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I've seen some incredibly cheap flights to the US with both BA and AA (although cheaper on AA) and they are labelled basic economy. You get the shitty end of the stick, but it's insanely cheap. The worry is that you don't necessarily get to sit together which isn't a huge issue except for my youngest kid who won't be happy. The other question is about food - do they feed you?
Anyone flown this, and was it grim? I mean, grimmer than AA normally is, which is pretty grim anyway.
https://londonairtravel.com/2018/04/11/ba-basic-economy-fares/
Not being certain but I've never seen a proper airline who split up booked passengers, when you buy the ticket you will be allocated a block of seats in a crap bit of the plane where nobody would choose to sit.
Link says food is included.
The only real issue is the outside toilets...
We flew AA to long-haul to Miami in June, boggo economy, then short-haul on to Belize and back to Miami, and they were excellent. Food good, in-flight films good, modern planes, highly recommended
We flew BA back from Miami, and they were, well, basic, in a tired old 747.
Just flown cattle class to Vancouver with BA and back premium cattle class.
Both journeys were quite pleasant. Meal slightly better on way back and slightly more legroom.
BA won’t split young kids from the family, and you can pay extra for allocated seats on their flights.
You can request ‘kids food’ at no extra cost, you get 2 alcoholic drinks in cattle classs and as many’s waters/orange juice as you like.
Just check what’s included.
As far as I know, food and drink are included, but hold baggage and seat selection isn’t - but if you want these, they can be added for additional cost.
Check https://www.seatguru.com to see what aircraft it will be.
We went out on an A380 which was quiet. Came back on a supposedly newer 787 Dreamliner which rattled, squeaked and had an annoying high pitched cabin noise.
IMO the best money spent would be on decent noise cancelling headphones.
Seat guru is your friend though.
Bloody site won’t let me edit...
BA flights were much nicer than Ryanair/Easy Jet/Jet2
And as above even BA etc now make you add the cost of hold luggage which is annoying so your final cost will be higher
The problem is, most people use websites such as SkyScanner to find the cheapest flight. If the airline doesn’t ‘de-content’ their fares, they’ll lose customers. And to be fair, some people will be happy to have hand baggage only and will argue that they’re subsidising those with hold baggage. So, we’ve got what we asked for.....
You will get food and drink, but no luggage is included.
Seat selection will be cheapest when you book and will go up as you approach departure (dynamic pricing). BA's seating policy is to assign seats for groups with 2 to 11 year olds 5 days before travel. You are guaranteed one adult by each under-12. 12 and over are treated as adults and may be split up.
Seat selection will be about £60-70 per person each way, so if you want to sit together you are usually best paying the standard rate.
I don't believe AA have a written rule about seating families together. There were certainly complaints within the US when these fares first came out and families were split up on domestic flights.
My US colleagues recently told me that AA, Delta & United have all improved recently due to the various scandals in the media. They really need to improve their image hence the changes,
AA are my preferred trans Atlantic carrier at the moment.
AA are my preferred trans Atlantic carrier at the moment.
Can you see economy from your end of the plane Flashy 😉
Try and avoid LGW 777's as the economy on those has been densified, gone 3-3-3 to 3-4-3, pretty unbearable I am lead to believe, I think LHR 777's are going the same way.
787's are bad in economy as well, very narrow seating, best be avoided if possible, 380 or 747 in BA economy is best. Refurbished 747's known as 86J or super high J as BA call it have been updated with the new IFE but you would have to do a dummy booking to see which aircraft you will get but that can change at any time.
Economy basic ticket is hand baggage only but you will be fed and watered, BA economy food offering going west has been greatly improved in the last year or so.
AA economy is to be avoided in my opinion unless something has changed drastically in the last two years.
AA economy is to be avoided in my opinion unless something has changed drastically in the last two years.
I used them in June this year, they were excellent. Possibly the best flights I've been on for food, service and films.
Just to be clear, this isn't a question about AA in general, specifically the basic economy which is different to normal economy. It seems that in BA it's the same, you just save the cost of check in bags, but for AA it's not clear. One of the things they list is that youay not get to.sit together, however it's not clear if this only applies to continental US flights or transatlantic. And it lists 'food and bar service' as something you get with the standard economy but not basic - but it's not clear if that means you get no food at all on basic, or if you can buy it, or if it just means you get better service on standard but still get something on basic.
The worry is that you don’t necessarily get to sit together which isn’t a huge issue except for my youngest kid who won’t be happy.
And that would be worth it for the penny pinching would it?
If the kids are young, this won't be an issue anyway.
Where else does one go crop dusting, Mike?
Re kids seating, adjacent can mean behind, in front, across the aisle HOWEVER I've ducked paying for seat allocation on all the budgets and holiday airlines plus Virgin (whom introduced charging before also switching to a tiered economy model) and had no bother with 3-10 year olds).
Blame him
And that would be worth it for the penny pinching would it?
Well I am concerned about it, hence the enquiries. As for penny pinching, it's the difference between us seeing family at Thanksgiving and not. Four of us could fly direct to the US for under a grand with this option.
I'm busy making money any way I can to ensure we all go premium to Barbados next year. Its not just the "place" its the plebs that occupy it.
I had the mis pleasure of using the toilets at the back of the above dilapidated 747 to Vancouver due to a long queue at the front, jeez what a mess.
I’m busy making money any way I can to ensure we all go premium to Barbados next year. Its not just the “place” its the plebs that occupy it.
Yeah the same plebs just get more cash and do the same up the front 😉 They just expect the staff to be more polite when they are cleaning up
BA will set a family together. Use BA fairly regularly for cheapish flights to certain airports on the east coast USA. It's ok. Lufthansa on the other hand. They can f#@# right off. Partner has been separated from our kids twice on flights to Switzerland despite assurances it wouldn't happen.
I've flown Sydney - San Francisco twice in the last month on United Economy. I know you didn't specifically ask about United, but it's possible that others have/will follow their lead.
"Basic economy" (or whatever united call it) doesn't include a "full size" carry on bag - just a small bag. This is international flights only I believe. If you have the cheapest tickets and don't read the fine print, they will check-in your carry-on, and charge you top whack for checking it in.
They only release a small number of economy seats for pre-selection in advance. Both times when I booked there were no seats available to allocate. They do offer an "economy plus" option - which is identical to economy, but the rows are (literally) an inch further apart. Otherwise same seat and service entirely. These are the only seats that you can pre-select at any time - at a cost of about 100 quid. Having been through the booking process twice, it seems clear to me that they are artificially restricting economy seat selections to try to push people to pay extra for the "economy plus" seats. Again, this is not premium economy - this is just a hidden charge for economy seat selection (which is higher than most other airlines).
United only run Dreamliners on the syd-sfo route. I would not choose to fly in one again. The seats were narrower than a 380/747, bathrooms smaller (important when travelling with a baby!), but the most noticeable thing was the turbulence. Apparently the dreamliners fly lower, which is supposed to mitigate jetlag (although I suspect this saves fuel/money in some way) - it also has the effect of massively increasing the turbulence - worst flights I've flown on for a long time.
The Dreamliners fly no lower than any other aircraft. They keep the cabin pressurised at a higher pressure; as if you inside are at a lower altitude.
That you have experienced turbulence is down to the route, and luck, not the aircraft.
Rachel
I had the mis pleasure of using the toilets at the back of the above dilapidated 747 to Vancouver due to a long queue at the front, jeez what a mess.
Never be on the same flight as Quirrel
The Dreamliners fly no lower than any other aircraft. They keep the cabin pressurised at a higher pressure; as if you inside are at a lower altitude.
That you have experienced turbulence is down to the route, and luck, not the aircraft.
Yep. A380 and A350 follow the same approach. Better air inside equals a better flight. The 787 is narrower than a 77 or 74, and the cabin can therefore feel a little more cramped. I believe that the actual seats are the same, though. (They are up the front, anyway).
Also yep. Turbulence just happens. Sometimes you can go over/under/around, and sometimes you bounce.
I was going to say thats was odd because, I went to St Lucia on a Virgin Dreamliner and it was very nice - in Premium.
The tired 747 experience to Vancouver though couldn't touch it - we had economy tickets booked by my company but were offered $400CAN of both of us to upgrade at the desk. Basically we had more drinks, legroom (bulkhead seats) and slightly better meals. My TV didn't work.
Not being certain but I’ve never seen a proper airline who split up booked passengers
Are Virgin Atlantic a "proper airline"? Cos they tried to split me and my son up - booked well in advance and not 'budget'. Bastards got a big ol' complaint letter from me, but then refunded a rather nice amount of the holiday (they also screwed up the ski hire). So I won't hold it against them anymore.
Had first flight on a Dreamliner this year, flying with BA, and was great*. Loads of space I thought, but then I've usually flown Delta to North America. Not sure if the air pressure did anything for jetlag but was more comfortable on the flight. Didn't feel so dry. Cabin noise was noticeably quieter. Not quiet, just not so annoying and my noise isolating ear buds did a better job.
* - well, one issue was the computer crashed on taxi for take off and had to return to the gate to get an engineer to reboot it! 😀 (don't think it was flight computer, just the general stuff for all the entertainment and other bits).
Hmm.. turns out I am only a few points shy of a full return ticket on AA using points. But, you still have to pay taxes.. and the tickets for the same flights are actually more expensive if you book via AA's site which is the only way to use the points.
Hmmm.
The Dreamliners fly no lower than any other aircraft. They keep the cabin pressurised at a higher pressure; as if you inside are at a lower altitude.
That you have experienced turbulence is down to the route, and luck, not the aircraft.
Thats interesting - that info re: altitude came from the pilot/first officer, when they were doing their opening blurb! Bit worrying!
4 flights across the pacific over the course of the last month in a Dreamliner - they were all as bumpy as hell, bumpier that when I've flown that same route on an a380. Maybe its just because the Dreamliner is smaller?
check out Norwegian too. I fly One World partners normally, to keep club status, but if I've achieved the status level already for the year, Norwegian is currently my choice for getting to LAX - there's no business/1st on their flights, so a big block of premium economy seats at awesome prices. Pretty much all new planes too from what I can see.
Pretty much all new planes too from what I can see.
Except when they dump you in the Wamos rustbucket...
Or the Hi-Fly 380 that's always delayed massively...
bathrooms smaller
Even Flasheart doesn't expect to take a bath on an aeroplane. Other than in the financial sense, obvs.
Maybe its just because the Dreamliner is smaller?
I've been properly tossed around in an A380. Attendants strapped in - somewhere over Himalayas. Night.
Not much fun at all.
Plane is great though.
Thomas Cook A330 200 2-3-2 in premium class. SanFran/Vegas . Plenty of space. Twice to USA. Not much turbulence at all.
Even Flasheart doesn’t expect to take a bath on an aeroplane. Other than in the financial sense, obvs.
You can have a shower though on an A380. My cousin sent me a picture of him at the bar, and a pic of his 'lounge' saying he had just had a shower. (quite often flies first class)
altitude came from the pilot/first officer, when they were doing their opening blurb! Bit worrying!
Are you sure they just didn't say they were flying lower to avoid turbulence?
Oh and just to add, Terminal 5 at Heathrow (BA terminal) was horrific at the weekend. Too many people and too hot. BA won’t let you pay to use their lounges either despite spend £1,000’s on flights
https://www.executivelounges.com/airport-lounges/london-heathrow-terminal-5-aspire-airport-lounge
Pay to use/contract lounge at T5
We went out on an A380 which was quiet. Came back on a supposedly newer 787 Dreamliner which rattled, squeaked and had an annoying high pitched cabin noise.
IMO the best money spent would be on decent noise cancelling headphones.
Seat guru is your friend though.
just got back from Singapore (via Doha) on both a 380 and dreamliner, i was surprised at how noisy they were even in business class in front of the engines, they give you headphones but i took my own Bose ones, i wouldn’t fly without them.
having spent 22 hours travelling each way i wouldn’t fly that far in cattle class, either find the money or go somewhere closer 5-6hrs away. jet lag plus sitting in an uncomfortable seat with not enough legroom is no way to start a holiday.
spent 22 hours travelling each way
LHR -SIN is only a 13hr sector. 🙂 If you will fly silly routes...!
Agree on the no cattle for really long haul and the Bose, though.
its 2 stints of 6.5-7 hours with a short stop (the Doha Qatar lounge is an eye-opener and it was nice to stretch the legs and have a cocktail 🙂 )
plus i now have 3 sets of pyjamas and 4 washbags!
🙂
I often do Singapore to London via Hong Kong to enjoy the Pier. 🙂
As an aside, I've taken to only ever using one of the kits per trip, and keeping the other one intact and then donating it to a local women's refuge. A friend of mine recently had to rush to one of those to escape an abusive relationship. She said that one of the best things when she got there, with nothing but the clothes she had on, was having a shower (hotel toiletries!) and then feeling human again with the nice stuff from an amenity kit. It rather hit home!
@captainflashheart - I’d like to know the details of giving the wash bags to the women’s refuge. Looks like a good use of the pile of these things I have. I usually done even open mine / take it with me but I will do from now.
Give https://www.refuge.org.uk a call, ask if your local refuge want any! Simple!
Other charities/refuge organisations are available, etc.
thats a nice idea, one has gone to the other half, if i go again they can have them.
(edit 2: were crap armani ones with post shave/aftershave that only a teenage boy would want)
LHR -SIN is only a 13hr sector. If you will fly silly routes…!
It does sound a bit like going London to Manchester via Swansea 🙂
Economy for 13hrs isn't that bad, you just get on with it really and avoid a middle seat!
(though saying that they gave me a row to myself this time, and front row economy other times, and I just booked business Manchester to Nice....)