baobab

Catman - I think that this is all in the spirit of good sportsmanship (but BA is the best...)

KatW

Merry Flyer --

Wow! If your post viz. BA's $4243 offer (times two, natch), is no joke then I am definitely getting geared up to see the daffodils at Gravetye at the end of March. Where do I sign up?

I intuit from your message that it's possible to negotiate fares with airlines . . . guess I could use assertiveness training.

Cheers,
Kathryn

Merry Flyer

I wouldn't say it was possible to negotiate fares with BA, but if you have got any clout with them and mention Virgin, they tend to become very helpful.

I am working on two comp flights to Maui for next November. First Class of course. But not getting very far at the moment. The current offer is one full-fare and one comp.

I suppose Mrs. Merry could stay at home.

Kat: If you want that fare call BA on 1-800-876-2200 (not the normal number) and as k them to send you a copy of the "Concorde Vacations Brochure".
MF

JayJ

"Well tonight folks we have the mother of all discussions. Which is better? BA's Club World or Virgin's Upper Class?"

"In the Blue corner, weighing 14 stone 30 with a long reach to the F/A call button, flying in from London, England in BA's First Class,
Merrrrry Flyerrrrr."

"In the Red corner, weighing in at slightly over weight 185 lbs, with a short jab to side from the guy sitting next to him in economy, flying in from Los Angeles, CA in Virgin's Economy Class because that all he could afford,
JaaaaaayJ."

"Refereeing tonights match from the New York State Frequent Flyer Association is everybodys favorite feline 1K poster, Catman."

"We have no judges tonight because they are all out flying and couldn't be here."

"We are about ready to start, and there's the bell."

"JJ comes out quickly with a one-two punch."

Virgin's seats are bigger, 21 inches across compared to BA's 19.75 inches. Virgin's seat pitch is wider, 55 inches compared to BA's 50 inches.

"MF counterpunches"

Club World has a cradle seat which has a back and bottom cushion that tilt and recline.

"JJ jabs with"

Upper Class has at seat telephones and Laptop/Fax Dataports.

"Catman lays a paw in and breaks them up by saying 'what about United Business Class?', they promptly throw him out of the ring."

"MF throws an overhand right"

The food on BA is better.

"From ringside Baobab yell's encouragement to MF, 'give me a cradle seat and some Chateaneuf du Pape."

"TimT yell's from JJ's corner, 'give me a massage and a hair cut!'."

"JJ throws a left hook that brings MF to his knees"

Upper Class has a bar and very soon, beds and showers on their airplanes.

"The referee has crawled back into the ring, his fur slightly ruffled, and orders JJ to a neutral airline and gives MF a standing 8 count."

"They come back out to the center of the ring, circling, wary of each others frequent flyer miles and there's the bell, that the end of round. JJ heads for the Clubhouse and MF heads for the First Class section.

"Well which airline won this round? We wait to here more from our guests on this thread and I am sure a post fight interview with MF after he recovers from severe jet lag."

Merry Flyer

To all my supporters, wherever they may be I would like to apologise for my poor performance in that round.

I have no excuses, other than, although I had trained hard, being cocooned in BA First for so long has softened me up somewhat, the extreme level of comfort and relaxation which BA has offered me obviously has taken it toll. As has all that A La Carte dining ("5 courses at any time during the flight") and exquisite fine wine.

It is therefore fortunate that I have been given the opportunity to get some additional training in by way of Concorde LHR-JFK this Sunday returning ClubWorld on Tuesday afternoon. I feel sure that this experience in ClubWorld will give me the opportunity to regain ground.

On the ClubWorld return leg I will of course not be lowing my guard too much. I will opt for pre-flight dining, in order to maximise my on-board rest time.

I will of course need additional rest upon arrival at Heathrow and will therefore opt to partake in a drink and light refreshments at the BA Arrivals Lounge whilst having my change of clothes pressed and my bags collected from the Arrivals hall for me.

From the arrivals hall I will be going to the Heathrow Hilton where I will accept BA's kind offer of a complimentary day-room, in order that I may make calls in privacy and complete any necessary work and if I have not already done so in the Arrivals Lounge, freshen up with a shower or bath.

From there I will take the bridge to the T4 arrivals area, where my car will be waiting kerb-side for collection at the BA Express Parking area.
MF

KatW

Merry Flyer: One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy, etc. -- that's KatW not wasting any time calling British Air for the Concorde Vacations Brochure.

What?! Leave Mrs. Merry at home?! Tsk-tsk. Can't think of a more efficient way of making a Grumpy out of a Merry.

Thanks to all for an informative (and tres amusing) discussion.

Cheers,
KatW (no relation, of which I am aware, to flying feline of male persuasion)

Merry Flyer

Kat: I can assure you Mrs Merry is more than happy to stay at home - in fact I think she quite prefers it - can't think why.

I take it from you comment that BA Holidays were not very forthcoming in answering the 'phone?

If so try: www.british-airways.com/vacations

If you still don't have any luck come back to me and I will kick ... for you.

I like you, and therefore nothing is too much trouble (sorry Bab's!). Your hubby is a very lucky man.
MF

baobab

Merry - USE YOUR MILES. You can comp the Mrs to Maui, & take a reward flight for yourself. It's all the same in the end, as you'd never use up your trove of miles. (Images of a dragon guarding his treasure come to mind)

Kat - you seem to be doing a good job of wrapping Merry around your little finger, but I am not as easily convinced... your point about not wanting to travel in common & garden economy is well-taken, but I believe that BA's new world traveller service will be every good as Virgin's premium economy - I took a stroll through both websites to get all the details, & BA is going to offer as standard everything which Virgin expects one to pay a premium for. So for the same amount of money or less, you will have the same level of comfort or better on the Best Airline... BA airmiles are valid for five years, and you have the opportunity to add to your flight-miles via Diners & Visa purchases, (the BA visa nets you a sign-up bonus too) AT&T calls and other partners. Flying from the west coast will earn you approximately 5500 miles each way (so with one trip you & hubby already have over 20000 miles), and you can pool these miles in a Household Account. Did I mention that an upgrade from full-fare eco to Club World is only 40000 points? (and you'd be earning that back on your basic fare) I think that joining the executive club would be worth considering...

JayJ - Club World has in-seat phones too. There is nothing special about being able to yatter at 30000 feet... Also, who wants to shower in midair, when you run the risk of hitting turbulence? Arrivals lounges are a better idea.

baobab

Merry - I have one word of warning for you: DELILAH

Kat may be genuine, but she needs to be ushered into the BA fold! The first thing to do is to get her to sign up for exec club membership.

Merry Flyer

Bab's: Point taken (although I havn't got much hair to cut off).

Kat: Join the Exec Club, go on, you know it's the right thing to do.

JJ: What do you think about my second, good right-hook huh!

All: Chatting at 30,000ft may be old hat, but only two airlines give you that opportunity at 60,000ft (Concorde, BA's trump card, I love it. Look on the BA thread for some news about Concorde in the US).
MF

arturo

why o' why would we want shabby aircraft in us when it can't break sound barrier.

Merry Flyer

Excellent point Arturo. I will drop a not to British Airways they obviously havn't thought of that. It's probably just another of their weird money loosing ideas, like.....?
MF

Catman

Both airlines and their spokespeople make
good arguments for their carriers. Maybe I
should take two trips to London and then raise the hand of the winners.

The fight between M-F and JayJ could make a good BritCom. Can't think of a title though.

JayJ: with all the new features that Virgin has added or is adding, will that take away
seats... and mean higher prices?

One particular swing you make: Upper Class has a bar and very soon, beds and showers on their airplanes.

The bar's fine. But showers? What if there's a leak.

The beds are an interesting idea. A recent Sunday NY times section said UA, AA and even BA are looking into it. But is it worth it on a shorter flight like EWR or JFK to Heathrow?

One more than... please don't throw the referree out of the ring. That's automatic disqualifcation for both next time. You'll have to call in your seconds to finish the fight. CATMAN

JayJ

It looks like Merry Flyer is punching after the bell. It also looks like some of the fans are throwing punches too.

Merry Flyer - Preflight dining sounds like a splendid idea. I have been preflight dining in the Clubhouses for years. Drinks and light refreshments sound like another great idea. I will do that in the Clubhouse along with a shower, facial massage, and a little putting practice before the limo takes me to my hotel. I don't need private parking since I don't live in the UK.

baobab - I think premium economy has a little more leg room and you get first choice on meals and other economy amenities. If you are in the shower when you hit turbulance it doesn't matter, you are already wet.

Catman - Sorry about tossing you out of the ring, a fit of passion and all that...
The new beds and shower on Virgin's airplanes will be installed on the new Airbus 340-500's and 340-600's which are designed for 12 to 16 hour flights. They will be put downstairs where the cargo is normally stowed. Since Virgin is not that big of a cargo carrier and you can't carry much cargo on 16 hour flights because you need to carry fuel to fly that far. They will put beds, shower and exercise equipment in the lower forward hold instead. An interesting note is that BA's 747-400's have beds up in the tail above the lav's, for crew rest. Too bad passengers can't use them.

As a final parting remark before I retire from frequent flyer boxing, I read the speech from Bob Ayling's June 1998 statement about how BA is "Building a New BA". In the statement, one sentence really set me off.

"British Airways has always been the pioneer, the innovator of the travel industry. Together with our partners around the world, we are breaking new ground again today."

It is ironic that in the same month, Conde Nest magazine published the results of their inaugural Business Travel Awards poll which named Virgin's Upper Class "Best Transatlantic Business Class". The survey noted "Virgin soars above other carriers in 'Onboard Amenities' and 'Value for Cost'".

If BA is so pioneering and innovative why has Virgin's Upper Class been ranked "Best Business Class" by Executive Travel magazine for the ninth consecutive years from 1988 to 1997. Where was BA's business class 10 years ago? It should have been pioneering and innovating according to Bob Ayling. Instead it is just catching up to Virgin and that won't last long once Virgin get's its new airplanes.

JayJ

It looks like Merry Flyer is punching after the bell. It also looks like some of the fans are throwing punches too.

Merry Flyer - Preflight dining sounds like a splendid idea. I have been preflight dining in the Clubhouses for years. Drinks and light refreshments sound like another great idea. I will do that in the Clubhouse along with a shower, facial massage, and a little putting practice before the limo takes me to my hotel. I don't need private parking since I don't live in the UK.

baobab - I think premium economy has a little more leg room and you get first choice on meals and other economy amenities. If you are in the shower when you hit turbulance it doesn't matter, you are already wet.

Catman - Sorry about tossing you out of the ring, a fit of passion and all that...
The new beds and shower on Virgin's airplanes will be installed on the new Airbus 340-500's and 340-600's which are designed for 12 to 16 hour flights. They will be put downstairs where the cargo is normally stowed. Since Virgin is not that big of a cargo carrier and you can't carry much cargo on 16 hour flights because you need to carry fuel to fly that far. They will put beds, shower and exercise equipment in the lower forward hold instead. An interesting note is that BA's 747-400's have beds up in the tail above the lav's, for crew rest. Too bad passengers can't use them.

As a final parting remark before I retire from frequent flyer boxing, I read the speech from Bob Ayling's June 1998 statement about how BA is "Building a New BA". In the statement, one sentence really set me off.

"British Airways has always been the pioneer, the innovator of the travel industry. Together with our partners around the world, we are breaking new ground again today."

It is ironic that in the same month, Conde Nest magazine published the results of their inaugural Business Travel Awards poll which named Virgin's Upper Class "Best Transatlantic Business Class". The survey noted "Virgin soars above other carriers in 'Onboard Amenities' and 'Value for Cost'".

If BA is so pioneering and innovative, why has Virgin's Upper Class been ranked "Best Business Class" by Executive Travel magazine for the ninth consecutive years from 1988 to 1997. Where was BA's business class 10 years ago? It should have been pioneering and innovating according to Bob Ayling. Instead it is just catching up to Virgin and that won't last long once Virgin get's its new airplanes.