oldone

Best connection for/to Catania, Sicily. OAK-LGW-CTA.

wrp96

Your biggest problem will probably be how long it takes to clear security, not just immigration. I wouldn't risk booking that earlier flight.

hearingdouble

I would also take into account that this is a flight that regularly arrives into OAK 10-15 minutes late. It often departs 20-30 minutes late as it's a pretty tight turnaround at LGW from one of the morning overnight arrivals (usually Cancun or Tampa, I believe). And that's when it actually takes off... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1862868-ba2279-24-aug-lgw-oak-gone-tech-generator-issues.html

All that being said, I found the plane itself perfectly serviceable. Crew and food were great on my return leg. It could have been a bit cleaner, and the IFE could have been more up-to-date, but the undesirability of J in these 772s seems somewhat overstated on FT. If you bring your own IFE you'll barely notice a difference from a Heathrow-based 777.

For those interested, loads in J were about 2/3 full (for the aborted flight) and 3/4 full (for the return leg). Can't speak for WT or WTP as I only turned left

lotus918

Just did OAK LGW on Avios last minute. Connected to OAK on SWA and walked straight to T1 for the Escape lounge BA uses. Given the lounge reviews I set my expectations accordingly, but needed time for online calls/meetings so not many options, plus I had a 5 hour wait. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. Nice space, nice views, fast WiFi and very helpful staff. Food was okay, usual lounge type selections, plus a menu with burgers etc if you want to pay.

Boarding was easy. Lots of folks milling around, and the OAK ground staff did a great job (with smiles and banter) in getting everyone onboard, especially those traveling with small kids. OAK does have more of a "provincial" feel to it compared to SFO/LAX, but overall feels more relaxed.

2278 was an old 777-200 (YMMD) who looked like she's been "ridden hard and put away wet" more than a few times. IFE was the atrocious system from the 90’s with the tiny fuzzy screen (I loaded my iPad with 12 hours of entertainment and recommend anyone on this route do the same), and the seat light wouldn't work! Crew were great; cheerful and attentive, plus the food was good.

Left an hour late, arrived an hour late. LGW arrivals/immigration was easy and fast, but I did miss the arrivals lounge for breakfast and a shower (as at LHR).

Overall it was a good experience, great value for avios, and I'd probably do this route again.

lhrsfo

For those of us heading to the East Bay or points up I80, arriving at OAK is far preferable than SFO and dealing with the San Mateo or Bay Bridge in rush hour.

AJBChina

Just back from LGW-OAK-LGW in CW, and reporting positively on the trip. Arrived and departed on weekends so ease of access to OAK vs SFO may be different depending on day/time of arrival or departure. No issues at all in security or immigration, both were very quick which is hard to find these days. Onboard, excellent crews both ways, meal services definitely better than expected (except breakfast inbound to LGW, but not a major issue for me). I'd say both flights were c75pct full, more on the outbound. As others have pointed out, the hard product's not noticeably different from the LHR 772 offerings and other than the woeful IFE the aircraft (MMR/MMS) were very well presented. I'm also pleased to endorse an earlier poster's report of great BA ground staff at OAK....very cheerful in an environment where smiles tend to be in short supply. I would certainly consider using this service again.

TPJ

BA:
DY:

The BA plan to make it harder for DY might not really work

PS. To translate:

BA: at least 9 seats left in all booking class (inventory)

DY: 2 seats left in Premium Economy and 1 seat left in Economy

corporate-wage-slave

To nuance this, BA and DY take very different approaches to revenue management, so you can't read too much into the above figures, though G9 is a give away, it does indeed suggest low loading.

What I did find astonishing was if you do decide to go OAK tomorrow, and say you want to return on Thursday 19 October, the cheapest fares are:
BA: Ł568
DY: Ł1450

However taking just one pair of flights is somewhat silly, BA's cheapest fare in October is Ł420 return, DY's cheapest fare in October is Ł390 return. Quite a bargain. If BA were not operating this route then DY would not be under these fare pressures, which is precisely why BA are doing this.

ahmetdouas

deleted

corporate-wage-slave

I think I'd take my chances with unrefurbed 777 than a spanking new 787 at the back of the aircraft, it isn't just BA that keeps these seats smaller than Eurotraveller. However if you are a Size 9 and want wifi then different criteria will apply, such that you'll just see DY as being Ł30 cheaper (though I agree that it would be better to pay more).

Having said that, the fares are all over the place: some days BA is much cheaper, some days DY cheaper. DY charges strictly by leg, there's no advantage in staying a Saturday night, whereas BA is clinging on to cheap fares for returns, and involving a minimum stay requirement to preserve their business market. Single fares are only flexible tickets and very expensive.

Which leads to another weird aspect: if you actually only want a single trip to OAK tomorrow, DY's single ticket is more expensive than BA, even though BA's fare is for a return ticket! However if you only looked on the BA website for a single ticket, comparing DY and BA head to head without being aware of BA's fare structures, then BA is twice the price of DY.

710 77345

Though of course dropping the last leg is very naughty and not something anyone here would ever do or recommend

With regards to fare competition, I'm not sure I see the same sort of variances on DY when comparing routes that have stiff BA competion to those that don't, vs BA's routes that have DY competition to those that don't. BA have turned the screws on punters that are going to certain US airports, and cutting fares significantly on those that have low cost competition.

dnajockey

Returned from a week in the Bay Area using this flight for the first time. Yes, the Lgw 777s are a bit tired, but the club seat is as comfy as ever and the crew were great - I think this was my first long haul from Gatwick for 13 years!

I hope (even though frequencies already cut for next year) this route survives but space in the j cabin suggests not.

Flexible preferences

I have wondered if the route is supported by cargo, or even if Oakland fund or underwrite it.

ucdtim17

There's no subsidy from OAK for this route.

BA is advertising around the Bay Area flights from all three airports, so they seem to be trying to take advantage of the fact that they do now have LON flights from all three. HA does similar advertising.

DeanB

I was supposed to fly LGW-OAK-LGW, out on 23 Oct & returning 30 Oct.

Both flights got cancelled, and I had to rebook (I chose to go out to PHX instead of SF a day earlier, and took the suggested auto-rebook back from SFO)

In both cases, I only found out when I looked at the app. I didn't get notifications via email or SMS.

Not sure if the Monday flights are regularly empty so they cancel them, or if it was a coincidence.