Bizarre - I amassed over 15000 of these AVIOS from a business class flight to Johannesburg this year. So I went on to see how much it would save me on a flight to Florida in March.
Flight through BA.com without AVIOS - £461
Flight using 15000 AVIOS - £578
I know which one I'll be using.
Virgin (so much better all round IMO, and same price to the penny as BA)
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I used to fly BA, despite the silly cost, because they were better, both on the ground and in the air. That happy state of affairs went away around 2000.
Bloody awful these days and no better than a bucket airline.
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I fly with whoever is going from where I am to where I want to be (within reason - flew Tunis Air earlier in the year and wont be repeating that one). For quite a while that was sleazyjet, but then a change meant it was back to BA.
There is no way you can compare the two. I like EZY but they are not the same. The level of service I have received with BA is far better, the fact I can take hand luggage plus a laptop on overnight stays, a gin and tonic en route plus less chavs. Well worth the extra, but increasingly there actually is no extra
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>> Virgin (so much better all round IMO, and same price to the penny as BA)
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Are they now? I only ask as we have tickets booked for us at work and it's always Virgin as we are always put on the cheapest carrier. Having asked told they are the cheapest by quite a bit.
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For the trip I did to get the miles I wasn't allowed to use Virgin as they were £2k more (BA was £4k).
As above, Florida BA and Virgin are the same to the penny.
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Ah right that's not really a route we'd go on. LA or Vegas are the main routes if we have to use an airline.
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When visiting my CA friends I always try to fly KLM..ex LBA @6am to AMS, then the DC10 to SF. I've used Bmi ex Mtr via O'Hare (now discontinued) and Delta to both Seattle and Portland for my connection to Sacramento.
Must be the copious quantities of Amstel which makes me prefer the Dutch!
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Flew BA at lunchtime the other day. To describe the 'wrap' (like a sandwich) as a tiny portion does an injustice to tiny portions. Talk about stingy.
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KLM last had DC-10s in 1995, LL. It does still have four MD-11s - the 1970s DC-10's 1990s replacement that struggled on in production until 2001, by when the 777 and A330 had rewritten the rules.
I've had a lot of those BA wraps, MM - take the duck over the chicken if you have a choice. They may not be generous but they compare favourably with the offerings from Finnair, Lufthansa, Austrian and - especially - SAS, which offers nothing but coffee on European routes. Only Tarom, of those I've flown lately, has offered anything hot, and BA does offer a decent G&T - and carries Otard cognac too, if you know who to ask. T5 is also a far nicer facility than any of the other Heathrow terminals, so BA is my first choice these days for European trips.
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I've been to quite a few places using the old BA Airmiles and miss them - these Avios are worth 10% of the Airmiles, but admittedly you get more (but not 10x) of them.
They are a poor substitute IMHO.
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>> I've been to quite a few places using the old BA Airmiles and miss them
>> - these Avios are worth 10% of the Airmiles, but admittedly you get more (but
>> not 10x) of them.
Took Mrs B to Antigua using the old BA miles when I was doing a bit more transatlantic travel.
Nice check in girl moved us to bulkhead seats as Mrs B was pregnant and thought we might appreciate the extra legroom
Remember when Gate Gourmet went on strike? I was a silver club member back then so used to have my fill in the lounge then drop an email to customer service expressing my disappointment. Always resulted in a few gratis BA miles
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>> KLM last had DC-10s in 1995, LL. It does still have four MD-11s - the
>> 1970s DC-10's 1990s replacement that struggled on in production until 2001, by when the 777
It appears the last DC10 in passenger service is owned by Bangla Desh Biman. It will be making its final commercial flight next month from Dakha to Birmingham. It will then remain at Birmingham for a few days operating a 'Farewell Tour'
www.biman-airlines.com/about/news?id=548c5950-d80c-482d-b7a3-120f48108627
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At third attempt I've booked a window seat on one of these flights, a one hour scenic trp f/t BHX at noon on Sat 22 Feb.
Oddly the e-ticket gives the destination as "BBS" which is Blackbushe, a one time Heathrow/Northolt rival just north of the A30 near Yateley. A DC-10 would be an 'interesting' visitor to the current GA airfield.
Last rime I was there in 1978 it was hosting Doug Arnold's collection of Mitchells and an ex Dan Air Comet.
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I've been fortunate enough to amass (and spend...) more of what used to be air miles and are now Avios points than I care to add up, mostly funded by employers I hasten to add! Their value in terms of straight redemptions has fallen massively over time, largely I think down to the number of add-on charges tacked on to airfares nowadays - APD, fuel surcharges etc etc which are all payable on redemption tickets as well.
I find that by far the best 'value' use of them is to use them to upgrade. Book in WT+ and use Avios to upgrade to Club giving the best return. But as with all these things it's only really a saving if you'd have spent your own money on a business class ticket in the first case...which for us is usually a 'no'. The only exception being travelling to Australia, where I'd be willing to pay if I had to!
Virgin definitely have a better 'soft' product, though I prefer the seats on BA. Where Virgin have let me down too often in the past, and why I'll actively avoid flying them if I can, is that they don't have many planes. When one goes technical the subsequent delays are far more painful. Maybe I've been unlucky on them, or lucky elsewhere, but in 15 years or so of long haul business travel Virgin are the only airline that have left me stranded overnight...and they've done it twice :-(
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The writing is on the wall for Virgin Atlantic IMO. SIA gave up on it, and its to small to compete. Its only value is in the slots
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Virgin Atlantic have proven the cheapest option though, for me anyway, in the last 12 months or so. By quite a margin in fact. Their 'Premium Economy' seats are very good although I'm rarely able to justify the extra expense over sheep class.
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BA Avios (air miles) - No FM2R
