Friends Flight on BA

[Laurafoster]

My friends have just returned from 3 weeks in Florida. This time they flew direct with BA for the first time ever to Orlando (having used them to the caribbean and LA before, but not Orlando)

Anyway after an awful flight out (felt very cramped and BA lost his luggage). They werent very impressed with this BA flight so far. On the return flight they got on the plane and he said the seat area felt very cramped once again. I think he was referring to the width more than anything.

So he got out a tape measure and measured the seat. It only measured 29 1/2 inches. (From a certain point on his seat to the same point on the other seat). The cabin crew didnt seem bothered, not that they could do anything anyway and told him to put a complaint in when he got home.

Cabin Crew apparently just said oh well it a full flight so we add in extra economy seats.

 

[skelfbsfb]

How many other airlines do this without anyone knowing. Wonder what his reply will be.

 

[igk]

Hang on a minute. So airlines actually put extra seats in? I thought the configurations were fixed... I don't disbelieve you but I haven't heard of this before...

 

[zippy99]

I have been to Florida 3 times now -

Trip 1 - First Choice
First Choice - excellent room and entertainment system was top notch games that you could play against others on the flight - food was reasonable too (as good as can be expected) - Sadly the other package elements such as not getting park tickets until a welcome meeting put us off using them again.

Trip 2 - Virgin
Well - a 20 hour delay really was awful, food was average but the entertainment was dated, grainy picture, no games and a loop system. Very little interaction with the staff, very few drinks served.

Trip 3 - BA
New AVOD entertainment - massive selection with pause play FF & RW - lovely fleece blankets. The food was ok on the way out and we were offered plenty of drinks throughout the flight. Breakfast on the return was DREADFUL - although I could not fault the staff who were helpful & pleasant and even turned the breakfast rock (actually a cold egg muffin) into a joke. During the night I went to ask for water - and he said he would bring it along and gave me a cup as well as 5 of the sealed water cups for the children and incase i needed more and when my children did not like the lemon & ginger dessert he found them some shortcakes & kitkats to have instead.

Each flight can be so different, many people rave about Virgin - but I found them to be one of the worst as well as the most expensive. Flying with BA this year I was worried as people are often negative about them - but I found them to be excellent. To be honest I never judge a flight by food as we all know it is never great - Flight Staff & the Entertainment count in my book and from my experience thus far BA excelled in this area.

I would love to hear what BA say when you write - that can often be the best measure of any company - how they deal with complaints.

 

[ford family]

Hang on a minute. So airlines actually put extra seats in? I thought the configurations were fixed... I don't disbelieve you but I haven't heard of this before...

I suspect they were just taking the mickey out of an irate customer.

ford family

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Hang on a minute. So airlines actually put extra seats in? I thought the configurations were fixed... I don't disbelieve you but I haven't heard of this before...

Funny this should come up - I was watching an old episode of Airline or Airport over breakfast yesterday - whichever one John Nettles used to narrate (can't bear looking at Adrian Chiles in the morning!). Can't remember what airline it was, but the flight couldn't be loaded until they found this weird spanner thing . . . which turned out to be to change the size of the seats (make them smaller) to fit extras on!! It wasn't BA or Virgin because I would have remembered! It moved the arms in, making the seat sizes smaller!!

 

[wickesy]

Funny this should come up - I was watching an old episode of Airline or Airport over breakfast yesterday - whichever one John Nettles used to narrate

It was Airport - I thought of the exact same thing when I read the previous reply. I can't remember the airline but I think it might have been Icelandair for some reason and it was to change the 'class' of the seats.

 

[cantwait!!!!!!!!!!!!]

Sorry to hear about your friends.

We had great flights with BA this year-on time, managed to sit together, food was nice on the way out and ok on the way back and we didnt feel cramped. Loved the entertainment !

How big are the seats meant to be then ?

 

[darthtatty]

Funny this should come up - I was watching an old episode of Airline or Airport over breakfast yesterday - whichever one John Nettles used to narrate (can't bear looking at Adrian Chiles in the morning!). Can't remember what airline it was, but the flight couldn't be loaded until they found this weird spanner thing . . . which turned out to be to change the size of the seats (make them smaller) to fit extras on!! It wasn't BA or Virgin because I would have remembered! It moved the arms in, making the seat sizes smaller!!

I was just going to mention that too. I remember them looking for the spanner
They added an extra seat to each row.
I can visionise the airline but cant remember what they were called. Im sure it was some sort of Asian airline. I remember the outfit they wore.

 

[kristieuk]

We just flew in from Tampa this week with BA. We have flown with them many times, and I can't say I have ever noticed any changes in the seat sizes (except when we have flow Club or PE!). For what it is worth, I think their service is excellent, the crew we have experience of have always been very helpful and friendly, the flights are regularly early or on time, and the planes are in great nick with excellent entertainment.

I am sorry your friends appear to have had a poor experience. It will be interesting to see the response they get.

 

[originalkk]

I think this must be a wind up.

We've flown BA economy at least twice a year to the Caribbean, on the same configuration 767 for many years now, plus several trips to MCO on 777s.

The legroom and seat width and pitch have never changed on the same aircraft, and the flights are almost always full. I've always thought they seem marginally better than Virgin have on their 747s.

I am not at all sure what the 29 inches is supposed to represent, seat width, or pitch? If it is pitch, where was it measured from? BA (like most airlines) will probably measure their advertised 31 inches from the back of the top of one seat backrest to the back of the top of the next (which is more than would be measured from where you actually sit).

I can't imagine why anyone would fly to Florida with a tape measure in their pocket???!!

 

[mumwiththree]

We also flew with BA Oct/Nov this year. Into Orlando and out of Miami. The service was great in both directions. The staff were friendly and really made an effort. When my 5 year old was asleep on the decent into Heathrow the air hostess said as long as her seat belt was on she could remaining sleeping with her head on my lap and her feet curled up on her seat.

The food though was questionable - on the way out it was great and plenty of it. The food was barely edible on the way home. In fact the breakfast offering for the children consisting of a pot of fruit in syrup was frozen as was the sealed juice and the bread role was solid. Fortunately we were all too tired to worry about the food and just left it.

The only other gripe was that my parents were split up on the journey out. This was partly my dad's fault as he could have played around with their allocated seats 24hrs before departure but he was at work. Anyway, they paid to pre book the seats on the way back!

On the whole I always fly BA where I can and generally experience good service and polite staff.

 

[2Tiggies]

I think it might have been Icelandair for some reason and it was to change the 'class' of the seats.

Good grief!! How do you downgrade economy seats?

EDIT: Don't answer. But can someone confirm that there would be no problem with taking a tape measure through security?

 

[jen_uk]

We flew with Thomson to Egypt this summer, on the return flight they added an extra seat in, the plane is normally 2-3-2 but it was 2-4-2 and you could certainly feel the difference, I now know what a sardine feels like!!! Also, we fly BA to Albania every year, when the flight is quiet they wind in the middle seats so that the 2 outer ones are bigger, I've seem them do it so I know its true.

 

[Laurafoster]

The staff probably were winding him up, I don't know. Obviously i can only take his word for what they said.

He carried a tape measure with him on the way back as they were interested in finding out if the seat pitch was right or not.

I'm sorry you feel my post is a wind up. I simply posted as I found it interesting myself. I wont post in future.

 

[tubtruck]

I believe I read somewhere once that BA on the florida routes from Gatwick actually have the planes configured with one extra seat across the width ofeach full row in the econony cabin than on any other route they fly with the same plane type, so he is probably on to something here.

 

[jockey]

I hope he gets compensation. We had an awful flight with BA back in May last year they even served tea and coffee mixed in the one pot! We didnt complain as we only paid £180 each to Orlando

 

[Pootle]

I fly with BA and Virgin a few times a year each, and especially across the Atlantic, like the fact the BA is far more likely to be on time (based on the evidence not just on my flights). Otherwise, I like Virgin's PE service better. I doubt there is much to choose in economy though.

I don't travel economy apart from European flights with BA which I have done many times. On those smaller aircraft, it is very common to have the Club section (ie business) be flexible by moving the dividing curtain back ...... and ..... converting the 3 seats into 2. A look at those seats shows how they are designed for this, and the business passengers end up with larger seats and a narrow 'dumping' seat in the middle.

A few weeks ago I was on one such flight back from Italy and Charlie Watts, the Stones' drummer, was 4 rows in front of me .... 2 seats abreast of course .... whereas my friends and I were in a row of 3; still comfortable but a little more packed in!

I also think the comments about adding extra seats to long haul flights was a wind up

 

[mossyflossy]

He had the tape measure because he had felt cramped on the previous flight and wanted to know if the pitch was the same as advertised, which it wasn't.

Possibly the staff were winding him up, I don't know. I'm just relaying events as they were told to me.

We have flown on the BA 777 from Gatwick on numerous times, and there are no extra seats added whether the plane is full or otherwise, perhaps it's your friend who was being wound up.

The BA 777-200 (and the 767...flown that many times too to Cyprus), are far better than Virgin's 747 in econony in our experience, both for seat width and pitch, even though quite possibly they are "advertised" to be the same

In my opinion any ordinary passenger who takes a tape measure in their hand luggage to measure the seat pitch (and how do they know where/how it's measured from/to to verify what's "advertised" anyway?) seems to be asking to have the rise taken out of them.

I just wonder if they took the tape measure with them from the UK to specifically measure the seats or did they buy it out there?

 

[Lesleyluvsdisney]

I came back few weeks ago and was 2nd time I'd flown with BA. Went to LA with them last year.

I thought they were great, apart from the flight being evacuated at Gatwick for 45 mins because a guy had put his bag under the wrong seat and didnt claim it!!

Been with Virgin 4 times and have always been quite unimpressed with them.