OT.... BA or Virgin?

[DjdBrit]

Its a little off topic but I am planning a trip to England (my Gran is turning 80) and I haven't been home for 2 years. I am pricing out BA and Virgin (I will be flying out of Boston into London). Virgin is pricing a little bit cheaper (using ALL my miles) but I wanted to get some advice.

I will be flying alone with my 3 year old and leaving the other kids and hubby at home, we will have just come back from a week at WDW so we can't take them out of school again

Which airline would you choose? And why?

 

[Elise79]

I would always choose Virgin (Bad experience with BA and haven't yet been anywhere near cheap enough for me to give them a second chance!).

As you will be flying into Heathrow you have a good chance of the plane having V-Port and a lot of the Heathrow fleet has had recent rehabs to Economy & PE seating

 

[Claire L]

I would go for Vigin as has been said the planes to Heathrow are nice

Claire

 

[DjdBrit]

I usually fly virgin as up until more recently they were the only planes (into Boston) that you had your own TV on. I haven't flown BA in some time not really for any reason I use my miles on virgin, so airfare would be around $800 for the 2 of us verse $1,000 on BA....

 

[jezebella]

What about the Virgin planes to Gatwick? Are they different? We are flying from Orlando the week of Christmas and I've never flown Virgin before---only United.

 

[DjdBrit]

What is V-port?

 

[TraceyL]

BA without a doubt

Virgin's quality of service has gone downhill rapidly & I would only chose to fly with them if it meant a considerable saving, whereas before I would chose the cheapest as they were "much of a muchness"

The VOD on the BA LHR planes is fab (& actually works - unlike Vort)

I've had good & bad bad experiences with both airlines over the years but VA is now bottom of the pile for me particularly for service, attitude & facilities.

 

[Mermaid2sea]

We prefer BA to Virgin....

 

[TraceyL]

What is V-port?

Vport is Virgin's on demand entertainment service

 

[Frances999]

General consensus is that there is no difference between BA/VA economy class and it's best to select the cheapest.

If you're upgrading to PE then VA is better, IMO, especially on the LHR routes. You'll get the really comfortable new leather chairs (which are noticeably wider than before), more leg room, a decent recline and a foot rest. Food is served more sophisticatedly, on china and with proper cutlery. There is also warm bread to go with the meal and a fruit basket which you can help yourself to. Plus the usual perks such as priority boarding/disembarking, priority luggage retrieval on UC carousel, dedicated check-in, fast track security....

For UC/First, again, not much difference IMO.

What about the Virgin planes to Gatwick? Are they different? We are flying from Orlando the week of Christmas and I've never flown Virgin before---only United.

The LGW planes are a little tired and could do with a re-vamp. The entertainment system is a bit dated and you can't pause the movies or shows. The benefit, for PE passengers, is the upstairs cabin - which is absent on LHR routes.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

I actually like both!!! - sorry no help - but I can say that I don't fly anyone else either, so I am fussy, just not so much between these two!!!

 

[DjdBrit]

Just so y'all know I booked with VA this morning

Looking forward to seeing blighty in May

 

[islandmum]

For UC/First, again, not much difference IMO.


.

you must mean UC/ClubWorld theres not much difference (price, service, ammenities etc) - theres a HUGE difference between First Class BA and UC Virgin.