#866762 by honey lamb
18 Feb 2014, 00:44
Anyone who has read my TRs on BA will know that I have been truly underwhelmed by the experience in CW. That doesn't mean that I have always been fulsome in my praise for what VS has to offer - I have told it as it is throughout my TRs and have always tried to give as objective a view as possible.

So, why do I feel such a traitor? I have been invited to a significant birthday in Las Vegas and have spent the evening researching the options available to me from this little island to the west of most of you. Aer John rapidly ruled out DUB-SFO and so it was back to the tried and trusted VS to SFO with VX to LAS - except that the fares were a tad on the high side. I was pleasantly surprised to find that LGW-LAS was coming in a shade cheaper but the problem there was getting to LGW - not that it was insurmountable; just a bit inconvenient, that's all. EX-MAN was also doable. I also looked at the ex-AMS options and yes, there were significant savings even when you factored in getting to AMS, which in my case would include an overnight stay there. Not expecting anything different I looked, somewhat disinterestedly it must be said, at BA. I really wasn't going to book them since UC beats CW hands down in my view. OK, ex-ORK it was slightly cheaper in CW, mainly because that awful APD is removed but.........

....the fares in First were coming in cheaper than CW on the outbound and not much dearer on the inbound! :0 and it was cheaper than anything VS could offer me, bearing in mind I would still have had to book a separate ticket to get to the UK.

So, forgive me dear friends, but I nabbed it! :#

Oh and for those of you waiting for a honey lamb disaster, well, there's already been a minor one! I had intended to take the midday flight out of Cork to connect with the BA flight but just as I was making the booking Aer John rang me and I clicked on the early morning flight! Unless I can change it tomorrow it means a 4am start! Eeek!
#866765 by Tinuks
18 Feb 2014, 05:42
No need to feel bad HL, no one can blame you for nabbing a great deal. As loyal as I am to VS, I always check BA fares before booking.

On the minor disaster, maybe it's fate trying to help with your scheduling.
#866766 by hiljil
18 Feb 2014, 08:00
I know just how you feel, HL. I too think UC is far superior to CW but .... The last two trips BA were offering us fantastic prices to Florida with the enormous carrot of using Tampa Airport. So, looking over my shoulder, to the Dark Side I went.
Now when I book again, if BA prices match VS , I will have to see if TPA tips the balance .

:?
#866770 by Jacki
18 Feb 2014, 09:40
You are not a traitor but an intrepid explorer who more importantly single handedly uses up the "holiday disaster" quota for the rest of us! ^) :0 ^) :0 ^)
#866772 by buns
18 Feb 2014, 11:16
Jacki wrote:You are not a traitor but an intrepid explorer who more importantly single handedly uses up the "holiday disaster" quota for the rest of us! ^) :0 ^) :0 ^)


What she says ;)

Good on you for following through in your quest for Value For Money y)

buns
#866773 by Sealink
18 Feb 2014, 11:17
Tinuks wrote:No need to feel bad HL, no one can blame you for nabbing a great deal. As loyal as I am to VS, I always check BA fares before booking.

On the minor disaster, maybe it's fate trying to help with your scheduling.


If First Class is cheaper than UC then there's little argument!
#866782 by gfonk
18 Feb 2014, 15:05
Sealink wrote:
Tinuks wrote:No need to feel bad HL, no one can blame you for nabbing a great deal. As loyal as I am to VS, I always check BA fares before booking.

On the minor disaster, maybe it's fate trying to help with your scheduling.


If First Class is cheaper than UC then there's little argument!


Agreed. Based on the reviews I would stick to UC over BA CW but if the price is right on BA F then as Sealink says there is no argument.
#866783 by honey lamb
18 Feb 2014, 15:13
WOW! I have to say BA have really impressed me!

Not only did I make a mistake in choosing the time of my EI flight from Cork, I had also forgotten to factor in the fact that the return flight was an overnight one when choosing a return date. :| I'm really not fit to be left out on my own at times! So, taking advantage of the 24 hour window to make changes to mistakes, I called BA. I had already checked the availability of flights on my return date as the website had suggested that the easiest way to change was to cancel and re-book and although the prices shown for the new dates were different, the final total came out the same.

Granted it took 15 minutes for an agent to answer, during which time I began to get tired of hearing the Flower Duet from Lakmé, but once she came on board it was a quick tippety tap on the keyboard and within minutes all the necessary changes were made. The PNR remained the same and going into Manage My Booking I found that my seat selection had been honoured even though the flight ex-LAS had been brought forward a day y)
#866789 by 747heaven
18 Feb 2014, 17:00
I have been lucky enough to travel first with both BA and Virgin.BA's service is pretty good, but the customer care I got from Virgin was second to none, and for me much better. The only time I use BA is to New York there flight times and availability is better for me that's it
#866813 by catsilversword
19 Feb 2014, 07:20
Why do we beat ourselves up about this stuff? I felt a similar range of emotions when I booked with BA to go to PHX. We've been to the area before and always blown into LA and then either driven or got an internal flight - but the prices were too tempting with BA.... We haven't flown with them for a long time, so will see what CW brings.

Ooh, I feel all virginal again ;)
#866840 by MarkedMan
19 Feb 2014, 17:25
You could have stayed on the earlier flight and just reserved a cabana in the CCR for a few hours and had a kip ... with constant refills of LPGS on order of course. BA F is the source of a lot of contention, but does price nicely from time to time and is a good experience in many ways, if not quite EK, LX or even Qantas. Look forward to your reports here. I had a couple of good flights last year with them, I do think they serve great wines all around.
#866843 by honey lamb
19 Feb 2014, 17:48
MarkedMan wrote:You could have stayed on the earlier flight and just reserved a cabana in the CCR for a few hours and had a kip ... with constant refills of LPGS on order of course.

I had though of that but the problem is getting to the airport now that Aer John is based in Dublin. I really couldn't ask anyone else to get up at 4pm to drive me there :(
#866846 by Hamster
19 Feb 2014, 20:32
747heaven wrote:I have been lucky enough to travel first with both BA and Virgin.


Virgin Upper Class is Business Class, did you fly Club World or First on BA?
#866850 by 747heaven
19 Feb 2014, 21:03
Hamster wrote:
747heaven wrote:I have been lucky enough to travel first with both BA and Virgin.


Virgin Upper Class is Business Class, did you fly Club World or First on BA?


I think it must be Club and not first, because the seats were opposite each other, and I sat backwards !
#866927 by honey lamb
21 Feb 2014, 18:47
It gets even better! Out of curiosity I priced LHR-LAS on BA in the same class I am booked into and on the dates I was flying. I could see even with the price quoted in sterling that my fare was cheaper ex-Cork. When it was converted to Euro, it came out as over €1200 more than the price I paid ex-Cork y)
#866938 by PaulS
21 Feb 2014, 20:27
honey lamb wrote:It gets even better! Out of curiosity I priced LHR-LAS on BA in the same class I am booked into and on the dates I was flying. I could see even with the price quoted in sterling that my fare was cheaper ex-Cork. When it was converted to Euro, it came out as over €1200 more than the price I paid ex-Cork y)


This is where BA has advantages. I often find fares with savings like that when starting from home in Spain. It cracks me up that family joining me on the flight at LHR have paid more than myself who has already made two connecting flights, plus it's great for the tier points. Just wished VS had a European partner or network. I just done HKG in club for €2100, including two connecting flights and earned 400 TP's. Plus it was on the upper deck of the A380 which was superb.
#872519 by gumshoe
12 May 2014, 12:23
As long as it's on the same day anything goes - no 3 hour limit like some paid lounges.

Mind you I wouldn't want to stay there 3 hours - it's certainly no Clubhouse. I was in there Friday afternoon and it was very crowded with waits for fresh food to be brought out.

If your flight leaves from the T5 B or C gates (as many of the long hauls do) bear in mind there's a nicer, quieter lounge in the B satellite. Trouble is they don't announce the gates until an hour or so before departure.
#872524 by catsilversword
12 May 2014, 13:59
I don't know which gate my next flight will go from - it's to Phoenix - and actually, flight announcements aren't a worry, since himself is always ready to go before they announce. Our last flight from LGW, it got to 30 mins before flight departure time and it hadn't been called! We decided to go anyway, and heard the staff comment to each other that it hadn't been called.... When we got to the gate, the rest of the he flight, apart from UC, as already on board!

What's the other, quieter lounge a allele and is it accessible to CW? I'm not expecting clubhouse standards, it seems that's a real Virgin winner :)
#872526 by catsilversword
12 May 2014, 14:13
Apologies for that last but one sentence and the gobbledygook, ipad seems to love messing up my words! What I meant to ask is what's the writer lounge called, is it also a Gallery one?
#872530 by gumshoe
12 May 2014, 14:29
I think I got the gist of it!

Yes the T5B satellite lounge is available for CW passengers. You have a choice of three "Galleries Club" lounges - T5A South (top floor - the biggest, with the most facilities including spa), T5A North and T5B.

There's a very good chance the BA289 will go from a B or C gate, trouble is it's not guaranteed so if you risk it and get the shuttle over there before the gate's announced it's nigh on impossible to get back if it turns out it's leaving from an A gate after all.
#872533 by flyingfox
12 May 2014, 14:35
Because of the terrible food situation in the BA lounges as a whole, some of the regulars dive into Gordon's Plane Food then up too the lounges for drinks, papers, treatments etc.

Thanks
Virgin Atlantic

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