Oneworldman From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 190 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 4735 times:
Oh Lord, and please I mean no insult by my statement, but Jmy007, just exactly what experience are you looking for him to have? I have flown Air India to LHR, and I have to say it was the worst decision I ever made. I say just spend the extra money and take BA, unless all you care about is just getting there!!!!!!!!
Gpw55 From Canada, joined Oct 2003, 28 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 4724 times:
I've flown BA from YVR to LHR several times and Loved it.
have to ask from where in the US?
But If you haven't flown either of them try the one you would not use most often in the future then if it is bad then you don't have to use them again.
Jmy007 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 591 posts, RR: 2 Reply 4, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 4704 times:
Well, its really all relative. I have flow Ba from JFK-LHR, and DEN-LHR and I had a bad experince, both times.
I've also flown air india. Though not on this flight segment, and had an enjoyable time.
To each his own
Cookies are the Gateway pastry. They lead to Éclairs and Bear Claws.
Lfutia From Netherlands, joined Dec 2002, 3195 posts, RR: 31 Reply 7, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 4629 times:
BA for the IFE Air India for the food. A lot of people have said that while the food onboard many EU airlines suck, Air India is really good w/ their Indian Food. Or take AI if you want to save 200. Remember both airlines will get you to your locations safely although dont be surprised if you somehow get delayed by AI for retarded reasons I last took AI in 1998 and I liked them. Its funny to see all of the Indians pushing others w/ all of their bags.
Leo/ORD -- Groetjes uit de VS! -- Heeft u laatst nog met KLM gevlogen?
Behramjee From Canada, joined Aug 2003, 4447 posts, RR: 43 Reply 9, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 4563 times:
Food is good in AI but no ptvs in eco class + many times the bathrooms leak on the B 744s.
However since its only a 6.30 hr flight and you dont mind a little bit of inconvienience then fly AI...however if $ 200 means nothing to you then fly BA ...have you looked into AA-VS-CO?
What about KUWAIT AIRWAYS JFK-LHR on 4 year old B 777-200IGWs with tvs in every seat and good food...Ive flown it many times and would rate it much better than AI. Go to a local travel agent preferably an Arab or Indian trav agency and ask for KUs rates for JFK-LHR-JFK...theyre bound to be cheap too.
RiverVisualNYC From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 930 posts, RR: 3 Reply 11, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 4496 times:
BA offers an excellent, and if this is important to you, dependable service with a sophisticated IFE system and decent food and beverage. I would say only go with AI if saving that money is really important to you (at least from here, NYC, BA's fares are often as low as anybody's, or close enough) or if you really like Indian food (I do, but I will get it at my local restaurant thank you!). BA is quite reliable as well, I almost always fly them when going from JFK to LHR and more than once have I seen a last minute rush of passengers boarding who were from the AI flight which had gone tech.....
Qantasclub From Australia, joined Nov 2003, 753 posts, RR: 3 Reply 12, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 4486 times:
This is really not a hard question. Comparing Air India to BA is just ridiculous. I flew with Air India once and it'll be the last time I fly on them. The whole plane was absolutely filthy with stained, worn carpets and worse..MUCH worse, toilets that didn't work and got clogged up, with sewage spilling over out of the loo into the aisle.
never..NEVER again.
RiverVisualNYC From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 930 posts, RR: 3 Reply 13, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 4463 times:
Just something to consider, I hadn't noticed you were flying from ORD. In June BA will be operating 3 flights a day ORD-LHR, one with the 744 and 2 with the 772....Nice selection and one of the return flights gives you the option to depart London late in the day, so the last night of your trip isn't ruined by having to be up early in the morning to get to the airport...AI is operating only one flight a day and it's Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, not daily. The returns are mostly between noon and 1pm which means realistically you have to be at LHR by about 10 or 11 am. For some reason, they do have a late return to ORD on Sunday only....So my 2 cents worth, but BA gives you more flexibility in terms of dates and times....
Pe@rson From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 18848 posts, RR: 54 Reply 15, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 4273 times:
I will ALWAYS fly a 'different' carrier over a 'normal' carrier (so AI is, in this case, the former, with BA being the later), as it's far more exciting and interesting. Accordingly, I completely recommend AI.
"Everyone writing for the Telegraph knows that the way to grab eyeballs is with Ryanair and/or sex."
Ryanb741 From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2002, 3219 posts, RR: 17 Reply 18, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 4158 times:
The Air India flight will be full of Indians which is reason enough to avoid them and fly BA unless you are a sucker for being barged out of the way and having some neanderthal shouting to his friend nect to hime whilst everybody is trying to sleep.
I used to think the brain is the most fascinating part of my body. But, hey, who is telling me that?
Spike From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2004, 1170 posts, RR: 6 Reply 19, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 4132 times:
It doesn't matter as they are both flying a 747-400 with a stinking environment at the back and business / first at the front:
1. Fly there on BA First class.
2. If your budget doesn't match - fly there on AI business class (much better than BA and less crowded + better chance of being bumped to 1st class).
3. Economy - 52A and some pain killers on either carrier.
Believe me.
DIJKKIJK From France, joined Jul 2003, 1672 posts, RR: 5 Reply 20, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 4127 times:
If you're looking for good service, reasonable food, top IFE with PTVs, surly F/As and don't mind the extra 200 bucks I would recommend BA.
If you're looking for reasonable service, excellent food, bad IFE with no PTVs, friendly F/As, good legroom, want to use the 200 bucks for something else, and don't mind an occasional delay I would recommend AI.
Whatever you do, don't fly BIMAN (shithole), PIA (another shithole , don't know about their new 777s though), VS (seem to think everyone's a dwarf),
NWA (another shithole).
Never argue with idiots. They will bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience.
Jaysit From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 21, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 4026 times:
In response to Airmale's question about AIs' continental meal options - yes, they are very good. Usually seafood or chicken. Or both. And as far as AI being a premium airline in the 60s and 70s - well, yes they were. No one's making those claims for Air Algerie or Sudan Airways.
As far as choosing between BA and AI are concerned, I'd do BA if the extra $ 200 will not put a severe dent in your budget. I think BA have the best value for money across the Atlantic. The last time I flew AI (in J class) I walked through the Y cabin, and the extra few inches of legroom notwithstanding, it looked worse than a greyhound bus.
Jaysit From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 23, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 3975 times:
Nope.
I've flown VS, BA, AI, and KU on the JFK-Heathrow route, and the meals are very different. Also, remember that AI do not serve pork or beef in any of their meals, so their meals both look and taste different. Its almost always some seafood thing. Even in Business and First, they are big on seafood (lobster, shrimp, salmon). Note that BA almost always have an Indian inspired entree in J class on this run, and it beats anything on any other carrier hands down !
Bluethunder From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 61 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (9 years 3 months 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 3982 times:
Airmale:
How true. Sad but true and someone had to say that. There is ABSOLUTELY NO comparison between BA and AI. They are in two completely different leagues. My roots are indian and for the longest time when i flew to India, i looked at the interest of AI rather than my own. Finally i began to realize that when you keep flying a bad carrier over and over again, your not really helping them. You are just encouraging them to be trash. They have no incentive to improve their service because they know - regardless of how they treat you, regardless of how dirty their cabin is, regardless of how unfriendly (and unhelpful) the cabin and the ground crew are, regardless of how many times they loose your baggage , people are still going to keep comming back simply cos they have the word "India" or "Pakistan" painted on their aircrafts.
This is no way an attack on indians or pakistanis - we have acheived such great things in so many other fields but as far as our airlines are concerned, we have to be at the bottom. The problem is the management. No government run institution ever does well in that part of the world. That is one of the reasons we all left - correct? I really cant comment on Biman cos i have never flown them. However, Jet and Sahara are hope for Indian avaition.
Privatise them and things will improve - the proof i have to offer for this argument is just look at Emirates, Qatar and Srilankan. These airlines dont have a large group of LOYAL expatriates who would fly them, regardless. They have to work hard for their customers and they know they have to be among the best. And these airlines are miles and miles ahead of AI.
And my advise to SW733 is - take BA. Food is not the only criteria. And i assure you BA would not serve you horse shit. No one is helping Air India by being patriotic.
25 SW733: Thank you for all the comments about both airlines. Definately got more then I thought I would so thank you very much! I booked today with BA from ORD
26 RiverVisualNYC: In the interests of multiculturalism, I must admit the first Chicken Balti I ever had was on BA in economy, and it was delicious. Their caterers also
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...have you looked into AA-VS-CO?
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