virgin or British Airways?

[filthiestfis]

Virgin and BA are selling london-dubai for the same price of approx 240 pounds return. My question is, which is best? They both seem equally good companies to me!

[dannydingbat]

By choice I would never fly BA again. They are supposed the worlds favourite airline. On long hauls their cabin staff disappear for hours on end for a kip. I was once 6 hours without a drink of any description. Virgin every time if choosing between these two.

[jno]

I agree. Virgin give you an ice cream halfway across the Atlantic (well, they did last time I flew with them), so maybe you'd get one en route to Dubai as well. BA don't do it. Generally Virgin give you slightly more knee room too, but you could check this more closely on http://www.seatguru.com

[lauratee]

Virgin...they have great freebies on board!!

[Dassie]

Virgin - great service and probably the latest Airbus A340 on your route!

[ukbod]

From personal experience there is not a great deal to choose - they both have bad days - my current pet hate for Virgin is that the entertainment system seems to fail on return leg of long trips. Perhaps it might be worth looking at some of the other airlines who ply that route - some have as much as 34 inch legroom as standard.

[flipflop104]

Do they fly at similar times? Cos the next thing I'd look at after price is a flight time that suits me better.

Otherwise, can't comment on BA but I've flown with Virgin and they're excellent (have heard bad reports though not experienced it myself)

[mash]

Virgin

[Miss Inquiry]

I'd fly with Virgin. Their entertainment systems are really good, you can stop/start/rewind/ff films, you can play interactive games with other people on the same flight, the choice of films is always really good, they constantly provide you with more drinks, and the ice cream is a nice touch too.

[he who dares]

on a good day id say BA. ive flown thre times on long haul with them and its been briliant ive flown virgin once,also good but ba edges itl

[Rebecca611]

Virgin is better long haul. Beware of the long faced stewardesses - they're right witches which makes the trip more amusing. The stewards are ok.

BA, would not attempt to rate their service. BAD! Delays are likely.

[filthiestfis]

Does the Virgin staff pass round offering drinks as well, or only at the beginning of the flight? So far some good answers pointing to Virgin as the superior of the two.

[Gef]

Sorry if you have already researched this but have you thought of Emirates?

[filthiestfis]

yeah I have and Emirates is more expensive when faced with both BA and Virgin sale price

[sddsddean]

Loads of opinions on here.
http://www.airlinequality.com/index.htm
Got to the 'opinions' tab then 'airline feedback' and read loads of reports. Thing is that it is human nature to report a 'bad' flight rather than a 'good' flight.

[filthiestfis]

true Dean, but i once wrote a letter of appreciation to Monarch airlines because the flight attendant was fit and kept smiling at me, and I told them that she did a great job. They wrote back to me thanking me as they usually just get letters of complaint!

[jno]

I've also heard - not from personal experience - that those exiting from the loos in the middle of the night after joining the mile-high club may unexpectedly find themselves getting a round of applause from Virgin staff. Don't know if this is an incentive or the opposite.

[behappy87]

I'd definitely go Virgin. Their in-flight entertainment is soo good! They have several music albums to listen to when you want, and unlike most airlines, you can choose when to watch each film or programme. They also have a much wider range of things to watch. They also have mini language tutorials if your mind wants to be stimulated! And video games with an onboard scoreboard!!

It all makes the flight that much more enjoyable and from teh moment you get on the plane you feel like they value your custom and have thought in depth about how to make teh flight as good as possible.

Not that BA is bad, it's better than many, just Virgin is EVEN better!

[filthiestfis]

behappy the entertainment may be the only good thing about flying with Virgin. I have been reading passenger comments about virgin on www.airlinequality.com
and the majority say that the seats are cramped, food dire and FA;s dissapear, right?

[behappy87]

The food on Virgin flights I've been on certainly wasn't dire. Actually I was able to eat all of it (usually I just don't want to eat a whole meal of plane food!).

I can't remember the seats being particularly cramped or uncramped, nor the flight attendants disappearing. Maybe I'm just easier to please than others! I remember the inside of the plane being a lot more aesthetically pleasing than others, which just make me think of a whole lot of people being crammed into a small place. (Which effectively it is, but Virgin somehow didn't make me feel that way).

[filthiestfis]

Thanks for your comments behappy :o) much appreciated.

Im still not sure which one to go for but have to make up my mind soon before the sale ends!