State of A350s

Hi all,

A bit of a rant but I wanted to see what other people's experiences were to see if I am alone.

My wife and I have flown 4 return flights last year on A350s of both configurations, 2 upper and 2 premium.

2 upper returns had at least 1 inoperable seat and they are really starting to look scuffed, dirty and the corner piece on the edge of the seat - stuck down with velcro was often missing.

1 premium return was good but the other again 1 inoperable seat.

It's such early days for the lifecycle of A350s without knowing more it feels like these will start to look really lame sooner than we would like and these are already behind the more luxurious airlines business class seats.

Am I talking rubbish or do we have similar experiences?

Every single VS A350 flight I’ve done, I’ve had seat issues. Row 1 TVs are always broken. VS picked the Sapphire seat which is a cheaper option than the similar Super Diamond seat that other carriers use. That shows due to the wear & tear.

I hate the 350, always have, and that’s why I continually fly the 787. Even though it’s old, the seats are comfortable.

Fun fact, VS messed up the 350 so badly with the UC suite, the seats themselves are too heavy and ballast had to be added to the rear of the aircraft and on the longest 350 routes like LAX they’re “weight limited” due to this.

I think the overall build quality of seat’s has gone downhill since the closure of three sixty aerospace VS in house seat manufacturer. The A330-300 were the last VS did in house and I agree the 787 seat has a better build quality even in premium the seats are well built. VS should have gone with the seat on the NEO because we now have a situation where there is 3 different Upper Class seats which is bad for continuity.

Am I talking rubbish or do we have similar experiences?

Nope, totally agree. They are not wearing well at all.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=301435&p=964414#p964414

David

Popular website the points guy has just done an article on this link below

Link
https://thepointsguy.com/airline/reviews/virgin-atlantic-a350-upper-class-review/

We flew LHR <--> LAX in August / September 2024. Premium in both directions. No complaints with the hard product. Everything worked. The meal from Los Angeles was disappointing. Worst Premium Economy food we've had on any airline.

Other than the food we didn't notice any changes from other A350 flights.