The Rivalry Continues

[buns]

In tonight's London Evening Standard Magazine is an interesting article on the continuing VS / BA Rivalry

buns

Thanks for posting Buns y) A very interesting read with the usual tit-for-tat rants!! Mr Ridgeway is very confident about turning over the BMI deal.......??

Can't wait until all new cabins are in place and we can actually judge who is the best ^) ^)

Interesting article, if a little BA sided. Interesting to note the comment re the new clubhouse at JFk and the limo lines to speed passengers to check in and through security

Hmm... not sure it's interesting at all! I find it pretty tedious. It's just: BA says this. VS says this. Big deal.

The most ridiculous claim in the article is that VS Clubhouses are tired. In my opinion the VS J ground experience beats BA First -- by some distance.

[honey lamb]

Thanks buns, for posting that.

I'm currently trying to decide what to do for my west coast trip this year. I know that there is no way on God's earth that I am going to requalify for Gold next year which is quite liberating. I'm planning a trip to South America at the end of the year which is going to exclude VS unless I go via MIA and currently BA is in the frame. To a certain extent this has impinged on my choices for the west coast - VS to SFO v BA to SEA (as SEA to Alaska is part of the plan)

To date the ratings From my experiences are :

EI v BA ORK-LHR (when BA flew into Cork). EI all the way. Snooty BA crew who thought flying to Ireland was beneath them ( this was during the height of the Troubles in NI even though we were as far as way as you could be from them in the far south of Ireland)

BA v SA v VS LHR-JNB-LHR. Again BA comes in a poor third. Snooty crew and very condescending towards passengers in Economy. In addition, on the return flight they had me down for a vegetarian meal from God knows where!! This comparison is made between flights in Economy and BA came out the worst. When I booked the SAA flight I had been told that there would be a child's meal for Aer John but the lengths they went to was excellent but VS won it on the premise if it can go wrong it will go wrong. It did!! Boy did it go wrong but it was how VS dealt with it that decided our loyalty

BA - LHR-TLV-LHR The outbound was dire!! I've had better flights in Y and I never want to repeat an experience like that again - and that was in in Club World. The return was marginally better but worse than my last VS flight!

BA -AMS-LHR Don't mention the war!!! I was as sick as a dog after it!!!!

It does read like a "puff" piece for BA which Virgin have been asked to respond to. The Clubhouse was looking far from tired a week ago! One area where I think Virgin do have the edge in the air is the friendliness of the crews - I also think their advertising better, the BA "To Fly, To Serve" struck me as a corporate w@nk of the first order.......

[Darren Wheeler]

Quite agree that T5 is an "impersonal shopping centre", and for a fairly modern terminal, has the feeing of an tired railway station if coming up from the HEX with peeling paint and water leaks on the blue metalwork.

OK, we know the service on VS flights can lack consistancy but on VS I've had more smiles than scowls, unlike my BA flights.

Of course, it poses a question.....

Celebrity Deathmatch? Steve Ridgeway or Willie Walsh?

Thanks for posting Buns y) A very interesting read with the usual tit-for-tat rants!!

yes at times it was like a couple of 'ladies' much the worse for wear arguing outside a night club - handbag in one hand and stilettos in the other facing off.

It does read like a "puff" piece for BA which Virgin have been asked to respond to. The Clubhouse was looking far from tired a week ago! One area where I think Virgin do have the edge in the air is the friendliness of the crews - I also think their advertising better, the BA "To Fly, To Serve" struck me as a corporate w@nk of the first order.......

"Corporate w@nk"

I'll be stealing this particular term - brilliant. Completely describes so much of our modern day lives - both in and out of work.

[buns]

For me, behind all the rhetoric and spats, is a hope that if they are still prepared to outdo one another, then we can live in hope that we will see some innovation and improvement rather than working to the lowest common denominator.

buns

Without the rivalry and competition between BA and VS life would be very dull indeed.

It keeps both camps on their toes and stimulates new ideas and hopefully a better service and flying experience for us all.

For me it's VS over BA everytime (routes permitting). I just don't like the arrogance and stuffed shirt attitude of BA. "The Worlds Favourite Airline" says who? oh BA do!

Tonty, that's a great description!

Unlike many, my recent experiences of VS and BA leave me with a fairly ambivalent attitude in terms of choosing between the two.

BA - very good
VS - brilliant to poor.

For me, the absolutely key is what are VS plans for the future.....I think others have said previously, the lack of an alliance and/or increased route network is an issue.

If I'm to "buy in" to an airline (fly with them, get the credit card, do online shopping etc), I need to be able to use those rewards, and to be able to get to the places I want to travel to.

Increasingly, VS is not matching my needs. I've had some brilliant times with VS, but in the cold light of day, I have to take emotion out of it and make sound consumer choices.

(And yes, I say recent experiences. I've also experienced the BA attitude in the past and can well understand why it would be off-putting).

Totally agree that the rivalry (compitition) can only be positive for the customer...