Sara

I am traveling to London and wondering which of these two airlines has the best service, food, legroom, etc. Please give me your opinion. Thanks!

Kat

In coach class, Virgin probably is the better value since leg room is comparable to BA but the service, entertainment (video players at every seat) and food all are better on Virgin than on BA. My opinion. <BR> <BR>If you can (and choose to) afford business class (about $7K round trip from the west coast), then you definitely want to pop for Virgin's version of same called Upper Class -- can't be beat by any airline and qualitatively superior to BA's business class. <BR> <BR>Finally and most important, in my view, Virgin is the only airline selling a fare named Premium Economy which is a hybrid offering a cabin separate from steerage with better service; larger, more comfortable seats with more leg room (a must on the 11-hour flight from the west coast); a few freebies (e.g., champagne or mimosa before take-off) but with the same food selections as steerage. From San Francisco, the roundtrip fare this year is $3K. <BR> <BR>I guess that means I vote for Virgin on all counts. <BR> <BR>

barbara

Was not impressed with BA at all. Have never flown Virgin, but have heard it is good. Plus, they have more to offer to keep you occupied, TVS, phones etc,,,

ellen

<BR>I have flown both but my memory of British Air from about 8 years ago is a little sketchy. i would go with Virgin Air. First, their TV is really entertaining!!! I HATE to fly and it really helped to pass the time by playing video games and watching re-runs of Seinfeld. In addition, staff was extremely courteous and food was decent. Little food ammenities like Bailey's Irish cream after meals and ice cream cones served during the movies were nice. Their fares are very reasonable. <BR>One reason I don't have fond memories of BA is that on my first trip ever to Europe, BA cancelled the flight. No explanation provided and the coordination with informing irrate passangers, hotel accomodations etc. was not handled well. I realize that it was not BA staff fault of the cancellation and the attitude of the worker's reflected this when all most of us wanted was empathy vs. sarcasm.

Jan

I would prefer BA any day. I have flown to the states with BA many times and with Virgin only once (never again), the plane was old the seats were well used to say the least, true you have your own personal video screen, but it is very small. I personally found BA flight attendants much more helpful than Virgin and to cap it all on the Virgin flight home myself and my immediate neighbours were showered with water(presumably from the air conditioning system)which rather lessened our confidence! All the flights were in ecomomy class and I am sure we had slightly more leg room on BA though that must vary as to the type of plane.

Beverly

Just back from a trip to Scotland on British Airways. Both trips, there and back, were booked. It was horrible! The seats are not made for an average person to sit in, and be comfortable. of course, i was stuck in the middle both times, and it was so uncomfortable! I wish I could afford to fly Business Class, that looks really comfy! I think the person that designed the planes should be made to fly in coach and she how they like it! The food was adequate, the attendents, though nice, it seemed to be short-handed.

Virgin Lover

Go Virgin all the way. The food, the entertainment,flight crew great. Just double check before you get to the airport they sometimes overbook. My favorite is the fact that you can watch your own choice in movies, and even catch the end of your second choice and get two or even 3 movies. Boredom makes the flight to London tedious

sonia

I flew back from London to Boston yesterday on Virgin - our first flight with them after many years of flying BA (we visit family in England every year.) Chose Virgin because their price was better and they had a great tie-in for cheap tickets on the Eurostar to Paris (which we loved). Virgin and BA both use 747s for the Boston-London flight, so seating is about the same on both: there's never enough room in the cheap seats (where I always sit). We liked Virgin's seatback video screen, but it's kind of awkward if you wear bifocals! The handy video screen may have been the reason for a quieter flight, even though there were a number of children on board. Less of a cattle-call than some of the BA flights I've been on. The crew were mostly young and perky, food was pretty good. The flights vary depending on so many factors - crew, passenger density and mix, weather - it's hard to generalize. I think I'd go for the best deal and convenience - do you want to land at Heathrow or Gatwick? (Probably depends where in England you will be going.) <BR> <BR>When our family flies here from England, they use US carriers - loved USAirways, found Delta and United okay. You pays your money, you takes your choice. If I had more $$ I'd go for Business Class on either Virgin or BA! <BR> <BR>As a footnote: though we booked on Virgin, my husband had to fly back early into Newark. He was surprised to find himself on Continental in a DC-10 because Virgin and Continental codeshare. (But the flight was fine, he had no complaints.)