"sunk to new depths"
Peter Jones (United Kingdom)
British Airways online check in policy is now most appalling. Four times I have flown with them and three times myself and my girlfriend have been placed apart. This is even though we were on the same booking and once this has happened in business. British Airways charge you just for selecting a seat. Not a better seat, just any seat other than that automatically selected for you! The system seems designed to deliberately place you apart, even though it knows that you are together. Then it charges you £18 per seat to change your seat. If neither you or your partner have an empty seat next to you then you have to pay to move both seats just to be together. They also won't let you checkin until 24 hours before so you have to spend one hour of your holiday going online and paying for the privilege of sitting together. Both these practices are archaic, even with Ryanair, they place you together in the system and if you pay to change you get priority boarding. Monarch only charge you to get a better quality seat. With Ryan Air you can also checkin your return at the same time as your outward. British Airways have sunk to new depths and I will not fly them again.
| Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | Vienna to London |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"service pretty good"
14 reviews Craig Cutts (United Kingdom)
London Heathrow to Edinburgh return, checked in on line with only hand luggage, used the app to download the boarding pass so through security and to the BA Galleries North Lounge which was packed but had a good spread of breakfast. Boarding from Gate A8 onto a Boeing 767 which appeared pretty old and not very clean, but fine for a 1hr 20min flight. A hot breakfast served which was nice, the flight was only half full. Return the BA app refused to work so checked in at the airport, quick security quick and had time in the Galleries lounge. A newish A320, seat 2F which was fine with the aircraft an all economy layout. During the 1hr flight served a coffee and snack. Service pretty good, and I guess there is no other option these days apart from BA.
| Aircraft | Boeing 767 / A320 |
| Type Of Traveller | Business |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | LHR to EDI |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | yes |
"this policy is ridiculous"
Michael Orshan (United States)
I have booked a flight to travel with my wife from the USA to Italy. I booked this trip through American Airlines, and some of the flights are with British Airways. In order to select seats on British Airways, I have to pay about $200 for the both of us, maybe more. I will never fly American Airlines or British Airways ever again. I think this policy is ridiculous.
| Type Of Traveller | Business |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | LHR to MUC |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"not received a refund"
Patrick Moore (Ireland)
Dublin to London City on 2nd November flight was cancelled due to fog, queued for 3 hours for a rebooking only to be offered a flight on the following evening when fog was due again in London. Refund could not be processed by staff in the airport so I had to phone the call centre. Two weeks later and I still have not received a refund. Booked Ryanair for the following day and even though it was last minute, it was still cheaper than my original cancelled BA flight. Reluctant to pay a premium to fly British Airways again.
| Type Of Traveller | Business |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | DUB to LCY |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"uninterested and unfriendly"
A Aryan (Ireland)
I regularly travel British Airways to LCY and LHR and found them to be nothing more than a glorified Ryanair in terms of service. I also flew a longer sector (Kiev to London) last week and it was awful. On the A319 they only have 1 toilet at the rear of the plane for all economy passenger. On a 4 hour flight this resulted in massive queues discomforting passenger on the last 4-5 rows as well as long waits for those actually using the loo. The food was horrendous (Chicken Kiev!) and the air hostesses were surly, abrupt and really uninterested and unfriendly. I don't want them to do the fake smile and friendliness thing, but these girls and guys were genuinely unhappy and unfriendly. As for my regular weekly or biweekly flights between Dublin and LCY or LHR, the E170 service to LCY is ok, it's punctual, and you get a stale croissant for breakfast on it. What really annoys me is how British Airways treats its frequent flyers, makes it impossible to get any meaningful benefit from BA despite having travelled numerous times with them (every other week at least!) and paid hundreds of pounds in fares that are usually well above the competition. They also have this "seat selection" fee for their bronze members if they book a hand luggage only fare. They cite that these fares are there to make it competitive but they really are not anywhere near competitive on routes they sell from Dublin and the treatment of regular flyers and bronze members leaves a lot to be desired (it's basically meaningless: I would have far better service on Cityjet or Aer Lingus which both server those routes, for a lower fare, while being able to choose my seat for free at check-in time). As a result, I am seriously considering my use of British Airways.
| Aircraft | A319 |
| Type Of Traveller | Business |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | Kiev to Dublin via LHR |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | no |
"paying for seat selection"
10 reviews A Douas (Greece)
Athens to London Heathrow return. British Airways really annoyed me with paying for seat selection. As a result, I try my luck and board the plane last without paying for seat selection. For short haul flights, it is worth the risk. Otherwise, the usual British Airways service. Food has improved over the past few years, pilots and cabin crews quite pleasant to interact with. Planes in decent condition.
| Aircraft | A320 |
| Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | ATH to LHR |
| Date Flown | September 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | yes |
"costs double the average"
1 reviews Salvatore Dolcimascolo (United Kingdom)
British Airways London City airport to Zurich costs double the average. The service is at average or below. British Airways Loyalty program makes it difficult to reach decent level even travelling weekly and now they reserve fast track to gold only.
| Type Of Traveller | Business |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | LCY to ZRH |
| 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 |
"Four excellent flights"
1 reviews Shirley Scott (United Kingdom)
Glasgow to Rome return via Heathrow on a BA city break package. Short delay outbound due to fog in Glasgow and about 1 hr delay on return from Rome. Four excellent flights, Heathrow-Glasgow leg re-booked in Rome by check-in desk in anticipation of delay. The connection was tight so we were pleasantly surprised to find our luggage had made in onto the Glasgow flight. Cabin crew and catering excellent (I didn't like the type of sandwich so was offered a lovely salad instead). Best cup of tea I've had on a flight.
| Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | GLA to FCO via LHR |
| Date Flown | November 2015 |
| Seat Comfort | 12345 |
| Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
| Food & Beverages | 12345 |
| Ground Service | 12345 |
| Value For Money | 12345 |
| Recommended | yes |
"loyalty may have come to an end"
D Cadogan (United Kingdom)
I have been loyal British Airways and found little to complain about. The last two long hauls I have done this year with BA has seen the passengers wearing winter coats when flying to the tropics due to the cabin being kept freezing. But my main complaint is the nice little earner BA have come up with where you pay seat allocation and extra for bulkhead or emergency exit seats where there is more leg room. I have now paid the high rate on numerous occasions only to find the plane configuration has changed and I am in a regular seat, the crew have been known to ask me for proof! Today's flight was no exception, I wasn't even given an apology or a refund but told to keep my voice down. The crew looked tired and just going through the motions. My loyalty may have come to an end and I am seriously considering Air Mauritius or Emirates for my next trip.
| Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | Mauritius to London |
| 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 | yes |
"just did not care at all"
A Boyle (United Kingdom)
Flight and crew great, the problems came when we had to deal with the Orlando check in staff and customer complaints in uk. Total nightmare and they just did not care at all. Our seats were booked 3 months in advance as we had a small baby with us. When arriving at Orlando airport to return home the check in agent changed our seats to mid row and no bassinets. We noticed before going through security and returned to advise to get our seats that we had booked back. This turned into 2 hours of sheer hell with the staff (including airport manager) while my baby screamed the place down hungry, as we could not go through security until they had rectified the problem. The staff were rude and arrogant and refused to admit they had messed up and refused to change our seats back as they had seated someone else there who had no baby. Even though these seats are reserved for people with babies due to the bassinet availability. Eventually it was changed back after so much stress and hassle. On returning we complained and 3 times we got the answer yes it was our fault we are sorry but we can't give anything to say sorry for our behaviour. Eventually after another complaint they agreed to 3000 avios and £25 voucher. I won't be flying with British Airways again as they are so bad in customer relations and check in agents leave a lot to be desired.
| Aircraft | Boeing 777 |
| Type Of Traveller | Family Leisure |
| Seat Type | Economy Class |
| Route | Gatwick to Orlando |
| 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 |
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
