Oct 23, 2006 03:36 AM
3264 Views
As a family man with 2 kids, i prefer a direct flight. So we have travelled many times on BA as it is a direct flight from London to Chennai and back. There is no other direct flight, otherwise we would have avoided BA. I think I have more of a love-hate relationship with BA.
At the Heathrow Airport, terminal 4 , the check -in staff at the BA counter are freindly and I found them quite helpfull. Then you have a looooooong walk to the gate for the flight number 36 . There is a cafe there and it is kind of handy when you have kids around. You are welcomed into the flight with a sincere smile , at times, a fixed smiling expression by one of the flight attendants.
Once you are in the economy class, I wish I was in the business class, for the extra leg space and room for children to move around. For a family man with 2 kids , economy seats are the option as I dont work in a firm which is ready to pay me for club class. I have to pay for my own tickets, at least twice a year.
Being seated for 10 continous hours for a child of 2 is no joke. My wife I have a lot of running around to do inside the flight , to bring my son back to his seat. Sometimes a box of crayons or a picture book is thrown in by a sympathetic flight attendant. My daughter sits glued to the TV screen in front of her watching movies .
Then come the part I love, the drinks trolley! I usually settle for some red wine, and I get 2 small bottles which is adequate for me. I dont want to land up throwing up inside the flight or being escorted off the flight for air rage.
And then comes the much awaited food trolley. It is usually a damp squib! The quantity is not sufficient and the food is mediocre. After the meal everyone settles down for a nap or a sleep. I envy some guys who can sleep through the entire journey, except when being woken up for the meal!
After this is the long leg cramping journey. The air hostesses are usually friendly, but some of them appear very detached. After about 6 or 7 hours into the journey the kids start getting restless because they havent eaten a thing for 7 hours! We do feel hungry and when we ask the attendants, the come with a small packet of biscuits or a bar of chocolate. There is no more food! This happens usually in flights travelling from London. But the return jouneys are much better, probably they pay the caterers in India lesser than in London. They provide 2 meals on the return journeys. So we usually carry some sandwiches , crisps, biscuits etc..with us when we travel to Chennai.
The inflight entertainment is not bad, they have individual screens for all the seats even in economy class. They have the movies shown advertised on their website .
What I like about BA is their online check-in system which is very good. It helps you to get through the queue quicker. You can even change your seating arrangements beforehand online.( though most of the premium seats are not available online). The toilets are cleaner, well, it depends a lot on the passenger usage as well.
But for the issue of food , I would certainly recommend BA to anyone who wants to fly directly from London to Chennai.(Sorry, I cant comment on other sectors as I havent travelled on BA to other parts of India)
