I flew BA from Heathrow to Barcelona (BA 482, Euro Traveller) with four friends last September. Being rather impoverished students, we booked via BA's website at £100 each, including taxes. This would be the first time I'd flown since going to Indoenisia in 1997 at the tender age of 14, and considering one of our engines blew up and our airline (Garuda Indonesia) had a fatal crash the day after out flight, I was rather anxious. Fortunately, there was nothing to worry about. Be warned this is quite a long review, as I find it reassuring to find as much information about flights as possible before I go to try and make the most of the journey.
Check-In at Heathrow was unremarkable; the staff were friendly and thorough, managing to find a tiny pair of nail scissors in my friend's hand luggage which she'd neglected to remember were there! If there are any health reasons which result in you needing to carry needles, make sure you inform the airline beforehand and obtain a doctor's note if necessary. Being prepared really does speed up your check-in.
After check-in, we went into the departure lounge and waited to board our flight. And waited... it was delayed by about an hour, and it would have been nice to have an explanation. Our flight was eventually called, and we made our way to the gate on the horizontal escalators (always fun!) then boarded. My seat was 12F, an aisle seat in the middle of a plane. Leg room was no problem for us, but being 5'5" and used to long train journeys makes me immune to cramped conditions. Shaking with nerves, I buckled my seat and braced for take-off.
Take off was uneventful, and I was 33,000 feet up before I knew it. As soon as we were cruising, we were served lunch. I'm not sure how appropriate a meal lunch was considering our flight left at 7pm. I didn't feel incredibly assured by All Day Deli, because presumably the food had been sitting out all day! We were served a chicken or cheese sandwich, a cup of fruit salad and a flapjack thing. I say thing, as it had a strange rock-like consistency. The sandwich and fruit were of a similar standard to something you'd find in a supermarket, the chicken sandwich being particularly nice. Drinks were quite stingy with little thimblesized cups of coke or cups of tea or coffee. I'm aware caffeine dehydrates you, but hope BA's beverages are more generous on longer flights!
It would have been nice to have some information about the plane, or some entertainment. An audio channel would have been a nice touch, or an in-flight magazine. I'm not sure whether it was a 737 or 757, but the plane was fairly unremarkable.
The air steward assigned to my section was lovely, though. She could tell I was scared of flying, and when things got a little bumpy she didn't wait for me to ask why, and came over to explain about jet streams, turbulence, ears popping, and anything else. We landed in about two hours, the pilot making good time, and after a smooth and stunning landing at night we were in Barcelona.
Our flight back was operated by BA's partner Iberia, flight IB 4180, seat 20 A, and what a difference Barcelona and Iberia were! The airport was modern with a larger range of shops than Heathrow (where else can you find a Zara sitting next to a speciality nougat shop?) but the check in was sluggish with less friendly although still efficient attendants and noticably less thorough security.
The plane itself was in a lesser condition than BA's on the first leg, and it looked dirty and had a brown and orange 1980s look about it. The seats were rather shabby too. This did not reassure me. I was a complete wreck: shaking, tears streaming down my face, screaming, etc. The senior steward took me aside and made me herbal tea, and took me to the front of the plane to see the captain. He said in rather broken English that he'd do a shallow take-off to make things smoother. Bless him and the hostess, although in spite of their kindness, take-off still felt like doing the birthday bumps.
By the time we were cruising, I had a rather nasty panic attack, and apologise to my fellow passengers for screaming and hyperventilating. (I had several people ask me if I wanted something to calm me down.) Nobody came to assist me, but in all fairness, the cabin crew weren't at fault as nobody walked past and I was too embarrassed to call for attention. It would have been interesting to see how they would have responded.
Food was slightly below BA's standards, with the same chicken sandwich and fruit combo, with a muffin thing. I ended up having some of my friend's peanuts which were stale, and my friend was not impressed at the choices of either chicken or cheese considering she is a vegetarian but cannot eat cheese and informed BA in advance of this. I wasn't too fussed, though, as my main priorities with a flight are getting there and getting back.
Again, no entertainment, or in-flight magazine was provided. A distraction really would have been nice. If anyone else is flying this route, pack a book, magazine, or walkman just in case no entertainment is provided. Especially if flying makes you nervous, as it's nice to have something else to think about other than 'oh my god, the plane's about to crash!'
In spite of my squealing every time the plane banked, we had a very gentle landing and in spite of my fear I was able to look out of the window and admire London at night. We disembarked quickly, had no problems collecting our luggage, and were driving back home to Reading before we knew it.
Overall, I would recommend BA, providing you were able to get discounted fares like we did. They may not be the most glamorous or vibrant airline, but they get you there safely and their service is acceptable if not outstanding. It was certainly a more pleasant experience than Garuda in 1997.
More details
Class flown most frequently
Economy
How often do you travel with this airline
First time
Where did you book
Directly with this airline
Safety
Good
How well does it cater for disabled people
Don't know
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