thoughts on flying BA....

Just got back from flying with BA to Phoenix (club world). It was the first time we'd flown with them in years and we were a little apprehensive. It all felt so strange and unfamiliar.

As many have said here, the Galleries lounge surely isn't a clubhouse! It was ok, but felt very impersonal and was huge. Again, as others have said, the food wasn't up to a great deal although, to be fair, the lunch buffet offerings weren't as bad as I'd thought they were going to be.

Both ways, we had two seats together facing the same way with a single seat at each end, facing the opposite direction. Not sure how I feel about that, it was a little claustrophobic with the privacy screens up.

Seats themselves were ok-ish. Fairly comfy - but on the way back, himself got up and the back of the seat cover had become detached, and revealed a number of stains underneath! We are hoping they were tea or coffee.....

Food was ok, and I really can't complain about the service, but IFE was, we both thought, very limited - and had exactly the same offerings both ways.

It was definitely great to get a direct flight to Phoenix - the main reason we opted for BA - but have to say we missed Virgin....

BA have many fans - and they're by no means a bad airline, with several advantages over VS such as their website, route network and ease of finding & redeeming Avios rewards.

But to me BA will always stand for Bland Arrogant which IMHO sums up their brand and their attitude. I've no doubt they look after their elite status pax very well but the majority of us mere mortals mean nothing to them and they make that very clear.

BA have many fans - and they're by no means a bad airline, with several advantages over VS such as their website, route network and ease of finding & redeeming Avios rewards.

But to me BA will always stand for Bland Arrogant which IMHO sums up their brand and their attitude. I've no doubt they look after their elite status pax very well but the majority of us mere mortals mean nothing to them and they make that very clear.

Ouch prepare for the incoming replies from the pro BA fans gumshoe

I have to state I totally agree with that, I have only flown two European short hauls with BA and the service was good it it was... Boring, there was no flair and no excitement or dare I say...glamour! it has held me back from wanting to do LH with them!!

I have to state I totally agree with that, I have only flown two European short hauls with BA and the service was good it it was... Boring, there was no flair and no excitement or dare I say...glamour! it has held me back from wanting to do LH with them!!

i also agree with this.
on our recent BA flight to prague, it was the first flight of the day and when i asked for a coke the CA looked at me with a look of almost annoyance that i asked such a question. she replied with "we dont serve coke at breakfast" lol aaagh i missed VS lol

They're consistently average. Which is exactly what most of their customers want. No flair or surprises, just reliable and professional.

They're just like the average high street - bland and homogeneous. But it's what the majority want and it clearly works for them. You can't knock it.

Pam ann has BA down to a tee!

Pam ann has BA down to a tee!

So did David Walliams' Penny the First Class stewardess in Come Fly With Me!

she replied with "we dont serve coke at breakfast"

I'd be tempted to say : "That's ok, Diet Coke will be fine"

Pam ann has BA down to a tee!

So did David Walliams' Penny the First Class stewardess in Come Fly With Me!

Absolutely!

Pam ann has BA down to a tee!

So did David Walliams' Penny the First Class stewardess in Come Fly With Me!

Absolutely!

I love both of those caricatures, but Pam Ann cracks me up. Apparently the CC whinny like horses and look at you like you were personally responsible for the death of Princes Diana! It's been a few years since I flew BA long haul (in cattle class), and it was okay. Not particularly pleasant or unpleasant.

Mind you, that said, Pam Ann also asked VS CC if he knew where he was, "you okay sweety, do you know you're here, in London?" And then she asked him if he worked the UC cabin and he said "sometimes". She gave a quick fire response I can't write here but it involved...

It's a matter of supplying what the market wants. There's no doubt that BA don't have the party and fun atmosphere, but when you look at their passenger profiles I would think that least 50% of VS passengers are on holiday whereas BA is probably a lot less. I would have been horrified if a drunken woman had fallen off the bar stool and fell into my suite, as per Ultreens TP but I am older than when I first started with VS so BA's more staid approach works for me. The one thing that is consistent though is that VS is downsizing and BA is adding to its fleet and routes, so whilst it might not be to the liking of some the model is clearly working in the market place and if that's the case it won't be long before Delta knock the fun out of VS

@paulS your logic is right indeed.
bums on seats dont lie. so while we all love VS there are perhaps more people who love BA.and ofcourse the fact that more destinations are served by BA.
BA CC are staunch and VS are more fun and open.
which do i prefer? maybe something in the middle say like SQ? i still remember the SQ CA who looked after me when i felt ill and the one who talked to me lots when she sat opposite me during turbulence. and brought me snacks after snack time cos i was sleeping when she came round!!!

The best crew I have had for being friendly and engaging was on a BA flight...

I have also had excellent crew on VS, also had good, so so and terrible crew on VS.
I have yet to experience so so or terrible crew on BA, but have flown more VS flights so far.

It's a matter of supplying what the market wants. There's no doubt that BA don't have the party and fun atmosphere, but when you look at their passenger profiles I would think that least 50% of VS passengers are on holiday whereas BA is probably a lot less. I would have been horrified if a drunken woman had fallen off the bar stool and fell into my suite, as per Ultreens TP but I am older than when I first started with VS so BA's more staid approach works for me. The one thing that is consistent though is that VS is downsizing and BA is adding to its fleet and routes, so whilst it might not be to the liking of some the model is clearly working in the market place and if that's the case it won't be long before Delta knock the fun out of VS

Still makes me smile now, interestingly she was in her very late 50's.

Uptrend

I laughed my socks off when I read it. Funny yes acceptable in business or come to think of it any cabin No

The best crew I have had for being friendly and engaging was on a BA flight...

I have also had excellent crew on VS, also had good, so so and terrible crew on VS.
I have yet to experience so so or terrible crew on BA, but have flown more VS flights so far.

I too have had excellent, ok, poor and down right shocking on vs!

I have flown more on ba now than virgin and say over 20 sectors on each airline and have yet to have had a poor flight with ba, which is all i ask for, unfortunately vs couldnt deliver even this minimum requirement.

Cheers

Alex

I'll comment that my worst longhaul flight ever has been a ba our of Miami. Virgin have never been as bad as that one experience. My best flight to date in my life was a VS Mumbai bound plane where I felt I had a personal cabin crew entire flight - nothing was too much to trouble. BA for me overall thoughts are more consistent average product but should airlines be striving for that? I've had many more great or above average flights with VS than BA and that's why I try for VS if it's a reasonable routing.

Of course we don't always get to pick the airline or the route when travelling for work so I do sometimes have to put up with a nasty Irish airline routing, and BA rarely that bad!

[honey lamb]

The best crew I have had for being friendly and engaging was on a BA flight...

I have also had excellent crew on VS, also had good, so so and terrible crew on VS.
I have yet to experience so so or terrible crew on BA, but have flown more VS flights so far.

I too have had excellent, ok, poor and down right shocking on vs!

I have flown more on ba now than virgin and say over 20 sectors on each airline and have yet to have had a poor flight with ba, which is all i ask for, unfortunately vs couldnt deliver even this minimum requirement.

Cheers

Alex

And I have yet to have a superlative flight on BA, while I have had many on VS. I went full of excitement to my BA First flights, expecting to be blown away by the experience but I wasn't. Perhaps I had set the bar too high following my VS experiences but I was truly disappointed

I have flown BA many, many times. I am an Avios collector. Overall the products they offer are, in my opinion, good. Consistent certainly. On the whole they are reliable. And that is important in the travel industry. They are also a huge organisation and have the resources to make good when the shit hits the fan, as it inevitably does form time to time.

We all know that what make a flight is the crew. And they are variable with all airlines. I have flown with some fantastic BA crews and some mediocre. Never any truly bad ones though in my experience to date.

However, the far eastern Asian airlines like Cathay, Singapore and Thai amongst others (and NZ) outclass both BA and VS. I have never flown Middle Eastern airlines other than Economy on Emirates, but hear very good things from those that have.

So I rate BA and Virgin as good, but neither as excellent.

The BA network is extensive though which for an airmiles collector is ideal.

The best crew I have had for being friendly and engaging was on a BA flight...

I have also had excellent crew on VS, also had good, so so and terrible crew on VS.
I have yet to experience so so or terrible crew on BA, but have flown more VS flights so far.

I too have had excellent, ok, poor and down right shocking on vs!

I have flown more on ba now than virgin and say over 20 sectors on each airline and have yet to have had a poor flight with ba, which is all i ask for, unfortunately vs couldnt deliver even this minimum requirement.

Cheers

Alex

And I have yet to have a superlative flight on BA, while I have had many on VS. I went full of excitement to my BA First flights, expecting to be blown away by the experience but I wasn't. Perhaps I had set the bar too high following my VS experiences but I was truly disappointed

HL - I did read your TRs (of course, how could I not), and didn't ask then - but I'll ask now and it's a genuine question.

What would have made the BA First live up to expectations for you? What would have been the wow factor?

I'm really interested as I definitely had the wow factor on my recent flights in F...

Taking my first BA flight for over 20 years this Friday. Off to Rome for a long weekend. Seems strange using an airline other than VS after all this time! Added to that, we are flying Economy out and Club Europe back so will be interesting to see how facilities compare, although of course this is short haul.
Have not flown Economy for many years and am not looking forward to that ! From what I have read, I think we will be taking sandwiches on the plane with us! Will do TR on return.

Turquoise - food on BA in Economy and Club Europe is actually quite good IMHO and experience

Turqoise - I second MoJoJo, on our recent flight to prague the food was alright. Breakfast was a ham and cheese croissant with some cereal and lunch was a chicken wrap I think.
My only advice is if you are on an early morning flight take your own coke lol