BA World Traveller Plus or Virgin Premium Economy

[ATIS31]

Hi All
Looking to go on my first major adventure across the pond to newyork
and was looking to travel World Traveller Plus with BA but also noticed
Virgin Premium Plus and was looking for some recent reviews of either
since BA have been upgrading cabins ? Have read some poor reviews of
both Airlines but these are from a few years old. Travelling with BA
would be on Boeing 777 to JFK or 787 to Newark and Virgin a Airbus
A340-600. Does BA 777 on JFK route have new upgraded cabins ? Any
recent trip reports would be welcomed :ok:

[TCAS FAN]

Last time I flew VS Premium Economy you got a glass of champagne on boarding. Some friends recently returned from a trip and indicated no champagne, now sparkling wine the quality of which was quoted as "disgusting"!

Does BA offer champagne on boarding? I'm thinking of defecting to BA.

[malcolm380]

I last flew BA WTP in October 2011 EWR - LHR in a rather tired 777, with very poor IFE compared with UA's offerings on the same route. I haven't flown BA since. Very disappointed, and certainly not worth the cost.

[PAXboy]

Haven't been on BA WTP for five years. It was OK. Am a fan of VS P.E. and already booked next trip.

Check the seat maps of each machine to see how many abreast they are. In the BA 744 it was three as opposed to the VS 346 at two (on the outer section.

[GROUNDHOG]

I was on BA WTP a couple of weeks ago YVR/LHR and yes you do get champagne on boarding. In service terms I would rate BA and VS pretty comparable though I think on balance BA is more consistent. Last flight on BA the cabin manager in WTP ( Sophie) was not just good she was brilliant!

We mostly fly to YVR and BDS, always choose BA 747 on YVR as the timings are better. On BDS choose VS as I really don't like the 777.

In your shoes I would probably be flying VS on aircraft choice alone and for no other reason!

[jijpc]

I was on a BA747 in WTP to Boston earlier this year and I don't recall being offered champagne. I think the drinks offered on boarding were only Orange Juice or water. Having said that the service was OK.

It was interesting to see that, as we cruised at 36,000ft over the Atlantic in a clear sky, we 'overtook' a VS A330 en route to the US cruising below us!

[mixture]

very poor IFE

In this era of iPhones,iPads and laptops, does anyone seriously use the IFE systems ?

[sea oxen]

I haven't tried VS PE, but I have taken BA and QF WTP/PE.

My impression is that in QF, you're almost in Business, and on BA, you're almost in Economy. That said, I've found BA Economy to be better than QF.

[Basil]

In this era of iPhones,iPads and laptops, does anyone seriously use the IFE systems ?
Most passengers do.

[seafire6b]

After a trip to the USA around four years ago, when a few too many straws finally broke the Virgin's back,
Mrs Seafire and I migrated from VS PE to BA's WT+. At least two long-haul trips each year and no regrets whatsoever.

Unless the Bearded One's service standards, seating and catering (yuk!) have radically improved since, I've no desire to return to VS. That includes VS's invariably badly performing website and their inability to provide an actual person to speak with in the USA, upon dialling their call-centre number.

The online reviews for BA WTP+, as compared with VS PE, seem to be much of a muchness, but personally, I'd need to see a definite and positive trend upwards before giving VS my money again.

[champair79]

Hi ATIS31,


I would put BA's refreshed product (Thales) ahead of the VS product. However, on a New York run, your chances of getting it are about 50/50.


Currently, all the 747s and the Rolls Royce 777s have the older Rockwell Collins system. However, all the GE-powered 777s (with the exception of the LGW ones) and the new 777-300ERs have the latest Thales system, as do the 787s (and A380s...but that would have to be quite some aircraft sub!).


In order to more or less guarantee the latest product, book the 787 to EWR. Barring any technical issues, the equipment type shouldn't change. If it does, you'll just have to pray BA sub it with a GE powered 777!

[seafire6b]

Thanks Champair79, you seem to be in the know! May I ask if you have any similar info about my booked WTP BA207 LHR-MIA (777) in late September (777), and then returning WTP BA208 (747) in early November?

Incidentally, I'm still waiting for BA to introduce external CCTV views on their IFE! :{

[champair79]

Hi seafire,


Your BA207 trip should be on the 777-300ER which will be introduced onto the BA207/206 Miami route shortly after the 12th and final example is put into service (currently forecast to arrive at Heathrow on the 12th August, followed by Miami launching with the 77W a few days after). This will have the latest seats/IFE (Thales).


Unfortunately, your 747 trip on the BA208 will have the old system and the old seats.


As for aircraft registrations, these are only decided a maximum of 3 days in advance and are liable to change. If you want to know your reg, PM me the day before.


External camera views have long been on my wish list too but BA says the extra weight and maintenance means its not worth it. Who am I to argue? Once the short haul refresh is finished, there should be an announcement about refitting the Rockwell Collins IFE aircraft with a new product. Maybe this will come with external cameras? Who knows.


Enjoy your flights and let me know if I can be of help (I can't sort upgrades though so don't ask me about that!).

[seafire6b]

Champ

Truly a great - and prompt - reply, thank you very much, it's appreciated. I guess you've some connection with BA (no response necessary to that aspect!), but typical of the standard BA helpfulness that I've always encountered! Don't know why I ever defected to VS for a short while! (My 3 x posts on the Virgin Atlantic thread, from 02Jan14, refer...).

I might well PM you, depends upon how the domestic countdown is going here!

Yet more THREAD DRIFT - I used to see a lady from Yiewsley (and that's not the start of a limerick!), we first met at The Cherry Tree, opposite RAF West Drayton. If that pub's now long-gone, it might give you an idea of when that was! (Just checked Google Street View, the building's still there, although now a Tesco Express....).

[Hartington]

Always remember aircraft changes can occur last minute. I did an online checkin for my flight to New York and got a 747 seat map and then, 24 hours later, I was on a 777-300.

Personally, I like BA WTP/PE. I'm not paying the extra for the service so much as the space and that's what sells it for me.

[Delight]

I've travelled on both several times and it depends on the aircraft and crew, athough I would probally pick VS if the price & timings were the same. The space on the VS 747 upper deck is very good, but not that great on the main deck. I have always found the VS crew excellent, except on one occasion. BA WTP+ reminded me a bit of Monarch "Premium" - good but nothing special. For long haul I always try to go PE. It gives you that little extra comfort without the cost of business.

[deep_south]

Since BA & VS are in direct competition, as you might expect there really isn't much to choose between them. Both WPT & PE are "Economy with a bit more space, and some other [slight] benefits". BA brought in WTP to compete with PE many years ago.

So choose based on: price / schedule / FF benefits. The rest is relatively minor...

[GROUNDHOG]

Normally we try to fly BA Club on the 747 upper deck, last crossing was PE and have to say it was fine. If anyone from BA is reading this a strange catering issue on YVR anyway is that there is no non meat choice on the inbound menu, there is in Y and there is in C but not PE??? Fortunately Lady Groundhog had a spare economy meal.

We suffered a 21 hour delay ( weather related) but BA were brilliant putting us up in a great hotel and feeding us etc. Virgin may well have done the same but every flight we have had with BA seems to be consistently good rather than anything exceptional

On Virgin we have had very good and not so good, one particular instance that really annoyed me when in a long check in line they were taking there own staff out of the line and to the front where they were allocated seats or upgraded. When it came to our turn there were no seats together, I went ballistic and said I would tell the TTG and Travel News what had happened, strangely they managed to find two seats after all!

[Busbar]

I have totally given up on BA. I have given them so many chances and after the last episode I said never again and I'm sticking to it. Starting from check in, rude and unfriendly staff, T5 was a nightmare, the flight was late, disinterested crew, poor service and they lost my bag AGAIN!

Always had a pleasant experience on Virgin. Premium is good value for money and service is generally fairly good. Much more comfortable and better IFE than WT+ for a similar price. It's a no brainier for me!

Enjoy your trip!

[ExXB]

and they lost my bag AGAIN!

You didn't use one of their Exec Club baggage tags that they give to Gold/Silver members did you?

In my experience the chance of having your bag miss its LHR connection rises significantly if you do use their tags.

Same problem with their "Priority" tags, I ended up asking them not to use them on my bags.

[Sygyzy]

I mentioned this to the 'baggage drop' lady. I asked her to specifically not put any extra tags on the bags.

The reply was interesting....The bar code on the main bag tag shows that you are a premium passenger and the bag goes into the appropriate container without recourse to any extra tags.

Then the problems start - they're having to re-educate the loaders, both at LHR but more especially at outstations - to load the premium container last and not first. This so that it comes off first and not last...not exactly rocket science, but the loaders are ensuring that your bag gets loaded by putting it on first.

Of course this gives rise to problems at the destination carousel........

[seafire6b]

Sygyzy

Sorry, but that theory lacks some credibility. Worldwide, aircraft loaders do not just shove containers in, wherever they like. The ULDs (containers & pallets) are loaded into their pre-allocated specific bays according to the actual unit idents., as instructed by Flight Despatch and as shown on the Load Plan. That will take detailed account of the priorities for unloading baggage, plus cargo and mail, whilst considering any transit containers, which, on a multi-sector flight, should remain onboard at the next stop. The Load Plan will also include the separate loading locations of premium bags and cattle-class!

In other words, from the LDM message sent when the aircraft departs, the next station's unloading staff will know the unit number, loaded location and also the contents of all ULDs (or non-ULD 'bulk' compartments). There's no question of "re-educating the loaders" at out-stations, it's a worldwide accepted standard, and that has always been the case.

Admittedly, loading mistakes might sometimes occur, but if that happens with any frequency, the guilty station will soon feel the wrath of managers, and with the accompanying threats of re-training or "re-assignment"!

[mixture]

The reply was interesting....The bar code on the main bag tag shows that you are a premium passenger and the bag goes into the appropriate container without recourse to any extra tags.

Not really interesting, everyone knows the brightly coloured extra tags are simply known as "vanity tags" for that very reason. They serve absolutely no purpose other than to inflate the ego of the traveller.

[lomapaseo]

Not really interesting, everyone knows the brightly coloured extra tags are simply known as "vanity tags" for that very reason. They serve absolutely no purpose other than to inflate the ego of the traveller.

Like belt buckles

[ExXB]

What I suspect BA don't do is to expedite that first 'priority' container from the aircraft to the terminal. They may end up as first in the train depending on the unloader.

Some airlines, such as Swiss, do exactly that. First container, clearly labeled 'Priority, taken off and sent to the terminal as the others are being unloaded. I've also seen them do a manual sort when unloading bulk (Jumbolino) baggage at Zürich. In this case a vanity tag would be worthwhile.

[Ancient Observer]

What is this rather novel idea that any airline anywhere cares one tiny jot about any of its customers, whatever they have paid??

Such a novel idea.

It will never catch on.

[ExXB]

Well, AO, it just takes one EU Eurocrat, or their family members, to be inconvenienced for a whole slew of regulations to be enacted.

Urban Myth has it that Regulation 261 came about because SABENA denied boarding*, twice in two weeks, to the spouse of an European Commissioner.

Hell hath no fury like a Commissioner's spouse scorned.

*Apparently in both cases they arrived at the gate after the doors were closed.