Flight Review: flying with British Airways from Dubai to London

British Airways is a national institution, like the monarchy or fish and chips. For UK expatriates coming back for their summer holidays and visitors to Dubai it is a cheaper option than some other Gulf carriers, so is this good value-for-money?

You certainly get from Dubai to London with a good range of scheduled times, and the jumbo jet is very comfortable. Forking out for business class makes sense when you consider the alternative at the rear of the plane.

Economy horrors

Last Sunday night three screaming small girls in one cabin made the flight particularly attrocious, and there seemed nothing the cabin crew could do to silence the little dears. So stick to seats nearer the front for peace and quiet.

The BA Club Class seat is quite special with its flat-bed and lowerable-screen between the seats. You are pretty insulated from the world, especially if you sit by the window. The aisle seats are less good because one side is open to passing traffic.

You also have a lounge in Dubai, which is small and convenient, and two in London’s Terminal 5 that are inconveniently located and larger than some London train stations with similarly off-hand service.

As you would expect the food and wine is much better in Club Class than economy. Lighter meals like salmon salad are good, and perhaps better than the horribly over-steamed steak.

One of the programs on the quite good entertainment system is about a celebrity chef’s ‘mission impossible’ to sort out in-flight catering. Sadly he has yet to succeed. But ArabianMoney could offer some help on the wine list.

Why print a wine list with options that are not available? It’s confusing and annoying for passengers who read the tasting notes and then have to accept whatever is on board that day. Alternatively BA could just carry the full selection.

BA jobs

It was nice to have some young cabin staff on the flight to the UK, for they are a relatively unusual sight on BA. Apparently the new CEO has finally settled the cabin staff dispute that included strikes last year but only by essentially capitulating to the older staff and maintaining their generous service contracts for life.

New recruits will be on shorter contracts with less generous pay and perks. Is that progress? It prevents the employment of young people to the benefit of the older staff members who like the lifestyle. Is this not the staff running the airline to suit themselves and not the passengers?

But if you are wanting to save money then as a low-cost, long-haul carrier BA is not bad value. Will it survive long-term after losing $1.6 billion over two years in the recession? Well, the staff will not want to lose their pensions.