oh my god I would cry if that happened, that's the worse thing that could happen at the start of your holiday.

Have never flown BA so cannot comment.

Have flown Virgin several times & each time has been as good as a long haul flight can be!! Good seats in economy, good service, free drinks/meals, good kids packs, good films, quick check in etc....

I have flown with both and had good experiences with both, however i would choose to fly Virgin over BA.

I would choose to fly Virgin over anyone else to America, i have had my best experiences with them!!

In terms of standard, then, whilst there will be those who have had bad experiences (and will shout about it) and equally those who will have had good experiences, these are in reality just as likely with either.

Both are scheduled carriers and so will offer the niceties like "free" drinks and so on. My own preference is for Virgin, (having had a less than good experience with BA) but I accept wholly that they can both mess up if circumstances arise.

Having said all that, anyone flying with a scheduled carrier should always consider joining the relevant loyalty scheme - in Virgin's case it's the Flying Club - and saving airmiles. Virgin's is reputed to be the most generous out there; I can't verify this myself, but I can say that, without really trying, I've now got enough miles for a "free" round trip, Upper Class, to anywhere they go except Sydney.

Not sure how relevant this is but:

Flew to Spain with BA Sept 08 from Gatwick. Indifferent check in, cold sandwiches, late out and back. Of course this is short haul, and seats were tiny.

Flew to LA with Virgin from Heathrow (A340) in October, returned in November from SF (747) again with Virgin. This was economy, not premium or upper - can't afford it these days! Seats were small but adequate (I'm 6'3" and 19 stone and I was comfortable) food was good for an airline, but the in flight entertainment was what made the flight. It's all done from one remote in your seat with your screen in the seat back in front of you. Check in was quite easy, using your passport and then dumping your bags. Makes it slightly easier and pushes the queues along.

I've done long haul flights in1st, Club and on one memorable occasion Concorde, but don't remember ever being quite so engaged throughout a flight. I was playing games with my kids, watching movies (choice of over 60) that were still playing in the cinemas, and there were classic TV episodes as well. My son had to be persuaded to stop watching/playing for meals and actually groaned when they announced they were turning the IFE off for landing. I knew how he felt.

The flight attendants were great - helps to have a daughter as cute as a button - and they brought extra drinks, and snacks for them throughout the night. I’m a single parent and they really helped share the load on both flights.

All in all I was quite impressed with Virgin, I will fly with them again, and do recommend them to my friends.

HI, I'm of the same opinion,,,I really like Virgin, although to be fair, I havent flown BA, they are probably much the same....Ive flown several times with Virgin, and a few others, but Virgin for me wins hands down.....

Enjoy whoever you decide to go with, and do keep us informed.....

I agree with previous posts that you will find people with good/bad for both

However, our experience of virgin atlantic has been really good. the staff have always been friendly and helpful. We really couldn't fault them. As a previous poster also mentioned their reward club is also good and as well as cashing in for trips you can do miles plus money so last year we flew to las vegas for 2500 miles plus £200.

We are flying out with them next week.

xx pug

Hi,

Flew BA from Gatwick to Orlando in December 06. Good service, comfortable flight. I find Gatwick very annoying and security is a nightmare.

Flew Virgin from Manchester to Orlando in Oct 07 when son was 15 months and can't speak highly enough of the service. Manchester was a great airport and queues were to a minimum. Virgin rep even gave us a bulkhead seat without even asking. Plane was 747. Staff were very professional and complimentary services were fantastic.

Have also flown Aer Lingus (only for convenience I might add), Continental (great service, small plane) and Delta and Virgin is still my number 1.

Have you tried the Manchester to Orlando route with Virgin? Would recommend that over Gatwick.

I have flown with both in the past 2 years and haven't had any problems with either one. BA were pretty good and that was a long haul flight to the Caribbean and seats were fine just as you would expect for economy. It had enough entertainment, food actually not too bad, good and helpful staff.

Flew with Virgin last week, again no problems, good choice of entertainment, seats as comfortable as physically possible as you can be on a long-haul economy flight, which let's face it isn't that comfortable but again, wasn't too bad. Food was the only thing I didn't enjoy both ways and believe me, I usually quite like what they serve up either because I generally like food or because I am absolutely starving by the time it comes! Either way, this was the only time I didn't like the choices and the meals themselves. Drinks throughout the flight which is nice.

All in all I would choose Virgin out of the 2 as their reputation is better, fairly comfortable seats and I quite liked their varied choice of entertainment :)