BA/Qantas Flight Review

[TURBO 1]

If you are flying to Thailand I can really recommend Qantas , but make sure you are on the Qantas plane , not the BA one as they codeshare flights . The Qantas plane will have a flight no something like QF2 but the BA plane's flight no will be longer , eg QF302 .

 

I flew out on the Qantas plane last month & the new entertainment system they have installed is great . You get individual seat-back tvs with 7 movie channels , 6 other channels with sport , comedy programmes , etc & 10 games to play as well as the usual radio stations . I never had to use my cd player or open my book once during a 12 hour flight ! The movies & programmes are on a 2.5 hour cycle so you can watch a film on channel 1 first & then see the one on ch 2 2.5 hours later . They are all new films too . The seats are fairly comfortable , the food was good with snacks availible anytime & the staff are very friendly .

 

I came back on the BA flight . They have a similiar entertainment system but in economy you only get limited channels - you have to fly business class to get them all . The seats are very cramped with very poor legroom , the aircon system wasn't working properly so we were roasted for part of the flight , the food wasn't great & the staff are grumpy & unfriendly .

 

I asked a steward why it was so hot & he said that they weren't allowed to use the air-con system when on the ground at Bangkok . I said 'But we've been flying for over an hour !' His answer - 'It takes a while to cool the plane down .' It was still hot for at least another hour so I think that the air-con wasn't working & they didn't want to tell us . Of course I was sitting beside the guy who hadn't showered in a week & didn't believe in using deoderant so I had to put up with his stink for a while until I got used to it .

 

I know next time I'll make sure I'm on the Qantas plane .

 

Derek

[Guest]

Turbo,

 

The aircon thing is bad news with some airlines (or at least with some crews).  The air in the aircraft is recycled every two minutes or so and is a mixture of the cabin air and air from outside which is about -50 C.  Some crews turn up the heat and reduce the ratio of fresh and recycled air (lower oxygen levels) to encourage passengers to sleep.  If you complain that it is too hot or the oxygen levels seem to be low they are obliged to rectify the situation.  The aircraft would not have been allowed to depart if the aircon unit was knackered.

 

Thanks for the review of Qantas though.

 

Tom

[Eneukman 1]

I'm afraid I prefer BA to QANTAS. My knees tend to seize up after a while and I have to get up and walk about every so often so I always ask for aisle seats when I check in (at Edinburgh). With BA, this has never been a problem but last November I had to fly out to Bangkok with QANTAS and when I checked in at Edinburgh at 3.00 (the flight was due to leave Heathrow at 10.00) I was told that there were no aisle seats available. I kicked up a bit of a fuss at the gate and managed to get a free upgrade to Business Class, which was just as well as for reasons I have covered in a post elsewhere the flight was 2 hours late leaving. We had boarded on time! Business Class was, to be fair to QANTAS, very good with plenty of legroom though the seats didn't fully recline as BA's Club Class do. The food was much the same as economy apart from being offered a glass of champagne on taking my seat.  ;D ;D

 

On the way back, I was flying on the BA flight and had my aisle seat pre-reserved.

 

It was very hot to start with on this flight as well, which was due to their not being allowed to have the aircon switched on whilst on the ground. It took quite a while for it to cool down a bit! The air crew were finding it a bit too hot as well!

 

Alan

[ranger 0]

I am flying BA LON-BKK and QANTAS BKK-LON the ticket has been issued by qantas and i bought them from airline warehouse,on the tickets  james travel, birmingham, is printed.

The ticket looks very amateurish and it has class k printed on it which i have not heard of,the ticket just gives me an uneasy feel,any advice,cheshire tom.

[Guest]

Ranger,

 

I wouldn't worry too much.  Airline Warehouse is a trading name of JTA (James Travel).  Just to be sure, give Qantas a ring and pre-allocate your seat (they will as for the six character PNR or booking locator which will be on your ticket.)  K Class will just be restricted economy.  You can also check on the net at http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/home/...ifier-region-uk.  On the top menu click on Bookings - View Your Booking and then type in your locator and surname.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[TURBO 1]

CT - can you pre-allocate your seat with Qantas ? How far ahead can you do it ?

 

Derek

[Guest chrisgng22]

i made a booking with the same company over the net last week,to fly august 29th ive heard nothing from them yet,how long did it take you guys before you heard from them?

[Guest]

Turbo,

 

In economy with Qantas it depends on the price of your ticket whether or not you can pre-allocate specific seats.  All pax can request aisle or window, with the more flexible tickets you can allocate a specific seat in advance.  The number to call is 0870 572 6827.  Sorry I don't know how far in advance you can do this.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[TURBO 1]

Thanks Tom . I saw you at the pig roast at the Highway Star bar . I was going to introduce myself but you were engrossed in conversation with your friends then next time I looked you had left . I hoped to see you at CJ's party in FLB but I think you had gone home . I had wanted to thank you for all your help & buy you a beer . Maybe next time .

 

Cheers ,

             Derek

[Guest chrisgng22]

i phoned them today they appologised for delay, ive now recieved email from them tickets to arrive next week  £469 lhr-bkk and the flight ref is Q so i should get the good movies in the seat??

[steveo 1]

Spot on Turbo.

It seems to me that BA are pulling a real con job. They have downgraded their economy class to below the standards of other major airlines and added a new premium class at 1.5 times the normal ecomomy fare for a standard of travel about the same as the others. Got caught with them last time through booking Qantas but getting a BA operated flight. > >

Have just booked next trip and made sure it is QF1 and QF2. Once bitten twice shy.  :) :)