"horrid excuse for customer service"
Gary Barnes (United States)
Montreal to Rome via London with British Airways. Boarded the plane on time (20.30hrs) and sat for six hours on the tarmac while BA tried to clear a glitch in the landing gear system. They finally gave up and cancelled the flight. I had to get to Rome to catch a cruise ship that was departing at 8pm on Tuesday evening, and here I am in Montreal at 1pm Monday, Rome time. British Airways ticket agent refused to help me change my itinerary ("Go to the hotel on the bus and at 2pm today - local time - we will have new itineraries for everyone."). I tried to explain the urgency to my situation but she cut me off, "I can't help you, if I help you now I have to help everyone." When I pressed her further she gave me the BA 800 number, which was closed due to the late hour. Finally I called British Airways Reservations in London, who re-routed me, on American Airlines. The final kick: I put in a claim for a wasted night's guaranteed stay in Rome, and for cancellation compensation. A month later, British Airways advised me that my claim was approved and I would receive payment in two weeks. Since then, nothing for the last 6 weeks. Phone calls to customer support involve at least a 40 minute hold. What a horrid excuse for customer service!
| Aircraft | Boeing 777 |
| Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | YUL to FCO via LHR |
| Date Flown | October 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"staff bordering on rude"
Kevin Barrance (United Kingdom)
Flew to Kuala Lumpur with British Airways on an old Boeing 777-200 in business class (upgrade) which was OK although choice of IFE very poor. Crew pleasant but not particularly efficient and since my wife and I were seated together in the middle rear-facing seats it is an odd practice to serve us separately - her meals were served well before mine. Flight was punctual and we had a few hours sleep. Coming back was in Premium Economy and might as well have been on a different airline. Same old plane with TV screens extremely small. Meals not particularly great. The main difference is that British Airways crew treat anybody flying in a lower class as lesser individuals and they are bordering on rude. They forget that whatever class of cabin you are flying in that you are the customer and pay their wages. Next time Malaysia Airlines I think.
| Aircraft | Boeing 777-200 |
| Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
| Seat Type | Premium Economy |
| Route | LHR to KUL |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"flights therefore very uncomfortable"
Nadia Ramia (United States)
Washington to Dubai via London return with British Airways. My concern is regarding seat allocation. When we booked our flight (2 adults, one child and one infant), the seats with the bassinets for the infants were not available. We then chose 3 seats together on the side. I presumed that those are granted first come first served, based on the needs of the passengers that are traveling with children. Nonetheless, in 3 out of the 4 flights we took, those seats were taken by single individuals with no children/infants accompanying them. I asked at the check in if the seats with the bassinets were occupied by people with infants and the ground attendant responded by "yes". That was not the case, unfortunately. The flights were therefore very uncomfortable due to not having a place for the infant while food and drinks were served. I do not understand that when you try to book those seats with the bassinet, the system does not grant priority to the people traveling with infants. British Airways should consider that instead of having passengers with the hassle of keeping their infants on their laps for 7-8 hours while the bassinets are empty. The priority seating chart is for that purpose useful.
| Aircraft | Boeing 777 |
| Type Of Traveller | Family Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | IAD to DXB via LHR |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | yes |
"pleasantly surprised"
Paul Cartwright (United Kingdom)
Pleasantly surprised with my British Airways return flights from Edinburgh to Las Vegas via LHR. Great crew on the outward flight and whilst we were in economy we were treated to champagne to celebrate a fiftieth birthday and offered the usual complimentary drinks. Two hot meals outbound were tasty. Return also fine but dinner was a bit dodgy, chicken gnocchi allegedly but hot breakfast compensated for this. Although the flights were full it was quiet and managed to get some sleep. Only slight criticism is the in flight entertainment. Not much of a selection in comparison to other airlines.
| Aircraft | Boeing 747-400 |
| Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | EDI to LAS via LHR |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | yes |
"vegetarian salad was welcome"
P Herman (United Kingdom)
We boarded and arrived to destination late (30 minutes) but inflight experience was nearly flawless. Cabin seemed to have some mood lighting, comfortable leather seats with headrest, and enough legroom. Crew pleasant and hardworking, they spoke to passengers with onward connections about the state of their flight. Vegetarian salad was welcome, as was the small bottle of wine. It certainly wasn't the cheapest flight but I noticed the difference.
| Aircraft | A320 |
| Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | MAD to LHR |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | yes |
"miserable Business Class experience"
Peter Ingham (United Kingdom)
My wife and I flew British Airways from Heathrow to Istanbul, Business Class (supposedly!), on an A320. We found our seats to be both hard and uncomfortable with minimal legroom and the hot meal provided, breakfast in our case, was dire. The toilet at the front of the aircraft was so unbelievably small as to be difficult to use. We consider that the conditions we had to put up with were quite unsuitable for a four hour flight. I am puzzled why British Airways would choose to offer such a miserable Business Class experience, it would be more honest and cause less disappointment if they were to declare all their European A320 flights to be economy only.
| Aircraft | A320 |
| Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
| Seat Type | Business Class |
| Route | LHR to IST |
| Date Flown | October 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"British Airways have lost the plot"
Lynn Ting (United Kingdom)
I think one word sums it up 'Rubbish'. The London to Barbados flight was passable, however the return journey was a joke. It started at Grantley Adams airport where passengers were bumped off the flight through overbooking, we fortunately, were there early enough to be able to get onto the flight. We sat down and found that the seat in front of me was broken, so I had to spend the eight hour flight with the seat in my face, the gentleman in front was very apologetic however it was not his fault. There were no headsets and only two cots on board, in spite of numerous babies needing this facility, leading to very fractious and tired little ones, a nightmare for parents I would presume. Next the food, abysmal! A choice of peri peri chicken or pasta with tomato and cheese, no cheese and a thick horrible overpowering spicy tomato sauce, revolting. The tea and coffee was served at the same time as the food so if you wanted to eat and have wine, by the time you got to your tea or coffee it was cold - (obviously cabin crew in a hurry to clear). Breakfast was an all time low, a cold congealed croissant with a little butter and jam plus what can only be described as a bird seed bar. I have travelled with British Airways for more than 40 years and have never had food like this on a long haul flight, or in face any flight. Many years ago when I used to travel from Singapore and Malaysia with British Airways the food was excellent, even in economy, menu, three choices of main meals and cooked breakfast that was always very good. The cabin crew could not care less and somehow fail to realise that we, the customer, actually pay their wages. I asked for milk for my tea instead of the creamer for coffee that was provided albeit in miniscule amounts and was told by cabin crew that the creamer was ok. I did not feel like a paying customer at all, just a nuisance. British Airways have lost the plot and are up against great airlines such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines, although sadly not on the Barbados route.
| Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | London to Barbados |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Wifi & Connectivity | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"aircraft are old and shabby"
A Sommerville (United Kingdom)
Glasgow to Bangkok via Heathrow with British Airways. We never received "paid for seats" that we have just had £160.00 refunded back on to my credit card after complaining that we never on both legs of our flights. We had been told that we would not get refund as we had assistance? I e-mail them and informed I had my e-mail confirmation of set numbers and payment and seat ticket subs to prove my claim and at no point did I ask for or need or receive any assistance. They back tracked and I was informed my claim was authorised and it would take 6/8 weeks. British Airways need to stop this practice as it does not show the Airline in a good light. I would be wary of using British Airways long haul again, the aircraft are too old and shabby, and the female stewardess need to go back on a training course on customer service. Spirit of service what happened to that.
| Aircraft | Boeing 777-200 |
| Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
| Seat Type | Premium Economy |
| Route | GLA to BKK via LHR |
| Date Flown | October 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Wifi & Connectivity | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"the food was shocking"
P O'Sullivan (United Kingdom)
London Heathrow to Brisbane via Singapore return with British Airways. Overall it was not a great experience. We upgraded to premium economy on the way back expecting better leg room but I hardly noticed a difference! The plane looks old and the food was shocking! They advertise that there are great chefs picking the meals but the breakfast consisted of what I presume was a sausage and some type of scrambled egg, it was not nice. The flight did not take off for an hour because the entertainment system was faulty. The entertainment was ok, however the music could do with updating. The staff were friendly and it was easy checking in.
| Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
| Seat Type | Premium Economy |
| Route | LHR to BNE via SIN |
| Date Flown | October 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"treat passengers poorly"
1 reviews Shripad Sathe (United Kingdom)
Manchester to Mumbai via Heathrow return, an A320 for the shorter leg and a Boeing 777-300ER on the long haul leg. Sadly British Airways seems to have it's most rude and arrogant staff on flights to India, who treat passengers poorly and don't really care. Flew MAN-LHR-BOS return last month and the staff on those flights seemed to be much better. Same with the food - food on the flight to and from India wasn't great - I asked for a specific meal on the outward journey which wasn't there and was instead there on the return leg - which I did not need. When I queried this - the answer was "You must have made a mistake" and the attitude was of a "take it or leave it".
| Aircraft | Boeing 777-300ER |
| Type Of Traveller | Business |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | MAN to BOM via LHR |
| Date Flown | January 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | yes |
Flat bed seat / suite
In-seat &/or USB power
Onboard WiFi
Audio / video on demand
On demand dining
Fine wines & beverage service
Pillows & duvet / blanket
Pyjamas / Sleepsuit
Amenity kit
On demand dining
Seat pitch : 31 ins
Seat width : 17 ins
In-seat &/or USB power
Inflight entertainment
