I’ve only ever flown British Airways to Britain in my time as an Anglophile. They were there with me on my first journey to Blighty, they were there for my last trip and they’ll be there for the next one. I will only consider flying BA – despite there being many other non-stop flights out of Chicago to London. I’ve always had a great experience with them – even when things went pear shaped.
Here’s my list of reasons why British Airways is always the best choice when flying Transatlantic.
1. Economy of Scale
Quite frankly, BA is the largest transatlantic flight operator. They have the biggest flight network, largest fleet, biggest staff and the most daily flights to the UK. Economy of scale leads into my next reason, price.
2. Price
Because of the sheer size of BA, they can pretty much always undercut any competitors on price. It’s been my experience that British Airways ALWAYS has the lowest airfares. Sometimes, other airlines may have lower prices but wait a week or two and BA prices will be in line. Also, it’s almost always cheaper to book your flight directly with BA for the best airfare – avoid price comparison sites.
3. Trip Options
Because of BA’s size, they provide a huge amount of flexibility in planning your trip. They’ve negotiated with hotels and tour providers to provide the best rates for their customers. BA has high standards and they will only recommend good hotels and tour operators. Best of all, you can book your hotel, tours and train journeys all through BA’s checkout process.
4. Flight Experience
From the moment you step on the plane – even if you’re going to coach, you’re stepping into another realm. BA flights are calming, the service wonderful and the seats roomy. Most flights out of Chicago are overnight, so they dim the lights and you can sleep the whole way, waking up refreshed the next day in London.
5. In Flight Entertainment
If you don’t want to sleep, they have top notch in flight entertainment. Most flights now have personal Video On Demand consoles, which means that you can watch movies and TV shows whenever you want from a huge database. They have recent releases and the latest British and American TV shows to choose from. You can also listen to BBC radio – my favorite is the classical music station. There’s just something about listening to classical music on a flight to Britain that just fits.
6. Free Newspapers
Most people don’t know this but BA usually has copies of the Daily Mail or other newspapers on board. All you simply need to do is ask for one. Sometimes they’re in a pile as the back of the plane. It’s very nice to catch up on the latest news before you touchdown.
7. Customer Service
I’ve only had good experiences with BA customer service. For example, on my last trip to London my luggage was lost somewhere between getting from the plane to the luggage carousel. While this was very inconvenient – it did have all my clothes – BA customer service stepped up to the plate to make sure my luggage got to me eventually. Hours after leaving the airport my cell phone got a call letting me know that my luggage had been found and that it would be delivered to my hotel the next day. It was. If you incur costs related to losing your bags, you can submit a claim and get a refund.
8. Online Check-in
BA is on the cutting edge when it comes to taking advantage of the internet. You can check in to your flight 24 hours before you have to leave, choose your seats and even customize your meal. When you get to the airport, you simply have to drop off your bag and head to the gate. It couldn’t get much smoother than that.
9. Terminal 5
One of the things I’m looking forward to the most about my trip in November is finally being able to go through Terminal 5. The opening may have been a disaster but things are running smoothly now. I can’t wait to step into the awe inspiring building. Especially after 5 trips through the other crappy terminals at Heathrow. You’ll finally get a proper welcome into Britain at Terminal 5.
10. Flexibility
Because of their economy of scale, you have flexibility when planning a trip. For example they have four flights in and out of Chicago, daily. This means that you can leave when it best suits you and plan your arrival in the UK to fit into your schedule. And if you wanted to, you can also fly BA to other cities in Europe and they make the whole process incredibly easy.
11. Britishness – Flag Carrier Status
You can’t beat the fact that British Airways is the Flag Carrier of Britain. It’s comforting to see the Union Jack on the tail of BA planes. It’s reassuring to know that you’re in for a classy flight experience that harkens back to a day when travel was a more sophisticated endeavor.
12. Package Deals and Sales
You can always count on British Airways having frequent airfare sales or package sales that include a stay in a hotel or attraction. Your best bet is to signup with an account at BA.com to recieve their e-mails and be notified of the latest deals. Most of the Anglophile Alerts on this site originate from e-mails like this.
Author Info - Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile with an obsession for Britain that borders on psychosis. He keeps Anglotopia running in his spare time, always dreaming of his next trip to England, wishing he lived there - specifically Dorset - and is always trying to figure out a way to move to England. It will happen one day. Keep up with him on Twitter here. Read more from this author
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dream of living in the UK a reality.
Yes, I agree with all the above. Unfortunately, I usually fly Northwest home because I come from MN and there is a Northwest hub in Minneapolis…but it’s a real lottery: will I get an old plane this time? Will I get moody air hostesses? Bleh. I wish Virgin flew more flights to the States, now that’s a fantastic airline–and they’re British for all us Anglophiles!!
I have flown both; Virgin and British Airways. Virgin out of LA because of using American Express Points and BA direct from Phx. Of course I preferred flying direct, the convenience was worth it and the price was good. What drove me nuts was that we couldn’t pick our seats until 24 hours before flight; which I think is unreasonable. When we booked we extended our days in London as we were offered 2 nights in a free hotel; the Royal National. These two days were at the end of our trip and we certainly had been used to finer stuff; but certainly not luxurious! The Royal National was clean but stark; you had to put 20 pounds down as deposit for a hair dryer. Better to have stayed there at the beginning of our trip.
Unfortunately my video machine conked out at the beginning of the flight and I had to rely on Ambien to get me through the 10 hours. I did like their service, they were nice and amiable; but in coach certainly the seats were just like all the other airlines I’ve flown, tiny. Would I fly them again, you betcha, particularly as flights from Phx to Heathrow were running under 500 this spring. Can’t wait to hear the Nov report; we’are hoping our family can make it back to the UK next June, recession or not.
Yes, I’ve had the (dis)pleasure of staying at the Royal National. Stark is the word – though it’s recently been renovated and you can’t ask for a better, more centrally located neighborhood.
I’m on the opposite side of the pond (in London), but have only ever flown on Virgin, who I find to be fantastic in every way. So I hope the readers will also consider Virgin, who is quite British (owner and all) as well!
Thanks for your comment!
BA used to be good, but they have definitely been outclassed.
I have flown BA and Virgin, and I would choose Virgin over BA every time from now on.
Thanks for stopping by Stephen!
I love BA – the writer is right in that their in flight experience is so pleasant. It’s a calming and enjoyable ride that gets you prepared to arrive in Britain. I recommend BA to everyone who wants to go to Britain.
Thanks for stopping by Bill!
While, I’ve never flown Virgin so I can’t comment on their service – they don’t have nearly the network size the BA does. They fly to less places and have less frequent flights. They can’t beat BA on that. British Airways is simply more convenient, most of the time.
Thanks for stopping by Joe!
I’ve steered clear of BA over the last year and a half since the enormous balls-up they made of the Heathrow Terminal 5 roll-out, though I hear they’ve got it sorted out now. I’ve long been a fan of Virgin too.
Very nice site!
We always fly AA, there’s a flight direct from RDU to LHR and it’s wonderful. Just a short 7-8 hours, direct, and the plane in normally 1/2 empty meaning you can buy coach and spread out.
I’ve flown transatlantic with Aer Lingus, BA and Virgin. Virgin were the best. BA were awful. They left us standing (literally) in LAX for hours