Which airline for SFO to London

[iancal]

We flew United from Houston to London in Sept. Worst transatlantic flight ever. Poor service, Terrible food. We very much prefer Lufthansa.

 

Came back on BA last week. OK, nothing special other than LHR was not a great experience. Service good, food good, and no issue getting a second round of wine.

[Texas Tillie]

We flew United from Houston to London in Sept. Worst transatlantic flight ever. Poor service, Terrible food. We very much prefer Lufthansa.

 

Came back on BA last week. OK, nothing special other than LHR was not a great experience. Service good, food good, and no issue getting a second round of wine.

 

If you think the UA (IAH to LHR) is the "worst transatlantic flight ever", you've obviously never done the UA (LIS to EWR) on those awful 757s!! :D

[rocklinmom]

Thanks Iancal! That is good to know. I think I'm leaning towards BA or Virgin at this point and your comments helped a lot :-)

 

 

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[6rugrats]

Thanks Iancal! That is good to know. I think I'm leaning towards BA or Virgin at this point and your comments helped a lot :-)

 

And, I would say the opposite. I would avoid LH in economy whenever possible. The food isn't good in economy on any airline. If I had five tickets to purchase, it would be on UA.

[rocklinmom]

I prefer to have us seated in pairs than in 3's (to avoid the inevitable fight over who gets stuck in the middle seat) and the United plane (B777-200) has only rows of 3. We flew on Air France this summer in rows of 3 and it was a long flight with my daughters fighting over elbow space and foot room. I felt bad for my youngest trying to find a sleep position in the middle seat. It's a bummer that the only seat pairs on United are in premium economy, at a huge surcharge (an average of $150 a seat), and are also only at the front or back row of that section -- and from experience I don't like either of those types of seats. So that puts us on either BA or Virgin. LH isn't an option because they don't fly direct from San Fran to London (and flying on them with a stop in Germany costs the same, which makes no sense to me). I'm excited to see that Virgin Atlantic just this morning is finally implementing their pay to pick seats in advance policy (like BA) and it will take effect on November 18th. It will also be free to pick seats in premium economy, which is worth the splurge on Virgin for sure. Makes the choice even easier!

[6rugrats]

I'm excited to see that Virgin Atlantic just this morning is finally implementing their pay to pick seats in advance policy (like BA) and it will take effect on November 18th. It will also be free to pick seats in premium economy, which is worth the splurge on Virgin for sure. Makes the choice even easier!

I certainly see where VA is now going to charge you to choose a seat, (£50 per seat, round-trip), but I don't see where a regular economy passenger may choose a seat at no charge in premium economy. Where do you see this?

Edited November 10, 2014 by 6rugrats

[Globaliser]

It's a bummer that the only seat pairs on United are in premium economy ...

Do be careful about this: United doesn't operate premium economy. It has an extra legroom section in economy, but that's different from true premium economy.

[fbgd]

I prefer to have us seated in pairs than in 3's (to avoid the inevitable fight over who gets stuck in the middle seat) and the United plane (B777-200) has only rows of 3. We flew on Air France this summer in rows of 3 and it was a long flight with my daughters fighting over elbow space and foot room. I felt bad for my youngest trying to find a sleep position in the middle seat. It's a bummer that the only seat pairs on United are in premium economy, at a huge surcharge (an average of $150 a seat), and are also only at the front or back row of that section -- and from experience I don't like either of those types of seats. So that puts us on either BA or Virgin. LH isn't an option because they don't fly direct from San Fran to London (and flying on them with a stop in Germany costs the same, which makes no sense to me). I'm excited to see that Virgin Atlantic just this morning is finally implementing their pay to pick seats in advance policy (like BA) and it will take effect on November 18th. It will also be free to pick seats in premium economy, which is worth the splurge on Virgin for sure. Makes the choice even easier!

 

So VS Premium Economy is on the cards but United Economy Plus isn't on the basis of cost?

 

I'd be very surprised if VS PE and United Economy were the same price, and if so United wouldn't even be a consideration.

[thechicagoans]

So VS Premium Economy is on the cards but United Economy Plus isn't on the basis of cost?

 

I'd be very surprised if VS PE and United Economy were the same price, and if so United wouldn't even be a consideration.

 

I too would be very surprised if United E+ is more expensive than VS PE or BA WTP. The US airlines (AA, DL, and UA) have created extra legroom products because (a) they can be given as free upgrades to those with status and (b) they generate decent revenue sales to non-status passengers.

 

Please check the pricing and let us know what the difference is.

[6rugrats]

So VS Premium Economy is on the cards but United Economy Plus isn't on the basis of cost?

 

After reading OP's post again, I think maybe she just meant there was no charge to book seats in premium economy if she actually booked premium economy class. However, you can only select your seats in premium economy on VS 60 days before your flight.

Edited November 10, 2014 by 6rugrats

[ducklite]

If you think the UA (IAH to LHR) is the "worst transatlantic flight ever", you've obviously never done the UA (LIS to EWR) on those awful 757s!! :D

 

Or ATH to PHL on the antiquated US 767 product. Ugh.

 

But nothing is as bad as PE on AF LAX to PPT. Most miserable flight ever.

[ducklite]

I agree with whoever suggested premium economy for mom and dad and putting the kids in economy. They are old enough to not need supervision. The extra leg room will make a big difference in your comfort during the flight, and might even allow a bit of sleep.

[fbgd]

I agree with whoever suggested premium economy for mom and dad and putting the kids in economy. They are old enough to not need supervision. The extra leg room will make a big difference in your comfort during the flight, and might even allow a bit of sleep.

 

I know this got brought up in another thread (and got shot down) but I think there's something really poor about putting your children in a lower class of travel than yourself. It's treating them like second class citizens (although since we're talking economy class here maybe fourth class citizens?) suggesting they're not good enough. Why not put them up in a hostel as well?

[ducklite]

I know this got brought up in another thread (and got shot down) but I think there's something really poor about putting your children in a lower class of travel than yourself. It's treating them like second class citizens (although since we're talking economy class here maybe fourth class citizens?) suggesting they're not good enough. Why not put them up in a hostel as well?

 

I disagree. It means that mom and dad are being nice enough to take the kids along on vacation and are going to splurge a bit on themselves. If the kids don't like it, they are free to stay with great aunt Gladys while the rest of the family is away.

[6rugrats]

I know this got brought up in another thread (and got shot down) but I think there's something really poor about putting your children in a lower class of travel than yourself. It's treating them like second class citizens (although since we're talking economy class here maybe fourth class citizens?) suggesting they're not good enough. Why not put them up in a hostel as well?

 

It's not. It teaches them that adults have privileges that children don't have, and if they want them, they need to do well in school and work hard. They are very lucky to have parents who are able to take them on a fabulous vacation.

 

I am taking my children on vacation next month, and I upgraded my flight. They each had enough miles to upgrade from their own FF accounts, but both preferred to save them for a trip to Europe next summer. They have no problem with me flying up front when they are in the back. They certainly don't feel line "second class citizens".

 

Children are not adults. No one appreciates what is constantly handed to them "free".

Edited November 10, 2014 by 6rugrats

[grandma*knows*best]

I know this got brought up in another thread (and got shot down) but I think there's something really poor about putting your children in a lower class of travel than yourself. It's treating them like second class citizens (although since we're talking economy class here maybe fourth class citizens?) suggesting they're not good enough. Why not put them up in a hostel as well?

 

 

:rolleyes:

Not again!

 

Taking your kids on a trip to Europe is hardly treating them as second class citizens! They are getting an experience most US kids do not. When I was a child, I would have been thrilled to be sitting away from my parents. Economy seats have plenty of room for kids.

[chrispb]

I'd go with BA. Never had a problem getting a drink plus there's usually juices and water left in the galley for people to help themselves. Virgin flights often have delays, I've previously sat on a runway for 3 hours!!! Even ice-cream doesn't make up for that.

 

There is a website which tells you which airlines and their percentage of on-times, I'll try to dig out the name and post it here.

[grandma*knows*best]

I'd go with BA. Never had a problem getting a drink plus there's usually juices and water left in the galley for people to help themselves. Virgin flights often have delays, I've previously sat on a runway for 3 hours!!! Even ice-cream doesn't make up for that.

 

There is a website which tells you which airlines and their percentage of on-times, I'll try to dig out the name and post it here.

 

For the US:

 

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp

[fbgd]

I'll chalk this up to cultural differences. I grew up in the UK and with the exception of the odd weekend mini break I'd never heard of parents taking a holiday away from their kids until I got more ingrained into American society.

 

Seems crackers if you ask me.

[rocklinmom]

Thanks all for the many varied opinions. Yes my kids will always be sitting with my husband and I, as I can't imagine putting them in another section of the plane. Family vacation starts from the minute you leave home, and my kids are growing up so fast that I want to cherish every minute with them - even when they're elbowing each other in airplane seats. Someone had asked the upgrade fee to premium economy (or in United's case, the Econ Plus section) -- the fees vary by where the seats are located, but for 5 seats together it was a total of $799 one way on United and about $500 one way on BA. Virgin hasn't released their official prices yet, so we'll see on the 18th. It's amazing to me that these three airlines are priced so similarly for direct SFO/LHR flights (assuming that you buy regular econ tickets). It would be so much easier if one was dramatically cheaper than the others.

[ducklite]

Thanks all for the many varied opinions. Yes my kids will always be sitting with my husband and I, as I can't imagine putting them in another section of the plane. Family vacation starts from the minute you leave home, and my kids are growing up so fast that I want to cherish every minute with them - even when they're elbowing each other in airplane seats. Someone had asked the upgrade fee to premium economy (or in United's case, the Econ Plus section) -- the fees vary by where the seats are located, but for 5 seats together it was a total of $799 one way on United and about $500 one way on BA. Virgin hasn't released their official prices yet, so we'll see on the 18th. It's amazing to me that these three airlines are priced so similarly for direct SFO/LHR flights (assuming that you buy regular econ tickets). It would be so much easier if one was dramatically cheaper than the others.

 

I would absolutely spend the extra on the upgraded seats.

[Globaliser]

Someone had asked the upgrade fee to premium economy (or in United's case, the Econ Plus section) -- the fees vary by where the seats are located, but for 5 seats together it was a total of $799 one way on United and about $500 one way on BA. Virgin hasn't released their official prices yet, so we'll see on the 18th.

I don't quite understand what you're saying here.

 

If you want premium economy on BA or Virgin, you'd book it from the outset. Premium economy has its own fares; you don't pay a fee to upgrade to it after you've bought an economy ticket. If you have bought an economy ticket, then you can upgrade to premium economy using cash, but in that event you simply pay the difference between the lower fare and the higher fare, and then the change fee on top of that (typically $275 per transaction for BA). But that's more expensive than buying the premium economy fare to begin with. So this doesn't sound like what you're talking about for picking premium economy on BA.

 

In contrast, I understand that you do pay a fee to be seated in the E+ section of UA's economy cabin (unless you qualify to sit in those rows for free).

 

In addition, you wouldn't be paying different fees for upgrading to different premium economy seats (which is what I understand you to mean when you say "the fees vary by where the seats are located"). That sounds like the fee that's charged to someone who has bought an economy ticket and is paying an additional fee to choose a seat in the economy cabin. There are different zones and different fees for different types of seat. So I wonder what sort of fee you have been looking at. This is another thing that doesn't sound like you're talking about picking premium economy on BA.

 

I also don't understand what you mean about Virgin not having released its official prices yet. Your cruise starts on 11 July 2015, and assuming that you're flying to London a couple of days or so before the cruise, Virgin's premium economy tickets (like BA's) have been on sale since late July 2014.

 

My main concern is that you're comparing like with like when making your decisions, and that you don't pay some fee on the airline of your choice and end up getting something other than what you thought you were going to get. For example, we wouldn't want you buying tickets on BA and paying a fee which you thought would get you into premium economy, only to find that all that you got for the money was the entitlement to choose your seats in advance in the economy cabin instead of waiting until 24 hours before the flight (when online check-in opens).

 

But it's very hard to work out what you mean when your descriptions of what you're looking at are quite vague.

It's amazing to me that these three airlines are priced so similarly for direct SFO/LHR flights (assuming that you buy regular econ tickets). It would be so much easier if one was dramatically cheaper than the others.

This is called competition. When all three airlines have plenty to sell, you would expect them to price match each other.

 

If you were to find that one was dramatically cheaper than the others, would you automatically gravitate towards that? It might be a warning signal rather than an attraction.

[rocklinmom]

I mean buying premium economy or regular economy at the time of purchase. Then, if I want to pay extra to pick seats (on BA) or to buy Econ Plus seats (on United). As for Virgin, I mean when they implement their new pay to pick seats policy (like BA's) that will take effect on 11/18/14. If I bought Virgin economy tickets today, I would get to pick seats free 60 days before the flight (so next May). As of the 18th I could stay that way, or choose to pay to pick seats in advance for a fee. Or if I decided to buy premium Econ tickets, as of the 18th I could pick the seats for free. This is of course if their new policy goes according to plan.

 

 

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[Globaliser]

I mean buying premium economy or regular economy at the time of purchase. Then, if I want to pay extra to pick seats (on BA) or to buy Econ Plus seats (on United).

OK. You made it sound like it was going to be cheaper to get seats in premium economy on BA than it would be to get E+ on UA. Most of us here think that would be a surprising outcome.

[sverigecruiser]

Agree, and best of luck trying to get more than one drink on BA, IME.

 

They have always served me all the drinks I have asked for! Even on short flights between Stockholm and London, around two hours, you get drinks before lunch, during lunch and after lunch if you want to!