Virgin Atlantic or BA?

[diamond57]

I was wondering which airline people would recommend, the prices in economy are within £100 total for all three of us return to Miami - it works out about £600 more to fly to Orlando and we were going to be coming back from Miami anyway. It will be DH, DD (aged 7) and me. Hopefully DD will sleep on the way back, but if not I was wondering how each compared for children especially - we flew with Virgin when DD was about 15 months old and we at that time we thought it was better than BA but things could have changed.

Also, any advice about driving time Miami to Orlando and some-where to stay mid-way would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Rascal1003]

I have flown with VA on about 5 long haul flights which have all been excellent.
I have only flown with BA once and it was so appaulling that I vowed never again !

 

[BRobson]

We have flown with BA 8 times and cannot fault them. Always left on time,good cabin service and entertainment. I have not flown with VA so cannot compare

 

[Boo Boo Too]

One thing to be aware of is that youy can nolonger get seats pre-assigned with BA (unless you are on a full fare ticket of a BA Gold Card holder... I assume that neither would apply). The only way to choose seats is using Online Check-in (available 24 hours before departure for Executive Club members, 12 hours before departure for everyone else). This may be an issue... Virgin, in contrast, will pre-assign seats up to a certain point (50/75% of the seats are available for pre-allocation).

We generally fly BA (because we get a good deal - cash plus miles - to fly Business Class). If we flew economy or premium economy, then I would probably go for Virgin - their premium economy is better and the seat pre-assignment makes a HUGE difference to those classes I think...

Boo

 

[mikki.young]

When flying economy as an adult I had a preference for BA as the seats were more comfortable (assuming a small or nil price difference). I have had good and bad experiences with BA and Virgin. I am currently using Virgin because of excellent deals with miles and getting a free companion flight in PE.

If money is an object I honestly don't think there is a lot to choose between VA and BA. If the kids pack could help your child(ren) then that is a plus. If having lots of other kids on the flight is a minus then go for BA.

 

[powerranger]

I have been with both and honestly can't fault either, both cater for kids well ie goodie bag and although this year BA changed their seat assignment if you have kids under 12 then you can get your parties seat pre assigned 3 days prior to dep. This year I am again going with BA, for no other reason than we need connecting flights and if I went Virgin I wouldn't get the same allowance on the domestic leg of the journey, otherwise it would be a difficult choice between the two.

 

[tartangirl]

I would say the 2 are about the same.

We always fly Virgin during the summer because they fly direct from Manchester but wouldn't consider them if I had a connecting flight.

If London is your local airline and prices are the same I would just get the one that has the best timings (although they're likely to be similar).

With BA did you see how the price for flying into Tampa and out of Miami compared?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Always flown Virgin as they fly direct from Manchester whereas BA do not.

Whilst I think the customer service side of VA is nothing like as efficient as it used to be they will always be our first choice, for a direct flight to MCO.

Drive time from Miami to Orlamdo would be 3 1/2 hours or so, maybe slightly more.
If you want a stop off you are really looking at somewhere along the coast, the A1A coastal route is more suited to that , Fort Pierce and Vero Beach are about halfway through your journey but haven't been to either.

The quickest route would be using the Florida Turnpike, but it's years since I have been on there so I am not sure where you could stop off.

 

[ford family]

One thing to be aware of is that youy can nolonger get seats pre-assigned with BA (unless you are on a full fare ticket of a BA Gold Card holder... I assume that neither would apply). The only way to choose seats is using Online Check-in (available 24 hours before departure for Executive Club members, 12 hours before departure for everyone else). This may be an issue... Virgin, in contrast, will pre-assign seats up to a certain point (50/75% of the seats are available for pre-allocation).


Boo

This could be a big issue for us as I am already feeling the stress of possibly not being able to get decent seats together for our May trip. We are Executive Club members (blue) but I am not convinced there will be much available when the "window" opens. The further downside is having to get online the day before you come home to repeat the process. We are fortunate in that we have a laptop and broadband at our vacation home because, without that luxury, it would be a pain to chase around for an internet cafe whilst on holiday.
We always fly into Tampa and take BA unless Delta or Continental are a worthwhile amount cheaper. We are used to reserving our seats at the time of booking and then, as seats become available, move ourselves as far forward as possible (within economy) in order to reduce the time in the huge immigration queue at TPA.
We are looking for flights now for September and November and our thinking is to go with Delta/Continental unless they are dearer than BA. The extra time due to the plane change is fairly small as you have gone through immigration whilst in Atlanta or Newark or wherever so you simply walk off at Tampa without further delay.
Has anybody experienced the "no reserved seats, 24 hour online check in" with BA yet?

ford family

 

[Allisonjane]

If your happy to fly into miami have you got a price from American Airlines, i have flown with them twice and they are excellent once you have your reservation number you can go online and choice exactly where you want to sit. I have flown into orlando with sereval different airlines, i found virgin no better or worse than anyone else. I have never driven from miami to orlando so cant advise on that, but if American Airlines flew direct to orlando i would use them everytime.

 

[kacale]

Hi,

We have flown in and out of Miami on several trips to Florida with both BA and Virgin. Not a lot to choose between both IMHO, always have to choose on price so.....Therefore have driven up to Orlando and back several times also. We usually travel on the turnpike, takes approx. 4 hours with a Starbucks/burger stop. Have usually driven all the way but last year stayed at Vero Beach as we are DVC members. Depends maybe what time you arrive and how long you have been travelling before you land......one year we stayed in Miami as the flight arrived late afternoon and then drove up to Orlando early the next morning. Plenty of hotels to choose from there!

Karen