My first ever flight was across the Atlantic with BA. I had no choice in
this as I’d booked a package-style holiday and that’s who they flew with. I
also knew nothing about which airline was best at-the-time. Their planes
(at-the-time) were smelly, rickety and really not a nice experience (we flew
with Hawaiian air on the same trip and the contrast between the airlines was
plain for anyone to see - HA being the better of the 2). I also flew with BA to
France a year later on a flight that was like something out of a comedy film
(it was so bad I just had to laugh) with the very worst crew I think there must
have been. After both of those I said I was never going to fly with BA again,
something I stuck to until 5 years ago when I found myself crossing the
Atlantic on a BA flight (which was actually quite a pleasant experience).
Having been lucky enough to complete a return trip across the Atlantic
in first class, I got to see how it really is when my next flight with them was
back in economy and the difference in attitude towards their passengers was
just phenomenal (and not in a good way). Just because those “up front” have
more money, does not mean the rest of us deserve to be treated any less when it
comes to respect and good manners. Because of this I decided not to fly with
them again unless I absolutely had to.
I know how hard the flight crews work; there is not enough money in the world
that could tempt me to swap jobs with them. At the end of the day their job is
primarily to ensure all of us on board are safe; in the event of an emergency
they will be in charge of our lives. They could literally be the difference
between life-and-death for us. In life I am always polite (I was brought up
with manners and taught to respect unless disrespected) so when I smile and am
friendly to the crew, say please-and-thank you and never demand or complain I
do expect to be treated in the same courteous manner, even when I am bouncing
around at the back of the plane.
Before booking my recent return flights to Boston, I spoke to a few
people who have worked for different airlines and AA were knocked off the list
straight away; Delta also got bumped as they flight share with Virgin. This
narrowed the pot quite-a-bit and I found myself comparing BA and Norwegian Air
(then someone told me there were rumours of NA going out-of-business, so I
stuck with BA). In hindsight maybe I should have continued to save for another
couple of years to pay the difference and move up to premium economy (premier
world traveller as they call them) but I’d spent 5 years saving as it was;
there was enough in the pot for all we wanted to do so we took the gamble and
booked, or not listened to the rumours and continued to book with NA who I have
heard have exceptional customer service on board their planes.
We departed from T5 at Heathrow and everything from checking in, to bag
dropping (kind of; we did have to ask for assistance when the conveyor belt
jammed) through security and in the departure area was amazing. The staff were
great; smiling, helpful and more than you would expect considering the amount
of people they have to deal with on a daily basis - in fact the whole security
experience was the best I’ve ever had and the staff there were laughing, happy
and lovely, making what can be a stressful time an absolute breeze.
My only gripe upon boarding was having no space in the overhead cabin
for my small rucksack because they allow people to take bloody great big
suitcases on board. I’m sorry but overhead baggage should be soft and pliable
or you should pay to have it checked into the cabin. I finally found a space
half-a-dozen rows back. It’s unfair for those of us who don’t take advantage to
have nowhere for our bags to go, and not fair for the flight crew who already
have enough to do to wander about checking the overhead bins for space.
We flew out, upstairs, on an A380; I had a window seat and cannot tell
how much the storage bin next to me was appreciated. The armrest was meant to
be able to lift between the 2 seats giving us more room (or so the blurb made
it out to be when I booked) however it went up to a 50’ angle and stayed there
so had to be left down throughout the flight (unless we want it wedged up
against our shoulders). The trays though really do need to be looked into. It’s
great they fold so you can have just half, however, when it comes to eating, if
you are bigger than a size 16 you’re going to struggle to get it to sit flat if
you fold it out fully. Even a budget airline like Flybe have trays which will
raise slightly meaning a larger person may also be able to have a flat tray in
front of them. Again, I guess being in the “cheap seats” means they make it as
difficult for you as they can in the hope you’ll pay to upgrade, however, once
all the better seats are sold you get no choice. It’s bad enough being packed
in like sardines to begin with; the least they could do is try to make you a
little more comfortable as you fly, although being in a 2 (and not a 3 or 4
row) we didn’t feel quite-so-cramped as normal.
The crew on this flight were wonderful. Friendly, chatty and they smiled
when you spoke to them. I also felt safe in their hands should anything have
happened. The flight restored my faith in BA.
Then, came the return flight. All 4 of us when we landed said “never
again” and we were in different sections of ‘world traveller’ with different
members of the flight crew. I understand now why some people call economy
“cattle class” because we were treated just like cattle (in fact I’ve seen
cattle spoken to better). Jeez, what a miserable bunch of people they were, and
one of them was quite rude. The rest either seemed interested in how much more
make-up they could plaster on their faces or slouched around with an “I can’t
be bothered” attitude. I get it was a night flight and they may not have been
full of the joys, but even so. I certainly did not feel safe in their hands and
was extremely glad we never found ourselves in any kind of emergency situation.
I thought the trays on the A380 going out were bad, but on the 777 we
came back on they were even worse. Even my Mum who is a size 10, 5ft in height
lady was struggling for space. Thankfully there were just the 2 of us in a 3
seat row so were able to utilise the spare seat tray; had we not had that it
really would have been hard to do anything - luckily the people in front didn’t
recline either or we’d have been wedged there, unable to move, or pop anything
down.
There was also food and plastic cups left in the little seat compartment (with the inflight brochure bits) in front of both our seats.
I know that nothing will change - even complaining to the airline won’t
make any difference - for people will continue to book with them, and had both
my flights been as the outbound this time, I too would have continued to use
them, but when just 25% of all my flights in total with them have been
half-decent, they will definitely never be my choice to use again.