Deep Singh

Asking on behalf of somebody btw!

Can anybody who has been lucky enough to fly on both of these please compare?

Luke

i would imagine the BA price to now be cheaper.

jasey

Was a while ago - but Virgin swings it for me for the in flight massage .

Luke

Have they not stopped that now ???

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

Never done BA, but virgin is outstanding and the lounge at Heathrow is great. I spent 4 hours sat at the bar flying out to LA and had a freshly cooked bacon buttie when I got the munchies

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

They where still doing it in August this year, I was just too far the waiting list. You can also get a free haircut in the lounge at Heathrow as well as a full cooked breakfast

jasey

Probably - Was a while ago when I was doing my transatlantic business trips.

I would imagine Virgin would still be better as they have always seemed to put the customer first.

Luke

I tend to fly east more often and for me the worlds best airline is "Emirates"


But on the last few occasions i flew with BA to BK and HK i found them excellent. I think people get to caught up in the "romance" of flying !

boxst

Your friend is lucky to fly either of them in these interesting times.

BA's Business Class is great: A seat that goes completely flat, good service.

Virgin's Upper Class is slightly better: Transfers from your house, easier clearance through the airport, bar to sit at on the 'plane, flat beds.

Steve

Deep Singh

Virgin is more expensive.

They are not that interested in getting pissed at the bar or getting haircuts/massage etc. They want the easiest time at the airport and the most comfortable cabin.

As Luke says they are not interested in 'the romance of flying' they just want the most stress free, comfortable flying experience

Also if you had to share one of the seats/flat beds with a small child, which one would be better?

Thanks again.

boxst

The seat/bed looked more or less the same to me so unless you are particularly wide either could have a child (under 2 otherwise they need their own seat).

Business class passengers do not take kindly to crying babies

Steve

ex-webby

I prefer Virgin, and always think their Upper Class is like Premium Business Class (not quite first class, but a bit better than standard business class).

The seats are more comfortable IMHO, although BA seem to have updated their seats to a new version lately, and although most of the seat seems cheaper and flimsy, the actual comfort is marginally improved.

The entertainment is better on virgin, and the screens themselves in Upper are better quality.

Virgin seats also feel more private.

Food is hit and miss on BA, but sometimes outstanding.

Never had a bad meal on Virgin.

The stewardesses are better looking as well! LOL

The overall experience feels better on Virgin, and I've had such a dreadful time with BA lately, I'm on a downer with their customer service.

-

Bascially, I'd go with Virgin.. although its often more expensive in my experience.

Dave T-S

I've used the new flat beds on BA, and they are good, as was the service.

Not used Virgin, but the general perception seems to be that they are better than BA

Having used BA many times, their customer service seems to be polarised either very good or very bad, when it is good they are "the World's favourite airline"; when it is bad they are "the World's most arrogant airline"

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

How do you lot get business class travel, reportedly even our CEO flies Economy and takes a dim view of anyone under him flying anything other, especially these days even though the company is doing well.

I fly quite a bit domestic and went to Atlanta last year with work but will be doing a bit more this year, possibly Atlanta again and maybe Houston, Kuwait, Frankfurt and others. Now it doesn't matter on an hours domestic flight but I hate long hall couped up, I am just too big and fidgety and never sleep so the thought of economy on Delta again fills me with dread.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

Company policy is premium, but you can upgrade to premium economy on long haul and when you go straight into a meeting the next day which is the norm for me. Again, we are only allowed to use any miles collected on business flights, so every now and again I upgrade to Virgin upper with my miles

Deep Singh

Thanks for the input. It seems like Virgin has the advantage but is actually quite a bit more expensive when applied over a family so it seems like BA may take it on cost grounds.

Thanks again

amahrap

BA - perfectly ok but can be a little victorian with arrogant staff
Virgin - great all round, car to airport and drive through check in is great. Even better is knowing you get an instant lift home when you land.

If choice is BA/Virgin then its Virgin for me

Given the wider choice then Qatar wins for me - fab service from the self proclaimed 5* airline

bugeyeandy

I'm slighlty biased as I work for BA but Virgin sacked all their on board beauty therapists a few months back, the car/bike transfer to the airport is dependant on which flight you go for. Some flights include it some don't.
I have heard a lot of good reports about their on board service though and very few complaints about lost baggage/delays etc.. Their business class is similar to many others in that seats are staggered so each passenger flies as an individual and it's quite tricky to have a conversation with fellow passengers unless you congregate around the bar.
This suits some people but not especially good for families or travel companions.
BA's new Club world is very good - as mentioned above the new seat feels flimsy but is actually very comfy and the privacy screen can be raised if you feel like locking yourself away from the world!
I don't think your friends would go far wrong flying with either us or Virgin just steer clear of the US carriers and as for Qatar

druddle

I think that there is a minimum age for children on Virgin Upper. I am pretty sure they wont have babies in there, as a friend recently looked to travel to the US with his 1 year old and they told him she could travel in Upper. Dont think thats the case with BA.

Dave

ex-webby

If you're taking the family, definitely go for BA.

The seat layout on virgin makes it pretty much a no-go.

Book early on BA, and (assuming there's four of you) you can get two seats next to each other that face rearwards, and a seat either side of those in the aisle facing forwards (at least that's how it usually is!). Its not ideal, but about the best you're going to get I think.

If there are more than four of you, it's not going to be ideal based on any that I've flown on.

The seat arrangement is kinda like this :

<----- front of plane
[=
=]

=]
[=
[=
=]

=]
[=


(Where [= is a seat pointing towards the rear of the plane, and =] is a seat pointing to the front.)

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

Virgin every time, I am 6'2" and the bed fits me on, You can get a good amount of sleep (allbeit that you have to wear your seat belt above your blanket.

Hair cut and a nice breakfast before you leave, good food on flight.

I found BA to be what virgin would have been if they did a similar service 10 years ago, It was all a..... just a bit rubbish...

G00ner

It does depend on the route though.

I paid £1400 per person each way for BA Club World to Antigua 3 years ago and compared to the year before on Virgin Upper to Tobago there is no comparison, Virgin was superior in every way.

Club World to Antigua in those silly little cocoons and facing the person sat next to you with a flimsy divider is a joke for how much you pay.

Deep Singh

There is a 10 month old baby so if Virgin have a no under 1 policy in upper than that rules them out I suppose. Its a shame, as though more expensive, those on here who have flown both seem to favor Virgin.

When I flew at the beginning of the year with BA I had a little peak into Club and must say I did feel it looked a little stark and dated. Would have expected a bit more of a 'luxurious/homely feel for the amount of money it costs.

Thanks for the help, it seems like its Virgin if they take babies otherwise the choice is made for them.

Now all I need to figure out is why so many of you b8stards are flying business class and I'm not

Freak

BA every time, no contest ( coincidentally, not long back from LHR after an overnite from NY on the upper deck).

Crew are much more professional, bed & seat better (have to get up to flip it from seat to bed on virgin... genius whoever designed that ) and service better in my experience. I have done a silly amount of journeys in club in the past few years, with a couple in upper class.


Old club cabin vs virgin is almost level tbh- but the new club cabin is miles ahead of the upper class one...and much more comfortable. The new club seat (not that its really new any more- ive been using it to & from JFK since nov 2007) is much better in every respect.
Curious to know how many who have tried or seen BA club are talking about the old cabin or the new one... HUGE difference between the two.

Granted the virgin clubhouse at LHR is exceptional, but that is not enough to swing me away from BA.. the lounges at T5 aren't exactly shabby- especially the concorde lounge.

Get seat 62k/64K/62A on the upper deck of a BA 747 and enjoy yourself... Then again, there is always First class in the nose if its not good enough for you... or Lufthansa F if you fancy a transfer from first class terminal to plane in a porsche.........

FlyerTalk - The world's most popular frequent flyer community is a helpful place..if a little geeky sometimes Try the BA or virgin forum on there...

Deep Singh

Freak, I'm a little confused mate. You refer to the 'upper deck' on BA, but Club is just in front of Premium Economy which is just in front of Cattle class isn't it? Thats the way I've always seen it on BA flights.

Also have all 747s had their Club class updated or only transatlantic?

Thanks

Btw, Virgin do allow babies in Upper class

Freak

Both.
On BA 747s, club is the entire upperdeck (20 club seats) , and ALSO part of the lower deck (either between premium economy & first on the 70 club seat config, or between premium econ and econ on the 52 club seat config).
70J seat map here: SeatGuru Seat Map British Airways Boeing 747-400 70-Bus. (744)
52J seat map here:
SeatGuru Seat Map British Airways Boeing 747-400 52-Bus. (744)

Upper deck is the place to be for a variety of reasons.
First class is in the nose regardless of business class configuration.

All BA 747s have new club. The 777 fleet is in the process of being converted, so some have it, some don't.

All babies should be in the cargo hold with rabbit feeders to dispense water- unless they are well behaved (ie, QUIET) babies...
btw- there is a bassinet baby seat on the upper deck too- 64A.