British Airways

✅ Verified Review | London to New York JFK in club world. After reading very mixed reviews here, I also saw that BA were upgrading standards on flights to NYC in particular and was looking forward to my flight. Should not have been so optimistic, as this is still a business class that belongs in the 1980's. Aircraft was tatty to be polite about it, worn carpets, seat with various malfunctioning or broken items, washrooms grimy from the word go. Staff tried hard to offer a modicum of good service, but the so called food improvements were really not much better than other premium economy cabins I have flown when I have to pay for the ticket. BA talk a lot about their premium standards, but even when you pay to-dollar for business class the standards are well below even their US counterparts. Complete rip-off sums it up.

✅ Verified Review | My wife and I booked two round trip business class air tickets from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls with British Airways / Comair. It turned out that our business class seats were not any different from the seats in the economy class: they had exactly the same width and pitch! Actually, British Airways simply separated several seats in the front from the rest of the aircraft cabin with a curtain, and called this a business class! Moreover, our pre-flight accommodations were not any better than those of the economy class passengers because British Airways does not even have a lodge for business class passengers in Victoria Falls. Yes, during the flight we were served sparkling wine and snacks, but does this difference substantiate my paying for two round trip tickets $1,372 rather than $703, which would have been the cost of the economy class tickets?

✅ Verified Review | London to Mumbai. The electrics at my seat were not working. This may have been related but the remote control that was completely broken with loose wires etc. - The call button light kept coming on and off on its own. It was impossible for me to control this and at the time that I did actually want to contact the flight attendant, I had to use my husband's remote control to do so. - Because the connection was loose on my remote, it meant that things were changing on my TV screen without me being able to control it e.g. I would press play on the screen, then the program would pause or start rewinding without me doing anything. Because my remote controller was broken, it would not return properly into the socket and kept 'pinging' back out. This was annoying when you are trying to relax in your seat. The TV screen was faulty. The usual 'push and release' button did not work, I had to push the button and then just try to 'pull' the screen, it was very tough. Even the cabin crew could not release it properly. My footrest was very stiff and hard to manoeuvre on my own - my husband had to help every time I wanted to move this. My husbands footrest was broken - The charging socket at my seat did not work, so I could not charge my phone or laptop for the entire flight. My husbands charging socket also did not work. the flight attendant told me that this was an issue on some of the other seats in our row. This is not related to my seat however the storage unit above my seat/row kept opening throughout the flight. The attendant would shut it and then it would open, this happened during take off and landing, as well as throughout the flight. For this level of airline and Club World seat, it is not acceptable that you should have to rely on your personal equipment. This return flight was the first time that I have flown business class. We have spent tens of thousands of pounds on our American Express card to earn the points required and to generate the companion voucher, for us to be able to fly business class for our honeymoon. Whilst the outbound flight was great, I was very disappointed with the return flight and shocked by the poor quality of the seat. The hostess tried to reset my screen which made no difference and in fact, the situation got worse. Once I had tried to turn on the screen and once it the hostess had attempted a re-set; after that, the screen just kept flicking on and off for the remaining 3.5 hrs of the flight. As you can imagine, it is very annoying to have a screen flick on and off with no way of controlling it. It was impossible to turn the screen off completely.

✅ Verified Review | I travelled to Johannesburg from London Heathrow on Sunday 22nd October on flight BA55 and my husband was meant to travel with my two daughters on the same flight on 23rd October. They were refused boarding on the grounds that children cannot travel with a single parent to South Africa. There was no such requirement on booking the tickets via BA's website and there was no notification of this by the airline at any stage. The requirement is not even on the front page of the embassy's website but well hidden under drop down menus. Usually when there are requirements like for ESTA for entry into US, BA sends a prompt. However, there was nothing in this case. BA had on its system that I (the other parent) had travelled BA already reach Johannesburg a day before. The BA counter staff at the airport refused to help my husband, who was travelling with a 4 and 7 year old with any alternative. Instead they directed to use the website to cancel tickets. After being given the wrong email address first, when finally managed to get in touch with customer relations, they refused to refund the ticket cost, only refunded taxes 25% of total. The overall service and the way it was dealt was extremely stressful at the airport and off-putting. They said they would use the complain to improve their processes but will not refund in excess of GBP 2k in tickets as they were cancelled prior to the flights upon refused boarding even the return flights and not within 24hrs of booking. Other airlines offer alternatives but here the attitude was extremely dismissive, even though both my husband and I are frequent travellers and have Silver cards of their Executive program. I will avoid travelling BA even for work after this event. Have received better treatment from low cost airlines in the past.

✅ Verified Review | Heathrow to Lyon. The worst customer service I have ever experienced! I arrived at the airport a good 2 hours before the flight only to be told that the flight is overbooked and that I could not check in. After a long wait to ascertain if anyone will not be turning up, I was told I can go on a different flight - the problem being that the only available flight was the one going out the following morning. So I missed a whole day's business meeting and was forced to do the round trip home and back to the airport in a matter of one day. When I queried the fact that I was unable to board I was told that overselling the flight was normal - "all airlines do it". The fact that all of them do it of course is not a justification nor explanation. I was casually advised to read the small print in the future. On the way back from my destination, in order to avoid the same thing happening, I decided to check in online 24 hours before. However, I was again denied a check in and was put on a stand by. Apparently, the return flight is overbooked again! I do not understand how it is possible that the product/service that I have purchased, I can not use. How can it be legal that the company has no responsibility to honour their contractual obligation to provide me the service that I have duly purchased a good 4 months in advance!!!! The disregard for its customers and the sheer arrogance of this huge, inept company is beyond pale! On top of that, the company's decision to no longer serve coffee/tea and food on board is unacceptable. The BA has made a foolish decision to behave like a budget airline but still keep charging premium prices. I certainly will never travel the BA ever again!

✅ Verified Review | Absolutely appalling service from BA! I booked seats with extra leg room with a BA representative to ensure I was getting the seats we needed. On arrival at the aircraft we did not have those seats, our return flight was the same. So I applied for a refund, after a lot of back and forth with BA they started paying it back, in drips and drabs, not the full amount - so far I have received half of the amount owed! I traveled 6 months ago - I have called a dozen times, emailed and filled out forms and the last I heard was that someone would contact me and would sort this matter out - no one has called back in 2 months now. When I call they say “you can’t chase anymore, You have to await for someone to call you” BA you are a disgrace, I have been patient and you have done nothing! Worst airline I have ever had to deal with!

✅ Verified Review | Kingston to London Gatwick. It was my first time flying with British Airways and to be very honest, it is my last time ever flying with them. I had a horrid experience going to my destination as well as coming back from my destination.

✅ Verified Review | Heathrow to Barcelona. Reliable. No longer feels like travelling with a premium airline. Very functional, but unfortunately at a cost. Flight took off late, because luggage for a passenger needed to be off loaded, however arrived on time in Barcelona. Excellent information from the flight deck. Cabin crew robotic and lacked personality. Enough has already been said about charges for food and drink. Overall falling well below the standards of the competition. Great pity really.

✅ Verified Review | Singapore to London. My feedback seems to mirror many other users here - BA standards are just getting worse and worse, and I am talking about business class which I thought they would maintain? The cabin interior was worn and quite grubby, the seats terrible and now must be one of the poorest for long haul business class. The meal and presentation is really a joke, and on my previous long haul biz trip I got better food in Lufthansa premium economy. Cabin staff were quite friendly although they do hide in the galley a lot. Chatted to one of them who said so many customers are complaining and even deserting BA because of the fall in standards - I'm not surprised and I for one would not use them again for long haul. Time for senior management changes, as the present CEO clearly has no clue how to run what was once a premium airline. Now, they do little more than a low-cost and easyjet for one is far superior and nicer for short hops in Europe.

✅ Verified Review | British Airways appear to be taking positive steps to lift their game. The service on this flight was flight was materially better than that previously experienced. The quality of the food served had lifted materially. The staff were helpful. The big downside is that Club Europe sets remains stock standard economy seats - with the middle seat blocked off. The pitch is tight - too tight in my view. Another couple of centimetres would be welcome. Overall, a better BA experience.