LCY8737

Somewhat inspired by recent threads on here about how BA is doing. Assume the following scenario: You are faced with going to XXX and you have a choice between BA or airline YY (which is the home carrier of the country you are flying to, and for arguments sake offers the same price, timetable & tier points).

Who is YY for you? Do you pick them or BA? Why?

LCY8737

My own answer: Flying LHR to SIN I would prefer SQ in either J or F because their hard and soft product just blows BA oder the water!

Geordie405

It would appear as if you're assuming everyone will be starting their journey in London which, if I may say so, is a little presumptuous.

For me, if I want to fly to HKG then I have a choice - I can fly BA via LHR and on to HKG or else I could fly via LAX with either AA or CX. It is very unlikely that I would fly with BA in circumstances like this as flying east to HKG is illogical.

Likewise, if I am flying back to the UK then I have a choice of BA or VS with direct flights, or only BA if I fly via PHX for example.

I appreciate that BA is - by definition - a British carrier and that a large percentage of its passengers will be based in the UK but I am sure I'm not the only ex-pat on this forum

V10

Well. If I need to be in the UK, the channel tunnel or Eurostar makes most sense for me.

For travel in Europe, direct flights, driving or trains are more attractive than a connection via Heathrow.

Long haul BA may be an option along with others, and would be assessed on what makes most sense for that particular trip.

It's not always a straight X or Y choice.

simons1

Very simplistic OP....if only travel was that black and white.

Geordie405

I'd agree wholeheartedly with this. When I lived in Brussels I would take Eurostar back to the UK, Thalys to Paris or Düsseldorf, ICE to Frankfurt and so on.

capin

Flying home to the UK, I use American economy out of Charlotte. I really like the AA A330 as long as I can get one of the 2's on either side.

I have a place in Thailand and when I fly there (normally from the UK), If I fly economy, I really like Thai but BA aren't too bad. If I fly business, It's hard to look past QR/EK/EY.

LCY8737

Without this assumption the complexity of individual preferences makes this pretty much impossible to compare. If you compare a non-stop BA with a one-stop AF, different people will have different preferences. If you compare both their direct services between CDG and LHR you are comparing the actual product.

Dr Dave

I will do 5 trips to Asia and beyond (four to Sydney) this year. A few years ago this would have been five trips on BA. This year three will be on Emirates, one on Qatar and one on BA (as an ex EU from Oslo). Frankly I only travel BA as a last resort now.

1010101

It really depends on who YY is. Currently for me it is CX, or QR if i can be bothered with the connection, so BA doesn't get a look in. If I was flying to Delhi every time and AI was the alternative, I'd probably choose BA.

I think BA has gone down the pan recently but I'm not going to avoid them out of spite.

LTN Phobia

YY = SQ. They have Wifi and Suite with shutters. BA don't have Wifi (or a suite with shutters) which is often important for me as it can be go or no go.

The SQ fares are far higher (x3-x4) for me than BA due to not being able to GUF but when it's a go or no go, forget the fares...

This is not due to my having anything against BA as they haven't done anything to adversely affect me. I don't fly ET, and long CE got better not worse. They brought back the amuse bouche in F so it's fine. I got to like the 787-9. However, the lack of wifi on SYD means it often means I cannot fly BA on that route.

Short hauls don't really matter and I tend to choose whatever is convenient, which is often BA.

flyingmonkie

I'm Sydney based most of the time and will choose BA for my regular SYD-SIN trips. Reasoning is 1) TPs which get me Emerald on OW, 2) The brilliant Qantas Flounge at SYD (I know that is related to 1) and 3) I prefer the crew & food on BA. Yes I've had some bad experiences but on the main they have been friendly and the food better than the SQ offering especially in PE / WT+.

Dover2Golf

My local airport is LHR.

It's years since I chose BA for any long haul travel and I choose the alternative of the airline of the country I'm going to or a connection - preferences are SQ, CX and EY and that's the majority of my long haul.

I used to use BA exclusively for short haul (except IST where I've used TK for years) but since the seat pitch in CE was reduced and the food enhanced to the current offering I've also been choosing the airline of the place I'm going to often LH, LX and A3.

I've also used German/Eurowings to TXL and DUS and their Best fare is fine, usually about £100 less than CE, the middle seat is free and the food offering of a decent sandwich and a drink fine. The pitch at the front is also bigger than BA.

Jed

In J:
I would pick CX over BA on LHR-HKG.
I would pick QR over BA on LHR-DOH.
I would pick QF over BA on LHR-DXB
I would pick AA over BA on LHR-US, except CW UD which would get my first pick

In F, the only time I would choose BA F is over QR F and over AA F. I find QR F not enough of a step up from J and the seats too open (although I could easily accept travelling in an F bathroom)

simons1

But it's a massive assumption out of context to the question. Plus the whole concept of a national carrier, flag carrier etc is hopelessly outdated.

For example if you are flying to South Africa it could be BA, SAA, Virgin, Thomas Cook and then any of the indirect operators.

And if you are going to UAE....BA, Emirates, Etihad, Air Brunei, Virgin, Qantas....