If you fly "business" class, you pay a high price to fly in comfort with excellent service and food-so why would ever consider BA? The same should apply for other classes. You are providing them with custom for their airline. They should never think they are doing you a favour. BA's remit.
Once had a technical fault on a BA flight, they said they couldn't provide an alternative flight for FOUR days and also REFUSED to allow me to book on an alternative airline. Which of course I had to. They then refused to refund me for that. This is against the law and BA know this, they also know they can get away with it unless the passenger is willing to go all the way to the small claims court, which most won't. Avoid avoid avoid.
You should take them to Small Claims - I have on a couple of occasions and won hands down!. People not being bothered gives them carte blanche to continue taking the piss.
Nice use of the Hamilton scene there! Having to pay for business class seat selection is a joke (it's free for higher tier executive club members but that doesn't excuse penalising lower tier and non executive club members). I recently got to try the new club suite on an outbound flight and got lumbered with club world on the return and there is a huge difference between the two. Club suite is such a massive improvement over club world!
"Club " or what ever they call it, cannot beat at least 10 other airlines above them! In the best top 20 airlines chosen by various pundits puts BA 20th just below Alaska Airlines.So you think BA is good, good luck with that
Well put together, but I feel it was a little harsh at times. Shame you had an aircraft swap. Pretty much all the LHR based -200s have the seat now, and the older -300s are slowly having the retrofit too. When they’re done the 788s and 789s will have the suite fitted. A380 refits are still to be confirmed- my sources have mixed messages. I reckon biz class is slightly ‘worse’ than competitors because they still have a first class service. If it was so good then they wouldn’t be able to sell First. I believe the meal service is still their covid product, it used to be separate courses. But yes, I do still struggle to understand the seat reservation fees. Cabin crew as you say are always excellent! Some of the best in the industry in my opinion. Never had a bad flight with BA! Good video, fly safe!!✈️
I really lost all respect for BA. Charging 100£ to pick a seat.. in a premium cabin?? I can’t imagine how much it was in economy. Along with everything else mentioned. They truly lost their prestige in a race to the bottom and it’s sad!
DO&CO meals should not be served on such low-class airline. DO&CO is truly the last remain premium brand and they need to be more selective with their clients.
Thanks for sharing. BA is somewhat disappointing and now offers a very lazy Business class product - the food in the lounges is a good example. But they benefit significantly from brand loyalty and argue that they offer what business class or frequent flyers want. No doubt they will say to you that a high % of travellers rate their service as meeting or exceeding expectations but does that indicate that travellers have (very) low expectations? A lot of frequent flyer Brits also have an irrational fear of flying other airlines and many have a misplaced sense of superiority when they fly BA. But other airlines offer a different level of J class experience and maybe it’s good to keep that as a bit of a secret🤔😎 Their Premium Economy product is now one of the worst out there, especially the onboard catering where you might get served a thumb sized kitkat and half a soggy sandwich as part of the second meal into the US - yes, that’s apparently a premium offering which clearly suggests BA is grudgingly feeding people on their intercontinental flights and the same people who are faced with paying £79 to dare select a seat on a full priced Premium economy ticket! Is someone at BA laughing at how people buy into this?
You are correct in many respects, why people still fly BA after all the hassle of the electronic downs, customers last, charging for seat selection on business ,flights cancelled ,months to get your money back etc etc. all suggesting a scrape the barrel attitude. My favourite right now is Singapore Airlines which also flies into the worlds best Airport.(Changi) As for Heathrow and BA -they are decades behind. How on Earth can you say your a leading airport with only 2 runways! When I arrive, I feel embarrassed and I live here.
So the anti-slander policy is why BA hasn't been criticized for being slow in their business class retrofits like United has for their slow polaris retrofits?
I’m not sure, I think they can just blame it on the pandemic, same as ANA. I’m not aware of them actually enforcing the “thou shall not speak Ill of BA” policy. Still I felt I needed to call it out.
@@Travelog I think UA could also blame it on the pandemic, and UA can add the PW engine issues and supply chain issues to their statement. As for pre-pandemic, UA could’ve easily said that seatmaket Safran had trouble making seats (similar to how Boeing can’t deliver planes fast enough). I do find it strange that while UA has been blasted for slow retrofits, BA hasn’t been blasted for their equally slow retrofits. I get that they don’t know how much longer they will keep their A380s, but it doesn’t justify their slowness of 777 retrofits and lack of 787 retrofits. Same for Qatar Airways. Sure, they are not enjoying their A350s, and they plan to retire their 777s, A380s, and A330s, but that doesn’t explain why they won’t retrofit their 787-8s.
Loved the review! That product is shocking compared to the competition and with American and united also flying that route daily I can see where the customer will be looking and it won't be BA
I’d rather fly American than this piece of Garbage. Also your humor is so good especially when it comes to really bad products. I enjoy the similar humor on the Lufthansa video as well. By the way on the 777, and the A380 it’s an a 2-4-2 configuration
I flew BA right after the pandemic broke out here in the west, there were no more than about 10 passengers, probably fewer than that. It was a wonderful experience, a clean interior, on time departure and leather seats, even though I flew in economy class.
I like a lot of people have stopped flying B/A. Why because they are at best RUBBISH. Having been served inedible food and poor service in Business class some years ago. That was enough for me. Only Mugs fly them now. Thanks for your good vlog. At least you now know how bad they are.
Interesting. The old product is rubbish but your real complaint here is that they swapped an aircraft with the new product for one with the old. Not BA’s fault that you were in the middle of nowhere with no Wi-Fi. With regard to lounges and having been in numerous European business and First lounges, it’s average and if you can’t be bothered to go to the quieter lounge, we’ll that’s your problem. So this is a moan about an old product. Having flown a few US carriers where business and first don’t get lounges I got the feeling you would have found fault whatever happened.
Oh for sure. Regarding the quieter lounge, I would have been happy to go their if I had known where my flight was departing from. That's a European thing, which I bring up every time I encounter it. Regarding "moaning" about an older, inferior product, yes I am consistent there. I didn't bother to try to fly United Polaris until I could 100% confirm I'd actually get it, which ended up being 6 years after it was introduced. I have also been...rather harsh regarding Lufthansa and Air New Zealand's seats.
Lets get something straight-BA is NOT British. Its a conglomerate out of Spain. Its 'name' was bought. It bears no resemblance to the Original. It has been run, as a Budget Airline. Money first, customers and staff last. If you fly BA you get what you deserve.
So agree with this review except that on my flight from Seattle to Heathrow, the stewardess was off hand and unhelpful and I have had better food at a fraction of the price with Easyjet! The extra cost to choose your set is just an added insult to their customers. Squashing 7 seats where their should only be 4 is just penny pinching and yes, climbing over the legs of other passengers to get out is insane. The "Aspire" lounge at Bristol (Easyjet) is far superior. The worst airline ever.
What do you think about the new recent changes to the BA Avios program now being that you’d get miles now based on how much fare you pay instead of by the distance flown now? Apparently they are adopting it from Iberia now
Yeah I’m not a fan at all. Especially if taxes and fees don’t count, a 400$ ticket transatlantic to London will earn basically nothing. I have a BA video in a few months that’s already filmed so won’t cover it, but hope to be flying Iberia business next year using avios, so I’ll cover it then.
Interesting information about the highlands. Just booked ba to Israel and was surprised at the amount of taxes we have to pay , it isn’t just ba though.
Indeed, there's two components to the high taxes and fees: fuel surcharges and the UK passenger duty tax. The tax is about 180 GBP for a business class flight leaving the UK, so that's what I was able to save. BA will charge fuel surcharges in almost every other case, other than a few (ie Hong Kong). Virgin Atlantic also charges astronomical fees, but I'm working on booking a way around it using flyblue miles at the moment...
BA has been underwhelming for years. Better than United, but that’s not saying much. For Brits outside London, many will connect in Amsterdam, CDG or Helsinki etc. very often, the detour makes it worthwhile.
Indeed, but I think they swapped both. When I booked the ticket the A350 had the morning flight and the 787-10 the afternoon (my flight). Now it's shown as the A380 and 787-9. My guess is with elevated demand they went for the configurations with more seats.
It's on the list, was canceled due to the pandemic. Then Qatar invented "basic business class" and got on my rant/naughty list. So I'll fly it if/when there's an opportunity to but not go out of my way. ANA's "the room" is far above it interest wise.
I think "problems" isn't what I was getting at. I have a review of the A380 in economy posting shortly and enjoyed it. But getting the older business class, which I don't think anyone believes is competitive, was unfortunate.
Just please, whatever you do, don't fly BA. I gave them one last shot on a recent trip to NY from LHR in premium economy and it was simply horrific. They are below low cost carriers in my opinion.
I borrowed the line from Huw Merriman, an MP in parliament who chairs Britain's Transport Select Committee. It was in reference to cutting jobs due to covid. So yes, it's just a joke, but I found it fitting.
The old Club World cabin was just horrific on so many levels - we avoided BA period unless we were going 'First' which is a lovely Business Class product. BTW the new Club World cabins are light years better, for daylight flights, but quite cramped for anyone contemplating 'lying flat'................The airline plummeted in quality under hatchet of that moron CEO Cruz.
@@johnchristmas7522 Exactly - and he tried to morph BA into an extension of that pitiful operation. I don't think he had the slightest conception that BA was the national carrier of the UK and as such was expected to offer an unrivalled product and service. Not everyone wants to travel in such a manner that when they arrive think to themselves 'Thank God that flights over, now all we have to do is get through the return'. Many, many people treat the 'getting there' experience very important and are willing to pay a bit more to say 'That was a really lovely flight'
@@maxthelab8457 Never going to happen on BA. Their remit is something quite different from the other leading airline(I am NOT inferring BA is a 'leading ' airline because it certainly isn't)
@@johnchristmas7522 Just been to Joburg and back BA First (787 out A380 back), and other than the Concorde Lounge T5 and the arrivals lounge, the overall experience is still pretty underwhelming for a so called First class product.
That’s kind of my caricature style for this channel. Sorry it’s not your cup of tea! But that’s the beauty of CZcams, I’m sure there’s a style of content that you’ll enjoy more!
That’s kind of my caricature style for this channel. Sorry it’s not your cup of tea! But that’s the beauty of CZcams, I’m sure there’s a style of content that you’ll enjoy more!
I was considering doing BA to UK for awhile now and this video single handedly changed my mind
Personally I would never recommend anyone to rely on one person's opinion.
Wise! ( unless you can go First ) and I'm a Brit
Very wise move-there are plenty who actually want to look after their customers!
If you fly "business" class, you pay a high price to fly in comfort with excellent service and food-so why would ever consider BA? The same should apply for other classes. You are providing them with custom for their airline. They should never think they are doing you a favour. BA's remit.
Depends if you get to fly on the new suites or the old club world
Once had a technical fault on a BA flight, they said they couldn't provide an alternative flight for FOUR days and also REFUSED to allow me to book on an alternative airline. Which of course I had to. They then refused to refund me for that. This is against the law and BA know this, they also know they can get away with it unless the passenger is willing to go all the way to the small claims court, which most won't. Avoid avoid avoid.
You should take them to Small Claims - I have on a couple of occasions and won hands down!. People not being bothered gives them carte blanche to continue taking the piss.
Another great review from one of the most honest travel reviewers on youtube
I had to subscribe to your channel for your honesty about just how much British Airways has fallen off since the loss of Concorde.
Nice use of the Hamilton scene there! Having to pay for business class seat selection is a joke (it's free for higher tier executive club members but that doesn't excuse penalising lower tier and non executive club members). I recently got to try the new club suite on an outbound flight and got lumbered with club world on the return and there is a huge difference between the two. Club suite is such a massive improvement over club world!
"Club " or what ever they call it, cannot beat at least 10 other airlines above them! In the best top 20 airlines chosen by various pundits puts BA 20th just below Alaska Airlines.So you think BA is good, good luck with that
Well put together, but I feel it was a little harsh at times. Shame you had an aircraft swap. Pretty much all the LHR based -200s have the seat now, and the older -300s are slowly having the retrofit too. When they’re done the 788s and 789s will have the suite fitted. A380 refits are still to be confirmed- my sources have mixed messages. I reckon biz class is slightly ‘worse’ than competitors because they still have a first class service. If it was so good then they wouldn’t be able to sell First. I believe the meal service is still their covid product, it used to be separate courses. But yes, I do still struggle to understand the seat reservation fees. Cabin crew as you say are always excellent! Some of the best in the industry in my opinion. Never had a bad flight with BA! Good video, fly safe!!✈️
MOST "BUSINESS CLASS" OF LEADING AIRLINES IS BETTER THAN BA's FIRST.
I really lost all respect for BA. Charging 100£ to pick a seat.. in a premium cabin?? I can’t imagine how much it was in economy. Along with everything else mentioned. They truly lost their prestige in a race to the bottom and it’s sad!
DO&CO meals should not be served on such low-class airline. DO&CO is truly the last remain premium brand and they need to be more selective with their clients.
Thanks for sharing. BA is somewhat disappointing and now offers a very lazy Business class product - the food in the lounges is a good example. But they benefit significantly from brand loyalty and argue that they offer what business class or frequent flyers want. No doubt they will say to you that a high % of travellers rate their service as meeting or exceeding expectations but does that indicate that travellers have (very) low expectations?
A lot of frequent flyer Brits also have an irrational fear of flying other airlines and many have a misplaced sense of superiority when they fly BA. But other airlines offer a different level of J class experience and maybe it’s good to keep that as a bit of a secret🤔😎
Their Premium Economy product is now one of the worst out there, especially the onboard catering where you might get served a thumb sized kitkat and half a soggy sandwich as part of the second meal into the US - yes, that’s apparently a premium offering which clearly suggests BA is grudgingly feeding people on their intercontinental flights and the same people who are faced with paying £79 to dare select a seat on a full priced Premium economy ticket! Is someone at BA laughing at how people buy into this?
You are correct in many respects, why people still fly BA after all the hassle of the electronic downs, customers last, charging for seat selection on business ,flights cancelled ,months to get your money back etc etc. all suggesting a scrape the barrel attitude. My favourite right now is Singapore Airlines which also flies into the worlds best Airport.(Changi) As for Heathrow and BA -they are decades behind. How on Earth can you say your a leading airport with only 2 runways! When I arrive, I feel embarrassed and I live here.
Brand loyalty is for idiots, you want to fly BA then bloody get on with it- me? never in a million years.
So the anti-slander policy is why BA hasn't been criticized for being slow in their business class retrofits like United has for their slow polaris retrofits?
I’m not sure, I think they can just blame it on the pandemic, same as ANA. I’m not aware of them actually enforcing the “thou shall not speak Ill of BA” policy. Still I felt I needed to call it out.
@@Travelog I think UA could also blame it on the pandemic, and UA can add the PW engine issues and supply chain issues to their statement. As for pre-pandemic, UA could’ve easily said that seatmaket Safran had trouble making seats (similar to how Boeing can’t deliver planes fast enough). I do find it strange that while UA has been blasted for slow retrofits, BA hasn’t been blasted for their equally slow retrofits. I get that they don’t know how much longer they will keep their A380s, but it doesn’t justify their slowness of 777 retrofits and lack of 787 retrofits. Same for Qatar Airways. Sure, they are not enjoying their A350s, and they plan to retire their 777s, A380s, and A330s, but that doesn’t explain why they won’t retrofit their 787-8s.
By the way taxes are not set by British Airways. They are set by the UK government.
Correct, but the fuel charges are I believe. If I can’t reduce the fuel surcharges, at least I can try and reduce the taxes.
Loved the review! That product is shocking compared to the competition and with American and united also flying that route daily I can see where the customer will be looking and it won't be BA
I’d rather fly American than this piece of Garbage. Also your humor is so good especially when it comes to really bad products. I enjoy the similar humor on the Lufthansa video as well. By the way on the 777, and the A380 it’s an a 2-4-2 configuration
Thanks! And yes you’re right about 2-4-2, realize I should have included that.
I flew BA right after the pandemic broke out here in the west, there were no more than about 10 passengers, probably fewer than that. It was a wonderful experience, a clean interior, on time departure and leather seats, even though I flew in economy class.
I like a lot of people have stopped flying B/A. Why because they are at best RUBBISH. Having been served inedible food and poor service in Business class some years ago. That was enough for me. Only Mugs fly them now. Thanks for your good vlog. At least you now know how bad they are.
Interesting. The old product is rubbish but your real complaint here is that they swapped an aircraft with the new product for one with the old.
Not BA’s fault that you were in the middle of nowhere with no Wi-Fi.
With regard to lounges and having been in numerous European business and First lounges, it’s average and if you can’t be bothered to go to the quieter lounge, we’ll that’s your problem.
So this is a moan about an old product.
Having flown a few US carriers where business and first don’t get lounges I got the feeling you would have found fault whatever happened.
Oh for sure. Regarding the quieter lounge, I would have been happy to go their if I had known where my flight was departing from. That's a European thing, which I bring up every time I encounter it. Regarding "moaning" about an older, inferior product, yes I am consistent there. I didn't bother to try to fly United Polaris until I could 100% confirm I'd actually get it, which ended up being 6 years after it was introduced. I have also been...rather harsh regarding Lufthansa and Air New Zealand's seats.
A very true review. I would not fly BA business class or first class as its over priced and very low standards.
BA crew are just awful. So pretentious, it's untrue
I've been told the same. This crew was "fine" and pleasant enough but not extraordinary.
Lets get something straight-BA is NOT British. Its a conglomerate out of Spain. Its 'name' was bought. It bears no resemblance to the Original. It has been run, as a Budget Airline. Money first, customers and staff last. If you fly BA you get what you deserve.
So agree with this review except that on my flight from Seattle to Heathrow, the stewardess was off hand and unhelpful and I have had better food at a fraction of the price with Easyjet! The extra cost to choose your set is just an added insult to their customers. Squashing 7 seats where their should only be 4 is just penny pinching and yes, climbing over the legs of other passengers to get out is insane. The "Aspire" lounge at Bristol (Easyjet) is far superior. The worst airline ever.
What do you think about the new recent changes to the BA Avios program now being that you’d get miles now based on how much fare you pay instead of by the distance flown now? Apparently they are adopting it from Iberia now
Yeah I’m not a fan at all. Especially if taxes and fees don’t count, a 400$ ticket transatlantic to London will earn basically nothing. I have a BA video in a few months that’s already filmed so won’t cover it, but hope to be flying Iberia business next year using avios, so I’ll cover it then.
Interesting information about the highlands. Just booked ba to Israel and was surprised at the amount of taxes we have to pay , it isn’t just ba though.
Indeed, there's two components to the high taxes and fees: fuel surcharges and the UK passenger duty tax. The tax is about 180 GBP for a business class flight leaving the UK, so that's what I was able to save. BA will charge fuel surcharges in almost every other case, other than a few (ie Hong Kong). Virgin Atlantic also charges astronomical fees, but I'm working on booking a way around it using flyblue miles at the moment...
Rip BA stock after this video
We flew Ba in 2016 never again a ripp off for crap experience.
I complained directly to the company and got no response.
BA has been underwhelming for years. Better than United, but that’s not saying much. For Brits outside London, many will connect in Amsterdam, CDG or Helsinki etc. very often, the detour makes it worthwhile.
Flying across the pond, I usually fly Virgin or Delta-other destinations, where I can choose, I fly Qatar, Singapore, Finnair or Eva. never never BA.
5:51 was that the actual aircraft you flew in?
Ha indeed, though it was a model of the 787-9
@@Travelog I have flown on that exact 787-9 in First and it was ok - but that was 4 years back so guess now it's a bit tatty.
@@maxthelab8457 BA's first, is everybody else's business class and some are even better!
Lol, did you get banned from Avios? I did just book EDI-PDX through LHR, I’m staying at EDI so it wasn’t worth going to Inverness to save $200
I hope not I just booked an award yesterday! I don't think it's even been enforced. Still, it's ridiculous and I needed to mention it.
Unlucky with the Sub. The new seats are great. The a350 is rarely subbed...
Indeed, but I think they swapped both. When I booked the ticket the A350 had the morning flight and the 787-10 the afternoon (my flight). Now it's shown as the A380 and 787-9. My guess is with elevated demand they went for the configurations with more seats.
Try Qatar.
It's on the list, was canceled due to the pandemic. Then Qatar invented "basic business class" and got on my rant/naughty list. So I'll fly it if/when there's an opportunity to but not go out of my way. ANA's "the room" is far above it interest wise.
@@Travelog Thats another fine airline.
National Disgrace, didn't have to watch the video to know that!
Fly BA often, never had a problem.
I think "problems" isn't what I was getting at. I have a review of the A380 in economy posting shortly and enjoyed it. But getting the older business class, which I don't think anyone believes is competitive, was unfortunate.
Just please, whatever you do, don't fly BA. I gave them one last shot on a recent trip to NY from LHR in premium economy and it was simply horrific. They are below low cost carriers in my opinion.
Next time try jet Blue.
Worst Airline I have flown...once and and only once.
SpangloQatari airways remain best avoided 2 years later...
British Airways CANNOT be a national disgrace simply because it is not run by the UK government. It is a regular public company. Good day to you.
I borrowed the line from Huw Merriman, an MP in parliament who chairs Britain's Transport Select Committee. It was in reference to cutting jobs due to covid. So yes, it's just a joke, but I found it fitting.
@@Travelog On the back of that BA sacked 10,000
Will never fly busniess in a 2-4-2 .only ba a350
That was my plan as well...
Even Aibus, try as they might, cannot stop the sardine can attitude of BA.
The old Club World cabin was just horrific on so many levels - we avoided BA period unless we were going 'First' which is a lovely Business Class product. BTW the new Club World cabins are light years better, for daylight flights, but quite cramped for anyone contemplating 'lying flat'................The airline plummeted in quality under hatchet of that moron CEO Cruz.
Well he came from IAG budget airline Vueling.
@@johnchristmas7522 Exactly - and he tried to morph BA into an extension of that pitiful operation. I don't think he had the slightest conception that BA was the national carrier of the UK and as such was expected to offer an unrivalled product and service. Not everyone wants to travel in such a manner that when they arrive think to themselves 'Thank God that flights over, now all we have to do is get through the return'. Many, many people treat the 'getting there' experience very important and are willing to pay a bit more to say 'That was a really lovely flight'
@@maxthelab8457 Never going to happen on BA. Their remit is something quite different from the other leading airline(I am NOT inferring BA is a 'leading ' airline because it certainly isn't)
@@johnchristmas7522 Just been to Joburg and back BA First (787 out A380 back), and other than the Concorde Lounge T5 and the arrivals lounge, the overall experience is still pretty underwhelming for a so called First class product.
BA business class is garbage! I cannot understand how someone would pay thousands of pounds/dollars for this product.
Thats why Qatar's ceo said 2star airline
Well he should know, he bought into it!
But he owns 25% of it!
The best representation of Britain
don't bother travelling to Great Britain we won't miss you
The overly dramatic voiceover on this video makes it tough to watch.
That’s kind of my caricature style for this channel. Sorry it’s not your cup of tea! But that’s the beauty of CZcams, I’m sure there’s a style of content that you’ll enjoy more!
Awful voiceovers and sound effects and mocking accents make this video annoying to watch
That’s kind of my caricature style for this channel. Sorry it’s not your cup of tea! But that’s the beauty of CZcams, I’m sure there’s a style of content that you’ll enjoy more!
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺