The all new and updated Ultimate BRITISH AIRWAYS Guide
Jul 25, 2006, 6:57 am
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,657
American Express
This section deals with the BA American Express Cards that are available to people in the UK. Sorry to all those US users of the BA Visa, but you never seem to generate enough questions, and I know bugger all about the programme. BA in Germany offer a MasterCard, in France there's a Diners Card, and in the Netherlands there's also a Diners Card.
There are three types of AmEx card are:
Basic
Premium
Premium Plus
The Basic card will earn you 1 BA mile per Ł1 spent, the Premium will earn 1.25 miles, and the Premium Plus 1.5 miles.
If you a Premium or Premium Plus card (but not the Basic) and purchase something from BA, these amounts will be doubled i.e. 2.5 miles per Ł1 for the Premium and 3 miles per Ł1 for Premium Plus – this applies to flights as well as Duty Free purchases onboard. It’s also worth noting that on Travelocity and Expedia at least, BA tickets appear on your card as 2 transactions; first as BRITISH AIRWAYS for the fare itself and then a second one for the site’s booking fee. These post with triple miles automatically ^ (Note this does not apply to special/negotiated fares such as ones which appear on Expedia from time-to-time).
The cards do have annual fees. They are Ł20 p.a. (free for the first year) for the Basic, Ł60 p.a. for the Premium, and Ł120 p.a. for the Premium Plus. The serious mileage collector will take the Premium Plus card!
If you hold another AmEx card, such as a Blue credit card, Green charge card, Gold charge card, the annual fee for the Premium and Premium Plus is reduced to Ł30p.a. We strongly recommend, therefore, that you apply for a free AmEx card, such as the Blue credit card, and THEN apply for the Premium Plus BA AmEx. This will save you Ł90 p.a. If you have a Platinum charge card, or a Centurion charge card, there is no annual fee. You may need to call them to get the fee changed, it doesn’t always happen automatically.
You can get cash back when applying for most AmEx cards, including the BA AmEx, through sites such as quidco.com and greasypalm.com.
The primary benefit with the cards is the voucher you get a voucher that offers you a second free ticket when you redeem your BA Miles for a flight. You need to spend Ł20K on the Basic, Ł15K on the Premium, and Ł10K on the Premium Plus before you can get this and all of the spend must occur in one year (from the date of your AmEx card’s anniversary).
Note, however, that if you’re spending loads on the card you can still only have one voucher every 12 months. If you’re really spending and it takes you three months to get to the Ł10K (for the Premium Plus), the next nine months of spend will NOT count to your next voucher (but will continue to earn miles just fine). If you do spend this much, you may want to consider getting a separate (NOT a supplementary) card for your partner so that your household can generate two vouchers per year.
The voucher will be posted to you, usually within a week of receiving the statement that put you over the spending threshold. It contains a numerical code which you need to give to BA when you ring up to book your flights. So, once you get the voucher, what is it? Well when you redeem your BA Miles for a ticket, it will give you a second one for free. Simple as that! You still have to pay all the airport taxes though.
The voucher is valid for twelve months; by then you must have flown the outbound segment – although it is debatable whether you could book a GLA-LHR-BKK ticket and only fly the GLA-LHR leg in this time, leaving a long stopover before the BKK flight. If you can't fly within that period, call BA, and they will extend the voucher for another three months (it used to be six
) on a discretionary basis.
Stopovers are allowed but this only applies to bookings solely with BA Miles. You can NOT use it for:
Flights paid for with money – Miles ONLY
Part Cash / Part Miles – this means no MFU’s
Partner Airlines – BA Flights ONLY
oneworld Flights – BA Flights ONLY
Code-shares – BA Flights ONLY
Flights starting from outside the UK – the flight MUST originate in the UK
In the T&C’s it says you may not use it for flights operated by franchise partners. However, people have been successful in using it for this, notably, Comair in South Africa.
Unfortunately, to book flights using the voucher, you have to call up BA. They’ve recently introduced a Ł15 per person charge on all longhaul and shorthaul mileage bookings made on the phone, but this is waived just for AmEx bookings (which you can’t make online) – a step in the right direction!
Another restriction is you cannot combine your AmEx voucher with a Gold Upgrade Voucher. Additionally, seats must be available in the cabin you want to upgrade from (i.e. if WT+ is sold out and Club has award seats, you still won’t be able to make the booking), as well as the cabin you want to upgrade in to.
The T&C's for the cards are here:
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...1,12707,00.asp
There are three types of AmEx card are:
Basic
Premium
Premium Plus
The Basic card will earn you 1 BA mile per Ł1 spent, the Premium will earn 1.25 miles, and the Premium Plus 1.5 miles.
If you a Premium or Premium Plus card (but not the Basic) and purchase something from BA, these amounts will be doubled i.e. 2.5 miles per Ł1 for the Premium and 3 miles per Ł1 for Premium Plus – this applies to flights as well as Duty Free purchases onboard. It’s also worth noting that on Travelocity and Expedia at least, BA tickets appear on your card as 2 transactions; first as BRITISH AIRWAYS for the fare itself and then a second one for the site’s booking fee. These post with triple miles automatically ^ (Note this does not apply to special/negotiated fares such as ones which appear on Expedia from time-to-time).
The cards do have annual fees. They are Ł20 p.a. (free for the first year) for the Basic, Ł60 p.a. for the Premium, and Ł120 p.a. for the Premium Plus. The serious mileage collector will take the Premium Plus card!
If you hold another AmEx card, such as a Blue credit card, Green charge card, Gold charge card, the annual fee for the Premium and Premium Plus is reduced to Ł30p.a. We strongly recommend, therefore, that you apply for a free AmEx card, such as the Blue credit card, and THEN apply for the Premium Plus BA AmEx. This will save you Ł90 p.a. If you have a Platinum charge card, or a Centurion charge card, there is no annual fee. You may need to call them to get the fee changed, it doesn’t always happen automatically.
You can get cash back when applying for most AmEx cards, including the BA AmEx, through sites such as quidco.com and greasypalm.com.
The primary benefit with the cards is the voucher you get a voucher that offers you a second free ticket when you redeem your BA Miles for a flight. You need to spend Ł20K on the Basic, Ł15K on the Premium, and Ł10K on the Premium Plus before you can get this and all of the spend must occur in one year (from the date of your AmEx card’s anniversary).
Note, however, that if you’re spending loads on the card you can still only have one voucher every 12 months. If you’re really spending and it takes you three months to get to the Ł10K (for the Premium Plus), the next nine months of spend will NOT count to your next voucher (but will continue to earn miles just fine). If you do spend this much, you may want to consider getting a separate (NOT a supplementary) card for your partner so that your household can generate two vouchers per year.
The voucher will be posted to you, usually within a week of receiving the statement that put you over the spending threshold. It contains a numerical code which you need to give to BA when you ring up to book your flights. So, once you get the voucher, what is it? Well when you redeem your BA Miles for a ticket, it will give you a second one for free. Simple as that! You still have to pay all the airport taxes though.
The voucher is valid for twelve months; by then you must have flown the outbound segment – although it is debatable whether you could book a GLA-LHR-BKK ticket and only fly the GLA-LHR leg in this time, leaving a long stopover before the BKK flight. If you can't fly within that period, call BA, and they will extend the voucher for another three months (it used to be six
) on a discretionary basis.Stopovers are allowed but this only applies to bookings solely with BA Miles. You can NOT use it for:
Flights paid for with money – Miles ONLY
Part Cash / Part Miles – this means no MFU’s
Partner Airlines – BA Flights ONLY
oneworld Flights – BA Flights ONLY
Code-shares – BA Flights ONLY
Flights starting from outside the UK – the flight MUST originate in the UK
In the T&C’s it says you may not use it for flights operated by franchise partners. However, people have been successful in using it for this, notably, Comair in South Africa.
Unfortunately, to book flights using the voucher, you have to call up BA. They’ve recently introduced a Ł15 per person charge on all longhaul and shorthaul mileage bookings made on the phone, but this is waived just for AmEx bookings (which you can’t make online) – a step in the right direction!
Another restriction is you cannot combine your AmEx voucher with a Gold Upgrade Voucher. Additionally, seats must be available in the cabin you want to upgrade from (i.e. if WT+ is sold out and Club has award seats, you still won’t be able to make the booking), as well as the cabin you want to upgrade in to.
The T&C's for the cards are here:
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...1,12707,00.asp
Last edited by Dave_C; Jul 25, 2006 at 7:23 am
Jul 25, 2006, 6:58 am
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,657
Earning BA Miles at Tesco and other Partners
Here are some quick and punchy details prepared by the redoubtable Raffles on earning BA Miles with Tesco.
Collecting BA Miles with Tesco
Tesco is the UK’s largest supermarket chain. It operates a loyalty card scheme called Tesco Clubcard which awards 1 point for every Ł1 spent. Points can be spent in-store or with partners, including BA. 1 point coverts to 2.4 BA Miles.
As with the BA AmEx, you can only convert points to Executive Club accounts that are UK domiciled. Bear this in mind if you are considering moving your account to Europe to benefit from the lower Tier Point thresholds. One way to work around this is to keep your Clubcard vouchers (they do not expire for 2 years) and convert them at some point in the future when you move your account back to the UK.
How do I join Clubcard?
Pick up a free card at any Tesco, and then register it online or by posting back the form attached to the card. Alternatively, apply for the Tesco Credit Card. This doubles as a Clubcard and, in addition, earns you 1 point for every Ł4 (equal to 0.6 BA Miles per Ł1) you spend on the card anywhere, not just at Tesco. This is nowhere near as good as the BA Premium Plus AmEx (1.5 BA Miles per Ł1) but it can be used at places that refuse AmEx e.g. council tax bills, John Lewis. It can also be useful if you normally use your BA AmEx but want to delay the issuance of your next '2 for 1' redemption voucher.
Until April 2005, the Tesco Credit Card was twice as generous, awarding 1 point for every Ł2 spent. You may see references to this old level on FT, as existing cardholders still receive this rate.
Can I have multiple Clubcards?
Yes. However, Tesco does appear to be getting cleverer at spotting multiple mailings to the same address, and you may find that you can only qualify for a promotion on one of your accounts. To avoid duplicated mailings, ring the Clubcard Helpline and have the accounts merged. You will then only get one statement with one points total. However, if you receive multiple statements then you will also receive multiple bonus points coupons, of course!
Do other businesses award Clubcard points?
Tesco has a range of partners that award Clubcard points – see tesco.com for the current list. These include Avis, Powergen and Marriott. It is worth noting that you get more BA Miles by crediting your Marriott hotel stays to Tesco (and then to BA) then you do by crediting them directly to BA – see Post 1 of the ‘Tesco and BA’ thread for full details, which is usually in the first couple of pages of current threads on FT! The current thread is:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=512869
and although Raffles usually does a yearly restart, the new thread will usually be linked to from the last post of the old thread, if you find the above link is out of date.
How can I earn bonus points?
There are occasional bonus offers in-store, although these are less popular than they were as they have occasionally led to mass bulk-buying by FTers! These deals are flagged on FT and other Tesco sites such as loyalty-points.co.uk (you need to log-in to this site before you can see the Tesco codes thread). These offers often allow you to rack up BA Miles for less than 1p each, compared to 1.7p when buying them from BA. Recent offers included Palmier biscuits, Laurent Perrier champagne, pre-paid mobile phones, frozen beef in gravy and instant coffee!
These offers are usually available whether you shop in-store or on-line at the grocery site. Note that some stores may restrict you to six identical items in any single purchase. Points offers are usually not advertised in Metro or Local stores but they should register at the check-out – do a trial purchase and see what happens.
With the loss of in-store promotions, you are now far more likely to earn extra points from using special bonus codes for your online shopping. These usually give you an extra 200 / 500 / 1000 points when spending Łx in specific areas of the Tesco website. These promotions are listed in Post 1 of the current ‘Tesco and BA’ thread. Post 1 also explains how to join the various Tesco clubs (lots of opportunities to receive bonus points coupons!) and how to recycle old mobile phones and inkjet cartridges for points.
How do I convert points to BA Miles?
You can check your points balance at any time by going to tesco.com and clicking 'My Account'.
Once every quarter, you will receive a statement with vouchers for points earned (minimum 250). Quarters run from Aug-Oct, Nov-Jan, Feb-Apr and May-July and you will receive your statement 2-3 weeks later. Each statement comes with a number of bonus points coupons to use in-store.
You can ask Tesco to send your points electronically to BA, or you can convert your vouchers online. See Post 1 of ‘Tesco and BA’ for details. You will still receive a statement in the post showing the miles earned.
What is Premium Clubcard?
This scheme, now abolished, let customers who spent over Ł780 per quarter convert at 800 BA Miles per 250 points. FTers who were Premium Clubcard holders can still convert at this rate, so will see the occasional mention of it.
For the latest information of the Tesco / BA partnership, look at the ‘Tesco and BA’ thread.
Other Partners
BA has a lot of other Hotel, Car Rental and other Partners. Some of the more notable ones are Avis (who offer a pretty good AWD for BA Gold members and nice miles earning opportunities), and Travelex.
This link lists BA’s hotel partners:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...l/public/en_gb
This link lists BA’s car rental partners:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...e/public/en_gb
This link lists BA’s other partners:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...e/public/en_gb
Collecting BA Miles with Tesco
Tesco is the UK’s largest supermarket chain. It operates a loyalty card scheme called Tesco Clubcard which awards 1 point for every Ł1 spent. Points can be spent in-store or with partners, including BA. 1 point coverts to 2.4 BA Miles.
As with the BA AmEx, you can only convert points to Executive Club accounts that are UK domiciled. Bear this in mind if you are considering moving your account to Europe to benefit from the lower Tier Point thresholds. One way to work around this is to keep your Clubcard vouchers (they do not expire for 2 years) and convert them at some point in the future when you move your account back to the UK.
How do I join Clubcard?
Pick up a free card at any Tesco, and then register it online or by posting back the form attached to the card. Alternatively, apply for the Tesco Credit Card. This doubles as a Clubcard and, in addition, earns you 1 point for every Ł4 (equal to 0.6 BA Miles per Ł1) you spend on the card anywhere, not just at Tesco. This is nowhere near as good as the BA Premium Plus AmEx (1.5 BA Miles per Ł1) but it can be used at places that refuse AmEx e.g. council tax bills, John Lewis. It can also be useful if you normally use your BA AmEx but want to delay the issuance of your next '2 for 1' redemption voucher.
Until April 2005, the Tesco Credit Card was twice as generous, awarding 1 point for every Ł2 spent. You may see references to this old level on FT, as existing cardholders still receive this rate.
Can I have multiple Clubcards?
Yes. However, Tesco does appear to be getting cleverer at spotting multiple mailings to the same address, and you may find that you can only qualify for a promotion on one of your accounts. To avoid duplicated mailings, ring the Clubcard Helpline and have the accounts merged. You will then only get one statement with one points total. However, if you receive multiple statements then you will also receive multiple bonus points coupons, of course!
Do other businesses award Clubcard points?
Tesco has a range of partners that award Clubcard points – see tesco.com for the current list. These include Avis, Powergen and Marriott. It is worth noting that you get more BA Miles by crediting your Marriott hotel stays to Tesco (and then to BA) then you do by crediting them directly to BA – see Post 1 of the ‘Tesco and BA’ thread for full details, which is usually in the first couple of pages of current threads on FT! The current thread is:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=512869
and although Raffles usually does a yearly restart, the new thread will usually be linked to from the last post of the old thread, if you find the above link is out of date.
How can I earn bonus points?
There are occasional bonus offers in-store, although these are less popular than they were as they have occasionally led to mass bulk-buying by FTers! These deals are flagged on FT and other Tesco sites such as loyalty-points.co.uk (you need to log-in to this site before you can see the Tesco codes thread). These offers often allow you to rack up BA Miles for less than 1p each, compared to 1.7p when buying them from BA. Recent offers included Palmier biscuits, Laurent Perrier champagne, pre-paid mobile phones, frozen beef in gravy and instant coffee!
These offers are usually available whether you shop in-store or on-line at the grocery site. Note that some stores may restrict you to six identical items in any single purchase. Points offers are usually not advertised in Metro or Local stores but they should register at the check-out – do a trial purchase and see what happens.
With the loss of in-store promotions, you are now far more likely to earn extra points from using special bonus codes for your online shopping. These usually give you an extra 200 / 500 / 1000 points when spending Łx in specific areas of the Tesco website. These promotions are listed in Post 1 of the current ‘Tesco and BA’ thread. Post 1 also explains how to join the various Tesco clubs (lots of opportunities to receive bonus points coupons!) and how to recycle old mobile phones and inkjet cartridges for points.
How do I convert points to BA Miles?
You can check your points balance at any time by going to tesco.com and clicking 'My Account'.
Once every quarter, you will receive a statement with vouchers for points earned (minimum 250). Quarters run from Aug-Oct, Nov-Jan, Feb-Apr and May-July and you will receive your statement 2-3 weeks later. Each statement comes with a number of bonus points coupons to use in-store.
You can ask Tesco to send your points electronically to BA, or you can convert your vouchers online. See Post 1 of ‘Tesco and BA’ for details. You will still receive a statement in the post showing the miles earned.
What is Premium Clubcard?
This scheme, now abolished, let customers who spent over Ł780 per quarter convert at 800 BA Miles per 250 points. FTers who were Premium Clubcard holders can still convert at this rate, so will see the occasional mention of it.
For the latest information of the Tesco / BA partnership, look at the ‘Tesco and BA’ thread.
Other Partners
BA has a lot of other Hotel, Car Rental and other Partners. Some of the more notable ones are Avis (who offer a pretty good AWD for BA Gold members and nice miles earning opportunities), and Travelex.
This link lists BA’s hotel partners:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...l/public/en_gb
This link lists BA’s car rental partners:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...e/public/en_gb
This link lists BA’s other partners:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...e/public/en_gb
Last edited by Dave_C; Jul 25, 2006 at 7:23 am
Jul 25, 2006, 6:59 am
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,657
Fare ‘Buckets’/Letters
This fare list comes from G-BOAG. Note that ba.com still does not show fare codes (this is one of the top gripes of the BA forum members!) 
If you wish to find out which fare bucket you’re booked in, the easiest way is to call BA and ask them.
Note: The designations above are a guide only. Fare rules and the restrictions vary considerably from long to short haul, and on country of purchase.
If you wish to find out which fare bucket you’re booked in, the easiest way is to call BA and ask them.Code:
A – Discount First B – Semi-Flexible Economy C – Discount Club D – Discount Club E – Staff (Bookable) F – Full Fare First G - Groups H – Semi-Flexible Economy I – Discount Club J – Full Fare Club K – Discount Economy L – Discount Economy M – Discount Economy N – Discount Economy O – Discount Economy P – World Traveller Plus Redemptions Q – Discount Economy R – Discount Economy (used to be Concorde!) S – Discount Economy T – Discount World Traveller Plus U – Club Redemptions V – Discount Economy W – Full Fare World Traveller Plus X – Economy Redemption Y – Full Fare Economy Z – First Redemptions
Last edited by Dave_C; Jul 25, 2006 at 7:23 am
Jul 25, 2006, 7:00 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,657
Some Suggestions for Travelling with Children
This guide is based on a post originally compiled by MIAFlyer.
I am an American currently living in Geneva, Switzerland. We fly to the US 2 or 3 times per year. I have three boys, 5 yrs, 3 yrs and 18 months now, so I know how much fun travelling with children can be. I will try to give you my point of view.
1 - BA is by far, the best airline for transatlantic travel with children. Period. This will be backed up by the statements below....
2 - Seating - The arm rests in WT+ do not raise. I don't think any of the arm rests on any BA plane raise. However, unless your car seat is some giant monstrosity, it should fit. I believe in order for it to be FAA approved, the base cannot be more than 17 inches wide, which is the smallest seat currently used on US airlines. Our Graco seat fits in BA long/short haul WT and WT+ seats.
3 – Safety:
3a - Infant in a seat - If you are SURE your seat meets BOTH FAA and CAA standards, you will not have a problem using it in flight. Key points are - Must be a 5 point harness (meaning there is webbing crossing the little one attached to the shell of the seat in 5 locations), most US car seats that are both forward and rear facing are 5 point, there are a few that are 3 point, but not many. The seat must be forward facing. The reason for this is based upon how airplane seats are designed to move forward in a crash. Example: If you have a rear facing infant seat in seat 12A, and the airplane crashes, the person in 13A would be forced forward into the back of the seat 12A. This seat is will move forward and crush the little one in 12A. So there is a reason for them to be forward facing. If your little one is too young to be forward facing in a car, he is too little to be forward facing in an airplane. My experience has been that BA cabin crew will let the little one stay in his car seat for take off and landing provided it is forward facing and properly installed.
3b - Infant on your lap - I am a mechanical engineer. BA is the only airline I have experienced that understands the forces involved in a crash. They have a specially designed figure 8 lap belt that attaches the little one to your seatbelt OUTSIDE of your body/belt loop. This is the safest way for your little one to travel for take off and landing (yes, better than in a car seat), mainly based upon the time to exit the plane.
3c - BA Britax/Sleeping cots - My troupe has flown in both Club (when the Swiss franc was 1.45 to the dollar) and in WT+ (when the Swiss franc was 1.2 to the dollar!) so I have experience with the setup in both cabins (they are the same). The Britax seat looks just like a car seat, and if you are lucky enough to get a bulkhead seat, the cabin crew will come around right after takeoff and setup your seat for you. Usually, it is a fold down tray, about 20 inches deep to about 30 inches wide coming from the bulkhead in front of you. Same thing with the sleeping cots. I have big boys, and my 8 month old fit just fine in the Britax seat, and was slightly too big for the sleeping cot at 17 months.
4 - Purchase a seat/hope for bulkhead/why won't they give me both - I had exactly the same discussion with BA. Do I purchase 4 WT+ tickets, and ask for a bulkhead, or do I buy 5 tickets and put the youngest in his own seat. BA told me exactly the same thing, if you have an infant in your lap, paying the infant fare, we will try to allocate you a bulkhead seat. If you buy the infant a seat, we will NOT try to allocate you a bulkhead. The thought of having a 17 month old squirming on my lap in a crowded cabin made me purchase 5 WT+ tickets. My experience has been there are VERY FEW parents with children travelling in WT+. In fact, each time we have travelled in WT+, my three little ones were the only children on the plane. Thus, I think your odds of getting a bulkhead seat are probably pretty good. Having said that, you can also purchase a seat for your child and ask at the airport check in desk for the bulkhead seats. We have always been able to get at least two bulkhead seats this way.
5 - Food - The kids meals on BA are actually food my kids will eat. Chicken nuggets, baked beans, and far too much chocolate (which we took away...). You will have to ask for a children’s meal at least 24 hours before the flight. Your travel agent can to this, or you can call BA directly. If you do not call ahead, you will not get a child's meal. Baby food is carried on all flights, but we always brought our own anyway.
6 - Entertainment packs - BA also has a game pack that they give kids. They have one for 2-6 year olds and 6-12 year olds. The 2-6 year olds get a colouring book, pad of paper, crayons, and a stuffed animal type airplane. The 6-12 year olds get a puzzle book (crossword, connect the dots, etc.) and a little electronic game that my 5 yr old loves. (Off topic - LX and LH give out Lego and Matchbox cars, US Flag carriers don't give anything).
7 - Flight Crew - While my experiences are limited to Club and WT+, the flight crew on each BA flight have truly gone out of their way to make my wife and I, and more importantly, our children, comfortable and happy on our flights. LH, DL, and Alitalia greeted us with a sneer. Never again. This has cost them significant dollars in terms of my business travel, but that is the subject of another thread.
8 - Ground Services - I have a BA Gold card, my wife and 2 of the 3 children have Silver cards, so my experiences may be tainted. We have always been welcomed in the lounges (and promptly directed to the Toybox!), check in has always been easy, we were allowed to take our buggy/pram/stroller right to the plane, (all but once it was stored in the cabin instead of luggage).
Now, not everything is rosy with BA and Heathrow, changing planes/terminals there is a giant pain. But overall, compared to any other transatlantic service, BA is the way to go. Whatever you do, do not fly Alitalia. Even if you purchase a seat for your child, they will not let you use a car seat, even during the flight. They would rather the infant sit in an adult seat, by themselves, or be held by a parent for the whole flight. The sooner they go bankrupt, the better.
Hope this helps!
I am an American currently living in Geneva, Switzerland. We fly to the US 2 or 3 times per year. I have three boys, 5 yrs, 3 yrs and 18 months now, so I know how much fun travelling with children can be. I will try to give you my point of view.
1 - BA is by far, the best airline for transatlantic travel with children. Period. This will be backed up by the statements below....
2 - Seating - The arm rests in WT+ do not raise. I don't think any of the arm rests on any BA plane raise. However, unless your car seat is some giant monstrosity, it should fit. I believe in order for it to be FAA approved, the base cannot be more than 17 inches wide, which is the smallest seat currently used on US airlines. Our Graco seat fits in BA long/short haul WT and WT+ seats.
3 – Safety:
3a - Infant in a seat - If you are SURE your seat meets BOTH FAA and CAA standards, you will not have a problem using it in flight. Key points are - Must be a 5 point harness (meaning there is webbing crossing the little one attached to the shell of the seat in 5 locations), most US car seats that are both forward and rear facing are 5 point, there are a few that are 3 point, but not many. The seat must be forward facing. The reason for this is based upon how airplane seats are designed to move forward in a crash. Example: If you have a rear facing infant seat in seat 12A, and the airplane crashes, the person in 13A would be forced forward into the back of the seat 12A. This seat is will move forward and crush the little one in 12A. So there is a reason for them to be forward facing. If your little one is too young to be forward facing in a car, he is too little to be forward facing in an airplane. My experience has been that BA cabin crew will let the little one stay in his car seat for take off and landing provided it is forward facing and properly installed.
3b - Infant on your lap - I am a mechanical engineer. BA is the only airline I have experienced that understands the forces involved in a crash. They have a specially designed figure 8 lap belt that attaches the little one to your seatbelt OUTSIDE of your body/belt loop. This is the safest way for your little one to travel for take off and landing (yes, better than in a car seat), mainly based upon the time to exit the plane.
3c - BA Britax/Sleeping cots - My troupe has flown in both Club (when the Swiss franc was 1.45 to the dollar) and in WT+ (when the Swiss franc was 1.2 to the dollar!) so I have experience with the setup in both cabins (they are the same). The Britax seat looks just like a car seat, and if you are lucky enough to get a bulkhead seat, the cabin crew will come around right after takeoff and setup your seat for you. Usually, it is a fold down tray, about 20 inches deep to about 30 inches wide coming from the bulkhead in front of you. Same thing with the sleeping cots. I have big boys, and my 8 month old fit just fine in the Britax seat, and was slightly too big for the sleeping cot at 17 months.
4 - Purchase a seat/hope for bulkhead/why won't they give me both - I had exactly the same discussion with BA. Do I purchase 4 WT+ tickets, and ask for a bulkhead, or do I buy 5 tickets and put the youngest in his own seat. BA told me exactly the same thing, if you have an infant in your lap, paying the infant fare, we will try to allocate you a bulkhead seat. If you buy the infant a seat, we will NOT try to allocate you a bulkhead. The thought of having a 17 month old squirming on my lap in a crowded cabin made me purchase 5 WT+ tickets. My experience has been there are VERY FEW parents with children travelling in WT+. In fact, each time we have travelled in WT+, my three little ones were the only children on the plane. Thus, I think your odds of getting a bulkhead seat are probably pretty good. Having said that, you can also purchase a seat for your child and ask at the airport check in desk for the bulkhead seats. We have always been able to get at least two bulkhead seats this way.
5 - Food - The kids meals on BA are actually food my kids will eat. Chicken nuggets, baked beans, and far too much chocolate (which we took away...). You will have to ask for a children’s meal at least 24 hours before the flight. Your travel agent can to this, or you can call BA directly. If you do not call ahead, you will not get a child's meal. Baby food is carried on all flights, but we always brought our own anyway.
6 - Entertainment packs - BA also has a game pack that they give kids. They have one for 2-6 year olds and 6-12 year olds. The 2-6 year olds get a colouring book, pad of paper, crayons, and a stuffed animal type airplane. The 6-12 year olds get a puzzle book (crossword, connect the dots, etc.) and a little electronic game that my 5 yr old loves. (Off topic - LX and LH give out Lego and Matchbox cars, US Flag carriers don't give anything).
7 - Flight Crew - While my experiences are limited to Club and WT+, the flight crew on each BA flight have truly gone out of their way to make my wife and I, and more importantly, our children, comfortable and happy on our flights. LH, DL, and Alitalia greeted us with a sneer. Never again. This has cost them significant dollars in terms of my business travel, but that is the subject of another thread.
8 - Ground Services - I have a BA Gold card, my wife and 2 of the 3 children have Silver cards, so my experiences may be tainted. We have always been welcomed in the lounges (and promptly directed to the Toybox!), check in has always been easy, we were allowed to take our buggy/pram/stroller right to the plane, (all but once it was stored in the cabin instead of luggage).
Now, not everything is rosy with BA and Heathrow, changing planes/terminals there is a giant pain. But overall, compared to any other transatlantic service, BA is the way to go. Whatever you do, do not fly Alitalia. Even if you purchase a seat for your child, they will not let you use a car seat, even during the flight. They would rather the infant sit in an adult seat, by themselves, or be held by a parent for the whole flight. The sooner they go bankrupt, the better.
Hope this helps!
Last edited by Dave_C; Jul 25, 2006 at 7:24 am
Jul 25, 2006, 7:00 am
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,657
What London Airport, and What Terminal is my BA Flight?
You can find a full list of terminals on ba.com:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...t/public/en_gb
This is generally kept current by BA. You can also check out your booking in ‘Manage My Booking’ if possible or on www.checkmytrip.com (in both cases, you will need your PNR/Record Locator and to know your own surname!) which should list this information.
The above link also contains useful advice and Q&As about transferring between terminals, or between Heathrow and Gatwick.
Another useful resource is the London Airports thread from the London Forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=362477
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...t/public/en_gb
This is generally kept current by BA. You can also check out your booking in ‘Manage My Booking’ if possible or on www.checkmytrip.com (in both cases, you will need your PNR/Record Locator and to know your own surname!) which should list this information.
The above link also contains useful advice and Q&As about transferring between terminals, or between Heathrow and Gatwick.
Another useful resource is the London Airports thread from the London Forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=362477
Last edited by Dave_C; Jul 25, 2006 at 7:25 am