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In praise of British Airways
gmespana
Posts: 24 Forumite
Yesterday, we flew fromMalaga to Gatwick with BA, and I have to say that the experience wasvery refreshing.
We make regular tripsfrom Spain to the UK, but up to now it's always been with Easyjet,and occasionally Ryan Air or Monarch.
When I checked theflight prices on this site, I was surprised that after all the addons were calculated, BA were virtually the same price as Easyjet, andI booked with them.
Right away I realisedI'd made the right decision. 23Kg of luggage instead of EJ's 20kg.Hand luggage PLUS a handbag or laptop, instead of EJ's one piece ofhand luggage.
When we arrived atMalaga airport we walked straight up to the BA check in desk,bypassing a huge queue at the EJ check in, and were sitting in thedeparture lounge half an hour before we would have been, if we'd beenflying with EJ.
When our gate wasannounced, we strolled to C31 where there was a seat for everywaiting passenger and no queue at the gate. By contrast, at gate C41for the EJ Gatwick flight, also due out at 11.50, the usual snakingqueue was evident, and even if they'd wanted to sit, there were wayto few seats available.
BA boarded thepassengers in an calm and orderly manner, by seat number. Nobodyscrutinised our hand baggage to try and catch us out, and we boardedand took our seats without fuss. At the EJ desk, I expect it was theusual bun fight, because even though they have at long lastintroduced allocated seats, people are worried about boarding lateand having their hand luggage removed to the hold. The last time weflew with them we nearly had a fight to hang onto our hand luggagecontaining laptops and other delicate electronic equipment. Meanwhileat the Ryan Air desk, passengers would have been very slowly snakingthrough the lounge, while RA staff weighed and measured their handbaggage in hope that they could slap on a huge fine for exceedingeither limit. Ryan Air is nothing short of racketeering!
On board our BA flight,the plane was clean and tidy, the flight attendants polite andfriendly, they fed us a delicious lunch of chicken wraps and offeredus a drink. I asked for coffee and was told there was beer. I changedmy order to beer and was told I was welcome to have both, which Idid.
We landed 15 minutesearly after a very smooth flight and we arrived, for the first time Ican remember, fresh and relaxed.
In future, unless thereis a big saving, I'm flying with BA every time.
We make regular tripsfrom Spain to the UK, but up to now it's always been with Easyjet,and occasionally Ryan Air or Monarch.
When I checked theflight prices on this site, I was surprised that after all the addons were calculated, BA were virtually the same price as Easyjet, andI booked with them.
Right away I realisedI'd made the right decision. 23Kg of luggage instead of EJ's 20kg.Hand luggage PLUS a handbag or laptop, instead of EJ's one piece ofhand luggage.
When we arrived atMalaga airport we walked straight up to the BA check in desk,bypassing a huge queue at the EJ check in, and were sitting in thedeparture lounge half an hour before we would have been, if we'd beenflying with EJ.
When our gate wasannounced, we strolled to C31 where there was a seat for everywaiting passenger and no queue at the gate. By contrast, at gate C41for the EJ Gatwick flight, also due out at 11.50, the usual snakingqueue was evident, and even if they'd wanted to sit, there were wayto few seats available.
BA boarded thepassengers in an calm and orderly manner, by seat number. Nobodyscrutinised our hand baggage to try and catch us out, and we boardedand took our seats without fuss. At the EJ desk, I expect it was theusual bun fight, because even though they have at long lastintroduced allocated seats, people are worried about boarding lateand having their hand luggage removed to the hold. The last time weflew with them we nearly had a fight to hang onto our hand luggagecontaining laptops and other delicate electronic equipment. Meanwhileat the Ryan Air desk, passengers would have been very slowly snakingthrough the lounge, while RA staff weighed and measured their handbaggage in hope that they could slap on a huge fine for exceedingeither limit. Ryan Air is nothing short of racketeering!
On board our BA flight,the plane was clean and tidy, the flight attendants polite andfriendly, they fed us a delicious lunch of chicken wraps and offeredus a drink. I asked for coffee and was told there was beer. I changedmy order to beer and was told I was welcome to have both, which Idid.
We landed 15 minutesearly after a very smooth flight and we arrived, for the first time Ican remember, fresh and relaxed.
In future, unless thereis a big saving, I'm flying with BA every time.
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Comments
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Good to hear some positive reviews of BA. They do get a lot of bad stick but I'm sure it's mostly from people who haven't flown with them for years.
I do Gatwick to Malaga a few times a year with BA and I would agree that it is a very professional, civilised and friendly service compared to the their competition.0 -
When the price is right (and they're not on strike) use them.0
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I fly with them using Avios, so the paid part of fare is dirt cheap.
They do offer a great service. However, Ive not had any issues with any other airline either. Short/ medium haul , its who ever is cheapest for me.0 -
Me too. The availability and price for short haul is fantastic. £40 + 40,000 Avios to fly business class to Kiev is pretty good for example. However, Avios on long haul is increasingly a rip-off, with poor availability and a huge "fuel surcharge" which should be part of the fare and consequently be covered by Avios in lieu of a fare.budgetflyer wrote: »I fly with them using Avios, so the paid part of fare is dirt cheap.0 -
Me too. The availability and price for short haul is fantastic. £40 + 40,000 Avios to fly business class to Kiev is pretty good for example. However, Avios on long haul is increasingly a rip-off, with poor availability and a huge "fuel surcharge" which should be part of the fare and consequently be covered by Avios in lieu of a fare.
Yeah, that was the big change with the switch from BA Miles to Avios. European trips are now much better value but redemptions in long haul is much worse even if you can get availability.0 -
You're right that European trips improved massively, but there wasn't much of a change in long-haul; it's been a problem for many years.Doshwaster wrote: »Yeah, that was the big change with the switch from BA Miles to Avios. European trips are now much better value but redemptions in long haul is much worse even if you can get availability.0 -
BA and EJ - no comparison! Welcome to a real airline!!Don't lie, thieve, cheat or steal. The Government do not like the competition.
The Lord Giveth and the Government Taketh Away.
I'm sorry, I don't apologise. That's just the way I am. Homer (Simpson)0 -
inmypocketnottheirs wrote: »BA and EJ - no comparison! Welcome to a real airline!!
I am a BA loyalist but I will also use EJ when the route and price suits but I'd rather swim than fly Ryanair.0 -
BA are rubbish: they don't even go to Addis Ababa, never mind popular destinations like Cotonou and Lome.0
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Living in the north east the new avios redemptions have been great for us. This year we've had a child free weekend in Berlin, booked flights for four of us to Nice, with a couple of nights stop over in London on the way across (during the school holidays) and a childfree weekend in prague, club europe, to look forward to in october. In total we've spent just under £200 in total, and all but one leg of the flights are in club!
Next year we've managed to get flights to cancun, 2 in club, 2 in premium economy, for a 2 week break and DD only misses 2 days of school, cost of flights £2k.
Needless to say I'm a bit of a BA fan!0
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