British Airways

[GOWER]

Hi ALL

My wife and daughter (19 months) are coming to England, The start of December to the end of January, The cheapest flights are with British Airways £900.00,ish compared with Thai/Eva Airways direct £2000.00 ish

Can any one give me any experience good or bad travelling with child/infant on Brititsh Airyways, As ive never flown with Ba, Ive allways gone with Thai/Eva Airways direct.

thanks all

ste

Edited September 12, 2010 by GOWER

[GuestHouse]

We fly regularly with BA and have nothing but good to say about their service - Also the little GH's occasionally fly solo with BA, it's the only airline we'd feel comfortable to take that option.

I've flown EVA a number of times, I think their service is overrated - little substance behind the claims and crap food. Thai airways has for too long now been receiving criticism from it's customers, most vociferously from Thais themselves (most the Thai language forums have pages of rants about poor service from Thai Airways).

Pretty trolley dollies are nice - but when it comes to family safety I'll choose well trained professional staff every time.

[random]

900 quid seems steep, look at emirates or qatar also, unless you want to fly direct. Use this website, it searches many websites for you www.wego.com

[Richb2004v2]

We fly regularly with BA and have nothing but good to say about their service - Also the little GH's occasionally fly solo with BA, it's the only airline we'd feel comfortable to take that option.

I've flown EVA a number of times, I think their service is overrated - little substance behind the claims and crap food. Thai airways has for too long now been receiving criticism from it's customers, most vociferously from Thais themselves (most the Thai language forums have pages of rants about poor service from Thai Airways).

Pretty trolley dollies are nice - but when it comes to family safety I'll choose well trained professional staff every time.

I agree. Whilst the cabin girls may not be as pleasing to the eye their service is the best.

[trompelemonde]

Given the choice I would always fly BA. However, I don’t have a choice and now whenever I go back it is with TG.

My major gripe with TG is the aircraft (747-400 series) that they use as they are now so old and tatty it is akin to a flying an aircraft with the interior of a BMA bus. The service on Thai is OK but nowhere near as good as SG, Cathay etc.

After using them once, I will never fly on Eva again, you get what you pay for. Grim planes, grim service and awful food. Never take the day flights back to Europe on Eva, especially with kids – 13 hours of hel_l

[ExpatJ]

We fly regularly with BA and have nothing but good to say about their service - Also the little GH's occasionally fly solo with BA, it's the only airline we'd feel comfortable to take that option.

I've flown EVA a number of times, I think their service is overrated - little substance behind the claims and crap food. Thai airways has for too long now been receiving criticism from it's customers, most vociferously from Thais themselves (most the Thai language forums have pages of rants about poor service from Thai Airways).

Pretty trolley dollies are nice - but when it comes to family safety I'll choose well trained professional staff every time.

I agree. Whilst the cabin girls may not be as pleasing to the eye their service is the best.

Have to disagree with this- i find the service on Thai (and other asian airlines) to be far superior to BA (and other western airlines). Yes, the the Western airlines have more experienced air hostssess (plenty in their 40s, 50s) but generally the service they provide is grumpy and the minimum compared to Asian airlines air hostess who are younger (and prettier:-) and are more keen to provide good service. Its also down to the opportunity costs- a Thai airways hostess gets a salary equivalent to a doctor in Thailand, a BA hostess salary is pretty average in the UK- the financial incentive to give good service much higher for Thai hostesses.

However, the thai planes them,selves are very old inside which is a big negative.

[planemad]

As previously suggested, 900 UK Pounds does sound a little expensive. I work in Oman and find Omanair to be reasonably priced and is certainly making a big impression on the Middle East Airline market. I did a quick check, and depending when you fly around the period you suggest, I managed to find a price of about 31,000 thai baht, significantly lower than BA.

Google the airline and play around with different date combinations, you might be pleasantly surprised. I hope this helps.

Planemad

[taninthai]

As previously suggested, 900 UK Pounds does sound a little expensive. I work in Oman and find Omanair to be reasonably priced and is certainly making a big impression on the Middle East Airline market. I did a quick check, and depending when you fly around the period you suggest, I managed to find a price of about 31,000 thai baht, significantly lower than BA.

Google the airline and play around with different date combinations, you might be pleasantly surprised. I hope this helps.

Planemad

900 pounds sounds about right to me ,yes you do hear of paople getting these flight s for 650 but i always find that is only on a 3 week return anything other 3 weeks price goes up ................

[dave111223]

Seems like every time I turn on the news there's a BA strike in progress...i'd never take my chances with that...

[midas]

I would highly recommend Singapore Airlines for excellent service and you will find the

young ladies will look after your child/infant very well.Even though it involves a stop over

in Singapore they are one of the best and most RELIABLE carriers out there.Plus they

have one of the most modern aircraft fleet.

How all these people on this thread can give so much credit to BA ( i.e. Bloody Awful Airlines )

amazes me after the number of times they have really let passengers down with their strikes

and their endless complaints.

[Wallaby]

On my last trip to Thailand I flew with BA. Never ever ever will I fly with them again. The trolley dollies considered themselves to be upper class and the passengers should be humbled that they allowed us on their plane.

3 hours into the flight they had no beer left. I personally had lots of trouble with my entertainment system and even though there were other seats vacant I was told I had to remain in my designated seat.

The return trip I did have a working entertainment system in my seat but again, a couple of hours into the flight they told me they had no beer. For the naysayers, no it wasn't just me, everyone I heard ask for beer were told the same thing. Maybe they do it to save a dollar/pound.

My impression of BA is similar to my impression of Qantas. They make you feel like you are inferior and you are there to make THEIR job easier, they don't even think to consider that they are there to make our flight enjoyable and with no stress.

BA/Qantas.......NO.

[ballpoint]

A few comments:

I'd gladly pay more for a direct flight. It's worth it to save the tedious process of another round of security checks, reboarding and general sitting around going nowhere that a stopover entails. I would not expect a mother travelling with a 19 month old child to have to put up with it seeing as I don't.

What does all this talk about service really mean? I'm happy when I get my drink prior to takeoff, my hot towel, the drinks trolley pushed around shortly after takeoff, followed by the food trolley, another drinks trolley, my tray cleared away in a reasonable time, a tray of drinks brought around every so often, and attendance when I push the appropriate button. I've flown just about every major Australasian/Asian/European/Middle Eastern/US airline, as well as a few minor ones, and they all basically subscribe to the same routine. (Apart from Pakistani Airlines, where the stewardesses retreated behind their curtain for the duration of the flight and never come out. Even when a passenger takes a fire pot for cooking out of their carry on luggage and proceeds to light it up in the aisle - This occurred on the one flight I took with them years ago, and as I've never flown with them again I can't testify as to it being current practice). I'm far more interested in the arrival, quality and flavour of the food than I am in the way the stewardess looks, the cut of her uniform or getting her phone number. Sure, as a male I do appreciate the visual appeal of a nice looking one, but in real terms I couldn't really care less. Although, maybe when airlines start adding a "happy flight" service I will change my priorities.

If talking about aircraft interior, then I agree that Thai airways deserved its reputation for old planes, up until a year or so ago. Things seem to be changing now though, at least on the routes I take, and they are my preferred choice of arline when flying out of and into Thailand, which is what the vast majority of my flights are. And it's not because of the looks of the cabin crew. Thai has more than its fair share of, to put it in a PC way; "chronologically gifted" matrons stalking its aisles. I now make only one international return flight every two months on average, but for a long time, up till a few years ago, I was making one or two of them every month, so I do know what I'm talking about.

[ballpoint]

On my last trip to Thailand I flew with BA. Never ever ever will I fly with them again. The trolley dollies considered themselves to be upper class and the passengers should be humbled that they allowed us on their plane.

3 hours into the flight they had no beer left. I personally had lots of trouble with my entertainment system and even though there were other seats vacant I was told I had to remain in my designated seat.

The return trip I did have a working entertainment system in my seat but again, a couple of hours into the flight they told me they had no beer. For the naysayers, no it wasn't just me, everyone I heard ask for beer were told the same thing. Maybe they do it to save a dollar/pound.

My impression of BA is similar to my impression of Qantas. They make you feel like you are inferior and you are there to make THEIR job easier, they don't even think to consider that they are there to make our flight enjoyable and with no stress.

BA/Qantas.......NO.

Crikey mate. You should dig up Slim Dusty and get him to update his song:

"Oh what a terrible place is a plane with no beer"

and

"But when he is told, he says 'what's this I hear?'

I'm travelling 10,000 flaming miles in a plane with no beer!"

(Edit for the non Antipidodeans:

http://blog.australi...s-aussie-songs/ )

Edited September 13, 2010 by ballpoint

[Wallaby]

hahaha, yeah didn't think of that. I'm sound far too much ocker.

cheers.

[Luke06]

Last year I flew to the UK on my own with my 8 month old daughter (at the time). I flew Eva and the flight was really difficult as it was full so the air stewardesses offered very little help - also one of the idiots boiled the baby's bottle when I asked if they could warm it. I flew premium economy but it was still very tough. I had the option to fly BA, but they refused to guarantee me the basinet seat and wanted to charge in the region of 20,000 Baht for the baby in economy despite the fact I might have to carry her for the entire flight. EVA charged about 6000 Baht for premium and guaranteed the basinet.

Flight back however was a dream, the flight was not full, air stewardess came up and took the baby from me so I could eat a meal and were generally very attentive. As it was emptier the baby managed to sleep for a reasonable part of the flight. One piece of advice is to bring some of the disposable changing mats as the baby would slide around on the changing facilities in the toilets which was a nightmare on your own.

I very recently flew to Australia with Thai and the couple next to me had a baby, the baby weighed 10 Kg and Thai staff refused to allow them to use the basinet despite having booked those seats for them and not mentioning that they had a 9kg weight limit, they were also fairly useless as the couple were understandably quite irate. They had flown from Europe with Thai and had the same problem. Their site says 10 but I am certain on the plane they said 9. So I would check very carefully whether they will let your wife use the basinet on BA and if they will guarantee it for you, as the baby may be too old/heavy whereas EVA seemed to be more flexible to the rule or had higher weight limits (plane was much newer than Thai and the basinet more sturdy) - it may be luck of the draw but flying with a baby I will go with EVA again although I will try to get a flight that is not full.

Generally I have never had an issue with their food or service and I have never really found the air stewardesses attractive with any of the airlines I have flown, I have found Qantas and BA staff to be quite snooty. Personally I only found BA good for short European flights and the possibility of carrying a baby for 10-12 hours does not seem reasonable to me.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Luke06

[wintermute]

Its also down to the opportunity costs- a Thai airways hostess gets a salary equivalent to a doctor in Thailand,

No they don't..not even close.

[mmh8]

ba old safety personell, I think they will be the first to mention that you should put your parachute on the correct way, ba, overpriced , poor grumpy service, poor food( unless you go buisness) small space

go eva , friendly young staff who will care about their customers, and about their safety in case of emergency, I think the osteoporosis( which considering the average age of tv posters is probably something known about in greater detail) will prevent ba staff from doing anything to strenuous in an emergency

[Peterbigeyes]

I would highly recommend Singapore Airlines for excellent service and you will find the

young ladies will look after your child/infant very well.Even though it involves a stop over

in Singapore they are one of the best and most RELIABLE carriers out there.Plus they

have one of the most modern aircraft fleet.

How all these people on this thread can give so much credit to BA ( i.e. Bloody Awful Airlines )

amazes me after the number of times they have really let passengers down with their strikes

and their endless complaints.

My experience with Singapore Airlines was great too. Glad to know someone thinks the same

[jackr]

The cheapest flights are with British Airways £900.00,ish compared with Thai/Eva Airways direct £2000.00 ish

If it's that much more to fly with the inferiors, it's a no-braine;, although prices seem high even for that time of year. Been on scores and scores of flights and BA just make the rest of them look like amateurs. Down to earth, classy, professional. The detractors probably had a bad flight - no beer indeed - - they say that for a reason, you know. Someone mentioned Emirates. Would be good if they did direct but what a pain having to go through that place with its lack of seating and have-a-look-at-our-shops persona.

[GOWER]

THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLYS

They shall have to go direct as they have never flown before, (shes only been in bangkok airport twice and she said ant it big, she was surprised how big it was) lol,

I shall have another look at different websites,

but i think it will have to be BA,

knowing my luck i book it and they will announce they will be going on strike

Thanks Again

Oh 1 more thing could i get/pay somebody/staff to show/take her to the right boarding gate, as i dont want her to get lost or being late for the plane

Edited September 13, 2010 by GOWER

[daveh]

I've never flown British Air on that route before, I've only used from from SFO-LHR-FCO and what was supposed to be back to SFO, but can say that I will never fly BA again. And it's only now that EVA is increasing their rates too much beyond their competitors that I will consider flying other airlines between SFO and BKK. Were I in your shoes, I'd consider EVA if it's comparable in price to BA.

The first problem I had was that I had to pay for an advanced seat assignment. They didn't tell me this using their website *before* I purchased the tickets. This makes it impossible to compare airlines based on price. Had I known this in advance, I would not have chosen them. The prices initially were $50 per ticket SFO-LHR and $25 LHR-LCO, but later they reduced to $30 and $15. So if I wanted seat assignments for all legs of my flights when I purchased the tickets, it would have been 2 tickets x ($50+$25+$50+$20) = $300 additional. I ended up paying the reduced rate for the transatlantic legs later on.

Another problem I had with BA is their flight attendants were the rudest I've ever come across, also the food was particularly horrible on the LHR-FCO leg. One this leg, a very rude worker said to my wife, "Egg or cheese and onion?" And my wife responded with, "Sandwich?". Then the flight attendant repeated, "Egg or cheese and onion!?" My wife didn't know what was being offered so in the seconds of confusion, the flight attendant simply threw a cheese and onion sandwich on my wife's tray table.

My final problem was how they handled their strike. The airline workers went on a planned strike during my return trip (of course this was planned after I booked my tickets). BA sent me an email while I was in Europe telling me they cancelled my return flight to LHR and they gave me a couple of numbers to call, one from UK and one from US, and also one from Switzerland (where my return flight originated), but none from Italy where they dropped me off. I had to search their website for the Italian number and got it easily enough, but it didn't work on any phone I tried. I asked some locals what the deal was but few were familiar with the prefix. Finally, someone said the number was a special toll number (not toll free as it should be), and said that's probably why I wasn't able to call from any of the hotel or pay phones.

When I arrived in Switzerland, I managed to get through and they booked my return on Lufthansa. I didn't have to pay for this, however, BA gladly kept the $60 I'd paid to get seat assignments between LHR and SFO despite going to their website and requesting a refund, F-U very much.

They definitely lost a future customer and I'm glad to repeat this story on any website.

Dave.

[jackr]

^^ Sounds a bit of a nightmare. Doubt I'd fly with them again if that happened. As I say, though, been with them loads of times on various routes and never had a hiccup. As for Qantas and AA.

--

Pretty hard to get lost boarding, op, as the gate numbers are huge and correspond to that boarding pass thingy There's staff at each gate, she just needs to ask them as she goes along if struggling. I guess she could commandeer one of those trucks that take disabled folk and dignitaries and bung them 100 nicker. I would, however, make a point of telling here to avoid the duty-free shops at all costs.

[Spee]

Jezzus H. You Know Who!!

I can't believe all the <deleted>' whinging about a dinner roll and a beer. You'd think you were gettin' stiffed out of a 5-course gourmet meal and Dom Peringnon. Flown BA/Qantas non-stop LHR-BKK many times with nary a problem.

With a woman who has never traveled long distance and carrying a small child, you definitely want the non-stop. No fuss, no muss. Can eat in the food court prior to departure, and can bring enough small items to tide one over.

Call the airline ahead and request special assistance for your special passengers, and I'm sure they will do their best to look out for them.

[ballpoint]

Another problem I had with BA is their flight attendants were the rudest I've ever come across, also the food was particularly horrible on the LHR-FCO leg. One this leg, a very rude worker said to my wife, "Egg or cheese and onion?" And my wife responded with, "Sandwich?". Then the flight attendant repeated, "Egg or cheese and onion!?" My wife didn't know what was being offered so in the seconds of confusion, the flight attendant simply threw a cheese and onion sandwich on my wife's tray table.

Egg or cheese and onion? I pity the poor ground worker who was hit in the face by the "air" coming out of that plane when they opened the door.

[GOWER]

I didnt think i would get this many replies, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU

its helped me to make up my mind

''I would, however, make a point of telling here to avoid the duty-free shops at all costs''

That was the first thing i said to her , I said no shopping until after christmas, You will have to wait for the January sales lol.

Edited September 14, 2010 by GOWER

[jackr]

The main point being Swampy duty-free stores in the news for all the wrong reasons... people being allegedly scammed for [not] nicking stuff. Have a search for King Power. The duty-free there is hardly cheaper than elsewhere anyway.

[GuestHouse]

ba old safety personell, I think they will be the first to mention that you should put your parachute on the correct way, ba, overpriced , poor grumpy service, poor food( unless you go buisness) small space

go eva , friendly young staff who will care about their customers, and about their safety in case of emergency, I think the osteoporosis( which considering the average age of tv posters is probably something known about in greater detail) will prevent ba staff from doing anything to strenuous in an emergency

mmh8 seems to have diagnosed Osteoporosis in BA's older staff ..... the mind boggles.

More important is safety training and the presense of mind to respond to safety incidents.

Having sat opposite a Thai Air Stewardess frantically wai-ing and chanting to herself during a mildly rough landing, I'm not convinced that looks and strong bones are the requistite qualification for safe service.

[yermanee]

Having sat opposite a Thai Air Stewardess frantically wai-ing and chanting to herself during a mildly rough landing, I'm not convinced that looks and strong bones are the requistite qualification for safe service.

But you have to admit that it worked didn't it ?

yermanee

[Max2010]

As previously suggested, 900 UK Pounds does sound a little expensive. I work in Oman and find Omanair to be reasonably priced and is certainly making a big impression on the Middle East Airline market. I did a quick check, and depending when you fly around the period you suggest, I managed to find a price of about 31,000 thai baht, significantly lower than BA.

Google the airline and play around with different date combinations, you might be pleasantly surprised. I hope this helps.

Planemad

I agree with you Planemad. I use OA very often but I wouldn't recommend it if you travel with kids. The transit time in Muscat can be anywhere from 2 hours to 12 hours. It's better to take a direct flight and get over with, albeit with moody but experienced grandmothers wearing 6 inch make-up as your stewardesses and crappy food.

Max2010

[Max2010]

We fly regularly with BA and have nothing but good to say about their service - Also the little GH's occasionally fly solo with BA, it's the only airline we'd feel comfortable to take that option.

I've flown EVA a number of times, I think their service is overrated - little substance behind the claims and crap food. Thai airways has for too long now been receiving criticism from it's customers, most vociferously from Thais themselves (most the Thai language forums have pages of rants about poor service from Thai Airways).

Pretty trolley dollies are nice - but when it comes to family safety I'll choose well trained professional staff every time.

I agree. Whilst the cabin girls may not be as pleasing to the eye their service is the best.

Have to disagree with this- i find the service on Thai (and other asian airlines) to be far superior to BA (and other western airlines). Yes, the the Western airlines have more experienced air hostssess (plenty in their 40s, 50s) but generally the service they provide is grumpy and the minimum compared to Asian airlines air hostess who are younger (and prettier:-) and are more keen to provide good service. Its also down to the opportunity costs- a Thai airways hostess gets a salary equivalent to a doctor in Thailand, a BA hostess salary is pretty average in the UK- the financial incentive to give good service much higher for Thai hostesses.

However, the thai planes them,selves are very old inside which is a big negative.

It depends where you fly from I guess. I fly with Thai from Tokyo very often, They use new A330 planes, TV screen on each seat, etc. The food and service was very good . If I have to compare it with my experience flying with BA, I would have to say that Thai Airways was much better, at least for my sector.

Max2010