BA or Virgin???
 

Hi all --<BR><BR>I need to purchase my rt air ticket to London via SFO by tomorrow to keep some sort of peace of mind. I've found ok fares on Virgin ($544) and on BA ($624). There's about a $120 difference obviously and I'm wondering if you seasoned flyers (of which I am not) can sway me on which way to go. Is BA worth paying more to fly on? The Virgin plane is a 747 both ways -- will it still have in-seat entertainment? Pros and cons would be much appreciated and if neither will do, suggest suggest suggest away! Thanks!

The difference is service and what is provided is so minute that there is little question you go with the lower fare.<BR><BR>You can get a great flight on either, you can get a bad flight on either. That is the luck of the draw.<BR><BR>As a matter of fact, it was Virgin that pioneered the use of the individual video screens.<BR><BR>Food etc. is almost identical and why shouldn't it be...they come out of the same kitchens.<BR><BR>Oh yes, there is one difference. Virgin serves its foul tasting Virgin Cola and Virgin Diet Cola (in read and silverish cans of course) while BA serves the real thing.<BR><BR>Whether this is worth a $120 difference is up to you.

Take the Virgin flight!!! No way is BA worth $120 more than Virgin, in fact a lot of Brits would choose the Virgin flight even if it was more expensive than the BA one. Personally I found the food & service on Virgin a lot better than BA plus Virgin have backseat TV screens in *all* their planes, whereas with other airlines it seems to vary. If you check their website www.virginatlantic.com it should confirm about the TV screens.

Check the flight numbers as Virgin has a code share with Continental.<BR><BR>Service is better on either of these than BA. Virgin has the best looking stewardesses, which is always a factor in my book.

Hi, I'm British and believe BA is totally over rated. I would happily pay a $120 premium to travel Virgin so you've got yourself a great deal. Enjoy it.

I think it's worth paying more for BA. I flew Virgin once and they made us wait 8 hours while they were fixing the wing. I guess this can happen with any airline, but I kinda don't trust them after that incident. It's a bit too gimmicky to be trusted.

Definitely Virgin! My experience has been nothing but pleasant. Seats are alittle bit small,but isn't everyone's in economy. The videoscreens are a huge plus...making the trip pass quickly! Friendly service as well! And after reading Richard Branson's(founder of Virgin) autobiography, and learning of BA's shady practices...I would pick Virgin everytime!

Virgin:)

Go Virgin, Baby. The best overseas airline I have flown.

VIRGIN! The service is so exceptional to BA, I will never fly BA again.

the Virgin free packs (i.e. socks, eye masks etc.) are much better than the BA ones - BA Business backs are good - have never flown Business on Virgin.

Grab the Virgin! No contest. I was always a British fan until my first flight on Virgin Air. I didn't want to like them just because of the crappy music their mother company sells, but I was pleasently surprised. I've flown them thrice since. Very friendly employees, clean planes, very nice airplane food and the "goodies" bag is a great little extra.

I would definitely take Virgin even if the fare were reversed. BA is a bad,bad,bad airline.

In case it matters to you, the price difference is $80, NOT $120.<BR><BR>$624 - $544 = $80<BR><BR>

Fly Virgin! BA WAS a great airline until a few years ago-quality has gone way down. Very disappointed last year on our flight to London. Food was really nice years before; they even served snacks then. But that was then. <BR><BR>Never flew Virgin but should have if I had known better last year.

I've never flown Virgin, but the worst flight I've ever had was on British Airways. I know it's the luck of the draw, but I would still avoid them if I could.

Hi,<BR><BR>I would also go with Virgin as the service in my opinion is beter than British airways. You can join Virgin Flying Club , earn miles on your flight and can use them for flights on Hawaian and America West amongst others.<BR><BR>Regards<BR>Gregory

Fly B.O.A.C.- They take more care of you.

One of my best flights ever was on BA. But I wouldn't pay an extra price for them over Virgin. <BR><BR>The individual video screens on Virgin are great, but the seat sizes are all so SMALL. Even my size 6 butt feels cramped in these seats.

Virgin has excellent service! We flew on them from London--and while there was a problem with a plane, and we had to leave a day later, Virgin went above & beyond the call of duty to make sure everyone had a good allowance for lunch, then ended up putting us all up in a beautiful hotel (the Rennaisance) for the night-giving us both dinner & breakfast. They won my alliance just by how nicely they handled an unfortunate experience!

I always enjoy flights with Virgin. Back of chair video screens, with loads of choice of films, and great goodie packs too. :)

I haven't flown Virgin, but have BA twice in the last few months, and would definitely choose Virgin for any major price difference if the itinerary were identical. Where I fly from, their prices were identical, so I chose BA because they had better schedules and slightly wider seats on one model I flew(the 767). I think their seats are the same size as Virgin's on the 747 or 777. <BR><BR>However, that plane did not have individual video screens, anyway (the BA 767). They seem to have the same amenity packet as Virgin, but I wouldn't choose an airline on that (socks, eyeshades, etc).

I just flew roundtrip from Vegas to London on Virgin. I never want to fly on another airline! The food was very good, and there was lots of it. I got my first taste of what the English mean by 'lemonade' and loved it. First we had a huge meal, then every hour or so they brought around snacks (chocolate-covered ice cream bars, Moroccan puff pastry). I got so full I finally had to start refusing food! We had lots of movies to choose from also. I loved the channel where it showed a map of where you were at any given time. Another good thing, being an American and flying with mostly English people on holiday (I learned very quickly it was holiday, not vacation!), the lines when landing in London and then back in Vegas were nonexistent as they were going through the opposite gate from me!<BR><BR>Now if the flight is packed with Americans the next time I fly over, I'll regret this post! LOL!

BA has gone solidly downhill over the past 5 years. Customer service is almost non-existant, the cabins are usually grossly overheated, they often don't clean the toilets between flights, and if you miss a connection, they really don't give you any help at all.<BR><BR>Virgin's fine. I still prefer United, but Virgin's a good airline.

Jean--that's hardly above and beyond what one should expect from an airline when a delay is the airline's fault. At minimum, they should provide meals and a hotel room at the airport, which is what Virgin did. Of course, if your BA, you will blame all delays on the weather, so that you don't have to give your passengers anything.

Jean--that's hardly above and beyond what one should expect from an airline when a delay is the airline's fault. At minimum, they should provide meals and a hotel room at the airport, which is what Virgin did. Of course, if you're BA, you will blame all delays on the weather, so that you don't have to give your passengers anything.

I used Virgin on my last trip to London in May and I have no complaints.

I understand that there is an early check-in at Paddington Station for some airlines, including British Airways, but NOT Virgin. This seems to me to be a great convenience if you are leaving your accommodations early on a given day but your plane leaves much later so you still want to do some last-minute sightseeing. That would tip the balance for me in favor of BA. However, I don't know what the most current information is on which airlines participate in the early check-in at Paddington.

I am not sure the check in at Paddington is still available since 11 September.