How's the service on British Airways on economy class en route to italy?

If you can get past the uniforms, BA is a decent airline. Don't expect good food and don't expect fabulous service (overtaxed a BA stewardess by asking her to clean up after my 4-year-old threw up once - she just wasn't up to the task, but quite frankly, neither was I), but other than that, it's a god airline - comfortable seats, good pilots, good record of service, you name it....

This is an anecdotal experience which soured me a little bit (maybe off-subject a little bit, but I am not sure where your intial flight with them is originating). At JFK, BA counter staff rigidly enforced the restriction prohibiting any carry-on bag over 12 pounds. On board, we saw many bags of the same size (and seemingly the same weight) as the 21" rollaboard which I was not allowed to bring on with me. the flight was otherwise unmemorable. <BR> <BR>And I recall no such restrictions on the trip back from Paris (on Air Liberte, a BA subsidiary), nor LHR to New York. <BR>

Unquestionably the best of the European carriers, and generally as good as it gets across the Atlantic with Euro/American airlines. Unlike all other European carriers BA committed themselves to a competitive orientation quite a while ago and are competing aggressively in the service arena. <BR> <BR>That said, they focus much/most of their attention on the people that pay the most ... in First and Business. That seems reasonable, eh? <BR> <BR>While economy service is typically somewhat above the average, don't expect to be overwhelmed with attention or space. <BR> <BR>Ed

We've had wonderful luck with BA...on time flights, good seating with more than usual leg room, very good service and food. We will always try to fly British Airways or SwissAir.

And my personal incident on BA about 8 years ago, first and last time I flew them. Doing Business class London to Miami, the flight was delayed in London for a couple of hours due to mechanical problems. Finally they started boarding us. As we got on the plane a couple of mechanics were coming off and we heard one say, "why are they putting all these people on a plane that can't fly?" We asked the flight attendant about this who assured us we must have been mistaken. Once we all got aboard the airline, they announced that there was still a problem and there would be a "slight delay". They then started serving us lunch as we sat at the gate. They refused to serve any drinks saying it was against the "queen's rules" which I guess was some sort of joke, although we could clearly see that they were serving drinks in first class. As soon as they finished serving lunch they announced that the flight was cancelled and we would need to deplane and await further instruction. About 6 hours later we finally took off on another plane they brought in. It was clear that they knew the plane couldn't fly, but since lunch was already on board they would save all that money by not having to buy everyone lunch in the airport. There was simply no other possible explanation. I can take cancelled flights; I can take delayed flights; I can take inconvenience; but what I cannot take is absolute lying to us. Repeated questioning kept giving us the same answer, "oh, yes this flight is going as soon as we serve lunch." If an airline purposely lies to me, I will not fly them again. Incidentally, when we finally did fly I learned that the seats were far more crowded and less comfortable in Club Class on BA than in business class of American which I usually fly, and Club Class was served the exact same meal as coach (except we got better dishes). This does not happen on other airlines I've flown. Incidentally, when we finally did take off we were served the exact same meal we had been served the first time -- a lunch, even though it was now well past dinner time.

Pat, that bit about just getting a china plate in BA Club Class was a wind up, I can assure you. You've been had on that one!

Although British Airways Economy Class leaves a lot to be desired, I think Patrick may have been wound up by someoine about the food in Club Class. Club Class on BA is actually comparable to First Class on most US Airlines. The food, although not restaurant quality is pretty impressive, but moreover - you get a BED!

Service was good on our flight to London last week. We had dynamite movies on our individual screens(I love them),,,,Almost Famous, Shadow of the Vampire, Pay it Forward, Meet the Parents, What lies beneath, Charlies Angels...among a few. It makes the long flight tolerable....food was fine and wine was ok...Would fly BA again. Judy

Are you flying to Rome? If so, we went on BA to Rome, connecting in London, and it was good flights EXCEPT for the fact that the connection was extremely tight, time-wise (imagine six people running like maniacs through an airport for a good 15 minutes, only to get to the gate just as they are about to close the gate. Scary.). Even though they gave us a half hour between landing of one plane and take off of the next, though, our luggage got there safe and sound.

To the second poster, why should the FA have to clean up your kids puke? That's your job as a parent. You could have asked for some towels and gotten on with the task. It's like expecting the FA to clean up the toilet after some jerk makes a mess, would you clean it? I can understand why they sometimes just lock the lav door if there is a big mess in there. I would imagine giving you some wet towels to clean the kid up would be enough, FA's are not your personal maid.