacks mid-flight.

About an hour before landing the cabin lights were gradually turned up and the morning service began around 8.30am UK time

This time, there was no menu choices to make. This was what was served..

It was a simple mini egg croissant.

On a 9 hour plus overnight flight.. I have never seen something so sad or pathetic even in the 2 or 3 times I’ve flown long haul economy in last 10 years. I imagine they served the same thing in Economy, otherwise why even bother serving anything at all?

Overall Thoughts

This was generally a good flight that got me home relatively comfortably. The crew and service was friendly, reasonably efficient and broadly what you would expect from a good economy class product.

I really enjoyed the dinner service, which was perfectly satisfactory and arguably an elevated offer from regular Economy meals. However, British Airways had entirely wiped out these plus points with the pre-landing service. Since coming out of Customs & Baggage, I was actually hungry, so ordered breakfast in the airport before heading home !

I’ve flown this product at least 5/6 times in last few years. British Airways World Traveller Plus can be a significant price hike anymore between 60 to 100% in comparison to Economy. Other times it can be just 30-40% or so where this works out better value in my opinion. What you are paying more for is simply the bigger seat and more baggage and points etc.  Do not count on the service.

I’ve had flights back from Middle East where I slept through their main service and after called the bell just to get some tea and no-one even bothered to check in until 30 minutes went past and I just had to get up ( waking up the neighbour next to me in process ). That is bad for any respectable carrier, even at economy level.

So It is worth it? Well that all depends on how much you value those little extra comforts. For me getting that 3 and half hour sleep, made it worth it, yes. Yet, having said this, there are far better Premium Economy seats and overall product out there by the likes of Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and EVA Air.

Where those carriers are available instead, I would always choose them over BA.