BA & Easyjet Flight reviews – September 2022

Back to Forum
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

  • DavidSmith2
    Participant

    A long post and apologies to all who are put off as a result! I just thought that we did 6 flights in 3 weeks on assorted airlines/routes so, with people now contemplating travel again, it could be of some use….

    1 September
    Accra-Heathrow T5, BA – Club World. A350 (with the private suites)
    Check-in, security etc all quick. Incoming flight was (only) half an hour late and, although we boarded on time, we still left 30 mins late. In-flight service was very good. Pre-meal drinks, choice of single tray meal. Wine from a 75cl bottle, replenished as needed. Food was ok but nothing special. IFE was excellent. Breakfast snack was paltry but edible. T5 arrivals wasn’t too busy. Passport control was quick. But then an hour waiting for cases, which took the shine off. As always, priority tags have no value whatsoever. 7/10

    4 September
    Gatwick N-Ljubljana, Easyjet – upfront seating, priority boarding
    Only my wife flew on this one – luckily for me! The flight was delayed because Easyjet was short of one cabin crew. They were unable to find one in time to depart before the flying curfew at Ljubljana kicked in so the flight was cancelled. All passengers (a full flight) were put up in a hotel (Mrs S was put in the Hilton at S Terminal) and then flown the next day on a special morning flight. All messy, but you have to give Easyjet some credit for doing their best. Although a roster of on-call staff could have been a much cheaper solution for them. 4/10

    9 September
    Ljubljana-Gatwick N, Easyjet – upfront seating, priority boarding
    No dramas. A standard easyjet flight. It was around 35 mins late arriving into Gatwick. 6/10

    12 September
    Heathrow T5-Toulouse, BA Club Europe, A320
    Very straightforward. Fast check-in and security and the check-in staff told us that the flight would be departing from the B gates so we could go directly to the B Gates lounge, which was very helpful. Coffee and bacon muffin – very good. Flight was ontime. English breakfast was ok, but nothing special. Passport and baggage in Toulouse was very quick and easy. 8/10

    20 September
    Toulouse – Heathrow T5, BA Club Europe, A320
    We delayed our return by a day as attempting to come into central London on 19th would have been near impossible. Boarding took a while as the only other people in Club was a film/tv crew with 18 cases to check in. But the rest was fine. Our steward was brilliant on the flight and the smoked trout salad was very good, if small. Passport control was almost empty at 1pm so sailed through to baggage reclaim….and waited…and waited! Finally, after 2 hours and multiple apologies for ‘the inconvenience caused’ our bags finally came up. Utterly pathetic. 4/10

    22 September
    Heathrow T5 – Accra, BA World Traveller Plus, A350.
    Check-in was quick from their end. Unfortunately I had keyed the wrong passport number into our Ghana Health Declaration so had to re-do the form there and then, which we did after a few mins. Fortunately business check in wasn’t busy and the lady was very patient. Straight to B Gate Galleries lounge which was good as ever (we are almost always B or C for Accra so the BA Lounge at B Gate is always our plan). And we were rubbing shoulders with Stormzy and his team there and on the flight. He was exceptionally ‘normal’ and pleasant! Proper Croydon boy!
    Flight in WTP was fine – the 1000 GBP plus they wanted for each upgrade just isn’t worth it for an afternoon flight (2pm to 8pm). I wouldn’t like to sleep in those chairs but they are ok for dozing after a meal and a couple of bottles of sauvignon blanc! Lamb shank and pea puree was tasty enough and service was good throughout. Also notable for the return of the hot towel. 90 minute wait for bags in Accra but that is standard…. And quicker than Heathrow. 7/10

    So, all in all, we managed to complete all planned travels, saw almost everyone we wanted to, and returned with 5 suitcases stuffed to the limit with a range of Amazon & Tesco goods. Direct COVID restrictions were not really an issue but it seems that staff shortages (whether air crew or baggage handlers) continue to be the biggest issue for travellers.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    6 flights, 2 airlines and 5 different airports over a 3 week period

    1 cancelled flight – passengers treated well
    No lost bags
    5 flights arrived within 35 minutes of scheduled arrival time

    Very reassuring to read…

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    FDOS
    Participant

    Interesting reviews, based on experience and fair assessment.

    I have 2x BA flights tomorrow (first since before Covid) and am not looking forward to the second, a 4h30 sector on a A321 neo with 30.4″ pitch (row 2) in business class. Not enough space to use my laptop enroute. Luckily, I’ve snagged row 1 for the return. I am considering offering the occupant of an emergency exit row in Y a swap, so at least I can be productive.

    I’ve been TATL recently and was very pleased with the AA premium economy offer on the 789 (basic, but well delivered and as expected, both ways) and impressive Flagship lounge access with a silver card), no brainer from now on.

    The last time I did the Cairo route with BA (admittedly ancient history) it was on a 747-200. Funny how things change.

    Sadly, AF (777) arrives too late and LH (also A321 neo, but with a few inches more pitch) was full due to late client booking.

    FYI, the fare is £2,200. Shame Ryanair don’t fly the route, 31″ pitch is appealing!

    3 users thanked author for this post.

    FDOS
    Participant

    Here was my experience today – I have not ‘scored’ the flights.

    Manchester – Heathrow A320

    Escape lounge was only about half full, they had a very good English breakfast buffet, with bacon and sausages that were tasty and well cooked.

    Boarding gate was 143 – badly organised, no separation of priority and other queues, bit of a bun fight, like Ryanair before allocated seats. Called groups 1-3 together,

    Had to change seats, as seatbelt was fixed in reverse sense and would have been twisted across lower abdomen, so was offered and accepted another seat.

    Flight departed on time and arrived early.

    A320 was clean and tidy.

    Just had a glass of water, as had English breakfast in lounge.

    Heathrow to Cairo A321 neo

    Used ‘B’ lounge, as flight departed from this pier, a haven of tranquility, as usual.

    New boarding process is groups 1-3, 4-9 seems a bit like AA.

    Cabin crew arrived at about 0900 for 0925 flight.

    No food had been loaded in Y and BA decided to wait for an hour so Do&Co could bring a van full of it to the rear door. I suppose they need the income from the sarnies, but as my client had paid ~£2,200 to get me there in good shape, I’m not sure they would have appreciated this move.

    That meant I sat in a 30″ pitch seat for 5 hours 30 minutes, being fortunate that I was the only one in my row, as the two old American ladies in the row ahead reclined their seats as soon as the wheels left the ground and if I had not been able to move to the middle seat, the lack of space would have been even more unpleasant.

    The aircraft was reasonably clean, though the row I was in had some apparent food stains on the seats – not a lot, but yuck 🙁

    The breakfast, an oxymoron as it was served nearer lunch, was okay, but small.

    Fortunately, I was able to sleep for 1h30.

    I’m going back next month – it will be with a different carrier.

    4 users thanked author for this post.

    Tom Otley
    Keymaster

    I flew back from Israel yesterday with BA on a B787-9. Similar flight length (around 5 hours).

    We had a late aircraft swop, so most people’s seats had changed, but they’d not been informed, and most passengers didn’t know until we boarded. I heard some business class passengers making this point to the flight attendants ‘Would have been nice to know’ etc..

    I was in economy and had chosen a particular seat but that has been changed so I was in a window seat. Lady behind me had paid for seat selection to sit next to her husband. They’d been separated and since the flight was full she didn’t feel she could ask someone to swop seats. I told her she’d get a refund on the payment she’d made for seat selection.

    We then had a 50 minute delay, so sat waiting. IFE was on, but we couldn’t dim the windows so it was hot and uncomfortable.

    Drinks were offered, and then later the food, but that was it for the flight – no further offer of drinks, soft or otherwise. Cabin announcements were partly inaudible and partly shambolic, referring to a different aircraft (‘those in business class, make sure about your shoulder strap and make sure the door of your suite…’) when we’d all seen it was the old ying yang. We were told they would pause the IFE to show the charity video, but then it was never shown…

    Still, we made up the time on the way to LHR and although it was slightly chaotic on arrival since we were asked to stay in our seats while connecting passengers got off first. People stood up while we were still taxiing to the gate because they wanted to make the connection… and so on…

    But I was still out, having collected checked bags from the carousel in 40 minutes (we arrived at Sat. B at T5).

    3 users thanked author for this post.

    FDOS
    Participant

    Tom’s point about drinks and dinner reminded me that we did not get a drinks run before the meal, drinks were served with the meal. Not great on a business class ticket.

    2 users thanked author for this post.
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls