75ZT Community

Just booked tickets home today with BA, after giving up with the extra charges that BMI didn't tell me about.

I've not travelled with BA for years, was wondering what to expect when compared to a budget line.

Thanks,

Jake

Is it the same route? Many of BAs DE-UK routes are just FlyBE codeshares.

The BMI flight was to East Mids - a friend is coming out for a week and flying out with me, orignally it was going to be £120 each.

BA are taking us to Heathrow for £74 each and then a £28 train home.

To be honest, don't expect anything massively different. A bit of a snack and a drink, but otherwise airlines are much the same these days in cattle class. And yes at that price you will be in cattle. Things may have changed a bit since I last flew BA but I doubt things will have got more luxurious. The one thing I did note is that cabin crew never seemd happy on BA, but maybe it was that long running dispute.

Generally you won't see any difference between most budget airlines and BA, unless you pay a lot more for First Class, Business etc.
Many say BA customer service is very poor on board, strange as BA on plane staff they get paid most!

Beat me to it Duncan.

Well I think the first thing would be an airworthy aircraft.......

Rover418275 wrote:Well I think the first thing would be an airworthy aircraft.......

Mostly, yes. But they do have their share of breakdowns. Got stuck at Gatwick once when a compressor driveshaft broke as we pushed back. The engine wouldn't start and they even tried the turbofan equivalent of a jump start before we were dragged back to the gate. Only then did they find it was broken!

Thanks all for the posts, as I paid a good price for the tickets I'm not expecting wonders, I last flew with them in 07 and they were great. My Commanding Officer at the time told them to leave without after I got held up at secuirty after they wanted to examine my issue boots, but the crew kindly ignored his orders.

Couple of years since I have flow BA on short haul and that was Gatwick - which seem the contented crowd:

Ryanair from Stanstead - the cabin crew seem to think they are superior to the passengers which I suppose they are after all they are not being ripped off with additional charges. The smell of those pizzas disgusting and the herd at the small departure lounge - no no no.

Easyjet from Gatwick - the cabin crew seem to be having a great time and are firendly and happy

BA from Gatwick - the cabin crew efficient and netiher friendly or fierce. The one big big advantage with BA is allocated seating so no scrums for seats. Plus the price includes refreshments, addmitedly a biscuit but also a small drink.

I have also found at times BA to be the cheapest.

My preferred way is, BA, Easyjet and kicking and screaming Ryanair

Paul

I may be biased!!.............mind you,perhaps B.A. might be looking at BMI

You biased P? I see that Virgin lot are after the slots of BMI though.

In my corporate life I've flown dozens of airline, uk, EU, and international

Some were good, some less so

By choice I always flew BA (and I was doing 8 flights a week)

Since BA sold the low cost arm (was it BA Connect?) to flybe, I've mostly been using them between UK and Germany. I don't really like the planes as they are turboprops and slow and noisy, but they are as reliable and comfortable as anyone else. Food and drinks are a ripoff but theres usually a shop in the lounge to buy a sandwich and a drink before boarding.

Worst ones in my own experience are Ryanair because of the scrum and the insistence on trying to squeeze every last penny out of you, and an outfit called Debonair who flew out of Luton. Thankfully the latter have gone bust as their performance was scandalous. I once was flying to Munich when the departure was delayed. Some time later we got on the plane, and only when we landed in Monchengladbach did I realise they had merged our direct flight with a later one that had a stopover before Munich.

I B.A. get the slots I daresay Mr.B. will be jumping up and down again John! Me biased!!...just bl###y kn#####d!!,too much work and not enough qualified staff!!!!

Quite a number of years ago I flew to the US with AA. The plane was very empty and the cabin steward was chatting to someone he knew. When I got his intention I asked for a drink and he went off and brought back an armful - stopped me interrupting his conversation and I got off a little bit wobbly. Last time with AA it was pay for the drinks. Think BA still do not charge.