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Is British Airways World Traveller Plus product worth the extra money compared to normal economy class?

 


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UserName

SebMunich

Started:

25 June 2007



Planning a trip from LHR to LAX and wondering if BA's World Traveller Plus product is worth the extra money compared to normal economy. Has anyone any experience with that?


UserName

schrodi

Added:

25 June 2007



Have flown World Traveller Plus several times from Australia to Europe and would definitely recommend it for the extra space (seat pitch and width) - especially if you are a bit taller than average. If you get a window seat there is a bit of extra room between the seat and the wall for things you need on the flight


UserName

Jaysit

Added:

25 June 2007



WT PLus is worth every extra penny especially if you don't fancy having your knees crushed in WT. The seats in WTPlus are extremely comfortable allowing for a far more dignified way of travelling. If you're expecting Business Class, don't, because the only differences between WT and WTPlus are the seat, a separate cabin and priority meal service over WT. Otherwise, the meals, etc. are all the same.


UserName

frannie

Added:

25 June 2007



The main reason it is worth the money is the extra leg room. The food and entertainment are the same as economy, but the economy seat pitch at 31 inches is really tight. The Traveller Plus cabin tends to be a bit quieter than economy as it is smaller, and you get off the plane more quickly (after the biz class people).


UserName

andyh1967

Added:

25 June 2007



I have used WT+ three times, and it is worth the extra money, but book in advance or purchase a seat in the sale to get the best deals. Become a member of the BA website, it's free to join, and you will be sent weekly offers, some of which are in WT+ and fly to the States. If you fly in this cabin you are eligible to join the BA Executive Club, so you can start earning miles and tier points towards further benefits. I would recommend the front of WT+ and in particular the set of two seats. The seat is wider, has a foot and leg rest and you get served before World Traveller, although the food is the same. You get offered a newspaper and wine is served in a glass. Leg room is generous at 38".


UserName

Burner

Added:

26 June 2007



For the same route LHR-LAX, why not try Air NZ's Premium Economy product. Like BA WT plus they offer extra leg room of 39-40 inch, 450 hours of AVOD. Air NZ pitches its PE as a business-lite product not economy plus. Special menus with excellent service. Flights operated by new 777-200ER.


UserName

Lordan

Added:

27 June 2007



The only thing to be aware of in WT+ is the seat has solid sides to house the trays. This restricts the actual width of the seat to make it actually (in my opinion) as narrow as WT wiithout the ability to move the armrest up and out of the way.


UserName

flyboy

Added:

27 June 2007



BA World Traveller Plus is a blessing, but it comes at a price, approximately an 85% mark up on the standard economy fare. 38" seat pitch opposed to 31" is excellent, although the seat width is little better. B747s 3x4x3 standard becomes 2x4x2 but tray table is stored in the sides. Same service as economy but you get served first so you should get a full choice of meals. Separate check-in is another bonus. The difficult question is whether it's worth it. Reading reviews on skytrax, people have said it's great value, others have said it's a total rip off. Virgin are in the midst of slowly updating the "Premium Economy" including seats as wide as modern business classes, improved service from economy and its more in line with business class. As previously mentioned, Air New Zealand Premium Pacific Economy is good as well, although i think it's only as wide as standard. Alternatively, if you've got money for a little more, MAXjet - all business class low fares will offer you business class service at approx. 60" seat pitch with a wider seat at similar fares. Shop around if you've got money for premium.


UserName

Strachan

Added:

29 June 2007



It's is definitely an imprvement on WT but the improved seat recline does not make a huge difference. It's a small cabin though and if you are BA Exec Club Gold or Silver there is a good chance of getting bumped up to Club on busy flights.


UserName

FrancisEdi

Added:

29 June 2007



Have travelled BA WTP from London to Nairobi and found this quite comfortable. The only complaint - is that dont select the front left two seats, since the bathroom is situated there and was always opening wider than it should. Resulted in being hit constantly on a night service. You're more likely to be moved into Club if the plane is overbooked, to allow the economy PAX entry to WTP.


UserName

Kasimps

Added:

29 June 2007



Would agree with most of the comments posted. I have travelled LAX-LHR in WTP and there is a difference. Good if you have an overnight flight to the UK (whch you inevitably will) There is room to move and you will have a more comfortable rest / sleep. Have a good trip.


UserName

Six-Pack

Added:

30 June 2007



Have flown it several times between Dulles and Heathrow...it's the same catering as in regular World Traveller but the leg-room is a vast improvement - and on a long flight one definitely appreciates that. Recommended.


UserName

Paul

Added:

5 July 2007



There are four especially good seats in WT+ on 747s - 28B and J and 29 A and K (take a look at the BA seating plan to see why). If you get one of these, you'll definitely feel it's money well spent!


UserName

Derek

Added:

10 July 2007



WTP is worth every penny. I have used this to the USA several times and also to Mauritius last year. Normal economy is just about bearable to the east coast but to the West Coast if you can afoord it it does make a huge difference. Also remember WTP qualifies you to join the Executive club albeit Blue member but you can claim for the miles if travelling in this cabin.


UserName

Gafia

Added:

10 July 2007



World Traveller Plus is well worth the money. It's so good compared with normal economy that I will now make a point of flying BA even though the service is diabolical. I flew from London to Singapore and Tokyo to London and even managed to sleep. The cabin is much quieter, the seats are wider, the recline better and you get a good foot/leg rest.


UserName

Broocy

Added:

12 July 2007



I am a regular flyer in BA's Traveller Plus on the long routes from New Zealand to Europe. I find it very hard to go back to ordinary economy on the sectors that BA does not fly. I think the extra money is worth it. With regards the glowing reports that Burner gave about Air NZ's product, please be aware of a major short fall of this product. The seating is 9 abreast in both economy and premium economy on the 777 ie the same width. On BA the seats are truly wider as they are only 8 abreast on the 747 and 777. If you are after cabin service take Air NZ, take BA if you are after more personal space. Finally, if you are considering Traveller Plus, BA sometimes has deeply discounted and restricted business class fares that are not much more than premium economy. It might be possible to do the night flight over in club and come back on the day flight in premium economy


UserName

robbie

Added:

14 July 2007



WTP is definitely worth the extra money if legroom is a key requirement. BA has very tight legroom in standard economy class. You have your own separate cabin - but inflight entertainment and meal service is the same as economy class. WTP is due for an overhaul as it is getting tired now


UserName

FraserA

Added:

14 July 2007



It is worth every penny extra. The seats have a big enough pitch to allow you to stretch your legs, the width suffices and the extra recline is very comfortable. Both the BA and Virgin atliantic premium economy services are woth the money and are very comfortable.


UserName

martinh

Added:

24 July 2007



I think WTP is well worth the extra money. Have used it many times between LHR and SIN, SYD ,NRT etc. Much more room, quieter cabin (no infants I think) and due to the small number of seats available there is a very good chance of upgrade to Club when the flight is full/overbooked if you are a gold BA or Platinum QF member. You get meal service before the 200+ in economy and can be asleep before the trolley has made it half way down the aisle.


UserName

saramo

Added:

6 August 2007



Business BA and WTP BA; obviously business great but WTP good too. Beats the heck out of the sardine WTs in the back of the plane; and the air is fresher the more you pay.


UserName

travellar

Added:

19 August 2007



Having experienced it - I would say that it is most certainly not worth paying double for. A slightly bigger seat is really all there is which in my view is not significantly more comfortable - it seems to recline much the same as the economy class but has calf supports too which I found of no extra benefit. The food was standard fare and in my view has deteriorated to the point where it is barely acceptable - although this seems to be a general trend. The predictably "BA cool" cabin staff came through with juice quite regularly but some little snacks on the tray would be nice too and would cost next to nothing. I was very hungry for the journey. It seems that WT Plus is effectively a marketing sleight-of-hand; a money-spinner fro BA. Margins are tight and persuading maybe 60 people to pay double at cost of the loss of 20% of the seats is clearly a very attractive business model. I won't be paying for WT Plus in the future unless there is a much clearer separation between economy and premium.


UserName

witmornyc

Added:

5 September 2007



I am a travel agent with a WTP contract for last minute travel, if it is available. With my contract its only a few hundred dollars more than economy and I have always been able to "upsell" my clients. Every client I have sold on it LOVES IT. On the other hand, don't bother with the Virgin economy plus. I have flown it personally and found it to be extremely disappointing on the Airbus, but if you can get a 747, its actually ok. But still not as good as BA


UserName

CornishExile

Added:

18 October 2007



No doubt that WTP is worth the extra money over (BA) Economy if you can afford it. The extra leg room is so important on a longhaul flight. However, my recent experience of having booked WTP transatlantic highlights a note of caution. BA have been known to overbook this cabin - and there are only 40 or so seats to start with (many of which will be self-funded by non-business travellers, who are therefore likely to all show up)! If BA also overbook Club World (which is not uncommon), passengers who arrive at the airport without a confirmed seat reservation in WTP risk finding themselves DOWNGRADED to Economy (which is how I know that WTP is worth the money!). Should you find yourself in such a position, WTP is definitely NOT worth it! Make sure you check in online the minute it opens, and if you have to check in at the airport, familiarise yourself with EC Regulation 261/2004, which applies to downgrades as well as denied boarding.


UserName

disneybears

Added:

19 November 2007



We recently flew WTP from LAX to LHR and were generally pleased with the room and level of service. We were in a two across at the bulkhead. However on our return, we were placed in the middle of the four across and found the overall experience to be much less than satisfactory. There was so much equipment under the seats that legroom was impaired. And unlike our outbound trip, there were no flight attendants specifically assigned to our section, so we had to sit with empty food trays on our laps until they finished serving the entire WT cabin. The major problem with BA, aside from their poor baggage handling, is the inability to pre-book seats. Although we did our online check-in 24 hours to the minute prior to our return flight, at the time we checked in, there were only two middle seats available in the whole section.


UserName

Rodboy

Added:

19 November 2007



If you can afford it WTP is worth the extra cost. Travelling long distance in Economy with BA is a hellish experience with their miserable 31in. seat pitch. Tolerable I suppose if you are 5ft 6in or under, purgatory if you are 6ft or over. I have travelled to Hong Kong in Economy and to Los Angeles in WTP and whilst the latter was obviously more expensive, pound for pound it was certainly worth it if only for the extra legroom if nothing else.


UserName

TimR

Added:

21 November 2007



Used BA WTP since it started and certainly would not go back to economy. However had a number of friends who use Virgin Premium and they all say Virgin is better. Used to be able to book seats on booking with BA WTP but that now stopped so mad rush to log in to get seats together 24 hours prior to flight. Fine if from home or office but not so easy when in Seattle shopping! This was our main reason for using WTP. Must agree WTP not so good as when it started and sharing toilets with economy is a big turn off. Is it worth the extra? Yes but only just and looks time to start comparing offers from other carriers.


UserName

alexss

Added:

22 November 2007



One word of warning. Only those in the higher tiers of BA's frequent traveller programme can select seats in advance, and they seem to get allocated the best seats anyhow. Also, they seem to account for most of the (small) number of passengers in WTP. Therefore, I have found I tend to get automatically allocated the worst possible seat in the WTP cabin and that there is nothing I can do about it.


UserName

Alsacienne

Added:

27 November 2007



If, as I do, you need to use a CPAP machine in flight to sleep safely, World Traveller Plus is the only affordable class that has an adjacent power point, though to be fair, BA do not guarantee that it will be in service, and you will need to buy an EMPOWER adapter to plug it in correctly. This also means that you can use your laptop without exhausting the batteries. Worth paying for in my book for a longhaul flight such as the one you propose flying on.


UserName

JonLiu

Added:

27 December 2007



WT+ on long-haul flights is almost double the comfort of World Traveller, and the seats are wider with dedicated crew. Not much more expensive than Economy and if you are travelling during peak season and arrive at the airport late, there is always a possibility to be upgraded to Club(which I have experienced before).


UserName

Carol

Added:

13 January 2008



I travelled three times Heathrow to Cape Town return until I realised I was being ripped off! The difference in price between it and economy on KLM became about £800 and as I live in the north of England and have to change planes anyway it was no hardship (in fact less so) to change in Amsterdam. The increase seat size is the only benefit so unless that is a must then save your money. I found the seats uncomfortable and the calf supports previously mentioned useless. It is good having a bit more 'personal space' but not at the price.


UserName

xchitla

Added:

21 January 2008



I was upgraded to WTP on a journey from Heathrow to Lusaka. It was on a Boeing 767. The WTP layout on the 767 is a very comfortable 2-2-2 but the 767 seems to fly only a limited number of routes and will be replaced in the next couple of years. I had an aisle seat in the middle section so access was no problem. There are only 24 seats and the cabin was extremely quiet, even though I was seated right in front of economy and just separated by a curtain. The lack of toilets behind us meant that we could use the Club World toilets. The entertainment system was fine, had my own PTV and that kept me preoccupied for the 10 hour flight. Food was no different to economy and there didn't seem to be much on offer anyway, I was starving when I arrived in Lusaka. However I recommend to book WTP on the 767 if you have the option, the flight was very calm and pleasant and the crew were friendly enough. Again it was an upgrade so I can't comment on the cost but I was perfectly happy with the flight and can recommend WTP


UserName

neil

Added:

21 January 2008



I have used world Trav + several times. It is very good on the day flights but not on night flights. the poor recline makes it hard to sleep and I found my self resting my head on my hand with elbow on arm rest. the leg room is very beneficial and the cabin more spacious. It is a far cry from club world but much nicer than cattle class with its 31 inches of legroom. I would agree that the leg rests are pointless (unless you are very petit or a child). I suggest you upgrade to WT+ on day flights and sleep in normal economy seat on the night flights.


UserName

Beppe

Added:

20 February 2008



I must agree that WTP doesn't reach the high standards of comfort and quality of the Club World class especially if you expect to find a seat that can recline to an almost horizontal position in order to sleep during a night-time flight. Moreover, food choice matches the one in World Traveller. However, if you have to spend more thant 5 hours on a plane I definitely suggest to pick a WTP seat. Seats have that extra legroom that really makes the difference. It allows your trip to be much more pleasureable. If you have an Executive Club membership I suggest you to upgrade to WTP on every long-haul flight


UserName

NeilO

Added:

20 February 2008



I've travelled in WT+ and Virgin Premium Economy. I prefer BA mainly because the seats were more comfortable. The service in WT+ is the same as economy but you get served first and they'll give you an extra bottle of wine if you're lucky. In my experience I think the cabin crew make a bit more of an effort for WT+ passengers, afterall they know you're paying more. A lot of people think it's overpriced which it can be if you book close to the flight date or on certain days. Book as early as possible and it's only 35%-50% more than economy, book late and it can be only 10% less than Club. Obviously you don't always have the luxury of choosing your travel dates too far in advance but the price can fluctuate wildly from day to day so you should look at the travel date options. The BA website is great for making comparisons like this. 2 other points to note. When you book in WT+ there is a chance of being upgraded to CLUB, especially if you're a frequent traveller. Happens to me all the time. Also, Because Club is often sold in the thousands of $'s for a ticket and WT+ is still usually far far cheaper you can pay extra for an upgrade to CLUB (if there's space) on the plane and it's a fixed price. Ie, London-Montreal: O/W 600GBP ($1200) which is not cheap but can sometimes be far cheaper than booking Club ($6000 rtn vs. WT+ $1500 rtn). Obviously this depends on space but you can get CLUB at a discount. When you're travelling on business rather than for leisure this can be a worthwhile investment in your sanity especially the longer westbound trans-atlantic flights! Simillarly, paying to upgrade from WT to WT+ is 200GBP fixed rate inflight. Sometimes a real bargain, if there's space in WT+. Finally, avoid travelling in centre rows on WT+ in 2-4-2 configuration. Choose the window+aisle sides. Being squeezed in the centre 2 seats in the centre rows is not much fun.


UserName

JThates

Added:

20 February 2008



I have flown from London to Tokyo return three times in premium economy, twice with BA and once with Virgin. Another trip that I booked WTP was upgraded to Club World both ways at check-in because I had recently got Sapphire level in Oneworld (Iberia Silver), but unfortunately before the new Club World was launched. Virgin's premium economy is a much better product, aiming to achieve business class like service without the flat bed. Dedicated check-in, priority boarding, drinks served on take-off (and drink quality much better than BA), a much wider and more comfortable seat and priority baggage collection. The only issue I have with Virgin is that it's not in an obvious airline alliance, but the service makes the price premium pallatable. Flying WTP with BA has got me to Oneworld Sapphire (Iberia Gold) in only three flights and that benefited me for my holiday to central america at Christmas with Iberia. Three upgrades to Business Plus out of 4 operated by them. However, WTP is like economy only with better seats. The ground service isn't any better than WT and nor is the food or drink provision.


UserName

bell

Added:

17 March 2008



Did use WTP from LHR-JFK on BA having previously used WT.Was upgraded on way out to Business which was a major bonus. Return in WTP was much better than WT but have now been spoilt and I wait until BA have business sale on and then book tickets. Have just returned from ORD, so worth the money.


UserName

Keeper

Added:

22 March 2008



Just returned home from Sao Paulo on BA in WT+. I would definitely recommend it. I paid only GBP80 to upgrade from WT to WT+. I logged on to ba.com and at the last stage of the booking process they offered me the option of upgrading to WT+ on my flights for £125 outbound sector and only £80 for the inbound sector.


UserName

compact

Added:

29 April 2008



I went from LHR to San francisco BA W/T/Plus and it was excellent, I had my 3yr old son, wife and mother as well and it was worth the money. The service was also excellent the hostesses were all excellent, very helpful, and the meal was piping hot and was ordered when booking the flight. I was on a 747 and W/T/Plus was situated between Clubclass Gold and Clubclass Silver, the return flight was the same - the cabin was very quite with no more than around 30 seats as 2-4-2. Plenty to watch as per movies on your touch screen TV, plenty of cartoons to watch for kids, and the most surprising thing was no jet lag and because your sat in front of the engines your ears don't pop. Seats wider and comfy with an adjustable headrests. W/T/Plus has its own toilets all clean even on a 11hr plus flight


 









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