British Airways v Virgin Atlantic?

secret-squirrel_6

I have flown with many airlines over the years. Visited Orlando 8 times so I speak as I find.
BA are way out in front of Virgin IMHO. I have always been treated very well with BA and the staff have always been lovely. On the other hand on both my Virgin flights I found the experience too be far from enjoyable. I like to see calm, responsible crew on planes (BA) and not the grinning halfwits that I found on my Virgin flights. I knew that there was no point in complaining about their behaviour as their "supervisor" was joining in. We were near a crew area and my kids could easily hear (above the film) the rude personal stories and manic laughter. It was very obvious that they had a wild time the night before and did not care who heard about their exploits.
I would find out from a neutral party exactly how long each airline train their crew for, what for and how often they do regular tests and safety checks on them. I would guess that BA would be taking the lead there.
You have to ask yourself why so many VIPs choose to fly BA over others. Even American celebrities choose BA before their own carriers. This is fact.
I myself have seen Joey/Ross from Friends and Mel Gibson on Heathrow to LA.
I know that national teams and politicians fly BA. This is fact.
I have flown to San Francisco, Hong Kong, Delhi, Bangkok, JFK, Cape Town and Orlando (x7) with BA and have been more than happy with all aspects of the flight. I put peace of mind over security,safety checks and staff ahead of the odd silly giftbag or meal. Gimmicks do not do it for me while in the air.
As for Richard Branson, if he came near me on a flight I would pretend I was asleep. That man gives me the creeps.....

peterg1965

Interesting thread. I have flown both and had decent experiences with both airlines. I went to NYC with family in November with BA and they were great, especially with treatment of my disabled son, they couldnt be more helpful. Except that the baggage handlers at manchester damaged his wheelchair! Have just booked for LA in July and had the choice of Virgin or BA. Just £50 between them for the flights for a family of 5, opted for BA because I seem to have some (probably) misplaced loyalty to them However, as a frequent Virgin flyer to Washington DC up until a few years back I did like the Virgin service.
Have also been upgraded on both, Virgin Upper Class just about pips BA Club world.

GOONER222

Hi
I've flown with both airlines to New York. Twice with Virgin and once last October with BA. Got to say preferred the overall flight with Virgin, FREE GOODIES ETC... Virgin definitely rated better. BA a lot more formal, all seemed a bit more relaxed with Virgin. Shame Virgin dont fly from Manchester to New York.

defender_of_the_weak

Fly Virgin. I flew BA to washington last October and it was absolutely dire. Food service check in you name it, it was rubbish. I have had better sevice on easyjet

LesD

mcgi6ah2 wrote:

I think the thing to remember, and the reasons everyones experience is different, is that large airlines like BA and Virgin have many different age planes (in terms of cabin fit out) and many different staff. Invariably the experience won't be the same across the board.

It's worth pointing out that with many online bookings you can check the aircraft that the airline has scheduled for that flight and then check it against https://www.seatguru.com to see how it compares to their other planes. A good example of this is to deliberately book Emirates flights that use their older 777 aircraft as they are all configured with 2 or 3 inches more legroom.

Transatlantic for legroom American are configured well, but you have to pay for your drinks!

What a weird thread! Of course there is no standard way of comparing two airlines! Planes, staff, food choice, etc are all so variable depending on the actual flight you travel on.

I've flown Virgin and had the plane abort take-off half-way down the Gatwick runway. And flown from Florida to UK with the ventilation system hardly working. On the other hand, when my wife (a nurse) helped a collapsed passenger, she later received an enormous bouquet of flowers from them!

I think they seem to try harder with 'customer service', but, at the end of the day it all comes down to which staff you actually check-in and fly with!

One ironic issue, of course, is an airline's ability to achieve a high load factor. That reduces fares, but obviously, reduces the chance of better service! Witness the effect of people shifting away from BA due to the strike threat with the result that those that DID fly with them got better service!

sambessey

I regularly use BA, Virgin, and KLM for long haul and Virgin is definatley the best of the 3.

<bloke>The hotness of the air hostesses alone means Virgin wins </bloke>

defender_of_the_weak

Update from the BA Customer dont care department.

I complained to BA last November when I returned and got a 3 paragraph cut and paste letter. Sent it straight back to BA with follow up to Willie Walsh the chief exec, chased a response on 3 Jan and today got another patronising letter thanking me for my feedback, not so much as £10 note and apology. I have now requested the papers for the county court and hopefully that will focus their minds somewhat. 3 months to produce 2 standard letters is a joke, but at least I now where some of the endowment review team staff are working now.