Virgin or BA flight?

hotcookie101

If prices are equal who would you recommend for an economy london-NYC flight?
Virgin only allow one (and smaller) carry on bag, so I am leaning towards BA but wondering if virgin make up for it in other ways (better seats/food/free drinks)
I will be travelling alone, and would love (but don't hold out hope for) an upgrade! Any tips? Would I better off not checking in online and doing it at the airport, taking the risk of ending up with a middle seat?
Thanks for any input

Doshwaster

If you are in economy and are an infrequent flyer then there is almost nothing between BA and Virgin. Just choose based on price and/or schedule.

One slight factor in BA's favour is that they have a much more frequent service. If you include AA operated services then they are virtually hourly so if if anything goes wrong it is much easier to get moved to another flight.

Caz3121

hotcookie101 wrote: »

I will be travelling alone, and would love (but don't hold out hope for) an upgrade! Any tips?

Are you planning on trying to purchase an upgrade at the airport or are you hoping for complementary one
For the latter you need to select a flight that will be overbooked in economy where everyone shows up so they need to move people forward. You then need to be near the top of the upgrade list due to your status with the airline...not something you can really plan!

davetrousers

hotcookie101 wrote: »

wondering if virgin make up for it in other ways (better seats/food/free drinks)

Not sure why you'd think that. Possibly the latest adverts for Virgin that practically guarantee you much sex simply because you've flown with them.

You get free drinks (including alcoholic) with BA, do you think that you don't?

Avios points accrued with BA can be used for European flights. A return to NY will almost get enough for a European zone 1 return flight (Paris, Munich, Salzburg etc.)

BA (and AA) also fly to more NY airports, Newark and JFK.

With BA you can look at Flights & Hotels, this can (but might not) give a significant saving, worth at least doing a dummy booking to see.

Simply book whichever flights fit best with you timewise.

Caz3121

davetrousers wrote: »

A return to NY will almost get enough for a European zone 1 return flight (Paris, Munich, Salzburg etc.)

maybe before the changes but the lowest economy fares now only get 1,730 Avios for a return...so need 5+ return flights to NY get a zone 1 flight!

SW17

hotcookie101 wrote: »

I will be travelling alone, and would love (but don't hold out hope for) an upgrade! Any tips? Would I better off not checking in online and doing it at the airport, taking the risk of ending up with a middle seat?
Thanks for any input

As pointed out above, upgrades are very unpredictable, and while they do happen on that route, are very far from guaranteed. If you fly BA, the received wisdom is that checking in online will help you (when flying from LHR), as they know you intend to fly.

As to which airline to choose, the overall product in economy is similar, apart from price and schedule it is sometimes just a matter of personal taste, some people prefer the Virgin style, some BA.

hotcookie101

davetrousers wrote: »

Not sure why you'd think that. Possibly the latest adverts for Virgin that practically guarantee you much sex simply because you've flown with them.

You get free drinks (including alcoholic) with BA, do you think that you don't?

I didn't think that-I was asking if Virgin make up for the poorer carry on allowance in other ways-I have never flown with them long haul so I wasn't sure if there was any bonuses. I knew I got drinks with BA but wasn't sure with virgin. Thank you for your advice

Caz3121 wrote: »

Are you planning on trying to purchase an upgrade at the airport or are you hoping for complementary one
For the latter you need to select a flight that will be overbooked in economy where everyone shows up so they need to move people forward. You then need to be near the top of the upgrade list due to your status with the airline...not something you can really plan!

Yeah, I was just hoping to be lucky, but to be honest, I probably have more chance of winning the lottery.

Doshwaster wrote: »

If you are in economy and are an infrequent flyer then there is almost nothing between BA and Virgin. Just choose based on price and/or schedule.

One slight factor in BA's favour is that they have a much more frequent service. If you include AA operated services then they are virtually hourly so if if anything goes wrong it is much easier to get moved to another flight.

The BA flight that is the best time is AA operated-does anyone have experience of flying them? As good as BA?

hotcookie101

SW17 wrote: »

As pointed out above, upgrades are very unpredictable, and while they do happen on that route, are very far from guaranteed. If you fly BA, the received wisdom is that checking in online will help you (when flying from LHR), as they know you intend to fly.

As to which airline to choose, the overall product in economy is similar, apart from price and schedule it is sometimes just a matter of personal taste, some people prefer the Virgin style, some BA.

Thanks, I have only ever flown BA on a long haul flight, and I like them, so I will probably just stick with them. I was looking for personal opinions

blindman

hotcookie101 wrote: »

Thanks, I have only ever flown BA on a long haul flight, and I like them, so I will probably just stick with them. I was looking for personal opinions

I find both to be overpriced and over hyped.

Are there no other carries that suit on this popular route?

As has been said economy in most carriers is indistinguishable so go for convenience and price.

duchy

I was wondering why you have restricted yourself to just BA and Virgin -Personally on that route I'd be looking at Delta and AA too.

Odds of an upgrade without any loyalty status on a carrier are somewhere close to nil on this route.

As a data point whilst no economy seat is super comfortable I personally find Virgin the worst of the lot as they seem less padded.

In terms of cabin crew I find Delta have the nicest flight attendants -food is pretty bleah on all of them. If free booze is important to you then choose BA or Virgin (personally I don't drink more than one or two when flying as I find I get dehydrated when flying so prefer water or juice which is free on all carriers but I realize it's important to some people so might be a deciding factor to you)

duchy

hotcookie101 wrote: »

I didn't think that-I was asking if Virgin make up for the poorer carry on allowance in other ways-I have never flown with them long haul so I wasn't sure if there was any bonuses. I knew I got drinks with BA but wasn't sure with virgin. Thank you for your advice



Yeah, I was just hoping to be lucky, but to be honest, I probably have more chance of winning the lottery.



The BA flight that is the best time is AA operated-does anyone have experience of flying them? As good as BA?

I personally like AA. Unlike BA you can reserve your seat when you book (for free) rather than at 24 hours. For me that's more important -I'd rather know I had an aisle seat rather than a middle seat rather than a free beer
I flew AA this week with hand baggage only - my case was very slightly above AA's limits for carry on and no-one batted an eyelid- BA and Virgin both tend to be stricter.

The flight you are looking at will have both an AA and BA flight number (my flight last week was the same -it was £100 cheaper for me to book it under the BA than the AA flight number ) if you book it with the BA flight number you will still be able to pick up the booking on aa.com and book your seat as soon as you have a confirmed reservation.

If all prices were identical (which they never are -kayak.co.uk is a good site to check this) I'd go for AA or Delta -but more likely I'd take a Ryanair flight to Dublin and buy a ticket from there as there's considerable savings to be made with a ticket that starts in Dublin. (You can price DUB NYC on kayak too)