SiPie

Piece of advice please

BA/Quantas appears to be the cheapest available for flying out on Boxing day and just wondered what people thought .. ie. Leg room on the BA flights is supposed to be the least out of all the airlines (31ins as opposed to 32-34ins)

Not too interested in hearing about Singapore Airlines/Emirates etc as I know they are very good, it's more that I need to know if BA / Quantas are pure crap prior to booking. Hope that makes sense

Thanks in advance
Si

LG John

Just tell the new wife that size doesn't matter

Dark

iTrader: (1)

Flew economy with Air New Zealand via LA a few years ago.

Good leg room, comfy, adjustable seats and great service.

Would use them again, Mark

Dracoro

I've done that flight.

Get to check in very early and reserve a seat by the door. 10 feet of legroom there and close to the stewardesses so you get served quickly etc. go for window or aisle seat if you can.

SiPie

Thanks Guys

Kenny Might of known you'd come up with something like that

Dark.. It was BA and not Air NZ .. Thanks anyway

Dracoro

Thanks .. but did you notice if the other poor sods (who weren't ogling the stewardesses ) look like they were cramped to bits ?

Cheers

ProperCharlie

last time i flew BA (to vancouver) it was fookin awful - i was sandwiched between a massive nigerian and a massive south african. nothing against either of 'em - except their size. it was a major logistical exersize when the SA guy wanted to get out for a p*ss. I'm 6'3" and it was extremely uncomfortable. the flight was sold out so no chance of getting being moved to somewhere more comfortable

Johnny50

Si..

Girl in our office went...i mailed her your question..

Here's the reply.

"Yep, I went with BA/Quantas both times I went to NZ/Oz. I found the leg room okay - but I am a midget!!!! Best thing was you got your own TV so could watch what you wanted when.

The first time I went Quantas were pretty dire (like BAs poor relation) but when I went last year they had come up to BAs standard.

They do a class that's in-between Dossers and Business - "World Traveller Plus". It basically gives you an extra 6ins leg room, bigger seats, more recline and more TV channels, games, etc. Costs extra - as you might have guessed!! I flew out to LA on this cos it was all I could book at time but wasn't worth it for me, but might make difference if you have long legs?

Hope that helps...."

Cheers

Johnny

JackClark

I find the BA economy seats more comfortable than world traveller plus. I'm not 6' though. Have flown more miles than I care to mention with BA without complaint.

SiPie

Proper Charlie, Johhny and Jack

Cheers Guys...

Johnny .. pass on my thanks to the girl in your office mate...appreciated

I'm only a shortass anyway so not too concerned re the legroom but gf has nice long legs

DJ140

I flew to Christchurch in December, booked through Quantas, but came back via BA for the return trip. IMO the service Quantas provided was excellent, wish BA were half as good.

The stewardeses on the BA flight were grumpy and rude and left the passengers to sort out the people in front who didn't put there seats upright at meal times. Quantas staff were friendly and before mealtime made everyone on the plane sit upright to give the people behind more room. Common courtesy to do this anyway, but half the half wits on the BA flights didn't bother.

I'm 6 ft 3 and would never travel BA/Quantas again. 31 inches of leg room is just not enough. Again Quantas were very good, pre-booked me an emergency isle seat, but BA do not have emergency isles in standard class, so ended up jammed into my 31 inches like a sardine!

If you are over 5 ft 10, pay the extra and fly with a quality airline, Singapore or Air NZ, or upgrade with BA.

Dan

SiPie

Cheers Dan

RB5320

I did this flight with BA last year. Leg space was pretty cramped, but not too bad (i am 5'10"). In flight service was down to the usual BA standards. No individual TV screen so no choice of what to watch. Tiny screen at the front and in the middle of each compartment so if you were at the back you could barely see it. Same films shown on outbound and return flights.
Pain in the neck at LA as you had to pass through immigrations and then recheck in, even though there was only a 2 hour stopover (not BA's fault obviously!)
I avoid flying with BA if at all possible, but had no choice on this occasion as I only decided at the last minute to go to NZ and there were no other flights left. Just bear in mind that the destination is well worth a little bit of discomfort!

Steve

DJ140

And don't forget to visit the South Island. The scenery is stunning, especially around Mount Cook and down to Milford/Doubtful Sounds. Oh and don't forget to jump off Kawarau Bridge, or maybe Nevis Bungy, an amazing experience.

Dan

Brendan Hughes

Puzzled to hear that someone didn't like BA's World Traveller Plus. AIUI, it's the long-haul business class of 10 years ago, which I used to go on London-Beijing, which was way, way better than cattle class; multi-adjustable fat seat, only two in a row, with monitor in the arm. Haven't done much long-haul economy recently though, so don't know what the new ones are like; however, the two I did, Air Canada and KLM (ugh!!) were as bad as ever, almost identical to short-haul economy. Sent my wife by WTP to Beijing using up our air miles, she loved it. I'd certainly opt for it if it's what I'm thinking of.

SiPie

Complete tour of North & South is planned.... along with our wedding as part of it

Thanks again guys

Brendan Hughes

Kawarau Bridge, pah! Cissies! REAL men jump from the Pipeline at 102m/340ft! Driving the 16km along Shotover Gorge is also an experience, when you get to the start of that road and it says "Warning: Avis, Herz, Budget car rental insurance is no longer valid beyond this point." I was more scared being a passenger along that road than I was actually jumping off the bridge!

SiPie - jetboat ride is a MUST!

kend

BA economy long hall is not a fun way to spend 24 hours. have done a couple of long hall flights with them, and never again.
Last time I checked ( for going to NZ) Emirates were not vastly more expensive, and are an altogether more pleasant experience

Daryl

Flew Auckland to LA with Qantas, LA to London with BA. Qantas were ****e, no more legroom than BA, ugly stewardesses and no individual entertainment screens Got upgraded to WTP on BA, thought it was superb (better than Virgin's Premium Economy).

I will never travel long haul economy again, with any airline, but if you've got short legs you might have a different view!

SiPie

Cathay Pacific it is then

Thanks for all the opinions

BMWhere?

I flew Quantas to New Zealand from Frankfurt via Singapore & Sydney last year and was very happy with them, excellent service, great in-flight entertainment system and plenty of legroom - although I was on an emergency exit seat The rest of the cabin didn't look too bad though. I would always ask for an exit or bulkhead seat when checking in if you can't pre-book your seats in advance.

Watch out for codeshares though. I recently flew to Vancouver from Frankfurt on what I thought was Air Canada. Turned out to be a codeshare with Lufthansa and was the most uncomfortable flight I've ever been on. If I'd have known, there's no way I would have booked that flight!