In 2009 i got the amazing chance to go to Melbourne and Hong Kong. I flew on Qantas’s 747 in the LHR-HKG-MEL. On my way back, i stopped 2 days in HKG. My return flight to Heathrow was on BA’s 747, and the flight was awful: the crew was unfriendly and rude, the food wasnt good and the IFE wasnt that good.
As Im not a Brit and as i only flew with them once, i am in no position to criticize British Airways (plus, only Brits can criticize their national airline)
I hope that anyone who flew with them very often can answer me to these questions honestly, because in the next year i may fly with them again.
Was my flight an exception (in terms of service)?
Is BA a good airline (despite SkyTrax’s ranking)?
Should I go in another airline?
As a Brit, I feel I am able to critique this airline. Here is my opinion:
On my first flight from LHR-IAD with BA, it was on an A380. My experience was pretty enjoyable. I got a free upgrade to World Traveller Plus (Basically Premium Economy). The staff were lovely, and the flight itself was pretty enjoyable. On top of this, the food wasn’t bad. (I also like BA because they give you 2 drinks instead of 1 at a given time, unlike most airlines I have traveled with).
Since the only flight I really do is LHR-IAD, the other times I have flown this route it hasn’t been too bad (I’ve only flown on the 747 since the A380 flight). I am not normally one to request a lot from the attendants, so therefore they just leave me alone to get on with the entertainment (Entertainment is decent, not the best, however the touch screen actually works!) Once again, the food is normally pretty good and the attendants are fairly impulsive to help out where necessary.
Overall, from my experiences, I am proud of BA being my country’s main airline, but it isn’t quite at the standard that people would imagine it to be, however it provides fairly enjoyable flights and I haven’t had any negative experiences with the airline itself.
British Airwyas is not great, the only reason I have flown them was because it was cheaper than Qatar. Other than that you see the huge differences, Qatar have better food, two meals and IFE systems aswell as seats. The crew actually do something and you get more amenities in economy. Far better airline. BA offered a breakfast bar and a drink as the first or second meal. What flag carrier does that crap? That was actually what we were offered after takeoff and I was starving. Not great at all, refurbished interior in the B747 aswell but the tray table was broken. The seats are just new covers which slide about on the B777. Let’s just say they are running the airline into the ground by treating it like a low cost airline.
Adding on to what you said, some aircraft, such as the 787s, have really nice interiors with modern IFE systems from what I’ve heard. However, other aircraft the 772 do not seem to have been refurbished at all, with very old IFE systems and seats. It personally depends on aircraft, though.
I flew World Traveler plus on the 787 in July and it was very nice, but their economy offering is subpar to any star Alliance carrier I’ve flown with TATL (LH, SAS, SN)
Haven’t flown biz with them but Club World is one of the most abysmal long haul business class offerings in the sky.
In recent years I have flown, Biz, (Club), PremEco (World Travler Plus) and Eco (world traveler) on both short and Long Haul sectors. I do not rate them for long haul in any class. They are OK on short haul around Europe though you have to pay for food and drink on board. Who does that on a flag carrier? Where they do win as is with the services and lounges on the ground, but given a choice I fly with Virgin Atlantic as their Prem Eco is the best!
I’ll lend my two cents on this one… I think BA can be hit and miss… I flew from EGLC to EHAM with them last year and that was a nice flight… On the contrary, I flew from Dubrovnik to London with them a few years before that and the plane was really old, dirty, smelly, cramped etc…
Really? I flew HKG-LHR and back and the service was pretty good. FAs were attentive and nice, the pilots even let me visit the cockpit afterwards. It may just vary between flights, aircraft, crew, and timing.
i fly twice a year to ibiza from lcy with ba cityflyer, the cabins are clean and in general the flight attendants are kind and helpful. also the seats tend to be nice but you dont get a free meal unless you fly club europe. in general it is a decent service, but i’ve heard long haul is terrible
I am not getting the same opinions, but thank you all!
By the way, the leg i might fly is Heathrow-Newark. Would you guys reccomend me going with BA? Or should i go in United (direct flight, a bit cheaper, OPO-EWR)?
Being 6’4 seat width on the 747 was an issue, didn’t feel as cramped on the 772(both econ). Haven’t flown short haul with them for a while. IFE reguarly crashes and needs a 30 minute reset. Staff are friendly but not as good as KLM. Food is tasty and a decent quantity. Old cabins feel very dated, and some things need more maintenance such as a headrest that wouldn’t stay up, again not fun when tall
I’m Pretty sure most of the Heathrow based B777’s have new interiors now. I would say to give it a try if it’s cheaper otherwise try Virgin or something.