British Air vs Virgin Atlantic
 

I'm heading to London in March 2010 for about a week. I've been checking prices for both economy and premium economy on both BA and VA sites. The roundtrip prices are comparable, about $700 for economy and about $1300 for premium. My questions: Is the premium worth the price difference? Which airline would you recommend BA vs. VA? Also, any thoughts on these prices? They haven't moved too much but I'm thinking I should wait until November or December for specials. Thanks for any guidance, it's appreciated.

I should hve mentioned, departing from either New York or Washington. Thanks.

First, a nit to pick. BA fans really grimace when it's called British "Air." Air<b>ways</b>. I know, get a life...

In my opinion NYC or Washington DC to London is too short a flight to justify the marginal improvement afforded by premium economy, especially if you're on an overnight flight eastbound, where, after climb-out and meal service, you only have about 3 1/2 or 4 hours of "night" before the lights come back on prior to arrival.

I might just suggest that you look at one of the morning departures from JFK or Newark (American, Virgin Atlantic - VS, not VA - Continental or BA) or from Dulles (United). You leave at breakfast time, and arrive in the evening. Save the price differential for a hotel on arrival. A side benefit is that (for us at least) the morning flights really whack jetlag, since by the time you arrive, get bags and get to a hotel (either near Heathrow or in the city) it's midnight in the UK, but late enough on your own clock that you can get some meaningful sleep that night - in a bed rather than a plane seat. In coach on the daytime flights there are enough movies etc. to occupy your time that the flights seem pretty short.

As for waiting for cheaper prices for March, I don't think that will hurt, but just watch the price of oil and if it spikes lock into airfare before the airlines have time to add fuel surcharges.

Just some thoughts.

In premium economy, Virgin is the CLEAR winner. Even on the incredibly partisan BA board at Flyertalk this seems to be the consensus. In regular economy, I'd probably say that BA is better, with the exception of the IFE options, which can be better on Virgin, depending upon the plane.

As to the pricing. I think the $1300 is decent for premium economy, though specials may come down the pike. I think $700 is too high to book at this point - look for something around $500 to $600. If you are still seeing $700 come January and you are the nervous type, you might consider booking. I would hold out for $600 as late as February, but that is just me.

As to the debate between premium economy and coach... I've flown premium economy on BA and SAS (never Virgin) and I quite liked it. I think it really hits a sweet spot in comfort. But, I think the pricing could still use some adjustment. If I saw something for $1000 or so from the East Coast, I would book it in a heartbeat. At $1300, I would consider the daylight options noted above.

For longer flights (say SFO-LHR), I would more seriously consider premium economy.

With British Airways, you only get 25% of the miles in Economy, but 100% in Economy Plus, so, I would only do Economy Plus if I were collecting FF miles and Tier Points.

I took Virgin last summer from Orlando to London and I thought BA economy was a little better. Virgin served the free wine in a small plastic glass poured out of a larger bottle, where BA gave you a small bottle with a plastic glass. On Virgin, when I asked for a glass of water on the London Gatwick to Orlando flight, I was told they would be serving beverages in an hour and could I wait?

Finally, BA has more connections in Europe and Asia. If you plan to connect in London, I would recommend BA.

But if none of these reasons matter, there isn't much of a difference. Economy Plus--are you over 6 feet tall?

I personally think World traveller plus (Prem Economy on BA) sucks. Virgins product is far superior.(especially on their upgraded flights out of LHR
BTW the Virgin flights from Gatwick to Orlando use their old planes and i have found the service a bit so so BUT i would still use it over BA WTP