British Airways

[AlterEgo]

Yes, look on Flight Aware or other such site that details flight statistics.

Aircraft hit their cruise speed typically a few minutes after entering the cruise, which on the Anglo Scot flights represents about 25-30 minutes of the flight. Yes, they are doing their normal cruising speed.

FlightAware etc only record estimated ground speed which isn’t airspeed anyway.

 

[najaB]

Yes, look on Flight Aware or other such site that details flight statistics.

Be prepared to spend a lot more for your ticket if they do!

 

[Brooke]

Glasgow, certainly, but Edinburgh now has Lumo, so may be cheaper end to end (especially with airport travel costs).

Good point: will take a look!

 

[DanNCL]

While I'm not here to start or worsen a plane vs train debate, and I've had good experiences going to Scotland on both, the fact Heathrow and Gatwick aren't in Central London actually make them more attractive to me. People who highlight the fact they're not Central seem to do so as if it's a flat disadvantage, maybe for people where London is the destination, but many using it as the origin/point to conclude the final trip at don't always want London, but often just outside of it. I live really rather close to Heathrow, so landing there would actually be far more beneficial for me than alighting from King's Cross or Euston into Central London.

The point I was trying to make was that people will usually want the city centre at one end of their journey. So for example, they’ll want to do something like Hounslow - Edinburgh Old Town, or Gogar - City of London.
So apart from the rare cases where someone wants to make a journey like Hounslow - Gogar, there’s more often than not at least as much ground travel to get to/from the airports as there would be to get to/from Kings Cross and Waverley.

I actually used to quite often make a journey not too dissimilar to those I’ve called ‘rare’, travelling from my then home near Newcastle Airport to Walton on Thames. The plane and the train were about the same time wise, the plane would be slightly quicker than the train if the connection from the plane to a bus at Heathrow worked out well but if it didn’t then the train was slightly quicker.

 

[jfollows]

Even when I travelled Wilmslow to Bedfont Lakes (within walking distance of Heathrow T4 through the Hilton) I didn't find flying much quicker, and broken up into lots of annoying bits, and the idea of being able to work at any point was generally laughable. Yes, I probably got to the airport sooner than I needed to, and then the return flight was often an hour or two later than I could have wanted, whereas there are three trains an hour from Euston I can use. At the time I wasn't allowed to fly anywhere without special bean-counter permission whereas I could buy a train ticket myself, so it wasn't normally worth the hassle of trying to fly.

On another occasion I was arriving in Paris Gare du Nord on the RER, having flown from Manchester, and I noted a Eurostar arrival which I could probably have been on by leaving home at about the same time as I did. On this occasion I was no longer working for IBM and my new employer didn't mind my flying in the same way, but also because it was considerably cheaper than the train.

So my experience, even living within close proximity of the airport at one end and walking to my destination at the other, was that flying was little quicker in reality and a lot more hassle.

 

[najaB]

The "train vs plane" debate is one that simply doesn't have an answer.

There will always be some journeys for which flying is cheaper and others for which the train wins, some for which the train is faster and others for which flying will get you where you need sooner, and some for which the air option is more convenient and others which flying make a total dream.

Just look at the options and pick the itinerary that gives the best combination of cost, convenience and environmental impact.

 

[Bald Rick]

There will always be some journeys for which flying is cheaper and others for which the train wins, some for which the train is faster and others for which flying will get you where you need sooner, and some for which the air option is more convenient and others which flying make a total dream.

Is the right answer.

And there is always a proportion of the market that is on the tipping point where rail or air is just quicker. And that is why improved rail journey times (even by one minute) and frequencies makes a difference to the rail market share.

There is also some evidence that the average passenger prefers rail over air even where the door to door by rail is a little longer, and/or the rail fare is higher, as the comfort / convenience of the train is perceived as better than an Airbus.

 

[Snow1964]

British Airways has just had 50th birthday, started 1st April 1974

Simon Calder has written interesting article with some comparisons

New York cost £270 return in economy in peak summer 1974 – equivalent to £3,500 in today’s money. Even in 1974, airlines were in the ancillary revenue game. You could select your seat on a BA Trident departing from London to Belfast, Edinburgh or Glasgow for a £2 fee (£26 in today’s money). Today’s charges are good value by that measure.

Not so for others: the 1974 BA timetable helpfully lists car parking options: at Heathrow, it was 65p to park for a day (equivalent to £8.49 today), and for short-term car parking, you’d be set back by 5p for 30 minutes (65p in today’s money).

Spare a thought for 1974s travellers, though. Gourmet inflight dining of the 1970s might be a thing of the past, but thankfully, so is the inflight entertainment. It was available only on some Boeings, and the timetable lists April’s sole movie as the snappily-titled 1972 French spy comedy “The Tall Blonde Man with One Black Shoe”.

British Airways turns 50 and keeps quiet about it – so what do experts think?

Exclusive: Industry insiders evaluate BA, which was created in 1974 from British European Airways and intercontinental airline BOAC

www.independent.co.uk

 

[nlogax]

British Airways has just had 50th birthday, started 1st April 1974

I was just thinking about this purely from a branding perspective while watching Frost/Nixon last night. Re-creations of mid 70s first-gen BA aplenty including an external perspective of a 747-136 with the rather excellent transitional BOAC/BA livery. Aside from being a generally bloody good film it's also a must-watch for retro aviation fans.

 

[Jamesrob637]

A BA and Virgin plane have been involved in a minor collision at Heathrow: no injuries reported.

Heathrow: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic planes collide

A British Airways plane waiting to take off was clipped by a Virgin Atlantic aircraft.

www.bbc.co.uk

Two planes have collided at Heathrow Airport, causing damage to both aircraft.

The incident involved a British Airways plane with 121 passengers on board and a Virgin Atlantic plane. Heathrow said there were no injuries and no delays.

 

[najaB]

Given how busy Heathrow can be at times, it is somewhat impressive that this sort of thing happens as infrequently as it does. Just goes to show the effect of well-designed procedures that are followed religiously. I guess that the fact that even a small mistake can potentially result in millions of pounds of damage does tend to focus people's attention a bit.

 

[WizCastro197]

Have recently done LHR- Washington with two 777-236s. Very nice planes I thought and the seats were lovely. My only question is, are the in-flight-entertainment screens on some 777s in the process of being replaced? I had a one variant with a dodgy touchscreen and a handset but the way back seemed to be a very modern touchscreen with rather new films.

Wasn't thoroughly impressed with vegetarian catering from America:uncooked potatoes in tomato sauce and literally frozen vegetables as a side. And for breakfast was a wrap that was hot with vegetables and rice which I couldn't stomach eating so early. However I understand if catering is out of control of BA.

 

[najaB]

However I understand if catering is out of control of BA.

It is very much within the control of BA in as much as they set the menus and do spot quality control inspections. However, the catering company is in day-to-day control. If it really was bad you should have brought it to their attention - you might have got a handful of Avios for your effort.

 

[Ted633]

Have recently done LHR- Washington with two 777-236s. Very nice planes I thought and the seats were lovely. My only question is, are the in-flight-entertainment screens on some 777s in the process of being replaced? I had a one variant with a dodgy touchscreen and a handset but the way back seemed to be a very modern touchscreen with rather new films.

Wasn't thoroughly impressed with vegetarian catering from America:uncooked potatoes in tomato sauce and literally frozen vegetables as a side. And for breakfast was a wrap that was hot with vegetables and rice which I couldn't stomach eating so early. However I understand if catering is out of control of BA.

BA 777's currently have 2 in-flight entertainment systems; Thales & Panasonic. The latter is the better system.
Up until last year, there were three systems! The other being Rockwell Collins which was very out of date. As far as I'm aware, there are no plans to standardise down to one IFE system.

 

[WizCastro197]

BA 777's currently have 2 in-flight entertainment systems; Thales & Panasonic. The latter is the better system.
Up until last year, there were three systems! The other being Rockwell Collins which was very out of date. As far as I'm aware, there are no plans to standardise down to one IFE system.

Ah right, okay I think the one I had on the way was the Thales one as when I selected the map option it listed it as ‘made for Thales’. Thanks you !

 

[SWT_USER]

Had this for about half an hour (of a 90 minute flight) on my BA flight yesterday. Amazing how something so minor can be so incredibly irritating. Rather than fix it the cabin crew just asked passengers to stop filming it

Eventually they just disabled all the screens.

EDIT: file is too large to upload, not sure how to compress it from my phone. It was a short video showing the screen above the seat with the map and flight information opening and closing repeatedly.

 

[najaB]

Rather than fix it the cabin crew just asked passengers to stop filming it

Eventually they just disabled all the screens.

You're assuming that the flight crew could do anything to fix it, other than turning the screens off.

 

[SWT_USER]

You're assuming that the flight crew could do anything to fix it, other than turning the screens off.

Turning them off would have been the quick and easy fix.

To be clear I'm not that bothered about this. It was irritating but these things happen, although I don't think asking passengers not to film it is a great look. Just thought it may be of interest for this thread.

Have managed to compress the video now, see below:

Video shows information screen repeatedly opening and closing.

 

[DanNCL]

Had this for about half an hour (of a 90 minute flight) on my BA flight yesterday. Amazing how something so minor can be so incredibly irritating. Rather than fix it the cabin crew just asked passengers to stop filming it

Eventually they just disabled all the screens.

EDIT: file is too large to upload, not sure how to compress it from my phone. It was a short video showing the screen above the seat with the map and flight information opening and closing repeatedly.

You're assuming that the flight crew could do anything to fix it, other than turning the screens off.

Turning them off would have been the quick and easy fix.

To be clear I'm not that bothered about this. It was irritating but these things happen, although I don't think asking passengers not to film it is a great look. Just thought it may be of interest for this thread.

Have managed to compress the video now, see below:

Video shows information screen repeatedly opening and closing.

The screens above the seats haven’t been routinely used for several years now and aren’t even fitted to half the short haul aircraft anymore. They’re supposed to remain up for the full flight now, not even used for the safety demo now that’s done manually.

 

[SWT_USER]

The screens above the seats haven’t been routinely used for several years now and aren’t even fitted to half the short haul aircraft anymore. They’re supposed to remain up for the full flight now, not even used for the safety demo now that’s done manually.

Thanks - presumably they can use them if they want to! This was an A319.