After a wonderful flight on the BA A380 in Premium Economy from LAX to LHR and a stopover in the T1 BA lounge, I was on my final flight to Tel Aviv aboard British Airways mid haul A321 formerly a BMI aircraft. This plane only features a two class cabin (business and economy). I inquired about an upgrade to business class for the flight, but at a going rate of $450, I could not justify the cost for only a 4 hour flight so I decided to keep my exit row seat and enjoy the flight from the back of the plane.
Boarding was quick as the plane was only about three-quarters full and boarded in order by priority: Business Class, One World Elite members, and then economy. I waited till the end of boarding to board the plane as I was not in the mood to sit on a plane any longer than I had to. Once I boarded, we were only at the gate for a few more minutes before we pushed back and got on our way to Tel Aviv.
Boarding Gate Lice above, Business class seat vs Economy class seat below
Shortly after takeoff around 1030pm, flight attendants came through the aisles offering drinks to passengers. Beer, wine and spirits were complimentary along with soda, juice and water. I opted for a white wine as I was hoping to fall asleep quickly on this short overnight flight. Immediately after drink service, specials meals were served. I was served my salmon and then the FA used a cart to deliver the many specially ordered Kosher meals. As the FA passed me with the Kosher meal cart, she smiled at me and passed me another bottle of wine as she saw that I had already finished most of my first glass. After all the special meals were passed out, the FAs came through with the BA traditional meal, offering the remaining passengers some beef dish or vegetable ravioli. Again as the FAs passed, without even asking, the young FA dropped off another carafe of wine! SCORE!
Shortly after finishing my third wine and my dinner, I dozed off and didn’t wake up again until minutes before landing in Tel Aviv. The short 4.5 hour flight had come to an end. I managed to only watch about ½ of a film on my PTV and I felt fairly well rested for flying economy. It helped that I had an exit row, with extended leg room, no one reclining into me and had a few glasses of wine!
Quick Recap
Meal Service: Done very efficiently immediately after takeoff allowing passengers to maximize their sleep. My meal was tasty and the salmon was not overcooked. The FAs also were very attentive and friendly; I mean how often is your wine is refilled so often in economy!
Amenities: Each seat in Y had a small amenity pack which included a toothbrush and headphones, much lacking the necessary eye mask and ear plugs. Each seat also had the standard BA pillow on it (the same pillow I had on my flight from LAX – LHR in Premium economy) and small blanket.
IFE: Each seat was equipped with an 8.9” PTV offering hundreds of movies, music, TV and shopping options. All the same videos that were on the A380 appeared to be available on this flight. For such a short flight, the selection was awesome. The TVs are touchscreen compatible or the hand help remote is intuitive and easy to use.
Seats: In economy the seats are standard leather economy seats. If you can, grab a seat in row 20, the exit row, as there are no seats that recline into you and it’s easy to get up and down from your seat without disturbing the person next to you. Business class does offer 23 lay flat seats in a 1 x 2 configuration and all face forward unlike on BA’s wide body planes.
Ton of Leg Room in the exit row! Choose seat a seat in row 20 for the best in economy! 
