Virgin Upper or BA Club - Gatwick Barbados

[djc206]

audidoody said:

Beware of Virgin Upper Class on a Boeing 777. The Upper Class seat/beds pods are much narrower than the 747 UC seats/beds

Virgin don't have any 777's. Do you mean the new 787's?

[Chris4410]

I booked BA but got AA which I actually thought was miles better, as long as you are on one of the new 777 300s.

I avoid any route with BA now that use a 747, they are too old and really showing their age. They are definitely not worth the cost of a business class ticket.

If I had to chose between BA and Virgin it would be the latter all the way.

[PinkFatBunny]

Chris4410 said:

I booked BA but got AA which I actually thought was miles better, as long as you are on one of the new 777 300s.

I avoid any route with BA now that use a 747, they are too old and really showing their age. They are definitely not worth the cost of a business class ticket.

If I had to chose between BA and Virgin it would be the latter all the way.

I quite like BA Club World on a 747 if your upstairs, feels like a private jet if you get some decent cabin crew.

[anonymous-user]

Saleen836 said:

danzltiu said:

Is there a distance limit on the Chauffeur service?

http://www.virginatlantic.com/us/en/virgin-experience/cabins/upper-class/upper-class-transfers.html

Funnily enough we're doing this exact trip in mid-April! Google maps says our transfer is c. 85 miles. We're paying about a tenner extra (each way).

Did UC a few years ago - more recently Cathay Pacific and AA business class - all fairly comparable really with CP maybe just shading it?

Concerned to hear about BA. We have AA flights to Canada in July - booking says business class operated by BA. Oh dear!

[djc206]

Roman Rhodes said:

Saleen836 said:

danzltiu said:

Is there a distance limit on the Chauffeur service?

http://www.virginatlantic.com/us/en/virgin-experience/cabins/upper-class/upper-class-transfers.html

Funnily enough we're doing this exact trip in mid-April! Google maps says our transfer is c. 85 miles. We're paying about a tenner extra (each way).

Did UC a few years ago - more recently Cathay Pacific and AA business class - all fairly comparable really with CP maybe just shading it?

Concerned to hear about BA. We have AA flights to Canada in July - booking says business class operated by BA. Oh dear!

I really wouldn't be concerned it's still good just not as good as some of the competition. You'll still get as much booze as you can drink and a bed that you can sleep on and a good selection of new films to watch.

[W8PMC]

It does surprise me the slating BA often gets on here.

Whilst it may not be the very best service currently offered when compared to a multitude of airlines & for those that benefit from frequent flights on a variety of Airlines up front i'm sure a fair comparison can be had, but for those that travel less often & only for leisure purposes, i still feel a huge buzz when travelling in the Higher class cabins & i like BA.

I'll always fondly remember the time we took our son to St Lucia & were flying CW, the look on his face when he was presented with his cabin/seat for the journey was priceless as he had no idea & the crew were outstanding so added to the experience. Likewise i flew CW to/from Vegas in December & yes the CW Cabin upstairs in the 747 wasn't the best i've ever seen, but again the crew were amazing & the outbound flight was up there with one of my best flying experiences.

Emirates Business cabin on the A380 (perhaps older stock) whilst looking visually quite stunning does appear very tired when you get in your seat & the abundance of Gold & chintz somewhat unappealing after a while. The bar however is awesome.

Also price has a part to play as we're flying to Antigua with BA in CW later in the year (myself, the wife & our 3yr old Son) & in total the holiday cost under £7k which includes CW both ways for 3 passengers, 10 nights in a 5* All Inc hotel in a Beach Front room & private transfers, which let's be honest means the flights were somewhat of a bargain. Yes we could have chosen different routes/airlines & some of those may have offered a slightly more modern experience, but i'm sure we'l still have a fantastic time & won't be sat in our CW seats thinking 'i wish we'd flown Ethiad'.

Of course if you're paying say £5k for a CW return flight & realise you could have got a better experience for the same or less money then one would feel a little frustrated, but no mater which Airline, flying in the Higher class cabins is usually a great experience.

[PinkFatBunny]

W8PMC said:

It does surprise me the slating BA often gets on here.

Whilst it may not be the very best service currently offered when compared to a multitude of airlines & for those that benefit from frequent flights on a variety of Airlines up front i'm sure a fair comparison can be had, but for those that travel less often & only for leisure purposes, i still feel a huge buzz when travelling in the Higher class cabins & i like BA.

I'll always fondly remember the time we took our son to St Lucia & were flying CW, the look on his face when he was presented with his cabin/seat for the journey was priceless as he had no idea & the crew were outstanding so added to the experience. Likewise i flew CW to/from Vegas in December & yes the CW Cabin upstairs in the 747 wasn't the best i've ever seen, but again the crew were amazing & the outbound flight was up there with one of my best flying experiences.

Emirates Business cabin on the A380 (perhaps older stock) whilst looking visually quite stunning does appear very tired when you get in your seat & the abundance of Gold & chintz somewhat unappealing after a while. The bar however is awesome.

Also price has a part to play as we're flying to Antigua with BA in CW later in the year (myself, the wife & our 3yr old Son) & in total the holiday cost under £7k which includes CW both ways for 3 passengers, 10 nights in a 5* All Inc hotel in a Beach Front room & private transfers, which let's be honest means the flights were somewhat of a bargain. Yes we could have chosen different routes/airlines & some of those may have offered a slightly more modern experience, but i'm sure we'l still have a fantastic time & won't be sat in our CW seats thinking 'i wish we'd flown Ethiad'.

Of course if you're paying say £5k for a CW return flight & realise you could have got a better experience for the same or less money then one would feel a little frustrated, but no mater which Airline, flying in the Higher class cabins is usually a great experience.

good points raised - I fly Emirates to China just for A380 bar but everywhere else its BA Club/First. It's mainly business travel but its my coin that's paying for it so I still want to feel I'm getting something back for my money. I don't think there is another airline that has the points system like BA has. Yes the past few years it's got a bit worse and harder to get the reward flights, but I've still managed to get 3 trips in First for me and Mrs Bunny and a Club flight to Venice whilst only paying taxes ...it would be hard to get those with Virgin I think.

[audidoody]

djc206 said:

audidoody said:

Beware of Virgin Upper Class on a Boeing 777. The Upper Class seat/beds pods are much narrower than the 747 UC seats/beds

Virgin don't have any 777's. Do you mean the new 787's?

Probably. My bad

Anyway - you can see what I mean by comparing the 747 v 787 UC configurations here:

http://www.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/virgin-experie...

[anonymous-user]

djc206 said:

Roman Rhodes said:

Saleen836 said:

danzltiu said:

Is there a distance limit on the Chauffeur service?

http://www.virginatlantic.com/us/en/virgin-experience/cabins/upper-class/upper-class-transfers.html

Funnily enough we're doing this exact trip in mid-April! Google maps says our transfer is c. 85 miles. We're paying about a tenner extra (each way).

Did UC a few years ago - more recently Cathay Pacific and AA business class - all fairly comparable really with CP maybe just shading it?

Concerned to hear about BA. We have AA flights to Canada in July - booking says business class operated by BA. Oh dear!

I really wouldn't be concerned it's still good just not as good as some of the competition. You'll still get as much booze as you can drink and a bed that you can sleep on and a good selection of new films to watch.

Good news! That will help when I break my mate's even better news that "the women at the Calgary Stampede are amazing" to my wife and kids!

[V8LM]

Roman Rhodes said:

Saleen836 said:

danzltiu said:

Is there a distance limit on the Chauffeur service?

http://www.virginatlantic.com/us/en/virgin-experience/cabins/upper-class/upper-class-transfers.html

Funnily enough we're doing this exact trip in mid-April! Google maps says our transfer is c. 85 miles. We're paying about a tenner extra (each way).

Did UC a few years ago - more recently Cathay Pacific and AA business class - all fairly comparable really with CP maybe just shading it?

Concerned to hear about BA. We have AA flights to Canada in July - booking says business class operated by BA. Oh dear!

I would rather shave my eyeballs than fly AA.

[cashmax]

V8LM said:

Roman Rhodes said:

Saleen836 said:

danzltiu said:

Is there a distance limit on the Chauffeur service?

http://www.virginatlantic.com/us/en/virgin-experience/cabins/upper-class/upper-class-transfers.html

Funnily enough we're doing this exact trip in mid-April! Google maps says our transfer is c. 85 miles. We're paying about a tenner extra (each way).

Did UC a few years ago - more recently Cathay Pacific and AA business class - all fairly comparable really with CP maybe just shading it?

Concerned to hear about BA. We have AA flights to Canada in July - booking says business class operated by BA. Oh dear!

I would rather shave my eyeballs than fly AA.

If you had flown business class on AA's new 777-300ER then your opinion would be changed. By far the best business class cabin of any carrier in the USA or Europe. I go out of my way to book a AA operated flight over BA if it's going to be a 77W.

Regarding the Virgin UC vs BA Club question, I would say the ground service is better with Virgin, but the big disadvantage of the UC seats is the fact that they don't lie flat or even recline that much without having to convert to a flat bed. There is no middle ground, which for a long haul flight is bizarre. The Virgin 747 layout is far superior to the 787, which seems to have more UC seats than anything else, although I really do think the extra pressure in the 787 makes the flight a lot less tiring and reduces jetlag considerably.

[anonymous-user]

cashmax said:

V8LM said:

Roman Rhodes said:

Saleen836 said:

danzltiu said:

Is there a distance limit on the Chauffeur service?

http://www.virginatlantic.com/us/en/virgin-experience/cabins/upper-class/upper-class-transfers.html

Funnily enough we're doing this exact trip in mid-April! Google maps says our transfer is c. 85 miles. We're paying about a tenner extra (each way).

Did UC a few years ago - more recently Cathay Pacific and AA business class - all fairly comparable really with CP maybe just shading it?

Concerned to hear about BA. We have AA flights to Canada in July - booking says business class operated by BA. Oh dear!

I would rather shave my eyeballs than fly AA.

If you had flown business class on AA's new 777-300ER then your opinion would be changed. By far the best business class cabin of any carrier in the USA or Europe. I go out of my way to book a AA operated flight over BA if it's going to be a 77W.

Regarding the Virgin UC vs BA Club question, I would say the ground service is better with Virgin, but the big disadvantage of the UC seats is the fact that they don't lie flat or even recline that much without having to convert to a flat bed. There is no middle ground, which for a long haul flight is bizarre. The Virgin 747 layout is far superior to the 787, which seems to have more UC seats than anything else, although I really do think the extra pressure in the 787 makes the flight a lot less tiring and reduces jetlag considerably.

Not sure what planes we were on - seemed new, but we did AA business to LA then AA 1st to Maui - then back via LA and JFK business last year and couldn't fault it. They even couriered our cases to our house (same afternoon) after they missed the JFK connection. Saved lugging them back to the car!

[schmalex]

I have to use BA CW on my trip to Canada in May. It will be interesting to see how it compares with Emirates, as it's a good few years since I last flew Club on BA. I'd love to love it and shift my loyalties

[djc206]

schmalex said:

I have to use BA CW on my trip to Canada in May. It will be interesting to see how it compares with Emirates, as it's a good few years since I last flew Club on BA. I'd love to love it and shift my loyalties

No gold and fake wood so looks more neutral and much less nouveau riche. Wider seats in CW I think. Smaller entertainment screen, Emirates IFE is brilliant isn't it!

What plane will you be on?