Amenities on BA Long Haul Steerage
 

I'm flying Economy on BA from Seattle to London to Cairo. Does BA provide a blanket & a pillow for every seat for this class? Do they hand out the same lovely little kit with toothpaste, lotions, etc. as they do in Business Class?

Thanks.

Hello, sunshine.

I flew BA in June from IAH/LGW and they did provide a pillow and blanket to Economy class. They provided a little kit w/toothpaste, but it's not as nice as the one in Business Class. Sorry, I don't recall if there was any lotion. I'm thinking there wasn't.

Thanks,PM.

At least they haven't stooped the low lifes at American who now charge for beer and wine on their international flights; those are free here.

Seating is a bit tight in the rear cabin. Food? Well you read what happened during August with their caterers.

They also haven't stooped the low lives at most airlines of the world that give FF miles for most discount fares.

Ah, I live on the West Coast of the USA, so my "home" airline is Alaska. I can amass FF miles, even on economy, on my Alaska card for BA trips taken & redeem them on my Alaska card for BA business class.

You can earn AS Mileage Plan miles for BA operated flights but only at a rate of 25% of actual mileage flown on discount economy fares (same as BA Executive Club).

From the AS website -

Earn Miles On:
British Airways, British Airways CitiExpress Ltd, British Mediterranean Airways, British Regional, Brymon Airways LTD, Comair/Commercial Airways LTD, GB Airways, Loganair LTD, Regional Air operated by Air Kenya, and Sun Air of Scandanavia operated flights

Mileage Earned:
Earn 25% of actual miles flown or 125 minimum miles in Discount Economy classes of service G, K, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, V; earn 100% of actual miles flown or 500 minimum miles in Full Fare classes of service Y, B, H, J; earn 10% Bonus Miles for purchased World Traveller Plus classes of service W, T; earn 50% Bonus Miles for purchased Club Europe/Club World classes of service J, C, D, I; earn 100% Bonus Miles for purchased FIRST classes of service F, A

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't join BA Excutive Club unless I actually purchase a Business/First Class fare, yes?

One can enroll in Alaska's FF program without purchasing any type of ticket. And most of my miles come from my Alaska/Visa affinity card so I really rack up those miles.

I'm always amazed at the FF games that y'all play and seem to do so well on. I'm up in Seattle, so I don't have the variety of flights that other cities have. In the past I was mostly flying up & down the West Coast, but I'm now flying to Europe or Cairo.

If I fly to Cairo there are only 2 viable options unless I make more stops and (not "or") pay more money -- (1) I can fly BA overnight with a change of planes at Heathrow; or (2) I can take my choice of a couple airlines to NYC and then Egyptair to Cairo. I've been able to use my Alaska FFM for BA Biz Class my last 2 trips. I'm going to Cairo again in November 05 and have to actually pay for my ticket, so I'm in economy.

I'm moving to Cairo in Jan. 06, so I think I'll have enough miles for BA Biz Class then.

If y'all can come up with a more favorable plan for me, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks.

Well, you should start thinking about what airline to use in the future if you need to fly between the US and CAI often.

KLM can fly you SEA-AMS-CAI, and you earn 100% miles even on a discount ticket.

BA has a lot of seats that are Economy plus. 38 inches instead of 31. Consider checking in by yourself or at least dress nice and smile when you check in. Dinner is OK with two or three choices. Breakfast wasn't as good unless you like plain yogart. At least BA does turn off the "Fasten Seat Belt Sign," unlike some American carriers. Alcohol is free but there isn't a lot of time to brush your teeth after breakfast with the included toothbrush and paste.

<i>KLM can fly you SEA-AMS-CAI, and you earn 100% miles even on a discount ticket.</i>

If you mean for credit against the OP's AS account, not any more. AS and KL split the sheet a couple of months ago. NW and AS have recripocal FF plan rights, but not KLM.

World Traveler Plus (&quot;premium economy&quot;) does qualify one for BAEC membership. Although the earning rules and award miles on BAEC are much less favorable than other plans (AS and AA especially) BA allows relatively easy upgrading using miles compared to some others. So if frequent longhaul travel is in your picture, the &quot;MFU&quot; (miles for upgrade) feature of BA's program might be worth investigating.

If you want to stay in AS's program, or AA's (which also allows for more rapid mileage buildup than BA's) then think about using Vancouver as a base airport rather than Seattle, because BA doesn't grant FF credit on AA flights between the US and London, nor does AA grant credit on BA flights between the US and London. Some partnership.

Gardyloo - I know one cannot earn AS miles on KL flights. I was simply telling the OP about far into the future when he lives in Cairo and may need to travel between there and Seattle.

The AF/KL &quot;Flying Blue&quot; may be a good program for the long term.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions and tips. It sounds like my three options once I move to Cairo are: (1) continue BA/AS with AS as my FF card; (2) Use KLM &amp; AF (what is AF? Air France?) with KLM FF card; or (3) Egypt Air to NYC &amp; whatever airline can get me to Seattle with the least hassle. I'll look into them.

Vancouver really isn't an option -- what with international terrorism &amp; the border, it's a 5 hour trip.

By the by, Sunshine007 is a she.

Since June(?) of this year, Air France and KLM have merged their ff programs into one called Flying Blue.