iceandaslicegandt

I have been flying with BA regularly over the last 20 years. As BA do not fly to Cuba I booked with Virgin in Premium Economy. What an eye opener to what has happened to BA!

1. Welcomed on board with sparkling wine or orange juice - same as BA Club.
2. Offered hot towels - same as BA Club.
3. Choice of 3 main courses - one less than Club but better than WTP.
4. Served the drinks in great glasses rather than than the WTP plastic ones.
5. Gin was Bombay Sapphire! Better than the Gordons in Club.
5. There was dessert and cheese and biscuits better than Club where you choose between one or the other.
6. On the way back we were served a full hot English breakfast. So much better then those awful microwaved bacon rolls in Club.
7. Bags came off first both ways as I've waited for over an hour for BA when travelling first.

Except for the seat I 'm starting to think that Virgin PE is better than BA Club!
I used to be very proud of BA - why are they losing their way?

fripperies

The accessories and frills are entertaining to compare but for me it's all about the seat. Obviously PE doesn't compete with CW or Upper Class but how does it compare with WT+ for comfort? The last time I flew PE with VS I hated the seat with a vengeance. It had a hard wedge of headrest that pushed my head forward and made relaxation impossible. Agony after 11 hours. It was a few years ago so maybe they have fixed it but I'm not tempted to risk it.

iceandaslicegandt

Seat was great. You could fold the 2 head rests at either side to rest against and slept for 4 hours.

nux

You compare some things with Club World which are also provided in WTP. Why not compare all the things VS Premium Economy provides that is also provided in BA First and come to the conclusion that apart from the seat it is better?

1. Also offered in WTP - Tie
2. I think also offered in WTP - Tie
3. WTP has two choices - VS ahead
4. I would argue BA's overall alcohol selection is better - Personal opinion
5. You can always ask for both - VS ahead
6. For short TATL overnight flights personally I would prefer less service time and more time to sleep - Personal opinion
7. BA lacks in this area - VS ahead

Lioneye

I think we all have rose tinted memories of British Airways when it represented the country. We had:-

British Rail
British Telecom
British Steel
British Gas
British Petroleum

With the others we realise they are now just companies trying to make a profit and we are quite happy to and to not use their services when needed. There is no emotional attachment.

With BA there is still that sense of patriotism which clouds our judgement even though it's now just part of a Spanish registered company trying to make a profit.

Cap'n Benj

As per Nux, half of what you say you don't get on BA you do and in fact more-

I have had both hot towels and glass glasses in WTP+.

BA WT+ offers Business class mains, VS does not, so unless you're a quantity over quality man I would not say this is an advantage.


Now BA has a new seat, the only areas where Virgin provide a clearly better service (for me anyway), is separate check-in and priority boarding, both of which I currently get via BA through status.

I class both of the above assets above all those you've mentioned though, so for me, without status, VS does offer the better product.

iceandaslicegandt

dcbfencing

I think I was served Tanqueray last time in CW?

iceandaslicegandt

All those companies were the bad days of Britain providing awful service. BA as a newly privatised company was a leader in its field providing great new products and service..It made huge profits by doing that and should return to those days..understanding that the market has changed but I will now book Virgin rather than BA when I can..

SteveF

Except that BA Club is Champagne, not sparkling wine .

Sure you can have Gordon's in CW, but you can also have a premium Gin. You can also have JW Red, so Virgin must be better there too. Or you could have a single malt instead (Glenmorangie or Glenfiddich?)

You're kidding right? I've never found those full English breakfasts even slightly edible on any airline; pink sausages and something that resembles scrambled egg. The bacon rolls sound like a great idea to me.

And then there's the seat...

Cap'n Benj

The standard BA CW Breakfast options are horrific to be fair, i'd go for the crappy Y long haul cooked option every time given the choice

Yesitsme

Just a teeny tiny correction: The bacon rolls in CW aren't microwaved - they're heated in the ovens. Doesn't make them delicious, but sometimes I can be pedantic

DavidPM

You're quite right, of course: if they were microwaved they'd be just dreadful and so soggy as to be inedible. Whereas cooked in the oven they're just dreadful and so dry as to be inedible...

Greenpen

Ridiculous thread. If the OP had actually flown VS premium economy and BA J then the thread topic would not exist. I don't think they've done either.

Can I help you

I will have you know that I only serve moist food, never dry and never soggy.