Will I Be Disappointed? Honest Opinions Please

For one reason or another I've decided to 'try' BA Club for my next Orlando flight which I'm going to be booking in the new year.

I've only flown economy with BA before(which was actually pretty good as far as economy goes) so flying Club is a new experience for me.

Having flown Virgin's Upper Class, do you think I'm going to be disappointed in BA's offering?

I've no idea what to expect so any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Clare

Hi firsttimer,

A good place to start is by reading some of the BA CW TR's on v-flyer to give you some idea of what to expect.Here is my last one:

http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21866

I think it depends on what your expectations are. As you have flown UC before, you will notice that the BA exec lounge is not as good as the VS CH. On board there is no IFBT and no bar. However, in my recent experience the in-flight service with BA has been consistently good and I have enjoyed their food offerings more than VS.

I have only flown in the old CW seat not the NCW one's so can't comment on those. Having said that I still prefer the VS UCS. Hope this helps a little?:D

Hi

I have to Agree with MrsG, VS UC is a better product BUT, CW is still a great experience. You still have a great personal space to call your own, the service has always been good when i have travelled and the food/wine is good. The lounge may not be as good as the CH but it is stil a haven of peace away from the hoards that are in the departure lounge.

If you are looking for the best possible seat with more room then VS will win but CW is still a good seat, comfortable flat bed, good quality food and wine and as for the crew you take your chance just the same as you do with VS or any airline.

Stuart

Hi Clare

IMHO I really dont think you will be disappointed at all. Whilst the lounge is not the same, it really depends on what you want the lounge for. You can still sit in comfort and eat and drink as much as you want ....

On board.... from my experiences recently I prefer BA, others would disagree for various reasons, there is certainly nothing wrong with BA and all we are talking about is personal preference over minor detail. One thing is for certain as others have said that the service is a bit more consistant. Also I for one prefer the seats in CW.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Mark

We'd booked world traveller with BA a few years ago, but were upgraded both ways (no, I couldn't believe it either!) to CW - it meant we didn't get to use the lounge so can't comment on that, but the flight, space and food were all totally fine. Couldn't fault it.

Thanks everyone

I don't have the 'suite' made into a bed on Virgin so a nice recline/comfy seat is more important for me than a bed. The clubhouse is nice (I've only used Gatwick) but anywhere away from the noise/crowds of the main departures area will do me nicely.

I can't see you being disappoined, I was traveling on the 18th in WT+, handed my boarding pass over at the gate to be told I ha been upgraded to Club. I sat back enjoyed the trip certainly more so than other UC flights I've made. While taxing in Hong Kong and thinking of the flight and comparing it to UC, I did think BA Club was a better product though still found myself wanting to fly UC. I didn't visit the lounge in T1 though I doubt it would be a patch on the club house.

The BA Lounge in T4 is not a patch on the Virgin T3. I think the NNCW is equally as good. I found the BA service very low key, but equally attentive.

There are in fact two lounges in T4, one of which has the better food and the other of which has the spa. I think I could make an argument that the BA spa is better than the VS one, although it is of course a personal taste matter. The VS lounge food is in a different league. The decor in the LHR Clubhouse is also more interesting.

On board I would say BA offer a much more consistent standard, particularly in service. Most of the fleet do not have VOD, although it is being phased into NCW so you stand a chance on the transant routes. There is of course no bar - but to be honest I am not sure I have ever used the VS Bar.

Arguably the BA scheme offers more flexibility although getting to the top levels of status is quite hard (some would see this as an advantage).

BA do not sell lounge access to Disney world holiday makers.

[RichardMannion]

Off the back of our recent flights on BA, for me it would come down to price difference.

In my eyes VS has the better lounge, better seat, and I did miss the bar as somewhere to stand/sit and chat with the others in our group. For MCO obviously there is no IFBT and the IFE will be on par with BA.

BA did have a good level of service onboard and the food was better (though I'm comparing UCS to FIRST here). CW - I didn't like the seat (and I'm not a big person) and I hated the fact that you will have to step over someone to get out, or someone will have to step over you.

So honestly if BA CW was more than £200 each cheaper than VS, then I'd fly BA otherwise it would be VS for us.

Originally posted by RichardMannion
I hated the fact that you will have to step over someone to get out, or someone will have to step over you.

A fair point. I prefer the fact that seat is not curved though.

Food also better IMHO in BA J BTW

Originally posted by RichardMannion


For MCO obviously there is no IFBT and the IFE will be on par with BA.

The BA flights to MCO now (or should) have AVOD. Is V-PORT now fitted on the VS MAN/LGW-MCO fleet ?
I have off to MCO in a couple of weeks (on VS in UCS) so am interested to hear.

Thanks

HG

[mitchja]

None of the LGW/MAN 744's have V:Port (the AVOD system) they either have Odyssey on 3 A/C (the ex-LHR 744's) or Nova on the other 5 744's, both of which only run on continuous loops. Odyssey has more channels than Nova, Nova also doesn't have any games on it.

The Nova controls are fixed to the seats in Y and fixed into the IFE holder under the screen in J. Can't remember what sort of controller Nova has in W though.

All the screens in J, regardless of IFE system or A/C, are the same size but do vary in size in the other cabins depending on the system type.

See here for more info.

Regards

Mitchja,

Thanks very much for the info. Most useful. Lookes like BA do have better IFE on this route then, and fingers crossed we get Odyssey when we fly from LGW in Feb.

Regards,

HG

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do lol.

Looking at the flight timetables recently for my route (MCO) BA are 9 times out of 10 taking off on time whereas Virgin are invariably delayed, so BA are looking more attractive. However, a big part of going with Virgin for me is their special assistance department and preselecting my seat. Unless I'm a gold executive club member or paying full whack for my club fare I won't be able to preselect my seat. I've spoken to BA this morning and they advise I will have to go through to their medical screening department who will then determine whether a seat may be preselected for me (due to one of my conditions I must have an aisle seat as I will not be able to climb over someone if I'm in a window seat).

All sounds like too much bother really, might just stick with Virgin after all. [:?]

Originally posted by firsttimer
I've spoken to BA this morning and they advise I will have to go through to their medical screening department who will then determine whether a seat may be preselected for me

BA's lack of pre-assignment for ordinary pax is a source of some frustration over on the flyertalk boards too. However special assistance should be there to help, well, people who need special assistance. To put up what, on the face of it, seems a ridiculous barrier to use like this beggars belief. I don not think anyone could blame you if you were to vote with your wallet and opt for VS.

I am actually flying with the family in BA Club on the 25th April to Barbados.I really wanted to fly with Virgin but they were simply too expensive to be honest. There was a huge saving flying with BA. I am actually howver a little nervous as its 2.5 years since I have flown with BA in their CW and almost always when I can fly UC as I just love the whole experience. I believe on the 777 from Gatwick I will have the "old" product with the old IFE. I have also heard the food is rather good , and Ok the lounge is not as good as VS but I dont plan to spend much time in Gatwick anyway.

Overall I also hope CW will be something we will all enjoy (inc my 12+10 year old girls / they simply loved UC).

K