London to San Francisco - best airline?
Discussion
Just a quick straw poll really.... off to San Francisco in April, and about to book flights. Has anyone been recently and can you recommend (or not!) any particular airline. A while back I flew Virgin premium economy, but looking at a lot of recent on-line whinging, their service appears to have gone downhill dramatically.
Or if a PH friendly travel agent wants to sort out the whole holiday for me, that'll help too
Ta!
Or if a PH friendly travel agent wants to sort out the whole holiday for me, that'll help too
Ta!
I fly LHR-SFO 4/5 times a year. I prefer BA because I find Terminal 5 considerably less bothersome than the others.
I don't think there's a lot to choose between BA and Virgin - There seems to be ever so slighly more room in a virgin economy seat (tightarse company policy) but the BA seats seem more comfortable.
Virgin have exit rows in economy whereas BA don't. BA make a better Bloody Mary
I don't think there's a lot to choose between BA and Virgin - There seems to be ever so slighly more room in a virgin economy seat (tightarse company policy) but the BA seats seem more comfortable.
Virgin have exit rows in economy whereas BA don't. BA make a better Bloody Mary
Edited by Mr Gearchange on Tuesday 19th January 20:57
I don't think I'd book any flights with BA at the moment.
We're flying Virgin, LHR to SF in a little over two weeks. Initiallly booked Premium Economy, then a very nice man from Virgin phoned and asked if we wanted to upgrade to Upper Class for a pretty reasonable fee, so we did. I'll let you know how we get on.
We flew to JFK in December with Virgin in Premium Economy. It was considerably better than the flight we took the previous year with BA.
We're flying Virgin, LHR to SF in a little over two weeks. Initiallly booked Premium Economy, then a very nice man from Virgin phoned and asked if we wanted to upgrade to Upper Class for a pretty reasonable fee, so we did. I'll let you know how we get on.
We flew to JFK in December with Virgin in Premium Economy. It was considerably better than the flight we took the previous year with BA.
Personally I prefer Virgin Premium economy (from their LHR fleet and not LGW) to BA World Traveller Plus as I find the BA seats very thin on the seat padding.
All airlines generally have cut back what they provide in-flight.
And definitely avoid the US carriers - they are so behind the game on all levels.
All airlines generally have cut back what they provide in-flight.
And definitely avoid the US carriers - they are so behind the game on all levels.
I always use Virgin for that trip these days. Premium Economy is a winner, and it's a long flight.
Heading to SF again in March, and we'll be flying Virgin.
BA good for Terminal 5, but I'd rather the comfort and service on the aircraft than in the terminal. And booking a BA flight right now seems like a bit of a lottery...
Heading to SF again in March, and we'll be flying Virgin.
BA good for Terminal 5, but I'd rather the comfort and service on the aircraft than in the terminal. And booking a BA flight right now seems like a bit of a lottery...
I used to live in SF but am a Brit so would fly back and forth about 4-5x per year.
Virgin EVERY time for one simple reason: on demand video (in every class of seat).
Not sure if BA has this yet but frankly the Virgin system was awesome.
Plus, their airmiles actually accrue fairly rapidly and are great for upgrades.
I flew me and the missus to Cape Town upper class return on miles. Awesome.
Virgin EVERY time for one simple reason: on demand video (in every class of seat).
Not sure if BA has this yet but frankly the Virgin system was awesome.
Plus, their airmiles actually accrue fairly rapidly and are great for upgrades.
I flew me and the missus to Cape Town upper class return on miles. Awesome.
We fly US Airways most of the time. Legs up around the armpits though on the flight to the US. But the internal stuff is ok.
However, they are the cheapest most times by a considerable margin. Did a check the other day and they were $600+ cheaper than BA and Air France, and $300 cheaper than Delta.
They run quite a few routes into the UK now, LGW, LHR, Birmingham and maybe Manchester. Lay over in Philly or Charlotte. Charlotte is a nice airport to get stuck at though - easily my favourite, and its kinda why we choose US Air over Delta and its Atlanta hub anyway. And US is usually cheaper.
However, they are the cheapest most times by a considerable margin. Did a check the other day and they were $600+ cheaper than BA and Air France, and $300 cheaper than Delta.
They run quite a few routes into the UK now, LGW, LHR, Birmingham and maybe Manchester. Lay over in Philly or Charlotte. Charlotte is a nice airport to get stuck at though - easily my favourite, and its kinda why we choose US Air over Delta and its Atlanta hub anyway. And US is usually cheaper.
Mr Gearchange said:
BA has had on-demand movies, TV etc in every seat on Long Haul for years
Perhaps I am out of date but in 07 it was still 10 channels or so all showing rolling movies.i.e. you finish one and have to wait for everyone else to finish before moving on to the next one.
And (obviously) there were only 10 movies, not the 50 or so on Virgin.
I just realised that 07 is a fair while ago, even for BA, so I am sure you are right!
In which case, still go Virgin because they won't strike.
My effing March holiday is looking VERY expensive right now, since I will no doubt have to buy replacement sleazy-jet flights. Why unions exist today is beyond me.
walm said:
I used to live in SF but am a Brit so would fly back and forth about 4-5x per year.
Virgin EVERY time for one simple reason: on demand video (in every class of seat).
Not sure if BA has this yet but frankly the Virgin system was awesome.
Plus, their airmiles actually accrue fairly rapidly and are great for upgrades.
I flew me and the missus to Cape Town upper class return on miles. Awesome.
The airlines aren't really comparable since Virgin only fly 62 routes whereas BA fly 386 routes. That alone makes the BA miles scheme much more attractive.Virgin EVERY time for one simple reason: on demand video (in every class of seat).
Not sure if BA has this yet but frankly the Virgin system was awesome.
Plus, their airmiles actually accrue fairly rapidly and are great for upgrades.
I flew me and the missus to Cape Town upper class return on miles. Awesome.
Silver993tt said:
walm said:
I used to live in SF but am a Brit so would fly back and forth about 4-5x per year.
Virgin EVERY time for one simple reason: on demand video (in every class of seat).
Not sure if BA has this yet but frankly the Virgin system was awesome.
Plus, their airmiles actually accrue fairly rapidly and are great for upgrades.
I flew me and the missus to Cape Town upper class return on miles. Awesome.
The airlines aren't really comparable since Virgin only fly 62 routes whereas BA fly 386 routes. That alone makes the BA miles scheme much more attractive.Virgin EVERY time for one simple reason: on demand video (in every class of seat).
Not sure if BA has this yet but frankly the Virgin system was awesome.
Plus, their airmiles actually accrue fairly rapidly and are great for upgrades.
I flew me and the missus to Cape Town upper class return on miles. Awesome.
Virgin = 1 point for every mile flown in a non-flexible economy ticket.
BA = 25% of the miles in a non-flexible ticket.
So four times worse (for me, a primarily non-flexible ticket type guy).
Virgin have credit cards which accrue 2 miles for every £1 spent, for BA it is only 1.5 for £1.
Finally, their redemption is a rip-off.
North America is 100k points for a return in Business Class versus 50k with Virgin.
So roughly 4x worse to accrue points and 2x worse to spend, in total 8x worse.
I also don't take city breaks which account for most of the difference between the 62 vs. 386 destinations.
Obviously, each to their own.
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