000

1. They have a very decent frequent flyer scheme in BAEC
2. I can fly with them direct to most places from London (many more destinations than say VS)
4. Guarantee of a flat bed on all long haul routes
5. Baggage allowances are pretty good
6. T5 is great

cressers

1. I am an expat and love transiting through heathrow to get some taste of home.
2. As a Euro member, I liked the 800 points for gold (not sure I will qualify at new levels)
3. Service nice usually.

No other reason, redemptions are a pain, can never use the GUF2 vouchers.

Yahillwe

I am not after status and I like collecting the miles, but I cross the waters to take BA, because I genuinely like the product. I could take Open Skies, but frankly I don't like them or the service. Taken it once, didn't like it. Felt like a bus.

Raldal

Because I was a transferee in from Diamond Club (at Silver) and thought I would give BA a try - prior to that I had never flown BA longhaul - mainly Air Canada - and found out I enjoyed the BA Lounge in T5!!

No so sure about the J class though - much prefer the LX seating arrangement - BA seemed somewhat claustrophobic seated in an aisle seat with the divider up!! Have a flight to YYZ in May and have seats 64A and 64K so perhaps that might be a bit better.

CE is on a par with other European Carriers I have flown but with a much better Lounge experience.

T8191

1. Suits my routes, and the best way of getting on/off the Island with a generous baggage allowance.
2. UuA on my normal route is painless. So we travel in CW on the cheap.
3. Silver is relatively easily achievable, with all the benefits that brings.
4. It's a safe operation. It has its flaws, but it works well IMO.
5. Who else offers the route/timing I want?

shasi1711

1. Perfect mid-way halt on India - NA routes
2. Great timings ex - India (~8.00 instead of 3.00 departures)
3. Great way to earn AAdvantage points/miles
4. LHR T5
5. Decent in-flight service

Crampedin13A

Mostly for the CW UD. Whenever BA puts the 744 on the YYZ route BA is my first choice for TATL. When it's only the 777 or 767 I'll compare fare and timing on Star to my destination

mosburger

I like both BA and LH (plus DL) over the Atlantic while not being from either cultural sphere.

To Asia, stick more to AY and especially CX with BA feeders thrown in. Try to avoid LHR in wintertime since the ridiculous cancellations due to a minimum of snow at Christmas 2010. Had my Europe bound flights from HKG transferred to FRA around then and have not looked back since.

If BA would begin a LHR - MCO service, probably 100% of my North American flights would be with them, now the LHR-LGW transfer just feels too cumbersome compared with DL/LH options.

Lite

When it comes to safety, I will admit to being pretty uptight, well, direct might be the term I'd prefer to use. I will always phrase what is essentially a command as a question or a request, but if a customer chooses not to comply, then the slightly more direct approach needs to be used.

The reason for this is simple. Firstly, it would be remiss of me to hand on that the cabin is secure to the flight crew if I know you are using prohibited electronic devices or have got your unapproved earphones in. Secondly, I don't know you are not auditing the flight from a BA or CAA perspective and would want to know why my cabin secure abilities are slack. I don't get paid for being sent back to Cranebank for a refreshers' course and am jolly well not going to because you didn't want to switch off your Apple, Blackberry or whatever other electronic fruit you're using. Thirdly, it makes the job for my colleagues harder when you say the crew on the last flight didn't care. It adds to the inconsistencies that customers so often have told me are frustrating. And finally, (this is a long paragraph), in a recent article in our cabin crew news magazine there were statements from the surveys that we hand out onboard that had been collated regarding safety. Nervous fliers felt more so if they noticed the cabin crew being lax with regards to securing the cabin. They felt if the cabin crew didn't care about the little things then what else might they not care about? In my opinion, they have a point. Complacency can cause injury and at worst cost lives.

I will never accept colleagues being rude to customers and very rarely do I see this onboard, but will always support someone if they need to be direct with a customer regarding safety, as it is a priority but not the exclusive nature of our role onboard. Some people find being told what to do the equivalent of being spoken to rudely.

LTN Phobia

And I for one like them to be that way.

CDSEA

I raise it when I first get to the seat - the cabin crew lowers it for the safety demo and then I raise it again as soon as soon the demo is complete. I estimate that it is down for less than 5 or 6 minutes in total.

Steve Oh

Me too.
Yes, there are there to serve you food and drink, but that's not their primary role.
I don't like it when they are too lenient to be honest. They should make sure that the ipad is OFF, not just locked.

But back to the OP - I fly BA cos they are better than Alitalia

Yahillwe

That made me laugh... Thanks I needed it this morning.

m3red

If electronic devices were really a safety issue they would not be allowed to be used at all.

My experience was in j and the guy was just a but rude. On ek they ask you but don't seem overly fussed. I'm guilty of putting them down then when they take their seats putting my music back on! In j or f it's impossible for them to see.

Interesting thread. I agree re safety I do feel safe on ba and the routes to the states are good. If there were better alternatives like sq ek or qa maybe ba would need to improve.

Any plans for a new j seat?

Wozza2404

I like BA.

As an EK Gold for years, the comparison in J product is light years apart. EK's sloping seat and having to clamber over the person next to you feels very 1995.

BA's guaranteed flat bed is a real plus.

I don't think you can compare BA's 747s and 777s to the A380s. I'll wait and see what happens there when BA launch their own.

I'll admit EK's F product is better, though.

Service on BA has always been good. I've never flown them in Y (except on very short EU hoppers), so I can't comment on Y crew.

Ultimately the scope to collect vast amounts of miles with little effort (recently booked 3 F returns to ATL for a family holiday, and it hardly dented my Avios, despite flying with BA for just 6 months) makes them a worthy choice, IMHO. EK's customer service pushed me away, and EY took my business for a while; but the CC promos and OW membership have moved things to BA's favour.

Plus, as others have said, I like the fact they're British.