Old 777

[ekposh]

Managed to snag a MRU-LGW in Club on Avios which I was delighted about but the fear of crappy old 777 is now setting in.

I am travelling Sep 2024 so who knows, might be blessed with an AC change but if not…

-how bad are these really?
-what’s the best seats for 2 people (partner)?

Cheers

Alex

[davefl]

They suck for singles. if you’re a couple then the middle seats but you still have to clamber over someone in the aisle seat to go to the loo.

I refuse to fly on them again due to that and the dry air, and it’s been a while so I might be wrong.

[ekposh]

Thanks… I think 🙂

Are window and aisle OK for couples? Does the divider go down so we can have a chat?

I knew this before I booked but the prospect of paying £300+ to book seats is annoying. But being on honeymoon, sitting separately would be a bit rubbish…

[SamG]

A very slim chance I’d say

Definitely pay for a window/aisle pair, if you go for row 4 then the window occupant has a little walkway out

One of the plus points is the divider is quite big so its actually much more sociable than CS for a couple

[davefl]

Yes the window/aisle pair is ideal for a couple which is why I hate it when travelling solo.

With the divider down (which it is for take off/landing/meal and any drink service you’re staring the other person in the face from 2 feet away. You can keep it down the whole flight if you want.

Apart from row 4 as SamG says, the window person must clamber over the aisle person when they’re asleep. Not great when you need the loo at 3am.

[WaynedP]

Compared to the newer aircraft, they are considerably noisier so take a good pair of noise cancelling earphones, and keep hydrated to mitigate the lower cabin pressure.

Depending on time of year, I believe there’s a good chance on many routes of getting free couple-friendly seating seven days from departure if you have Bronze status in BAEC – someone else may have more specific knowledge than I do about your particular route.

I would think most people would be sympathetic to seating a honeymoon couple together, both agents (if possible) and passengers who may be willing to swap seats if they haven’t paid for them themselves.

If you haven’t got status or managed to bag seats together at t-24hr online check-in, then I’d ask nicely at every opportunity as early as possible: check-in, help desk in airport lounge if there is one, ticket check at boarding gate and purser/chief steward as soon as on board.

But either make your peace with the possible ultimate reality of travelling in separated seats later, or with the pain of paying BA’s seat allocation fees up front.

[Luca M]

I would actually prefer the old CW seats than the Club Suite, as I have already said many times before. The window pair can be actually more disruptive for the person that sit aisle side.

All this fuss about having to go over someone to go to the toilet, is not like one does that every five minute and the center pair can be quite cosy as a couple, my recommendation is for that. If you are tall and or Athletic built, the old club seat offer better sleeping conditions as you will not have the lower leg entombed in the narrow footwell and hit the table every time you try to move…

[ekposh]

I don’t have status sadly though I may well be bronze by – 7 but that’s a long shot. Much of my balance is via credit cards.

I think I might just have to suck it up and pay the fee. Currently thinking window / aisle is the best bet.

As we’re 10 months away, I guess I might just wait and if we get to the point where there is only 1 “couple left” then I’ll go for it.

I assume MRU is J is fairly honeymoon heavy. Another (separate) issue is we are connecting from MAN and LHR to LGW. Pain.

Such a shame really that BA operate these.

We went to MIA on IB from MAD and I thought was excellent with a 1-2-1.

Thanks for all the advice

[Joecooljoe]

Doubt it will change, most of lgw is old cw.

Are you on same booking from man? If so you will do olci a bit before most, so if ba don’t assign everyone a few dates out (which seems to happen now), you’ll get more choice.

I’d wait until there are only a few couples available, but middles would get my vote too…

[Joecooljoe]

Ignore the man comment, just seen its mru- lgw soz

[ekposh]

Thanks, just PE on way out but guess I can apply the logic to that to snag 2 together in PE

[NigelHamilton]

We went to MRU in PE this summer on an old 777, for our honeymoon (albeit we’ve been married 19 years and we are a family of 5!). I thought the flight was fine, but the point of this post is that the couple initially sat next to us had had it flagged to the airline that it was their honeymoon (by their travel agent) and were offered the emergency exit seats and a glass of champagne. Great for us too as we got some extra room, though sadly you can’t lift the armrests in PE.

Have you booked your hotel yet? (Would highly recommend Constance Hotels who are just brilliant – happy to give some more detail). I appreciate in club there will be lots of honeymooners but you might be able to grab some better seats on the day if it’s flagged to the airline in advance, without the seat fees.

[Thegasman]

Very unlikely to get CS on a LGW route as their 777’s are not scheduled to be refitted at the moment. You’re essentially relying on a LHR aircraft being subbed in which is rare.

On the positive side, I prefer the CW layout when travelling as a couple & for sleeping. Doesn’t have the door (gimmick) & the IFE screen is significantly smaller/lower definition but if you’re vaguely fit/healthy/over 5’ 7” then stepping over someone’s legs to get out is not difficult.

I would 100% recommended paying for seats though, MRU will be predominantly couples rather than solo travellers so the window & middle pairs will be snapped up fast by anyone with status. Realistically what will be left are aisle seats in the middle block of 4 which are rubbish from a privacy perspective plus you’ll be in separate rows to your wife & at the mercy of being stepped/tripped over by a stranger who may be drunk/doddery etc.

If you hold off booking & monitor availability then don’t whatever you do consider a middle block aisle & middle seat as a pair. Whichever one of you is sat in the middle will then essentially be sharing a double bed with a stranger!