British Airways » User reviews

TridentGold flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 High J (12/02/2012 16:39)

Took the 08:30 LHR - JFK BA117. After hassle free valet parking, First Check-In took around 5 minutes on a Saturday morning. Check in person initially did not issue onward boarding pass for connecting AA flight, nor attach priority baggage tags. After a polite reminder all was rectified.

Security was a complete shambles. Initially I was directed to the far end of T5 as the Fast Track next to the Concorde Room was allegedly too congested. I waited for around 5 minutes and was eventually allowed through. There was no Fast Track segregation in operation and the entire security screening took around 25 minutes.

Concorde Lounge was a wonderful quiet haven after that, with hardly any customers at 07:00 on a Saturday. Several coffees later I made my way to Gate B37. I have found the quickest way to the B Gates is to avoid the crowds by using the down escalaters in the main terminal and the lifts in the B Island (exactly the opposite to most people).

Boarding was very well organised and I only waited 5 minutes before being shown to my window seat. This 747 was fitted out with the latest First interior which I fiound was a great environment for work, relaxing and sleep. The plastic covers over the window at my seat were already scratched and looking tatty, but the rest of the cabin was in excellent condition. These plastic screens which house the electric blinds also restrict the view out of the aircraft and make any photography of an interesting scene almost impossible.

Departure was delayed by 30 minutes for de-icing procedures, but once underway the flight ran to schedule arriving on time in JFK. The food service on this flight was an unpleasant surprise. An unimaginative hot breakfast followed by an even blander and actually totally unhealthy afternoon tea (fatty sandwichs and cakes) was well below any First Class catering I have experienced across 6 carriers (including BA) in within the last year. Granted, the time of day is early for a transatlantic flight, but BA could have offered a brunch or lunch with the usual full range of dishes. At least they had some bananas and apples in the galley...... Curiously they did offer a splendid wine list, but a Premier Crus Mersault with a Full English did not seem a good match.

Catering aside, the flight was very comfortable and I was able to get plenty of work done, enjoy some good music and a decent rest. The crew were outstanding throughout. Following an on time arrival, disembarcation was underway in 3 minutes, immigration cleared in 10 minutes and my priority tagged bags on the belt 5 minutes after that. The immigration official was thorough and very polite. With my bag dropped for transfer I was on my way to AA for my connecting service to Florida.

In summary, catering apart, it was a very good experience.

kathrynm flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200 (Config. 1) (03/02/2012 11:33)

This was our first long haul flight with BA - previously we have always flown Virgin, usually Premium Economy, but we feel the service in P.E., which used to be very good, has become rather mundane.

So, when we found a good deal with BA for their Club Class flight to Jamaica, we thought we'd give it a try.

Have to say it was absolutely excellent! Aside from the fact the dinner they served on the return journey was not particularly good, I have nothing but praise for the way we were treated.

The seat/ bed arrangement is cleverly thought out with the partition for privacy if required. The service from the cabin crew was courteous, friendly and efficient. The in-flight entertainment was very comprehensive and the food generally, though as I said, not as good on the return leg which we were told had been prepared in Jamaica, was excellent.

In many ways it's almost as good as Virgin Upper Class, though I guess V.U/C has the upper hand in luxury. Obviously haven't tried BA First (and, sadly, never likely to be able to) but, bearing in mind the attached costs, of BA v Virgin U/C, we would choose BA Club every time.

It's a great alternative to U/Class and about two thirds the price.

Sadly, we read that BA will not be flying in to Montego Bay after March, only to Kingston which doesn't suit us for the hotel we prefer in Jamaica.

So, to sum up, great and punctual flight, great service, good level of comfort, great entertainment and very generous luggage allowance - only wish we could afford to do it every time!

sph1977 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (01/02/2012 23:29)

We flew from Heathrow to Lisbon - we being two adults and a 2 year old!

Check In - Lisbon flights depart from Terminal 3. Club check in is right at the end of the check in zone (handy) and we were checked in fairly quickly and given our boarding passes. The check in assistant said little and wasn't particularly friendly.

Security - we guessed that we'd be allowed through fast track and were so admitted. There were no queues and we were through in minutes.

Lounge - The lounge in T3 is outstanding. Much quieter than T5, with a great selection of hot and cold food and drinks. Our toddler was happy to play with his toys in the 'kids zone' room, conveniently well insulated so that he didn't bother other travellers! The baby changing room in the lounge is possibly the nicest I've ever seen anywhere.

Boarding - was really early and at a gate miles away. It was a farce as we were bundled onto a bus which went nowhere until the last passenger turned up.

Seats - The A320 was fitted entirely with the non-adjustable economy seats, the type you usually find towards the back of BA's short haul fleet. This was very surprising - the only difference in the club seats was a few extra inches of legroom. The middle seats were left free but we all sat on the right for easier child control! We also discovered it's very hard to get a 2 year old to keep his seatbelt on and the crew (maybe reasonably) wouldn't allow him an extension seatbelt. Worth thinking about if you're about to travel with a toddler.

Meal - Afternoon tea was served and it was decent, if a little lacking in substance. I've flown Gatwick-Funchal with TAP in business class and the food was far better with them. Our toddler received his pre-ordered child meal which consisted of some finger sandwiches, a packet of m&m's (very useful as a bribe later), cheesy crisps, a yoghurt and a carton of juice. This all met with his approval.

Crew - were very nice and friendly and service was attentive throughout the flight.

Bags - were priority tagged and appeared amongst the first 20%.

Morrs101 flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B737-400 (01/02/2012 10:49)

This is a review of teh return journey from Gatwick to Jersey with BA on January 29, 2012.

I arrived at an abandoned Jersey airport at 1815.

I parked up the hire car in the main car park and deposited the keys and the car park ticket in the drop box, located on the left hand side on entering the terminal, next to a small coffee stand.

I then made my way to the BA desk. I had checked in online already and there was no queue so I went straight to one of the two available desks and handed over my phone, some ID and my case, which I had decided to check in this time as it was so quick off the carousel last time it wasn’t worth wheeling around.

I then passed through security, depositing a few items in my carry on before entering the walled off area, which was deserted. There were no hold ups in security and we were airside by 1830 only to be met by a 50 minute delay with the original flight time of 1940 moved to 2030.

Airside at Jersey airport there is a WH Smiths, large World Duty free and a cafe/bar/restaurant. I also managed to log in to a free wifi network, which was a bonus.

At this time in the evening, with our flight being the last of the day, I could count the heads airside. As soon as our flight was called all the shops started closing down for the day. I did some shopping in duty free and took a seat to read and wait for the flight to be called.

The flight was eventually called at 2000 and we went immediately. We were held at gate 3 for a short amount of time in a very small room before walking out onto the tarmac for a short walk to the stairs.

Me and my travelling partner were sat in 8A and B. The seats on this B737-436 were blue leather and very comfortable if not a bit tatty in places due to age. The seats also had small drinks tables on the two middle armrests. Due to the length of the flight there was no in flight entertainment but a couple of magazines provided. There was a small business section took up rows 1-6 with the middle seats un-sold and was separated by a curtain at the front.

The flight was no more than 25% full so after takeoff I moved to 8C so we could share the space afforded by the empty, narrower middle seat.

Following another short delay due to a change of wind and subsequent change of runway, we pulled back at 2030 and were airborne by 2040.

Food was served at 2055 and consisted of hot and cold drinks, including alcohol. I ordered a tea which came with a soft currant and dark chocolate cookie and my travelling partner had a water which came with a packet of dried cranberries and nuts, nothing more substantial was served.

We began our descent at 2100 and landed with a thud at 2115.

We de-boarded via an air bridge and went back through gates 55A-K which acted as a special channel, avoiding passport control and going straight to a set of carousels numbered 10 and 11. Our bags were off almost immediately and we were landside by 2130.

A great run despite the delay and getting out of the airport and away so easily makes getting home all the sweeter.

Morrs101 flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B737-400 (01/02/2012 10:47)

BA, Euro Traveller, Gatwick NT – Jersey, Friday January 27, flight BA2770, 0835 departure time.

Arrived at the new look North Terminal at 0715 for our 0835 departure on the shortest of hops over to Jersey with British Airways.

I had checked in online and had my boarding pass sent to my phone as had my travelling partner. However she had a bag to check in where I did not so we went to the self service machines, scanned the mobile boarding pass and printed off a luggage tag. Once this was attached we went to one of the few empty desks and handed the baggage over after showing the phone and a driving license for ID to the attendant. We then moved on to security and were pulled out of our queue to a newly opened lane and were through with no issues by 0740.

It was quiet airside so we did some shopping (Ted Baker and WH Smiths) and then grabbed some breakfast from Eat, which was easily twice as busy as any other food outlet in the terminal. We were fortunate to grab a seat though and kept our eye on the board for a gate number. The gate opened at 0755 and we started walking at 0800.

Our gate was 55B which is located in a special separate section for gates 55A-K which I assume is for Channel Island and domestic flights. We showed our boarding passes and some ID. Boarding started immediately after we arrived and there was no queue either in the waiting area or on the air bridge. We were sat in 9A and B.

The seats on this B737-436 were blue leather and very comfortable if not a bit tatty in places due to age. The seats also had small drinks tables on the two middle armrests. Due to the length of the flight there was no in flight entertainment but a couple of magazines provided. There was a small business section took up rows 1-6 with the middle seats un-sold and was separated by a curtain at the front. The flight was no more than 25% full so after takeoff I moved to 9C so we could share the space afforded by the empty, narrower middle seat.

Pulled back at 0830 for a 0840 takeoff and breakfast was brought round as soon as possible, arriving at 0850. This consisted of a brittle pastry chocolate twist, a MOMA wild berry and oats low-fat yoghurt pot and a strawberry Actimel served with tea, coffee, juice and water. The day was clear offering good views of the coast and Isle of Mann during the flight.

Cabin crew soon cleared the rubbish away before taking seats for landing at 0905. We hardly had time to pick up a magazine between breakfast and landing on Jersey at 0920.

We disembarked in no time and there was no passport control so we waited for our bags to come off. Our bag was the first off and we were at the Avis car hire desk by 0930. Avis office is located off site so we boarded a bus with one other couple for the five minute journey to get our vehicle for the weekend.

KeaneJohn flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (31/01/2012 12:39)

I arrived at Prague Airport at 1245 for a 1440 departure to find nobody in line at the Club Europe desks. Check in formalities were over quickly and I went through passport control and up to the Menzies Lounge. The offering here was extremely poor with the only glasses available liquer tumblers or wine glasses. A rather flat bottle of Demi Sekt Brut that could have been bought in a supermarket for less than £4 was their "champagne".

Interesting to note the Emirates uses this lounge for their departures. Headed to the gate 30 minutes before departure as the security is done at the gateroom. After I had gone through security as I was approaching the podium I was called as the last remaining passenger to board immediately, a bit OTT I thought.

On board seating was of the spacesaver variety with the middle seat in a set of 3 empty. I actually found this more comfortable than the compressed seats, very much akin to the seating comfort of LX short haul business class.

Coats were taken and the cabin settled. Pushback was 20 minutes early and take off not long after.

Hot towels came round followed by a drinks order. Passengers were addressed by name by a very friendly and efficient Cabin Services Manager throughout the service.

This was an infamous Afternoon Tea service something that I wasn't that keen on. There were 2 finger sandwiches that were very tasty, warm scones were served together with a piece of very dry carrot cake. The CSM came round with ordinary tea but offered a range of teas, one of them being my favourite Earl Grey. This was the perfect finishing touch.

It was a shame to see so much food waste with nobody eating the carrot cake let alone the expense for BA.. Maybe BA should have prepacked smaller portions of cake such as they do have on Virgin Trains and one extra finger sandwich.

We pulled onto stand 20 minutes ahead of schedule and a dedicated Club Europe bus was waiting for the 6 Club Europe passengers to arrivals.. E gates were working so straight through again and surprisingly luggage was starting to come through. Although mine was tagged priority it wasn't one of the first off but I was walking out of the customs hall just as other passengers from the flight were arriving at the belt.

I was even on the Heathrow Connect service to Ealing Broadway 7 minutes after our scheduled time of arrival.

In summary an excellent experience enhanced by an excellent crew and early arrival to be let down only by the Prague deparures (gateroom security and poor lounge).

The Afternoon Tea was not so much of a let down as I thought it would be but given the choice again, I would opt for the departure from Prague a couple of hours earlier in future to get a full hot meal service.

KeaneJohn flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (28/01/2012 11:48)

I checked in at Manchester Airports Gold, Silver, First and Club check in desk for my flight down to Heathrow and onwards to Prague. Was greeted by a disinterested staff member obviously a bit miffed that I had interrupted her texting on her phone. Asked about the transfer process to be told that she would tag my bags through to Prague. I also asked if there was space saver seats on the Prague flight or if it was the compressed seats on the left hand side. I was told seating was 2 x 2 configuration- something that I knew already but didn't have my question answered. I normally never make a point of leaving the check in desk until my bag has been tagged and on its way down but the the dagger looks I got from the agent before she had affixed the label meant that I turned away.

The Executive Club lounge was quiet but had ample refreshments with a team of 3 people making the lounge spotless and tidy, I asked the same question about spacesaver seats to the lounge host who said he would try to find out for me. 30 minutes later he came back to tell me that is was the compressed seats that would be used for my Prague flight.. I hope it didn't take him this long to find out !

A punctual boarding was quite promising save for the fact that Manchester Airport had been covered in a smattering of snow in a freak storm that lasted about 15 minutes. This was sufficient to close the runway and required planes be de-iced. Captain advised us we were no 1 in the queue for de-icing by which time the runway was expected to be reopened. 30 minutes later an update from the Captain to inform us that a Thompson Aircraft was being deiced. Proactive crew came round with water and orange juice and then followed with the notorious ipad approaching people with tight connections at Heathrow. Regular updates from a clearly frustrated Captain informed us that 3 aircraft (Manchester based!) had been deiced we would be next and we finally pushed back 80 minutes after STD. A short taxi and we were airborne. Drink and snack served so efficiently. I have no idea how the crew can provide such a quick service on a 28 minute flight. Landed at Terminal 5 with extra staff meeting the aircraft for passengers with missed connections again a nice touch.

Fairly effortless transfer to T3 and straight to a rather busy Galleries Lounge. Staff worked tirelessly to replenish and clear away. Just enough time for a glass of champagne and some cheese and biscuits. A few other savoury nibbles would have been welcomed as they only seemed to have full size packets of crisps.

I asked the lounge host if the Club Europe cabin was busy and was told that it was half full and when she returned my boarding card to me she advised me that she had taken the liberty to block the empty seat next to me. An extremely nice and welcome touch.

Boarding for the Prague flight was from the infamous gate 24 via bus to the aircraft. Something that let the overall experience down.

Once on board settled into a half full cabin with coats taken quickly and efficiently. We were 10 minutes late pushing back and had a 30 minute taxi but after take off a welcome hot towel was given out followed by a bar service with nuts. The nuts offered were branded Club World but to be honest were not as nice as the mixed back of savoury snacks served in Euro Traveller and on the flight from Manchester.

Supper was served after that with the options of chicken or fish. I am not a great fish lover at the best of times but this cod looked amazing so I thought I would opt for that. I am so glad that I did. It was very tasty probably one of the best meals I have had on an aircraft in Business Class and went down well with some champagne. Crew were very attentive with nothing was too much trouble (including sourcing a bag of Euro Traveller nuts!) Landing was 20 minutes late and with a short walk to immigration, use of the biometric passport gates I was at the luggage reclaim counter within 2 minutes. Priority tagged luggage was the first to be appear with my bag as the second. All in all a very pleasant flight experience and a most welcome improvement to the Club Europe service. I mentioned this to the Cabin Services Manager who seemed to genuinely appreciate the comments.

A couple of members of staff really enhanced the overall experience one that was only let down by the initial check in experience and boarding by bus at LHR T3. I

Living next to LCY I have used LX/LH for my European and Long haul Business Class flights via ZRH/FRA so it has been 3 years since I experienced BA. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased as I have another 6 flights with BA between now and April.

Kayelondon flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (25/01/2012 13:32)

I travelled World Traveller Plus from London to Sydney and didn't think it was worth the price difference.

Normally I travel business class and I tried WTP to see if it was worth it - maybe if you are used to travelling Economy you would think it was.

The seats recline maybe a couple of inches and have barely any difference in size between economy and WTP so I'm unsure what you are paying a premium for. Blow the budget and fly Business. I'm unsure of the plane - jumbo which they are apparently phasing out...

frustratedflyer flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200 (18/01/2012 17:03)

I was in seat 10D for the flight from Doha to London (via Bahrain). The seat was the first row of the cabin but close to the toilet.

When I had checked in online the service had been advertised as a sleeper service and invited me to dine in the lounge. I knew with the stop it would not quite be a sleeper service but was therefore expecting food in the lounge in line with the pre-dining BA promised.

BA shares the Oryx lounge with all non Qatar Airways passengers. There is a limited supply of food, a couple of sandwiches, biscuits, pasta salad, humous, soup but nothing that would qualify for pre-dining as you get on the New York sleeper service.

Boarding took place efficiently and on time. The Cabin was quiet and with just a few passengers for the first leg of the trip. I had my jacket taken from me and was offered a drink. No newspaper was offered. During the short hop to Bahrain the crew did not offer a drink and were not really present in the cabin.

Whilst on the ground in Bahrain I was given my bottle of water for the night and I asked for a newspaper. I was offered a copy of the Times that had been clearly been read before and was the only person in the cabin to be lucky enough to get a newspaper at all.

As I wanted to sleep as soon as I could I reclined my bed and pulled my quilt over me. I slept well and woke up at the end of the breakfast service. I was ignored by the staff and was surprised not even to be offered a juice.

Good seat, poor service.

frustratedflyer flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B777-200 (18/01/2012 15:19)

The flight from LHR T5 to Doha (via Bahrain) left on time. I was sitting in the front row of World Traveller Plus in an Aisle seat (21D). As only the bulkhead was in front the legroom was quite good and I was lucky that the only spare seat in the cabin was next to me!

Newspapers and menus were given out before take off. Shortly after take off a drinks service took place. This was followed soon after by a lunch service. This was the first time I had experienced the enhanced lunch service that is similar to what was served in Club World. Gone are the plastic trays and food is served from proper plates and cutlery.

Lunch was a salad followed by a choice of Chicken or Lamb. I opted for the chicken which was a large boneless breast with roasted veg, potatoes and bread sauce. Desert was disappointiung being a chocolate fudge mousse affair in a yoghurt pot. Before landing a chocolate bar and choice of cheese or meat sandwich were offered. I had the cheese but just nibbled the middle as the bread was a bit stale.

We landed in Bahrain on time and stayed on baord for just over an hour when the Bahrain bound passengers disembarked and the cleaners came onboard. Some of the crew changed and they restarted the IFE so people could watch the movies. THE IFE system was disappointing as there were limited channels, a small screen and there was no ability to stop or start. On the short hop to Doha there was an offering of orange juice or water.

Sevice was good throughout both legs and the flight arrived in Doha on time.

annageneharrison flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a A320 (17/01/2012 19:23)

Really charming and efficient crew as usual.

Free drinks in abundance but only packs of biscuits for an afternoon snack - used to be sandwiches!

Nice to get a free up to the minute newspaper.

simonlawslondon flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (01/01/2012 10:45)

BA has significantly improved the quality of food in Club World with its new menus. Fillet steak, fish etc are all beautifully cooked and tasty. The presentation is good no longer a foil tray inverted on a china plate it actually looks like its been served fresh. They have also trimmed the wine list so all are now available.
Combined with the professional and intuitive service of the cabin crew I would recommend BA above the others.

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A321 (13/12/2011 18:37)

Arrived over 2 hours ahead of time, self check in and bag drop worked well.

We were guided to the novia? lounge. This facility had plenty of hot and cold drink, as well as light snacks, we spent the time reading the independent close to the SAS gates.

Boarding was about 25 minutes before departure to a very empty cabin with only 4 of us. Door closed 15 minutes ahead and push back was 10 minutes early. After a short taxi we took off.

The purser Jane did a spendid job, drinks were offered and then the meal arrived a vegetable taglietellie, which was very good. My partner asked for red wine and was offered 3 different red choices. Similarly there were 2 choices of white wine.

Service was very polite and we were asked about how long we'd been in Copenhagen. Due to being early we were stacked and flew in over central london, still arriving early.

Well done BA, good to see some excellent service.

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (13/12/2011 18:29)

Checked in the evening before and were able to select the back row together, but little other choice.

Arrived at Terminal 5 a good 2 hours ahead of departure and once bags were checked in found the lounge airside. Good range of food and drinks.

Headed to gate just as boarding commenced. 16/20 business seats were taken and the flight overall seemed fairly full. Push back was prompt and take off 20 or so minutes later.

Pre-dinner drinks were offered, followed by our vegy specials, a rice dish with a bit of spice, very palatable. Drinks and refills were offered and the crew worked hard, being both polite and pleasant. Arrived slightly early and bags arrived soon after arrival.

An exellent 1 1/2 hour flight.

TominScotland flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B767-300 Domestic (06/12/2011 12:57)

British Airways recently increased capacity on the Glasgow - Heathrow route (in response to the BMI withdrawal) by including one 767 rotation to complement the standard 320/321 equipment we are used to. By dint of bad planning, I was on this 09.30 flight out of Glasgow on two consecutive days so this review is an amalgam of both experiences.

Both days were awful weather-wise in Glasgow, snow on the first and ice on the second but both services operated to time, even though they were about 15 minutes late on the inbound to Glasgow. Boarding was via a single air bridge and was called by seat row number.

On the first day, there was no BAEC Gold and Silver priority call (I am Blue so did not upset me). However, a number of those exiting the Terraces Lounge were clearly upset at this slight to their self-importance and engaged the ground staff in extended argument, delaying boarding while they demonstrated this self-importance. Maybe some of the 'My BA - right or wrong' brigade who post on this site were among them - confessions anyone?

One aboard, everything was milk and honey - rather, bacon, sausage and eggs which remains the real treat of flying BA Domestic in the morning.

The 767 gives considerably more leg-room and this has to be one of the big pluses of this rotation. Neither flight was full so the comfort was enhanced. The cabin decor is a bit tired but that is not a major problem.

Cabin crew were great on both flights and information from the flight deck was plentiful. We arrived at T5A and disembarked via air bridge both times - not always the case with the A320/1.

The two return legs, by 737 from Gatwick and the normal Airbus from Heathrow were fine but not up to the feeling of comfort offered by the 767. A few more rotations, BA?

DisgustedofSwieqi flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (04/12/2011 08:49)

Picked up my boarding pass at Orly West and made my way to the Iberia lounge, which is landside and the opposite end of the terminal to BA's check-in desks and boarding area, which is in the non Schengen part of the terminal.

I've used the Iberia lounge for several years, as it also hosts other airlines I use and it is not one of my favourites, although it has received some improvements in the last year. The selection of drinks and snacks do not compare to the Galleries lounges.

I walked down to the gate a -45 minutes, to allow for the 200m stroll and also passport and security fomalities. By the time I cleared security, the lfight was boarding and I took advantage of the business class lane, which then fed back into the main queue - it probably saved me a few minutes in line.

I was greeted by name at the door, by a cabin manager who was wearing the 'Thunderbirds are go!' hat and directed to my seat.

The cabin manager was personable and polite, also appeared very much on top of her job.

We departed on time and the flight to London was around 45 minutes, with a meal of assorted mezes (tasty) and a mini bottle of Pommery champagne, which washed it down very nicely.

The cabin manager did a couple of rounds during the flight, to check if I wanted anything else.

On arrival at Heathrow, deplaning was efficient and Iris was working. With hand luggage, I was out of the terminal 20 minutes after touchdown and onto the HEX.

Good flight, good service, like BA 15 years ago - well done.

Devasish flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B767-300 (04/12/2011 05:57)

Last year I purchased saperate return ticket connect with Singapore Air Lines flown all the way Dhaka-Singapore-London and London-Toronto-London I accumulate points total journey with BA only 500 points both ways which is totally stunning and outrages. Other hand Singapore Air Lines gave me for Aeroplan Points 18000. Where is only for British Air Ways I purchased the ticket cost me 2280 US dollars. If I would fly with Emirates, Etahad, Qatar Air Ways and Cathay Pacific it would cost me about 1400 dollars. 400 more add with Business class on CX. Service was too bad, food so so, seats like on the plastic toys. So rubbish. When I asked for 2nd time red wine..they did not serve me, despite of I gave the oriental little aged stewrdees 20$ as a tips. She never turn her face once on me even. So total trip Ticket 2280+ one night airport Marriott Hotel LH 350$ local airport shuttle 15$ and Food another 50$. God! Ijust waste the money choosing BA.

Devasish flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B767-300 (04/12/2011 05:39)

Grandhotel32 flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a A320 (03/12/2011 05:48)

I last flew BA in 2004 and vowed never again. It was from BKK to Mel. It felt like what a Butlins holiday camp on a bad day must be like. As a rule, I do NOT fly western airlines such as BA, Qantas, AirFrance or any of the American ones. V poor service, cabin crew w bad attitude. Asian airlines are the best. SIA, MAS, Thai, Cathay, ChinaAirlines. Qatar is good, Emirates is acceptable. Thank You.

shiningwhite flew British Airways (02/12/2011 17:20)

I booked a return BA World Traveller flight for my Thai girlfriend from Bangkok to London returning to Bangkok on 21st November.

I believe the flight to London was OK. On the return flight from London to Bangkok, passengers were kept waiting in the aircraft on the ground at Heathrow for 3 hours before take off.

When the aircraft eventually took off, at about midnight, there was no food available during the flight other than a small salad. Consequently passengers were on the aircraft for a total of about 15 hours with no significant food. Is it normal BA policy to expect travellers to go without food on long haul flights?

When I complained to BA on her behalf, they refused to talk to me initially without her agreement. This was because my name was not on the ticket, despite having paid for it with my credit card.

When she eventually e-mailed BA to say I could handle her complaint, they offered her a paltry £30 discount voucher for a future BA flight. I told them that I didn't consider that sufficient for the discomfort & distress caused and would seek advice regarding our rights.

Do we have a right to reasonable compensation? We will certainly not be booking flights with BA in future anyway. Every time I tried to telephone BA I've been put on hold for at least 30 minutes. Their customer service is appalling.

I can't rate the other aspects of the flight as I was fortunate enough not to be on it!

DisgustedofSwieqi flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (02/12/2011 13:48)

Mixed fleet flight from Orly to Heathrow.

GordyUK flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 Mid J (02/12/2011 11:16)

I'm reviewing both outward and inbound flights together as pretty much everything was the same.

Boarding was good, but not perfect. On both occassions I asked to pre board. Outward they didn't say and by the time we got there, all lines were open. On return they did remember but we boarded 30 seconds before everyone else.

My heart sank upon boarding. Both planes were OLD First. After 18 month BA you really need to pull your finger out with this. This rollout has been glacial in speed!. That said, I cannot fault much else. The crew were brilliant both ways. Engaging, interested in the passengers (and both flights were packed).

AVOD has had it. Its a disnosaur now. The quality of the entertainment on those tiny blue screens (Even NCW have larger screens!) was awful as was the sound. However at least it worked and the choice of entertainment and films was great.

The food was faultless. Even on the return journey when the crew were not happy with the quality of the food that was loaded, I saw no problem with it. It all tasted great. The wines were good, as were the champagnes.

Both flights were early, and baggae arrived off first (for once). I was even amazed that a box of wine made it to the carousel undamaged.

BA's fantatsic reputation really is based on its crew. I guess i'll have to start saving and hope than in another 18 months, New First might have reached the whole fleet.

GordyUK flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-500 (02/12/2011 11:07)

This was the return leg of the CPT/DUR I have reviewed the Traveller class for.

This time we were able to purchase an upgrade to Club for ZAR500 which seemed worth it.

Again the flight was rammed full. We were very lucky to have 1D/F with no one sat between us (every other club row had seat E filled).

People say Business class on shorthaul isn't worth it. I totally disagree!. Once that curtain was closed, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different from the hell that was the previous journey.

That said, the food was very poor. I have always loved the food in Club Europe but this was some over spicy mezze, and that was it.. 3 dips in cute pots with breads. I thought it was a starter!. Nothing else. No dessert or cheese and actually thinking about it now, despite being offered a drink before lunch, there was no offering with/after lunch. Not even tea or coffee. If i'd paid full price for this I would have been raging.

The crew, as always were great but I have seriously marked them down for allowing every man and his dog to pile through the curtain to the Club lavatory. There is only 1 up front!

GordyUK flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B737-500 (02/12/2011 11:01)

This was a BA/COMAIR flight.

We were bumped onto this flight 2 weeks before departure as our original flight was cancelled. I don't know why South African airlines (in general, not SAA themselves) seem to need to change every flight that is ever made in advance!.

Club was full and this Traveller class flight was the firm reminder why I NEVER do it. The plane was packed, the seats were excrutiatingly uncomfortable.

The food was so poor, that the passengers has to tell the crew the difference between the omlette and the savoury pancake!, although to be fair they looked & tasted identical so easy mistake to make.

This was a real case of "cancel the later flight and just cram them all onto the 6am one!

The only redeeming feature of this flight was that the crew were polite, and trying their best.

TridentGold flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-400 (28/11/2011 06:39)

This was a BA/Comair service on a 1hour 20 minute flight from Durban to Johannesburg.

I have flown this route many times in the last couple of years on 5 different carriers and Comair deserve a mention.

Check in at the excellent 18 month old King Shaka International Airport was busy but very efficient. I was served with a smile, checked in, and baggage tagged to London in 5 minutes. Security at Durban was very busy on this Friday afternoon, but they make a real effort here to keep things moving and I was through to the BA Lounge 10 minutes later.

This lounge, called The Slow Lounge (no kidding) has to be one of the best small lounges in the World. All of the (many) staff are helpful, friendly and deliver great service. The range of food and drink available is staggering and the ambience with it's unique mix of fusion music easy to relax in.

There were delays due to weather, but the lounge staff kept everyone up to date every 15 minutes or so. The inbound aircraft was 35 minutes late but a stunning turnaround had us all boarding within 20 minutes of arrival.

The seats are the very comfortable old style Club Europe type with two on the A/C side where I was sitting. Immediately after departure, drinks and a full dinner service for those who wanted it were provided. BA Comair always seem to have a good selection of wines and a choice of four hot main courses, and this flight was no exception. Even on this busy service, everyone was served promptly with a smile.

Arrival into Johannesburg was 30 minutes late, but we were off the plane quickly and I myself hurrying along for my connection to London after a thouroughly pleasant short haul flying experience. This quality level is typical in my experience with BA Comair and is significantly better than main rivals SAA.

TridentGold flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 Mid J (28/11/2011 06:21)

I checked in at Durban for what is a regular trip back from JNB to LHR.

After an uneventful but slightly (30m) late BA Comair flight my connection was down to 80m but since last year's World Cup, immigration and security at J'burg, even on a busy Friday night, are efficient.

I decided to bypass the BA Lounge and walk directly to the gate to board before the rush. However this did not work as boarding was totally disorganised with no attempt to segregate priority boarding even though both jet ways were connected. A wait of around 15 minutes was followed a further 15 minutes standing on a crowded jetway before boarding actually progressed. This seems to be a frequent occurrence boarding BA flights in J'burg and is poor compared to my experience with Emirates, Etihad and even Air France this year.

Once on board however, everything quickly improved. I was in my sleeper suit with a glass of Laurent-Perrier, wash bag, menu and newspaper within 10 minutes. The crew were efficient and really helpful which was to continue throughout the flight. Departure was spot on time and after a short taxi we were on our way.

This flight departs at 21:35 and recognising that many passengers (myself included) wanted to eat quickly and get to sleep, the service of drinks and dinner was rapid (without being rushed). The smoked salmon starter and roast chicken were beautifully presented but bland and dissapointing (food quality out of J'burg often seems to be relatively poor on BA).

The wine however was a joy. Pheasant's Run Sauvignon Blanc was full flavoured in the style of Cloudy Bay and the 2004 Chateau Lafitte which followed was stunning. Both these wines maintained bouquet and taste really well at altitude. This aircraft was still configured in the old First Class configuaration, and the IFE was limited to a small screen although on this occasion it worked flawlessly (not all that common).

The seat though was extremely comfortable and with a relatively smooth flight over the equatorial region and Sahara I slept really well. I was offered a cup of tea within minutes of waking up (a really nice touch) and enjoyed a small breakfast of juice, yoghurt and fruit which was fine.

With favourable winds we commenced our approach into the London area 30 minutes early only to be held orbiting around SE London for the same amout of time! Arrival at C Gates was exactly on time, disembarking within 5 minutes followed by the train to the main T5 Building. I used the lifts to and from the shuttle train, which always saves at least 5 minutes over the escalators.

Immigration was busy but running well and I was in the baggage hall 15 minutes after arriving at the gate. Although the bags started appearing almost immediately, mine did not. After 45 minutes of frustration it was found to have been sent to the transfer section and eventually, 60 minutes after arrival at the gate, returned to me (this has also happened before).

The T5 Arrivals lounge is a supurb facility and I was able to enjoy a relaxed shower and a great breakfast in a very quiet Concord Room before making the short walk to collect my car from valet parking.

Even with the tardy boarding, mediocre food and irritating baggage handling, this flight still just about compared favourably in overall terms to F-Class experience via DXB, AUH or ZRH. The main reasons being the avoidance of an en route connection, the BA crew who were excellent, the cabin comfort and ambience which is good and T5 with it's supurb arrival lounge facility.

However, BA really do need to sort out their ground handling and food supply in J'burg and baggage handling in London if this passenger is not going to experiment further with alternative carriers.

Paul_1684 flew British Airways (26/11/2011 00:49)

OK, so I am probably the last person in the world to realize that short-haul business class is a waste of money. I was flying Heathrow to Barcelona (2hr flight) , as the last leg of a journey that started in Malaysia (flew Etihad business class from Malaysia to UK - superb as always). My hosts had booked me in economy and, since I was already tired from the previous trips, thought I'd treat myself and paid the upgrade of about £540 to business.

The lounge at Heathrow was fine - no complaints; likewise the check-in. But as I boarded the plane, my heart sank. Business class is "created" simply by means of a movable partition. The only advantage over economy is that the middle seats are left empty, and the food/drink is free. No in-flight entertainment (what???), mediocre food, no power points for laptops. The seats were scruffy (worn leather, frayed stitching, stains) and uncomfortable, and the whole cabin had a cheap plasticky feel.

As I said, I'm sure that seasoned travellers know that it's not worth flying business for short-haul flights. However, selling seats like this, at these prices, to unsuspecting customers is a scam. Complete waste of £540, and I can't see how they an justify it; no way will I ever fly short-haul business again, particularly with BA.

MarkHopwood flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (21/11/2011 22:53)

First Impressions: Arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare airport on a domestic American flight from Minneapolis, the AA stewardess rattled off a string of domestic departure gates, ending by saying that British Airways customers would be met at the gate as we left the aircraft.

We were escorted through the terminal to Gate K20 to a minibus then across the apron to Terminal 5 and dropped a short walk from BA gate M12 and adjacent lounge, bypassing security. A great start to the BA experience!
 
Check In: I had already checked in at Minneapolis through to London as a World Traveller Plus customer. The Chicago BA Lounge representative was helpful and efficient, politely declining a cheeky request to use the lounge but offered me a $400 upgrade to club class!

I immediately booked two for my travelling companion and myself, the transaction efficiently managed at the lounge desk on my credit card.
 
The Lounge: The Lounge at O’Hare is an extensive facility for a destination with only two BA flights a day. Spacious, modern and well equipped it provides a welcome haven from one of the world’s most hectic airports.

A dedicated dining area provides a full buffet dinner for those customers using the sleeper service on the late evening London flight. The choice of food included a fantastic beef casserole, tuna cooked rare in the centre and a fantastically fresh salad along with a selection of fresh fruit and cheeses.

There were plenty of internet connected PCs and a selection of lounge and desk seating with US and UK reading material.
 
Boarding:  I had been advised the flight would be called at 2100 and so it was precisely this time when the lounge announcement was made. I didn’t rush out, finishing my drink, packing my laptop and visiting the facilities meant I was last out and I found the economy passengers had been given access to the First and Club lane!

I eventually got on board after a queue on the air-bridge. The Club World cabin was full and the crew struggled to simultaneously seat customers, allow economy passengers to pass, stow jackets and bags and serve a welcome drink!
 
The Seat: The flight was operated by one of BA’s oldest 777s. As new 777-300s enter traffic, BA is going to have to think how it can accelerate the refurbishment of these aircraft which appear worn and past their sell by date.

Club World on the BA 777 is spread across six rows and is in the now familiar alternating forward and reverse formation. My travelling companion and I were seated in backward facing seats 13E/F in the centre of the cabin.

Annoyingly the metal frame of my seat was loose and rattled and the fold out TV screen had to be assisted from its frame as the eject mechanism was worn.
 
The flight: After a quick push, we took off at 21:45 – not bad for a 21:35 scheduled departure. Although lounge staff had told us to eat in the lounge as the sleeper flight served no food, soon after take off crew came round taking orders for food followed by a drinks service. The crew then mislaid my order although once I pointed out I had no food, they quickly rectified this.

Supper was a choice of Seared Prawns on a bed of greens with roast beets or fillet of beef with vegetables and fondant potato. My order of prawns was tasty and had a just cooked consistency.

The entertainment system was an old style ‘loop’ system which worked adequately but is just not what customers can experience on many other airlines!

I ignored the entertainment and, after dinner, settled down for the night and was able to sleep well. I woke just before breakfast, freshened up and then enjoyed a selection of fresh fruit and a bacon roll!
 
Arrival:  We touched down at Heathrow at 09.50. Having arrived 25 minutes early, we parked at a remote stand, unable to disembark for 10 minutes or so until dedicated transfer buses arrived to shuttle us to the terminal. Terminal 5 is great in many ways but bussing premium passengers to the terminal is not a world class travel experience!

The E-immigration line was shut so had to queue for passport control. Made my way to BA Arrivals Lounge which, at 10.30, was rather quiet but is a great facility which a fantastic choice of breakfast. I was able to shower, change and refresh before heading to Central London on Heathrow Express.
 
Overall Verdict: A great value upgrade from World Traveller Plus but the old Club World cabins look increasingly tired against new aircraft.

Excellent night of sleep across the Atlantic and BA provided good quality food. Great arrivals facilities at Terminal 5 somewhat spoilt by remote parking of the aircraft and lack of buses.

gburns123 flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B777-200 (Config. 1) (19/11/2011 22:36)

Great airline! I requested the bassinet for our 1 yr 8 month old son online when I bought my tickets.

We got what we requested when checking-in. I asked if the plane was full, they said it wasn't and I asked if we could get an additional seat so we could lay out. At the boarding counter the gentleman helped us out and got us an entire row. Most helpful! Same thing on the way back to San Diego. The entertainment could have been more, but i did enjoy the "route map" they had.

RocketRoy flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (05/11/2011 08:11)

SUPERB!

sallyDAW flew British Airways (03/11/2011 04:33)

We flew premium economy to Cape Town last week. I struggle to see how they justify charging any more than an economy fare.

The only extra I can see we had was 3 inches more seat room and and extra baggage allowance. We went on the overnight Heathrow to Cape Town. The plane was old and the very tired looking.

The seats were very uncomfortable even when reclined and the food was of a very very quality. It was overcooked, dried up, badly presented and almost inedible.

The staff were not very friendly or efficient. The flight going out was full and there was only 1 steward serving the cabin we were in.

We returned on the day flight which was almost empty but once again the same experience, in fact i think they forgot about serving lunch as we had nothing from after breakfast at about 8.30am till 3pm when the lunch came, during that time we were only offered a glass of water/ juice.

We have been on premium economy on Air New Zealand and several other carriers and each experience has been worth the extra money.

Also the inflight entertainment didnt work for most of the outward journey.

BA will never be my first choice of airline again and I certainly wouldnt recommend them.

Dadou73 flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B747-400 Mid J (24/10/2011 15:08)

LHR to JFK, nice flight, on time, a bit disappointed by the old seats and entertainment system, the food is always the same: pastas or chicken, which is pretty good and enough for 6h30 of flight.

As always, cabin crew is very nice and always giving to you a smile.

When you push the call button they are here in the minute.

However, boarding in LHR is always a mess.

gfvalentine flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (23/10/2011 16:10)

I attmpted to fly to Mumbai on BA 199 on the 27th September.

Everything seemed fine until we were about to leave and the Captain advised us that we had a small technical problem. After 4 hours (now 2.00am) we were told that the fight was cancelled, we should deplane, and collect our baggage.

All BA were prepared to advise us was that we could have a hotel voucher and that after 5.30 am we could try and rebook either by phone (I do not live in the UK and roaming calls are expensive) or on the internet or we could come back to T5 and the BA desks would be open. The BA "management" just wanted us to get out of the airport and not be an inconvenience to them. We were given no news about future flight options and it was very clear to the 300 or so passengers that we were a problem to BA and should just go away (they even called the police as people started to get angry).

I chose to go to the BA Desks in T5 and wait through the night, I figured it was not worth trying to get to a hotel and I needed to know what was going to happen as I had clients in Mumbai waiting for me.

Fortunately the Airport Night Manager was not a BA Manager and he showed sympathy for the 150 or so of us camping on the floor in T5 and he tried to help and supplied us with some refreshments, he even tried to contact BA but he had no joy either.

During the night the line became longer as people returned from hotels that were full and so by 5.15 or so the Airport manager was trying to brief the BA Managers.

They were clearly annoyed that so many passengers were waiting for them. Finally he and his team set up lines as the BA managers were clearly not intetested in helping us. Eventually we were able to get to the BA desk where the staff (clearly not BA managers) did their best to help.

Moral of the story:
Do not expect BA to help if there is a problem when it is inconvenient for them (i.e at night). Many people wondered why BA could not find another plane or another crew or someone who could work their booking system at night; and we were at Heathrow!! They just wanted to get rid of us.

I will try not to be a inconvenience to BA in the future, whenever possible I'll choose another airline, much better for BA managers. I have been a BA Gold Card holder for 25 years and it's sad.

I hope other business travelers can benefit from my unfortunate experience.

Graham Valentine

DrLibra flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (21/10/2011 14:16)

I flew from LHR to LAX on the 747 High J, and I was seated in the upstairs cabin (Club World).

I must say I was quite surprised with the quality of the product. I have heard so many negative comments about the BA Club World, but I really enjoyed it, and actually did not want to leave the plane when we arrived in LA.. 11 hours just flew by in no time at all..

I connected to this flight from OSL, and the transfer was quick and easy in the Fast Lane.
The lounge was huge, and because of this not very pleasant. The VS lounge is just so much better!

My onboard experience was excellent, ecxept for one thing. I was sitting in the last row upstairs, so I was the last one to choose my meal. And they did not have what I wanted.. And this was the case for all meal servings.. This was very disappointing.
The cabin crew were excellent! Very service minded.
The upstairs cabin is very private and quiet, and this makes the experience so much better than the downstairs cabin.

Arrived LA on time, and I really didn't want to leave my "mini suite"! Immigration in the US took 2 hours! So not a very good end of a great flight..

buster84 flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a A319 (14/10/2011 11:41)

If you're a tall person, the Euro Traveller seats can be a tight squeeze, unless you are lucky enough to be seated in the front row.

Seatbelts can be a little bit too short if you are larger than the average sized passenger, but extensions are readily available from the cabin crew.

I would have expected a bit more from the meal service, but all in all it was not too bad.

Immigration was a breeze, I had actually expected to be standing there for ages.

Picking up my baggage leaves a lot to be desired. I was standing at belt number 3 for at least 45 minutes waiting, but nothing.

I then went over to the Baggage Enquiries desk, gave them my tag number, and was very annoyed when they told me that "your bag is on belt number 8, it's been there for at least 15 minutes".

nigelbrinklow flew British Airways Club World, on a A318 (04/10/2011 13:35)

I flew on BA001 on Thurs 22nd Sept 2011 from LCY to JFK. The lounge at City is quite small, but is restricetd to BA001 passengers only. There was champagne, wine, soft drinks, tea, coffee and a small selection of warm canapes and buscuits.

Boarding was very smooth and the interior cabin was clean and bright. The cabin crew on the flight were wonderful. They were friendly and helpful. The food was among the best I've had in the air. I would normally avoid steak on a flight, but seeing as the contract for the supply of catering is with Roast I gave it a try. I was not dissapointed.

The seat is much wider than the regular CW seat and I think it is also a lot more comfortable. The controls are easy to reach and operate and there are plenty of options to choose from to get comfy. The seat folds down to a completely flat bed.

The IFE system was an iPad. I had read some iffy reviews of teh previous system and the cabin crew confirmed that the old system was not up to scratch. The iPad was pre-loaded with lots of films, TV shows and a couple of games. I was perfectly happy.

The short stop at Shannon was fine and we were back on the plane in no time. There was no queue in the immigration hall and for the first time I saw a US immigration officer smile!

The flight over to JFK was smooth and went by too quickly. The high tea that was offered before landing could probably be improved on. The scones were nice, but I didn't like any oif the sandwiches. The alternative salad was very small. However, as we were not in New York for business we were not too bothered as we knew we'd be going out for food in the city.

Disebmarkment was hampered by a fault with the airbridge, but once the ground staff had finally rememembered how to work the thing we were off and skipped past the 100's of people queuing in the immigration hall, as we had already pre-cleared immigration.

All in all I would definately recommend this flight. I did worry before hand in case it was too forcussed towards business passengers, but I needn't have worried. The crew tailored their service accordingly.

I am saving for my next trip!!

Henryp1 flew British Airways First, on a B777-200 (18/09/2011 10:13)

DXB to LHR Tuesday morning departure.

Quick and easy check in and and to lounge in about 2 minutes, DXB lounge is very old and tired, but on this visit was not full to capacity. Very modest breakfast offering, washrooms also very old and tired. When full this lounge which is shared by all becomes uncomfortably packed.

Boarding only fine as although fast track at gate, this merged into the general queue to board the aircraft, and into a very old 1st class cabin, fortunately only 4 passengers in cabin and not full of upgrades as can often be the case.

Lovely service from the crew who made a superb service with an attentive, friendly and warm experience. I paid for IFE as the old tiny screen in place. IFE selection for a short flight of 7 hours was fine.

Lunch fairly unpleasant, but as always never expect great food from any airline.

In general a good experience with the crew who made this possible.

Henryp1 flew British Airways First, on a B777-200 (18/09/2011 10:01)

LHR to AUH, Friday morning departure.

T5 quiet and 1st class check in empty, but not managed well and little groups of staff chating away. Have experienced great check in and this was not such an experience. Quickly though to CCR where it appeared that a trainee was at reception, not able to answer basic questions.

As always cabana a little haven of privacy, but showing signs of age with stained soft furnishings and fabrics.

Breakfast service was terribly slow and disorganised, staff appeared to be running and retracing their steps all the time.

Finally on board to what was a very old 1st class cabin, but still a delight to be there, cabin full.

Take off delayed for just over 1 hour waiting for late passengers.

A usual superb service from crew and flight was a pleasure. Attentive but not obtrusive with appropriate humour and interaction.

Lunch was fine, as always never expect great food on any airline. IFE non AVOD.

Overal following poor ground services a superb flight only made possible by such an efficient and professional crew.

geebee20 flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (07/09/2011 16:03)

I flew BA premium economy - Heathrow - Sydney and sadly it was not a pleasant experience.

The whole plane seemed to be way past its sell by date. The seats were uncomfortable, the crew couldn't get the in flight entertainment system working properly and food was basic and tired.

My colleagues and I have had similar experieces with BA going to the USA so never ever again !!

Coming back from Melborne we flew Quantas ( BA Codeshare ) and it was very good and worth the money.

barnacles flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 Mid J (06/09/2011 06:05)

British Airways can appear such a curate's egg at the moment. A flight out to CPT in First (excellent) was followed by a disastrous return to LHR in J class, where the only thing going for the airline was the barely indifferent food. Although the 'new' Club, the seat area was uncleaned (papers stuffed down the side from the outward leg), the plane's heating was haywire, the entertainment system kept breaking down, and in one part of the cabin the crew were unable to dim the lights for the entire flight. The plane had spent 10 hours on the ground in CPT - why was nothing done to address matters, which had been known about ex-LHR?

Having briefly mentioned the food, the 'Club Kitchen' downstairs was non-existent, and the local bread and croissants would have been more at home in a paper or cardboard factory than on a plate. Only the charm and professionalism rescued this flight - BA is lucky to have them, even if they disguise their disillusionment with management only scarcely!

barnacles flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 High J (06/09/2011 05:53)

Chocksaway flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a Embraer 190 (25/08/2011 14:43)

Edinburgh to London City.

Excellent legroom on this new airliner with a smart look to the interior. A glass of wine and a snack were just about appropriate on this 7pm flight, but if you've been stuck in meetings all day this might not be enough.

Otherwise pretty faultless, speedy boarding and embarkation and wonderful views over London on the approach.

scfung6 flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (18/08/2011 12:00)

BA still uses some old planes on the Cape Town - London route, discriminating against tourists who want to visit this beautiful city, while looking after the pseudo business people departing from Johannesburg. The cabins need to be updated urgently to win support from people who are more and more inclined to pay less for more from competitions like Emirates (all new planes and great food and service) and KLM (solid and attentive service in a little bit newer planes) etc. BA - you can't rely on loyalty alone, and monopoly (shall I say duopoly with SAA?) any longer. This is a fiercely competitive route with a lot of wealthy tourists flying in and our of CPT / LHR! Please deploy some newer planes for this wonderful route.

TiredOldHack flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (01/08/2011 08:23)

This is BA's new direct 245/244 LHR-EZE service, replacing the old 246/247 service which stopped at Sao Paulo.

At 13 hours, it's the longest single flight on BA's route and is flown by a Boeing 777 rather than a 747. The aircraft is only configured for World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World classes - no first.

Cabin crew told me that BA is evaluating the oute to see if it's worth adding First. Friends in Latin America said that the customers for First tend to be Brazilians as the Argentines don't have the money (!) and so they will stick with the 245/246 flights. We shall see.

It has to be said the 777 is much quieter than the 747: that's three decades of technology for you.

Club world service was as ever - attentive, friendly, good food, comfort. It may be time for BA to review its flat beds, though: the seat+folding footstool configuration is starting to look dated. I'd recommend this flight for anyone heading for Argentina or (as I was) Chile, as the alternatives are scanty: Iberia or Aerolineas Argentinas from Madrid, Alitalia (I think) from Rome and Lufthansa from Frankfurt (for Buenos Aires) or Iberia and LAN (again via Madrid) plus (I think) Alitalia from Rome for Santiago.

Nobody flies direct London-Santiago, and for this route BA is way in front of any alternatives.

TridentGold flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 High J (28/07/2011 14:32)

BMBettesworth flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 High J (07/07/2011 11:45)

Flew to Sydney and back. Flight out was in 'old' first and return in 'new'. Seated in 1A both ways. Had iimpression that new first was not as spacious as old - not surprising as new window treatment means that cabin skin moves in by at least 3 - 4". There was not so much space for books and the other clutter one acquires on a long flight. The new seat was however very comfortable for sleeping, being wider. The boarding process in London was anything but a premium experience - all herded in together resulting in a 15 minute queue to get on the aircraft. Bangkok and Sydney both had dedicated separate boarding. Not really surprised as I think terminal 3 is probably one of the worst terminals in the world.

The service was absolutely terrific and really sets BA apart, the 4 crews were attentive, personal and friendly without being over familiar.

The food could at best be described as average - BA really need to put more thought and maybe resource into this area - the cooked breakfasts were by far the most palatable food offered. The inflight entertainment was problematic on the Sydney/Bangkok sector and is not a patch on the latest offering from Qantas.

Still, an excellent experience both ways.

Stanislaw55 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (01/07/2011 15:50)

BA - A320 - Club Europe.

Not worth the money! These are economy type seats with no one sitting next to you. At 34 inches seat seperation it is the same as Jet blue economy, and their seats in economy are better then BA's Club Europe class. Get rid of the middle seat and make the seats more comfortable. The middle seats are NOT bringing in more revenue, and they make customers unhappy with this class of service. You need a more substantial seat, rather then the current flimsy-economy class seat.

Service on BA's flight is always at a high level.

InfiniteFlyer flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B767-300 (24/06/2011 23:12)

Newark's lounges are small but nice with very nice staff (I used First).

Boarding was fairly swift, and Club World and Gold/Silver Executive Club passengers were called forward immediately after special needs pre-boards, and there was plenty of checking and space to get to the boarding gangways.

Inside, the aircraft and toilets were mostly clean, and the AVOD had a good selection of films.

The general in-cabin decor was old, tatty and broken in places though. The WT+ seat is OK for napping, just, but no good for sleeping for more than an hour or so. For sitting it's OK, but the arm isn't wide enough to defeat the effects of passengers who ignore "elbow etiquette". Narrower and less comfortable that Virgin Atlantic Eco+ seats.

Food and drink choice and generosity were disappointing to upsetting, although the crew doing the work tried hard - they didn't really have much to work with.

The "chicken makhani" was an exercise in shades of brown paste. The wine was cheap and nasty, and there was only one choice.
The biggest insult was a single muffin for breakfast, and not even any fruit juice. Not suitable for a premium cabin, even if the premium is small.

Not the great BA service that we used to enjoy just a few years ago.

The flight was punctual to London, then in a hold for 30m over Biggin Hill. I suppose that's what you get for wanting to travel to Heathrow. Disembarcation was by bus from remote stand.

I went straight through IRIS and down to the belts, and my bag arrived about 5 minutes later. Nice and quick there at least!

I'd avoid BA WT+ unless your only other choice is WT, until the promised service makeover has taken hold this year.

sander1985 flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B747-400 High J (21/06/2011 17:12)

Flight from Heathrow's terminal 5 to Los Angeles TBIT terminal. We flew a quite old 747 in "One World" coulours ( G-CIVL ).

Flight arrived spot on time at LAX. Flight was good, altough the seats could not please me. They were quite narrow, so I could not find a nice way to sleep. IFE was reasonable , with some limited choice and no games to play. Cabin crew were nice, and they came by a couple of times for drinks. Food was really good!

sander1985 flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B747-400 High J (21/06/2011 17:11)

Flight from Heathrow's terminal 5 to Los Angeles TBIT terminal.

We flew a quite old 747 in "One World" coulours ( G-CIVL ).

Flight arrived spot on time at LAX. Flight was good, although the seats could not please me.

They were quite narrow, so I could not find a nice way to sleep.

IFE was reasonable , with some limited choice and no games to play.

Cabin crew were nice, and they came by a couple of times for drinks. Food was really good!

MRSJ111 flew British Airways (21/06/2011 15:05)

Me and my husband went with BA to Texas. We did sit in Economy, and we paid for the extra leg room at the front. This was well worth the money (£50 each).

I did want to sit in the more upgraded seats, but at £165 more each, we couldn't understand why we would pay that, for not that much difference.

I was a little let down by BA, the plane smelt, they decided to serve Chicken Curry for dinner, and the staff were rude, I couldn't believe it. I know its a long flight and I know that we were not in first class, but they made you feel like you were not good enough. I would of loved to
be in First Class, but thats not possible. Shame that they make you feel a certain way.

SamWardill flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (13/06/2011 21:16)

Check In

My wife and I were travelling with an infant on this flight from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to San Francisco. BA therefore let us choose the seats that would accommodate a bassinet some time in advance.

I also entered my advance passenger info and purchased an ESTA some time in advance. Despite this, and despite showing that the information had been entered, the 'manage my booking' info on BA.com still showed that I had to nter some more information. This worried me and I called BA.com. Apparently BA.com had overwritten the advance passenger information that I had given it with the other passport number that they held in my Exec club profile. This, I felt, was bad functionality. I know that I am not the only British frequent traveller to have more than one UK passport (the UK passport office will give a second passport to anyone who gets a supporting letter from their employer) so it is not good that BA.com does not support this.

My actual check in was a a lot less fraught. I printed my boarding card online. On arrival at the airport I walked straight up to a bag drop (terminal 5 does not have premium bag drops presumably because the queue is rarely more that one in front for any class). The bag drop assistant was very pleasant and we were on our way through fast track security very quickly.

Lounge

The BA Terminal 5 Southern side lounge is probably my favourite lounge of any I have been to at any airport in the world. It has most things I would ever want: wi-fi, good selection of newspapers, business traveller magazine, showers, good selection of food and drink (including London Pride beer), good coffee (decaf & regular), snacks to take away (albeit not strictly allowed). The only things missing for me are: bottles of water to take away, good access from the security (it is a bit of a trek to get there). My only other quibble is that you are not told which gate you will leave from until very just before the flight is boarding so you can't select a lounge near to your gate.

Boarding

We boarded from a B gate which is a train ride away from the main hub. On arrival at B island we made a quick pitstop at the B island BA lounge to grab a quick coffee. As we had a young child we were invited to pre-broad the plane. However, even as club world passengers we would have had some priority boarding. Boarding was, therefore very pleasant and stress free. The cabin crew / ground staff also offered to stow our buggy in the plane (rather than the hold) which was a very welcome gesture (much better than having to carry a baby to the baggage carousel at the end of a long flight). On boarding we realised that the seats we had been allocated were not the optimum for attending to the baby bassinet space. They were either side of a divider and the second half of the middle double seat was allocated to a stranger. Fortunately the stranger was travelling on his own and was as keen as us to swap (rather than sit with a baby for 10 hours).

The plane was extremely hot on boarding. We found out later that this was because the aux power unit was not working. The captain had decided to make us suffer from the heat rather than making us a suffer an extended delay whilst they found another plane. I supported his decision. Because of these problems (I think) we were a few minutes late in departing.

Seat

The second generation of BA flat bed is my favourite business class seat. I find it comfortable to sit in, to eat in and to sleep in. This is especially true if, as we did on this ocassion, I manage to get one of the seats without a barrier at the end of the footrest thus allowing a little extra legroom whilst sleeping. The double seat that we ended up sitting in also provided us with a little cocoon where we could keep our baby entertained without disturbing other passengers. My only gripe with the seat is the lack of a proper reading light.

BA also provides infants (uniquely I believe) with a choice of a bassinet cot or a seat in all classes. Other airlines tend to provide only a bassinet cot which is usually too small for babies > 6 months so babies tend to have to sit on your lap for the whole flight. As it turned out, our toddler refused to sit in her own seat preferring to share with mum and dad.

IFE

The screen in Club World is very large and can be viewed well in any sitting or lying position. Noise reducing headsets are supplied, however, my headset and that of our neighbour, did not work properly. I was glad that I had my own quality noise reducing headphones brought from home.. There was an excellent selection of films and TV AVOD. I watched the Kings Speech.

Crew

BA cabin crew were at the time in dispute with BA. I guess certain crews were more supportive of the current greivances than others. I got the feeling that our crew were not as dedicated to the airline as others I had seen. One of the crew members allocated to us was not at all attentive. She didn't bring us a baby seat until we asked. She forgot to bring my wife scones with afternoon tea. She didn't tell us that there was a spare seat that we could use rather than have a baby on our lap for 10 hours. Neither of the call bells on our seats worked. It would not have surprised me if this was because the cabin service director had turned them off!

Food

Dinner was good but not excellent. I had a chicken terrine on celariac with raspberry coulis to start. This was very good. I had a beef pie as a main course. This was nothing special and no mustard was offered (luckily I had brought my own from the lounge). Desert was a low quality treacle tart. Cheese was on the menu but was not offered to us. Coffee was really bad. The red wine I chose was good. Prior to landing we were served a sandwich (which was like the cheap sandwiches you sometimes get in euro traveller) with scones and clotted cream (for me but not my wife - see above). The tea served was cold and not at all pleasant.

Arrival

We landed 15 - 30 minutes late. We disembarked quickly to beat US immigration queues. However World Traveller Plus are allowed off before Club as they are seated forward of the lower deck club section on this 747 configuration. As it turned out, Californian immigration staff were more helpful than those we were used to, they singled us out as we had a young child and we made it through very quickly. Our bags arrived soon after and we were on our way about 30 minutes after arrival.

Summary

We did not choose our airline for this trip. We were using up a BA Exec Club AmEx companion voucher so we actually chose our destination to maximise the value of the voucher. Given a free choice on this route between Virgin, United and BA who fly direct, I would always choose BA over United. I have never flown Virgin in business class and, given a free choice, would consider choosing Virgin. The BA seat is very good but is let down by poor food and less attentive service.

Dom9610 flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (09/06/2011 10:47)

LHR-CAI - 22K - The seat was very comfortable. There was ample leg room, and as the tray table came out of the seat armrest, it meant that you could continue your flight (business or leisure) without having to readjust your seating position, just because the inconsiderate passenger in front of you had reclined their seat.

The service was very good, although the food was something to be desired (Egyptian in-flight catering: I wouldn't recommend it)!

Apart from that, excellent, although you do have to queue up and use the four available toilets that are open to both the World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins; could be a small issue if everyone needs to go at once.

SwissExPat flew British Airways First, on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (04/06/2011 13:30)

I flew in FIRST between SIN and SYD in their 777 which had the 'new' First configuration.

Checking in in SIN is a complete pain for First passengers because a separate so called 'Premium Check in' Area is located in area 4 and both FIRST and Business passengers share the same queue.

The so called BA FIRST lounge in SIN is very large, the reason being that BA want to be able to accommodate their Gold card holders (and also possibly the equivalent level for Quantas) so this lounge was really a business class lounge which afforded no privacy or exclusivity to FIRST passengers. The food and wind offering was very average. Hence I concluded that the FIRST experience with BA only starts on entering the plane.

In SIN there is a separate airbridge to the first cabin which improved matters.

The Seating is adequate and the mood in the cabin was fine.

However, having recently travelled on a number of EMIRATES flights in their First cabin (A380 and 777 ER incl private suites) I was shocked as to how far BA has fallen behind their competitors on these routes.

I hoped that the 'traditional' BA high service levels would rebalance the products but unfortunately this was not the case. I remarked to the Purser towards the end of the flight that perhaps their 'B' team had operated the service today. He seemed to agree. The service was slow and also very formalised and distant (Being called 'Sir' at the end of every sentence is a great way for staff to keep a barrier between you and them but does nothing to make a passenger fell at home). I hoped that BA get their most dynamic and responsive staff to work in the First Cabin but this does not seem to be the case. I have had some great conversations in recent flights with some of Emirates First crew (even chatting about the peculiar aspects of spin bowling) and this is what attracts me back to their flights, together with the scale and quality of their product.

The BA IFE was again just about average but is paltry compared to Emirates 1,000 channels of music and film entertainment.

The flight was on time and embarkation / baggage was fine.

Many people comment that the understated aspect of the new BA First product when combined with the quality of the Cabin crew creates a strong product offering ought to give Emirates a go on these routes.

Comparing to the competition, the new BA FIRST cabin is an also ran even before it is fully rolled out.

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways First, on a B777-200 (03/06/2011 15:25)

As a special treat I decided to go First on BA. I was looking forward to trying the new product but sadly all I got was a very old and tired one.

Now I know it takes time to get all the planes equipped but this 777 was out of the ark.

First off. Boarding. What a farce. Sign in the lounge said "Boarding" and as the flight was due to go in less than 30 minutes I made my way quickly to gate 10. Remember gate 10 is where you get bussed to the plane and it is in the basement.

It was a zoo. There is not enough space in the area when everyone else sees the signs saying "Board Now" and you get to the gate and it says "Please Wait". Left hand did not know what the right was doing. Was a horrible, horrible experience. You would think it was the first flight BA had ever boarded via a bus.

Then the actually plane. Worn seat cushions. An IFE screen that was smaller than my smartphone. No AVOD and a paltry selection of films. Now I knew it was a 777 I was going to be on, so I took some DVD's. But, my laptop needed power and there was no adaptor that would power my very uncommon pc. It is a Dell so I am being sarcastic in case that doesn't come across.

Bits of the seat fell off to add to the dilapated feel of the aircraft.

The crew did a sterling job in trying to keep the service up given the very poor tools they have been given. They were embarassed to be having to deal with everything which included 3 hours sat on the ground at LHR before take off.

Certainly not a First Class experience and please don't waste your hard earned cash for BA in this cabin.

cunardqueen flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a A319 (27/05/2011 19:56)

A noon flight from Aberdeen to LHR T5 with an onward connecting flight to LAX alowed 90 mins to change in T5. with this in mind a seat was booked at the front of the aircraft to allow for a speedy exit.

Checkin at Aberdeen was swift, mercifully they now have some signage showing how long security takes which does give you an idea how long you have left in the main terminal building.

It was poring with rain so everyone was soaked walking to the aircraft, some of the suitcases were pretty wet as well, but that isnt BA fault
Onboard service was just the norm a hot drink and biscuit provided. the flight was full (as always) and the overhead lockers were jam packed.

A good flight to London with touch down earier than expected, even sop by the time we were parked up we were still 15 ins ahead.
The luggage was checked through so all l needed to do was follow flight connections and before you know it you open a door and are in the main departure concourse at T5, ready for the onward flight !!!

Inflight entertinment was the moving map

cunardqueen flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (27/05/2011 19:44)

Checked in at LAX Tom Bradley for a 1725 flight to LHR with 3 excess suitcases, the Skycaps were on hand to help with the volume of cases.The BA checkin lady advised me that l had been selected for the enhanced security checks (the dreaded pat down !!) and to proceed through security an extra 10 min earlier.I mentioned to her that the way she announced that l had been selected l felt as though l should be honoured !. she found this amusing and wished me a pleasant flight.

Tom Bradley is equipped with all that you need to enjoy before a long haul flight, perhaps duty free could do with more selection, but thats a matter of choice.

Proceeded through security and the lady confirmed l had been selected for enhanced security checks and to follow her, which l did. The whole process was handled very professionaly by 3 people, they even swobbed the inside of the carry on bag, the pat down, itself was handled with dignity and took all of 10 mins, By the time it was over l thanked the staff for their professionalism and in view of the burly guy who did the pat down, could l go round again, these guy DO have a sense of humour, he laughed and said oh it doesnt work that way, but have a nice flight.

Boarding didnt start till under half an hour before departure and those of in Premium Economy , boarded with Business and First class pasengers. My seat prebooked at the back 15A is a great seat. No one behind you and you have some extra space at the side of your seat, great to put the cushion,paper and duty free purchases there. You also have space behind you to recline without fear of disturbing anyone. The window provides a great view for those of us that like to gaze out and watch the take of and view as we flew over America.

The proximity to the toilets are not an issue and generally it was a quiet seat. Food service was quick and a delicious meal was provided, a regular drinks service was also provided, late at night and during the night the stewart went round offering water or Orange juice, but iof you need anything else just press the call button. I dont tend to sleep on these flight, prefering to watch the moving map (jees how sad am l) or catch an inflight movie or interact with the person in the next seat, as 15B is class as a bad seat it tends to be last to go, its only bad in that the toilet is behind you and people can sometimes wait there..so if your lucky it will remain empty..

The service is typical of BA stiff upper lip and no chit chat, but they do make an issue of that blasted curtain at the front of the cabin, as though beyond there was another world, and why do they need to affix the rope everytime, its not as though we would gatecrash there is it...

During the night all was calm with regular water/juice offerings and the noise of THAT curtain being swished back and fore.
With an arrival time of 11.30 a mid morning breakfast pack ,aptly named Me,Myself and my breakfast box is provided, yoghurt drink,muffin,cold sandwich and a large polo mint (lovely and refreshing! and a nice touch) perhaps it would be nice if they offerd a choice of either a yoghurt drink or orange juice.A welcoming hot drink was provided.

Before long we were decending through the clouds, it was amazing to see in the distance the other aircraft poping through the clouds as they headed westbound, the approach to LHR was wonderful and as we touched down to sunshine that fact hid how cold it was to be outside.
Luggage was ofloaded quickly and Terminal 5 is a breeze to use.

The skycaps lm afraid at T5 need a course in customer service, l asked the first one l saw if he was free, which he said he was, then we were followed by another (foreign) skycap lamenting that he was next, we ended up arguing and shouting over the luggage conveyor belts (l was a bit fragile after the long flight) he eventually took the hint and went of else where. The skycap service is a wonderful service, But sadly so unpublicised so you dont know it exists!!!

I departed T5 on the Heathrow express into London (a very cold London) with all memories of the flight slowly fading....

pinstripes&airmiles flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200 (20/05/2011 08:12)

Flew CW on the short overnight hop from LHR to DXB the other month. Don't understand why the BA109 doesn't offer a "Goodnight" Service (or whatever the Sleeper Service is called these days), instead it was a full dinner service, which started late due to turbulence over northern Europe - then breakfast was served about 4 hours later. Surely all short overnight services would benefit from being sleeper services? Other than that the flight was of the usual standard you can expect from BA - punctual, efficient and everso slightly British.

Toronto_travelling flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200 (04/05/2011 11:32)

Flew BA ClubWorld class for the first time between Toronto and Milan, with a stopover in Heathrow. Can't say enough about the quality of service both on the ground and inflight. The best I've ever experienced. We weren't in First Class, but we all felts like Kings and Queens!

If I had to find any fault, it would be with the configuration of the seats on our B777-200 flight. For those of us on seats by the window or in the centre section of the plane , we found ourselves climbing over the foot rests of the seats beside us. That would be fine if the opposite seat was a family member or friend, but climbing over the feet of a stranger was a little disturbing, to say the least.

Scot1988 flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a A319 (18/04/2011 09:59)

Recently flew to Aberdeen return from Heathrow. Checking in online and printing boarding card was a breeze.

Service on board was exceptional, made to feel very welcome. Had an exit row seat, which I selected through online check-in at no additional cost.

Flight was earlier both ways, and for a flight little over an hour the complimentary drinks and snacks were plenty.

A much improved BA service with no faults. Only slight downside was BAA's ineptitude at getting passengers to the terminal building at Heathrow after parking on a remote stand and waiting 20 minutes on the plane for the steps and buses to arrive!

carolinemoses flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B747-400 High J (08/04/2011 16:16)

Travelled with British Airways to Vancouver on the 10th January in economy.

We paid extra to reserve our seats when we booked the flight and managed to get one of the “2” towards the back of the plane.

The flight was very comfortable with a good choice of films. Food was as good as you would expect on an airline.

All in all couldn’t really fault the service or the comfort of the plane.

One thing I would say, BA have changed their luggage policy. We were going skiing, last year skis and boots were not included as part of your baggage total. The policy has now changed and you are only allowed to check in one piece of luggage, skis and boots are an additional cost. We managed to get both sets of skis in one bag so as to avoid paying the excess baggage.

Henryp1 flew British Airways First, on a B777-200 (24/03/2011 15:33)

DXB to LHR, First class, morning flight

A bit of a hectic check in due to poorly managed lines, and the usual trek to the BA lounge prior to departure.

Dubai has a tiny lounge for all premium passengers, when we arrived about 1 hour pre-flight the lounge was packed, cluttered and very untidy. Incredibly poor selection of breakfast items and no Earl Grey tea, fortunately we had taken an early breakfast at the hotel. The lounge staff wasn't particularly helpful until the BA receptionist came to our rescue.

In all a dreadful experience and we couldnt wait to board our flight.

The cabin once again must have been one of the oldest cabins. We had two middle seats and were settled in nicely by again a very attentive crew, who were friendly and chatted appropriately.

Due to the poor lounge experience I couldn't wait for lunch which was very good and plentiful.

Unfortunately, the IFE had a tiny screen so not such a good experience, but bearable.

A comfortable flight with an attentive crew in what is, I believe, a very comfortable first class seat.

Henryp1 flew British Airways First, on a B777-200 (24/03/2011 14:55)

LHR to DXB, overnight First Class flight.

Good check in process with friendly but functional staff, check-in area quite empty and through to the CCR (Concorde Room). Picked out to be scanned at random, not a real hardship and only a minor delay. Always enjoy the CCR as relaxing and value the time it gives to draw breath from London life.

We had booked a cabana as we always feel it gives further privacy and comfort. Dinner was pleasant from the limiting menu but still very tasty.

We had strolled earlier to Elemis and had booked treatments. But on reflection always feel that they are rushed and not really a true choice, but a nice diversion.

Back to the CCR to wait for our flight.
Called and easy boarding, we were escorted to our seat and helped to stow jacket and luggage.

Probably one of the oldest 777s still flying with tiny IFE monitors. But I still prefer this to NCW as I value the space and privacy.

As this was a night flight we had booked window seats to get as much undisturbed sleep as possible.

Cabin service was impeccable from an older, jovial and intuitive crew.

Despite eating in the CCR I had a light supper on the flight and then settled for the night, having made little attempt to view the IFE as on night flights there is little time for this as I always try to sleep for as long as possible.

Despite being an old cabin, I found the seat to be very comfortable for sleeping once made up as a bed and I slept soundly for almost five hours, as did my companion.

A very light and quick breakfast, just in time for landing.

Overall a very good and comfortable flight in what was an old aircraft but with such an efficient and intuitive crew all went smoothly. Well done BA.

lonskate flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (04/03/2011 15:24)

InternationalConsolidated flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B737-400 (01/03/2011 11:19)

London Gatwick (North) to Amsterdam Schiphol, dep Friday 06.20 arr 08.40

B737-400, seat 12D

I arrived at Gatwick South at 5am on the 4.30am Gatwick Express service from Victoria. My gate was due to close at 5.45am and I still had to get from South to North on the monorail. However, as it turned out I had plenty of time as the monorail runs every 5 minutes (approx.). I'd also checked-in online the night before, and printed out my boarding pass with hand luggage only.

Gatwick North is (in my opinion) a much nicer facility compared to South. There seem to be more shops, and the facilities are more modern. I had about ten minutes before my gate was announced, so I sat and caught up with a little work on my laptop.

At 05.40 my gate (62) was called. It's quite a walk from the main terminal concourse, so it's advisable not to hang around too long. The gate wasn't at all crowded, and boarding was on time and seemed to be completed pretty quickly.

I'd chosen seat 12D, a window seat on the second over-wing emergency exit row (the other being row 11). The plane seemed to be half full, the middle seat (3-3 configuration) was empty, as was the one behind me which meant I could recline without feeling bad about encroaching on anyone's space. The seat itself was upholstered in blue leather that, while comfortable, had seen better days.

The captain announced that because of fog at Schiphol, our arrival time had been put back. He estimated a take-off time of 06.50, half an hour behind schedule, and so shut down the engines to allow people to use their phones in case they needed to let anyone know (considerate, I thought). We took off a little ahead of his estimate, at 06.45, with an ETA of 08.45, not all that later than scheduled.

Because of my early start, I was soon asleep. When I woke, I found a small ham and cheese roll on my arm rest, a welcomed surprise as I'd missed my breakfast. This was tasty, and although small it was only a short flight. I'd expected no more than a bag of crisps or nuts.

I haven't been all that impressed with the attitude of BA cabin crew in the past, but on this flight it was much improved. Crew smiled, were friendly and attentive, which does make all the difference to the experience.

We arrived at 08.45, as predicted, but this was followed by a seemingly endless taxi to the terminal. I say endless, it was probably about ten minutes. Once at the gate, there was a short delay before doors were opened at we were let off.

There was a long queue at the two immigration desks, and once through quite a long walk to the arrivals hall from where I caught a train to my final destination.

InternationalConsolidated flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B737-400 (28/02/2011 12:56)

Amsterdam Schiphol - London Gatwick (North)

B737-400, seat 12A, economy

Flight BA8112, dep 9.20 arr 09.30

I was slightly nervous about relying on public transport for my 9.20am flight, however my worries were unfounded because of the efficiency of Dutch trains and trams (train services run from Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol every 10 or so minutes, from 6am onwards, while the tram from my hotel to the nearest train station runs easily every five minutes, again from 6am).

The airport itself is modern and vast, and a definite SkyTeam stronghold with staff decked in KLM blue dominating the check-in zones. Signs for partners Delta and Air France abound, however it was the British Airways check-in zone in "Departures D" that I was after, about a five minute walk from the trains.

I did not have access to a printer so couldn't print my boarding pass in advance, however I still decided to check-in online to secure my seat. As I had used someone else's smartphone to do it, a mobile boarding pass wasn't an option either. I knew that I would be able to use the self-service machines to get my pass, many of which were free. There were airport staff on hand to assist with the machines, but I found the process pretty straightforward and I had my pass in less than two minutes.

Boarding was due to begin at 08.40 from Gate D23, easily a ten minute walk from the check-in zone. Security scans are done at the gate, rather than immediately after check-in as with some airport, thereby avoiding a potential bottle neck. I was glad of this, as I was short of time before my gate was to close. As it happens, the inbound flight was about ten minutes late and boarding was postponed until 09.10.

I'd chosen 12A, a window seat on one of two over-wing emergency exit rows. The seat was of the older Euro Traveller style, in blue leather that has definitely seen better days. The same could be said of the rest of the plane, which looked a little rough around the edges. Still, the seat was spacious being on an emergency exit, and I was able to sleep very easily and comfortably. The recline also seemed quite generous.

My advice, if travelling in economy, is always to check-in online and go for an exit row seat. Try to get one with an empty seat behind so you can recline your seat guilt-free.

We pushed back at 09.30, ten minutes later than scheduled, but I can't say exactly what time we took off as I was already fast asleep by that point. A short time into the flight, however, breakfast was served. This came in the form of a cold bacon roll (wholemeal) with something that was more like tomato purée than ketchup. I was quite surprised to have got breakfast, especially on such a short flight - has BA scrapped its policy of only providing peanuts and crisps?

We landed at a fog-covered Gatwick North at 10.05, half an hour behind schedule. Disembarkation was quick, and the walk to arrivals was short. The queue at immigration was short, with lots of desks manned, and I had hand luggage only so no need to pick up a suitcase. Then it was just a 4-minute wait for the monorail to Gatwick South and a waiting Gatwick Express train, 30 minutes to London Victoria.

All-in-all, Schiphol is an excellent and efficiently-run airport. The BA flight was late, but the staff were friendly and I was pleased to get breakfast.

InterestedObserver flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B777-200 (Config. 1) (28/02/2011 10:38)

We flew for half term to Delhi on British Airways. I’m gold card but that only allows one guest into the lounge and there wasn’t even a hint of wavering from the receptionist in the lounge at T5, so instead we were condemned to be loungeless in the main cavern that is T5.

We were bussed out to the aircraft from Gate A. We had booked four seats to be together (a row of three including a window seat 31A-C and 31D).

Despite the children being clearly marked as children, you have to order children’s meals, and because we hadn’t, they basically had nothing to eat for the seven and a half hour flight.

We had two meal services, one a hot meal where the choice was chickpea curry or chicken with celeriac mash, and the second a choice of vegetarian flatbread sandwich or a vegetarian sandwich. Drinks were offered several times during the flight.

What was interesting is that in just the few rows around us the crew had to refuse to continue to serve three different Indian men (not travelling together) because they were either drinking too much or were already drunk. I thought the staff handled this very well, especially after one of the men swore at her.

The seat was very tired, with the fabric almost worn through, but the IFE system (AVOD) worked fine, especially since I had brought my own headphones. We arrived on time in Delhi, but then waited nearly one hour for our bags to appear, which was strange, because some bags came out almost immediately (including the flight crew’s) while ours were very delayed.

stuartv flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B767-300 (27/02/2011 19:24)

inthelounge flew British Airways (20/02/2011 05:38)

We flew for half term to Delhi on British Airways.

I’m gold card but that only allows one guest into the lounge and there wasn’t even a hint of wavering from the receptionist in the lounge at T5, so instead we were condemned to be loungeless in the main cavern that is T5.

We were bussed out to the aircraft from Gate A. We had booked four seats to be together (a row of three including a window seat 31A-C and 31D).

Despite the children being clearly marked as children, you have to order children’s meals, and because we hadn’t, they basically had nothing to eat for the seven and a half hour flight.

We had two meal services, one a hot meal where the choice was chickpea curry or chicken with celeriac mash, and the second a choice of vegetarian flatbread sandwich or a vegetarian sandwich.

Drinks were offered several times during the flight. What was interesting is that in just the few rows around us the crew had to refuse to continue to serve three different Indian men (not travelling together) because they were either drinking too much or were already drunk. I thought the staff handled this very well, especially after one of the men swore at her.

The seat was very tired, with the fabric almost worn through, but the IFE system (AVOD) worked fine, especially since I had brought my own headphones.

We arrived on time in Delhi, but then waited nearly one hour for our bags to appear, which was strange, because some bags came out almost immediately (including the flight crew’s) while ours were very delayed.

mmolloy flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B777-300ER (04/02/2011 16:10)

I flew from Heathrow T5 to Chicago O'Hare in the new World Traveller Plus on the B777-300ER.

There were six rows in the cabin (21-26) which was in a 2-4-2 layout (AB-DEFG-JK) - I was in seat 23A. Given the choice I would have rathered 22A, B, J or K as there are no seats in front of you, 21 being the exit row, so you have more space. Row 26 is only separated from economy by a bulkhead/curtain, and the bassinets are behind it, so you might hear noise if you sit there.

The seat was comfy - decent legroom and recline and there is an adjustable headrest and footrest, universal plug socket, USB and RCA ports. You also get a blanket, pillow, amenity pouch and a good set of headphones. It also has the new High Life Entertainment IFE system which is audio-video on-demand and very good - a big selection of films, TV, radio and music.

The flight was pleasant - we got drinks half an hour in and then a meal shortly afterwards. You could have chicken or beef - I had the chicken and it wasn't amazing but it was perfectly fine. It came with a salad, roll, vanilla mousse, choice of drink and tea or coffee.

Cabin crew were friendly and gave out soft drinks a few times during the flight. We also got a sandwich, Kit-Kat and tea or coffee before landing. We had taken off a little late but made the time back so landed only five minutes late - immigration was nice and speedy and my bag was out quickly.

LindaBrennan flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (20/01/2011 06:34)

With regard to your Premium Economy seating, My husband & I traveled from Melbourne to London via Sydney in September, using Qantas frequent flyer points.

I had previously flown Qantas Premium Economy on the same route, & on that occasion would rate the conditions & service I received 5***** . (There were two seats instead of 3, (with a tray sized table in between) . I had masses of leg room to the seat in front, so it was not necessary to disturb the passenger beside me on the aisle seat. I had proper cutlery, crockery glassware & napkins, & the meals were far superior to those in economy).

On this occasion we were booked on a BA flight as there was not a Qantas flight available at the time of booking, - This in itself was frustrating as we then had to fly via Sydney, thus adding an hour or two to the long journey.

I was totally stunned by the incomparably inferior quality on BA, to the Premium Economy service offered by Qantas. So much so, that I actually believed we had been inadvertently given economy seats in error.

The reason for this being while we were en route from our home to the airport, we were advised by mobile phone, that our Sydney to London flight had been overbooked, and we were changed to an earlier departure! giving us less time to make the connections. (Although thankfully, we were issued with passes to get to our flight quickly).

At check in, with all the confusion about flight changes, I did not confirm that we had actually been put in Premium Economy class, and consequently it was too late to do anything about it when we boarded the flight.

I cannot express enough how utterly disappointed we were with the service, having saved our frequent flyer points for a considerable time to book seats in Premium Economy tickets after the superior experience I had with Qantas.

I sincerely hope you improve the service, or simply do not advertise any premium economy service. Thankyou Linda Brennan

frustratedflyer flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a B767-300 Domestic (14/01/2011 16:39)

LHR-FRA. Flight was 7.20 am. The seat layout was not as per the one shown on this site. It was fitted with old Club World Seats, World Traveller Plus and Economy starting from Row 16 in a 2-3-2 configuration. I managed to get 16D and had a bulkhead in front but more leg room. The plane was less than a third full with nobody in World Traveller Plus. We were late to take off so staff served water and orange juice. After take off orange juice, tea, coffee and a ham and tomato roll was served. It was pretty tasty. I requested a diet coke and whilst these were not on the cart the crew got one for me.

peoplesonrules flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B777-200 (30/12/2010 00:02)

We arrived at terminal 5, which was great, b far the best terminal there is today, there is an abundance of shops and things to do. However, on board, the seat is uncomfortable, and small, much worse than virgin on the A340's, and the IFE was aweful, we didn't have the advertised AVOD, instead we got the old video system, much worse than most of todays airlines. However the food was nice and the crew were excellent, so it wasn't that bad.

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (19/12/2010 16:09)

Having arrived at a snowy and misty Oslo airport, I wasn't surprised to see that the BA flight before had been cancelled. Check in was prompt and we were in aisle seats 7C & D.

We found our way to the Norwegian lounge, which had a small selection of snacks and drinks. At the gate we boarded and the Cabin service director (CSD) was friendly and told me she had my special meal on board. We were told of a probable delay of around an hour due to low cloud at Heathrow, so drinks were offered, this time was revised forward and we pushed back within 30 minutes. After de-icing at the end of the runway we took off an hour later.

A round of drinks was offered and then the meal service, in fact my vegetarian was a seafood, which was fine, but apologies were offered.

Service was very friendly and the CSD kept connecting passengers up to date about arrival time, which was only 15 minutes late.

There was a slight delay until our gate became available and then we exited from the front. Bags arrived in a reasonable time Have already given ratings on yesterday submission

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (19/12/2010 15:57)

Having checked in the evening before, walked to fast bag drop we were asked if we knew where the lounges were and headed to security. The galleries lounge is large and spacious and there was plenty of food and drinks available, with a view over the arrivals runway.

A general boarding call was made at the gate and we headed to our seats 5C & F on the second to back row.

Push back was fairly prompt and it was a short taxi to the runway. We were warned it was busy, but seemed to take off in a reasonable time.

Lunch was a vegetarian curry like dish with lentils, which we had pre ordered, with plenty of choice of bread rolls, with sliced fruit as a desert. Tea or coffee were offered as well as any requests for drinks from the bar.

Arrival was slightly ahead of time, although we were backed right at the end of the terminal. Bags arrived within a reasonable time and we headed into the centre of Oslo on the fast airport express

SirJohn flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (07/12/2010 06:57)

Long-haul flights begin in the lounge and the new tie-in between BA and Elemis, providing a free massage, is a nice innovation. The showers are immaculate too.

The main lounge(s) in T5A are huge; food is at the 'fast food' end of the spectrum and if you want to drink champagne, you have to ask personally for each and every glass. Other wines available are rather ordinary. This flight normally goes from T5B and the lounge there is less welcoming.

First impressions on boarding are that the main deck Club World section is crowded - not because of the number of people, but by the strangely contoured seat separators and the sardine-like head-to-toe stacking. Once in your seat, two other disadvantages appear: the lack of storage space for small, precious items like spectacles and hearing aids and the narrowness of the space enclosed by the separators.

The head-to-toe placement means that the face of the stranger next to you is only some two feet from your own and facing you. Eye contact is inevitable and it is a bore's paradise. There is a sliding, opaque window to block this contact, but stewards are forever opening it and leaving it and one feels rude to keep closing it.

The entertainment on offer has not improved for a decade: the screen is low definition and the controls an unhappy blend of touch-screen and remote. It is at mealtimes and in the service offered that the real problems appear.

The British crew were unsmiling, surly, avoided eye-contact and in one case verbally rude. Their body-language was all rush with no finesse or attempt to put the client at ease. Any request was greeted by a glare. The CSD was nowhere to be seen, presumably never emerging from First Class. I was made to feel like an intruder.

The food was even more off-putting. A main course of tasteless, over-cooked beef filet served on a small, round semi-bowl with gravy and vegetables dumped randomly on top and around. BA served better food in cattle class in the '80s ......and served it with style. Breakfast revealed another weird practice (which was repeated on my return flight). Fruit juice and warm bead is presented some 20 minutes before one's choice of main dish, so you have to commit the (apparently unforgivable) sin of asking for more bread if you want it with your bacon and cardboard scrambled egg.

Mealtimes highlight the 3 main interacting problems facing this airline - cheap, poorly cooked food + expensive, poorly-trained and disaffected cabin crews + old style aircraft tarted up to make them look modern.

BA is rapidly becoming the world's LEAST favourite airline and it makes me sad.

Stephen787 flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B747-400 Mid J (06/11/2010 06:58)

BA10 SYD to BKK We checked-in online and managed to get seats at the front (bulkhead) of the rear economy section giving us a little more space for the 9hr+ flight.

Crew were efficient in their duties but not overly forthcoming in the smile department. As always BA is generous with their drinks but the cost cutting has meant that there were no nuts or snacks offered with the drinks. Dinner was basic but uninspiring compared to QF or SQ. Perhaps the cost cutting has hit all parts of the F&B dept.

For the first time in my experience on BA the entertainment system did not need resetting, so that was a plus. However BA still doesn't "get" the concept of offering several episodes of sitcoms. You are allocated one episode and that's it! Too bad if you enjoyed it wanted to see another.

Seat recline and comfort it not designed for sleeping.

The second meal before landing was and "all day Deli" box containing a cold ham roll and juice. Nothing to get excited about. You really notice the difference between BA and SQ, QF or EK these days. They have really dropped their standards.

Arrival at BKK was efficient as always. No wait at immigration and luggage was on carousel 5 mins later.

Overall, an OK experience for the $870 discount price and points, but I would choose another carrier next time.

ahmed87 flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B777-300ER (05/11/2010 19:43)

I flew recently on the new STBB B777-300ER world traveller cabin from LHR to DXB (on the 23rd of October), and found it extremely disappointing. I was seated in 33D, and although aisle the seat was pretty uncomfortable.. The older World traveller cabin is 20 times better. It was fitted with the new IFE system, which is amazing, however due to this there was also a huge box under each seat, which reduced leg-room (foot space) by about 30%. Food was the same old Chicken Tangine, which has been around for as long as I can remember :)

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Club Europe, on a Embraer 170 (05/11/2010 17:12)

The 170 is the smaller brother of the 190 and it certainly shows. On this flight I was in Club Europe and there is a noticeable difference (at least in my mind) in the seat pitch.

With the tray down for eating and coffee there isn't much room between (my slightly larger than average!) stomach and the tray! Whereas on the 190 there is oodles of room - even at the back of the plane.

In every other respect the seat is the same as the 190. Very comfortable for a short haul journey and the planes have that nice new feel. Again, overhead bins aren't huge but are a substantial improvement on the old AVRO planes they have replaced.

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Club Europe, on a Embraer 170 (05/11/2010 17:08)

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a Embraer 190 (05/11/2010 17:06)

I fly a lot from Glasgow to London and the new Embraers are fantastic.

The 190 have much more leg room from my experience and the best seats to go for are row 2 D and E (on the right hand side as you look towards the nose of the plane). There is oodles of legroom in either of these two seats.

In row 1 (on the left hand side) there is a bulkhead dividing screen so not as much space there. However, on the 190's there is a load of legroom wherever you sit on this plane.

Even if you do have someone sat next to you there is still a reasonable amount of elbow room.

The majority of the time unloading at London City is two doors, so, often sitting at the back is a quicker way to get off, although it doesn't always work.

Only thing that spoils this plane is that the overhead lockers can be a little tight even for a standard sized wheelie bag. But that's a small quibble for a great plane.

Steveh63 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (22/10/2010 14:55)

As you can see by my rating below I was not impressed by my recent Flight LHR-IAH in Club World on B777-200ER (GE Powered).

Boarding was via the down stairs coaching station in Terminal 5 (Gate 10) when my Wife and I got there we told quite clearly that we had to go to the back of the queue as there was no priority lane for this flight. After standing for 15-20 minutes we finally got onto a crammed bus which took us to a remote stand.

We then had to queue again as there was only 1 set of stairs being used to board the Aircraft.

Although I managed the steps up to the doors on the B777 without to much trouble many senior passengers were struggling.

At no time did I see any assistance offered from any BA Staff. When we got on board the APU was not working which meant there was no Air Conditioning available and the inside of the cabin was very hot.

After take off I found out that there was no AVOD available which shows how far BA have slipped behind their rivals whilst the cabin service and quality of food left a great deal to be desired. The boarding quality was more like Easyjet low cost rather than BA Club World.

frustratedflyer flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 Mid J (16/10/2010 23:51)

LHR-MIA. Was travelling with my wife in seats 5E & 5F. These are probably the best in the cabin if you are travelling with your partner as you can keep the dividing screen down and talk easily during the flight.

Seat 4E & 4F are similar but as there is no seat in front don't have quite as much privacy. Onboard service was friendly and dare I say first class. Escorted to seat by purser on boarding.

My wifes IFE was not working so she changed seats. The crew persisted and got it started. They even set the movie to the one she was watching in the right place so she could move back to the seat without missing any or having to fast forward it herself.

An interesting selection of wines and the food whilst not amazing was amongst the best I have tasted onboard. The seat was confortable and was converted into a bed with cotton covered duvet and mattress cover by the staff.

The only frustration being the wait to get off the plane when the people in Premium Economy behind took ages to get off the plane.

GavinBaker flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (15/10/2010 04:15)

Booked NZ -UK-SA-NZ Premium Economy through Qantas.

Qantas flew us Business Class to Sydney where we then had the misfortune to transfer to BA World Traveller Plus on a code share - The seats were tired but we had more legroom than economy and that was it.

The food was a disgrace and the standard of service matched the food.

Entertainment system was so so.

London to JoBurg was also by BA as Qantas don't do this route. Seats were an improvement but not much, if anything the food was worse but we had a cheerful and helpful cabin attendant.

The Qantas flight from JoBurg to Sydney was a complete contrast and what I would have expected for the extra money.

The seats were comfortable with more legroom and rake the service was excellent, the entertainment system 1000% better than BA and the food was a step up over economy.

From Sydney to Auckland Qantas flew us Business Class which allowed us to use the Business Lounge at Sydney.

I cannot understand how World Traveller Plus and Qantas premium Economy can even be considered as equals. They do not begin to compare and all I can say is "Shame on you BA, Shame on you!!"

JeffGFL flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (13/10/2010 14:36)

My wife and I flew BA 2166 Traveller Plus on September 20th from Tampa to London Gatwick, returning to Tampa on 2167 from Gatwick on October 6th. We were greatly disappointed in the general service and the poor quality meals.

I am 6 foot tall, and the so called behind leg support could not be used because of the space limitations between our seats and those in front! The rear tilt was also something that did not meet expectations.

We ordered special meals, low sodium, but we did not expect a “tasteless meal” which is exactly what it was. Also, the small snack before landing at Gatwick was a rock hard roll, and tea served in a paper cup. The roll was inedible, and the tea was something that BA should do better. Maybe BA should consider trying Marks and Spencer for the meal service.

Another irritant is the fact that when in Traveller Plus one must walk back into Traveller to find a toilet. My wife who has trouble walking did not appreciate the fact that the much nearer toilet in Business Class was not available to her. A very poor show.

For almost double the cost of Traveller, we would question “PLUS WHAT?” BA must do better, and that goes for the cabin staff.

rodders flew British Airways Club World, on a A318 (09/10/2010 03:00)

what a great service BA is offering from LCY to JFK, love the gate lounge at LCY, easy to board, and then a short 1 hr hop to Shannon, where US Border Protection formalities were completed within 30 minutes, and then off to JFK. Staff were friendly, service was good, and plane only 2/3rds full, disembarking at JFK as a domestic flight was just a breeze.Top marks BA for running this service.

STEPHENFORDHAM flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B777-200 (Config. 1) (05/10/2010 22:50)

Travelled "WorldTraveller Plus" Antigua return. What do you get for paying a lot of extra money? Answer a better seat with a bit of extra leg room thats it ! No preference in boarding.same crap food as economy and line up for a toilet at the back after coming from behind the curtain.Dont think you will get any better service it ain't there. Have a look at Virgins website and look at there Premium Plus cabin its different class.

KLTCONSULTS123 flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-300ER (30/09/2010 14:52)

Although the plane was fitted with the "new" club class seats they felt very tired and worn. Compared to many business class seats they have very little storage space. The footrest and table were less than reliable, the footrest collapsed and I had to keep the table level with my legs. Unfortunately the seat kept sticking during recline and would not come fully into the upright postiion when it was time to land. Boarding the plane was hampered by the gate being at ground level with passenger having to undergo additional security checks before boarding via a bus and steps onto the plane. Felt a bit like we had gone back to the 1960s.

EdwardFerrell flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (16/09/2010 15:11)

Row 6 on the A319 LHR to BCN -- no middle seat as it is one of the optional Club versus Euro seats. Great for travel with one other person

rodders flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (10/09/2010 19:16)

great friendly crew and service, with the added bonus of the aircraft being one of 2 747's with the new First cabin, which I was able to sample on the short hop between Bahrain and Doha, 10/10 to BA for creating a really classy product, stylish, comfortable, and no gimmicks, this is BA at its best.

qantas107 flew British Airways (07/09/2010 09:43)

Recently my wife and I flew First on BA from Los Angeles to London Heathrow continue to Moscow. Before boarding airport ground staff took us fast lane to the Qantas’s Lounge in Los Angeles Tom Bradley International Terminal then were greeted us to taken to our seats 4EF. Cabin crew learned, that we are deaf passenger, and we had a great writing communication. Pre-take off drinks were served and amenity kits and PJs given out. Excellent food and wine offering. The cabin seat configuration is formality individual, private, comfort and flat sleeper. We were very lucky to sleep through out overnight flight, generally very relaxed. Cabin crew woke us up and we missed breakfast. We have been flown with Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Qantas, American Airlines. BA remain Cabin seats are excellent. Again the Flight Cabin crew are very excellent to accommodation especially deaf passenger.

J.Murray flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 High J (27/08/2010 01:17)

British Airways may not have the most modern seat or all the gadgets like the middle eastern airlines but It's the service that really shines through. Sometimes, on other airlines, I smile seems like far too much to ask for but, on BA, it's a given.

Service is always lightening fast, even with a full cabin. The food is also of a high standard, although they could do with updating their choice of champagnes. The Concorde Room (CCR) at London Heathrow is the likely the best airport lounge in the world, with plenty of amenities, whilst still maintaining that elusive British decorum! Overall BA has an incredible First product, made by their INCREDIBLE staff.

camholgate flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 Mid J (25/08/2010 20:34)

Flew MIA-LHR.

After experiencing the delights of CW on the outbound journey, WTP awaited us. Boarding was quick, and easy. I've flown many times on BA WTP, and have always been quite impressed with the service.

Seat was comfy, and I was glad to see that BA introduced new features like headphones to give you a different experience to economy. Although the service is the same as economy, it is always good! IFE was AVOD, and there is always a fantastic selection of movies onboard BA. It was interesting that we were allowed to disembark at the end before the CW passengers, which was a good thing as the queues were empty!

Also, we landed in LHR the day of the Ash cloud saga, and as we were the last plane to land in LHR before they shut the airport, it was nice to know that we got home safely!

Overall, another good flight with BA in WTP!

camholgate flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (25/08/2010 20:25)

Recently flew LHR-JFK. As this flight was during the strike period for BA, so we were delayed by 1 hour. We were lucky to even fly, let alone get upgraded from WTP to CW. When we entered the plane, the cabin looked extremely spacious, and very comfy! The seats were luxurious, the legroom was fantastic, and it was a joy!

Pre-flight drinks were offered, but we were told that no hot meals were available, this being down to the reason that BA were on strike at the time! The only downside to the experience was that the B777 has not been fitted with AVOD yet, therefore, the entertainment was continuous, and you could not pause it!

Service was excellent; I believe that BA drafted in volunteers for the flight, and were struggling to find a crew, hence a delay of 1 hour. However, the crew were just excellent, they attended to your needs at every moment, and were great! The meal consisted of a Salad, which was very nice!

Overall, an unforgettable experience flying Club World with BA, an experience I will never forget!

GlobalTravellerTom flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a A321 (config 2) (23/08/2010 13:19)

A short flight from LHR to NCE. I had thought about paying the extra for CE seating but glad I did not. The difference is minimal for the additional cost for just a 1hr 30min flight time.

The staff were polite and helpful, which was refreshing to see given recent disputes with unions etc. Food was simple for a morning flight.

No In flight entertainment other than the usual moving map and outside stat sheets.

Overall pleasant, on time and comfortable flight.

ahmed87 flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200 (Config. 1) (23/08/2010 13:17)

brisbanelandlord flew British Airways (22/08/2010 21:10)

"Brisbane" (which is really Sydney) to London (they don't note the stopovers in Bangkok/Singapore on the ticketing).

Very disappointed with WTP. Food appalling. Flew premium economy with SAS just a few months ago and the difference was astounding: no hot breakfast, no bottled water - only for business and first for some inexplicable reason - movies same as on SAS four months earlier, seats decidedly uncomfortable.

It was like your mum wearing a mini-skirt trying to be cool--just don't do it. I will never fly BA again. The leg "room" ... I think not. Also I think they have a hide charging AUD50 for 'window' seats. If only their aircraft were as well equipped as their lounges.

stewartgmail flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (03/08/2010 18:41)

This 777 4 class config is now used on a lot of the LHR-YYZ route. The one major problem with this plane is that it uses the old entertainment programming and not video on demand - even though the club world has been fitted with the new seats. Even BA's older 767's with the original club world blue seat layout has VOD. Its v annoying! When are BA going to retro-fit these planes with the new entertainment system?

Rachelblackmore flew British Airways Euro Traveller (31/07/2010 13:38)

it was not the best service ever but it was ok

alwaysairbound flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (10/07/2010 20:00)

Shameful. Access to Terminal 5 lounge via a range of escalators. Lounge "welcome staff" dismissive and disinterested, and in fact a customer on leaving turned and said "god help us if we were to interrupt their conversation. Seat was great for sleeping, if very narrow for Business Class. Food was disgusting. Crew had obviously taken short-cuts in preparation and it showed. i sent my meal back on two flights, as did several other passengers. I was offered one drink en route, and to obtain further drinks myself had to interrrupt the cabin crew who were permanently deep in personal conversations.

iloveONEWORLD flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 Mid J (09/07/2010 19:49)

Although the seat of british airways is not as good as qantas, virgin atlantic or japan airlines, british airways is still one of my favourite airlines to fly for premium economy

CaspianTaylor flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200ER (Config. 1) (09/07/2010 19:32)

good flight

CaspianTaylor flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (09/07/2010 19:31)

great fligtht!

Ajay_Chaudhary flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (24/06/2010 04:08)

One of my most worst experiences..!

Due to Ash cloud problem, my wife's flight was cancelled and I had to book her on Singapore Airlines. It was not pleasant to travel to same desination on different flights, we wanted to sit together before boarding. BA did not even allow us into lounge on T3 heathrow saying that my wife is carrying Singapore Airlines boarding pass - I know that it is not allowed but it is because you couldnt re-book her on BA and cancelled the flight..!

Anyway, I boarded the flight and came to know that they "forgot" to get the meal I requested. As if this was not yet enough, entertainment system was not working. It took 2 hours to bring back 2 channels ..!!! I just slept and wished that I wake up only after 12 hrs in Singapore.

BA - I am not flying with you ever..!

frustratedflyer flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 Mid J (13/06/2010 12:47)

Boarding efficient, took off on time and arrived early. Bags at carousel shortly after getting there. Did not eat for whole flight and slept relatively well. IFE was good.

Nice touch is the snack box in the galley although as the galley is shared with Club World - their larder is even better! Seat 12D is as good as any other of the front row aisle seats.

SiteAdministrator flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a A319 (09/06/2010 11:17)

Flew LGW to CAG (Cagliari, Sardinia) in Eurotraveller May/June 2010 during the strike taking place at LHR.

The flight departed on time on Sunday afternoon with priority boarding for Exec Club members and those with children (pretty much the whole plane since it was half term). The aircraft was full, but boarding went fine. Drinks and sandwiches on offer, though it’s only when travelling with children that you realise that having mustard in the ham and cheese sandwiches isn’t going to play well with the under 10s. Drinks offered included all the normal soft options along with white and red wine, beers etc...

On the way out we were in rows 15 and 16 (E and F), after the emergency exit on the right hand side of the aircraft looking forward and there was plenty of leg room. The overhead IFE monitors just showed the route the whole way.

On arrival at CAG our bags took over 40 minutes to appear. Not sure who's fault that was, but no one was very impressed.

On the way back we sat in the first two rows of EuroTraveller in the DEF seats (we had E and F, there was no one in D).

Interestingly on this flight the curtain was after row 5 but row 6 had the squashed seat B between A and C and then it reverted to “normal” seating from row 7.

Similarly uneventful flight apart apart from Cagliari airport, where there are no check-in kiosks, no line open until two hours before the flight departure time, no lounge (closed for renovation) and you can’t go through security until 1900 for the 2025 departure.

AlanWitt flew British Airways (31/05/2010 17:33)

Upper deck on 747,lovely flat beds but no storage space and limited working space on 2x2 aisle seats

frustratedflyer flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a Embraer 170 (25/05/2010 15:58)

London City was a zoo. Nowhere to sit, long queues at security and even difficult to walk around as so many people. Flight a few minutes late on leaving but time caught up. Service was swift. Food a roll and a hot breakfast of bacon, egg, tomato, potato and sausage. It was OK but I would not have paid money for it! Very impressed with the plane. Comfortable and put my bad under seat as it felt very spacious. First three rows were Club Europe. Good flight better than a 737 any day.

SimonP01 flew British Airways Club World, on a A318 (21/05/2010 14:23)

My new wife and I flew the BA001 on Wednesday 12th May 2010. I was very impressed with the overall product . It really is like flying in a business the jet- a most unique experience helped by the fact we were only with 8 other passengers . The design of cabin was excellent - more space than normal club world and lots of privacy from any else around. The new aircraft was calm, tranquil, clean, contemporary, slick and stylish. I suppose like flying used to be. That's the summary now a bit more detail.

London City experience - this was my first flight through there. No waiting at check-in, no waiting at security and straight to the lounge with plenty of beverages available. This was already open when we got there (11:15 for a 12:50 flight). Read previous review saying the lounge only opened at 11:30 so BA have addressed this. Very prompt boarding, personal welcome from the captain (we were in row one!) and with minimal taxi and a very sporty take-off.

Seating: We were seat 1j and 1k. They were fine - no lack of space due to bulk heads. I would say all other seats were fine but make the comment that seat 1b is next to a toilet and is a bit exposed into the aisle. Rows two and three have a missing window position (out of the three windows at each seat) which is a slight problem in row three especially if you want a relaxed view out of the window. I didn't notice any difference in noise between the front and back.

Service: All very good. No pre-flight drink in LCY (but you get one in JFK). However, you don't have time for one due to near immediate taxi and go. Within minutes the excellent cabin crew start their excellent service starts. Fine wines and champagne with a starter en-route to Shannon. Main course and dessert follows departure out of Shannon with (if you're still hungry) an excellent afternoon tea about 1.5 hours of JFK. Read a previous review saying sandwiches ere plastic wrapped - ours weren't. This tea competes with some classy London hotels so enjoy. Having 3 cabin crew for the 10 passengers on our flight made for the best possible service. The portable entertainment system offers the same range of films/tv/music at the larger fleet but you don't get flights maps. The On-Air - text/email service wasn't working for our flight.

Seats: I'm not a regular business traveller but have done BA (Pre Econ and Club World) and Virgin PE recently. I would rate the Club_world London City seats at the best airline seats I've ever been in. Bit wider than I'd expected - excellent support and adjustment. They advertise the seats with a fully flat 6ft bed - I'm 6'3" and didn't feel constrained. They also have extra buttons next to your head when reclined to make it easy to return to the up right position - nice touch.

Shannon stop: Within a hour you're landing here. The stop was barely noticeable. Touch down to take off in just under an hour. You have to take your hand baggage off and then go through a queue-less US immigration. Within 10 minutes we were back on-board. Same cabin crew but they change the Captain/First Officer due to restrictions on their overall daily operating hours. So we were personally welcomed by our second Captain (a very amiable Cpt Hart) and off we went.

The flight: Thought a smaller aircraft might be a bit bumpier. We had some dark clouds above LCY and SNN so a little turbulence on take-off but nothing different thereafter. I've experienced some severe turbulence in 747-400s so size doesn't matter on this one !! Flight time of 6hrs 40 mins SNN to JFK. We were at the JFK taxi rank within 15 minutes of engine stop even allowing for checked baggage so take all of that onto account when doing you're sums on time difference with LHR flights.

I am an aircraft enthusiast and wanted to experience this flight and living in east London it was a no brainer for me. But even for others the ease of transit to LCY and rapid check-in- security and intimacy of the airport surely make for a winning product for anyone wanting to get to JFK in what is a near First class cabin at Club-Class prices.

Well done BA.

AvrahamBensimon flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B767-300 (17/05/2010 15:50)

Not worth the extra 50% of mileage, when flying using miles. It should have a much better offering of food and more recline.

bigmumma flew British Airways (09/05/2010 19:50)

We have just travelled BA to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We checked in on line the night before and then travelled up to the airport that night and checked our bags in in the morning. We walked straight up and it was very efficient quick and easy. Great start to our holiday. The flight was very comfortable for a 10 and half hour flight. seats comfy, only downside was when the person in front had their seat back, you couldnt reach down to get any underseat bags and wasnt any room hardly to move and definately not get out of your seat without out making them move their seat upright. food quite nice and edible and crew very friendly and attentive. drinks and snacks available at back of aircraft all through flight which was excellent. enjoyable long haul flight for economy class

Decter1 flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 High J (08/05/2010 22:25)

kmcottrell flew British Airways Club Europe (06/05/2010 14:18)

IvorLevene1 flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B777-200 (28/04/2010 11:24)

Overall a good experience. Sufficient leg room to sit but not to sleep on a 5 hour flight. Despite being in the middle of their dispute the cabin crew were fine.

Check-in was quick and straightforward.

GREGWAND flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B747-400 Mid J (25/04/2010 21:01)

Miami/London On time,Good food and great service.Really comfortable sears

mrgandhi flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B777-200 (24/04/2010 05:28)

ColinCampbellAustin flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (23/04/2010 22:05)

Club World is fantastic. Calm, comfortable and quite. The service was amazing. I slept all night. This is the only way to travel from the lounge to boarding to leaving the experience is excellent

HappytobeSilver flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 High J (23/04/2010 18:37)

Recently my wife and I flew First on BA from Heathrow to Doha (via Bahrain) having connected from Edinburgh. This was my first visit to the Concorde Room in terminal 5 having previously used the one in T4 on a few occasions (on the way back we were also able to use the Concorde Room before boarding our flight to EDI as we had arrived on First- the breakfast was a bit ordinary in terms of presentation and taste, but my wife liked her scrambled eggs) We had a couple of glasses of pink champagne before boarding and then were greeted by name by the CSD and taken to our seats 4EF. Pre-take off drinks were served and amenity kits and PJs given out. Excellent food and wine offering, though as previous reviewers have said the white wine was somewhat lukewarm. When I pointed this out a couple of cubes of ice were promptly added to my glass! Before arrival into Bahrain afternoon tea was offered which was served with whatever degree of formality individual passengers wished (I'm generally very relaxed and sat opposite my wife and shared a joke with the cabin crew as they served our food which was most relaxing and amiable). We spent an hour on the ground at Doha before the 25 minute hop to Daoha during which the cabin crew managed to serve a round of drinks and canapes- quite impressive. Before the return flight we relaxed in the Oryx lounge at Doha where alcoholic drinks are served upon request. After boarding alcohol was not allowed to be served until the doors had closed- once they had a blue label was promptly offered and accepted. The hop back to Bahrain was shorter this time- only 20 minutes but again a round of drinks and canapes were served. While on the ground at BAH a technical problem was noted which caused us to remain on the ground for over four hours. The cabin crew looked after us well though (the CSD was noteable by his absence totally) and the meal was served while still on the ground. After take off we quickly went to sleep awakening about one hour before landing and had a cup of tea. All in all an excellent two flights.

Toonarmy flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (15/04/2010 12:49)

NeilGraham flew British Airways Euro Traveller, on a Embraer 170 (10/04/2010 20:44)

Recently undertook a trip from LCY to EDI return. Outbound was on the older RJ100 and was full and cramped. Inbound flight, I had the pleasure - and I do seriously mean pleasure - of travelling on one of BA's new Embraer 170's. The aircraft was obviously very new and the 2-2 seating was very welcome compared to the 3-3 of the RJ100. The interior was very clean and also felt very spacious. The seat has one of the most generous seat pitches and one of the most comfortable seats I have experienced on any domestic or eurpoean service (of any carrier). The flight departed about 5 mins early, arriving in to LCY almost 15 mins ahead of schedule, in fact I was leaving the car park at our scheduled arrival time. During the short flight I only had a cup of tea but it was nice nad hot and served with a smile (and a seed / nut snakck). LCY is always an interesting airport to travel to and from but now BA have this new fleet operating from here means I will be looking to use it and cityflyer services alot more often. It will certainly be my first choice airport for London !

SBingham flew British Airways First, on a B777-200 (Config. 1) (05/04/2010 22:25)

Took BA flight from Muscat to LHR on 5th April 2010. This was to be my first experience of BA's 1st class and i was looking forward to comparing it with Qatar which i have flown first class many times to and from the middle east. After checkin was given invitation to the Oman air business lounge which BA use and was suprised that with a daily flight they put first class passengers in there, its used by many airlines and was busy the furniture is old and the whole lounge needs a face lift, was not at all impressed so headed off to the boarding gate, a bus was used to take you out to the plane. (along with everyone else!!!)

Once on board taken swiftly to my seat 2A and offered soft drink only as the first leg of the flight to Abu dhabi can not serve any alcohol,that was is it no news papers offered and given a coat hanger for my shirt once given a sleep suit and amenity kit. CSD came through the cabin and welcomed us but it felt like a chore rather than a real greating. We took off early for the 45 mins to Abudhabi and again offered juice (not fresh) I asked the CSD if there would be food offered on this sector and was told canapes and that full service starts after Abu Dhabi, she seemed suprised that i would want dinner on this night flight and asked why i did not pre flight dine, i was taken back (and thought she had never been inside the Oman air business lounge) and told her i would be wanting dinner she scurried off and returned with the menu and wine list.

At Abu Dhabi those passengers disembarking tramped through the cabin, then 20 mins later those boarding came through i was not impressed with this and did not feel comfotable sitting there with everyone passing staring and disturbing me.

Took off on time and quickly offered champagne, but due to restrictions the champagne was not cold the flight attendant apologised and explained this was always a problem on this flight. Of the nine passengers in first i was the only one to have the full dinner service. I was not very impressed with the menu options and the wine chose for the main course was not available and again all the white wines were luke warm!!

Then came the most disappointing part of the flight my bed, crew made it up and i got in to find it was like sleeping in a sleeping bag very narrow at the feet and i could hardly move, this annoyed me so much i had to give up and change the seat into a different position and try to sleep. I do not know why anyone pays extra for BA first there product is very dated and poor compared to the other middle eastern airlines. The cabin crew seemed to spend more time chatting amonst them selves and gorging on the food that had not been eaten. I can see why they are not a 5 star airline and i support Mr Walsh's attempts to shake up the crew after this experience.

Arrival at Heathrow was early but ruined by a remote parking spot which meant a long bus ride to the terminal with no seperate provision for first class. The only redeeming feature of arrivals was the lounge which was very good, i enjoyed a massage and facial followed by a very good breakfast in the Concorde room.

My last thought of this experience was never first class on BA again.

J.Murray flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 Mid J (30/03/2010 21:09)

Heathrow to Washington Dulles. Started my journey in terminal 5, I really love the new terminal it's so much brighter and roomy than the old one. The first premium check-in area is great I turned up and I was the only one there which made a real difference. They checked my bags quickly and assured me that they would be first off the plane at Dulles. I was allocated seat 1k as I have a Gold executive card and also a concorde room card.

After check-in I proceeded to the Concorde Room which is fantastic, the dining booths are great, especially if you're planning on travelling at night as it allows you to maximise your sleep whilst onboard. The food was great, I had the fillet steak which I usually have, as always it was delicious. I had about an hour and a half to my flight was meant ot start boarding , so I treated myself to a relaxing massage at the travel spa, a really handy extra feature. After feeling new and rejuvinated and refreshed I proceeded to the sattelite to board my flight after a sneaky gin and tonic. Suprisingly in my past experience First passengers were allowed to board before the Club ones. Although this doesn't really bother me because you just end up sitting on the plane anyway.

Once onboard the FA introduced herself to me and offered me a glass of bubbly. She also brought me my pyjamas and slippers along which my amenity kit. After a short taxi we were airbourne quickly and after about 5 minutes the FA took my dinner order, I once again chose the Steak ( I am a bit of a steak junkie). The food as always on first was delicious and the little touches like the box of chocolates which I thik I might have taken my fair share of! Throughout the flight we were offered drinks and anything that we wanted. About 2 hours before landing we were given afternoon tea which was actually quite refreshing. The time from tea to landing let me think about how much I like the First product, yes the seat isn't the best compared with the likes of Emirates or Singapore but it's the little touches and the service is effcient and friendly. I would choose the BA First over Emirates anyday as from the moment you check-in you are made to feel extremley welcome and nothing is too much effort for the attentive crew. Landing was uneventful although we did have a long taxi to the gate. Once on stand we were actually allowed to disembark before the Club passengers which was a nice change As we were first off the plane passport control and immigration was quick and after about 15 minutes we'd collected our bags (which, as promised were first off the belt) and were curbside and in our limo to DC. So to conclude I would certainly reccomend BA's First to anyone who can afford the pice tag.

ode2999 flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (24/03/2010 20:10)

It as overall a good flight to hong kong from london heathrow. We got upgraded to club world on the way back. The staff was freindly but the food was not that good. The best thing is that we could get of the plane quickly.

ode2999 flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (24/03/2010 20:08)

Great flight

LCYAirportShuttle flew British Airways (24/03/2010 10:32)

KatyPeri flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B747-400 High J (20/03/2010 19:33)

CLassy airline with great service which isn't in your fac.

GlobalTravellerTom flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (13/03/2010 15:48)

Boarding: This was longer than normal due to a second body search on everyone entering the plan at T5 Heathrow. Yes this took a long while due to a full flight, but I will never complain when they beef up security. The Seat: For a 7 hour flight this seat really is perfect and I would happily pay the extra for this and to avoid coach seats (I'm 6ft). The recline angle is good and comfortable when at fully back. The flight: A great flight and service by BA. This was a 6pm departure from London to JFK whilst east coast America was in the middle of a snow storm. The pilot earnt every penny of his salary by landing in awful conditions to avoid a diversion to Boston. Overall: If you are planning a long weekend in NYC then Prem Eco from BA is a great way to do it.

longfellow flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B777-200 (Config. 1) (05/03/2010 17:41)

Flew from Cape Town to LHR on 1st March in Premium Economy, which we selected simply for the additional legroom as I am 6'4". We had already been warned there were no other benefits.

The PE section in the Boeing 777 is small, only 24 seats and we chose 14J and 14K, the rear aisle seats, so nobody behind to kick the seat backs.

We were happy with the comfort factor, the main grouse is the toilet facilities. sharing 5 toilets with over 200 economy passengers, whilst Business Class appears to have 7 toilets for about 36 passengers. I can understand that the BC passengers don't want us passing through their cabin to use the loos, but the difference in allocation between BC and economy is ridiculous.

On the outward journey, we had a Boeing 747-400 and the arrangement is different, as premium economy is sandwiched between first and BC and has a toilet of its own, a much better arrangement.

longfellow flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (05/03/2010 17:32)

AndrewFlyer flew British Airways Club World, on a A318 (03/03/2010 12:55)

Flying from New York's JFK to London City on British Airways' Airbus A318 non-stop service is the best option for travel to London, in my opinion. I travelled on BA004, departing JFK Terminal 7 at 22:00, and scheduled to land in London at 10:15 the following morning.

Check-in at dedicated desks at T7 took less than one minute, and the dedicated fast track security meant I was airside in under three minutes. Staff reminded me that there was a pre-flight dining option in the Terraces Lounge, and London City flights are now full-service flights offering a starter, three main courses and a "Goodnight Express" sandwich/salad combo plus dessert / cheese / cookies / fruit and chocolate. Because of heavy snow-fall in the NY area, I departed Manhattan well in advance, so had plenty of time in the lounge before departure.

Boarding was called 30 minutes prior to departure, and with an aircraft slightly more than half-full, the doors were closed at 21:44 and we pushed back three minutes later. We were airborne in five minutes, so slightly ahead of our scheduled departure time. It sure made a difference to the 1-hour plus taxi time I've had on a 747 at JFK! Our flying time was scheduled for seven hours exactly. Since my visit to New York had been brief, I was tired and reclind my seat back 15 minutes after take-off, and was soon enjoying a lovely slumber on a very comfortable 180-degree flat bed with a light cotton duvet to keep me warm. Luckily, the crew on this flight kept the cabin cool (and dark), ensuring customers could maximise their rest. The next thing I knew, I was awoken with the wonderful "30 minutes to landing, sir" and "here is your cup of morning tea." Crew also handed out a variety of breakfast options to customers (smoothies, fruit, muesli, pastries and warm bacon rolls), though a few opted to take the "City Breakfast" option off the plane with them (juice, fruit and pastries).

It was interesting flying over North London on approach to London City, and watching many larger aircraft in the stack waiting for clearance to land at London Heathrow. We just zipped along and made the steep angled approach into London City for a perfect landing, touching down nearly 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Immigration was fast (with a very pleasant officer who welcomed us with a hearty "good morning"), and bags were on the belt six minutes from the aircraft door opening. I declined the offer to shower at the nearby Marriott West India Quay since I live nearby, but timed my arrival home (via cab) at 33 minutes from aircraft door to my front door.

Arriving in London does not get any easier than at London City - it is a very efficient use of time, and the BA Club World London City service offers a maximum opportunity to rest in preparation for a long day at the office in London. A winning service. And are there any negatives to this flight, you may ask? I'd prefer to have something to change into on the overnight return flight (I often use hand-luggage, so bringing extra PJs isn't always an option), and a larger pillow would be nice. The "bing-bong" of the on-air system registering between satellites can be annoying, and there is a bright green light by the power port (taking both US & UK plugs) which can be annoying if you aren't wearing eyeshades. Otherwise, everything else works very well!

AndrewFlyer flew British Airways Club World, on a A318 (03/03/2010 12:23)

Evening BA003 service from LCY to JFK. I departed my office at Canary Wharf at 14:20 for a 16:00 departure to New York, and the DLR took 14 minutes to reach London City Airport. Check-in took less than one minute, and with dedicated fast-track security only for this JFK flight, I was through in three minutes. I made my way to the Gate 24 lounge, only used by British Airways for the two, dedicated LCY-JFK flights. There were 26 customers on this flight (out of a total of 32 seats).

Boarding was simple and leisurely, and we were warmly greeted by the crew. We departed ten minutes ahead of schedule, and we were airborne four minutes after pushback. Our journey time to Shannon was one-hour and five minutes, in which time the crew served an appetizer and offered a full bar service.

In Shannon, we were quickly through the newly refurbished part of the terminal into the US Immigration and Customs hall. Bags go through a scanner (laptops out, shoes off) and security staff performed a manual baggage inspection. We proceeded through US Immigration / Customs and then onward to a waiting area dedicated for Club World London City customers. The Irish duty-free is under renovation (removing the Stalinist-era shop of old). The crew re-boarded, and within five minutes passengers were back on board and we were under way - a full 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Supper service commenced shortly after take-off with another round of drinks, followed by a salad, a choice of five main courses, cheese or dessert and after-dinner drinks. Apart from an average wine-list, there is no description of what is available from the bar, so you have to ask what they have, which slows service down a bit. Portable video units are used on this service, with a fairly decent amount of programming with recent films. BA's new association with BAFTA may up the level of content on these units. Most passengers either caught up with work (esp. when the OnAir Connectivitiy was available for blackberry connections - note TMobile users still are not able to connect), or slept or watched a film. The Captain came through the cabin and spoke to every customer that so wished - a nice touch.

The seats, in pairs, are contemporary, sleek and very comfortable. In bed mode, I find them more comfortable than regular Club World on 747 & 777 aircraft. The Cabin ambiance (thanks to mood lighting) is pleasant and serene.

A la carte "afternoon tea" was available upon request from 90 minutes prior to landing (but after a good supper catered by London's Roast restaurant, there were not too many takers) - note only basic tea or herbal tea is offered, no Earl Grey / Darjeeling, etc. which would be a nice addition to this premium flight. We landed at a snowy JFK nearly 40 minutes ahead of schedule (there had been massive cancellations in NY due to the snow, so approach was direct and fast), with a record two minutes from runway to gate 9 (not the normal arrival gate at JFK T7). From Gate 9, it took three minutes from the door of the aircraft to getting into a cab, and a further 30 minutes to reach my hotel overlooking Central Park (hardly any traffic). Arrival was so quick, in fact, I managed a light supper with friends after landing - and this is after the later of the two daily flights from LCY-JFK.

Overall, this flight is a truly winning proposition from British Airways. It takes so much of the hassle and wasted time of current travel out of the equation, that customers are happy to pay the premium charged for this boutique and special service. The added perquisites of being able to connect onboard, and landing as a domestic customer at JFK really make this an optimum choice.

peoplesonrules flew British Airways World Traveller (economy), on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (01/03/2010 17:05)

I flew from LHR to IAD, and the only airline that is better for this flight is Virgin Atlantic. The IFE is second only to Virgin's V:Port. The only problem is you can't use your remote to guide you round the system, so it can be rather annoying. The amount of legroom was pretty good and the food wasn't bad. The cabin crew were excellent (as with all major British airlines) and the service they provided was also very good. There are only two problems with the flight, 1 is that the head rest is too hard, the other is that the movie selection is quite allot smaller that BA so you can get board very easily (plus Virgin has games).

BurntEnd flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 Mid J (15/02/2010 21:36)

BA139 LHR--> BOM 1/26/10, Club seat 17J;

Prior to departure used club in T5B, which was less chaotic that anything in T5A, lots of space to sit and walk around without the commotion. Prefer 5B club for fast access/use of showers on connections. Flight to Mumbai mid-week was uneventful CW only 25% occupied very few upgrades. Staff very friendly and attentive, given the number of passengers was almost ideal, no noise, no disturbances, no delay on getting any request taken care of.

Although the equipment is starting to show some wear, everything functioned well and was clean… and seat went flat and I was able to get seven plus very much needed hours of sleep. Food was disappointing but anyone used to the flights will likely agree the food quality is going downhill, beverage service while being drawn back a bit on selection is still good.

BurntEnd flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (15/02/2010 19:59)

BA138 BOM->LHR 2/7/10; I am always a fan of the lay flat seat in Club World., once again on this 3am departure sleep was a must and without issue was able to get in a CW seat. Food as others have pointed out is going the wrong direction, but unless you are up for the meal service on this flight only two in upper deck partook this wasn't really an option. The Indian buffet in the lounge pre-flight was a much better option. Service was good, but not overly friendly/warn, but no issues to report either. The cabin equipment is starting to look a bit beat up on some airframes, but all in all,m I will take over any other airline servicing the route.

Carpi34 flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 Mid J (04/02/2010 11:48)

The only real benefit is a less cluttered cabin and a bit more leg room. You receive the same dead-pan, grumpy cabin crew and boring food. There are no special privileges and you have to travel to the back of the plane for the wc with the economy passengers. We even had to wait to board as the plane was loaded from back to front, so the 'Plus' passengers got on last! In my opinion this is a waste of money as I paid over £400 extra for this hopeless 'upgrade'. I will try Virgin next time and consider of these 'Premium' services are worth the money as based upon this BA experience it simply is not worth it. I'm extremely disappointed.

zhkhappy flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (31/01/2010 09:12)

The seat was quite good compared to World Traveller. The food wasn`t that good along with the service. Compared to premium economy on Qantas and Virgin Atlantic it wasn`t that good. The seat was a bit stiff and the cabin was cold.

zhkhappy flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 Mid J (31/01/2010 09:09)

Fantastic! The flat bed onboard wasGREAT! The cabin was quite dry and it was quite noisy because there were alot of children onboard.

mattsydney flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy), on a B747-400 High J (20/01/2010 03:12)

The only thing premium about BA's World Traveller Plus is the seat.

I travelled WTP from Heathrow to Bangkok this month in WTP. There is no separate check in (Qantas does). Boarding is with economy.

You are served by the same cabin crew as economy. The meals (very poor quality) are the same as economy.

This is truly economy class with a big seat. I really don't think that it is worth double the fare for an economy seat. The whole experience felt cheap and is desperate need of an update.

I will definitely choose an alternative airline unless BA improves it's WTP

AirCondition flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 High J (14/01/2010 11:16)

I have been flying BA almost exclusively for many years now from both LHR and GATWICK to Newark, JFK, Orlando and Miami. I am a Gold Card holder and mainly travel in Business Class, occasionally in First. Here is my view as of Jan 2010:

They are basically a good service but increasing problems don't bode well for the future.

Positives:

1. Terminal 5 and Lounges are great. 2. Business class flat beds are very good 3. Staff usually, but not always, very good 4. Used to travel Premium Economy and found that to be a very good service if you don't want to pay Business rates and don't have to sleep on the flight

Negatives:

1. T5 brand new and they are still busing you to planes. Incredible. Could they not have made T5 slightly bigger and eliminated busing?

2. Business Class food going from bad to worse. (I just eat some of the great food at T5 before I get on.)

3. Baggage. BA lost my bags twice this year - once to Newark and once to Miami. In both cases, I was travelling with my Gold Card, had Gold Card labels on my bag, Had those orange BA "Priority" tags on my bag, was travelling in Business Class, checked in at the First Class counter. How do they lose that type of bag?

Again, T5 brand new - what about the baggage system?

Customer Service followup on lost bags is terrible. Really terrible. (Why not move everyone out of this department and move them into a new department that ensures that bags are not lost in the first place? Just an idea.)

Losing a bag is a big problem. If its happened to you, you will know what I mean. If it hasn't yet, stop and think about it for a moment. My wife and I thinking about a moratorium on BA this year just on the baggage issue. Shame because they have their good points.

4. Recent Holiday Strike Threat. So behind the smiles the Cabin Crew couldn't care less about us. It may be true on other airlines too, but that was a hell of a public admission. That could take a long time to live down. (I wouldn't want to walk the aisles in a confined space with everyone knowing that.)

Concorde flew British Airways First, on a B747-400 Mid J (06/01/2010 13:11)

Being among the few which flew back over New Years on a leisure trip with my wife, seat 1A and 1K were the ones we selected for our flight back from LAX to LHR.

Check in was swift and curteous. Our luggage was taken care of right from the start so that we did not have to wait for it to be screened. There was no line at security. TSA had to make use of course of the "naketscanner". Gladly I was not selected to go through there but my wife was. Note, after the metal detector - again without shoes. The lounge in LAX, shared with Singapore and Qantas Airways is neat and kind of cool. The TV station can not ne adjusted in the privacy room because of the fact that for 6 months the battery is dead... Boarding was quick, however there was no separate entrance for First.

The seats are comfortable, even after 15 years in service. However they were not that clean.

This being a New Year's Eve flight we expected somewhat of a special dinner or so. None of the above. Because of only a few Bollinger on board. We were served, for immediate drinks before take-off a sparkling wine of no common source. Bollinger was served after take-off. Food was good for me, Steak in a Teriaky sauce and mashed truffeled potatoes. My wife had spagetti and she was not delighted with here choice. VOD was OK, i think that there should be more choice of movies. I also think that Emirates has too many on file.

I slept for about 5 hrs. even though the flight was quite bumpy. Breakfast is always good on BA in first. I helped myself to tea and toast with some jam.

After landing and getting to our stand - on the field, we were left waiting due to the fact that the stairs were not working. After 30 minutes a new truck arrived and we were able to disembark. I do hate the bus ride and am by now sick and tired of not always parking on a gate. Security in Heathrow was good, no real line and friendly staff. The Concorde Lounge is always a delight and I look forward to the next Supersonic Flight to avoid being 11 hrs on any airplane.

JoeyHou flew British Airways Club World, on a B747-400 Mid J (04/01/2010 20:30)

I travelled from Hong Kong to london on business class, the food was just terrible compared to other airlines for business class, it was just economy class food put i n to a glass bowl. The seat was great but still not fully flat. The amenities was so cheap and the toilet was discusting,

Lollipop flew British Airways World Traveller Plus (premium economy) (04/01/2010 12:41)

OK except for horribly uncomfortable, hard, intrusive, not-very-adjustable head rest. The head rests in economy are far better and can make for a reasonable night's sleep. Theres a bit more space. The food's pretty poor. There's a separate section but you still have to queue in cattle class for the bog. So unless your oversized or overweight I'd save my money and go econ.

MarjoryNaismith flew British Airways Club World, on a B777-200ER (Config. 1) (03/01/2010 21:15)

I think this was the configuration with 2 areas for club class and no 1st class. It appeared that way anyway.

Excellent flight and very pleasant and helpful crew. Service was faultless. Good food and drinks choices, well served and presented. Slight quibble -if you are in a middle seat of 4 it can be more awkward to get out of your seat if the person next to you and the one in the next row both use their footrests all the time as you have to climb over as it causes an "overlapping effect". Rather odd I thought.

New screens much better and although there were a couple of blips with the AVOD system on the whole it was fine. The decent headphones supplied do make a difference. We were 40 minutes late departing but that was no fault of BA, just the increased security. Found the whole flight pretty relaxing due to the comfort.

harrietwithall flew British Airways (03/01/2010 17:37)

not much leg room! tv programmes not 100% on demand