Bwia

[Evvy]

Just booked next years holiday and will be flying BWIA out of LHR.

Are any CC out there who can comment/give information about inflight services/equipment as our 2 young children (5&3) will be onboard for their first flights.

Anything appreciated.

[barry lloyd]

Evvy:

If you go back on this thread to 5th August, you can read all you want to know about BWIA from those who have had dealings with them. I don't believe there are any comments from BeeWee CC (nor would I expect any), but I think you'll get a general sense of what to expect.
Good Luck!:)

[Flip Flop Flyer]

Your post doesn't seem to indicate where you are flying from and to, but if it's a transatlantic flight then brace for the worst!

I had the dubious honour of flying MAN via BGI to POS a few weeks ago in J-class, and was pretty far from being impressed. No, that's not true, I was decidedly disappointed. It was far below any standard on J or C class intercontinental travel I have ever encountered.

The aircraft was a former Virgin A340, so the seats was allright, albeit in a sad state of function - meaning that the electrical motors were rather tempremental. Add to that an IFE system of very poor quality and with very limited options.

The service provided was poor verging on rude. I am a rather polite sort of chap, but that didn't seem to help. Basically they dished out a drink after take-off and then no CC were seen for another couple of hours. Then lunch was served, all three settings in one go, and drinks. And that was the last service seen until we landed in BOS. Pretty shabby for a daytime flight of 7.5 hours if you ask me.

To make a long story short, plan for the worst and hope for the best.

BWIA - Better Walk If Able!

[Chrysalis]

Hi Evvy,

BWIA cabin crew here. Gosh I don't envy you flying with two kids so young on a 7 1/2 hr flight. But I hope I can help in some way.
I would recomend getting to the airport early to try and get a bulkhead seat. That way you would have a little more space for the kids. If the flight is not heavy and once all the passengers have boarded, you can move around and maybe get a whole row to yourselves. But you have to be quick because people tend to snap up the empty rows to sleep. So don't be shy, ask one of the F/A's to let you know as soon as all the pax have boarded. If the flights are not heavy, I and other crew members have done this to help families with young kids. But that all depends on passenger loads. Lately all the flights have been very heavy.
Service wise. We give out landing cards and headsets after take off and the galley F/A's prepare for the lunch service. Lunch usually starts about and 1 1/2 hrs after take off with a bar trolley then the lunch trolley. Which is usually chicken or beef, sometimes beef or fish. It comes with a small salad, small dessert and a roll. After this, the bar trolley again with coffee or tea. Midway through the flight another bar trolley is offered. About 1 1/2 hrs before landing, we offer tea sandwiches with scones and a choice of tea or coffee. You can order special kids meals 24hrs before hand. These usually have as well as the kids meal, stuff like crisps and chocolate on it. I personally find that airline portions are so small that I bring some snacks of my own. So especially if you are traveling with kids, I think it's a good idea to bring some snacks that you know the kids like. At any time you can press the call light and request drinks. But I have to admit that sometimes we may not always be able to get things right away and of course, unfortuately, sometimes people may be a bit lax answering call lights. So please if you need any drinks, just come into the galley and you can get something right away.
Depending on which aircraft you get the IFE may not be working well. If you are lucky enough to get the old Air Canada plane, you shouldn't have a problem with the IFE. (And personally I find those seats a bit more spacious and comfortable). But if you get the ex Virgin plane, hardly any of the IFE's are working. And I usually spend a good portion of the flight apologizing for it. (One aspect of my job that I detest). This has been going on for years now and I really wish something would be done to fix it. It's not fair to passengers who pay for their seat not to have everything working. Yes, there may be the odd time which something goes down. But this is not. It's an ongoing problem which should be addressed.
Another thing I can suggest is to bring some sort of a blanket or wrap for the kids. On most flights we have a limited amount of blankets on board and I have to play God and decide who gets one. I usually save them for the kids, but not everyone does. So just in case you can't get one, sometimes it gets cold inflight and it's best if you have something from home just in case. If it were up to me, there would be one on every seat, but, unfortuneately it's not.
The most important thing, I think, is to bring stuff to entertain the kids. I see parents with games, colouring books etc. and that seems to keep them occupied. And of course once there is no cabin service going on and the seat belt sign is off, take them for walks about the cabin.
I hope this has helped you. BWIA is a very safe airline and I feel proud to work for them, though it can get tough sometimes with limited inflight resources. There are a few bad apples in the bunch I'll admit, and I think, people are tired of apologizing for not having the basics like blankets and working IFE's. But generally we are happy to help you where possible.