crzywkids

flying british airways across the pond...how good is it? vs virgin air

wally34949

British Airways still has a free bar in coach--unlike any US airline. If you drink, this is a plus. You will find that the Fasten Seat Belt sign will be removed quickly after take-off, while most U.S. airlines keep it up until they reach crusing altitude. And often they never take it off.

If the plane is full and you check in by yourself, you may get bumped up to Economy Plus--38 inches of leg room. Become a member of their frequent flyer program, I think that helps. I have been bumped up three times, but again, the flights were full. When I was standing in line for the toilet and the pilot came on and said, "ten minutes until landing, I will be turning on the Fasten seat belt sign," the flight attendant walked me to the first class toilet, opened the door and said, "But please, do hurry." Very friendly and professional crew!

Both Virgin and British have tight coach seats (like all airlines) If you have an evening flight, you should get a nice dinner and a breakfast before arrival. If you are connecting at Heathrow, you have to go through security again. There are shower facilities at Heathrow (very private) but you have to pay. I used them and they helped my hangover!

Walter_Walltotti

Overall I think Virgin is a better product than BA. Tyhe food is generally in my experience better and the inflight entertainment includes computer games

If you pay the extra, however, and go for the Premium cabins (World traveller Plus (for BA) or Economy Plus (for Virgin)) then I think BA has the edge. The seats are much better (built in leg support) in BA's premium cabin and all have power points for your laptops(both time

Walter_Walltotti

Overall I think Virgin is a better product than BA. The food is generally in my experience better and the inflight entertainment includes computer games. Leg room in both is very tight at about 31 inches.

If you pay the extra, however, and go for the Premium cabins (World traveller Plus (for BA) or Premium Economy (for Virgin)) then I think BA has the edge. The seats are much better (built in leg support) in BA's premium cabin and all have power points for your laptops. Both have leg room at 38 inches in the premium cabins

highledge

every time this question is asked I think that I;m the only person who hates virgin! Having flown BA 15-20 times and Virgin once ( and only once), I'lltake BA each and every time. BA has it's faults, but I hated each and every moment of my round trip flight with virgin.

Arista

I flew Virgin for the first time last November, after having flown BA several times, and I much preferred Virgin. The planes were much cleaner than most, the service was good, and best of all BOTH FLIGHTS WERE ON TIME. I can't say that about any of the BA flights I took (or most others, for that matter). Maybe I just got lucky, but that's my experience.

KT

Re joining BA's frequent flyer program in hopes of getting a bump:
BA has one of the chintziest FF programs there is . First of all, you can't even join if you're flying on most discounted coach fares. Second, if you're in coach on any ticket other than a full-fare ticket (i.e., if you're on a sale fare or just about any discounted advance purchase fare), you'll only earn one mile for every four miles flown. You can look on their website for details of the qualifying fare classes, if you're interested. (I flew them last year because I got a good enough sale price to make up for not earning miles.)

flyert

I really love Virgin. It is the coolest airline I have been on. I can't compare it to BA because I have never taken it overseas, but Virgin has nice planes, big bathrooms, and the best entertainment center I have seen on a plane, movies, tv, games, etc.