nyse

For what it's worth, we flew LHR to Chicago ORD March 23rd on British Airways, the day after the first strike action. Our tickets were pure economy.

The plane was full and on time. The nice thing is when I checked in on line 24hrs in advance, my <b>only</b> seat options were in the World Traveller Plus section and believe me, I have no special status. (At first I thought they were flying a smaller plane, as seat rows ended at 25.)

And, for the record, I believe we are allowed to call British Airways "BA" as news readers on BBC and Sky News did it constantly the week we were in London.

Hope everyone else has similar good luck in coming weeks.

Gordon_R

>>>And, for the record, I believe we are allowed to call British Airways "BA" as news readers on BBC and Sky News did it constantly the week we were in London.

"BA" is fine - it's the odd US usage of terms like "Brit Air" and "British Air" that baffles everyone on this side of the Atlantic.

Just out of interest did you get any hot food on the plane? The news stories here were reporting cold sandwiches and salads as the only available catering until the end of March.

nyse

Thanks for the clarification - I shall stay away from "Air."

There was no hot meal service; everyone had a chicken salad plate. And no snack, just a hot beverage as we neared Chicago - but we were certainly not going to complain as we stretched out in "Plus" seats.

The pilot apologized for confusion as he said everyone should have received a letter explaining food service at the passport/visa check or before boarding but most had not.

AGM_Cape_Cod

My parents flew BOS to LHR yesterday and said "Plane was 2/3 empty.. No one in business or first class, a few people in upper economy and steerage where we sat was half empty. Flight, however, was great except they didn't serve any hot food (a mercy). " They also said they were very late due to the rain and traffic getting to the airport at 8:30am for a 9:15am flight and amazingly got on the plane.

BKP

nyse -- did you fly out of Terminal 5? I've checked online and it seems like there are plenty of takeaway options. I'm flying with my son and chicken salad will NOT go over well. I just want to make sure that I can pick up sandwiches, fruit, etc and that I will be allowed to bring it all on the plane.

Your thoughts?

nyse

BKP, right ~ Terminal 5. Many on the plane had containers of food so I think your family will have no difficulty.

We decided to use our excess pounds on Stella Artois ~ and we both thought the chicken salad was preferable to the vegetable lasagne on the flight to London.

Mathieu

I saw a Gordon Ramsay eatery in the Departure lounge in T5 where you can either eat-in (menu) or take-out (special menu). It didn't look to be too pricey either.

A search on the Heathrow Airport T5 website will tell you what food options are available before boarding.