Trip Reports - VS Upper Class vs BA Club Class

I don't have the attention to detail of many of the writers on this board but wanted make some contribution as I have enjoyed many of the reports. I mainly fly British Airways (BA) but, having recently taken my first flight on Virgin Atlantic (VS), thought I would post my assessment of the two business class services. Please note that my London BA experience is based on T4 rather than T5.

i) Pre lounge
VS take an early lead by offering a car service to the airport. This lead is enhanced by their London drive through check-in facility which means that once you have give your bags to the driver at home, you don’t handle them again until the baggage carousel at your destination. The only disappoint was that VS imply that you go straight from the check-in area to the lounge but instead you still have to mingle with the masses for passport control and shoe scanning. You then walk through the T3 zoo to the lounge. BA have fast track for security but no other “special features” in this area.

Verdict – VS (lets face it BA didn’t stand a chance in this)

ii) Lounges
• London
The VS Clubhouse has full service food and drinks. The food in the lounge is of a high standard and the staff are helpful and friendly. My gripes are that is that service was a bit slow and there were not many magazines available.

The BA lounge is self service and the staff tend to be invisible. They do have a wide range of drinks and the food is usually pretty good. They also have a good selection of magazines.

The VS spa offers a wider range of options than BA, including haircuts and shaves, although I wasn’t able to get one but that’s no different from my experience BA.

Verdict – VS by a long way

• Hong Kong
In Hong Kong BA use the Cathay Wing/Pier complexes which are very good lounges. VS have their own far smaller lounge which again has full service food and drinks.

verdict - VS. I found the VS lounge quieter and more relaxed and they made me the best Caipirinha I've has outside Brazil which certainly settled it in my mind.

iii) Boarding
Very similar experience on both airlines. Priority boarding although the queues are not always clearly defined.

Verdict – Draw

iv) Cabin/Seat
My BA flights have been on Boeing 747s and 777s and my VS experience is on A340s.

The VS cabin gives more privacy but if I were travelling with a companion I think that BA would be better, providing you selected the right seat. With VS you cannot see the person in the seat next to you or across the aisle due to high sides and the herringbone formation although this means that even in a window seat, looking out is not easy.

A VS advantage is that all passengers get direct access to the aisle without having to disturb anyone. Also, the VS foot stool is a buddy seat where as the BA foot stool should not be used as a chair.

The forward/backward formation and 4 across block in the middle of BA’s main cabin do compromise on privacy, especially in the middle seats. Also for most passengers either need to step over or be stepped over for aisle access.

Another advantage/disadvantage (depending on how close your seat is) of VS is the bar area where you can chat to the crew and fellow passengers if you are so inclined.

VS and BA take fundamentally different approached to providing a fully flat bed. The BA seat reclines from being a seat to becoming a fully flat bed whereas the VS seat has a limited recline but the back of the seat flips over to form the bed so you are not sleeping in a chair. With BA the seat must be in an upright position for take off and landing whereas VS allow the seat in any position.

Verdict – BA. I prefer the BA seat as I found it more comfortable as both a bed and seat. I found that the recline on the VS seat was too limited to be comfortable and, on the outbound journey, the mattress was too hard when in bed mode. Despite all the advantages of the VS cabin layout for a lone traveller, the seat just wasn’t comfortable.

v) In-flight service/amenities
I have always found BA crews to be pretty good and found the same with VS. VS provide a sleep suit whereas BA don't. The BA amenity pack is slightly more comprehensive.

Verdict – Draw. I'm not a sleep suit fan and the differences in amenity packs are not sufficient to influence the grading.

vi) Food

VS allow passengers to dine at their convenience whereas BA serve all passengers together however the food on BA is far superior to VS.

Virgin have a bar with three seats which, during the flight, is laid out with fruit and chocolates. BA have the Club Kitchen stocked with sandwiches, snacks and salads. Both have hot snacks available on request.

I found the wines to be of comparable standard but I'm not an expert.

Verdict – BA. Although VS give the flexibility on when to eat, the low quality negated this.

vii) Post Flight
No noticeable difference in luggage retrieval but VS do include a driver from the airport at both ends.

Verdict - Draw

vii) Frequent Flyer Programme
I don't know the VS scheme well enough to comment.

Verdict - None

Overall: Although VS win more sections, they are too far behind on the things that count for me – the seat and the food onboard so overall I prefer BA.

I hope that you find this useful. I accept that it is purely subjective and YMMV. Please feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks for the nice comparison! All of it sounded good to this economy traveler!

A detailed and thoughtful summary and one I nearly 100% agree with.

I agree that the VS lounge food is more extensive but I do like the flexibility of helping myself to drinks, unlike the VS lounge. That said, the staff were quick and pleasant at the bar.

VS on board food poor and, take it from me, the wine is poor, although the champagne was quite good.

I have not experienced the NGCW, but do recognise the issues over aisle access.

I agree with all of your comments regarding the VS seat.

Conclusion: whilst the car service and lounge may be better, the flight time is far longer and that is what matters to me.

Thats interesting. I have not flown on neither in C, but from the description above I would give my preference to VS. I guess it just shows that different things are important for different people.

Good report.

In Hong Kong BA use the Cathay Wing/Pier complexes which are very good lounges.

Actually they use the Qantas/British Airways lounge which is not particularly good.

the food on BA is far superior to VS.

Agreed. IMO the food on VS is uniformly awful.

Excellent comparison. I'm with you on the bottom line: BA has a much better seat/bed. The rest is less important.

Actually they use the Qantas/British Airways lounge which is not particularly good.

Thanks for the positive comments.

Camohe, apologies for the slip up, I got confused as I'd forgotten that last time I flew from Hong Kong it was on Cathay. :o My only excuse is that I did say in the preamble that I don't have strong attention to detail.

Good report.



Actually they use the Qantas/British Airways lounge which is not particularly good.



While this is ture, I thought that one-world agreements allowed passengers to use the Cathay Pacific lounges as well.

Thanks for the comparison. Although I've flown BA in business, still waiting for a trip on VA.

I've had two experiences in VS Upper Class.

The first was in 2000 from LHR to ORD.

The second was in 2006 from PVG to LHR and on to JFK.

I was shocked at how cut back the menu was in 2006 compared to 2000. The offerings were, frankly, paltry in comparison.

I've only flown BA (in C) and not VS at all, so this comparison comes in handy. Thanks!

Just to add an extra couple of points. First the VS bed is great if you are over 6 ft tall; the BA bed is just too short for tall people unless you get one of the small number of seats on the upper deck of a 747 that have more room. This is normally enough to swing the balance in favour of VS for me on night flights.

Second, there appear to be three different versions of the VS suite: 747 lower deck, 747 upper deck and Airbus. The 747 upper deck is slightly longer than the others. The Airbus version is narrower due to the angle of the suite walls; the 747 suite is noticeably more spacious.

BC

My view:

1. Assuming they both cost the same cash, go with VS for sure to earn 22,000 BD miles for a roundtrip LAX-JFK.

2. Assuming a OneWorld elite, then BA on a 744 is a fine choice because you can get upper deck privacy and unrestricted ailse access.

3. Overall, VS is better for limos, lounge, bed, unrestricted ailse access.

2. Assuming a OneWorld elite, then BA on a 744 is a fine choice because you can get upper deck privacy and unrestricted ailse access.

3. Overall, VS is better for limos, lounge, bed, unrestricted ailse access.

Aisle. @:-)