BA or Virgin?

[penlanspice]

Anyone got any prefferences to BA or Virgin?
We have never flown BA! but have flown with Virgin many times? The BA flight is coming up at £10 cheaper pp than Virgin. Not a big deal.

So my question is should we give Ba a go?
Are you able to book your seat before travel?
Do they have seats in pairs (like Virgin have at the back of the plane)?
and also are you able to drop your bags off the day before you fly?

Thanks

Sam

[Frances999]

There have been numerous threads on this topic before. If you do a search you might be able to dig them out for extra information.

Personally, I prefer Virgin Atlantic. I have found the staff to be more helpful and attentive and I prefer their cabins. Their premium cabins are far superior and of better value-for-money in my opinion.

In response to some of your questions:

1) Yes BA do offer a seat request system, but (just like Virgin) your chosen seats cannot be guaranteed.
2) I have heard that BA have recently introduced a service which is similar to Virgin's twilight check-in, so yes - you can drop your bags off the evening before. However, there is no similar service stateside (Virgin have DTD check-in).

For £10 less, I would definitely choose Virgin. You say you have travelled with Virgin before - have you joined the flying club? You will be able to collect of lots of miles for discounted/free tickets if you continue to travel with them :)

:wizard:

[Miffy2003]

Hi Sam,

I can help with some of your questions! I have flown both BA & Virgin and there is little difference between them in my experience, so I would go with whatever was cheaper!

You can book your seats before you travel and they do have Twilight Check in at Gatwick.


They don't unfortunately do the fantastic DTD Check in (Virgin do) which in my opinion is worth an extra tenner a head!

What I really liked about BA was the fact that we left Gatwick a little earlier than the Virgin flights at 11.15 and 12.30 do, so arrived at our hotel a little sooner. Leaving Gatwick earlier may be a disadvantage though if you live locally or are travelling up to Gatwick that same day!

ETA - posted at the same time as Frances.

[JohnnySharp2]

I have always flown Virgin, BA do not fly direct from Manchester so for us it is no contest and the DTD check-in tips the balance in VA's favour also.

As Frances said there was a thread very recently on this topic so you should find many interesting opinions there.

[Miffy2003]

Here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=971095) is one of the recent threads re Virgin vs BA.

[Shane]

Although I'm not going with either this year, I tend to fly with Virgin Alot, never had any problems or errors, quick and friendly!.

Stick with that you know best, its only £10, but what about the Bunny Ears :earsboy:

[SammieG]

I prefer BA... I find the seats more comfortable for my short legs and you get a foot rest in economy.. (actually its a long time since I flew Virgin, so they might have them in economy now)

I find the Orlando flight with BA excellent. Cant say the same for New York or Miami however.. but Orlando.. weve never had a bad one.

[stevie-wonder-boy!]

havent flown either but i love planes and my fav airline is ba!!

[disneyholic family]

i've never flown virgin, and it's been years since i was on BA....we used to fly BA quite a bit back then and we enjoyed it a lot...but since it's been so many years, i didn't vote..

now we tend to fly only one airline (neither BA or Virgin) mainly due to being stuck with it as frequent flyers....i think lots of people end up with their airline 'of choice' that way....they get sucked into frequent flying and then can't switch airlines or lose all those nice upgrades and perks...

[Hilary]

I prefer BA... I find the seats more comfortable for my short legs and you get a foot rest in economy..
That's one of the reasons I prefer BA too :) - and their economy headrests have little flaps that adjust in/out to support your head (Virgin didn't have them last time we flew to Orlando with them).

The general opinion on these boards is usually in favour of Virgin, so the poll results will be interesting! I get the impression most of us have our own favourite of the two, but would usually be happy to fly with either if the price was right.

[mickg7dyd]

Hi,
Flying with the same airline (Virgin Atlantic) and being a flying club member enabled me to fly to LAX earlier this year in Upper Class for the cost of the taxes. When there is so little to choose in cost of flights I think this is a good reason to use just one carrier.

Mick.

:smooth:

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I fly all over the world with both and would choose Virgin every time.

Virgin have the much better clubhouses, the bed is much better than the BA bed which is too short and close fitting across the shoulders.
Also, the cabin crew are much nicer than the snotty BA prunes.
The two areas BA are better in is in-flight meals and connecting flights/European destinations, but as I am trying to reduce company costs by flying Lo-Co in Europe, one of them is now not a plus.

[carolfoy]

Voted Virgin, only because BA are anti-travel agents and Virgin are agent-friendly. also have virgin frequent flyer card but that rarely counts as usually my flights are at a discounted class so you don't get miles!. Have had good and bad flights with both though so, realistically theres not much difference

[Pootle]

..... Also, the cabin crew are much nicer than the snotty BA prunes ....

Alas the world is full of people! Some of whom have had a rotten day or just have 'attitude'. I can't accept that BA has this as a requirement of its cabin crew ;)

Seriously, I've seen good service - which I'd say is the norm for both airlines - and not-so-great from both. My worst ever encounter was a Virgin crew of many years ago who spent a lot of time entertaining each other and as little time as possible catering to passengers' needs! We were sat close by the galley? area (where they congregate) and so were in a good position to witness their antics. This was an exception though, and was written off as such.

[carolfoy]

ITA Pootle, its the luck of the draw. I know 7 girls who work for Virgin in cabin crew (1 is chief purser in upper class) and I work with 3 ex virgin staff, the stories of how much they drank/partied/got off with passengers etc is astounding!!! Its the same though for Emirates, BA, AA, and Continental though, '*** I work with ex staff for these too.

[gilld]

I haven't flown BA for years but I have found the VA cabin crew in Economy to be worse and worse as the years have gone by. I must admit they are better in PE and will be able to report back on UC next September.

I think VA have become very complacent over the years and are not half as good as they think they are - mind you, we still use them because of the FVC discount and DTD Virgin Valet!!! :rotfl:

[angel659]

We are in the same predicament. We will be booking our flights at the end of January. We have received two quotes if we flew with Virgin via flydrive then the price would be £137 more than flying with BA.

We flew with Virgin this year and it was the first time. We were so impressed we wanted to fly with them in Oct 2006, however now seeing a £137 price difference we are not sure who to fly with.

The flights we are looking at Virgin leaves at 11:15 and BA leaves at 11:05 so there really isnt much difference. Both flights are economy as we are not fussed in upgrades. I am leaning towards virgin even though its £137.00 more. I know what I am getting. The food was great and the service was great. Couldnt fault them.

I flew to Aberdeen with Ba they were good then, although we did have a 3 hour delay as apparently the ground crew broke the luggage door. We had an hour delay with Virgin due to fog the previous day. Which neither can be helped really.

We will hopefully be able to choose when it comes to booking time.

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Angel659
Have you looked at the cost of both flights without the fly drive? i.e. flight only? you can get better sometimes rates by booking each seperatly

[angel659]

Hi Obi,

Yes we have looked on both sites for flights only and it was cheaper for a fly drive than a flight only by £200.

I loved Virgin and wouldnt want to chance it with BA especially all the problems they have had in the past.

Thanks Obi will keen an eye out.

Cheers
Michelle

[maggs]

I think we all base it on our experiences. I had a rotten experience with BA - so never again! On the other hand every flight I have had with Virgin has been great.

Maggs

[SammieG]

One of the GREAT advantages of BA is that the flight get in just before the Virgin flight. Believe me, when you see the immigration line, you will think thats a great benefit! In all our flights we have only been behind the virgin flight once..

First to immigration, first to car rental and first to hotel! ;) :cool1: :cool1: :rotfl2:

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

One of the GREAT advantages of BA is that the flight get in just before the Virgin flight. Believe me, when you see the immigration line, you will think thats a great benefit! In all our flights we have only been behind the virgin flight once..

First to immigration, first to car rental and first to hotel! ;) :cool1: :cool1: :rotfl2:

I have never found this to be a problem with Virgin, take last month, out and to Hertz collecting the car within a hour of landing, this is normal for us, not a one off.

[jen_uk]

In November this year the queues at immigration were very very long, it took us 2 hours to get thru the airport! But I would still choose Virgin over BA.

[AlanUK]

Another one for Virgin :)

I would agree with what Obi said earlier about the BA cabin crew coming across as snooty! I have flown a number of times with both airlines and without exception the BA cabin staff always seem put out that they have to deal with passengers whilst the Virgin crew have a 'happy to help' attitude.

It not so bad that if BA came up significantly cheaper than Virgin that I wouldn't give them yet another chance though ;)

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

In November this year the queues at immigration were very very long, it took us 2 hours to get thru the airport! But I would still choose Virgin over BA.

2 hours! wow, we went through 26th Nov and were out on the road to our villa in 1 hour, its all down to luck by the sounds of it

[Sue & Co.]

We have used both BA and Virgin and so far have found Virgin best (I have special needs and travel with a wheelchair), we are due to fly to LA with them in April so we will see if they are as good on other routes.

Sue

[jtlover]

We have flown with both to Orlando and Virgin win every time - this is obviously if it is just standard class. I think that BA are more into business and upper class travel.

Virgin have their own tv's in the seats in front and unless BA have changed they do not - Virgin seem to have more detail to their flights.

[SammieG]

BA DO have all seat back TVs Jtlover! You cant have travelled with them for ages!! Weve been travelling BA for 6 years and they have always had them!

[carolfoy]

BA DO have all seat back TVs Jtlover! You cant have travelled with them for ages!! Weve been travelling BA for 6 years and they have always had them!

ITA my first long haul flight with BA was 8 years ago and we had seat back tvs then!

[Frances999]

I think that BA are more into business and upper class travel.
I have to disagree - I find Virgin's PE and UC much better compared with the BA alternatives. I think the premium cabins are Virgin's strong point - but comparing on an economy class level I don't think there is too much difference between the two.

[jtlover]

BA DO have all seat back TVs Jtlover! You cant have travelled with them for ages!! Weve been travelling BA for 6 years and they have always had them!

Actually that was in 1997 that we travelled with BA - but actually we had to divert via Miami so maybe that flight doesnt have tvs in seats! :flower:

[TandCmum]

I am going to say Virgin, we had a great flight over with them this year, the crew were great, very child friendly, the food was good. I have only flown BA on local routes and over to Mauritius in 2000. The flight to mauritius really put me off. We were on a 747 for a 12 hour flight, it was very cramped, the plane was old,the crew were pretty obnoxious and we had no seat back TV's.

Saying that though, if the price was right i'd give them a go, as its only a means to an end in my eyes. I am actually thinking of truing globespans new flights as they are daily direct from Glasgow so saving on the connecting flights.

Suzanne
xxx

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I think you need to read this article from todays Times:-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1965953,00.html

Scary :guilty:

[disneyholic family]

I think you need to read this article from todays Times:-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1965953,00.html

Scary :guilty:

wow!...scary indeed.......and it's criminal that it's gone on for so long......

[Scottish-Helen]

I personally prefer BA in economy if the last time I flew Virgin is anything to go by. I think Virgin used to be miles better but they rely on their past reputation a bit too much. The last time we flew with them in 2002 I thought the food was pretty poor. The stewardesses were a bit grumpy (although thats not to say they are all like that) and the plane was past it's best. Mind you I flew with them to Hong Kong the year before and loved them. I've never had a bad flight with BA and find them to be pretty reliable. We had seats at the back in row 52 when we came back from our holidays in October these were just 2 together and you had alittle bit more room with them.

We are flying Virgin on our next trip because we are going premium economy and flying from Manchester.

[Claire L]

I think you need to read this article from todays Times:-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1965953,00.html

Scary :guilty:

Yikes not good :( Reminds me of our flight with BA to Lanzarote in October, maintainence hadn't closed the valve for the water supply properly, hence we had to taxi back just before take off for it to be closed. The pilot was quite right we couldn't go 4 hours with no loo's or drinks! Other than that it was a good flight.

Claire ;)