british airways experiences

[patch553]

weve visited Disney 8 times befor and only flew with virgin,this coming feb we will be flying with british airways and are wondering how they compare? any info would be great thanks

 

[The Mighty Tim]

BA are part of the oneworld alliance, meaning any frequent flier miles you get with BA, you can use with other airlines in that alliance and vice versa.

BA can sometimes hand out free upgrades, whereas Virgin do not (as far as I know). For instance, I got a surprise free upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy on a flight to the US one time.

I don't know about Virgin, but BA allow you to have one carry on bag, plus one laptop/hand bag.

I think BA are slightly cheaper, but I can't be sure.

However, I came back from WDW yesterday, and my flight home was one of the most uncomfortable flights I've been on. Though I'm not sure if that's BA's fault or not.

 

[patch553]

oh no,uncomfortable in what way? im a nervous flyer you see, in our 8 previous trips with virgin we only had one bad/uncomfortable experience, but this year there prices were a lot dearer even with our frequent flyer discounts

 

[The Mighty Tim]

oh no,uncomfortable in what way? im a nervous flyer you see, in our 8 previous trips with virgin we only had one bad/uncomfortable experience, but this year there prices were a lot dearer even with our frequent flyer discounts

I think it was more me than anything else. Though it seemed to me that the seat area was smaller on the way home, but it could have been my imagination.

Don't let that put you off, though. Most of my flights with BA have been quite pleasant.

 

[WDW Monorail]

I think it was more me than anything else. Though it seemed to me that the seat area was smaller on the way home, but it could have been my imagination.

Don't let that put you off, though. Most of my flights with BA have been quite pleasant.

Which destination airport? At this time of the year. BA sends 772s to MCO from LGW.

 

[patch553]

thank you mighty tim

 

[patch553]

Which destination airport? At this time of the year. BA sends 772s to MCO from LGW.

we'll be flying in feb lgw to mco, im not sure what plane we'll get

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Which destination airport? At this time of the year. BA sends 772s to MCO from LGW.

I think we had 777s both times.

Fun fact: The plane that caught fire on the runway of Las Vegas airport the other week was the same plane I flew into MCO on the day before.

 

[patch553]

did I mention im a nervous flyer

 

[Sans Souci]

I think they are comparable. I have flown from the US to the UK and the UK to Europe quite a few times in the past year on BA. I think the FAs on Virgin are maybe a little less staid than BA, but that's really not a deal breaker.

I have never had a bad experience on BA. Many times, I have landed about 30 minutes earlier than predicted.

We are a family of three and were upgraded from Premium Economy to Business on a flight from Chicago to London a few weeks ago.

As far as aircraft, I have seen they mostly use 777s for flights to North America, but I have from the US on a 747 here and there.

 

[patch553]

that's great,think its the fact its something new to us but all the info has been great thanks

 

[zappomatic]

The planes they use from Gatwick are a bit tired inside but the seats are comfortable, with clever flip-down wings on the headrest that make sleeping easier. Seats are slightly wider than Virgin's, pitch is the same. In flight entertainment is on demand however the screen size and picture quality aren't fantastic. Do note though that the cabins and IFE are still better than what Virgin had before they refurbished their Gatwick fleet! If you get a substitute borrowed from Heathrow it's all much more modern and you'll find USB and mains power at your seat. (Rumour has it that these planes will be refurbished in 2017)

Food in my experience is pretty decent and better than Virgin, and all drinks are free. They don't keep coming around with the drinks trolley but if you want something else just go to the galley where you'll also find a big box full of crisps, biscuits, chocolate etc to help yourself to. A plus for me over Virgin is that they carry London Pride bitter as well as lager (Heineken and Tiger).

I've always found BA crew very friendly, proactive and accommodating. If you've got kids you can ask for a SkyFlyers pack.

The amenity kit doesn't include socks or an eye mask but they will provide these free of charge if you ask.

Hand baggage allowance as mentioned above is about the most generous you'll find on transatlantic services. Worth signing up for the Executive Club and collecting Avios.

As the BA 777 is a smaller plane than the Virgin 747 (283 passengers versus 455) you should be off the plane a bit quicker but of course it all depends on whether or not another flight has arrived just before yours - on my last trip we just beat the Virgin Atlantic flight from Gatwick that left around the same time and the people streaming into the immigration hall did not look happy.

Best economy seats are the C and H seats in the second row as there's no seat in front, but unlike exit row seats you won't have people hanging around waiting for the toilet.

Legroom in second row of economy, seat C

• zappomatic
• Oct 11, 2015

IFE screen

• zappomatic
• Oct 11, 2015

Lunch option 1

• zappomatic
• Oct 11, 2015

Banagers and Mash, couscous salad, roll, Lilly O'Brien chocolate dessert (yummy)

Lunch option 2

• zappomatic
• Oct 11, 2015

Chicken Tikka Massala - tasty

Gin and tonic

• zappomatic
• Oct 11, 2015

Have as many of these as you like!

London Pride

• zappomatic
• Oct 11, 2015

You can also have Heneiken or Tiger

 

[ford91exploder]

did I mention im a nervous flyer

Flying is a heck of a lot safer than driving. ESPECIALLY in Florida...

 

[DarthMileZ]

Im flying with virgin, im also a nervous flyer, had 3 bad experiences with Ryan Air to ireland.. Easyjet to Cyprus & coming home from Orlando with Monarch... praying its a different story now.