Trip Reports - TBS's BA NCW flights LHR-YYZ-LHR Jun/July 2004( summary)

Hi;


Due to the length of the text ( 17275 characters agianst the limit of 15000) the text can be found here;

http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1834



I normally fly VS ( VS FC Gold) but this was my first NCW trip so apologies if it is long.

I have tried to mention differences between BA NCW and VS UCS and the service on board and my perosnal opinions.

I will try to find the NCW menu and post it.

However in summary;

Virgin UCS vs BA NCW;

Compared to VS , BA NCW;

Main deck looks more crowded (2-4-2) compared to 1-1-1-1 on VS 747.
BA T4 lounge not as good as VS LHR clubhouse ( no shoeshine, no haircut), poorer food selection
Less interaction between lounge staff at the BA lounges than VS.Whereas with Vs the lounge staff will be generally very good and ask you if you need anything, the staff in the BA lounges seem to be primairily there to clean away the dishes ( apart from the lounge reception staff and the Spa staff.
No champagne on boarding
No individual air vents overhead
Nuts are given out in packets compared to on trays ( and crisps are also offered)
No choice as to when to eat.
No soup ( only salad as a starter)
No salt or pepper pots ( only in plastic bags)
Smaller glasses
Headphones do not fit properly ( and not noise canceling)
No AVOD
No onboard bar
No onboard beauty therapist
Poor Raid the larder selection ( only fruit on the BA outbound compared to fruit.chocolate & biscuits on VS )
No inflight ice cream
Poorer selection of Afternoon tea( sandwiches are wrapped rather than presented unwraped)
No sleepsuit
No duvet ( only blanket)
No card to fill out for breakfast
Poorer breakfast quality onboard ( esp only one choice of cereal compared to 3 or 4 on VS)
Orange juice at breakfast was not as tasty as on VS ( and tasted watered down as mentioned above)
Tomtato ketchup comes in a plastic sachet compared to a dish on VS.
Last two UCS flights have had the IFS come to the seat and welcome pax on board
Lighting quality on board is poorer ( bright white lights compared to shaded coloured lights on VS)
Poorer housekeeping facilities at BA Arrivals lounge compared to VS Revivials ( ie no shoe polish or offering any toiletries upon arrival
BA flat bed is smaller and narrower than the UCS and was a little tight for me.
Window seats apart form 62a/k may involve climbing over the aisle person ( did not find it too bad on the outbound)- no problems with VS as it is a window and aisle seat.
The foot stool can be a little fiddly to assemble and was not fully solid when put up ( ie it gave a little- the VS ottoman is a lot more stable)
VS food is presented on a table with a linen cover then a larger tray inside more linen.
The VS table seemed more solid and is a lot larger
And of course;

BA losing my luggage with a 3 hour connection ( could happen at anytime I suppose) but I have had 2 hour connections on VS/bmi and the luggage has arrived no problem.

Less miles for NCW compared to UCS ( 150% NCW, 200% UCS). I am not allowing for Elite bonuses ( I’m only blue on BA I think it is 25% for Silver/50% for Gold) and 25% for VS Gold.

Positives with BA
Online check in ( soon to be used by VS)
Quality of spa treatments very good
Global spread

Whilst I have no complaints about the cabin crew on BA, ( very friendly and was able to chat with them in the galley on the way out), the overall impressions of CW product is that it is good but in certain aspects it seems to have an element of cost cutting whereas the VS UCS service seems more refined ( after all it is a premium product in my opinion)

On routes where VS competes with BA , I would choose VS whenerver possible for more enjoyable and refined experience:


Thanks for reading.


Regards

TBS

Thanks TBS. ^
A really useful comparative analysis between VS and BA.

Is the VS Upper class service same for all long-haul destinations. Like would it be same between the VS flights to NRT, SFO and DEL in terms of what you describe above...

Hi AJlondon,

Currently the Airbus A340-600 fleet ( NRT) is being refurbished in the UCS in a 1-1-1 formation and so by the end of the year ( or maybe sooner) all the LHR fleet ( serving the destinations mentioned above) will have the UCS apart from the A340-300's ( which could be done in due course). The LGW fleet will then be done. The SFO route is now all suites.
The UC service will be the same for all destinations.


Regards

TBS

No onboard beauty therapist


Thanks for the great comparison. Sounds like VS is the clear winner. I kind of cracked up when I saw the BA didn't have an "onboard beauty therapist". Never heard of such a thing. My imagination is running wild. :)

Seriously, thanks again for a great summary.

Hi Jeeves,

Thank you for your comments . To expand on the beauty therapist part;

Virgin Atlantic does have an onboard beauty therapist on the London Heathrow flights. ( they have a separate section in the Upper Class Cabin) as well ad vtouch salons at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Onboard you get a choice of treatments including a back and shoulder massage, facial massage and a hand and arm treatment.

All three are excellent ( I have had all three on different VS flights)

Regards

TBS

TBS,

Thanks for the insight. I never knew such things existed out there in the flying world. It's good to know and makes me want to try Upper Class on Virgin. Keep up the excellent posts.