OK, comparisons time and our personal perspectives. This is all BA CE/US Business/AA Domestic First, with OWE privileges such as lounge access and baggage allowances … YMMV.

Airports.

JER … development since the 1930s inevitably piecemeal, so not a great success. Check-in and security all OK. Small but effective Lounge with good staff. 7/10

LGW(N) … an inefficient mess land-side, a crowded Concourse, Security very variable, and of course the emasculation of the BA Lounges [which were never that good anyway]. 5/10

LHR T5 … survivable with practice. Security remains a lottery, the ocean of shops and associated congestion are also a downside. BA Staff OK at First, fairly good elsewhere. Security - meh. Not nearly as good as it should have been, with all the global experience to draw on. 6/10

DUB … Not bad at all. Surprised to see crude graffiti in a toilet cubicle, despite the anatomical accuracy. Pre-clearance is a bit of a maze, but clearly signed and worked well. All staff encountered were good/excellent. 8/10

CLT … a bit spread out, but at least there are walkways. Sufficient space for the masses of people passing through this major US hub. Plenty of natural light. Good staff all round, including TSA AAdmirals Club OK, but the smaller B Concourse one is a bit minimalist. 7/10

SAV … so cute! And clean, and well laid out. All staff were excellent. No lounge, but adequately provided with refreshment areas. 8/10


Aircraft

BA A319 … adequate in CE for an hour or less to LGW. CC usually very good, and alway amazed at how quickly they can work the CE cabin. Seating pretty poor. 6/10

BA A320 … simply awful! Cramped, and hard seats. I dread doing more than an hour in the latest iteration, and that’s a real indictment for the price they charge. 5/10

US A330 … now that’s more like Business Class. Sensible 1-2-1 seating, places to put things [like the water-bottle pocket] and a decent shelf. Good IFE too. Crew OK in our experience - different, but no problems. Much better for hard product than BA, slightly better on catering in some respects if not overall. 8/10

AA RJ700/900 … delightful for a short [1-hour] hop, and punctual. Excellent seats, loads of space [except for those with over-sized carry-ons]. CC were fine, too. What more do you need? 9/10


Websites

BA ... as clunky as ever. 4/10

AA ... denied the existence of a booking [US and AA Confirmation codes existed]. 4/10

US ... easy OLCI, PYOBPs all with one click, unlike BA. Infuriating micro-print in grey, though - almost illegible when you print out schedules. 6/10



As I said, this is just a personal view ... from 2 Senior Citizens doing this for the first time. I have no doubt some road-runners will have experienced worse, or more glitches, but for us as complete newbies [despite over 41,000 miles this year] it was all essentially a seamless and pleasant experience from start to finish. In that sense, BA/US/AA and the various airports added 4 pleasant days' enjoyment to our 2 weeks in SAV


Next stops ... HNL in Jan, KIN in Mar and then hopefully PHX and ANC in Jun/Jul. This is fun!