Aviation Discussion

[YorkshireBear]

There are a number of factors that affect legroom - not just seat pitch and height! I can just about squeeze myself into a regular easyJet A319 (or rear in 320) seat but only just, I can't even sit down on Wizzair's older aircraft. I enjoyed having an inch or so spare on old BA aircraft. 6' 4" and 34-35" ish inside leg.

Things you wouldn't think would matter like the rake of the seat back in front matters, for instance - this is one reason I'm a rare liker of ironing board seats - they are very upright which means more usable space. In more raked seats I have to cross my legs under the seat to get my knees low enough. And any seat like the original Class 158 seat that provides space only with your knees close together is useless for me - if your legs are built like a rugby player/cyclist you've got no chance - again the ironing board is a thin, flat back which helps, so are I think the new easyJet seats.

(Using the Class 158 as an example, someone of exactly the same proportions as me but with skinny legs would have about an extra 1.5-2" of space due to being able to use the "recess" I'm referring to)

Interestingly Ryanair's minimum pitch is 30" and easyJet's 29" - shows what difference the seat design makes.

Completely agree, the ironing board seats mean I have way more room for my knees on trains in general. I have the same issues as you being seated as although a little shorter my knees generally are in a poor condition so actually how they sit is very important to my comfort, probably the most important thing actually!

Yes absolutely right, it isn't just about pitch at all there are so many factors that affect how you are sat.

 

[scotrail158713]

Can anyone clarify what aircraft BA use on their Gatwick-Miami route? The BA website says A380 and 747, is that correct or is it now A380 and they just haven't removed Miami from the 747 page? Or do both fly there? Booked for next year and hoping for my first trip on
This trip also involves a BA Manchester-Gatwick flight, what are BA's domestic flights like? Do you get anything more than the likes of Easyjet?

You might want to double check your booking. I don’t think BA fly direct from Manchester to Gatwick - you may be on a protected connection where you fly to Heathrow, pick up your luggage and then take it with you from LHR to get a bus or taxi to LGW.
In terms of onboard I flew Edinburgh to Heathrow just over a year ago and thought it was decent enough for a 1hr flight - nothing special but I wouldn’t go out of my way to not fly BA again.

 

[Bald Rick]

Can anyone clarify what aircraft BA use on their Gatwick-Miami route? The BA website says A380 and 747, is that correct or is it now A380 and they just haven't removed Miami from the 747 page? Or do both fly there? Booked for next year and hoping for my first trip on an A380.

This trip also involves a BA Manchester-Gatwick flight, what are BA's domestic flights like? Do you get anything more than the likes of Easyjet?

Thanks Gents. Shame it's not going to be an A380, but still looking forward to the trip as I've not flown BA for a good while.

BA don’t usually fly Gatwick to Miami (MIA), although they do fly to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) up the road.

The Heathrow to Miami flights are either an A380 (BA209 out, 208 back) or 747 (BA207/6 & 211/10).

Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale (BA2179/8) is a 777-200. These are bucket and spade specials and I’m afraid not in great nick. However the Rick family is on one later this year so I will file a report then!

 

[Iskra]

BA don’t usually fly Gatwick to Miami (MIA), although they do fly to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) up the road.

The Heathrow to Miami flights are either an A380 (BA209 out, 208 back) or 747 (BA207/6 & 211/10).

Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale (BA2179/8) is a 777-200

Definitely flying to Miami as I've got one afternoon/night there, so I'm guessing I'm going Manchester-Heathrow-Miami. Back to hoping for a A380 again then. I just assumed it would be Gatwick for some reason. I think I flew Gatwick-Orlando before with BA.

 

[Bald Rick]

Definitely flying to Miami as I've got one afternoon/night there, so I'm guessing I'm going Manchester-Heathrow-Miami. Back to hoping for a A380 again then. I just assumed it would be Gatwick for some reason. I think I flew Gatwick-Orlando before with BA.

It’s the early afternoon flight (1415ish) from LHR that is the A380, so if you are leaving Manchester mid morning then bingo.

There’s also the possibility that you are on a BA codeshare with American, in which case it will be a 777.

Most of BAs tourist oriented flights to Florida / Carribean etc are for Gatwick. Miami is from Heathrow as there is more business travel and connections at that end (as you seem to be doing).

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Jet Airways appears to have increasingly serious problems:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47905089

Passengers are stranded in India and around the world after Jet Airways suspended all international flights.

Flights from London, Paris and Amsterdam are among those grounded amid fears about the survival of India's largest private airline.

The airline cancelled all international flights until Monday when, according to reports, it will meet its lenders again to try to secure funding.

Jet Airways is saddled with more than $1bn (£765m) of debt.

It is seeking a financial lifeline to avoid collapse and, on Thursday, grounded 10 planes over unpaid fees to leasing firms .

These were the latest flights to be grounded and it was not clear how many of its fleet of more than 100 planes was still in operation. Local reports suggested that it was barely a dozen.

The airline flies on 600 domestic and 380 international routes - but carriers in India must maintain a fleet of least 20 aircraft to continue to operate international services.

 

[Iskra]

It’s the early afternoon flight (1415ish) from LHR that is the A380.

There’s also the possibility that you are on a BA codeshare with American, in which case it will be a 777.

Most of BAs tourist oriented flights to Florida / Carribean etc are for Gatwick. Miami is from Heathrow as there is more business travel and connections at that end (as you seem to be doing).

Thanks for the information. I've got the itinerary now and I'm on the 0625 Manchester-Heathrow (although I can't find that flight online) and 0915 London Heathrow-Miami, so that will be the 747 then.

On the way back I leave Miami at 1715, is that the 747 again?

 

[Bald Rick]

Thanks for the information. I've got the itinerary now and I'm on the 0625 Manchester-Heathrow (although I can't find that flight online) and 0915 London Heathrow-Miami, so that will be the 747 then.

On the way back I leave Miami at 1715, is that the 747 again?

Yep that’s BA206, 747.

 

[DimTim]

Jet Airways appears to have increasingly serious problems:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47905089

Have been following this closely as had a holiday booked in India flying Jet Airways.
Flew out LHR - Delhi Thursday 4 April & return was scheduled 11 April. No in flight entertainment - read in India ceased 1 April, flew back on one of only 14 aircraft operating 11/4/19!
May have been their final Delhi-LHR flight as all international flights cancelled Friday onwards. Both flights full so flyers with return flight in future will be very worried. Pilots were due to strike 1/4 but deferred to 15/4 to allow bankers to put forward future plans but may now have no planes to fly as Jet has defaulted on lease payments.

 

[Butts]

Aye but the on-board catering is far better quality than it used to be on BA short haul. Yes it's chargeable but worth it.

Only Heathrow have crew for A380s, so if it's saying 747 for Miami on the booked flights then it should be that. I'm on the fence with A380s, I think I would change my opinion on a day flight, with a better airline, and if I had a seat on the upper deck. Hmm...

TQ - you have to exclude Alcohol from that statement which is what a lot of people like in the Evening. I'd rather have a couple of free scotches on the way up north than the current set up.

Stewards must have loved the change to BOB as they have gone from serving everyone to just a few !!!

Currently commuting between Cardiff/ Birmingham and Edinburgh/Glasgow on a weekly basis I had to endure a Dash 8 to and from Birmingham rather than the Embraers from Cardiff.

To be fair one of them was quite old a De Havilland variant rather than Bombardier and the seats were a lot better than the newer ones. A bit like HST and Hitachi the newer seats are not an improvement.

 

[cactustwirly]

TQ - you have to exclude Alcohol from that statement which is what a lot of people like in the Evening. I'd rather have a couple of free scotches on the way up north than the current set up.

Stewards must have loved the change to BOB as they have gone from serving everyone to just a few !!!

Currently commuting between Cardiff/ Birmingham and Edinburgh/Glasgow on a weekly basis I had to endure a Dash 8 to and from Birmingham rather than the Embraers from Cardiff.

To be fair one of them was quite old a De Havilland variant rather than Bombardier and the seats were a lot better than the newer ones. A bit like HST and Hitachi the newer seats are not an improvement.

But if you have free alcohol, then that pushes the price of the ticket up, most people want the cheapest possible price, not freebies

 

[Butts]

But if you have free alcohol, then that pushes the price of the ticket up, most people want the cheapest possible price, not freebies

Well it didn't result in fares falling when it disappeared so I don't know how you figure that out !!

 

[cactustwirly]

Well it didn't result in fares falling when it disappeared so I don't know how you figure that out !!

It did though! BA flights are a bit more competitively priced than a few years ago, and in some cases not a huge amount more than easyJet

 

[Butts]

It did though! BA flights are a bit more competitively priced than a few years ago, and in some cases not a huge amount more than easyJet

I suppose it depends which route you are looking for and the time of booking, but I have always found the supposed change you advocate to have been the case.

Sometimes they are and have always been cheaper than Flybe/Easyjet/Ryanair.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well it didn't result in fares falling when it disappeared so I don't know how you figure that out !!

The reduction in on-board offering and legroom was precisely so they could reduce fares to stop easyJet wiping the floor with them.

 

[Techniquest]

TQ - you have to exclude Alcohol from that statement which is what a lot of people like in the Evening. I'd rather have a couple of free scotches on the way up north than the current set up

I don't partake of spirits (they mess my head up something bad) so it's no skin off my nose for me. The rest of their alcoholic beverage selection wasn't worth bothering with!

Personally, I'd rather see better catering on board (as they now do) and pay for it than endure lousy offerings for the sake of free alcohol. I must say I didn't think much of their coffee in October though, I hope they one day change it to Lavazza!

Stewards must have loved the change to BOB as they have gone from serving everyone to just a few!

1) You mean flight crew!

2) A few people? Not on my BA flights LHR-TLL and back in October 2018! Both flights had a very decent trade, I think in comparison to the flights I did LGW-VIE and back in November 2016 the service was only finished 8 minutes quicker. Maybe 10 minutes, I forget the exact number now. Quite, I've been on Ryanair flights with less custom than BA had on my Estonia trip, and that wasn't even with a full load!

My main regret, bar the rubbish coffee, was not flying at quite the right time of year to try the limited edition sandwich! It looked awesome, but I was a couple of weeks early. Whichever one I had was really nice though, and compared to some of the lousy complimentary food on Etihad I'd rather pay for the M&S offering!

For those who want alcohol on a flight, I'm sorry but tough cheese. I'd like a free coffee or two on a long early morning train journey, but I don't get that luxury! Oh I miss the free tea and coffee on MML...

 

[fowler9]

Have to admit I always thought the flight crew was in the cockpit and the cabin crew was in the rest of the aircraft. Stewardess and Hostess is far in the past now when it comes to job titles because it is far from the primary purpose of the job.

Regarding the catering and booze etc. I would rather have a beer for free on short haul but that is just me. Everyone is different and that is fine. I find the short haul food universally awful and not much better on long haul.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I usually opt for the beer, just because it is usually the best deal on a full service airline.

Ask a coke and you get a slug into a plastic glass from an already open bottle. Ask for a beer and you get an entire 330ml can.

 

[Techniquest]

I usually opt for the beer, just because it is usually the best deal on a full service airline.

Ask a coke and you get a slug into a plastic glass from an already open bottle. Ask for a beer and you get an entire 330ml can.

Sometimes they do have to open a new bottle just for you though! Doesn't often work that way but nice when it does. Valid point on the beer.

fowler9, yeah that's a good point. Cabin crew is the correct term.

 

[cactustwirly]

Sometimes they do have to open a new bottle just for you though! Doesn't often work that way but nice when it does. Valid point on the beer.

fowler9, yeah that's a good point. Cabin crew is the correct term.

Interesting, when I flew with BA and VS LH, they gave you a small can + a cup with ice

 

[Butts]

Sometimes they do have to open a new bottle just for you though! Doesn't often work that way but nice when it does. Valid point on the beer.

fowler9, yeah that's a good point. Cabin crew is the correct term.

Whatever happened to "Trolley Dolly" ? - gone the same way as decent legroom in Economy.

 

[gsnedders]

Interesting, when I flew with BA and VS LH, they gave you a small can + a cup with ice

At least on BA, it's a smaller can than you get of beer!

 

[Techniquest]

At least on BA, it's a smaller can than you get of beer!

150ml isn't it normally on most airlines? I think Ryanair does Pepsi Max and the like in 250ml cans.

Etihad serves Coke out of big bottles, I think Virgin Australia did as well but I had orange juice with them so can't say for sure now.

 

[gsnedders]

150ml isn't it normally on most airlines? I think Ryanair does Pepsi Max and the like in 250ml cans.

Etihad serves Coke out of big bottles, I think Virgin Australia did as well but I had orange juice with them so can't say for sure now.

I should note my comment was about BA long-haul and BA Cityflyer (and yes, I think they are 150ml, which seems harsh when they're also giving out beer in 330ml cans!); BA short-haul BOB is different and gives standard 330ml cans (I'd feel very hard done buying something smaller!).

 

[fowler9]

Whatever happened to "Trolley Dolly" ? - gone the same way as decent legroom in Economy.

My sister would knock you out if you called her a trolley dolly. I'm not even joking. You would need a good dentist.

 

[Techniquest]

I should note my comment was about BA long-haul and BA Cityflyer (and yes, I think they are 150ml, which seems harsh when they're also giving out beer in 330ml cans!); BA short-haul BOB is different and gives standard 330ml cans (I'd feel very hard done buying something smaller!).

I suppose a complimentary 150ml can is nice and cheap for BA, we sell that size can for about 45p in my local Asda. Mind you we also do 250ml cans for 60p. I'm not a fan of Coke though, I'd prefer Pepsi Max!

My sister would knock you out if you called her a trolley dolly. I'm not even joking. You would need a good dentist.

Rightly so, trolley dolly is an unfair name!

 

[stut]

Jet Airways appears to have increasingly serious problems:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47905089

Sad to see, although they've (arguably since the takeover of Air Sahara) been a shadow of their former selves for some time. It's easy to forget that they were revolutionary in their time, a huge break from the monopoly of Air India/Indian Airlines, and a marked improvement in quality of service, even if they were consigned to rather less than premium terminals at major airports when they started out.

(I remember an outstanding couple of flights with them from Delhi to Cochin via Bangalore - freshly pressed juices and breakfast dosai on board, mmm!)

These days, the big Indian LCCs (SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir) are streets ahead.

 

[AlterEgo]

Can anyone clarify what aircraft BA use on their Gatwick-Miami route? The BA website says A380 and 747, is that correct or is it now A380 and they just haven't removed Miami from the 747 page? Or do both fly there? Booked for next year and hoping for my first trip on an A380.

This trip also involves a BA Manchester-Gatwick flight, what are BA's domestic flights like? Do you get anything more than the likes of Easyjet?

I think you have got confused between Gatwick and Heathrow.

BA fly to Miami and Manchester from Heathrow, not Gatwick.

You can find the aircraft operating your flight by going to Manage my Booking on the BA site. It's 747s at the moment, but one daily rotation is showing as an A380 when you look into early 2020. Very much subject to change, that is.

 

[telstarbox]

Random question, but has anyone ever walked to or from an airport for a flight?

I've walked with friends from Carcassonne airport into town (very small airport, small city, tight budget at the time!)

 

[vlad]

Random question, but has anyone ever walked to or from an airport for a flight?

No - but I've walked from Guernsey airport down to the sea and back whilst waiting for a connection.