BA Discussion

[van]

Has anyone flown BA recently. The discussions appear to show that no one flies this airline which means they are good for upgrades. Does it mean that travel personnel do not travel BA only normal folk?

 

[docjames]

Flew them to UK in J 18 months ago.

Full both ways - no idea of fares paid vs upgrades.

You could look at loadings via eg. Expertflyer and work out how full they are regularly if you like - from the seat availability you might get a better idea of upgrade likelihood.

 

[amaroo]

I like BA. Best OW airline SYD-SIN-LHR. Had to change a booking two weeks ago (F SYD-SIN) the cabin was full.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I have flown BA many times. Stopped booking int fares with them when QF reduced the earnings on BA. Continue to fly them short haul in UK/Europe.
They are a good airline. Very comparable to QF in Y. In J I much prefer their seat to QF but the catering isn't that wonderful and the service can be a bit hit and miss at times (as can QF mind you). I have only flown BA F once and never flown PE at all so won't comment on those cabins.

 

[boomy]

Only flew in PE and J on BA. They are not my first choice airline when flying from Australia to England because I think QF offers an overall better product. One thing that plays in BA's favour is the stopover in SIN, for those of us who are not big fans of DXB airport.
I do have a couple of flights on BA in F next year, as well as on a number of other carriers so it will be interesting to compare BA's product to the rest and I hope to be amazed by them (regardless of some reports here on AFF which indicate that it won't happen).

 

[YSSY]

The BA15/16 are good timings for going to Europe for a mon-fri, can arrive Sunday, and fly back on a Friday evening. Was full when I did this last week.
Prefer QF/EK but the timings just don't match up with getting out on a Friday night.

 

[van]

Thanks folks. We are booked J on a BA fare from BNE-SYD-LHR-AGP return for less than a QF return fare to London. I have flown J on BA ages ago and found service OK but seat layout a bit strange with forward and backward facing seats. I have given up chasing FF points and status credits. Currently LTS and QF treats me OK.

 

[knasty]

I found BA15 to be very good in whY. Packed in J & PE but only 2/3 so in whY so the lounge was able to give me centre block of 3 seats on each leg. Good food and good AVOD, and I must say the FAs seem much better than the old days.

 

[Aus ATC]

SWMBO and I recently flew BA Premium Economy SYD-LHR. From my early research, I had set my expectations fairly low, but in the end found it quite OK. Not as good as QF PE, but a pleasant enough way to travel. The biggest problem with the premium economy seat (and this is probably similar for all airlines) is the extra recline means that if you are behind a "recliner" it can be a bit claustrophobic (unless you recline as well..).

On the way back (LHR-HKG) we were Op-Upped to J, and found the 2 middle (rearward facing) seats a good way for a couple to travel. The J seats were comfortable and the service quite good. A little odd eyeballing the opposite facing passenger (but you can always put the screen up).

On walking through the J cabin on the first flights, I thought the seats looked quite small (narrow), but it is a clever layout which actually works quite well. In the middle (or window) though you do have to climb over the aisle seat (which are forward facing) foot space if the bed/footrest is down.

We chose to fly BA in Premium Economy as the price premium over Y was not huge, and the extra status credits for QFF helped the decision (not so much now though). I'd choose them again if the circumstances were right.

 

[vantage03]

BA15/16 is usually surprisingly full in F. They do have a lot of promotions whereby to get a free one way upgrade from J to F though.

BA short-haul is dreadful. BA out of LHR is also pretty grim. However, once you're on board and through the third-world boarding chaos, if you're in the pointy end they've actually upped their game.

I'm flying BA15/16 next month to SIN as I want to fly F and QF unfortunately doesn't give us an option anymore. Ex-SYD it's actually quite good.

Don't hold out hope for a J-F upgrade though with current loadings.

 

[dajop]

Prefer QF/EK but the timings just don't match up with getting out on a Friday night.

Curious, does the extra 40 mins that BA15 leaves later than QF2 make that much of a difference?

 

[YSSY]

Curious, does the extra 40 mins that BA15 leaves later than QF2 make that much of a difference?

Unfortunately yes, due to the MCT and the timings of my inbound from CPH. If I could fly QF, I would, because it's more tier credits and I much prefer QF to BA in respect of service and aircraft (even though I'm a pom!).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

BA short-haul is dreadful.

I actually think BA short-haul is a pretty good product. As much weight as you can carry in hand luggage (as long as it's in 1 piece) and open bar. Plus something to snack on. I think it beats QF dom Y out of the water.

 

[vantage03]

I actually think BA short-haul is a pretty good product. As much weight as you can carry in hand luggage (as long as it's in 1 piece) and open bar. Plus something to snack on. I think it beats QF dom Y out of the water.

For clarity, when I say BA short haul is dreadful, I'm comparing Club Europe to QF and VA domestic Business Class. Not comparing Y products (although there doesn't look to be much difference between Club and Economy..!)

 

[Isochronous]

For clarity, when I say BA short haul is dreadful, I'm comparing Club Europe to QF and VA domestic Business Class. Not comparing Y products (although there doesn't look to be much difference between Club and Economy..!)

Is it as bad as Finnair? They actually have the same seats and just put a sign on the middle seat saying "this seat has been blocked for your comfort"

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Is it as bad as Finnair? They actually have the same seats and just put a sign on the middle seat saying "this seat has been blocked for your comfort"

most European carriers have the same system - standard economy seats with either the middle blocked, or converted from 3-3 to 2-3. The advantages are priority check-in, lounge access, 50% more space, and additional status credits.

Turkish airlines is probably the major exception for intra-Europe, with many of their planes offering a proper fixed 2-2 business class similar to Australia/Asia/USA domestic.

 

[A330]

I've flew BA SYD-SIN-LHR last year and found it packed in all classes. The Y+ seat gets a little hard after a while so that's where an extra pillow or blanket can come in handy. The long walk back to the Y toilets is a bit annoying (I used the J toilets right in front or Y+ but was scolded by the cabin crew). I've also done Y in the 77W (HKG-LHR) & 744 (LHR-BKK) - the Y seat on the 77W is quite hard like the Y+ seat and the Y seat on the 744 was well past its use by date.

BA intra-EU is good enough for the short flights there. The longest I had was LHR-ATH on a 763. They're quite liberal with alcohol even if they're light on food in Y. T5 at LHR is their best asset as it coughs all over the other terminals (but I haven't used the new T2 yet).

most European carriers have the same system - standard economy seats with either the middle blocked, or converted from 3-3 to 2-3. The advantages are priority check-in, lounge access, 50% more space, and additional status credits.

Turkish airlines is probably the major exception for intra-Europe, with many of their planes offering a proper fixed 2-2 business class similar to Australia/Asia/USA domestic.

Until recently BA was the best of a bad bunch for intra-EU business class. They still have some planes with the "convertible" seating where the B seat is unused and the armrests for A & C shift into the former B seat. However BA is no longer using these seats and is reconfiguring all intra-EU business class to the blocked middle seat. They are also shrinking the legroom from 34" to be the same as in economy.

Aeroflot also offer 2-2 business class in Europe but as with Turkish they are useless for flying around between most EU cities.

 

[vantage03]

"Euro Business", it's a class of its own. We're spoilt in Australia.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

"Euro Business", it's a class of its own. We're spoilt in Australia.

BA is perhaps not such a great example of a European business class... but some like LH and LX do an amazing job. better service wise and food wise than we have in Australia.

 

[vantage03]

I'm a big fan of both LH and LX, particularly LH F, but their Euro Business is one of the tightest of them all (and BA is following suit, installing seats with the same legroom and pitch as we speak). However, I do agree that their service and food is better than on BA... although I wouldn't say it's better than QF or VA domestic J