British Airways vs Virgin - is Virgin worth the extra?

Doshwaster

duchy wrote: »

No I wouldn't regard Virgin as better in fact if they were the same price I'd probably go for BA if everything else like timings wree similar

I agree, all other things being equal I'd go for BA over Virgin, in fact I'd probably be prepared to pay a small premium (say £50 on a long haul flight) for BA. When the price difference is £400 it's a no brainer.

Sometimes I find the Virgin onboard service to be a little over-friendly. I tend to prefer the slightly more professional, mature and understated BA standards.

ferf1223

KarenG wrote: »

They've done that for years from LGW North - at least, we did it as far back as '05.

Thanks - we normally fly Virgin, and appear never thought to check.

I do agree that some VA flight attendants can sometimes seem more interested in personal grooming and social event planning than looking after their passengers (some are really lovely, though)...one of the things we really love about AA is their flight attendants as they are generally older and more mature...we have a variety of reasons for generally sticking with Virgin but maybe one day we'll give BA another try...I wouldn't pay signficantly more to fly with Virgin though, so regarding the OP's question for that sort of difference in fares even we would go BA.

The additional hand luggage allowance on BA is also a plus for them and an annoyance on VA...increase to 10kg isn't really something to get too excited about as it's still a lot less than a lot of other airlines (it's lower by a long way than any other airlines we fly with)...I know on VA it's hand luggage plus a personal item but they don't class a laptop as a personal item (which seems a bit daft as many women I know have larger / heavier handbags than a laptop bag).

ERICS_MUM

jackieblack wrote: »

Agreed. Plus you don't have to do battle with that horrendous foreign call centre!

that's a good point. I've spoken to BA a few times to sort out some changes and they were excellent - very clear and patient and above all they actually understood exactly what I wanted to do and they knew how to do it.

pennylane99

ferf1223 wrote: »

Thanks - we normally fly Virgin, and appear never thought to check.

I do agree that some VA flight attendants can sometimes seem more interested in personal grooming and social event planning than looking after their passengers (some are really lovely, though)...one of the things we really love about AA is their flight attendants as they are generally older and more mature...we have a variety of reasons for generally sticking with Virgin but maybe one day we'll give BA another try...I wouldn't pay signficantly more to fly with Virgin though, so regarding the OP's question for that sort of difference in fares even we would go BA.

The additional hand luggage allowance on BA is also a plus for them and an annoyance on VA...increase to 10kg isn't really something to get too excited about as it's still a lot less than a lot of other airlines (it's lower by a long way than any other airlines we fly with)...I know on VA it's hand luggage plus a personal item but they don't class a laptop as a personal item (which seems a bit daft as many women I know have larger / heavier handbags than a laptop bag).

I always carry my laptop in my large handbag...along with my carry on wheeley case on Virgin flights