Flying "Backwards"
Nov 27th, 2016, 02:49 PM
#21
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Greetings, Folks
First, thanks to all who responded to my initial concern about flying "backwards." I touched down last night and wanted to compare the two flights.
Departing flight (LAX TO LHR): AA 777-200 (was 777-300 but was changed).
Pros:
More privacy (you're in your own "pod")
Lots of foot space
You don't have to worry about climbing over a fellow passenger to go to the bathroom.
Con:
Very loud and I wasn't even seated near the engine. I was seated in 2A and still found the aircraft to be extremely loud. I was eventually able to drown out the sound.
Returning "backwards" flight (LHR TO LAX): BA A380-800
Pros:
Lots of foot space
Lots of overhead space
Extremely quiet (and I was seated over the wing)
Very smooth flight (gentle take-off and landing for such a large bird)
Cons:
Having to request a fellow passenger to lower her footrest so that I could go to the bathroom. I was very uncomfortable with this and dreaded getting up to use the lav.
The way you awkwardly face your seatmate is just weird. Thankfully there's a divider, but the flight attendants had to keep lowering it each time they brought me food and drinks. The whole experience was uncomfortable at first until finally my seatmate and I would just wave at each other and laugh each time that divider came down.
It's also weird the way to get to your window seat. You literally have to make an awkward turn and squeeze behind your seatmate to get inside your corner. Once you're in, you're good, but If you are very large/tall, it may be no easy feat getting to your window seat.
Overall, I enjoyed both flights and had no issues flying "backwards" on the BA one, although sometimes I had to remind myself the way I was facing because I'd forget which way was the front of the aircraft.
Cheers and Happy travels!
First, thanks to all who responded to my initial concern about flying "backwards." I touched down last night and wanted to compare the two flights.
Departing flight (LAX TO LHR): AA 777-200 (was 777-300 but was changed).
Pros:
More privacy (you're in your own "pod")
Lots of foot space
You don't have to worry about climbing over a fellow passenger to go to the bathroom.
Con:
Very loud and I wasn't even seated near the engine. I was seated in 2A and still found the aircraft to be extremely loud. I was eventually able to drown out the sound.
Returning "backwards" flight (LHR TO LAX): BA A380-800
Pros:
Lots of foot space
Lots of overhead space
Extremely quiet (and I was seated over the wing)
Very smooth flight (gentle take-off and landing for such a large bird)
Cons:
Having to request a fellow passenger to lower her footrest so that I could go to the bathroom. I was very uncomfortable with this and dreaded getting up to use the lav.
The way you awkwardly face your seatmate is just weird. Thankfully there's a divider, but the flight attendants had to keep lowering it each time they brought me food and drinks. The whole experience was uncomfortable at first until finally my seatmate and I would just wave at each other and laugh each time that divider came down.
It's also weird the way to get to your window seat. You literally have to make an awkward turn and squeeze behind your seatmate to get inside your corner. Once you're in, you're good, but If you are very large/tall, it may be no easy feat getting to your window seat.
Overall, I enjoyed both flights and had no issues flying "backwards" on the BA one, although sometimes I had to remind myself the way I was facing because I'd forget which way was the front of the aircraft.
Cheers and Happy travels!
Nov 27th, 2016, 04:11 PM
#24
I just flew backwards on an AA flight, and while the seats were definitely not very comfortable (plan to write a report) the configuration meant that I didn't encounter your cons. The set up was 1-2-1 so no one to climb over and the privacy screen never came down. But the plane was very noisy and the gap on the aisle side was big. I had no issues riding backwards, but then I have no issues riding backwards on trains, either.
